ok i got a few requirments for it.

Healing class(s)-  i would like to be able to play a healer and be needed in a party

Raids- would be awesome and i mean like 5, 10, 15, 20+ person raids

crafting- does more then just makes a player feel busy

and finally a functioning economy

preferably free to play and not pay to win

a decent housing system would be loved

Don't know if you've tried LOTRO, not everyone's cup of ambrosia but I like it.

All the ingredients you mention are there plus it's free to play (proper free to play, not the crap variety where they trick you into paying through the teeth once you're stuck in); dynamic, somewhat quirky classes; obviously rich lore; great storyline; some amazing instances; some meh-ish grinding (but largely avoidable unless you're a min/max'er); gfx engine could have been designed better but it's forgiveable unless you need things to look ultra-smooth and realistic. Recommend giving it a bash if you haven't already tried it and hated it.

Other than that: largely meh wow-rehashing or rapidly dull fare and, since the current trend is to phase out the trinity thing in upcoming games you may as well enjoy the older stuff until they get bored with that.   

Originally posted by madhatter443

ok i got a few requirments for it.

Healing class(s)-  i would like to be able to play a healer and be needed in a party

Raids- would be awesome and i mean like 5, 10, 15, 20+ person raids

crafting- does more then just makes a player feel busy

and finally a functioning economy

preferably free to play and not pay to win

a decent housing system would be loved

Vanguard meets your requirements

Originally posted by madhatter443
thanks for the inputi will check out lotro again ( last i looked they had it like ddo were ya had to pay for different adventures) but WoW will be my last resort.

Yeah you do have to pay for quest packs. But the good news is that the quests in said packs are sheeeeeite with a capital 'ite' (i.e. they are mostly of the 'collect 10 boar tusks and 7 rabbit earlobes' variety) and you wouldn't want to do them anyway so it's a win-win. Another piece of good news is that you earn the turbine points to buy stuff as you play and complete achievements....not all that fast but you should have plenty by the time you need to 'buy' anything. Even if you do have to spend money, I think I may have spent around £10-20 for years of fun, price of a coupla pints, not a bad deal at all at all. 

Originally posted by madhatter443

ok i got a few requirments for it.

Healing class(s)-  i would like to be able to play a healer and be needed in a party

Raids- would be awesome and i mean like 5, 10, 15, 20+ person raids

crafting- does more then just makes a player feel busy

and finally a functioning economy

preferably free to play and not pay to win

a decent housing system would be loved

Anarchy Online.

Healing classes, raids, crafting, economy, free2play and not pay2win, housing.

Over that, i dont know another game that encurages twinking like AO does.

Vanguard or EQ2, you should check both of them out.

Originally posted by madhatter443
i will look into LOTRO again. i did check out eq2 and it gives me the dead feeling like i made a char never seen another player even when i went to town and vanguard i suspect will be the same way sense its from the same company.

  VAnguard is pretty active at all lvls right now.. And SOE F2P model is very friendly ..for Vanguard..

Originally posted by madhatter443
thanks for the inputi will check out lotro again ( last i looked they had it like ddo were ya had to pay for different adventures) but WoW will be my last resort.

Why would you save the best for last?

People who speak poorly of WoW are typically: 1) Prefer sandbox style MMO;  2) Played too much and are sick of it; 3) Afraid it has caused the entore genre to become WoW clones.

That said, there is a reason it's the top Western MMO, it's the best. So to chose ono of the other themeparks without even trying the best Themepark MMO out there makes no sense.

Originally posted by Psychow

Originally posted by madhatter443
thanks for the inputi will check out lotro again ( last i looked they had it like ddo were ya had to pay for different adventures) but WoW will be my last resort.

 

Why would you save the best for last?

 

People who speak poorly of WoW are typically: 1) Prefer sandbox style MMO;  2) Played too much and are sick of it; 3) Afraid it has caused the entore genre to become WoW clones.

That said, there is a reason it's the top Western MMO, it's the best. So to chose ono of the other themeparks without even trying the best Themepark MMO out there makes no sense.

What would you suggest for someone who has a case of the number 2s and 3s?  Besides a lot of toilet paper.