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Yes, Guild Wars is one MMO that comes to mind. Although you need to buy the software, you don't have to pay any subscription fee. Level is capped at 25, but it depends on how you build your character. If one build doesn't suit you, you can just change it in town later. I have seen a good built level 2 player overwhelm a poorly built level 25 player. That's what you call balance. You also don't have to level grind since levels is not what makes you powerful, but the way you combine your skills. It runs very smoothly on my old machine (intel P4) so it's not a resource hog. And it has a decent story that you can start and finish. So let's check: *No subscription fee - check, but you have to buy the software and it's free to play for life. *Good Character customization - check. You can actually strip down the avatar into their underwear. Nice if you have a female character and you type the command /dance *Not pay to win - check. No items for sale, just pure skill. *Good Story - check. You go through quest to unravel the story. You are in fact part of the story. *Easy to play with friends - check. This is an instance dungeon. So if you party with a friend, you only see your friends in the map. No PK during a quest. *Good Battle system - check. Like I mentioned, you can combine several skills to make awesome attacks. How else can a lower level player pawn a high level player? *Minimum level grinding - check. You level up easily and max level is capped at 25. *Not an FPS - check. You can actually see your avatar. *Compatible with average computer specs - check. My old PC can run this. I'm also playing Ragnarok Online. It's very old, but still very popular, probably around 5000 players each time I log on. Nice graphics, with set skills. This doesn't fit into any of the category mentioned above because of the following: -It may be free to play or with subscription depending on what region you are on. -The only customization you can do to a character is the head gear. -There are some Godly items that you have to buy in order to be uber powerful. -Sub par story if you count the quest. If not, no story at all. (And to think that this game is based on a korean Manhwa) -Easy to play and easy to get killed if you don't have good skills and reflexes. If you're a noob, you'll get killed a lot. -Battle system is a simple point and click, with the occasional keyboard presses to spam nerfing skills. -God awful level grinding. Took me years before I was able to reach level 99 just so I can revert back to level 1, to reach level 99 again. Took me weeks to level from 100 to 101. To this day, I have yet to reach the maximum level of 150. -Well, it's not an FPS, so I guess you might consider this its plus point. -It's old, so I doubt there is any system that can't run this game.

it's a tough call. World of warcraft mists of pandaria is pretty awesome and I love it. unfortunately you have to play through the rest of WoW and you have to pay the sub fee. that is a lot of money, core game, 4 expansion packs and then you have to get through the previous expansions to get to the content you want.. sucks. but I am prepared to do it for the wonderful experience that is the pandaren. if you want to see why I say this, you can try the introductory area for the pandaren for free with a trial account. another game I would like to play is TERA but my computer runs at a lower framerate. I'm not sure what the requirements are for a good framerate, but the game is very nicely put together. the gameplay is very action oriented. the fights are not a series of button clicks, it's more like skyrim or some other console game and you can use an xbox360 controller to play it. The design is lovely and it has a nice atmosphere that feels rich and involved. I haven't seen much of the story, but what I have seen suggests that it may be pretty nice. it has a trial available and is going free to play very soon if not already. Really, the one MMO that I really want to play, is not out yet. I have signed up for the beta and i can't wait t play it some day. that is the elder scrolls online. everything I've seen about it makes me excited. I've played some other MMO's that aren't so hot in terms of story or involvement, but could be your cup of tea because they are quality games in other ways. ROSE online was pretty good. Runescape is incredibly popular. There is Dragonball online.. I'm not sure on the development status of that one. when I tried it, I had to spoof a KSSN (korean social security number) to create an account and try it out. Of course there is guild wars. I'll let Durendal talk about that. It's tough, you need to find an MMO that is currently popular and not dying. WoW has been accused of dying and the game is unbalanced at this stage. If you want to experience What WoW was good for, you would need to time travel back to when the burning crusade was released. that's when I started and it was rich with interesting players ( as well as the doofus's) You would actually find some good MMO stuff on a roleplaying server. it can be a bit weird but also very intriguing. but there is the cost of course. I dunno what the community is like in the other games. TERA should be vibrant since the game just went free to play i think. Guild wares 2 will be vibrant if it is even out yet. Elder Scrolls Online... well we'll have to wait a while for that one.

Sorry to bring up an old topic, but can't let this one slide! It's been 3 years now since Imakarum (the same time between him & Purgstall) With Kaiyodo's Wonder Festival 2013 [Winter] coming up in 13 days I want everyone to once again cross all of their extremities and pray for an announcement this year!!!