My new mmorpg

[akarthis]

I just got my new adsl connection and i want to play my first mmorpg.The only game that got my attention is conan but there are some months until it's out.Any suggestions?I'm almost 30 and i want something mature.Thanks in advance

 

[Thaurin]

I think you will find that every MMO has immature people playing them, whether they are 30 or 12.

 

[Gallifrey]

MMOs are filled with mature 12 year olds and immature 40 year old as much as they are filled with immature kids and adult adults. There's no avoiding it at all I'm afraid, it comes with the MMO genre.

Your best bet is to find a game that looks appealing and give it a try. Most MMOs have some sort of free trial.

 

[akarthis]

I totally agree with you.I mentioned my age to point that i want to play a game with a mature theme.That's all.All suggests wow but it looks very childish to me.Am i wrong?

 

[Gallifrey]

WoW isn't childish actually. The graphics are a bit "cartoony" but they work really well in-game, and I don't think they look that cartoonish while playing. It all fits together nicely.
Lord Of The Rings On-Line looks a bit more realistic, though I have to admit that the more colourful aspect of WoW keeps my attention more than the greens, greys and browns of LOTRO.

Conan does look a bit more gritty in theme, and from the screenshots I'm really impressed at how well they've nailed Howard's world. It really *looks* like the world of Conan. There's also Rome: Gods And Heroes which looks quite good, but I'm not sure when it's supposed to be released. The Warhammer MMO looks solid too, and if done right, that's a game world that's very harsh and more mature in theme.

 

[Acleacius]

If it's your first mmog, I would suggest staying away from hardcore like the original Everquest, Vanguard or D&D.
However if you like crowded servers LotR and WoW, for a more serene experience go with Everquest 2, it has tons of content, very stable, solo and group content at every experience level, and very nice looking game.

 

[Ammon777]

Age of Conan will have a mature theme, but its not out until next year.

I suggest EVE Online as the closest to a mature theme. Everquest 2 also has a more mature community and is a tad more serious than World of Warcraft.

 

[akarthis]

Thanks for your suggestions.I think i will check everquest 2.

 

[Sorcha Ravenlock]

I'm playing the LOTRO trail now, you get to play for free for 7 days. I find it isn't crowded at all, I see other people every now and again but it seems very quiet.
The community also seems very friendly and helpful, and I haven't seen any naked dancing elves and such like in WoW, so from what I can tell they seem reasonably mature.

So far the gameplay has been more compelling then WoW or EQ2 to me because the game seems more story driven, and the quests (after the initial starter area) seem to involve more then "Kill 10 foozles" or "Collect 8 rat tails".
Those quests are there, but they are broken up by other stuff as well, it all seems to be a bit more part of the story rather then just seperate quests.
There is no big emphasis on end-game raiding, instead the message seem to be that it is the journey, not the destination that is to be enjoyed. There is no lack of quests and locations so far, and I find myself levelling up without realising because I'm so busy doing quests and sight-seeing.

Besides that the atmosphere is very well done. Walking through the Shire with my hobbit I really feel like the books have come alive, and the game is sprinkles with famous and not so famous NPCs. So far I've met Gaffer Gamgee, got scolded by Lobelia Sackville-Baggins and fought side by side with Elrond for a brief while.
I can't wait to visit the Prancing Pony

The game got lukewarm reviews at the start, but it seems they have made a lot of improvement to that and the game feels very solid. I am seriously considering picking the game up once my trail is finished, and I would recommend you at least try it out.

I played WoW as well, and the community there is a mixed bag when it comes to maturity. If you are in the right guild you'll find like-minded people, but it is not uncommon to find groups of naked dancing elves in the middle of town, or the corpses of gnomes in "funny" positions.
The game itself is bright and cartoony. Personally I didn't find this a problem since the whole world is like that and so it fits, but you'll have to see for yourself if it's to your taste or not.
Like all Blizzard games the game is well put together and polished, but some classes are more powerful then others, and there aren't a lot of players on the Horde side. (this might have changed with the expansion that brought pretty elves to that side though)

I won't comment on EQ2, I did a trail and just wasn't too impressed. I couldn't put my finger on the why of it though.

then there is Guild Wars. Unlike other MMORPGs there is no monthly fee, and the moment you leave a town the game is instanced, which means you are alone in the area with the people who grouped up with you in town. This makes it feel more like LAN play then MMORPG play at times.
The game is story and player-skill drive. The different chapters all have a beginning, a middle and an end although once you've been somewhere you can revisiut and replay any part whenever you wish.
the game caps out at level 20 way before the game is finished, and you'll have max gear by that point as well. The trick is to get the right combination of skills and the right strategy to defeat the mobs, rather then uber-gear or level.
What is also different is that the game is party-based, and there are henchmen (and in Nightfall customisable heroes) that you can take along if you don't have a full group of real people.
I soloed most of the game with heroes and henchies, which was very doable.
It was the MMORPG I started with, and I go back to it regularly, which is made even easier by the fact that there is no fee.

