A lot of MMO’s are free and a lot of them don’t generate money after a few years.

WoW has an old player base and a business model that has worked for them for years. They are light years ahead of the competition. There are also a lot of people that walked away from MMO’s because they are not willing to pay a monthly subscription or because content gets old. The same MMO’s that are in the top 5 came out about the same time as WoW(I know I’m wrong). I think the community is ready for something new.

From a customer prospective and a business prospective how can we monetize new games for people to continue to play and companies continue to earn money and pay a staff that stays and develop new content.

So this recent post about BDO: https://www.reddit.com/r/MMORPG/comments/1w3q7c8/black_desert_online_has_created_the_worst/

got about 340 upvotes and 287 comments about a "new" mechanic from the OP's own words, " the CRYSTAL system."

I quit BDO for years so I checked around the comments section to see what it is all about and for the most part, it's a nothing burger. Like, even after reading his post a few times, I'm wtf is OP even complaining about since I don't see anything different compare to years before.

Beyond this issue, does this sub have a huge biased against KR's mmorpgs? Maybe.

Does this sub get baited pretty easily to slop, fake outrage posts like this? I would say, Hell Yea.

We all know that the environment of MMO’s is definitely at a lower point in comparison to golden and silver era’s. There’s never been more MMO’s being made than ever, but mostly all of them are lower quality or just don’t understand the mechanics of how to build community in an MMO.

What I don’t understand is, developers have the data, tools and communication to build the exact MMO that a majority of people are looking for, but they have missed the mark consistently, or they are caught up in development that’s led to little progress.

My question is, why? MMO’s are developmentally complex yes, and the desires of the community change every 3-5 years, yes. But I think most things that make a successful MMO are so easily laid out:

Community focused.
Options for solo leveling, but maybe at a slower pace
PVP and PVE elements
Secrets and a feeling of discovery.

People don’t want things fed to them. They want to be immersed and challenged. Elden Ring is a great example. It’s hard, but also there’s a big element of mystery and exploration there.

The busy player should have options to level, but in classic wow or whatever MMO’s people played in the past, solo play developed into community play, and those that wanted to group could easily do so consistently. I think developers have loss philosophy of game design in the past 10 years. This is true for many genres as well.

Like the title says, I want to bring more of my friends here, but most of them reject the idea of paying for a game they know next to nothing about.

I know how they feel, since we're from a 3rd world country and we don't have easy means to buy stuff online.

Still, I'd like to know: would YOU recommend ESO to someone, taking into consideration everything happening around it?

Hey everyone, Just finished up a fresh speedrun hitting Level 45 in 3 hours and 21 minutes, ending at 1051 iLvl. Wanted to share a quick breakdown of the route and strategy used for the Global release setup:
Early Game: Gearing up early to burst through with zero downtime.
Mid Game: MSQ + Runes
Late Game: Full MSQ

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IEUfONykrMI

Hi everyone!

I hope you’re doing well! 👋

I’d love to get some opinions from people who really know the different Dragon Ball Online projects.

I’m slowly discovering this whole community, and at first I only knew about a few projects:

DBO Omega
DBO Reborn
DBO Global
DBO Zero
Ultimate DBO

So I wanted to ask the community: which ones do you think are the best today, and why?

But after doing some research, I realized there are way more DBO projects than I expected 🤯

Here’s the list I’ve found so far:

UDBO
DBO Omega
DBO Reborn
DBO Global
DBO Galaxy
DBO Zero
DBO Legacy
DBO Classic
DBO World
DBO Time Patrol / Hope Patrol 2.0
DBO Crisis
DBO Hope / Future Hope
DBO Hunters
DBO Unlimited
SDBO
DBO2
DBO Knight Z
DBO Origins
DBO Universe Budokai
Dragon Ball Universe
DBO Time Breakers
DBO Kai
DBO Unchained
Raging Budokai
Dragon Ball Busters
Tensei War Online
DBO Neo-Verse
DBO Force
DBO Daebak

🤯 I honestly had no idea there were this many!

So I’d really like to hear from the community, especially from people who are actually playing some of these projects right now.

In your opinion:

Which is the best DBO project currently?
Which one has the biggest player base?
Which one feels the most alive and active?
Which ones are still receiving regular updates and new content?
Which has the best gameplay / progression / PvP / PvE?
And most importantly, which one would you recommend to someone starting today?

Also, if some projects on my list are dead, abandoned, extremely low-population, or aren’t actually traditional DBO projects, please let me know!

I’m especially interested in real experiences from the community, rather than simply looking at Discord member counts.

