16 of the Best Free to Play MMOs...

...according to MaximumPC.

We show you which MMOs will save you money and are worth your time
It wasn’t that many years ago when a paid-for subscription was the only way you could get your hands on a decent MMO experience. World of Warcraft dominated the online gaming landscape, and its success lead many other companies into the same monthly premium path.

The dawn of the free-to-play model slowly started to change this formula, however, with titles such as Lord of the Rings Online and Dungeons & Dragons Online allowing gamers to play certain areas, and make micro-transactions in order to progress further. Since then, monthly subscriptions are becoming more rare, with companies switching over to free-to-play models.

But now with so many free-to-play MMOs out there, a big problem is deciding which game to choose playing. That’s why we’re here to sort out 16 of the best F2P MMOs!

16 of the Best Free to Play MMOs | Maximum PC

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My favorite type of computer game is the MMO and I've played a number of the games talked about here. Some of the games on this list I've not tried or never considered playing. But I've started Neverwinter and I'm downloading Global Agenda right now.

So...tell me what you think about the games on this list and if you know of any others that didn't make the list.

I have played a few of them. I would probably suggest EQ2 as the best(EQ1 is f2p too, has better gameplay but more dated graphics, worth a look but not on list). DDO is great, but as mentioned, slow. Great game if you can get a couple friends to level with you as some classes suck solo. AoC looks great and the classes are pretty cool, just be carefull of PvP allowed zones. Rift and LotRO are generic gameplay but worth a look. Runes of Magic is a WoW clone to an extreme degree, but free. If you like WoW, try it. SWTOR I thought sucked but a lot like it.

Not mentioned and worth a mention is Wizard 101. It is aimed at a younger player and is kinda like Harry Potter as a collectable card game(but without the actual expense of actually having Harry Potter characters). It is oddly fun to play.

Also worth mentioning is that while not free to play, Eve Online does have 2 week free trial, and players can sell 1 month game time cards for in game money. You could probably earn enough each month to buy one within a couple months.

Mycroft said:

...according to MaximumPC.



My favorite type of computer game is the MMO and I've played a number of the games talked about here. Some of the games on this list I've not tried or never considered playing. But I've started Neverwinter and I'm downloading Global Agenda right now.

So...tell me what you think about the games on this list and if you know of any others that didn't make the list.

Click to expand...

The only one I've ever tried was EQ2. Quit it before free month was up (ok, this was back when it first came out). I hated the setup and a lot of the game play. Coming over from EQ, it just didn't feel right. After giving up EQ, never got back into the online MMOs again. A few stand alone games like Elder Scrolls, but not much.

The other problem with a lot of them is that they are Windows based. I dumped windows a long while back. Wine has improved quite a bit, but just have other interest these days instead of online gaming.

DVSentinel said:

The only one I've ever tried was EQ2. Quit it before free month was up (ok, this was back when it first came out). I hated the setup and a lot of the game play. Coming over from EQ, it just didn't feel right. After giving up EQ, never got back into the online MMOs again. A few stand alone games like Elder Scrolls, but not much.

The other problem with a lot of them is that they are Windows based. I dumped windows a long while back. Wine has improved quite a bit, but just have other interest these days instead of online gaming.

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EQ2 is literally nothing like it was at launch thank god.

DVSentinel said:

The only one I've ever tried was EQ2. Quit it before free month was up (ok, this was back when it first came out). I hated the setup and a lot of the game play. Coming over from EQ, it just didn't feel right. After giving up EQ, never got back into the online MMOs again. A few stand alone games like Elder Scrolls, but not much.

The other problem with a lot of them is that they are Windows based. I dumped windows a long while back. Wine has improved quite a bit, but just have other interest these days instead of online gaming.

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Speaking of Elder Scrolls, they have an MMO coming next year...but it won't be F2P.

Mycroft said:

Speaking of Elder Scrolls, they have an MMO coming next year...but it won't be F2P.

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I had heard they were working on one, but not sure how it is going to look. Only the last three started filling in the map, and that only one continent. Will be interesting how they do the rest.

Also, group combat may be a bit interesting. Especially something like a raid, everyone trying to get close and then having to do each strike individually.

They need to redo the magic system too. Hate trying to play with the magic, you run dry trying to hit that dang target that keeps moving around.

I liked Knights of the Old Republic, since it is at least part F2P, I might check SWTOR.

DVSentinel said:

I had heard they were working on one, but not sure how it is going to look. Only the last three started filling in the map, and that only one continent. Will be interesting how they do the rest.

Also, group combat may be a bit interesting. Especially something like a raid, everyone trying to get close and then having to do each strike individually.

They need to redo the magic system too. Hate trying to play with the magic, you run dry trying to hit that dang target that keeps moving around.

I liked Knights of the Old Republic, since it is at least part F2P, I might check SWTOR.

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KotOR wasn't an MMO and was never F2P. SW:Tor is an MMO and is partially F2P. Myself, I like SW:TOR for the story-line but I'm more of a PvP guy and PvP kind of sucked. The F2P restrictions...and I've played the game since they started that...has resulted in me having no interest in playing the game.

I had played Planetside 2... but I can't play it properly on my PC. Need a better one. Also, Planetside 2 is the only one that is truly different. Most of the others are WoW clones.

After I get a new, better PC, it will surely on my regular or semi-regular list.

Also, though not technically a MMO, World of Tanks and Warthunder are pretty good Online Multiplayer games.

Mycroft said:

...according to MaximumPC.



My favorite type of computer game is the MMO and I've played a number of the games talked about here. Some of the games on this list I've not tried or never considered playing. But I've started Neverwinter and I'm downloading Global Agenda right now.

So...tell me what you think about the games on this list and if you know of any others that didn't make the list.

Click to expand...

I play LOTRO now (back after a three-year absence), and I played SWTOR from launch until a couple of months ago.

The only one on that list I have played that I will say I didn't like was STO. Very clunky interface.

I just had a buddy recommend Path of Exile and it's a definite winner!

The structure and gameplay is more or less Diablo but with a few nice little tweaks here and there. I've only messed with it for a couple of hours but it's well worth the price....which is FREE.

I played Runes of Magic off and on for about a year and a half as like a "weaning" process off of WoW. As far as PvE, it was great. PvP though...it was laggy and prone to crashing in battlefields.

It also was expensive as hell for a "free" game. If you spent absolutely no money, you played a lot of catch-up and couldn't get into any of the new content while it was new, since your gear wouldn't be good enough.