Forums » Off-Topic and Casual Chatter

Looks Like at Least Another Year - any Suggestions

    • 3852 posts
    November 9, 2017 9:03 AM PST

    for a good MMO to kill time with while waiting for Pantheon and after I again get tired of LOTRO. I went back there and in a few months will have 7 recently created characters at level cap with every craft maxed out. (lots of time to play so it takes me less time than someone who actually has a life).

    Ideally my preferences are

    (1) A game that can be mostly played without pvp. Thus, from all I understand, Archeage wouldn't work because outside of certain areas and/or after certain levels pvp isn't avoidable. No pve servers where you can play "unflagged" and not be attacked while questing or exploring.

    (2) A game that is reasonably appealing visually. At least as good as LOTRO ( a rather old game by now). Yes gameplay > eyecandy but this is a temporary fix and one I will leave in a second once Pantheon comes out - maybe when alpha testing starts.

    (3) Not cartoon/anime I prefer realistic looks. 

    (4) Not browser based I have never tried one that impressed me. Though maybe they have gotten a lot better. But games designed for mobile devices simply lack a lot of things games designed for desktop PCs take for granted.

    Free play definitely not required - more of a negative in fact. 

    I hated the interface of ESO (Elder Scrolls Online) and it seemed more like a single player game interface but it may tops on my "maybe try it again one day" list. Maybe one of the newer games is better than I realize though  I've seen mostly negative cdomments about them and some have outright failed. 

    I haven't mentioned EQ -  I picked DAOC over EQ back in the day and was there for 4 years. Then EQ2 which had a good menu-driven interface. By the time I tried EQ the slash command interface struck me as so primitive I didn't play long though I saw strengths to the gameplay. I tried again a year ago but again couldn't take the relatively primitive interface and limited customizability (for me large fonts for as much as possible are a necessity not a luxury these days).

     


    This post was edited by dorotea at November 9, 2017 9:09 AM PST
    • 769 posts
    November 9, 2017 9:08 AM PST

    I don't know if you're only looking for MMORPG'S along the same vein as LOTRO/EQ, but I always have a lot of fun on Path of Exile. Good way to kill time. Worth a look if you haven't tried it yet. 

    Side note: I miss the old days of LOTRO :(

    • 3852 posts
    November 9, 2017 9:13 AM PST

    Quick reply - before I finished editing (I try to kill typos - they give no xp but I can solo them).

    Thanks - must admit that Path of Exile doesn't ring a bell I will take a look.

    LOTRO isn't what it used to be - every year the store gets more intrusive and content is trivial to solo up until the latest expansion which actually has some challenge to it. But I still prefer it to other MMOs I have tried - read the books back in the 50s so the lore appeals to me even today.

    • 18 posts
    November 9, 2017 9:43 AM PST

    I recently went back to EQ to hold me over until Pantheon. Currently playing on the Agnarr server.

    I would also recommend EVE online, but it has a large PVP focused portion, so not sure if that would fit your needs.

     

    ~Winter

    • 2752 posts
    November 9, 2017 11:27 AM PST

    I know you said no PvP, but the spiritual successor to DAoC is due sometime in 2018 (in beta now I believe): Camelot Unchained. Might be worth a look anyway. 

     

    Personally I am taking time off from MMOs until Pantheon and enjoying the fruits of other types of games. If open to it I'd currently recommend Divinity: Original Sin 2 (playing the first not required), Total War: Warhammer 1 & 2, or if you just want to chill out with some relaxing gameplay: Stardew Valley or Rocket League. 

    • 6 posts
    November 9, 2017 12:45 PM PST

    Rift is a good, solid game with Free or Patron options. It's fun, challegning enough to not get too tedious but not so challenging that you're like..f this, Im out. You don't need a group and the PvP is totally optional via world flag toggling or arena PvP. There's a good strong RP community there if that's something that interests you and the dimension building is -amazing-.  EQ2 was my 'fall back' game for many many many years. More recently, it's Rift. 

