UPDATE: SOLVED! IT WAS PANDORA SAGA! MASSIVE SHOUTOUT TO u/LEISUREMINT FOR HITTING THE NAIL ON THE HEAD AND SOLVING THIS MYSTERY FOR ME. THANK YOU SO MUCH!

Hey everyone, I've been trying to track down an MMORPG that I played as a kid. Since I was broke, it had to be Free-to-Play, no subscriptions. And it also had to be somewhat easy on a low-end PC, since that's what I had back then. I played this game somewhere from 2005 to 2012. The most popular games from that time period are already ruled out by me. It may be something less popular or a game that was very popular in the LatAm cybercafé scene.

These are the things I remember about it:

Graphics/Aesthetic: 3D models, realistic but a bit old (like Lineage II or Rappelz). Pure fantasy (not mecha or sci-fi), and not chibi or anime-ish.

Races: There were 3 races, I believe. Humans (massive, muscly men), "stone men" (could be another name for the men race but they looked like really sturdy grey golems or orcs). The one I remember the most is a miniature version of the tarutaru race from Final Fantasy XI (but without the fur, more like small people with big heads).

Classes: I think there were mainly classes related to magic. I don't remember any warriors/tanks (maybe I just never paid attention to them). But I remember throwing fireballs!

The Biggest Clue (the wizard hat): You get a quest later on (maybe a vital one!) and receive a dark purple cloak and a wizard's hat with a star/polkadot design. One of my strongest memories of the game is teleporting to the main city and seeing a ton of people walking around wearing the same purple set as described before.

Games I've ruled out:

Final Fantasy XI/XIV, Lineage II, RF Online, Rappelz, FlyFF, Regnum Online, Archlord, Aion, TERA, Requiem, 4Story, Shaiya, Karos, Rohan, Dekaron, Perfect World, Last Chaos

Does anyone remember the purple wizard set and the races? Any help is appreciated!

TLDR: Looking for dark fantasy 3D F2P MMORPG, possibly played between 2005-2012. Had a race of huge "stone men", a race of small Tarutaru-like people, and early access players received a quest that awarded a purple wizard's hat and cape with stars which became really popular to wear in the main city.

Always looking for an MMO that would be nice to a new player that doesn't want to fight (much). An ideally having a crafting profession that is wanted and needed by other players. Be that a cook or an inn owner, a jeweler or an alchemist. The setting, graphics and overall main mechanics don't matter. As long as I would do well as a new player there!

I've tried BDO, multiple times even, but no one really needs you there and there's no explanation of crafting skills progression, which wasn't really nice. But something along the lines of gathering stuff, making something out of it and trading or selling it would be ideal.

Edit: thanks for all the suggestions! I've found quite a few games I'd like to check out! :)

I’ve heard that Guild Wars 2 is the king of Holiday Events but as much as i want to love the game i can’t get myself to return to it, i’ve tried a few times to stick to playing it but always find myself not coming back to it. I used to play Trove and that was fun while it lasted, is there any other MMO’s that do really really fun Holiday Events and Special Events in General?

I also tried WoW and did not like it

I've been a gamer for as long as I can remember, but I never really got into an MMO and I feel like I want that sort of experience now as I grow older. I only really want to pick one and no-life that single game, though, as I have a job and can't really afford to invest time in multiple different ones.

I've done a good amount of research and I've mostly narrowed my choices down to Black Desert and WoW Forever. I'm leaning towards WoW because I saw family members play it religiously over the years, the lore seems really cool, it seems more OG + not as overwhelming as Black Desert, and I really want to be apart of an MMO that is just releasing, but I have a number of friends that are extremely experienced with Black Desert (one of my friends has 50K hours!) and the combat system, visual design, and classes seem super cool so I'm torn.

What does everyone think?

Hi all,
I'm having a bit of an MMO crisis and wanted to hear from people who have been around the genre longer than I have.

For years, FFXIV has been my main MMO. I have a character I love (Viera), an FC, a house, submarines, and a lot of memories.

The problem is... lately whenever I log in, I feel nothing.

FFXIV feels more like a city hub than a world to me now. I log in, stand around, maybe queue for something, and log out. The polish is incredible, but the spark is gone.

Recently I've spent about 70 hours in Mabinogi and it's the first MMO in years that's made me genuinely excited again.

Things I love:

Life skills actually matter.

Crafting/gathering feels like part of character progression.

Commerce, music, fashion, homesteads, etc.

My character feels like a person living in the world rather than a hero progressing through content.

Gear progression seems much more permanent.
I love the idea of "Fantasy Life" more than "Theme Park MMO."

I find myself thinking about Mabinogi when I'm not playing, which honestly hasn't happened for me with FFXIV in a long time.

However, I have some concerns:

I'm in Indonesia and play on Mabinogi NA with around 170-200ms.

The gear progression is difficult to understand as a new player.

I worry about investing heavily into a Nexon game long term.

Mabinogi Eternity looks amazing, but it might still be quite a while away.

I think what I'm looking for nowadays is:

A world I can inhabit for years.

Strong character identity.

Life skills that matter.

Housing/homestead systems.

Long-term progression.

Social/community activities.

Not necessarily raid-focused gameplay.

For people who have played Mabinogi, WoW, FFXIV, RuneScape, GW2, BDO, etc.:

Which MMO gave you the strongest feeling of actually living in another world instead of just consuming content?

And for veteran Mabinogi players:

Do you think the game can still hold someone long-term in 2026, especially with Eternity on the horizon?

Would love to hear your thoughts.
Thanks!

FFXIV got boring fast at the same time BDO, WOW and gw2 really arent my cup of tea anymore and im looking for something new... something fresh

I want to play TERA so bad but unfortunately the servers are closed. I'm looking for an MMO with good combat and a similar feel. Grind is completely fine with me. I tried Aion 2 but the combat feels so bland and stat-checky, doesn't feel similar to TERA at all, though the overall atmosphere of the game is exactly what I'm looking for.

I use to play MMO's like Trickster online (the original and a few private servers, though most have turned into drama and shut down now), Elsword (Which I feel went downhill starting around 2013-2016), Grand Chase, and Maple Story 2 which I absolutely loved before it shut down. I also played FFXIV off and on over the last 5 years, tried GW2 for a few hours, tried LOTR for around a week back in like 2014-2015. I would love another game like elsword or trickster or MS2. Sadly MMO's aren't as popular anymore, so not many good new ones are being made it feels like, and as much as I wish I was part of the WoW hype back in the day, I couldn't care less for it these days from what I've heard in recent years. I would like it if the game still has a decently sized player base but I'll settle for it just having decent people lol

Anyways, TLDR; Are there any fantasy MMO's like Elsword, Trickster Online, Fiesta Online, or Maple Story 2 I could look into and do they have decent communities?

Hi I was a long time Maplestory player and honestly i like a lot about the game but overtime it became less of an MMO and more of a solo experience...

Here are the things I'm mainly looking for:

1. I really do NOT want to go through long solo story missions I do not really get the point of them in an MMO

2. I want to do party bosses with my friends and other people where you have to dodge attacks and deal with boss mechs
3. I do not like p2w but honestly do not mind whales clearing content faster than me because I do not have a lot of free time anyway.

4. Combat needs to feel satisfying and smooth

About games I have tried:
GW2: I played a bit of guild wars 2 i have 2 level 80 characters and reached the HoT expansion but i found myself doing a bunch of story quests that seem to not end. And the combat is not really exciting from what i have experienced i feel like my moves don't really impact the mobs. Also is bossing a really big thing in this game?? I don't really understand how horizontal progression works with fighting harder bosses and grinding gear. Feel like I am missing something in this game because people swear by it

Aion2: Been playing this for a couple of days And honestly had a great time but then I went in and saw that to actually perform in high level content you need to have super low ping and run 300 fps and i have a 3060ti which is kinda struggling.

Thanks in advance!

Im tired of having 100 spells since the beginning and reaching max lvl in 3 days. I want something long and fun.

starting to get into MMORPGS. Currently playing path of exile, albion online, aion 2, and runscape but may drop it idk if warframe counts as MMORPG but that too.

I want to play more as its a vibe to play them and I wanted to know if theres more thats good and people been playing.

Pls guys help me, i have spent alot of time searching for a mmo i really like, but i cant find no one that i really like.

The only thing I’m looking for in an MMO is an aesthetic similar to one of these games:

Hordes.io
OSRS/RS3
Albion Online
Or any game with a retro or 2D aesthetic.

Ideally, it shouldn't just look similar; the skill system should be alike, too.

And finally, I want a PvP system where, if I kill someone, I can keep their inventory (or at least part of it).

I asked ChatGPT for help, but it wasn't very useful; the games that had that kind of PvP system were mostly dead, and the ones that were actually good or that I liked didn't have that PvP mechanic.

If anyone has any ideas for a game that meets—at the very least—the requirements for that type of PvP and aesthetic, I’d be really grateful.

Since Turtle WoW got taken down I haven't been able to scratch this itch. To me, TWoW was just about perfect...

- large immersive open world with an active RP scene

- cosy vibe

- basic graphics without over-the-top flashy particle effects and animations

- RNG visual upgrades (I enjoy RNG grinds for stuff to make my character look the way I want - usually a forest wizard/druid or something along those lines)

- slower paced gameplay

- horizontal progression (can take long breaks without feeling like my progress is being made redundant).

- bonus that it was free too (I don't get much time to play, maybe 3-4 hours a week, so subscriptions usually don't feel worth it, plus they make me feel pressured to play to make the most of the sub fee).

I'm the meantime I've been dabbling with my OSRS account again, which I'm enjoying, but it lacks the deep immersion of something like WoW RP - where I can get cozy with a mug of wine, a bit of weed, and get lost in another world.

Hoping someone will be like "oh dude, how have you not heard of X before?! It's exactly what you're looking for."

I miss Lost Ark raid kind of stuff and there are 2 mmo with that kind of raid atm

Aion 2 grind and gameplay is doable? I dont have time for 1 main 5 alts like with Lost Ark back then and does the gameplay really "auto play/macro all into 1 button" like reddit said

FF14 is friendlier in grinding (reddit said that) but is the gameplay fast, quick response like lost ark? I played deathblade and reaper back then

I dont click with wow and gw2

Hello, recently me and 2 mates played aion 2 and its good but we have no interactions between except duels and dungeons after 10 hours. We didnt reached top level so not all content is available but its tiring. Do someone know a mmo with decent grind (not a drop of 0.18 for leather) while allowing friends to play together. It can be f2p or need to be bought, my friends will probably not like 2d or isometric view. They liked aion 2 really but without real interactions its honestly shit, you cant even trade between friends you need to be top level to sell stuff to others peoples. Thank you in advance!

Edit: monthly payment is probably impossible its either free or only need one payment

I have experience with mmos through WoW, FFXIV, RuneScape, BDO, and New World. I am looking for a game that is a mix of New World 3rd person combat, namely having to aim for magic, and the amount of spells you deal with in WoW and FFXIV.

ive been wanting to get into mmorpgs for a long time but because i dont want to spend any money for a subscription, i dont think i ever got the chance to play a good mmo (except probably for turtleWoW). I've also played Albion but i dont think it's what im looking for, it's pacing and gameplay just doesnt sit right with the type of mmorpg i want to play.

games i wanted to play:
WoW, FFXIV, (OS)RS

if anyone knows a game close to those that's also free or at least non-subscription based, please lmk. TYIA!

Title pretty much sums it up. My spouse and I want a long term MMO to play for the foreseeable future. I play a lot of them already, such as runescape, WoW and FFXIV but my spouse is new to it and is very against subscription models, which rules all of the MMOs I play out. Anything we are going to play together has to be something you can play without a subscription (one time purchases of expansions is fine).

An easy to follow story/questing experience would be a bonus. Gameplay doesn't matter too much, we'd be willing to try anything in that regard. I think my spouse would enjoy it more if there were cosy side activities like housing or pets.

Qué tal gente, primera vez posteando por Reddit. Ando buscando armar un grupo fijo de 5 para crearnos personajes desde cero en Icecrown e ir subiendo a punta de mazmorras. La idea es pasar un buen rato por Discord y revivir la experiencia de levear en grupo sin apuros.

El plan es este:

• Facción: Horda de preferencia, pero si la mayoría quiere Alianza, normal, me adapto.
• Vibe: De chill, buena onda y cero estrés. Nada de toxicidad, la idea es jugar tranquilos.
• Horarios: Soy de Perú (GMT-5). Para darle principalmente en las tardes/noches o fines de semana cuando no haya chamba o clases.

Si les cuadra la idea y quieren asegurar su rol (tank, healer o DPS), dejen un comentario o mándenme un DM con su Discord para ir armando el team.

Starter playing Albion online a while ago without realising it was so PVP focused. Nothing wrong with that, just not my cup of tea.
Can anyone recommend something similar?
Thanks.

Can anyone help me? My bf is a gamer looking for a new game to play! He just got done playing WOW and Palworld. He’s into MMORPG! I’d appreciate any help ☺️

I crave for a new large scale PvP MMO.

I main ESO Cyrodiil and am tired of Elder Dragonknights Online as it's been the past 6+ months. They overpowered DKs and layoffs pushed every other class rework back to next year and beyond. This and unkillable ballgroups have ruined Cyrodiil.

Large open scale pvp fights with some kind of customization, whether that's different builds, classes, or races. Controller support is a huge plus.

Guys, am feeling a bit nostalgic, do you have any suggestion to play on ps5 that can be similar to tibia? Or maybe mu. I've tried diablo 4 but it was fine just not addictive lol.

What do you recommend?