Some MMO Help

[CorporalClegg]

Anyone have any advice for a MMO noob? Know of a good guide/FAQ to get me started?

I've played very little of them and what I have has pretty much been all solo questing.

At this point, I'm playing on singing up for TOR when it comes out (whenever that might be). But I'd like to get my MMO feet wet before that happens and get down the basics.

Also, what a good free-to-play MMO? I tried the new EQII free version, but it was really choppy--probably because limited servers and still in beta phase.

I might try the D&D Online free version, but, as much as I like D&D games, I just don't have the time to invest in the more complex builds these days.

Runes of Magic is supposed to be a good WoW clone, but, from what I understand, there's still fees involved in locking most of the worth while content.

 

[FordSVT]

LOTR Online has been free for a while. You have to pay for extra content, but there is a decent amount of content and interesting things to do to keep a noob busy for a while.

 

[Evil Twin]

Er, awhile? It's only just now today become free-to-play. Well, for current subscribers at least. Starts for everyone else officially on Friday.

But yeah, I'd highly recommend LOTRO, Clegg. Been playing it for over two years now and still loving it.

 

[CorporalClegg]

Except I'm not a LOTR fan.

Matter 'o fact, I despise it.

I installed Perfect World last night and plan on giving it a go over the weekend.

 

[FordSVT]

Er, awhile? It's only just now today become free-to-play. Well, for current subscribers at least. Starts for everyone else officially on Friday.

I don't really follow the game at all, I was probably just thinking about when they announced it as opposed to implementing it.

Corporal Clegg, I know you said you'd be signing up for Star Wars, but if you've ever considered playing WoW beyond the first few levels, the new Cataclysm expansion this November will be the time to do it. They've seriously streamlined and improved the levelling experience and given you many more choices of ways to advance in the game and level before the end content.

For all the hype it's getting I have a feeling TOR can't help but fail to live up to the hype, even if it's a good game. It will have to be absolutely amazing right out of the gate. The last SW MMO failed miserably, so the name alone won't guarantee its success. If it's just KOTOR online and everyone ends up playing a bounty hunter or a Jedi and you have to sit around waiting every three months in long draughts for new content, it'll be dead within one-two years.

Anyone else think it's not that big a deal they're doing "full voice-overs" for dialogue when 75% of the voices in the game will be looped, alien gibberish?

 

[SPCTRE]

Truth be told, free-to-play MMOs generally tend to be free for a reason - they are severely limited in almost every possible respect. In short, they suck.

LOTRO being the proverbial exception to the rule, but since you despise Lord of the Rings, I'd say FordSVT made a very good suggestion with Cata.

 

[sojourner]

Can't beleive I am defending Star Wars Galaxies, but it didn't "fail miserably". It was doing quite well when Sony decided to basically overhaul the entire thing. The original players hated the change, quit and killed it with bad word of mouth. Not failure, murder.

TOR is not being done by Sony, so I have greater faith. Bioware is taking their time to do the game justice and I think it will open with tons of content.

That said, if you wanna try WoW, you can always play it free for the first 20 levels. Gives you a good taste of the game.

 

[Itisnotlogical]

I seriously recommend FlyFF. You have to pay for extra content, but it'll keep a casual player busy for several weeks and the art is pretty cool. Also, if you're super mega ultra casual and all you want to do is hang out in a virtual pub with people you've never met before, AdventureQuest Worlds fits the bill. There is quests and "combat", but they all fall into three categories: "fetch this", "kill this", or both.

 

[Rii]

You shouldn't need to play other MMOs to 'prepare' for TOR. If you do then BioWare is doing something very, very wrong.

That said, if you're interested in dipping your toes in the water, WoW's then unprecedented accessibility was probably the most significant factor contributing to its annihilation of the competition.

 

[TheBrew]

Can't beleive I am defending Star Wars Galaxies, but it didn't "fail miserably". It was doing quite well when Sony decided to basically overhaul the entire thing. The original players hated the change, quit and killed it with bad word of mouth. Not failure, murder.

TOR is not being done by Sony, so I have greater faith. Bioware is taking their time to do the game justice and I think it will open with tons of content.

That said, if you wanna try WoW, you can always play it free for the first 20 levels. Gives you a good taste of the game.

Galaxies as originally implemented was an awesome game. I have a lot of great memories because of the uniqueness of it. How many other games allowed me to start my own band?

 

[CorporalClegg]

I seriously recommend FlyFF. You have to pay for extra content, but it'll keep a casual player busy for several weeks and the art is pretty cool. Also, if you're super mega ultra casual and all you want to do is hang out in a virtual pub with people you've never met before, AdventureQuest Worlds fits the bill. There is quests and "combat", but they all fall into three categories: "fetch this", "kill this", or both.

I have the downloader for the FlyFF installer, and will probably try it this weekend also.

You shouldn't need to play other MMOs to 'prepare' for TOR. If you do then BioWare is doing something very, very wrong.

Well, as far as actually playing the game, I'm not worried. It works pretty much like any other PC RPG and that's old hat.

What worries me is the "community" stuff. I tried the WoW free trial last week, and got around the questing fine, but whenever I tried to do some PvP, or chatting, or whatever, I felt completely out of water.

 

[Rii]

^ I think you'll find that side of things easier with TOR too, or indeed with any MMO that isn't well established enough for most of its community to be veteran players already immersed in the lingo. More folks speaking in something that's recognisably English, more patience with people who're new to the game, etc. Everyone's learning (and shaping) the game together.

 

[FordSVT]

How to understand WTF people are saying in WoW.