MMORPG = Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game there are other MMO, shooters and strategy games but I only play the RPGs.

Once upon a time you had to buy them. You either bought them outright and could play as much or a little as you wanted (Guild Wars: Prophecy [originally just Guild Wars], Guild Wars: Factions, Guild Wars: Nightfall [all can be linked into one giant game], Guild Wars 2) or bought the game and received a 30 day subcription with it after you had to pay to keep playing. Most MMMORPGS started out this way (World of Warcraft aka WOW, Star Wars: The Old Republic aka SWTOR, Wildstar, Blade & Soul etc). Now they've all gone "free to play". Which means you can download them and play for free.. However there are always limitations. Most common being to number of characters you can create. Usually subscribing increase this, but from what I've read this is not the case with Blade & Soul, everyone gets 2 characters. Wildstar you get 2 but its not difficult to get the omincoins needed to unlock more. In fact its so easy I now have 10 Wildstar character. I'm an altaholic (one who can never get enough characters). The word "main" (the character you play most often) is a foreign term to me, I know what i means but can't understand the mindset.

Most MMORPGS are fantasy games in which magic and mythological creatures are reality. Best known example of this World of Warcraft (WOW). The Guild Wars series (GW) also falls into this category. Most fantasy games tend towards European mythologies. There are also more Asian flavored games like Blade & Soul. The original Guild Wars mixed these with Prophecies being European, Factions being Asian and Nightfall being African in flavor. There are also science fiction games the best known probably being Star Wars: The Old Republic (SWTOR). Wildstar is a comical mix of fantasy and science fiction, with both magic and advance technology. Guild Wars 2 has magic, guns and explosives as technology is just beginning to advance in that world.

Because they are now free to play I can download and try out more than was once possible. (Thats a hint of what to expect from me in the near future here in the Darkside.

I still haven't dipped my toe into these games, but free-to-play seems pretty darned tempting. I guess my hesitation is about being a complete neophyte buffoon

Do keep us posted. One of these days I may just dive in.

@Hagatha
When I first joined Gameboomers I only played pure adventure games.
Was too scared to try out MMO's or even just singleplayer RPG's, because I simply couldn't fathom - GASP - dying in a game.

But then I noticed post from women older than me happily playing and enjoying these RPG's - so I made a WOW account and I was hooked.

I didn't think it would happen, but I love playing an MMORPG. My game is Morrowind Online. I'm not saying I'm good at it, but I just love the game. The problem is I keep getting killed over and over again. The game pits me against some really powerful adversaries and I keep trying to figure out how to beat them to get to my objective, but right now I'm stuck. I'm supposed to kill 3 goblins and then throw their heads into the Oblivion Portal. I managed to kill the 3 and get one of the heads into a portal, but now I'm faced with tougher opponents and I can't figure out how to do it. Logic tells me that it's time to ask some of my fellow players for help, but I've been playing a solo game so far. I'd like to think I could do this on my own. It's one of those situations where you are over powered by the NPC's. Should I go do something else and come back when I've leveled a little more? I hate to start a quest and not be able to finish it in one go. Well any way, I'm loving this game. I just get frustrated when I face a challenge and I can't meet it.

@Misslilo - Not sure what happens in other games, but in Morrowind Online you die and then choose to be brought back either where you are (if you have the filled soul gem) or to the nearest way-shrine. You never really die, you just keep recycling

@SharonB - I know this.
But back then being hunted and then killed, just stressed me out big time.
I was literally sweating in spades and in panic.

Didn't matter I could be revived - wasn't the point for me, it was simply being killed, that scared the shit out of me.

Remember, when you've only played adventure games, dying was NOT the same, lol.
There's a difference from dying in a sinister puzzle trap and knowingly going into the battle, where you can die. Right?

@Misslilo. I was only trying to help. I didn't know what your experience was. I'm sorry if I sounded condescending or anything less than sincere. I had previously only played adventure and casual games myself. And I do know what it's like to be afraid of sudden death. I'll mind my own business next time.

If I had more time on my hands I would participate wholeheartedly in more MMORPG's, but have to limit myself to only one at the moment. The investment grind for those compared to single player campaigns is just too time consuming for me. Hopefully, I'll be in a position that won't require so much commuting in the near future and can get back to dedicating more time to the important things in life like fun and games.

I understand the whole dying issue with Adventure vs. RPG and FPS games; I was there at one time myself. RPG's that are heavily turn based are what helped me transition into the other genre's. Live combat can be very stressful if you're not used to it. I still get click happy, even in games with which I'm familiar. There are a number of Japanese RPG's (also known as JRPG's) that have really nice story lines where battle is basically staged and turn based. You have the ability to plan your moves and if you lose, it's not as dramatic as live combat.

