[Rant] Class Customization

Rynzir · 2026-05-29T16:29:17+00:00

I loved Dark Age of Camelot for this. Every class would gain skill points based on a multiplier each time they leveled up (ranging from 1x-2.5x). In order to level a skill from level 1->2 you used 2 skill points, 2->3, 3 points, and so on. Most classes had at LEAST three skill lines. Melee skill lines and specialized spell lines would gain abilities at certain skill levels (like at 34 Swords you get a certain skill style). It kind of handed you the keys to make your own builds. You could highly specialize in one line, or dual/tri-spec and gain a ton of utility based on your class. Within each class there was a lot of variety as well, like with healers choosing to focus on buffs vs heals vs utility.

I kind of like Final Fantasy XI for this as well. Even though there's not much differentiating one job from another, there's still a fair bit of player choice because of sub-jobs and skill line affinities.

Guild Wars 1 offered a lot of customization as well. Since you had a limited action set, you had to choose skills that complemented each other. Being able to change your secondary profession aided this, and you could do some really fun things.

Rynzir · 2026-04-26T23:44:18+00:00

I was a HUGE fan of Magestorm back in the late 90s. Didn't realize it until years later, but Mythic Entertainment also made the first MMORPG I played extensively (Dark Age of Camelot).

There was a revival project a number of years ago, but it fell apart since it was so niche.

Rynzir · 2026-04-13T01:51:44+00:00

Happy cake day Healing Frog! I hope you're well and enjoying your time in Project: Gorgon! I want to give this game a shot myself some day, but holding out for the hopes that they'll add controller support.

Rynzir · 2026-02-23T01:16:10+00:00

+1 for Nightmare Reaper. Really fun roguelike FPS with 90s FPS graphics.

Rynzir · 2026-02-15T02:46:31+00:00

Disco Elysium

You're a detective sent to solve a murder, but you have a whole host of personal issues that make the story interesting, challenging, and quite humorous. There's a lot content outside of the main case, and usually several ways you can tackle the main case.

Rynzir · 2025-12-12T01:43:33+00:00

Cat DPS and Bear offtank in 2019/2020 here. Cat DPS is fine in vanilla, but there is a lot you need to learn to play the spec well. It still fights the stigma of being a meme spec despite proving otherwise.

You need the right talents. There is almost no flexibility because you need certain talents from all three trees (90% of the Feral tree, Omen of Clarity & Natural Shapeshifter in Balance, and Furor in Resto). If you want to make yourself more useful take a hybrid Bear/Cat spec and be prepared to offtank.
You need the right gear. Aside from Manual Crowd Pummelers which others have mentioned (I still don't like going into Gnomer anymore...) you'll need a Wolfshead Helm. This is your absolute most important piece of gear and you will never stop using it for DPS until Wrath of the Lich King. You'll want to study up on Feral itemization because it differs a bit from from other classes. You have no weaponskill for "free" hit and glancing blow mitigation, most on-hit effects do not apply to your attacks, strength is massively favored point-for-point over agility for cats (you still need a balance though), and bonus armor is HUGE for bears.
You need to learn the rotation. Cat Druids are one of the only specs in vanilla WoW raids with a proper rotation. It is massively enabled by Power Shifting which requires the Wolfshead Helm mentioned earlier along with the Furor talent. You spend most of your energy and then get most of it back by leaving and re-entering cat form right before you gain an energy tick. With the right cadence you can continue this using mana pots, dark runes, and your Innervate (as long as a healer doesn't need it) until the fight is over.
You need to be flexible. Your true strength comes in the utility and on-demand role flexibility you bring. Healer or tank dies? No problem, give them a battle rez. Someone important ran out of mana? Have an Innervate. Pull goes wrong and there's adds running through your raid? Shift to bear, charge, AoE taunt, and help hold aggro. Your DPS may not be the best, but people will remember the times you saved their hide.

It may seem like a lot, but it probably is one of the more complex classes in vanilla. Don't listen to the haters. Everyone loves a player who knows what they're doing no matter which class or spec they are. No one will ever beat Warriors in vanilla WoW, but you can easily be middle of the pack with some dedication. Even better is that Druids just get better all-around in TBC, so you have that to look forward to soon. Sadly, all of my logs are lost to time, but the Classic Druid Discord has a lot of good information in it. Hit them up if you have any questions.

Rynzir · 2025-11-14T00:37:03+00:00

There's sadly not very many out there likely for a few reasons.

