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Casual Gamers
nthnaoun
Member Posts: 1,438
This question is out there to the casual adult gamers who may be married or have children like me. I recently retired from being a powergamer. I played usually around 6-12 hours a day. Now I try to do more constructive things with my time. Im wandering if any of you casual gamers might be able to refer me to a game thats great for casual gamers or a game that is coming out that is oriented for the casual gamer. Ive played myself around 5 different MMORPGS and my favorite was SWG and DAOC. The only games I really have no interest in are fps. I bought GW also and returned it after a couple weeks. Im actually not sure if I want to return to MMORPGS because another reason I left was because not many people roleplayed anymore and because of the Uber leet childish people. I know im asking for alot in a game, but I would rather not play an MMORPG every again than play one with the above flaws. Thanks for your help if you can assist me.
Comments
the current crop of mmo's aren't geared towards casual gamers, so your enjoyment of them probably won't be that great. i mean the #1 thing mmo companies think when making or running their games is "how can we maximize profits?" with most mmo's being on a monthly fee basis this means it's going to take months to get the "fat lewt" or whatever. role playing itself also seems dead as all the kids are getting ahold of their daddy's credit cards or conniving their grandparents into buying them game cards. i'd recommend sticking with swg or DAoC as it's something you are already familiar with. I do not recommend WoW as it would take you two years to get to level 60 with the playing time you mentioned & level 60 is really where the game begins. that and the fact that WoW is ate up with uber-l33t kids and greedy SOB's. other than that it's alotta fun if you have a good guild to run with!
If you are going to become as you say a casual gamer I know you said that you wanted to get into mmos without childish people and all but there are some really good FPS mmos that you might want to try.
A very good one out at the moment is planet side its great is definatly challenging and has a trial out at the moment that you can try out so if you dont like it after 7 days you really havnt lost any money
Or you could do what I am doing and playing all the free mmos that I can find picking the best one and playing that till the xbox 360 comes out and so I can get Elder Scrolls Oblivion and Huxley. Which will keep me intertain for a long time I hope.
If you havnt already you could try anarchy online but I have played it and it really isnt the best rpg but its free and there are so many quests u cant finish them all. If you like to grind than that is your game.
You might also want to try City of Heros and City of Villians
But best of luck to you
any game really.
there are all kinds of people who play most mmorpg you just have to approace it in a different way.
my suggestion if you want to be casual about a game, DO NOT visit the forums for the game. dont read what uber build is, whats .0004% likely to give you better crit, what needs nerfed, what exploits people are using
just play, have fun. rumor has it most people play games that way, i dont buy it though.
the one time recently i didnt have alot of time to play, i subscribed to swg just for social aspect.
i played it 4 months on that go round(new char, new server) didnt master a single line, and had one of the best times i can remember.
That is me that you have heard about
In all my games I turn off/hide the level progress bars, avoid the map/quest/advice web sites, and just play at my own speed in my own time.
If you desire the finest equipment or the worship of your fellow gamers then this course of action is pure suicide.
At the moment I would say that WoW is the most casual freindly game as it is the easiest to level/play. With no penalty for death ( items become damaged but are so cheap to repair it is a joke ) you need never fear losing the precious hours that you have invested.
2 Years? Are you serious?
WoW is one of the BEST MMORPGs out there atm for casual gamers. 14 hours a week he could have a 60 in a month, 2 months max. And sorry, but 60 is NOT where the game starts if you play on a PvP server.
The solo content, rest xp, and thousands of quests (soloable) that give exp make this a very casual friendly game. Also, if you find yourself a non raiding guild, but a nice social guild you will find your guildies will be of like mind with you and only play 20 hours a week MAX.
If its your first time playing, a PvE server will keep you entertained for your first toon up till 60, the for a while after that when you got on raids (Which only take appox 2-3 hours). Once you have seen and explored the world for a long while, you may want to play on a PvP server where its pretty much open PvP past level 20. PvP makes the game more frustrating at times, but also very rewarding at times (When you beat the ganker =P)
I highly recomend WoW until such games as DnD and LotRO come out, as they seem to be the next best chances.
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Tested: SWG, Sims, EVE, CoH, RO, Darkages, Neocron, AO, Lineage 2, ATITD 2, AC 2, WoW, MxO, LotRO, Armada Online, VsoH
Playing: WoW
Waiting for: StO
2 Years? Are you serious?
WoW is one of the BEST MMORPGs out there atm for casual gamers. 14 hours a week he could have a 60 in a month, 2 months max. And sorry, but 60 is NOT where the game starts if you play on a PvP server.
The solo content, rest xp, and thousands of quests (soloable) that give exp make this a very casual friendly game. Also, if you find yourself a non raiding guild, but a nice social guild you will find your guildies will be of like mind with you and only play 20 hours a week MAX.
