Best MMOs To Play without Friends
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- Опубликовано: 30 июн 2024
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0:00 Why play alone?
1:11 Final Fantasy 14
3:01 Elder Scrolls Online
6:12 Guild Wars 2
7:40 Old School Runescape
8:58 World of Warcraft
10:12 Star Wars: The Old Republic
11:24 Black Desert Online
12:42 Los Ark
14:07 Final Thoughts 
Игры
🔥The Only MMO Growing its population ruclips.net/video/5W3zipDHC6I/видео.html🔥
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Nice bee-hind.
Great list and video! Excellent commentary as well. An honorable mention if you like immersion and an awesome community is Star Citizen, believe it or not. Cloud Imperium has free fly events where anyone can join in and try all ships for free during those times. I recommend checking it out.
I'm about to ask a very bad question but could I got a gift ps4 girl card sorry to ask
From which game is the archer from the thumbnail?
@@skyro0412 , did you watch the entire video?
Just started playing Guild Wars 2 for the first time it's pretty cool and very solo friendly which I like. You don't need to party up but you still come together to do events and map completion with random people which feels more natural to me and relaxing then having to form a group with people.
did you play gw2 steam version or the og?
You will need the party for certain aspects of the game such as Fractals or Raids and some of the things you can only get in those areas. Also, they are build demanding, especially Raids, where you will be required to play a specific role wearing specific gear,especially the raid. Other than that, it is solo friendly.
i played gw2 for 3 years and i can tell you that you dont need friends to play the game but you do need others people to play it with you, you can look up for ppl in LFG but gw2 isnt a game for solo
@@LiuSenpai you only need groups in 5% of the game in the endgame, and on lower fractals and dungeons you dont need optmized gear or build because its very easy , i know tons of players who dont do raids because they get anxiety in groups so they only play open world, and they are rocking the game for 10 years
@@migs08 is there a difference between them?
The title is already so sad, you get a Like from me before I've even seen the video. I already know I'm going to like it. And so will all my imaginary friends.
Do the voices in my head count as imaginary friends? Or is that something different.......
@@richardhebson2461 that’s just called thinking bro. You good 👍
Man, I wish I had imaginary friends to play with.
And you just had to rub it in
@@Don-rg2yl no you dont.
I recently got a little burnt out on FFXIV and started looking for another. Found Guild Wars 2 and it's been a blast!! The map completion aspect really scratches the itch for me and the massive world bosses are absolutely epic!!!
Absolutely
Best Mmo ever hope there will be gw3 sometime
@@Faverslol MMO's seem to be dying. Not that many people playing them like there used to be.
@@Faverslol is GW2 really that good?
@@ericlundy917 for real besides WoW its the only Game i Play even after years. And everything i got Like 9 years ago has still the Same worth ( Gear, weapons etc) the Combat system might be the best of all mmos. I could make a whole Essay why that game is the greatest even for beginners
A couple of notes on GW2: When there's a meta event or world boss event going on in the open world you can join in at any time WITHOUT having to join a group. Also the expansions you have to pay for but there's more story DLC that you also have to pay for called Living World Seasons. Those fill in the gaps between the expansions. You got them free if you were playing at the time they came out, but you can buy them afterwards. The current LW Seasons will run you another 40-50 bucks. But that means you get everything for less than 100 bucks in an MMO that's 10 years old and as stated the game never had a sub model.
You can get living worlds for gems that can be bought with gold earned in-game (it's decently priced so if you don't rush through the story you will get enough gold for every season before you get there, also don't waste your money on season 2, it's just the story and the maps are free anyways)
Thanks for this video! Soloing in MMO's is so often looked down upon, and extroverts sometimes have a difficult time understanding why anyone would *want* to play an MMO without constantly grouping with other people. You've done a great job explaining exactly why soloing an MMO is appealing for introverted people. 👍
I already preferred to solo, but pickup groups did more to turn me off to grouping than anything else. Between incompetence, greed, or being a Leeroy Jenkins... I'd rather not count on strangers.
Extroverts? 😂
@@seagrey75 Yes, extroverts. The opposite of introverts. 😉
@@DanielECulbertson I don't cout myself as an introvert or extrovert... But I prefer wandering around ESO ploughing my own furrow, as it were.
introvert or extroverts it doesn't make any sense, BUT dealing with toxic players is the MAIN reason why most of the players are going SOLO even worse is when you joined a group and their requirements are absolutely unjustified.
Great idea for a video! I don't have any RL friends who play online games, so this is perfect. It's hard for me to meet people online. But I still like to explore worlds and see other people out and about and have occasional interactions and participate in an economy, etc.
This is exactly it for me. I sometimes see comments from people going "why play an mmo if you don't want to play with other people?", and all that you mentioned have been my reasons. With the addition of the ever-expanding worlds that was mentioned in the video too.
Ditto here. I also have to frequently afk when I play which doesn't work out well while in a group. In the game I currently play I do a group event one night a week and the other six days a week is spent solo. While I thoroughly enjoy going a dungeon or raid being 90% of my play time is spent alone I'd prefer a game that has a lot to offer in that play style.
Same here. I love the world building in mmos and occasionally co-opping with randoms can be really fun like in ESO but I really don't wanna be ganging all the time like in EVE or anything like that. This video was perfect.
Exactly, all of this 👌🏽
I'm generally a 'Loner' in MMOs as I'm older and as I age then I'm slower at reading books, or quest info,, so I have to take time in playing through things. Thus, I find groups 'racing through stuff' are incredibly frustrating for me - and me for them. Solo it is then and very happily so.
I can confirm that I completed the Guild Wars 2 story completely solo, and yet, managed to make some friend along the way still. Being released on Steam now it's the perfect time to randomly collaborate with random people on the starter maps and never see 'em again 😆
So true! The lower level areas are consistently filled with random people wandering around with the birth of newbies from Steam.
I would say that for many years WoW has not been a massive solo friendly game, it’s been all about the end game raid with them half heartedly adding in pvp
The time has come for a new genre to arise: The MSOG (Massively Singleplayer Online Game)
Everyone playing solo is still a multiplayer game. Multiplayer =/= "groups".
I began computer gaming with RPG’s. My thing is character builds and exploring. I joined MMO’s because they have usually larger worlds to explore. I’m not looking for friends so I’m very happy soloing as it’s the environment I’ve grown to enjoy but I will admit other players do add a unique flavor that RPG’s don’t have. Sometimes you can witness some truly crazy stuff.
I soloed MMO's 1) rl got in the way of me committing to set play times.
2) When I did play, late at night, I wanted time alone because my job was very people focused.
Sometimes moving at your own pace doing exactly what you want to do is what we want.
Very good video.
