How long have MMO's lasted for you?

[Armourboy]

SWG - 3 years. Played from launch til NGE. I couldn't stand the crappy new combat system and the fact the classes I played were suddenly gone. In the end didn't really resemble the game I bought, and even when I went back right before they pulled the plug all it did was reenforce to me that I had made the right choice years early. Pre-CU was by far the most fun I have had in any MMO, despite its problems.

 

EQ2 - couple of months. Just really never could get into, and I joined about the time they were adding the "CU". After seeing SOE's version of the CU for SWG I moved on before it hit, wasn't going through that again.

 

FF Online - couple of months. TBH I love this game, but it had a lot of the same issues as other Asian MMO's. I loved the leveling, I loved the classes, the crafting was rather bad, but you eventually reached a certain point where you had to do the old content to get to certain places. That would of been fine except for the fact no one ( not even my own brother) was willing to go back a redo that stuff because of how much a PITA it was. Basically I got as far as I could and just stopped ( around 50).

 

WoW - 6+ years. I played it until SWTOR came out. Oddly enough I had no intention of leaving WoW, but after playing Cata, and seeing the announcement for MoP I was done. I give them props for having one of the smoothest running games on the market, and they did alot of good things with instances and stuff. However, once WotLK hit they stopped even trying to hide the fact that all the game had turned into was a gear hamster wheel. Got old quickly after that.

 

Rift - about a month. Would have been a great game if I hadn't already played the same thing for the last 6 years. While the talent system was refreshing, it just wasn't enough to differentiate it from WoW.

 

SWTOR - since launch. The game has its issues, and they honestly need to get some of the changes they are promising in rather quickly or they are going to lose lots of subs come the 3 and 6 month marks. The foundation for the game is rather solid, but the thing that sticks out like a sore thumb is the fact that its honestly two different games, Pre and post 50. The leveling experience is awesome, but its just kinda ends and the part of the game thats awesome ends with it.

 

I'm increasingly becoming more and more disallusioned with the MMO market. I don't mind finding previously used ideas, but it seems like no one is willing to take that chance on something truely new. I hope some day someone produces a game that is the perfect blend of WoW gameplay with the freedom and crafting of SWG.

 

I have no intentions of going anywhere for the time being, but I can definately understand why alot of the player base is bored or becoming disinterested quickly. Also the playerbase today is only going to wait so long for QoL things to be implemented.

[Cyberwillow]

Some very interesting reads, thank you guys.

 

I noticed there is a trend when it comes to certain MMOs, people all feel similar towards them.

 

i.e., too grindy, no endgame, clone etc.

Edited February 27, 2012 by Cyberwillow

[Ziso]

Star Wars Galaxies Played from 2004 till final day- 7+ years

Good: Player Cities (Was Mayor of servers most active and largest city since 2005). Player Housing, Crafting system inc Resource Spawns, Open Worlds (most), Space, Player Made Events (Storyteller and prior live events), Entertainers, Guild tools (puts every other game ive played inc tor to shame), Community feel.

Bad: Server performance. When they added joke items like halo's and wings to wear and Indiana Jones hats and whips. Game become too buff heavy.

 

Star Trek Online- 4 months (at launch so i realise its probably improved since)

Good- Its Trek. Love Trek.

Bad Repetative, Auction House, Didnt like the design/layout of UI. Logged back in after ages the other day and it looked dated.

 

World of Warcraft- 2 months

Good Its Huge. Exploration. Fishing (liked the different collections)

Bad Didnt enjoy crafting. Nothing really bad about the game, just wasnt for me

 

Lotro- 1 year and still playing

Good: Graphics. Relaxed gameplay feel. Housing 9sort of, instanced unlike SWG and restricted to what you can do), Very very indepth. Even at level 65 i am learning stuff. Once you think you have learnt all the below the surface stuff like traits, legendry weapons, something else opens you need to learn. Constant Updates- yet another expansion out soon

Bad Crafting. More of a chore. ie make a top= need leather = need hides. Kill creature for hides, sometimes wont drop. Time consuming esp with 2 hide for 1 leather. Level cap increases (ok sort of joking about this as bad but level cap was 65, as i near that they riase it to 75, guess when im close to that it will be raised again lol). Nothing really bad about this game. Level by questing/book quests or skirmishing. Lots of choices

[Scrobes]

So few people mention FFXI. It's really intriguing.

[Mia_Sohma]

CoH/CoV - 2-3 yrs (approx... I think...) - Basically I played City of Heroes until its villainous counterpart came out. I did continue to play Heroes but most of the time played Villains.

 

Reason I stopped playing: I really liked this game. I thought there were some flaws, but overall I really loved playing. I finally decided to bite the bullet and buy WoW, so I cancelled my sub. I did renew it once or twice for a month since then, only to find that the channels and the game in general were deserted and there was hardly anyone on any more.

 

FFXI - a few weeks...? not sure...

