Sandbox MMO Recommendations?

[Cromulent]

At the moment I am waiting for Pantheon: Rise of the Fallen to come out and it looks like that might take some time so I was wondering if anyone had any suggestions for a good sandbox MMO I could play right now without having to wait for it to be released?

The main thing I look for in an MMO is the community. Do people chat in-game? Can I make friends while playing it?

I also enjoy crafting and doing things that help other players.

I've looked at Shroud of the Avatar which has got awful reviews even though I think it looks OK (if you've played it I'd love to hear some feedback) and Albion Online which doesn't really seem like my cup of tea. Ultima Online is too old I think for a new player to get into and I just can't get past the graphics in Runescape. I've played EVE Online before and I wouldn't mind giving it a go again but I'd prefer to find a new game I haven't tried before.

I'm looking for something in-depth and really complicated that will keep me occupied while I wait for Pantheon. I'll have Total War: Warhammer 2 to play of course but I miss the social interaction of a good MMO.

Any help appreciated .

 

[Panos]

TESO is a good game, huge big open world, which will take more than 1500 hours to go through, before you start considering the group content or PVP

 

[Cromulent]

TESO is a good game, huge big open world, which will take more than 1500 hours to go through, before you start considering the group content or PVP

Tried it. Not my cup of tea. No one really talks even in dungeons when you are in a group. I'd rather play the single player Elder Scrolls games. It just feels like a single player game that just so happens to have other players running around. Granted I haven't played in Cyrodil so maybe that is different. Oh and I wouldn't really class it as a sandbox MMO .

Thanks for the suggestion though.

 

[Rroff]

I've never found anything like City of Heros for community stuff just being able to jump in find a group and chat/play. In most I've tried people are quite abrasive and concentrating on min/maxing and grinding up their gear and group mechanics are often pure function as a means to an end and tends to be quite exclusive to certain builds, etc.

 

[Cromulent]

I've never found anything like City of Heros for community stuff just being able to jump in find a group and chat/play. In most I've tried people are quite abrasive and concentrating on min/maxing and grinding up their gear and group mechanics are often pure function as a means to an end and tends to be quite exclusive to certain builds, etc.

Yeah it was the same with EverQuest and Vanguard: Saga of Heroes for me. No MMO since then has matched them for pure community and interaction. Vanilla World of Warcraft was cool and I enjoyed it for the few months I played it at release but I'm still looking. That is why I am so excited about Pantheon: Rise of the Fallen. It promised a return to the community aspect of MMOs which modern games just totally fail at.

 

[Tombstone]

Sadly, its the social side and community of MMOs which has been long forgotten (the curse of so many MMOs making so much soloable to be "accessible" for players) , I used to bump into people in UO and EQ and end up chatting away for a while, whereas in the modern era of MMOs I bump into people or group and they say "hi" then go silent until the quest/dungeon is done and then say "cya" and are gone again.

 

[Fishbait]

Guild Wars?
It's getting on a bit in years & is on some slow servers, but the game is still great.
Most players play on US server (you can play EU, International, Asian (I think) & US & main district or quieter ones at any time).

Certain areas are busier than others, but you can usually find players in even the most distant of outposts (think towns like in warcraft, but instanced).
Just logged on now & saw quiet a few pottering about.

External site shows Kamadan (main outpost) chat is still busy, even if mainly wtb/wts stuff.

Depends what you're into. The pvp (something I normally only ever do) is quite good, some rave about it. The pve (something I rarely ever do) is actually really good, along with some great story. It's the only game that I've done more pve than pvp

You have hundreds of spells to pick 'n' mix from & getting them right for towards end game is life or death, rest of game you can run with most anything.
You main one profession (class) & can off spec another once a bit into the game. You can mix 'n' match any of the two spell sets that these two use & once even further into the game, you can swap your second profession at any time.

Check out Reddit or steam forums, they're usually quite active.

It can even be solo'd (with some careful) planning) but there's still a few guilds in game.

P.S. Plenty of seasonal events throughout the year, some of which have some bizarre games

 

[BubbySoup]

As you seem to be fond of the old school MMO's, you should perhaps try one of the EQ emulated servers. PEQ or Stormhaven are probably the best ones. P99 is just too old and corrupt now.

 

[Rroff]

Guild Wars?

