Which game to play ...Follow

I'm guessing you forgot the "P" in MMORPG?
If not, I do not know what RG stands for.

You need to expand you "wants" to get the best help.

Do you want to play a FREE one?

Do you want PvE/PvP ?

Group or Solo?


. . . most MMORPGs all end upp being grinders at some point.

For Free, you will have to find one you like.
I have a family member who plays them because he can't always afford one of the better paid ones.
Last time i checked He was playing Shayia (if spelled right) and seemed to be enjoying it (Mage class is over powered.. lol).

There are many out there you can pay for. The "main" ones being EQ (and what ever number behind it), WoW, FFXI, and the new WAR (warhammer).
From what I know each cost around $15 a month to play (ffxi is 12.95 and wow is 15 if i remember right)

PvE/PvP.
I am going to assume you know what this stands for.

FFXI (I've only played FFXI and WoW, and a handful of other free ones) is a PvE. The PvP in that game is a joke.

WoW has both.

WAR is both, but leans towards PvP (as I've read)


Group/solo.
FFXI is a major grouping game. If you can't get along with people, you won't get far (there are a few class (jobs as they are called in ffxi) you can solo) wih the story.

WoW is like the solo-gamer's game. You can group up (and will need to for some stuff, if you do them), but it is a great game for solo play.


That is all the info I can share. Figure out what kind of game you want, and I'm sure better info can be given.

If you like team play, go FFXI. WoW and WAR rely mor eon solo play with some team play once in a while, until you get to end-game, which you need more to accomplish goals.

I play all three I listed above and my favorites in order are FFXI, WAR, then WoW.

The only obstacle in FFXI is, if you don't know anyone, it's kinda hard to get started, but once you find your groove, you are good.

Play EVE...it's amazing, you can get a free 14 day trial from the website.


www.eveonline.com




Edit: I fail at linking.

Edited, Oct 15th 2008 6:15pm by Driftwood

I recommend trying EQ2 or EVE, while keeping in mind that EVE has the WORST learning curve of any MMO I've ever played, but some of the most fun puzzle type of stuff.

Mostly, the puzzles is how to most easily make a profit/deliver goods/get what you want, without being blown up. It very much requires team work (guilds are called corps), and it's fun, but can be time consuming!

In an attempt to reverse the karma trolls, I rated everyone up.

I looked at EVE, I like that type of game, but no time with 3 MMO, especially since they added WOTLK content and Achievements. Also, if you look in certain places, you'll see that something is happening (Alterac Mtns and EPL)

In terms of "free" games (games in which you can choose whether or not to pay RL cash for "additional" content (special clothing, easy mats, and such) there are a few games out there that are quite enjoyable, they just miss the special "touch" of pay to plays (Heavy GM staff, 100% proper spelling, constant patches/bug fixes, etc) due to a lower gross revenue generated..but anyways I'll list a few of the suggestions and try my best to categorize them.


Perfect World International - a Chinese-based and -themed game with heavy graphics but settings to reduce the graphics (if you play on a older PC, dialup, etc), the game was originally a subscription MMORPG in China but switched to a "cash shop" type of free game before launching outside of China. Has elements of both PvE and PvP that remind me of Lineage 2. Easy to pick up
and learn..and the best graphics of its business model (cash shop/free to play). Recently Implemented a Referral System to encourage people to invite their family/friends which rewards people with "free" items from thier cash shop when the person they referred purchases something. Races include Untamed (Half Beast, half humans with a variety of looks, including fox, panda, tiger, lion, wolf, succubus, cat, and mouse.) Winged Elfs (Basicially Elves who can fly without the use of aerocraft (air mounts), and Humans..who are well..Humans. There are currently 2 classes for each race, one damage dealer, 1 caster (Barbarian, Archer, Blademaster, and Venomancer, Cleric, and Wizard, respectively.)

Final Fantasy 11 Online: Great PvE game with an extensive crafting system with many bosses, and recently implemented a "level sync" system and a 14 day trial to make leveling easier. Unlike other MMORPGs, in this game you do not have a set "class", there are many "Jobs" (Classes) you can freely switch between inside towns, though each of these jobs must be leveled separately, even when after level 18 you can use a second job you have leveled as a SubJob restricted at half your Main Job's level..for example, you can use White Mage / Black Mage (WHM/BLM) with BLM being restriction at half your WHM level (rounded down).
There are many jobs to mix and match though of coruse some are more popular than others and arguably more enjoyable.
Races are Humes (Humans), Elvaan (elves), Mithra (Neko Shoujo/ Cat-girls [ Did I spell that right?]) Galka (Big guys with lizard tails and large bellies), and Tarutaru (Child-Sized race with faces that remind one of Alvin and the Chipmunks.
The game is in its 3rd expansion (Rise of the Zilart, Treasues of Aht Urghan, Wings of the Goddess) and costs about $19.99 in stores or as a direct download from Gamestop.com.


Lord of the Rings Online- Good MMORPG with a hige crafting system, top of the line graphics, and a great community (at least when I played it), though eventually I left due to the constant goldseller spam at the time, Has a pvp area where one side is the "Bad Guys" and the others the "good guys" (Monster Characters vs Player Characters). Has a 9.99 per month subscription fee or you can pay for a lifetime subscription for about 120 dollars, last i checked.


Theres also a very large amount of free to plays with cash shops out there that are fun, but low graphics (Mabinogi, MapleStory, and so forth) and of course Ragnarok Online, which last I heard was working on a RO2, though RO has a small sub. fee.

Personally I'm playing Perfect World International at this time, with a little FFXI and some other games on a very infrequent basis while waiting on Square Enix to announce their next MMORPG, which I hope will have a Star Ocean setting, and allow the use of jumping, which is my only major gripe with FFXI.

If there's anything I forgot, please forgive me, I usually try not to type extremely long messages, though this one is quite long.

Something I can tell you from my exp with WOW is level 1 to 30 is prob the most pain in the *** levels in the game. I didn't notice till I started playing alts. 10 to 20 is prob the worst because you have very few skills and generally junk gear. People in this level range don't usually like to group because they are all doing there solo thing. Also seems like the stuff you need to do for a quest is always bunched up together even more so at low levels then at high. MY alts below 30 die more then my high level toons due to adds and pathing enemies.

Anyways if you can get to lvl 30 you might like it more. If your looking for a MMORPG that doesn't require alot of time I would say either WOW or Everquest 2. To be honest Everquest 2 is alot like WOW gameplay wise. I would say leveling speed between the 2 games is prob about the same. Everquest 2 is more dependant on PVE then PVP unless of course you roll on a PVP server. I am pretty sure you can download a free trial for everquest 2 for like 78 days or something. Everquest 2 players seem to be for the most part more mature. Far as grouping goes its about the same as WOW. At low levels people generally solo.

To be honest the only reason I play WOW over Everquest 2 is because none of my friends will play eq2 (they hate the company that made it, long story there).