A year is once again coming to an end, and we want to take this opportunity to reflect back. The big MMO releases were probably absent this year, the calm before the storm, but still, a few titles emerged in 2013 that we will give credit to in this article.
2012 was a strong vintage, with several highlights such as Guild Wars 2, The Secret World, and Tera. These MMOs have likely caused headaches and declining player numbers in one online game or another. 2013 was supposed to be even bigger, especially since many were originally expecting long-awaited titles like WildStar, The Elder Scrolls Online, ArcheAge, or Blade&Soul this year. Surprise! These are most likely coming in 2014.
However, upon closer inspection, it must be said that two games seized the moment over the past nearly 365 days and managed to attract attention.
Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn – resurrected from the dead.
If we were to give out awards, then the prize for “The Biggest Surprise in 2013” would have been very fitting here. Who would have thought that the Final Fantasy MMO would return with such force, especially considering the big wound it left more than 2 years ago? Almost no one!
Some may still remember: Final Fantasy XIV is technically not a new game. Since it did not meet the expectations of the players and the developer, the creators decided to take the Final Fantasy MMORPG off the market to improve it from the ground up.
A very bold step – which game publisher has ever completely withdrawn a published game and shut down the servers for about a year? This radical decision to meticulously elevate the game under new management earned Square Enix a lot of respect.
The risk has definitely paid off, as FF XIV: ARR has been extremely successful since its rebirth. The influx caused the servers to glow for weeks, and there are still occasionally queues today. And this with over 60 servers. We reported shortly after the release, which took place at the end of August, about the success of the relaunch.
The special thing about this: Square Enix is relying on the Pay-to-Play model, which was actually considered obsolete before this success. Many players have realized that its advantages cannot be overlooked – even future AAA-MMOs will take this route. So it can be said that there has been a “resurrection” in two ways.
But what actually makes Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn special, since the game is not exactly brimming with innovations? Quite simply: It relies on tried-and-true content, to which great attention is paid in every respect. Players do not necessarily always want innovations; it can often suffice to fill already appreciated content with a lot of attention to detail – instead of just “half” implementing it as has been the case with some games lately.
Anyone who has had enough of classic MMORPGs, which include a semi-turn-based combat system or the Holy Trinity, will probably not be happy here. For the others, they can look forward to an atmospheric world, an exceptionally good class and crafting system, spectacular dungeons, as well as an exciting story and housing. By the way, Update 2.1 was released two weeks ago, bringing many new features to Eorza.
Neverwinter – some like it, others don’t.
The Free-to-Play MMORPG Neverwinter opened its doors at the end of April and has been quite successful since then. The online role-playing game based on Dungeons&Dragons received good reviews in particular from the German press, despite some criticisms that were voiced here and there.
There were, among other things, the initially low variety in the endgame, the absence of the Ranger, various issues with exploits, monotonous PvP modes, and so on. However, all this is largely history now, as there is now more than enough to do, and the Ranger is finally available to players in choosing their class for a while now.
The guys and gals from Cryptic and Perfect World can look back on a successful year. Even though this game still divides the community, it must be acknowledged that many players enjoy it and that numerous allies await one in the world of Toril.
The action-packed combat system makes it immensely fun in the dark dungeons of Neverwinter and flows smoothly, and the Foundry, the quest editor, features player-created stories daily, while the modules, colloquially known as expansions, regularly bring community-requested content into the game.
Neverwinter has definitely earned a place in the upper echelons and is worth a look, even if the long-term motivation sometimes still has a question mark and the areas, while very nicely designed, might be a bit too instanced for some. For a change or a little fun, it is at least sufficient, maybe even for more?
Conclusion on the best MMOs in 2013
Neverwinter and Final Fantasy are probably the big beneficiaries of a period where it couldn’t be quieter. Who knows how successful they would have become if the major competitors had made their market debut this year already. Nevertheless, it’s important to state that they are still highly recommended games that might have been overlooked in terms of competition.
Dragon’s Prophet unfortunately didn’t make it onto ‘Mein MMO’‘s list of the best online games in 2013. The free dragon MMO from Runewaker simply released too early, which is very unfortunate given that it has potential. Initially, it was similar for Neverwinter, but still on a completely different level.
Who knows, maybe it can still become a very good game, but currently, there are still too many areas that need improvement. One might be disappointed since Runes of Magic was once the surprise title par excellence and that, as is well known, comes from the same developer. Expectations were correspondingly high. So, for now, Dragon’s Prophet remains just a hidden gem for those who appreciate companion features and love dragons.
Another hidden gem: Defiance
Defiance faced a lot of criticism because the futuristic MMO-Shooter, which is tied to the namesake TV series, fell short of expectations.
We tried it about six months later and found, contrary to some other opinions, that Defiance is fun and that the connection to the series is quite successful.
There may be debates about long-term motivation, which might not really be present; however, a large section is now free to play and otherwise the unrestricted version is not very expensive at around 10€. For example, anyone looking for an alternative to Planetside 2 can have a good time here with a brief interlude!
