All the games are themepark level grinders with some PvP options.
Rift the leveling process is boring as sin because the quests and story are even more poorly written and designed than in WoW.
The invasions/Rifts become more of an annoyance then anything after a month or two because you realize how terribly pointless they are as they are just another loot/gear grind. Nothing at all "dynamic" about them.
PvP is (was last time I played) horribly unbalanced and unless you are a FOTM build, you will lose. Often. And like any themepark MMO the PvP is pointless grinding for stats with no effect on the world.
Aion is a joke really. Worse questing then Rift even, terrible graphcis (ya ya I just don't like the style at all) PvP is really a joke here and the flying gimmick gets old after about 5 minutes due to how restrictive it is.
SWTOR is the best PvE leveling experience of any MMO I have ever played, but the level up PvP is same old same old somewhat like WAR but not as good.
End game PvE/PvP is kind of an unknown factor for most people.
Aion will probably go F2P or shut down in the West this year. Rift will probably go F2P this year and despite all their content additions, the game has fundamental design faults that can't be corrected.
TOR has a lot of potential for greatness, but more then likely is just going to end up another WoW end-game clone with raid grinding, dungeon grinding, pvp grinding, and shoddy / pointless open world PvP.
TOR is definitely the only game worth the sticker price on the box ATM
I've been playing WoW again after a couple of years. Now I gotta deal with Kung Fu Panda haters. All because of thast movie. Oh nooooooooos. Its targeted towards more casual players. Good. Some of us have lives but still after working 35 - 40+ hours a week, I think we've earned the right to enjoy a good MMO more than the people who have no lives and sit in their basement 24/7 living off their parents. I'm actually enjoying it. Having been involved in all of Aion's BETAs, TOR BETAs as well and a sub of Rift, I personally said screw this and went back to WoW. You heard me. "I AM PLAYING WOW."
I played all three. Enjoyed the look, concept and excitement of al there releases.
Was the most let down by Rift sadly. It just did not grab me at all. Like the gfx though.
I am a big star wars fan so loved the idea of SWTOR. I played for a couple of weeks and will probably return after the rushing elite mmo players are, and the fans of star wars! remain.
Out of the three I enjoyed and stayed with Aion the longest. about 16 months from release, then on and off for another 6 months after a 4 month break.
Met some great people. Enjoyed some good pve and pvp.
The thing that irritated me the most as I was playing SWTOR was the fact it all felt so simple. ( not the difficulted per say as I only got a BH to lv 22, so I was yet to see the true gameplay)
I did not have to really think. Which is why I think I'm enjoying Eve for the first time at the moment. The learning curve is so vast it feels genuine.
Aion will probably go F2P or shut down in the West this year.
That is next month, at least for Europe. Confirmed on the web site already 3 weeks ago, I am surprised you missed it.
I think Rift will stay around as P2P at least this year, but it is hard to be sure, it really depends in GW2 will hit it badly or not. After that, who knows?
Rifts strenght is that Trion is really good with patching in more content and fixing broken stuff, even if the quests feels like a bunch of fourth graders wrote them and invasions/rifts became boring after 3 hours.
With TOR I think it still is a few weeks too early to be sure. Most people havn't even reached the endgame yet, and we also need to see how well Bioware patches and add content.
OP: Don't get Aion, you can play it for free as long as you play on a EU server from next month. I am not sure if TOR have a free trial yet, I havn't heard anything about it so I think you should start with the free trial of Rift anyways, give it a shot and see if you like it or not. Otherwise you probably should go for TOR, read a review or 2 and see if it sounds like something for you.
Unless you hate cut scenes, then don't bother with it.
The problem with the F2P idea is the possibility of becoming PTW. You'll spend more money go to your local gas station or convenience store buying CS cards than you would on a sub fee. I dunno. The idea of F2P worries me. I had high hopes for Aion. The game itself just felt so linear. Like no matter how many times I rolled, it was the same quests every time. At least with WoW you have multiple starting areas and multiple quest paths. Not many MMOs can say the same.
OK so it seems there are varying opinions and another game too , EVE has been mentioned, as well as WoW.
