Which MMORPG? The Ultimate Guide! November 2, 2008
Posted by Ryan in Guide.Tags: ultimate guide to MMORPG's
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After viewing an article on The Next Level’s main site (link) I thought I might help things along a little.
I play an awful lot of free-2-play MMORPG’s, and if you’ve just started out playing Runescape, and are looking for more, and don’t mind dowloading up to a 1Gb (give or take 500Mb either way) then this is your guide! And if you’re one of those lucky people who have the patience to download up to, and over 3Gb’s worth of MMORPG just comment, and I’ll update this post! With each game there’s a link with More Information and a YouTube link with soem gamplay, just so you can make an informed decision! I’m not gonna go through every one, just the ones which I’ve found to be entertaining, and which are free 
So let’s get cracking!
Okay, so before we get of to a flying start, I’ve gotta explain the two categories I place MMORPG’s into, Eastern MMORPG’s (or EMMORPG’s) these are centred around asian folklore, and the maps will consist of Asian looking places (E.g Ancient China). The other category is Western MMORPG’s (WMMORPG’s) these are your Runescape’s and WoW’s, very western in culture and mapping, similar to the old NeverWinter Nights and the old Dungeons & Dragons board game. So lets get on with it!
- World of Warcraft-WMMORPG-Most people will agree that this is the best MMORPG around. So would I, its expanisive, the map’s bloody huge! There’s so much to do, and there’s always someone to party with! The items look great, the spells and weapons are awesome! But please, for the love of God, DO NOT buy WoW! Look, it’s good if you’re earning a decent wage, you pay around £15 for the game another £15 for the expansion packs! On top of that the monthly payment, so you can actually play is around £8 a MONTH! Alright, monetry funds aside, if you have the money, this is the MMORPG for you, it’s good, but just prepared to look ahead in this guide, because as a WoW player, you’ll go through phases of unemployment :p (More Information) (YouTube)
- SilkRoad-EMMORPG-You pay nothing, it’s FREE! Well, apart from if you want special items, but even then, if you don’t want to pay, it doesn’t ruin your enjoyment! This is mainly a EMMORPG, but it has recently had some European servers put up. Characters and items feel more Western, but the gamplay and the monsters make it still play like a EMMORPG. Even then, I’ve played it for a couple of years (on and off). This one is one of your best bets for MMORPG’s under a Gb (well, actually it might be just over, I can’t remember…). The items look amazing, the spells do actually look incredible, you get better graphics here than WoW! The thing that sets SilkRoad apart is it’s in-game job system. Once you reach level 20, you can become a Merchant (who trades objects on the very long routes between cities), a Thief (where you attack Merchant’s to gain their items, and sell them at rackets, but you’re hated by virtually everyone not in the theiving community, trust me on that one…) and then then there’s the Hunter (the Merchant’s best friend, basically Bounty Hunters, kill thieves). It’s a nifty, and fun system, and a good perk to SilkRoad. However, SilkRoad is now uninstalled from my PC, why? Because you start to level really slowly at points, and I haven’t got all that much patience, but it gets ridiculous. But still, if you’re willing to put up with a bit of hard graft, SilkRoad has it all, Graphics, Gameplay, Items and Spells galore! Set in ancient China/Europe. (More Information) (YouTube)
- Regnum Online-WMMORPG-Again, this one is free! Regnum’s a real gem, okay, so the graphics aren’t as great as SilkRoad’s, but there still good! It’s only a year out of it’s Beta phases, and is fully open to the public! Like SilkRoad it’s free, but there are some special items which you can pay small amounts of real cash for. Also like SilkRoad it has one main distinguishing feature about it, which is (I think) unique to Regnum. The entire game is geared up for PvP (Player versus Player) war, And I mean war. It’s advisable to get to around level 30 (max. level, 50), and then you and few of your online chums can party up, and enter the war zone, an area at the centre of the map, walled off, and full of players from the different realms ready to do battle. Welcome, to Regnum Online! It’s about the best thing to come of Argentina! And it’s a relatively small download, under a Gb! I regularly (ish) play Regnum, on and off, but it just keeps giving more and more entertainment! (More Information) (YouTube)
- Dekaron-W/EMMORPG-It’s a difficult one to class since Dekaron has the classes which look and play like WMMORPG’s but and also most of the maps look Western, and play Western, but some classes (such as the Summoner, especially if you’re a twin blader) look and play very much like an EMMORPG. Classing aside, Dekaron is stunning, graphics are nearing the quality of SilkRoad! Correct me if I’m wrong, but Dekaron is still in some sort of Beta stage (as in not fully launched yet) and so very occassionally you can’t get on, and also very occassionally, in-game gets a bit buggy/laggy. But that aside, it’s a great game, and it looks amazing, the dungeons feel so epic. Word of warning, you cant play if your not 18, since its decently gory, but if you’re prepared to bend the truth (or are 18, lol) it is such a great game! And its all free (except for the fancy costumes, such as the summoner’s pirate costume, which one day shall be mine!!!). It’s a decent download at a smidgen over 1Gb, but it’s well worth it! Just a note, 2Moons is Dekaron, it’s just the American name for Dekaron! (More Information) (YouTube)
