Since WoW has unquestionably dominated the MMORPG market, and there are no foreseeable WoW-killers looming on the horizon, I often wonder what it would take from a new game to pull me away from WoW. A game that somehow did away with traditional notions of healing? A more PVP-based end game? A cool intellectual property? A more hardcore, power-broker game like EVE?

What would a new game need to offer that would convince you (and/or your guild) to leave WoW?

my last day of WoW will be my last day of MMORPGs. WoW isnt just a game, its life. There will be no game that can match the fun and memories i've had with friends in WoW. So many stories that if retold would all end in "well... you had to be there." and it brings a smile to my face to know that i was there.

WoW forever.

A girlfriend. ;_;

In all seriousness, WoW's my first MMORPG and I'm enjoying it a lot. I can't imagine quitting unless my guild suddenly falls apart though; I feel too much responsibility to start devoting as much time to another game as to this one.

I might buy them and try them out though. If my guild were to switch games, I'd probably go with them.

The day I can touch Starcraft 2 is the day I never touch WoW again. My plan is, if it is actually fun, play it at a tournament level.

Unless things turn horribly wrong, I can't see myself leaving for another game. At least... on the 2+ year horizon. Who knows though, college made me quit EQ, and maybe business school will make me quit WoW.

(although that's not to say that we couldn't use some changes, especially revolving around making the game more guild-friendly - housing, banks, trophies, tournaments, etc.)

I don't play that much any more, but if the girlfriend chucked the toys out of the pram about the limited amount I do play, I'd happily pack it in. I'm going to stay for the expansion pack in the hope that the 25 man raids will be more suited to the "old mates" guild I used to play with, but if it's more of the same, I think I'll try and find a new hobby.

A new, more casual friendly Final Fantasy MMO. I've played UO, EQ, FFXI, EQ2, and it just doesn't feel like theres anything on the horizon with the polish and vibrant population of WoW. Something with really deep group organization and class synergy would interest me, but in all liklihood WoW is the last MMO I'll ever play at this rate.

I could never see myself not playing doom, and I did. Nor did I see myself stop playing action quake 2, diablo 2 or rocket arena, I'd definitely never stop playing starcraft, and I couldn't imagine myself not playing warcraft 3.

Yet here I am :)

All games I've spent many hundreds of hours on, which have been extremely addictive. WoW might be different given the social interactions, but then again we had a awesome action quake 2 clan too. I still get fond memories from every game, but all good things most come to an end. For WoW that won't be for a very long time, but sooner or later something even more awesome is going to come out. (and it's probably going to be made by Blizzard :) )

Thinking only a new-game level, and not me simply deciding not to play MMO's anymore for whatever RL reason (which people int he thread have already covered), it's going to be outstandingly difficult to surpass WoW. WC2-3, SC, and D2 are some of my favorite and most played games and I've never found anything better than them in their specific genres.

I think what it would take is a shift from current MMO control and combat to a more twitchy skill-based action RPG. It'd still use many of the tenants of current MMOs, questing, PvP'ing, raiding etc, but instead of so many factors based on stats and percentages, they're based on player skill. For instance a good tank might know when to put up his shield and anticipate an incoming attack, a rogue might have to actively dive out of the way, or duck, or jump to avoid a cleave instead of being reliant on their dodge stat. The hunter/ranger class would have FPS-esque skills, knowing where to aim and when to shoot, etc.

Basically, what I'm really waiting for is a combat system you find in console action games given depth and integrated into an MMO world.

The thing is, whichever game it is that finally wrenches me free of WoW's clutches, I will most likely be playing it with my guildies. I think the big twinge of pain that most people get when the idea of leaving WoW is even mentioned is more attributed to the loss of the community, rather than the game itself. I imagine a healthy proportion of us play WoW 80% for the people and 20% for the game itself. I think what's unique about WoW is that for those of us who had never played an MMO before this, you suddenly have a whole group of people that you have played with for over a year in many cases, and that will stay with you long after you quit WoW. In my guild a whole crew of us were playing Prey when it came out, many still play BF2, DotA and DoW. When the next amazing game swings around, I imagine most of us will just end up playing it together as well. When that's the case, I actually look forward to playing a new game with these guys.