I was in on the Beta testing for the original Guild Wars, and played it for years after. I never really tried GW 2, though; I may have to give it a shot. I love playing MMOs, seeing all the other player characters, but I don't have a lot of friends that play online games anymore. Another MMO game I really enjoyed and is playable as a solo is ArcheAge. Love that you can actually have a farm in that game, then go off and do adventuring. Ship battles are also a thing in that game.
Really excellent presentation and tone here, and I like the angle you chose for the list. I really felt like I got a positive but realistic look into these games, though I'm sure there's so much more that could be said (just not in a video like this).
RUclips recommendations did well today!
Glad you enjoyed it!
I’ve started playing WoW recently and have been thoroughly enjoying the solo grind.
I've found it more interesting to solo because when you play with others, inevitably they've already played through the dungeon and are bent on zerging through it in 2 milliseconds. That takes all of the fun of exploring the dungeon away, nevermind the mistakes, traps and ambushes are more interesting when you haven't experienced them before (they may be more frustrating) too.
😅
another great vid LG and as primarily a solo player myself i agree entirely, i tend to do a lot of soloing in eso but group up on occasion with guildies for trials or with randoms for world bosses and zone events, too many co-op only games coming out lately that look pretty decent but offer nothing for a soloer like myself
This is fantastic, not everybody has that 'someone' to game with or even want to for personal reasons. I hope more devs and influencers will hopefully talk and cater more towards this in games.
That or they have just that one someone.
A lot of my favorite experiences in MMOs were when I was playing with my significant other. Joining with others was kind of like going out with friends.
I think you perfectly described why people play MMO’s solo. It’s that never ending rpg experience. The problem with normal single player rpg’s is they end. Maybe if you’re lucky you’ll get some dlc. Or a sequel years later.
Thank you! You explained clearly my motive of playing solo! Cant really describe it myself but outlined what i want in my game so clearly!
Striking a balance between solo and group content will be key here. The winner in the future will be the game that has both in a balance that allows players to do meaningful and rewarding content whether they meet their friends in-game on a given day, or if life keeps them apart for a little while.
There are days I don't feel like interacting socially, but I still want to enjoy my game of choice, and there are days where i'm leading a raid. It should be easy and fun to do either.
I play ESO solo because I don't know anyone else who plays, and honestly I'm so busy in irl that I just don't feel I can be dependable enough to be relied upon when planning to do group content. With work, a spouse, 2 kids and some sick family members it's honestly all I can do to find time to even play solo. I wonder if that's why we're seeing more people playing solo now. My kids and nephew have no problem finding time to play with others, mostly because their friends share all of the same interests, but also because they don't have the demanding schedules and priorities that adults do. Perhaps those that started playing MMOs years ago are just getting older and finding less and less time and opportunities to play with friends due to new responsibilities. Anyway great video, and I will definitely be checking out Guild Wars 2.
I’ve personally had the most engrossing solo experience with ESO, but I also just love the elder scrolls lore so that’s what I’ve gravitated toward. For me, I really liked being in a living world and part of the community. Even though I wasn’t actively grouping up all the time, I wasn’t alone either.
I’m seriously considering going back to try Guild Wars 2 again because I don’t think I gave it a fair shot back in the day as a teen. I checked it out before I had a decent pc and mained RuneScape, so I feel like I was distracted from it easily and I just never went back. I might try again.
You should do a video of lesser known MMOs that are good for single player. I've been on a kick lately playing older MMOs, beating their main storyline and moving to the next game. There's some mostly dead MMOs that are worth checking out before they die out.
I really enjoy play solo in MMORPGs for many of the reasons you mentioned. I wish some games did not force you to do dungeons in order to progress. Like others have said, some people can't understand why someone would want to play an mmorpg alone and well I guess they will never understand. But for me I love to see a world that is unpredictable and seeing everyone's creativity in their character creations. It is a living world that I like to be in but not forces to be social in it. Also, many activities (dungeons, raids, trials) can be toxic and unenjoyable because of that.
That was the part that ruined FF14 for me. levelled all the way to 80 but all the required dungeons were getting too much for me and surprisingly the game doesn't have that much world wide PVE
@@Taber01 That is where I am right now in the game. I have accumulated various dungeons/raids/trials that I need to complete or I can not progress. I don't mind the fighting part of them and I am a good at my jobs/classes, but I just dread getting into them because of the people. I think WoW really killed it for me. I now FFXIV is suppose to be more friendly, but when WoW had that mass move over to FFXIV I was like "Oh great, now the dungeons I have to do will suck even more." I know someone would just say...if you don't like it then don't play it...blah blah blah, but I am sure even those gamers play games where they run into something they don't like and wish different. I also hate that a person can not post something without some jackhole making a nasty comments. Hence I was hesitant to post but I felt more people who like to play solo in MMO's should support this video to let other know there are more out there then they think.
I've played all of the games on the list, and my personal favorite that I always go back to is GW2. It has a great, and extensive story line, and I love the fact that it's not a gear grinding fest that requires you to group with people for raids and whatnot. Everything is optional and you can take your experience in whatever direction you see fit. It's also great about not wasting your time. Whether you have 5 minutes or 5 hours to play you can always work toward some goal in a meaningful way.
Lost Ark is all about the Legion Raids. These you always have to do in a group. So I wouldn‘t say it‘s that solo friendly.
In North America, I have found Lost Ark solo to have a wall at 1370. I was spending about one dollar per hour played until I hit this wall. Now, I just log in, do my Rapport singing and dancing until I hit another wall, then I work on my trade skills until I hit another wall, work on my Stronghold until I hit another wall, and do my Una Tasks, and Chaos Dungeons until I hit yet another wall. Then I log out and look for another game to replace Lost Ark and spend my money on.
I have Sorceress, Bard, Arcanist and Scrapper at level 1370 and eight other classes to 1340. I have 1131 hours in the game.
A lesser known MMO that's very single player friendly is Neverwinter. I only played it on PS4, not sure what else it might be on, I managed to max level characters of every available class with minimal investment and no forced grouping. The only times I were ever in a group was during end-of-zone dungeons in groups that were automatically put together (and usually some high level player would zoom through and kill everything in seconds, rendering the entire thing trivial, but I digress). It was a lot of fun.
There seems to be 2 major changes that modern MMORPG's seems to have adopted over their early years. First is the ever increasing complexity of the grouping part of the game which requires a player to be at their very best, including having the best gear to complete. The grind to get this gear has become the basis of the game itself and lets not forget the hours of study needed to know the raid perfectly before you even step foot in it for the first time. Ya. Sounds like fun relaxing evening right?. We don't even need to go into playing at someone else's speed and at someone else's time to see the real problem. Even WoW which was one of the first solo friendly games has given up the pretense and is focused entirely on gear progression even as you quest.
