Best open world MMOs (bonus if available through Steam)

jasonresno

jasonresno

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One of my greatest passions in life is to escape into worlds more interesting than our own. I do this through reading, writing, and playing video games. A lot of great open world games exist out there (especially of the Rockstar Games variety) and they are totally awesome! But I love to share this experience with other users and so I am always on the lookout for great open world MMOs. I am really into any sort of setting (science fiction, fantasy, crafting based and so on) so that doesn't need to be a priority in my search.

The games that I have tried include: Minecraft, Runescape, Lord of the Rings online. A few games that I am thinking of include Eve Online and Darkfall but I'm not sold on Eve as I fear that it is too steep of a learning curve for it to be something that I do recreationally.

So please leave your suggestions, thanks!
 
jasonresno said:
One of my greatest passions in life is to escape into worlds more interesting than our own. I do this through reading, writing, and playing video games. A lot of great open world games exist out there (especially of the Rockstar Games variety) and they are totally awesome! But I love to share this experience with other users and so I am always on the lookout for great open world MMOs. I am really into any sort of setting (science fiction, fantasy, crafting based and so on) so that doesn't need to be a priority in my search.

The games that I have tried include: Minecraft, Runescape, Lord of the Rings online. A few games that I am thinking of include Eve Online and Darkfall but I'm not sold on Eve as I fear that it is too steep of a learning curve for it to be something that I do recreationally.

So please leave your suggestions, thanks!
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If you haven't already, try Runescape again. It's changed so much in the past year or so. They finally transitioned the game into HTML5 instead of Javascript, and changed the UI around a lot. They are also adding in brand new content every week and have made something called the "evolution of combat". Basically, instead of taking turns hitting each other with swords, which got boring, you now get to use different types of special attacks. Very great update in my opinion. Also, if you don't like the new game, they have what are called "Oldschool" servers, where you can play on the game as if it was 2007 again! I've been playing OSRS for a few months now and it's a huge nostalgia rush! I highly suggest checking it out.
 
I used to play Maple Story several years ago and it has developed well over the past so I highly suggest you try it our if you haven't already. It is 2D so the graphics isn't exactly something to look forward to, but the game is pretty decent as an overall.
 
I would recommend Maple Story too. It is very different from most other games on the market, it has something very unique to it, you either hate or are going to fall in love with it. I for one fell absolutely in love with it the first time I played it, the sidescrolling is very cool and you won't find that very often, the graphics are cute, it has a lot of content and there are still updates every now and then. Maple Story 2 will most likely come out next year with improved graphics, so you might keep an eye on it. If you like medieval role playing games or fantasy games in general, you probably should check out the Guild Wars series. The very first games are available on Steam, but since Guild Wars 2 was released more than a year ago there aren't many players left on the older games.
 
Check out World of Warcraft. It has a huge open world with pretty much everything your looking for.

Plus if your into reading or writing you'll love wow's lore. The events that take place in game are pretty cliche at times so I never really gave it all that much thought. Then one day I stumbled upon a few key lore figures who aren't in game and the I found their story's not half bad. So I went around digging for more story and ended up falling in love with it. The back story for wow is just so good, like i wasn't expecting it to have a unique story and have so much world building. There is so much going on in that universe that all ties together in coherent ways.

Plus the gameplay itself is really solid. You can spend months exploring every corner of that game. They really put a lot of detail in the environment and their are tons of easter eggs.
 
I really like EVE Online but it's not for everyone. The learning curve is long and solo play is most often boring. Best to join a corporation (guild) fairly soon in the game or you will probably get bored.
 
OP, I'm wondering if you've ever tried Final Fantasy XI. It's available on Steam for 10 bucks now, I believe. It's a lot different than your standard run of the mill MMORPG, it's more difficult and more turn based. I played it for years and I really enjoyed it.
 
I'm currently playing Neverwinter Online and so-far it has played pretty well. The action-bar combat seems to take after LoL more than WoW, and the combat itself requires much movement and reaction, making for an overall exciting combat experience. The visuals themselves are great and the adherence to the D&D lore is pretty cool! Give it a looksee!
 
If you've played Knights of the Old Republic and/or enjoy Bioware games like Mass Effect, I would recommend maybe giving Star Wars: The Old Republic a spin. Highly recommend playing both of the Knights of the Old Republic games first for background though. Another game I might recommend is DC universe online. If you drop 5 bucks, you have pretty much everything you need on that game and it's on Steam as well.
 
Since The Old Republic and Neverwinter have already been mentioned, and you said you wanted something on Steam, I'll recommend RIFT, it's one of the best MMO's around, very closely related to World of Warcraft, but it's free and the classes are more customizable.
 
I really enjoy playing WoW, so that would be my recommendation for an open world MMO. Interested in checking out Elder Scrolls Online though once it comes out.
 
WoW, SWTOR, Rift are not open world. There are 2 categories of MMOs , Sandbox and ThemePArk Every game listed here is 100% themepark.

Open-world is kinda hard. Games that are, don't last very long because people like to be told what to do over exploring on your own. Some older games include SWG, Darkfall Online, and there are a few others. But they are few and far between.
 
Try Mabinogi which is an older game but it is still fun. There is a lot of grinding to do which is typical for these type of games but it really is like a game where you can do anything. There is a lot of crafting skills. The only thing is that the community is small and hard to find people outside of the common grounds.
 
I'm a big fan of Entropia, I like the idea of using a real cash economy and the fact you can go hunting aliens and make real world money! It's also good that if your not into depositing you can grind in the game to make enough money to play for free but it's hard work! The idea of space is great to be able to fly between planets.

I think it's a top game and recommend to everyone to try out!
 
Well since like Riva said there are not really any "Open-World" MMO's more open-area MMO's I think SWtOR would be a decent choice, DCUO is also kind of good but better with friends, I have had fun with both for a while, and Neverwinter is okay too so give that a try since it's on Steam. Not sure what else to recommend because there are few MMO's that really keep me interested for more than maybe a week.
 
As others have pointed out, World of Warcraft is one of the most well-known and successful MMOs, and for a good reason. That game is wonderful at what it does, and it continually offers a great user experience. I would certainly look into that game. For Steam MMOs, EVE is pretty great, but I would try the free trial before putting down money for a subscription.
 
Have you ever tried Perfect World or Conquer Online? Conquer Online is a lot of fun and has a fairly big player base. I don't know much about Perfect World as it probably has changed since I played it which is about 3 years ago but when I did, it had a multitude of quests and class options that kept me attracted to it for quite some time. Conquer Online also had my grasped for about a year until I decided to focus on my studies more.
 
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