Top 5 Best MMOs for Beginners in 2024

[@arvetis]

Imagine calling "buy to play" a negative monetization factor. Video game monetization has become so insane that we think "make a good game and sell it for a reasonable one-time price" is a negative.

[@antivist1481]

True. I'd rather buy a game up front if it's a well rounded, full and fair experience rather than free-to-play, riddled with confusing monetization systems. Not saying f2p can't be good, just my preference.

[@shyryTsr2k]

@@antivist1481That’s probably why people love Fortnite so much because it’s not only free to download but you can play the game instantly with no restrictions besides needing an epic account.

[@Moonshainu]

Being dumb is just the way for people.

[@TasteBudTreasures-hq2nw]

@@Moonshainu buy to play is negative for new players-you are paying to play a new product which you may not like. Unless there is a refund option for trial period.

[@slowmanguide3262]

@@TasteBudTreasures-hq2nw most games nowadays can be bought through steam, ESO included. You can refund anything you buy within 2 hours of playtime, according to policy. But you can often play more and still get a refund. I've had games with 4 hour playtime get refunded through steam cuz it just wasnt my thing. So buy to play is, in the pc world, not negative.

[@vwlssnvwls3262]

I played GW2 at launch, and I love its style. I played it for about a year, but overall It is just a game I like to visit now and then. It is beautiful, and there is always a lot of stuff to do, but somehow it just never holds my attention more than a couple hours. But it is still one I would suggest to anyone looking for an MMO, because there is no telling what each person might like more or less than another. And this game has so much to do in what ever way you want that it is bound to hit with many people, and does.

[@Tower.GamingLS]

im so happy that SWTOR made youre list its one of my fav MMOs

[@douglasnevins1598]

I wanna get into SWTOR so bad, but every time I get on the UI just makes me want to throw up its so bad. The game looks sick, I love Star wars, it's fully voice acted, I've heard the story is crazy good, there's so much going for it, but when the UI starts to give me migraines, I just can't play anymore 😅

[@Tower.GamingLS]

@douglasnevins1598 you can customize the entire UI maybe try that and if that doesn't help im sorry for missing out xD

[@Nyxia-s]

@@douglasnevins1598 the ui is not so bad you get used to it realy quik i play it since release and love it

[@Robert-cl2ft]

It’s a great game I’m trying to get my friends into it unfortunately some don’t have computers

[@moosegamer8189]

GW2 has been the MMO I return to constantly, after playing everything from EQ to TNL. It just respects your time and the community (mostly) is fantastic.

[@emma_tm]

impossible to overstate how insanely good the wiki for OSRS is. it has absolutely EVERYTHING you need to know

[@GrumpyTurtle]

they is a reason when you ask someone something on osrs even rs3 they say check the wiki xD

[@SvarogGhostStar]

Gw2 wiki is amazing too.

[@GrumpyTurtle]

@@SvarogGhostStar never tried it personally but always handy to have a good wiki

[@douglasnevins1598]

Still hate how you need a wiki, tho. Any time where I have to alt tab out of a game to figure something out, is a massive failure on the Devs part, imo. I dont want to have yellow paint smeared on my screen, but a game should be intuitive enough to actually just let me play the game,not study it. That being said, the fact that the community is dedicated enough to make such a big wiki is really cool

[@stevendeslauriers1369]

GW2 wiki is also phenomenal, and can be accessed within the game (you can literally type /wiki [space] shift click an item in chatbox to open its related wiki page!)

[@IamOmegon]

Long time SWTOR player here! I definitely agree take your time with the story, Its the main driving factor for why you should play the game. If you want hands down the best story that SWTOR has to offer then go imperial agent, If you want a funny story that doesnt take itself too seriously go smuggler, If you want a power fantasy go sith marauder or Jedi Knight. I personally have 5 characters that are just the imperial agent alone, I cannot overstate just how good the story is for the imperial agent, It has intrigue, mystery, and a few plot twists along the way all while making you feel like Jason Bourne in star wars. While the other stories are good like Sith sorcerer they just don't hold a candle to the ones I mentioned

[@frankendeed69]

As someone who is a founder in swtor and been playing since the beta the game in it's current state is reallt user friendly and the stories for the most part can be really good if you are a star wars fan

[@Emcredible]

Top tip: avoid r/mmorpg its a toxic cesspoll the majority of the time where liking a game is seen as a war crime

[@Waydots]

Truer words have never been spoken

[@amandabilger2235]

In case anyone is interested the GW2 expansions are currently on sale. Here is a list in order of release. Heart of Thorns and Path of Fire, they come as a bundle, for $7.49. End of Dragons is $14.99. Secrets of the Obscure is $19.99. Janthir Wilds is the latest expansion, #5, and unfortunately is not on sale. It is $24.99. The first one gives you gliding. The second one gives you mounts. The fourth one gives you an easier way to get one of the mounts. The 5th and latest gives you your Homestead.

