Glorious Alpha Two Testers!
Phase I of Alpha Two testing will occur on weekends. Each weekend is scheduled to start on Fridays at 10 AM PT and end on Sundays at 10 PM PT. Find out more here.
Check out Alpha Two Announcements here to see the latest Alpha Two news and update notes.
Our quickest Alpha Two updates are in Discord. Testers with Alpha Two access can chat in Alpha Two channels by connecting your Discord and Intrepid accounts here.
Phase I of Alpha Two testing will occur on weekends. Each weekend is scheduled to start on Fridays at 10 AM PT and end on Sundays at 10 PM PT. Find out more here.
Check out Alpha Two Announcements here to see the latest Alpha Two news and update notes.
Our quickest Alpha Two updates are in Discord. Testers with Alpha Two access can chat in Alpha Two channels by connecting your Discord and Intrepid accounts here.
Comments
Then Woltk occurs. My beloved spec, warrior fury, was forced to play dual wield two handers, which has an atrocious look and feels. The dungeons were nerf to the hell and everything was cleaned with aoe day one(i had so much fun to wipes in heroics in BC). Half of raids were boring (Naxx takes only two weeks for our medium guilds). It become harder and harder to maintain a guild group for raiding (who need a guild when you can pick up everything?). Class homogenization started in WoLTK too (the famous bring the player not the class). I did continue after Woltk, but it was the first time i did a pause because the game bored me.
I played during the full time of Cata more for my guildies than the game itself, i still overall prefered Cata to Woltk. Mop, i look to talent "tree", the incoming loot treadmill, the theme of new expansion, nothing was appealing. And that was the time to stop this page.
I did retry retail in Legion but the experience was bad (class homogenization++, the "legendary" weapon for everyone) . M+ is the worst content in term of game ambiance they could have add. Stopped again some months after unable to find a guild or people to play with.
The covid and the lockdown period, i return to wow classic, and the game still works. I got my first guild while doing a Sunken Temple then when this guild fall, one of my previous guildies invited me in his guild. I played with them until the re-release of Woltk (this time i known what to expect so i stopped it here).
During Wow classic i did retry some modern extension, same story than Legion, unable to find people to play the content that's interest me and stopped two months after.
1. Pay 2 Win
2. Lack of content
3. Repetitive content
Archeage, still my favorite MMO, I've played on official servers during CBT and launch, and 2.0 patch, then on Classic server about a year ago.
- Official version - basically p2w garbage was the main reason I quit, gearing was bad as well due to p2w.
- Classic version - repetitive content, lack of updates/new content, mismanagement in general, gearing was bad, and I realized it's not only due to p2w.
Those are probably the biggest reasons, though there were always smaller things I disliked.
Allods Online, my main MMORPG before Archeage. Basically a WoW clone, but I loved it so much more than WoW at that time.
- Horrendous P2W.
You straight up buy perma dmg/def boosts via rune system, and to get max level of those, you have to spend over $10k.
Combat mounts were op, other systems that granted you dmg buffs which required you spend money on it, lootboxes, class changes were expensive, build resets were expensive, god knows what else, haven't played the game in 7-8 years.
I've played others like ESO, GW2, Lost Ark, WoW, BDO, probably a few others that I can't remember, but I never loved those games as much as the above 2.
ESO - awful combat and skill design in general, overly repetitive. Build customization was good, items granting you unique effects was great, but everything else mid.
GW2 - nothing really pushed me to play, no power to gain, rewards felt lackluster, class system was trash, no trinity, skills being tied to weapons, very limited customization options, events felt repetitive.
Lost Ark - Daily bs, timegated trash, p2w, repetitive and boring, no depth, combat was good at least, bosses were fun.
WoW - Actually decent, until you get to the endgame, where it just doesn't feel interesting to me at all. Mind you I haven't played classic or earlier versions, only in the past 2-3 years have I tried this game properly.
BDO - Looks good and feels good to play for a bit, until it gets boring, very limited customization options, gearing is bad, didn't like the combat too much after a while, overall felt meh, with some great bits like nodes and workers.
Lineage 2 - I got tired of the grind and poor content variety.
