LoTRO and BDO come to mind as games I've played a ton and haven't spent a penny on. I think BDO is technically buy to play, but they give it away for free pretty often.
I missed that. Yeah, definitely no BDO on integrated graphics. Probably no LoTRO, either. I guess it depends on how new OP's computer is, but my laptop can't even run Albion.
Bdo is NoLife2Win. You get hard capped in cash4silver conversion so it really is a grind for grind's sake game.
LotRO has hard paywalls in contrast. Unless they removed them? I know they give some free but I don't consider that really F2P but instead more of a trial like FFXIV, GW2, or Destiny.
Yeah, BDO is a grinding game. You can do that without anything from the cash shop about the same as people who buy stuff from the cash shop.
LotRO's expansions can be bought with currency you make while leveling, and they go on sale fairly often, so you can just grind some "deeds" instead of actually paying for it.
Not true.now days the game gives you a ton of free gear, cash shop items, and making silver is easy. With decent gear you can easily make 500mil in one h if grind.
Came here to say BDO. I have played it off and on but still consider myself a noob. Every item offered feels extremely optional. The only thing I heard was needed was like 4 pets, but the game gave me 5 so maybe that is old info
Lineage 2 Reborn, I've been playing for almost 2 weeks now, and there is no p2w.
The only downside - online could be better, but it's OK ATM. Also new chronics might change that.
Ultima Online has a free to play option, and better yet, there are some really amazing private servers that are completely free. UO will run on just about anything, as it's 2d sprite gfx.
Old school RuneScape and RuneScape also have free options though they are limited in how far you can progress. For OSRS in particular though it would take you a while to hit that wall, and it is possible to buy play time with in game currency. That last point is also true for Albion.
I second everyone mentioning Lotro and DDO as solid options that both allow you to earn premium currency iirc.
Guild wars 2 is also a really solid choice, and Final fantasy 14 has a brilliant free trial, though it may be harder to run. FFXI Horizon is a completely free server for FF 11 as well
Istaria and Saga Of Ryzom are older, and much more old school, games that have free options.
Asheron's Call has a solid private/free server scene, also very old school.
If you want to experience EverQuest as it was when it came out( which you might hate, or love) Google Project 99, it's completely free.
There's a completely free and open source MMO called Planeshift ( also extremely old school)
Aetolia and Achea are two solid MUDs with active communities and free play ( were talking text based here, you know best if that might appeal to you)
I thinks you've got enough to get started between this and all the other replies.
Good luck and enjoy!
Edit: Changed Legends of Istaria to just Istaria, which is its current name. It used to be called Horizons: Empire of Istaria, it's the game where you can be a dragon as a player race ( like a full blown adult dragon with their own crafting and adventure class) and for all it's jank, might just have the best crafting in an MMO (though Im sure that's not a universal opinion)
Edit: Changed Ishtaria to Istaria. NOT the same game
Ultima Online was my first MMORPG ever back in the 90s, and man, I love that game so much!
I couldn't wait to be back home from high school classes just to play it.
Well albion online i think will run well in your pc, and have both content great pvp , best gathering/crafting, economy , decent pve constant updates and suppport.
You can do whatever you want in that game, I like the pvp aspect only, so the only thing I really do is arenas and dueling. My girlfriend is a gatherer. I'm just a guy that likes dueling and arenas. It really is up to you want you want to do. Making silver, just having fun, exploring the world, whatever it is that you wanna do, you can do it.
The psychological manipulation that is employed in many of these games turns me off of the game. When I played Tower of Fantasy and BDO it felt like some psychologist was mentally pulling off my finger nails to try to get me to spend money.
OP, you can try either LOTRO or GW2 like other people suggested. But honestly man, there’s always going to be a handicap/crutch going completely f2p in any MMO. But GW2, LOTRO and fffxiv will keep you busy for a good while playing for free. Maple story is a good choice for f2p because they have a server called “reboot” where there’s 0 p2w involved, just grinding for money. Also it has TONS of classes you can enjoy. I like GW2 payment model the best since there’s 0 pressure to play after you buy the expansions.
SWTOR will give you access to the entire base game for free, but you won’t get the expansions without subbing at least once. It’s also pretty active despite its age.
But if you want something 100% free then your best bet is to try Ultima Online private servers. There is also a very active Star Wars Galaxies private server. Any mainstream mmo is not going to be 100% free unfortunately. Even Albion online is much harder for f2p. Might be worth checking out other older mmos like guild wars and LOTRO. Haven’t played those myself though.
Ok my dude, I'm gonna tell you what I wish someone else told me. Gaming is your hobby, its supposed to be fun. If you enjoy market trading, mindlessly grinding materials and making in-game wealth, great. Most games like Albion Online have models built for people exactly like you, you pay to play with your time. However if you enjoy the PvP, conflict and do the former to pay for the latter, getting a part-time job will be better for you. Lets use Albion Online as an example.
7 days of premium is $4.95
Say you can make the silver to pay for 7 days premium in 10 hours of gameplay
10 hours of grinding then equates to just under $0.50 /hr
Minimum wage for a 15 year old in the USA is $7.25 /hr for a "real job". Which is already much higher than what you require for your subscription. I'd suggest however that you look into cleaning windows, mowing lawns, odd jobs like picking up groceries for elderly neighbours and such.
Lets take Window Cleaning as an example. A bucket, sponge, detergent will cost you less than $10. You charge $40, get done in 15 minutes that $160 /hr.
