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The Five Best MMOs for New Players - The List at MMORPG.com
SBFord
Former Associate EditorMember LegendaryPosts: 33,129
The Five Best MMOs for New Players - The List at MMORPG.com
Jumping into a new MMO can be an intimidating experience for even the most seasoned players, especially those who have little familiarity with MMORPGs in general. Most of us on the site play MMOs like doing so is our job, and yet there are still some times when I start up a new game, or an existing one that I haven’t touched in a while, and feel the familiar sense of panic when I see how many skills or activities are available.
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elder scrolls is awesome for new players for the same reason as Gw2 , is b2p and limited skill bar make simple for new players
FFXIV:ARR was created (recreated¿?) with new players on mind.
i dont agree with swtor , some classes have rotations that make u stare at Cds , resource bar and procs...is a pain already for veterans.
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I put Rift, SWG and WoW in the same basket. None thrills me anymore. I am tired of their type of quest system and 2-3 hotbars filled with skills that you end macro-ing because of laziness. If you like them; go for Rift as f2p or SWG as subscription (leveling is f2p, end game is subscription based). I have not played LotR.
For a PC newbie, I would recommend a target / point and click game. Action combat can be a bit challenging at start. This leads me to choose FFXIV above WoW. I find that starting from scratch in WoW is currently a pain realm of repetitive quests, empty areas and boredom (same with Rift, SWG).
If you are accustomed to action combat or console games; I would pick TESO, GW2 or, if you have friends there, DC Universe Online. I have not played GW2 for some years, but it was the game with the most friendly game systems. My preference, though, goes to TESO because the quests are grouped in small story lines and a big story line (like if you were playing a linear RPG), instead of the hell of the "kill 20 boars, kill 40 bad guys and then deliver this letter to the next town" quests that most theme-parks have.
Firefall and Skyforge (not a lot of MMO feeling in both) are good too if you want to play casual with no downtimes because of travel, gathering or lfg.
EDIT: I forgot to mention one of my main reasons. In FFXIV you can play all the classes with the same toon. So, if you want to re-roll a character, you do not feel that you have wasted your time. In TESO, you can play all the roles (tank, damage dealer, healer) with the same toon (you play one class per toon) although there are better classes for each role.
TLDR,
- target and click combat > FFXIV.
- action/ console combat > The Elder Scrolls Online if you like linear RPG quests more than kill 20 mobs quests, if not GW2.
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"We all do the best we can based on life experience, point of view, and our ability to believe in ourselves." - Naropa "We don't see things as they are, we see them as we are." SR Covey
Now, which one of you will adorn me today?
I would also add in Elder Scrolls to that list, rather easy to play that game.
quest system is simple , the plus that FFXIV have over others is that it have a Main story quest to keep players hooked, being able to teleport around helps newbies to dont get lost :P , u get class quest every 5 lvls that teach you how to play your class.
guildhest teach the newbies how to "play in groups".
Levequest are like daily quest nothing hard about it.By the time the new players is lvl 30 he knows that he needs another class leveled to 15 and understand that he can use skills from other classes.
the windows that pop are helpfull and teach everything from moving , questing ect, good thing that this POP when u learn something new and dont pop at random levels, if u learn how to teleport u get a window that explains it , if u learn your 1 minion a window pops showing where they can be summoned, ect ect
- The complexity is introduced slowly over time, with plenty of tutorials and online information about whatever it is you need to know.
- It has a free trial, the base game is now quite cheap (less than $15 in some places) and the expansion (which you really don't need until you're level 50) can easily be picked up in a bundle.
- The difficulty curve is (IMO) basically prefect. Enemies / dungeons / class abilities start off quite easy, with more complex mechanics being introduced, in a smart way, over time.
- Classes have clearly defined roles. Want to be a tank, Gladiator / Marauder. Healer more you style? Conjurer / Arcanist. DPS = pick you flavor.
- The class system allows you to always make progress even if you don't like your initial choice. You can easily swap classes, try something new, and play any and all classes without having to roll a new character / completely start over.
- It forces you to group. I know this may seem a bit weird, but MMOs are supposed to be about playing with others, and FFXIV does a great job of introducing you to group play via initially simple dungeons, guildhests, and trials. FATEs (and later on, hunts) also encourage ad-hoc team work in the open world.
- The story does a good job of unlocking and leading you to new areas and activities. The number of filler quests can be a bit annoying at times, but the pacing is fine if you're not rushing to cap and it provides useful direction throughout the initial leveling process. I say initial, because as mentioned above, you can have every class on one character, so you only have to do the story / quests once (major plus for immersion IMO).
- There is plenty to do for whatever your play style. I think this one is really important, as some games are just a rush to level / gear cap. FFXIV has that, but only if you want it, otherwise you can spend a lot of time crafting, playing house, running dungeons, hunting NMs, leveling other classes, collecting stuff, etc, etc.
Edit: Formatting.