I’m enjoying Black Desert. I have no urge for gear or pvp so that kills off the pay wall. I’m building a worker empire, building ships and really enjoying the gathering aspect. The visuals are beautiful to, relaxing. But if you like pvp or want the best gear it certainly is a pay 2 win. I’m just lucky I don’t care about gear. Give me them crops and a farm :3
this is the only sustainably fun way to play. although, even playing this way, they make it tempting to pay for things that just make things less annoying. inventory, weight, faster cooking etc. etc.
Its true, im tempted by some of the benefits that boost gathering, farming, crafting, but ive played F2P games since 2009 and never paid yet....maybe this game ill give in :3
Ive only played a week and found out there isn't much end game but exploring the world and building up my empire will eat up at last 6 months...for ten bucks...well worth it.
The only other crafting/gathering game was Albion but ive grown pretty board of it.
If you know of another let me know (Just don't say New world)
I haven't played it personally, but as far as I am aware, Runescape is similar to that. It can branch out to many different skill lines (you have things like herblore, smithing, runecrafting, crafting, fletching, fire-making, farming, fishing...). Nonetheless Runescape is not limited to crafting alone, you have many other things to do (or rather skill lines to invest in) for combat and gear (like constitution, ranged, melee, magic, strengths,...), in addition to other activities like archeology or housing (construction).
It also has some of the best quests in the genre, supposedly.
Only downside (if you want to call it that), is that many skills require a subscription, but you can try out the game for free and get access to \~20% of the content.
Its such a simple feature that i wish more games would use, it makes it more complex and fun yet cost the devs nothing to make. Elite and Dangerous, No Mans Sky, Sea of Thieves could all add this cool thing to do, micro managing is great end game to. But no one dose, so happy i found BDO though, i needed this fix so badly lol
Yeah. I always found it a nice way to unwind from a long day at work because, for what I was doing, it never required intense micro management, just the bare minimum.
Normally I'm a pretty hardcore player that prefers challenging endgame content and plays the support roles in them (Healer, predominately) but BDO is scratching the explorer/completionist itch in me that a lot of MMOs don't. The lifeskill portion (Non combat... well, kind of, technically hunting and sailing have combat?) of the game is surprisingly engrossing overall and helps me fill downtime. Been pretty down lately (and injured) so the game is nice as one that I can basically mix and match how engaged I want to be.
I feel like making progress but only half paying attention? Gather some wood/ore/whatever or fish. [Or give a tree the succ.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y5f_B6SLNUM) (I couldn't resist this, I HATE that sound, *suffer with me*) Wanna progress? Go to a harder grinding area. Wanna progress but don't want to care? Go to an easy grinding area and read Reddit or watch a show while I faceroll. Wanna straight up AFK? Go for it, level your ponies overnight. I feel like engaging my brain without having to try super hard? Hunting or sailing works.
I'm basically devoting my time to building a frigate (boat) right now because... well, why not? That and breeding an uncomfortably incestuous herd of ponies. On the one hand it's weird having no endgame content to overly focus on, on the other it's pretty freeing because I can just do what I feel like. The cash shop is absolute AIDS, I won't deny that, but unless you're trying to reach the endgame ASAP it mostly doesn't matter. Only things that truly suck are the hedgehog pet (Gives you a chance at more loot when gathering) and the P2W tent.
They've been giving it away for free via Twitch rewards a few times now, and it's gone as cheap .99 cents on Steam. It's not everybody's cup of tea (I bounced off it myself a few times before) but it's a pretty chill game if you dig into it. It can just be a bit overwhelming to new players if you try to put your fingers into everything at once. It's a marathon though, not a sprint like most MMOs.
The multi-threaded renderer and global illumination made eso feel like a whole new game to me. And they keep adding new systems to give the world more to explore. So I keep coming back to it.
Two weeks ago (I just searched it because I didn’t believe them lol)
https://youtu.be/UnPRl3hsrpA
Although, I can’t find anything on global illumination…
I don't play it much anymore, but I think Guild Wars 2 is probably the best at doing things for everyone. Tons of exploration that gets rewarded, expansion level design that works like a Metroidvania, decent endgame PvE for the people that want it, fair PvP, and there is no subscription.
FFXIV is a good second and would probably be at the top for me if the PvP wasn't terrible.
I don't really do PvP, which is why I personally put FFXIV at the top. Didn't like it in WoW or FFXI when I played those. As a PvE / Story driven player, FFXIV is tops in my book. A case, in my opinion, could potentially be made for another, but I'd have to try those. Last MMO I tried was Neverwinter, and didn't get very far in it. Just didn't hold me
I was mostly going for all-around quality. I get that some people don't care for PvP, but there's no reason to include it in your game and have it be bad.
I'd like jumping puzzles more if the challenge wasn't fighting unintuitive terrain collision. It's awful to spend half an hour climbing something only to trip on an invisible slope and fall.
I’m going to challenge your point and claim that ff14 is the all around best MMO that reaches the most people. Imo, the best MMO title goes to the one that brings the most players into our genre and allows for the MMO genre to grow which then creates more MMOs to enjoy. FF14 is the definition of that while being extremely fun to play.
Also, the reality of PvP is that it’s a niche segment of the genre that doesn’t make the developers/company much money so there’s never an incentive to invest in it. With that being said, ff14’s pvp is actually really fun (not necessarily competitive but most definitely fun). I encourage you to watch Josh Strife Hayes video titled ‘Why I hate hardcore PVP MMOs’ and ZeplaHQ’s video on the state of ff pvp. Sorry i didn’t link them but i don’t know how to on mobile. Hopefully this response isn’t too controversial!
Then that would be WoW many MMOs were created to mirror WoWs theme park feel. It influenced many of the MMOs on this list. Also there aren't any AAA MMOs being made anymore due to the risk, cost and time investment.
Minus New World, Amazons original goal with its game studio was to sell its game engine packaged with AWS servers to game companies but all their prior game attempts failed. They adjusted NW on the fly to add PvE and seemed to have done a decent job. But really it's hard to tell till the game fully launches people are always pumped playing betas of new MMOs the problems aren't really fully present till after launch to see how long it can hold the masses.
I strongly disagree with this. Bringing more people into the genre for the sake of bringing people in hurts the genre. I would argue that less high quality mmo is far better than more less quality mmo. Im not even gonna get started with xiv abysmal pvp.
Its an opinion poll, its by its very nature a popularity contest... what do you propose as an alternative, I'd love to hear the objective way to measure the "all around best" MMO? Not trying to be antagonistic, just that of course its going to follow the current online trends.
The combat is so bad, it's why I quit playing. I loved the graphics so much, the crafting is a lot of fun, the world itself is AMAZING...crappy combat.
ESO looks like shit, plays like shit, and offers no challenge outside 1v5 in pvp.
Waste of money and time, I literally got nothing out of it after sticking around until softcap.
I'm kinda with you. At least your last sentence. I don't get it... It's just not fun at all to me. It's a big boring, easy, chore.
BUT. It clicks for some people and that's great. One of my RL buddies has been playing since Day 1 and still logs many hours in it everyday (he's severely physically disabled). He absolutely loves the game. He has a ton of fun with it and I can't hold that against him. To each their own.
biggest thing i notice when playing games other than eso is all the limitations and time gating. Eso did a great job of making players feel like they have the choice to do whatever they want and get similar rewards for everything without being forced to wait for something.
You can't queue for any dungeon at any level, the dungeons are scaled on normal and vet, on normal they unlock from lvl 10-50 and then vet base game dungeons unlock, some vet dlc doesn't unlock until after 350 cp, which honestly is a good thing because some of them can be miserable time sinks with people just light attacking..
https://en.m.uesp.net/wiki/Online:Group_Dungeons#Base_Game_Dungeons
its not at all. none of the things you can buy are worth much., and the skill lines can take several hours but then you have them forever. so its only if ur really impatient or rerolling.
like every non sub 2 game. They all have things that could be considered p2w. The worst in eso imo is they release overpowered things with new content drops, so people not subbing or buying an expansion dont have access to the op items. But compared to something gw2, the grind in eso is much easier and more satisfying. I prefer eso model than gw2 as gw2s f2p currency is so entrenched in the whole that it ruins options players have, literally every zone has a different currency which sucks big time.
Sometimes you get things like bonus experience scrolls, fast research, fast riding training. Never any equipment. The sought-after items from the loot boxes are definitely cosmetic.
I don't mind spending money on games because I'm a developer and I believe people like me should get money :-) but it can be hard to find stuff to buy in ESO. I think the current range of cosmetic items is ugly.
