General Discussion

So im not a big fan of any of the newer MMOs out there, and i want to play something, so i was wondering what older game is in the best shape to start out again.

Games im looking at are:

EQ
DAOC
FFXI
Lineage 2
AC

Are there any people at lower levels anymore or are they all ghost towns? FFXI kind of creeps me out with the pokeman things that you have to talk to and the character screens with the guys running down hill and falling but i can try to overlook that stuff.

I roll back to old games quite often.  I have to mention one thing though, before deciding on a server when you start an older MMO just do the research first.  Unlike newer MMO's, you get drastic changes in quality from one to another.  IE, many servers are flat out dead or some servers are a merge etc.

Out of that list, DAoC will probably give you the most enjoyment.  Theres still a fairly healthy community also. 

speaking of community, one thing you'll notice with older games are more people enjoying the game and less BS talk in general chat about what games the players are jumping ship to next.  You'll find a much more mature community who have been playing the game for a while and not your ranting MMO floaters who drift from game to game spamming all of the chat channels with how WoW sucks etc.

Thanks for the input.

I have the original disc for DAOC so that is a pretty easy one for me. Plus they have the trial so i can do that. DAOC was my second favorite game after EQ back in the early days. I really cant go back to EQ anymore but i threw it up there anyway.

Thanks again, i may give DAOC another try.

I actually have somwhere in my disks a copy of the Neverwinter nights server after AOL closed it down, found it on the internet.

You can also try ones that people are resurecting. Earth and Beyond is being redone by a volunteer group and have done quite well so far. They have a working server and are doing some betas now.

If you want old school then I would say www.ashenempires.com. If you want browser for a more casual play then www.dicingdangers.com

I am interested to hear about Earth and Beyond, do you have a URL?... i did a quick search but only found out of date info. Not even sure if I have my old CD's any more may have used them as beer mats after the last battle.

I know Anarchy Online was not mentioned but the classic game is now free to play, I often drop back when I am waiting for the next  big MMORPG.

You want old, Check out this game, its been dead since march of this year, but this guy got the servers from sega legally and is now running them. You can't get much older than this-

http://www.schtserv.com/

Hey friend, you sound like us here at my house.

We are downloading EQ1

Maybe its cool now to play retro MMOs since all the ones that have came out recently don't have alot new to offer(besides naval in PoTBS)

That is untill...............WAR!!!!

EQ - Amazing game with massive history and lore behind it. Most players are high level. You will most likely feel very alone at low levels.

DAOC - Huge history and lore again. Players of all levels and a pretty good population due to merged servers, Best PVP in an MMO on top of it all. Very very easy to level up at low levels and have a good time.

FFXI - Very hard game to learn and level up. In its old age now I wouldn't even consider FFXI

Lineage 2 - Korean MMOs scare me. I hate grinding, and I don't like how everyone looks like a suer model woman.

AC - I don't have enough expierence to say.

Overall, I say go with DAOC. Or have you considered Anarchy Online? Free to play, and if you really like it you can always upgrade to P2P later.