Hello.

I'm not exactly new to this website, but I just recently made a new account seeking MMO recommendations.

I'm a fairly casual player and I want to subscribe to a game which has a strong guild scene. I also don't want a game which will suck out my time, either.

So far, I've been thinking about getting either Rift or World of Warcraft. I'll definitely give the WoW trial a run later next week, but Rift appears more attractive because of the subscriber discounts if you purchase playing time in large blocks.

I know I'm being a tad vague here... but any suggestions? I am open to hearing about games beyond Rift and WoW.

Well, if you are after a strong guild scene, both WoW and Rift can provide that. Some very strong guilds have started playing Rift, like Xanadu, Element Zero or Reborn, to give a few examples. And there are very solid guilds in WoW that have been playing since day one and are still going on.

EQ2 could be another option. It's a classic and there are many strong and very well organized guilds playing it.

Eve can be quite interesting too, some corporations are epic there.

You could also consider Lotro. The game is very casual-friendly but there are some very well organized guilds playing it anyway.

About the time-sink thing... All MMOs are big time sinks. It all depends on your way of playing it anyway. But if you are after a strong guild, not many strong guilds are suited for casual players.

I'd say go with RIFT. It's fresh so you don't have to buy 3 Expacs, and is very polished.  Obviously WoW is extremely polished and has a extremely large playerbase, but it's old (2005). But I guess that's just personal preferences.

Otherwise, you could look into F2P games if you are a casual player. You could perhaps look at Lord Of The Ring Online, Dungeon&Dragon Online, or Vindictus (the latter doesn't have much of a guild-focus though, but is extremely casual-friendly). There's also Mabinogi if you don't mind the graphics, although the gameplay takes a little bit of time to get used to. Guilds are rather important in Mabinogi too.

Hello Kitty online

because if you dont know what you want to play how are we supposed to find out?

wathever except wow.

Gord is right strong guilds do not usually have casuals , but for a casual mmorpg WoW or Rift are two very good ones to chose from.

Alrhough i will say this....WoW was my very first MMORPG experience back in 06. WoW holds a special place in my heart that i will never forget. The bad thing about it is when i tried to find a new game to replace it ,  i had trouble because i was always comparing everything to WoW standards. It took me 2 yrs of searching to realize that comparing other games to WoW can ruin your fun trying somthing new.

So to me playing WoW first was a mistake , although it is a mistake i would repeat in a heart beat lol!

So in all honesty rift sounds like a solid choice over WoW in my opnion.

Depends on what your looking for. If your interested in a living world, and social experiance I would suggest EQ2. If your interested in just hard core game play and raiding probably wow, but take note it is the biggest mmo, and its great, but it probably has the worst community so if your looking for a social experince this is not for you. If PvP is your thing I would suggest Aion or WoW. I personaly think the best mmo on the market overall is probably EQ2, but WoW is very close there are alot of wow haters on here, but its a good game just lots of rude little kids play it. This also has to do with your age too though. If your under say 25 then I would for sure go WoW; however if your over 25 I would for sure go EQ2 I think. Just they way I see this I could be wrong.

Everquest (the original). Play on a progression server, early-release. Until you spend hours running half-naked through mob-infested territory trying to get to your corpse before other people can loot it, you'll never understand how easy the new MMOs make things.

I would recomment WoW but I haven't played it in a while so things might have changed. Both WoW and Rift are very casual friendly.

Although I would also strongly recommend EQ2. It's also very casual and it can be very immersive :)

I've only just got into MMOs myself, because news of Guild Wars 2 got me intrigued enough to check out generic MMOs in order to compare them to what Guild Wars 2 will have to offer. So I'm playing Lord of the Rings Online. A free to play MMO and I intend to keep it that way. So far I'm enjoying the social aspects of LotRO but that's because I was lucky enough to find a good Kinship (guild), where we help each other out with: questing, dungeon runs and crafting.

The actual gameplay seems pretty solid. Nothing amazing or breaktaking but also nothing that completely sucks. It's just a lot of things to get used to for a non-MMO player like myself. So I'll recommend you try out LotRO and try to find a good Kin early on, since anything can be more fun with more people. Also if you want to be like me and play for free then be prepared to grind your ass off. So far I've managed to grind enough deeds for enough content to reach lvl 50+ (level 65 cap).

EVE.

It's pretty much the most popular, not that popular, "OTHER" MMO out there. Fun setting, lots of things to do, and it's not very newbie friendly. If you can hack it there and you learn a bit about the genre, then you can move on to just about anywhere after that. PS it's Guild-critical, so communication and the want to be on a team is big plus. 

But you'll not have that 'this game is too hard', 'pvpers are mean' attitude the 'EZPeazy' horde rambles on about. It'll help you appriciate the games.