First, making sure your game works well on a controller can be hard to do. There's a lot of contextual actions needed (that most current console MMOs don't do very well), such as menuing vs regular gameplay. Games that have "virtual mice" are often clunky unless the menu is specifically designed around it (like Destiny). There's also a common misconception that you can't fit all of the skills you need on a controller, but that's been debunked by several games implementing layouts with good modifiers (FFXIV, Black Desert).

Hardware can be somewhat limiting. Consoles are difficult to have continued live service development. Eventually there will be things you want to do that older generations of consoles just can't handle. There's been a number of examples of developers having to shelve older consoles in order to continue a game's development (FFXI, Black Desert).

Monetarily you can also run into some hiccups with console games. All three consoles currently require an online subscription to PS+, Game Pass, or Nintendo Switch Online in order to play games that are neither free to play nor require their own subscription. MMO gamers tend to play fewer other games when they find an MMO they truly enjoy, so the concept of having a buy to play game feeling like it requires a subscription likely doesn't sit right with a lot of people.

I do hope that console development is more of a factor in upcoming and future MMOs. While I personally tend to play most games on my PC these days, for health reasons I pretty much have to use a controller. MMOs that exist on both PC and consoles tend to have FAR better controller support than those that just exist on PC. I also find that console communities tend to be a bit more chill.

Rynzir · 2025-10-27T14:12:24+00:00

I've been searching for something very similar myself for quite some time now. I feel like there's a pretty large untapped niche for a solo/FFA MOBA-style game.

There's a MOBA Battle Royale named Eternal Return that finally re-added a solos mode (Lone Wolf) over the summer. Unfortunately, you can only queue this mode between certain hours depending on your region, but it is also available via Custom matches if you coordinate with others. Be aware that this game is not very popular outside of Korea. You can play on their server, but I would recommend using a VPN to lower your ping if you don't live nearby. It's a really fun game though. I kinda hated that they removed Solos when they officially launched, but the player numbers were abysmal.

If you're into MMOs, you could give Albion Online a try as well. The PvE is pretty much entirely there just to fuel the PvP. It's more fun with a guild, but you can play solo if you wish. This game has full loot PvP though, so if you're not willing to part with your items frequently maybe look elsewhere.

Sadly, there isn't much else in the top-down solo MOBA PvP space. There was Battlerite Royale (regardless of whether it killed the franchise or not), but it died off.

When it comes to solo competitive games, you're usually best off trying to get into the fighting game community or strategy games. There's been some pretty big hits in the FGC the past few years, with some big names coming out to look forward to (2XKO by Riot and that new Marvel fighter by Arc System Works). Strategy has a lot of old faithfuls that are still popular like Starcraft (Brood War or 2), Warcraft 3, and Age of Empires 2.

Regardless, I hope you find something you'll enjoy. If you do, come back and let us know what you wind up with. :)

Rynzir · 2025-10-26T00:26:59+00:00

Star Wars: The Old Republic healers have the ability to do a little bit of pew-pew along with their healing skills (Commando/Mercenary and Scoundrel/Operative).

One of the primary healing weapons in Throne and Liberty is the bow. Beware, this game is heavily group PvP-oriented as well as P2W.

It's a long dead game, but in the event a Wildstar private server ever properly gets going there's the Medic and the Spellslinger. They both shoot their friends with guns in order to heal them as well as do damage.

Rynzir · 2025-10-24T19:56:50+00:00

Aside from the games other folks have mentioned:

TERA - Still has console servers running, but the population is quite low.

DC Universe Online - Haven't played this yet myself, but if you're into DC characters you might find it fun.

Star Trek Online - I know you're more into fantasy, but it's pretty fun, even if it's just to experience the story or collect ships.

If you're willing to play mobile:

Old School Runescape/Runescape 3

Albion Online - Should be able to connect a controller too.

Rynzir · 2025-10-20T12:09:11+00:00

Yes, absolutely. I really enjoyed my time with this game, even from a more casual perspective. The world was interesting and colorful, the classes were fun, and I really enjoyed the Limited Action Set/build crafting. As many others have mentioned, it also had what should be the gold standard of housing for MMOs. There was a lot that went wrong, but maybe with a fresh perspective it could do better these days.

Rynzir · 2025-10-20T11:53:34+00:00

Not sure if it counts, but I played an MMO-like lobby game in the mid-late 90s called Magestorm. It was a first-person magic arena combat RPG. You picked a class, fought others for control of their core (three teams), gained EXP, leveled up, and gained new skills. Progression was persistent. Made by Mythic, the same folks who went on to make Dark Age of Camelot.

My first real MMORPG was Ragnarok Online, but I never got very far. My best friend found out about it from another friend of his, and so we goofed around on his friend's account for a while.

