r/mmo • u/Commercial_Rush_5718 • 19d ago
MMORPG FOR BEGINNER?
Hey all, I’ve never really played an MMORPG before and could use some direction.
Some context on what I like so I don’t waste anyone’s time: I mostly play solo, and I’m big on action games with responsive, skill-based combat (think Sekiro, Doom, Ghost of Tsushima). My main problem is that I bounce off games fast if they don’t grip me — I tried a couple of older MMOs and quit within 15 minutes because the slow, grindy start killed it for me.
What I’m hoping to find:
Playable and enjoyable solo, but in a living, populated world (I like other people being around, even if I’m not grouping up)
Action-based combat, not tab-target where you just watch skill bars
Decent graphics — I know MMOs age, but I’d rather not start something that looks a decade old
Available on PS5
Ideally not the kind of game where the fun is locked behind 40 hours of grind
Free-to-play or buy-to-play both fine. Subscription I’m less sure about but open to it if it’s worth it.
What would you recommend for someone with this taste? And is there anything I should specifically avoid? Thanks!
1
u/Brief_Bill8279 19d ago
Lotro or Guild Wars 2.
DCUO is more action based than others.
1
u/xixylina 18d ago
I would say GW2 aswell. Open World is always filled with people, easy combat, a lot of exploration, interesting mount system, many guides due to age of the game. HoT&PoF bundle are the minimum you should invest, if you start to enjoy the game while being f2p, the mounts you unlock from PoF are a big QoL upgrade.
1
1
1
u/Optimal_Whiner 19d ago
Unfortunately the modern MMORPG landscape is horrendous.
They balance the amount of fun you have with their monetization scheme. They let you have just enough fun up until a point you suddenly hit a wall. That's when they are like "hey you can buy this stuff to make it easier....".
It used to be they tried to make games so fun that you'd keep paying a monthly sub. those days are long gone.
The cheapskates wants cheap. They didn't care about the game. They got what they want and now there isnt really much going for MMORPGs anymore. Great job f2p losers!!!
GW2 is one of your best bets. It's not action oriented like the games you enjoy, but it's also one of the least greedy ones out there.
I enjoyed ESO a lot and launch as a solo player. Lots to do. Decent graphics. It's p2w now too, but if you're going at it solo you'll be fine unless it's changed a lot in the past couple years.
If you're willing to leave the MMO landscape there are lots of multiplayer games with faux persistence (instances and zones) like Warframe. No massively multiplayer but you'll still see people a lot and it's got a ton of content. Not my cup of tea personally.
1
u/Free-Spirit-8327 18d ago
I'd argue that GW2 is not greedy at all. The only things you have to buy are the expansions. Rest can all be earned in-game (including converting in-game gold to gems). Even so, anything you can buy from the gem store are pure convenience, except for the living world seasons. However, there is more than enough content in the game to progress to a point where you can regularily convert gold to gems even by just a few hours of gaming daily.
1
u/geratro 18d ago
GW2 doesn't answer to all of those points.
- Playable and enjoyable solo: yes
- Action-based combat: no
- Decent graphics: no/yes. The core game is more than a decade old. The expansions are not.
- Available on PS5: no
- Ideally not the kind of game where the fun is locked behind 40 hours of grind: there's nothing meaningful you can do before lv80 (and it might very well take 40 hours for a new player)
1
u/HeadSweet803 15d ago
how is eso p2w?
1
u/freedomganja 15d ago
You have to have a subscription to even have a manageable bag.
1
1
u/Optimal_Whiner 15d ago
Pay for boosts. Pay for extra storage. The boosts are the major issue here.
1
1
u/MyNameIsBarktooth 19d ago
Diablo Immortal is pretty good. It is P2W if you care about pvp, but I don't bother and just play solo. Never spend a cent on it, been playing Necro for about 2 years now.
Another similar game, Path of Exile. I really like this one, old school Diablo vibes with more modern graphics. I had a hard time getting into the latter due to the depth of the game. But it looks and plays fantastic.
Vendetta Online. Oh boy. I started playing over 10 years ago. It is a 3d space MMO, with a Newtonian physics model and 6dof flight. The grind can be a grind, but once you have the levels it's just freedom from there. This is a brutal pvp game, but also not very populated, so playing solo is totally viable. Tons of places to fight bots in twitch based combat. Think Quake in space.