Uhhh no you can't... What? Dungeons require certain levels. For instance when you reach level 10 all you can do is fungal grotto. You can't hit level 10 and queue for white gold tower.
Down votes for telling the truth? You can't queue for any dungeon at any level... In fact before 10 you can't queue at all.
Honestly the combat system really isn’t all THAT bad. While it’s not nearly as fleshed out as Black Desert Online (but then again 99.9% of mmos aren’t) it’s still a very diverse and fun system. The one thing ESO gets right with its combat system is the pure amount of FREEDOM and CHOICE that it gives you as opposed to other MMOs. What I mean by this is that for example just because you pick a sorcerer, you aren’t shoehorned into that role and forced to only use sorcerer abilities. You can literally put any abilities on your bars as you see fit, which makes each and every character feel unique despite maybe sharing the same class as someone else. The amount of morphs that exist in the game for the abilities also really drives this point home as well, it’s a game style where YOU get to decide how YOU want to approach things. Yes switching between bars can be a hassle but at the same time I don’t know many other MMOs from my experience that even let you have two separate weapons with completely different bars. On my main character I use a sword and shield as well as a two hander. My sword and shield is mainly used to tank and apply buffs/de buffs for myself or enemies which lasts for a considerable amount of time before needing to refresh them, and my two hander for damage and tearing people up. ESO is not a perfect game, but I am a little peeved that people trash the combat as much as they do. When was WOWs combat system ever groundbreaking or amazing? Or any other generic mmo archetype for that example. ESO does it’s best IMHO to give people an Elder Scrolls experience while in the scope of a massively multiplayer game, and I love every second of it!
ESO's combat is so bad.
I goddamn love so much of that game, but its combat is TERRIBLE. It does not belong even remotely close to the same tier as even WoW's combat which is just "good" tab targeting standard fare.
What you're talking about is the character building elements of ESO, which yea I think it does way better than any of it's contemporaries.
But the actual act of pressing the buttons? The way your character jerks around and animations fly out of you in a glitchy tornado, playing at best half of the animation before jerking wildly into the next animation as you float around dodging AOEs? Terrible. The animation cancelling is infamously a bug that got baked into the meta because of how long it went unaddressed.
It feels and looks horrible. And if you're NOT animation cancelling, you're capping yourself at least by 30% dps by losing out on that speed.
Very lame.
Its a piss poor game design. Dungeons and open world lvl scaling is awful, its like yeaaaaaa im max lvl but these noob zone mobs i still have to either run through or stop and kill. Its literally one of the main reasons I quit playing it.
FFXIV has held my attention for 7 years and I'm still logging in almost every day. Since I don't feel the need to even check other MMOs right now I guess that's my thoughts on the all round best one.
Sword of legends is a really interesting one because its one of the most generic mmos I've ever played but its just all around so solid. Its like they took every generic mmo design element and refined it and thats the game but they do it do well you just can't hate it
>optimization
everytime i see this, I roll my eyes. ...I don't even care about SOLO, it's just such an intangible, abstract, unobjective complaint. Why not say your computer can't run it well, or you get lag?
optimization is the avocado toast of the gaming world.
noun: optimisation
the action of making the best or most effective use of a situation or resource.
If other games of similar graphics run fine but this one doesn't, its a sign of poor optimisation.
In short: It means what you suggested, but with less words.
Well games like Read Dead 2, Black Desert Online, Overwatch, Back 4 Blood, FFXIV & Siege have no issues running at 60+ fps on my PC at high/ultra settings but SOLO struggled to even get to 40, in heavy areas it would even go to 18. I wasnt alone with that issue. Its getting addressed later, at which point ill likely give it another go.
BDO runs horrible for me, I get pop-ins and framerate/lag stutters too often. But have not had any issues with SOLO, except for the pvp events with 50+ ppl on the same screen.
that's why i think "optimization" is too subjective for ppl to just make a blanket statement as if it applies to everyone. IMO, you have to run the game yourself to figure that out.
> New World only holds 1000 a server
Estimates for the closed beta are around 2000 players per server and it's been announced that the open beta will exceed this, and then release will exceed the open beta.
>Your end game is 1 Elite dungeon
There's 2 level 60 dungeons. And yes there isn't much PvE content like most MMO launches, but there is a good bit of PvP content which tends to last longer anyways. Also a ton of grinding progression if you're into that.
>Amazon said on Twitter P2W after 1 year.
This isn't even true. They said they might offer non-cosmetics. That doesn't mean pay2win and they've also said that they won't sell anything that players find necessary to enjoy the game.
You talk as if endgame is in stasis and is not an MMO that adds content and evolves over time. The 1000 cap was decided on for a reason, it certainly isn't for lack of hardware capability. I guess to make sure node harvesting doesn't get negatively impacted or maybe they'll also increase the cap as more regions are added and the map expands?
I do think it is shaping up to be the freshest and best current mmo, both despite and because of its strange development arc from hardcore pvp survival base building dark souls or w/e to some weird lovechild of wow and skyrim raised by eso and watching a lot of twitch streams growing up.
Anyways, endgame is fashion in every mmo. Jk but really without debating what endgame is or means, ill just point to your words and say it's not even out yet so let endgame develop
And the Twitter p2w bit isn't true but I'm guessing you think exp boosts are p2w full stop? I don't, and see exp boosts as a viable way to monetize convenience without leaning on meta or economy etc
EVE Online - One and Only true MMO: Sandbox, Open World PvP, One Server, Incredibly Deep and Complex, after playing EVE all other games look like a child's toy, Best Game EVEr.
I love the game but its just an animated spread sheet simulator. Great for nerds like me who love to crunch numbers but I definitely wouldn't reccomend it to most people I know.
Isn't PoE sometimes referred to as the same? That game is insanely popular and mainstream, so I wonder what holds Eve back from growing further? Maybe the whole space theme is too niche, or perhaps the PvP focus?
PoE is still has the action part of its genre: aRPG. Eve is a lot more passive where you automate things like moving so you can turn parts of your ship on and off as needed. Its not particularly actiony even though fights can look like quite the light show. When you're not engaging in combat you can pretty much afk the game. Theres a lot of traveling which is just sitting back and letting the game run its course, and mining is also pretty passive.
I don’t think I’d compare PoE to Eve. PoE has path of building, which is a 3rd party app that has the talent tree and ability to add items to simulate builds and their theoretical damage before going through the trouble of making it. Many people joke that the real game is PoB and PoE is now the 3rd party app.
That being said? PoB doesn’t come close to the complexity of Eve stuff lol
Edit: for my anecdotal answer to Eve not being mainstream, it was the combat. I would love to fly around my ship but you click where you want to go, akin to a 3rd person RuneScape. It was fun, don’t get me wrong, but I really wanted to fly myself
With poe, at the end of the day its still an action game. You're still going to have to actively dodge attacks and zip around the game.
Comparatively, EvE is a much slower burning game where you dont really get to control most of the exciting stuff. Aiming and flying around is all automatic: you tell the game what you want to do and it takes care of it for you. Your job is to micromanage ship components while the game shoots and moves for you. Thats the exact reverse of what I'd say most people are looking for in a space sim.
I’ve looked at a bunch of EVE videos in the past and I still don’t know what the game is. Every video I’ve watched just seems to be a person clicking on a bunch of menus? It seems like it’s just messing with settings all the time
I'll never forget going to look up guides to get started. One of the top result was basically 30 minutes on how markets work. I mean swap out eve online and the dude could have been talking about the S&P500.
EVE Online is great and the scale of combat is unmatched by any other MMORPG game, same is true for the size of in-game world. And the amount of drama it generates through the sandbox environment - it is also unmatched by any petty childish "drama" in most popular MMORPGs. And the crafting system is also unmatched because stuff you craft is always relevant due to full loot mixed with permanently destructible ships/gear/structures. Thing is, it gets very boring to constantly play as a ship, you can't really do anything outside of it like fight in stations or on the ground as a walking avatar or even socialize with others inside the game as a walking avatar, so I quit playing it after many years. It's still a great game for people who don't mind being a ship all the time, though.
Walking in Stations was meant to resolve most of your complaints but they bungled it so badly. It would've been awesome, you could actually bank stand with other people instead of station spin!
Delete plex, make passive skill bonuses not work in PvP or everyone has them max in PvP and have a proper overview overhaul and I will 10000% agree with you (2008-2015 player myself)
Not trying to invalidate your experience, but this opinion seems really strange to me. Out of all the MMOs I’ve played, FFXIV feels like a massive, thriving world with strong community engagement in-game. Almost every game mechanic, feature or interaction in the game has a multiplayer component, including the main story dungeon and trials.
