Looking for Free MMORPG Similar to WoW...

I've been searching for awhile for a solid free-to-play MMORPG, but have consistently found myself disappointed by various titles. I used to play WoW but decided it best to stop before I got too addicted, all the while paying for it.

First I'll tell you the games that I have tried and was unsatisfied with:

Shaiya
Perfect World
Fiesta
EVE
Anarchy Online

There are a few titles I have yet to try but have heard some good about, such as:

Silkroad
Cabal
Last Chaos
12Sky
Ultima
Ragnarok
Dungeon Runners
Rappelz
Flyff

So if those of you who have played some of these could recommend your favorite, that would be great.

I can't play anything with radically high graphics requirements, as I'm limited by an X3100 IGP. However, I don't mind playing on a bit low framerate on an MMORPG. The game's theme is irrelevant, I don't care if it's Asian, Medieval, Fantasy, Sci-Fi, whatever. And I'm not looking for a very technical MMO that's all about grinding and has stat systems that are too in depth (EVE ><). I'm looking for a game that has the friendly, pick up and play feel that World of Warcraft does. An artistic style that doesn't look terrible and a fun, light RPG experience.

Perhaps my standards are a tad high for a free game, but I'm not asking for perfection, I just want to trial the best of what's out there. If I can't find something that suits me, oh well.

Thanks for your suggestions!

 

i think what you are looking for...

is WoW.

i just don't think that free mmorpg's are going to meet your standards. maybe mythos when it comes out.

or guild wars. at least you only have to pay for it once. the recurring payment thing is what is so horrible.

both will run on an x3100, but of course don't expect a miracle. something on the order for 30 fps at the most.

 

Every. Free. MMORPG. Sucks.

I've tried all of the best a while ago, and practically everything about each one is horrible. The only way to play a good MMORPG is to spend the $15 a month. You check out Guild Wars, it isn't that good, but it's better than most of the free MMORPGs, and you only have to pay a little bit to play, it's free from there. Look out for Guild Wars 2, too.

 

I'm actually already in the beta for Mythos!


But I am looking for a over-the-shoulder style MMO rather than a top-down...

 

You know that old adage:

"You get what you pay for"

 

I know, I know, you guys. I am not looking for the best MMO on the block, or even one that closely rivals WoW.

I am only looking for the free MMO that comes the CLOSEST to WoW's style.

 

I think I'm one of the few who found Guild Wars a quack. It was only an MMO when in cities.

 

Yeah I tried almost every well known free mmo. Rappelz, shaiya, perfect world, etc. They are good but tons of griding. Can't expect more. I bought guild wars and its been good but not great.

 

Haha, thanks for that... I've heard both passionate praise and harsh criticism towards Guild Wars.

 

I think that Guild Wars is great, personally. Plus it can run on most low-end machines, which is also good. The fact that it is free for the most part is what drew me in.

 

Whoa!

Can you bring Elvis back from the dead, too?

 

Guild wars 1 was the best free MMORPG on planet earth.

Now everyone including me are waiting for Guild Wars 2 which will be a true masterpiece.

I think Runes of Magic is a good free MMORPG. Check it out.

 

you cant play any games with" I'm limited by an X3100 IGP".
regarding free mmos : archlord if its still up on the web.

 

WoW private servers.

 

Try out FLYFF, it's a light MMORPG but it's pretty fun.

 

Runes of Magic is the closest to WoW style that ive seen. Their class system is a bit better and improved imho as well. I know they have thousands of quests already, I just dont know what the play is like endgame. If the endgame is as good as or at least as good as WoW then I would be really impressed.

Im kinda already shocked though that its still remained free. givin its current state i would have thought they would have started charging money to play its so polished. I know I would.