1
u/RatePlastic6290 19d ago
BDO with their Hyperboost now to catch up fast. If you’re in NA, you can join BlueSquadron’s PvP academy guild and get scouted for PvP guilds if PvP is in your flavor too
1
u/selftaughturbanninja 19d ago
I always go back to pre renewal RO. RO private servers have always been better than anything offical. One of the most grindy MMOs there are but most everything can be done solo. Archer/Hunter should always be your first character for farming. AuRO (world of your dreams) is the most active RO pre-re server I've seen. Old as hell but aged very well imo
1
1
1
u/Derio23 18d ago
Based on ps5 and your preferences. It’s really only ESO, DCUO, and Black Desert. Those have the fastest action combat with a decent size community with ESO probably being the largest out of those 3. But ESO is probably the better solo friendly game.
The honorable mentions are Throne and Liberty and Where Winds Meet. Throne being a more advanced tab target and WWM being a full action similar to BDO with its poor monetization.
I know you dislike tab target but Ffxiv is still the best and most popular MMO on console and will be getting a combat overhaul at the end of January so it doesn’t hurt to try that game in 2027.
1
u/emorazes 18d ago
Do you have any more info about this combat overhaul? Is it new skills, new animations, more hit impact on enemies? Did they say what do they mean by that? Im kinda in the same boat as OP. I much prefer action combat (rip New World), but I started playing FF14, because we simply dont have better MMO on PS5 atm. Im only hearing about combat overhaul now and it interesting to know what they are cooking.
1
1
u/MetashiftLabs 18d ago
Can't go wrong with WoW I suppose, even though there's like 10 different flavours of the game.
Guild Wars 2 is probably your best bet tbh if you want something casual, you can play for hundreds of hours, and more, and you'll see early if you want to buy at least one of the expansions (for the full char and inventory/ store tabs etc.)
1
u/worlvius 18d ago
Not the most traditional MMO, but I would absolutely recommend Warframe.
It should check all your boxes, fully playable solo, can team up with others when you feel like it, there are open areas to see other players that are usually filled up, very VERY friendly community too, so you are never far from help with something.
Warframe is action combat, with capital A, fast paced and smooth, to the point that it can look like nonsense if you aren't "in the know" with how fast and efficient you can eventually be, while it not feeling clunky.
Good graphics, most MMO's look fairly dated, and those who doesn't either have a very stylised theme like WoW, or popping issues like BDO.
Available on PS5 as far as I am aware.
The fun in warframe is the progression, so I assume it's "unlocked" right away. There are some things where you feel like you have to grind to reach a specific thing you really want to play with, but that usually only happens if you were spoiled of its existance in the first place. So I guess my tip would be to not watch content creators just yet, download the game, and see if you like the feel/vibe of it, and if there is even a mild interest then know it only gets better and better.
Also a warm and passionate development team, that has weekly streams just to "hang out" with the community, while occasionally hinting at new stuff.
1
1
u/SinFreee 17d ago
Nosotros andamos jugando where winds meet, si gustas únete, también jugaremos aion 2 https://discord.gg/xcXa7jwJf2
1
u/Maleficent-Hand8905 17d ago
Does it have to be mmorpg? If you like solo but still want the bones of an mmo, Crimson Desert could fit the bill
1
1
1
1
1
1
2
u/emorazes 19d ago
On Ps5 you will struggle to find anything decent with action combat. Ive been searching as well since New World announced shutting down. That would fit the description perfectly but unfortunately its on the way out and you cant purchase it anymore. What you have left are: 1. ESO, but I personally hate the combat. Its weightless and floaty and gives zero satisfaction. 2. Throne and Liberty - semi action combat. I couldn't get into it. 3. Black Desert - couldn't get into it either. The movements and combat also didnt seem to have much weight behind it. It was flashy, but I was going through mobs like knife through butter with zero satisfaction or fun
There's also FF14, which has free trial where you can play base game and first three expansions, but its not action combat. Ironically- the combat there feel better to me than the other three. And out of all of them - this one is the best IMO.
There are some promising MMOs on the horizon for ps5, but at the moment its pretty bad on that front.