Buy-to-Play, abbreviated as B2P or BTP is a revenue model for games that can only be installed and played once purchased. Not to be confused with subscription-based games that limits access based on time, buy-to-play games can be accessed for an unlimited amount of time after purchasing. Some of the games listed below offer free trial periods.
Here is a list of the best buy-to-play MMOs of all time! This is an on-going list that will be updated over time.
Gloria Victis has been updated with a handful of new features that are sure to set an interesting and fresh gameplay atmosphere for the PvP-heavy medieval MMORPG. Most prominent of all, Open PvP has been upgraded with new systems such as the Soft Lock system for choosing servers, a workers system for gaining workers that gather resources for your guild, and increased experience gain from Open World PvP and arenas.
Action combat is a type of combat mode that allows players to manually utilize complex movements like dodging, evading and pointing to hit to their advantage in combat scenarios. As opposed to tab-target combat, action combat generally requires a players to trigger their skills within an opponent’s hit-box in order for attacks, buffs or heals to successfully land. It is also common for enemies to have advanced movements like flying, dashing, grabbing and jumping. Here is a list of the top MMORPGs with impressive action combat.
We are listing these games based on release dates in descending order. This is an on-going list that will be updated when a new impressive action combat MMORPG reveals itself.
European Beta: Live – March 2, 2018 Developer: Booming Games
Publisher: Netease Games Model:Free-to-play
PvP: Controlled Army Warfare, Castle sieges
Conqueror’s Blade is a sandbox MMO warfare game that combines action combat and tactical movements. Players control single commanders and give commands to their personal armies. The gameplay includes controllable medieval teams where players command dozens of powerful and varying troops in large-scale siege-like scenarios.
Western Release: Pre-alpha – January 24, 2018
Developer: ArtCraft
Publisher: ArtCraft Model:Buy-to-play
Crowfall is deemed as a “throne war” MMORPG with an open world setting played across campaigns where players fight in a large open-world arena for resources and bases. Skills are leveled over time, so players can create the builds they prefer without worry. Players can play any of the available characters at any time, which adds uniqueness to the exciting non-target action combat.
Western Release: Live – November 7, 2017
Developer: Naddic Games Publisher: En Masse Entertainment Model:Free-to-play
Closers is a side-scroll MMORPG where players battle interdimensional monsters as kinetically-powered teens known as “Closers”. Movement is done within 2.5D environments, dungeons and player hubs. Left and right are the main points of direction.
Western Release: Live – September 28, 2017
Developer: ALL-M Publisher: En Masse Entertainment Model:Free-to-play
Kritika Online is a dungeon crawler MMORPG with an extremely fast paced action combat. The game offers small scale PvP such as 1v1, 3v3 and other tiers for various arena modes. Each of its six starter class is vastly different from the others in terms of combat and even more so when they upgrade to one of over twenty different advanced classes. The wide variety of very different play-styles for each class and the speed of the combat make PvP encounters unique.
Release: Open Beta – March 6, 2017 Developer: NetEase
Publisher: My.com Model:Free-to-play
Revelation Online is a Wuxia-themed MMORPG set in a seamless open-world with flying beasts and dragons. The action combat features extend and make use of the game’s flight system. The open-world is open to punishable player killing, which from my experience may be too punishing. The battlegrounds and arena PvP are mostly objective based where teamwork is greatly rewarded.
Western Release: Live – June 8, 2016
Developer: Black Eye Games
Publisher: Black Eye Games Model:Buy-to-play
Gloria Victis is set in a medieval fantasy world where players fight for realistic goals like territory and resources. That means the PvP takes place in real-time in the open-world with no instances whatsoever. Players fight in lifelike scenarios with non-target combat, sandbox crafting and a player-driven economy.
Western Release: Live – March 3, 2016
Developer: Pearl Abyss
Publisher: Kakao Games Model:Buy-to-play
Black Desert Online is a sandbox MMORPG with a flashy and fast-paced action combat. To progress and level up, players must grind by defeating creatures in the seamless open-world. Perfecting one’s combat style allows players to be one step ahead of others in PvP and PvE progression.
Western Release: Live – January 19, 2016
Developer: Team Bloodlust (NCsoft Developer Division)
Publisher: NCSoft Model:Free-to-play
Blade and Soul offers a skill-based action combat system using the player’s ability to properly time attacks and adapt to situations with the use of limited dodges and blocks. Small-scale arenas, especially 1v1s, test the player’s skills and judgement with invulnerability frames and critically timed abilities.
