is it possible to play an MMO causally?

[Erana]

Yeah, it is. Whenever the urge to pick up a social RPG, I usually play Fiesta Online. Just party up and run through an instance, or something. Maybe its just my luck, but almost every time I play, I run into at least once nice person and play with them, and usually either wind up helping someone a lower level than me, or be helped by someone higher.

What you want out of an MMO determines which ones you can play casually, but for me, its all about the people, and I just need servicable gamplay and a great community.

 

[Nexxis]

It depends on the MMO. I feel like subscription MMOs feel like they eat up your time because you might feel like you're obligated to play so that your money isn't wasted. It also depends on the community. A casual player in WoW is not well received and their attitude can make you want to leave the MMO (at least that's what happened to me).

Free-to-play MMOs are probably easier to play casually since you're not worried about a monthly fee going to waste. However, if the community is full of hardcore types, playing casual is probably seen as a taboo.

Overall, you can play casually in any MMO, but you'll probably ended up skipping certain types of content (like raids, dungeons, or anything that requires a party of people) to do so.

 

[Guffe]

Yeah, especially if you find a nice kin/clan/group to play with fro fun.

 

[FalloutJack]

I'd say any FTP game where nothing (like money) is at stake fits. You're not losing/missing anything.

 

[Vault101]

well...I just got Secret world

so we'll find out

 

[RyQ_TMC]

Depends what appeals to you in MMOs. I don't know much about Secret World, so can't make specific comments, but if you want the full multiplayer experience (i.e. guilds, raiding, that sort of thing), then it heavily depends on player base. In quite a few MMOs hardcores WILL chew you out for not researching builds, practising instances for hours on end and whatnot.
If, on the other hand, you're in for the world/exploration, then casual is the way to go. Good to pick up a free-to-play though, or you might feel like you HAVE to play so subscription money doesn't go to waste. My best friend and I, who live quite a distance apart, used WoW and later LOTRO as a hangout, ran around exploring the areas, questing and what have you. Any MMO with suitably detailed world is good for that sort of thing (LOTRO being my personal favourite for this).

EDIT:

well...I just got Secret world

so we'll find out

Damn you, my slow fingers!

 

[the doom cannon]

Im just gonna say this: it depends. Unless you devote your life to them, pay to play mmos are not really worth it, and barely worth it if you do. This is because there are plenty of mmos that don't require the subscription that are comparable. Take the age old WoW vs Guild Wars argument. WoW is a great game, I played it for a month and got to level 52(this is after they dumbed it down, mind you) on my main, and was in 20 somethings for three others. I loved playing it, but in the end I couldn't justify paying an exorbitant amount for the subscription. Guild Wars, on the other hand, I have been playing whenever I feel like for the last 5 years with no sense of obligation to play since there is no subscription.

So in short: pay to play you can't play casually, one time pay/free to play you can play casually.

That's my 2 cents. As for exactly which you want to play, I don't know enough to make a good recommendation. What can I say, I'm a Battlefield fan

 

[Sonicron]

Sure it's possible. Back when I still played WoW I only played sporadically - you know, whenever I got a hankering for some standard fantasy fare. With all the months-long breaks I took inbetween questing stretches it actually took me a good two years to get a single character up to level 80, and I enjoyed every minute of it. Not being in a guild allowed me to explore the game at my own pace and absorb the story behind the more interesting quest lines, which made for an even better experience.
The 'downside', if you can call it that, was that I never took parts in PvP or big raids, but I wasn't bothered by this in the slightest, seeing how the game offered so much regular PvE content I didn't get bored anyway.
Bottom line: If you just want to experience the game's virtual world and the story threads within it instead of farming for epic loot and playing PvP, I see no reason why casual playing wouldn't be an option.

 

[Richardplex]

Planetside 2 is shaping up to be very possible to. Make your mmo sustainable through social bonds and you don't need no grinding to keep it going.

 

[Moromillas]

by that I mean can I play an MMO without having to devote my entire life to it?

Yes, yes you can.

lol captcha: see ya

 

[SweetShark]

Well, I never played an actual "real" MMO in my life and I am very sure I will never will.
And I am ok with that.

The game I played is called Path of Exile. A very close Diablo 2 clone [I have a reason why I said specific Diablo 2], but it have also its unique gameplay merchanics.
I only play this game solo and I don't want to team up with others. I play for 1-2 hours maximum few days in a week and that it.

