What is the best MMO RPG on PC in 2020? Is it one with spells to sling and demons to slay? Working your way through the stars as a miner or a corporate bigwig? Solving ancient conspiracies and fighting Lovecraftian horrors? Maybe it’s all of them.

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But, hey, let’s not get ahead of ourselves. What’s an MMO, anyway? Well, those oft-used letters represent the words Massively Multiplayer Online, and refer to games where hundreds – if not thousands – of players come together in the same world. MMORPG games like World of Warcraft offer new lands to live in, exchanging your regular life for one of adventure, profit, and danger.

Here’s our list of the top MMORPG games on PC, kicking off with a few of the top free PC MMOs. You’re sure to find something that will swallow up entire days at a time – be that the most popular MMORPG in the world, or a hidden gem with a dedicated community.

The top MMORPGs are:

Neverwinter

Neverwinter is a surprise. It is thematically Dungeons & Dragons, taking the places, classes, spells, and abilities from the tabletop game, and then cramming them inside one of the best MMORPGs. It should not work, but somehow it does. It helps that there is an earnest love for the source material, and each quest feels like one you could imagine yourself embarking upon while sitting around a table.

May 01, 2015  Just looking for suggestions on fun games I can play with a friend of mine online. Browser based and simple so we can do it while semi-distracted with other things (Its just to kill a little time during the day). We did cards against humanity - and that would be really fun except we can't play together while also playing with other random people (Atleast not on any website that I've found).

Lots of free expansions – which include new races and classes – have been introduced in the time since Neverwinter launched, taking players far from the safety of Neverwinter itself, to lands like Icewind Dale, where barbarians and unpleasant temperatures are the least of your worries. It is a mostly linear MMO, but if you start running low on new content, there is always the player-created stuff, which contains some real gems hidden away the rubbish.

Word of warning, though: unless you approach the game casually, you will probably have to spend money. It is become increasingly difficult to play for free, though certainly not impossible.

Star Trek Online

Miss Star Trek on TV? Star Trek Online might just tide you over until Discovery reappears on television screens. Each quest in this MMO is like an episode of the show, and each mission series is an arc, complete with the occasional filler episode.

Take a trip to Risa, visit DS9 in Star Trek Online, land on planets and practise your diplomacy, or get into tense space battles with Cardassians, Romulans, Borg, and whoever else is causing mischief. Space fights are tactical, while playing out in real-time, as it’s key to position your ship to get the most out of your firing arcs. On any away missions that devolve into combat, the game turns into a squad-based third-person shooter, complete with ability cooldowns.

Despite a rocky start, STO has grown into a gargantuan, compelling, and free MMO; it’s frequently expanded by massive updates that add whole new storylines, and a while back the neutral Romulan faction introduced unique missions and ships. Speaking of ships, that’s what really sets this game apart from other MMOs. You’re not just outfitting and levelling up a hero, you get a whole crew and a starship to manage and customise.

Rift

Rift led a wave of new MMOs at the start of this decade, and has proved the most resilient of the bunch. Not only do its original strengths still hold up – the spontaneous events that see big groups of players band together against invasion, and the highly customisable class system – but Rift has transformed into one of the best MMORPGs over the last several years, too. Rift is still being updated with seasonal events, adding delights such as an adorable mummified corgi companion for Halloween.

Blade & Soul

Blade & Soul is a Korean fantasy martial arts MMORPG. And, if that is not enough to pique your interest, frankly, we don’t know what will. Perhaps the game’s intricately designed world – inspired by the visual style of artist Hyung Tae Kim – four unique races, and ten compelling classes will sway you.

Whether you choose to play as the mighty Gon, the versatile Jin, master of the natural world, Yun, or the mystical Lyn, doing battle using the fast, high-octane combat system is always a joy. Rapid counters and combo chains are essential, whether you team up with friends to tackle a wide range of dungeons or you want to do your virtual scrapping in PvP. Don’t forget to check out our Blade & Soul tips before embarking on your new wushu quest.

Guild Wars 2

Where World of Warcraft is as traditional an MMO as they come, Guild Wars 2 is the weird, contrarian opposite. Its design can be seen as an attempt to fix and improve on every broken mechanic that online games persist in pursuing, and its success in these areas makes it one of the best MMORPGs you can play.

