What MMO Gaming PC games do you like/play?

[DogzSpirit]

Name your favorite MMO and tell others why you like it...

If you don't know what that is (no worries-read on): An MMO is a Massive Multiplayer Online game is a genre of online video game where thousands of players simultaneously inhabit the same persistent virtual world, interacting, cooperating, or competing with each other. Key features include large-scale player interaction, character progression, and ongoing, evolving game worlds.

I have only tried four and then stayed with Pantheon which is in EA stages at this point. I like that one best so far, but am open to other games as long as they are playable on my gaming PC. It's pretty cool. I am open to mentoring/friending people on this game, and love it when others reach out to me as someone did, with another game to try (like a friend did with Monsters & Memories).

I have also tried these:

I tried out WoW very briefly. I put in almost a week and found people to be rather uncivilized, rude and/or younger on that game. One asked me to group with him and when I followed him he purposely jumped over a ditch, which I following him went into, and way down into a monster cavern, with no way out, as he laughed... and kept taunting me/my character as I realized it was futile to fight off the never ending monsters in that pit. That was the final straw for that game! So happy I didn't invest any funds in it and it was merely the free version ha.

GW2 was ok, but lacking connection, people are not actively seeking guild members or to help/mentor you in that game as per my experience. That one I might go back to if I. had buddies to play with. Like I said the connections are important draw to gaming for me!

Monsters & Memories, tried with a friend, but it is available in spurts (free) due to that current development stage.

Then again there is Pantheonmmo, which has a nice community. The most fun I had was when I organized play sessions for friends. I have toons (characters) that I have developed from lower levels all the way up to mid 35ish. I'd be happy to introduce others here to it!

 

[fattymeatysardine]

I used to play Realm of the Mad God for 2-3 years in my teens. It was an awesome game but I will never play an MMORPG ever again because I only play games that respect my time.

 

[DogzSpirit]

I used to play Realm of the Mad God for 2-3 years in my teens. It was an awesome game but I will never play an MMORPG ever again because I only play games that respect my time.

I don't think of the respect of time in the same sense as you do. The win for me is how my friends and I value our grouping together. That may sound crazy for I do understand how you meant that.

Just really enjoy teaming up and helping my friends when I am lucky enough to find them.

 

[fattymeatysardine]

Have you played Left 4 Dead? It is one of the greatest co-op games ever made

 

[DogzSpirit]

Have you played Left 4 Dead? It is one of the greatest co-op games ever made

No I haven't (yet) played that. hmmmm co-op game no... I had to look up the difference (out of curiousity) of that and an MMO and here is what it said


Co-op games(cooperative) focus on small teams achieving specific, often story-driven goals with a clear ending, whereas MMOs (Massively Multiplayer Online) are persistent, large-scale worlds with hundreds of players, continuous updates, and open-ended progression. Co-op is usually intimate and private, while MMOs offer massive, public, and social environments.

and then the Left 4 Dead.... (had to look that up too lol)


Left 4 Dead 2 (L4D2) is a premier 4-player cooperative zombie shooter focusing on team-based survival across various modes like Campaign, Realism, and Versus. Players can join online lobbies or create private games via Steam. While primarily online, local split-screen is possible on PC via console commands (ss_enable 1) or using Steam Deck configuration.

 

[Misery]

I've played a lot of MMOs in the past... like, A LOT of them... but I generally never played in the originally intended way. AKA, I mostly just played solo, past a certain point. I dont have any friends interested in any of the same games or game genres that I'm into, and I dont want to group with strangers, so...

I mean, I have played with strangers in the past, random teams, particularly in the original Everquest (which is nigh-impossible to progress in without a group) but this usually ended in trouble. I remember the very last time I did it, which was in City of Heroes, where I had a character who was extremely focused on the idea of handling entire groups of enemies all at once. A lot of knockdown effects. Not exactly a low-tier character, either. That one was a Blaster (glass cannon) that could stand direct combat with Archvillains for a bit of time without falling.

And I remember, I was in a team, doing my job... the only thing the character can do, doing damage and knocking things over, and then everyone started to yell at me because all the enemies were immobilized on the floor instead of attacking the tank. Like what the heck else was I supposed to do, the build was VERY focused on what I was doing. Just freaking attack the already immobilized enemies, guys, they literally cant damage any of us as long as my guy keeps screaming at them... but no, they just complained at me a bunch. "Play the RIGHT way or get out", it was.

I left the party and then just restarted that exact mission solo and did it entirely on my own, and that was the end of grouping for me.

