This is a list of free 2 play games I have played over the past 4 years. I spent many many...many hours on these forums asking people about F2P games trying to give the F2P industry a fair try. I played tons of Free 2 play games most of which were pay 2 play after the first quarter of the game. Some however kept me busy for free and actually having "Some" fun until at least the half way point. This while remaining competitive and useful to groups and in PvP. Ill name those games that I believe are actually or for the most part possible to be free 2 play at least more so than most.  If I miss any game that you believe or have experienced actual free 2 play qualities at higher levels with let me know.

Atlantica online - Free 2 play, I was level 89 when I quit. I quit because the temptation of buying sometime from the item mall to make my life easier was way to large. The game begins to get extremely time consuming after level 70. As a college student I couldn't keep going after 89 the time sink for a free 100% player was insane I had to farm 6-10 hours a week to make enough money to buy the CS items required to get past 1-3 levels. However it was still possible, If I had more time I could have done it. I have real life friends who play this game and are currently well into their 100s playing 100% free. I would say this game can be 100% free 2 play.

Perfect World International- Massive endless level grind. Is it free 2 play? Yes. The fact you can buy anything on the item mall in game and earn item mall gold with in game currency makes this one of the few true free 2 play games out there. It just again takes an insane amount of time. 

Jade Dynasty - look above same developer same marketing. 

Sword of the new world - Can be free 2 play I got 6 characters to Veteran before I quit. The grind is just insane if you don't buy AA passes which require cash shop gold. You can farm the money in game and buy them in game though so it is possible to do it just again takes insane amounts of time. Far beyond what any P2P game would. 

Requiem Bloodymare - Ok this one is really strange, the cash shop is soooo fair priced compared to other cash shop games I think its worth a mention. You can actually get the full benefits of the cash shop for $10/mo. The game is not very good and I didn't get past level 41 however I found it amazing how inexpensive it was. Marketed as a F2P game I expected a LOT more limitations playing for free than what I got. Mostly its just grind that is going to be a killer if you play free you run out of quests soon and end up grinding a ton of levels. If you pay the 10 bucks you keep up with quests at an ok pace and grinding becomes a lot less. Still if you can grind the game is actually free. 

Now you might be saying by now "All F2P mmorpg games are free if you spend the time on them" I think this is not true for all. Rohan online for example requires REQUIRES you to spend insane amounts of money to compete (Or at least it did last year when I tried it) Runes of Magic is currently not free. I got my Warrior to 41 Mage 40 and It was extremely hard to compete in a PvP server. I wouldn't call RoM a F2P game. 

If you know other F2P games that have some sort of balance or equality to them that are actually playable for long periods of time FREE post it here! 

Games I played didnt mention - don't consider them anywhere near free. 

Mabinogi

2 moons

12 sky

12 sky 2

shaiya online

Ragnarok

Cabal online

D&D online

Mu online

World of Kung fu

Metin 2

9 dragons 

chaos online 

Florensia 

 Rohan online 

You listed Cabal Online twice

Originally posted by Lorenz0

You listed Cabal Online twice

Thanks fixed that lol 

Honestly Im kinda new to the F2p thing. I've tried most of the games but havent found one that held my interest for more than a few hours.

I have a question since you seem to have more experience with them than myself.

Runes of magic, If I play on a pve server with no intentions of pvping will I need to buy anything to enjoy myself casually.

I was told the pvp servers basically require to use it to be competitive but I don't see that same Cash shop dependancy on the pve servers.

Edit: If you know nothing of RoM ignore my question and in a day or so ill post in that games forums.

Guild Wars, sure you can argue that you have to buy the box, but after that its the only true f2p game out there imo

No hidden costs like the other so called f2ps to be competitive

Originally posted by metalhead980

Honestly Im kinda new to the F2p thing. I've tried most of the games but havent found one that held my interest for more than a few hours.

I have a question since you seem to have more experience with them than myself.

Runes of magic, If I play on a pve server with no intentions of pvping will I need to buy anything to enjoy myself casually.

I was told the pvp servers basically require to use it to be competitive but I don't see that same Cash shop dependancy on the pve servers.

 

Edit: If you know nothing of RoM ignore my question and in a day or so ill post in that games forums.

 

No you won't its free 2 play as long as you are not in a PvP server and as long as you don't plan to do the highest of end game.

Think of it this way. How far could you get in world of warcraft with good blues? If you have played that basically, or in FFXI with the Barone set as a warrior. That is basically the equivalent of RoM's F2P ability. At 41 my only complaint was the ungodly ganking by heavy CS users. 