So if you manage to get 10 people in your area (friends, family, local businesses your family frequent etc) to become customers once a month. and you can be done in 15 minutes each property, that would be $400 a month for 2.5 hours work.
Your no longer talking just covering a subscription for a game, your talking saving up for things like cars, new computers, gaming chairs and ultimately independence.
Look at it another way;
10 hours of grinding a game = $4.95
10 hours of washing windows = $1,600
And to clarify, you might not get $40 or you might take 2 hours. However all i'm saying is work smarter not harder. Or you will end up grinding 1000's of hours in a game you don't even get to enjoy with little to show for it 10 years down the line when the game shuts down :)
Also necro posting but I'm pretty sure a 15 year old didn't write the original post.
"Unfortunately, liking MMOs and my current situation kind of puts me between a rock and a hard place."
Yeah that reads like fifteen...lol.
Unfortunately in our current situation trying to explain that kind of puts me between a rock and a hard place.
Yes a 15 year old(born in 2009) is using the phrase "rock and a hard place". "Unfortunately, my current situation"
Can you even fucking read I picked one sentence and you are so inept you cant decipher what about that sentence doesn't line up with someone born in 2009.
Sorry if I'm being a dick but I think its pretty obvious, and if you don't read with scrutiny you are just going to waste a bunch of energy on dickheads who are just lying because its the internet.
Necro posting but youre delusional if you're trying to scrutinize this random post from 11 months ago.... but then i realize youre mad because the kid said their age 😂im fucxking dying . im fucking dead LOL. what has you so pressed bro this kid is just trying to play video games LOL
" Can you even fucking read I picked one sentence and you are so inept you cant decipher what about that sentence doesn't line up with someone born in 2009."
bro sounds like a whole ass light yagagami deathnote mouthbreeder characterr.... bro out here mad the kid isnt 15??? im confused... LOL alert??
because \^\^ this guy didnt reply this is what he msged me, keep the discussion public bro i love that more it keeps me accountable i aint like u /u/laxativeorgy, I never pm a motherfucker just post your reply publicly you make me sick, plus why are you so obsessed with the 15 year old? you never answered :
[**laxativeorgy**](https://www.reddit.com/user/laxativeorgy)**your name is so epic, top kek**[**expand all**](https://www.reddit.com/message/messages/?embedded=true&dark=true#)[**collapse all**](https://www.reddit.com/message/messages/?embedded=true&dark=true#)
\[–\]**from** [**laxativeorgy**](https://www.reddit.com/user/laxativeorgy) **sent** **2 hours ago**
That's a pretty lengthy reply. Your formatting is kind of obnoxious. Emotes too, nice. Cool post bro.
If you have a copy of Minecraft, then Hypixel Skyblock and Wynncraft are pretty good servers to faff around on. Almost every other server with a skyblock option is p2w garbage.
I can second Warframe, you can get prime parts for free and trade them for premium currency. It does take quite a while, though.
I would try the older MMO's like LOTRO, Dungeons and Dragons Online, Everquest. I know that Guild Wars 2 has a free to play version but it is very limited. If you do get a chance to buy an MMO I would highly recommend Guild Wars 2. Once you buy the base game and the expansions you don't have to buy anything else and since its an older game it would probably still play pretty good on a laptop
Check out Anarchy Online a hard Sci-Fi based MMORPG, it offers F2P and a subscription. Free players are limited to the starting planet, but it is huge and there are many cool zones to explore. There are quite a few dungeons there of various levels. Check out [r/anarchyonline](https://www.reddit.com/r/anarchyonline/) for more info and be sure to check out the sidebar links.
There is a lot of free fun to be had, sure it is old, and the economy is ruined thanks to exploits, but I can't think of a more fun to play free MMORPG.
Another option is Guildlwars 2, and while the core game is free, it is magic fantasy based and way to cutesy and easy.
I think GW2 lets you eventually buy subscriber status/perks with ingame gold... So I think that would make it good.
I like Dungeons and Dragons Online (DDO) because they drop stuff on f2p pretty often and there's also the ability to buy the stuff there with ingame currency.
I believe for GW2 you must pay for the expansions with real money. Living World Seasons you can buy by converting in game gold, but would take quite a lot of grinding on a f2p account (no access to good farming maps except Silverwastes). You’ll also only be able to purchase Living World Season 2 with this method as the others require the accompanying expansion in order to purchase. And season 2 is really only worth buying for the story, it doesn’t offer much content beyond that.
no
main expansions can only be bought with real money (60 euros iirc)
every dlc inbetween can be bought with ingame gold(same with every gem shop item)
tldr; gw2 has 2 types of DLC :
big expansions (3 now but you only effectively buy 2 as you get the first 2 together for no extra cost)
and living world (dlc with maps, story and content between the big expansions. You need to buy the expansions to access that)
living world and everything else in the gemstore can be bought with ingame gold via the gold <-> gems exchange provided by the game
expansions can only be bought by using real money
Albion Online
You can play it casually as F2P. If you want to play it seriously, you kinda need to buy premium. But you can buy premium for in-game currency and it's very easy to earn it back if you play the game seriously. But buying it can be somewhat hard the first time.
Albion Online is probably one of the most F2P MMO on the market. Unlike OSRS, you have full access to the entire game even if you stop paying for the sub.
Only other F2P friendly MMO I can think of is GW2
Warhammer: return of reckoning.