After that, honestly it was just really hard to find good MMOs to try out. WoW came out very shortly after that you see, and I did not gel with WoW whatsoever. Tried it, hated it. And when every freaking developer decided that if they just copied WoW, SURELY they'd print money (spoiler alert: no) that was the end of my time with the genre overall. I really, really didnt want to play any WoW clones, and all the games I did like died off (or were just Everquest, unplayable without a group).

Besides, I'm about as social as a cactus anyway. And I have a very "do it myself or there's no point" approach to gaming as a whole. I traditionally avoid co-op games for that very reason. I'm not in any of it to socialize, I'm in it for a challenge, which is harder and harder to find. Adding teammates reduces challenge.

A friend of mine is darned determined to get me into co-op gaming or whatever though. To his credit, he sure isnt one to give up.


I'd thought somewhat recently about giving the MMO genre another shot, but at this point, heck if I know what's out there. And I definitely still dont want to group up with people. I'm even more of a recluse now than I was before.

Though, from what I have heard, a lot of modern MMOs are fully open to solo play, as that concept has for whatever reason gotten more and more popular. Contrast with Everquest and games of its time (the 56k era), where soloing usually guaranteed failure.

The one other problem though is that any given game really needs controller support. With my messed up arm I cant use the mouse too much for gaming (too much clicking causes a flare-up, which is incredibly painful and can last for days). That has been very reduced lately... I seem to have healed up a lot somehow... but on the other hand, I'm also using a vertical mouse, which absolutely is not designed for gaming.

Granted I can force controller support on games that dont have it, but that's such a pain to set up.

 

[Princess Viola]

I play but one MMO: Old School RuneScape

Why? Well quite frankly it's because I've literally been playing this dang game for 20 years this year.

Of course back then in 2006 there was no 'Old School RuneScape', it was just RuneScape - there was but the one game (OK well I mean RuneScape Classic, the original version of the game from 2001, was still online and playable if you were a member and had logged into RSC at any time between when the game launched in 2001 and February 2006 but RSC was no longer being updated with new content since RS2 - which is what become RuneScape - launched).

But still - 20 years and even if you go 'Oh well Old School RuneScape is a separate game from the main RuneScape', which yeah fair, I mean I've been playing that since they permanently opened it to free accounts in 2015 (OSRS launched in 2013 and was originally members-only but I didn't wanna start over from 0 at the time as a member but when they added full F2P servers? Yeah that was what hooked me into OSRS) and like I'm not gonna pretend I'm one of the top players of the game but I mean I'm comfortably a mid-level player and I worked hard for these stats:

Spoiler

Is it grindy as all Hell? Yeah, absolutely but like I said 'been playing RuneScape for 20 years this year'. I was born into the grind, molded by it. I didn't see a non-grindy RPG until I was already a woman.

But yeah I play OSRS because I like it and MMOs are such a time investment that I'm not going to switch to something new at this point because of how many damn hours I've put into it already.

 

[JayLapointe]

I tried out WoW very briefly. I put in almost a week and found people to be rather uncivilized, rude and/or younger on that game. One asked me to group with him and when I followed him he purposely jumped over a ditch, which I following him went into, and way down into a monster cavern, with no way out, as he laughed... and kept taunting me/my character as I realized it was futile to fight off the never ending monsters in that pit. That was the final straw for that game! So happy I didn't invest any funds in it and it was merely the free version ha.

I used to play wow and what I found with it in terms of the player crowd was it really had to do with the server you were on and the guild you joined. Like I had/have the good fortune of a guild that is only comprised of folks that are 35 and older with the couple exceptions of group member children. I played with them for at least 2 years. I'm still in the guild discord but I haven't been playing WoW now for a couple years at least.

Another MMO that I really like if you can call it that is Fallout 76. Again that's one that I put a lot of time into when it came out but haven't been playing the last couple years. Even with the surge in the base from the TV show spinoff.

I don't know how it is with you with games like that but I find I'll get hooked, play one almost exclusively for several months to a year until I switch to something else and usually never look back.

Truth be told my favorite are the open world games in 3rd person perspective. Especially things where you have survival building mechanics. I just like to build and putter. Like Arc Survival apparently has a very long involved story line. I never got past the initial world and just building / farming dino's.

I don't know if you saw it yet but there is another pretty active dedicated gaming thread on the forum you may want to check out.

 

[JayLapointe]

I used to play Realm of the Mad God for 2-3 years in my teens. It was an awesome game but I will never play an MMORPG ever again because I only play games that respect my time.

With the"respecting your time" comment I'm assuming that's in reference to how a lot of them just become a repetitive endless grind? I feel that.

