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LF Game: Rich lore, Lots of detial, possibly roleplay?
So I want to try something new. Not just a new game but more so playing a game with a different perspective. I've been playing MMOs since my first one back in 2001-2002 which was Dark Age of Camelot. I loved DAOC so much and played for some 5 to 6 years straight. After that I went from MMO to MMO trying to itch that certain scratch that DAOC itched so well and had a few minor successes with games such as EvE Online and WoW but nothing really kept me as sucked in as DAOC did. Seems like all the new games have been solo till your max lvl then raid or PvP and it bores the hell out of me. It has gotten so bad that I have stopped playing MMOs altogether and focused more on single player games.
Recently I have been playing Pillars of Eternity (an old throw back to Baldur's Gate on Steam) and in the middle of it I stepped back to take a look at what I have been enjoying so much over the past weeks. I didn't care what lvl my character was, or maxing out my characters stats with good gear, or even getting to the end game. Instead I cared more about my parties feelings/needs, or why I was helping out this town that was in dire straights, or reading an old book I found in an abandoned house. That got me thinking, why can't I apply that same mindset to an MMO?
I think the reason I have not liked most new MMOs is I enter it with the same mindset as I have been since after Is stopped playing DAOC. Solo quest till max not really reading into anything, get to end game, then max out my character to either PvP or Raid. I liked DAOC so much because everything was a new experience. Even something as dull as getting on a horse and going from point A to B was awesome. Now I know I will never get that sort of experience back but I remember a lot of the time I would log into DAOC for hours and not kill a single mob because I was to busy exploring, or talking to guild mates, or reading up on lore(though there wasn't to much in that game back in the day).
So I am sort of looking for a game where I can take take my time and relax. Maybe an over arching story that drives me to learn more. It can be an old game or new game it doesn't matter. Graphics don't matter to me much either. Just as long as its not something like a web browser game quality. Community would be nice though so I wouldn't want a game that only 50 people are playing because it's died off so much. So any games fit the bill?
TL;DR I want a game rich with story, lore, and detail so that I can stop and smell the roses and take my time.
Comments
I would recommend Elder Scrolls online.
Massive world, tons of quests with variety and quality voice acting, beautiful graphics and no gold spammers.
The UI is different than what you are probably used to ...though. It's very minimal, but you can customize it with a large variety of 3rd party add-ons.
I failed to mention....
ESO also has tons of lore....bookshelves and desks often contain books of lore and information that just by looking at them, can sometimes increase a skill...ie, open a book on alchemy and you gain skill in alchemy. Regardless of your craft.
Role play isn't an issue either....many, many roleplay guilds.
You can in fact...join up to 5 guilds, which is weird at first, but it's an interesting twist.
You can be in a pve, pvp, role play and a couple of merchant type guilds all at the same time.
And...unlike many older games like LOTR...99% of the server isn't max level...and simply rolling alts and whatnot.
The game is fresh and the economy is healthy.
Holy crap, i think ESO was made for you...
You can spend hours just finding/reading lore books and etc. And yes, there are lots of little details everywhere (mush like any other TES game.)
The rest of the game aint shaggy either...
EQ2 is the best play to ROlE Play as it actually has a RP mode.
Personally i never take RPing that serious,i like to just play the role of my character but not in a 3rd view sense.However i have joined in on RP'ing in EQ2 before and for the short time i was into it,i thought it was fun.I basically insulted a Knight with his GF,the commentary that ensued was hilarious.The white glove ,the slap in the face...it's on ..lol.Well hey it's not my fault the Knight looked like a pansy :P and like an Elven from FFXI with a pickle stuck up his .....:P.
Never forget 3 mile Island and never trust a government official or company spokesman.
I would recommend Everquest 1 if you can stomach the oldschool pace (new progression server on the 20th!) Everquest 2 if not.
If you are looking for something newer, I would recommend first and foremost; THE SECRET WORLD, even playing this MMO single player (perhaps especially) the lore, story, cutscenes, and environment tie together for one of the most immersive experiences in gaming. Their story quests are probably done better than anyone in the industry has ever done them.
If none of those work for you and you need a new game in a high fantasy setting then I would agree with the posters above, and suggest ESO.
Lotro Laurelin server the only official rp server supported by the devs. Landroval is the unofficial rp server which is OK but not in the same league as Laurelin.
Lol Eso is not set up for rpling in fact it's not supported at all. Middle Earth trumps it for atmosphere and lore.I agree, Laurelin rocks
but OP is from the States based on the sig, and Landroval is the US server. And Landroval has Weatherstock, which is an amazing event.
But, since in LotRO the character slots are per server, and not total, nothing stops OP to roll a few characters on both servers...
edit: a slight additional correction, Laurelin server the only official english rp server supported by the devs since there's Belegaer and Estel too for germans and for frenchies.
SWTOR, ESO and TSW would be my suggestions.
All three of them contain massive amounts of lore, and offer rich settings with great stories to play through. All three games also give you a codex with lore entries to collect out in the world.
SWTOR and ESO offer more interactive stories, where you make dialogue choices and have different outcomes for quests, while TSW is a more "cinematic" experience (your character nods and such, but NPCs talk at you, you never actually say anything to them). On the other hand, TSW's missions are often more interactive than the competition's (especially the investigation and stealth missions), and the conversation scenes are very well done.
My SWTOR referral link for those wanting to give the game a try. (Newbies get a welcome package while returning players get a few account upgrades to help with their preferred status.)
https://www.ashesofcreation.com/ref/Callaron/
I think TOR limits the character slots per account and not per server... true, I wasn't in-game since Revan arrived, but I doubt they changed that. If you can have 6 characters because you're Preferred, that means 6 character total. While in LotRO if you can have 5 characters from being an ex-subscriber, that means you can have 150 characters total (5 on each of the 30 servers). Any altoholic's wet dream
Though they're planning to close a few servers this year sadly...