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My MMO Tier List (please add yours as well)

MarcusFromOz

MarcusFromOz

Well-Known Member
Warning: Please don't tell me in wrong, because this is my perception and my opinion.
But please feel free to add yours.

(Edited 4th March 2024)
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S-Tier: Lineage2, Darkfall, Embers Adrift
A-Tier: Lotro, World of Warcraft
B-Tier: Ultima Online, New World, GW2, ESO, Albion Online, Mortal Online 1, Mortal Online 2, Secret World, Warframe, Lost Ark, Tera, Age of Conan
C-Tier: Black Desert Online, Archeage, FFXIV, Rift, Fallout 76, Book of Travels
ZZ-Tier: Aion, Bless Unleashed
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The tiers explained
S-Tier - I want to play now, in the format of when it was at its best
A-Tier - I would play again (or still do)
B-Tier - Its well done but has flaws
C-Tier - Yeh Nah, too many reasons not to play
ZZ-Tier - Surprised I even remember it

Reasoning

S-Tier

Lineage2 - Loved the itemisation, economy, guilds, sieges. I was fortunate enough to start a guild, turn it into an alliance, successfully siege a castle, and as alliance leader with a land holding fly a dragon around. Great class definitions, grouping similar to Embers. World bosses that dropped the best loot, and if a stronger group attacked you while you were killing it could take the boss. The best "red" system I've ever seen.

Darkfall - You log in and boom, you never know what's about to happen. Full loot pvp, territory control, immersive, you made friends or you died.

Embers Adrift - Well you know, and you can probably see by my other S-tiers why it's become my new home.

A-Tier

Lotro - first read the books in Year 12 a long time ago, if I ever read them again, it will be through the eyes of this beautifully put together world. Great communities. Has its flaws but I still play 1 or 2 nights a week with old friends.

B-Tier

Ultima Online - My first, Monday night pvp tournaments in a guildies home (fashioned as a pvp arena), wednesday night guild hunts, champion spawns, great community, housing, skill based builds, at the time it felt like home.
New World - very nearly A-tier, if they had a PvP server per region it may even be S-tier to me, but it feels like its all about the gear, I did the first seasonal content, but didn't enjoy it
World of Warcraft - almost A tier, at the time the raiding made it my favourite game, but never had that real immersion
GW2 - our Lotro crew played for a while, again well made but just didn't grab me
ESO - looks good, just didn't grab me, felt like busy work, beautifully put together though
Albion Online - top down doesn't grab me so much, never joined a community so probably a bit unfair, just too low poly for me
Mortal Online 1 - a very unpolished diamond
Mortal Online 2 - Immersive in a Darkfall way.
Secret World - loved the storytelling
Warframe - I'm not a shooter player, enjoyed it with my son, its well done, but not for me
Lost Ark - great initial story, the endgame lost me very quickly
Tera - my first action combat MMO
Age of Conan - loved it for a while but while Tortage and the early game was magnificent, the game 15+ was much less interesting.


Conclusions

Yes I know what a shill this sounds like, but I've been very fortunate to try many games over my life, and feel very happy to have one now that I love.
Thank you to everyone that has made it fun for me, and especially thank you to Stormhaven for making this game, being steadfast to your vision for it but still keeping an open mind for changes.

I can't believe I played until 3:30am last night lol.
Doing so has triggered this thank you (and possibly some suggestions for the future ;) )

To anyone that got to the end of this post, cheers.
 
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S-Tier: Embers Adrift, Everquest, Anarchy Online, DAOC, Ryzom
A-Tier: Vanguard, COH, EVE, The Elder Scrolls
B-Tier: New World
C-Tier: Pretty much any game that is PVP focused.
ZZ-Tier: LOTR, Shadowbane
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The tiers explained
S-Tier - I want to play now, in the format of when it was at its best
A-Tier - I would play again (or still do)
B-Tier - Its well done but has flaws
C-Tier - Yeh Nah, too many reasons not to play
ZZ-Tier - Surprised I even remember it
 
Mynno said:
S-Tier: Embers Adrift, Everquest, Anarchy Online, DAOC, Ryzom
A-Tier: Vanguard, COH, EVE, The Elder Scrolls
B-Tier: New World
C-Tier: Pretty much any game that is PVP focused.
ZZ-Tier: LOTR, Shadowbane
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The tiers explained
S-Tier - I want to play now, in the format of when it was at its best
A-Tier - I would play again (or still do)
B-Tier - Its well done but has flaws
C-Tier - Yeh Nah, too many reasons not to play
ZZ-Tier - Surprised I even remember it
Click to expand...
Glad to see Vanguard on the list. This was one of my all time favorites and I still pop on to the private server from time to time, though there's usually a max of 2 others on at best.
 