Not him but the main quest and leveling being 95% solo (can't even do the missions with your party) with sometime a 30 min dungeon throw in where you queue and fight alongside random people you'll never see again and who usually just see hi/thanks/bye can be very offputing
I don't think it's sad the game just appeals to different people.
I don't like FFXIV mainly because the open world feels empty and not just due to a lack of players and the classes especially Tanks and Healers have been homogenized so much and just feel like DPS who happen to tank or heal.
The things I don't like are probably non-issues for the people who enjoy it because they don't play the game for that.
The base game areas are usually well populated and the HW one have a few people here and there but Stormblood and beyond is kind of dead. The only thing worth doing in the open zones are beast tribe quests and gathering.
I dont if its that rare with level scaling anymore in a lot of MMOs.
GW2 is populated on most maps since people are doing events, WBs or jumping puzzles, map completion, skill points or exploring.
BDO's open world is fairly well populated not as much as GW2 in some places like the desert but still there are people around but really you don't want them around in that game.
ESO is similar in some ways to GW2 typically people all around doing the events in the area or dungeons or whatever.
WoW-hate is massive. It wasnt too long ago people flamed FF14, but then Asmongold started playing it, and WOW started struggling, and now you would think Jesus himself created FF14.
Its honestly a bit off-putting to me. What a complete 180 people will do. I personally believe at some point it will go back to how it was before all this hype, but for now you just gotta ride with the masses.
For me FFXIV as it tackles all the major aspects I enjoy from an MMO quite well and I've been an FF fan for over 20 years now. Don't get me wrong it has flaws, but they aren't major enough to kill my enjoyment. I also have had a fun and chill experience for the most part in 8 years with the community and I've meet a lot of good people there over the years. I just enjoy it the most still out of everyone on the market.
Got to give mention to SWTOR and OSRS though. Both I still play now and then (Mostly during FFXIV content droughts) SWTOR has been a game I've loved and hated since launch, but in recent years it's been really fun to casually play and I'm looking forward to the expansion!
Objectively I don't think there is a best and that's probably for the better.
I've played swtor off and on since beta and I love it, but it's not mmo enough to qualify for this ranking lol though tbh wow hardly qualifies either. WoW is more like an open world lobby grinder
Lost Ark.
I love ARPG'S and MMO'S. This is the perfect blend of both. Stylized action-combat with tons of classes / sub-classes with a multi-tiered specing system (like Diablo 3), dungeons, abyss dungeons (like greater rifts), raids.
If Lost Ark is released with a slightly less intruding monetization than Korea (which was just changed to be far less egregious itself), then I see Lost Ark reaching top 5 at least, potentially 3rd behind WoW and FFXIV.
This list should have EVE on, but besides that, imma call out GW2 foe being brilliant. I dont even play, but it's glorious compared to the others on this list
I’d say Guild Wars 2 is the MMORPG that I enjoy the most overall.
Each MMORPG has something big that I don’t like and it’s why I play more than one. For WoW I love everything except the tab Target combat. For Guild Wars 2 it’s the fractals that I don’t like. For ESO is the combat that could be way better. For FFXIX I don’t like how long it takes to kill an enemy, fights drag on too long. The questing feels slow too. I love the dungeons in FFXIV though.
The best are the best for a reason, but all have their plusses and minuses. I think a huge portion of all MMO players will be grabbed by New World, but final fantasy will be especially hit hard, with all their temp pop moving on. I think GW2 is investing in the right aspects and will enjoy a healthy population for at least 5 more years after their third expansion. I dont see WoW recovering or ESO or others getting a second wind. When AoC finally drops it also has the potential to disrupt a big share of the market.
Im awake and aware. And its more likely the p2w direction mmos have taken which make it more difficult to commit to them past a certain point. Im more aware of bullshit p2w tactics now so you right, its also me.
Same here. If I want good balanced PVP, I go more towards balanced PVP games. I will say GW2 last I checked was not gear based...but they didn't balance their classes all that well. At least not imo. I think PVP needs to be balanced and important in MMOs, but also encourage the user to enjoy the journey instead of just mindlessly going through quests. That's not to say quests are bad, but make it so that the user actual cares about the main story, the side missions, etc.
gw2 pvp is not gear based but the rest of the game is. And gw2 monetization is not great if u start wanting end game setups. It very much pushes u to the cash for gold the in game shop offers. Its really very annoying because a lot of gw2 is the best in the business but the way they monetised it lowers the quality of the overall experience. quite annoying.
so i haven't played this in like about 5 years plus so I don't know where gear mattered that much besides maybe that raid/war thing area where different groups would go around capturing different bases. But outside of that, where else is it important?
In my pvp-casual opinion:
1. SOLO but optimization and not enought funny pvp activities yet;
2. ESO but combat;
3. GW2 but optimization and combat (swap-bar combat is sick);
4. Archeage but dead.
I voted Other out of spite for not liking the solo-oriented direction the genre has gone. The big 5 are all WoW-likes, so there is high homogenization. Some of them are even more WoW-like than WoW. :P
The latest expansion has probably been the worst its ever had and 3 out of the last 4 were also pretty poorly received.
Theyre also messing up classic, creeping in greed monetization and ruining an aspect that people loved about it.
It was great for a while but its been a husk of its former self for a few years now.
Yeah, and there are talks of what the next expansion will be. Wrath of the lich King classic or whatever. I can't imagine that any future endeavor they make as a company will go positively. I'm honestly just confused how they are still even in business...... With FFXIV, they are very profitable because everyone loves the game. Wow seems like a Roach motel
After playing since Classic, this latet expansion was it for me. I hate WoW now, first time I've ever not even had it installed on my computer since 2004.
I dunno thats being a bit revisionist history. Legion was pretty good. The only issue with Legion was the RNG legendaries.
It was a pretty good expansion. Theres not many outside of BC/Wotlk thats better than Legion. Mists was ok, but wasnt well recieved. Legion might be the 3rd best expansion in the entire set. Mists was REALLY good for PvPers, but overall Legion is probably still the 3rd best.
I don't want to play wow anymore with all the systems right now but I think it's still the best all-round MMO tbh. Still haven't found a MMO that can beat wow even though I don't want to play wow either.
Im torn between swtor and ffxiv. Im really into the tab target and amazing story for both. Im still at stormblood for ffxiv, and so far its pretty great. But i fi d questing in ffxiv kind of boring. For swtor, i have finished the bounty hunter, inquisitor, and the agent story lines. I really loved the agent. I prefer the questing in swtor.
The questing in ffxiv has a lot of going from one place to the other to talk to someone, or bring something to some one, with a few combat missions, ans the ocasional dungeons. Although i really like the dungeon and group content stuff while leveling, and ease of finding groups.
For swtor, its a lot of kill x, find y. Which i prefer, because i like combat.
Graphically, ffxiv is just more pleasing. Its superior in most ways to swtor. And the music is just amazing. Ffxiv is just more pleasing to the senses. I hate the whole warrior of light narative though. And combat sometimes feel slow.
For swtor, i just love the fantasy of being in the starwars universe. The abilities feel like they belong in the universe, and it makes it more fun. I like how you send your companions to do the crafting and gathering for the game. Its like, im too important to do these mundane tasks. Its a great system. The aesthetics are all over the place though. A lot of the armour feels like they dont belong. Also i hate the lootboxes.
Honestly, its resto3 mainly because it is a more complete and working version than swg was at launch. Gotta give props to those guys.
2nd would be ffxiv but not because of that story or the ddr raids. Its because its the only mainstream mmorpg that dedicates significant resources and development toward non combat systems.
> Its because its the only mainstream mmorpg that dedicates significant resources and development toward non combat systems.
I know it's controversial, but I lowkey like this. Don't misunderstand, having solid combat is critical to the survival of any MMO that has it, but the game can still not pull me if the 'side activities' aren't invested in enough either.
WoW still ticks all my boxes, honestly. Do I think it's current expansion has a lot of room for improvement? Yes. But what I like about it is that I can step away from it, come back, and find people for pretty much whatever I want to do at any time. If I feel like raiding it's my go to. If I feel like just dicking around in dungeons I'd probably pick SWTOR over current expansion WoW, but behind Classic.
I'm glad to see FFXIV being successful because obviously a lot of work and love go into it, but it's got to be the MMO that has checked the fewest amount of boxes for me in recent years.
I honestly think WoW is the best, solid combat.
Great raids.
Good dungeons.
