Best MMORPGs – The best games to hang out with strangers

Before the advent of live-service games, if you wanted a single game to dedicate all your time to, your go-to was the MMORPG. Finding initial success in the late 90s, there was an explosion of MMORPG titles in the new millennium, providing huge worlds for players to explore with people from all over the world, rivalling even the best open-world games and the best RPGs.  

What MMORPGs need above all else is other players to populate their worlds, and in increasingly competitive markets, those who can’t maintain a player base simply have to shut down. However, there are still plenty of MMOs with active player bases waiting for you to become part of their community. Here are VideoGamers’ best MMORPGs that you can get stuck into right now.

✓ VideoGamer Summary

• There are plenty of top MMORPGs still out there with strong player counts and plenty of content.
• A good number of the best MMOs just so happen to be free MMORPGs, or those with only one-time purchases.
• A number of these free MMORPGs supplement themselves with in-game cash shops, but these are usually for ignorable cosmetics.
• Many of the best MMORPGs have been around for a while and are still going strong after years of updates.
• The search for a top MMORPG is personal, but a great many also function as great RPGs in their own right.

The Lord of the Rings Online (2007)

Available on: PC

The Lord of the Rings Online has two main draws: the opportunity to explore the iconic fantasy setting of Middle-earth, and the chance to be part of its story. Originally, the different parts of the world and the emerging narrative were released in stages, but now you can walk all the way from the Shire to Mordor and see areas of the world only touched on previously. 

There is a cash shop for cosmetics, but otherwise it’s an old-school MMORPG with a loyal fanbase that still gets regular updates. Your character intertwines with the story of the fellowship but is never stuck to it, allowing you to go to little-visited areas like Angmar and Harad. If that means nothing to you, The Lord of the Rings might not grab you, but it’s a primarily free MMORPG, so the price of entry is extremely low. 

Eve Online (2003)

Available on: PC

Eve Online is its own kind of game entirely, and describing it as a space-based sandbox MMORPG hardly covers it. The bulk of the game is entirely player-driven, with a player-centric economy and politics that run between the major factions of the game. 

Eve Online has a distinctive ecosystem, which means large-scale conflicts can destroy digital assets that literally represent years of a life. It is an overwhelmingly complex game from both a mechanical and community perspective, but if it grabs you, you’ll find that the rabbit hole goes deep. 

You can be a humble miner, engage in corporate espionage, turn to piracy, explore wormholes, or even start your own business. The breadth of possibilities on offer is truly impressive.

Black Desert Online (2016)

Available on: PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Android, iOS

If you’re looking for a hardcore experience and aren’t put off by grinding and brutal open-world PvP, Black Desert Online might be the thing for you. Black Desert has deep progression systems across both its strong action combat and trade skills, and has possibly the strongest graphics of any MMORPG on the market.

Black Desert Online also has no level cap, which means the grind is truly never-ending, and infinite growth is possible. If you run into another player who has dedicated their life to the game, then your PvP experience is going to suddenly hit a rough patch, but you can always catch up.

Unfortunately, there is an awkward amount of monetisation in the game, aimed at both cosmetics and pay-to-win grind bypasses for its PvP. Black Desert Online still has a strong playerbase despite this, and offers plenty of fun for those with patience.

Star Wars The Old Republic (2011)

Available on: PC

What makes Star Wars The Old Republic so good is that it is an MMORPG built out of several smaller single-player BioWare RPGs. Each of the eight character classes has its own storyline that weaves through the overall faction storylines, which can either be the classic hero story of the Jedi Knight or a spy thriller with an Imperial Agent. You have your own story with small choices you can make, which are still remembered in the expansions.

As of 2023, it is no longer being maintained by BioWare and is unlikely to be picking up major content updates, but there’s still plenty for new players to discover. Star Wars The Old Republic is very friendly to solo players or small groups, so if you ever wanted a co-op BioWare RPG, this is your chance.

The Elder Scrolls Online (2014)

Available on: PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S

If you ever wanted an Elder Scrolls game to be multiplayer without needing to faff about with mods, then The Elder Scrolls Online is here for you. An interesting mix of an action MMORPG and an open-world solo RPG, it expands on areas you’ve never been able to see in the Elder Scrolls series. 

