Role Playing games and their kin have never been more popular with millions upon millions of concurrent users and show no sign of slowing down. Get your hot pockets ready boys, today we will be looking at the Top 10 Best Online RPG games in 2015.
In no particular order,
1. Path of Exile
The only thing better than a great game is a great free game—a free game bursting at the seams with content and replay value. If action RPG is what you crave, look no further, because Path of Exile has exactly what you need.
In Path of Exile, you play as one who has been sent away from the island of Oriath to the dangerous land of Wraeclast, a dumping zone for vagrants and criminals. This land is as hostile as they come and everyone and everything wants you dead, especially Dominus, the pseudo leader of Wraeclast. You wake up on the beach and right away the action begins.
Now I know what you’re thinking, I’ve seen this all before, and it’s true to some extent. Most of the usual’s are here: you pick one of six classes; you name your character; and then you beat your mouse to death, killing anything that moves.
But where Path of Exile differs from other action RPGs, is in its ability to give you options as a player. Although you have to pick a class, Path of Exile does little to control how you build your character, allowing the player to customize any class to their specific playstyle.
Weapons and armor are plentiful and diverse, but more importantly, they may contain sockets. Each socket is color coded and can be combined with a matching colored gem. These gems serve as a way to modify and enhance your equipment, giving them special powers such as raising the dead and sending them off to do your dirty work. Gems can be removed and replaced at will, allowing the player to mix and match gems as they find them to better suit their play style.
Path of Exile also features a skill tree so varied and explicit, that even a brief glance might make you wet yourself. I can assure you though, that with a little investment and patience, it will make complete sense. Although intimidating, the skill tree and its capacity to provide you with different paths for your character to progress is really what separates Path of Exile from other action RPGs.
This is exactly what Path of Exile is really all about, finding your own path. At first glance, you may think this is some rip off of Diablo 2, but once you see all that Path of Exile has to offer, you’ll start to wonder if you’re committing some kind of felony. I mean, how can so much goodness be available for free? It’s times like this where it’s best just to keep your head down, mouth shut, and just enjoy this wonderful world we live in.
2. Diablo 3: Reaper of Souls
Diablo 3 was an interesting release: the game didn’t work for 48 hours; there was an auction house where people could buy items, negating any real need for exploring; and the story seemed as if it was written by a deranged child who watched the Evil Dead one too many times.
Despite its flaws, we were still compelled to play as bludgeoning baddies with axes, fireballs, and giant toads never got old. The gameplay was fun, although a bit contrived, but we could all see the potential. This potential is realized in Reaper of Souls.
Taking place after the events of Diablo 3, Tyrael acquires the black soulstone with the seven great evils trapped inside. Not trusting anyone else with its disposal, he decides to bury it deep within the tomb of Rakkis. Of course, something goes wrong. Malthael, now calling himself the Angel of Death, ambushes Tyrael and takes the black soulstone for his own purposes. Malthael wishes to wipe out all people in order to end the war between heaven and hell, and it’s up to you to stop him.
The improvements to Diablo make themselves apparent right in the first chapter; Reaper of Souls is what Diablo 3 should have been upon release. Within the first chapter, you will experience more variety in enemy types, side quests, and loot than you did in your entire play through of Diablo 3.
The gritty dark aesthetic previously found in Diablo 1 and 2 makes a return here instead of Diablo 3’s sometimes bright and colorful worlds. Oddly enough, this breath of familiarity is very refreshing, like eating a name brand cereal after months of the cheap stuff, which is a good thing. Everyone knows what a Diablo game feels like, and Diablo 3 didn’t feel like a Diablo game, until now.
Reaper of Souls features a new class as well: the Crusader. Similar to Diablo II’s Paladin, the Crusader brings a variety of support and defensive abilities while still managing to strike with great authority. Equip this character with a shield and heavy weapon and you’ll be converting baddies to the light in no time.
