[Makushr1]

As we all know, World of Warcraft swept the world (the real world). Like most people who played the game, I played for 4 months or so, then got bored with it and moved on. What's the next big MMORPG to do what WoW did? I heard there is a Star Wars game coming out that is suppose to be big.

[UltimateBMW]

Project Hydra (Blizzard) or Star wars: The Old Republic (Bioware).

[ragingclue]

No one will.

Seeing the success of WoW, there are a bunch of competitors in the market, and if WoW ever slips away, people will be absorbed into the MMORPG that best suits their playstyles. Some people like PvP, some like realism, some like RP, some like individual and involved quest lines, ease of play, etc.... WoW came out and aggressively stole the majority of the customer base, and did pretty much everything better than everyone else, and most importantly, did it with minimal issues. I've played games that are head and shoulders above WoW in many of the respects above, but they were introduced after WoW had established its base, and are plagued by bugginess that is just unsat. People don't want to go learn a new game when their entire "friend" base as well as untold numbers of hours are vested in a game already.

Personally, I left WoW just before ICC came out, had an 80 lock in full T9+, but the game was just getting too boring, cartoony, and every expansion was pretty much just a re-hash of the one before. I know "if it ain't broke, don't fix it", but I'm tired of paying so much money to them to only re-skin and re-order raid boss fights, with a crappy grind to top level again.

I like AoC a lot, especially now that RotGS is out. WoW won't be "toppled" until they stop coming out with stuff for it. Their fan base is too loyal. However, that doesn't mean that all other MMORPGs are shit. I think there's a finite amount of time left for WoW, and if Blizz has a follow-up which:

a) can separate itself just enough to not be a re-skinned WoW
b) comes out on time, and
c) launches without major technical hitches,

it's their game to lose. People know what they're getting when they go with Blizz. I don't expect them to screw it up, and I don't suppose they intend to let the WoW base completely disappear before putting out a satisfactory replacement.

[Makushr1]

Anyone play Aion?

I'm looking for a game to play until SC2 comes out. Just built a gaming pc and it's just sitting there waiting to get played. Any suggestions on a pc game? Doesn't have the be a MMO, could be strategy, fps, etc. I've heard Dragon Age is good.

[ragingclue]

The only two games I play at the moment are BF:BC2 and AoC.

Both are incredible games, and both do well to make you appreciate the hardware in a balls-to-the-wall gaming PC.... DX11 in BF:BC2 as well, although I've heard many say that it really doesn't make much of a difference. I wouldn't know (I run 4870s). Unfortunately, though, both games suffer from constant bugginess and "issues". AoC is MUCH better than it's ever been (from a technically stable standpoint), and its engine and graphics make WoW look like child's play.

[UltimateBMW]

Sorry, but AoC was shit. It was fundamentally flawed in that cast classes just cast like normal in any other games, where as melee had to stand on one leg, jump through a flaming hoop, and then balance a ball on their nose just to get a combo that did decent damage off.

Spell weaving should have been how normal casters played, but they completed failed at getting that right.

[UltimateBMW]

Originally Posted by ragingclue

No one will.

Seeing the success of WoW, there are a bunch of competitors in the market, and if WoW ever slips away, people will be absorbed into the MMORPG that best suits their playstyles. Some people like PvP, some like realism, some like RP, some like individual and involved quest lines, ease of play, etc.... WoW came out and aggressively stole the majority of the customer base, and did pretty much everything better than everyone else, and most importantly, did it with minimal issues. I've played games that are head and shoulders above WoW in many of the respects above, but they were introduced after WoW had established its base, and are plagued by bugginess that is just unsat. People don't want to go learn a new game when their entire "friend" base as well as untold numbers of hours are vested in a game already.

Personally, I left WoW just before ICC came out, had an 80 lock in full T9+, but the game was just getting too boring, cartoony, and every expansion was pretty much just a re-hash of the one before. I know "if it ain't broke, don't fix it", but I'm tired of paying so much money to them to only re-skin and re-order raid boss fights, with a crappy grind to top level again.

I like AoC a lot, especially now that RotGS is out. WoW won't be "toppled" until they stop coming out with stuff for it. Their fan base is too loyal. However, that doesn't mean that all other MMORPGs are shit. I think there's a finite amount of time left for WoW, and if Blizz has a follow-up which:

a) can separate itself just enough to not be a re-skinned WoW
b) comes out on time, and
c) launches without major technical hitches,

it's their game to lose. People know what they're getting when they go with Blizz. I don't expect them to screw it up, and I don't suppose they intend to let the WoW base completely disappear before putting out a satisfactory replacement.

tl;dr, Project hydra.

[ragingclue]

Originally Posted by UltimateBMW

Sorry, but AoC was shit. It was fundamentally flawed in that cast classes just cast like normal in any other games, where as melee had to stand on one leg, jump through a flaming hoop, and then balance a ball on their nose just to get a combo that did decent damage off.

Spell weaving should have been how normal casters played, but they completed failed at getting that right.

A lot has been changed since launch. Melee doesn't have to finish long combos anymore to compete in PvP and casting has been morphed as well. Their Alternate Advancement system is something refreshingly different, and their PvP content is being tended to finally.

A big thing that people get turned off about on AoC is that it's actually difficult to master many of the classes. It doesn't try to be an "any idiot on the street can be leet in no time" game. This won't ever allow it to be the "next WoW" or have any footprint even anywhere near the size of WoW, but I'd rather it didn't. I think the "WoW effect" has hurt the game a bit, trying to dumb things down and simplify to compete, and that sucks. It got away from its PvP roots in the meantime, and for a while we had mediocre PvE content with neglected but great PvP content in theory only, all the while casters were being simplified to the point where they were prone to having multiple IWIN buttons. There were a lot of growing pains there, but it's starting to look up, finally, after two years....

Project Hydra might be the next WoW; we'll see. It may or it may not. Like I said, the ball's in their court to screw it up. They don't really have to come out with anything revolutionary to keep their numbers up. I haven't read up much on Hydra, but I'm hoping it uses a better combat engine, and I hope they get away from the overly-cartoonish theme. But I think my preferences differ from the mainstream.

[JME]

Originally Posted by Makushr1

Anyone play Aion?

I'm looking for a game to play until SC2 comes out. Just built a gaming pc and it's just sitting there waiting to get played. Any suggestions on a pc game? Doesn't have the be a MMO, could be strategy, fps, etc. I've heard Dragon Age is good.

"Good" is a great way to describe Dragon Age. It wasn't outstanding, but definitely kept me interested. The biggest problem I had with it was the inconsistency of difficulty from one quest to another (but they mitigated that by allowing you to change the difficulty settings on the fly.)

If you are just waiting for SC2 to come out, Dragon Age will probably work pretty well. You'll finish the game (assuming you play at an average pace) right in time for the release.

I wouldn't get sucked into another MMO or anything like that.

[aretardedorange]

I heard AoC was terrible but now you guys are saying it got better? Can't wait until SC2 .

Any of you guys got Xfire?