WoW - one day I logged in and just felt sick, I suppose that's the way you feel if you gorge too much on something. Still I have some fond memories of my Tauren shaman open world PvP, and levelling my human warlock whilst playing BB King in the background. I came back a decade later for a nostalgia trip, but my interest in the game fizzled out. The game didn't feel much like a MMO, and the open world content felt too easy.
GW2 and SWTOR - I liked them both for different reasons, but overall the copy/paste nature of the game activities and again, PvE content which in the open world did not encourage use of your classes to the fully potential made it boring in the long run.
The Lord of the Rings Online - the landscape difficulty made it interesting, and the old school nature of some content was weirdly refreshing. The game was pretty atmospheric, despite its age, however content felt a bit uninspired around level 30+ if I remember correctly. That specific zone quest line felt weak, and I felt zero motivation to continue playing at that point. In the end server latency / server performance issues were also immersion breaking.
A side note: For some reason I enjoyed quite a bit both GW2 and LOTRO crafting experience as a solo player. In GW2 crafting was the reason why I ended levelling 5 different classes at the same time and levelling up different crafting schools.
Overall the passing nature of the levelling zones was one of the reasons why I disliked in a lot of MMOs. You barely ever felt a reason to come back to a "low" level zone as you have already completed all content there and roaming mobs were no threat at all. One of the reasons why I liked GW2 more with its level scaling system, which adjusted your level to the zone content. That alone made the game world feel more like a living, breathing world.
Blown past falling sands…
Eve Online - Pay to win made PVE feel pointless. I enjoyed using planets to generate resources, but it didn't feel worthwhile because I could get the same in-game value for real money. Also, PVP felt inaccessible. I couldn't figure out how to get involved successfully.
Everquest - Vanilla WoW was a better game. It's harsh to say, but that's the real reason I quit playing EQ.
The first cut is the deepest: World of Warcraft.
I‘ve played it from EU Release until end of WotLK, so stopped beforr Cataclysm. The time was over. It was the best WoW time without a doubt.
Then, Legion engaged me again (although I played several* MMOs in between) so I played again until middle of Shadowlands.
Saw nearly every raid back from vanilla until the fall of Arthas. Weekend long Alterac valleys, sneaked with my undead rogue in Ironforge PK-ing alliance. Progressed until Gladiator (with Rogue and Warrior), leaded rated Battlegrounds in high ratings. Had fun at tarrens mill with open pvp, battled with my Warrior with honor in hundrets, thousands of fights.
For the Horde.
Lok‘tar Ogar.
*other MMOs
2nd best: Guild Wars 2
3rd best: Elder Scrolls Online
Also played: Warhammer, Aion, Rift, Neverwinter, Terra, Black Desert Online, Final Fantasy 14, New World. Maybe more, I can‘t remember.
I will not play Thrones & Liberty, also Archage2 or Chrono Odyssey is not on my watchlist.
20 years later waiting for my second home after WoW, all in between were disappointing (beside GW2 and ESO, both were ok to very ok) - but no king rules forever, so I‘m not going back to WoW. I loved this game, one of my all time favorites, but players/community and the game changed a lot, I also dont like the story or „features“ like cross-factions playing. For me personnally the higher focus to solo players was good, but several other things felt bad and destroyed this masterpiece for me.
Best hope: AoC with respect to the time of the players (that aged, as it communicates with MMO veterans which are 20y+ older meanwhile).
Biggest fear, worst scenario: Only for 10h+ elitist PvP players, because I cant play like in WoW back in time 20 years later with family, kids, job. If AoC is not respecting the time of the player, it will one more MMO failing on my list. This time consuming concepts do not work for me anymore and the entire MMO market shows us, that elitist MMOs will not work or only for a very small hardcore playerbase.
We will see, what AoC will learn during the testphases. I hope, it will not only hear to players investing 10h a day, because I'm paying my sub also with 2h a day, if the game respects my time and provides meaningful content to me where I can progress my character.
The game had it's flaws, but the reason i quit was simply due to its age and the routine over the years, friends gave up, low population, etc.