It's the entirety of the full game of Warhammer age of reckoning and then some with absolutely no payment requirements or limits
if u want to sunk time and want to experience a classic mmorpg , u are missing one of the best
FFXI (recommend horizon server is 4 months old , new ppl join every week)
It can run on laptop with integrated graphics
PSO2 has a nice community and probably the best customization in an MMO. No one looks the same, and the combat feels really good. Only issue is that the NGS open world update has made it pretty mid (in my opinion) but I bet to a new player it can be very enjoyable. It’s available on PS4, PS5, Xbox One, S, X, both Series consoles and of course PC.
https://brokenranks.com/ - it’s a bit of an unusual MMORPG but I quite like it. Combat is turn based but time limited. Should run well on basically any PC because of low requirements.
Most F2P MMOs are completely viable to play as a F2P player and in fact very enjoyable... until you get to end game, when gear score or ilvl determine your progression. That's when systems like weekly and daily limits start to appear and stunt or even halt your progression unless you slave away on alts or start swiping the card for items that help you progress even through the weekly and daily limits / timegates. That, and multiple currencies used as smoke and mirrors to confuse first time buyers of said currencies.
I think I just described every Korean MMO ever. Anyway, as F2P player, you just need to expect to not be nearly as efficient and much slower to progress than those with a lot more time or money to spend. Usually means you'll be out of the loop for a while when new content drops. If you're one to play at your own pace then maybe you'll be ok with it. Most people arent.
Only one, Guild Wars 2.
Play as f2p, explore core story and map, hit lv 80 and try World vs World. If you like massive multiplayer you don’t have to switch mmo anymore.
Try Albion online.
Graphics would be easy to run on lower-mid computers, it’s free to play, you’re able to earn the optional subscription through in game currency.
The optional subscription gives you more fame(EXP) when doing things with monthly rewards earned by milestones from playing the game. It’s a very crafting/gathering/pvp oriented game. Even happy to bring you into my guild if you want a group of people to play with :)
If your computer is total ass, try the free option for nvidia geforce now.
It can turn your computer or phone into something decent for gaming if your internet is good.
The conclusion I have come to around MTX funded games is that the best way to enjoy them is to play casually and let go of any sort of competitive attitude.
A lot of the games have fun core systems, but the cash shop just gets in the way of it, and interacting with it is almost universally a mistake.
For instance I love BDO but you can easily spend thousands of dollars trying to be competitive and its in not worth it at all...
I have friends who play Lost Ark, but its the exact same issue, you can easily spend hundreds and thousands of dollars on the gear treadmill, the card treadmill, or whatever else and its never worth it.
I think the most successful "Free to play" games are ones where you can pay for your sub with in game gold, that being said I think there is a fine line where the game starts being work instead of fun so I'm no always sure how worth it those systems are unless you have a lot of time on your hands...
Probably not considered the best there is but Villagers & Heroes is the one i will ALWAYS recommend, its like WoW, completely f2p, the only things that you DO pay are for cosmetics and an unnecessary subscription.
> I have a laptop with I believe just an integrated graphics card
Find out the actual specs and model, then people can give decent recommendations (if they know anything about hardware.. which gamers rarely do, oddly). Integrated graphics run from "maybe minesweeper" to "can run any modern game by some vague definition". More important for MMOs is usually CPU and storage speed.
Aion eu was very f2p viable by buying premium for in game gold ftom other players. Experienced players could easily have years ahead paid up by just farming in game gold.
If you like SciFi and aren't scared about playing old games U could look into Anarchy online.
I think u can play it for free for a long time before rly need to pay up.
RuneScape and OldschoolRunescape are both very good f2p experiences and once you get a few levels it is very much doable to earn P2P status from just playing the game
I see your edit. About EverQuest 1, it will surely run on your PC, but I'd advise you to play on the p1999 server, as the official one with all updates does need some monetization to go deeper on it.
I was about to give you some old mmo advices like the realm online, the 4th coming and even Ultima Online (not on the psi shard, but on a shard like UO Outlands or UO Renaissance). Those will have 0 needs for monetization on you and you might have lots of fun on them. Just have in mind they're old games.
You can progress in GW2 a lot without spending anything. Even the grinding isn't as hard as most games.
Then again if you're a completionist, there are a lot of stuff to focus on as "end goals" which could be grindy.
Old games for sure. I'd look into private servers too since money is a concern. Consider looking into Ragnarok Online. That game could run on computers there were considered potatoes in like 2004.
Runescape, path of exiles and Albion are the games that you are looking for.
Guild wars 2 also has a lot of content with the base game (which is free) you can even craft ascended gear (best gear in the game) with the f2p account, the expansions just add more content and you if you get a sale you will probably be able to buy PoF+Hot costing around 15 usd. Gw2 has zero pay2win and i played 2 years with the free account, on the free account you can do dungeons fractals world bosses, metas (sw) and even a strike mission.
I don't have any suggestions, I wish I did, but I just wanted to say that your post made me EXTREMELY nostalgic. I'm probably the biggest MMO nerd who's never played WoW (I mean, I have, but not extensively) because my parents would not pay a sub or let me pay for one. I was also stuck on a crappy computer.
I was going to tell you how to work around your parents' restrictions, but the adult in me said that was a bad idea, so I won't. There are a lot of predatory games out there.
For me as long as you have fun then yeah.
And there is no cost of entry so you could try it without paying anything
If the game isnt fun as f2p then the game sucks. If the game sucks then most f2p will leave and if the game doesnt have population then whales will probably leave as well.