The standout feature of Reaper of Souls is certainly its new Adventure Mode. While in Adventure Mode, all waypoints of the game’s five acts will be made available to you. Scattered through the map will be random side missions called bounties wherein destroying everything in sight will reward you with valuable treasure. Complete a certain number of these bounties and you will be granted access to a Nephalem rift, a randomly generated dungeon with a whole variety of enemies from every act, which eventually culminates in a boss fight that will always drop a legendary of some sort. Yes, it’s as fun as it sounds.
All in all, Reaper of Souls is exactly what the series needed: a hard hitting to the point story, great variety in enemies and levels, and a gameplay system that adds a ton of replay value. If you had your doubts that Blizzard could fix Diablo 3, Reaper of Souls is here to put your worries to bed.
3. World of Warcraft: Warlords of Draenor
Just when you thought you were getting your life together, Blizzard shoves you back into the buffet line and drops another piece of fried chicken onto your plate. Cancel your gym membership boys, there’s a new expansion in town and there’s no time to waste.
It’s hard to believe WoW has been around for eleven years, but it has, and for good reason. Millions of people still play, and Warlords of Draenor looks to solidify WoW’s grasp on the MMORPG community.
Warlords of Draenor allows us to see Draenor before its destruction. You see,
Garrosh escapes from prison before being punished for his crimes in the previous expansion, Mists of Pandaria, and with the help of Kairoz, he manages to travel back in time. By traveling back in time, he is able to prevent the corruption of Draenor caused by Mannoroth’s blood while also bringing new technology to the tribes, uniting them into a single force. The goal? Garrosh creates a new dark portal with only one purpose in mind: Destroy present Day Azeroth!
One of the newest additions to WoW is something called Garrisons, which is a permanent home base that can be outfitted with all sorts of goodies. Garrisons allow you to construct buildings to handle certain activities such as gearing, crafting, raiding, and so on and so forth. Garrisons also allow for some single player alone time as you manage your structures so that you may become more self-reliant instead of having to travel to nearby towns to conduct your business. These Garrisons are also used to train NPCs who can then go out and acquire items for both themselves and for you.
Blizzard has a lot of time to flesh out the production value of WoW, and this is exemplified in the new zone of Draenor. The level of artistry from multiple disciplines is on full display here and it's really quite spectacular. Draenor is easily the most diverse zone in all of WoW, with its beautiful foliage, snow covered peaks, winding canyons, and haunting forests--all for the player to explore. These areas are also accompanied by a soundtrack that is one of the best to come out of Blizzard in recent memory and really adds to the overall aesthetic feel of Draenor, making exploration a palpable experience.
Truth be told, there’s a lot new in Warlords of Draenor, from the level cap being increased to 100, to being able to pay for your subscription with in game gold, Warlords of Draenor is easily the best expansion in the entire series. New gear, new quests, and some of the best storytelling Blizzard has ever done makes Warlords of Draenor a must play game for any MMORPG player.
4. Guild Wars 2
It take courage to go against the grain, especially in the gaming business when there is so much to lose. But every now and again, a game comes out that reinvents the wheel, and does so with great artistry, purpose, and ingenuity. Guild Wars 2 accomplishes this with its creative questing systems, level management, and storytelling.
Guild Wars 2 takes place in the land of Tyria, 250 years after the events of Guild Wars: Eye of the North expansion. Five terrible elder dragons have ravaged the land of Tyria, forcing many of its inhabitants to leave their homeland in search of a safe place to call home. You play a hero destined to re-establish a group called Destiny’s Edge, a group of adventurers from different races who fought against the dragons in previous struggles. Through this unification of the different peoples of Tyria, the fight can now be taken to the dragons, specifically Zhaitan, the undead elder dragon.
Separating Guild Wars 2 from many other MMOs, is its ability to make exploration and cooperation the centerpiece of the gameplay. Exploration is fun and exhilarating as random world events can occur at any moment. These world events are based on the level of the player, and also on the size of the group exploring. The bigger the group, the bigger the baddie, and also the reward. This allows for some great cooperative play, as everyone is fighting for the same cause.
As a bonus to this mechanic, players engaged in such battles will be given their own experience and loot, so there is no need for loot hoarding or worrying about not gaining enough experience.