[@vwlssnvwls3262]

I had already loved playing ESO, but after watching some videos for beginners I started having a lot more fun with it because it helped me understand the systems better and how to use them properly. But overall, I really enjoy that there is no lack of things to do, and it always makes me feel like I am accomplishing something every time I log in.

[@selenang2006]

Unfortunately the combat system and animation is garbage

[@Schleeepyzzz]

@@selenang2006 The story is so good though. I feel like you can solo play and not get bored if you care more about story line

[@ArschHaarConnaisseur]

@@selenang2006I love it 🤷‍♂️

[@songoku6067]

Gw2 is just plain amazing and not as horizontal progression as people think in terms of gearing since getting full ascended armor takes quite abit or work and dont get me started on legendary armor

[@xephthetamagochi4046]

one thign i love about gw2 is i can leave for a few months and NOT be left behind in terms of gear lol

[@Moose19]

i havent played gw2 since pre path of fire i have 2 sets of legendary armour is it still as hard to get?

[@xephthetamagochi4046]

@Moose19 not really just time. The good news is you can spawn more in assuming they use the same armor type (light, med, heavy)

[@douglasnevins1598]

I wanna get into guild wars 2 so badly, but I wish it had more traditional quests and mounts. The waybthe mounts are controlled and everything is amazing,but I hate that there are no rare drop mounts like in WoW or FF, and that to get to the next main quest I just kinda have to wander around and do random shit till I'm a high enough level. It feels unfocused and as cool as exploring the world is, I get bored

[@xephthetamagochi4046]

@douglasnevins1598 yea the questing in gw2 are the hearts on the map. As for mounts there are some skins that drop from monsters. But the mounts them self are tired behind quests giving a reason as to why you have said mounts.

[@Masterki8958]

Really happy to see SWTOR make it on the list! Love the game and have a ton of hours in it. I also love all the other MMOs too! Great vid!!!

[@queenfinn3503]

I started playing RuneScape when it was released in 2001 because I seen my brother playing it. I was at that time. I LOVED it so much and I played for YEARS. It is one of the MMOs that I keep coming back to - whether I play for a couple weeks or moths or even years, it is an MMO that has a special place in my heart. This game also has some of the best questing I have ever experienced in any game tbh.

[@Robert399]

Really? I loved Runescape too when I was a tween but questing always seemed like a weakness to me. I thought there were only like a few dozen quests in total and they were all pretty simple (not quite "fetch 10 bear asses" simple but still).

[@Illuminatiownsus]

Yep and the bots ruined the game to ashes

[@vwlssnvwls3262]

I played SWTOR since release, and it was absolutely amazing back then. I had gotten as far as raiding, but there was a lack of end game content, and Diablo 3 came out, and my guild moved to Diablo... so did I. However, I have always kept a sub with SWTOR, and I constantly come back to it for some Star Wars fun. I feel like the game was much better at release than now, but at the same time it is also more single player friendly now than it was originally. So it is sort of a give and take. It was fun in both iterations, but I think I will always prefer that original version, simply because it made leveling feel more like an accomplishment than it does not. But now it is easier to enjoy the story. Still, I enjoy it enough, even if very casually, that I am willing to keep a sub going.

[@iridradiant]

Interesting way to rank the MMOs. Still, I feel you dinged GW2's monetization pretty harsh over the inventory space bit - there's convenient ways to take care of crafting mats with the "store mats" button in the upper right of the inventory panel that can be pressed anywhere (and that unlike ESO doesn't require a paid account to access the material storage), a "sell junk" button at vendors to quickly dispose of trash, and the salvage kits that have an option to salvage all of a certain quality in the context menu, which will salvage stuff even if you are doing something else. I've done inventory management while getting from point A to point B even in WvW. 20 slot bags are pretty easy to obtain (at worst buying candy corn or candy corn cobs off the trading post and getting the Halloween themed 'pails' from the festival vendor available all year long), and 16-18 slot bags are pretty cheap on the trading post for even less effort - much easier and faster to get that number of slots at lower levels than any other MMO I've played.

[@vwlssnvwls3262]

World of Warcraft was my first ever MMO back in August 2005. I have been playing it every since, but mostly as a casual player in casual raiding guilds. So I have not done a lot of things in it, but I always find fun. And between Classic and War Within, my feeling for WoW has been reinvigorated. I am not sure I could ever just totally stop this one, simply because it is so well done, and between Classic and Retail I can always find the play style I might be looking for at that time.

[@nelgatha6640]

Small disclaimer for GW2. The highest tier of gear, Ascended, is account bound, and because of the horizontal progression it'll never become bad, outdated, or replaced. so once you craft it (you have to craft it, it's very rarely dropped at all) you can use it on all characters of that armor class ^^

[@amandabilger2235]

Actually they have made it a lot easier to get. You can now get it through the Wizards Vault. You do dailys, weeklies, and specials to get points and use those points to buy ascended gear, among other things. You can also buy a starter kit for a legendary weapon with those points.

