A massively multiplayer online role-playing game (MMORPG) is a video game that combines aspects of a role-playing video game and a massively multiplayer online game. The MMORPG genre was fairly popular in the early internet era, with everyone playing World of Warcraft and the like. In 2022, while not nearly as popular as back in the day, there is still a large die-hard fan base.
Most of the popular MMOs have become free, and after years of content updates, there are just so many things players can see and explore. In this article, Gurugamer is going to showcase the top 5 best MMORPGs for new players to try out in 2022.
1. Guild Wars 2
This is easily one of the best MMOs out there, with an absolutely vibrant and beautiful fully explorable open world. The game is full of content, especially if you're a new player. While the vanilla main story is rather lackluster, HoT (first expansion) storyline is decent and PoF (2nd expansion) has one of the best storylines in MMOs.
Gameplay-wise, Guild Wars 2 is pretty good, with a hybrid of tab-target and action combat, with jumping, dodging and jump dodging. This adds a lot of dynamic to the gameplay in general. The class system is fairly decent, with 3 different types of builds/playstyles for each of the 9 classes. Lastly, the game has no grind and is fairly casual-friendly except for some end-game content.
2. Final Fantasy XIV
Final Fantasy 14 is a game that is lovingly crafted by the developers to consistently deliver a superb experience. Whether it's tough battles, an amazing story, intricate (but understandable) and relaxing crafting, or a very unique take on PVP, FFXIV has something for everyone; and not only that but these elements are individually well designed to encourage you to try out each element at your own pace.
It is difficult to summarize why this game is worthy of your time, but in short, FFXIV largely respects your time depending on what YOU want to do. Beyond that, it has a fantastic community that is really gung-ho (and honestly slanted toward) helping out new players.
The game is very story-driven, combat is really slow and forgiving early on, and the trial stops long before things get interesting. If you are a familiar fan of Final Fantasy lore then this will be fantastic for you. It is still fine if you are new, as you generally do not need to know anything about the Final Fantasy franchise to enjoy this.
3. World of Warcraft
For those wanting the short story: Buy this game. It is still worth thousands of fun and awe-filled hours. Despite the common opinion that the game is dead/dying, this game is here to stay until it is no longer developed. If you love making a character and powering up that character in a world rich with lore and beauty, this game is certainly for you.
If you want to experience the story alone, the latest expansion features some of the best cinematic work Blizzard has done in a quest experience yet. For new players, Blizzard makes it incredibly easy and quick to gear up for the new raid tier.
4. Lost Ark
Lost Ark is probably the best MMORPG released in the last two years. It is a really enjoyable game with MMORPG progression. The best part about LA is that it picked up on all the things people have hated about MMORPG games for the longest time.
Firstly, the graphics and world design are great, with lots of variety. No matter which area or continent you might be in there is always a myriad of different things to look at. Customization is decent - you aren't hampered with one type of playstyle and punished for picking the wrong skills to max out. There are an enormous amount of ways to improve your character from engravings, stones, cards and your skill tree. Combat is really satisfying from the get-go.
5. The Elder Scrolls Online
The Elder Scrolls Online is a fun RPG, with lots of content and also PVE and PVP options. Although it has some of the typical MMO grievances, like arbitrary wait times and over-priced cosmetics, you can get endless replayability in some ways. For solo play, there is a huge amount of story and questing to do. The combat is active but not difficult, the classes and abilities are thematic and fun, and the story and dialogue are better than Oblivion and Skyrim but not amazing.
New content comes out every year and the economy is booming where it is easy to earn currency and items now. Note: p2p items are expensive to grind, but still possible though you will need to 'farm' a lot of PvE/PvP content to trade currency to other players for things like the p2p expansion packs.
>>> Read more: PlayStation State of Play 2022 Recap: Final Fantasy XVI, Spider-Man PC, Resident Evil 4 Remake, And More!