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A group oriented MMO w/ a mature community...
nthnaoun
Member Posts: 1,438
So 4 years ago next month is when I started my first...or well second MMO (Motorcity Online was my first technically). "Adventure and Explore with others"..."Overcome dangers and band together to beat the opposing faction" it said. After playing single player RPG's, and seeing that this one was 3D as well, I said, "Cool, I think I will try this game out." So I bought DAoC.
Boy was this game fun. I logged in, was overwhelmed with all the race and class choices, finally picked one and pressed "Play." So I take my first steps into a Massive Online world. There were all kinds of people running around, all were dressed differently. Some were casting spells that were never seen before, while others ran around with a shield and sword. This was awesome I thought.
Not too long later, I was invited into a group. This is where I learned the roles of each class and also how much fun group play was. We would grind for hours and hours, only to stop to get something to eat and drink, or to put the kids to bed. The people were mature and helpful. 1337 speak didn't exist around this game at that time. I was in gamers heaven I thought. I fell in love with the MMORPG genre.
After going away on deployment for 6 months once, and then to war the following year, the game wasn't the same. The community was thinning out with the release of each expansion and people were becoming ant-social and would rather solo. I started hearing new terms, such as uber, owned, and pwned. "Okay I thought," but then I heard about a Star Wars online game. I was ecstatic. Star Wars was my favorite fictional story and I always thought it would be cool to be a Jedi. And now I could be a Jedi in a living breathing virtual world. Luckily SWG offered Jedi, only you had to work hard for it. This was okay in my book, because Jedi was worth having and I seen the logic in making it hard to get.
Anyways, to make a long story short, this started me on my game hopping routine. Now I have hopped from almost every major MMO game out there in search of an unknown feeling that I once had when playing DAoC. I finally realize where that feeling came from. It came from being a part of a new world, grouping with other people to overcome obstacles and the mature community that fostered healthy friendships that turned into guilds.
So now I know what to search and ask for. What MMO out there has a mature community like I described above and also has a community that would rather group than solo. Every game I have played, even DAoC now has mostly a community that would rather solo than group.
P.S.- Age on the game doesn't matter, only being group oriented and having a mature community that wants to socialize instead of being anti-social matters.
Comments
Although its not out yet, you should look into Vanguard a bit. Its very group-centric and has an older lean to its community. Something that is already out but has similar qualities is Dungeons and Dragons Online. My friend plays that religiously and swears up and down that it has a great community even though its HEAVILY instanced.
EDIT: I wish I could find it, but a while back I read an article that compared MMORPGs to drug addiction! The first taste is always the best and no matter how many times you try, the subsequent tastes never rival it.
I dont know of any MMO that has the things you are asking for. I know that 2Moons when it comes out it will be directed to Mature players, so I hope it will have a Mature and helpful community.
not necessary mature comunity (age wise) but with a passion for the game concep.
i was in SWG part of a guild that just loved to play and like you say we would go out and hunt and grind and just do silly projects for hours (hell we even sheduled bathroom breaks) i loved it...
now it has become a grind fest and a solo single player MMOs
the only game i can think of that has a team comunity is EVE online. but expect to be alone untill you catch up at least fight wise to the rest of the server. but it is comunity oriented (i played it for about 3 months) just ran out of money then i didnt get back to it. meh
other than that i dont know most of the MMOs out there are full of children of the 1337 talk and beggars
linage2 maybe... i dunno for certain 2moons might be also mature community (seing the review about the violence of the game and play style). im d/l saga of ryzom see what that is like and what the comunity looks like.
Mature community. Fantastic GM support. Live events. Virtually no leet speak or kiddies. Group oriented play. No real 'phat lewt'. Sounds like your cup of tea.
Postmortem Studios
Roleplaying games to DIE for
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Older people..mature...nice. My problem was I couldn't take anymore of their happy shit attitude...i dunno what it was.
its like "hey..would you like me to help you with this? come on..we can be friends and level together!"
the niceness was overdone..and i cried for somehting a little more brutal. (which means im probably immature in this aspect)
But...i'd say it has a mature community indeed.
might even subscribe even if i dont have the money for it... hum.. ill just pull it out of my university funds cough cough... (dont tell mom k?)
im kiding. ill starve instead
other topics ive read say its similar to SWG (pre-Cu) and im a huge fan of SWG so ill just give it a try
Sounds to me like you should give FFXI a try.
Its a hard game, not as easy to level, however after 10 lvl, you will need groups to get anywhere, as such everyone in that game groups.
The game offers great challenging pve battles, and all classes have their advangtages/disadvantages.
Grouping can seem overwhelming at first, you might want to check out a guide if you plan on tanking/healing, but once you've got the basic idea, you learn quickly in your first or second group how it goes down. The missions are very deep and have a enjoyable storyline compared to any other mmo.
