FAQ: What Is Your Favorite Free to Play MMO? .

If I had a dollar for every time someone asked what my favorite free to play MMORPG is I could quit this job and live comfortably. That’s why I this week we’re setting the record straight, we gathered a few members of our team and asked them what their favourite free to play MMO is. What is your free to play MMO? Let us know in the comments below!

Finch: My favorite free-to-play MMO has got to be League of Legends. Okay I know what you’re thinking, this game is not exactly an MMO. The developers at Riot Games, have dubbed this game a MOBA (multiplayer online battle arena) in terms of genre. Anyway, let me explain to you why I think it’s my favorite. First off, the game is entirely free.

There is no limit on how much you can play and the only thing you can spend money on are the cosmetics that change the way your champion looks, or buying additional champions so you don’t have to grind IP (influence points) to buy them. But since the game is constantly being updated with new champions and patches every few weeks, the game is constantly being upgraded and improved upon. Not to mention the eSports scene which League of Legends also takes the crown. Also, Riot is great with the community itself.

Listening closely to player feedback is key for them, and they keep improving the game upon what players want. Even updating old and outdated champions from time to time. For what it’s worth, League of Legends is a reasonably easy game to learn, but very difficult to master. As for replay value, after 3 years I am still playing this game, and I have never experienced a dull moment in league. Plus its a great game to play with a group of friends. So I suggest you try it out!

Karrotkayk: Now that I’m compelled to answer this question, I surprised even myself to find that the two free-to-play online game titles I am actually fond of are PangYa Online and Audition Online. Both have anime-inspired character art, but I swear that’s not the reason why these two games stayed close to my heart. PangYa is a golf simulation game, while Audition Online is a 3D rhythm game and I love them because they made me relax during one of the most stressful times of my life.

Audition Online gave me me a good reason to bang on my keyboards (in rhythm) and its music selection calmed me. PangYa Online made me think of trajectory, wind direction, and hitting power instead of backlogs. I didn’t have to deal with the notion of saving the world from any imminent danger. I didn’t have to deal with other people pointing fingers at each other when the partys get swiped during a dungeon run. For once, I played something online and thoroughly enjoyed the friendly competition. Best of all, I played them for a quite a while and I didn’t have spend a single shilling over them. My mind was relaxed, my fingers were happy, and my wallet stayed fat.

Daniel (WintersWolf): I have never been a big fan of free to play games, I think they are dangerous as a whole. Not only have they changed the way games are designed down to the very core, but it has also distracted developers from focusing on making good games and investors less interested in the core market when mobile free to play dwarfs its monthly revenues.

The bigger problem is that these games are not sustainable. Developers burn through users very quickly and rely on continuous acquisition of new players in order to keep their game alive. This often results in developers moving from project to project very rapidly – communities don’t stick around for long and the paying players are just a small portion.

The one free to play MMO I have enjoyed however is a rather niche scifi sandbox called Face of Mankind. With a huge focus on politics and economy, Face of Mankind has truly pushed the boundaries of what an MMO is meant to be. I guarantee you won’t find anything else like it, and it’s currently receiving a complete overhaul to bring it up-to-date.

Darak: I’ll admit it: I am partial about it, but my favourite F2P MMO is Lord of the Rings Online.

When I say partial, it’s because I bought a lifetime subscription from day one (I am a so-called “Founder”), so I enjoy all the benefits of VIP status. But I can assure you that the F2P model of LotRO is one of the best out there.

The essence of F2P is time vs money, and in LotRO you can play through the starting areas (up to level 30, more or less) without spending a dime and actually earning Turbine Points (the premium currency you use in the shop) through in-game deeds. Those will allow to unlock new areas and so on. True, you have to be particularly grindy to buy everything just by playing, but the point is that you can (this is true also for D&D Online, another F2P Turbine game, but to a lesser degree, since you earn points only at certain milestones).

And then there is the immersive lore of the Tolkien novels, the iconic locations and characters, so many things to see and do. The game is a bit lacking on the PvP side, but if you like PvE is surely an experience to try out.