As you can tell, at the moment I'm smitten with LOTRO, the free trail can be found here:
http://www.lotro.com/

EQ2 has free trails as well on their site I believe, I don't know if WoW does though.
if you want to try out Guild Wars, send me a PM, I might still have a buddy key that lets you try the game for free for a certain amount of time.

I'd advise you to try out some of the free trails first and see for yourself what suits you, before making a decision. Different games cater for different people, and since you've never played a MMORPG before, you'll have to find out yourself what you like and what you don't.
those free trails are a good place to start and to see if MMORPGs are your cup of tea or not.

 

[akarthis]

I just visited the sites and i saw that all have some free trial days.I will start with everquest 2 and then lotr.Then eve online.Thank you all for the help

 

[zakhal]

Ive been thinking of buying guild wars but ive read that the game is not very immersive. Its poor for a solo rpg. Even the quest texts are given in a popup.

Yet most of the quests are presented to you in little pop-up text windows, which hardly immerse you into the game's world. A growing list of inside jokes and geeky references, along with the convenient but inexplicable ability to instantly teleport to any major location you've been to, further ensure that this isn't likely to be a game that makes you lose yourself in its deep storyline. -nightfall review

 

[pox67]

Akarthis, try out the demos before buying one. As said LOTRO has a trial, I played for 3 months or so then went back to Everquest 2. Both have good solo and group content. EQ2 is very polished though as it has been around for a few years.

Both games you can join guilds which have age limits to them, my guild is 25+ and makes for a very pleasant experience!

 

[akarthis]

I tried to play eq2 (free trial) but i had some problems with the account and i couldn't begin it so i gave up.Now i'm downloading lotr and hoping for the best.

 

[Greyloch]

I'd suggest trying the City of Heroes/Villains game, I believe they have a free trial as well. It's quite solo-friendly, with some good options for creating and customizing characters to your tastes, and has fairly active and fun combat.

Issue 11 is currently in the works, and includes time travel adventures and new powersets for melee characters (Dual Blades offensive set, and Willpower defensive set).

 

[Sorcha Ravenlock]

Ive been thinking of buying guild wars but ive read that the game is not very immersive. Its poor for a solo rpg. Even the quest texts are given in a popup.

not completely true. Sidequests are, but the main quests are all fully voice acted cut-scenes that are of great quality. Of all the MMORPGs I've tried, GW has the most cut-scenes, and it a lot more immersive storyline wise. It feels more like a solo RPG then a MMORPG at times.
I have to disagree with that statement, I'm afraid...

 

[zakhal]

not completely true. Sidequests are, but the main quests are all fully voice acted cut-scenes that are of great quality. Of all the MMORPGs I've tried, GW has the most cut-scenes, and it a lot more immersive storyline wise. It feels more like a solo RPG then a MMORPG at times.
I have to disagree with that statement, I'm afraid...

Of all mmogs perhaps but not when compared to singleplayer rpgs. I read a lot of reviews from both users and critics on all games of the series and they all say the singleplayer part is not exactly immersive (som of the reasons I allready listed). You cant immerse yourself into it like you can in sp rpg. Thats very important for me when buying a rpg.

The only reason I even considered the guild wars was the fact that I heard it had a good sp part. But it seems its only so when compared to mmogs which are quite low on the sp immersion level so its not much of a thing to gloat about.

 

[Sorcha Ravenlock]

The only reason I even considered the guild wars was the fact that I heard it had a good sp part. But it seems its only so when compared to mmogs which are quite low on the sp immersion level so its not much of a thing to gloat about.

*shrug* that depends on which sp RPG you compare it with. it is less immersive then Baldur's Gate, but more immersive then Diablo. Like a lot of modern RPGs, it lies somewhere in between.
I for one did feel part of the storyline, I got choked up when one of the main characters died, and even more when I found out what his fate was. Unlike in some recent sp RPGs I've played I really had the feeling I accomplished something in Guild Wars: Prophesies, leading the exodus from Ascalon felt very epic to me, more then just beating another bad guy.

