I've spent the better part of the last week trying out the three different games, and I can't make a choice. My trials are running out of time, so I'd like to choose soon, but I have some questions I'd like to ask of people in the know.

Firstly - What's the big deal with LOTRO's PvE? I've seen a couple threads on here where people are going on and on about how amazing it is, and how no other game can touch it, etc. Why? They don't seem to give many reasons. It seems just like WoW, to me. Walk up to enemy, push #1, hit enemy for X damage, costing you Y amount of points, etc. Is it the variety in animal forms? Or does it just appeal to people because it's Tolkien?

Secondly - AoC seems like the one I'll pick, but I also don't know much about it. My toon is still pretty low level. Is there a reasonable amount of content all the way to cap? Or am I gonna find myself stalled out with no quests to do? Is the world map big enough overall? And is there any crafting in AoC?

I'm sorry, I was only intending to post a few questions, but each one turned into quite a few more.

I'd appreciate any input from anyone who knows about these games, however, and I might post a few more questions later. Thanks for reading. :)

X3N0

Well I played LOTRO for 2 years and it is the best story driven game on the market right now. What this means for the MMO gamer is that it's a very linear theme park type game. If you are interested in pvp you might want to give this a pass they just have pvmp player vers monster player and while that's fun for awhile it gets very old very fast.

I was in AOC beta and what a mess that was but it is the most improved game of 2009 so it has gotten a lot better. Not sure about how the AOC endgame is now maybe someone from AOC that's playing now can comment. Over all a fun game and there is a lot more content in the game right now.

As far as EVE online goes the learning curve is very steep but EVE online has the best MMO player driven Drama anywhere. Some of the crap players pull in EVE is a marvel to behold.

Sounds to me like you've made up your mind, and I don't see the point in feeding you in the off chance you're just trolling fanbois.  Have fun.  By the way, if you're going to offer a discussion with EVE mentioned in the title, you probably should have mentioned EVE in your post.

No, I promise, I'm not trolling anybody.

My own experience with the games was leading me towards AoC. I loved the graphics, the way you choose which direction to swing, the fatalities, and the good looking NPC chicks.

LOTRO is intriguing, because I've played it for several days now and still can't decide, which is really uncommon for me. I just figured out that I could use stable-masters as opposed to walking, so that's a big improvement. You see my noobishness, I don't know enough about any of these games to troll, so I'm asking honest advice.

And I've heard TONS about EVE, a good friend of mine loves it, but like was said, the learning curve on it is pretty crazy...

X3N0

Originally posted by X3N0 

I've spent the better part of the last week trying out the three different games, and I can't make a choice. My trials are running out of time, so I'd like to choose soon, but I have some questions I'd like to ask of people in the know.

 

Firstly - does it just appeal to people because it's Tolkien? Yes, much like how WAR is a unique experience to fans of Games Workshop. I've done LotRO up and down pre-Moria, and the only bright side to it is the music system, I admit that much is an amazing feature. The game itself is nothing special imo.

Secondly - AoC seems like the one I'll pick, but I also don't know much about it. My toon is still pretty low level. Is there a reasonable amount of content all the way to cap? Or am I gonna find myself stalled out with no quests to do? Is the world map big enough overall? And is there any crafting in AoC? By all accounts there is no longer a gap in any quest content. There used to be one at 50 and 70, but these were fixed with Ymir's Pass and the Tarantia Commons. The world is fairly big, but all roads lead to Kheshatta. Crafting is kinda pointless in lieu of drops from raid dungeons (except alchemy, as some pots are crazy powerful).

