If you are considering which MMORPG to play next year, then we have good and bad news. The good news is that you will have a wide selection of paid and free online games. And the bad news is that this genre is not developing very actively. This does not mean that the genre is in danger, just the majority of studios so far allocate their main resources to mobile games.
We examined a number of popular Russian and foreign game resources, such as Freemmostation, Gamer Info and MMOByte, and compiled a list of the most anticipated MMORPGs of 2018.
10. Lineage Eternal
Payment Model: Subscription.
After many years of its existence, Lineage still manages to be a big cash cow for NCSoft, surpassing games like Guild Wars 2, Blade & Soul, Aion or even Lineage 2, not to mention WildStar: Reloaded.
It took a lot of time for the Korean studio to release a new chapter, Lineage Eternal, which was announced back in 2011, and closed beta testing started in November 2016.
Features of Lineage Eternal:
- the ability to play a whole team of several heroes, one of which is controlled by the player, and the other three by AI. Very convenient in the dungeons.
- Dynamic dungeon generation with randomized spawn monsters.
- Dynamic events like the ones players have already seen in Guild Wars 2.
The gameplay is similar to other games in the "hack and slash" genre, however it will include mouse gestures to activate skills.
9. Lost Ark
Subscription Model: free-to-play (but that’s not accurate).
Next in the top expected MMORPGs of 2018 is another Korean game. The first closed beta version showed how Smilegate successfully fulfilled its promises of chic dungeons, impressive raids and an interesting combat system.
The game has many entertaining factors, such as hidden dungeons, sea bosses or portals, which accidentally appear on the map and are available only if there are a lot of players nearby. And there will be as many as 18 classes in it, and, at the same time, a meaningful pattyplay with the classic trinity “tank-damager-healer”.
According to rumors, Lost Ark will soon appear in North America and Europe. As for Russia, the publisher has not yet been selected for the game.
8. Dauntless
Subscription Model: Free.
This is not so much an MMORPG as a collaborative multiplayer RPG similar to Monster Hunter. But, unlike Monster Hunter, Dauntless offers much larger areas for exploration. Players will have at their disposal many unique islands where you can hunt for various monsters, letting the collected loot for crafting or improving equipment.
The game will not have a traditional class system, instead, the developers chose to give each type of weapon its own unique set of attacks, abilities, strengths and weaknesses.
So far, Dauntless is in a closed beta.
7. Crowfall
Payment model: one-time purchase.
Crowfall, which the creators call the "simulator of the war for the throne," offers gamers a unique gaming experience that combines a large open world, a political simulator and survival games. The main entertainment in Crowfall will be temporary worlds campaigns with phases in which there will be changing rules and events. Each phase can last several months.
In addition, the developers chose to abandon the familiar level system, instead introducing passive and active pumping of the skills used by the player.
The release of Crowfall is scheduled for 2017, but judging by the current stage of the closed alpha test, the game is likely to be released in 2018.
6. Riders of Icarus
Subscription Model: free-to-play.
Each new MMORPG should have some zest to attract the attention of players. For the Riders of Icarus, this highlight is the mounts (mounts). Of course, in many games there are interesting and unusual mounts, but, as you might guess from the name, mounts in Riders of Icarus will play an important role for both quests and character development. In the game, you will surely encounter many new and powerful creatures that you can capture and use for your tasks: from cute kangaroos to ancient, fire-breathing dragons. It seems like Pokemon, only in a fantasy world, with murders and bloodshed.
5. Chronicles of Elyria
Payment Model: Subscription.
The game was due to undergo alpha and beta testing during 2017, and a release date was scheduled for the fourth quarter of 2017. However, looking at it in its current state, it can be assumed that the release in 2018 is much more likely.
Chronicles of Elyria is positioned as “the most dynamic and impressive MMORPG to date”, and the development team is trying to do something extraordinary - to give gamers a character who can grow old and die. This is an attempt to encourage players to think big, giving them a better understanding of the goal and giving the character a significant role in a dynamically unfolding story.
Chronicles of Elyria is one of the few upcoming MMORPGs that has a closed economy, non-repetitive quests, limited resources and a completely destructible environment.
4. Ashes of Creation
Payment Model: Subscription.
One of the things that sets Ashes of Creation apart from most MMORPGs is that it has a fully player-driven world with a unique Nodes system that allows players to build the whole world from scratch, around them.
Nodes are special zones that appear when players complete a certain number of actions. At first, the Node can be a small bonfire, then grows to a settlement, and even an entire metropolis, depending on the activity of the players. Enemy nodes can be besieged, with friendly ones - to trade, acquire housing there and recruit players for a trip through the dungeons.
There will also be caravans in Ashes of Creation. Which can be robbed. Or defend against burglars - as much as you like.
3. Camelot Unchained
Payment Model: Subscription.
In third place in the top 10 most anticipated MMORPGs of 2018 is the creation of Mark Jacobs, creator of Dark Age of Camelot and Warhammer Online.In fact, the new project is a sequel to Dark Age of Camelot.
Unlike most of the games on our list, Camelot Unchained is a predominantly PvP game with large-scale battles for 5,000 players.
2. Patheon: Rise of the Fallen
Payment Model: Subscription.
In this game, the plot revolves around several gods who unleashed a power war, using their loyal supporters as cannon fodder. Although players can independently complete part of the campaign, progress within the Pantheon requires constant interaction with other players and even NPS. For example, the quest can be taken only after talking with the game character on the desired topic. Some NPCs may even set a trap for the player, others will fight to the last, and there will be those who will run in panic at the first danger.
Another feature of Patheon: Rise of the Fallen will be a perception system that allows gamers to complete random quests with rich loot.
1. Sea of Thieves
Payment model: one-time purchase.
The most anticipated MMORPG among the 2019 games in Russia will be dedicated to pirates. Search for lost treasures on sunken ships, exploration of distant islands, sea battles with other ships, and all this is fun, provocatively, with vivid graphics and first-person view.
Among the most anticipated MMORPGs that will be released in 2018, subscription projects prevail. Paid projects have several advantages over free-play games: a more sane community (since adults can mainly afford to pay for a subscription), a longer “life” period, adequate technical support and quick troubleshooting. So it remains to be hoped that in 2018 high-quality and interesting games await us, for which it is not a pity to pay a certain amount.