Originally posted by Leucrotta

Guild Wars, sure you can argue that you have to buy the box, but after that its the only true f2p game out there imo

No hidden costs like the other so called f2ps to be competitive

I agree 100% by dictionary definitions Free -  No cost  To -  Used for expressing motion or direction toward a person place or thing. Play -  activity for amusement.  The game is actually FREE 2 PLAY. Just not FREE 2 buy. I actually been playing GW for many years now lol. I just know if I post it SOME ONE will say "Its not Free 2 play" Some one always does. 

Originally posted by Calintz333

Originally posted by metalhead980

Honestly Im kinda new to the F2p thing. I've tried most of the games but havent found one that held my interest for more than a few hours.

I have a question since you seem to have more experience with them than myself.

Runes of magic, If I play on a pve server with no intentions of pvping will I need to buy anything to enjoy myself casually.

I was told the pvp servers basically require to use it to be competitive but I don't see that same Cash shop dependancy on the pve servers.

 

Edit: If you know nothing of RoM ignore my question and in a day or so ill post in that games forums.

 

No you won't its free 2 play as long as you are not in a PvP server and as long as you don't plan to do the highest of end game.

 

Think of it this way. How far could you get in world of warcraft with good blues? If you have played that basically, or in FFXI with the Barone set as a warrior. That is basically the equivalent of RoM's F2P ability. At 41 my only complaint was the ungodly ganking by heavy CS users. 

Thanks for the quick reply. My brother wants to play a mmo with me and he's not into Eve and I refuse to play WoW so we decided a F2p where we didn't feel like we wasted any cash if we decided to stop playing would be the right choice.

Something we could casually play for a few hours on a Saturday as a little video game side project.

RoM sounds perfect for that :)

I'm guessing you played Mabinogi shortly after it first came out.  With the release of the Iria continent they also did a major restructure of what things require payment.  Like all cash shop games, advancement will be notably faster if you're willing to shell out a large amount of money.  On the other hand, you're spending *alot* of time in game if there's a very large difference.

I played Ragnarok Online when it first came out, and in it's beta. I then came back when the Valk free server opened. It is 100% fine to play for free in RO. Sure, extra exp per hour is nic, as are extra drops, and the item upgrade things, but you dont NEED to buy those. Your char will function just fine without them. And you can always buy the already upgraded gear.

 FreeRealms, simple to play and easy to get into.  Recently they announced a change to allow people to play member only jobs to 5th level.  They have an item shop and quests available to members only but you can happily and easily play the game without having to ever buy anything or subscribe.  The game is quite easy and nice on the eyes but once you max a combat profession they're all pretty much the same leaving you to redo the dungeons over and over.  The non combat jobs can be interesting like kart racing and derby driver although frustrating at times.

In response to Requiem: Bloodymare, that is because it is run by Gravity which I am a major fangirl of.

They are one of the only companies that care about their costumers. They do their best to change things based on customer reaction. They have their flaws but they are truly one of the few good natured MMO companies out there. If only they'd expand their library more.

I have played tons of F2P MMOs and all of them for FREE. One reason is that most of them doesn't accept my debit card :P

but really, I don't give a shit about the cash shop as long as it sells cosmic items and XP potions. Nothing like 999Damage per secoond sword that makes players over powered.

 Maplestory. Runescape. There are a ton of other ones. You need to do your homework man. :P

Ok the definition of F2P is based on that you don't have to buy a box cd key AND you don't pay a monthly sub.   Your argument is pointless.

On a business perspective.  How would they make any money if they didn't offer game items that you could pay for?   Considering you don't pay a sub fee.

Stop complaining, if you don't wanna pay to play a video game then log the fuck off and kill yourself like seriously.   Nothing in this world is 100% free, you get what you pay for...   Simple as that.

 hey man i have a pretty good F2P game for your list. The chronicles of spellborn. It will be getting an item mall later on, but for now it's completely free, and the combat is real time. look into it i bet you'd like it

Originally posted by xS0u1zx

Ok the definition of F2P is based on that you don't have to buy a box cd key AND you don't pay a monthly sub.   Your argument is pointless.

On a business perspective.  How would they make any money if they didn't offer game items that you could pay for?   Considering you don't pay a sub fee.

Stop complaining, if you don't wanna pay to play a video game then log the fuck off and kill yourself like seriously.   Nothing in this world is 100% free, you get what you pay for...   Simple as that.

definition of idiot

Originally posted by xS0u1zx

Ok the definition of F2P is based on that you don't have to buy a box cd key AND you don't pay a monthly sub.   Your argument is pointless.

On a business perspective.  How would they make any money if they didn't offer game items that you could pay for?   Considering you don't pay a sub fee.

Stop complaining, if you don't wanna pay to play a video game then log the fuck off and kill yourself like seriously.   Nothing in this world is 100% free, you get what you pay for...   Simple as that.

Wow, who pissed in your bowl of Wheaties?