If its your first time playing, a PvE server will keep you entertained for your first toon up till 60, the for a while after that when you got on raids (Which only take appox 2-3 hours). Once you have seen and explored the world for a long while, you may want to play on a PvP server where its pretty much open PvP past level 20. PvP makes the game more frustrating at times, but also very rewarding at times (When you beat the ganker =P)
I highly recomend WoW until such games as DnD and LotRO come out, as they seem to be the next best chances.
To the OP: Listen to Shownder
Im a casual player and i know you can be VERY casual in WoW and still enjoy most aspects of the game. The most important thing would be to find a social-family guild, and then just take it easy. I know pickup groups can be hard sometimes, but they are available most of the time even at many of the high-level dungeons. So eventually you will get some pretty nice loot too.
Have fun..i do!
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Like yourself, I am a casual player (I have 3 kids and a career) I really don't have a problem with this "casual" vs "powergamer" thing. I normally only play maybe 2, at most 3 hours a session about 5 nights a week. (lord, there is no way I could sit in front of a game for more then that)
I do not agree with the WoW statement of 1 or 2 years. I got to 60 in about 3 and a half months. It was the easiest game outside of Star Wars Galaxies to cap in. I hit CL 80 the first time in SWG in about 3 weeks, (give or take a few days) the second one even faster, but that game is a mess IMHO. The primary problem with some of these titles is the crowd of people you pointed out. The WoW crowd tends to be young and all the resulting problems that come with that crowd is present in WoW and GW. Role Play is by and large dead in MMORPG's. Most of these games only facilitate the leveling aspect only. If RP is your thing, then no matter what you try, at least get on a RP server.
The primary thing you will have trouble with is games that all but "require" large time commitments to "raids". WoW, unfortunatly is guilty of this once you hit 60. This is not as catastophic as it sounds up front. I have no problem doing PvP in WoW. Sure I don't have any "purple raid" items BUT everyone gets killed just as fast as I do and I kill just as fast as everyone else. I may go down a little easier but it not a huge margin like some of the more "uber" people would have you believe. WoW's PvP is based on attrition not skill.
Anyway, you can play almost any "game" casually. Its a matter of perception. What is wrong with taking a month or two or three more then the power leveler? By the time you hit the cap you will have experienced more of the game because you took the time to "smell the roses" so to speak. There are some fantastic worlds that have been created out there that most players do not even take the time to look at. All they see is the fast route to cap.
If you are not playing for fun and enjoyment, then you are not "playing" are you? You are performing a chore or task.
The key thing for you is to seek out like minded and mature players. Otherwise you are doomed to hate whatever you try.
I'm currently playing Lineage 2. this game has the worst reputation for grinding then anything I've ever heard about. You know what? Its grind is no different then any other game. Yes it gets hard.....does that mean I can't enjoy it? No. What, am I in a race to cap? No. So instead of grinding my eyeballs out for 6 hours straight, I do it over a few nights, so what? Its an awesome game!
I would say the exact opposite, i got *a couple* of level 60 with casual gaming in about 4 months and at level 60 nothing much to do.
Except doing the same instances over and over for a class drop or PvP grind.
So i'd recommend WoW as until lvl 60 its a really good game , 100% geared towards casual playing.
Leaving MMOs behind gives you time again to do some meaningful things, so best would be to abstain imo.
But if you need that little dose of happiness and joy, then I would recommend EVE-Online. There the training of your character is done even if you are not online playing, and the only thing that you need to log-in for is to earn a bit of cash, or just have plain fun. The first few weeks will require a bit more invested time though to get into the game. You can stay away from the game for weeks if RL things (like family or vacation) prevents you from playing, and still have a competetive character. Additionally, this also rids you of the problem of your guild colleagues/mates "advancing faster", because they play more. The only thing is that you have to like the SF theme.
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Originally posted by Mandolin
Designers need to move away from the old D&D level-based model which was never designed for player vs player combat in the first place.
Yes, I highly recommend EVE as a casual gamer game.
Join a corp and participate in their boards to know when they go pirate hunting or group mining missions so you can find when the participate the most.
The beginning requires more investment because you'll need to get everything started and skills will train fast.
Also, EVE allows you to choose your level of involvement.
You can have a low level on involvement: you can mine in secure areas, or do courier missions while you do other things aswell like cook dinner or watch tv or talk with wifey.
You can do medium involvement, mining in lower security areas, npc rat killing missions.
or high involement, Corp mining projects, Human Pirate Hunting, Building an Empire etc etc.
If you are into RP there are a bunch of good RP corps out there too.
WoW would be another suggestion, but if you want to get involved you need to have 6hours to do raid dungeons... In eve most things don't take nearly that long and you can stop midway through with no or little penalty(if you leave during a mission you might lose the bonus for completing it quickly but nothing else)
best game for casual gamers is Guild Wars coz u can allways just play it go primeval kings and have a good time :P