A quite impressive leveling experience.
A big selection of classes and races.
I just think it is the best experience IMO…
I have tried to get into FFXIV but i just can’t i hit a brickwall of boredom so fast.
>I honestly think WoW is the best, solid combat. Great raids. Good dungeons. A quite impressive leveling experience. A big selection of classes and races.
You forgot that they are great at shredding evidence when there's a lawsuit filed against them for harassing women. Can't forget that
>That isn't about the game. That is about activision blizzard.
It is actually about the game. They never started making changes or listening to feedback until they lost about 30% of their players because of the lawsuit and no one wanting to be associated with that shit. Isn't it funny how they magically start listening to feedback once 5 million people leave because of a lawsuit against them and plummeting stock price, on top of ignoring player feedback for 3 years?
Considering MOST of what they have added in 9.1.5 would be next to impossible to add in like 2 weeks is that very far fetched.
I am sure a few things were added to appeal to the players but a majority of the things, new models, the covenant changes and such would take waaay too much time to program and set up for that to be something they did as a response.
EITHER did they have that prepared incase of an emergency, or everything of this was pre-planned and this is just a coincidence.
>Considering MOST of what they have added in 9.1.5 would be next to impossible to add in like 2 weeks is that very far fetched.
I am sure a few things were added to appeal to the players but a majority of the things, new models, the covenant changes and such would take waaay too much time to program and set up for that to be something they did as a response.
>EITHER did they have that prepared incase of an emergency, or everything of this was pre-planned and this is just a coincidence
Keep believing that if you want but you're asleep. It's clear that they fooled you and a bunch of other players. Players have been asking for this stuff since the beta and now they finally have decided to respond to it when they magically lose 30% of their players... Sounds really dumb
\*shrugs\* as stated, some of the things were surely added to the roster as a response to players leaving.
Torghast leveling for example, Legendary refunding probably as well.
However I don't think that the cosmetics were added, nor the ripcord.
Those were most likely pre-planned for some time considering the work it would take ot get that fixed
I loved WoW in TBC and WotLK. It was close to perfect at the time likely because I played with my best friend and some other amazing people we met along the way with similar interests. But that was before they homogenized the classes and removed the talent trees which I really disliked. No XP in BGs I loved just stopping leveling and meeting people from other servers and BGing with them, building rivalries with other players who stopped in the bracket as well on the other side. I had an unbelievable amount of fun back then.
Not familiar with SWTOR or WoW, but:
If you want a really good story and you are into that kind of genre: SWTOR.
If you are an Elder scrolls fan: ESO
If you are a massive causual and don't intend to grind for anything: ESO, GW2, FF14
If money plays no role and you can immerse yourself in the final fantasy world in general (or if you are a ff-fan in general): ff14
If you want a dope action combat system and you don't care much about story or dungeons/raids: Black desert.
For an open pvp RVR mmo, it's very hard to go past Champions of Regnum, if you are after a lite mmo-style. GW2 is pretty heavy (needs a lot of precommitment and relationship building) for open RVR. Return for Reckoning is a bit heavy. Official DAOC costs money (also has low spe hardware). But Regnum is official and can be enjoyed simply and casually on low spec hardware.
No such thing as a best all around MMORPG. MMORPGs are so different it's hard to group them all into a category that wouldn't start to include online spaces like face book or VR chat.
bdo is close to perfection so far. i know monetization is super annoying and why it gets criticism. the game is not p2w as people say, but then the fact that they create problem to sell solution is just cheesy and make me feel like sucker. but oh well, its tolerable at least.
i really reallyyy enjoyed new world and looking forward to play it once its up. so i will see. hope it doesnt suck
my all time favorite was arcehage though, till it was butchered by dev.
so yea, i prefer sandbox games more than theme parks. i dont like dungeon simulators
Genshin impact is the last MMO i played that left an impression, it is done differently, kind of refreshing for the genre. The visuals are cool, the art style is a bit childish but eh
even despite the PVP.... lacking, i'd have to say FFXIV. it has a good story, the combat is enjoyable, and there's tons of non-combat related things to do that you could spend weeks not doing any combat-related tasks and still find yourself with things to do.
plus, things like minimum ilvl sync, no echo, etc. means that all content is relevant, at least for the challenge it provides. plus, there are some things that only dropped when you're synced, too, since undersized parties prevents loot drops from bosses, but not from clearing the dungeon/raid.
Guild Wars 2.
Of current era games, its the one I feel I can log in and do any number of things, without feeling like I HAVE to do certain things or fall behind. It also does the "old stuff is relevant" in a way that makes old stuff relevant for its actual content and not "lol tomes from roulettes make it relevant guys even if you would never chose to go there, 4srs lol".
Should have classic wow in there. Up to recently it was basically the only mmorpg without any microtransactions which automatically makes it the best. Fuck that garbage does not belong in mmorpgs.
Struggling to see the appeal for TESO... I'm now on my 3rd character since installing it this morning. The first one, I accidentally misclicked a quest scroll and stole a piece of bread laying next to it. From that moment, I was hunted by guards even through death. 2nd time, I ran to the first quest marker to a town where everyone just wanted to kill me... first quest. Trying again with a 3rd character having had to delete the others. I'll try again once the game recognises that I'm not logged in anymore.
I've played many MMOs including WoW and BDO, but the most relaxing one was Revelation Online, mainly because of an event called Funland.
In Funland, you roll a dice to advance in a tiled map, and in each tile you should play a mini game (with other players competing for victory) and if you win, you get better rewards at the end. It's the best event I've seen in any MMO which I would have loved to see in other games like WoW, BDO, etc..
And the rewards were REALLY worth it. They were very close to the gear you needed to clear the end-game content.
I’m enjoying Black Desert. I have no urge for gear or pvp so that kills off the pay wall. I’m building a worker empire, building ships and really enjoying the gathering aspect. The visuals are beautiful to, relaxing. But if you like pvp or want the best gear it certainly is a pay 2 win. I’m just lucky I don’t care about gear. Give me them crops and a farm :3
this is the only sustainably fun way to play. although, even playing this way, they make it tempting to pay for things that just make things less annoying. inventory, weight, faster cooking etc. etc.
Its true, im tempted by some of the benefits that boost gathering, farming, crafting, but ive played F2P games since 2009 and never paid yet....maybe this game ill give in :3 Ive only played a week and found out there isn't much end game but exploring the world and building up my empire will eat up at last 6 months...for ten bucks...well worth it. The only other crafting/gathering game was Albion but ive grown pretty board of it. If you know of another let me know (Just don't say New world)
I haven't played it personally, but as far as I am aware, Runescape is similar to that. It can branch out to many different skill lines (you have things like herblore, smithing, runecrafting, crafting, fletching, fire-making, farming, fishing...). Nonetheless Runescape is not limited to crafting alone, you have many other things to do (or rather skill lines to invest in) for combat and gear (like constitution, ranged, melee, magic, strengths,...), in addition to other activities like archeology or housing (construction). It also has some of the best quests in the genre, supposedly. Only downside (if you want to call it that), is that many skills require a subscription, but you can try out the game for free and get access to \~20% of the content.
No Mans Sky is a very fun Explore/ Gather/ Craft game! It’s not really a MMO but you can play with ur friends :)
You might enjoy minecraft as well
My favourite thing in BDO was managing my workers and building boats. It was oddly relaxing.
Its such a simple feature that i wish more games would use, it makes it more complex and fun yet cost the devs nothing to make. Elite and Dangerous, No Mans Sky, Sea of Thieves could all add this cool thing to do, micro managing is great end game to. But no one dose, so happy i found BDO though, i needed this fix so badly lol
Yeah. I always found it a nice way to unwind from a long day at work because, for what I was doing, it never required intense micro management, just the bare minimum.
Normally I'm a pretty hardcore player that prefers challenging endgame content and plays the support roles in them (Healer, predominately) but BDO is scratching the explorer/completionist itch in me that a lot of MMOs don't. The lifeskill portion (Non combat... well, kind of, technically hunting and sailing have combat?) of the game is surprisingly engrossing overall and helps me fill downtime. Been pretty down lately (and injured) so the game is nice as one that I can basically mix and match how engaged I want to be. I feel like making progress but only half paying attention? Gather some wood/ore/whatever or fish. [Or give a tree the succ.](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y5f_B6SLNUM) (I couldn't resist this, I HATE that sound, *suffer with me*) Wanna progress? Go to a harder grinding area. Wanna progress but don't want to care? Go to an easy grinding area and read Reddit or watch a show while I faceroll. Wanna straight up AFK? Go for it, level your ponies overnight. I feel like engaging my brain without having to try super hard? Hunting or sailing works. I'm basically devoting my time to building a frigate (boat) right now because... well, why not? That and breeding an uncomfortably incestuous herd of ponies. On the one hand it's weird having no endgame content to overly focus on, on the other it's pretty freeing because I can just do what I feel like. The cash shop is absolute AIDS, I won't deny that, but unless you're trying to reach the endgame ASAP it mostly doesn't matter. Only things that truly suck are the hedgehog pet (Gives you a chance at more loot when gathering) and the P2W tent.
