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For anyone who is interested, my current "main game" is Jade Dynasty. Kids are playing some Ether Saga Online, which I've dabbled in but not really played yet. (You can find both of those at the Perfect World Entertainment portal, http://perfectworld.com )... Those are the same people who put out the NA version of Perfect World (aka Perfect World International), which I've played before. Not currently playing that, though.

Jade Dynasty has built in botting (for AFK or semi-AFK fighting), plus you can gain experience by "meditating" in safe zones. It's a very questy game-- lots of "kill 30 of those and 20 of these" quests, but there's story line and it keeps you moving through the game. It's not the most original game I've ever played, but it's holding my attention for now.

I also play Destiny Online occasionally. This game was formerly known as Legend of Gold Plume or something along those lines, but now it is Destiny online. It's an EXTREMELY grindy little game, but not bad for those moments when your sole ambition is to club 300 cute little monsters to death. (I know, I don't make it sound all that attractive, but I do have a level 31 character, so I must not hate it too much.) That's at http://lgp.enjoymmo.com/ or http://destiny.enjoymmo.com/ ...

On a completely different note, I WANT to like Mabinogi, but the couple of times I've tried it, I've come away feeling like I didn't have a clue what I was doing and that it might have been more fun with other people, so if anyone wants to take Mabinogi out for a spin, let me know and I'll join you. (The NA version is a nexon.net game.)

Interesting, I've never played any of the Final Fantasy games. I have played Legend of Dragoon though, which is a freaking awesome RPG.

Here are my MMO picks for August:

Runes of Magic: What looks like WoW, kinda plays like WoW, and doesn't charge a monthly fee? It's Runes of Magic! I play this on Mondays while I watch the D&D crowd. smile link

Jade Dynasty: The 'AFK'-experience ('botting') feature is controversial, but it also means that you can make progress even if you're busy having a life. I am really enjoying the main storyline (given in quests). This is what I am playing now. (Link below, perfectworld.com.)

Ether Saga Online: Similar to Jade Dynasty, minus the AFK experience, plus a healthy dose of CUTE factor. (Link below. Perfectworld.com)

And you might as well throw Perfect World in there too. Perfect World gives you more flexibility in what your character looks like. You can tweak it down to pretty fine details. That's pretty cool. It's got some interesting classes and races available too. (It's pretty grindy to play though.) Jade Dynasty, Perfect World: International, and Ether Saga Online are all available at http://perfectworld.com .

I enjoyed trying out NeoSteam. It's probably pretty average for cute, free-to-play games, but I liked the look of it and I loved being able to play a cute little fuzzball. It has two factions, and it seems you get the same choices on both sides, but the characters and hometown look different depending on the side you pick. I played Rogwell, the tech side. The other (magic) side... I just don't remember what it was called. I did experience a few graphical glitches, but maybe they will get that sorted out. Right now, you can get a key from MMORPG.com to get a free mount with your new account, but they won't last long, so jump on that if you are interested.
NeoSteam * Limited Phoenix Mount Giveaway

I've also given Mabinogi a second chance, and I am finding it a lot more fun the second time around. It's a flexible, skill-based game (that is, you don't pick a class, you just learn the skills in the game that you want) with many things to do other than clubbing monsters over the head. link

The launch of Dungeons & Dragons Online Unlimited (the free-to-play relaunch of DDO) is coming on September 9. I played it a bit in beta, and my review remains the same as it has been for DDO: it's a decent game that would be even more fun playing with people you know IRL. link

The Chronicles of Spellborn is currently completely free to play while they work on redeveloping it into an item mall game. It's pretty high-quality for free. http://spellborn.acclaim.com/

I am currently playing Runes of Magic, mentioned above, just once in a while.

I find this thread both faskinating and inspiring, and will be looking forward to future posts. :3

After all, I'm always looking for new things to goof off in for a while!

I keep seeing ads for that one all over the place. I gotta admit, it's darn tempting.

lol thats right i need to hunt something for that