And by that, I mean who wants to help me lose my online virginity?

And by THAT, I mean who wants to help me lose my actually playing an online multiplayer game virginity?

You see, I've never actually played a MMO game of any sort. Not WoW, not Everquest, nothing. But my curiosity has been piqued for a while now, specifically after reading CymTyr' s "Rift Free to Play" thread and Khadgar42's humorous "I Hate Multiplayer" account.

Rather than just pick a game at random, I thought I'd solicit suggestions to help me get started. Here are my preferences:

- I prefer sword and sorcery type millieus, but could be persuaded for alternatives. I'm not a huge fan of sci-fi scenarios, so that would likely be at the bottom of the list.

- I won't have an inordinate time to play as real life demands will consistently intrude. A game with a less-than-brutal learning curve and that can be played somehat casually (say, 1-3 hours at a shot) is probably optimal.

- Given that I won't be investing a ton of time, free to play is preferred but not mandatory.

- I'd rather play in a PvE as opposed to PvP environment (are those terms even relevant anymore?). I don't feel like logging on to a server and getting my head handed to me by some ******** thirty years my junior inside of forty seconds. That would suck.

- I would like to have the option to team but I don't want to play a game that forces such situations. In other words, I want to be able to choose my own level of active involvement with others without impeding my ability to actually play the game.

- I'm a bit of an all around computer dumbass, so a clean, user friendly interface is basically a must. If I have to hit more than two keys to make something happen in the game (aside from chatting) I won't have the mental capacity for it. "Dude, just hit F4, spacebar, double tap upper case T and simultaneously hit backslash and the alt key to cast that spell!"....."Um....wut?"

Any suggestions are sincerely appreciated.

I would suggest Earthland Realms ;)

I really enjoyed age of conan when it came out. It's free to play now...

I can highly recommend Neverwinter, since that seems to fulfill your requirements to almost a T. I also didn't mind (while being futuristic fantasy mind you) The Old Republic as well. But yes, as I was saying, Neverwinter is probably one you would find the most enjoyment out of in my opinion. At least from my experience with the game. :)

Dragon Nest might be a nice introduction, it's a bit of a light action-MMORPG and as far as I know the entire game can be solo'd, but you can also play co-op. All the action in the game takes part in instances (you or your party) so you shouldn't have any problems with annoying people killing you or stealing your kills.

Yeah, you have described Neverwinter

And here I was all excited by the title and it's about MMOs.


I have never been really big into the whole Online thing, but I did try out the Lord of the Rings Online and found it to be a not so terrible experience. If you are a fan of the books in any way it is a real treat to explore Middle Earth. Everything that I have seen so far tells me that the game was designed with Solo play in mind. I would still be playing today but I accidenally joined a Guild or Fellowship or whatever they call it, and I didn't know to to unjoin or even talk to anyone in the group. I figured the only responsible thing to do was quit playing and never login to the account again.

World of Tanks. It's free and easy to get into, and doesn't require a lot of time. Not sword&sorcery, but I'm pretty sure you'll like it.


EDIT: I know it probably doesn't look like something you'd like but you probably will, trust me. I've never steered you wrong before, have I ? :D

World Of Warcraft is of course the standard MMOGs are judged by. You can play for free up to level 20 if I remember rightly.

Lord Of The Rings is also very good. Supposed to be based more on the books than the films. That's free to play, but with paid unlocks for content later on in the game.

Star Wars: The Old Republic is great. Again, free-ish to play. Is a must if you like Star Wars (OF COURSE you like Star Wars)...

Age Of Conan and Dungeons And Dragons Online are both good. They are both a little more action-y, and things like combat are a bit more involved than in most of the above. DDO works quite well in that all the quests are instanced, so you run around in the main city and see all the other players, but when you do quests it's just you / your group. Some quests are specifically for solo play, others can be soloed but as you progress you rely on a group more and more, especially if you're playing a squishy support character like a rogue or a mage.

As far as learning curves are concerned, MMOGs are typically pretty complex. The games above all have reasonably well put-together interfaces and tutorials though.

Damn, saw the title and was thinking: "Now GOG has seen it all!" :D

I can't help you out though - have played some MMOs, but I'm not really the type for those kinds of game.

Obligatory Guild Wars 2 comment.

I hate multiplayer so I'll be intrigued to the results!

I suggest Lord of the Rings Online. It fits all of the specs you mentioned. And it takes place in Middle-earth! Enjoy whatever you delve into.

I can second World of Tanks, but it's not "real mmo", still it's fun (and frustrating sometimes ^^)
I heard that Lineage 2 is now more "causal friendly" so you could check that one too :)

second this. The first game is like this as well