 

[DogzSpirit]

Nice... lot's of insight and really appreciate that. Will re-read your posts and look into those games more. Cool.

I have played with groups (on Pantheon) and actually organized groups (that way I could control who joined and it was more civilized) and mentored newbies, helping new people with tips and gear.

I don't necessarily look for endless chatter and even find discord to be rather annoying when in game. It does come in handy if indeed someone has to do a quick save or communication to the group though. I often find the endless talking that is going on in discord to be isolating, for it will single me out as the one that is different socially or otherwise (experience with lingo) or just general irritation as someone talks about nonsense off topic like about their kids (uck) while we are working together in a group. The more off topic or otherwise they go, the more I retreat, eventually silencing my mic altogether.

I am VERY up to try what games work via Gaming PC, and the best mentor I had was one that was definitely on the spectrum, a much better player than we as two tank would duo (instead of doing full group with) in early morning hours. I learned so much from her, but one day she just stopped playing and my run with her on Pantheon was over. I did have all the info notes she had typed, and referenced them.

So if anyone wants to 'initiate' me... lol... I am a rather intense study.

I hate PVP... I found that out the hard way. At least PVP where sickos kill ya off to get your loot or just to endlessly kill a weaker class that is by him/herself. I chose Warrior (Tank) and all I would hear initially is RIP warrior. There was no challenge to them, for most were levels above me and a more powerful class than a lone Warrior.

Still it was worth going there, for I learned alot. It really put me in a better position so I wouldn't disappoint groups I played with on PVE.

When Pantheon opened the PVP server, my being new to gaming, I just had to see how that was for myself. I had already played on the PVE at that point for 4 months as a Warrior. Thus I remade the toon and found quickly I didn't appreciate the mentality there. I was going to exit stage left... lol... but then oh my... 4 young (been playing games for 15 years at least) men, decided they needed a tank bad enough to train me, after they saw how many hours and effort I devoted to this, they were impressed.

They were annoying, as it was a constant do this do that and not in a nice way. They didn't know I was on the spectrum. They often viewed my silence on discord as not being there, which was so weird, for my toon which was a tank, was fighting and protecting them, duh. Sometimes they would comment like I wasn't there. I would say cut that out guys, show some respect, I just don't have endless chatter, am focusing on the playing. I finally (after reaching level 30) I said ya know, thanks for teaching me so much, but you have to find a new tank. That was after my husband (when my mic was off) said that is disrespectful what they said, and come back to the PVE server, now that you know all these tricks.

The bad part was (besides the PVP community) was the guys teaching me viewed themselves as 'elites' and had a true elitist mindset. When their guild (which was mine) joined another that only wanted elitist players, they disbanded leaving any less experienced player, thrown to the side. Except when they needed me as a tank... pleah!

I ended up playing with a member of their new elitist only guild, who was surprised I played so well, despite I only started playing end of 2024. He said he would get me a guild invite with them. I said ya know what, I really don't like that mindset and thanks anyway.

So bottom line I have played all the classes and some with levels up to 35 in Pantheon, love playing games, would like to be invited to play other (gaming pc) games, and really enjoy reading this thread about other games. But ah each is a puzzle, with my limited experience, and would go on if someone is invested in a game enough to want a decent (I work hard at it lol) player.

I personally prefer to play with others on the spectrum, for at the end of the day, the manners, friendship and self respect is intact.

 

[JayLapointe]

Nice... lot's of insight and really appreciate that. Will re-read your posts and look into those games more. Cool.

I have played with groups (on Pantheon) and actually organized groups (that way I could control who joined and it was more civilized) and mentored newbies, helping new people with tips and gear.

I don't necessarily look for endless chatter and even find discord to be rather annoying when in game. It does come in handy if indeed someone has to do a quick save or communication to the group though. I often find the endless talking that is going on in discord to be isolating, for it will single me out as the one that is different socially or otherwise (experience with lingo) or just general irritation as someone talks about nonsense off topic like about their kids (uck) while we are working together in a group. The more off topic or otherwise they go, the more I retreat, eventually silencing my mic altogether.

I am VERY up to try what games work via Gaming PC, and the best mentor I had was one that was definitely on the spectrum, a much better player than we as two tank would duo (instead of doing full group with) in early morning hours. I learned so much from her, but one day she just stopped playing and my run with her on Pantheon was over. I did have all the info notes she had typed, and referenced them.

So if anyone wants to 'initiate' me... lol... I am a rather intense study.