/end hippy derail

Ohhh another dota player :D

Ye, i agree that whatever i move to after (possibly warhammer if its good), it will be with a large % of my guild. They're the main 'addicitive' part of WoW for me. That and purple pixels. >_<

A more skill-based PvP system and the ability for things such as crafting goods to be actually worthwhile in general... the old UO was great in the layers of PvP it let you use and the crafting system was pretty nice (how professions enhanced your combat abilities etc, lumberjacking - improved pvp damage with axes, poisoning enhanced your poison spells, becoming a scribe made your spells more efficient etc). Sadly its PvE element was poor and eventually the designers ruined it around the BTR expansion.

IMO Hardcore PvP > Hardcore PvE due to the fact you can abuse PvE thanks to limited AI and such, humans however are alot more deviant and you need your own skill to work with, not other peoples guides.

Other than that, Hellgate London and C&C3 hold my attention currently, and if Diablo 3 came out.... well it all depends how those games pan out, I think only Diablo 3 could completly pull my attention off WoW assuming it was atleast half decent.

Starcraft 2?

Interesting.

Unlike many, I am not the type who will merely play a game because all his friends are playing it. Some of my rl friends do indeed play WoW, infact, I convinced some of them to shift over from FFXI - but at the end of the day, I play MMOs (and any other multiplayer game) for the competition. The competition, and the sheer force of the community is what drives me to these games.

Having said that, I have been keeping an eye on Darkfall Online and WAR. If these games can somehow capture the magic of old school PvP MMOs, then that will be the end of my WoW career.

On the other hand, Blizzard's commitment to improving the state of PvP sounds sincere - and the expansion Arena system looks promising, so who knows.

In light of the recent talent updates, upcoming raid encounter design, and Blizzard's quality of raid content so far - TBC will hold my interest for a long time.

But good fucking god, my dream would come true if someday WoW could have 72 hours long relic raids like DaOC had. Hundreds of players, fighting around the clock, all over the world, taking and losing keeps. Non-stop killing, in-game and forum drama, politics, betrayal of friendly guilds. Ah, pure ecstacy. True world PvP is what WoW needs to balance its excellent raid content. If any other game manages that - its goodbye WoW

/rant

I've played one hell of a lot of these types of games and while I am very impressed with what WoW is doing, it is not by any stretch the best possible ever in the realm of possibilities. It's good and in fact, it's really good. I'd still drop it in a heartbeat for something fresh that did it much better. I guess the main difference for me is that while I quite like the people I play WoW with, they are not the same people I spent 6 years in EQ with and the vast majority of them I do not know IRL whatsoever. That doesn't mean I don't care about them but it certainly means I would have less issues with cutting ties.

As far as a better game in the pipe though, I don't see that happening in the near future despite what Brad keeps telling me.

One of the few posts of you I truely agree with.

If only SOE knew their customers abit better, and didnt had the urgency to give people an 'end game' feeling (aka: jedi)

So long as I've got people to game with, I'll be sticking with WoW. If they all go and decide to play Conan or Warhammer instead, I'll go with. You'd have to pay me to play VanGuard though.

As a couple of people have said (sort of), a solo competitive based MMOG would be awesome. In a sort of fantasy setting I've always preferred the 'lone ranger' feel to team-based stuff.

Starcraft 2, as well.

It would take WoW stopping being so fun and a new game with a lot of interesting features going into open beta (interesting enough for other people I know to also go try it out) and then turning out to be more fun than WoW.

The only thing that could possibly meet that at the moment, from what I've seen of up and coming MMOs, is Age of Conan. The combat system and the siege gameplay, if it works as advertised and doesn't suffer from massive technical difficulties, could be really huge. And it's currently slated to come out about 6 months into TBC, which would probably be the point where it will be clear if TBC is great or if Blizz have screwed the pooch. But until Conan goes into some sort of open beta, who knows? I think they're currently sitting on further info for that game because of the flood of TBC and Vanguard info coming through, which makes sense.

You would have to pay me to play Vanguard too, just because of the no-instancing policy if nothing else. Welcome back to the stage of griefing and zerging mobs with as many people as you can find, and good luck seeing any worthwhile mob ever if you're not in THE most powerful guild.

A crowbar.

Okay, sorry for that but it had to be said.

The day the game stops being fun and feels like a job is what it would take to pull me away. Or another game that I can play with friends (both irl and online) that's entertaining.

Warhammer.

The day I really stop having fun is the day I quit. Sure some days I log on with the intention of just fishing or something equally mundane, but chatting with guildies and having a laugh gets me through.

That said, WoW is my first MMO and was always going to be my last but being a former Warhammer 40k junkie the prospect of an MMO version is incredibly appealing.