 I does indeed seem like your mind is made up, which tends to turn these posts into a rant for and against AoC.  EvE has the best endgame because well, there isn't really any endgame. If you can get into it, it probably has a much more rewarding experience and the community isn't all that bad.   LoTR only is very story driven..and the instances are loads of fun. But as with any PvE game it gets bland. PvP is not the greatest...but at least you have housing.  AoC...I'm not going to feed the beast.  Needless to say, once you leave intro area and get to the real world around lvl 20....there sure is a long stretch of monotony until endgame.  That is, unless you are on the pvp server..which can be tons of fun.  I guess the question isn't what these games offer as it is what you look for in a game.  They all have great offerings.   You mentioned the look as well.  Graphically, AoC I don't believe can be beat...and the animations are astounding.  

Thanks for the input so far, guys. I appreciate it. I'm still not sold on Conan, by any means. I think the way the UI is set up is kinda awkward. Thinking about it now, there's probably a mod for that or something, but whatever.

I'm leaning towards EVE now. Is it unbearably hard to learn?


And what makes LOTRO PvE great? I don't deny it's good, but it doesn't seem different from WoW really. What is it that I'm missing?

Thanks again for the humoring, I know nooblets are a pain.

X3N0

Originally posted by X3N0

Thanks for the input so far, guys. I appreciate it. I'm still not sold on Conan, by any means. I think the way the UI is set up is kinda awkward. Thinking about it now, there's probably a mod for that or something, but whatever.

I'm leaning towards EVE now. Is it unbearably hard to learn?

EvE is pretty complex, and you will probably feel overwhelemed when you first start out. If you stick with it and get some skills learned you will have fun. If you would like a 21 day trial code, let me know.
 

Well, since it seems you're taking it seriously (sorry for being a doubting thomas, but let's face it, these forums its to be expected)  I'll offer my personal input on all 3, having subbed to all three.

Lotro:  I played for the better part of 2 years.  I like the storyline quests, by far and away the most unique thing about the game, you actually feel like your char's actions matter.  But it gets dull, and they seem intent on making the endgame into more and more of an LI/radiance grind.  There isn't a lot of variety to endgame, and it makes me very sad, and its why I stopped playing.  Oh, and don't let the skirmish fanbois tell you otherwise either.  Skirmishes are very cool, very unique, and an absolute blast to play.  However, there are no rewards worth grinding that much for.  You can get better gear with less effort by crafting/running lvl 60 instances.

AoC:  I liked this game.  Only played it for a month though, didn't get past the starter zone.  Frankly, my comp couldn't handle the game.  I like the setting, thought the combat was different and fully look forward to exploring the world once I upgrade my comp.

EVE: Well, I got bored.   I can see where its fun for some, but the whole waiting for a skill to level whilst looking for rocks to blast and so on just got boring to me.  At least X3 I can pause/save/play at my leisure.  BUt I can see the appeal for some, especially the obsessive compulsive math fanatics.  And my wife being one, I mean that the nicest way.

Anyway, my take.  Draw from it what you will.  All 3 games have their good points in my opinion.

Originally posted by X3N0

Thanks for the input so far, guys. I appreciate it. I'm still not sold on Conan, by any means. I think the way the UI is set up is kinda awkward. Thinking about it now, there's probably a mod for that or something, but whatever.

 

Admittedly, the regular UI is less than appealing. But there are quite a few UI mods available at Curse.com. For instance, the original UI only gives you two hotkey bars, while custom UI's give anywhere up to 40 ( don't know how anyone could ever use that many, but anyway ).

I sent you an invite to your pm box so that you can try the game for 7 days with no level limits and you can leave Tortage to see how the game is past the tutorial levels ( 1-20). Just remember that the trial blocks most chat channels including Global, so it will seem a little lonely since you won't see all the chat going on.

Edit: If you decide to use the invite I sent you, let me know the your character's name and I'll add it to my friends list so you can /tell me any questions ( trial players can only send a /tell message to a subscribing player if they're on their friend list ).

Originally posted by X3N0

Thanks for the input so far, guys. I appreciate it. I'm still not sold on Conan, by any means. I think the way the UI is set up is kinda awkward. Thinking about it now, there's probably a mod for that or something, but whatever.

I'm leaning towards EVE now. Is it unbearably hard to learn?