The second is the toxic community that are not very forgiving if you make a mistake or aren't perfect in every way you play. The intimidation factor here can be extremely off-putting for many players. I mean, who wants to logon to a game for the purpose of having fun knowing that a less that perfect performance will get you blasted in chat for everyone to hear and perhaps even blacklisted from the raid community? Yes, there are people who can sleep on a bed of nails but I doubt there are many of them who really like it.
Solo friendly games allow you to bypass all of this. They let you logon, immerse yourself for a while then logoff feeling better than when you logged in. Also, unlike single player games, the world is constantly changing and you char remains consistent throughout all of it. There is a difference between playing with others in a world at you own time and place and being forced by game design to play with others to get anything substantial done. Some games can get close to this and some games will never get there but the one game that figures this balance out will rule the MMO genre for the next decades to come.
This is why I enjoyed the first Planetside so much when it came out. It was like Halo but MMO and no one cared how good or bad you were. The PERFECT MMO!
I agree with you. Toxic, mean players is the reason I won't pug anything in WoW. But as a GM in WoW, I assure you not all people are like that. Yes, players who aren't the best can be frustrating. But when you build relationships aside from raiding and dungeons, it's easier to put that frustration aside. It does feel like most modern MMOs are nothing but grind. Grind rep, grind gear, grind bosses. It's a lot of why I've been playing a lot of other things and not worrying about where I am in any given game. A player I used to know once said "if you're not having fun, you're doing it wrong".
@@christinamac4828 , you people wasted so much time on stupid games when you should have played the actual fun games.
@@christinamac4828 in my time with WoW back when the first German servers where opened, i played in a 40 player Molten Core Raid without any pressure from the raid leaders. We all agreed to take it at a casual pace, focusing on fun and the inevitable success, more later than sooner, but hey, we all had fun. We actually named one of the first Fire Walkers after the one player, who almost always aggroed it, because he was so aweful in timeing his sneaking. We always cheered when he did it flawless and he took it with the humor it was meant to. Funny enough, we finished Molten Core on the horde side of the server first... i still have a tingling sound in my ears from 40 crazy players cheering Ragnaros to hell 🤣
Toxic communities are 100% the reason I solo in MMOs. I love having a never-ending game with a character I really feel connected to, but I have no desire to be verbally shredded for not being perfect in my game play. I'm an older player now with shaky hands, so I'm never going to be perfect, but god help you if you get in a group and are a split second slow in hitting a key. I've literally been threatened with rape and death for making mistakes in a low level dungeon in WoW.
I would also like to add LOTRO to this list! Amazing story and gorgeous environments to explore, with most content not being so challenging as to need multiple people to complete it :)
I have played this game since beta and bought a lifetime account the first time they did it. Best game investment I have ever made.
I absolutely enjoy playing this game. The environments are amazing, the classes are fun to play, and the quests are even fun to run through rather solo or in a group. I like helping others play through the game on the very rare ocassion that I join into a group.
I agree with this sentiment. Nothing fits my interest like LotRO.
LOTR Online is a great game.
@James Alec It's been a while since I played, so things may have changed, but it always used to be that you could buy anything in the store with points earned through in - game activity.
I even bought a couple of the expansions with such points, earned by completing achievements.
Cash is faster, but by no means compulsory.
When MMOs first came out, there was a lot of grind time and it felt like a second job for most, especially if you wanted to experience all of the content. They forced interaction and groups. What I think we're seeing now, especially on a global scale, is that MMO developers have realized that not everyone has the time to put into the grind and schedule with their friends. Instead, they are creating CASUAL play experiences, which almost by definition, would mean that they'd have to focus on a player being able to play the game solo.
Great list and video!
ESO is great to play solo and jump into PUGs. It's awesome to see all the other people playing along with the world you play in doesnt feel so lonely or empty. I love seeing everyone else running around! :}
Same here :)
Honestly I always feel as if I'm alone in the world while I play ESO... Am I doing something wrong? I love the game, been playing it for a few days this week but feeling like I'm the only one around is killing it for me.
@@nova3124Well,havent you seen anyone at all? I see tons of people running around every day,depending on what times it is.
@@xScooterAZx barely any people… I do mostly play after midnight so perhaps its because of that
@@nova3124 I do too though. I wake up at around 9 or 10 pm,and get into ESO. Are you in Britain or the US?
Wow turned me into a solo player. A series of horrible raid guilds, elitist jerks and toxic players over the course of the last 18 years sucked all the joy out of group content for me. I play everything solo now or I group up with friends and family but mainly just to chat while we are leveling wherever and usually not together. You are right though, solo players in MMO's, like the idea of being able to group up if they want to. It's like pvp. Most people don't want to open pvp. They want to choose when and where. It's the same for solo pve players and it's a growing player base, especially for casual players. I would suggest LOrd of The Rings Online and Secret World, for solo play as well.
I literally played all of Classic WoW by myself. I had absolutely no intention of interacting with anyone over there lol.
Yeah, i give up WoW because of this toxic childish community. I played ALOT MMOs in my life but i never experience such an asshole community like in WoW.
The most friendly communitys i ever see was in Everquest, FF14 and lotro.
Scrolling through the comments, i've taken to Guild Wars 2 recently and loving it, but this pretty much sums up why. WoW changed my and after 15 years (Not as long as you :P) it resonates with the toxicity that's become the normal there. Good luck, check out GW2 if you get the chance! Would recommend!
I feel ya. WoW put a very bad taste in my mouth for dealing with other players.
I would highly recommend SWTOR just for the main class story experience alone. I am not that much of a star wars fan boy in general, but I did so much enjoy the class story content that I ended up playing through the class story for all 8 classes in the game. And I also recommend that you do pay for the subscription if you can afford it.
Ah the dead game that's been handed to the graveyard developer on its journey to shutting down. It was once a game with promise. Now? It's a waste of time and extremely dated.
I like a balance between solo and group content. Also, the open GW2 type of join in is awesome.
Really good video. I've played MMO's for a long time. Started with Asheron's Call. All these MMOs seem appealing and I know I would have fun. Good guilds are special. IMO, the social aspect of a guild is just as important as gameplay, even if you like to solo. I play LOTRO the most, and it may not be listed, but it has good solo and guilds that can role play. There are some games here I would like to try. BTW, when you are in a good group it is infinitely more enjoyable. Even more so when playing with friends. When you find a good group you enjoy questing with, MMOs can be special amd memorable.
I know that I played Everquest for many years mostly for the people and less so for the content and gameplay.
Sometimes the friendships you make are what keeps you playing. If you solo your way through, once you become jaded with the world it leads to long breaks or outright quitting.
I feel that 100%...I turn to MMOs cuz I dont have a big social life in reality these days...the scamdemic sht was a huge reason why.
