Hey everyone. I'm new. Ract found me in Ryzom and I'm happy to meet you all!

I'm really liking Ryzom so far, but if you're not satisfied with it you might want to check out Anarchy Online. Besides World of Warcraft I think it's the best MMO out there. It's very complicated gameplay-wise (which I enjoy), it has strong factions and even RP (though not as much as Ryzom), and also a sci-fi theme (like Seed?). However, it is also based almost entirely on leveling gameplay-wise, and unfortunately even more so than Ryzom: at least in Ryzom you can switch from magic to melee (or whatever you're weaker in) so you can have two effective levels. In Anarchy Online you have only one level, and grouping with people too low does neither of you any good.

Also you can't switch classes (like from melee to magic) on the fly. Like WoW or EQ, there are set classes that you pick at the beginning, and you stick with them forever. And the graphics are aging.

But it has a humongous, varied world that you can build cities on. I got up to level 202 in it and had a great time. I'm not trying to switch a group of good roleplayers to one of my favorite games (far be it from me to show such brazen self-interest!) but it's definitely a good time.

Oh, and also, the original game -- without any expansions -- is free now, though Shadowlands makes things easier for leveling.