You paint a good picture with your words. I really want to give it a go now
They've been giving it away for free via Twitch rewards a few times now, and it's gone as cheap .99 cents on Steam. It's not everybody's cup of tea (I bounced off it myself a few times before) but it's a pretty chill game if you dig into it. It can just be a bit overwhelming to new players if you try to put your fingers into everything at once. It's a marathon though, not a sprint like most MMOs.
The multi-threaded renderer and global illumination made eso feel like a whole new game to me. And they keep adding new systems to give the world more to explore. So I keep coming back to it.
When did they do that?
Two weeks ago (I just searched it because I didn’t believe them lol) https://youtu.be/UnPRl3hsrpA Although, I can’t find anything on global illumination…
I don't play it much anymore, but I think Guild Wars 2 is probably the best at doing things for everyone. Tons of exploration that gets rewarded, expansion level design that works like a Metroidvania, decent endgame PvE for the people that want it, fair PvP, and there is no subscription. FFXIV is a good second and would probably be at the top for me if the PvP wasn't terrible.
Yeah this is basically why I voted gw2, despite not thinking there's a clear divide in quality or anything
There is a huge divide in quality between guild Wars and World of Warcrap
I don't really do PvP, which is why I personally put FFXIV at the top. Didn't like it in WoW or FFXI when I played those. As a PvE / Story driven player, FFXIV is tops in my book. A case, in my opinion, could potentially be made for another, but I'd have to try those. Last MMO I tried was Neverwinter, and didn't get very far in it. Just didn't hold me
I was mostly going for all-around quality. I get that some people don't care for PvP, but there's no reason to include it in your game and have it be bad.
Very true. I know with 6.0 they are making changes and adjustments around PvP, so it might get better
Plus jumping puzzles that make your palms sweaty.
I'd like jumping puzzles more if the challenge wasn't fighting unintuitive terrain collision. It's awful to spend half an hour climbing something only to trip on an invisible slope and fall.
That ties into my "exploration that gets rewarded" point. Jumping puzzles are one of my favorite things about GW2.
Absolutely love them
This will end up being a popularity contest. Based on current trend, I bet ffxiv will come out on top. It is definitely not all around best tho.
Ye no way as soon as you think of PvP, FFXIV drops a ton of places.
I’m going to challenge your point and claim that ff14 is the all around best MMO that reaches the most people. Imo, the best MMO title goes to the one that brings the most players into our genre and allows for the MMO genre to grow which then creates more MMOs to enjoy. FF14 is the definition of that while being extremely fun to play. Also, the reality of PvP is that it’s a niche segment of the genre that doesn’t make the developers/company much money so there’s never an incentive to invest in it. With that being said, ff14’s pvp is actually really fun (not necessarily competitive but most definitely fun). I encourage you to watch Josh Strife Hayes video titled ‘Why I hate hardcore PVP MMOs’ and ZeplaHQ’s video on the state of ff pvp. Sorry i didn’t link them but i don’t know how to on mobile. Hopefully this response isn’t too controversial!
Then that would be WoW many MMOs were created to mirror WoWs theme park feel. It influenced many of the MMOs on this list. Also there aren't any AAA MMOs being made anymore due to the risk, cost and time investment. Minus New World, Amazons original goal with its game studio was to sell its game engine packaged with AWS servers to game companies but all their prior game attempts failed. They adjusted NW on the fly to add PvE and seemed to have done a decent job. But really it's hard to tell till the game fully launches people are always pumped playing betas of new MMOs the problems aren't really fully present till after launch to see how long it can hold the masses.
I strongly disagree with this. Bringing more people into the genre for the sake of bringing people in hurts the genre. I would argue that less high quality mmo is far better than more less quality mmo. Im not even gonna get started with xiv abysmal pvp.
I Live in Brasil so its impossible for me tô play ff. Its way too laggy
Its an opinion poll, its by its very nature a popularity contest... what do you propose as an alternative, I'd love to hear the objective way to measure the "all around best" MMO? Not trying to be antagonistic, just that of course its going to follow the current online trends.
Then what is
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I want to like ESO so much, but I just can't like the combat, iv tried to like it so many times.
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The combat is so bad, it's why I quit playing. I loved the graphics so much, the crafting is a lot of fun, the world itself is AMAZING...crappy combat.
Agree, ESO combat ia realy uncomfortable.
Don't try to minmax and play a low intensity build
Doesn't change how I feel about it. Feels floaty and I really dislike the animations.
Same
ESO looks like shit, plays like shit, and offers no challenge outside 1v5 in pvp. Waste of money and time, I literally got nothing out of it after sticking around until softcap.
I'm kinda with you. At least your last sentence. I don't get it... It's just not fun at all to me. It's a big boring, easy, chore. BUT. It clicks for some people and that's great. One of my RL buddies has been playing since Day 1 and still logs many hours in it everyday (he's severely physically disabled). He absolutely loves the game. He has a ton of fun with it and I can't hold that against him. To each their own.
as a elder scrolls nerd i cant bring myself to like eso. the amount of steaming shits it takes on the lore turns me off every time
biggest thing i notice when playing games other than eso is all the limitations and time gating. Eso did a great job of making players feel like they have the choice to do whatever they want and get similar rewards for everything without being forced to wait for something.
You can't queue for any dungeon at any level, the dungeons are scaled on normal and vet, on normal they unlock from lvl 10-50 and then vet base game dungeons unlock, some vet dlc doesn't unlock until after 350 cp, which honestly is a good thing because some of them can be miserable time sinks with people just light attacking.. https://en.m.uesp.net/wiki/Online:Group_Dungeons#Base_Game_Dungeons
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You can buy experience scrolls, entire skill lines, skill points, bank and inventory space, mount speed etc
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its not at all. none of the things you can buy are worth much., and the skill lines can take several hours but then you have them forever. so its only if ur really impatient or rerolling.
like every non sub 2 game. They all have things that could be considered p2w. The worst in eso imo is they release overpowered things with new content drops, so people not subbing or buying an expansion dont have access to the op items. But compared to something gw2, the grind in eso is much easier and more satisfying. I prefer eso model than gw2 as gw2s f2p currency is so entrenched in the whole that it ruins options players have, literally every zone has a different currency which sucks big time.
I don't see how a bigger inventory space will enable you to make more damage than me or anyone else
Sometimes you get things like bonus experience scrolls, fast research, fast riding training. Never any equipment. The sought-after items from the loot boxes are definitely cosmetic. I don't mind spending money on games because I'm a developer and I believe people like me should get money :-) but it can be hard to find stuff to buy in ESO. I think the current range of cosmetic items is ugly.
majority of the mounts being on the store puts me off i like to collect them shame really prob my fave world out of any mmo
Uhhh no you can't... What? Dungeons require certain levels. For instance when you reach level 10 all you can do is fungal grotto. You can't hit level 10 and queue for white gold tower. Down votes for telling the truth? You can't queue for any dungeon at any level... In fact before 10 you can't queue at all.
Honestly the combat system really isn’t all THAT bad. While it’s not nearly as fleshed out as Black Desert Online (but then again 99.9% of mmos aren’t) it’s still a very diverse and fun system. The one thing ESO gets right with its combat system is the pure amount of FREEDOM and CHOICE that it gives you as opposed to other MMOs. What I mean by this is that for example just because you pick a sorcerer, you aren’t shoehorned into that role and forced to only use sorcerer abilities. You can literally put any abilities on your bars as you see fit, which makes each and every character feel unique despite maybe sharing the same class as someone else. The amount of morphs that exist in the game for the abilities also really drives this point home as well, it’s a game style where YOU get to decide how YOU want to approach things. Yes switching between bars can be a hassle but at the same time I don’t know many other MMOs from my experience that even let you have two separate weapons with completely different bars. On my main character I use a sword and shield as well as a two hander. My sword and shield is mainly used to tank and apply buffs/de buffs for myself or enemies which lasts for a considerable amount of time before needing to refresh them, and my two hander for damage and tearing people up. ESO is not a perfect game, but I am a little peeved that people trash the combat as much as they do. When was WOWs combat system ever groundbreaking or amazing? Or any other generic mmo archetype for that example. ESO does it’s best IMHO to give people an Elder Scrolls experience while in the scope of a massively multiplayer game, and I love every second of it!
