For me I’m currently torn between WoW and New World. WoW is my “comfort food” MMO having played off and on since 2004. New World’s update has been stellar, and it offers a fun refreshing take on the genre.
Inhales
Guild wars 2 is the only MMO that didn’t bore or annoy me.
- feels like a real video game. You can jump and dodge and stuff
- much quality of life stuff is free and baked in. Deposit most stuff to the bank from anywhere, craft from the bank, etc
- minimal gear grind. The tier you can buy for cheap is good enough. The next tier is a small improvement.
- generally helpful folks
- lots of different stuff to do.
+1 - I dug in deep during Covid and find myself still logging in occasionally for World Versus World.
FFXIV!
Guild Wars 2. I’m not really into grinding for hours or optimizing my characters, so I appreciate that the game can be played quite casually. That’s also true of ESO, but that one feels basically like a single player game to me, while GW2 feels much more social with a lot of player cooperation just arising naturally through its design. Also love the zone design, having a lot of exploration and things like jumping puzzles. Story is pretty decent as well.
Just started with thief not to long ago. Finally unlocked deadeye.
Got the game when it first came out. I’m happy to see so many still play.
Currently Guild Wars 2, I suppose.
Consider crack cocaine as a safer alternative.
When I was a kid, I played a lot of Runescape. I loved that the quests were all unique and had their own, sometimes genuinely well written and engaging stories, with point’n’click style puzzles, reminiscent of Sierra games. It was the most fun I’ve ever had in an mmo.
But my god is there a lot of repetitive grinding. I tried to get back into it a few years ago, but my patience for killing the same mob for 3 hours straight, or cutting and burning trees like a giant line of cocaine, simply isn’t there anymore.
I wish I could play a version of it without the grind, and just the quests.
Guild Wars 2. I like that my progress in the game will always matter and that it’s free to play, once you’ve bought it.
I just logged in and got assaulted by like 20 different messages and things in my mail box. Proceeded to immediately log out and go back to New World.
Uhmm ignore the mailbox then?
That’s a non issue
Eve online, despite not playing it as much as some others. It’s as close to the MMORPG experience as I imagined it before ever playing one. Everything in that game is player driven, and that’s just insane and so cool, and ultimately exhausting for someone who is slightly introverted and cba to be social after a long day. Fantastic game and community for those who have the social batteries for that kind of stuff.
I’m introvert myself and enjoyed Eve very much in the past. You can always be a fly-on-the-wall in a big/medium corporation and still do your own thing if you don’t feel like socializing. Or go corpless. Man I miss Eve…
Eve online for me too. Ill be logging in in a few minutes 😃
As for the social aspect, even though im in one the big alliances, if i just dont feel like it on any particular night then theres no need to be social. I can do my own thing.
I have 2.1k hours in Warframe and it seems that counter’s not gonna stop any time soon… Took a two-year break after some grind-heavy new content, returned to catch up with the updates and it’s all I’ve been playing for 5 days now.
Edit: on second thought, I don’t really know if the MMORPG classification fits Warframe, but I have no idea what else to call it, to be honest…
I can’t tell my hours, because I left it open while doing other stuff, and overnight etc. Same with Ark. Both have 8k+ hourly, but FFXIV has more (but isn’t in steam for me).
I still have vert fond memories with Maplestory. Granted, I stopped because it was getting quite Grundy, but I still remember the stories for lv 1 to 100
Does Destiny 2 count? Cuz that’s mine.
None. I don’t appreciate games with mechanics that are intended to mess with my already fucked dopamine signaling.
Ultimate Online is where I have my fondest memories. On private servers, not on the origins one. Loved the people and the skill system where you could be anything. Also getting wrecked by a dragon 3 mins in game was nice. Also pack llama bombing the britania’s bank. Fun times.
Valheim, easily