So basically the game itself is boring
The only way to get top gear in WOW, is that you HAVE to play with other players! It has always been like that! You have to do guild RAIDS and Rated Battlegrounds, which involve you talking to strangers! Don't play WOW if you are an introvert!
MMOs have always been a solo endeaver, no one is ever with friends 100% of the time in a mmo and learning to have fun alone is an important part of playing a mmo.
ALways feels good to see Lucky's content
I play ESO and am slowly getting into GW2. I prefer to play solo because I play to relax and don't really have any kind of ambition for the top gear and I like to take my time, I'm not in any rush to level up. I really dislike joining a group for a dungeon, and they're off running into the distance as soon as we're through the door, especially if it's a dungeon I haven't done before, so I only do dungeons with my guild.
FFXIV is really good for this. As a new player you have a special icon on your character (you are called a "Spout") so everyone will know you are new and other players get bonuses for you being in the dungeon with them. Because of this, tey will always let you watch all the cut scenes and take your time, the also will avoid any spoilers. Honestly, I was shocked when I started playing FF last year after 15+ years playing other MMOs, it's by far the best solo experience I have had compared to WoW and ESO. First time I logged in someone was standing in the center of town giving out every new character a bunch of Gil (what they call gold) and a pet too.
I’ve been playing FFXIV since 2014 and I’ve been a solo player the whole time. I am in a fc (guild) but I have no pressure to do anything with them. Doing the hardest content like savage and unreal can be hard without a preformed party because you never know what kind of people you are paired with. Like did they prepare, do they know the mechanics, are the patient with people learning etc. but it is still great.
It is worth adding that the low level dungeons, the trials, and the raids cannot be done using the trust system. Those have to be done with others.
I know you know this but for everyone new reading this: Since the patch content for the last expansion the developers have started to add the trust system to older dungeons as well, starting with the MSQ dungeons of the base game.
@@LuriTV I wasn’t aware of the trust system going back before shadowbringers. Haven’t bothered looking since i only do those older dungeons for tomestones in roulettes. That’s a great addition to allow people to run even the earlier material with a group of npcs like that
Minor correction about Guild Wars 2: Level 80 is the actual max level which you will hit pretty fast. Beyond that there is only horizontal progression. And you can play the free version without any limit on playtime, whatever your level. Key points: no gear treadmill and no clearly defined end game. You set your own goals and don't expect handholding. Also, extremely casual friendly.
I think if a game is accessible to the casual solo / new to mmo player and makes its community non-toxic and easy to communicate with, eventually they will find groups to play or feel connected to. Best of both worlds
It's nice to know all five MMOs I play are on this list: BDO, ESO, FFXIV, GW2, and SWTOR. I think I've spent more time in GW2 and BDO than any other, but I just started FFXIV so we'll see. I keep returning to GW2 cause of the variety of things to do, and how cooperative it is.
I spent more time on ESO and SWTOR than any other mmos I have played... Though, I played a lot of FFXIV and LOTR too
Right on target. I was a raid main tank in 2007 or so, but these days, I pretty much play solo, and the reasons you mentioned up front were very well said.
ESO constant storage isn’t to bad. You can create multiple characters so create one main and maybe another to try out different roles. For the other slots simply make characters as mules for storage and your main know and then puts money in the bank for the mule to get and then upgrade their storage.
As someone who has tried Guild Wars 2 and Lost Ark. Guild Wars 2 is definitely a solo game and one that has almost no FOMO that I know of. You can come back after a year and still do all the late game content because of how the gear progression works. Lost Ark is actually a similar game in terms of exploration for completionists but definitely not a solo focused game. Islands are time gated and most require multiple people. Late game content requires a guild or a static, otherwise good luck getting into any public party unless you're quite overgeared above required gear score even though the boss fights in Lost Ark can't really be DPS rushed and you have to know all the techs and phases.
You skipped a good one, Original Guild Wars is still there, and is much more suited to the solo player than GW2, well worth checking out!
i feel like it's a good thing mmorpgs are becoming more Solo playable. people always should have the choice to solo a game instead of being forced into 25man raids to get end content gear for example. there should be other ways to get those gear parts solo.
I think it's a good thing. One reason is that means the developers are introducing more aspects of the game. Not just questing, Not just tower defense, not just dungeon crawling, etc. More options. More game styles. Combining features into an all inclusive game where you can do whatever your in the mood for that day.
Damn that’s crazy. I just was thinking about how lonley it is being the only one in the friend group who plays mmos like Neverwinter, ESO, and Final Fantasy 14.
Lord of the Rings Online is an excellent option, too. It's 15 years old, with all that entails, but it does cover the events of the books through the destruction of the Ring (that was 5 years ago!). All the content through Helm's Deep is free as of last year's Anniversary event, and you earn store credit for in game accomplishments, so there's tremendous value available without spending a dime.
I really wish Black Desert didn't have mandatory PvP. I actually liked the gameplay and how the powers worked like fighting game combos, but finding out that after a certain level PvP was unavoidable killed my interest in it.
The main reason I've been playing Guild Wars 2 for so many years is I have options. I can totally ignore everyone around me and just play alone, I can seamlessly link up with others for an event but don't even have to talk to them if I don't want to, or I can join up in a more organised way. My choice.
Thanks for posting this, MMOs are my fav Genre, but besides some old friends in GW1 I hook up with weekly, I've not played in a group in at least 5 years.
Solo Players are the Reason this Genre is still existing.
dont tell that to the old mmo player theydont understand that
@@anteprs7908 yeah that’s me I’ve been around for a while and I get it 😂😂
Good video.
I used to play WoW with real life friends ...me and those friends have parted ways and solo playing in ESO has been my option. I have Guild Wars 2 but not any of it's expansions. Experiences in WoW raids was good, what turned me off was the behavior of know it all people in dungeons and battlegrounds.
Funny how a lot of people either quit WoW because of the stupid system after systems or because the community is one of the most toxic ones out there lol
You and I have had the same experiance. I used to play WOW but the commmunity is so toxic. Mainly its young men who typically have little to no manners. Mainly being rude and/or obnoxious. I was looking for a MMO that could mostly be played solo and I really like ESO for that purpose.
Love that most of the GW2 content is leveled so you can be like me, years out and decide to go in again and be at the same place pretty much. The other thing, in BDO you loose 1% xp when you die, which is not that bad...at low level, having to grind hours or days for a little % at a higher level means a death at that point is massive
Absolutely fantastic video! Exactly what I was looking for. Thank you!
Maps in GW2 Heart of thorns are truly breathtaking and terrifying at the same time. Full of perils, secrets, and treasures. For me who loves exploration and adventure stories in jungle and archeological ruins, GW2 has it all and is the best in the field.
considering trying out lost ark thanks for the video! I've also been plugging a lot of hours into GW2 lately
Star Trek Online gets slept on, played many different classes and campaigns for free with up to 6 characters at a time, ive put over 6 thousand hours into it on steam and have never run out of things to do and all for free!