But if you start out on something like WoW or RIFT; kind of know it'll be like playing with Legos and getting really good at building things. Then when someone has some clay to offer you; you're going to be lost with this.. "WHERE DO I START?!" feeling.

Then you'll have to wait for MegaBlocks to release their shiny new blocks to run to and then claim to be playing something next-gen. Even if it's just a copy of Legos blocks with cheap paint on it.

the problem with Eve is ..its not very casual at all. The op said he was looking for somthing casual so sandbox style is out of the question. Eve can be fun but it akes alot of time and dedication.

I'd say play Darkfall, it's easily one of the most interesting MMOs out there at the moment. If you want to play something generic and slow, I'd say LotRO, but games like WoW and LotRo aren't really MMOs. They're extremely solo focused games heavy on instancing which breaks up the players and encourages them to go it alone.

Originally posted by XX55XX

Hello.

I'm not exactly new to this website, but I just recently made a new account seeking MMO recommendations.

I'm a fairly casual player and I want to subscribe to a game which has a strong guild scene. I also don't want a game which will suck out my time, either.

So far, I've been thinking about getting either Rift or World of Warcraft. I'll definitely give the WoW trial a run later next week, but Rift appears more attractive because of the subscriber discounts if you purchase playing time in large blocks.

I know I'm being a tad vague here... but any suggestions? I am open to hearing about games beyond Rift and WoW.

The Rift community is still forming. This would put you in on the ground floor for the game instead of playing catch-up in WoW.

Vindictus is a real cool action mmo, you can get away with playing it casually and for free, i do anyways.

DCUO is an awesome fast paced action game which does not require a grind, the grind is optional.

As far as WoW and Rift are concerned i played WoW for 6 years and im just tired of it, not the game itself, that type of gameplay i guess. So when i beta'd Rift i knew i wasnt going to want to play it.

WoW has 6 years of content behind it, Rift is lookin like it will be cool but i couldnt say.

Its good that youll trial WoW, the main difference really would be the graphic model style and the worlds. Of course theres more to it than that but im not here to get into a debate. :p If you like one of these games you would most likely like the other one also.

Oops sorry i just realized you said strong guild thing, well whatevers. :p

Perhaps I should have clarified.

I want to play an MMO with a strong social scene, organized around guilds, and is not too difficult to get into from a gameplay standpoint. EVE looks fascinating, but I doubt I would have the patience for something like that.

I think I'll give LotRO a try, since it's free.

And, doesn't EQ2 have a free to play version? How's that?

Originally posted by fallonfallon

the problem with Eve is ..its not very casual at all. The op said he was looking for somthing casual so sandbox style is out of the question. Eve can be fun but it akes alot of time and dedication.

It does?  How do you figure?  The skill training is in real time so you don't even have to log in and your charcter still advances.  Sure, you need to earn ISK, but even then you could purchase GTC's and sell them for ISK and fun your gaming that way.

Now its true, some activities in EVE can be very non-casual, but that would be true for every MMORPG.  Plenty of fun in EVE for the casual gamer.

Originally posted by fallonfallon

the problem with Eve is ..its not very casual at all. The op said he was looking for somthing casual so sandbox style is out of the question. Eve can be fun but it akes alot of time and dedication.

Funny that.

I went to the doctor and said.. "I think I got the flu, can I have some penicillin?" Then he said, "Sure, but the flu is a virus and the penicillin would just help to keep your immune system up to protect you from pneumonia." "So?" "You're going to go rest, drink plenty of fluid, and if anything gets worse you get back here."

That lil' story illustrates that sure.. People sometimes knows what they want, without knowing why they want it.

OP, EVE isn't that intimidating. It's actually more casual than people give it credit for mostly because it's different.

It's not hardcore.

It's not too difficult to start.

Casual doesn't have to mean a stupidly easy game.

You want a fun game where grouping and your decisions matter? I suggest EVE. At least trial it before you try any of the ez-mode MMOs.

You don't have to sub it. Just try it first. 

I promise it's worth it.

Originally posted by XX55XX

Perhaps I should have clarified.

I want to play an MMO with a strong social scene, organized around guilds, and is not too difficult to get into from a gameplay standpoint. EVE looks fascinating, but I doubt I would have the patience for something like that.

I think I'll give LotRO a try, since it's free.

And, doesn't EQ2 have a free to play version? How's that?

Just a trial of Eve, it's free.

I highly recommend starting there. LoL You're gonna be surprised that most of the stigma people associate with it is false.

There is a well known theory that whatever your first game is, it will dictate what you look for in games from the genre from then out. If you start in WoW, you'll want something just like that. If you start in EVE you'll demand that kind of depth, and nothing else will cut it.

Be careful with what you choose, but to put it frankly, none of the suggestions here are going to matter, because whatever you choose will set the standard from this point on. You'll likely be enamored with it either way, or absolutely hate it, and walk from all MMOs in general.