Ashikata

Hello all, I'm new here and thought this might be a good place to ask some fellow rpg addicts for some advice!

I'm looking for a browser based game (no client downloads) which would satisfy the following criteria.

- Choice of routes: ie. not be forced to combat, join guilds/clans, or basically have to do the same as everyone else, should offer crafting, adventuring, rp-ing, fighting etc.

- Lots to do in one day: I don't want to log onto a game, press 5 buttons and have to log off until the next day. Ideally it won't be completely turn based or having X amount of action points per hour/day etc.

- Single persistant world: Self explanitory really, I like immersion and interaction.

- Longevity: Something with long term goals but realistic short term accomplishments. A few months at least.

- No pay per item: Some games have free mode and an option to 'upgrade' an account. This is fine; what I hate is when you can 'donate' to get a new sword, x amount of gold etc, I don't like to see players bypassing game mechanics this way, it sucks.

To help you understand what I'm after, I'll explain the games I have played. I come from a long and accomplished career in Ultima Online, I played for about 5 years on and off and I think this game has everything to offer, sadly it's being ruined by idiot developers who don't have a clue. I was primarily a PK'er but the vast scope of options in the game meant there was always something to do, whether you wanted to play for 5 minutes or 5 hours.

I played WoW for a month or so, but the constant struggle for the next most powerful item and the general mentality of players put me off. It's a selfish game and doesn't reward well enough, it's a constant push for the next quest, next object/item whatever, it's a bit superficial and repetitive imo.

I have played a few browser games, including runescape which I found far too slow and boring to warrant a monthly fee for the best features. However I can completely understand why people enjoy it so much.

I currently play Project Rockstar which is fun but falls under the "not enough to do in a day" category.

I also play astroempires which is fantastic, the game mechanics and systems are amongst the best I've seen and free accounts are just as effective as upgraded. The only problem with this game is it's so linar, build to destroy and that's about it.

I know I'm asking for a lot, but a point in the right direction would be wonderful as many hours of searching still leaves me without satisfactory results

Thanks in advance!!

Ashi.

Auroron

Well, we have these games:
Elysarian Kingdom http://www.elysaria.com/
Archmage: Reincarnation From Hell www.the-reincarnation.com
FaitH http://www.dragonclawstudio.com/faith/

And I suggest you try Kingdom of Loathing (KOL). It's a really good game, but on the negative side it got action points, but you can easily restore them by eating/drinking things you buy from the auction house.
Wonderful humor too, I really suggest you try it.
www.kingdomofloathing.com
(I didn't mention Adventurequest or Runescape, since I think you have tried them already?)

Dawnblader

also needing a browser game in which you move. also no action points. Played ADVenture Quest, Runescape, PArdus, (still playing) OGame

Plz not FaitH it is not my type neither is Archmage, or Elysarian Kingdom.
Plz I NEED A GOOD GAME!!!!!!!!

Tee hee one of the ships I want to get in ogame
Play at www.ogame.org

Metajoe

Try this game out, been playing it almost a year and I love it.

It's called Lands of Hope.

There is A LOT to do in this game. No APs, no time limits, it's being updated DAILY, the community is quite helpful, etc. I've played Astro Empires, Ogame, Pardus, KoL, Runescape & Mech Crusaders as far as browser-based mmorpgs go and this is by far the very best one I've ever played. There are some buyable items that do enhance gameplay, but the items arent super-powerful swords, etc., they're skill buffers or items that let you customize your pet's colors, chat colors, building pictures (you can build your own houses and make them your guildhall if you want to), or your own race colors if there is an option to do so, there are item upgrades, you can buy more inventory space, bank space, # of pets you can have, etc. But you can either buy it with real money (it's pretty cheap) or you can spend your in-game money for the credits used (its expensive).

You can have 5 separate characters on a single account, the game offers 6 free classes to start with and each class branches off with a profession at level 50 and at level 200 (Max level in the game is 1000.1000) you can choose to evolve from a human into one of I believe 5 or 6 races and get small stat bonuses for the race you chose. There are loads of skills. Certain classes and professions get certain skills that others cannot get (therefore it is impossible to learn all the skills under 1 character and that is why you can make more than one if you wanted to). Everyone can get crafting tradeskills to help their character either: make money, make armor, tools, or weapons, build houses or dungeons (which other players can venture in and both you and the player using it gets experience for it), breed/summon/tame pets, etc. etc. etc.

There is so much to tell about this game, it's not even funny. Very in-depth storyline too. You are quite literally free to do as you wish on this game and if you need help, you can ask a question or two in the main chat or look through the very informative library menu that the game creator put a lot of time into to help explain what skills do and how to use them, how to find stuff, make money, etc.

It's free upto level 100 and then there is a ONE-TIME (no subscription fees I promise you) fee of $15USD to upgrade your account so you can get to level 1000 and access the rest of the game past level 100.
You have the option to play it via web mode or you can download the image pack and play it on the browser that comes with it (there is way less lag if you choose to download it AND the file size is only ~12MB, so it shouldnt take long to download and install).

Technically the creator calls it a text-rpg, but it really isnt by the way. Oh and one last thing, the tutorial can be rather dull, but it's very helpful if you pay attention to the questor npcs and helps you with the game mechanics/control. If you like the tutorial (I did, but most people dont), then you will love the game after you get out when you reach level 5. And even if you dont care for the tutorial, you'll still enjoy getting out of it and venturing into the real world