EVE Online

I have past experience with many MMO's but no sandbox type MMO's. I've played about 8 years worth of MMO's including EQ1, EQ2, WoW, DAOC, FFXI, AO, AC,CoH, LOTR:O and a few small free ones. I'm playing WoW right now with a few friends from work but its getting dull. Being level 70 and seing the same everything over and over.. it's getting old. I can see the same thing happening with the expansion as soon as people cap levels again.  I'm almost considering EQ2. that seemed to be a really good game when I was playing it. I stopped because I started taking many classes for my GED.. But now that i'm done... Hmm.

Thanks for any suggestions :D

After this years bundle of MMos I think I should... either that or wothlk

Eve has a free 14 day trial, so you've got nothing to loose except time I suppose.

It may feel a little overwhelming in Eve unless you know what you want to do once you start playing. Skills train over time, so its up to you if you want to hunt pirate npc's for money, mine asteriods, become a pirate youself and hunt players, and many many more.

Eve is centered around coorporations though, to really get into the game your gonna have to join one your interested in, and get social.

It isn't for everyone though, i love the idea of Eve, however its to much for me personally, specially since I don't usually join guilds in mmo's. Fantastic game however.

You should certainly try it. Its a free trial, what could it hurt?

Well.. I played it once about 2 years ago and it was very confusing, I played for a few days and stopped because I thought the idea of getting abilities while your offline favors veterans too much and gives just about anyone whos already been playing a big advantage over new people?

Originally posted by Exavus

I have past experience with many MMO's but no sandbox type MMO's. I've played about 8 years worth of MMO's including EQ1, EQ2, WoW, DAOC, FFXI, AO, AC,CoH, LOTR:O and a few small free ones. I'm playing WoW right now with a few friends from work but its getting dull. Being level 70 and seing the same everything over and over.. it's getting old. I can see the same thing happening with the expansion as soon as people cap levels again.  I'm almost considering EQ2. that seemed to be a really good game when I was playing it. I stopped because I started taking many classes for my GED.. But now that i'm done... Hmm.

 

Thanks for any suggestions :D

Sandbox game play is the opposite to all games you have mentioned. Its more like simulation and virtual world than a game, till all games you have played are just predefined games. For sure its nice to try a sandbox game, but there is big chance that you will not like it. Just be prepared for something absolutely different. You have to forget everything you like in the old games you have played and find the world and your role in the new one. Remember that if in other games even alone you still can do something, in sandbox game alone you are nothing, the only thing that have meaning in them is the society you play with. I personally love sandbox games, but in EvE I'm missing the fantasy world. Even that EvE is the best sandbox game up to now.

A couple of things...

First of all - if you decide to go for the 14 day trial - use the time wisely and invest in the game. Eve IS a complex game, and if you sit down for 30 minutes every once in a while you'll not get properly into it, and will likely leave it in frustration. Longer play sessions are a must imo if you want to try it. The real meat takes a little effort and understanding to get to in Eve, unlike most other MMOs atm that a trained Lemur could pick up in 5 minutes...

Secondly - skills. Yes, veterans have an edge (in what MMO is this not true?), but really there are not THAT many skills to master an area. And that's the important part - you can quickly become pretty adept at one or two areas. You can quickly become a very good miner, refiner/builder, scout, medium attack or support pilot. Obviously the larger ships have prerequisites that mean you need more time to get to them, but every corporation needs people in different roles, and after just a short number of days you can be an asset in PvE or PvP. Don't be discouraged by veterans having better skills - they're generally good at a number of areas, whereas you'll only be good at a select few in the early days. This does NOT make you less useful to corporations or unable to solo PvE. Solo PvP of course is hard to begin with if that's your thing. Try attacking people in other MMOs as a lvl10... same deal :) The major edge veterans have, is that their support skills (faster/better armor/shield regeneration, speed, less power use etc.) are maxed, so they'll have an edge, but a group of new players can take down a veteran if they play well. Goonswarm (google them...) as a shining example of this. You're NOT outside the playing field by any means.

So yeah Eve is complex. You have to make your own decisions as to what you want to do - it's a sandbox after all - and a corporation is a VERY good idea for helpful chat, support and possibility of seing larger operations in PvE or PvP than you could yourself. Invest the time needed to understand the game, and you'll be rewarded with the deepest, most complex and evolving game out there. For some it's too complex and they'd rather have a quest giver with a question mark tell them what they should do next, and have crafting be a simple matter of hitting a rock 10 times and make a sword by clicking on the recipy. I'm not saying that's necessarily bad (I don't have time for Eve atm and thus right now like the brain dead MMOs that I can sit down with for 1 hour and not think). Eve is NOT this kind of game, and you need to understand what you're getting into, and decide if that's what you want.

Any MMO gamer who says that MMOs are too generic and simple HAS to give Eve a proper try imo - it might not be for you, but if you haven't tried it, you can't talk of the MMO genre generally with any authority, because Eve certainly is one of a kind :)

Alright. Thanks for the advice. I'll make sure I find time for the trial before I download it. I'm pretty interested now.

Eve is not for instant gratification types, you have to expect it will take time to learn the game.   It is a very complex game.   The best thing to start is to decide what you are going to specialize and train all your skills in that direction.  Specialization puts you right up with the veterans in a couple of months or so.

Good luck to you.