 

runescape ftw LMAO

 

Ah dude I know how ya feel. Tryin to find a free game that is like WoW, I been tryin forever, but I just haven't found a solution. I have tried many many Free MMOs, however most, I dunno just dont have the.... Maneuverability--yah thats the right word-- As in WoW, has more fluid motion imo. I have tried Runes of Magic, cause ppl say its suppose to be very similar to WoW, but... Everything is so jagged, the way you move, the way you attack enemies, and the spell casting. What ruins most f2p games for me, the fact that there is an Item mall... It doesnt matter what lvl you get to, even if its cap, if you have the cash you can get many superior items, w/o much work, and if you dont have the cash then the game is basically ruined for you.

My suggestion, stick with WoW, or you could try Warhammer Online, though there is a monthly fee involved, but it isnt WoW haha.

Ima just stick with Private servers till I can get cash for WoW again, lol, like a good little nerd HAHA

 

The worst part about Runes of Magic is that the sound is completely lacking. Barely any running sounds, attacking sounds, basically, the company decided sound wasn't important (which it is).
However, the BGM behaves strangely. Sometimes it plays, sometimes it doesn't. In the rare occasion that it does play, the music is absolutely gorgeous. I loved the music in RoM, but the music gets cut so abruptly so often, that you can't really enjoy the music

 

Nahh Not good! xD I played that and I really didnt enjoy it. And about sikroad, its good all right but its always FULL (servers).

I would say AION ONLINE which comes out in september

 

I have Runes of MAgic and it kept crashing!! IT was driving me nuts.

I still have it installed maybe i should check that out again....

 

Try Lunia from ijji.

 

I do not think anybody in this thread yet noticed what you were implying except me lol.

GL getting the OP to read the newly posted answers guys, he is a frequent member with 0.07 post per day and his last post being in 2008

http://forum.notebookreview.com/showthread.php?p=3778258#post3778258

 

Oh, good, then I can derail the thread without feeling guilty - at least long enough to ask a question!

Could you elaborate on this a little - is it because you don't see anyone outside of cities? I've always said that MMORPG's would be great, if it wasn't for all the other people, and I think I enjoy solo adventuring in WoW just about more than anything else. (just hate the drama of bad groups, and that seems to be so plentiful...) So is this a game I should look at?

 

Well the best MMORPG that is free and is "better" than WOW is Archlord. it has awesome graphics. seriously check it out. it is basic WOW for free.

 

I thought Dungeon Runners was pretty good, though it does trend more towards MOO Diablo than WoW. Then again, I also got bored of WoW pretty fast, and am more interested in trying something like EVE... heh. But DR definitely isn't complex like that.

 

Basically you just described an MMORPG without the MMO part.

Guild Wars is basically Diablo with a visual lobby...not that Diablo is a bad game (IMO Diablo II blows Guild Wars out of the water). I still don't understand why games like Guild Wars can be considered MMO's.

Also another bad thing about Guild Wars is predetermined paths. Basically your freedom to go anywhere is limited to where the developers thought you would need to go. Basically it's not a completely open world.

As to address the OP's initial question...Runes of Magic is as close to free WoW your going to get unless you find a private WoW server to play on.

 

Anybody know any good Action MMO's?

 

If you mean Diablo-style MMOs, see comment above about Dungeon Runners.

 

Free WoW type games include Runes of Magic, as stated, and Requiem or D&D if it's out of beta since becoming free to play.

 

don't forget Archlord.

 

hey how come no one mentioned Conquer Online? lol

 

Because no one heard of it? lol

 

Sword of the New World

Im about to download that one, just waiting for Spore to finish download haha

 

Sword of the New World is click to move, no use of W,A,S,D keys. Just so ya know.

 

"ArchLord received poor ratings; GameSpot criticized the repetitive and tedious gameplay, blurry graphics and lackluster audio, shallow quest and crafting system, and the hours of repetitive combat required to get to Player versus player and high-level content. The reviewer's only positive comment was that ArchLord offered familiar role-playing gameplay of "kill, loot, buy stuff", overall awarding a "terrible" rating of 2.7 out of 10. Eurogamer awarded 4 out of 10, criticizing the lack of visual distinction between the power levels of monsters, with trial and error required to progress; a lack of other players, with those present not offering any legible dialogue; atrocious controls that caused the reviewer's character to get stuck on scenery; interesting-sounding features (castle sieges, for example) being restricted to higher levels; and a user interface that's "like using Windows 95 with a migraine.""