That said most of the Capital ships are only really available to groups of players. EVE tends to be painful for the soler when trying to aquire a larger ship can take a few weeks, Where a good corp tends to be able to help you replace your losses in short term.
EVE does have a slower pace then most games so if your looking for something faster it may not be for you. Most corps can help speed it up by having multiple things going on and they can help teach you the information and player skills to speed it up. Most corps do prefer that you not be on a trial account before joining mostly because you will either like or hate EVE and little in between. But there are plenty who are willing to help including my self if you do want to give it a shot. If anything while your deciding I'll invite you along on one of the upper level PVE missions. Just send me a convo Names on the right
Either way at least the first 14 days are free.
I'm waiting for Vanguard while playing EQ2 and SWG and I have played DDO. DDO was great and the server I was on (unofficial RP server) had a great community. The downside was that it wasn't what I was looking for. I thought I could get into the whole instanced only gameworld, but I couldn't. I quickly got burnt out with the same scenery.
As for your "EDIT" comment, I believe that is true and I also read that article. I realize that I will never get that exact same feeling that I did in the beginning days of DAoC, but I know I can get close to it by analyzing the things that brought me that feeling and seeking it out.
I tried Ryzom out. The community was awsome, but I couldn't get into the lore of the game and the game only had the lore to go on (sandbox). I liked the skill-base system, but the story was very uninteresting and the artwork was not in my taste.
If it had a different story or even better artwork, I would still be at Ryzom.
This is one of the only big named MMO's that I haven't played. I've stayed away, because of the bad reviews. Although I admit, lately it has been nagging me in the back of my mind that I haven't tried the MMO of one of the best RPG series of all time. I just have a hard time getting over the "gill seller, bad economy, and racial disputes between Eastern and Westerner players." I liked the arena description too. After trying RvR (zerg fest), open PvP (grief fest), and battlegrounds (capture the flag twink fest), arena's sound right up my alley. That is why I bought Guild Wars, but all I can do is the group PvP in arena's and I just can't stomach the community long enough to get past the beginning stages of the PvP in that game.
I wish FFXI had a free trial. How much is the game now and are there any expansions I would have to buy?
What's my point, you ask? Honestly, I think you can find people to befriend and form up with in every online game, its a matter of seeking them out. Though I will admit that I myself have found the Guild Wars community exceptionaly aborant. I guess that's what comes of a game that has no monthly fee, it attracts the lowest common denominator...of course there are many exceptions to the rule, but still, the overwhelming majority are simply....what's the phrase...disgusting little pigs. Eeem, just my thoughts.
/bows out
"Speaking haygywaygy or some other gibberish with your mum doesn't make you foreign."
-baff
Hrmmm, well it's a sticky situation to say the least.
I'm by no means an MMO Sage, but from my experience you might want to try Final Fantasy XI.
FFXI is a very group oritented game. You're likely solo for the first 10 levels or so (say 10-12 as you learn the very basics of your character).
After that solo work is pretty limited, and usually only done in quests/missions (depending on your class and level of course). The interesteing thing is that, nomatter what MMO you choose, there is always going to be that element of "1337 Kiddies" they're like cockroaches, they're everywhere it seems. The fact that your very ability to advance in the game depends on your ability to function in a group gets people to at least assume the mantle of maturity for a time being.
There are of course high-profile, high-stauts items, but honestly you don't have to have them in order to function. Most groups will take a seasoned, mature and capable player with average gear over a tricked out asshat 99% of the time.
I wish FFXI had a free trial. How much is the game now and are there any expansions I would have to buy?
The game is $12.95/month +$1 extra for each extra character you wish to have. I'm not sure if the 30-Day Free Tiral is still available, but jsut check the pakaging to find out.
As for expansions, if you have a DVD-ROM, jsut buy the "Vana'Diel Collection" it has the core game, Rise of the Zilart and Chains of Promathia.
Don't buy Treasures of Aht'Urgan until you're sure it's something you want to pursue, since accessing that portion of the game will require some levels on your part
Also, if you decide you want to try, let me know and I cna get you an Odin World Pass and probably set you up with a good-natured and friendly Linkshell to get you introduced to the game.
This is one of the only big named MMO's that I haven't played. I've stayed away, because of the bad reviews. Although I admit, lately it has been nagging me in the back of my mind that I haven't tried the MMO of one of the best RPG series of all time. I just have a hard time getting over the "gill seller, bad economy, and racial disputes between Eastern and Westerner players." I liked the arena description too. After trying RvR (zerg fest), open PvP (grief fest), and battlegrounds (capture the flag twink fest), arena's sound right up my alley. That is why I bought Guild Wars, but all I can do is the group PvP in arena's and I just can't stomach the community long enough to get past the beginning stages of the PvP in that game.