Thanks in advance to everyone who takes the time to share their experience and opinions! 🙏

seriously we cant do this anymore

tank healer dps

this is the cause of so many problems for decades in mmorpgs and lets be real actually ANY games that have roles broken down like that

its why so many have failed

and its crazy how game designers just cant stay away from it either

i also think wow and ffxiv need to completely redo their combat systems because from newer players joining these games lately to see whats up with them, majority are seriously confused how any of this was fun at any point.

dps queues? tanks having to memorize mechanics and routes and mobs? healer panic?

is there ANY game designers breaking away from this?

and are mmorpg players just NOT able to let the holy trinity go because they feel its their safe place?

its outdated. its boring. its tedious. it inhibits innovation and truly cool character customizations.

I really like the aesthetic of mmos, but I don't like playing them. I, for example, like the feel and graphics of osrs, but I completely dislike that the game is just about grinding and getting new gear, and every mmo that I've tried is like that, just grinding for new items. I really want to enjoy playing mmos, but I just can't find one that will keep me entertained and make me want to play it everyday

MMOs have been a HUGE part of my life since i was 12 (27 now). Shaped a big aspect of me, emotionally and intellectually and even helped me with learning English, communication skills and some critical thinking. I have stopped for 3 years now due to working full time + gym + studying.. literally life is crammed up, and MMOs and their communities were my comfort zone. I dont just want it back, i NEED it.
How would you advise me to manage it? Because i barely have 1 free hour daily(more in weekends) and most MMOs now are time eating and the old ones are barely standing

I have never seen anything like this before. Ive seen some stuff guys, Tera +15 MAX gear when they nerfed VM mats, making it impossible to progress without p2w

Ive seen Aion 2 TW release, capping Kinah forcing you to buy to progress or waiting for seasonal rewards (thankfully no dragon lord in global release shoutout to NC Soft)

Ive seen Runescape offer p2w on every skill in RS3 from spinning to win

but I have never seen a monetization/p2w trap like I have seen in Edania part 2. I am not even talking about being able to swipe the pearl shop and cover all the monetization needs (kamayslve, value pack, secret old moon book, crons from swiping to p2w bis gear, people piloting their account for silver at lower rates than swiping in the pearl shop, maids, weight, inventory space, no im not even talking about this level of p2w and monetization)

I am talking about the CRYSTAL system

I have never seen a more sleezy, disguting, predatory thing in my entire life in gaming, and I thought I had seen it all.

These snakes, have implanted VALUABLE crystals, some taking upwards of 30+ hours alone to clear

and with the latest patch, which is directed at minimum Best in slot (5000+ hours played ) or swiping thousands on the pearl shop, which most do.

They will be removing the crystal protection on death this week, and with it is going to be so unreal to play. It is terrifying.

1st. Every spot has times during grinding that can 2 shot you, or even do 80-90% of your hp in a single second if you let up at all.

2nd. The crystals endgame players have take obnoxious amounts of time to get. You cannot buy them, they are high valued and always have 10k+ preorders on everything.

1. You cannot meet ap caps without these crystals LOL - for those who dont know, ap cap is a req to meet max damage to meet dps checks. Which they decided to add with this patch as well

Cant buy them on the market? You can swipe for 20 USD/EUROS and completely recover them.

Ive watched some of the best players get dropped dead with the best gear in the game, and when this week ends, I dont know what to say about BDO except I truly do believe it is entering its end of life.

I always knew things were predatory and monetized more than any other game, but now I truly see that a great game has crafted a master plan, and this is definitely not random, it is straight up thought out, sculpted and designed by Pearl Abyss

Well, after many years of avoiding it, missing New World, and being completely bored of other games, I gave WoW a shot. I'm absolutely loving it. Not as great as NW, but the quests are fun, you don't HAVE to log millions of hours into it to be good, etc.

Hopefully this inspires more people to try it, it's been surprisingly fun.

I always had this thought of what if MMORPGs didn't have lvling system, instead the player just build their own skills and powers from learning new skills and gear?

I mean most MMORPG players rush the lvling or even buy Lvls boost to skip the grind as some consider lvling up is boring.

In my personal opinion I disagree, however when someone reach the max Lvls, the game world become mostly irrelevant.

Similar design exist in some MMOs like Albion, however the lack of classes and also the gear power make huge difference, it's not clear if such system will work for traditional MMORPGs.

Overall what you think, could such concept work or the game will be a mess?

I've been playing a lot of MMORPGs lately, and I ended up checking out Eden Eternal Reforged.

For anyone who remembers the original Eden Eternal, it's interesting to see a community still building on that anime MMORPG style. The game has a lot of the things I personally miss in newer MMOs: multiple classes, class progression, PvE and PvP content, guild activities, territory battles, and that colorful old-school anime MMO atmosphere.