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ArchLord

 

First off gamespot has not always been the best at reviewing games, and in this case their review for Archlord was so biased. first off there a 1000 quests that can be completed. you can party, have friends, mounts, you can skin, ransack, and loot mobs, mobs have variety, the game's world is massive. There is pvp, awesome skills, stoneable armor. awesome classes. ect. besides if you have not played the game personally you truly don't know what the game is like. sorry for the numerous grammatical errors regarding punctuation and capitalization. but seriously dont use a 5 year old review on a guide to try to discredit a truly awesome free game. thanks.

 

I played the game, I wasn't a fan.

 

Ugh thats an interesting thing you brought up.

Alot of these FREE MMO's are point and click.

I dont know about anyone else but i'm not feeling that for a second.

 

I also played it and didn't like it. There are much better, even for free.

Here is a metacritic 42\100 link, if you didn't like my quote.

http://www.metacritic.com/games/platforms/pc/archlord?q=Archlord

The reviews are 3 years old not 5. I need only quote to show it is pretty awful.

Saying it has some stuff like other mmos doesn't make it "awesome".

 

i think it's awesome. enough said. I played wow and was unimpressed. I think wow is so lame. now archlord with the most awesome music, cool mounts, nice skills, awesome looking mobs. I've also played other MMOs out there and didn't like um. If you are not at least level 35 in Archlord than you have no room to talk. just because Archlord is free and Wow isn't doesn't make Wow better.

 

Noone said that WoW is better because you have to pay for it.

And the fact you need to be level 35 before the game becomes fun, really says something.

 

>:[ Can't access Archlord's account registration or login page

 

After trying Runes of Magic, it really does look like a decent game.

 

I never said you have to be level 35 for it to be fun. I'm trying to say that you can't rate something until you have played it somewhat. I can get to level 35 in a week. for example i can't play wow for one or two days and then say I don't like or not r like it because I don't have much experience.

 

He didn't say you did, the reviews do, and also say it is pretty dire regardless.

We have. We also expect more than you do as a fan boy of poor excuse for an mmorpg.

Woop di do. You can grind. What has that got to do with it being a decent game?

You obviously feel the need to be so defensive about it cos it sucks.

 

Because that game is stupid and very, very far beneath the expectations of the thread.

 

The only reason I can't stand it is because it really is a good game, and the only reason people don't like it is because they are too blind to see a good game. the game not only has grinding. if you have played then tell me everything you can do in the game, list some facts. Just because you don't like the game doesn't mean you have to shame it's image with lies.

 

Just about every free game I've played has a ton of grinding. Wow's quality is hard to beat. I think my favorite MMO that comes close to being free and has a lot of polish is Guild Wars. More PvP oriented though.

 

Well let's face it, WoW has budget. Money = more resources. Sure, that's not everything, but in our world, it's a pretty damn big part of it.

Also, WoW honestly doesn't feel that much more innovative over other MMos. The system may perhaps be a bit more polished, but honestly, it doesn't strike me as "OMG something new and revolutionary to MMOs".

Also take into account that WoW is a franchise, the Warcraft franchise, so it already had both a fanbase and a background world behind it. It's a lot easier to build something like an MMO with something that already has as built-in storyline rather than make one up for scratch for an MMO(I'll be honest, IMO stories in most MMOs aren't that good).

As for something to replace it, well if you're looking for the exact same style, Runes of Magic would also be my suggestion.

Guild Wars isn't totally free, but it is a fun play. It's not WoW type of play though, hence why I wouldn't recommend ti to a WoW player.