Im currently looking for a MMO with two key-ingredients. Firstly, I love how runescape managed skills rather than these stupid pre-determined classes... However, I can deal with classes if done similarily to the diablo series... Secondly I am looking for an excellent player-driven economy (I absolutely hate how Jagex took control over the economy and imposed trade restrictions). Any suggestions guys?

Mabinogi is the closest equivalent to RuneScape you'll find.   No classes, skill based progression, and player crafted items play a strong part of the economy.

I think Ryzom is what you are looking for.

Never played it, but I heard it was good.

First off, Runescape requires skill now? new to me.

play Eve if you want to play something that requires some form of intelligence

I understand what the guy meant i think.

He is talk about the lack of control to skill control as in distributing points.

Games like Warhammer, WoW etc.. are give you no option to raise a certain skil after leveling. Its the usual "You reached lvl 5 heres +2 strenth, +2 stamina etc.."

I mean I guess thats what he means?

I know Anarchy Online has a great point distribution set-up for leveling. After leveling every player is given a different amount of points to spend depending on level. The player then spends these points to raise 60-70 different skills.

Example: Player reaches Level 100 and is awarded 8000 points.

Since he is of a race known for Magic adding 1 skill point in Intellegence or Psychic skill will cost him 300 points of the 8000 pool, but his Strength skill will cost 1000 points per 1 point. Now because of his class (lets say he made him self a tank)  he gets  a bonus to heavy weapons, so as opposed to a class thats ranged based costing 1000 points to increase 2H Blunt by 1 point it will only cost him 300 points for that 1 point into 2H Blunt.

BUT!! Heres the kicker, he chose to make a Mage race a tank, thus making Intellegence and Psychic skills cheaper and Strenth and Stamina skills more expensive. So in the end his Mage Tank hybrid will be casting Aggro or Damaging Mod Magic much earlier since the "trickle down" from Int/Psychic will affect his magic skills...On the other hand people who chose to make there tank a tank race will be able to equip higher level weapons earlier due to the trickle down of Strength/Stamina.

Now I know that all sounds complicated, and it can be, which is why I think alot of main stream games have abandoned this form of leveling. As well these games have abandoned Armor/Weapons/Magic carrying skill requirements in favor of just basic Level and Class requirements.

Games like Anarchy Online are listed as "hard" and "confusing" but i call that TRUE chracter customization and thats the games were a Twink is a true twink. Nothing beats being level 20 and plotting every angle to spend every point, then figureing out what buffs you can stack, then searching the game data base for as many items that enhance that one skill...all that for the 10 seconds it takes to equip a sword 5 times your level.

Eve Online sounds like what your looking for. Its not a fantasy MMO it is Sci-fi PVP MMO game. Its pure skill based and has the best economy of any game ever made IMO. They offer a 14 day trial as well.  www.eveonline.com

All that and it only has 1 server with 20k-50k players on at any given time and great graphics.

First, Naraku, I never said runescape took skill to play, i said I like the way it managed its skills such as strength, fishing, etc. Thanks for all the suggestions on EVE... I'll definitely give it a try, and perhaps anarchy online... thats exactly what I meant by a skill-based system... I just dont feel like there is enough player customization in games such as WOW or LOTR...

I'm ashamed no one has recommended this yet... but uhh.. how about the one that mainly started it all?

UO?

Ultima Online?

UO was the first "successful" MMO in which people realized it could be a good model of gameplay.

It has a great skillbased system, which allows customization to a very heavy level. There are "skillcaps", in a way that you may only have 7 or 8 skills to the max, or a skillcap of "700", in which you could raise 7 skills to 100, or 14 skills to 50.

The economy, when I last played it, is COMPLETELY , player driven. You might buy a few starter swords off the blacksmith NPC, but after that, its all made by someone, or being sold at a house dropped off a monster.

Graphics can be 2d or 3d, with their new Kingdom Reborn client. I recommend you give it a try.

Definitely try Ryzom.

You are not limited to what race your toon is, and  you are not limited to a certain class.

Anyone can craft, anyone can be a tank or a healer....

that is what makes runescape unique! it is not like some boring games with quests that tells u to kill monsters and collect from their drops! the game is not all about killing mobs! there are much much more to do than kill mobs, and to tell the truth, I HATE doing the same thing over and over again-like maple story PQ or killing mobs. i love the way that runescape have other levels instead of combat. i also hated the trade update =.= . so im looking for a game that is like runescape now...

