Battle of the MMORPGs :o

[Still-Xey-Lover]

Battle of the MMORPGs

Allo, i know most of you guys know a good game when you see it, so i figure i'd ask here instead of a biased forum. I need something to do this upcoming summer and it appears as if the only way to get a good rpg (online) is in an MMORPG. although i despise the monthly fees i'll just suck up my pride and pay it .

I've narrowed it down to some titles: dark age of camelot, WoW (LoLzZZ), vangaurd and this new LoTR: shadows of angmar (in every advertisement online lately). I've looked into them some and have mixed feeling about all of them. Of course the choice is mine in the end, but i'd like to see what you guys have to say about them. thanks in advance.

p.s. i plan on having a quite a few hours free a day, some days more than others. it gets boring sometimes and i want a game to keep me entertained on the side of life, and no if i play WoW i won't let it run my life i swear >.<.

 

[Disque]

Apparently vanguard is a steaming pile of cow droppings.

 

[Corn]

Well that Lord of the Rings MMORPG banner is lookin pretty strong right about now..

lolololl

Edit: aw changed to WaMu banner wtf!?

You all know what I'm talkin bout tho

 

[Palm]

WoW kicks ***. Only other MMO I played is Everquest 2 and I didn't like it. I would recomend WoW. It can be a lot of fun both with the guilds they have and high end raiding PvE or PvP. And you don't get the sense that Blizzard is only out for your money like I got from Sony. They don't turn out expansions every few months and so on, PC requirements are low, lots of content for your moneys worth. Only complaint is there seems to be some issues with their European servers as concerns lag and downtime sometimes but that will also depend on where you play from.

 

[TheDarkSide]

Blizzard is going to announce Starcraft 2 today at WW1 from what I've been reading . Its going to be MMO format too with 3d models . Or some think they may actually announce Diablo 3 !! I thought WOW's cartoon graphics sucked and took it back the day after I bought it . EQ2 was ok but requires massive amounts of time to do anything . Of the choices you list I'd probably pick the LOTR one , though I haven't played it ..

 

[Rekoc]

wow with me xey and kil. we all play horde on awegynn

 

[Gluttony]

I used to play wow since release until Lord Of The Rings Online came out. I quit after that. I dislike where wow is going because it's advertised as a casual friendly game when it's not. The only way to advance your character at the end game is by grinding for hours on end. You cannot advance unless you rep grind or raid.

Lord Of The Rings is very casual and the pvp in that game requires more tactics (although it's limited because not many people have hit cap yet.) The pvp is called monster play and I got to participate in it. It's actually very entertaining and requires much more skill than wow without the dedication to get anywhere.

Another thing I like about lord of the rings outside of the casualness is the crafting which I believe to be greatly improved over wow. Also crafting gear doesn't bind on equip so you could use it and trade it with other chars/give it to your lower levels which makes it far more useful than on wow. You can also craft some of the best gear in the game.

There's also instruments that you can play actual irl songs if you master their use which makes it very entertaining. The community overall feels more mature and there's a lot less "1337" speaking people from my person experience. The graphics are better and not as cartoonish and there's even night time quests. An expansion for the game is already being released in june but it's going to be free.

The game is very story driven so the storyline in the game is far superior to wows which is another thing I prefer. I'm a big fan of traditional rpgs so the story is great. Once you get high enough to participate in the chapters you get to meet some of the chars from the books. In the beginning there's lots of "speak to so and so" quests but later it gets much better. Higher levels there's even riddle quests where all you need is to answer a riddle to get the exp. The quests are very unique.

Ypu can also get from 1-15 without fighting at all which is another unique aspect. I recommend lord of the rings. I have played over 8 mmos and have enjoyed this one immensely. I still play it. If you're a big lord of the rings fan you won't be dissapointed.

 

[Corn]

Ok, so I made my post and if you can't tell I was sarcastic, well, that's because LOTR looks so crappy lol. If I offended anyone who happened to be a fan, then I'm sorry.