I hate PVP... I found that out the hard way. At least PVP where sickos kill ya off to get your loot or just to endlessly kill a weaker class that is by him/herself. I chose Warrior (Tank) and all I would hear initially is RIP warrior. There was no challenge to them, for most were levels above me and a more powerful class than a lone Warrior.

Still it was worth going there, for I learned alot. It really put me in a better position so I wouldn't disappoint groups I played with on PVE.

When Pantheon opened the PVP server, my being new to gaming, I just had to see how that was for myself. I had already played on the PVE at that point for 4 months as a Warrior. Thus I remade the toon and found quickly I didn't appreciate the mentality there. I was going to exit stage left... lol... but then oh my... 4 young (been playing games for 15 years at least) men, decided they needed a tank bad enough to train me, after they saw how many hours and effort I devoted to this, they were impressed.

They were annoying, as it was a constant do this do that and not in a nice way. They didn't know I was on the spectrum. They often viewed my silence on discord as not being there, which was so weird, for my toon which was a tank, was fighting and protecting them, duh. Sometimes they would comment like I wasn't there. I would say cut that out guys, show some respect, I just don't have endless chatter, am focusing on the playing. I finally (after reaching level 30) I said ya know, thanks for teaching me so much, but you have to find a new tank. That was after my husband (when my mic was off) said that is disrespectful what they said, and come back to the PVE server, now that you know all these tricks.

The bad part was (besides the PVP community) was the guys teaching me viewed themselves as 'elites' and had a true elitist mindset. When their guild (which was mine) joined another that only wanted elitist players, they disbanded leaving any less experienced player, thrown to the side. Except when they needed me as a tank... pleah!

I ended up playing with a member of their new elitist only guild, who was surprised I played so well, despite I only started playing end of 2024. He said he would get me a guild invite with them. I said ya know what, I really don't like that mindset and thanks anyway.

So bottom line I have played all the classes and some with levels up to 35 in Pantheon, love playing games, would like to be invited to play other (gaming pc) games, and really enjoy reading this thread about other games. But ah each is a puzzle, with my limited experience, and would go on if someone is invested in a game enough to want a decent (I work hard at it lol) player.

I personally prefer to play with others on the spectrum, for at the end of the day, the manners, friendship and self respect is intact.

I don't know if it would be of any interest to you but it might. I've been playing a new game lately Arc Raiders. Not to be confused with Ark Survival. Arc Raiders is a PVE/PVP extraction game, and it is 3rd person perspectives. Levels seem to be 1 to 3 km2. It's set in a post apocalyptic world where humans have taken shelter underground from the Arc robots that seemingly came from nowhere and all but wiped out humanity.

So you play as a Raider who goes to the surface looking for gear/etc for the underground survivors. The matches you can run solo, or in groups of up to 3 players. It is PVE/PVP in that if you don't want to you can just ignore the other players and focus on the npc's which have some of the most sophisticated behaviors I've seen. Apparently they are using AI to map player interactions to see how players deal with them and come up with counter strategies so the thing is always improving.

Now the big caveat on the PVP side of things. The matchmaking basically puts you in lobbies with other mostly similar players. Mostly being the key word there. If you don't attack other players you'll generally get grouped with other non aggressive players, though there is always the chance of a new player joining who will be aggressive. I focus on the PVE side and find that maybe 1 in 20 matches I come across someone hostile, everyone else seems cool.

The matches themselves last between 20-30 minutes, there are 4 maps at the moment but they have plans to launch several more. I didn't think I was going to have as much fun with it as I have been but I honestly can't get enough. Yes I get miffed when some PVP'er knocks me out. But it is rare, and I play with the mentality that any gear i've collected is only temporary. The surface gives, the surface takes.

 

[DogzSpirit]

I don't know if it would be of any interest to you but it might. I've been playing a new game lately Arc Raiders. Not to be confused with Ark Survival. Arc Raiders is a PVE/PVP extraction game, and it is 3rd person perspectives. Levels seem to be 1 to 3 km2. It's set in a post apocalyptic world where humans have taken shelter underground from the Arc robots that seemingly came from nowhere and all but wiped out humanity.

Ok.. so yes, interested here... and made sure there was a stand alone (vs buying on steam, which I so dislike) and there is (so will check this out on the Epic Games Store website. I am assuming that Epic Games is the one that produced ARC Raiders? It appears released in Oct of 2025, does that mean it had an early access prior to that, or has everyone signed in at that time? Just curious!

Here was my hit on if it were a standalone:

ARC Raiders is available as a standalone, third-person PvE-focused extraction shooter for PC via Steam and Epic Games Store. It is a $39.99 title that supports both team-based play and a viable, challenging solo experience against AI machines and other players.