 

Reason I stopped playing: I didn't know anyone else who played, and there was like ZERO guidance for noobs like me when I started. I ran about, killed a few low level monsters, had no idea where I was going, what I was doing or where to get quests. I felt like the only people who played it were Japanese fans or American kids so decided that - despite the nice exchange rate at the time - my dollars were better off in my pocket and I was better off waiting for the next FF installment.

 

Guild Wars - erm.. have no idea how long I played it for!! xD Long enough to buy both Factions and Nightfall.

 

Reason I stopped playing: well, um... I had one friend who also had an account and he was never on. I found that when you got to a certain point, it was just impossible to solo (even with the NPCs as a team) and I wasn't really confident or experienced enough in the world of MMOs at this point to try to pug.

As others have said as well, I found it too instanced, given that everything outside the main city was your own little private area.

 

WoW - 4 years and counting.

 

I am still playing WoW, but the thing that keeps me going back are my guild-mates. I was very annoyed when the game became the faceroll that it was in Wrath. When they said they were making Cata harder and it would be a return to the challenging levels seen in TBC, I was happy and I enjoyed Cata when it first came out, but then they started hitting everything with a massive nerf bat when they panicked cuz they were losing subs... and the three end-game dungeons they released in the Dragon Soul patch were (ironically) more faceroll than the three end-game dungeon heroics they released toward the end of Wrath!!

I could rant more but... alas, I must stop and continue with the topic (this is no the time nor the place for one of my 'blizz-have-ruined-my-game' rants lawlz!).

 

 

LOTRO - a few weeks on and off.

 

Had a free sub to this. Kinda liked it, but the thing that turned me off was the constant prompting to part with my cash in order to get a mount and all the other things they don't let free sub accounts have. I'm not complaining, cuz I can see why they would do this, but it just turned me off the game and I thought that whilst being a nice diversion from wow, I didn't like it enough to want to cancel WoW and play just LOTRO (this was pre-Star Wars MMO when I thought that paying a sub for two games was simple excessive lol)

 

Rift - 3 days.

 

I tried the free 10 day trial of Rift. Well, it was ten days in theory. Right from the get-go I had a bad experience. Because the 'trial' starts the minute you download the game client, I lost 3 days downloading the game itself...

Generally I liked Rift, but there were a few niggles that I just couldn't get past: I picked the three talent trees the GAME ITSELF suggested, only to google Rift classes and realise that this was a TERRIBLE combination and not recommended by anyone.

I listen to game music most of the time when playing and compared to other games I have played, Rift seemed to lack a decent score (which is a minor point and I admit, rather picky of me).

I learned some professions and I picked a few herbs.. I could only make one item with my profession, but I needed a workbench. I swear I went to THREE DIFFERENT quest hubs and I couldn't find a sodding workbench in order to make my one measly item.

The crunch came when I was making my way back to a quest hub and a world event started up. The hub I was making my way to was overrun with a massive group of elites. I wasn't high enough level to take them on, and there was no one around so I watched helplessly as they killed the quest-givers I had wanted to hand my quests in to, then waved my weapon in their face with little result before they also killed me. I'm sure this stuff is cool when you're with friends or at end-game level, or even when you're solo-questing in a busy area, but being a bit of a 'loner-leveller' and in an area without actually seeing another active player, this prevented me from progressing through the game and ultimately sullied my brief experience of a game and made me negatively biased towards it.

 

My summary of Rift at the end: [Roy Castle impression]It's good, but it's not WoW.[/Roy Castle impression]

 

SWTOR - Since Beta in October and counting

 

When I first heard that 'KOTOR 3' was going to be an MMO, I was sort of disappointed. But I freaking LOVE this game!! It's the first game I've ever played that has actually threatened to pull me away from WoW - in fact, the only reason I haven't already cancelled my WoW sub and gone SWTOR 'full-time' is cuz of the awesome people I raid with and the fact that the people I know keep me coming back to WoW.

I love the fact that it's so heavily story-line-based, I love pretty much everything about this game. I've yet to actually get to end-game (too busy making alts!) but my main is lvl 42 so I'm almost there!!

 

I envision playing this game for many more years to come. As for WoW... well, I'm going to see what MoP is like in beta and make my ultimate decision then, but so far I do not like where MoP is taking WoW - aside from the above rantings about how Blizz have ruined the game in their quest for subs and money.

 

Apologies for the massive, rambling long-wall-of-text post.. I did set out to do what everyone else had done and write simple, one-word answers but I just don't really think/work like that lol.

Edited February 27, 2012 by Mia_Sohma

[Lymain]

So few people mention FFXI. It's really intriguing.

 

I got a couple chars to level 10 in FFXI, but I couldn't remember what I liked/disliked about the game and figured it wasn't worth mentioning

[Bewoulff]

Final fantasy XI - off and on since US launch. My favorite MMO. Played until right up to starting SWTOR.

 

WoW - up until level 20. Didn't keep my attention.

 

STO - since it's free to play I'm kind of still on it.

