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An MMO as a single player experience ?
zspawn
Member Posts: 410
So I'm currently playing Warhammer which I enjoy for the RvR however the RPG player in me wants something with questing, adventuring and lots of content :P
I was considering a single player/offline RPG but I didn't find any I haven't played / attracted me to play them...
(BTW if you have any ideas please post your must-play RPGs on PC...even if they're old!)
So I was thinking to play one of the following games I already own as a game for exploring, doing some quests at my own pace etc. - Pretty much like you'd play a single player game I'd say but using an MMO game...
Everquest 2 ( I got all expansions up to RoK)
Vanguard
Guild Wars
Age of Conan
LOTRO
Keep in mind I don't care about endgame, PvP or grouping... (I know MMORPGs need these elements to be good however I'm only looking to "adventure" online, not to take it seriously or make it a 2nd life 
)
I know it's a pretty odd or maybe lame idea but I really miss the old RPG feeling with questing and reading the quests and having something novel to say everytime you play... If you know what I mean 
Let's discuss 
Comments
Yeah i know what u mean, i love storylines....
You should try
Mass Effect (great story imo)
The Witcher isnt bad either.
Uhh... what?
Have you played Knights of the Old Republic? It's a great RPG.
Jedi Academy also has an RPG feel to it, although it's a shooter.
There are a few great RPG's releasing this year for PC. The big one is Dragon Age:Origins.
Once the game is over, the king and the pawn go back in the same box. ~ Italian proverb
Yes played all of those
KOTOR was indeed a great game and also the sequel was fun :P
I wouldn't really suggest any MMO as a single player game, their gamplay just sucks compared to real single player games. Have you played:
-Mass Effect
-Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic (1 is better, but 2 is also good)
-Elder Scrolls Oblivion (Elder Scrolls Morrowind is also good even if a little older)
-Fallout 1, 2 and 3 (I think 1 and 2 are the best, 3 is diffirent)
-The Witcher
-Planescape: Torment (it's really old game, but it's good)
If you've played those all, have you played Neverwinter Nights 1 or 2, those aren't as good as games but they've got infinite amount of user created adventures to play.
If you only enjoy the single player elements of an MMORPG, you need to find an RPG that suits you. Perhaps a series of RPGs. What about the elder scrolls series?
Doktar - 70 Troll Priest - Perenolde
I'd suggest any of the Forgotten Realms RPG's out there, anything from Baldur's Gate or Neverwinter Nights is usually good. The Witcher is fairly good as well. If you're extremely bored you could always pick up Fable 1 or 2 and play through them for some time killing. Elder scrolls like everybody mentioned is nice. I've also found some of the Star Wars FPS games to have a decent story in single player and I used Jedi Academy to kill some time when I had nothing better to do.
Also, give Sacred 1 or 2 a try as well, and you can always fall back to the old Diablo series assuming you've not beaten them to death by now. Mass Effect seems to get mentioned quite a bit. I played it a bit myself but the spacey feel of it just isn't for me.
No required quests! And if I decide I want to be an assassin-cartographer-dancer-pastry chef who lives only to stalk and kill interior decorators, then that's who I want to be, even if it takes me four years to max all the skills and everyone else thinks I'm freaking nuts. -Madimorga-
Sacred 2 is pretty enjoyable, I'd recommend it. And of course, Ultima 6 and 7 are must-plays. But as far as MMO's go that would offer decent a decent single player experience... Well, first and foremost, if you can find a private server of Tabula Rasa, I'd recommend it. I honestly don't know if any private servers have been put up for that game; I only played it in beta, but I thought the storyline progression of the instanced missions was actually pretty enjoyable. LotRO would be decent, except for the fact that you're pretty much going to have to group with people for several of the story quests. FFXI is fairly good for a single player experience, as well. I personally couldn't stand Guild Wars PvE, but it does have a decent storyline so you might be interested in it.
Mmo wise you could give fallen earth a chance, from what ive been hearing its pretty much what you want but its a indie company thats making it and if you want really polished games with next gen graphics then ignore this.