I envy you all somewhat, who managed to get into any of the new mmos. I only ever managed to get into wow and that didn't last long. At first I quite enjoyed the transition to heavy action rpgs, but that lasted only a few months, until the pain began, although I didn't realize it at the time, and the disinterest in action gameplay made it clear I was in the wrong genre. The very first WoW expansion made that quite clear (Gruul, specifically).

That means my list would only be s tier, and consist only of embers, Final Fantasy 11, and eq.*

*Okay, yes technically they're all action rpgs, but the difference between these three and the rest, and things like path of exile/black desert, is night and day. Even EVE and Vanguard are quick intense, action-wise.
 
May as well throw in my 2 cents. I've been around in quite a few MMOs, and have my preferences that border mismatched for everyone else, but work for me. There's also a few I am still waiting on a playable release, one of them is Pantheon-one day it will release for me to play, I'm sure of it ;) I'm probably missing several games, but I am getting older and can't remember all of what I have played, this is just what left an impression enough to be listed somwehere.

S-Tier: Embers Adrift, LoTRO
A-Tier: ESO, FFXIV, SWToR, Path of Exile, Conan Exiles
B-Tier: Diablo 3, Neverwinter, Archeage, Wurm Online, GW2, Closers
C-Tier: Black Desert Online, Fallout 76, Warhammer, New World, World of Warcraft, ARK, Age of Wushu, GTA:5, Ashes of Creation, Lost Ark, *any pvp focused game*
ZZ-Tier: Rift, Second Life, Bless Unleashed, Smite

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The tiers explained
S-Tier - I want to play now, in the format of when it was at its best
A-Tier - I would play again (or still do)
B-Tier - Its well done but has flaws
C-Tier - Yeh Nah, too many reasons not to play
ZZ-Tier - Surprised I even remember it
 
S-Tier: WoW Classic - Still King
A-Tier: Embers Adrift, New World
B-Tier: Ragnarok Online, The Secret World, Fallout 76, Rift, FFXIV, FFXI, Guild Wars 2, Elder Scrolls Online, Star Wars The old Republic, WildStar. EQ2
C-Tier: Current Retail WoW, Lost Ark, Archeage, D&D Online, Age of Conan, Project: Gorgon, Age of Conan, Anarchy Online, Destiny 2. EQ
ZZ-Tier: Black Desert Online, Albion Online, Tera, Bless Unleashed, Warhammer Online, Runes of Magic, Crowfall
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The tiers explained
S-Tier - I want to play now, in the format of when it was at its best
A-Tier - I would play again (or still do)
B-Tier - Its well done but has flaws
C-Tier - Yeh Nah, too many reasons not to play
ZZ-Tier - Surprised I even remember it
 
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Yo, my kinda dudes... putting MO2 as a top tier choice HAHA. MO1 was magical, but MO2 is already going down the wrong path. Yeah, it's immersive and unlike anything, but it's already taken so many huge hits, that game is toast. I wouldn't even be here if MO2 had some hope. If you have a rosy view of MO2, I'd say keep it... and stay way. Cuz you will see the 'truth' sooner or later. A game is only as good as its community, and while the community itself isn't that bad (it's very maligned, because people think PKers are all bad people,) the overall 'tone,' the mods, the gms... it's just bad mojo. You gotta trust me. haha. I got a bunch of posts on their forum if you don't believe me! But I did delete my YouTube featuring amazing skillz in MO2.

MO1 was the only MMO I ever subbed to. I put almost 200 bucks into BDO over the time I played. A lot of it was those stupid value packs. I got a lot of enjoyment out of it, but that game is toast now, too. Have a lot of friends who played. It's definitely sun-downing. The other game that was a pseudo-mmo that I played was Guild Wars 1. Other than those 3 games, all MMOs I played were lacking, but I admit not being into MMOs way back in the day when we had chat rooms, etc.

I am hoping this will be satisfying for awhile. I haven't subbed (yet!) and I hope the devs are ready to expand the game. I'm here with the feedback, ha. No, but the graphics of this game are just fine, the combat is just fine, but I'm hoping they add a lot more stuff 'under the hood,' especially if it's supposed to be a dnd like game. I haven't even touched the surface, so this is a total shot in the dark, but I can kind of already feel that it will be a bit lacking. I won't give up hope for the future, though.

