We crown the best MMORPGs ever developed – chosen by the MeinMMO community. The Top 20 are accompanied by personal anecdotes and assessments from editors, authors, and guests. Where does the big favorite World of Warcraft stand?
On the last day of our themed week on the genre of online role-playing games, we have prepared a very special treat for you: the evaluation of the big community vote for the best MMORPG of all time.
The Top 20 chosen by you will be accompanied by personal anecdotes and assessments from editors, authors, and guests. Moreover, on the last page, you will find out how the list would have looked if those editors, authors, and guests had to throw in their respective Top 5 (with five points for first place, four points for second place, and so on).
Who narrowly missed the Top 20?
Flying just outside the list of the best 20 MMORPGs of all time are the following genre representatives:
- Place 21: Eve Online
- Place 22: Lost Ark
- Place 23: Lineage 2
- Place 24: Albion Online
- Place 25: Rift
- Place 26: ArcheAge
- Place 27: Runes of Magic
- Place 28: EverQuest
- Place 29: Runescape
- Place 30: Final Fantasy XI
Place 20: Age of Conan
Developer: Funcom | Platform: PC | Release Date: May 20, 2008 | Model: Free2Play
MeinMMO editor Karsten knows what drives a world savior: “To fight the enemy, pursue and destroy him, and enjoy the screams of the women!” Oh, wait, we are in the wrong film, or rather medium. But that’s exactly what made Age of Conan so incredibly exciting in 2008.
After all, this rough world named Hyboria left a lasting impression in the Schwarzenegger films. Now being able to walk in a maturely staged MMORPG on the trails of Conan the Cimmerian was such a sexy thought that it could briefly lure me away from Azeroth.
However, Funcom didn’t release a game; they released a construction site. With content holes during the leveling phase that were as long as the list of bugs. Moreover, basic systems such as PvP and crafting didn’t work properly.
This was an alpha, for which one had to buy a ticket and take out a subscription. Man, was I disappointed back then. It quickly went back to WoW, which had been able to showcase years of content and polish.
However, the developers kept at it, gradually eliminating the issues, and eventually turned the construction site Age of Conan into a good MMORPG, which I especially liked for its unique combat system, bloody finishers, and atmospheric game world.
The problem: Most players were not willing to give an MMORPG a second chance after a failed first encounter. Even with the switch to Free2Play and the release of the Unchained version, the player numbers remained manageable. A great pity, as the potential for a much larger role within the genre was there.
