You could try eq2's ftp client you will be seriously gimped as you go into the higher lvl content if you try to play it totally for free but it may still have enough depth to interest you. Eq2 has always been my "comeback to" mmo for the last several years. I always end up resubbing for a month or 2 once or twice a year.

If not lotro might be another one to at least give a try. I've found the community to be pretty horrid since it went ftp but everyone's experience will vary.

 As far a grouping goes I'm pretty much in the same boat as seemingly a lot of others in that I go into all these games alone and I usually can never find any steady group of  people to play with it's either imcompatable playstyles or 4+ hour time differences so I usually end up soloing 1 character to level cap and then since I'm basically locked out of the "endgame" unless the game has other stuff to do besides raiding or is interesting enough or large enough to make playing an alt worth it I just quit at that point and then maybe go back for a month or 2 after any major content expansion gets released.

I find it very interesting that once these games go "free" the revenue goes up for the devs. So much for those who continue to spout the "you can play the whole game for free" mantra over and over again. Or that ftp games will cost less then a sub in the long run. That I'll believe only if you play the game for a few hours a week or less.

To me this just proves that ftp is a thinly veiled money grab by the devs the same way that all the dlc on consoles are also.

While I can definitely relate to the op's issues as I find myself in the same boat with ending up playing mmo's by myself most of the time. I have tried to join in on these "let's start a game together" projects from this site over half a dozen times now and not a single one ever lasted for more then a month. With some not even making it a week.

In my opinion trying to recruit a solid compatable group from a pool of players that are both located all around the world and invariably want far different things out of their gaming experience always ends in frustration.

I'm currently between mmo's myself at the moment I've been getting my gaming fix on single player stuff. I wish the op the best of luck and I would be open to a "start fresh" group if the game that you would choose interests me and if the players are basically from my time zone of east coast usa. Not much point of trying to group wih people from california or europe or asia due to the time differences.

I have experience in all the games listed on my profile page so I could offer some help in any of those. I'll watch this thread but I will retain my scepticism.

You could always try lotro unless you think your machine can't handle it . But it won't cost you anything to download the client and give it a shot or maybe give the ftp eq2 version a whirl you'll be heavily gimped if you want to play eq2 totally for free but again it won't cost you anything to try it out.

I played aoc at launch and returned for a month now and again and in my experience aoc had just about the worst community that I've ever experienced in a mmo with the exception of lotro when the floodgates opened on the ftp launch and  the waves of human trash desended on middle earth.

Should be interesting when the same caliber of players are unleashed in aoc and they can fight it out in hyboria this time.

I would also suggest eq2 it has really nifty player housing and a lot of people are really into furnishing and deocorating their houses.

As was stated there is a ftp client but I would strongly advise going with a sub if you really intend to play the game on a regular basis.

I've played eq2 off and on for several years now I love the questing and the atmosphere. It's always been my comeback mmo whenever I get bored or disgusted with whatever else that I've been playing.

I think the graphics in this game look terribad for a  title being released in 2011. The theme is very interesting but it seems this game will end up being a very small shadow of itself compared to what was originally envisioned for it. If this is the best that they could do to "revive" this previously cancelled game they should have just let die.

I'm leaving as soon as I hit lvl 50 with my mage. At the pace that I play I figure will take me at least another month or so. The "dynamic" content is just the same invasions over and over again and as the population thins out I would assume all the lower level zones will be ghost towns in the next several months on my shard the starter areas are already almost deserted unless an invasoin happens which will draw in players to deal with it but  at level 27 I'm already doing stuff like solo closing minor rifts as there are no other players around to do so.

I'm sure rift will settle down to a healthy population probably half what it is now and if they do any full expansions I'll probably resub for a month once in a while but I have no interest in playing this long term.

More power to those who love it. I just don't find the game nearly as interesting as I thought I would.

I have no rl friends who will touch a mmo they either consider them huge time sinks or just too nerdy a hobby to get into. They'll play console stuff and maybe fps or rts pc  games but that's about it.

I've been playing mmo's for around 6 years now and in that time across many games I have never encountered anyone who I consider more then just random aquiantences. I really don't know how you people find others who would do stuff like send you a junk food care pakagae halfway across the world when they hardly even "really" know you. I"m lucky if I can fnd a guild in any game where anyone even talks to each other at all or ever helps each other in game except for the usual "inner circle" which if you are not in it you don't even get spit on by the rest of the guild.

I second loke666 sugestion of eq2 but go for the actual sub if you really want to play it as it's meant to be played.

I voted yes I bought a 3 month sub but I doubt that I'll be staying past it when that's up. At the casual pace that I play I figure it will take me like 1 to 2 months to get my current level 24 main up to level 50 by which point I'll most likely be bored enough with the game or disgusted enough at the community to call it quits.

I like the game but there's just something about it that just doesn't "feel" right. I can't really put my finger on what it is though. It seems like a nice ride to level up but I don't see anything in the "endgame" that will keep me playing once I get there.

I've always been in the same sort of situation as the op. I don't have any rl friends who will touch an mmo so I always play alone at least to start with unless or until I find some people in game that have the same playstyle and time schedule that I do. But so far it never lasts for long and I end up drifting from game to game as my interest wanes or I run out of solo content or stuff I can get pugs for.

I've tried a few times to hook up with various groups from this site but that has never managed to last more then a month the last time being with the vanguard guild that was started here and that everyone basically abandoned after a few weeks but whatever.

I'm currently playing rift I do like the game but I doubt I'll be in it for the long haul.Something just doesn't feel right about it but I can't really put my finger on what. I've been playing mmos for close to 6 years now. I still got my 1 man guild in eq2 that I could never get anyone to join up with since I wanted to actually play through the lower level content and wanted to build it from the ground up. Everyone wanted an already established guild and I ended up just using the guild as an extended bank for my alts. I've got at least some experience in most of the major fantasy themed mmos.