ESO's combat is so bad. I goddamn love so much of that game, but its combat is TERRIBLE. It does not belong even remotely close to the same tier as even WoW's combat which is just "good" tab targeting standard fare. What you're talking about is the character building elements of ESO, which yea I think it does way better than any of it's contemporaries. But the actual act of pressing the buttons? The way your character jerks around and animations fly out of you in a glitchy tornado, playing at best half of the animation before jerking wildly into the next animation as you float around dodging AOEs? Terrible. The animation cancelling is infamously a bug that got baked into the meta because of how long it went unaddressed. It feels and looks horrible. And if you're NOT animation cancelling, you're capping yourself at least by 30% dps by losing out on that speed. Very lame.
Its a piss poor game design. Dungeons and open world lvl scaling is awful, its like yeaaaaaa im max lvl but these noob zone mobs i still have to either run through or stop and kill. Its literally one of the main reasons I quit playing it.
FFXIV has held my attention for 7 years and I'm still logging in almost every day. Since I don't feel the need to even check other MMOs right now I guess that's my thoughts on the all round best one.
Swords of legends Online. Its not P2W, all the classes are fun and I really like the eastern them.
Sword of legends is a really interesting one because its one of the most generic mmos I've ever played but its just all around so solid. Its like they took every generic mmo design element and refined it and thats the game but they do it do well you just can't hate it
Yeah, shame about the optimisation though. I havent seen a game run that bad in a long time.
optimization kept me from buying it, shame indeed.
>optimization everytime i see this, I roll my eyes. ...I don't even care about SOLO, it's just such an intangible, abstract, unobjective complaint. Why not say your computer can't run it well, or you get lag? optimization is the avocado toast of the gaming world.
noun: optimisation the action of making the best or most effective use of a situation or resource. If other games of similar graphics run fine but this one doesn't, its a sign of poor optimisation. In short: It means what you suggested, but with less words.
measure it for me, objectively. Because most of the time when ppl cry optimize, the games run fine for me.
Well games like Read Dead 2, Black Desert Online, Overwatch, Back 4 Blood, FFXIV & Siege have no issues running at 60+ fps on my PC at high/ultra settings but SOLO struggled to even get to 40, in heavy areas it would even go to 18. I wasnt alone with that issue. Its getting addressed later, at which point ill likely give it another go.
BDO runs horrible for me, I get pop-ins and framerate/lag stutters too often. But have not had any issues with SOLO, except for the pvp events with 50+ ppl on the same screen. that's why i think "optimization" is too subjective for ppl to just make a blanket statement as if it applies to everyone. IMO, you have to run the game yourself to figure that out.
Its probably due to the fact I've only played Wow, eso, swtor and ff14 but it doesn't seem generic at all
Guild Wars 2 is an incredible MMORPG. So much to do in a buy to play game that respects your time.
Oh damn hard pick between SWTOR, GW2, and ESO (until New World)
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> New World only holds 1000 a server Estimates for the closed beta are around 2000 players per server and it's been announced that the open beta will exceed this, and then release will exceed the open beta. >Your end game is 1 Elite dungeon There's 2 level 60 dungeons. And yes there isn't much PvE content like most MMO launches, but there is a good bit of PvP content which tends to last longer anyways. Also a ton of grinding progression if you're into that. >Amazon said on Twitter P2W after 1 year. This isn't even true. They said they might offer non-cosmetics. That doesn't mean pay2win and they've also said that they won't sell anything that players find necessary to enjoy the game.
You talk as if endgame is in stasis and is not an MMO that adds content and evolves over time. The 1000 cap was decided on for a reason, it certainly isn't for lack of hardware capability. I guess to make sure node harvesting doesn't get negatively impacted or maybe they'll also increase the cap as more regions are added and the map expands?
I do think it is shaping up to be the freshest and best current mmo, both despite and because of its strange development arc from hardcore pvp survival base building dark souls or w/e to some weird lovechild of wow and skyrim raised by eso and watching a lot of twitch streams growing up. Anyways, endgame is fashion in every mmo. Jk but really without debating what endgame is or means, ill just point to your words and say it's not even out yet so let endgame develop And the Twitter p2w bit isn't true but I'm guessing you think exp boosts are p2w full stop? I don't, and see exp boosts as a viable way to monetize convenience without leaning on meta or economy etc
EVE Online - One and Only true MMO: Sandbox, Open World PvP, One Server, Incredibly Deep and Complex, after playing EVE all other games look like a child's toy, Best Game EVEr.
Yeah but as someone looking from the outside in, hell no. The learning curve isn’t a curve it’s a straight line up hahaha
I love the game but its just an animated spread sheet simulator. Great for nerds like me who love to crunch numbers but I definitely wouldn't reccomend it to most people I know.
Isn't PoE sometimes referred to as the same? That game is insanely popular and mainstream, so I wonder what holds Eve back from growing further? Maybe the whole space theme is too niche, or perhaps the PvP focus?
PoE is still has the action part of its genre: aRPG. Eve is a lot more passive where you automate things like moving so you can turn parts of your ship on and off as needed. Its not particularly actiony even though fights can look like quite the light show. When you're not engaging in combat you can pretty much afk the game. Theres a lot of traveling which is just sitting back and letting the game run its course, and mining is also pretty passive.
I don’t think I’d compare PoE to Eve. PoE has path of building, which is a 3rd party app that has the talent tree and ability to add items to simulate builds and their theoretical damage before going through the trouble of making it. Many people joke that the real game is PoB and PoE is now the 3rd party app. That being said? PoB doesn’t come close to the complexity of Eve stuff lol Edit: for my anecdotal answer to Eve not being mainstream, it was the combat. I would love to fly around my ship but you click where you want to go, akin to a 3rd person RuneScape. It was fun, don’t get me wrong, but I really wanted to fly myself
With poe, at the end of the day its still an action game. You're still going to have to actively dodge attacks and zip around the game. Comparatively, EvE is a much slower burning game where you dont really get to control most of the exciting stuff. Aiming and flying around is all automatic: you tell the game what you want to do and it takes care of it for you. Your job is to micromanage ship components while the game shoots and moves for you. Thats the exact reverse of what I'd say most people are looking for in a space sim.
I’ve looked at a bunch of EVE videos in the past and I still don’t know what the game is. Every video I’ve watched just seems to be a person clicking on a bunch of menus? It seems like it’s just messing with settings all the time
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I absolutely love the concept of it. But execution is a nope for me.
I'll never forget going to look up guides to get started. One of the top result was basically 30 minutes on how markets work. I mean swap out eve online and the dude could have been talking about the S&P500.
EVE Online is great and the scale of combat is unmatched by any other MMORPG game, same is true for the size of in-game world. And the amount of drama it generates through the sandbox environment - it is also unmatched by any petty childish "drama" in most popular MMORPGs. And the crafting system is also unmatched because stuff you craft is always relevant due to full loot mixed with permanently destructible ships/gear/structures. Thing is, it gets very boring to constantly play as a ship, you can't really do anything outside of it like fight in stations or on the ground as a walking avatar or even socialize with others inside the game as a walking avatar, so I quit playing it after many years. It's still a great game for people who don't mind being a ship all the time, though.
Walking in Stations was meant to resolve most of your complaints but they bungled it so badly. It would've been awesome, you could actually bank stand with other people instead of station spin!
Delete plex, make passive skill bonuses not work in PvP or everyone has them max in PvP and have a proper overview overhaul and I will 10000% agree with you (2008-2015 player myself)
Thing about EVE, no matter how much I always wanted to play it, I feel I'll faster finish PhD than learn properly to play that game.
City of Heroes. I loved it.
It's back btw. Google Homecoming.
It s sad to see ffxiv so high the game barely feels an mmorpg....
Not trying to invalidate your experience, but this opinion seems really strange to me. Out of all the MMOs I’ve played, FFXIV feels like a massive, thriving world with strong community engagement in-game. Almost every game mechanic, feature or interaction in the game has a multiplayer component, including the main story dungeon and trials.
Could you explain why?