I'd like to recommend Lord of the Rings Online, had so much fun with that one
I dont think that World of Warcraft is solo friendly. While you can do most of the story solo you will have to queue in group finder for parts of it. You can see all raids and dungeons by playing them on lowest difficulty yes but that’s about it. If you want to progress in WoW in any meaningful way you will have to group up with others and take on challenging content. If you have a friend for 2v2 arenas or group of friends for mythic+ dungeons than it’s a blast. But if not you will have to engage with the community that likewise have no friends in game. And this community is a toxic one. If you persist eventually get good you will meet other players that are also good and will be eager to play with you. Until that happens people usually quit the game.
I agree!
I think "progression" in a "meaningful" way is really up to what each individual finds meaningful. Sure, in the traditional sense you're 100% right, but take me for example. When I was playing, I started out with friends and eventually drifted apart from all of them. Once I stopped playing like I used to, it became a more casual experience where I could play through most of each expansions stories, queue for the dungeons, and chose to bypass raids because I didn't really care to engage with them. Toward the end of my time with WoW I was basically just mount and transmog farming, which I found enjoyable, and is still the only reason I still think about re-subbing (because I still want Invincible). As an example, my favorite WoW moment was helping 3 other random people I met in Storm Peaks get their TLPD.
I had three problems with ESO and it is why I don't play it today. They were:
* The crafting bag that is absolutely essential to gameplay but is behind a monthly subscription paywall. Without the bag, you pretty much can not do any crafting or keep your bags clear for other items.
* The major drawback, in my opinion, is the different level quest zones being scaled up to your level instead of your character being level down to the zone (like in Guild Wars 2). In GW2 (and most MMOs) if you can't complete a quest because a boss or quest line may be too hard to defeat, you can always come back later with better armor or abilities and defeat them at a later date (which is great for people like me who has to complete quests). With ESO, if you can't defeat a boss at say level 12 (because the boss may be two levels above you) you can't come back because of ESO leveling the zone up to you. That boss will always be two levels above you no matter what. It is because of this mechanic that when I played ESO for at least a year, I left multiple questlines unfinished that I could never beat.
* My final gripe is having to do "Twitch" gameplay. I've already covered the fact that ESO levels the zones up to whatever level your character is, add to that the ability of never being able to defeat the boss because of some sort of weird choreographed dance (twitch play) you have to do to beat them. I'd have had to look up online many times how beat certain bosses and mobs. I would get answers of " move forward and strike boss, roll backward and cast magic shield, run right and heal, roll left and cast magic missiles, run forward and hit boss again, rinse and repeat until boss is dead. This is "twitch" gameplay, where if you don't do these things in the correct order you never will defeat the boss.
I like to solo but I also want the world to feel alive. Playing alone in an MMO scratches that itch in a way that no randomly wandering NPC ever could.
That’s what I enjoy. Even if I prefer to solo, I love the feeling of a shared world when I see other characters running around.
You forgot to mention pvp in ff14. It is great after the rework at 6.1
I'll add another into that list: Final Fantasy XI. Yes, it still exists, and yes, it's very solo-friendly now. It's old, from 2002, but for my money it's far better of an experience than XIV will ever be. It's not just your dad who plays FFXI. I may be 42 but I'm not a boomer just because I do, either. So many people forget about this game since 14 has overshadowed it since it came out, but it's still running and is still fun.
I enjoy playing mmos solo because it makes me feel less lonely LOL. Just seeing other people around me or running dungeons with randoms is a good feeling.
I think as the average age of a gamer rises it's going to be more critical to have plenty of solo content in MMOs. Because sure it can be great to do a dungeon/raid/whatever group content with friends and guild mates but trying to find time when everyone is available gets harder and harder and that's assuming they are feeling the same game at the same time.
I've played a number of the MMO's on your list, and I watched because I am a largely single player, MMO player. I like the idea of a single player experience in an inhabited world, in the best MMOs I've had great guild/raid experiences as well as great rewarding story progression. I think that MMOs and single player games need to evolve, as gaming itself has over many many years. I really do think we need new experiences. "MMO" might not be the best descriptor of what "that" is or should be. I really believe we need something like a "single player live service game". Poisonous gambling mechanics are not something that lead to better games, nor are "free to play" gamers who want or expect something for nothing. I think a modern and reasonable subscription model would be the best solution.
whats your best MMO game for solo?
@@KRoOoOoZ I keep coming back to Elder Scrolls Online. Its far from perfect. However it has by far the best questing content. It is probably 70%+ single player progression focused. You will be best served by finding a good guild to participate with for the group content, Dungeons (4 man) and Trials (12 man "Raids"). That content with a good group is fun and is where a lot of "end game" gear is found. But you can progress pretty far on your own efforts. Without the need for that "Best In Slot" (BIS) or "meta" end game gear.
Conan Exiles is another one you could add to this list. Easy to solo. Fun to group up with friends, too.
Warning about Conan: public servers you need to log in daily or your stuff starts to despawn
@@pfzht True for certain servers. But you can play solo offline and change your settings so there is no decay. Or you can play on a private multiplayer server with no decay. So there are other options.
@@blackcatredriver5878 that's why I was very specific. Public servers cannot change decay.
Playing solo is just a way to experience story and the world of the game. I've never managed to understand what the heck was going on in wrothgar in eso for example, because I was playing with friend and he was always running somewhere in a hurry. So yeah, I like to occasionally group up with people, do smth, but 90% of the time I am just playing the game in my own tempo
I've always been a solo MMORPG player. You summed up the reasons perfectly!
I'm not so much a fan of GW2 anymore after playing since launch, as I always feel like the loot is essentially useless. The main experience is in acquiring the Mastery unlocks through playing the story and dynamic events after level 80 and achievement hunting. The only items I ever really saved to buy were the map teleport pages, and items required for mount unlocks. I think if gear actually had a purpose in this game other than fashion it would be more appealing to me. The mount system is the best thing since sliced bread. If they could apply the way mounts have specific use tradeoffs to gear, with an experience bar and Masteries, I think it would make gearing worth something.
Lack of gear treadmill can be hard for some hardcore old time MMO players to get used to, I can't go back though
I play GW2 whenever I got tired of other games. Despite playing GW2 at launch, I took 3 years off for FF14, 2 years for PSO2, half a year for Lost Ark and simply not playing for a few months from here and there just to read Light Novel and Manga.
GW2 is always the game I came back to because simply horizontal progression. It's not the game that you play all the time, it's like something similar to food like Instant Noodle that you always come back to.
