First off, let me explain that I always have about three running subscriptions to games I like and pay for.  However, there are occassions when I feel like playing something else, and that is when the free2play's come out.

As this used to be a subscription game, I thought that the production values most be pretty high (the introduction movies still blow me away).  So I thought that this should be above the rest of the free2play games.

I understand that these games are what people term 'grind-fests'.  I often wish I was a more dedicated player so that I could get far in them, and I sometimes play them to see how much I can do.  In reality though, I will never be a hardcore player, as I just don't have the dedication.  I have a friend who is yet to try an MMO, and I would like to see how well he could do in some of these titles, as he is a truly hardcore player.  He once stayed up for 48 hours straight, to complete a game and do all the side quests (can't remember the game, might have been Oblivion).

Anyway - I digress. 

The reason for me posting is because I want to choose a 'hardcore' type game to go along with my more casual titles that I play.  So far my choice is between Shaiya Online (as it is very similar to L2), SHO Online, Twelve Winds, and this.  RF Online is my prefered choice out of them all, but I am concerned that there may not be any support for this title, and I do not want to invest a vast amount of time on a game that will eventually be cancelled. 

I read the forums on the official site, and a lot of people were complaining that no new material had been introduced for ages.  This is a big factor in my gaming, as I like to feel as though the world is changing and evolving as I play, and also that new and interesting things are being added.

I am also worried that the game is dying because nobody seems to post here .  Oh, there may be the occassional post, once in a blue moon, but that is hardly conducive to a healthy game.

Also, my X-fire does not even recognise RF Online, but it does with other more obscure games!

So can someone please tell me what are the state of affairs with RF Online?  Is there a future plan, with updates?  Or  are Code Masters not bothered about the game?

I'd stay away from official RFO or go play on one of the official Asian servers if lag is tolerable. After playing for two years (since NA/EU beta) I can say I'm over it, though I do compare lots of games to RFO. In my opinion, at the moment there aren't any F2P games that are good for long term dedication. However there are a few interesting title in development for Asian and some for NA/EU market. For casual gaming (and why not hardcore as well) I could recommend you to try Perfect World (Malaysian servers at cubizone are somewhat "international", but some NA company has licensed it as well and will be releasing the game sometime soon). If you like sea battles and cartoonish looks, Florensia should be out for OB soon. Don't really know what to recommend you, it's a pretty dry season for MMOs, but like I've said, CM RFO servers are a nono. If the grind doesn't kill you, cheaters will (yes, gamehacks).

Cheers.

Thanks for the reply Bummer.  I noticed that it was the first post on this forum for several days if not weeks, which sort of answers my earlier question, and sadly, seems to be an indictment of the game these days. (Although I am merely guessing, as my RFO experience is too little to express such a damning statement as fact).

Yes, I agree with you that most of the free2play's all same to be very generic and similar.  God Almighty, can't someone think of something original?  Or are they mainly aimed at the teen market who cannot afford to pay for subscription?

I also cannot abide these Asian-style, cutesy games.  Again, I can only presume that the majoriity of the market are Asian Teen Girls. 

The irony is that I am looking for a game that has a permadeath feature, and the only game I have found that is going to have such a server is Dofus!  A game I played a few years back, and did not really care for.  However, on this hardcore server, the monster that kills you gets all your loot.  So if a certain mob has 12 kills or so, and you manage to kill it, you would reap all that reward.  Brilliant idea.

At the moment, I think they are having difficulty due to issues with fairness if you die due to d.c.

However, on a server with such a high rate of mortality (and it is balanced with quicker advancement xp-wise) I would put it down to an act of God.  Afterall, it is hardly ever going to happen, and even if it does, then the type of player on this server isn't going to mind all that much.  They just have to go after the monster that killed them - get revenge, and get their loot back (although chances are someone else will do this first).

It seems like such a weak reason not to launch the server.  Anyway, I have a few soloutions I may send them.

So, back to RFO.  Are you saying that eu-servers are basically dead?  No new content?  Or very little?

If your friend is new to MMOs, then I'd definitely say let him try out RFO to get his feet wet. I have a friend who just recently started playing it who is somewhat of a newcomer to MMOs but after his first day of playing, he's had no problems at all and is progressing steadily without any real problems from what I understand. As far as the hardcore factor goes, I'm not sure I would say it's very hardcore at all. Save for maybe the PvP element. People get  into the game's PvP rather heavily and, from what I see in the chat channels, it requires a bit of strategy as well rather than just simply 'Run & Gun'.

The downsides of RF though aren't that many in my opinion. The one thing that annoys me the most are the Gold Sellers. I've heard that they aren't as bad later on in the game (I don't have much of a problem with them and I'm lvl 26) but earlier on, they are a menace. Especially if you're trying to complete a quest. Of course, if you can kite the farmers into wall or aggressive mobs then that's always a blast  =D . As already mentioned though, the game hasn't been updated in quite sometime. They still do maintenance on the game I believe, but as far as new content you're out of luck. The RFO launcher's latest news was from last year and hast yet to even been updated. I don't think the game will die though unless Codemasters just up and decide that it isn't worth keeping the game running because they're losing money or some other jazz. The community (at least on my server, Solus) seems to be rather active and far from dead. So, it certainly has the players to keep it going, and is apparently getting more. The client download is actually #6 on the most popular list at Fileplanet, which could be a good indication that people are still playing.

So, all in all, I think you and your friend should at least give it a go for a while. It may be a grindfest, but you do level up relatively quickly (a non-hardcore player can easily reach lvl 10 on their first day I'd say) and partying with a friend just makes it go by all the faster. If you don't like it, then try one of your other choices, but the only thing you've got to lose with trying RF is time. I play on the Solus server, main character's name is SeniorElRoboto if you'd like to hit me up sometime. Anywho, hope that you do find a good MMO for you and your friend to play!

Pity, as I rolled on Novus.  However if I make an alt, I shall certainly roll on your server, and look you up.

Shame that no new content is being added.  This is the one, main aspect of a MMO that keeps me playing.  As I always want to see the new stuff, and it adds as an incentive.  It also shows how poorly the devs view the game if they are not producing any new stuff.  Ah well, maybe they will do an update soon.

i played this game right when it went f2p and it was fun, but i did hit a leveling wall around lv 40ish and then i hit a huge money wall, where i was unable to afford pots so that i could continue...i took it as "game over" from RFO and moved on

a short time ago i redownloaded to see how the game has evolved and if it was worth playing again, i love RvR and this game was kinda fun

well i was shocked at what i saw

hardly anyone playing

for agame that relies on communication during chip wars and community for back up when leveling and another race decides to visit...i was disgusted to see the char was clogged with gold farmer crap

i rolled one of each race on all the servers just to see the state of the game...again dissapointed

i really dont like taking the easy route in mmo's by rolling the easymode race, in this games case the mech race or w/e, but it seemed there wasnt really a choice as it was the only race with any sort of population...which led me to believe that the chip wars would be blowouts and not fun

i started to play anyway but ran into a problem, the game would crash every time i tried to set up my auto pot...every time

so i deleted

honestly i dont see this game lasting much longer, population is so damn low and its f2p...ill have to assume only a few hardcore players are pumping any money into the game...