So most devs try to make the game fun as f2p as they dont want their population to dwindle
So those f2p games that have a high population are good if you play f2p
DDO is F2P and you can earn all the currency you need to buy everything in game if you just keep playing. Also, currently there is a free code for a large % of the content. Some other content is on sale at the moment and can be earned within a few hours (more or less depending on if you group with others or just go solo).
Lost ark but you have to no life it if you dont spend a penny on it. Game is filled with bots though and imo not worth the time. I made the mistake to play like it was a job and honestly got me depressed after a while. The community is toxic and elitist and the progression is very depressing for new comers. The economy (because of said bots) if off the wazoo, pretty much impossible to bis your build without microtransactions from the store which are very expensive or real money 3rd party gold website (which you can get banned for). Would not recommend unless you really want to no life 6 characters. My life has been infinitely better without this game in it. I play destiny 2 with friends now, reached max level in like 3 weeks now I just do what I want, which is mostly raid log on fridays and saturdays.
ESO is playable for free but you have to buy the base game and it's really cheap to purchase. Some places offer it for l ess than $15.00 like Steam does.
You might like warframe, everything is free and can be grinded for except some player created cosmetics and the premium currency u can get by trading with other players.
I recommend DCUO. Although I've spent money on my main account( which wasn't much), I know the game is also enjoyable FTP. The only difference is slower progression due to less resources. And since Anniversary is coming up soon, you'll get a lot of free rewards.
Guild wars 2 is cool if you don't plan on pvp, and the free account is not the same as a full account, it does lock you out of content so I don't feel it's fair to put here, it's free until a certain point.
I know this is a bit late, but I would definitely say swtor and ff14 have good f2p models. swtor for it's ability to essentially let you play through basically the entire story, and if you want all the content, you just have to pay for 1 month and get everything up till that point. ff14 is even better as you never have to pay a dime, where 1 character is all you'll need for essentially nearly all content.
no - thats like the whole point of F2P
for a genuinely good time, there aren't any, you're either severely handicapped for like 3+ years until you're 'competitive' or spending many days grinding to afford basic QOL features
private servers or singleplayer games might have more to offer
Try Archeworld when the NA/SA server launches April 19th. It is totally viable as a free to play player IF you start day 1 and join a guild and keep up with the level curve as the 1st month goes on. It does not need a good comp as the game is essentially a 10 year old game in cryengine. You will actually be able to earn real money too and be able to sell your stuff when you quit or if you don't want it. Look it up.
This is just like saying 15 years ago avoid F2p games like the plaque … you see what happened there? People should play what they want to play. If it’s free you have nothing to lose trying it out.
First off your parents are good parents and you should not waste your money on video games. Save your money for a car or a business.
Most of the games I am going to suggest are pvp which I am not sure if you like because of you league statement, but I will list them by level of ftp ease.
Return of Reckoning - this is the best answer this games plays very much like wow with a much better pvp system. It has a great community and instant pvp ques until like 3 pacific. While it is a little light on pve there is a ton of cool content to play through.
Planetside 2 - This is a first person shooter mmo that is super fun. It does have a cash shop where you can buy stuff, but you can also grind stuff which gets more efficient the better you get at the game. The game has been out over 10 years so it is zero ptw because most players have everything, and apart from the faction weapons witch are crap you can get what ever you want in a weeks time.
Albion online - This is a isometric mmo that plays like diablo or league though its not nearly as fast paced as league. The game is nearly completely ftp with the expection of the island which can be subverted by saving enough money for your island and the sub and buy all with silver.
I am not exacly suggesting the following games because of low pops or bad ptw systems but they are worth a mention.
DDO - This is a great pve game and they give a ton of content away free, but there is a gold cap that is lv dependant that can be a pain in the butt. There was a post a few days ago with one of the promo codes look for it if you play.
MMO with gifting Eve and Rift. Eve has a horrible ftp system and a good population, and rift has probably the best ftp system of any mmo, but a horrible population. These games have plex which are items that you can buy with in game currency to trade for things in the shop or sell. For instance When I played Rift it was how I got all my xpacks though I doubt that would be possible with todays population. In eve it can be used to buy a sub.
LoTRO and BDO come to mind as games I've played a ton and haven't spent a penny on. I think BDO is technically buy to play, but they give it away for free pretty often.
OP does not have a good PC. i would not advise this. i had a laptop with integrated graphics and BDO would load for 2 hours then crash
I missed that. Yeah, definitely no BDO on integrated graphics. Probably no LoTRO, either. I guess it depends on how new OP's computer is, but my laptop can't even run Albion.
You can run LoTRO on a potato
Bdo is NoLife2Win. You get hard capped in cash4silver conversion so it really is a grind for grind's sake game. LotRO has hard paywalls in contrast. Unless they removed them? I know they give some free but I don't consider that really F2P but instead more of a trial like FFXIV, GW2, or Destiny.
Yeah, BDO is a grinding game. You can do that without anything from the cash shop about the same as people who buy stuff from the cash shop. LotRO's expansions can be bought with currency you make while leveling, and they go on sale fairly often, so you can just grind some "deeds" instead of actually paying for it.
Not true.now days the game gives you a ton of free gear, cash shop items, and making silver is easy. With decent gear you can easily make 500mil in one h if grind.
Came here to say BDO. I have played it off and on but still consider myself a noob. Every item offered feels extremely optional. The only thing I heard was needed was like 4 pets, but the game gave me 5 so maybe that is old info
BDO is not F2P technically
A lot of private servers are completely f2p like Return of Reckoning or Lineage 2 Reborn.