Read more: Here are some handy Guild Wars 2 console commands

It has few regular quests: instead players gang together to fight in rolling events – mini storylines that play out in stages depending on how gamers perform. These get players to work together organically, and also have an impact on the region they are in, perhaps reducing the threat of roving bands of monsters, at least temporarily. End game content is constantly evolving through the Living World episodic updates, the latest of which will pit heroes against the dragon Jormag and his icebrood. Should you not be ready to meet that challenge, you can play lower-level adventures without spending a dollar, as the core game is now entirely free.

ArcheAge

ArcheAge can be a very traditional MMO, with quests, factions, and a completely forgettable story. But what makes it one of the best MMORPGs is that you can ignore all of that and head into the sea.

The ocean is huge. To sail from east to west in the fastest ship in the game can take anywhere between 45 minutes and an hour depending on dangers like storms, whirlpools, sea creatures, or pirates. There is even a legendary Kraken that dwells in the northern ocean, and it takes an entire raid of 40+ players and ten galleon-sized ships, cannons blazing, to even scratch it. Deep under the ocean you can find shipwrecks filled with delicious bounty, the hardest of which requires diving gear to reach.

ArcheAge is free to play, with a premium subscription available that offers several perks, including the ability to claim your own patch of land – not instanced, genuinely taking up space in the open world – on which you can build a house or even an underwater aquafarm full of fish. Alternatively, there is ArcheAge Unchained, a new separate version of the game that gives you access to all the perks of a subscription for a one-time fee.

Regardless of which version you choose, the fantastical world of ArcheAge is the perfect setting to embark upon a life of crime on the open seas, where you’re essentially playing a pirate game and everyone else is an unsuspecting sailor – but instead of a parrot, you’ve got a dragon.

MapleStory 2

When it comes to crafting games and character customisation, MapleStory 2 is one of the best MMOs out there. Before you set out on your adventure through this new slice of Maple World, Nexon’s MMO sequel gives you oodles of choice of classes, haircuts, and costumes to help you look the part when it comes to vanquishing evil, embarking on exciting quests, and making this universe your own.

If you’re the fighting type, grab some friends for some co-op dungeon crawling and boss battles. If mini games are more your speed, stop by worlds full of other players to hang out and take part in quizzes or make music. And, if you’re into your architecture, build a home and decorate it precisely as you see fit. Once you’ve started your adventure with your fellow Maplers, your next activity is up to you. If you need any help getting started then check out our MapleStory 2 guide.

Final Fantasy XIV

Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn is a story of heartwarming redemption. When it was originally released it was not very good. In fact, it was terrible. This triggered Square Enix to take drastic action: ditch the old team, hire a new team and remake Final Fantasy XIV in its entirety.

The outcome is A Realm Reborn. And it is good. If you are a Final Fantasy fan, you will adore Eorzea. It hits everything the series is known for: epic stories of good and evil duking it out, varied, painfully gorgeous environments, over-the-top characters, flashy cutscenes, and chocobos galore. It is also clever: players have a great deal of flexibility within their class choice. As soon as you hit a paltry level 10, you gain the ability to switch to any of the games eight combat classes at just the switch of the weapon. The upside is that players do not need to create alts to try out other roles.

The Shadowbringers expansion has added new races, jobs and instances, alongside a level cap increase and a heavy helping of story. The upcoming patch titled ‘Vows of Virtue, Deeds of Cruelty’ will allow you to revisit previous quests with your high level characters through New Game Plus. It will also introduce the first in a series of Neir: Automata-themed raids. Few MMOs have received as many quality updates and expansions as FFXIV.

Skyforge

Skyforge stands out as one of the best MMOs thanks to the combination of its unique class system, excellent early game, and beautiful world. Incentivising experimentation and personal exploration, you are able to select between any class you have unlocked, allowing you to dramatically switch playstyle at a moment’s notice without having to go through another hundred hours of re-levelling. And it all takes place in one of the most fetching game worlds we’ve encountered, an elegant mix of high fantasy and ludicrous sci-fi.

The early game is varied and interesting, with many options as to how to do your tasks, and plenty of rewards that let you pick and choose how you want to play. It switches regularly between solo-instanced areas that tell a linear story, wide-open zones that encourage casual teaming up in a lived-in world, and group content that is more difficult but offers better loot. While it is gated by your Prestige number, you are unlikely to run out of things to do and have to go grind it out.

The free Ignition update adds the Firestarter class – a powerful fighter who flings fireballs at blazing speed.