MMOs on the horizon that intrigue me are... Ashes and Pax Dei. I was sad that one MMO that you had to buy 'sparks of life' went under/turned out to be a scam. It's such a crazy world, that of indie MMOs, cuz they all can turn out to be scams. OH, I also tried Pathfinder for awhile... was alright, but I refunded. Then the whole game basically dunked itself.
 
I haven't played nearly as many as you have.

I agree with your placement of New World but gotta disagree with FFXIV being so far down. MO2 seems like a controversial choice but I haven't played it myself so I can't say.
 
If I can remind you, this isn't a thread for you to give your opinions on my opinions, this is a thread for giving your own opinions.

Let us know your tiers for games that you have played, or not, it's up to you.
 
Alrighty then. My apologies. Of the ones I've played. I didn't include Embers Adrift since I just started today.

S-Tier: FFXIV
A-Tier: GW2, SWTOR
B-Tier: New World, Albion Online, LOTRO
C-Tier: Black Desert Online, Book of Travels
ZZ-Tier: Destiny 2, Rust
 
S-Tier: World of Warcraft, EQ, Embers Adrift
A-Tier: Warhammer Online, Pantheon
B-Tier: NeverWinter, Lost Ark, ESO, Albion Online, FFXIV, DAOC
C-Tier: EQ2, Star Wars The old Republic
ZZ-Tier: Guildwars 2
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The tiers explained
S-Tier - I want to play now, in the format of when it was at its best
A-Tier - I would play again (or still do)
B-Tier - Its well done but has flaws
C-Tier - Yeh Nah, too many reasons not to play
ZZ-Tier - Surprised I even remember it
 
S-Tier: EQ, Pantheon
A-Tier: Embers Adrift, EQ2, TERA
B-Tier: NeverWinter, Star Wars The Old Republic, LotRO, WoW, Project Gorgon
C-Tier: Archeage, Rift
ZZ-Tier:
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Hello, First post!

S-Tier - Anarchy Online , Everquest 2 , SWG (Pre) , EQ
A-Tier - Vanguard, Atlas, Conan (2007), rebooted FFXIV, P.O.E, New World, FF11
B-Tier - Rift, D3, Eve Online, ESO, lotr ,Fallout76, Albion, ARk, Neverwinter, SWTOR, Palia, Star Trek Online
C-Tier - WoW, DarkFall, Black Desert Online, AA, D+D, GW1+2, the original FFXIV, Drakensang Online, Tera, Wurm, Destiny 2, MO2
ZZ-Tier - Asherons Call 1+2, WarHammer Online, Wildstar, Aion,
 
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Because why not try to be thorough...

S: EVE | BDO | DAoC | FFXIV

A: Embers Adrift | Lost Ark | WoW: Classic | ArcheAge | GW 2 | SWG | DDO | Albion Online | Perpetuum | LotRO | Age of Wushu | Firefall | Crowfall | Warframe | Wakfu | Entropia Universe

B: WoW: Retail | Rift | Tera | Mortal Online | Darkfall | GW 2 | Wildstar | ESO | Maplestory 2 | Warhammer Online | WURM | Aion | L2 | FF11 | Destiny 1 | Destiny 2 | Project Gorgon | RuneScape| B&S | PWI | PSO | PSO: NG | Mabinogi | The Division 1 | The Division 2 | Darkfall: UW | Age of Conan | Tree of Savior | Gloria Victus | legends of Aria | Planetside 2

C: GW 1 | EQ2 | Atlas | SWTOR | Secret World | Knight Online | New World | Neverwinter | RO | SotA | Elyon | Wizardry | Broken Ranks | Champions of Regnum | TemTem | Trove

ZZ: Bless | MU Online | Anthem | Defiance | Dragons Nest | Mad World | Revelation Online | Riders of Icarus | Skyforge | Sword of Legends Online
 
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MarcusFromOz said:
Warning: Please don't tell me in wrong, because this is my perception and my opinion.
But please feel free to add yours.

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S-Tier: Ultima Online, Lineage2, Darkfall, Embers Adrift
A-Tier: Lotro, Mortal Online 2
B-Tier: New World, World of Warcraft, GW2, ESO, Albion Online, Mortal Online 1, Secret World, Warframe, Lost Ark, Tera, Age of Conan
C-Tier: Black Desert Online, Archeage, FFXIV, Path of Exile, Rift, Fallout 76, Book of Travels
ZZ-Tier: Aion, Bless Unleashed
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The tiers explained
S-Tier - I want to play now, in the format of when it was at its best
A-Tier - I would play again (or still do)
B-Tier - Its well done but has flaws
C-Tier - Yeh Nah, too many reasons not to play
ZZ-Tier - Surprised I even remember it
Click to expand...