With MMO's, I look for ones that have segregated or optional PVP (Player vs Player) areas because there are too many [insert not so nice word] players out there that think it's fun to stalk low level characters. I'm also not that big on group quests if I don't know their playing style. I'm a planner by nature, so jumping into the fray with a group and no plan causes me stress. If I can't go solo for a good long time to build up a character and learn the lay of the land it's just not fun for me. One of the reasons I like TOS online is because of the single player element and being as familiar with the story line helps as well.

Og My God NO - I guess I should have added a few emotes, lol.
You didn't do anything wrong - I was just trying to explain in more details.

These days I only play @SWTOR - Star Wars: The Old Republic or @SWL Secret World Legends.

I mainly play solo and have a lot of ALTS. It's the whole starting new character thing I like.

I do however also have my main in SWTOR, who's up to speed with everything.
Once you have taken more than 60 characters through the story, you don't play for the story anymore, lol.
I go in, play a few hours either doing Daily Missions or Conquest (once a week) or if there's an event running.

It's also fun to try and find nice clothes to wear and since in SWTOR, we can dress as we want without interfering with the stat clothes, we can save up to I think 10 outfits.
Other things I play for is the achievements. It can be fun trying to get all achievements for a planet or your companions.

I kept failing quest in Lineage II not because I was dying but because the NPC I was escorting died. Turned out I was over thinking it. I was trying to kill the foe on him and heal him but can't get close enough to him because of an electric field he's immune to but I'm not. I thought I needed to heal him because a warning that if the died the mission fails kept appearing on the screen. Turned out all I had to do was kill the new foes who were trying to sneak past me, ignore the one already hitting him. Once I killed the 3 new foes he was able to turn off the machine. And we went on to the boss. Who was actually too easy to kill.

I got one SWTOR character all the way through Knights of the Fallen Empire and Eternal Throne and all that comes after, so far. Just don't feel like doing it all again.

I'll keep checking for the next major update but it may not happen until next year.

@Misslilo. Not your fault. I was over-reacting. I need to "Cool my jets. "

If an RPG doesn't have "turn based" combat I simply can't cope
[But happily I've found and enjoyed plenty that do.]

And I do also have to play by myself and at my own pace - so I'm never likely to give an MMORPG a go

@Mad
Even if it says MMO - like in multiplayer - you certainly can play on your own.
In SWTOR I don't interact much with other players and most of the battles I engage in is with NPC's(nonplayers)

Also, most battles when playing on your own are so very easy. You simply make sure you're leveled up and then just click 2-3 times and boom. They dead, lol.

I'm basically playing a singleplayer RPG with other players running around doing their own thing.
It took me almost a decade to even dip my feet in PVP - player vs player - and I fail miserably at it, but I get a few achievements out of it.

Thanks for that, misslilo

Most games you can do the main story by yourself. You only need other people for dungeons and raids (SWTOR calls them operations). None of the games I've played are turned based. That would not be fun for me.

One of the things I dont like about Guild Wars 2 is you can solo the main story until you get to the end and then they force you to do a dungeon to kill off the first dragon, which requires a group. I quit before they introdcued the second dragon, but I've seen a video. Needs a group again. After that they must have decided before got bored with dragons as latest big evil is one of the human gods, I guess they forgot that was the plot of Guild Wars: Nightfall so they've done it before. Anyhow I dont play Guild Wars 2. I do occasionally go backt go the original. In fact I think Ill check today see if any of my characters have a birthday, they get gifts.

I just couldn't get into Guild Wars at all. Got tired of the fantasy/mythical theme from WOW.

Oh and if anyone wants to see just how well you can dress in SWTOR

https://imgur.com/5dCZt5v

Woohoo, Where do I enlist!

Totally suitable fighting garb !!

Do the men wear...loin cloths?

Well, you could have them run around in nothing but underwear, if that's how you roll.
There's an outfit, that's invisible - so to speak, lol.

Here's a link to just a few of my characters in SWTOR.
https://imgur.com/a/1fUAFiO

I quite like the look of the lady wearing the pink "sombrero" style hat

The only time I ever actually bothered looking at my clothes in a game was when I wore the "green glass armour" in Morrowind.

Couldn't help but admire myself in that !!!!

I have a lot of SWTOR characters but here's my sith warrior who has completed Knights of the Eternal Throne and what follows and is waiting for next update: https://s26.postimg.cc/lk8660e55/Yosomono2.jpg I made him a Twi'lek because thouse are normally not Sith.

The shirtless one looks like a pirate out of a science fiction, cyborg romance novel.

@Trail_Mystic

That's because it's part of a set you can get as a reward doing missions on Rishi, where pirates run free.

The nice part of clothing in this game is, that you can mix and match from all the outfits.
You don't have to use the whole set, so if you like the pirates hat, but not the rest, well...