Which MMO is Right for You?

Which MMO is right for you?

Right now the Massively Multiplayer Online (MMO) Role Playing Game Industry is a battlefield, filled with screaming Orcs, caped super heroes, and Majestic Elves setting fields a flame and other such creatures buying for your attention and ultimately for your checkbook. But in this fast paced world where, you, the player can make a fortune looting dungeons and defeating enemies you should know which game is right for you.

In order to figure out what MMO is right for you we need to assess what type of gamer you are, or think you will be. Most current MMO’s are based strongly on teams, these teams are primarily made up of other gamers. So if the game heavily relies on you going on quests with real people, I’ll make a note of it. The second element you need to take into consideration is whether or not you’re willing to pay a monthly or yearly fee for your gaming fix. Whether or not you’re willing to pay and ultimately how much you’re willing to pay will greatly affect which game you eventually pick up. The third element you need to take into consideration is how much time you’re willing to invest on the game. If you’re a freshmen in college, or better yet still in high school you no doubt have more free time to spend than someone who’s working 40 hours a week and this will affect which games you will be playing.

Granted each one of these games have many more elements to them than what I could even begin to go into here. And most certainly this article is not a be all end all list. Instead it’s a suggestion, if you disagree, feel hurt or angry that your favorite MMO was left out or want to suggest a game that we haven’t even heard of yet feel free to do so in the comments. Of course the games I mention here are not the only MMO’s out there either (WarHammer Online and Conan the Barbarian Online are the new kids on the block), but hey, these are great starting places for this conversation.

Everquest

Everquest is one of the the grand daddies of mainstream MMORPGs, it’s been around since the late 1990s, and because of that it’s graphics are a bit dated compared to more modern games. Putting that aside, Everquest has one of the most loyal user bases, Sony reports to have 450,000 users currently playing this game, considering that the average shelf life for a video game is 3 months. Everquest is your average hack and slash style adventure MMORPG that involves leveling your character, and fighting monsters in a medieval fantasy setting. The areas that are available for adventuring are quite large, and are essentially a free for all. There are no convenient roads or paths that take you directly to the dungeons or monsters instead you have to strike out and find them.

Pros: Loyal User base; 15 expansion packs (as of October 21st); Most areas are perfect for solo play as well as groups; No hand holding from adventure to adventure.
Cons: Dated Graphics; You will need to group up in order to get any good items for your characters.
Platforms: Windows, Mac OSX
Cost Per Month: $10

Dungeons and Dragons Online

To say that I had high hopes for what the Dungeons and Dragons MMO would be is a bit of an understatement. Like most awkward adolescents my teen years were spent in my friends basement eating Doritos, drinking Mountain Dew and having epic Dungeons & Dragons sessions that would rage well on into the wee hours of the morning. Once I pulled Dungeons and Dragons Online out of the shrink wrap and installed it on my computer I quickly knew that I would be abandoning this game. Dungeons and Dragons Online is very adamant about playing with a group. Though Dungeons and Dragons Online does have the option for solo play, don’t expect to gain as much experience or get as many items as you would even if you just tagged along with a group through a dungeon. Also Dungeons and Dragons Online currently has 0 expansion packs released, but the D&D Online team have been quite adamant about updating and patching the game. Though Turbine had not released a total number of subscribers at the date of this publication it has been estimated that there are 100,000

Pros: The instanced dungeons can be a lot of fun under the right circumstances; Very easy for D&D players to get acclimated.
Cons: Only a few dungeons really stick out as being remarkable; Not solo friendly at all; Not much going in the endgame.
Platforms: Windows
Cost Per Month: $13.95