How would you rate all those games according to this ordered list (1 being most important)
1. WIde open, explorable worlds, fully three dimensional (ie you could fly over them, take off and land anywhere) like in WOW - no transitions, loading screens, portals everywhere or whatever
2. Massive worlds that would take an hour to cross or more
3. Possible to solo to end level
4. Variety of quests and zones if you roll another class
5. Auction house, looking for group and raid
6. Good PvE community (ie helpful with quests, missions or whatever)
7. No subscription
8. Some end content or regular patches with new content
The problem with the F2P idea is the possibility of becoming PTW. You'll spend more money go to your local gas station or convenience store buying CS cards than you would on a sub fee. I dunno. The idea of F2P worries me. I had high hopes for Aion. The game itself just felt so linear. Like no matter how many times I rolled, it was the same quests every time. At least with WoW you have multiple starting areas and multiple quest paths. Not many MMOs can say the same.
I do not understand the first bit, F2P and PTW. Do you mean Free to Play and Play to Win? Is it like you pay cash to get access to extra levels or something but you do not pay monthly fee ?
The problem with the F2P idea is the possibility of becoming PTW. You'll spend more money go to your local gas station or convenience store buying CS cards than you would on a sub fee. I dunno. The idea of F2P worries me. I had high hopes for Aion. The game itself just felt so linear. Like no matter how many times I rolled, it was the same quests every time. At least with WoW you have multiple starting areas and multiple quest paths. Not many MMOs can say the same.
I do not understand the first bit, F2P and PTW. Do you mean Free to Play and Play to Win? Is it like you pay cash to get access to extra levels or something but you do not pay monthly fee ?
Well even though you didn't understand it, you figured it out anyway The pay to win features, can include buying in game items for real money or being able to reach a higher level cap. In forsaken world you can buy these crystals that fortify your items for PvP and go rampage on ppl who don't wanna spend too much money on a stupid game. There's also useless stuff like changing color of your armor, skins etc. Free2play games cost no monthly fee and are free to download and start playing., but paying costumers always get ahead of you
I've been playing WoW again after a couple of years. Now I gotta deal with Kung Fu Panda haters. All because of thast movie. Oh nooooooooos. Its targeted towards more casual players. Good. Some of us have lives but still after working 35 - 40+ hours a week, I think we've earned the right to enjoy a good MMO more than the people who have no lives and sit in their basement 24/7 living off their parents. I'm actually enjoying it. Having been involved in all of Aion's BETAs, TOR BETAs as well and a sub of Rift, I personally said screw this and went back to WoW. You heard me. "I AM PLAYING WOW."
.............let the hating commence.
I too am stuck with WoW simply because of the polish however i'm bored out of my mind atm because it is the same old system of grinding for everything something i will definitely not miss in the coming of GW2, i'm biding my time till GW2 comes out but i've been searching for something more entertaining then the same old that WoW represents. Not a hater just tired of the same old crap which is the main reason im not playing Rift or Swtor. I might spend some time on Aion see what they changed.
The problem with the F2P idea is the possibility of becoming PTW. You'll spend more money go to your local gas station or convenience store buying CS cards than you would on a sub fee. I dunno. The idea of F2P worries me. I had high hopes for Aion. The game itself just felt so linear. Like no matter how many times I rolled, it was the same quests every time. At least with WoW you have multiple starting areas and multiple quest paths. Not many MMOs can say the same.
I do not understand the first bit, F2P and PTW. Do you mean Free to Play and Play to Win? Is it like you pay cash to get access to extra levels or something but you do not pay monthly fee ?
people have been hating on F2P since it started coming to America, they believe that no matter the company or the circumstance that the shop will ALWAYS give paying players an advantage and this is true for some games but not for all. GW2 will feature an inconsequential shop filled with novelties. STO other then ships really didn't have many things that would give any other player an advantage on the ground. people complained about LOTRO and other then legacies you can slot (but you still have to level to slot them) there is nothing in there that gives players who pay an advantage. If they count getting enhancements for 1 hour to experience who cares that's not an advantage who cares if someone is able to get to end game faster then you it doesn't make a bit of difference. All these whiners about F2P need to move to canada or somewhere else, because the economy is THE reason why companies are going F2P with shops, not the companies. The companies need revenue and if this works and it certainly has shown that it does, then it can only be a win because companies who make lots in these shops will put out content faster, will upgrade their game to make it better and have support teams that can contact you faster to help with in game issues.