[@michaelbeaudin9512]

Thanks man it fully helps

[@Deode-d4h]

I think FF14 is also a pretty good beginner MMO especially for someone who wants to go through a story as they play.

[@ewhitlock83]

I think the absolute best thing about FFXIV is that you can have every job in the game on one character

[@CaptainMudDonk]

Do not play WOW if your a beginner. Unless your willing to download a boat load of addons and keep up with your parses you will most likely not be invited into any guilds that can manage any kind of decent loot runs. Realistically you'd need atleast 20 hours minimum a week to take part in better guild content so not casual/beginner friendly at all.

[@Zooft11]

GW2 was my 1ste MMO all the way back at launch, but when I started playing FFXIV later I learned so much that never made sense to me in GW2. When I went back to GW2 after some experience in FFXIV, so many many things just clicked and made the GW2 experience a lot more fun. I would defo say play one or 2 MMOs at a time to start so you get a better understanding of MMO's. One MMO's can defo make you understand another MMO's more. As mentioned most MMO's a have a fundamental core they all share,.

[@vwlssnvwls3262]

OSRS is one I like to try now and then, and as much as I like how it works I just have not put much time in it... yet. I am sure one day it will hit me at just the right time, and that switch will click making me understand why I should play it more often, and then I will. :)

[@ezzinie1234]

I am like this and mostly keep hands off with OSRS but when the League comes out each year it just pulls me in fully, I have an absolute blast for 2 months and then spend 10 months waiting for the next league wishing I could get into vanilla OSRS...

[@emma_tm]

the nice thing about osrs is that no matter how little progress you make, that progress is forever. it wont suddenly be wasted time due to a new expansion like in wow

[@anannoyedpanda]

It's fun. I'm back on osrs after a break since evolution of combat. Decided I was just going to commit to the grind required to get to the more fun content. I'm actually enjoying it. I've spent 50% of the time afk training, but doing quests and taking time to earn my void, fighter torso, and dragon defender made me feel happy to accomplish goals. Just be prepared for a long time investment.

[@seternity.esports_2482]

can i ask what is the game at 3:15 ??

[@anhbui8650]

What is the game in 1:58 and 2:01 and 2:15 ?

[@SemperFidelis7269]

Very enlightening thank you 🙏

[@Jeagan2002]

City of Heroes: Homecoming really should be on this list. A game so solid that it shut down in 2012, and the fanbase was large enough THIS YEAR to get a new licensed server.

[@antonsokolov6678]

Thank you so much for the video! I had some doubts about OSRS because it is quite an old game and GuildWars 2, but after watching your list I decided to try these two, as it turned out, wonderful games.

[@xXalimousiosXx]

gw2 is so good, the only game that is played on the build from the start

[@Avery.77]

What game are you showing at the 1:00 minute mark?

[@ripplay8947]

I think it was smitw

[@PandaSayWhut]

if u still looking to know, it was tarisland

[@ZampanosCat]

I love OSRS and ESO very much. I subscribe to OSRS but play ESO as a free player, and I feel like ESO is always super easy to jump back into and complete a zone or two, mainly due to the huge amount of free content, horizontal progression, and fun stories. Also, the music in ESO is peak

[@spoinky5146]

Does anyone know the name of the game at 3:30?

[@Bxstardo99]

Throne and liberty

[@NathanielBTM]

31:00 runescape wasn't catered towards children... it was catered towards Adults and Teenagers that were Nerdy and into popular tabletop games such as Dungeons & Dragons or hardcore mmo's like Ultima Online. it was simply very easily accessable to everyone, including children since it was a browser game that required no client download, it was easy to run on pretty much every system with such low graphics and it was often advertised in mini picture ads on gaming/flashgame sites. nothing in the game is child like. the dialogue has humor that is often very monty python esque and that can fly over pretty much all kids and even some teenagers heads. It's also always been a 13+ game as even back in the day you couldn't create an account if you used a date of birth that made you 12 and younger

[@Waydots]

I’ve played Runescape for over 20 years, 13 is still a child and it was definitely a game that catered towards children (or at least a younger audience) Don’t be disingenuous.

[@NathanielBTM]

@@Waydots I'm not being disingenuous. I have been playing runescape for 19 years, It'll be 20 next year., I created my account in early 2005. I was only 7. I didn't understand much of the game until I was around 11-13 years old. If it was catered towards kids, believe me... it wouldn't have taken me that long to actually start understanding the game. it has very in-depth questlines and systems that often overlap, confusing puzzles and very crazy requirements to achieve certain goals. even with all my free time as a kid, which believe me... I had hours upon hours of free time. I continuously had to ask for help and would often need an older sibling or even an adult in the family who also played to do MANY things for me. no.... It's not catered towards kids... but kids can still get sucked into the world and enjoy it due to it's very simple core gameplay mechanics/loops.

