MMORPGs - your experiences, both good and bad

[prisonermonkeys]

I don't usually do this, but I'm standing at some crossroads right now. I'm looking to upgrade my computer at the end of the year because my current one is slow and temperamental. And I'm also looking to pick up a game or two. I konw I've said this before and noting has come of it, but my inaction had largely been a result of rough hardware. Right now, I've narrowed my list of potential games down to three options:

- F1 2010
- CALL OF DUTY: BLACK OPS and
- FINAL FANTASY XIV

And I'm having a hard time deciding. I'm only a casual gamer, but I'd like something I can stick with for a while; I find CALL OF DUTY tends to get a little tired quite quickly. And as much as I love motorsports, a lot of my existing games are racing games, and I just think I'd get bored with F1 2010. But I heard FINAL FANTASY XIV was coming out at the end of September, and it got me interested. The problem is that I don't have much experience wih MMORPGs. I know what they are, but I've never played one before. The biggest obstacle is price: I don't want to shell out a hundred dollars for a game and then thirty dolalars a month to keep playing it if I'm not going to play it that much. But at the same time, I don't want to get too involved; I have work and study and social commitments, and I admit I've have problems with gaming addiction in the past.

But this isn't really about me trying to decide between three games. Is is, but I'm not asking your opinion which one is best for me. I really like the sound of FINAL FANTASY XIV and I've never been a part of an online gaming community like that, but I'm still cautious. So what I'm asking here is what you think of MMORPGs. What sort of experiences have you had? Would you recommend them to a casual gamer, or would you steer clear?

 

[Coxis]

Hey man,

I played WoW for two years. I just want to warn you, while I never let it happen to me, these sort of games are potentially life destroyers, if you let 'em you can flunk school, lose girlfriends and disregard friends. I did miss a class or two back then (I was still in college) but nothing too major ever happened.

Now, as for MMORPGs... They're great. If you're playing a quality one, it can suck you in, especially if you're adept at them. Ironically, I didn't stop playing WoW because I was sick of it or wanted to stop, I left the game because the latest expansion (Wrath of the Lich King which I never even bought) made a whole lot of changes and I hated them. I stopped playing in December of 2008. After that, I downloaded Lord of the Rings Online and played the 10 day trial. It's good too. I'm a LOTR geek so I especially liked running around and actually recognizing places before the name of the area showed up on-screen.

However, starting September 10 LOTRO will move to a free-to-play scheme. I'm assuming its popularity dropped, but that is only beneficial to us that never payed for a subscription. I plan on playing that game once it switches to this mode, which is in two days.

FFXIV, well, I'm assuming that will be epic, and there's a chance that I might subscribe to that. At the end of the day it really depends on what you like, and if you really have the will to let a MMORPG into your life and NOT let it ruin your life. Believe me, there's some really screwed up people in this world and MMORPGs have been to blame. There's this really popular story of a WoW girl who posted on the forums that she'd have sex with whoever gave her 5000 gold for her epic flying mount. She did, and she got her flying mount.

If you want to take the easy way out then get WoW. After all, it's the most played MMORPG in the world for a reason, plus the following expansion (Cataclysm) will reportedly make a whole lot of changes to the world. Practically a new game, so it's a good time to start playing.

 

[Bigbazz]

Ive been playing World of Warcraft for a few years, played diablo 2 before that. MMO's are of the generally similar experience, this is mine of WOW.

The experience is well worth the money, the game is monsterously big, thousands of players to play with, if you enjoy the storyline of an RPG then there is plenty of that there, though for the most part the game from 1-80 is largely abandoned by max level players as the current endgame content of the time is what is being played.

The game is addictive (As are most MMO's) and the ammount of time it takes to get properly planted in the game is huge, getting to the max level is really only the beginning and working yourway up can take time. If you find a good guild and play with friends then your playing experience becomes a lot better.

I've made a lot of friends from it, and wow for me is much like a social networking site combined with MSN messenger, its a great way to waste time but if you get sucked in it can be a great way to waste your life, as things like collecting achievement points are nigh on an endless time sink. If you're sensible with it and use your time wisely you can play it at a high level without wasting too much time, but often the case with new players there is so much on offer that you spend way too much time on it.


Lastly i will say this, i do not recommend that you do it, i'l never recommend anyone to play an MMO, because progressing in these games takes a lot of time investment, especially in the early stages. The ammount of better things you could do with your time is endless and i think you will feel more rewarded with something else. If you want a game to just fill a gap then get something that you can pickup, play and put down again.