Guild Wars has a lot of flaws, but they lie in the level cap that you reach to early, the constant focus on balance in PvP which sometimes messes up the PvE and the fact that certain classes are underpowered and find it impossible to find a PUG.
The storyline and execution of the main quest are as good as in any RPG I've played in the last few years, and if you go in alone with heroes and henchmen, you wouldn't know it was a MMORPG rather then single player.

But you seem to have your mind made up based on reviews, and that is fine ofcourse. It doesn't sound like MMORPGs are your thing, and you are not the only one in that.

 

[zakhal]

*shrug* that depends on which sp RPG you compare it with. it is less immersive then Baldur's Gate, but more immersive then Diablo. Like a lot of modern RPGs, it lies somewhere in between.

Main problem is the world i guess. You can instantly teleport from anywhere to anywhere anytime you like. There are invisible walls all the way. Not to mention the fact that you are forced to go into cities where people shout lot of OOC banter and talk german, french and italy. Plus do all kinds of hip dance moves.

The world has a fake feeling. And the popup-text windows for sidequests wont help in that either. Somone compared the game to neverwinter nights (1) and that game does have that fake feeling too.

Then theres the "funny people" aka if you group with any people theres always a chance they start drawing pen**** on the minimap. I allready saw one guy in the pictures asking why testicle is a banned world. I bet he was considering it as a name. Even if you group only with AI heroes you still hear and see all the OOC crap these people spout in the cities.

Non of modern sp rpgs have major issues like that. If they do theyd be rated badly. For som reason fable comes to mind.

I for one did feel part of the storyline, I got choked up when one of the main characters died, and even more when I found out what his fate was. Unlike in some recent sp RPGs I've played I really had the feeling I accomplished something in Guild Wars: Prophesies, leading the exodus from Ascalon felt very epic to me, more then just beating another bad guy.

You like it but many people have complained about not getting into it. Also som say it doesnt seem that special. Its propably solid story (not all stories need be lifechanging) but without immersion it doesnt work.

Its like reading a book. Without immersion you cant see the text in the book become alive. Good sp rpg is like reading a book. Reading the book together with other people doesnt necesserily enhance the experience.

The storyline and execution of the main quest are as good as in any RPG I've played in the last few years, and if you go in alone with heroes and henchmen, you wouldn't know it was a MMORPG rather then single player.

Henchmen are literally stupid and there is no pause function for real-time battle like in baldur's gate. They dont even get experience and you can equip them. Heroes can be but they too have limited intelligence.

Also the latest game in the series has so hard enemies in som missions its nigh impossible to handle them alone with AI groupies.

But you seem to have your mind made up based on reviews, and that is fine ofcourse. It doesn't sound like MMORPGs are your thing, and you are not the only one in that.

It would take like 100€ in cash and hundreds of hours of my time if id choose to pick up this series. I dont do such things lightly. I studied the series for many days before reaching my conclusion.

Actually Im quite fond of mmogs and I started playing them 10 years ago allready. Im just tired of the stuff they are offering. The current diku mmogs are not quite suited for singleplayer, because of the lack of immersion, yet they are constantly trying to make them like that.

Theres a simple formula for immersion that id like to suggest. Immersion is (reality of the world) / ((IC player)*(IC player)). Thus there are two ways for game to be immersive. You can have world that feels very real or players that stay IC (in-character). Players can ruin even the best of worlds so they have a bigger influence in this.

Most mmogs are very lacking in the IC player part so they have tried instancing. But with instancing they fail to make the world feel real (empty world/limited in size/invisible walls/insta-teleport around the world/redo the same quests/etc) so in the end the game is still not immersive.

 

[irobot]

SquareEnix has a new MMORPG in the works, more info at SquareEnixMM.com.

 

[akarthis]

The first mmorpg i played is ddo.I decided to give it a try.Most of my pnp members told me not to but it was a game i expected many years now.I just finished my trial and i'm considering whether to buy it or try other games too as most of you advised me.I liked the community and the rp approach of the game.I hated the same quests.
Now,the game i'm waiting is age of conan.Especially if it is 18 plus and good.
I,tried eve on line but....i dont know,perhaps tabula rasa?
city of heroes looks nice but there was not a free trial.
Many people from here suggested everquest 2,but as i said i couldnt play it.I will try
it in a friend of mine.
Opinions about ddo?
Sorry about grammar mistakes