Is much of the higher group content still pretty much barrager or 55hp monk only? one of the reasons I stopped playing was due to the fact no one wanted you in their group unless you were using one of 2-3 very specific builds (despite the fact my last character could pretty much solo anything in the game without using one of those builds).

 

[cHk4]

Sadly, its the social side and community of MMOs which has been long forgotten (the curse of so many MMOs making so much soloable to be "accessible" for players) , I used to bump into people in UO and EQ and end up chatting away for a while, whereas in the modern era of MMOs I bump into people or group and they say "hi" then go silent until the quest/dungeon is done and then say "cya" and are gone again.

You know what, you kind of hit the nail on the head. Now a days everyone just seems to want to rush through content, get the phat loots and what not, like you said some evenings in UO or Mir I'd log in and end up chatting to people for hours, I'd be hunting in a dungeon and chuck someone a heal or fight them and we'd end up talking about random ****. Hell I even met one of my best real life friends from one of the games, I was talking to someone in a safe zone and mentioned what college I went to, as I did someone ran past and said he went to the same college, we met up and been best of buds since. Hell still to this day I get people in some games ask "am I x from Mir?" you rarely get that from the new age MMOs and games.

 

[Fishbait]

Is much of the higher group content still pretty much barrager or 55hp monk only? one of the reasons I stopped playing was due to the fact no one wanted you in their group unless you were using one of 2-3 very specific builds (despite the fact my last character could pretty much solo anything in the game without using one of those builds).

There are still some groups that insist on "You must be Nth spec" as in most games, but can always find others.
tbh been half a year or so since I've played, too many other games, but soon as loaded it last night to check how many online, hooked again

That music, wow!

From what I'd heard ages ago, 55hp got nerfed or something changed, so no idea what's what now.

 

[chroniclard]

MMO's only really work in guilds in my opinion. When you have pickup groups/randoms together doing the odd task/dungeon/whatever there is very little chat.

 

[NZXT30]

Eve online is the only sandbox mmo anything else is just a themepark. Give it another go and make sure you don't play solo.

 

[Cromulent]

Sadly, its the social side and community of MMOs which has been long forgotten (the curse of so many MMOs making so much soloable to be "accessible" for players) , I used to bump into people in UO and EQ and end up chatting away for a while, whereas in the modern era of MMOs I bump into people or group and they say "hi" then go silent until the quest/dungeon is done and then say "cya" and are gone again.

I know. It is so sad. For me it spells the death of a genre. If Pantheon: Rise of the Fallen doesn't deliver I'll probably quit the MMO genre for good and go back to playing FPS games in multiplayer or something.

Guild Wars?
It's getting on a bit in years & is on some slow servers, but the game is still great.
Most players play on US server (you can play EU, International, Asian (I think) & US & main district or quieter ones at any time).

Certain areas are busier than others, but you can usually find players in even the most distant of outposts (think towns like in warcraft, but instanced).
Just logged on now & saw quiet a few pottering about.

External site shows Kamadan (main outpost) chat is still busy, even if mainly wtb/wts stuff.

Depends what you're into. The pvp (something I normally only ever do) is quite good, some rave about it. The pve (something I rarely ever do) is actually really good, along with some great story. It's the only game that I've done more pve than pvp

You have hundreds of spells to pick 'n' mix from & getting them right for towards end game is life or death, rest of game you can run with most anything.
You main one profession (class) & can off spec another once a bit into the game. You can mix 'n' match any of the two spell sets that these two use & once even further into the game, you can swap your second profession at any time.

Check out Reddit or steam forums, they're usually quite active.

It can even be solo'd (with some careful) planning) but there's still a few guilds in game.

P.S. Plenty of seasonal events throughout the year, some of which have some bizarre games

Thanks for the suggestion. I've already played Guild Wars 2 and it didn't really do much for me. I found the quests forgettable and didn't really enjoy the combat. At some point I might try it out again though. I still have the original game on disc so it should be pretty easy to get up and running with it.

As you seem to be fond of the old school MMO's, you should perhaps try one of the EQ emulated servers. PEQ or Stormhaven are probably the best ones. P99 is just too old and corrupt now.

I've played on Project 1999 before. That was cool. But I played EverQuest so much when it was still popular that I'm kinda burnt out with it. Although from reading about PEQ and Stormhaven they have custom content so that might be something interesting to try out. I'll read up on what I have to do to join them. Thanks for the tip.