@@RedNuii That's exactly what it is. It's a shame when people can't look past that and realize that every power update (expansions, etc.) that other MMO's have makes all of their loot essentially useless far more than GW2's loot system does.
I mean, legendary gear does allow you to indulge in extensive buildcraft, and each expansion does come with new types of stat sets ~ but if you aren't interested in switching builds (which is valid, since it's not absolutely necessary for content completion, one build can get you through every bit of solo content) ~ then I guess I can see why you might feel they're only for fashion. Sometimes things only feel worthwhile if they're an absolute necessity rather than just being an option.
I think it's a great thing to be able to solo your way through a game, but with the option of grouping. I played ever quest back when it first came out, and I loved the game, but I hated having to group all the time. Grouping wastes a lot of your time since you have to do what others want and not generally what you need. Also, we had a looting problem. Others wanted to keep all the loot. When I would get in a group like that, I would leave quickly. Another thing was lots of people who wanted to group were children. I, already, raised my kid and don't need to be a babysitter for someone else. Personally I do not play group games anymore it's one of the main reasons I won't play FF 14. I do like to duo with my wife we have a lot of fun playing video games, so I have to have the option to group plus running dungeons with others is a lot of fun too because you are running a specific part of the game, so you have to run and not waste time doing other things that someone else wants that you don't, but I want to be able to solo the main storyline. Bottom line is, I personally won't play a group game any more and be a babysitter, but I like to see people in the game and be able to chat with them and have the option to group.
Great video, hope you hit 100k soon!
I'd say Star Trek Online is a pretty good experience too and they just keep updating it. What's more, actual Star Trek shows have been working with them and pulling their ship designs into canon.
Thanks for including SWTOR in your list. I've played all the mmo's you listed but SWTOR is the last and most recent I'm playing. Although the game has an active player base and a good community I worry for it's future. Hopefully the more attention it gets then people might be inclined to give it a shot. The story is really great and if you're a fan of mass effect and dragon age you will definitely get that option to choose your dialogue as well as romance a companion experience. So pls try out swtor if you haven't. Game is free to play with two of it's expansions already free.
I mean if it counts for anything I've been worrying about it's future since 2018 and it's lasted this long. Lol. It just sucks that the dev team is so small after EA and Bioware moved most the staff away to work on Anthem.
@@dracuhl8342 I thought EA gave up on Anthem after its HORRIBLE launch and massive player lose... only reason why SWTOR is still alive is because the WHALEs keep giving them money... despite each product update/release having less and less content.
@@holydarkness6007 oh they did give up on anthem. You thought they'd reallocate the money back? Please. Lol. They moved them onto another project after. The SWTOR team is small. Hence why *gestures at everything SWTOR*
I’ve played this off and on for years. Still come back for the expansions
Love my trooper cause Dorne is my babe ❤️
Vette all day for me. Another shame is that they both have zero screen time for years now.
2:30 trust system. Did not know this. I am going to give FF14 a shot, thanks for the great video Lucky.
Yes, they have said they are working on making all story dungeons where you can solo with hired NPCs. This is great because I'm the type of person who likes to read quest dialog & take my time. Just about all other mmo's... you join a group to do a dungeon and the group wants to rush, rush, rush the dungeon as fast as they can. I hate that.
@@IceSword1728 Agreed, I am a strategy gamer also and all about taking my time. So I am with you.
@@IceSword1728 That would be amazing. Having to deal with other players while doing mandatory quest dungeons was always the worst part of FF14 for me; people being spontaneously overaggressive, someone selecting the healer role but not wanting to actually heal, and instead focusing on DPS, etc.
Solid video, thanks mate! It actually got me to install GW2, it's downloading right now :)
Ghost, I could listen to you your voice for days! Great video dude
While World of Warcraft has miles of content after 17+ years, the leveling experience is very disjointed and frankly a chore at this point (Classic WoW still is worth playing though IMHO). The end game is very solo friendly but getting to the level cap is quite painful. No king rules forever, people would be better off investing time in Guild Wars 2, ESO, or Final Fantasy at this point.
Yeah, I wouldn't suggest WoW as a solo experience or for new players at all. They basically try and ram you through to level 50 ASAP, no matter how you level now you can't even come close to finish the story of a previous expansion before you level 50 and they push you off to Shadowlands (the latest expansion). Levels 1-10 is a new starter experience which is at least pretty well done, but leveling from 11 - 50 is completely disjointed and you can never finish any story lines because those always end in Dungeons or even Raids, and you can't really do those while leveling with any sort of reliability (you can't even do raids I don't think). And Shadowlands is a really, really weird expansion to go into if you are a new player, you will have zero clue who any of the NPCs are and why you have been whisked off to the Afterlife to save the Universe.
EverQuest 2 (EQ2) is totally soloable from 1 to 125. It also offers progression as an adventurer as well as a crafter, and has player / guild housing. Graphics are somewhat dated, as an 18-year-old game, but honestly it’s worth a look
Honestly, Lost Ark is not at all solo friendly, once you get to certain ilevel. Especially now, with so many catch-up features, you can get to that point in 2 weeks, where you are forced to find a group to do raids every week. And god forbid, you are not optimal when you are a DPS class.
Friendly or not so friendly to Solo Players... honestly i'm more worried about having so little RL Time to be able to MMO, RL constantly interrupting me at odd random moments & sometimes outright sweeping my game time away from me, & MMOs tending to demand of you to Marry them. :(
I personally feel MMOs lost something when they shifted to a solo friendly design. On the one hand, I mostly solo myself and always have. It's convenient, there is no pressure, and it can be relaxing. On the other hand, old MMOs FORCED you to play with others for a lot of things and that forced people to break out of their shells. This lead to people making a lot of friends they would otherwise not have made. Old MMOs were a great way for people without friends, or people who were scared of interacting with other people, to make friends.
These days it is much harder to make friends in MMOs, especially with cross server dungeon queues and the like. There is no longer a sense of community in a lot of games and often times people wont even want to help you with things because you can solo them and they feel its a waste of their time. Also if you are introverted and afraid to interact with people, there is nothing forcing you to break out of your shell and interact so you remain isolated and alone.
Ultimately I feel the old way of MMOs was far better than what we have these days, there are good sides and bad sides to both, but I find myself gravitating towards activities in modern MMOs that provide that smaller sense of a tight knit community that I miss so much from older games. It is far easier to make friends in those situations, even if those activities don't necessarily require other players to complete.
Companies should just bring back older MMO games. The first Planetside was great before they introduced Big F Robots. Ultima Online was great when it first came out. City of Heroes was great when it first came out. Eve Online was great when it first came out. All these companies are seriously missing out on some easy money. They can just release an earlier version of their game and rake in the cash to people willing to pay for it.