Keep in mind, I liked the movies and even read the books long ago, but I am not one of those people who go and watch the movie twice in theatres, know what I'm saying? I understand there are people really into LOTR as they are into Star Wars, etc.

But come on, just look at the LOTR game, it looks soooo bad lol.

 

[Dahkar]

Vanguard isn't a steaming pile of crap, it's quite nice actually. I more than likely will end up playing it because a few buddies of mine play it from school.

PLUS they have wolf men... that makes it own inherently.

 

[Gluttony]

Ok, so I made my post and if you can't tell I was sarcastic, well, that's because LOTR looks so crappy lol. If I offended anyone who happened to be a fan, then I'm sorry.

Keep in mind, I liked the movies and even read the books long ago, but I am not one of those people who go and watch the movie twice in theatres, know what I'm saying? I understand there are people really into LOTR as they are into Star Wars, etc.

But come on, just look at the LOTR game, it looks soooo bad lol.

Don't understand what you mean. You claim the game looks bad when the graphics are pretty good on very high/ultra high. Far superior to WoW's. The world looks pretty realistic on high settings. The quality is pretty amazing. Vanguards graphics are better and the game is more graphic extensive but the lord of the rings game has much more going for it than the graphics.

 

[Corn]

Don't understand what you mean. You claim the game looks bad when the graphics are pretty good on very high/ultra high. Far superior to WoW's. The world looks pretty realistic on high settings. The quality is pretty amazing. Vanguards graphics are better and the game is more graphic extensive but the lord of the rings game has much more going for it than the graphics.

It's....Lord of the Rings...

Certainly ain't no Baldur's Gate or nothing.

 

[Gluttony]

It's....Lord of the Rings...

Certainly ain't no Baldur's Gate or nothing.

Yes but if it wasen't for lord of the rings baldur's gate wouldn't exist. Neither would D&D or other related fantasy genre. I can see diablo 2 existing because it's based off demons but traditional fantasy with elves, orcs, etc? Nope. Sure they exist in literature but not depicted in the way J.R.R Tolkien created. Even then.. about diablo 2 existing would just be an argument. It's likely that it wouldn't exist either.

 

[NarmoTheArapino]

I stop MMORPGs. It's a frickin' chore to play those games.

**This is coming from a guy who was the best NA NIN & SAM on FFXI (maxed merits, best gear [including relic weapons that take MONTHS to make], etc).**

My brother (he quit FFXI because that game is more of a chore than playing WoW, and some of his friends at his university played WoW) and a couple of my friends played WOW, and their characters were practically maxed out (i.e. best equipment; they had everything they needed from raids and what not). However, they quit because of the same reason why I quit FFXI: it became a chore.

I prefer Diablo II (although I don't really play too much of it) over MMORPGs because:

a) You don't pay --> not forced to play everyday in order to get your money's worth
b) It's easy to get things / level up.
c) Pick up & play (if you play FFXI, you're going to have to join parties to get EXP and what not).

All in all, I strongly advise you to not play MMORPGs. Trust me, they might be fun, but the fun ends fast. The same can be said about Diablo II (trust me, I know), but at least you don't pay

If you have to play an MMORPG, play WoW.

 

[Gluttony]

I stop MMORPGs. It's a frickin' chore to play those games.

**This is coming from a guy who was the best NA NIN & SAM on FFXI (maxed merits, best gear [including relic weapons that take MONTHS to make], etc).**

My brother (he quit FFXI because that game is more of a chore than playing WoW, and some of his friends at his university played WoW) and a couple of my friends played WOW, and their characters were practically maxed out (i.e. best equipment; they had everything they needed from raids and what not). However, they quit because of the same reason why I quit FFXI: it became a chore.

I prefer Diablo II (although I don't really play too much of it) over MMORPGs because:

a) You don't pay --> not forced to play everyday in order to get your money's worth
b) It's easy to get things / level up.
c) Pick up & play (if you play FFXI, you're going to have to join parties to get EXP and what not).

