http://www.mmorpg.com/discussion2.cfm/t ... 355/page/1
Originally posted by Netzoko
The Unofficial "What MMO To Play" Thread!
(This is a work in progress. Feel free to post ideas or corrections, I know I miss things or make a mistakes)
Greetings! I speak to you today as a man who has played literally every MMO out there, and has the honesty and condensing skills to bring you a MMORPG list with all the basic information you need to know. We all can agree that trying to find even the most basic answers about game's is hard because the companies only include the uberdooper features. I aim to keep the list as unopinionated as possible. I am also only including current MMO states. For example, pre-NGE SWG won't be taken into account for it's current game state.
So, here you have it, The Unofficial "What MMO Should I Play?" Thread! Use this to compare features without digging around.
Additions from Taera in blue
Section 1: Grind
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One of the first things an MMO seeker asks if how much of a grind the game is. Below is a basic list of the newer MMOs and the time is takes to reach level cap in a hardcore setting. Casual play will be longer. It gives a comparison of the game's grind status. Keep in mind, these times are hardcore grinding.
* Lineage II (100 days)
* RuneScape (100 days)
* RF Online (65 days)
* Archlord (60 days)
* MapleStory (60 days)
* Vanguard (35 days)
* Final Fantasy XI (35 days)
* Lord of the Rings Online (27 days)
* EverQuest 2 (25 days)
* World of Warcraft (15 days)
* Star Wars Galaxies (10 days)
* City of Heroes / Villains (6 days)
* Dark Age of Camelot (3 days)
* Guild Wars (2 days)
Have a game to add? Post a reply!
Section 2: PvP
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PvP is horrid to some, and everything to others. Below is the breakdown based upon PvP rulesets, rewards, and penalties. Sections not listed have no PVP.
Non-Faction PvP (Kill Anyone.)
EVE Online, Ultima Online, RuneScape, Guild Wars, Lineage II, Fury
Faction PvP
World of Warcraft, EverQuest 2, City of Heroes / Villains, Star Wars Galaxies, Lord of the Rings Online
Full Looting
EVE Online, RuneScape
Arena / Instanced Objective Based PvP
Guild Wars, World of Warcraft, EverQuest 2, City of Heroes / Villains, Fury, Final Fantasy XI, Lord of the Rings Online
Open World Objective Based PvP
Dark Age of Camelot
Open/Free World PvP (Can be attacked anywhere by anyone)
EVE Online, RuneScape, Lineage II
Have a game to add? Post a reply!
Note that some games have specific server rulesets, I.E. the Zek server on EverQuest has Open/Free World PvP
Section 3: PvE
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This next section outlines the PvE aspects such as soloing, raiding, grouping.
End-Game Raiding (Nothing to do with necessity, but rather whether a game has the feature)
World of Warcraft, EverQuest 2, EverQuest, Lineage II, Final Fantasy XI, RF Online
Grouping Instances
World of Warcraft, EverQuest 2, EverQuest, RF Online, Guild Wars, Dark Age of Camelot, Lord of the Rings Online, City of Heroes / Villains
Solo Ability (Ability to level alone effectively)
City of Heroes / Villains, Dark Age of Camelot, EVE Online, EverQuest 2, Final Fantasy XI, Guild Wars, Lord of the Rings Online, Ultima Online, Vanguard, Star Wars Galaxies, RuneScape, Tabula Rasa, World of Warcraft
Have a game to add? Post a reply!
Section 4: Crafting
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Here, I have broken up games depending on the depth of the crafting system.
Has Crafting (Of some sort)
City of Heroes / Villains, Dark Age of Camelot, EverQuest, Final Fantasy XI, Guild Wars, Lineage II, Lord of the Rings Online, Ultima Online, World of Warcraft, Tabula Rasa
Deep Crafting (Widely considered to have the deepest craft systems)
EVE Online, EverQuest 2, Star Wars Galaxies, Vanguard, A Tale in the Desert
Have a game to add? Post a reply!