TERA

Despite being one of the old games in the MMO genre out there, TERA continues to deliver new content through the year. Recent years have seen an abundance of updates for the game, culminating in Skywatch: Aerial Island, released on October 15, where players can visit the previously inaccessible floating land of Exodor. The update introduces brand new gear, dungeons, quests, and collectable cards that grant you bonuses – proving the fantasy MMO, first released in 2012, still has a few tricks up its sleeve.

Elder Scrolls Online

Despite a rocky beginning, The Elder Scrolls Online remains a strong entry for one of the best MMORPGs on PC. The Elder Scrolls games are among the best RPGs around and now you can sink even more of your time into the series’ rich and vibrant universe by playing online with friends or total strangers.

Set 1,000 years before Skyrim and 800 years before Morrowind and Oblivion. The Elder Scrolls Online begins in Coldharbour’s Wailing Prison where, staying true to Elder Scrolls tradition, the player is a prisoner. After escaping you are free to explore the continent of Tamriel, battling monsters, discovering dungeons, and crafting weapons with fellow adventurers or on your own. With a handful of expansions bringing old and new regions into the game like Murkmire and Summerset, not to mention plenty of planned future DLC releases, the Elder Scrolls Online universe is forever expanding making for an MMO that always feels fresh.

Runescape

Like World of Warcraft, Runescape has been a staple of the MMORPG genre for as long as we can remember. But rather than dwindle, Runescape continues to grow in terms of both players and content. New quests and events are introduced on an almost weekly basis so that veterans always have something fresh to experience, while new players enter a world already enriched by a decade of lore and adventures.

Don’t worry about getting to grips with Runescape either as its community are among the most generous and friendly in all gaming (or you can check out our Runescape beginner’s guide) – whether you’re looking for advice on a tricky quest or simply after a chat, you’ll find help is always at hand. It’s not just history that Runescape boasts either, with major expansions, a mobile release, and countless spin-offs, Jagex’s MMO shows absolutely no signs of stopping.

Lord of the Rings Online

Tolkien’s world of Middle-earth is a perfect setting for an MMO. It has great characters, a massive world to explore, and everyone is always fighting.

Humans, Elves, Dwarves, and Hobbits – AKA: the good guys – make up the playable races of Lord of the Rings Online, and as hunters or burglars or one of the other classes, you will go on your own adventure, half-following in the footsteps of the famous Fellowship. Meet Ents, get lost in Moria, or take long rides through Rohan. Expansions push the story forward, following the books, and with each major plot point comes new mechanics, like the addition of mounted combat. If you have ever dreamed of experiencing Tolkien’s world first hand, then this MMORPG has you covered. Best of all, it is free-to-play, making it the perfect RPG MMO to play right now

Star Wars: The Old Republic

A galaxy far, far away is the perfect setting for one of the best MMOs, so it is no surprise that BioWare’s Star Wars: The Old Republic is a winner. Play as one of eight classes, split across the Empire and Republic. Each has a detailed, dramatic story, and they are good. Surprisingly so. You can take on the role of an Imperial Agent, working for the good of the Empire by rooting out terrorists; a Jedi Knight sworn to hunt Sith and protect the galaxy; or even a slave-turned-Sith Inquisitor, playing a dangerous game of politics. You can play all of this for free, but as a subscriber, you can level faster and concentrate solely on the interesting class and planetary quests instead of the trite filler rubbish.

Several expansions have kept it feeling reasonably fresh, but it is the excellent Knights of the Fallen Empire expansion that really deserves to be played. With its web of intrigue, relationships and a focus on player choice, it feels more like a proper Knights of the Old Republic sequel than anything that has come before it. SWTOR is easily one of the best Star Wars games ever.

Secret World Legends

What if myths, legends and conspiracies weren’t works of fiction at all? Secret World Legends asks exactly that. It is an action-MMO set in the modern world, except this modern world is filled with cults, zombies, ghosts, demons and eldritch nightmares.

Secret World Legends represents a path MMOs could have gone down, but sadly didn’t. A path where quests were more than just sources of loot and experience, attempted to tell compelling stories, and force players to engage their brains. A quest in Secret World Legends is as likely to be a puzzle that makes you search through real websites for the answers as it is to be one that just sends you off to behead a monster.

Once known as The Secret World, this bold and different MMO is now free-to-play in the new guise of Secret World Legends, and absolutely worth trying out if you are hunting for something more unusual.

EVE Online

There is a good chance that you have already heard about one of the many tales of dark bastardry that have spun out of Eve’s New Eden. It is a game of cold-hearted betrayal, mining, economics, more betrayal, more mining, and the occasional thousand-person spaceship battles.