All in all, I strongly advise you to not play MMORPGs. Trust me, they might be fun, but the fun ends fast. The same can be said about Diablo II (trust me, I know), but at least you don't pay

If you have to play an MMORPG, play WoW.

I disagree. I used to play WoW and quit for the same reason. Used to play FFXI and quit for the same reason. It takes nonstop dedication and weeks of effort to get endgame stuff. This isn't the case in Lord of The Rings Online which is the major draw to the game. You're never forced to grind like in wow. You level entirely by quests so it's fun and many quests have new and different things. Even end game you don't have to spend hours to get equipment. Raids aren't the endgame in fact there's little reason to go in there other than loving to raid.

Another thing is that the pvp? No pvp rewards are given. There's rank but that's all you get. There's no gear or items that comes with it. It's there for if you simply like to pvp. Crafting currently has the best gear which isn't hard to do. There were people who hit grandmaster in professions back when the level cap of beta was 15. Lotro is the less chore like game in my opinion.

 

[Luckymofo]

Guild Wars no monthly fee

Try guild wars. It has no monthly fee. If you're interested, get the nightfall version.

Graphics and controls are above average, but you can only equip 8 skills at any one time.

 

[saellison]

You should look at guildwars. I used to play it alot. The graphics are amazing and they have 3 chapters out now. Each chapter has a nice storyline. The game is built around strategy and skill instead of who has the most hours logged. The pvp In guild wars is really fun and very very competetive.

 

[Gluttony]

You should look at guildwars. I used to play it alot. The graphics are amazing and they have 3 chapters out now. Each chapter has a nice storyline. The game is built around strategy and skill instead of who has the most hours logged. The pvp In guild wars is really fun and very very competetive.

I second this. If you dislike monthly fees guild wars can be a game for you. Very good game that doesn't require dedication too. If you enjoy pvp this can be a really good game. Not only that but the pvp is a lot like chess in it in that it's all about tactics. The only problem is the very little customization compared to more traditional rpgs but the game will have a very familiar feel if you enjoy D2 (which I assume you do since you're on these forums) and no. I'm not claiming it's just like d2 or anything silly like that. Just a familiar feel with the group up systems etc.

 

[Unko Talok]

Guildwars is one of the better MMORPGs that I've played. I second everything that's been said. The real bonus to the game is this:

You max out at level 20, about 1/2 to 2/3 through the game. As such, you're forced to learn strategy in order to finish the whole thing out. Sure, you've gotta play online, but let it not be said that you have to party up to beat the game. I managed to take on everything but the last mission using nothing but henchies. I only wish that I had the cash and time to start playing Nightfall/Factions... speaking of which (it might not be appropriate to ask this here) which would come more recommended?

 

[Palm]

WoW is a serious game, i.e. a game that practically any gamer, no matter how hardcore, can play and have enough content to keep going. That being said it IS casual friendly. The cutting edge of raiding content, yes that requires 5 days a week 8+ hours a day but you can raid 2-3 times a week 4 hour sessions and see 90% of the game.

 

[Gluttony]

WoW is a serious game, i.e. a game that practically any gamer, no matter how hardcore, can play and have enough content to keep going. That being said it IS casual friendly. The cutting edge of raiding content, yes that requires 5 days a week 8+ hours a day but you can raid 2-3 times a week 4 hour sessions and see 90% of the game.

That can be argued because by only doing that it's unlikely that you'll advance your character. Also on many servers most guilds will not allow you to stay if you do not raid regularly. The guilds that do this also don't do the most high end instances. In Lord of the Rings you can advance constantly completely by solo and never raiding. That's the beauty of it. Guild wars you never need a party too in order to advance or complete the game.

Some people are less social than others and others like me cannot sit in a game for four hours at a time a single day. Sometimes I only get 30 minutes to 2 hours which DOES allow me to advance in Lord of The Rings. End game of WoW you cannot get anywhere with that kind of time.