[@N1Moses]

@@Waydots He isn't being disingenuous. The founder and creator Andrew Gower specifically stated he was a huge tabletop D&D fan which gave him inspiration to start DeviousMUD (Runescapes original name) to find likeminded individuals and watch them create their own adventures, it 100% was not catered towards children. Children have a much shorter attention span and would not grind the way the game is designed nor would they understand a good portion of quests in the game without a guide which is why everyone was complete noobs back in the day when playing (myself included)

[@Friendly_Newb]

I was playing Classic wow and then found WoW Project Ascension that fan made one and swapped to that for now :D Love the List!

[@midwestbox]

It's a shame KZbin and blizzard hates private servers. Ascension between classless and coa is the best way of playing wow overall.

[@vwlssnvwls3262]

Having tried almost every MMO out there, I agree with this list. Good job.

[@guyjin788]

This video is exactly what I was looking for. Sub.

[@JoaoS95]

2:00 what’s the game called ??

[@FunniesRS]

ESO had me feeling lost most of the time, the biggest and hardest issue as a non premium player was i did not have the bag space to even hold my gears, shit was depresso on the expresso. i'd run a dungeon or two and then not have the space to even hold half the loot, i didn't know what was better/worse and the trading post really confused me lol

[@toadtube]

lovin a good waydot vid in the morn:]

[@zombiejesus7445]

5:17 ESO is cross platform.. correct. But it is not cross play. So if you play on PC and I play on Xbox, we cannot play together. You (on PC) can only play with PC players P.S I love ESO

[@juanala3]

Whats the game size on pc?

[@mathisirondil]

ESO frequently has free-to-try weekends. So if anyone wants to try it but doesn't want to pay in case it isn't for them, hold out for those.

[@danielgrubb9544]

Note that on ESO is on Xbox game pass and members get all those dlc/in-game benefits without having to pay the max price in game idk could be a win for some

[@theiran]

1. Elder Scrolls Online. I just started playing ESO in May of this year. It was on sale for $5 and that was hard to pass up. So what I would have normally paid to buy the game, I instead spent the rest on ESO+. Yes...the crafting bag is awesome. Now here's something to know. If you drop ESO+, you keep the crafting bag. You can't add anything more to the bag, but everything already stored there stays until you use it. For me, the ESO+ is a manageable expense. And the 1650 crowns per month, I save up to buy the DLC's, so that if I do reach a point where I have to drop ESO+, I'll still be able to play the DLC content. I also held off buying Gold Road (the newest DLC) because it was $40! They recently had a sale to where you could buy Gold Road for I think it was $15 (I did buy it). I've been playing for 6 months now and there's still so much I have yet to see. I love the content, the graphics, and the music. 3. Star Wars: The Old Republic (or SWTOR for short). I started playing this August of 2012. At that time, the game was still subscription based, with it moving to F2P in November of 2012. I'll have to say that the F2P model is one of the worst I've seen. The restrictions are at times just silly. Like the credit cap. There are of course ways around this. You can eventually get player housing called strongholds. The basic ones on Coruscant (Jedi) and Dromund Kaas (Sith) are 5k credits to buy. You can then start decorating them. These also have additional rooms you can unlock for credits, expanding you decorating and living space. One of the decorations is called the legacy bank, which you can use to hold extra credits. The legacy bank can hold up to 100 billion credits. I've played it off and on for months at a time over the past 12 years. Fun Fact: There is a way to get free cartel coins. If you attach a security key to your account (smart phone app), you get 100 free cartel coins per month. I've saved these over the years, spending them on account unlocked to make the game easier to play when I don't want to subscribe.

[@MisterLobb]

The monetization thing and P2W could easily be handled by server choice. Choose A, cash shop p2w items are available. Choose B cosmetic & quality of life ok. Choose C, cosmetics only. Or some set of these options: -make p2w items over only. -make them pvp but the items are not account bound, high provability they drop if player dies -items obtained by in game mechanics with same stats are account bound. -make cash shop items reparable, but maximum durability reduces after each repair until they hit a marginally low max durability. (Normal in game repair not cash. It would be better use of money to replace a depreciated item at some point. Essentially, always have a trade off for p2w items.

[@SomeGuyFromUtah]

I think New World really deserves to be on this list since it's new Aeternum re-launch. 1. New Player Experience - Very good - the basic combat is extremely simple with an extremely high skill cap. Character creation is ok (limited customization, imo because of the heavy pvp focus and non tab-targeting - everyone has to have the same hitbox). The main story is well done, clearly marked, and will get you all the way to max level. 2. Respect of time - the story itself will take a while to complete and is worth the purchase even if you don't go any further. Once you hit endgame there is a good mixture of group and solo content, pvp, some activities have matchmaking... the crafting and economy alone might be enough for some players. 3. Fun-factor - Combat feels great and it's totally different than any other mmo because it has no tab targetting. Different weapons also feel very different and every character can learn every weapon... just throw on the weapon and change your stats to match the weapon and you're all set. 4. Monetization - one time fee of 60 bucks and that's it... they do have a season pass with minor boosts that do count as light pay to win (xp boosts, and items worth in-game money) but I have literally never used a boost of them even though I have a bunch from different seasons... and you do get some boosts on the free track. And if you do want the season pass, 20 bucks every 3 months is pretty dang cheap. There are lots of pretty expensive cosmetics in the in-game store but they aren't really any better than what you can get in game. And on top of that it's probably the best looking MMO out there right now.

