MMORPG Tier List for 2025

Today, I’ll be delivering a brutally honest MMORPG tier list for 2025. Before we dive in, let me remind you: liking or disliking a game is entirely subjective. You can absolutely disagree with me, and that’s okay. This list reflects both my personal opinion and the overall sentiment of the gaming community. If your main game ends up in a lower tier, try to understand that it’s not entirely my fault. With that out of the way, let’s get started with the best MMORPG tier list of 2025.

S Tier: The Best of the Best

• Final Fantasy XIV: A masterpiece of storytelling, it features an incredibly welcoming community and polished gameplay that keeps improving with each expansion.
• Guild Wars 2: With dynamic events, horizontal progression, and stunning visuals, it continues to set the standard for modern MMORPGs.
• Old School RuneScape: Its player-driven economy, nostalgic charm, and regular updates guided by community input make it a standout MMORPG in 2025.
• World of Warcraft (Retail): Retains its S-tier status thanks to its sheer volume of content and consistent updates, even though its design choices can be polarizing.

A Tier: Excellent but Not Perfect

• Classic WoW: Offers an unparalleled nostalgic experience with a challenging, community-driven atmosphere. However, outdated mechanics sometimes feel like a chore in 2025.
• Black Desert Online: Its graphics and combat are top-notch, but the grindy nature and overwhelming systems keep it from S tier.
• Elder Scrolls Online: Immersive world-building and lore are unmatched, but occasional bugs and reliance on repetitive grinding hold it back from S tier.
• Lost Ark: Delivers an excellent blend of action combat and engaging PvE content, but its endgame progression can feel overly punishing.
• Star Wars: The Old Republic: Exceptional storytelling and voice acting with a cinematic questing experience. Its heavy reliance on a subscription model and lack of major updates prevent S tier.

B Tier: Solid with Potential

• Albion Online: Fantastic sandbox gameplay and player-driven economy, but a steep learning curve and repetitive activities might drive away new players.
• Guild Wars: Revolutionized MMORPGs with unique instanced design and deck-building crafting. It lacks modern quality-of-life features and an active player base to compete in 2025.
• Lord of the Rings Online: Amazing Middle-earth setting, but its dated combat system keeps it from going higher.
• New World Aeternum: Boasts beautiful visuals and engaging territory wars, but repetitive late-game content and frequent balancing issues keep it from rising higher.
• RuneScape 3: Improved visuals and quality-of-life features compared to its predecessor, but microtransactions and lack of nostalgic charm hinder its ranking.
• Star Trek Online: Story-driven missions and space combat are fantastic for Trekkies, but dated visuals and clunky ground combat hold it back.
• Throne and Liberty: A newer MMORPG with a strong foundation and beautiful visuals, but it needs more content and polish to reach higher tiers.
• Wizard101: Unique combat system and family-friendly design, but its aging engine and reliance on microtransactions keep it from higher tiers.
• Brighter Shores: A newer title with potential, but it’s still rough around the edges and lacks the polish of higher-tier games.

C Tier: Struggling to Stay Relevant

• Aion: Groundbreaking aerial combat back in the day, but its grindy progression system and outdated visuals keep it stuck in the past.
• ArcheAge: Unique housing and naval combat system, but its pay-to-win reputation and inconsistent updates hold it back.
• Asheron’s Call: A trailblazer in its time, but lack of modern quality-of-life features and dated graphics make it hard to recommend except to hardcore fans.
• Blade & Soul: Flashy and fun combat, but stale content and optimization issues make it difficult to enjoy long-term.
• Dark Age of Camelot: Revolutionary realm-versus-realm PvP, but clunky mechanics and minimal updates make it feel like a relic.
• Dungeons & Dragons Online: Captures the spirit of tabletop D&D, but outdated visuals and a limited player base make it hard to recommend.
• EVE Online: Offers a unique player-driven universe, but its steep learning curve and time-consuming gameplay aren’t for everyone.
• EverQuest: A pioneer with a legendary legacy, but its mechanics and visuals haven’t aged well.
• Lineage II: Massive battles and nostalgia are great, but outdated systems and reliance on grinding prevent it from climbing higher.
• Mortal Online: Ambitious sandbox mechanics and hardcore PvP focus, but frequent bugs, a steep learning curve, and limited accessibility hold it back.
• Neverwinter: Appealing action combat and D&D theme, but aggressive monetization and repetitive endgame content hold it back.
• Ragnarok Online: Nostalgic charm and unique art style, but aging mechanics and limited updates make it hard to recommend to new players.
• Rift: Strong start with innovative rift system and class flexibility, but stagnation, minimal updates, and declining player numbers hurt it.
• TERA: Enjoyable combat system, but content stagnation and closure of many servers reflect its declining popularity.
• Warhammer Online: Standout realm-versus-realm PvP, but its shutdown and limited private server support make it a nostalgic footnote.
• Mabinogi: Loyal fanbase, but repetitive gameplay, outdated visuals, and lack of innovation hold it back in 2025.

F Tier: Falling Short

• Bless Unleashed: Poor optimization, pay-to-win elements, and lack of meaningful updates make it one of the most disappointing MMORPGs in recent memory.
• Elyon: Despite initial promises, it suffers from a lack of unique identity, uninspired combat, and dwindling player support.
• Skyforge: Interesting class-switching mechanic, but shallow content, grindy progression, and lack of updates leave much to be desired.

Honorable Mention

• MapleStory: Charming art style, engaging progression, and frequent updates keep it relevant in 2025. However, its reliance on microtransactions prevents it from reaching S tier.

Conclusion: Share Your Thoughts

And that wraps up my brutally honest MMORPG tier list for 2025. Remember, this list is just my take, and your opinions might differ, which is totally fine. Let me know in the comments which games you agree or disagree with and why. Don’t forget to like, subscribe, and hit that bell icon for more MMORPG content. Thanks for watching, and I’ll see you in the next one. Till then, goodbye!