The only reason i am interested in AoC is because it shares a tiny similarity for the endgame, where mayors in AoC feels like Archons in RF online, and the node wars feels like chip war.
for those who are curious and never played:
From the 200+ i played, some which left a mark on me, besides RF online, wow, gw2, l2, aion, terra, archeage, wildstar , bns, bdo, but played them as obsessive as the popular ones:
Mu online (before wow) , Granado Espado " swords of the new world", Atlantica online, 2moons"dekaron", Cabal online, Rohan online, Forsaken world, Archlord, loong online, Icarus, swordsman online, The Secret World
I loved these also, but gave up mostly due to high p2w, bad changes overtime, low population, or IP moved to other publisher:
" Thy dopamine come, thy will be done ~ on earth as it is in heaven. "
" Give us this day our daily copium ~ and forgive us our trespasses,
as we forgive shitty Companies who trespass against us. "
" And lead us not to Activision Blizzard ~ but deliver us from that evil. "
✓ Occasional Roleplayer
✓ Guild is " Balderag's Garde " for now. (German)
World of Warcraft has become overly repetitive and stale, with its focus primarily on gear grinding and limited, static end-game content. The game’s weekly cap on raids and rewards feels more like a strategy to keep players subscribed longer rather than improving their overall experience. This cap restricts the sense of accomplishment from completing objectives, making the game feel more like a chore than an enjoyable pastime.
The PvP (Player vs. Player) aspect of the game is also subpar. The maps are few and repetitive, and the gear options are limited. Furthermore, there is practically no meaningful PvX (Player vs Environment and Player vs Player) integration apart from the barely-used War Mode. Players crave organic PvX interaction rather than having to toggle an option and search the world hoping someone else is using it. Established zones with risk vs. reward mechanics would greatly enhance this experience, giving players a sense of purpose in PvP without the artificial feeling of a forced toggle system.
### Albion Online
Albion Online, once a vibrant and engaging game, has significantly declined. The game allowed cartels to monopolize markets and control the economy, making it easier for large groups to dominate the game. By focusing too much on solo updates and making quality of life changes that cater to solo players, the developers have made large-scale group objectives less important. Competitive ZvZ (Zerg vs Zerg) battles have dwindled, with players either getting bored of the repetitive nature of the content or the objectives becoming too safe and easy, leading to a "care-bear" environment.
What many players, myself included, miss the most is the camaraderie of defending home territories with guild members. The high stakes of losing gear, resources, and home bases (HO) added excitement and purpose to every battle. The thrill of fighting outnumbered, like a 40 vs 80 or 60 vs 120 battle, where victory was still possible despite the odds, was incredibly rewarding. Being the underdog and fighting for a shared cause created a deep sense of unity and grit within the guild.
Unfortunately, the developers have all but killed PvP in Albion. By making the game too safe and removing key PvP objectives, such as HO smashing, they took away a significant end-game purpose. Now, PvE-focused updates have led to a stale dungeon simulator, with only rare encounters with player killers (PKs). The game is no longer the dynamic PvX experience it once was, but rather a diluted version of what made it great.
Passed on Rune scape, played enough 8 bit games.
Passed on Final fantasy 11 and 14, never got into the story arch.
Started to play Eve online, lost interest fairly quick. Simply didnt have the time to dedicate playing.
Enjoyed Star Wars Galaxies and left because of major change in game direction. As soon as they took away earning anything special and opened it up to just give everything access without earning the right....
City of Hero’s was fun in many aspects. Devs direction and major changes killed desire to play.
City of Villians was very short lived, just could not get into the game.
World of Warcraft back stabbing toxic people guild killers. started when game launched 2004 and left in 2005
Skipped Perfect World
Skipped Aion
Lord of the Rings played 2007 to 2021 left because The guild dispersed and left game and wife stopped playing .
Skipped Dungeons and Dragons, after reviewing the game decided game play wasnt for me.
Age of Conan, Guild of a 1000 people. By 6th month down to under 30 players, game developers lied and nerfed the classes and changed power sets way to much. Funcom games are forever blacklisted.
Star Trek online left a week before launch along with about 300 guild members , devs lied about the Klingon faction , I was responsible for uncovering their true intentions and exposed the truth. The rest of the Klingon guilds left shortly after launch after they saw first hand that the Klingons were only playable in Pvp Zone and were not allowed to fly in the rest of the Federation galaxy.( One has to remember many were in denial that this was going to occur.)
Hard pass on Champions online
Star Wars Old Republic. Mainly EA took over and then game got boring fast, end game was terrible. Nerfing and game changes killed playability. Will never buy or support an EA game again.
Passed on Rift after looking into it.