And what makes LOTRO PvE great? I don't deny it's good, but it doesn't seem different from WoW really. What is it that I'm missing?

 

Thanks again for the humoring, I know nooblets are a pain.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

X3N0

For myself one of my favorite parts about EVE is the learning curve.   If you paln to play EVE,  you need to be in for the long haul.    It will take many months to get a pilot to where you are happy with his skills.    EVE also depends on your "interests".   If you are interested in action,  dont go out mining.   If you are interested in PVE...  well  make sure you join a corp with the same goals.   There are SO many things that you can do in EVE the downfall is the training time to get there always seems very long.  If you have the patience and the will to learn I dont think the game will steer you wrong.    

Hey X3NO I just picked up Age of Conan yesterday actually, just downloading as of right now. I went through this same exact battle of games your going through. If you would like to join up sometime and kill some stuff I would be more then happy to. I am going to be joining the Set server since it seems to be the PvE server and plus its about to merged onto so let me know.

Originally posted by X3N0

I've spent the better part of the last week trying out the three different games, and I can't make a choice. My trials are running out of time, so I'd like to choose soon, but I have some questions I'd like to ask of people in the know.

 

Firstly - What's the big deal with LOTRO's PvE? I've seen a couple threads on here where people are going on and on about how amazing it is, and how no other game can touch it, etc. Why? They don't seem to give many reasons. It seems just like WoW, to me. Walk up to enemy, push #1, hit enemy for X damage, costing you Y amount of points, etc. Is it the variety in animal forms? Or does it just appeal to people because it's Tolkien?

Secondly - AoC seems like the one I'll pick, but I also don't know much about it. My toon is still pretty low level. Is there a reasonable amount of content all the way to cap? Or am I gonna find myself stalled out with no quests to do? Is the world map big enough overall? And is there any crafting in AoC?

 

I'm sorry, I was only intending to post a few questions, but each one turned into quite a few more.

I'd appreciate any input from anyone who knows about these games, however, and I might post a few more questions later. Thanks for reading. :)

 

 

 

X3N0

You need to give us an indication of what you want out of a game.  LoTR and Eve lean in very opposite directions, while AoC is kinda somewhere in the middle.

Eve is the best overall game out of the lot.  But its an aquired taste, and you may very well hate it.

Originally posted by zeowyrm

AoC:  I liked this game.  Only played it for a month though, didn't get past the starter zone.  Frankly, my comp couldn't handle the game.  I like the setting, thought the combat was different and fully look forward to exploring the world once I upgrade my comp.

 

So, if your computer had been able to play it fine, you would have been more than happy to keep playing?

I was leaning towards eve, but now I'm stuck between AoC and LOTRO. I'm such a sucker for visuals, and AoC has those in spades. It runs fluidly, but I still have worries about the later content. I'm also a huge believer that quest and storyline have to be there, and from what I've seen, and what you lot have been telling me, LOTRO delivers. There's always stuff to be done, and my characters are still quite small-time. If it can deliever like this all the way to cap, that's amazing.

Eve...well, it has some really nice visuals, and I love that the community is very...entertaining, that whole waiting to level/upgrade feature is a big letdown. It seems like a way to guarentee that the devs will get more money from you, simply because you have to play for a set amount of time to do anything. I don't really like that.

Then how the games come is also something I was thinking about. AoC is just an account upgrade, I believe, whereas I need to buy a boxed version of LOTRO? Or did I misunderstand?

Thanks again for all the patience, you lot have been really nice. I appreciate it, it makes a big difference.

Take care,

X3N0

Originally posted by X3N0

Then how the games come is also something I was thinking about. AoC is just an account upgrade, I believe, whereas I need to buy a boxed version of LOTRO? Or did I misunderstand?

 

When you upgrade to a sub on AoC, they charge you $19.99 for the client ( and give you 30 days time ).