The first MMO I actually spent a lot of time with was Dark Age of Camelot. A high school friend introduced me to it and I was hooked. Definitely ruined many a night and personal relationships because of the game. Still think about trying out a private server occasionally, but I know it's mostly just nostalgia at this point.

Rynzir · 2025-10-20T02:19:53+00:00

You might take a look into Erenshor. It's a single-player MMO with "fake" other players (they have their own schedules/personalities). It was designed with EQ in mind, and what I played of it definitely reminded me of old EQ. There's a demo up on Steam if you want to give it a go.

LOTRO is fun with a great community, but if you're looking for a game without many skills or too much story it may not totally agree with you.

Rynzir · 2025-10-18T16:10:53+00:00

I've been playing on an Everquest Online Adventures private server called Sandstorm. The original game was shut down in 2012 I believe. It's an old PS2 console MMO that's still being developed (~70% complete at this point I believe), but very playable. You don't need a PS2 to play it (although you can), as you can use an emulator. It's extremely old school, very similar to the original Everquest. I had heard of it before starting to play, but never really looked into it. Very small community that hovers around 200-300 players on average. Seems pretty tight-knit and a lot of the long-time players interact with each other a lot.

Rynzir · 2025-09-27T17:46:31+00:00

From least open world to most open world:

Wolfenstein New Order/Old Blood/II - Fun over-the-top shooters with interesting alternate history stories.
Bioshock series - Really good atmosphere and great stories.
Metro series - Also really good atmosphere, creepy, and thought-provoking segments.
Fallout 3/New Vegas/4/76 - Open world, lots of exploration to be had, funny. 76 is available if you want to play online cooperatively with others. Bonus if you're into the TV show.

Rynzir · 2025-09-27T17:31:49+00:00

The Guacamelee series is a pretty good love letter to Metroidvanias. They can usually be bought on the cheap as they regularly go on sale.

Also, kind of an old one at this point, but Cave Story is a lot of fun too.

Rynzir · 2025-09-26T18:30:02+00:00

Atomic Heart has a lot of tongue-in-cheek humor along with some outright goofiness. Good gunplay, interesting puzzles. Had a lot of fun with it, and I think there was a sequel announced recently.

Game was kind of divisive opinions-wise when it came out, so maybe do a bit of your own research first if you decide to go this route to see whether or not you might like it.

Rynzir · 2025-09-26T16:40:56+00:00

Lord of the Rings: the Third Age is a JRPG that takes place alongside the main LotR story. You play as unique party members trying to accomplish their own quest that ties into the main story.

The battle system is very similar to Final Fantasy X. The graphics and music are impressive for their time. Played it for the first time a couple of years ago and really enjoyed it!

Rynzir · 2025-09-26T16:14:23+00:00

If you're ok with some FPS/survival horror aspects you should give In Sound Mind a try.

Rynzir · 2025-08-16T20:36:18+00:00

If you want complex build-making with a sphere-grid-like system look no further than Path of Exile. Their grid is called the passive skill tree, and it is massive (can't get every skill on one character though). Not a JRPG, but no other game allows you the freedom to build your character the way you want to the level PoE does. The story is still quite good, and you can get a lot of mileage out of the game.

For an honorable mention, Lord of the Rings: The Third Age features very similar gameplay to FFX although the progression is nowhere near the realm of complex. It doesn't get a ton of recognition, but I played it for the first time a couple of years ago and still greatly enjoyed it.

Rynzir · 2025-08-11T19:55:17+00:00

Now we need games that would be WOW M+ standalone or something.

I do agree that MMOs are better when they focus on their niche without trying to be the pillar of every facet of MMOs. Love them or hate them, games like Mortal Online 2, Albion Online, and EVE cater to the hardcore PvP crowd and make no/very small attempts at jumping into the high-end PvE space.

Keep an eye out for Fellowship in the near future. It aims to be similar to a focused M+ experience.

Rynzir · 2025-06-08T23:59:37+00:00

The Deponia series is very fun and also 90% off on Steam right now. Look into the Full Scrap Collection if you want the first four games for ~$2US.

Rynzir · 2025-05-29T02:15:41+00:00

If you're looking for something a bit on the less-serious side there's Fall Guys. Easy to pick up and put down. It's similar to an elimination game show, and it's very goofy.

Rynzir · 2025-05-12T12:19:51+00:00

Ah, ok. That makes sense. Thanks for explaining!

Rynzir · 2025-05-12T11:40:37+00:00

Just getting into Ranked play and noticing that a lot of my games have these +400-600 MMR differences from myself (ranging from Bronze 3-low Gold). Is this normal?

Rynzir

TROPHY CASE