[@dixieflatline1189]

Nice graphics - poor gameplay / buggy (still) and clunky movement. Some of that is subjective and it's not free to try.

[@Heidi-t5h]

I hope im not the only one that appreciates the blink and you’ll miss it nod to Thunderfury in the WoW review section. Well done friend. I see what you did there, 11/10 execution.

[@jatkinson85]

Bought Elder Scrolls Online and all it's expansions when they were on sale last month for just £25 (I purposfully waited for a sale as I knew from a previous Waydot video that it regularly went on sale and so you should wait for those opportunites before buying). I have yet to be disapointed in it's depth of content, I don't have the ESO plus account and don't intend on buying it. As a RS3 Ironman player I'm used to setting limiting challenges on myself, and once you've unlocked a number of the in game inventory and bank expansions it feels much less limiting (still this is clearly intended to make less patient new players buy that ESO plus membership). I really dispute the idea that Old School Runescape catered to children, being accessible for all ages does not equal for children. Runescape is not just Mr Rogers and Sesame Street. There are some dark stories in runescape (especially in Morytania), saying the game is catered to children is a very surface level understanding of the game and very disapointing to hear from someone who should know better.

[@connor-3455]

yooo the chunk locked shout out? lets goo

[@Waydots]

Definitely thought of you haha

[@charliecordes3532]

I think most people find "their" MMO after trying a handful, and then they stick with it. I have played Runescape in 2005, then WoW in 2008, then GW2 in 2012 and then ESO in 2014. And ESO is where I still am, to this day. The people there are more my people than in the other ones despite me having put hundreds of hours in the other 3, and I have tons of good memories from playing them. But ESO has a game experience that is more my style, I can play however I want that day because there's so many way to play the game, and especially with the endeavour system I'm encouraged to engage with more parts of the game than I maybe naturally would, and it's made me appreciate it all the more. But I can also imagine that ESO is overwhelming, and it has some monetization issues, but it's way less predatory than some other MMOs out there, and I'll take that.

[@jaketheman1577]

Its also braindead asf. Overland is way too easy. Suprised my character hasnt offed himself out of bordem😂.

[@RYCERZ09]

Good list. I'm already a star wars player but I'm looking for something else. Gotta check GW2!

[@BrumansVideos]

There's extreme irony in trying to say "MMOs aren't a dying genre guys" while also saying "The only ones I recommend are all 10-20 years old". If someone asked me what adventure game to play, all anyone is going to recommend are very old games, because it's a pretty dead genre too. That said, great overview of and recommendations of the current MMO landscape!

[@TheIronicRaven]

Loved the video! Though I am always skeptical about the "out of 10" system for this kind of thing. I think it would do better to go through each of the 5 categories and place each game on a line as relative to one another. That way you don't have to try and quantify "how much fun is Wow?" or "How easy is ESO to get into playing?", you can ask "is it easier to get into Wow or ESO?" and place them on the line accordingly. You can even do a graph if you need extra nuance, like the X axis is ease of downloading/getting into the game and the Y axis is how much money is required. Just a thought for the next video!

[@Waydots]

Thats fair’ thanks for the comment :)

[@Moose19]

ever gona continue any of your runescape series?

[@KhaosElement]

I goddamn love SWTOR. Easily my personal favorite game on this list. Guild Wars was my favorite MMO ever...and GW2 just neutered it in favor of becoming just another WoW game.

[@innerstrengthcheck]

100 views and 3 comments in 7 minutes. Look forward to seeing those numbers go up! Great content as usual, Dot.

[@Jayseammolegend]

Classic wow was the mmo that got my fiance into the genre, and after trying several games I have to say it was the most intuitive out of the several games we tried.

[@Tukotaga2024]

tbh, this modern era, i'd throw in new world, for 2024 younger mmo players theyre gonna lean on that over tab target. I love this list but im suprised by the amount of youn players who for some bizziare reason love the T&Ls, new worlds, gosh, even bloody tarisland. Glad to see GW2 in the list ^_^

[@Melipolus]

So I would guess FF14 and WoW retail arent worth starting as a new player at all?