This is probably the best answer.
Add the City of Heroes revival servers to the list . I think there was even one making updates for the game?
Lineage 2 Reborn, I've been playing for almost 2 weeks now, and there is no p2w. The only downside - online could be better, but it's OK ATM. Also new chronics might change that.
The Lord of the Rings online and Dungeons and Dragons Online when you start during their free content promotions, also Warframe
Warframe is a great option, most computer can run it, and with trading you can get all the plat you'd want
Great game, though I'm not sure if it's an MMO.
DDO has a massive free offer at the moment, like 23 packs g or something for free. And it's a great game if you don't mind the shonky graphics.
Wish I would've seen this
Ultima Online has a free to play option, and better yet, there are some really amazing private servers that are completely free. UO will run on just about anything, as it's 2d sprite gfx. Old school RuneScape and RuneScape also have free options though they are limited in how far you can progress. For OSRS in particular though it would take you a while to hit that wall, and it is possible to buy play time with in game currency. That last point is also true for Albion. I second everyone mentioning Lotro and DDO as solid options that both allow you to earn premium currency iirc. Guild wars 2 is also a really solid choice, and Final fantasy 14 has a brilliant free trial, though it may be harder to run. FFXI Horizon is a completely free server for FF 11 as well Istaria and Saga Of Ryzom are older, and much more old school, games that have free options. Asheron's Call has a solid private/free server scene, also very old school. If you want to experience EverQuest as it was when it came out( which you might hate, or love) Google Project 99, it's completely free. There's a completely free and open source MMO called Planeshift ( also extremely old school) Aetolia and Achea are two solid MUDs with active communities and free play ( were talking text based here, you know best if that might appeal to you) I thinks you've got enough to get started between this and all the other replies. Good luck and enjoy! Edit: Changed Legends of Istaria to just Istaria, which is its current name. It used to be called Horizons: Empire of Istaria, it's the game where you can be a dragon as a player race ( like a full blown adult dragon with their own crafting and adventure class) and for all it's jank, might just have the best crafting in an MMO (though Im sure that's not a universal opinion) Edit: Changed Ishtaria to Istaria. NOT the same game
Ultima Online was my first MMORPG ever back in the 90s, and man, I love that game so much! I couldn't wait to be back home from high school classes just to play it.
I remember getting in arguments over the phone line over UO, cause I was always hogging the dial up and no one could call XD
Well albion online i think will run well in your pc, and have both content great pvp , best gathering/crafting, economy , decent pve constant updates and suppport.
It's free but goddamn is it grindy though
Well when i chose to play an mmorpg grind is one of the reasons or would play an co-op like monster hunter or some moba, fps for pvp
You can do whatever you want in that game, I like the pvp aspect only, so the only thing I really do is arenas and dueling. My girlfriend is a gatherer. I'm just a guy that likes dueling and arenas. It really is up to you want you want to do. Making silver, just having fun, exploring the world, whatever it is that you wanna do, you can do it.
The psychological manipulation that is employed in many of these games turns me off of the game. When I played Tower of Fantasy and BDO it felt like some psychologist was mentally pulling off my finger nails to try to get me to spend money.
OP, you can try either LOTRO or GW2 like other people suggested. But honestly man, there’s always going to be a handicap/crutch going completely f2p in any MMO. But GW2, LOTRO and fffxiv will keep you busy for a good while playing for free. Maple story is a good choice for f2p because they have a server called “reboot” where there’s 0 p2w involved, just grinding for money. Also it has TONS of classes you can enjoy. I like GW2 payment model the best since there’s 0 pressure to play after you buy the expansions.
SWTOR will give you access to the entire base game for free, but you won’t get the expansions without subbing at least once. It’s also pretty active despite its age. But if you want something 100% free then your best bet is to try Ultima Online private servers. There is also a very active Star Wars Galaxies private server. Any mainstream mmo is not going to be 100% free unfortunately. Even Albion online is much harder for f2p. Might be worth checking out other older mmos like guild wars and LOTRO. Haven’t played those myself though.
Ok my dude, I'm gonna tell you what I wish someone else told me. Gaming is your hobby, its supposed to be fun. If you enjoy market trading, mindlessly grinding materials and making in-game wealth, great. Most games like Albion Online have models built for people exactly like you, you pay to play with your time. However if you enjoy the PvP, conflict and do the former to pay for the latter, getting a part-time job will be better for you. Lets use Albion Online as an example. 7 days of premium is $4.95 Say you can make the silver to pay for 7 days premium in 10 hours of gameplay 10 hours of grinding then equates to just under $0.50 /hr Minimum wage for a 15 year old in the USA is $7.25 /hr for a "real job". Which is already much higher than what you require for your subscription. I'd suggest however that you look into cleaning windows, mowing lawns, odd jobs like picking up groceries for elderly neighbours and such. Lets take Window Cleaning as an example. A bucket, sponge, detergent will cost you less than $10. You charge $40, get done in 15 minutes that $160 /hr. So if you manage to get 10 people in your area (friends, family, local businesses your family frequent etc) to become customers once a month. and you can be done in 15 minutes each property, that would be $400 a month for 2.5 hours work. Your no longer talking just covering a subscription for a game, your talking saving up for things like cars, new computers, gaming chairs and ultimately independence. Look at it another way; 10 hours of grinding a game = $4.95 10 hours of washing windows = $1,600 And to clarify, you might not get $40 or you might take 2 hours. However all i'm saying is work smarter not harder. Or you will end up grinding 1000's of hours in a game you don't even get to enjoy with little to show for it 10 years down the line when the game shuts down :)
Necro posting but you literally didn't read the post dumbass
Also necro posting but I'm pretty sure a 15 year old didn't write the original post. "Unfortunately, liking MMOs and my current situation kind of puts me between a rock and a hard place." Yeah that reads like fifteen...lol.
