The mmorpg of your dreams, time to dig out the fantasies!

I think The Secret World is going for class and level-less, but the more you use something, the better you get.

And add skills synergy/combining.
Mage throws down fire wall, dude with bow shoots through fire wall. Your arrows are now on fire.
Or, wall of lighting, shoot metal bullet through -> profit of bullet with lighting.

I too cannot say I am particularly attracted by the "no skills" formula for combat. Mostly because... I don't think it can make melee combat justice. It's too limited an interface.

Blocking and attacking aren't mutually exclusive, they're the same action. A dismarm is often the same as a grappling attempt. Dodging is a part of every manouver. Combat is a dance, what you do is entirely dependent on what your opponent is doing. The shield always moves with the weapon. Axes are often used as hooks for your enemy's weapons and shields. The crossguard of a sword is just as deadly as a mace as the blade is at stabbing.

There's a reason the expression is to fight with someone.

I think that activated abilities is sort of the most fair representation of melee combat, combined with "stances". Where the key to victory is to respond to your opponent with the correct abilities, all dependant on what he/she uses for abilities.

I'd suggest anyone interested by this to have a look on this website : The MMO forge.
The goal of this Website/forum/community is to gather informations about MMO, annalyse them, discuss about it, share ideas and wishes, and this with the ultimate purpose to create a new MMO.

If you want make heard your voice, have a look and share your advices.

Realised something when this thread was bumped.
I wouldn't really mind an MMO version of the swedish pen paper Roleplaying game Eon. (People would just have to get used to the fact that unless they are damn lucky they'll need to ... remake characters a lot.)

Muzjhath wrote:I wouldn't really mind an MMO version of the swedish pen paper Roleplaying game Eon. (People would just have to get used to the fact that unless they are damn lucky they'll need to ... remake characters a lot.)

Eon!

And indeed... that or getting plate and avoiding every fight.

Or survive it but having lost your shield arm!
And shields actually being usefull for more than "just taking a bit less damage".

Eon or WoD streamlined for real-time gameplay I think could make for an effective basic system. As for general setting and/or environment, I'd want to see one of two things.

The originally suggested singular city, but as opposed to the usual game theme of a city of 20 enter-able buildings and 30 more filler buildings... A genuine, enormous, sprawling city of houses upon houses, shops and shops and shops. All with the subtle touches that imply they're lived in. Like, for example, npcs in them, going about their lives.

The second would be a segment of a world, still, based around an enormous bay or gulf, with a diversity of geographies, with the game's borders being defined by impassably high mountain ranges bordered by rolling steppes which in turn flow in to the hills and grassy farmlands on the water's edge. A thin peninsula that finishes in a chain of dozens or hundreds of islands.

To incorporate every sort of skill a person can master with some sort of primitive mini-game that becomes easier to perform as you accumulate talent for said skill. So, dancing could be done in the style of ye olde dance dance revolutions by simply pressing directional keys in synchronisation, with the game being more forgiving with timing as you develop skills.

An emphasis on combat not being the only thing out there, achieved by a (relatively lofty) roof on all skills, combined. Meaning that investing in being a master swordsman means you are not also the forger of the legendary doom blade of dragon slaying, and a farmer. Thus, if you want to make money as a character, you can invest in being say, a jeweller, thus decreasing the roof on your fighting potential (as well as your potential to be a blacksmithing farming acrobat diplomat).

Elder scrolls-esque accumulation of skills rather practically through use, a low or no magic setting with a handful of playable races, but all being races in the human sense of the word - i.e. all human races.

A generally gritty atmosphere with slow-pace orchestral music ensemble, spectacularly bloody combat graphics which are constructed to - alongside a damage and health volume that meets such a need - reflects the deadliness of combat. Someone not wearing armour can and will quickly find themselves with disjointed or broken limbs that no longer do anything. Knowing that no-one will ever like the idea of dying permanently, however, all player 'deaths' simply end with a slow fading out to passing out, in which time they could be recovered by other players or npcs with the appropriate first aid skill. Failing that would lead to you passing out and reappearing at the nearest 'safe place' (essentially a resurrection shrine) short of something depending on where you passed out. (Some coin, if it were a city, or a small backtrack in skill gain in ye olde wilderness).

It could be possible to be jailed, with a system similar to that used in Elder Scrolls, i.e. enabling you to escape and, if you can't/aren't willing to try, taking a small skill penalty as per before. Or perhaps just a period of enforced imprisonment, but it would have to be short - not being in control of your character could get tedious.

...

I could go on and on.

^ I'd play that MMO.