[Svengoole]

Looking at the other posts and I see nobody that played Motor City Online. Am I the only guy here who is an American Muscle Car fan that had the opportunity to play this game. It was released in 2001 and lasted until 2003. EA did to it what SOE did to SWG, did mindblowing screw ups to kill the player population. Edited February 28, 2012 by Svengoole

[Arkimeth]

Ragnarok Online = 7 years across different private servers. Quit when my guild moved to WoW.

 

Aion = 7 months in, about 2 of them spent crafting for my guild. Quit when my internet took a crap and I lost interest.

 

SWTOR = 2 months and counting.

[Tiberians]

That is a very good question, LOL. I think it's time to step back and reflect on why I'm still playing SWTOR...

 

Jokes aside, I play with RL friends and have for almost 10 years. We log in, do some warzones and log off. I'd have quit long ago if it wasn't for them. *Shakes fist*

 

Hmprh well It seems i am in a similar boat as you. I am playing this MMo because a lotta friends from SWG are playing it:) For myself friends and the Community as a whole are what keep me tied into a Game..

 

I have often wandered over the last week or so what it is about Tor that keeps me interested. And honestly at this stage I don't have an answer.

[Huatar]

World of Warcraft is really the only MMO I've stuck with, having been playing that for (almost) five years. Although these days, all I really do in it is RP.

 

City of Heroes, I've had an account for going on three years, but I haven't played it since a month after Going Rogue released.

 

EVE Online I just had to stop subscribing to, because I wasn't really playing it - but I've had that account for two years straight.

Edited February 28, 2012 by Huatar

[PulseRazor]

FF11 - played for a year, but the customer service sucked, account management was unnecessarily complicated, and I was younger and had no credit card and alternate billing options were lacking.

 

WoW - 3 years off and on, quit because Bliz incrementally killed World PvP and continuous world feeling with instance based gameplay that reminds me of GuildWars, which decreased their server costs. Also the Max level social elitism was unbearable, Final sraw was Kung Fu Panda Expansion announcement.

 

Guildwars. - 4 years, I still have it installed but I havent played it since SWTOR came out. It's still a fine game, just absorbed with this one atm.

 

Diablo 2 - isnt really an MMO, but I played that for 8 years. Quit when I achieved everything possible including nefarious hax.

 

Eve Online - 2 years, quit because I had the WoW bug and the skill system character developement over real time is a garbage system that too heavily favors players who have been subscribed the longest, and leaves little reward for heavy gameplay. At least in WoW I could 1-85 and be just as good as someone else in a couple weeks.

[Armourboy]

So few people mention FFXI. It's really intriguing.

 

Most of its sub numbers came from Asia so I'm not overly surprised. It was one of those game where if you hit it on the ground floor it was a lot of fun for a long time, however if you didn't ( and didn't have freinds already playing) you found it hard to get rolling.

 

You solo'd up until about 12-13 if I remember right, and then you had to move into groups. Problem was there was absolutely nothing in the game that gave you any information into it.

 

My brother played it for years and loved it ( until the last expansion they put out) but had it not been for the guide ( only MMO that I felt you actually needed the guide lol) and the fact early on he got in with a good group of people he and I both would of been totally lost.

 

It is a fun game once you get it all figured out, but that first step for new players was like jumping off of Niagra falls.

[Kattla]

1. DSL - Dark and Shattered Lands MUD.

played it from 1999 to .. 2007 or 2008 i think. I tried to play it a couple times recently, but it just don't attract me much anymore. Think it turned too much into a "donate to gain advantages" game. Free to play though , and a heaven for roleplaying.

 

2. Perfect World International. 2010 to summer 2011. I was lucky, and got accepted into the top guild on the dreamweaver server , and found out just how awesome 80 vs 80 pvp can be.

Still, someone in their forum called it "pack world international", which i thought upon for a while, and quit (Actually, i paid down my credit card bill, decided i would not spend a dime more on that game, and left) .

 

2.5 Armed assault. Not exactly an mmo, but multiplayer that could be fun.

I left cause of all the hackers/griefers , and the same mission playing all the time.

 

3. SWTOR. 20dec 2011 to this day.

I started as a sniper, levelled to 50 in about 3 weeks, played it at 50 for a week, then made a jedi sage, and loved it. No more "you have to be in cover to use that skill" , or to be peppered by pebbles and rocks, and find myself unable to make a quick getaway.

Perhaps i try and learn how to best use the sniper one day, but not today.

However, at the moment, this mmo does not look very good for my longterm play. Probaly sub for a month or two more to see what guild ships are for, and fill the days with pvp or ops/hm when i get invited for them.

[Scrobes]

I got a couple chars to level 10 in FFXI, but I couldn't remember what I liked/disliked about the game and figured it wasn't worth mentioning

 

It's fine, don't worry. But being released in the US a whole year before WoW, it always makes me intrigued that it never gets mentioned as much. Though I probably know why.

 

A few others have already said but yes, it was somewhat unforgiving at the start to be sure. You had to group to do almost anything, and you probably only really enjoyed it if you had a strong community to play with. Ah anyway, it doesn't matter, it was just an observation.

 

It was my first proper MMO, so for sure it definitely comes under the "your-first-MMO-syndrome".