    • 334 posts
    November 9, 2017 12:57 PM PST

    I kill time trying to contribute to Pantheon.
    I set my mind in game mode and try to view topics as group content and posts as solo stuff
    Raiding discussions and adding to the loot table.
    Trying to give immersive answers based on points of view and adding info to my Pantheon experience
    RV posts are like sought after drops.
    Ding, you just got quoted

    • 769 posts
    November 9, 2017 2:02 PM PST

    Iksar said:

    I know you said no PvP, but the spiritual successor to DAoC is due sometime in 2018 (in beta now I believe): Camelot Unchained. Might be worth a look anyway. 

     

    Personally I am taking time off from MMOs until Pantheon and enjoying the fruits of other types of games. If open to it I'd currently recommend Divinity: Original Sin 2 (playing the first not required), Total War: Warhammer 1 & 2, or if you just want to chill out with some relaxing gameplay: Stardew Valley or Rocket League. 

    Do you know if CU will be completely PvP-centric? Will there be options for PVE gameplay? I missed out on DAoC, and I'm curious about CU, but I've never been a huge fan of PvP. 

    Either way, I'm intrigued by the game and will probably give it a go. 

    • 3852 posts
    November 9, 2017 3:27 PM PST

    I agree with the comments about Rift and EQ2 but I've had so many characters to level cap in each of them it is enough.

    Camelot Unchained is very heavily PvP I have been keeping an eye on it after my 4 years in DAOC. 

    Tralyan you can always try DAOC it is still there and last I looked still supported. Given its age it probably won't look too impressive though. Almost as old as EQ.

    Thanks for all suggestions.

     

    • 2752 posts
    November 9, 2017 4:24 PM PST

    Tralyan said:

    Do you know if CU will be completely PvP-centric? Will there be options for PVE gameplay? I missed out on DAoC, and I'm curious about CU, but I've never been a huge fan of PvP. 

    Either way, I'm intrigued by the game and will probably give it a go. 

     

    Yeah, there will be next to zero PvE gameplay and "leveling" is all horizontal. I think crafters and builders are going to be the only people that have many PvE elements involved. 

    • 753 posts
    November 9, 2017 4:32 PM PST

    I re-opened all access in EQ.  Started a fresh Shaman and fresh Monk as these are the two most likely classes I will be picking from in Pantheon.  I'm doing a "nostalgia tour" through content.  That is, rather than trying to blow past stuff, I am redoing zones / content I loved most back in the day.

    I don't know how long it will keep me occupied, but I figure I get dual gain during that time... first, I'm killing time - second, I'm playing classes that I suspect will resemble the classes I want to play in Pantheon.

    I'm also going to blow through Season 12 of Diablo 3 starting tonight when it opens.


    This post was edited by Wandidar at November 9, 2017 4:32 PM PST
    • 334 posts
    November 9, 2017 7:01 PM PST

    I suppose playing the competiion also a source of idea's, lol

    • 1281 posts
    November 11, 2017 3:43 PM PST

    Tralyan said:

    I don't know if you're only looking for MMORPG'S along the same vein as LOTRO/EQ, but I always have a lot of fun on Path of Exile. Good way to kill time. Worth a look if you haven't tried it yet. 

    Side note: I miss the old days of LOTRO :(

    I am going to ask a dumb, but honest question.  I'm not intending to be a snarky jerk, but looking for an honest reply.

    With games like Star Wars and LoTRO they already have a pre-conceived universe with a pre-conceived set of derfined people (the actors in the case of movies and characters in the case of books).  What is the attraction to playing a game that has a pre-defined "outcome" as it were?  I have never played either game due to my "pre-conceived notion" that these games would try to box you into something based on existing plot lines., so I am looking for is a "Why did you choose these games and were my pre-conceived notions about plot lines even remotely correct?

    • 3852 posts
    November 12, 2017 9:20 AM PST

    SWTOR had no predetermined outcome at all. The game was set many centuries before the time of the Deathstar. They couldn't destroy the galaxy or wipe out any races that appeared in later movies but that isn't much of a constraint. The MMO was set after the single player Old Republic games.

    LOTRO was highly constrained and the result of the main plot line was known. But that didn't affect most of the game too much. You are correct that a large percentage of the players knew the "ending" and were more interested in the lore than in any feeling of suspense as to where the universe was going. We all knew that the good guys would win and humans would supersede dwarves, elves etc in the Fourth Age.

    • 2138 posts
    November 13, 2017 9:04 AM PST

    I've been having fun in old EQ, and Rimworld in the meantime, although its not an MMO.