I definitely agree with you candys.... anyways, ill also check out ryzom, thanks for both of the game ideas

Originally posted by smaug81243

Im currently looking for a MMO with two key-ingredients. Firstly, I love how runescape managed skills rather than these stupid pre-determined classes... However, I can deal with classes if done similarily to the diablo series... Secondly I am looking for an excellent player-driven economy (I absolutely hate how Jagex took control over the economy and imposed trade restrictions). Any suggestions guys?

Asherons Call. Total skill based and one of the best mmorpg's of its time. Good luck. :)

FREE REALMS is great, and its free, and easy to play (just visit the site and it will download on the site in a fun way). Very very new too I might add!
In free realms, you create your character by simple tools and name him, and thats it, you learn how to use skills or "professions" as they call it. And you can do them all on your own time, very much like Runescape. You can say "Oh, I want to play with my pet now and raise that up so i can do this later!" and then you may pass by a race track and say "Oh cool i want to go go-karting like mario cart on my own character!" or you want to go mining.. and it all has the same feeling Runescape does but more defined...where as you level you can look beyond saying "oh thats so cool i'm going to be able to make that later on!", or "ZOMG IM GOING TO BE ABLE TO COOK AN OCTOPUS HAMBURGER".

A lot of Free Realms may sound corny or kiddish, but I am 27 and widely experience with many MMOs and I must say there is nothing as incredible as free realms, its a must check out for all ages, and really.

And it has many skills like Runescape has theirs. Very similar in that way, as well as member skills, which RS also has.
The skills for free realms are all very unique and very different, just like Runescape, and you wont feel like anything is pointless, like many MMO "skills" sometimes seem to be.
Definately a must check out Free Realms, its not a big hastle to at all either, and very simple and fun to start. SOE did try to target the RS community after all with that game

Originally posted by smaug81243

Im currently looking for a MMO with two key-ingredients. Firstly, I love how runescape managed skills rather than these stupid pre-determined classes... However, I can deal with classes if done similarily to the diablo series... Secondly I am looking for an excellent player-driven economy (I absolutely hate how Jagex took control over the economy and imposed trade restrictions). Any suggestions guys?

Try Ryzom.

Or wait for Fallen Earth. Not sure how good the economy will work in FE ...

Yup, you should definitely try Ryzom. I'm currently gaming the free trial and I have to admit I've never had such a great time in any MMO as in this title.

As someone else pointed out it's classless, although at character creation you can pick one of four presets, fighter, mage, forager or crafter that gives your character ahead start and a couple of extra skills in the said preset.

Then you can start out with whatever you wish, stick to it or mix and match whatever you like, be it casting spells, harvesting, crafting or fighting - you don't have to reroll to try out the other skillsets/classes which is very nice. Ultimately your character can be master in all areas.

Another thing is you can alter and change your skills as you wish within the boundaries of the system; you can i.e. manipulate how much stamina a skill should consume and add other "credits", like adding a health consumption credit to make a skill take less stamina and instead taking bit of both stamina and health. It works quite well.

Originally posted by zerkz

I'm ashamed no one has recommended this yet... but uhh.. how about the one that mainly started it all?

UO?

Ultima Online?

 

UO was the first "successful" MMO in which people realized it could be a good model of gameplay.

It has a great skillbased system, which allows customization to a very heavy level. There are "skillcaps", in a way that you may only have 7 or 8 skills to the max, or a skillcap of "700", in which you could raise 7 skills to 100, or 14 skills to 50.

The economy, when I last played it, is COMPLETELY , player driven. You might buy a few starter swords off the blacksmith NPC, but after that, its all made by someone, or being sold at a house dropped off a monster.

Graphics can be 2d or 3d, with their new Kingdom Reborn client. I recommend you give it a try.

Unfortunately UO is kind of dead now IMO. The game's been out for too long and while at its core, it's still one of the best games ever made, it's engine and mechanics are obsolete. Same sort of thing goes for Asheron's Call. Back when I played AC (6 or 7 years ago) it was already getting to the point where the economy was overinflated, a sign of an MMOs decline into the underworld of the obsolete.

To the OP - I agree with the others who say go for Ryzom. The wonderful thing about Ryzom is that there's a no-limitations 3 week free trial. The environment is quite beautiful and the game just runs like no other I've seen. It's not quite my cup of tea for right now, but I definitely know a good game when I see one.