 

[DogzSpirit]

@JayLapointe Still reviewing options of purchase and ins/outs of the game.
There appear to be a lot of add ons hmmm.
And there are also discount codes that might be available?

Busy looking into it, and I am currently recovering from Appendectomy Surgery, and faced with upcoming move after I am well enough reviewed to leave for that other state (Though, I didn't pack up my gaming PC yet), so bear with me

 

[DogzSpirit]

@JayLapointe sending you a pm

 

[JayLapointe]

@JayLapointe Still reviewing options of purchase and ins/outs of the game.
There appear to be a lot of add ons hmmm.
And there are also discount codes that might be available?

Busy looking into it, and I am currently recovering from Appendectomy Surgery, and faced with upcoming move after I am well enough reviewed to leave for that other state (Though, I didn't pack up my gaming PC yet), so bear with me

there were a couple of cosmetic addon's but as far as I know there aren't any dlc packs otherwise for it. And yes the game just launched Oct 2025. I'm not sure if there had been an early launch as I only started playing the last week or so of December.

What I do know is that the game is cross platfrom play. So it doesn't matter if you have friends with Xbox or Playstation as you can play with them while still being on PC.

I think the developer is an outfit called Embark. ARC Raiders

 

[DogzSpirit]

@JayLapointe That game appears to be interesting and I would love it if it were only an occassional nut that we come across, but it seems that it is plagued with PVP people hitting on the PVE toons. Is there a way to really avoid that, because I am seeing in comments how they wait for you to return to underground and do the shoot and loot to ya?

Heres what I am looking for in a game PVP and a team to play with.

For myself, I tend to stay clear of PVP. If there is for example lobbies where people form a PVE grouping and then those who are PVP come into that area of play, that will simply mean lots of looting and interruption of the PVE play I enjoy.

PS: I know dysfunctional individuals when I speak to them, and I did have the annoyance of speaking with quite a few of the worst offenders, in PVP on Pantheon. I know they are dysfunctional from having done what I view as an in game informal lol intake. I counseled people for many years, and the level of dysfunction in oh 10% of what I have seen in PVP on Pantheon, made me grateful that there was a place that that 10% could go that wasn't on the Dark Web. I viewed it kinda like a PVP Gaming Penal Colony, where convicts are sent. Like I said, it's good that 10% has a place to shake off their stress, but I don't wanna be part of their world.

 

[DogzSpirit]

I play but one MMO: Old School RuneScape

So I see this has both PVE and PVP.... Question: Which do you do, and do keep the separate, vs. combining in a PVEvp. I prefer PVE.

 

[DogzSpirit]

Have you played Left 4 Dead? It is one of the greatest co-op games ever made

Ok.. and this looks looks interesting. Do you currently play? Does it have a stand alone that is free to try out?

 

[JayLapointe]

@JayLapointe That game appears to be interesting and I would love it if it were only an occassional nut that we come across, but it seems that it is plagued with PVP people hitting on the PVE toons. Is there a way to really avoid that, because I am seeing in comments how they wait for you to return to underground and do the shoot and loot to ya?

Heres what I am looking for in a game PVP and a team to play with.

For myself, I tend to stay clear of PVP. If there is for example lobbies where people form a PVE grouping and then those who are PVP come into that area of play, that will simply mean lots of looting and interruption of the PVE play I enjoy.

PS: I know dysfunctional individuals when I speak to them, and I did have the annoyance of speaking with quite a few of the worst offenders, in PVP on Pantheon. I know they are dysfunctional from having done what I view as an in game informal lol intake. I counseled people for many years, and the level of dysfunction in oh 10% of what I have seen in PVP on Pantheon, made me grateful that there was a place that that 10% could go that wasn't on the Dark Web. I viewed it kinda like a PVP Gaming Penal Colony, where convicts are sent. Like I said, it's good that 10% has a place to shake off their stress, but I don't wanna be part of their world.

Honestly if people are complaining about the pvp in Arc it's a result of their not understanding the system. Like I say the game doesn't distinguish who started combat only that you engaged in combat with another player when you shot and hit them. So a lot of well intentioned folks that didn't like PVP but still tried to defend themselves are now getting thrown into PVP heavy queues. Had they just run / or not fired, they wouldn't be being put in the queues they are now. As I say I'm averaging 1 hostile encounter per 20 or so runs. I only ever took down one other player, who was being a bully to someone else, and also I needed to get the achievement. Since then I don't participate and my queues are PVE dominated players