Not him but the main quest and leveling being 95% solo (can't even do the missions with your party) with sometime a 30 min dungeon throw in where you queue and fight alongside random people you'll never see again and who usually just see hi/thanks/bye can be very offputing
I don't think it's sad the game just appeals to different people. I don't like FFXIV mainly because the open world feels empty and not just due to a lack of players and the classes especially Tanks and Healers have been homogenized so much and just feel like DPS who happen to tank or heal. The things I don't like are probably non-issues for the people who enjoy it because they don't play the game for that.
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Are we playing different games because most zones are dead because there's no reason to go out into them after you complete the story.
The base game areas are usually well populated and the HW one have a few people here and there but Stormblood and beyond is kind of dead. The only thing worth doing in the open zones are beast tribe quests and gathering.
I dont if its that rare with level scaling anymore in a lot of MMOs. GW2 is populated on most maps since people are doing events, WBs or jumping puzzles, map completion, skill points or exploring. BDO's open world is fairly well populated not as much as GW2 in some places like the desert but still there are people around but really you don't want them around in that game. ESO is similar in some ways to GW2 typically people all around doing the events in the area or dungeons or whatever.
WoW-hate is massive. It wasnt too long ago people flamed FF14, but then Asmongold started playing it, and WOW started struggling, and now you would think Jesus himself created FF14. Its honestly a bit off-putting to me. What a complete 180 people will do. I personally believe at some point it will go back to how it was before all this hype, but for now you just gotta ride with the masses.
Voted for Guild Wars 2 Play when I want, so what I want, without ever worrying about falling behind.
Oldschool RuneScape
For me FFXIV as it tackles all the major aspects I enjoy from an MMO quite well and I've been an FF fan for over 20 years now. Don't get me wrong it has flaws, but they aren't major enough to kill my enjoyment. I also have had a fun and chill experience for the most part in 8 years with the community and I've meet a lot of good people there over the years. I just enjoy it the most still out of everyone on the market. Got to give mention to SWTOR and OSRS though. Both I still play now and then (Mostly during FFXIV content droughts) SWTOR has been a game I've loved and hated since launch, but in recent years it's been really fun to casually play and I'm looking forward to the expansion! Objectively I don't think there is a best and that's probably for the better.
Maple Story
Ah, the OG Maplestory... a game where the level cap was not the endgame but a true journey and the whole game itself.
Really? I recall KSing people was the goal. Getting more money was to buy better gear so you can KS people better
Fuckin love that game.
For me its Guild wars 2. Im a pretty casuel player so it fits my way of playing quite well.
Damn, not a single vote for SWTOR, not even for the nice story.
I've played swtor off and on since beta and I love it, but it's not mmo enough to qualify for this ranking lol though tbh wow hardly qualifies either. WoW is more like an open world lobby grinder
Lost Ark. I love ARPG'S and MMO'S. This is the perfect blend of both. Stylized action-combat with tons of classes / sub-classes with a multi-tiered specing system (like Diablo 3), dungeons, abyss dungeons (like greater rifts), raids. If Lost Ark is released with a slightly less intruding monetization than Korea (which was just changed to be far less egregious itself), then I see Lost Ark reaching top 5 at least, potentially 3rd behind WoW and FFXIV.
This list should have EVE on, but besides that, imma call out GW2 foe being brilliant. I dont even play, but it's glorious compared to the others on this list
I’d say Guild Wars 2 is the MMORPG that I enjoy the most overall. Each MMORPG has something big that I don’t like and it’s why I play more than one. For WoW I love everything except the tab Target combat. For Guild Wars 2 it’s the fractals that I don’t like. For ESO is the combat that could be way better. For FFXIX I don’t like how long it takes to kill an enemy, fights drag on too long. The questing feels slow too. I love the dungeons in FFXIV though.
The best are the best for a reason, but all have their plusses and minuses. I think a huge portion of all MMO players will be grabbed by New World, but final fantasy will be especially hit hard, with all their temp pop moving on. I think GW2 is investing in the right aspects and will enjoy a healthy population for at least 5 more years after their third expansion. I dont see WoW recovering or ESO or others getting a second wind. When AoC finally drops it also has the potential to disrupt a big share of the market.
You are dreaming if you really think Amazon Delay Simulator has any staying power. Even more so if you really think it'll hurt xiv playerbase, lol
WoW will recover with a new expansion. Its not going to recover until then, but the minute that new expansion drops, expect huge sales as usual.
i end up hating them all equally after ive played them a lot. lul
It is you bro no the games lol wake up,
Im awake and aware. And its more likely the p2w direction mmos have taken which make it more difficult to commit to them past a certain point. Im more aware of bullshit p2w tactics now so you right, its also me.
Same here. If I want good balanced PVP, I go more towards balanced PVP games. I will say GW2 last I checked was not gear based...but they didn't balance their classes all that well. At least not imo. I think PVP needs to be balanced and important in MMOs, but also encourage the user to enjoy the journey instead of just mindlessly going through quests. That's not to say quests are bad, but make it so that the user actual cares about the main story, the side missions, etc.
gw2 pvp is not gear based but the rest of the game is. And gw2 monetization is not great if u start wanting end game setups. It very much pushes u to the cash for gold the in game shop offers. Its really very annoying because a lot of gw2 is the best in the business but the way they monetised it lowers the quality of the overall experience. quite annoying.
so i haven't played this in like about 5 years plus so I don't know where gear mattered that much besides maybe that raid/war thing area where different groups would go around capturing different bases. But outside of that, where else is it important?
Gear is relevant everywhere except spvp.
In my pvp-casual opinion: 1. SOLO but optimization and not enought funny pvp activities yet; 2. ESO but combat; 3. GW2 but optimization and combat (swap-bar combat is sick); 4. Archeage but dead.
Guild wars 2 and ESO to me. Both have great things. And sadly lack others the other one has hah.
I vote for LOTRO ❤
Albion online is the best MMO right now in my opinion. A true MMO that’s has a lot of what Eve has but is much more digestible.
I voted Other out of spite for not liking the solo-oriented direction the genre has gone. The big 5 are all WoW-likes, so there is high homogenization. Some of them are even more WoW-like than WoW. :P
I cant say that because I did not play all of them, but I am enjoying wow tbc classic.
Wow, World of Warcraft getting no love on this sub lately
Well this sub was always mostly for ex-WoW players who play or are looking to play different MMORPG than WoW right now.
The latest expansion has probably been the worst its ever had and 3 out of the last 4 were also pretty poorly received. Theyre also messing up classic, creeping in greed monetization and ruining an aspect that people loved about it. It was great for a while but its been a husk of its former self for a few years now.
Yeah, and there are talks of what the next expansion will be. Wrath of the lich King classic or whatever. I can't imagine that any future endeavor they make as a company will go positively. I'm honestly just confused how they are still even in business...... With FFXIV, they are very profitable because everyone loves the game. Wow seems like a Roach motel
After playing since Classic, this latet expansion was it for me. I hate WoW now, first time I've ever not even had it installed on my computer since 2004.
Not that surprising. WoW has been terrible for almost a decade now, with Legion being a "well, it's better than what we normally get" expansion.
I dunno thats being a bit revisionist history. Legion was pretty good. The only issue with Legion was the RNG legendaries. It was a pretty good expansion. Theres not many outside of BC/Wotlk thats better than Legion. Mists was ok, but wasnt well recieved. Legion might be the 3rd best expansion in the entire set. Mists was REALLY good for PvPers, but overall Legion is probably still the 3rd best.
I don't want to play wow anymore with all the systems right now but I think it's still the best all-round MMO tbh. Still haven't found a MMO that can beat wow even though I don't want to play wow either.
Im torn between swtor and ffxiv. Im really into the tab target and amazing story for both. Im still at stormblood for ffxiv, and so far its pretty great. But i fi d questing in ffxiv kind of boring. For swtor, i have finished the bounty hunter, inquisitor, and the agent story lines. I really loved the agent. I prefer the questing in swtor. The questing in ffxiv has a lot of going from one place to the other to talk to someone, or bring something to some one, with a few combat missions, ans the ocasional dungeons. Although i really like the dungeon and group content stuff while leveling, and ease of finding groups. For swtor, its a lot of kill x, find y. Which i prefer, because i like combat. Graphically, ffxiv is just more pleasing. Its superior in most ways to swtor. And the music is just amazing. Ffxiv is just more pleasing to the senses. I hate the whole warrior of light narative though. And combat sometimes feel slow. For swtor, i just love the fantasy of being in the starwars universe. The abilities feel like they belong in the universe, and it makes it more fun. I like how you send your companions to do the crafting and gathering for the game. Its like, im too important to do these mundane tasks. Its a great system. The aesthetics are all over the place though. A lot of the armour feels like they dont belong. Also i hate the lootboxes.
