New (sorta) to MMORPGs

It's summer, and I'd like to find a MMORPG to get into, but I have picky tastes. I bought Guild Wars last year hoping it would be a free version of WoW, turns out it wasn't and I just couldn't get into it.

I've played most of the free ones out there. Some were really good (Flyff) some were a little boring (Shadowbane). I've also tried Maple Story and Silk Road. While I like free MMORPGs, I'm looking to get a more mainstream one, like CoH/CoV, WoW, FFXI, etc.

I don't like games with really, really, really long quests (like how CoH has quests that are 10 hours long with a group). I like being able to grind when I want to so I can become stronger, and not have to rely on just doing quests for EXP (like how Guild Wars' exp reward comes from questing). I do love doing lots of quests though, just nothing too overly long like over an hour or two, and I'd like to be able to solo if I'd like. If there's a game that meets all of this criteria, please let me know before I go buying a game blindly (like I did with Guild Wars, which I regret to this day).

I played a trial of WoW last December, but I had a busy schedule so didn't get to play it much and never got a good taste of it. I played as a troll in a desert and got to about lvl 5 before the trial ran out.

Right now I'm playing a CoH trial. It's pretty fun, and I like how it's a change of pace, but it being based on a comic and all, the areas are mostly just skyscrapers which gets old. I have trouble telling the areas apart. Also, they have several quests which go on for hours, which I can't say I'm too fond of. And from what I've heard, some of the quests require you to group, and sometimes I prefer to play solo.

FFXI also looks really neat. I've never played it, but I have a friend who is absolutely nuts over it (though recently he said he's finally getting tired of it after playing it for three years and might switch to WoW). The medieval theme is overdone for MMORPGs, but it's Final Fantasy so I forgive them. I've heard alot of bad things about this game, but I just seem to trust Square Enix a little more than Blizzard when it comes to making a fun RPG. I've heard it's nothing like Final Fantasy at all though.

So yeah, I'm basically torn between those three. I don't want to get more than one, because I really don't want to be paying (and playing) two MMORPGs at once. Most people have been recommending WoW, but I've heard the community is absolutely horrible (a review on Amazon said there are people in the main towns with the encyclopedia of WoW in their DNA and n00b bash at every chance they get).

Oh yeah, and sorry there's a topic already open about this, but I'm really not asking for such a wide of an opinion as that topic, I think my mindset is basically on those three games.

Double Post:
Oh yeah, and PvP really isn't a priority. It's nice to have if I'm tired of questing and want something new, but chances are I'll never use it.

Jam it back in, in the dark.

If you're not fond of a few quests taking some time in CoH, you will not be able to handle Final Fantasy 11. FF11 is the biggest time sink out of any MMORPG that I have ever played and I have played EQ, EQ2, Dark Age of Camelot, WoW, CoH/CoV, and FF11. Also FF11 is 100% group play after level 10. You can not solo in that, end of story. To top it off you have to make a cookie cutter character if you want to get in groups very often, and even then you still can wait hours for a group invite.

There's nowhere I can't reach.

Absolutely stay away from FFXI if you want that kind of solo/group flexibility.

I would look into WoW again. The community can be a mixed bag, yeah, but frankly if you just stay away from the official forums you avoid a lot of the bad parts. If you can find a good guild to run instances/chat/whatever with, you'll have a much better time. You also have the ability to solo or group as you please, regardless of class, and while you get better XP from quests (at least as far as I've played) you can certainly grind for the XP as well.

This thing is sticky, and I don't like it. I don't appreciate it.

Originally Posted by Kenichi

Also, they have several quests which go on for hours, which I can't say I'm too fond of. And from what I've heard, some of the quests require you to group, and sometimes I prefer to play solo.

You must be referring to the Task Force missions. Those definitely go on for quite awhile.

But I must ask, why would you want to play an MMO if you're just going to solo? I used to do this too, but now that I think about it, it just doesn't make sense. You pay a monthly fee to connect to a server filled with other people and play a game that is designed to be a multiplayer game. If grouping and questing is not your thing, then I hardly think an MMO is the sort of genre you should be looking into.

Oh, and I recommend giving Progress Quest a shot.

I am a dolphin, do you want me on your body?

Originally Posted by Magic

You must be referring to the Task Force missions. Those definitely go on for quite awhile.

But I must ask, why would you want to play an MMO if you're just going to solo? I used to do this too, but now that I think about it, it just doesn't make sense. You pay a monthly fee to connect to a server filled with other people and play a game that is designed to be a multiplayer game. If grouping and questing is not your thing, then I hardly think an MMO is the sort of genre you should be looking into.

Oh, and I recommend giving Progress Quest a shot.

I do like questing, but mainly with friends. If I don't have any friends on, and there's really nobody to group with on a certain quest, or if I just feel like being alone, I'd like to be able to play alone. On Guild Wars, I would sometimes find myself in the town waiting hours to find enough people to do a certain quest with (the NPCs are dumb as rocks).

I was speaking idiomatically.

I've been playing FFXI since it came out to retail PC 3 years ago. And I can verify that it is one of the biggest time-waster MMORPGs ever. There are 12 different playable classes each capable of attaining level 75. A vast assortment of equipment for all class-types. Each class has special "bonus" abilities attainable upon reaching level 75 (Things you fight in exp groups for enhancements on basic class stats, class specific ability enhancements, and general skill enhancements.) HUNDREDS of quests to complete. A fellowship system where you can obtain a NPC character to fight with you. Leveling up a fellow takes a long time as the equipment used to summon him/her has a recast of quite a bit of hours.

Missions to tell the storyline. 3 nations with their own set of missions. There's usually 2 missions per rank and 10 ranks per nation. Expansion missions. Endgame guilds/groups with plenty of DRAMA to spare. And high-end items that require alot, alot, alot of in-game money to build.

Accomplishing everything would take 6 years if you play at a regular paced life with a job, school, that stuff. If you have no life at all and play nonstop till the evil daymoon comes out, then you could very well be done by your 3rd year into the game. Do not play FFXI if you don't intend on spending alot of money on monthly fees. It's not alot per month, but if you play for 3+ years, it totals to quite a bit.

What kind of toxic man-thing is happening now?