I just want to chime in again, I did recommend LOTRO but I would like to adjust that and say if you do play LOTRO you will most likely do so solo, which defeats most of the purpose of playing a MMORPG. The reason is the only viable way to level up is to quest in LOTRO (mob xp per kill is incredibly low, so you are forced to quest). The problem is the quests are mostly too fast to do so you aren't going to waste time searching for a group to do quests, as most of your time is spent running from spot to spot or back to the quest giver to turn in for reward. In other words there is really no reason to get a group and it would just slow down your questing, or you would just be separate players doing solo quests alone while grouped.

The best group game I've found is Dungeons and Dragons online, however it isn't a typical MMO. It's build around the group, you form one or join one and do quests that can take some time but give large rewards, sort of like the old school pen and paper adventuring sessions of long ago. You won't be seeing people outside of your group however, unless you are in town buying stuff, so that's why it isn't a typical mmo, your adventuring is done in instances made for your group. The adventures are very well done though, nice graphics, a dungeonmaster voice narrating the quests as you go, and lots of puzzles and stuff in them to solve.

If only LOTRO was group oriented or at least the mob kills were double to triple what they currently are worth. If they were you could form a group to just grind mobs somewhere in a static location for awhile to level up before moving the whole group onto another leveling spot. (not the most fun but it's the only thing I can see that would make the game groupable)

 

-----signature-----

That's the major problem though with online Mmorpgs nowadays: they're designed from the ground up as single-player PVE experiences to curtail the whiners who would complain about being "forced" to group to progress their characters. So, any game pretty much you recommend to the OP to play is GOING to have that same issue.

At least with Lotro you have the wonderfully crafted world and fairly easy system to understand and pick up. Plus there's tons of intricacies to the max-level game that other games lack.

I never played EQ2 so cannot comment on that but if it's free to play I might give it a shot at some point...

I wouldn't recommend WAR, even as an endless trial player... the Tier 1 RVR lakes are RUINED by all the twinks that live there.

 

-----signature-----

This is why I adjusted my suggestion to put Dungeons & Dragons Online at the top of the list. It is a group designed game, in that you can still solo most quests, but if you group up, the quests go faster and the XP and Loot is not split more ways, plus the quests automatically scale difficulty to adjust for the number of players in the group, since they are all done in instances.

 

-----signature-----

That's really neat that they do things that way, then.

 

-----signature-----

Guild Wars 2 will have a similar grouping scaling system when it comes out and without much instancing even. But then you would have to wait 6 to 9 months to play it whenever it ends up getting released.

http://www.guildwars2.com/en/

I would say however, any MMO that has been out for more than one year is no longer a true representative of how it really feels to get sucked into the MMO universe so aside from freebies and trials, I would say wait until you can find a new MMORPG coming out that has the kind of lore that appeals most to you to catch the community and game feel early on for the most complete experience. Then you get to learn the game right along with everyone else and it makes the whole exploration factor that much richer. There are going to be a ton of new MMO's coming out in the next year or so with all kinds of play styles so I am sure you will be able to find something to tickle your fancy but be warned, the addiction factor can be rather high that way, playing to keep up with the Joneses and such. And then of course you run the risk of forever finding every new subsequent game you try paling in comparison to your MMO cherry popper. I miss you old school DAoC!

 

-----signature-----

QFT

 

-----signature-----