You know what, you kind of hit the nail on the head. Now a days everyone just seems to want to rush through content, get the phat loots and what not, like you said some evenings in UO or Mir I'd log in and end up chatting to people for hours, I'd be hunting in a dungeon and chuck someone a heal or fight them and we'd end up talking about random ****. Hell I even met one of my best real life friends from one of the games, I was talking to someone in a safe zone and mentioned what college I went to, as I did someone ran past and said he went to the same college, we met up and been best of buds since. Hell still to this day I get people in some games ask "am I x from Mir?" you rarely get that from the new age MMOs and games.

Totally relate to this. I'm still friends on Facebook with people I met in 2002 playing EverQuest. I feel really bad because I've lost contact with some of the people I used to play Vanguard: Saga of Heroes with and I'd love to know how they are doing these days. Some of the nicest people I have ever met have been through MMOs.

 

[Tombstone]

You know what, you kind of hit the nail on the head. Now a days everyone just seems to want to rush through content, get the phat loots and what not, like you said some evenings in UO or Mir I'd log in and end up chatting to people for hours, I'd be hunting in a dungeon and chuck someone a heal or fight them and we'd end up talking about random ****. Hell I even met one of my best real life friends from one of the games, I was talking to someone in a safe zone and mentioned what college I went to, as I did someone ran past and said he went to the same college, we met up and been best of buds since. Hell still to this day I get people in some games ask "am I x from Mir?" you rarely get that from the new age MMOs and games.

Agreed...the guild I ran back in UO and DAOC was a multinational guild and we had regular RL player meets, for each meet we would all travel to one players hometown. We had RL meets in Vienna, London, Indianapolis, Rome, Stockholm and so on.

 

[Cromulent]

Agreed...the guild I ran back in UO and DAOC was a multinational guild and we had regular RL player meets, for each meet we would all travel to one players hometown. We had RL meets in Vienna, London, Indianapolis, Rome, Stockholm and so on.

That sounds cool . I'm pretty hopeful that Pantheon will bring back that feeling as most of the people interested in the game are old school MMO players and they seem to like things like that. Just have to wait and see how things turn out after the testing stage of the game. I'll certainly be making sure United Kingdoms is a social and friendly guild in Pantheon.

 

[Fishbait]

Thanks for the suggestion. I've already played Guild Wars 2 and it didn't really do much for me. I found the quests forgettable and didn't really enjoy the combat. At some point I might try it out again though. I still have the original game on disc so it should be pretty easy to get up and running with it.

Understandable. I played gw2 too &, despite hoping for another Guild Wars, it turned out to be nothing.
Of all the guildies I knew that started it, most dropped it within a few weeks, couple lasted a couple of months. I lasted 1.5-2 years. Never again
It got railed by the masses of Guild Wars players & rightly so.

If curious, check out WoodenPotatoes for Guild Wars Lore & other bits (he does gw2 as well, but you can skip that ) along with showing dungeon runs etc.

 

[Cromulent]

I've got the old Star Wars Galaxies discs on order which I bought second hand so I can play on the emulated server. I've heard some amazing things about that game especially that it has one of the most in-depth crafting system and player economies. Might keep me occupied for a little bit and it only cost me £8 for the discs.

 

[MorleySA]

What about Black Desert Online, I think that fulfils most of your requirement? apart from helping other players, but the crafting is really in-depth. Also it is a complicated MMO with it's professions etc, it also doesn't hold your hand to much. You are pretty much left to find out how things work or search various sites looking for guides etc.

 

[Omaeka]

Black Desert and Elder Scrolls Online are the only sandbox MMOs worth your time, neither has the best 'end game' but there is a monster amount of content and freeform questing, not just your usual 'Need to get max level to raid' grind. Professions such as cooking and crafting are both interesting and viable ways to spend your time, with quests, combat and dungeons being equally as fulfilling but optional unlike every other MMO.

If you want to be a thief in TESO you can actually be a thief and not just a sneakier version of a warrior who has nothing to do but combat, the guilds are AMAZING, Thieves guild has good quests and a lot of repeatable robbery missions for good experience and loot. Dark Brotherhood also has a great questline and repeatable assassination missions. It also gives you a legit backstab attack called the blade of woe which is an awesome execute move from behind on unaware targets. I've only played a rogue so far so can't really tell you about the other guilds, but so far the two I've done are way better than Skyrim.