I'm a casual player I don't have a ton of time per week to play these games due to work and personal commitments. I'm on east coast time. If you look at my game list you can see what I've played I usually play tanks or casters but I've done healers on occasion. I got no idea if I would be compatable with any of you but feel free to message me if you or anyone for that matter would like to get something started.

I agree with all the points that this article raises. FTP is just a money grab by the devs in my opinion and I have yet to play a single one that appealed to me even after the "relaunch" of lotro I still played it for less then a month before giving up due to all the flaws the game had are still there and I and found the influx of new players to be most disgusting assortment of subhumans that I have ever encountered in my 5 years of playing mmo's they make the worst I ever encountered in wow seem like angels.

I still can't believe that all this arguement still comes down to to a $10-$15 dollar a month fee. If you can't afford that how do you pay for your internet connection? I would assume that most of you also have a cell phone and cable tv which charge you x amount of money per month whether you use them or not and have all sorts of extra charges for "premium" features and such and I  never here anyone complain about that but a flat monthly charge for a mmo is outrageous?

It seems to me that ftp's biggest advocates are just looking for a free ride but at the same time a lot of games that are "free" say they generate as much or more revenue then a sub game so where does that come from? And for those who crow about never spending a dime in these games how do you expect the devs to keep the servers running or make any new content if the game generates no money? 

I will always prefer having a basically level playing field in a mmo where I don't have to be concerned about the guy who spent more money having either better gear or hundreds of healing pots due to what he spent in the item shop. As oppossed to him just having more skill then me.

In the end ftp is not "better" then a sub and for some games with the way that content is deliverd or with the game play mechanics themselves I can see where it makes sense especially to the casual market where you either want to play only 3-4 hours a week or want to play muitiple mmos at the same time. But for those who advocate all games going microtransaction you have yet to convince me how I won't be spending in the long run at least as much as if not more then I would do if I pay a $15 a month sub. 

First my apologies if this has been adressed somewhere else but does anyone know if there will be any new realms going up when cataclysm launches?

I'm planning on resubbing again soon but I've been gone so long from wow that starting over is what makesthe most sense and I thought that if there would be any new realms it might be better to roll there on a more even playing field then on an "old" server.

thanks in advance for any replies

I have never had any luck at all in hooking up with anyone from this site for any mmo. I tried tagging along with anyone who wanted a "fresh start" group or guild in any game that I was interested in it  never lasted for  more then a month. But I do fully understand where you are coming from. I pretty much go into any mmo alone since none of my friends will touch any game in the genre so I'm well versed in not having any steady group to play with unless I can get into an open, casual guild that actually does things together and is not either just an innner circle of rl friends or think the game is more important then real life and are obsessed with gear or having you play the game "their" way.

I support efforts like what the op wants to do in principle but there are many reasons why I have my doubts as to it working in the long run. It's easy to drum up some interest for any new project and not so easy to keep that interest.

Trying to set up a guild on a site like this I don't have a lot of faith in as I have tried to hook up with people like 4 or 5 times from this site and it never works due to things like people being from all over the world so there end's up being a big minus due to time differences and then as was stated previously people have quite different ideas in what they want out of a guild. What I have found is most who frequent this site seem to be of the "hardcore" mindest whether it's pvp or raiding or whatever. Now if that is what you want then you may be able to get a core group together and flesh out other people from within the game you want to play.

The other issue that I see is that you seem to want to play "old" games well that is another problem with 2011 looking like a bunch of new shiny mmo's will be released chances are there won't be much interest in playing stuff like eq1. With most vets having "been there done that" as far as the old mmo's are concerned.

Good luck in your plan though.

What I have found worst of the switch to the ftp hybred model is that it seems at least from my personal experience of rolling a new character on 4 different servers is that most of the ftp people are nothing but trolls and as has been called on other threads the dregs of the gaming population.

The non stop vulgarity and racial/homophobic slurs are trully sickening. I have had to turn off all the standard chat channels just to keep from rage qutting the game entirely. Even my days of playing wow were never this bad not to mention all the kill and resourse stealing.

I find it very sad that there are that many people with nothing better to do then make throw away accounts just to do everything in their power to disrupt the gaming experience of everyone around them.

I hope that this trend goes away over time for if this the type of players that are going to be taking over lotro my time in middle earth is over for good.

I salute the author of this article for calling ftp what is trully is. Nothing more then the gaming industry attempting to nickel and dime it's customers to death. This is not just limited to mmo's though look at things on the console side they do the same thing with downloadable content that should have been in the original game in first place. While charging you $60 for a game you can finish in one afternoon then charging $10-15 for 2 hours worth of download content. As long as the consumer is addicted or dumb enough to tolerate this nonsense it will continue and I again salute anyone taking a stand against it.

In my opinion all this article does is back up most of the anti ftp arguements on this site and others and proves that ftp is nothing more then a money grab by the  devs and that players who do use the item shops will be spending more per month then if they went with a standard sub game.

I like to use the old saying to sum it up "a fool and his money are soon parted"

I fully agree with everything the OP says. I'm currently chugging away with my main who is level 83 to get him to 90 and see the rest of the game's soloable content. Then I think I'm finally done with eq2 although I may come back for a bit as they add more zones and such in future expansions. Since I'm not in with the in crowd I'm pretty much locked out of the endgame anyway so as another poster said unless they would make alternate methods to aquire similar shinie's that don't require raiding not much point at just hitting level cap to not have anything fun left to do.