ArcheAge

We love MMORPGs because they are the best way we can escape reality and our general dreary lives in a way that is both safe, yet feels rewarding. We also love the idea of having an impact on the way the world works and know that our presence and our actions shape the flow of things around us. ArcheAge is the ultimate free-to-play fantasy-sandbox MMORPG where you can feel just that. In this game, you can build massive castles and lay claim to lands whose riches fuel a deep, player-driven economy.

Generally, when you play an MMORPG, it usually goes something like: you create your character, beat up some monsters, get loot, beat the end game bosses and so forth. However, if you're tired of reaching the level cap, getting the best loot and then asking yourself "Now what," but still love MMORPGs, then you'll love what ArcheAge has to offer. Here it is not all about who can beat up more drakes in a matter of minutes, since gatherers, crafters, and traders are the engine that drives ArcheAge, and its economy is yours to control.

You can master many skills that let you craft trade goods, your own houses, ships to transport and even your castles. The materials you make can be traded in the open market across the realm, and even this is an adventure itself since you need to sometimes confront pirates and other dangers that may threaten your caravan.

The goods you own and craft can be traded, unfortunately moving them from one place to another isn't just about having it instantly transported to the destination by magic, since the goods need to physically be moved from one place to another. This opens the door to sailing caravans and the ability to sail uncharted waters in your quest to either deliver your goods or compromise an enemy's ability to deliver his.

You can team up with other players and build an empire that spans the literal continents of the game, with you acting as real-life governments over the realm. If politics aren't enough, then you can rally your forces and craft massive siege weapons which will come in handy when storming rival castles in the massive sieges that are open world battlegrounds involving hundreds of players.

The guilds you join can eventually become one of the owners of the castles that rule over the in-game's nations. Once power has been acquired, you can develop your nation’s resources and convince other guilds to join you, thus expanding your area of influence. Eventually, there comes a time when others guilds grow enough and band together against you, that being the perfect opportunity to mount a defense against an invasion force seeking to claim all of your domains as their own.

ArcheAge pushes the boundary off what it means to be a sandbox MMORPG since this game redefines what it means to have a player-driven economy, political system, and game flow. You never know in ArcheAge how that level 12 archer you picked on a week ago could be the ruler of a nation in just a few months.