Read more: Guild Wars 2 still has better quests than any other MMO (opens in new tab) Lost Ark The recent launch of the excellent End of Dragons (opens in new tab) expansion makes it a brilliant time to take it for a spin. Developing your character is a high point too, with a flexibility that's like catnip to theorycrafters, elevated by a brisk action-based combat system that makes fights kinetic and flashy. Every time ArenaNet added an expansion or new season to the living world, it also introduced new types of mounts, from flying skyscales to handy boats, and all sorts of new systems-all of them meaningful, not just novel.Īll of this is underpinned by a compelling loop that sees you exploring each region by completing small events, sprawling meta-events and heart quests-one of the best questing systems around-while hunting down points of interest, picturesque vistas and hero points that will let you flesh out your build. That doesn't take long these days, and once you do you can start tackling all the expansion and living world activities and maps. One moment you're playing through one of several story campaigns, then you're bouncing around an area participating in events like a charr heavy metal concert or a religious festival so you can earn enough chillies to buy a weapon that looks like a microphone, travelling into a videogame-themed dimensions to earn prizes, or duking it out in a persistent PvP battlefield where three servers collide.Įven among MMOs, the breadth of Guild Wars 2's diversions is incredibly impressive, especially when you hit level 80.
The original Guild Wars would have been firmly in the PvP section of this list, but for the 2012 sequel ArenaNet took a broader approach, giving us an MMO with the diversity and scale of World of Warcraft, but with a mountain of quirks and activities that are all its own. Release Date: 2012 | Developer: ArenaNet | Payment Model: Buy to play | Guild Wars 2 shop (opens in new tab) Read more: The stakes have never been higher for World of Warcraft's next expansion (opens in new tab) Guild Wars 2 Maybe the solution will be found in Dragonflight (opens in new tab), the upcoming dragon-themed expansion. As with many MMO's, there's tension between WoW's desire to introduce new or returning players by getting them up to speed and keeping consistent players busy with its endgame grind. There's also fun events like Timewalking that let you revisit old expansion dungeons for cool loot, and World Quests that help you accomplish something meaningful even if you only have 20 minutes to play.Īt the start of 2022, the state of World of Warcraft feels a little complicated. In Shadowlands, there's also unique activities like Torghast, a roguelike dungeon that changes each time you enter it. Whether you love dungeons, raiding, player-versus-player battles, or just exploring a wonderfully charming world, World of Warcraft has you covered. Shadowlands, its latest expansion, returns to the glory of WoW's early years through a mix of ambitious new systems and one of the best endgames the MMO has ever had. Though it might be getting on in years, World of Warcraft continues to surprise. No other MMO has had a greater impact on the genre and the entirety of videogames as a whole quite like World of Warcraft. Release Date: 2004 | Developer: Blizzard | Payment Model: Subscription| (opens in new tab) Updates come at a steady pace, but you'll run the same dungeons and raids dozens of times. It's a journey worth taking, if you have the time, but one thing to keep in mind is that 14's endgame, while offering challenging and memorable boss fights, is scarce. Its story starts slow but builds into a grand epic spanning continents across its three expansions, easily rivaling any of the classics like Final Fantasy 7 or 10. But Final Fantasy 14 isn't just about combat, either. Gone are the days of needing a new character for each class: Final Fantasy 14 let's you swap between them whenever you please and there's even room to borrow abilities between classes, just like in the classic Final Fantasy Job system. It's at once unflinchingly dedicated to following in World of Warcraft's footsteps while also introducing a host of refreshing ideas-the best being the innovative class system.
The second iteration, A Realm Reborn, has done a better job of rekindling the love fans had for Final Fantasy better than any recent game in the series. Launching in 2010 to an overwhelmingly negative response, Square Enix refused to give up and rebuilt the whole game with a new team.
#Games like a tale in the desert full
Final Fantasy 14's journey has been a long road full of disappointment.