These world events are only one of the many exciting encounters you will discover on your travels. There are side quests and interesting NPCs to keep you entertained along the way, giving each destination a sense of uniqueness while simultaneously making the whole experience memorable. For example, you may find yourself in a forest minding your own business when suddenly you discover an unbeaten path. Before you know it, your platforming your way through some portal in the sky which takes you an entirely different area ready to be explored and enjoyed.
Guild Wars 2 also handles leveling in a different way than most other MMORPGs. Say you are a higher level than most of the adventurers in your party and a baddie spawns and is ready to fight. The game will level you down to a lower average level so that the fight may still be interesting, but the loot will still be suitable for your higher level. This is also true in the PvP arenas where everyone is given max level, making victory a matter of skill more so than your hours invested into leveling.
Guild Wars 2 is a game that pulls you in with its beautifully crafted worlds and entices you to push on by constantly giving you rewards. There is even an experience bonus to be gained once an area has been completely explored, further encouraging you to keep at it. Along the way, you will most definitely make some friends, and with those friends you can enjoy the many quests, PvP modes, and side quests together. Although Guild Wars 2 comes with an initial price tag, there is no monthly subscription, which is a nice touch. All in all, Guild Wars 2 is a game for anyone interested in great gameplay, great graphics, and great fun.
5. Dark Souls 2: Scholar of the First Sin
Much has been said about the Souls games as of late, and for good reason. Somehow, From Software seemed to understand that we are all, in fact, masochists. There is no other explanation. How else can so many of us spend hours upon hours fighting for survival in a world laden with horrific enemies, bosses, and sometimes other players? Indeed, the first Dark Souls was considered by some to be one of the most difficult games to come out of the last decade, and it’s hard to disagree with them. Dark Souls 2, while not as difficult, takes the best of Dark Souls and Demon’s Souls before it, and successfully merges them into a cohesive package. The result is a dangerously addictive action RPG game that will leave you withering in pain and pleasure for hours on end.
Dark Souls 2 takes place in the land of Drangleic and you the player take shape in the form an Undead, or Hollow. It is revealed to you that you are the bearer of some curse, and Drangleic holds the answers. The world of Drangleic is run by a Monarch, which is revealed to you by the Emerald Herald, an enigmatic guide who leads you through most the game. She also reveals to you that in order to vanquish the curse bestowed upon you, four powerful foes must be eliminated: the Old Iron King, a beast called Rotten, the Lost Sinner, and something called Duke’s Dear Freja. By accomplishing this task, you will capture their souls and break the curse.
Truth be told, the lore of the Souls games has always been dense and hard to follow. In this respect Dark Souls 2 is no different. The creators of the series seem to enjoy burying the story in all sorts of ways: item descriptions, delusional NPCs, and through the world itself. If you really want to know what’s going on in the world of Dark Souls 2, my suggestion to you is to pay close attention to everything, as you never know when a clue will spring up on you.
While the story is deep and interesting, it has never been the main attraction of the Souls games. The Souls games are primarily only about one thing: brutal rewarding combat. Dark Souls 2 delivers on this aspect and keeps the thrills coming with new enemies such as giant war turtles with massive maces ready to crush your frail body, and hideous monsters beating you to death with their own dismembered limbs as weapons.
Scholar of the First Sin is the latest expansion to Dark Souls 2, and offers all released content in one package for those who have not purchased the previous DLCs. This latest expansion offers all sorts of goodies including an alternate ending, new NPCs, a new character: Scholar of Sin, and many balance tweaks to the levels. The most striking of these updates is the graphical overhaul of the game's engine as it now incorporates DirectX 11.
Dark Souls 2 was originally released towards the end of the Xbox 360 and PS3’s life span. While still good looking, it didn’t compare to the newer games that were about to be released. Now with this newer version, players can enjoy the game with higher graphic fidelity and steady frame rates which makes Dark Souls 2 all the more engaging of a game to play.