It is also for free if you get the Beta Key of you are lucky [like me ^^].
Give it a try if you want a "casual" MMO.

 

[TheCaptain]

Sadly playing an MMO casually limits you quite a bit on the multiplayer part. Unless you got some friends who like taking things as slow and casual as yourself, they'll have run off by the end of your first week.

My brother and I play SWTOR together and we're really enjoying ourselves. Explore every cornor of the galaxy and whatnot. It's fun, and doesn't feel like an obligation or a second job...

 

[Cowabungaa]

Speaking as someone who did that about a year in WoW, I say yes. You can with ease actually. The game doesn't force you to do anything and it's like that with many MMO's.

Actually, my casual time in WoW was easily the best time I ever had in that game. No pressure from hardcore guilds, no grinding and farming for über potions, no need to be online at certain times or anything. Just relaxed gaming, exploring the world, seeing all the cool questlines (especially from WotLK and up), it was all awesome.

well...I just got Secret world

so we'll find out

Mind keeping me updated how it is? I've played about two hours of beta gameplay, but that's it. I'm rather curious whether it works as well as I hope it does. Especially the PvP and skill system.

 

[Vault101]

Mind keeping me updated how it is? I've played about two hours of beta gameplay, but that's it. I'm rather curious whether it works as well as I hope it does. Especially the PvP and skill system.

I shall update if you wish

 

[Zack Alklazaris]

I went into Old Republic intending to play casually. I hit level 50 and got bored... without a guild you can not Raid, without Raids you can't get gear, without gear you can't play end game content.

You need a guild, even with a casual guild there are still set times for Raids and if you don't make those times you don't Raid (AKA don't get gear)

So yes, you can play casually... to a point. However, in the end you must choose how much of the game you want to play and go from there. Your not going to battle the newest dungeon/op/etc without a nice chunk of dedication to getting gear... period.

 

[MetalMagpie]

I'm playing Tera pretty casually for 1-2 hours a day lately and am having alot of fun with it, just give up any hope of competing versus hardcore players and be as nice as possible and you will do fine and make lots of friends.

Your comment made me chuckle. To me, 1-2 hours a day on the same game is not especially casual! I get about four hours of game time in a week (less if I'm doing something at the weekend) and I typically spread that over two or three different games.

But my boyfriend's father's girlfriend (is there a convenient way to describe that connection?!) is a WoW player, and I know she used to do 4-8 hours a day.

So it's all relative.

 

[Dandark]

Yeah you can easily play them casually. I used to play Global Agenda a lot but only ever really played it casually for a few hours each day, I never leveled up high or even made it into A v A but it was a lot of fun to play with friends, even for just the PvE.

 

[hazabaza1]

So long as there's no monthly price, then I've done it before. Never get too high level, but it's fun for a bit.

 

[Risingblade]

Yeah just don't expect to make a lot of progress, one of the appeals of MMO's is how easy it is to loose track of time while playing. If you like the game you'll eventually end up putting more time into it.

 

[iseko]

by that I mean can I play an MMO without having to devote my entire life to it?

ok yes, this is an incredibly stupid question

Ive said before to me MMO is kind of a dirty word....that brings to mind images of addiction/grinding/fetch quests and all kinds of tedium

however (as I made a thread before) I've considered getting "the secret world" as it looks interesting

so anyway, what I'm asking is [b/]if you hope to get anything out of your experience does that mean you have to be prepared to put in countless hours? or if your not willing to have it as a second job is it not worth it?[/b] with any MMO you have play/have plaed

I've actually been struggling with that very same question recently. When I was 14 I played my first mmo and got so addicted that they had to have an intervention (not kidding). For years I've been shunning MMO's like a true ex addict. But now I finally picked one up (swtor) and I'm playing it casually. Ok I have days where I play 14 hours straight. But sometimes I don't touch my computer for 3 days.

The trick for me is: have a good full life allready. I go have drinks with friends.I hang out with my girlfriend. Do some sports. Read books. The MMO is basically just to fill up those hours/days when I have absolutely nothing to do (aka bored).

Second trick: If you have less pleasant things to do (like go to the store or something). Do those things first. NEVER turn on the game when you have other shit you need to do first.

That's basically it for me and it works .