Rift, though Aion is pretty amazing on its own if your one who doesn't mind the grinding like most people seem to shun. Really don't get why people don't like working for their strength.
Tor... I'd not touch with a 10 and a half foot pole. Once its down to $20, I'll buy it to experience the story for one month and get my kicks out of swinging a glowstick around then not subscribe. Its not worth it otherwise.
I downloaded AION today. Had a quick run. Was not impressed with females wearing high heel stiettos. :-)
My graphics were also playing funny - I could see through rocks and the letters on the various tooltips were funny.
The world looked like WoW and it looked alright. The music and sounds are a bit daft. Somehow it does not look "serious" enough. It felt as if I was killing little butterflies in a game for 5 year old with bright colours and sounds.
But I will try some more - try to reach level 10 and see.
But I will try some more - try to reach level 10 and see.
It's really hard to judge a game from the very beginning of it's tutorial... but if the high heel thing is really an issue to you I wouldnt bother going much further tbh. They aren't going away.
Sounds like you are looking for a game like AoC or something artstyle wise, I doubt that Aion is ever going to appeal to your taste visually.
But I will try some more - try to reach level 10 and see.
It's really hard to judge a game from the very beginning of it's tutorial... but if the high heel thing is really an issue to you I wouldnt bother going much further tbh. They aren't going away.
Sounds like you are looking for a game like AoC or something artstyle wise, I doubt that Aion is ever going to appeal to your taste visually.
Yes I must reach level 10+ in order to have some idea.
I did play AoC in the past, I do remember the exquisite female models/forms. But I also remember there was something wrong with the game and we gave it up, maybe the loading screens between zones...
1. WIde open, explorable worlds, fully three dimensional (ie you could fly over them, take off and land anywhere) like in WOW -no transitions, loading screens, portals everywhere or whatever
Aion: World is instanced in segments. Big PvP Zones are not instanced but for being the only unseperated places even they are too small
Rift: World is like in Warcraft only less areas so the world as a whole is smaller
SWTOR: segmented regions of which many are tube like and with extremely many places that are merely backdrops that you can't get to. Planets instanced (Planets themselves have long long long walks between quests but they are NOT big)
EVE: never played it but ... well ... its space ^^
2. Massive worlds that would take an hour to cross or more
Aion: the biggest zones will not take you more than 10 minutes to cross
Rift: one hour from top to bottom maybe
SWTOR: to cross the biggest map on any planet you will take maybe half an hour but only because you have walk a set path that winds like a corkscrew. If you could walk more or less straight you would probably cross any "world" in SWTOR in under 10 minutes... by foot.
EVE: did I mention its space ^^
3. Possible to solo to end level
Aion: maybe but rather improbable and not rewarding. Endgame consists mainly of raidlike PVP
Rift: yes
SWTOR: yes
EVE: dunno I hope yes or I am pissed ^^
4. Variety of quests and zones if you roll another class
Aion: Quests boring, areas interesting (but tubelike)
Rift: Quests boring and alike for every class
SWTOR: Quests often interesting (mainly the classquest) and different for each class - the one and only highlight of the game. If you absolutely love that then play the game. If not... stay away.
EVE: no idea... are there quests?
5. Auction house, looking for group and raid
Aion: yes, no (use channels the old way)
Rift: yes, yes
SWTOR: yes (but needs workover), no (use channels the old way)
EVE: since the game pretty much revolves around building and selling stuff I guess yes
6. Good PvE community (ie helpful with quests, missions or whatever)
Aion: I would say yes
Rift: nothing special
SWTOR: there are other people in this game?
EVE: no idea but would make sense
7. No subscription
Aion: yes
Rift: no
SWTOR: no
EVE: no
8. Some end content or regular patches with new content
Aion: since PVP is the main content, it is endless
Rift: regular Patches and new content
SWTOR: still in the works but their update schedule looks nearly as good as Rifts
Comments
SWTOR - Will hang in the balance and just "exist" amongst the other MMOs in a matter of a few months although the Star Wars fanboys will disagree.
Aion - What a beautiful game. Too bad everything else kills it.
Rift - Lesser of the 3 evils. But it can buy you some time until GW2, TERA, Archeage and other ones come out this year.
(o'')-O Vs Q('' Q)
All the games are themepark level grinders with some PvP options.
