Best dungeon: Darkness Falls is full of dangerous monsters and amazing loot, but its doors only open to the faction that holds the most territory. If ownership switches hands while one faction is inside, they can ambush the new owners.

Not content to distinguish itself by focusing only on PVP, Dark Age of Camelot also features a staggering 47 different classes. Each is unique to one faction, like wizards belonging to Albion, a faction drawing from Arthurian lore. Designed to excel in a very specific role, each class depends on others to offset its weaknesses. As a result, you are only ever as good as the players fighting alongside you. It’s a system that would become critical to the design of more modern MMOs. 

Introducing a structured form of player combat known as ‘Realm vs Realm,’ Dark Age of Camelot laid the groundwork for a new kind of PVP. Three factions battle for control of various zones, establishing outposts that they have to protect from opposing forces. This open world approach to war necessitates strategy, as choosing when to attack is just as important as where. At the time, Dark Age of Camelot’s player-driven battles were unparalleled in scope, creating all the drama and tension of a fantasy medieval war. 

The act of killing another player in any MMO before Dark Age of Camelot was, at best, shortsighted. Someone had stuff, you wanted that stuff, so you forcefully parted them from it. But Mythic Entertainment had a vision for a different kind of murder, one that included strategy, teamwork, and glory. Most MMOs were satisfied with petty killing. Dark Age of Camelot, however, aspired to all-out war.

Anarchy Online didn’t change the genre just because it had the audacity to not feature wizards, but because of its many technical innovations. Instead of quests being rigid instructions, Anarchy Online features a dynamic system that lets players tailor combat encounters to suit their needs. What’s more, those quests also popularised ‘instancing’, which segregates a group of players to their own isolated version of a zone—a technology that would pave the way for modern dungeons. 

Best races: Everquest’s races remain some of the most inventive, even by today’s MMO standards. Players can be anything from humanoid tigers to tree frogs, ensuring the world is full of exotic characters to meet and play with. 

Everquest was one of the first MMOs to popularise grinding – the act of repeatedly killing monsters for experience points. At the time, grinding seemed exciting. It forced you to play with strangers in order to kill tough monsters, and was the only real method to level up your character. By existing in such a harsh world, Everquest inspired strong relationships forged not by the joy of surviving, but of growing together. 

Unlike today’s MMOs, quests required patience and persistence. Very little was ever explained, and worse, death meant losing valuable equipment and experience points. Yet, in a somewhat beautiful analogy of the human spirit, it was exactly that brutal atmosphere that motivated people to invest years of their lives exploring Norrath. 

Many of Everquest’s ideas, like grouping with dozens of players to kill tough raid bosses, would become archetypes of the genre. 

Featuring 16 different races and classes,

Over time, reputations were formed and the virtual culture of Britannia gave shape to player-made heroes, villains, and everyone caught in between. 

Gorgeous 3D graphics brought the high fantasy world of Norrath to life in ways that Ultima Online’s 2D sprites never could.

One player took it upon himself to do the unthinkable and assassinate Richard Garriott’s own character during a royal speech.

The grandfather of modern MMOs