Top 5 Alternative MMO's to WoW

 There comes a time after reaching level 70 where you start to realise there isn't a whole lot to wow. You can grind for more gold/materials, grind instances for new items or grind the arena/BG's for new equipment. It's at this point in time that you are probably considering trying another MMO, a deeper one. I've tried all the main ones myself and have made this article to give a fair, unbiased view of what you can expect. Enjoy!

 5. Everquest 2

 The game itself was great. I loved how all the different classes played differently, you could say that about WoW in a way but not to this extent. For example, in wow you've got supposedly weak mages running around with ice barrier and 10000hp where as in Everquest while they can 2 shot people they also die in as many. Speaking of mages, the spell animations were spectacular; with some of the more powerful spells involving the whole area.

 It sounds great, so why am I playing WoW? It just didn't have the same level of polish WoW has and due to the steep learning curve there weren't many players. I think you'll find that having a lack of players is a problem for the majority of MMO's in this game despite the gameplay easily being on par with world of warcraft. Read Gamespot's Review.

 4. Lord of the Rings Online

Lord of the rings monster play... lol

 I am a lord of the rings fan and the fact that the game world is themed is certainly a nice touch. However it's not enough to save the core of the game from being... generic. It's boring. All the creators behind lord of the rings have done is take the best bits of every MMO, put it into a package with a well known license and take no risks what so ever. The final result is a game which while doing nothing wrong, doesn't do anything amazing to make you want to play it. While the storyline quests are good, the majority are of the usual fetch and kill variety. The PvP is seriously lacking (Monsterplay, you make a monster and pvp is separate to the rest of the game, only occuring in one pre determined area). The lord of the rings is probably the most similar to WoW of all the games on this list so why quit WoW to play a worse copy? Read Gamespot's Review.

 3. Vanguard: Saga of Heroes

 Vanguard showed a lot of promise. It promised flying mounts, player ships, housing, a revolutionary diplomacy system and more. And it delivered, to an extent. I bought the game on launch day and it was immediatly apparent that it was plagued with bugs. I could see that the core of the game had a lot of potential; the crafting system is much more inventive than WoW in that you actually have different methods of making stuff. The diplomacy system was also a blast to play. I know its a card game but it was really easy to get into and start enjoying it. The combat was also excellent and was similar to WoW, which is a good thing as WoW's combat is probably the best aspect of the game.

 It was a shame then that the huge game worlds were so unpopulated. Unless in a town it would be rare to see any other players at all. What really ruined the game for both me and thousands of others though, was the lack of optimization. The games graphics were worse than WoW's, and running at medium setting I could only achieve a maximum of 18fps. There is hope for Vanguard yet though, with each new patch these issues are being addressed and so all they need now is for players to try it out again! Read Gamespot's Review.

 2. EVE Online

EvE Online, it's another world.

 Sadly, for the majority of us this game will be too complex and strategic at times. It wouldn't be right to call it slow paced but it certainly moves differently than what We're used to in world of warcraft. Instead of mashing buttons you will be planning which order you're going to fire your dozens of weapons in to get the maximum effect. The game also has a very steep learning curve. Very steep. It's likely you will spend your first two days just learning the very basics of the various different ships and the intricacies of combat. Overall, I enjoyed my time with the game but returned to WoW for the instant gratitude it offered. I think that if you are patient and looking for a deeper game experience than anything you've encountered before, EvE online is for you. Read Gamespot's Review.

 1. Starwars Galaxies

SWG.. You've never known freedom like it.

 I first played SWG a few weeks after the jump to lightspeed expansion pack, now there were not only mounts in the game but also spaceships. The possibilities of owning your own spaceship was just amazing to me, I've dreamt about living in the star wars universe since I was a kid. While EvE online offers freedom like no other game, star wars galaxies comes close and delivers it in a much more digestible way. Within days of playing the game you could choose between dozens of mount/vehicles (I chose the landspeeder), join a guild and explore the huge player created cities and start to feel as though you truly have an impact on the gaming environment. With Star wars galaxies, there is just too much to say. I could write an entire article on just decorating your own house with tens of thousands of individual items or how I went to remote planets which alone where litterally ten times the size of Azeroth.

 This all sounds fantastic, so why am I playing WoW? There weren't enough players. MMO's themselves can be great but it's truly the players who give it a soul. WoW is great because no matter what server you join you'll find thousands of people online at any one time. Unfortunatly in Star wars galaxies I could go hours without seeing another player. I have tried SWG a few times since and I'm sad to say it has changed for the worse. The huge patch that updated the combat and the entire game has driven even more players away and it now feels like a wasteland. If the 14day free trial is still running though, I strongly recommend you check it out as you will find one of the deepest games the industry has to offer. Read Gamespot's Review.

So there you have it, why I play WoW. If you got linked to this article by a friend and play WoW, please be sure to check out my leveling guide reviews, you might find using one will increase your leveling speed by up to 40%!