What surprised me the most is how much content there is to experiment with, especially if you enjoy trying different classes instead of being locked into one playstyle.

It's definitely not going to be for everyone, but I think Eden Eternal fans and people looking for a more classic anime MMORPG experience might find it interesting.

Has anyone here played Eden Eternal before? I'd honestly like to know what you think about the game and whether you'd be interested in seeing this kind of MMORPG make a comeback.

I'm curious: what is the one thing you miss most from older MMORPGs that modern MMOs don't do as well?

Hi Everyone!

This is a follow-up to my post on r/MMORPG where I've presented my solo project that I'm working on - you can find the post here. The reception of the original post was very positive hence why I want to share with you an update on the game.

I've recently released a Gameplay Teaser and would love to hear your feedback. You can watch it here: https://youtu.be/NVncYmLMJDc

I also want to speak more about the three playable races that will be available in the game. You can read about the lore of each of the races below:

Orc

Savage and brutal Orcs are known for their strenght and honor. They are split among separate Clans that combined make them a very powerful nation. They are still looking for their purpose in this world but for now they want to reinforce their lands and cities so that they are able to defend themselves from all the evil that is lurking in this world.

Saurak

These Lizard people come from a mystical background where they praise different elemental aspects this world has to offer. Their shamanistic approach to life is very important. They live in snowy lands which are very harsh to survive on their own and that's why they are seeking allies among Orcs and Humans. Will their heritage survive this dangerous world?

Human (Blackwater Pirates)

Blackwater Pirates are Humans who have been expelled from their kingdoms. They are treated as outlaws who are beyond the established law. In those dangerous times they have realised that they won't be able to survive on their own. They are seeking allies in Orcs and Saurak to help them survive. This is an unlikely alliance, will it be able to survive the troubles of this time?

The game is called Warmongers: Empires Reborn and you can currently wishlist it on Steam: https://store.steampowered.com/app/3468800/Warmongers_Empires_Reborn/

Thank you for your support!

Hey!

Do you avoid classes you actually like because they're too popular?

I have this weird problem in MMOs. I can love a class fantasy, but if I find out the class is (or going to be) most popular, I suddenly don't want to play it.

It's not about meta, gear competition or gameplay... I just like feeling different and don't want to feel like "one of many."

I’m like this with some things IRL too, so I think it's just part of my personality.

How do you get over this mindset? Do you just ignore popularity and play what you genuinely like?

the project is coming along nicely, I expect to be in alpha state in 1-2 months. the game is feature complete, it's just me laboriously making ascii models for every mythic creature I can think of

Minotaur, Griffin, Dragon, Bear, Wolf, Spider, and Interior/Exteriors!:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_YDHIoq7iUQ

The video is front loaded with models, there's in-game video at the end

So like many of you, I've been scouring the MMO landscape for an MMO to plop myself down in and enjoy. Then someone brought up Dragon Quest X Online. It was not what I was expecting. Now for some of you, this is going to be a "No way jose." moment. Dragon Quest is a 10 year old MMO (I lost some of you already at 10 years old.) and is a turn based (STAY WITH ME) Japanese (Oh god they're leaving in droves.) MMORPG. It is also a subscription based (some of you just died...) MMO as well, BUT....BUT has a Free Trial that allows you to play the first FOUR EXPANSIONS (called Versions) absolutely FREE.

Okay, to those of you who are still here and reading. It's Japanese Only (in Language only.) there is a full translation available which has been done wonderfully by the English community and right now they're on their 8th expansion over 10 years. I'm currently at the end of the first expansion called Version 1, which is how they name their expansions, and I have to say the amount of love put into the story surprises even me.

I'm sure the translation isn't 1:1 but I can understand the storytelling. It's a mix of animated and CG cutscenes which blends beautifully for those of you who want an MMO with a story.

As for the combat, like I said, it's turn based, but the speed ramps up quite a bit once you start getting into later expansions and there are about 23 different vocations you can do. Everything from Dancer to a job called Gadabout (Jester) which at higher levels can drop meteors on bosses and kill them due to absolute sheer buffoonery. There's also a myriad of support vocations and damage vocations such as Death Master and even Storm Kaiser / Pirate.

Now I'm going to address the elephant in the room here. The sub cost. It's $7 a month (based on current USD to Yen conversions). That's it. So for about $20 you can get 3 months worth of play time, if not a little more and I believe if I did the math right for $80 you can pay for an entire year worth of Dragon Quest X. Now before you even think of subbing, like I said earlier, there's a free trial that Dragon Quest X offers and you can play the first 4 Versions free of charge.

