Re: Top 5 Mud List: The Sequel
My top five often depends on mood, but here goes. Bear in mind that I'm not ranking these in a specific order, because I am quite picky and, depending again on mood, I can drop one or any of these MUDS for awhile for getting on my nerves.
1. Alter Aeon
Very, very easy to get into, and it's got cohesive storyline, little dungeons to explore, and constant quests, both the straightforward kind and the slightly less obvious kind. Syntax is almost always simple. Progression starts fast, then slows down. Classes are pretty well balanced against each other, and I actually like the multi-classing aspect. Gripes: progress gets too slow, cohesion breaks down once you hit the mainland for the most part, no playable races aside from human.
2. The Unofficial Squaresoft MUD
If you like Squaresoft games, this is probably the best game to represent them. Starts easy, gets insanely grindy. Missions replace quests and tell stories; some of them are quick, others will take awhile, most are just killing tons of mobs for a goal. Bosses are unique and interesting, and the job system is very complex. You can also unlock multiple races, each of which plays somewhat differently. The amount of info that is gatekept by rules about Qinfo is shrinking. Gripes: death hurts...a lot. The grind gets really tedious eventually, with power-ups feeling more and more incremental vs. the time you put in. The admins seem okay with making the game generally harder, not easier. Some fights are very difficult with a screenreader because stuff happens extremely fast and it's hard to react.
3. Icesus
This one is huge, and I haven't been there in awhile. It's LP-style, so it absolutely does have guess-the-verb-style quests. Races are complex, and so are guilds. Tons of customization and a lot to explore. Gripes: not a lot of direction, so it's easy to get lost or get killed. Overworld is absolutely enormous; you might literally spend fifteen minutes moving from one city to another in realtime, and while I appreciate the size and scope, practicality is an issue. You do have to rent still, which I'm not a fan of; I want to be able to quit wherever I choose, and whenever, with little to no penalty.
4. Aardwolf
This is where I go if I just want to bash mobs and not think about it. The game is quite simplistic at its core, and I don't get a whole lot out of it most of the time. It takes a long time to get uber-powerful, but it's not especially difficult, just long. Quests and expeditions are very dull and don't make me want to do any more of them than I absolutely have to for the sake of character progression. Gripes: guess-the-verb-style puzzles, where you're not supposed to ask for help in public. People constantly bombarding you to buy quest equipment even though the game is perfectly playable without it. Being forced to do autoquests with absolutely no depth just to advance my character. No depth, period, for the most part.
5. 3 Scapes
I prefer this to 3 kingdoms because guild advancement is much, much quicker on 3 scapes. Guilds appear to vary a great deal, and players are friendly. It's not too hard to get started, and there are flavours of playstyle for almost everyone. Gripes: More syntax silliness in quests, plus draconian Qinfo policies. Tons of info about guilds is stuff you shouldn't talk about, ostensibly so newbies can "find out on their own", which usually translates to newbies "playing sub-optimally until they stumble on stuff that more elite players are likely sharing privately amongst themselves". Levelling slows down drastically in the 20s, and battles are set-and-forget for the most part.
Honourable Mentions:
Aarchon: If I don't want to play Aardwolf, but I want to bash mobs, this is where I go. Almost empty, but arguably better balanced. Unique remorting puzzles plus ascension powers and pretty unique classes for the most part (I like monk and paladin).
3 Kingdoms: If I want higher levels and better exploring over 3 Scapes, this is where I go. Also, more friendly Qinfo rules. Always handy.
Erion: I've got to really sit down and give this one a chance, but lack of storyline and huge exp-to-level put me off every time. The little daily puzzles and games are fun, and there's a lot here. I'm tempted, but just not sold on it.
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