Rift the leveling process is boring as sin because the quests and story are even more poorly written and designed than in WoW.
The invasions/Rifts become more of an annoyance then anything after a month or two because you realize how terribly pointless they are as they are just another loot/gear grind. Nothing at all "dynamic" about them.
PvP is (was last time I played) horribly unbalanced and unless you are a FOTM build, you will lose. Often. And like any themepark MMO the PvP is pointless grinding for stats with no effect on the world.
Aion is a joke really. Worse questing then Rift even, terrible graphcis (ya ya I just don't like the style at all) PvP is really a joke here and the flying gimmick gets old after about 5 minutes due to how restrictive it is.
SWTOR is the best PvE leveling experience of any MMO I have ever played, but the level up PvP is same old same old somewhat like WAR but not as good.
End game PvE/PvP is kind of an unknown factor for most people.
Aion will probably go F2P or shut down in the West this year. Rift will probably go F2P this year and despite all their content additions, the game has fundamental design faults that can't be corrected.
TOR has a lot of potential for greatness, but more then likely is just going to end up another WoW end-game clone with raid grinding, dungeon grinding, pvp grinding, and shoddy / pointless open world PvP.
TOR is definitely the only game worth the sticker price on the box ATM
I've been playing WoW again after a couple of years. Now I gotta deal with Kung Fu Panda haters. All because of thast movie. Oh nooooooooos. Its targeted towards more casual players. Good. Some of us have lives but still after working 35 - 40+ hours a week, I think we've earned the right to enjoy a good MMO more than the people who have no lives and sit in their basement 24/7 living off their parents. I'm actually enjoying it. Having been involved in all of Aion's BETAs, TOR BETAs as well and a sub of Rift, I personally said screw this and went back to WoW. You heard me. "I AM PLAYING WOW."
.............let the hating commence.
(o'')-O Vs Q('' Q)
I played all three. Enjoyed the look, concept and excitement of al there releases.
Was the most let down by Rift sadly. It just did not grab me at all. Like the gfx though.
I am a big star wars fan so loved the idea of SWTOR. I played for a couple of weeks and will probably return after the rushing elite mmo players are, and the fans of star wars! remain.
Out of the three I enjoyed and stayed with Aion the longest. about 16 months from release, then on and off for another 6 months after a 4 month break.
Met some great people. Enjoyed some good pve and pvp.
The thing that irritated me the most as I was playing SWTOR was the fact it all felt so simple. ( not the difficulted per say as I only got a BH to lv 22, so I was yet to see the true gameplay)
I did not have to really think. Which is why I think I'm enjoying Eve for the first time at the moment. The learning curve is so vast it feels genuine.
That is next month, at least for Europe. Confirmed on the web site already 3 weeks ago, I am surprised you missed it.
I think Rift will stay around as P2P at least this year, but it is hard to be sure, it really depends in GW2 will hit it badly or not. After that, who knows?
Rifts strenght is that Trion is really good with patching in more content and fixing broken stuff, even if the quests feels like a bunch of fourth graders wrote them and invasions/rifts became boring after 3 hours.
With TOR I think it still is a few weeks too early to be sure. Most people havn't even reached the endgame yet, and we also need to see how well Bioware patches and add content.
OP: Don't get Aion, you can play it for free as long as you play on a EU server from next month. I am not sure if TOR have a free trial yet, I havn't heard anything about it so I think you should start with the free trial of Rift anyways, give it a shot and see if you like it or not. Otherwise you probably should go for TOR, read a review or 2 and see if it sounds like something for you.
Unless you hate cut scenes, then don't bother with it.
The problem with the F2P idea is the possibility of becoming PTW. You'll spend more money go to your local gas station or convenience store buying CS cards than you would on a sub fee. I dunno. The idea of F2P worries me. I had high hopes for Aion. The game itself just felt so linear. Like no matter how many times I rolled, it was the same quests every time. At least with WoW you have multiple starting areas and multiple quest paths. Not many MMOs can say the same.
Getting too old for this $&17!
SWTOR:
Status: Currently playing (lvl 42)
Pros:
The story-lines are much improved over typical MMO-fare.