I know some folks who have put in 300+ hours already on the trial alone. Right now I'm at about 170-200ish hours myself. Level Cap is 140 and you get a Triple Exp Slime Hat that you can use all the way up to Level 120. You also get a free mount called a "Dolboard" think of a Segway Scooter that hovers. There's also a server event that happens on designated servers called Rookie Metal Slimes that give increased exp as a way to help players catch up. You can do this mini-event up until Level 115.

I've been playing and I have all my vocations right now over Level 30 and most of them are 45-50ish, my favorite vocation being Druid currently.

Furthermore, the English community has about 2 different Discords and there's I believe a French community as well who also plays this niche MMO. If this sounds like a really good time, then feel free to join via the links below, there's a full tutorial that's meant to help you out and has all the resources you'd ever need in order to get started. The only difficult part of playing Dragon Quest is naming your character and choosing your race, which there are 5 races in which you can pick from too.

I also included a demonstration of neat little boss fight called Metal Maze that my friend Cecil took me through for the first time.

Dragon Quest X (Adventures Abbey)

Metal Maze Madness

Thanks for coming to my Ted Talk. I'm off to slay some enemies and finish this dungeon.

To clarify i mean mechs in a gundam battle alliance 2 kinda sense where your on ground but can mount mechs not solely mech combat.

Sharing the MMO recap for the second half of August into September 2026, continuing from last month's post since a lot happened.
Same disclaimer as before: this is translated from French, so apologies for any slightly awkward phrasing.

Starting with the notable structural news: on August 12th, Amazon Games announced it's stepping away from managing Throne and Liberty and Lost Ark entirely. Throne and Liberty goes back to NCsoft by the end of the year, and Lost Ark returns to SmileGate in early 2027. Both games keep running as normal for now, it's purely an ownership/publishing change, but it's another sign Amazon is quietly exiting the MMO space after New World.

Same day, World of Warcraft dropped its "Ula'tek's Curse" update (patch 12.1 of Midnight), adding a new zone, an 8-boss raid, a new dungeon, and built-in Discord integration. Season 2 followed a week later.

On the indie side, Corepunk launched the first part of its open-world war system on August 15th, capture points that pit you against waves of mobs and rival players at the same time, meant to evolve into full territory warfare down the line. Hytale detailed its Update 6 on the 21st too: five hardcore modes and a built-in mod browser.

Also on the 21st, the Chinese MMORPG Lord of Mysteries (adaptation of the popular web novel) officially launched, servers got hit hard by demand. Camelot Unchained shipped its 0.47 patch around the same time with drop tables and zone visual reworks, and WoW Classic Burning Crusade Anniversary Edition announced Phase 3 for the 28th (Black Temple, Mount Hyjal).

August 24th was a busy day: LOTRO added a new monster-player class, the Angmar Witch, and The Quinfall shipped a big technical update (up to 100% FPS gains, plus terrain sculpting tools).

August 25th: Closers, the anime MMO that basically died after its servers closed in June, relaunched on the Papaya Play platform (full reboot, no character transfers). Once Human also officially hit PS5 and Xbox that day, free to play, with a new first-person view and full crossplay.

Albion Online closed out the month on the 31st with its Dragonfire update: a new floating island realm, a new hostile faction, and a 20-player raid.

Looking ahead to September: Fractured Conquest is running a 24-hour stress test on the 3rd after cutting July's short. There's an unconfirmed but seemingly reliable leak that Diablo IV is coming to Switch 2 around the 15th as an "Age of Hatred Collection" bundle. The First Descendant gets new content on the 16th. Dune: Awakening finally launches on PS5/Xbox on the 22nd, alongside a full solo mode and the conclusion of Book 1, on all platforms simultaneously. Scapewatch, a RuneScape-flavored idle MMO, hits Steam on the 25th. Aion 2 goes into western early access on the 30th (full release October 5th).

No exact dates yet: Pax Dei is detailing its R48 update (new creature, decorations, teased future horse mounts), Final Fantasy XI is supposed to remove the 14-day cap on its free trial and raise the level cap to 75 sometime this month, and SWTOR still hasn't given a release date for its 8.0 update "Masters of the Force" — probably around the holidays based on community estimates.

One to watch right after: Project Ascension, one of the biggest WoW private server projects (running for almost 10 years), is shutting down its realms on September 4th, apparently as part of a mutual agreement with Blizzard. Feels like the tail end of a broader pattern this year of Blizzard cracking down on private servers (Turtle WoW, Stormforge before it).

That's everything I've got, let me know if I missed anything.