Need MMORPG Recommendations

[Demonwolf]

I started with EQ, way back when. I played from '01-'03, roughly, and having been away from MMOs for so long, I'm tempted to get back into it again now that my summer break's here and I have four months of free time, barring a two-month internship. Along with FF, it was originally what got me into the fantasy genre as a whole, acting as a gateway for d&d, fantasy literature and cinema, RPGs, etc so I'm considering trying one of the newer ones.

So now, I'm trying to find something that would appeal to me and I'm not sure in which direction to look. First, here were the main reasons I quit EQ:

-The grind. It just seemed a little too pointless after a while.
-The lack of RP and storyline. It was fun exploring the setting, reading its history and getting into character, but there wasn't nearly enough of it.
-The degree of commitment required. When I saw a noob that I hooked up when I was lv. 15 and she was 5 become 35 when I was 25, I decided I was done.
-My main was a ranger. 'Nuff said.

I'm basically looking for the opposite of all the above. The grind less so, since I was mainly into MMO For the social and explorative elements, but once I said "LFG camp" enough times to have it tattooed into my brain, I was tired. Action and visuals are pretty important- I like the theatricality of combat. Something story- and quest-intensive and ideally character-immersive is ideal, something KotOR-esque.

I've heard people sing WoW's praises, but it still seems reminiscient enough of the grind not to appeal to me. I've heard about a lot of other MMOs coming and going since then (FFXI, CoH, DAoC, Shadowbane, SWG) but haven't heard too much in terms of specifics- their strongpoints, weakpoints etc.

So any thoughts? If you need any more specifics, feel free to ask. Thanks a ton

[Deacon]

My thoughts are that you should look at the boxes, see which ones sound interesting, and then give it a try.

Try CoH/CoV.

[StruckingFuggle]

I've heard people sing WoW's praises, but it still seems reminiscient enough of the grind not to appeal to me.

I've hit the mid to high 40s on WoW and haven't really done much of any grinding.

On the other hand:

The lack of RP and storyline. It was fun exploring the setting, reading its history and getting into character, but there wasn't nearly enough of it.

That IS WoW. If they do one thing right, it's that the game is drenched in and dripping with Lore.

[Accer]

There's always... LotRO...

[Arres]

I recommend AGAINST CoH. Unless they have made signifigant changes since I stopped playing that game is almost pure grind.

WoW has a RIDICULOUS quantity of Lore and can either be leveled quest intensive or grind intensive or some mix of the two at your option.

I have never heard anything good about LoTRO.

D&D online disappointed me. It just didn't FEEL like D&D.

People WILL level faster than you. Don't sweat it. Get in a good guild and hang out. No matter WHICH game you choose.

[Soggymoggy]

Lotro is terrible. I mean really terrible. It felt like world of warcraft to me, but laggy and jerky and without any of WoW's redeeming features, while the lore was sodomized. Sideways. With a crowbar. Some of the free shards for Ultima Online aren't bad, Hybrid has more players than the official game these days. WoW is a great game until you get bored of it, but the expansion pack ruined PVP, which is really what the end game is for. (What happened to my 20 minute 1v1s? I don't want to just see who can smack their "ipwnu" button first.)

I'm kind of looking forward to Warhammer online. I'm such a geek.

[Kits]

[quote="Deacon";p="738611"]My thoughts are that you should look at the boxes, see which ones sound interesting, and then give it a try.

Try CoH/CoV.[/quote]

I tried to tag you to come play with me last night and you weren't around.

Sad Kitsune is Sad .

CoX [heh heh heh] has changed a lot with this most recent issue. Inventions system, new endgame content, police scanner missions, there's a ton of stuff to do.

[Bigity]

Yes, I love WoW for the most part, but WAR is a good candidate for pulling me away.

Being a greenskin is hard to pass up.

[Donomni]

Final Fantasy XI will probably give you some grind and commitment issues(It can take months to level a character), but the storylines presented are of the same caliber as other FF games.

Unlike most MMOs, FFXI also allows you to change your job as many times as you want. Just find your Moogle and *poof*, you went from punching things in the face to blowing them up with spells.

I don't have much experience with other MMOs, unfortunately.

[Bigity]

FFXI also forces you to group, which can take hours to get, and 3-4 wipes in the span of 8 hours of grinding can wipe out all the XP you gained in the first place.

The skillchain things are great though.

As for changing jobs, you have to level each job separately. If you are a THF and switch to a WHM, you start playing WHM at level 1.

[Arres]

[quote="Soggymoggy";p="738650"]but the expansion pack ruined PVP, which is really what the end game is for. (What happened to my 20 minute 1v1s? I don't want to just see who can smack their "ipwnu" button first.) [/quote]

A. No it didn't. It changed the dynamic for a little bit while people leveled and got new gear.

B. LIES AND MISDIRECTION! Endgame is for RAIDING! PvP is BORING after the first few times.

[Soggymoggy]

I re-activated my account. I found myself finishing fights in less than 10-20 seconds. I cancelled again. And raiding is boring. Granted, PVP gives you nothing (well, world pvp, battlegrounds was boring), but I didn't like people on my server enough to spend eight hours with them for a few imaginary points I can get to spend on another eight hour session.

[Accer]

[quote="Demonwolf";p="738538"]-The degree of commitment required. When I saw a noob that I hooked up when I was lv. 15 and she was 5 become 35 when I was 25, I decided I was done.
[/quote]

While I'm no fan of EQ, this is one of the most nonsensical arguments against it I've ever seen.

Pretty much every MMORPG ever made will have this "problem". The only way to not see people spending more time on the servers than you is to take up an offline game.

I also agree with Arres regarding endgame WoW.

[Rikku_Chan]

Most people who complain about Warcraft are people who never had to suffer through SWG or EQ... I came to WoW after SWG, and I was like "OMG, is this what a real MMO is like? Why was I torturing myself all that time?"
Leveling up to 70 isn't much of a grind at all. There's ALWAYS new quests to do, literally more available than it takes to get to the level cap. And the zones are large, diverse, and interesting. If you wanted, you could solo quests until 70. But the real fun is in the dungeons. They're all instanced, and littered with mini-events and interesting boss fights and stuff. As you get higher level you can conquer harder dungeons like the Scarlet Monestary and Blackrock Spire, eventually going to Outland, where it really starts getting cool. Then at endgame you can form raids and go to raid dungeons, which are way up there in the difficulty rating, but also have the coolest fights and the best loot.

[Calus]

Add another to the list for saying End game is for Raiding.