What is the best MMO for the more solo player?

[Tyris Flare]

The number of people in this thread that just saw the title and skimmed through the OP's post (if that), or don't know the difference between FFXI and FFXIV, has me rubbing my sore temples.

Yeah it's hilarious. No one should be recommending SWTOR and ESO because they are super casual games and that's not at all what this person is asking for lmao

[DarkShinobi]

Had a blast reading this topic, thanks for so much fun :P

[Very Tired]

You should try Runescape. Though it has simpler graphics it is one of the best designed MMOs I've come across. It's all entirely solo with other people around you, with the group options mostly only being for end-game pve bosses, none of which you have to do in that game because all gear is tradable and all activities revolve around gold making.

[tru]

Sub based I'd say swtor or final fantasy

Free I'd say genshin impact tho if you don't use the group finder at all you'll never really know other people play the game. But it's a good endless grind cycle of a game

[Strawberry]

Star Wars The Old Republic is the best solo MMORPG by far.

It was created as a WoW clone, failed - like many others, but every class has a unique story and the game is actually good and at some parts even better than WoW.
Even dungeons have a soloable difficulty and while there are group quests, even those are soloable (at least were for Jedi Knight).
The only non-soloable content are raids.

I played SWTOR for a couple of months before Shadowlands was released (and also on and off since its creation).
I don't regret my time spent in SWTOR.

[Zig Zug]

I'd say SWTOR. Fantastic single player storyline(s). All are worth playing through.

100% SWToR, is a great, immersive, replayable game with tons to do.

If you're not a SW fan, you'll be able to appreciate the improved access, and in depth stories. For me, there wasn't much after the stories. But at this point, playing 1 character through all the stories will take a while. But there's still a LOT to do both while leveling, and once you're max level.

Getting decently geared is not difficult, you won't have to struggle to stay effective, while leveling and max.

Still gets regular updates, and you can stop paying, for F2P.

For me, the later story got a bit "out there" - but no more out there than saying going back in time...to an alternate timeline to....kill a guy and his dad...what did we do in Draenor?

Biggest draw backs for me initially was the lack of smoothness and polish the game had when it was first released, but they've made pretty substantial improvements to the game.

It sucks that OP doesn't enjoy SL/WoW anymore, but if I wasn't so involved in SL, I'd probably be playing SWToR.

Check out the SWToR reddit, they're super active.

Edit: Didn't see the OP was looking to "no-life", I don't know how effective this game will be at scratching that itch.

[Biomega]

Yeah gotta agree that SWTOR captures the "solo MMO" vibe most out of all MMOs I have tried.

I basically just treat it as a single-player game with chat to provide amusing distractions every now and then. Raids and PvP are the only things you need a group for, the individual class/story missions and even dungeons can all be done solo. It's one of the last great Bioware games - for good and for ill. Questing feels a lot more satisfying than it does in WoW (provided you skip the fetch-quest side content; and you totally can), you get some nice choices that shape your character and give it something approaching an actual personality (within limits, of course), and it's got full voice and solid writing.

[Cattleya]

As someone who loves FFXIV, I'm confused by how many people suggest it based on the OP's statements, honestly.

Thanks to the weekly cap of endgame currency and the weekly item lockout for raid drops, people who don't play the game as much do indeed still have the same gear as someone who plays 10 hours a day (not to mention the gear you can just buy on the marketboard). This also means that yes, people in endgame gear can still suck at the game.

The only difficult content in the game (savage/ultimate) also absolutely relies on teamplay and one person cannot carry the team.

[Ragnarohk]

i am looking for a new mmo to play that has depth and isnt so reliant on teamplay to have success.

I am not completely against the idea of forming parties / doing content with a guild / group i just need a game where your own dedication / ability actually has some weight, rather than the idea that if you log in you deserve everything that everyone else has gotten with minimal effort.

A game with some depth that is difficult, i was going to give guild wars 2 a try after googling "hardest mmo" however on reading the forums here it seems they are taking a path where your success depends mainly down to the strength of your party rather than your individual skill.

Ideas anyone?

I am a no lifer that will obsessively and unhealthily put my life into a character, im cool with that, what im not cool with is doing that for the same rewards / strength as someone that plays 6 hours a week.

Or being restricted constantly because the general power balance is level and players who are not very good and inexperienced are rocking into content that they are underskilled for, thanks to a huge part in handouts and a low ceiling toon power cap.

Old School Runescape

[Vulgrym]

OP is looking for two things that mostly oppose each other, hence the some of the conflicting responses.

I agree SWTOR is the best solo-MMORPG experience by far. But if you're looking to marry that with no-life grind systems that produce rewards similar to what WoW players get in Mythic or FFXIV get in Savage/Ultimate (i.e. requiring teamplay), I'm not sure you'll find that in an 'MMO' since teamplay is an inherent part of the difficulty that is baked into the design.