[@UmenchFN]

Hey thanks for the video! 🙏 I was debating wether or not I should start Classic WoW as it is litteraly a 20 years old game. But I guess I’ll give it a try now! 😊

[@husselbeh1058]

Writing this before I finish the video but I feel something worth mentioning is the classes. Personally I feel like there isn't much class diversity and the fact you have limited useable abilities limits choices. Gw2 suffers from similar limitations too. Just my opinion though not sure if that's a common one or not.

[@tylerhancock750]

Good job as always these are some really solid choices and I've played all of them so I know you speak the truth on everything you said. Keep up the good work

[@Waydots]

Thanks bro!

[@toadtube]

well done mate

[@Gamer.9891]

As a 35 years old gamer up to this day here is my advice, if you truly like gaming NEVER play a game that has pay to win option, cosmetics are fine for 2024 but if it affect your gameplay just leave it. First before watching others perspectives what to play, decide on your own, what type of a game you like and what amount of time are you willing to spend for it, even if it is the worst game but you enjoy it, go for it. P.S you can never go wrong with World of Warcraft. Love you all, my fellow gamers!

[@CozyHumanoid]

If gw2 gets a graphics overhaul its going to make so much money

[@BruhZerk]

Came here to make sure OSRS is on the list, wasn't disappointed😄

[@letmetellyouabouttheconsti139]

You guys should really play wow classic. It’s the best experience I’ve ever had and is such a wonderful experience once you get into a guild and there are talkative players. The other mmorpg is Albion online since it’s free.

[@romanianguy90]

classic wow (season of mastery) was/is fun if you like the old school vibe. For me personally, season of mastery is solo game until 50+ in my opinion. There aren't many low levels to dungeon with. Questing maybe, but the game isnt even considered a community until endgame, which is frustrating

[@Yaeshi]

just off the bat, if a thought of having to invest 20 hours into the game to be able to recognize if you want to play it long term is too much, then MMOs are not for you.

[@anannoyedpanda]

ESO is very casual friendly. While it isnt a perfect game, it was the perfect intorduction to mmos alongisde guild wars 2 to my fiancee when i got her into pc gaming. Eso just says explore. Its amazing in that regard.

[@joelturner5957]

i’ve been playing throne and liberty lately now it’s not the greatest but it’s fun for a few hours i keep returning so there must be something about it that has me hooked i just can’t figure it out myself cos im always raging at how the games jankyness is its highest downfalll

[@macmac6064]

Ragnarok online is by far the most fun and simple game to play and the sound effect and music is so good

[@SplashOutIron]

what about new world I think it has a good story and it's not too hard to learn at all

[@briteredoctober]

While I do understand that this is for beginners, if daily/weekly quests are a turn-off, then MMORPG games likely just aren't your genre.

[@rePAULsion]

WoW as a beginner MMO? Without addons?

[@tonycollazorappo]

ESO is the best for me, it's very senior friendly. 😊

[@iamcerealman102]

The money cap in MMOs is there to stop f2p bots from breaking or manipulating player made auctions.

[@kimeii4379]

GW2 review i really have to disagree with, i have no idea how ppl keep saying its a great mmo for beginners. it was by far the most confusing mmo i've ever played. even something as basic as earning gold was confusing. it's the first game i played where veterans practically encouraged you to have its wiki open alongside it. the only thing i thought was cool are the open world bosses, it was amazing to see hundreds of real players gather in one place and you get to see all of them (if your pc can handle it). as an actual mmo beginner i'd rate it a 3/10. the 2 points going to the world bosses.

[@HyperMODX]

Its quite hard to get into this genre even if i love it given theres not a single person from ma country who plays these games

[@slouch186]

honestly if someone is interested in playing an MMO but doesn't have a particular one they want to play i would recommend against the idea entirely. if you aren't joining friends or keenly interested in a specific game's mechanics, there just isn't much point.

[@RobGamer1949]

Wow. I don't understand this comment at all. I play GW2 every day and have fun every time. Is fun outlawed in some households? OK. OK. Surely I don't understand what "recommend against the idea entirely" means.

[@clintlewis1715]

