If a player decides to try out the MMORPG genre in 2025 and find the perfect online role-playing game among the multitude of representatives… which game will he ultimately end up with?
What is the starting situation? Anyone wanting to dive into the MMORPG genre for the first time in 2025 is in a difficult situation:
- There are no new or relatively new online role-playing games that can captivate players and where they can learn the rules and systems together with many others. Many of the younger genre representatives disappoint or have clear weaknesses.
- The best current MMORPGs have been around for many years, and thus there is a lot of content, making the entry often overwhelming.
- Joining the best of the best are an unbelievable number of good to bad MMORPGs, which are often also available in various versions (Modern, Classic, Hardcore, and so on).
- Many of the most exciting MMORPGs of the future will only be released in one, two, three, or even more years.
So there are plenty of options, but none really good from the recent past. The chance of a frustrating first experience is high. Finding the perfect online role-playing game for oneself will often require a significant time investment.
The MeinMMO community has chosen the best MMORPGs of all time:
A player still took the plunge: On Reddit, Electronic_Major_826 explains that he is 28 years old and has been gaming his whole life. However, he had no contact with MMORPGs until recently. But he wanted to change that to find an online role-playing game where he can deeply dive in for a long time.
To do that, Electronic_Major_826 tried out a whopping 14 MMORPGs, plus Warframe, Path of Exile 2, and Last Epoch. However, he apparently did not just play, but also watched countless videos, researched the respective endgame experiences, looked for information on current player numbers, history, upcoming updates, and more. In the end, he had a clear favorite.
The right MMORPG for every taste?
Which MMORPGs have failed? Electronic_Major_826 explains in his post why most genre representatives could not convince him:
- Black Desert and Final Fantasy XIV: The visual art style of the two MMORPGs does not appeal to the player.
- Guild Wars 2: The gaming experience felt too monotonous, and the endgame has too little focus on dungeons and grindy content. Electronic_Major_826 wants vertical progression.
- Eve Online: The whole sci-fi setting revolving around piloting a spaceship was not what Electronic_Major_826 wanted to play.
- Albion Online: The isometric perspective and the strong focus on crafting were off-putting.
- Lost Ark: Also an isometric perspective, and “it just didn’t click”.
- Elder Scrolls Online: Here, it is also the case that Electronic_Major_826 prefers vertical character progression. Additionally, the art style was off-putting.
- New World made a good first impression, but Electronic_Major_826 had heard the criticism about the lack of endgame. However, some things have improved in Aeternum regarding this aspect only recently.
Also failed for Electronic_Major_826 were: Old School RuneScape, Neverwinter, Throne and Liberty, Star Wars: The Old Republic, and Lord of the Rings Online.
Which MMORPG was convincing? In the end, the big heavyweight flexed its muscles once again and won the courting of the genre newcomer. We are, of course, talking about World of Warcraft. Electronic_Major_826 explains in his post:
WoW is simply perfect. […] I am a new player who just loves how the game feels and plays, and I am very excited to explore the different areas and experience the raids and dungeons.
Electronic_Major_826 on Reddit
How does the community react to this? Some are happy that Electronic_Major_826 found what he was looking for in the end. Others share their first experiences with the genre or certain games.
- Randomnesse writes on Reddit: “It’s cool when people find something they can just enjoy.”
- Yarusenai explains on Reddit: “I tried to enter WoW as a new player, but the story just doesn’t make sense. I usually don’t care much about the story in an MMO (except for FFXIV), but here it makes no sense chronologically as you’re thrown into a decades-long story without explanation.”
- zonearc understands the choice (source: Reddit): “The dungeon gameplay of WoW is undoubtedly the best. No other game comes close to its Mythics. While the game has other weaknesses, this is a major strength.”
- NoNet5188 has a current tip on Reddit: “If you’re really just looking for dungeons and raids, check out the Fellowship.”
Fellowship is a co-op adventure and not a true MMORPG, but it places a strong focus on the dungeon experience of online role-playing games. Early Access is scheduled for October 16 on Steam. More information can be found here: New co-op game on Steam brings the endgame from MMORPGs without boring grind, exciting fans just before launch with a new trailer