Guild Wars

Guild Wars is the product of NCSOFT, a company that seemingly makes only MMOs. Guild Wars allows users access a vast environment with minimal hand holding, instead there’s a lot of helpful nudging in the right direction. Saying the map is huge is a drastic understatement. Guild Wars game play is extremely similar to Everquest and Dungeons and Dragons Online, except for Guild Wars is accepting of users who both want to play by themselves or with others. Guild Wars has a system in place that increases the max amount of players in your group, it starts out at 2, then goes to 4 and finally caps out at 6. Guild Wars allows for you to create a party out of AI characters, that you don’t control, instead they follow you around help you out in the battles. As you progress in level you then are given the option to have “heroes” which are AI characters that you can control, selecting what their class will be, what items and skills they have. And added element of Guild Wars is an arena where you can create a player already at level 20 and equip them with items you have collected through out your adventures and then battle them with other players. You can not use your primary character you have been adventuring with in the arena though. If you’re interested in playing alone through most of the game, which is okay and won’t affect the quality of items that are dropped by enemies in the adventuring part of the game. Guild Wars also allows a certain class to acquire an animal as a companion that will follow them and fight for them. Guild Wars is currently sitting at 5 million users. Making it one of the key powerhouses in the MMO world, of course having no subscription fees helps out a lot. Guild Wars Currently has 3 Expansion packs released.

Pros: Large user base; Huge Maps; No monthly subscription cost; Solo and Group Play both supported.
Cons: Level 20 cap; Number of people in groups is limited at first; no player-created items; No mounts.
Platforms: Windows
Cost Per Month: $0

City of Heroes & City of Villains

City of Heroes & City of Villains are two MMO’s created by Cryptic Studios (now purchased by NCSOFT). City of Heroes/Villains is currently the Super Hero MMO on the market, and because of this the dynamic of the game is quite different from Everquest, Dungeons and Dragons Online and Guild Wars, though it certainly does have many of the same pitfalls that the other games have. City of Heroes/Villains allow you to design, create, and then play as a Super Hero (City of Heroes) or a Super Villain (City of Villains). While most of City of Heroes can be played alone, you may find yourself being overpowered by enemies that would be easily vanquished in a group of three or four. City of Heroes/Villains key advantage over most other MMO’s on the market is the fact that it’s set in a comic book world. So if you’ve always wanted to fly, fight crime, or jump over tall buildings, then hands down City of Heroes is your best choice, alternatively if you’ve ever dreamed of bringing down spandex wearing heroes or have wanted to create a doomsday device that would take over the world, City of Villains is definitely the game for you. As of June 2008 NCSOFT reported City of Heroes/Villains has 137,028 Users.

Pros: Play as Super Heroes/Villains; Lower level characters can be sidekicks to higher level characters; Battle player created heroes against players with villains
Cons: Currently no expansion packs released; Solo play is more difficult than group play
Platforms: Windows
Cost Per Month: $14.99

World of Warcraft

World of Warcraft is currently the best selling MMORPG of all time. World of Warcraft is yet another type of a Hack and Slash Fantasy MMORPG. The game has received high ranks by most critics, and it is often cited as causing addictions to it’s players because the game is so enjoyable. World of Warcraft currently has a Level 70 cap for it’s players levels. World of Warcraft has an Auction house that allows players to sell items they’ve collected on quests and dungeons, as well as sell custom items they’ve created. World of Warcraft not only allows you to have a personal mount but the game also has a number of transportation systems in check that can take you from major city to major city, as well as seemingly remote areas of the maps. Each class and Race has specific benefits, and different starting locations, so depending on which race you choose you can have a completely different experience with the game. World of Warcraft allows you to take your character into an arena where you can battle with other players, but you can also duel other players outside of the arenas though there is no real benefit to this. World of Warcraft’s large maps are very clearly laid out with roads for you to follow and people along the way to help you out and point you in the right direction. When you reach a certain area you are greeted with a huge list of tasks you can do in order to level up and get items. Though some quests you are assigned recommend you to join a group, you don’t necessarily have to, you can play through most of the game by yourself and won’t suffer and XP penalty or not be privy to higher level items, though group play is certainly not discouraged as well. World of Warcraft currently has 10 million users, and is scheduled to launch it’s second expansion pack on November 13th.

Pros: Expansive maps; Easy transportation; User created items; Mounts; Solo and group play encouraged; Level cap is raised with each new expansion pack.
Cons: Lots of hand holding and explaining what you need to do; Childish comments by other users.
Platform: Windows, Mac OSX
Cost Per Month: $14.99

photography by chanchan222