The Top Best Only MMORPGs To Play In 2017-2018!

So exactly 1 year ago I did my very first top 10 video titled: Top 10 MMORPGs of 2017

We’ve come a long way over the past year, being at around a few thousand subscribers at the time of posting that video, and currently coming in at almost 60,000 subscribers.

So what have we learned over the past year? Good question!

I recently uploaded a video titled “Are MMORPGs Worth Playing Anymore? The State Of MMOs And MMORPGs In 2018” – I recommend checking that out if you want my thoughts on what I’ve learned about MMORPGs over the last year.

This is, after all, a top list featuring the top MMORPGs of this year. Right?

Well, unfortunately there weren’t 10 MMORPG releases this year. There were only a handful, and not a single release did good.

So instead of a top 10 video featuring a non-existant list of MMORPGs, I figure I may as well go ahead and list the best MMORPGs left currently running with a enough of a population to continue playing.

Please note that this is a different kind of top video, as instead of listing 10 different games, I plan on going through – more than likely – quite a few more.

Blade and Soul – even though they recently merged all their servers together into two large servers, Blade and Soul continues to release new content every few months, which constantly brings players back.

Admittedly, the game has been called Pay to Win in the past, as quote unquote “Whales” have infested the servers, but regardless, the game itself is an absolute blast to play.

It has fantastic graphics, gameplay, and is probably one of the most fun Free to Play MMORPGs I’ve played.

It’s definitely worth investing time into, and is actually one of the MMORPG’s I play actively with my girlfriend.

We also have a clan on Zulia if you wanna join, called The Bytes. Shameless plug.

One of the two Buy to Play MMORPGs on this list, BDO is one of the best looking MMORPGs on this list. Or, rather, is one of the best looking MMORPGs in general.

Not only that, but some people argue that it in fact has the best combat in an MMORPG.

Regardless, with BDO’s recent server merges earlier in the year, it has made the pool of players much more centralized, and after launching on Steam, its playerbase has grown exponentially.

It is very likely to be one of the 5 most populated MMORPGs at this point.

Star Wars: The Old Republic, or The Old Republic as I’ll refer to it as for the sake of this video, is emptier than most the games on this list, but it is still active enough to invest time into.

It’s a huge game with a lot of high quality content, voice acting, and it’s freakin’ Star Wars, man! Who wouldn’t wanna play that?!

Regardless, there are, like Blade and Soul, complaints about the game being Pay to Win. I’m neither able to confirm nor deny whether or not the game is in fact Pay to Win, but that shouldn’t detract from your enjoyment of the game.

Most Free to Play MMORPGs are ultimately Pay to Win. That is why we have Buy to Play and Pay to Play MMORPGs. Or.. at least a couple of each, left.

Likely the only Scifi, or truly Scifi MMORPG in this list, EVE is probably the most unique MMORPG I’ve ever played.

Although admittedly I didn’t enjoy it as it is a complex game that requires more than a few hours dedicated to understanding the complexity of the game, it nevertheless continues to entertain a plethora of players.

Especially with it going Free to Play earlier in the year. Much to the surprise of both the playerbase, and new players alike.

Probably the only MMORPG out there for people that want to engage in space-exploration.

Although not nearly as popular as it once was, TERA still holds enough players captive by their pen-Um, by their.. keen.. and awfully specific liking of female-exclusive classes.

I kid. Although people complain about gender specific classes and the Elin being too Loli for their tastes, the fact is that for a Free to Play MMORPG, TERA does everything right.

Or, did everything right. Before they nerfed dungeons, then buffed dungeons. That was just silly.

Regardless, TERA is still an amazing looking, incredibly detailed MMORPG with a lot to do and a lot to see.

It is still in the five most populated MMORPGs and will likely continue to remain as one of them for a while to come.

The reason I’m going to continue to push this is for a couple reasons:

1.) The game is just damn good. Really, really good.

2.) PSO2 has the potential to have a Western release if Sega would just get off their lazy asses and push it Westward.

3.) There is an English patch for the game which makes quite a lot of it actually playable and easy to follow in English.

4.) Quite a few English speaking players play the game, and actually make a specific ship their home.

All of the above make PSO2 a game worth investing time into. It is probably one of my 5 favorite MMORPGs to play.. if only Sega would do something about it, they would make one little man, and a lot of his followers very happy.

Naturally, no list would be complete without Guild Wars 2 being a part of it.

Guild Wars 2, and further Guild Wars itself, has been a staple of the MMORPG community for many a year.

With its recent Path of Fire expansion, the game has had new life breathed into it. Not that the game itself was ever in any immediate danger as the game is still fairly densely populated.

Being the fourth largest, most populated MMORPG is no small feat. Being an MMORPG that transitioned from a Buy to Play model to a successful Free to Play model is also noteworthy.