The term MMO covers a broad spectrum, such as Survival MMOs, Shooter MMOs (MMOFPSs and Third Person Shooters), and MMORPGs. What you featured are MMORPGs. I chuckled when you said SWTOR is more of an RPG, because every game on this list is by definition, is an RPG. Granted, this is just an opinion based list, but I don't really agree with some here. SWTOR was good when it first launched, but SWTOR is a game that is rapidly dying and has been in decline for years. In fact it was already featured on "Death of a Game" over a year ago. It actually has a horrible monetization system, which didn't even exist when the game launched. At launch, it was purely subscriber based and it was fun as there were plenty of people to do things with queue times being pretty much non-existent for pvp and flashpoints. What really began the downfall, was moving to the so called "free to play" model (the cartel shop). Suddenly, you had a drop in subscribers. Due to the limitations of the "free to play" model, it seemed like you had an active game, due to all the players at that time, but queue times became a real issue as free to play players were very limited in what they could do or how often per week/month they could do things (without of course, spending more money). I understand why they went to the cash shop rout, because the "free to play" model is more profitable as free to play players tend to spend more cash than subscribers to gain access to things that subscribers already have. Unfortunately, once games go to the so called "free to play" model, that usually signals the beginning of their decline as it alienates you subscriber base. Not saying those games die, but their communities shrink to the point that it is no longer that enjoyable and only diehard fans remain. For me, when declaring an MMO good, regardless of if it's an MMO Shooter or MMORPG are as follows. 1. It has to be void of a cash shop or the cash app can't provide any advantages or items that can't be gained through normal game play as a subscriber. I've experienced first hand on multiple occasions of how the "free to play" model and cash shops can pretty much ruin a game and drive the player base away. 2. On-boarding, so to speak, should be more about the community than how easy it is to jump into a game. A game can have a steep learning curve, but if the community is friendly and helpful that learning curve can quickly be overcome. In fact, I feel like the best MMORPGs are the one's that are hard to jump right into and require participating within the community to advance. A good example of that was/is Star Wars Galaxies. In fact SWG is a game that I have never been able to give up and continue playing to this day on the SWG Restoration and SWG Beyond servers. 3. The environment has to feel expansive, with minimal or no limitation to where you can go in the world/worlds. In my opinion, Open World, Sandbox MMOs are the best. Unfortunately there are not many of those around. Again SWG was/is a perfect example of a solid Open World, Sandbox MMORPG. DayZ is a good example of an Open World, Sandbox, Shooter/Survival MMO. 4. Does the end-game content keep you coming back, be it group objectives, server events, rp, or my personal favorite, PvP. Is it engaging and does feel spontaneous. That's important. If end-game content is just getting in a queue to do the same things repeatedly everyday, that is going to get boring fast and is not all engaging. If things are constantly changing to promote people coming together to accomplish random things or open world PvP spontaneous erupts in random locations, that is the real fun factor that keeps me coming back to a game. 5. Here's the kicker. I will avoid any game that has cross platform game play. I know there are few games out there with cross platform game play, but the mechanics simply do not work. It's okay to have cross platform games, but they need to keep consul and pc servers separate. Too big issues with cross platform game play. One, PC players will always have a distinct advantage over a person holding an XBox or Playstation controller. Two, the only way it is balanced for consul players is if you limit the PC players ability to take advantage of the keyboard and mouse. By doing that, you create a dumbed down game that most PC MMORPG players would find the mechanics slow and boring. The only way it works would be in like a Shooter only game, where the players only have to worry about moving and shooting, without any special mechanics involved. Even in a game like DayZ that is a shooter/survival game, cross platform game play would not work. Consul players would end throwing their controllers across the room, because while they pushing buttons to scroll through and swap between items, the PC player would be one button pressing to change items and smoke the consul player before they could even find their bandages to stop the bleeding. It would just be dumb, dumb, dumb lol.

[@rept7]

I find it funny that you called ESO an action MMO but GW2 a hybrid MMO. ESO is just really good at hiding the fact it's hybrid. I do agree with GW2 being rated so highly overall though. The only reason I'm not playing it is because I need more action in my group PvE combat. But if you're not looking for true-action combat or just want to play casually/solo, its a great game.

[@lelobass]

Cover brighter shores please!

[@Waydots]

playing currently will probably have a video out before November ends

[@nerolestrange4616]

Hey Viva la Dirt cameo!

[@Robert399]

Honestly, if they just fixed the totally flat scaling in the open world I would love ESO. As it is, I'm excited to jump into it but quickly get bored. This isn't even like a "hardcore/casual" thing - I'm a casual player but the boss of every single quest being identical and dying in 3 seconds ruins the narrative.

[@viktor.m.]

I've been wanting to scratch my MMO itch. I do play EVE Online (900+ hours) but it's not really "it". I recently tried OSRS and FFXIV. Both are good but both aren't the "it". I'm wary of WoW because I don't wanna buy-to-play. I wanna try it first before investing both time and money. GW2 seems like it could scratch my itch, will try when I play through most of F2P OSRS

[@karfredo]

Looking forward to the list of MMO's that a beginner shouldn't start with. Looking at you Eve Online o7

[@SympNerv]

SWTOR is such a great game... the story alone is top tier (better than any other on this list imo).. needs a second iteration and would play in a second.

[@valtterisaaros6757]

Not a bad list. I hated to dowload ESO, it suddenly drained alot of space even above it was calculated(about 160-180 gigabytes initially). Next time hidden MMO gems, please.

[@MightiestBeard]

Here's just a little pushback on Classic WoW. First would be that it almost requires some addons. Even you were using Questie. This may confuse some beginners. I know the quest text is descriptive and you can use WoWHead for guidance, but for a beginner I wouldn't suggest it. Also for people unfamiliar with the lingo, they may accidentally choose a PVP server and get frustrated in hostile zones. Also I HATE the way mob tagging works in Classic. If I was a beginner and I helped kill a kobold and didn't get credit, over and over again, I'd be pissed.

