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Title says it all. I used to play alot of MMOs but my favorites all shut down or went free to play so I drifted away for awhile. But now I find that I have too much free time and want to try to find another MMO to enjoy.
I like games with useful crafting, consensual PVP, and meaningful character progression. (ex. Not all of one class are EXACTLY the same, some skill/build choices)
My top 3 from the past were Lineage, Star War Galaxies (especially pre-CU/NGE, but still enjoyed the game after them), and Dark Age of Camelot. I know DAoC is still around, but last time I tried to get back into it the UI was just too dated/unfriendly, and the size of the remaining player base was depressing)
And before it comes up, I know there are plenty of perfectly fine f2p MMO's out there. But they are not what I'm looking for, it is just personal preference.
Comments
I never liked the graphic style of WoW, but I could give it another shot. It doesn't look like there are that many MMO's left that haven't turned into cash shops or item malls.
Then you might want to try looking into Final Fantasy 14: A Realm Reborn.
It may not be exactly what you are looking for, but it's fully P2P and has extensive crafting.
Why the strong aversion to cash shops?
Most modern cash shops are based on cosmetics and progression enhancement.
I can understand if they were all P2W; but it's fairly rare in the mainstream titles.
OP unfortunately players like us do not have many options left. For non-indie level subscription MMO's here are your choices:
WoW
EVE
Final Fantasy: Realm Reborn (in a couple weeks)
That's it. Period. You have 3 choices. Now, if you want to include non-AAA titles and indie projects there is also Darkfall: Unholy Wars. And maybe a couple other relatively tiny indie games like Perpetuum are still sub-based, not sure.
My personal take is I'd recommend trying out FF:ARR in a couple weeks. The game costs $24 if you buy it at greenmangaming right now using the voucher. Or if you want to try it first, Open Beta coming this month.
Cash Shops biggest "poison" isn't P2W gear or items.
Honestly, the "whales that spend enough on them to really shift the gaem are probably low enough in number where they won't completely destroy my game. Even in PVP.
The real problem is buying game currency. Especially if it's 2 ways. The publisher needs to keep the thumbscrews tight on the economy to make sure that the value of their "gems" stays higher than the value of the gold. They will never allow a player economy, or their associated meta games such as playing the markets and crafting. They will always hold little value.
Meta games are HUGE part of why I play MMORPGs and Cash Shops destroy them no matter what they sell.
I have an easy solution for that...I play the games I want and never look at the cash shop or item mall.
sorry for sounding like a broken record but I wanted to chime in on this.
Cash shop fluff and cosmetics hurt the crafting game. While that may not be important to you, players like myself cant stand it and refuse to play mmos that do this.
Exotic weapon skins, armors, outfits, mounts and pets should be made by their associated crafting classes. Selling them in a cash shop trivializes a major aspect of mmorpgs.
I suppose Vendetta Online deserves an honorable mention here; there is no cash shop. Free download, free 8 hour bank of trial time, $1 per month lite sub available on mobile (capped at license 3/3/3/3/3, unable to create guilds or hold council rank), $10 per month premium unlimited.
There is OWPvP with consequence, though.
"The simple is the seal of the true and beauty is the splendor of truth" -Subrahmanyan Chandrasekhar
Authored 139 missions in Vendetta Online and 6 tracks in Distance
Most people call what you just said about "progression enhancement" Pay-2-Win. If you really want to argue the point, the best you could win is calling it "Pay-2-Win-Faster".
To find an intelligent person in a PUG is not that rare, but to find a PUG made up of "all" intelligent people is one of the rarest phenomenons in the known universe.