With CCP’s hands-off approach, the universe of New Eden is one of the most player-driven MMOs in existence. Wars that span weeks, if not months, across multiple systems. Years of plotting and sabotage to bring huge corporations down from the inside. Reports of huge losses in ships and cargo, some reaching the thousands of dollars in real world value. As you can imagine, it is not the easiest game in the world to learn, but that doesn’t mean it is impossible. Our own Eve Online beginner’s guide will show you how to set up in one of the best MMOs around.

World of Warcraft

Over a decade old and still the most popular MMORPG game in the world, World of Warcraft is a bit special. During its long reign, WoW has changed a lot. New classes, races, a graphics overhaul, whole new continents… players can even travel back in time. It is huge, bewilderingly so, and you can speed through it so quickly now that it becomes easy to miss some of the surprisingly excellent story-laden quests that have sprouted up.

At times it seems traditional, which is unsurprising considering it is the MMO that defined the modern style of the genre, but it is not above mixing things up. Take Garrisons, for instance: your base of operations in Draenor, where you command your loyal forces of either the Horde or the Alliance. They’re teeming with stuff to do, click and loot, and even NPC followers who you can send off on their own adventures.

World of Warcraft Classic

There are thousands of World of Warcraft veterans nostalgic for the charm and challenge of the vanilla game, and the launch of WoW Classic has granted their every wish. Based on the state of the game in 2006, before the Burning Crusade expansion, WoW Classic is home to veterans and newbies alike, enjoying the sense of community that emerges by necessity when you remove dungeon finders and quest markers.

Access to the game is included with a standard World of Warcraft subscription. Even if you’re familiar with the modern game, it’ll take substantial adjustment to survive the notoriously difficult levelling experience of Classic. While some diehard fans might claim that spending hours on a WoW Classic dungeon only to wipe against the final boss, running back to find that he has despawned and can’t be summoned again is all part of the adventure, they probably just want you to suffer like they did.

Instead, learn from their mistakes and prepare yourself thoroughly with our WoW Classic tips for new players. We also have guides for WoW Classic races, and the enviable WoW Classic legendary weapons you can obtain.

Read more: Browse our list of new MMOs for more like this

And so concludes our list of the finest MMORPGs available to play on PC. What world you dive into next is entirely up to you. Will you go for one of the free MMOs, or will you be splashing out on a subscription? Regardless of your choice, know that the best multiplayer games are a ticket to new friends and, of course, new enemies. Pick your battles, create your clans, and head into a new adventure. Good luck!

What is the best free MMO? Making such a decision is no mean feat. Free-to-play games are increasingly common, meaning the F2P MMO crowd now have a lot more options than they used to. Even if your wallet is gathering cobwebs and your bank account is best friends with the number zero, there is a quality game on the PC to enjoy.

What’s more, from online war zones to behemoth free MMORPGs, there is something for everyone to enjoy. Free games are no longer just the domain of MOBAs and Runescape; there are shooters to rival the likes of Overwatch, space games as shiny as Elite, and Warcraft-grade MMOs that don’t demand a subscription.

Aside from completely free to play games, we have also included some MMOs with lengthy free trials – games where there is plenty to enjoy without spending a penny. So without further ado, let’s take a look at the best online games you can play without breaking the bank.

The best free MMOs are:

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Neverwinter

The name and setting of Neverwinter has a long and storied history online, beginning in 1991 with the first graphical MMORPG, before revolutionising the realm of player-made modules under the stewardship of BioWare with Neverwinter Nights. The rather more modern Neverwinter pulls from both – setting groups of D&D characters loose in the famous city, while allowing players to write their own stories, with recent additions like Ravenloft characters being added to the game regularly. There are some inventive community adventures on offer if you’re willing to dig.

Not that you will have to reach for those if you do not want to – expansions have taken Neverwinter players to some of the most beloved corners of the Forgotten Realms, including the Underdark and Icewind Dale.

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World of Warships

World of Warships switches out the twitch shooter elements of World of Tanks for a slowed-down and much more tactical style of play. Warships are leviathans: they crawl and creep across the map, and each one possesses enough power in a single barrage to wipe out anything else.

The change of pace makes for action that is more calculated and nerve-wracking. It can take a long time for shots to meet their targets, which means that every moment is spent trying to avoid incoming fire or anticipating where your foe will have moved to. World of Warships is also more cinematic than its on-tracks sibling thanks to the sheer scale its warfare is conducted on. Oh, and it has got some lovely sunsets too, if that is what you want from a free-to-play war game.