Even if you’re more of a single-player fan, you could easily just treat The Elder Scrolls Online as a consistently updated solo Elder Scrolls RPG experience. It boasts fast-paced action combat, regular updates and expansions, and is an excellent place for beginners to MMORPGs to start.

Elder Scrolls Online does suffer from extensive cosmetic monetisation, especially if you want to invest in the housing system, but there’s no pay-to-win here. If you’re tired of waiting for Elder Scrolls 6, and Skyrim has lost its lustre, you can pick up Elder Scrolls Online and get lost in Tamriel all over again.

World of Warcraft Classic (2019) 

Available on: PC

Blizzard Entertainment released World of Warcraft Classic amid extensive fan nostalgia for old-school MMORPGs, believing that quality of life features had gone too far and that things were better back in the day. Blizzard couldn’t say no to the money this offered, and now your Warcraft subscription nets you access to two games.

Every so often, World of Warcraft Classic updates, relaunching old expansions to the game to keep things fresh, and adding in remixes to old content with their Seasons of Discovery. It also launched with a Hardcore mode, adding permadeath to your levelling experience if you want to experience classic difficulty through a new lens.

It’s an older, grinder and less casual RPG than its ‘retail’ counterpart, but Azeroth is one of the best settings in video games when it comes to player-driven exploration. Hopefully, Blizzard will add further remixes to the ‘classic’ formula to help keep this going as its own unique thing.

Old School Runescape (2013)

Available on: PC, Android

The Runescape community took steps to reject the new graphics and playstyle of Runescape 3, and has rallied en masse behind the staying power of Old School Runescape. Based on the version of the game released in 2007, Old School Runescape has all the charm and content of the original release, but also continuously gets new updates with quests, areas, and even skills.

All new inclusions to the game have to go through a community vote, keeping players connected to the game, and there’s no weird monetisation attached here. Old School Runescape has a focus on skills, old-school grinding sensibilities, and not taking itself too seriously.

Guild Wars 2 (2012)

Available on: PC

Guild Wars 2’s action MMORPG combat system and dynamic world design really lean into the moment-to-moment fun of movement and traversal. It puts a lot of effort into its world zones, with plentiful dynamic events happening to bring the player base together, and flexible scaling so you never feel rushed.

You can play on a free account for long enough to really get a feel for the game with few restrictions and plentiful content, and if you decide to take the plunge, it’s just a one-time purchase with no subscription necessary. The best cosmetics are unfortunately tied to a real cash shop, but if you’re looking for an MMORPG with PvE content but more focus on PvP, then Guild Wars 2 will oblige with its fun, fast, and responsive combat.

World of Warcraft (2004)

Available on: PC

There’s a good reason why World of Warcraft is the most famous MMORPG, with a robust, dedicated playerbase and regular expansion cycles. World of Warcraft has a strong focus on end-game dungeons and raiding, encouraging you to get together with guildmates and push to increase the power of your gear, all to hit the next tier of difficulty to get even better gear.

The graphics might be dated, but the art team always knocks it out of the park in terms of world design and small details, even on expansions that haven’t gone down as well. World of Warcraft does get too obsessed with its endgame, cutting out any need to explore old content and relegating any importance to the story. However, it is an easy game to get into for raiding, and it’s happy to shuffle you towards high-level content without much time investment.

Final Fantasy XIV (2013)

Available on: PC, PlayStation 4, PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X/S

Final Fantasy 14 is the best PvE MMORPG experience you can get. It has an expansive story that builds up over its various expansions, as well as tight gameplay and excellently designed bosses. The player base is notoriously welcoming to new players, and the dungeon system is designed to assign you experienced players to help you get settled.

The main issue with Final Fantasy 14 is its slow opening, as the base content’s pacing desperately needs a refresh. The story is absolutely worth sticking with, but it can be hundreds of hours from starting before you can actually access the latest content. 
It’s an excellent JRPG experience as well as a fantastic MMORPG, but it can turn you off if you just want to get stuck into the high-level gameplay. You can even play the base game and the first two expansions for free, by which point you should be sold.

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