Tera online, played for 2 years, until it started to get boring. Really started to like action targeting play style
Guild wars 1 and 2 never got into it, I tried but didn’t like the play style.
Passed on DC universe online as soon as I seen the terrible handling by the developers with exploiting and cheaters.
Passed on Secret World .As it was a Funcom game and EA published.....
Enjoyed Battlestar Galactica online 2013 to 2019 ( closed down) , such a simple game and decent over all setup for a space game despite the flaws.
Neverwinter online played for first 5 years of its life span. Really liked the action targeting and original character power trees and sets. Hunter class was amazing to play flipping back and forth between melee and ranged. Battle Cleric was so fun to play along with Mage class Mod 16 in 2018 however completely destroyed the games play style and ruined all class power sets beyond repair. Game lost 40 % of its active player base in 30 days. Devs decision making completely drove players away.
Passed on BDO way to much micro transactions
ESO, fun for awhile lots of interesting things really liked the certain classes and the action targeting but eventually end game gets old and boring.
Grand theft Auto 5, will most likely try 6 ! game is fun as hell but you hit the wall of same old same old and can get bored once you have done everything.
Passed on New World as soon as I found out the server caps along with the initial wide open large guilds can control everything... Some nice ideas but excution of game design and how it was handled was terrible.
Big no's that are a red flag, for me now a days
Games with multi phasing of same instance. Restricted low low counts allowed to be in same instance.
Heavy micro transactions
Free to play with micro transactions
Pay to win.
Will play or try a free to play if there is a way to earn stuff in game without having to do any micro transactions. Or if a subscription is a good price and opens game up entirely.
AoC will be the last attempt for MMO for me of this kind, been playing a lot of the indie games single player and co-ops.. with some of the open world survival games
I stopped playing New World for a few reasons. Honestly, I kind of forgot about the game after a while, despite it being alright when I first started playing. It seemed like it had potential, but over time, the player base dwindled, largely due to the lack of meaningful endgame content. Once you hit a certain point, there just wasn’t much to do. The repetitiveness of PvP, particularly in Outpost Rush, where it’s the same map over and over, really became stale quickly.
I know they added some form of PvX content involving factions in the open world, but that wasn't enough to keep my interest. With vast resources and funding, I expected a lot more, but the game never truly delivered. The poor foundations, paired with how long it took to fix even basic issues, really hurt its reputation early on, and it just left a bad taste.
The content itself also wasn’t very impactful, and the overall theme of the game was confusing. There were muskets, ancient Egyptian motifs, Roman elements, demons, and high fantasy — it felt like a hodgepodge of different ideas that didn’t come together cohesively. Being a big fan of Lord of the Rings, I appreciate how that world blends its fantasy elements in a structured and immersive way, where everything feels like it belongs. In contrast, New World just seemed all over the place.
In the end, while New World is fine to play for a few weeks or months if you're just passing time, it’s not something I’d stick with long-term. It just doesn’t have the lasting appeal or polish that would make it worth investing more time into.
The newer expansions slowly alienated the game to me. New areas didn't seem to fit into the old continents and there was more and more solo and instanced content. The final nail in the coffin was the Goddess of Destruction update to me where they completely streamlined the starting experience, every race would start in the new and same place (taking out the unique starter villages), leveling was super fast and just a chore and not an achievement, and the new class advancements introduced skills and functions to previous classes that felt too different and new to me. Not even talking about the abyssmal pay to win of the official servers.
ArcheAge
was the MMO love I never thoguht I'd find after L2. Perhaps it struck a chord with me because it was by the L2 creator Jake Song as well. The alpha and initial launch was probably one of the most fun times I ever had in MMORPG. Slowly they took out the importance of crafting and also focused more on daily and instanced content, which in turn felt like it dimished crafting and working together. At some point it felt like you were logging in for dailies/weeklies only, at which point I gave up on it. Again, not even talking about questionable monetization.
So I feel like I could summarize my experiences in these games, in that they introduced too much focus on instanced and daily/weekly content maybe.
New Zones are partially beautiful - but mostly the only thing that feels like it is rewarding to do, is gathering new Cosmetics and/or Mounts that one can also apply in Roleplay.
Always juicy, cool Roleplay.
✓ Occasional Roleplayer
✓ Guild is " Balderag's Garde " for now. (German)