There have been manysuccessful MMORPGsover the years, some of which have been open to players for more than two decades. These long-running MMORPGs tend to be the ones that have had a large number of expansions and content updates.
But not allMMORPG expansionsare equal. Keeping veteran players happy is one of the major challenges faced by companies that operate MMORPGs. An expansion needs to be deeper than simply adding more items to collect and more enemies to fight. It needs depth and must kindle a desire for jaded players to return to the game and give it another spin.
10Ultima Online: Renaissance
Doubled The Game World Size
Towards the end of 1989, the land of Felluca was in trouble. The problem was twofold. Firstly, every square of the map was full ofplayer housing, and there was no room to place any more structures, leaving many players without a home. Every coastline, river, and pond was cram-packed with boats, being used for storage space because of this. Secondly, all of the top loot dungeons were camped by player-killing clans around the clock.
Then cameUltima Online Renaissance, the third expansion for this popular MMORPG. It introduced a complete copy of the land of Felluca, in the form of Trammel. Identical in every way, apart from the fact it is PvE only. This doubled the amount of player housing space and did much to make PvE players happy. In many ways, saving the game, as players had been leaving due to dissatisfaction with playing on Felluca.
9Star Wars Galaxies: Jump To Lightspeed
Iconic Space Battles
During its long and much-hyped development,Star Wars Galaxieswas always touted as a game that would allow players to go into space, flying iconic ships such as theX-Wingand TIE Fighter. However, due to overpromising and underdelivering on the part of Sony Online Entertainment, the originalSWGshipped as a purely ground-based game.
Late in 2004, the situation changed, and space gameplay finally came toStar Wars Galaxies. Players could side with the Empire or the Rebellion, or remain neutral, gaining access to specific ships unique to those three factions, all of which could be player-crafted. An entire new skill tree was added, and a mission-based progression system. Finally, it was a properStar Warsgame.
8Everquest: Ruins Of Kunark
Introducing An Entirely New Land
By early 2000,Everquestwas hitting its stride, with an impressive player count, and the core gameplay that has made it one of the most successful MMORPGs of all time. In April 2000, Daybreak Game Company doubled down and releasedRuins Of Kunark, the first expansion forEverquest.
Heaps of new content was added, by introducing the previously unexplored continent of Kunark. There were a number of in-game events prior to launch, combined with offline media, that established thegame lorefor this new land. The Iksar, a playable race of Lizard people was also introduced at the same time. The expansion was an instant hit.
7Warframe: The War Within
Fantastic Scripted Storyline
Released in 2016,The War Withinadded a completely new scripted storyline toWarframe. Complete with cinematic cut scenes and a whole host of new quests and challenges. Most of the new content was focused on tracking down the master overseer of the Conclave, Teshin.
A major new gameplay feature was introduced in this expansion. The moral alignment system. This allows players to choose one of three alignments; moon, sun, or neutral. At the time the expansion was released, the alignment system was not as fleshed out as it is now, though.
6EVE Online: Castor
Bringing Tech 2 Ships And Modules
At the end of 2003, theCastorexpansion forEVE Onlinewas launched. This was something of a cornerstone release for the game, as it introduced the long-awaited Tech 2 variants of common modules andspaceships. However, there was much more toCastorthan simply adding new items to the game.
The agent mission running system was introduced inCastorand remains largely unchanged to this day. But the most impactful change was conquerable stations being added to null-sec space, setting the stage for the epic clashes between massive player alliances the game is famous for.EVE Onlinewas already a good game. TheCastorexpansion gave it the possibility to become a great game.
5Guild Wars 2: Heart Of Thorns
Meet The Elder Dragon Mordremoth
By 2015,Guild Wars 2had already claimed its place in the list of top MMORPGs of all time. However, players were beginning to get to the end of all of the vanilla content, and player numbers were starting to drop significantly. There was so much competition from new MMORPGs in this era that leaking players was inevitable for most games.
In October 2015,Heart Of Thorns, the first expansion forGuild Wars 2dropped. It added a new playing area, the jungle-like Heart of Maguumam with four new open-world maps. The expansion added a whole new playable storyline as well. The Mastery System was added at the same time, giving veteran players a reason to continue playing beyond max level.
4Destiny 2: Forsaken
Fixed Most Problems With The Game
The most popular expansion for the originalDestinygame wasThe Taken King. TheForsakenexpansion forDestiny 2is considered to be the spiritual successor to this classic expansion. Forsaken fixed many of the long-term problems with the game, that players had been waiting for.
Content-wise, the expansion added two completely new locations, offering a significant challenge that took the community several months to work through. Forsaken took a different route from most expansions, and only unlocked all of the new content gradually, rather than dumping it all at once.
3Star Wars The Old Republic: Knights Of The Eternal Throne
A Gripping Yarn
Knights of the Eternal Thronewas the 6th expansion forStar Wars The Old Republic. Previous expansions had been well received but had all failed to reach the same level of storytelling as the vanilla campaign.Knights Of The Eternal Throneshook things up and took SWTOR back to itsstorytellingroots.
Introducing an entirely new storyline, that took the player away from their comfort zone and their companions,KotETcontinued the vanilla storyline, resolving questions related to the demise of the emperor. The level cap was increased to 70, giving space for veteran players to soak up this great new addition to the game.
2EVE Online: Apocrypha
Added 2600 New Star Systems
By early 2009,EVE Onlinewas getting a little stale. Large alliances had mostly staked out their borders, which were seldom contended or shifted. PvE players were complaining that they were restricted to content in high-security space, with no option for short trips into more dangerous yet profitable areas.
CCP listened, and theApocryphaexpansion was released in March 2009. This expansion added K-Space. This is an area of 2600 star systems that are linked by constantly shifting wormholes. There is no local chat in these systems, and they have zero security rating.
Many new challenges were introduced, as well as avenues for profit, including moon mining. Exploration gameplay was also extended, and quite significantly so. PvE players now had an area they could explore, at a greater risk. PvP players now had a new hunting ground. The expansion reshaped the way many people playedEVE Online.
1World Of Warcraft: Wrath Of The Lich King
Considered The Heyday Of WoW
The first expansion forWorld of Warcraft,Burning Crusade, launched to a somewhat lackluster response from players. So, when Blizzard set about creating the next expansion,Wrath of the Lich King, they pulled out all the stops. To this day, many players look back on theWrath of the Lich Kingtimeline as being the golden age ofWoW. How popular was it? 2.8 million copies of the expansion sold on the first day.
WOTLKadded flying mounts (although only in the new zones at first), which players had been waiting for. But it was the Lich King storyline that really captured the hearts of players. A new hybrid, exotic class, the Deathknight, was also added, but players found it underwhelming. But overall, a worthy entry on this list.