Quality voice-acted missions
Combat is enjoyable to watch, animations look great
Music is fitting, only game in a long time I've left sounds and music on
Quality Warzones (BGs if you are familiar with WoW)
Cons:
Very single-player game, not much Massively Multiplayer
Crafting/Resource Gathering are dumbed down
Lack of a meaningful market
PvP queue mismatching
No dual-spec
No LFG tool
New game, lots of bugs/imbalances getting ironed out
RIFT
Status: Quit after 3 months (played at release, reached lvl 50)
Pros:
Fun spec system, most classes can fill multiple group roles
Easy respec in this system
Dynamic Rift Content
Bards!!! (F yea)
Leveling was enjoyable and easy to me
Cons:
Fairly thought-less cookie-crumb style quests ala WoW (pro or con)
Bland battlegrounds (only the first one I felt was really unique to the game)
Bland instances and encounters, all were fairly straight-forward when I played
AION
Status: Quit after 2 months (I should say that I played on release, a lot has changed since then, reached lvl 38)
Pros:
Open world PvP
Great visuals
Decent quest-based system for first half of game (don't have to grind all the way)
Flying with mid-air PvP/PvE
Cons:
Grindy
Quests seemed to disappear once I got into the mid 30s
Original PvP system was imbalanced (lvl 50 got equal "honor" for killing a lvl30 or a lvl50)
"They essentially want to say 'Correlation proves Causation' when it's just not true." - Sovrath
OK so it seems there are varying opinions and another game too , EVE has been mentioned, as well as WoW.
How would you rate all those games according to this ordered list (1 being most important)
1. WIde open, explorable worlds, fully three dimensional (ie you could fly over them, take off and land anywhere) like in WOW - no transitions, loading screens, portals everywhere or whatever
2. Massive worlds that would take an hour to cross or more
3. Possible to solo to end level
4. Variety of quests and zones if you roll another class
5. Auction house, looking for group and raid
6. Good PvE community (ie helpful with quests, missions or whatever)
7. No subscription
8. Some end content or regular patches with new content
9. Meaningful crafting
I do not understand the first bit, F2P and PTW. Do you mean Free to Play and Play to Win? Is it like you pay cash to get access to extra levels or something but you do not pay monthly fee ?
Well even though you didn't understand it, you figured it out anyway
The pay to win features, can include buying in game items for real money or being able to reach a higher level cap. In forsaken world you can buy these crystals that fortify your items for PvP and go rampage on ppl who don't wanna spend too much money on a stupid game. There's also useless stuff like changing color of your armor, skins etc. Free2play games cost no monthly fee and are free to download and start playing., but paying costumers always get ahead of you
LOVE your comment LOL especially the SWTOR one, wish they had like and dislike buttons on forums.
I too am stuck with WoW simply because of the polish however i'm bored out of my mind atm because it is the same old system of grinding for everything something i will definitely not miss in the coming of GW2, i'm biding my time till GW2 comes out but i've been searching for something more entertaining then the same old that WoW represents. Not a hater just tired of the same old crap which is the main reason im not playing Rift or Swtor. I might spend some time on Aion see what they changed.
people have been hating on F2P since it started coming to America, they believe that no matter the company or the circumstance that the shop will ALWAYS give paying players an advantage and this is true for some games but not for all. GW2 will feature an inconsequential shop filled with novelties. STO other then ships really didn't have many things that would give any other player an advantage on the ground. people complained about LOTRO and other then legacies you can slot (but you still have to level to slot them) there is nothing in there that gives players who pay an advantage. If they count getting enhancements for 1 hour to experience who cares that's not an advantage who cares if someone is able to get to end game faster then you it doesn't make a bit of difference. All these whiners about F2P need to move to canada or somewhere else, because the economy is THE reason why companies are going F2P with shops, not the companies. The companies need revenue and if this works and it certainly has shown that it does, then it can only be a win because companies who make lots in these shops will put out content faster, will upgrade their game to make it better and have support teams that can contact you faster to help with in game issues.
This
Out of the three, I prefer Aion by a long way, despite all it's faults.
Hmm, just started SAion for first time, but... women warriors in 10 inch high heel stilettos? Come on.,..
Rift, though Aion is pretty amazing on its own if your one who doesn't mind the grinding like most people seem to shun. Really don't get why people don't like working for their strength.
Tor... I'd not touch with a 10 and a half foot pole. Once its down to $20, I'll buy it to experience the story for one month and get my kicks out of swinging a glowstick around then not subscribe. Its not worth it otherwise.