@@runnergo1398 Sadly, things will never go back to how they were in the day. You can bring back an old game but you cant bring back the old community, which was 90% of the reason the old games were so amazing.
Really I feel a lot of the "rose tinted glasses" effect is due to this. The games we fondly remember are largely us remembering not only the game, but the community of the game, also the times and way the world was when we were playing the game, how we ourselves were younger and life was more care free and simple.
It is less us wanting to return to the game and more us wanting to return to the point in time in the past that the game existed.
That's why in cases like classic WoW, while the game was fairly faithfully recreated, the experience was entirely different. The only thing the same out of all those factors was the game.
The 2nd problem with going back to old games is that old games are solved.
With MMO gamers mentality these days that means everyone knows exactly what to do in advance and just power levels their way to max power in a few days or a few weeks. That ruins the entire dynamic these games had back when they where full of the unknown.
Few things to add for lost ark as I think it is the best of all for players who dont want to play with friends but also dont want to commit to guilds.
First, all end game raids are pugable, meaning you join party of 4 or 8 from group finder to do the end game raid for your item level
Second, players outside of the game dont have a clue how f2p friendly the game really is, ill give you mine example, for over 1 month I never touched my main at 1490ilvl that means that he is ready for two future raids (2nd being at start of 2023), that enables me to sell all my upgrade materials to p2w players and with all that gold im able to afford anything without any problem, skins, mounts, optional sub, ship skins... you name it.
Comapred to other buy to play or even pay to play mmos where I have to buy 15m gold mount to access auction house in new exp city hub or I need to pay sub for all dlcs and crating bag, there are no such inconvinences in lost ark, you have everything. In essence they made p2w game to be extremely good for f2p players and only decent for whales as they get small advantage in pve dps because pvp unlinke in wow or eso is normalized.
Are you doing 6 Clown, 6 Vykas, and 6 Valtan raids each week? The end game is in no way solo friendly. Those raids are very gatekept by the community so if you don't have the perfect build or you mess up you will not get accepted to a raid group or they will kick you from the group very quickly. With many more raids coming soon that means the gatekeeping will only get worse because that means more raids the community feels they have to get through each week and you messing up will make it so they can't finish. The community has a play as I tell you to play and you better not mess up at all or else quit the game mentality.
i started playing space cowboy online by myself when i was 8. got my dad to play by the time it was ace online. i made so many friends over the years in that game i even drove across the country when i was 18 to visit one
I play by myself because I usually don't play on a regular basis. I get bored pretty quickly playing a single game. So after a week or two of playing, I jump to another game, then another, and another. Then maybe 4-6 months later, I go back to the first game and start the process over again. I also enjoy the exploration.
SWTOR was the best MMORPG I ever played, especially since most of it is solo-centric, followed by ESO. I didn't really care for FF14, and I don't understand the hype around it for being the "top online game".
Mostly it's just got one of the best stories out there, and a lot of the throwbacks to other FF games can be nostalgic. The gameplay itself is pretty smooth, even if it is a bit painful with the 2.5 second GCD.
@@Venjamin The base story of FF14 is garbage, and your forced to drag yourself through for 100 hours, before the plot actually starts to make sense. I've heard they improved the early game since I played, but from what I've heard, not by much. ALL the Final Fantasy games nod to each other, so it's not a huge selling point, especially since it's more of an excuse to not make new content, instead using nostalgia to blind us.
A lot of the game was flashy and expansive, and I loved that Triple Triad is just standard in it, but so many things were slow and gated, for no damn reason. Crafting was worthless 99% of the time, until you "mastered" it, which required hundreds upon hundreds of hours, completely limited to a small selection of repetitive daily quests that didn't open up until lv50+ in each Craft. The Jobs leveled up way too slow, and Key Abilties that were IMPORTANT to playing the class were placed at dumb level restrictions, to prevent you from using them in certain dungeons, where you were deleveled.
Raids were extremely time consuming, and in some cases limited to once per week, which is TERRIBLE for a subscription based game. Your essentially paying $15 fee, just to run a dungeon 4 times a month, for the "chance" getting an item that "might" raise your item level... when item levels barely did anything, since ALL content was scaled to a certain iLv, and being over that didn't make you feel powerful. Entering a iLv 250 area as a iLv280 character didn't mean you were going to wreck butt, it just meant you'd be able to survive.
Almost every story dungeon was character level and item level synced, which completely ruined any feeling of progression you made on your character. Almost EVERY Boss had some kind of a stupid cryptic mechanic that would wipe your entire party if they made a single mistake, which would often cause parties to disband after one or two deaths, wasting hours of your time, and making you do it all over again. Because of this, I couldn't enjoy ANY of the Boss fights. There's nothing fun about having to watch a half hour RUclips video on every single fight, before you enter a half hour long dungeon.
Also, I hated that EVERY. SINGLE. DUNGEON. had a freaking time limit. You couldn't just go in with your party and chill. Nope, gotta rush to the next Boss and beat them. Oh no, did you wipe 10 times on one Boss and not finish in less than 30 minutes? REDO THE ENTIRE DUNGEON ALL OVER AGAIN, and that's not including the 1 hour long team ques, if you were playing as a DPS.
I could go on, but I think you get the point. I didn't like FF14. Steam says I played for 500 hours, and out of all the MMORPG's I've played in almost 30 years, I never felt like I've wasted my time more, than when I played FF14. I don't understand how people are enjoying it.
@@Augoeides32 They have improved the grind for the first story, indeed. It's still not GREAT by any stretch, it's a decent intro, but yes, it's still the weakest part of the story by FAR. There's still plenty of new content, I just know that some people do enjoy the interplay of the connected worlds, so I figured I'd mention that.
Crafting early game stuff isn't worthless unless you don't have the patience to do so. Like, legit, one of the easiest things to do is craft a bunch of the daily items for the players who DON'T want to craft, and you can make bank pretty easily. Eventually crafting became a major plot point for the creation of the Ishgard housing, which was actually pretty neat.
I can feel you on the leveling - I've gotten annoyed before, any time the MSQ level gated me, and pretty much NO ONE enjoys the ability sync for early game content - but it isn't just for you, you know? If you can destroy all the content without issue, people running it for the first time wouldn't have a good time. As far as gear - iLVL isn't the end-all be all, it's just the gate. The trick then is your gear and the materia allowances in it (late game, no one does materia for basic dungeons.) If you wanted to wreck things like that, going into the overworld was the only place to do it. XIV wasn't ever a power fantasy type game.
Raid content getting 1 piece of gear per week doesn't mean you only run it once a week, usually. If you did, that was your own choice.