Originally posted by cdubbz

 hey man i have a pretty good F2P game for your list. The chronicles of spellborn. It will be getting an item mall later on, but for now it's completely free, and the combat is real time. look into it i bet you'd like it

Ahhh yeah I forgot about that 1 very true. I hope when they do add the CS it is a fair and balance one. Hopefully they don't do the same as with 2 moons. 

Originally posted by Vexe

 Maplestory. Runescape. There are a ton of other ones. You need to do your homework man. :P

Well yeah I have not played EVERY game out there on the market. That's why I asked for suggestions. 

I am a full time college student and I try to get at least to the half way point in every game before I make my choice about it. Since a lot of F2P games make it really easy to get around half way and after that the real grind starts or the spending incentives get very large its quite easy to play them for free to the half way point lol.

But yeah I can't play every single game out there, and I don't comment on them unless I actually spend at the very least 300+ hours on them. That's why My list is not very long and why I asked for others who maybe got far on some of these F2P games and actually played for free. 

- For the record I have no problem with the F2P business model as long as its done right, Requiem and imo Perfect world being done right. (Minus the insane grind lol) 

I wouldn't put Free Realms on the list because after a few weeks you are likely going to max out those member only jobs.  To get the full benefit of the game you need to pay and there is no way whatsoever to bypass this if you want to advance further.

One game I would put on the list is Dream of Mirror Online (unless it's changed significantly in a year or so - I haven't played it since).  Most of the cash shop advantage items (like pets and EXP boosts) are tradable.  I've found that without paying a penny you could easily advance just as quickly as other players albeit with more effort.  One way to do this is to use the in game crafting system and buy out materials and then craft them and sell them to other players.  Since gear breaks down in the game there is a high demand for new gear and your gear will always sell for far more than the materials are worth.  There is no auction system so you'll need to leave yourself as a market stall while your idle.  (So I guess there is a cost associated with the game, you'll be paying for the bit of electricity you use idling your computer)

I heard Atlantica Online gets pretty expensive past level 100 or so (I never got there myself, but only to about 60 before I quit).  I do know someone who has and he says there is no way you can keep up farming and keep it free to play (while remaining competitive) at this point.  It's a good marketting scheme because at this point you'll be pretty addictive and players are willing to spend hundreds a month to keep up.  I'm not sure about the other 3 you listed, but I'm pretty sure they are the same - at a certain of point it just doesn't become humanly possible to farm enough to keep up even if cash shop items are tradable.

Out of the games you listed I know you can scratch Mabinogi off the list.  I heard it's one of the most expensive F2P to keep competitive with.

Mu online was free like forever.   I played it about 6 years ago and it was completely free, it didn't even have an item shop.  I played it for a long time too, like a year or so before I quit.

I just started playing Chronicles of Spellborn.  It's not amazing, but it's above par.  It's in need of polish, but the setting is fairly interesting, the interface is clever, and the combat system is pretty different.  Supposedly it's being redone and will be getting some of that polish, so it seems to be worth watching.

Originally posted by Calintz333

Originally posted by Leucrotta

Guild Wars, sure you can argue that you have to buy the box, but after that its the only true f2p game out there imo

No hidden costs like the other so called f2ps to be competitive

I agree 100% by dictionary definitions Free -  No cost  To -  Used for expressing motion or direction toward a person place or thing. Play -  activity for amusement.  The game is actually FREE 2 PLAY. Just not FREE 2 buy. I actually been playing GW for many years now lol. I just know if I post it SOME ONE will say "Its not Free 2 play" Some one always does. 

GW is not a MMORPG though.

Cause in this case. Resistance 2 is a great F2P MMORPG

Well, if you guys consider Guild Wars free to play (which I don't, since I spent more than a hundred bucks just to get the trilogy and expansion, though it is definitely worth it), then yes, I've played it far longer than most free to play games. In fact, at this point in time, my record is 4 months with Guild Wars. It is a beautiful game, and very polished as well. And, you don't need the cash shop to stay competitive; in fact, you can actually unlock the skills and equipment necessary ingame. I have attempted to buy stuff from the cash shop before, just to support the company, but they don't accept debit card... *cries*

Other than that, I played Dream of Mirror Online for two months, and I've never bought anything from the cash shop before either. You can buy most of the stuff from other players ingame anyway, which I like. I have bought from the cash shop before, but it was only a bottle of hair dye and anyway, I got the points from some lucky draw. Still ranks as one of the best games I've played so far, and I haven't even spent a dime on it. Only thing I didn't like about it was that some of the guys there were a little too friendly...

I played Destiny Online for roughly one month. The cash shop was nothing gamebreaking either; though I have to admit that if you don't buy from the cash shop, you tend to level up much slower than other people. However, they do sell costumes and hairstyles there, and pets. I've never bought from their cash shop before, but one of these days I might, if they accept debit card.