Now with Dark Souls 2 being released on the PC, players can enjoy the pure bliss that is its online experience. Although different at first, most players will agree that Dark Soul 2’s system for online play is extremely satisfying. Instead of connecting with players through a lobby of some sort, players join the worlds of others through their soul signs, which can be placed on the ground and can be seen by other players playing online. Once in another player’s world, you can then help clear dangerous areas, earn souls, and help defeat bosses. More importantly though, you may arrive just in time to save the one who summoned you from the attack of a human invader. That’s right, Dark Souls 2 allows you to invade another player’s world where you can hunt them down and take their souls.
It is this combination of rewarding fair combat, deep storytelling, and intense multiplayer that makes Dark Souls 2: Scholar of the First Sin a must play for the PC. With the tweaks and upgrades this expansion brings, Dark Souls 2 has never been better.
6. Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn
Let’s face it, sometimes games just aren’t any good. It’s a common predicament, but what was most surprising of Square’s Final Fantasy XIV, is that a company known for being masters of the genre could produce a game that was, well, just not any good. The initial release was plagued with all sorts of problems: boring quests, frame rate issues, and a horrific user interface.
What’s not common, however, is a company’s will to right the wrongs in any sort of meaningful way. Most companies when faced with adversity, simply throw the game to the wayside and try again. Thankfully, Square is not one of those companies. Not only has Square righted the wrongs of old, but they have successfully turned Final Fantasy XIV into one of the best MMORPGs on the market.
A Realm Reborn takes place after the dramatic events of Final Fantasy XIV, where much of Eorzea was destroyed. At the end of Final Fantasy XIV, the Archon Louisoix sealed the remaining soldiers of Eorzea, along with the player, in an aetherial rift where they would be unharmed. A Realm Reborn picks up where this storyline ends with the player attempting to rebuild Eorzea while defending it against the forces of the Garlean Empire and Beastmen Tribes.
It seems that the powers that be at Square sat down together for a cup of tea and began listing everything that was wrong with their first effort. Then, one by one, they went down the line and fix each and everyone one. The graphic issues have been resolved, resulting in a game that is smooth and consistent. The user interface has been redesigned and questing has never been more interesting.
A Realm Reborn also brings random events to Eorzea called FATES (Full Active Time Events), which helps keep the pace of A Realm Reborn on par with other MMOs. In addition, players will also be able to participate in a new questing format called Levequest. These quests are similar to the daily quests found in other MMOs, where the player attempts to progress as far they can before it expires. These quests are made up of different tasks, and as each task is completed, the rewards grow exponentially. These tasks grow more difficult as they progress, so it’s a good idea to bring a larger party with you to accomplish these tasks.
Final Fantasy XIV also one of the best character building systems of any game in the genre. Instead of picking a class and staying with it forever until you decide to create a new character, classes are instead defined by their weapons. By switching weapons, you switch your capabilities, skill set, and affiliations. Switching weapons will align you with the Disciples of War (masters of physical combat), Disciples of Magic (practitioners of the magical arts), Disciples of the Hand (crafters and handymen who synthesize and repair items), and Disciples of the Land (gatherers who collect resources from the environment). These groups are further broken down with more specialized abilities and you may switch between them by simply switching weapons. All experience will then be allocated towards your current alignment and skills learned in one class may be intertwined with those of another, giving the player a chance to really experiment with their builds.
A Realm Reborn is truly a love song to the fans of the series, and it has the fortitude to be more than just a fling. Square has turned one of the worst MMORPGs, into one of the best and most exciting experiences on the market.
7. Archeage
If I could sum up Archeage in a word, that word would be freedom. Unlike most MMORPGs where areas of the map are sectioned off into zones and loading screens, Archeage features a zoneless world where everything is accessible at once, similar to Skyrim and other games before it. Developer XL Games have built one of the most authentic RPG worlds and implores you to discover all that it has to offer.
