Are there any MMO's that aren't subscription based.

[jimmywrangles]

Hi guys.
I'm looking for an MMO to play but subscription games go against my principles.
Are there any that i don't have to pay fees to play?

[Chief]

There's heaps, but they're usually rubbish and have terrible communities.

List of MMOs
Might find something you like there.

[ColdCamV]

you could just look at the list of free mmo's already posted up in the MMORPG area.

http://www.theoldergamers.com/forum/...on-thread.html

[jimmywrangles]

Originally Posted by Chief

There's heaps, but they're usually rubbish and have terrible communities.
.

That's a pity and to be honest a bit of a surprise.
I've had a look at the links and pickings are grim so I'll rephrase my question.
Are there any non subscription MMO's that TOG has a division for?

[Spectre8]

Or you could just give in and accept that it's a tried and true method of delivering quality content and security!

I got over my distaste of pay to play with EVE Online - they're up to their eigth (I think) free expansion thats being implemented right now. We get all sorts of balance tweaks, new toys and updates - and even prettier graphics

Basically the infrastructure requirements for something like a good MMO require more than just a one-off purchace investment.

But it goes two ways - if they stop delivering an engrossing and top quality product - you stop paying and playing

I know I've been asking the gods of FPS worlds to keep on delivering patches and content long after the developers have moved onto the next thing... Look at WoW and EVE - been going strong for 5+ years.

Take the plunge

[jimmywrangles]

I must admit Eve sounds pretty damn good but I'm a poor togger who can't afford much in the way of monthly fees.
Spectre makes a good case though so methinks I'l try Eve next time I'm financial enough.
Thanks heaps guys for answering my noobish questions.

[Mormi]

I was also against pay for play until I discover Star Wars galaxies and found I didn't buy another game in almost 12 months so what I save in not buying a new game or expansion every 6 to 8 weeks compared to a monthly fee I actually found the subs based variety a cheaper option.

[HenriDeacon]

Jimmy, I am playing some of the free games, and so far they have been very good. I'm definitely happy with the gameplay in Runes of Magic. The Allods Beta starts up again tomorrow, and that also looks very promising. It is a mix of Fantasy and Sci Fi and will always be free to play... It depends what genre of game you want.

[jimmywrangles]

Originally Posted by HenriDeacon

Jimmy, I am playing some of the free games, and so far they have been very good. I'm definitely happy with the gameplay in Runes of Magic. The Allods Beta starts up again tomorrow, and that also looks very promising. It is a mix of Fantasy and Sci Fi and will always be free to play... It depends what genre of game you want.

Ahhh,now that's what I was after.
Thanks Henri.

[Asmodai]

Have a look at SWGEmu (easily googleable), a community project to build a free to play emu of pre combat upgrade era Star Wars Galaxies.

The current server (test centre: Nova) is the only server and it's in a late alpha/early beta stage (still plenty of bugs), but you can play the old Star Wars Galaxies in most of it's glory for free if you've got a copy of the discs or can get them.

Runes of Magic is also decent, it's a WoW-ish free play based on diamonds (ie. microtransactions). You can play entirely free, trading gold you earn in game for rented mounts etc and crafting stuff for yourself, or buy diamonds and buy thigns like perm mounts and crafting stations for your house.

It's pretty straight forward and fun. I only bought diamonds once and spent what I'd spend on WoW over 2 months play. Played for 6 months free so I reckon I got a decent deal (there is no initial cost to play so for the cost of buying a boxed game you can set up one toon very well if you do choose to buy diamonds). The downside is the economy is hosed and anything of value sells for diamonds now. A diamond went from being worth ~5k gold to 50-60k last time I checked (months ago now). I don't imagine the inflation got any better.

The rest is a mixed bag, but they are free (apart from the download quota you have to use to get them), try em out and find out what you like I guess. =)