None of them have even come close in the overall experience that WoW gives YOU. Just because you like WoW, does not mean that everyone else does, or even that it is a good, involved game. What WoW does have going for it is, number 1, great commercialization. Number 2, ease of access. You dont need a great pc or even a good one to play it. And number 3, simplicity of gameplay. It is so easy to get into the game and get to rockin that everyone can do it. If WoW had the learning curve of EVE then it would have the same number of subscribers, because no one wants to think anymore, except when it comes to using a credit card or paypal to pay for a simple, easy to run, well commercialized game.  I have played WoW, but it just isnt for me, but then again, I never have run with the masses.

Originally posted by Death1942

no, i don't think it is the best MMO out there.  It is highly polished and runs well (like starcraft) but it's not the best game around (like starcraft isn't the best RTS around).  I think there are games out there that trump WoW in every department but polish (which to be honest, can make an average game experiance become a good one).

This hits the nail on the head.

WoW isn't the best game out there, just the most popular pay to play. That's an important distinction because Maple Story reports something like 22 million accounts, but it's not the best game out there either.

Most popular doesn't mean best and people need to realize this. It's like saying Starbucks makes the best coffee out there because it happens to sell the most cups, which I don't know if that's true, just saying.

WoW is accessible, meaning it'll run on just about any system. It's extremely well polished all around and has a very organic feel to combat, for how old the game is. It has a wide range of playstyles available to it, but it doesn't focus on any of them. So you'll find PvP, but it won't be as good as a game that's focused on it. Same goes for general PvE content, which is evident by the general concensus that LOTRO, for example, has way better PvE content.

WoW just happens to have a lot of really polished features, that's it. Doesn't make it the best though, just the most popular.

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Originally posted by SSSJKiNg
 

 
I quit WoW a long time ago... since then I have tried numerous other games...none of them have even come close in the overall experience that WoW gives you. Despite how much WoW is globally hated, does anyone else think it is still the best MMO out there by far? I was totally disgusted by the game when I left, but it is by far more addicting and better made than most other games I have played.
 
 
PS: I quit a month or so pre WOTLK

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All I can tell you is my experience. I got involved in MMOs by buying WoW (for the PC) and FFXI (for the PS2). At that time, my PS2 wasn't hooked up to my cable router and I needed a looong Cat 5 to do it, as it was (and is) at the other end of my apartment from the router. So I played WoW, and started to get into it. Then I finally got the cable I needed to hook up my PS2. And suddenly I didn't have time for WoW any more. (And I bought FFXI for the PC later.)

Originally posted by Lord_Ixigan

Originally posted by Death1942

no, i don't think it is the best MMO out there.  It is highly polished and runs well (like starcraft) but it's not the best game around (like starcraft isn't the best RTS around).  I think there are games out there that trump WoW in every department but polish (which to be honest, can make an average game experiance become a good one).

 

This hits the nail on the head.

WoW isn't the best game out there, just the most popular pay to play. That's an important distinction because Maple Story reports something like 22 million accounts, but it's not the best game out there either.

Most popular doesn't mean best and people need to realize this. It's like saying Starbucks makes the best coffee out there because it happens to sell the most cups, which I don't know if that's true, just saying.

WoW is accessible, meaning it'll run on just about any system. It's extremely well polished all around and has a very organic feel to combat, for how old the game is. It has a wide range of playstyles available to it, but it doesn't focus on any of them. So you'll find PvP, but it won't be as good as a game that's focused on it. Same goes for general PvE content, which is evident by the general concensus that LOTRO, for example, has way better PvE content.

WoW just happens to have a lot of really polished features, that's it. Doesn't make it the best though, just the most popular.

doesn't mean it's the best..... but it largely points in that direction. Something being ht best is totally subjective, btw.

It does mean however, that it attracts the most people, and fits what a lot of people want in an MMO. It may not be he best, but it sure as hell is ONE of the best, and does a great job of attracting customers, and keeping a lot of old ones at that.

I look for three things in a MMORPG

1.  Grouping with other people from level 1, even if I don't know anyone in the game yet.
2.  In depth skill system where I can spend days planning different builds.
3.  Fast action. When I want combat I can find combat within 60 seconds real time. And not just any combat but combat that is best for my leveling.