One of the main attractions of this game is the landscape, and XL Games gives you a wonderful tool to make your explorations even easier: the glider. This wonderful device allows the players to traverse the world of Archeage with ease while simultaneously giving the player a wonderful view of the world. Given to the player early, the glider allows for the player to take flight at a moment’s notice, making the massive world of Archeage easily accessible, as traveling on foot would far too time consuming. Being able to take flight and explore the world of Archeage, subjects the player to all the world has to offer all at once. One minute you might be walking through a field gathering resources, and the next you might be flying over a village where people are putting those resources to use in interesting ways you might not have known about.
The glider gives way to other forms of transportation such as the airship. The airship allows you to fly at an even higher vantage point and when coupled with the glider allows for the player to experience mobility like no other MMORPG can provide. From high up in the airship, you will discover vast forests, mountains, and even an ocean that contains so much content you might think XL Game developers enjoyed playing Windraker a little too much.
While it’s easy to get caught up in the world itself, this is not to say the other aspects of Archeage are any less interesting. Archeage features one of the most versatile character creations systems to ever be featured in an MMORPG. While only featuring four races, there are ten classes for the player to choose from, each with their own unique abilities, giving the player a total of 120 combinations in which their character can be created. Needless to say, this dynamic coupled with Archeage’s very palpable combat system, combat has been taken to new heights in Archeage and you would be cheating yourself if you didn’t explore everything Archeage has to offer.
Truth be told, I could sit here writing for days about extensive farming systems, decorating your house, and the joyful exploration of Archeage’s wonderful words, but this would be doing XL Games an injustice. It’s best that you pick up the game yourself and experience it yourself. I guarantee that after you first experience with the glider, you will be hooked on what Archeage has to offer.
8. Star Wars: The Old Republic
Stars Wars, one of the most beloved Sci-Fi franchises in the history of Sci-Fi franchises, is more than just a couple people waving an electric sword at each other while a little green man talks backwards to himself. No, Star Wars was always about the relationships, and there is no better game studio better equipped to handle this dynamic than BioWare.
BioWare, a company known for their masterful storytelling in games such as Mass Effect, has created a game with one of the most compelling stories ever put into an MMORPG. Characters in The Old Republic are exactly that, characters. They have their own personalities, make interesting decisions, and react in a believable manner to the decisions you make. Accompanying this design is wonderful voice acting and well-designed character models, making them both compelling and enjoyable to be around.
The Old Republic is a game that takes place well before the events of the Star Wars films, about 3,500 years to be exact, during a time when the Sith Empire is plotting the destruction of both the Galactic Republic and the Jedi. Darth Malgus serves as the main antagonist in the dense plot, and each of the playable classes have their own three act storyline. While the player must choose between fighting for the Galactic Republic or the Sith Empire, the player’s alignment to either evil or good is still dependent on the decisions they make.
Through the player’s decisions, story arcs adjust accordingly, making each play through different than the next. This adds a level of replay value that only BioWare can provide. This style of gaming is a perfect fit for the layered lore found in Star Wars. You see, you might be aligned with the Galactic Republic, but through your decisions, you might just be aligned with the dark side as well, and your service to the Galactic Empire is really just service to your own evil plans. It’s this sort of back and forth that makes The Old Republic the ideal game to express just how good or evil, you really are.
The Old Republic also features top notch gameplay mechanics, allowing for intense gunfights, lightsaber duels, and space missions where your dream of piloting a Star Wars spacecraft can finally be realized. While much of the gameplay is very standard compared to other MMO’s, it’s the combination of varying landscapes and great storytelling that helps keep the gameplay emotional and important.
The Old Republic is a must play for Star Wars fans, and for anyone who is looking for an MMO that really takes storytelling to new heights. BioWare keeps true to their legacy with The Old Republic by engaging the player with important decisions that will ultimately determine the fate of the galaxy.
9. Neverwinter
The core of any game is always the gameplay; take the gameplay away, and you no longer have a game, but just a series of images that may or may not convey a story. Neverwinter gets this, and as a result, Neverwinter features some of the best gameplay mechanics you’ll find in any MMORPG.