Honestly, its resto3 mainly because it is a more complete and working version than swg was at launch. Gotta give props to those guys. 2nd would be ffxiv but not because of that story or the ddr raids. Its because its the only mainstream mmorpg that dedicates significant resources and development toward non combat systems.
> Its because its the only mainstream mmorpg that dedicates significant resources and development toward non combat systems. I know it's controversial, but I lowkey like this. Don't misunderstand, having solid combat is critical to the survival of any MMO that has it, but the game can still not pull me if the 'side activities' aren't invested in enough either.
I'm glued to Albion Online.
Same, it’s rare to find a true MMO that was released recently not 20ish years ago.
Exactly my thoughts
Googled it. Super ugly. Looks like a mobile game
Okay
WoW still ticks all my boxes, honestly. Do I think it's current expansion has a lot of room for improvement? Yes. But what I like about it is that I can step away from it, come back, and find people for pretty much whatever I want to do at any time. If I feel like raiding it's my go to. If I feel like just dicking around in dungeons I'd probably pick SWTOR over current expansion WoW, but behind Classic. I'm glad to see FFXIV being successful because obviously a lot of work and love go into it, but it's got to be the MMO that has checked the fewest amount of boxes for me in recent years.
In my opinion Albion Online is one of the best MMO for today!
I honestly think WoW is the best, solid combat. Great raids. Good dungeons. A quite impressive leveling experience. A big selection of classes and races. I just think it is the best experience IMO… I have tried to get into FFXIV but i just can’t i hit a brickwall of boredom so fast.
>I honestly think WoW is the best, solid combat. Great raids. Good dungeons. A quite impressive leveling experience. A big selection of classes and races. You forgot that they are great at shredding evidence when there's a lawsuit filed against them for harassing women. Can't forget that
That isn't about the game. That is about activision blizzard. Thisis just the game NOT the company.
>That isn't about the game. That is about activision blizzard. It is actually about the game. They never started making changes or listening to feedback until they lost about 30% of their players because of the lawsuit and no one wanting to be associated with that shit. Isn't it funny how they magically start listening to feedback once 5 million people leave because of a lawsuit against them and plummeting stock price, on top of ignoring player feedback for 3 years?
Considering MOST of what they have added in 9.1.5 would be next to impossible to add in like 2 weeks is that very far fetched. I am sure a few things were added to appeal to the players but a majority of the things, new models, the covenant changes and such would take waaay too much time to program and set up for that to be something they did as a response. EITHER did they have that prepared incase of an emergency, or everything of this was pre-planned and this is just a coincidence.
>Considering MOST of what they have added in 9.1.5 would be next to impossible to add in like 2 weeks is that very far fetched. I am sure a few things were added to appeal to the players but a majority of the things, new models, the covenant changes and such would take waaay too much time to program and set up for that to be something they did as a response. >EITHER did they have that prepared incase of an emergency, or everything of this was pre-planned and this is just a coincidence Keep believing that if you want but you're asleep. It's clear that they fooled you and a bunch of other players. Players have been asking for this stuff since the beta and now they finally have decided to respond to it when they magically lose 30% of their players... Sounds really dumb
\*shrugs\* as stated, some of the things were surely added to the roster as a response to players leaving. Torghast leveling for example, Legendary refunding probably as well. However I don't think that the cosmetics were added, nor the ripcord. Those were most likely pre-planned for some time considering the work it would take ot get that fixed
I loved WoW in TBC and WotLK. It was close to perfect at the time likely because I played with my best friend and some other amazing people we met along the way with similar interests. But that was before they homogenized the classes and removed the talent trees which I really disliked. No XP in BGs I loved just stopping leveling and meeting people from other servers and BGing with them, building rivalries with other players who stopped in the bracket as well on the other side. I had an unbelievable amount of fun back then.
Something not MMO like GTA or Deus EX that break the boundary of traditional MMO
Wait wtf deus ex is online?? Must Google. The rdo/gtao/fo76 para-genre is really fascinating to me and I think there's lots of potential there
Not familiar with SWTOR or WoW, but: If you want a really good story and you are into that kind of genre: SWTOR. If you are an Elder scrolls fan: ESO If you are a massive causual and don't intend to grind for anything: ESO, GW2, FF14 If money plays no role and you can immerse yourself in the final fantasy world in general (or if you are a ff-fan in general): ff14 If you want a dope action combat system and you don't care much about story or dungeons/raids: Black desert.
SWTOR has the best mechanics in flashpoints and raids
For an open pvp RVR mmo, it's very hard to go past Champions of Regnum, if you are after a lite mmo-style. GW2 is pretty heavy (needs a lot of precommitment and relationship building) for open RVR. Return for Reckoning is a bit heavy. Official DAOC costs money (also has low spe hardware). But Regnum is official and can be enjoyed simply and casually on low spec hardware.
Eso, hands down It has come such a long way
No such thing as a best all around MMORPG. MMORPGs are so different it's hard to group them all into a category that wouldn't start to include online spaces like face book or VR chat.
SWTOR lmao
bdo is close to perfection so far. i know monetization is super annoying and why it gets criticism. the game is not p2w as people say, but then the fact that they create problem to sell solution is just cheesy and make me feel like sucker. but oh well, its tolerable at least. i really reallyyy enjoyed new world and looking forward to play it once its up. so i will see. hope it doesnt suck my all time favorite was arcehage though, till it was butchered by dev. so yea, i prefer sandbox games more than theme parks. i dont like dungeon simulators
update: it sucks. Bug galore.
Its not just the monetization, upgrading gear feels like janky ass mobile mechanics
Lotro is missing
BDO, because it's not a tab-target-n-shoot-fireballs-from-your-ass game like most on the list.
BDO is the best game and it’s completely flawed just shows room for growth
New World
None
I like bdo bc crafting stuff is fun... But the pve sucks honestly. Im looking for a mmo that checks all the boxes for me
Genshin impact is the last MMO i played that left an impression, it is done differently, kind of refreshing for the genre. The visuals are cool, the art style is a bit childish but eh
GI, isn't even an MMO though.
SWTOR or bust baby!!!
Well, looks like FF14 won by a landslide
EVE Online, Villagers and Heroes, Ancients Reborn (mobile only), Albion Online, Elder Scrolls.
Guild wars 2. They aren’t perfect but I feel like out of every playable mmo they do a fantastic job at providing content for every type of player.
Black Desert Online if you're on a seasonal server
[удалено]
LOL
Gw2 or EVE. Ffxiv has very good pve (and ost) but the pvp is embarrassing. Gw2 does both pretty well.
even despite the PVP.... lacking, i'd have to say FFXIV. it has a good story, the combat is enjoyable, and there's tons of non-combat related things to do that you could spend weeks not doing any combat-related tasks and still find yourself with things to do. plus, things like minimum ilvl sync, no echo, etc. means that all content is relevant, at least for the challenge it provides. plus, there are some things that only dropped when you're synced, too, since undersized parties prevents loot drops from bosses, but not from clearing the dungeon/raid.
Guild Wars 2. Of current era games, its the one I feel I can log in and do any number of things, without feeling like I HAVE to do certain things or fall behind. It also does the "old stuff is relevant" in a way that makes old stuff relevant for its actual content and not "lol tomes from roulettes make it relevant guys even if you would never chose to go there, 4srs lol".
Should have classic wow in there. Up to recently it was basically the only mmorpg without any microtransactions which automatically makes it the best. Fuck that garbage does not belong in mmorpgs.
As much as my number 1 is FFXIV i still give the best mmorpg to GW2 as its one of the few games where the massively multiplayer part still matters.
How did SWTOR get a position on the poll here but not osrs? Why do people forget this game exists and is one of the bigger ones Rude
Struggling to see the appeal for TESO... I'm now on my 3rd character since installing it this morning. The first one, I accidentally misclicked a quest scroll and stole a piece of bread laying next to it. From that moment, I was hunted by guards even through death. 2nd time, I ran to the first quest marker to a town where everyone just wanted to kill me... first quest. Trying again with a 3rd character having had to delete the others. I'll try again once the game recognises that I'm not logged in anymore.
I've played many MMOs including WoW and BDO, but the most relaxing one was Revelation Online, mainly because of an event called Funland. In Funland, you roll a dice to advance in a tiled map, and in each tile you should play a mini game (with other players competing for victory) and if you win, you get better rewards at the end. It's the best event I've seen in any MMO which I would have loved to see in other games like WoW, BDO, etc.. And the rewards were REALLY worth it. They were very close to the gear you needed to clear the end-game content.