With regular updates adding everything from Halloween cosmetics to Pan-Asian Destroyers to World of Warships, it’s not an MMO that will get stale any time soon.

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Crossout

As varied as it is satisfying, Crossout is a post-apocalyptic MMO action game from Targem Games that gives you the chance to scavenge and craft the materials to build more fearsome vehicles of battle beyond the imagination of any ten-year-old. What more could you possibly want from a great PC multiplayer game.

In what is essentially a free-to-play Mad Max: The Game, you customise a unique and wide range of vehicles with dozens of bespoke parts and use them to destroy your enemies in high-octane, action-packed skirmishes. You can play in both PvE and PvP modes, even fighting against player-created bosses.

You also have plenty of weapons at your disposal: rocket launchers and machine guns favour the most offensive and in-your-face players, whilst stealth generators and drones give you a greater choice in your approach. All your explosive efforts go toward your choice of five factions, too, earning you new blueprints, missions, parts and, storage space. Shooting and building things has never been so lucrative. It can be a little tricky at first, so make sure you read our Crossout beginner’s guide.

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War Thunder

Planes, tanks, and ships battling it out for ever and ever and ever. That is the ultimate goal of War Thunder. It is a F2P title that specialises in vehicular warfare, with three similar but largely separate games under its title: Ground Forces, Aviation, and Naval Battles.

War Thunder’s frankly ridiculous number of vehicles all manage to stay unique thanks to the game’s realistic damage model, which simulates almost every single aspect of ballistics, from shell type and speed to the thickness and angle of the armour it is hitting. Every single shot is calculated, meaning that real-life tactics like staying hull down or angling your armour to deflect shells are essential skills to master in War Thunder. That realism means it can be a little tricky to get started, so be sure to read our pilot’s manual, AKA the War Thunder beginner’s guide.

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World of Tanks

There are over 400 tanks in World of Tanks, and if you revisit this page in the next hour that number will likely have grown. Essentially, if you are a fan of military hardware, you are a fan of World of Tanks. Unlike War Thunder however, World of Tanks does not ask you to pour hours of research into learning the armour ratings and layout of every vehicle in the game; instead, World of Tanks takes a more arcade approach.

That is not to say there is a lack of sophistication, but rather that the core of the game has always been its fast-paced, arcade action. Like Call of Duty, World of Tanks is easy to learn, but impossible to master. Clashes are won by fine margins and lightning-quick reflexes, while a compelling XP system and tech tree keep players coming back for more. Perhaps it’s not very realistic, but its speed and intensity make it one of the best tank games to play.

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Star Trek Online

Character creation tools in MMOs let you shape everything from your avatar’s jawline and eyelash length to the exact density of their chest hair, but even they have got nothing on the options available in Star Trek Online. Tired of playing as a human? Great, here you can be a Gorn, Rigellian, Romulan, Klingon, or any other of the 30 race variations available.

Questing and progressing in Star Trek Online plays out like episodes from the TV series: one moment you are wandering through space, the next you are having to do deals with, or shoot lasers at, one of the many franchise belligerents. Be it in spaceship battles or on the ground where gameplay takes the form of a third-person shooter, Star Trek Online does a brilliant job of bringing the storylines and tone of the TV shows into an F2P MMO. It even gets updated regularly like a TV show, with expansions like Victory is Life adding the crew from Deep Space Nine to the game.

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Rift

Rifts, as you might expect, are what makes Rift one of the most lively and exciting free MMOs on PC. These titular portals open up unpredictably across the world, spawning in hordes of enemies or gigantic bosses and forcing every player in the area to band together in order to repel the demonic attacks.

Of course Rift is not just a multiplayer adaptation of whack-a-mole. It boasts one of the most flexible class systems in the genre, allowing players to create a variety of builds. From the very specific to the Jack-of-all-trades: every style of play is catered for.

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Star Conflict

Star Conflict dumps players in the role of an elite space pilot on a quest to track down and fight for alien treasures scattered throughout its expansive sandbox. Essentially, the game’s progression is all about acquiring a bigger and bigger collection of ships, from agile fighters to floating behemoths, before finally handing you control of your own fleet.

PvE quests and raids see you and your friends facing off against squadrons of aliens or space pirates, while PvP is a looming threat wherever you venture. An impressive tech tree and catalogue of ships means there’s always reason to keep playing, as you’re never far off a new weapon type or ship module. Thanks to Star Conflict Oculus Rift support, this is also one of only free MMOs you can play in VR.