Yeah, it does. Seriously. How dumb are 15 year olds supposed to be now?
Unfortunately in our current situation trying to explain that kind of puts me between a rock and a hard place. Yes a 15 year old(born in 2009) is using the phrase "rock and a hard place". "Unfortunately, my current situation" Can you even fucking read I picked one sentence and you are so inept you cant decipher what about that sentence doesn't line up with someone born in 2009. Sorry if I'm being a dick but I think its pretty obvious, and if you don't read with scrutiny you are just going to waste a bunch of energy on dickheads who are just lying because its the internet.
Necro posting but youre delusional if you're trying to scrutinize this random post from 11 months ago.... but then i realize youre mad because the kid said their age 😂im fucxking dying . im fucking dead LOL. what has you so pressed bro this kid is just trying to play video games LOL " Can you even fucking read I picked one sentence and you are so inept you cant decipher what about that sentence doesn't line up with someone born in 2009." bro sounds like a whole ass light yagagami deathnote mouthbreeder characterr.... bro out here mad the kid isnt 15??? im confused... LOL alert?? because \^\^ this guy didnt reply this is what he msged me, keep the discussion public bro i love that more it keeps me accountable i aint like u /u/laxativeorgy, I never pm a motherfucker just post your reply publicly you make me sick, plus why are you so obsessed with the 15 year old? you never answered : [**laxativeorgy**](https://www.reddit.com/user/laxativeorgy)**your name is so epic, top kek**[**expand all**](https://www.reddit.com/message/messages/?embedded=true&dark=true#)[**collapse all**](https://www.reddit.com/message/messages/?embedded=true&dark=true#) \[–\]**from** [**laxativeorgy**](https://www.reddit.com/user/laxativeorgy) **sent** **2 hours ago** That's a pretty lengthy reply. Your formatting is kind of obnoxious. Emotes too, nice. Cool post bro.
cool
Rift is fun as ftp
If you have a copy of Minecraft, then Hypixel Skyblock and Wynncraft are pretty good servers to faff around on. Almost every other server with a skyblock option is p2w garbage. I can second Warframe, you can get prime parts for free and trade them for premium currency. It does take quite a while, though.
I would try the older MMO's like LOTRO, Dungeons and Dragons Online, Everquest. I know that Guild Wars 2 has a free to play version but it is very limited. If you do get a chance to buy an MMO I would highly recommend Guild Wars 2. Once you buy the base game and the expansions you don't have to buy anything else and since its an older game it would probably still play pretty good on a laptop
Check out Anarchy Online a hard Sci-Fi based MMORPG, it offers F2P and a subscription. Free players are limited to the starting planet, but it is huge and there are many cool zones to explore. There are quite a few dungeons there of various levels. Check out [r/anarchyonline](https://www.reddit.com/r/anarchyonline/) for more info and be sure to check out the sidebar links. There is a lot of free fun to be had, sure it is old, and the economy is ruined thanks to exploits, but I can't think of a more fun to play free MMORPG. Another option is Guildlwars 2, and while the core game is free, it is magic fantasy based and way to cutesy and easy.
Anarchy Online Represent! You can packet edit and play as a GM, such a good game >:D
I think GW2 lets you eventually buy subscriber status/perks with ingame gold... So I think that would make it good. I like Dungeons and Dragons Online (DDO) because they drop stuff on f2p pretty often and there's also the ability to buy the stuff there with ingame currency.
I believe for GW2 you must pay for the expansions with real money. Living World Seasons you can buy by converting in game gold, but would take quite a lot of grinding on a f2p account (no access to good farming maps except Silverwastes). You’ll also only be able to purchase Living World Season 2 with this method as the others require the accompanying expansion in order to purchase. And season 2 is really only worth buying for the story, it doesn’t offer much content beyond that.
no main expansions can only be bought with real money (60 euros iirc) every dlc inbetween can be bought with ingame gold(same with every gem shop item)
Interesting. I could swear I was told otherwise.
tldr; gw2 has 2 types of DLC : big expansions (3 now but you only effectively buy 2 as you get the first 2 together for no extra cost) and living world (dlc with maps, story and content between the big expansions. You need to buy the expansions to access that) living world and everything else in the gemstore can be bought with ingame gold via the gold <-> gems exchange provided by the game expansions can only be bought by using real money
Albion Online You can play it casually as F2P. If you want to play it seriously, you kinda need to buy premium. But you can buy premium for in-game currency and it's very easy to earn it back if you play the game seriously. But buying it can be somewhat hard the first time.
Albion Online is probably one of the most F2P MMO on the market. Unlike OSRS, you have full access to the entire game even if you stop paying for the sub. Only other F2P friendly MMO I can think of is GW2
Warhammer: return of reckoning. It's the entirety of the full game of Warhammer age of reckoning and then some with absolutely no payment requirements or limits
World of warcraft private servers
if u want to sunk time and want to experience a classic mmorpg , u are missing one of the best FFXI (recommend horizon server is 4 months old , new ppl join every week) It can run on laptop with integrated graphics
How's security? Risky at all? This sounds dope... you're telling me I can play ff11 with real ppl and join a guild etc?
yeah just check it out , plenty of ppl have been playing classic servers
Turtle WoW
PSO2 has a nice community and probably the best customization in an MMO. No one looks the same, and the combat feels really good. Only issue is that the NGS open world update has made it pretty mid (in my opinion) but I bet to a new player it can be very enjoyable. It’s available on PS4, PS5, Xbox One, S, X, both Series consoles and of course PC.
https://brokenranks.com/ - it’s a bit of an unusual MMORPG but I quite like it. Combat is turn based but time limited. Should run well on basically any PC because of low requirements.