All while not buckling under the Pay to Win BS that so often surrounds Free to Play MMORPGs.

Or more appropriately, the RaiderZ private server, WildRaiderZ, is one of the only private servers I’d ever recommend for an MMORPG.

I never got to play RaiderZ when Perfect World Entertainment published the game, but I know a lot of people were upset when they shut it down.

More recently, I’ve been playing through WildRaiderZ and the game itself is a lot of fun.

It’s a little reminiscent of BDO – if BDO were maybe 5 years old.

If you’re having trouble running BDO and want a good, free alternative that isn’t Blade and Soul, then RaiderZ is the way to go.

A non-English MMORPG that is probably on par with PSO2 for one of the best MMORPGs in its respective genre.

However, while PSO2 has the potential to have a Western release in the future sometime, Monster Hunter Online – I doubt – ever will.

There is an English patch that can be applied to the game, but in the end.. it’ll never be released to the West, and there isn’t an awfully large English community, once again, like PSO2 has.

Nevertheless, if you enjoy Monster Hunter games and want to play this with some friends.. get together, apply the patch, and do it! It’s worth the time it’ll take to get in, trust me!

The second largest MMORPG available right now – Final Fantasy XIV is coming off of the huge influx of both new and returning players that joined for the recent Stormblood expansion.

Final Fantasy XIV’s largest, most expansive content update to the game yet.

Final Fantasy XIV had one of the largest flops in MMORPG launch history, being beaten by maybe WildStar, but bounced back with such voracity that people couldn’t help but take note.

It has since gone on to conquer the MMORPG niche by claiming the title of the second most played MMORPG – all while somehow remaining Pay to Play. Something achievable by only one other MMORPG in the market.

One of the oldest games in this list, RuneScape, or Old School RuneScape, whichever you prefer to play, is one of the five most populated MMORPGs still around at present!

Admittedly, the game itself does feel a little dated, but that is merely due to the age of the game. It has had so many updates, gone through so many changes, and has remained more popular than most MMORPGs could dream of.

While it does feel dated, it doesn’t take away from the fact that RuneScape is a very high quality game with a lot of features – something you can’t really say about most newer MMORPGs.

While many players debate which version of RuneScape is better between RuneScape and Old School RuneScape, the fact remains that both are good games in their own right, and you should definitely try out both for the full RuneScape experience.

Admittedly, this is the only Pokemon MMORPG I’m willing to dedicate time to.

There are quite a few out there these days it seems, and although Revolution doesn’t have all the features some of the other games have, it is in my opinion – the most perfected and realistic Pokemon feeling MMORPG out there.

Graphically, and even mechanically, Revolution is one of the most complete feeling Pokemon games I’ve played online. And I’ve played my fair share.

I wish Nintendo would, honestly, take note of the popularity these Pokemon MMORPGs have and actually push out something official. They would make an absolute killing if they handled it correctly.

ESO is the third most populated MMORPG – and it, like both Guild Wars 2 and Final Fantasy XIV, has had a recent expansion this year: The Morrowind expansion. One of my favorite Elder Scrolls games, Morrowind, finally came to ESO.

I was, like many players, hyped for this and it helped boost ESO to new heights, bringing in new player after new player, forcing many an old player to return as well to experience this beauty.

ESO is a Buy to Play MMORPG – and I recall mentioning above that there were only two included in this list, this being the second game to hold a Buy to Play model and retain a playerbase worth being envious of.

Being incredibly reminiscent of traditional Elder Scrolls games in terms of actual gameplay, playing through ESO should feel just like any other non-MMO Elder Scrolls game.

People have complained about the graphical style being so different though – and I can see their point. It is very different to The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim – something not everyone is happy with.

Or, like RaiderZ, more appropriately Scarlet Blade Vendetta, Scarlet Blade was shut down by Aeria Games and brought back up by the Vendetta Gaming Network.

They’ve brought back a very unique MMORPG that held quite a good number of active players before being shut down, and for good reason.

It is probably one of the – if not the most perverted MMORPG on the market.

Mechanically, the game is nothing special, but the perv-scale is absolutely off the charts in this one. Even more so than in Blade and Soul or Black Desert Online.

Regardless of what people say, World of Warcraft is still the number one most popular, and most populated MMORPG on the market.

The Legion expansion boosted WoW’s subscriptions to Wrath of the Lich King numbers, and as Blizzard no longer publically releases subscription numbers anymore, it is impossible to say exactly where WoW is in terms of population.

Except that even at its lowest – it still held more subscriptions than any other MMORPG.

It is also over 11 years old at present, and has undergone more changes than almost any other MMORPG in existance.

Even through all of this, even with all of these changes, all of these expansions, all of the nerfs, buffs, everything; World of Warcraft has kept players coming back for more for over a decade.

If that isn’t enough to convince you to try it, I don’t know what is.