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Blade & Soul

Blade & Soul is a Korean fantasy martial arts MMORPG. And, if that’s not enough to pique your interest, frankly, we don’t know what will. Perhaps the game’s intricately designed world – inspired by the visual style of artist Hyung Tae Kim – and four unique races and ten compelling classes will sway you.

Whether you choose to play as the mighty Gon, the versatile Jin, master of the natural world, Yun, the mystical Lyn, or any of the many other roles, doing battle using the fast, high-octane combat system is always a joy. Rapid counters and combo chains are essential, whether you team up with friends to tackle a wide range of dungeons or you want to do your virtual scrapping in PvP. And since it’s free, you can get started right now with help from our Blade & Soul guide, no cash required.

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Guild Wars 2

With a storyline that reacts to the player’s actions, Guild Wars 2’s narrative is unique by MMORPG standards. Instead of traditional quests, players encounter dynamic events that pop up around the game world. Likewise, there are multiple paths to completion for each of these encounters, and intentional or not, your actions in Guild Wars 2 will have consequences.

For example, defending a town from a group of rampaging ogres might cause them to return with deadlier weapons or seek out refuge in a nearby cave – you will have to deal with the fallout of these events, whether that means repelling a stronger attack or hunting down and killing the remaining ogres. The result is a free MMO with the questing diversity of one of the best RPGs of all time: what’s not to love?

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ArcheAge

Finally, an MMO for sailing aficionados! No, not the sweater-tied-around-neck, regatta and finger sandwich type of sailing. Instead, ArcheAge’s world is full of rum-drinking, Kraken-fearing pirates who traverse the enormous oceanic map completing sidequests and hoarding loot. Of course this also makes Archeage one of the best pirate games on PC.

Unlike most MMOs, there’s actually stuff to do at sea. And in the air, too – if you’re feeling a little seasick the game also has dragon mounts, reared by players to become fearsome sky-conquering beasts. ArcheAge is free to play with an optional subscription, but there’s also ArcheAge: Unchained, a separate but identical game that gives you access to all gated content for a one time fee.

Best Online Games To Play With Friends

Smite

What makes Smite different? Switching out the favoured top-down view of most MOBAs for a third-person, over the shoulder view that brings players closer to the action. It is a small tweak, but it is one that adds a lot to the flavour and pace. The result is that Smite feels more like an action game, but all the MOBA fundamentals are in place: roles, creeps, towers, lanes, and – of course – the best Smite gods.

Like Dota 2 and League of Legends, Smite’s main mode features two teams of five gods engaging in a gladiatorial-themed bout for dominance of the arena. Unlike those MOBA behemoths, Smite boasts a glut of other game mode variants like Joust, which reduces the number of lanes to just one, and Assault, which randomly allocates a god to every player. So if you are not chasing the esports prize pools, there is enough gameplay variety to keep players coming back for more.

MapleStory 2

Just in case you still have any creative juices left after the first game, MapleStory 2 is here with what feels like limitless opportunities. If you choose to return to the land of Maple World in this free MMO sequel, you will have a boundless world to save from evil invaders and customise with friends.

Related: Check out the best free Steam games for more like this

Each of MapleStory 2’s many locations oozes with colourful, voxel-based charm as you tackle the forces of evil with a range of weapons and abilities. What’s more, the character customisation tools are as extensive as those for your own home. This is a free-to-play multiplayer experience that’s not to be missed.

World of Warplanes

With over four thousand customisation options across five different airborne vessels, World of Warplanes is a free MMO that will keep you at the centre of its eternal conflict set during the Golden Age of military aviation for a good long time.

That said, this WW2 game is no grind: this action-heavy dogfighter excels when you find yourself amid its 12v12 scraps. Wargaming’s sky-based battler is easy on the eye, too: each cloud-covered canvas is as full of beauty as it is death and destruction.

Final Fantasy XIV

Making an MMO out of the beloved Final Fantasy series was never going to be easy. As if to prove that point, Square Enix made a royal mess of Final Fantasy XIV the first time around and had to take another swing at it, eventually turning one of their worst games into one of the best MMOs on PC.

Unlike other MMOs, Final Fantasy XIV doesn’t force players down the route of having to grind endlessly with multiple characters in order to see which combat class they want to play as. Instead you just need to make it to level ten and the ability to switch between the game’s eight combat classes is magically unlocked. It is also one of very few cross-play MMOs, which means you can inhabit the same world as PlayStation users. You lucky thing.