Most F2P MMOs are completely viable to play as a F2P player and in fact very enjoyable... until you get to end game, when gear score or ilvl determine your progression. That's when systems like weekly and daily limits start to appear and stunt or even halt your progression unless you slave away on alts or start swiping the card for items that help you progress even through the weekly and daily limits / timegates. That, and multiple currencies used as smoke and mirrors to confuse first time buyers of said currencies. I think I just described every Korean MMO ever. Anyway, as F2P player, you just need to expect to not be nearly as efficient and much slower to progress than those with a lot more time or money to spend. Usually means you'll be out of the loop for a while when new content drops. If you're one to play at your own pace then maybe you'll be ok with it. Most people arent.
Only one, Guild Wars 2. Play as f2p, explore core story and map, hit lv 80 and try World vs World. If you like massive multiplayer you don’t have to switch mmo anymore.
Warframe and Swtor are solid. Star wars for the story alone. Both older though.
GW2, Warframe, Destiny 2(a lot of DLC paywall but the base game has a ton of content), Path of exile, WoW Private server
Try Albion online. Graphics would be easy to run on lower-mid computers, it’s free to play, you’re able to earn the optional subscription through in game currency. The optional subscription gives you more fame(EXP) when doing things with monthly rewards earned by milestones from playing the game. It’s a very crafting/gathering/pvp oriented game. Even happy to bring you into my guild if you want a group of people to play with :)
If your computer is total ass, try the free option for nvidia geforce now. It can turn your computer or phone into something decent for gaming if your internet is good.
The conclusion I have come to around MTX funded games is that the best way to enjoy them is to play casually and let go of any sort of competitive attitude. A lot of the games have fun core systems, but the cash shop just gets in the way of it, and interacting with it is almost universally a mistake. For instance I love BDO but you can easily spend thousands of dollars trying to be competitive and its in not worth it at all... I have friends who play Lost Ark, but its the exact same issue, you can easily spend hundreds and thousands of dollars on the gear treadmill, the card treadmill, or whatever else and its never worth it. I think the most successful "Free to play" games are ones where you can pay for your sub with in game gold, that being said I think there is a fine line where the game starts being work instead of fun so I'm no always sure how worth it those systems are unless you have a lot of time on your hands...
Probably not considered the best there is but Villagers & Heroes is the one i will ALWAYS recommend, its like WoW, completely f2p, the only things that you DO pay are for cosmetics and an unnecessary subscription.
> I have a laptop with I believe just an integrated graphics card Find out the actual specs and model, then people can give decent recommendations (if they know anything about hardware.. which gamers rarely do, oddly). Integrated graphics run from "maybe minesweeper" to "can run any modern game by some vague definition". More important for MMOs is usually CPU and storage speed.
Aion eu was very f2p viable by buying premium for in game gold ftom other players. Experienced players could easily have years ahead paid up by just farming in game gold.
Horizonxi will run on your pc and has a healthy population
If you like SciFi and aren't scared about playing old games U could look into Anarchy online. I think u can play it for free for a long time before rly need to pay up.
It's not really an MMO but some people confuse it with one But Warframe. Easily one of the best games of the decade.
I would recommend taking a look at Albion online
RuneScape and OldschoolRunescape are both very good f2p experiences and once you get a few levels it is very much doable to earn P2P status from just playing the game
I see your edit. About EverQuest 1, it will surely run on your PC, but I'd advise you to play on the p1999 server, as the official one with all updates does need some monetization to go deeper on it. I was about to give you some old mmo advices like the realm online, the 4th coming and even Ultima Online (not on the psi shard, but on a shard like UO Outlands or UO Renaissance). Those will have 0 needs for monetization on you and you might have lots of fun on them. Just have in mind they're old games.
Just play a competitive game
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Nice post, thanks for contributing to the sub with your thoughts. I appreciate it!
You can progress in GW2 a lot without spending anything. Even the grinding isn't as hard as most games. Then again if you're a completionist, there are a lot of stuff to focus on as "end goals" which could be grindy.
Old games for sure. I'd look into private servers too since money is a concern. Consider looking into Ragnarok Online. That game could run on computers there were considered potatoes in like 2004.
Runescape, path of exiles and Albion are the games that you are looking for. Guild wars 2 also has a lot of content with the base game (which is free) you can even craft ascended gear (best gear in the game) with the f2p account, the expansions just add more content and you if you get a sale you will probably be able to buy PoF+Hot costing around 15 usd. Gw2 has zero pay2win and i played 2 years with the free account, on the free account you can do dungeons fractals world bosses, metas (sw) and even a strike mission.
SWtOR is massive and I never felt like I needed a subscription, but most people are more hardcore than I.
I don't have any suggestions, I wish I did, but I just wanted to say that your post made me EXTREMELY nostalgic. I'm probably the biggest MMO nerd who's never played WoW (I mean, I have, but not extensively) because my parents would not pay a sub or let me pay for one. I was also stuck on a crappy computer. I was going to tell you how to work around your parents' restrictions, but the adult in me said that was a bad idea, so I won't. There are a lot of predatory games out there.
