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Looking for long term game replacement
I've been an avid fan of MMORPGs in general since UO was "new." I'm now looking for something new to replace my current addiciton. I'll start with what I've played, and what I like and disliked about them. I apologize in advance for the wall of text.
UO: Fun until the hacks & gankers belittled the entire game. The graphics were new for the time, gameplay was decent.
Everquest: Proper variety of classes and race combinations, variety of avatar appearance, nice graphics for its release date. I don't remember a bunch about EQ as I wasn't into it very long, but it was enjoyable.
EVE Online: Loved the graphics engine at the time, gameplay was somewhat interesting. Group play was pathetically lacking, absolutely detested the "leveling" system, hated the pvp system. Not really my preference of genre, actually, played it at the request of a friend.
Final Fantasy XI: Loved the graphics, hated the UI. "Windowed" hack was the first thing I found for this game. I loved the class variety, but absolutely hated that you were essentially pigeon-holed into class choices by your racial choice. Sure, you could be a Galkan Mage, but you'd suck. I had no issue with the grind, as it was fun, but I did not like the fact that grouping was -required-. There needs to be solo content.
Lineage 2: Loved the graphics, hated the game. Too pvp oriented.
EQ 2: Amazing graphics for the time, loved the forward-designed engine (that still puts some of today's systems to work), adored the attention to detail in clothing movement & general graphics. The class variety was nice, but it wasn't balanced at the time. UI was nice, and somewhat adjustable, The homogenization of avatars at any given level was annoying, but I suppose was the price to pay for clothing movement at the time.
WoW: I've played WoW (and still do, atm) since closed beta in the early spring of 2004. I love many many things about WoW, and will describe them more appropriately as I get to my actual request.
Other games I've played since WoW started to occasionally bore and/or irritate me in 2008, and sometimes before when I just wanted to try something new:
Guild Wars, Maple Story, City of Villains / Heroes, DDO, RF Online, LotRO, Fiesta Online, 2Moons, Mabinogi, Age of Conan, Asda Story, Perfect World International, Runes of Magic, Chronicles of Spellborn, Jade Dynasty, Aion, Global Agenda, Star Trek Online, Asheron's Call 2, CitiesXL, Dungeon Runners, Tabula Rasa, Planetside, Allods, and even Entropia.
With WoW's new expansion "Cataclysm" on the horizon, and all the information Blizzard leaking making me want to think about stopping playing now instead of on release, I'm looking for a game to replace WoW.
Here are the desired qualities:
Graphics are important. If the game looks like crap, I'm not going to waste my time playing it. This is 2010, there's no excuse to poor visual design. It needs to be immersive, pleasant, and functional. EQ, EQ2, FFXI, WoW, and AoC are the "top contenders" out of that list, Allods, Tabula Rasa, and Star Trek Online fit the graphical requirements as well. If it's 2D, 2.5D or some other variant of isometric, browser based, or java based, I'm not interested. Proper 3D graphics are an absolute must. Quality is important, and if the developer isn't willing to devote the time and resources to do it right, I'm not willing to pay for it (or probably even play it).
PVP needs to be available but not forced. WoW has done the best at this, as much as it galls me to admit it. You can PvP when you want, and PvE without worrying about some punk 13yo 40 levels higher than you killing you for no purpose other than grief (get over yourself if you think there's another purpose to killing someone 40 levels below you in a zone that's not your hometown). Call me whatever you want, This is my preferred playstyle. There's days I want to play against a more talented opponent than the computer, and others that I have no interest in it at all.
Persistent world. Guild Wars failed at this in a bad way, as far as I'm concerned. Instances are ok, so long as it's not 90% of the game. Instanced Dungeons I expect, but questing & running around cities I expect there to be "one world" per server.
Customizable UI, or at least the promise of. I finally left FFXI because of this, and have dropped several other games because I didn't like their UI design and they refused to release the API for end-user development. WoW, EQ, and AoC manage this just fine, and excluding AoC you're talking games that are 5 years to a decade old. Just because another game did so doesn't mean you need to reinvent the wheel.
Classes. There needs to be more than 4. Healer, Tank, Rogue, and Mage do not cut it. Again, we're in 2010. This may just be a personal thing, but I want some blessed variety. WoW is the only game that I feel has actually done this well, albeit they're slowly destroying the game. On this note, also: Race Class combinations are important. I expect there to be some limitations, and some benefits. The best example I have of this is Gnomes vs. Humans in warlocks & mages. There's an advantage on Both Sides of the coin, but both are competitive in both PvP and PvE, you're not laughed at for choosing a Human 'lock or mage, for example. I've seen a few games were it was blatantly obvious what race was "supposed to be" what class. I'm of the opinion that anyone can be anything, some just have an easier time starting. I expect -some- limitations, but if it's too limited, I'm not interested.
Immersion: Between graphics, sound, storyline, interface, and functionality, I want to be -immersed- in the game's 'world' in the same sense that WoW & EQ drew me into the game. Storyline is important.