Skyforge

Free MMOs are rarely as pretty on the eye as buy-to-play, triple-A titles. Skyforge is the exception. Wander through the sci fi fantasy-themed planet of Aelion – admiring the beams of sunlight that poke through the foliage or the crisp fidelity of the lightning that is shooting from your character’s hands – and it is easy to forget you are playing a game that cost you exactly nothing.

But Skyforge is more than just a pretty face in an otherwise ungainly genre. Few games do as much to actively encourage experimentation across different classes as Skyforge does, allowing the player to switch between classes in an instant, opening up all of the game’s combat styles for experimentation and mastery.

TERA

If you have played a whole bunch of MMOs you may be tired of the traditional combat systems that so many of them use. Bucking the trend is TERA, which trades in click-to-attack mechanics for fast and fluid third-person action combat. It is so action focused, in fact, that you can even use a controller. Think Devil May Cry as an MMO and you are halfway there.

Read more: Here’s our list of the best action-adventure games on PC

That rapid combat does not mean there is no RPG depth, though. Everything you would expect from a massive MMO is right here, from expansive open worlds to intricate skill trees. The Korean heritage shines, too, with detailed character designs and all sorts of monster varieties to get your blades stuck into.

Runescape

At over 15 years of age, Runescape isn’t far off being able to buy itself a pint at the pub – you don’t get to that age in that industry without being one of the best PC games. By gaming standards it should be abandoned and decrepit, but with a still thriving community, one of the best free-to-play models around and updates so regular it’s nearly impossible to keep track of, Runescape still feels as young and fresh as it did in the early 2000s. Quests, new characters, festive events and entirely new features have come and gone in their hundreds.

Runescape is also one of the friendliest MMOs around, with a community of veterans who are always willing to lend a hand to a noob in need – alternatively, you can use our Runescape beginner’s guide. Even after some graphical upgrades, it’s not the easiest MMO on the eyes, but that does at least mean you can run it on a potato.

Paladins

A first-person shooter game with cartoon visuals and champions: Paladins might have a lot in common with Blizzard’s Overwatch, but it is worth seeking out for more than the fact that it is free. Developed by Hi-Rez Studios, who made the massively popular MOBA Smite, Paladins is built upon a simple class system that categorises its champions by their main strategy on the battlefield.

Damage, Support, Flank and Front Line are the champion types players can choose from, which makes deciphering their strengths and weaknesses dead easy. Still confused? Just check out our best Paladin’s champions guide. Playing as a Flank champion like Skye will mean you are best suited to attacking key objectives from behind enemy lines, whereas a Front Line champion excels at holding the line and stopping enemies from getting through. Ultimate meters for each hero also mean that the action never results in a stalemate by ensuring every player has an ace up their sleeve that can potentially turn the tide of the match.

Combine these core elements with constant updates that bring additions such as the Paladins battle royale mode, and you have a shooter that will keep you entertained for years.

Fractured Space

Fractured Space is a stellar space combat game that is as tactically deep as it is exciting. The explosive action when you reach the climactic close quarters gamma stage is one of the best in the free-to-play business as you take the helm of vast Fractured Space spaceships in epic battles.

Edge Case Games have not just produced a solid action game, here: Fractured Space is also among the best MOBAs, boasting the tactical complexity of the likes of League of Legends or Dota 2. This game is fun to learn, but tough to master.

A variety of game modes – brought to stunning life in Unreal Engine 4 – scratch every interstellar gaming itch you could have. If you want to play alone or just learn the ropes, give the solo PvE mode a go. Up for something meatier and more complex? Conquest mode, the beating heart of Fractured Space – is where you should go. In Fractured Space, tactical complexity meets thrilling combat in one of the best free games out there.

Dreadnought

Anybody with taste will know that there is nothing better in life than piloting a massive spaceship. Dreadnought, a 5v5 space combat sim from Yager Development, kindly lets you do this – without hours upon hours of training.

In Dreadnought, it will not just be you looking cool in the pilot’s seat: your ship will too. You can customise every last element of your ship so your airborne enemies can gawp at how ‘fly’ you’re looking before they get blown to smithereens. The game has several tactical team-based modes to explore as you look to expand your fleet. If you’re looking for some of the best space games on PC and don’t want to spend a penny then you can’t go wrong with Dreadnought.

