And then there's Guild Wars II: yes, you have to buy the game, but there's no monthly fee, and you're NOT gimped for not subscribing. Subscriptions aren't even an option. You only get five character slots for free, but that's more than most non-altaholics will need (yes, I've purchased a couple extra character slots).
WoW's a lot of fun, and I miss it sometimes, but I don't miss the monthly fee. I'll probably jump on a lifetime sub if they ever offer it, but until then my sporadically-playing self is happy without the recurring charge.
You can group with friends on other servers for PvE and some PvP, but I'm on Devona's Rest if you want to get together on the World-vs-World battleground.
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Good news for craftaholics: crafting materials have their own slots in the "collections" part of the shared bank, you can deposit collection items (including crafting mats) from anywhere in the world, and crafting stations automatically use the materials from your collections. Finally got more than a stack of 250 copper ore, and the excess is taking up space in your pack? Have an alt smelt your ore into bars and re-deposit them into the "copper bar" slot of your collection. You can also access the auction house from anywhere, so you could just sell your excess (although you still need to go to town to pick up cash from sales or get an item you bought).
Also, everything about the game encourages you to help other people and adventure together. Crafting nodes are per-player, so it doesn't matter if someone harvests it while you're fighting off a mob that jumped you: it's still there for you. Worried about some pinhead killing the named mob that spawned for your quest (they call them events)? Not only do you get credit if he kills it, but he automatically gets the event (quest) when he gets near it, and you both get the reward.
As cool as the game is, though, I still don't get on much, and about none at all during the week. I'd be overjoyed to help out and show people around on a weekend, though. :D
WoW's a lot of fun, and I miss it sometimes, but I don't miss the monthly fee. I'll probably jump on a lifetime sub if they ever offer it, but until then my sporadically-playing self is happy without the recurring charge.
You can group with friends on other servers for PvE and some PvP, but I'm on Devona's Rest if you want to get together on the World-vs-World battleground.
<edit>
Good news for craftaholics: crafting materials have their own slots in the "collections" part of the shared bank, you can deposit collection items (including crafting mats) from anywhere in the world, and crafting stations automatically use the materials from your collections. Finally got more than a stack of 250 copper ore, and the excess is taking up space in your pack? Have an alt smelt your ore into bars and re-deposit them into the "copper bar" slot of your collection. You can also access the auction house from anywhere, so you could just sell your excess (although you still need to go to town to pick up cash from sales or get an item you bought).
Also, everything about the game encourages you to help other people and adventure together. Crafting nodes are per-player, so it doesn't matter if someone harvests it while you're fighting off a mob that jumped you: it's still there for you. Worried about some pinhead killing the named mob that spawned for your quest (they call them events)? Not only do you get credit if he kills it, but he automatically gets the event (quest) when he gets near it, and you both get the reward.
As cool as the game is, though, I still don't get on much, and about none at all during the week. I'd be overjoyed to help out and show people around on a weekend, though. :D