Hi, I'm in the market for a new MMO, and there are two that it absolutely must have. It absolutely must have either no microtransactions, or they must be for cosmetic items only and PvP must be completely optional. I don't want to be forced in to it. Other things that would be nice: funny at times Have more to do than fighting Co-op not 100% necessary I don't mind grindy gameplay, in fact I like it. I would like there to be a free trial so I can see if I actually like it before I buy. It would be nice if it was hard to get to maximum level, rather than a mandatory step before you can play the game I don't really care about price(within reason) as long as it meets most of those requirements. It's okay if it doesn't meet all of the ones on the bottom list, but it must meet the no gameplay changing microtransactions and it must have either no pvp or optional pvp. Cost is no object, but the subscription I pay should be the only thing that I absolutely have to pay for to get ahead. ---------- Post added 11th Sep 2014 at 01:10 PM ---------- Oh also, I'd really prefer if there was a more mature community. There's no such thing as a 100% mature gaming community, but as close as you can get.
You can try Guild Wars 2. Main things: - no microtransaction, u dont have to buy anything - many items u buy are for cosmetic purpose only - PvP optional Secondary things: - funny at times, check - more than fighting - u can craft, explore, do jumping puzzles (a reward in the end), story quest which isnt always about fighting as well, and guild missions and other random stuff - u can solo the game - u can grind for gold and farm mining materials - NO FREE TRIAL THAT I KNOW OF, but u can see gameplay videos maybe in youtube - its not "hard" to get max level if u know what ur doing, and u get XP for literally everything u do Community is ok, its not immature like MOBA games. Also make sure to play on USA because EU servers are more empty! And if any questions - dont be shy to msg me! I also play GW2 nowdays, and they just made a huge update that the community dont like but maybe its more newb-friendly, so there is that as well.
From the ones I played I think none meet your criteria. DCUO or NWO very easy to level solo but force you to team for end game content where "real" game begins. You have to grind to get those evasive piece of suit to be accepted into raids. DDO is old school MMO where most of the time teaming is required/prefered. However it is one of the few MMOs which have very mature player base as it is not as shiny as new games, immature crowd moved to other games. You can play this game for free and as you love grinding you can grind Turbine Points to unlock new content/races/classes for your self. That is something keep me go back to DDO as I can set a goal for myself to enjoy game with renewed interest... unless I am not a P2P. When you are P2P you use your stipend for cosmetic things only or unlock some grind required classes/benefits. While I said you need to team or teaming prefered, you can do normal quests with a hire or several hires if you are willing to part with your TP. Rogue hires, who are needed to disable traps which are deadly especially elite runs, are gold contract hirelings that can only be bought with TP. If you are playing rogue/artificer then you won't ever need a gold contract hire. Edit: Leveling takes sometime in DDO. While it is easy up to level 7-8, rest of the journey especially between level 15-20 takes very long time. Then you need to level up in epic levels. Luckily there are plenty of quests, especially if you are VIP. Free to play members have to grind and unlock more content on higher levels. LotRO is very similar to DDO with Tolkien characters. While I love DDO, LotRO somehow feels opposite way. Probably because of how game designed. You don't have hunt missions on DDO. Every quest is instanced. You can hunt critters in wilderness areas if you like. On some areas you need to fight those creatures to reach wilderness area quests but they are still not mandotary at least. SWTOR is also another one I played lately which is kinda okay game. However their stupid updater/launcher issues made me hate the game with a passion. I don't play it now even I still have 6 months of paid time ahead. Game is also free to play but from what I heard, free players are crippled beyond belief and forced to sub. Champions Online can keep you entertained for a time but it has very mixed crowd with immature ones being the loudest. Also free option ATs feels like anything but superheroes. I don't know if they are still doing it but get ready to get challenged with your hero... no matter what level you are... by level 1 or 4 (if you are lucky they at least get the tutorial) heroes on every step. I tried Rift as well but didn't like the game. Can't say much about its community. All Points Bulletin and Swordsman are PvP heavy games which even have satisfying visuals... With APB's detailed character creation process I am hugely dissapionted. Someone should really show animators of Swordsman how horse legs work. Currently their horses feels like there are two people under that horse suit... or maybe they are mutant ninja horses.... ugh, really really terrible. I heard good things about Secret World which is like Guild Wars, a Buy to Play game. Can't say much about it for now but at least its concept looks interesting. Can't say much about hot titles like ESO, Warframe or WoW as never interested in them.