FF VII. The greatest single player offline RPG ever in history. Also, you can now download the entire game from the PSN on to your PS3 or PSP.
Edit Part: So this doesn't bite me back later, I will state that I do not like soloing inside mmorpgs. However, I do like the occasinal offline single player RPG from time to time (and when Fallout 3's price goes down to around $30, you can expect me to scoop that up).
Lol, Ultima 7. That was a fun game I played many times over. Leveling on self-dividing slimes and "borrowing" currency from Britannia Bank. I laugh because so many mmos today claim to implement a reputation system, but fail to give anything to the reputable person for anything near a reasonable price(let alone for FREE, lol). "Your welcome for my slaying of the world threatening monster, may I have a horse?" To which I receive the response, "50 gold, wait no no make that 100 gold special deal for you."
Thanks for your posts guys.
I'm not requiring next-gen graphics but I'd prefer at least decent graphics nothing TOO old
Diablo 2 graphics are fine
I'm suprised no one suggested EQ2 ?
I have the game up to RoK expansion but didn't manage to play it back then but I'm always hearing it has tremendous amount of content, quests and exploring to do... So it kinda puzzles me how come no one suggested it
LOTRO I loved but found it too group dependent for what I'm looking for...
On offline games, I found a game called Prince of Qin in my closet - Anyone played it? :P
Personally, I didn't feel much story attachment in EQ2. I tried 3 different races and got each to about level 15, which admittedly isn't very high and it may very well be different later on... But in those low levels, I never really felt like I was doing anything more than filling quests for xp. The closest thing I got to storyline was when playing a Fae character and a few of the quests were part of a chain to help the queen, but it was so bland that the impression it left wasn't even enough to remember any details about it.
It's worth a shot, though, since it has a trial so you've got nothing to lose.
Another MMO that I forgot to mention is Dungeons and Dragons Online. I played it for a short amount of time and it definitely had a single player experience to offer, so I'd recommend it.
EQ2 definitely has all those things and is a great game to play - it takes a while to get going with a lot of the deeper questlines, though. The heritage quests (which are more involved quests to find historic items from EQ1) start at around level 17 or so, but of course there are tons of other quests to do. Once you get to higher levels you can get involved in some of the really deep storyline quests like the Peacock Club line or Prismatic Weapon line. And of course you can explore a variety of outdoor areas and dungeons of all levels.
There is currently a promotion where existing or former players can send you an invitation that lets you play the entire game for two weeks (not just the limited trial.) If you are interested, PM me your email and I can send one out to you.
Vanguard. It's buggy as all hell, still, but a lot has been fixed. Regardless of its problems, it's still considered by many to be one of -- if not THE best-- PvE MMOs out now. You can get the trial and start on the "trial island" or a regular racial starting zone. If you choose to continue past the 15 day trial, you don't really need to buy the game. Just start up the $15 subscription and you're good to go.
The game isn't perfect, but there's a lot about it that's really good. I'm giving it another go myself.
Negatives:
-Character models aren't all that great, but they work.
-Still buggy in a lot of places.
-Graphics, while good in their own right are a little behind (the game came out in 2007, but aren't that far ahead of EQ2's. Graphics aren't a huge thing with me anyway, but a lot of people rate this as a negative, so I'm just going with consensus thought here)
-Low population (doesn't really matter if you're looking for a single-player experience, but it can feel a bit lonely)
Positives:
-A metric TON of stuff to do
-Decent variety of races and classes
-Wide open, non-instance world, including dungeons.
-Non-instanced player housing.
-Player-made ships (not sure if naval combat is in, although with an open map, the boats offer a neat transportation option that lets you see the sights)
-Variety of mounts, including those that fly.
-Decent crafting game
At least give the trial a shot. Costs nothing but your time.
EDIT: Check out this guy's videos. www.youtube.com/user/Saieno86 He has a series of videos highlighting major aspects of the game, complete with informative commentary.
"You'll never win an argument with an idiot because he is too stupid to recognize his own defeat." ~Anonymous