    • 769 posts
    November 13, 2017 10:54 AM PST

    Kalok said:

    Tralyan said:

    I don't know if you're only looking for MMORPG'S along the same vein as LOTRO/EQ, but I always have a lot of fun on Path of Exile. Good way to kill time. Worth a look if you haven't tried it yet. 

    Side note: I miss the old days of LOTRO :(

    I am going to ask a dumb, but honest question.  I'm not intending to be a snarky jerk, but looking for an honest reply.

    With games like Star Wars and LoTRO they already have a pre-conceived universe with a pre-conceived set of derfined people (the actors in the case of movies and characters in the case of books).  What is the attraction to playing a game that has a pre-defined "outcome" as it were?  I have never played either game due to my "pre-conceived notion" that these games would try to box you into something based on existing plot lines., so I am looking for is a "Why did you choose these games and were my pre-conceived notions about plot lines even remotely correct?

    I can see your aversion to well-known titles, but in the case of those like Star Wars and LOTRO, the authors/creaters left so much open ended with so many diverging story lines that it is laughably easy to create hundreds of original stories within the framework of the title itself. 

    What I mean by that is, yes, we know what's going to happen in LOTRO. Frodo is trying to get to Mt. Doom, Gollum bites his friggin' finger off and falls in (SPOILER ALERT?!) with the ring. But aside from that, there is so much we don't know. We don't know the storylines of Elledan and Elrohir (sons of Elrond), or of Gandalf's many side adventures, or Radagast for that matter. Galadriel is a huge figure in the canon but we're only introduced to a miniscule portion of what she's done. The Dunedain are always shrouded in mystery with Aragorn as the only one we really get to know. Even characters like Glorfindel are just waiting to have their stories told. And that's not even mentioning the hundreds of regions and lands beyond what the story itself explores that are just waiting to be fleshed out. We're told of cities and towns beyond the horizon that are never explored in the books. On top of that, we have Tolkien's other publications that delve deeper into other areas of the lore that can give rise to even more possible story-lines (or fanfiction, if you will). 

    For titles like Star Wars and LOTRO, the world is huge and so well-done that drifting from the main plot isn't hard to do. That's obvious with Star Wars simply by looking at all the ridiculous amount of novels that have been published on Boba Fett (SP?) and other side characters. When a world is crafted with so much detail, but with so much of it still being unkown and open-ended, it's easy to create alternate plot points. So while the main quest-line does ostensibly follow Frodo's journey, it meanders and takes tributaries that allow you to explore heretofore unexplored areas of Middle Earth. And as a giant Tolkien nerd, that has A LOT of appeal. 

    As an example, the Barrow Downs was a relatively short portion of the book. As was the Old Forest. And when you first read the books, it's hard to grasp the connection between those plots and the main story-line. Lord of the Rings On-line explores the barrow downs and Tom Bombadil much more thoroughly (I believe the first substantial dungeon was in the Barrow Downs), connecting it to the main story-line using existing lore and by adding conjectures that make sense. As campy as some of it can be, they do a really good job at fleshing out the world of Middle Earth. 

    Easterlings, The Wild-Men, Moria, The Gray Havens, the dwarves of the Iron Hills, Gundabad, even places that were sort of explored but are so rich in lore, like Mirkwood. All these places that we hardly know nothing about that are just waiting to have more stories told. 

    So, you're right, for a lot of titles out there where the world isn't as large and open-ended, it would be pretty boring to play an MMO based off that. But for Star Wars and LOTRO, it's pretty much the same as having MMO's in the world of Dungeons and Dragons or even (maybe one day) Krynn from Dragonlance. We know those worlds, and many of the prominent figures, but it's so fleshed out and such a living and breathing world, that creating an MMO around it was a relatively easy thing to do. 

    Also, for those of us who are just giant LOTR nerds, even if it wasn't like that, being able to play a Hobbit in The Shire would just be awesome. 

    • 1315 posts
    November 13, 2017 11:31 AM PST

    I recently started a Monk with my forum name on P99 as I wanted some of the old flavor that so many of us fell in love with all those years ago while we wait for its true successor.  Current Everquest is so huge now that I just couldnt feel at home and I refuse to give Daybreak any of my money as I view them as a combination of a Game IP patent troll and a strip mine company that buys up pristine wilderness areas to destroy.  Otherwise I am building an electric forge and a cnc router table to fill my time with.