WoW provided none of those things – at all. It failed at them all big time. The MMORPG I did play for 5 years did all of those things better than any other MMO out there.

Getting back to the question, no I don't like WoW. And there are different games for different people.

No matter how good WoW is at somethings, as an RPG, WoW is has a terrible skill system. In that it's very limiting and does not provide very good diversity from player to player in the same class. Which is one of the reasons I play RPGs. So WoW was fail for me right out of the box.

Very interesting question. When I came to think about it, I can't say it's the best out there, but it's the one I want to go back to.

I've played CoX, Everquest 2 and SWG for longer than 6 months, and it was awesome - until the magic faded. I've played many others long enough to know they weren't my game (FFXI, MxO, AO).

But none of those were really perfect, nor is WoW. I started playing it on a PVE server, and it was fun, but not challenging, specially with all the add-ons. It was all so mindless... Then one day I decided to try the PVP server - and it all changed. The danger, the strategy, the friendships, the thrill! From all games I've played, WoW has the best combination of features that go so well with PVP.

So, under the circumstances of a PVP server, WoW is perfect for me. Outside a PvP server, I'd be looking for someother game to give my monthly 15$.

 I think WoW is a good game. I can tell that it is well-made and polished. It's just not a game that I enjoy, but that doesn't mean that it isn't a good game. It's just a good game that I don't like. 

On the other hand, EverQuest is crazy fun and addictive to me, even as old, creaky, and mutated as it has become. (And I've played recently, so that's not nostalgia talking.)  I also enjoy playing Atlantica, even though I can't quite put my finger on the reason why. Different strokes for different folks.

It's the best overall mmorpg out there but I still wont play it like all the other mmorpgs cause I'm bored of the EQ format.

WoW is a very good well polished game. The pve and pvp in WoW are both easily accessable to casual players. Yet, there remains a way for the hardcore to maintain a certain status (mounts / titles) above the casual player. WoW allows players to pve when they want to and pvp when they want to.

Most here have stated that WoW is polished, etc and hence it's popularity. I vowed I would never play it again after trying it back in the early days. I was still playing SW:G then and I didn't like the graphics style and other aspects of the game at the time. Then SW:G fell apart, I tried other MMO's, most of those either turned out to be flops or scams (Dark and Light anyone?) or like Eve, I didn't know anyone and just couldn't get into it. I had a friend ask me to try WOW again and play on his server. Having a friend already playing makes a world of difference in any MMO. I got into and am still playing, although I am currently taking a weeks break due to too many a$$hats, to put it mildly. Right now, it's the best I've found out there. I still wish there was more too it, a better crafting system, player housing/cities, etc but I get by and enjoy what I get out of the game and in the end, that's all that maters.

I dunno, I'm moving from WoW, mainly due to the length of time its taking to reverse a Battle.net account merger (Its funny though, because I'd not played in two weeks prior to the event) that was not initiated or authorised by myself. Its been almost a week.

I cannot access my account no matter what I do... Though to thwart the compromiser (is that a word?) I've removed my Paypal billing agreement.

I've sent them numerous emails via there webform and via my own private email, I'd ring them, but currently I live alone and have a nasty throat infection and can't really talk without great pain, and when I do you can barely hear me.

I'm hoping it clears up in a few days so I can get back to work, and so I can give them a ring ASAP.

Bad customer service by any stretch of the imagination.

Originally posted by Drmarvin

 Lowest common denominator game.

WoW is the Bud Light of MMO's.  Bud Light is (or actually just recently surpassed) the most popular beer on the planet but to any beef affectionado will tell you it's crap.  It's watered down adjuncts.

WoW is good enough, just like Bud Light is.  But it you want true quality, WoW isn't it.  Vanilla WoW was pretty good, but even then there were MMOs that had serious depth which surpassed WoW.

Current WoW is a MMO in arcade mode.  Hey, even if you are a MMO afficiado, it's good enough to mess around with for a few months.  But don't expect anything long lasting or deep.  Vanilla WoW was actually respectable in some aspects, especially dungeons & raids.  The current WoW is just so bland & generic.

I dunno, i re-subbed recently to play a fantasy MMO till Aion comes out and I just lack the interest I had before.