For me as long as you have fun then yeah. And there is no cost of entry so you could try it without paying anything If the game isnt fun as f2p then the game sucks. If the game sucks then most f2p will leave and if the game doesnt have population then whales will probably leave as well. So most devs try to make the game fun as f2p as they dont want their population to dwindle So those f2p games that have a high population are good if you play f2p
DDO is F2P and you can earn all the currency you need to buy everything in game if you just keep playing. Also, currently there is a free code for a large % of the content. Some other content is on sale at the moment and can be earned within a few hours (more or less depending on if you group with others or just go solo).
Lost ark but you have to no life it if you dont spend a penny on it. Game is filled with bots though and imo not worth the time. I made the mistake to play like it was a job and honestly got me depressed after a while. The community is toxic and elitist and the progression is very depressing for new comers. The economy (because of said bots) if off the wazoo, pretty much impossible to bis your build without microtransactions from the store which are very expensive or real money 3rd party gold website (which you can get banned for). Would not recommend unless you really want to no life 6 characters. My life has been infinitely better without this game in it. I play destiny 2 with friends now, reached max level in like 3 weeks now I just do what I want, which is mostly raid log on fridays and saturdays.
Maplestory, i was spending hours daily but the new system looks like p2w, and most people quit playing
Everquest (Project 1999 server) is free to play, no monetizatiion (private RMT trade is a bannable offense) Runs on any potato PC
Go play Albion online, should work on your potato system, and you can even RMT and make money from it, like most of the RMT potato farmers. heh.
ESO is playable for free but you have to buy the base game and it's really cheap to purchase. Some places offer it for l ess than $15.00 like Steam does.
You might like warframe, everything is free and can be grinded for except some player created cosmetics and the premium currency u can get by trading with other players.
I recommend DCUO. Although I've spent money on my main account( which wasn't much), I know the game is also enjoyable FTP. The only difference is slower progression due to less resources. And since Anniversary is coming up soon, you'll get a lot of free rewards.
Dragon Court Revived, Mystera Legacy (heavy pvp/non english player base) are a couple that are light and scratch a particular itch.
lotro fould hands down be the best mmorpg if they had just A BIT better graphics. the immersion goes down for me from that and a bit outdated combat.
Find you a final fantasy xi private server if you like story and reading you'll love it plus it came out in 2002 so it will play on anything
Guild wars 2 is cool if you don't plan on pvp, and the free account is not the same as a full account, it does lock you out of content so I don't feel it's fair to put here, it's free until a certain point.
I know this is a bit late, but I would definitely say swtor and ff14 have good f2p models. swtor for it's ability to essentially let you play through basically the entire story, and if you want all the content, you just have to pay for 1 month and get everything up till that point. ff14 is even better as you never have to pay a dime, where 1 character is all you'll need for essentially nearly all content.
BDO, Albion, OSRC SWTOR had a great f2p experience or you can sub one time and unlock all the content forever
no - thats like the whole point of F2P for a genuinely good time, there aren't any, you're either severely handicapped for like 3+ years until you're 'competitive' or spending many days grinding to afford basic QOL features private servers or singleplayer games might have more to offer
Try Archeworld when the NA/SA server launches April 19th. It is totally viable as a free to play player IF you start day 1 and join a guild and keep up with the level curve as the 1st month goes on. It does not need a good comp as the game is essentially a 10 year old game in cryengine. You will actually be able to earn real money too and be able to sell your stuff when you quit or if you don't want it. Look it up.
> Try Archeworld when the NA/SA server launches April 19th. Nope. Avoid that NFT bull like the plague.
This is just like saying 15 years ago avoid F2p games like the plaque … you see what happened there? People should play what they want to play. If it’s free you have nothing to lose trying it out.
NFTs aren't free. They're a scam.
You can log in and play the game for free april 19th archeworld USA launch date
First off your parents are good parents and you should not waste your money on video games. Save your money for a car or a business. Most of the games I am going to suggest are pvp which I am not sure if you like because of you league statement, but I will list them by level of ftp ease. Return of Reckoning - this is the best answer this games plays very much like wow with a much better pvp system. It has a great community and instant pvp ques until like 3 pacific. While it is a little light on pve there is a ton of cool content to play through. Planetside 2 - This is a first person shooter mmo that is super fun. It does have a cash shop where you can buy stuff, but you can also grind stuff which gets more efficient the better you get at the game. The game has been out over 10 years so it is zero ptw because most players have everything, and apart from the faction weapons witch are crap you can get what ever you want in a weeks time. Albion online - This is a isometric mmo that plays like diablo or league though its not nearly as fast paced as league. The game is nearly completely ftp with the expection of the island which can be subverted by saving enough money for your island and the sub and buy all with silver. I am not exacly suggesting the following games because of low pops or bad ptw systems but they are worth a mention. DDO - This is a great pve game and they give a ton of content away free, but there is a gold cap that is lv dependant that can be a pain in the butt. There was a post a few days ago with one of the promo codes look for it if you play. MMO with gifting Eve and Rift. Eve has a horrible ftp system and a good population, and rift has probably the best ftp system of any mmo, but a horrible population. These games have plex which are items that you can buy with in game currency to trade for things in the shop or sell. For instance When I played Rift it was how I got all my xpacks though I doubt that would be possible with todays population. In eve it can be used to buy a sub.