Western Release: Live – April 4, 2014
Developer: ZeniMax Online Studios
Publisher: Bethesda Softworks Model:Buy-to-play
Elder Scrolls Online is a fantasy MMORPG based on the Elder Scrolls series. The game offers an extensive action combat system, public dungeons, player factions, various fields of PvP and more.
Western Release: Live – September 2011 Developer: Eyedentity Games Publisher: Previously Nexon, currently Eyedentity Games Model:Free-to-play
RaiderZ offers a complex and impressive combat system that was ahead of its time. Characters have the ability to dodge, aim, and make decisive combat movements while enemies have advanced skills like dashing, jumping, biting and flying around.
Western Release: Live – September 2011 Developer: Eyedentity Games Publisher: Previously Nexon, currently Eyedentity Games Model:Free-to-play
Dragon Nest incorporates a non-target action combat system and highly customizable skill sets to provide fast-paced battles. Player vs. player combat is skill based in nature. Player interactions are tailored for balancing purposes, with different cooldowns and rules for skills in PvP and PvE. Dragon Nest is a fantasy MMORPG set in the beautiful world of Alteia, created by the goddess Altea. The game’s story incorporates the history of Alteia and the dragon slayer heroes.
Western Release: Live – October 2010 Developer: devCAT Publisher: Nexon, Tian City, Garena Model:Free-to-play
Vindictus is a prequel to the popular MMORPG Mabinogi and is referred to as Mabinogi Heroes in Asia. Vindictus takes place several hundred years prior to Mabinogi in a time of great hatred and war. The world consists of instanced zones with some open areas.
Gloria Victis has patched in a new content update (Update v.0.8.2.3) that introduces a ranked PvP duel arena and other new improvements and features. Players can take part in instanced arena-based battles to have their names honored in the arena PvP leaderboards. New areas have been added to provide players with more castles and farms to fight over for and extra areas for those who want to play outside of ongoing faction battles.
The update also includes tons of gameplay improvements including increased range of hit detection for kicks, overhead and stab attacks and reduced doors HP in main buildings of minor flags near the Baalhammon area.
For a full list of changes in v.0.8.2.3, visit the official Gloria Victis site.
Gloria Victis, the low-fantasy medieval MMORPG with an emphasis on realism is now part of a new Humble Bundle called Humble War Gamez Bundle. If you are unfamiliar with Humble Bundle, it’s a site that lets companies offer their goods (games, editing programs, books, etc.) as part of a bundle. Buyers can choose to pay a base price or add more money which can be allocated to the companies or a charity of choice.
With the Humble War Gamez Bundle, Gloria Victis can be purchased for $4.35 in addition to other titles which is less than 25% of the current Steam price of $20. If you’ve been keeping an eye on this game, now is a good time to snag an access key. Aside from Gloria Victis, the bundle offers other titles such as Panzer Corps, Mercenary Kings: Reloaded, Insurgency, Day of Infamy and 8-Bit Armies and Rising Storm 2: Vietnam.
Black Eye Games has been hard at work on polishing the medieval MMORPG Gloria Victis in the past several months with changes to the game’s open-world PvP, new animations, controller compatibility/synchronization and more. First-person view was introduced along with new locations for players to fight over and siege each other for. A new duel arena was also added recently that allows players to practice combat near their nation’s capital city without having to risk all that they’ve worked for.
Now an extension to customizing one’s character has been added in the form of a huge passive abilities, trigger abilities and top tier passives update. Passives are expanded by investing progress points to unlock new skills. Trigger abilities are skills that initiate special moves when a specific requirement is met. For example, if a player successfully blocks with a shield 3 times in a row within 30 seconds, the shield’s resistance loss is reduced by 2% per level and additional 10% at level 10. This abilities update lets us see the first version of viable support trees that allow players to improve first aid skills.
We’ve combed through all of the MMORPGs that has shown up in the past two decades and chosen the most eye-pleasing games with the best graphics and beautifully rendered assets to offer.
We have and will only add MMORPGs that are already or nearly playable in the West to this list. However, keep in mind that this is an on-going list, so upcoming MMOs that would otherwise be on this list like Ashes of Creation, Peria Chronicles, Moonlight Blade or any other games that deserve to be listed will be added when they are fully released in English.
We are listing these games based on release dates in descending order.
PvP (player versus player) has always been a highly criticized criteria when it comes to MMORPGs. Some desire harsh-punishing and ‘hardcore’ systems that let you take the loot of your fallen enemies, some desire optional or casual instanced-based arenas, while others would rather walk a different path altogether. Here is a list of MMORPGs from the current decade with impressive PvP.
We are listing these games based on release dates in descending order. This is an on-going list that will be updated every time a new impressive PvP centric MMORPG reveals itself.
