Looking for a new game and was hoping for some ideas...

#1 priority is no Gameguard or Pando Media Booster - I'm fed up with having to deal with hours of problem solving before even peaking at the game.

I would like something with a bit more realism like Age of Conan... I don't mind a glowing weapon but wings and pink cartoony carnival aura doesn't work for me.  I care about itemization a lot... hate games where everyone looks the same in certain level ranges - I know it's likely at end game there can only be one "best" gear or weapon type but the more options the better.  I like pvp in battlegrounds, certain zones, or events... not a huge fan of open world 24-7 pvp/pk (would deal with it if a game meets other criteria).  I don't care if its pay to play, free to play or cash shops... light to moderate grind okay - but not into the heavy 15 hours a day necessary type games or logged 24/7.  I am a bit of an explorer and adventurer - like rare mobs concept or coming across things unanticipated... once again I love itemization and think it's neat when you can have neat or rare/cool things before end game.

Hopefully that wasn't useless ramblings, any help is appreciated.

Games I have played include: EQ2 (maybe I should revisit this one), WoW, L2, Vanguard, AoC 

Why not try Age of Conan...?

I did put AoC as games played.  Your suggestion is perfect as far as realism, the look of AoC is amazing - however, unless a lot has changed the game was very shallow.  When I played the crafting was horrid, the arenas or whatever for pvp were empty, when I did find pvp it was a kite fest regardless of class, all the NPC's looked fantastic yet player gear never quite rivaled the nice look, I spent the majority of my time repetitively clearing the same houses or whatever they called those little areas in town where you could port into them like instances.  I had really high expectations for that game and it fell short by a long shot, there was nothing immersive about it.

When was the last time you played AOC?

Since its gone free to play the population has went up quite a bit, also there has been a lot of changes since the game wes first released and its probally one of the best PVE themepark games out there, also if you like PVP the battleground type games at usually pretty busy at the certain lvl points... think every 20 lvls from what i remember. They also have big pvp zones for larger fights.. Also this year there is going to be a massive overhall of the crafting system..

I would say AOC fits what your asking for pretty well...

Other than that maybe give Fallen Earth a go, its sci-fi not fantasy but has a pretty good post apoc feel to the game and its also f2p now..

You could try mortal online. Its realism cannot be compared to any other game. Although its not a themepark and the whole world is one big battleground as its FFA PVP w/full loot. The only 'safe-zone' is blue cities and you still have to call guards on criminals in those cities. I really dont think that MO will be a 'fit' for you but you never know. The game is technically still in beta but after mob AI and UI-redo this April I think it will be ready.  

Originally posted by xDayx

You could try mortal online. Its realism cannot be compared to any other game. Although its not a themepark and the whole world is one big battleground as its FFA PVP w/full loot. The only 'safe-zone' is blue cities and you still have to call guards on criminals.

Yeah i currently play MO and its really good fun if your into the full loot PVP the game ahs to offer, but from what you where saying it did not sound your cup of tea and thats why i never mentioned it :)

What about Star Trek Online? Itemization is kinda irrelevant, you look how you want to look if I remember correctly regardless of gear. Fallen Earth also seems to meet most of your criteria.

Thank you for all the replies. 

The Mortal Online would be a no go if it's full loot on pvp - watched one youtube video and the guy said he "doesnt carry more then 1 silver in case he gets killed".  Not my style.

Fallen Earth does intrigue me.  I just tried to create my GamersFirst account and it seems to be bugged.  It just says it cant recognize my ID when I'm on the page to create it... lol...  anyways, I appreciate the suggestion and will try to get it working today.

Just thought I'd update...

I'm in game poking around in Fallen Earth.  I do like the more mature look of it.  The game is a ton different from anything I have played previously and maybe thats a good thing.  The learning curve seems somewhat steep, I'm used to getting one skill at a time or having one weapon with one basic attack and getting time to learn each new thing as I level... this game throws a lot at you at once.  Maybe I'm just old, but I find myself fumbling around between tabbing in and out of combat, switching weapons and other various buttons I need to learn without getting a ton of time to learn each basic maneuver... more advanced gamers would probably really like this and find it a positive.

With all my LF game research I did come across a neat looking title called C9 (Continent of the 9th), seems like it might meet a great deal of my criteria... hoping an open beta comes out soon as a closed beta recently ended.