I would -prefer- pay to play, and I'm happy to do so. I've seen precisely 2 F2Ps even worth mentioning (and I've played a lot I didn't list): Allods and Runes of Magic. Both irritated me over time by having the most ridiculous things be cash shop items, which is why I'm not currently playing them. I'm more than willing to pay a box price to defray the costs of development and pay a monthly fee to cover employee & internet services et al. I won't get into the debate here, I won't convince any of you, and you're sure not about to convince me: P2P is my preferred gaming choice, but I'll look into C2P, B2P or even the -quality- F2P game if someone honestly believes it is a worthwhile game.
Controls: Keyboard for movement, mouse for everything else. WoW, EQ, and AoC (again) managed this fine. I'm not a click to move person, I think it detracts from immersion. The ability to have hotbars with assigned keys, full freedom of camera movement, and mouse targeting are all important.
Genre: I'm looking for an MMORPG in the Fantasy genre. I'm not looking for post-apocalyptic, sci-fi, punk, comic book, anime, or other. Another time, perhaps, but for the moment I'm looking for fantasy. Edit: Post-apocalpytic that acts like fantasy might be acceptable, now that I think about it, but I inherently want Magic to be a part of the game.
I've put over five years into World of Warcraft, and I've enjoyed 90% of that time frame. The changes they're making in Cataclysm look like they're going to simplify the game too much for my enjoyment, and so I'm hunting early to find something to replace my addiction. My warlock, the first toon created on release of the original WoW, has a played time of over 80 physical days 'in game.' He was mostly retired as of TBC. This ought to give you an idea of how I like to game: I'm not excessively hardcore, but I'm happy to put time in, and I'm not afraid of a grind.
I'm looking forward to SC2 this year, and Diablo 3 sometime in the coming five years (who knows when), but they're both limited games. I'll play them for a while and then only occasionally go back and play around for a couple hours one weekend out of nostalgia.
I'm looking for a game that meets all of these requirements. I don't expect to find one (Props if one exists and I've not seen it yet), but I'm hoping that those of you who see this have seen such a game, or something close to it, and can recommend it to me.
Thank you for reading my wall of text.
Edited to add a note in the Genre section.
Comments
I actually read the whole post, and I would recommend either Age of Conan on a PvE server or EQ2. AoC has managed to redeem itself of late, although I can't personally speak for the PvP system. EQ2 has a BG system they incorporated during the most recent expansion, and has a very diverse selection of classes.
I would recommend LOTRO, but the PvP there is lacking, and then there's the whole "Its going F2P, so it must be crap" comments that people are spewng. I personally enjoyed the game, and it made for a decent PvE experience. Anyways, take what you will from it, just my opinions.
Closest thing I can think of is Fallen Earth. Meets all your criteria except genre. It has mutations that seem magical, but most combat is guns & melee. I think it meets the rest, but feel free to ask if you want more info.
"Never met a pack of humans that were any different. Look at the idiots that get elected every couple of years. You really consider those guys more mature than us? The only difference between us and them is, when they gank some noobs and take their stuff, the noobs actually die." - Madimorga
Fallen earth is the top mmo in the rank... anyone tried this game?
I have, and its ok. Its a solo crafters paradise honestly, but I found no meaningful reason to group or PvP or even devote myself to one faction. But overall, not a bad game. Worth playing for at least amonth.
I played WoW for 3 years and been hooked on Lotro for the past 8 months, it's a game you can play for a long time, you don't have to go F2P if you dont want to, you can remain P2P and pay a sub each month or every 3 months. There's a great community as well, something quite rare in an MMO. I would suggest the Elendimir Server or Landroval, high pop and mature.
Fallen Earth is a horrible craft heavy pve centric mmo, and WoW and others are nothing but carnival themepark rides of little entertainment value.
I highly suggest you wait for a newer game because any other game on the market is nothing but a desert of no players.
well i dont read the whole post its sos so long i just go in half but just like what they say its go for Fallen Eart h and somewhat Wow and Aion
Not even going to bother suggesting the game that I think is the funnest because after reading your wall of text I don't think its your ballpark.
Vanguard was not mentioned in your post at all. If you like PVE than it has the funnest for a game that is auto-aim. If PVP is important than you probably do not want to bother . ...
NEWS FLASH! "A bank was robbed the other day and a man opened fire on the customers being held hostage. One customer zig-zag sprinted until he found cover. When questioned later he explained that he was a hardcore gamer and knew just what to do!" Download my music for free! I release several albums per month as part of project "Thee Untitled" . .. some video game music remixes and cover songs done with instruments in there as well! http://theeuntitled.bandcamp.com/ Check out my roleplaying blog, collection of fictional short stories, and fantasy series... updated on a blog for now until I am finished! https://childrenfromtheheavensbelow.blogspot.com/ Watch me game on occasion or make music... https://www.twitch.tv/spoontheeuntitled and subscribe! https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCUvqULn678VrF3OasgnbsyA
I read about half your post and what I gathered is that SWTOR will probably be appealing to you. I'm certain it will have big numbers at launch and should be quite similar to wow but in the star wars universe.
Make it so...