However, a much better deal than even their multi-month discounts is what I did. I just bought a Collector's Edition off e-bay brand new for $18.99 with free shipping http://catalog.ebay.com/Age-Conan-Hyborian-Adventures-Collectors-Edition-PC-Games-2008-/62381973?_fifpts=1&_pcatid=2&_refkw=age+of+conan&_trksid=p3286.c0.m271  and used the key to upgrade my buddy trial. I then bought a 60 day time card from Newegg.com for $9.99 with free shipping http://www.newegg.com/Product/Product.aspx?Item=N82E16832141018&cm_re=age_of_conan-_-32-141-018-_-Product .

So for $28.98 I have 3 months of playtime plus all the bonuses from the CE plus the Mammoth mount and extra inventory bag for upgrading from the buddy trial.

And you could go even cheaper, as Gamestop and most other places now sell the standard AoC game for $9.99 or less http://www.gamestop.com/Catalog/ProductDetails.aspx?product_id=64020   , which with the 60 day for $9.99 would give you 3 months for $19.98 or less.

It's almost funny but you post 3 of my favorite games.

EVE, you have to be a patient player, but it pays off, upgrading your ships will take a few minutes, hours then get into weeks.  You will get amazing ships, explore places that just scream wow and the battles are just amazing. If you ever get lost in the game, because you probably will, the community in this game will help you so much, it will fill like family members are there for your every need. Even with the age of this game, it was something I did enjoy while playing but for the reason of my departure was just due to I needed to play something that did not use so much of my time.

LOTRO, I remember when the beta came out and I was just so excited to play this and when the game finally released I gave myself a good full year of gameplay and from the music, gameplay exp and graphics I was just blown away.  Some of the quests can be quite weak, but what MMO doesn't have that.  I love that this game has lots of story to it and has nice cut-scenes that give more story through out the game.  I just started up my account again, playing this now with STO beta.

AoC, this game was a bit different for me as a MMO, the thing is, the first 20 levels of this game area amazing, day and night quests, lots of voiced NPC and the quests were quite enjoyable.  What I really enjoyed about this game was the Music, amazing almost all the time, just beautifully done and then the fighting system.  Ground fighting is done in a whole different way and I enjoyed that very much, but the use of Mount combat is horribly destroyed it just feels so bad.

Each of these games have been great in some way or another and are in my mind the best MMO's of the past half decade.

Originally posted by X3N0

Originally posted by zeowyrm

AoC:  I liked this game.  Only played it for a month though, didn't get past the starter zone.  Frankly, my comp couldn't handle the game.  I like the setting, thought the combat was different and fully look forward to exploring the world once I upgrade my comp.

 

So, if your computer had been able to play it fine, you would have been more than happy to keep playing?

 

I was leaning towards eve, but now I'm stuck between AoC and LOTRO. I'm such a sucker for visuals, and AoC has those in spades. It runs fluidly, but I still have worries about the later content. I'm also a huge believer that quest and storyline have to be there, and from what I've seen, and what you lot have been telling me, LOTRO delivers. There's always stuff to be done, and my characters are still quite small-time. If it can deliever like this all the way to cap, that's amazing.

Eve...well, it has some really nice visuals, and I love that the community is very...entertaining, that whole waiting to level/upgrade feature is a big letdown. It seems like a way to guarentee that the devs will get more money from you, simply because you have to play for a set amount of time to do anything. I don't really like that.

Then how the games come is also something I was thinking about. AoC is just an account upgrade, I believe, whereas I need to buy a boxed version of LOTRO? Or did I misunderstand?

Thanks again for all the patience, you lot have been really nice. I appreciate it, it makes a big difference.

 

 

Take care,

X3N0

Yeah, what I was saying is that if my comp could handle AoC, I'd prolly still be playing it, no questions asked.  And as far as lotro goes, I think the core client is only around 10-20 bucks right now, and you can get the digital version straight from the site if I remember right.  In fact, the Mirkwood expansion is digital only, no disc copy.