    Trasak

    • 3852 posts
    November 14, 2017 7:39 AM PST

    I am not at all familiar with P99 but I agree - the other reason I haven't given a really serious try to EQ is that I truly dislike Daybreak.

    • 3016 posts
    November 17, 2017 10:32 AM PST

    dorotea said:

    Quick reply - before I finished editing (I try to kill typos - they give no xp but I can solo them).

    Thanks - must admit that Path of Exile doesn't ring a bell I will take a look.

    LOTRO isn't what it used to be - every year the store gets more intrusive and content is trivial to solo up until the latest expansion which actually has some challenge to it. But I still prefer it to other MMOs I have tried - read the books back in the 50s so the lore appeals to me even today.

    Agree with you on Lotro,  lifetime sub there, went back a couple months ago after being disappointed with the state of affairs on Agnarr ..EQ progression server.     It was fun to decorate my house for awhile,  but all the things required directly from the Lotro store are annoying at best.   I have points I can spend there,  but in the end,  the excitement of returning to a game I beta tested,  kind of withered away.   For now I am occupying myself with Facebook games,  which I can take or leave,  until we get into testing.   Still nothing much out there,  was disappointed with ESO when it came time to test that game.   Lasted four hours and dropped it.  Oh and did you hear about the new Star Wars game,  huge kaffufle ..evidently the devs had been requiring $2000.00 for certain unlocks in the game..LOL!  It was on the news today,  that's carrying micro transactions to the extreme.    "charge what the market will bear"   in this case the gamers weren't biting.   Was such a huge uproar ..the Devs decided they would remove their pricey unlocks.  :)

    Cana

    • 3852 posts
    November 19, 2017 4:36 PM PST

    ESO was a real disappointment I had liked the single player games and was looking forward to a pure subscription game (which of course they abandonned rapidly). Four hours is longer than I lasted.

    • 154 posts
    November 20, 2017 12:11 PM PST

    Winterpain said:

    I recently went back to EQ to hold me over until Pantheon. Currently playing on the Agnarr server.

    ~Winter

     

    Would it be possible for someone to start playing EQ today? I am a little concerned it would be overwhelming. I played Everquest 2 but never had the chance to try Everquest. 

    I have been playing Path of Exile for a few years now, it is a great game but it is starting to feel repetitive so I went back to Guild Wars 2. 

    • 2886 posts
    November 20, 2017 12:38 PM PST

    Ithaca said:

    Winterpain said:

    I recently went back to EQ to hold me over until Pantheon. Currently playing on the Agnarr server.

    ~Winter

     

    Would it be possible for someone to start playing EQ today? I am a little concerned it would be overwhelming. I played Everquest 2 but never had the chance to try Everquest. 

    I have been playing Path of Exile for a few years now, it is a great game but it is starting to feel repetitive so I went back to Guild Wars 2. 

    Of course it's possible, but would probably take a while to get caught up. I'm not sure there's much of a point though. It's not even close to the game it used to be. If you want a genuine EverQuest experience, you'd be better off trying Project1999 or a progression server.


    This post was edited by Bazgrim at November 20, 2017 12:39 PM PST
    • 5 posts
    November 21, 2017 7:05 AM PST

    Path of Exile does something new every 3 months usually, starting new expansions or leagues is fun, but it has a shelf life of about 2 months per league for most, generously.

    Mu Legend is pretty fun too, and lot of grinding potential later on.

    p99 was too crowded last i played, but one of the other shards are probably good.

    • 7 posts
    November 22, 2017 2:34 PM PST

    Final Fantasy XIV is pretty fun with a good story. The PvP is lame though.

    • 3852 posts
    November 23, 2017 7:06 AM PST

    FFXIV handles the story line really well. I don't recommend it for anyone that doesn't like having to do hundreds of quests to unlock content (I am not exaggerating in the slightest) many of which require grouping for dungeons that are so scripted that if you don't know where to go and what to do in precisely what order you are useless in the boss fights. Every week or so someone actually tries to talk to someone else in a dungeon group but that level of socializing is rare (even on the U.S. servers many players are Japanese that can't or won't speak English).