Well I read your entire post and feel that I'm looking for a game similar to what you have suggested so let me post a couple of the games I have tried and enjoyed.
1. LotRO - Pretty good community and nice people and since it's F2p for now you can basically trial it then Sub if you like it
2. SWTOR (Haven't played it yet obviously) - Seems to perform like WoW and since you seem to like that in a game you would probably enjoy this, I mean c'mon what would be better then for everyone to essentially start over and play completely new content that would be updated and enjoyable, however I don't know how long-term it will be as you may burn out of it just like WoW (I did the same thing).
3. Saga of Ryzom - Haven't actually played this one but from what I hear it's pretty unique. Looking at it, it seems to be its own game but there isn't any classes (Remember this could be wrong but this is what I've pieced off the site and other users). It's more of an advancement through different paths based on how you played through the level. As quoted by the people over at Ryzom "As you earn experience and gain levels, your role play advancement is measured on a skill tree. There are no classes in our MMROPG, and you can advance in any tree as far as you'd like. This feature is unique to our MMORPG." So this might be something you would want to check out and since they have a 21 Day Free Trial it might be right up your alley.
4. Hello Kitty Online - No. Seriously.
Anyways hope you find this a little helpful and good luck with your game hunt, as it's been unfruitful for me as well but do PM me if you find a game I would love to play with someone else.
To all the responses so far:
Thank you for taking the time to reply.
LotRO was Ok, but not something I could devote a lot of time to. It bored me very quickly, partly because I feel it was an atrocious blunder to take a completed storyline like Tolkien developed and make a game out of it. I'm biased.
AoC and EQ2 are both games I've considered going back to, and will put some further research into current changes.
Fallen Earth, while mentioned several times, is not even remotely in the genre of what I'm looking for at the moment. It's one I've watched for a while for when I have a sci-fi/post apocalyptic-feel craving.
Aion was interesting until I realized that it's PvP centric, in that you can't really advance in the game without PvPing, and from what I heard from a friend who plays you can't even quest PvE without being attacked PvP, which is part of the "forced" PvP theory that I dislike in almost any genre. Beautiful graphics, though.
Vanguard is a game I played for a while on release, and again about a year ago. I was not impressed with the game's development cycle, the community, or the game itself at all.
SWTOR is specifically in the genre that I'm not interested in, and have no interest in at the moment.
I played -a- Saga of Ryzom a long while back when it was still beta (don't know if it still is or not). It was ok, but fell well-short of the graphics requirements.
There's probably another ten or twenty games that I've played that I didn't list for one reason or another. Having played as many games as I have, it's hard to remember the entire list until a game is mentioned.
You should try Darkfall is you have not already.
It is my favorite game.
I resubbed to AOC lately and even the PVE is not nearly as fun as the PVE in Darkfall imo. EQ2 is way too slow-paced for me these days and will very seldon give me an edge-of-sy-seat experience. Currently, no PVP game out there tops Darkfall, but I think that even the PVE is better than most.
NEWS FLASH! "A bank was robbed the other day and a man opened fire on the customers being held hostage. One customer zig-zag sprinted until he found cover. When questioned later he explained that he was a hardcore gamer and knew just what to do!" Download my music for free! I release several albums per month as part of project "Thee Untitled" . .. some video game music remixes and cover songs done with instruments in there as well! http://theeuntitled.bandcamp.com/ Check out my roleplaying blog, collection of fictional short stories, and fantasy series... updated on a blog for now until I am finished! https://childrenfromtheheavensbelow.blogspot.com/ Watch me game on occasion or make music... https://www.twitch.tv/spoontheeuntitled and subscribe! https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCUvqULn678VrF3OasgnbsyA
I also read the entire post and would make the same suggestions.
And to the person that said all games but WoW are empty....?? I have to wonder if they have ever PLAYED any of these other games.
President of The Marvelously Meowhead Fan Club
Your post sounds like not only my own, but quite a few people's problem with the state of the genre these days. We've been playing them so long, we've done and seen so many different things that we've become very particular and dependant on what we "feel" like playing. Obviously everyone feels like playing something, that's what drives us to game, but what I mean is that the feeling you get at this point simply can't be satisfied.
Take a break, play more casually, play single player games, take up a new hobby. Basically kill some time doing something other than these games to allow you to refresh your perspective.
You won't find a game that meets your requirements. You're obviously not afraid to try new games based on your lists, and frankly if the game isn't listed here on this site chances are its either a MUD which doesn't meet your graphics needs despite the quality of some, or it doesn't exist.
While I'm following my own advice of taking a break after playing WoW religiously for 5 years, if you absolutely must stay with online games, then the advice I can give you is find a friend and play something you wouldn't normally touch, or a small group of friends. The benefit of that is it expands your horizons a bit, and your friend hopefully should keep you interested in logging in. While your feelings tell you this is EXACTLY what you want to play, your list of requirements i mean, and the dissatisfaction builds up because it doesn't existt you'll likely stay pretty frustrated with the genre.
Anywho, good luck finding a game, I'm keeping my hopes up for the next crop of titles.