[@kennex2008]

I really cannot understand how you can get 6,5 for gw2 monetization .. Like you get 100ish hours of free gameplay, most of the shop is QoL and Skins, the only way you actually HAVE to spent money is the latest dlc and you obly rank it 6,5? Sorry, I totally disagree with that one

[@hasve978]

Surprisingly EverQuest is still going on

[@wisecherry]

I recommend Black Desert online if you like good graphics, good character creation, possibly the best combat in this genre, grindy games with almost infinite progression, life skills and so on. The game used to be more pvp oriented but it is slowly becoming more pve oriented and better for casuals (which basically is better for beginners), so if you want to chill and have fun in such environment, make sure to give the game a try. Some say it is p2w, but honestly when you try it, you will realize that there are too few p2w players around because it is way too expensive. Anyway it is better to play games for fun and at your own pace and not compare yourself to others all the time :) Personally I never cared about those p2w players, because they can do whatever they want with their money - they are actually useful to f2p players in many ways. In some regions the game is completely free to access and in some regions it is sometimes free or for sale for a dollar. I'm sure almost everyone can get at least a dollar worth out of the game, lol

[@dzydg6178]

I used to play mmos for 20 levels max and get bored of them. I tried ff14 after my friends convinced me and I ended up finishing all of the free to play msq. Surprised it’s not on here. I also never put money into the game and never felt the need to if someone were to ask me about an mmo. If say ff14

[@DaCerebrus]

can we please focus on one thing when it comes to WoW, the game became popular not because it had a solo player experience but because it was better than any other mmorpg back then & most importantly something extremely important that every single mmorpg since WoW missed & even the players, the most important part of WoW is literally the WoW engine that allowed the game to have smooth & responsive combat that no other mmorpg ( game in general ) managed to do the same thing, theresn't a single game out there that have the smoothness & responsiveness of WoW combat which is imo the most important part of WoW, i'm tired of those clunky korean mmorpgs

[@Ks021]

I’ve played all these games for a long time. How is FF14 not on this list it is the most complete new player friendly mmo i’ve ever experienced.

[@rossallen738]

I tried getting into FF14 two or three times and spent 10-20 hours each and just got bored each time. The starting areas with super boring side quests... I also learned from the experience that I really don't like the complexity of having several different abilities with hotkeys that I have to press/click. Same reason I hate RS3 but love osrs. OSRS has the right level of complexity for me to relax to while playing the game.

[@anannoyedpanda]

I'm a FFXIV 2.0 player all the way through Dawntrail. Honestly the game isn't really that good. The story is amazing and what captivated people. Routine stand here 15 minute cutscenes. Do two things. More cutscenes. Little purpose to the overworked. Crafting is overly complicated. Raids and dungeon bosses are just aoes to avoid in weird ways for the most part. Dungeon mobs have no mechanics besides aoes. It's great graphically with the overhaul, and the story is 12/10 besides Dawntrail. But the actually core gameplay of 14 really isn't great.

[@fincharle]

Classic wow is good after all I m a classic andy but going retail first would be better for newcomers to mmo's its journey is easier to understand I would recommend starting in retail than going to era just because era tells you nothing and that's a reason why we like it

[@fincharle]

I started my mmo journey with era and didn't enjoy it then tried retail found it more beginner friendly than went to classic and that's where I live now

[@rebeccaknox2567]

SWTOR is probably the most repeatable game of them all. I've had it installed on every new computer hard drive I've had over the years but sometimes don't even think of it for a year or two. It's never really dragged me in to where I feel addicted to it but I keep going back and its fun again, unlike some I go back and realize I'm only there for the memories and...it sucks now. It doesn't take huge skill, the stories are all good and the cut scenes don't leave you wondering if you're watching a movie instead of playing a game. The story actually made me think the Imperial side isn't any more evil then those other people.

[@MLKL2011]

i played gw2 as a gift. with box edition. it was amazing with characters classes skills unique missioning system and so on. i feel my character alive. so the map and the game. community was also mature and chill. then game gone free to play and start spamming expansions where they faking up game mechanics. and creating META CLASSES which is GODLİKE in any part of the game. for example in one expansion they bring engineer sub class Mechanist - basicly its meka summoner. meka does everything for you. tanks does cc does dps. so its complately make me feel pay 2 win. if you dont own that expansion you lack of any meta content too.

[@klintmacnugget6688]

just a thought but maybe mmo beginners in 2024 might want games that aren't over 10 years old.

[@PsyrenXY]

Retail has a lot of content, but Exiles' Reach and Dragonflight are near-perfect new MMO player experiences honestly, and much more approachable than Classic with its grindtastic leveling, paid respecs and jank graphics.

[@addysoup]

The top 5 hasn't changed in forever. That's how you know MMORPGs aren't a thing anymore