/shrug... dosen't bother me.
I like sexy looking female models in my games though.
I prefer Aion above Rift. Both I play since launchdate. Swtor I do not play. Simply not enough time for it. Waiting for GW2.
Aion is far the better game compared to Rift, but for most players Aion is too difficult. Its meant for another type of audience.
Still I like Aion more. And since the launch it changed a lot. All stories they tell about this game are not true anymore.
But the best way to see if you like a game is still to try yourself......don't listen to others but see what you like and what you prefer.
Played: Guild Wars, AoC, Lotro, CoH, Warhammer, Tabula Ras, Spellborn, Second Life, Rift, Aion, Tera.
Playing: Guild Wars 2, WoT
I downloaded AION today. Had a quick run. Was not impressed with females wearing high heel stiettos. :-)
My graphics were also playing funny - I could see through rocks and the letters on the various tooltips were funny.
The world looked like WoW and it looked alright. The music and sounds are a bit daft. Somehow it does not look "serious" enough. It felt as if I was killing little butterflies in a game for 5 year old with bright colours and sounds.
But I will try some more - try to reach level 10 and see.
flavor of the season for eu and america(north)is swtor,if you are in asia aion
It's really hard to judge a game from the very beginning of it's tutorial... but if the high heel thing is really an issue to you I wouldnt bother going much further tbh. They aren't going away.
Sounds like you are looking for a game like AoC or something artstyle wise, I doubt that Aion is ever going to appeal to your taste visually.
Yes I must reach level 10+ in order to have some idea.
I did play AoC in the past, I do remember the exquisite female models/forms. But I also remember there was something wrong with the game and we gave it up, maybe the loading screens between zones...
It's a Korean MMORPG
Women literally never take off high heels in South Korea.
I've seen women go hiking in high heel shoes here...
^^^^ this is not a joke
I review lots of indie games and MMORPGs
1. WIde open, explorable worlds, fully three dimensional (ie you could fly over them, take off and land anywhere) like in WOW -no transitions, loading screens, portals everywhere or whatever
Aion: World is instanced in segments. Big PvP Zones are not instanced but for being the only unseperated places even they are too small
Rift: World is like in Warcraft only less areas so the world as a whole is smaller
SWTOR: segmented regions of which many are tube like and with extremely many places that are merely backdrops that you can't get to. Planets instanced (Planets themselves have long long long walks between quests but they are NOT big)
EVE: never played it but ... well ... its space ^^
2. Massive worlds that would take an hour to cross or more
Aion: the biggest zones will not take you more than 10 minutes to cross
Rift: one hour from top to bottom maybe
SWTOR: to cross the biggest map on any planet you will take maybe half an hour but only because you have walk a set path that winds like a corkscrew. If you could walk more or less straight you would probably cross any "world" in SWTOR in under 10 minutes... by foot.
EVE: did I mention its space ^^
3. Possible to solo to end level
Aion: maybe but rather improbable and not rewarding. Endgame consists mainly of raidlike PVP
Rift: yes
SWTOR: yes
EVE: dunno I hope yes or I am pissed ^^
4. Variety of quests and zones if you roll another class
Aion: Quests boring, areas interesting (but tubelike)
Rift: Quests boring and alike for every class
SWTOR: Quests often interesting (mainly the classquest) and different for each class - the one and only highlight of the game. If you absolutely love that then play the game. If not... stay away.
EVE: no idea... are there quests?
5. Auction house, looking for group and raid
Aion: yes, no (use channels the old way)
Rift: yes, yes
SWTOR: yes (but needs workover), no (use channels the old way)
EVE: since the game pretty much revolves around building and selling stuff I guess yes
6. Good PvE community (ie helpful with quests, missions or whatever)
Aion: I would say yes
Rift: nothing special
SWTOR: there are other people in this game?
EVE: no idea but would make sense
7. No subscription
Aion: yes
Rift: no
SWTOR: no
EVE: no
8. Some end content or regular patches with new content
Aion: since PVP is the main content, it is endless
Rift: regular Patches and new content
SWTOR: still in the works but their update schedule looks nearly as good as Rifts
EVE: regular addons
9. Meaningful crafting
Aion: no
Rift: no
SWTOR: no
EVE: yes