I wish FFXI had a free trial. How much is the game now and are there any expansions I would have to buy?
Alot of people dont play the game long enough to get into all the fun stuff, boss battles are exciting and challenging, and they're often tied in in some way with a storyline, cutscenes go more in depth about them as well. I really havent noticed any paticular harassment or anything with the japanesse players, in fact their werwe a few times ive gotten into full japan groups, theirs a translator that allows you to speak basic group phrases to them. Money, while at first may appear to be difficult, however if you run with a buff called signet *given by a guard* you collect crystals off mobs you kill, and those are always on demand at the market. The market, can somtiems over price things, typically you can probably get a better price if it isnt on the auction house. I havent done much pvp within the game, however their is an on going war called conquest between the 3 cities, fighting over the zones resources and outpost by killing mobs while signet is on you. You can purchase excellent rewards with conquest points, so make sure to have signet at all times.
The game sadly doesnt have a trial, and you really dont need the expansions imo until 30 or so when you can unlock an advanced class. They mostly add higher lvl zones and new storylines.
Before you buy this game, i recommend checking out some of the videos on youtube, while they are only videos they do give you an idea of what gamplay is like, in fact here is proably the best FFXI video on you tube
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ov3-K2aRwQY
If you do decide to play, make some friends it will make grabbing a good group much easier.
Anyways have fun, and good luck ^_^
I'm interested in FFXI now that we are talking about it, so I went to the FFXI forums on this website to read some reviews and some of the threads. I hear a lot of people complain about having to wait forever, sometimes 8+ hours to find a group at later levels. While I want to group, that is just insane. I maybe log onto a game 1-3 hours a day. Hearing several comments like that is very discouraging.
I'm probably going to get shot for saying this, but once their billing problems get worked out, you may want to check out Horizons. It's a small community (although bigger than EvE), but for the most part very mature and always willing to work together.
They are having some issues right now with their the company that just bought out the original developers, so you may want to wait a bit.
I would whole heartedly avoid DDO as the only community I have seen worse than there was when I played WoW.
If you don´t like it, well then I hope you´ll find something that suits you better.
Just one thing, on the Newbe Isle, remeber that it´s free to play and that there are differnt things to it than to the Mainland. Don´t judge a book by it´s cover.
CU
MaDSaM
Do you dare to adapt?
A lot of times as you get to now people and make friends in FFXI, and especially showing those particular people how well you not only function in a group with your job, but also how much fun you are to have around.
One thing I should point out to prospective FFXI-ers, though whole LFG thign is two-ways, you don't have to jsut sit and wait for someone to invite you, you can start your own groups. Granted this isn't always easy, but beats sitting around in Jeuno all day
Heck, sometime syou can even get the right friends together and form a static party, even if it's only three people who level together, you already have half yor group right there.
A lot of times as you get to now people and make friends in FFXI, and especially showing those particular people how well you not only function in a group with your job, but also how much fun you are to have around.
One thing I should point out to prospective FFXI-ers, though whole LFG thign is two-ways, you don't have to jsut sit and wait for someone to invite you, you can start your own groups. Granted this isn't always easy, but beats sitting around in Jeuno all day
Heck, sometime syou can even get the right friends together and form a static party, even if it's only three people who level together, you already have half yor group right there.
Yes I suppose it mimmicks real life in a way. People choose their profession, learn their trade, and then go out into the world to earn their living only to find out that many others had the same idea. Now that person must compete with others for that coveted position by showing how skilled they are and making a good impression with their personality.
I think I will try this game. I never had trouble making friends unless I chose to make trouble for myself (intolorence to stupidity for example). I do like the fact that you are forced to group and I like the lore that surrounds the game and Final Fantasy in general.
So what is the best website to look at to read up on the lore, races, jobs, and general information for newcomers?
lol, good to hear, FFXI is always lookign for new, good players.
And don't worry, you'll find that there are more than a few people who play FFXI who seem to develop stupidity based migraines
As for lore, perhaps one of the best sites for that is here:
The History of Vana'diel
As for a nice overview of information, I would suggest:
FFXIclopedia
It's got a nice healthy dose of information for most of your questions.
You could always check with
Allakhazam as well, but you do tend to run into the what seems to be normal now forum mischief, but it does at least offer feedback and other player based suggestions.
It compiles almost every bit of history of the world that you will eventually stumble across yourself in one form or another.
While the number of quests in FFXI isn't near what WoW has, 95% of the time they are backstory driven/plot based quests that help give color to the world.
FFXI in and of itself is a game that relies very heavily on grouping and making friends/social connections and story.