With the new wave of story-based MMORPGs, I have decided to get back into the genre and start playing a P2P game. I have played the trial version of The Old Republic which, despite lacking chat and other crucial features, seems quite fun and engaging. I am however worried about late-game content as well as the degree to which RP is established in the game. What I absolutely love is the Legacy system, which gives some purpose to having an expensive tree of characters. I see however how it could get boring fairly quickly with the limited amount of classes etc.

The Secret World, on the other hand, is also a very interesting perspective to this old Lovecraft-fan and has the added advantage of being fairly "new" - i.e. I would be able to be part of the first post-release wave of players to enjoy the game and get into the social part of it (i.e. guilds etc.) much better. I like the investigation quests which seem to be less grindy and dependent on set-piece elements (right-click X glowy-items seems to be a favourite in TOR) as well as backtracking. I like the setting's premise, but have doubts as to how well it is executed. Also, since I haven't had a chance to try this one out, I have no idea what the actual in-game community is like and whether there is a place for RP guilds.

All in all, a difficult decision. Another question is of course the life expectancy of these games. TOR is further along in its lifecycle, but there are some rumours of it going F2P eventually. TSW is a great unknown - it takes a major risk with its setting and premise, and all too often games that take such risks sink fairly quickly. I don't really want to commit to a game that will die within a year.

So, I would like to call upon all of you to help me decide which one to play. I hope for some insights from players who have been playing either of the two games for a while and can offer some advice on the amount of RP guilds, the community in general, the long-term motivation the game offers and the development of the player base (i.e. how long will it last?).

Thanks in advance!

If you like being funneled down a corridor then choose SWTOR, if you want something that breaks the mould (just a tiny bit) then choose The Secret World.

If you have a mad love for everything star wars then this is worthless, but if not I would say TSW is by far the better game.

Also if you want a one day trial key for TSW then PM me your e-mail address.

Obviously I have no mad love for Star Wars. It's a fun setting, but actually my lack of in-depth knowledge about it leads me to tend more towards TSW, which is more likely to work harder to actually show its world while TOR is more a "You know the setting anyway, so here are some generic quests to do while you take pictures of the places you've seen in the movies" kind of experience, so far. Again, it has its advantages. Star Wars has a few pretty cool elements (Lightsabers and such) and the game kind of allows you to remake and play your character (or a descendant) from other Star Wars Games. But that kind of recognition value, I imagine, probably wears pretty thin pretty fast, as experienced in World of Warcraft (Lordaeron City becomes quite boring after the initial "hey, I know this place!" has worn off).

Also, you got mail :)

After having played both I would suggest TSW.

TSW into GW2.  Never considered playing SWTOR, and it seems to be surrounded by throngs of dissapointment.

I'd go with TSW.

SWTOR doesn't have future with all the dev's getting fired.

Both of these games are destined to become freemium at some point..

But if i wasnt waiting for a better game i would go with TSW without thinking twice..

the games are so completely different, that  you can't really base one against the other, one is a storyline game, the other is an investigative game with complex combat mechanics.. if you want story then sw;tor, if you want more complex combat with gameplay that means you need to use your noggin a bit.. then TSW..

Really depends on what you like. Setting is different. Swtor leans more towards established WoW mechanics. TSW has an different combat system (not a great fan).  TSW is more challenging, SWTOR could have been if they made the mobs twice as powerful as the currently are during levelling to 50. The pvp in swtor is better i find.

Both games don't offer long lasting end-games but both have cinematic story quests that are quite enjoyable at times. The depth of the TSW story and visual quality is better then SWTOR as long as you can cope with the horrid lip-sync.

Graphics of TSW are far better then SWTOR but character animations are really crappy and annoying.

I think in the long run SWTOR has more future then TSW, they will go both F2P that's for sure.

Xfire rankings

SWTOR ranked 11

The Secret World ranked 23

Raptr Ranking

SWTOR ranked 24

The Secret World ranked 64

SWTOR is in bad papers atm but i'm confident that F2P will give a boost, TSW is abit of a question, Funcom doesn't have a good reputation iether.

Ever considered Guild Wars 2 as an alternative?

I haven't played TSW myself, but there's no doubt that it has received a vastly more positive reception than SW:TOR.

TSW with it's single server tech is much less prone to the problem of a declining population than a game like SWTOR. Everything except Fusang (the persistant PvP zone) is shared between the dimensions. It's basically one big server. Funcom never quits on their games either, their first MMO is 11 years old and still running. If you want to get into a game that will be around in 5 or 10 years, I would go with TSW.

I haven't played SWTOR, so I can really comment on it from personal experience. It does seem a bit more streamlined, and more boxed in when it comes do decisions on where to go next and the choices you have for your character (build wise). The last Starwars MMO was taken down to make room for this one...

I had to make the same decission and after playing both I've decided neither. I'll wait for GW2 and hope that it is better than both.

TOR is basically the most hated thing of all time on these forums :p

Therefore 90% of the people here will tell you to go with TSW.

I personally liked the combat in TOR far more than TSW's, even though it's a more classical approach. I didn't like how TSW's combat looked and flowed.

But TOR has a free trial atm (unlimited up to level 15). I'd say: give it a go and see if you like it, if you don't and the choice is still between those two games only, you're good to go for TSW.

After playing SWTOR since release and stopped after a month, and TSW since closed beta I'm going to have to suggest the following:

SWTOR has the single player feel that most RPGers crave and wouldn't mind barreling through the multiplayer aspect of this supposed MMO. The class choices are only numerous when you look at it as a whole and not as faction based, though you're playing the same basic four classes for each. Having played through the Imperial Agent content and finishing it in two weeks was not as rewarding as I'd imagine. Once you finish playing through the story, you only have end game content to look forward to.

TSW is an actual MMO that gives the player full control over what they want their character to be like. I for instance chose Assault Rifle and Elementalism abilities to defeat my enemies. After reaching a certain point in the game I found myself changing abilities around and adding passives from other weapon types to boost my damage. I've reached Transylvania and have near end game gear .. QL 10 but still greens. I've been playing this since beta nearly every other day and still have content ahead of me.

SWTOR I'm looking to get back into after the next patch content. I was turned off after the first month due to non-legacy updates. It's a different story now. I just wish they would pump more content into the class story as this game was created intended to than trying to round off everything else to make it more enjoyable. Bioware has created some of the most immersive rpg games to date, but having EA at the helm has made them restrict content to release at further dates.

TSW I'm looking to get lifetime subscription even if it does go freemium, I genuinely enjoy the content and look forward to the future this game has to offer.

Swtor, if you take the crappy class balance out, and the dead quest zone planets, is actually still a funish game pre-50. When you hit 50 the game is broken. You run the same hardmode(esseles/black talon) once a day and then run the same 4 warzones over and over and over and over and over after that.

if the tsw is ANY better than that go with it.

I played only in both games betas, didn't really got far enough to purchase. My recommendation with that said is TSW. Way more interesting aspects to it than TOR.

Ignore opinions, they may be untrue for you personally.

Play SWTOR trial. If TSW had a trial I'd suggest trying it too. Or get friend key!

IMO both don't have a lot of longevity or social aspects

edit: again D: