MMOs are good. PC games are good. Paying around fifteen bucks for them monthly is not.
No one likes to pay for a game and then pay even more to play it each month. So we’ve compiled a short list of five of our favorite free-to-play MMOs, so that you can save your money to spend on something more important.
Like more games.
Tera
Tera started as a pay-to-play game when it was released back in May of 2012, but was forced to become free-to-play when it had trouble rivaling the monster that is World of Warcraft. In questing terms, Tera is incredibly similar to WoW – there are plenty of “kill this amount of this animal/monster/adorable terons” and “go find my long-lost brother-in-law’s mother’s pet gerbil over in those sketchy abandoned woods” quests, especially in the early levels.
However, the combat system is much more involved and dynamic. Instead of a button-mashing structure (I love WoW, don’t get me wrong, but damn the quests can get boring), Tera utilizes a mixture of coordination, proper aim, and tactful acrobatics to make both questing and running instances a much more exciting experience for the player.
If you’re a person who loved playing WoW, but don’t have the money to be paying a monthly fee on top of buying the game (I’m looking at you, broke college students), then Tera is definitely worth a try.
City of Steam
As a huge fan of anything remotely steampunk-related, I was eager for this game’s beta to open up. For a browser-based game, the graphics are very impressive, the fighting styles are fast-paced, and the industrial age environment of the game immediately sucks you in. Though currently still in open beta, Mechanist Games is keeping on top of things by ironing out any small bugs or hiccups.
This is a perfect game for anyone who is interested in a brand new MMO, but doesn’t necessarily want to spend hours of their life downloading what seems like billions of patches. The world is huge, the interface is easy to pick up on, and the environments can be breathtaking. This game has a lot of potential as more and more components of the beta are released. You will forget that you’re playing through a browser.
League of Legends
Oh, LoL. This F2P game is addictive. Almost unhealthy-addictive. The ability to choose particular champions is what set this multiplayer online battle arena apart from others. Each champion has his/her/its own specific skill set, and the knowledge of how to utilize these skills is what can make a difference in gameplay. Button-mashing doesn’t equal kills; strategy and skill does.
LoL also has one of, if not the, largest followings of nearly any MOBA.
Riot Games is very good at updating the game every week or so by adding a new champion or a new champion skin here and there. Gold acquired throughout a match is used to buy items to increase a champion’s stats and abilities. Long matches help players to earn gold, complete objectives, gain strength, and brag about what a badass they are when they win.
Star Wars: The Old Republic
When The Old Republic first came out, it was hoping to be the next big thing, but was quickly overshadowed by larger and more progressive games like Guild Wars 2. That being said, SW:TOR is an incredibly entertaining game. The gameplay is driven by the fully-voiced and intensive storylines, which can happily keep a player entertained all the way up to level 50.
If you’re a fan of PvP, The Old Republic has a lot of it, including several Warzones and instanced PVP scenarios.
If the Star Wars universe and traditional MMOs are totally your thing, this is the game for you.
Team Fortress 2
To me, Valve can do no wrong. Despite being free-to-play, TF2 shows off the substance of a full-priced $60 game. Valve makes you fall in love with each and every one of the class characters. The game can entertain you for hours on end, especially when you’re procrastinating – for example, while writing this, I thought, “Oh yeah, I love TF2! I’ll play one game to write a better review.”
And then I played for three hours.
What I personally love most about Team Fortress 2 is the simple yet satisfying dialogue throughout a game. I’ll laugh hysterically every time I hear “right in the dick” after a kill. (Fun fact: I’m secretly ten years old and I will never think dick jokes are not hilarious).
Every person in the world who enjoys video games should play Team Fortress 2 at least one point in their life.