Measure of different MMO's new content?

[LuckyBucky]

Okay so I've been on an MMO Hiatus for a good while now. I played WoW for close to five years, tried rift when it came out. I came to the realization that these games were still good games, but that I was just completely burnt out of MMO's(Which I think alot of complainer's on the forums are, but won't admit it)
So I am a GW fan and started back up with GW2 since I figured it was no sub, so can just put it down and pick my own play time instead of mandatory raid times. The burnt out feeling is gone, and I am enjoying multiple games again so decided to catch up on all of em.

After a quick review of the forums it seems WoW's upcoming expansion is rather packed with content, but they are not too far ahead of the new expansions quicker then previously goal, and people really complain about the previous raiding tier. So yes people will always complain not enough content fast enough, but After a Trion review it seems like they are crushing everyone with content. I feel like Rift is releasing much more content that has quality at such a rate that it makes Blizzard look like special needs children.

Like I said im just catching up on things so I could be totally off, but how is this possible. Blizz revolutionized MMO's. Are all the real developers really gone from WoW to new projects?

How does everyone rate all the different MMO's in terms of quality content released? And what would you suggest I get back into the most right now(Personal Opinons, no facts needed)

[Stir]

Personally, I think you're trying to tackle a very difficult question here.
New content for MMOs hardly exists simply because everything starts to feel the same, or at least very similar. Any MMO you first start playing is 'new' in that it was always built up from scratch, but there's a few very important things all MMORPGs have in common:

-A character progression system. Usually, you gather XP, and gain new 'levels' of power as you reach XP-thresholds. The Secret World tried a system without levels; it might be worth checking out.
-Gear progression. Your gear basically grants your character its power, and as you progress through the game, you'll encounter new and more powerful pieces of gear.
-Actual game progression. Without this, you don't have a game. In RPGs, this means that you have to travel the world in search of new things. In order to spice this up, there's 'quests.' But once you've done three quests in one or more games, you have essentially done every quest ever. "Go there. Click that. Come back." Whether you need to pick up items you find, or activate things in the environment, or kill X opponents, it all comes down to "Go, click, return."
-Game UI: Basically, this bit is 'actionbars, actionbars, actionbars.' computer-based RPG's distinguish themselves from other game types by having a lot of different abilities at one's command. Versatility, in short, is what makes a cRPG. Without this versatility, you'll find that the game is bland, combat is 'boring,' and everything turns static. So each and every MMORPG you'll encounter has... Actionbars. And probably hotkeys.
-Third-person view. The challenge in an RPG is not like that of an FPS. RPGs are most usually third-person, for two reasons: Overview and character. It's much more fun to see your character run around. And the overview that this game-view grants you makes everything much clearer.

These things are represented in most MMORPGs. As well as things like crafting (but frankly, that's a redundant perk in any case). And because of those things, all MMORPGs will look the same. Most usually, they are systematically similar. Hit chance, variable damage values, avoidance, defence, hit points and a limiting resource system of some kind. Progression choices nearly always look like 'talent trees' simply because that is the most efficient way of making it work (I'll point out that Dungeons and Dragons, the great precursor to MMORPGs, has feat trees). Even if they wouldn't look like trees at all, you'd still find that, in order to unlock something, you'll first need to progress past something else. You'll have prerequisites, which pretty much amounts to the same thing.

You state that Blizzard really revolutionized the MMO genre... But I fully disagree. Blizzard didn't make anything new; they merely made their game very good. Not balance-wise, not mechanically.. Heavens know it's not that good, mechanically. Blizzard's greatest achievement is in the mis-en-scene. A consistent, persistent open world, with a graphics style that doesn't become out-dated soon, and a choice of colour pallet that doesn't hurt your eyes (like... Nearly all other MMORPGs out there do have). World of Warcraft had the backing of the Warcraft games by using the same world and lore, had absolutely brilliant graphical art, did great at captivating the players with their stories and options... In short: They were simply incredibly good at what they did.
They weren't very original, though. And mechanically, World of Warcraft has always been sub-par, if you ask me. But most people really don't notice the mechanics as such. Seeing the resulting numbers is more than enough for most, and it's better if it looks great.

So that's that.

As for your other question: Something to look for. Hmm.. Personally, I'm looking forward to Neverwinter Online. It's an MMORPG with a heavy emphasis on third-person shooter mechanics. It is based on the Dungeons and Dragons Fourth Edition system (absolutely horrendous for tabletop gaming, but I think it will be brilliant for computer gaming), and it promises to be refreshing. Refreshing because everything will be more fast-paced due to the tps-style. Movement becomes even more important, but traditional MMORPG tactics aren't removed, either.
Whether or not it will turn out to be as good as I hope it will, we'll see. Honestly, I don't expect it to be. But it would be nice. I'm going to try it when it goes live, at least.
http://nw.perfectworld.com/

[Spaceshaman]

It was pointed out several hundred times now that WOW just cloned EQ and made the genre more accessible to the unwashed masses. Plus WOW has a built-in girlfriend mode. Just look at all the girls that play WOW.

[Flaks]

Plus WOW has a built-in girlfriend mode. Just look at all the girls that play WOW.

Not true. *Foreveralone.jpg*

[Spaceshaman]

Not true. *Foreveralone.jpg*

/logout
/shutdown
/go outside

WOW is not a dating sim. (Although many girls play it, but not for dating.)

[Powerogue]

-Actual game progression. Without this, you don't have a game. In RPGs, this means that you have to travel the world in search of new things. In order to spice this up, there's 'quests.' But once you've done three quests in one or more games, you have essentially done every quest ever. "Go there. Click that. Come back." Whether you need to pick up items you find, or activate things in the environment, or kill X opponents, it all comes down to "Go, click, return."

RuneScape's probably the only MMO I've found that doesn't have that "quest mold". They're more story oriented with puzzles and occasional cutscenes.

I've honestly only played 2 MMO's, RS and WoW, so I'm not in much of a position to judge "most MMO's". What I can say though is WoW is getting incredibly predictable with its expansion content, rather than attempting some major game changing innovation each one (like WotLK had vehicles and phasing). This may be what is allowing some other MMO's to rise up and leech some subscribers off them, as the more successful new MMO's are pushed to come up with some drastic new innovation that makes them stand out.