- Fly For Fun (Flyff)-EMMORPG-Most definately and EMMORPG, it’s manga for Christ sake! Flyff’s a relaxed gameworld, where there’s no serious players going “WTF YOU F****** N00B, GTFO!!!!1!” every time they see you. It’s a colourful little game, where you get to fly around and fight colourful (but strangely named) creatures, for example..Bangs…So if you’re looking for something heavily influenced by Manga/anime which is fun to play and easy going, this is the game for you! Not great story lines, but as I said, it’s relaxed, if you’re into intense action and decent story lines, don’t download the 704Mb client which is Flyff! (More Information) (YouTube)
- Dungeon Runners-WMMORPG-Again, it’s a semi-serious little gem of a game! From the creators of Guild Wars (to come next in this guide!) comes a mick-take of WoW. It has to be the funniest MMORPG I have ever played. Sure, there are only 2 towns, and not all that many items, but if you wanna sit back, after a hard day of work, and laugh, enjoy yourself, and kill some monsters in between, this has to be the game for you! If you like a lot, you can pay around £4 a month to get better stuff, but that’s entirely up to you folks! If you like crude jokes, stupid voices, utterly ridiculous item names then get this game! Even if it’s not entirely your thing, its only 576Mb, what’ve you gota lose? (More Information) (YouTube)
- Guild Wars-E/WMMORPG-I haven’t actually played this game, but the reason why it can be classed as both a Eastern and Western MMORPG is it has areas which look and play like Western MMORPG’s and with the new expansion packs, Guild Wars have areas which look and play like Eastern MMORPG’s. According to people in the know (and YouTube) you pay for the Guild Wars disc, and play, no fees like WoW. It’s apparantly (gameplay wise) similar to WoW, apart from it being simpler to play at points, (controls etc.) and in some areas, less in depth, but since I havent played Guild Wars, you’re going to have to do some reseach of your own! The graphics in GW, are putting it simply, amazing, better than WoW and SilkRoad, well worth what you pay for! (More Information) (YouTube)
- Last Chaos-WMMORPG-At only 429Mb it’s a small client, very downloadable! The graphics are just a little bit better than Regnum (depending on which graphics you prefer, semi-cartoon, or almost realism). Last Chaos basically has a story line in which there are 2 Gods, which have fought some kind of epic battle. What I like about Last Chaos is it’s personal dungeon system, where, when you want to have just you versus a hell of a lot of zombies, you can talk to a dude, and your in your own little dimly lit world of corridoors, cobwebs and undead things. Enjoy this game folks, it’s a good one to download, and since it’s so small, you aint got much to lose, so you might aswell try it. It’s also free-2-play, which is a great bonus! (More information) (YouTube)
- Runescape-WMMORPG-Okay, if were in the realm of free-2-play online RPG’s RS has to be included. I played for a couple of years non-stop, (but recently I’ve only been on the supposedly HD graphics) okay it’s a web based brower game, so graphics are not at all great, but at least it aint 2-D! The music aint great either, but if you’re a newbie (n00b) to MMORPG, start here and work your way up! Although the new HD graphics are impressive, for a browser/Java based game. I’m level 66, took my a while to get there, but I made it, I now wear armour worth at least 3 million gold, so you can tell i got a bit addicted! However, these days the free-2-play isn’t great your going to need to pay around £3.50 a month to get the full RS experience (I never did, I’ll never pay monthly for a game unless it’s amazing!). So if your looking for a fun, on the go MMORPG, Runescape is the answer, but after a few months, kindly move on, there’s better games out there waiting for ya! (More Information) (YouTube)
- Diablo 2-WMMORPG-Technically it’s not massively multiplayer, but its an RPG and can be played online so here we go! Okay, so D2’s an old classic, so you can get it for under £10, you’ll have to patch it, but there’s the uber patch, which contains all the patches so far, and the latest, which is 11Mb, so it’s easily the most accessible of the 10 in this guide. Okay, so the graphics are almost 3-D, but you can easily put up with them, because the story line is immense as are the weapons and spells! It’s a classic, a proper RPG, so pay homage to it, at least look into it! It’s a great purchase, and it is a classic, so you wont be disappointed by the hours of gameplay. And if you have a few friends with Diablo 2 you can easily hook up on a server, and play together! All in all, it makes for a more personal experience (since there’s you, and a few other mates on a server) of quests, and slaying the undead! It’s also won countless awards over the years! (More Information) (YouTube)
So that’s it! Any questions feel free to ask! Any suggestions also welcomed!
Ciao,
Ry
x
Ryan Marek
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