Section 5: Performance / Graphics
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Not everyone has a supercomputer. Below is a breakdown into sections of different tiers of system needs. They are ordered from "Very powerful PC needed" to "Weak PC needed." These are all based on graphics settings at "high." This list is also good for showing the graphical quality of a game.
Zomg Expensive Computer
Vanguard
Very Powerful
EverQuest 2, Fury
Powerful
EVE Online, Guild Wars, Lord of the Rings Online, RF Online
Average
City of Heroes / Villains, Final Fantasy XI, Lineage II, Star Wars Galaxies, World of Warcraft, D&D Online, Archlord, Horizons, Knight Online
Below Average
Anarchy Online, Asheron's Call, Dark Age of Camelot, EverQuest, Shadowbane
Lol. Upgrade Plz
Ultima Online, MapleStory, RuneScape
Have a game to add? Post a reply!
Section 6: Difficulty
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This section deals with the learning curve associated with a game, as well as it's complexity. A complex game will have a lot of information to learn for a newcomer, and will be more difficult to master. A simpler game will be easy to learn and play right off the bat as a newbie.
Very Difficult
EVE Online
Tough
Anarchy Online, Asheron's Call, Dark Age of Camelot, Ultima Online, Lineage II, RF Online, EverQuest
Average
EverQuest 2, Final Fantasy XI, Guild Wars, Star Wars Galaxies, Vanguard,D&D Online, Knight Online, Fury
Easy
City of Heroes / Villains, Lord of the Rings Online, MapleStory, World of Warcraft, RuneScape
Have a game to add? Post a reply!
Section 7: My Personal Recommendations _________________________________________________________________
Sometimes the simple facts arn't enough. This last section is a recommendation list based on typical MMO searchers.
"I'm looking for a game with lots of PvE grouping"
There are no MMOs where people always group no matter what. However, there are games where the players tend to group a lot. Below are games where the chat channels almost always have LFG spam.
Recommendation: Everquest 2, World of Warcraft, FFXI
"I'm looking for an MMO without PKs and gankers all the time. PvP annoys me"
Here are my recommendations for an MMO without open PvP, meaning you can walk around safely if you please.
Recommendation: LOTRO, EQ2 (RP/PvE server), FFXI
"I want a game with crafting that matters, not some sidestep in the game that's ignored."
Many people want a game where people actually need crafted goods. Below is my suggestion for games where crafted goods are widely used as much, if not more than looted items.
Recommendation: EQ2, EVE, UO, VG , FFXI
"I'm looking for a PvP-based game with set objectives"
Here's my suggestion for PvPers who dislike world PvP, but like the idea of working on objectives.
Recommendation: GW, DAoC, WoW, Fury
"I want total PvP freedom where I can attack anyone when I want"
I will also note the looting rules for my suggestion here.
Recommendation: EVE (Full looting), L2 (no looting), Runescape (Full looting)
"I'm looking for a game that's a total sandbox"
Recommendation: EVE, UO, SWG
"I want direction in my gaming, I don't want to wonder aimlessly through the world"
Recommendation: EQ1, EQ2, CoH, GW, D&D, L2, LOTRO, VG, WoW
I hope you found my guide helpful in finding an MMO. Again, this is only the first version, updates will be made regularily.
Good luck, and happy gaming.
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Added by Taera:
Great post, NetZoko! Another popular variable for users seeking games is the payment plan. Thus I'm adding on:
Section 8: Payment Plan
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This section deals with the payment options for MMOs.
Free to Play
RuneScape, Anarchy Online
Item Shop/Optional Subscription
MapleStory, Dungeon Runners
Monthly Fee
City of Heroes / Villains, Lord of the Rings Online, World of Warcraft, Dark Age of Camelot, Lineage II, EverQuest 2, EverQuest, Final Fantasy XI , Vanguard, Tabula Rasa, EVE Online
Box/Download/Account Creation Fee
City of Heroes / Villains, World of Warcraft, Lord of the Rings Online, Lineage II, EverQuest 2, EverQuest, Final Fantasy XI , Vanguard, Tabula Rasa