MarcusFromOz said:
...


Conclusions

Yes I know what a shill this sounds like, but I've been very fortunate to try many games over my life, and feel very happy to have one now that I love.
Thank you to everyone that has made it fun for me, and especially thank you to Stormhaven for making this game, being steadfast to your vision for it but still keeping an open mind for changes.

I can't believe I played until 3:30am last night lol.
Doing so has triggered this thank you (and possibly some suggestions for the future ;) )

To anyone that got to the end of this post, cheers.
Click to expand...
Wow Marcus, you are a true gamer :)
A few memories of mostly early games that you may recall -

Arctic Fox
Late 80s IIRC. Very crude 4 colour 3D world on an Amiga (a what?) - ice and snow, exploring and hunting in a tank. My very first 3D world to explore freely.

Ultima Underworld 2 - Labyrinth of Worlds
Early 90s. First 3D colour world to explore - in a tiny window maybe 160 x 120 pixels? My work allowed me to take my PC home on weekends (!) and we played Ultima continuously from Friday night to Monday morn, taking one hour turns.

Elite on the BBC Micro
Early 90s. Superb 6502 PC from Acorn, original Elite was crude mostly B&W wire-frame graphics - huge fun on an analogue joystick with a 24" B&W TV lifted close above my comfortable bean-bag in a dark room.

Everquest
1999. Amazing. I started a few months after opening. The first really big MMO, and I'm sure many Embers players (and staff) were there too. So many stories. So many bugs, limitations, problems. So much fun. And here we are in a game that echoes EQ in some ways. Love it :)

Hidden and Dangerous
1999. WW2 tactical 4 player FPS simulation. Highly realistic, very atmospheric. Great fun. The climax was in Prague during a rainstorm while we had an actual lightning storm outside - fantastic. Crude LAN needed hours to setup.

Battlefield '42 Wake Island Demo
2002. Wow - one map, free for all. Installed it, started up quick and easy - I'm in game on Wake Island, gun in hand - a jeep stops right in front of me "Beep ! get in", I jump in with Sgt Schutlz and Colonel Klink and we rush forward shooting and then die in a huge fireball - woo hoo ! Played all through the night, literally.

World War 2 Online
2001 MMO with massive map of Europe, combined arms simulation grand in scope, less so in execution. Had fun, and it's still going with original 1960s Soviet-style design and features.

EQ2
Sad :( Released same week as WoW. Famous dupe ruined economy.

Methical & the EQ2 dupe - Project 1999

Methical & the EQ2 dupe Rants and Flames
project1999.com

So many others, can hardly remember them all now.
 
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S-Tier: Dungeons & Dragons Online
A-Tier: City of Heroes, Embers Adrift, World of Warcraft (original - not Classic (Classic is based on the patch that was part of the reason I quit)), Warhammer Online, Auto Assault
B-Tier: EverQuest 1 (corpse runs), ESO, DAOC (forced RvR), Guild Wars, Eve Online, Project: Gorgon, Secret World, Rift
C-Tier: Star Wars The old Republic, NeverWinter, World of Warcraft (now/new), Lineage 2 (oh, the grind)
ZZ-Tier: Neverwinter

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The tiers explained
S-Tier - I want to play now
A-Tier - I would play again (or still do)
B-Tier - Its well done but has flaws
C-Tier - Yeh Nah, too many reasons not to play
ZZ-Tier - Surprised I even remember it
 
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S-Tier: -
A-Tier: WoW classic, Daoc, EQ2, Eve, New World, Planetside 2
B-Tier: ESO, GW2, Rift, Aion, Anarchy Online, Lotro, Destiny 2, Vanguard
C-Tier: Embers Adrift, Lost Ark
ZZ-Tier: Warhammer AoR, Lineage 2, Age of Conan


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The tiers explained
S-Tier - I want to play now
A-Tier - I would play again (or still do)
B-Tier - Its well done but has flaws
C-Tier - Yeh Nah, too many reasons not to play
ZZ-Tier - Surprised I even remember it
 
S-Tier ... SWG
Feature Deficient-Tier... everything else

It was a virtual world. Real economy. Real cities/shops/businesses. Integral crafting. Real housing/xyz coordinate decorating. Storyteller system allowed you to place npcs/props/quests in open world. I could go on but there isn't time.

Honorable mention to EvE and UO which were also virtual worlds, but one of them forgot PVE and other I just can't play anymore due to 30-year old visuals.
 
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