The game takes place in the city of Neverwinter and, of course, you play as the hero ready and willing to save the day. In the midst of conflict, the dead are rising and their presence poses a severe threat to the people of Neverwinter, causing the formation of factions. These factions fight for control over the population, and also against the dead as they march across the land.
While at the centerpiece of many MMOs, the story is not Neverwinter’s strongest asset. As I said before, this is a game that focuses on combat, and the result is combat that is genuinely fun to play. Similar to games such as Diablo, Neverwinter features a high level of production value when it comes to its presentation.
Battles shimmer with smooth and colorful animations. The sound of a sword striking an enemy’s armor is clear and potent. The camera, being behind the player in a sort of 3rd person point of view, really draws the player into the action as every gruesome detail is exploited on screen.
This is exemplified best in the twenty on twenty PvP mode that is unlocked once the player has reached the level cap. Where other MMOs might duck such a gameplay mode due to technical issues, Neverwinter is equipped for the task. Battles are fierce, fast paced, and require a great deal of teamwork in order to achieve victory. Although there are some other prerequisites like becoming part of a guild, it’s well worth it and working with others makes the taste of victory that much sweeter.
The quests in Neverwinter, however, suffer from the lack of any real plot, but the game has an ace up its sleeve in the form of the Foundry. The Foundry is a place where players can engage in player made quests and new ones are popping up all the time. Truth be told, the user created quests bests the campaign quests in almost every way imaginable, and will certainly provide hours of entertainment for months on end.
While many games strive to be perfect in everything, they always end up just being okay in everything. Neverwinter, however, is perfect in one thing: the combat. Neverwinter continues to draw a good sized player base and ranks among one of the top RPGs on steam, making the PvP arenas that much more appealing.
10. The Elder Scrolls Online: Tamriel Unlimited
It’s everything you’ve loved about the Elder Scroll games, only now you can experience it with a friend. Enjoy hand to hand combat, spell casting, and open world goodness the series is known for in a great online experience.
Like all Elder Scrolls games, the setting is the continent of Tamriel. Similar to solo games such as Skyrim, much of the continent is available for exploration and most of the plot is revealed through the quests handed out by NPCs throughout the game. While the story is not as consistently strong as some of the single player Elder Scrolls games, it is strong enough to provide a strong base by which the MMO elements can be staged.
Combat has never been better in the land of Tamriel and it’s one of the highlights of Tamriel Unlimited. Hand to hand combat is exciting and fun as blocking and maneuvering are just as important as knowing when to strike your opponent. The combat feels tight and consistent, making victory appear to be more of a reflection of your own skill as a player opposed to merely reflecting how much time you’ve put into your character. Make no mistake though, this game like other MMOs, relies heavily on your willingness to farm and make your character as powerful as can be.
Other standout features include veteran dungeons that become available to the player once they’ve reached the level cap. These levels are perfect playgrounds for four player co-operative adventures and the battles themselves require a high level of coordination and skill. The enemies you encounter in these dungeons are tough and will test your ability to be creative with your skills. There is also PvP combat in the form of sieges in the land of Cyrodiil which is great fun.
Unique to The Elder Scrolls Online is its high level of crafting that it borrows from previous iterations of the Elder Scrolls games. Alchemy is still fun as ever and provides plenty of rewards for gathering herbs and experimenting with them to discover their effects. This system is so deep, that developer Bethesda could practically make a game solely on its mechanics. I can see it now: large fields of colorful weeds growing under the yellow sun, special greenhouses being erected with magic spells, and merchants coming and going offering you tons of gold for your efforts, but I digress.
Truth be told, if you have played an Elder Scrolls game before and always wanted to play with a friend, your time has come. Bethesda doesn’t do much to change the formula of its previous efforts, but I’m totally fine with that. The Elder Scrolls Online brings a new story to the table and lets us experience the majesty of Tamriel with others who share our love for the universe Bethesda has created.
So there you have it, the Top 10 Best Online RPG Games in 2015. What do you guys think? Agree with the list? Let us know down below what your thoughts are. Either way, 2015 looks to be another exciting year for RPGs, and I can't wait.