Winning Putt

If dragons and magic are not your cup of tea, maybe golf is. Winning Putt is an MMO for people who love putting more than potions, and as unusual as that concept is, Bandai Namco have managed to make a solid F2P game out of it.

Essentially Winning Putt simulates a real-life golf course: you are there to play a game of golf, and so are loads of other people. The benefits? No extortionate club fees and snooty folk. Fortunately, Winning Putt is underpinned by a more than serviceable golf mechanic that is much more complex than simply aiming a trajectory arc so the golf ball goes in the golf hole over and over again.

League of Legends

League of Legends’ player count of almost 67 million means you’ll never struggle to find a game in Riot’s sensationally popular MOBA. Following a similar formula to that of the original Dota, League of Legends is significantly more accessible than its competition, and a constantly expanding and updating meta ensures that even the pros are still learning the game.

Part of that meta is the roster of 137 LoL champions, who get buffed and nerfed on a regular basis. LoL also boasts some of the biggest eSports prize pools out there, if you fancy yourself as a future pro. And if you were into LoL back in the day and have been out of the game for a while, League of Legends’ tournament mode is perfect to get you back onboard.

Path of Exile

An action-RPG cut from the same cloth as the Diablo games, Path of Exile combines grim fantasy, compelling combat, and an extensive selection of gear, abilities and upgrades to keep players grinding away for hours on end. Better still, you won’t just be retreading the same old ground every time you log in either, because every area is randomly generated across all servers – so the dungeon you and your friends are battling through will be different every time you tackle it.

It’s also an MMO that receives a massive content update and competitive shake-up every three months, with the recent with the upcoming PoE 3.9 update ‘Conquerors of the Atlas’ adding heaps of new items and challenges to the game. Better yet, we can look forward to the upcoming Path of Exile 2 release date, which began as an update but developed into a fully fledged sequel.

Path of Exile also manages to shed some positive light on that most loathed of all monetisation strategies: microtransactions. The games developers are so staunchly against pay-to-win business models that they’ve included only “ethical microtransactions” in their game, by which they mean they add no gameplay advantages to the customer whatsoever.

Lord of the Rings Online

Wouldn’t it be nice to enter an MMO without having to plunge multiple hours wrapping your head around its lore? Chances are you will already know the basics of Tolkien’s Middle-earth before heading into Lord of the Rings Online – so that is half the battle. If the recent Middle-earth: Shadow of War didn’t scratch that Tolkien itch than perhaps this free MMO will.

The other half is avoiding all the quests, NPCs and PvP encounters so you can get on with what you’re really there to do: explore all the most famous locations from the franchise – locations like Rohan, Moria, and the Shire. In fact, pretty much every setting in the lore has made it into the game in some form. You can even waltz right through the gates of Mordor contrary to the popular meme, although in typical MMO fashion you will have to do a whole lot of farming in order to meet the level requirements of some areas.

Star Wars: The Old Republic

When you are starting out Star Wars: The Old Republic it will not strike you as a unique MMO. You get some story, pick a faction and a class, and do some typically grindy missions for a while. Surprisingly though, that story soon gets better – a lot better – and you quickly find yourself pouring hours into the game just to get to the next cutscene.

While it began life as a subscription-based MMO, SWTOR is now also completely playable for free, although you should expect levelling up to take a little bit longer. If you fancy playing as a slave-turned Sith or an Imperial Agent, though, it is a worthwhile grind. SWTOR isn’t just an MMO with a Star Wars lick of paint, it’s one of the best Star Wars games around.

World of Warcraft

One of the most famous and adored MMOs around, and one that most associate with a hefty subscription fee, World of Warcraft actually has a free-to-play trial now, although you won’t be able to take your character above level 20. While the Starter Edition of WoW limits a few features, there is enough to do before hitting the level cap to make this a worthwhile entry. You may even get to see some of the best World of Warcraft moments before your time runs out.

World of Warcraft earned the record for having the most concurrent subscriptions (12 million) for a reason. Azeroth is enormous and ever-growing thanks to new expansions like Battle for Azeroth, and it will be years before you feel like you’ve seen everything that is hidden away in its various dungeons, cities and regions.

Related: If you’re not fussed on the MMO part, check out the best RPGs on PC instead

So while PC gaming may have a reputation for being rather expensive, our list proves otherwise: you can have a fantastic time without needing to buy a single game. Many of the free games are even some of the best MMOs available today. So what are you waiting for? It’s time to dive into a new world (or two).