Place 5: The Lord of the Rings
As a fan of the books and movies, it was a very special experience to play the so-called epic quests, which are closely intertwined with the work of J. R. R. Tolkien, follow a parallel narrative, and continuously serve historical highlights.
Many of the gameplay tasks and the presentation feel quite dated from today’s perspective. However, in terms of atmosphere, the virtual Middle-earth continues to captivate me to this day. Additionally, the “Lord of the Rings” universe boasts so many wonderful races, characters, places, and moments, that it is always a highlight to encounter these in a quest.
Or to phrase it differently: Nowhere do I enjoy being a postman or package deliverer more than in the Shire, among the friendly hobbits.
The Lord of the Rings Online continues to be regularly expanded with fresh content:
Place 4: Guild Wars 2
I really like the mix of story quests, heart tasks, and dynamic events from Guild Wars 2. Especially since there are often multiple ways to achieve the goal, particularly in open world quests.
Otherwise, the variety is also solid: there are jumping passages, minor brain teasers, agility tests, and tasks where I gain access to special skills. Similarly, Tyria offers various challenges tailored to the skills of different mounts, or gimmick quests where I have to dance or interact peacefully with the creatures of the world.
The great strength of the challenges in Guild Wars 2 lies in the “you can do anything, but you don’t have to” credo, as well as the flexibility through level scaling and the horizontally designed endgame. I can quest with anyone at any time, or solo. The only downside is that the epic, multi-step events are usually neglected once the majority of the community moves on to the newer regions.
The quests from Janthir Wilds underscore Guild Wars 2’s placement in this top 5:
Place 3: World of Warcraft
When it comes to sheer variety of quests, World of Warcraft is among the best that can be played for many years. I can’t even count how many times I have taken a seat in vehicles, aircraft, or behind guns with my characters.
- I have also been a quest giver for NPCs
- I played a kind of Plants vs. Zombies in Azeroth
- I stepped into the shoes of other characters – including new skills
- I mastered various tasks tailored to my rogue’s skills (stealth, disarm traps, brain teasers – those kinds of things)
- I threw bear cubs from a tree onto a trampoline
- I solved various versions of different puzzles, including some tricky ones, for which the entire community had to come together
Many quests shine with witty references to pop culture, and the staging of particularly important quest moments is becoming increasingly better. In addition, there is the typical Blizzard polish regarding comfort and usability.
Nevertheless, WoW remains an MMORPG in 2024 that usually presents its quests via text or static dialogues. Most tasks also play out almost by themselves, and now and then the developers introduce quest types in Azeroth that are more annoying than fun. Therefore, it only makes it to third place in this power ranking. Who made it to places 2 and 1 will be revealed on the next page.