Most bosses don't have critical mechanics like that? Bosses all have vulnerability which means the more mistakes you make, the more punishing you get? But most bosses don't have like, wipe mechanics. If you're talking about trials? Yes, they all have mechanics. Most of them don't have auto-wipes, but you have to remember that trials were originally end-game content, and it was designed to be basic raids. They didn't want to spell everything out, and they still shouldn't. But more than that, most of those mechanics can be handed by 1 person to prevent the wipe, or are just common sense pieces? I have never actually watched a youtube video on how to fight any boss. Join learning parties if you need to - the Party Finder has explicit tags for that.
Also, the time limit for a dungeon is 1.5 hours. It's never been half an hour, not once. Even wiping 10 times, most bosses take 5 minutes tops. You would STILL have nearly 45 minutes left.
I don't get the point. Most of your complaints seem either off base, or are just part of the curve of the game. Most people enjoy it for the story. I am usually a hardcore PVPer, but the PVP in XIV is atrocious, so I don't participate there.
@@Venjamin I quit playing back before Stormblood just came out. None of the MSQ dungeons had a timer over 30 minutes, and most Bosses did have wipe mechanics. If it wasn't "the whole party instantly dies", it would be "the boss now does like x5 damage", which to me, is a party wipe.
The mechanics can't always be learned just "by doing"; some of them involve having a certain debuff, while standing at a certain position, without doing certain actions. That's not something your going to find out just by playing. Joining a party that already knows the mechanics also isn't fun. You should be able to go against a non-raid Boss and quickly figure things out, but the fights were never self explanatory. Joining a party to "teach you" the dungeon, is the same as watching a RUclips video, but slower.
I never came across anyone that wanted daily stuff crafted, and I never found a use for crafting. I had pretty much everything painstakingly leveled to about lv55+ in ALL crafts, but never found them to useful, outside of fashion. Everyone kept saying it got good at lv60, because that was the skill level cap at the time, but it's really silly to have such an amazing in depth crafting system, but have it be worthless for the first 59 levels.
The only good experiences I had, were trying out being a tank and healer, and learning that I actually found playing those roles to be fun for the first time. I haven't really had that level of enjoyment in games since, but I haven't played many traditional MMORPG's since either. Although, the community I had to endure was certainly more toxic than I hear about today.
I remember buying a 3 month subscription, when my free trial ran out, because I wanted the Floating Eyeball mount, but I had such a terrible time, that I didn't even bother playing during the last 2 months I paid for. I just didn't have fun.
After leaving FF14, I think I eventually got into ESO and then SWTOR, which were significantly more entertaining to play (for me). I should probably get back into one of those, but I'm tired of playing online games by myself, and modern online games seem to be more singleplayer focused.
I feel like older MMORPG's had better social gathering potential, even though ironically these days it's easier than ever to communicate with people, I don't ever see anyone actually being longterm friendly.
@@Augoeides32 Again, I'll just repeat it: Every single instance has a timer of 1.5 hours. That's not changed. People RUN it like it has a 30 minute timer, for sure, most people speedblitz dungeons which isn't always fun for new players, but some things are just communal. I've been playing this game since it came out. There are rarely enrage mechanics, and the only group wipes again were like, Trials, which again, a _single person_ can typically do. (Aetherial conductor - kill the adds and press the button when the time comes. Kill the infernal nail. Lol.) And Trials were meant to be literal trials. The MSQ version of trials was never that bad.
How do you think people learned it when it first came out? They learned it by playing. Joining a learning party isn't so people teach you - it's literally a group of people who've never done it or cleared it learn with one another. As in, they are literally playing it to learn the fight. I've been in a few of these because it's the most engaging way to play, IMO.
Daily stuff crafting is literally just a marketboard thing. You check what the daily turn ins are, throw a bunch on the marketboard, and BOOM! Money. Early crafting is hard to make profitable, for sure, but not impossible. Early gathering is where more money is - because no one wants to do it. Crafting is generally going to be: Glamours, Housing mats, Gear for non-raiders, and consumables.
It's bizarre to me that you faced any toxicity - people tend to be even more careful with sprouts, or if you simply say you're new to a dungeon / run etc. I'm sorry you had such a bad time, though... I tend to gush about this game with friends because the story is a lot of fun, and the gameplay has always been good enough to recommend.
It's funny you say that about social gathering, though - XIV has the most robust social silliness. Hop into the Limsa Aetherite plaza, and rather than gold spammer yells, you'll see people advertising strictly social gatherings for player-run events and lots of fun, silly things. Some of it is RP, some of it is literally just hanging out in cool homes, etc. My FC has gone pretty quiet in game recently, but we still hang out in discord and keep up with each other's lives.
There's always something to be said for having entirely different experiences.
Guild Wars 2 is the best MMORPG ever. The only MMORPG that fills in the missing parts of World of Warcraft.
Star Trek Online is a very solo friendly game too and very fair to free to play gamers. Yes, the cost for things you may buy is generally ridiculous, but they have monthly and year long events that can net you free ship tokens and other goodies for basically spending 5-10 minutes a day for 14 days playing the event mission.
The stories may be of great value to fans who want more from the actual actors from their various series too.
The Reason I play MMO's Even though I don't like Multiplayer, and Don't want to be forced to play group content, Is because I Love Cosmetics, Mounts, pets, and Holiday Events, you don't get those things in single player games.
Isn't this pretty much a list of all popular MMOs?
I'd recommend one that's a bit unconventional. It ticks all the boxes except the the first M in MMO. It is multi-player, and it is an rpg but its not massive. Destiny 2 is a great rpg to play especially if you're into fps games. It has all your classic raids and dungeons experience even encouraging players to solo dungeons to get exclusive cosmetics, and with the current direction the developers are heading you don't have to worry about them removing any raids or dungeons anymore. Right now F2P players will have 2 free raids and a free dungeon to dip their toes before committing to any purchases. One of the raids is the first ever raid in destiny remastered into destiny 2, its pretty easy and serves as an entry level raid to more complicated stuff. The second raid that was added a few days ago (king's fall) is regarded as one of the best raid experiences in the games history and from what I've heared the loot dropped from it is top tier potential. The game has plenty of build variety, different playstyles, and every class feels completely unique from the others and there are no restrictions on how many classes or builds you can have, you can have every build in the game if you're dedicated enough. And if you end up liking it, you can get the legacy pack that gives you beyond light, the most important expansion in the game since it unlocks stasis (frosty) subclasses and forsaken that has some of the best exotic (destiny's version of legendary gear) and what is considered to be the absolute best raid in the history of destiny (last wish) along side unlocking other raids and 2 dungeons.
Lucky is one the only creators I see mention the meat and potatoes of MMOS, cosmetics and the uber day glow.
I would argue about no sub in ESO - I've tried it and it becomes very tedious in a couple of hours to manage your inventory, especially if you decide to do some basic crafting