The term “MMORPG”refers to a subgenre of MMO titles that has typical role-playing elements. Nearly all MMO games have some form of role-playing avenue to enrich the experience for the player. Just like role-playing games and their tabletop progenitors, the roots of these titles, for the most part, lie in fantasy settings.
Sword-and-sorcery tropes and dungeon-delving form the backbone for MMO classics such as World of Warcraft. However, in four decades of gaming, the genre has ripened enough to grow out of the shire fantasy niche.
A good number of shooters weave third-person gunplay with MMORPG facets. Listed below are some of the most successful exemplars of this combination.
5 amazing MMORPGs with third-person shooter gameplay
1) World of Tanks
Platforms: PC, PS4, Xbox One, Nintendo Switch, Android, iOS
If you like vehicular combat, World of Tanks is one of the genre-defining classics you should not miss. Released first in 2010, this tank battler MMORPG puts a heavy emphasis on historically accurate designs for armored vehicles, its main vessel of gameplay.
The main game mode, Random Battles, can accommodate 15v15 battles divvied up into several platoons and teams. Currently, there are four other game modes, including Tank-company Battles and Stronghold Battles. The win conditions in these game modes range from capture-the-flag to chaotic team deathmatches, but the fundamental mechanics are to keep the focus on tank combat.
There are six tank classes in the game that define your playstyle and your general role in the winning strategy. The main variables are range, mobility, damage, and durability. The gameplay is padded out with a motley selection of equipment to use on the field, including Hardening (to apply additional durability buffer) and Turbochargers (for short-term mobility boosts).
2) War Thunder
Platforms: PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S
Released three years after World of Tanks, War Thunder is its biggest competitor in the vehicle combat MMORPG genre. Strictly speaking, the MMORPG label can only be loosely attributed here. The game’s roleplaying element lies in its lifelike simulation of armored combat, with a distinct x-ray projection of interior impact on every shell that hits.
Tank classes are also present in this game, but unlike World of Tanks, the angle and distance at which you shoot will be a greater factor in your success. This game also extends its gameplay to the skies and the sea. Rather than the typical Battlefield experience, however, the air combat is secluded to its own separate game modes.
Even though the real potential of War Thunder can be found in the Realistic Battle modes that take the simulation aspect up a notch, Arcade Mode allows for a more casual experience. In Arcade mode, the game’s mechanics are nearly identical, but with a more hands-on approach and guided crosshairs that change color, depending on the possibility of armor penetration and projectile falloff indicators.
The arcade mode still preserves some semblance of realism. In War Thunder, there is no HP system, and durability is much more tactical. Shells and shots that penetrate the vehicle may affect the crew seated inside. Eliminating the entire crew essentially disables a tank, the same as shooting the engines off for planes.
3) Rogue Company
Platforms: PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Nintendo Switch, iOS, Android
Rogue Company, a 4v4 hero shooter from First Watch Games, is a cross-breed between the movement of Fortnite and the hero skills of Valorant. Unlike the average battle royale, its own twist on the movement system is a spammable dodge-roll.
The hero shooter genre is reaching a stage of saturation in the current year, but Rogue Company is likely the single standout MMORPG to put a third-person perspective in the formula. It has two game modes.
Demolition, the premiere competitive mode, essentially plays like Valorant or Counter-Strike. The aggressor side wins by planting the bomb and letting it detonate successfully, while the defending side must prevent or defuse it.
The second mode, Strikeout, is where the originality of Rogue Company shines through. It is functionally the same as the 6v6 Team Deathmatch mode, except teams get ’17’ tickets that deplete when a player on the team dies. To prevent camping, a pseudo-king of the hill system compels players to play active.
Rogue Company came out of Early Access in May 2023. It is available for cross-play across numerous platforms.
4) Tom Clancy’s The Division 2
Platforms: PC, PS4, Xbox One, Stadia
Set in the detritus of a post-apocalyptic Washington D.C., Tom Clancy’s The Division 2 takes the concepts introduced in the first game to the logical next step. Its standout core feature is the polished cover-based shooting mechanics, one that is rare in the high-octane mobile nature of other shooters in this genre.
The game has a list of features you expect of the average looter-shooter, such as loot rarity, RNG-based drops, and a diverse equipment system. Ubisoft’s approach to the core stats is simplified in terms of player defense.
Players, known as ‘Agents’ in Tom Clancy’s The Division 2, have separate layers of durability pools between Health, Armor, and Armor Regeneration. The player build can either focus on DPS or durability or take a middle-ground approach between the two.
Other than six armor pieces and three weapons, your build is defined by the Agent skill, of which there are six archetypes to pick from. Unique gear sets in the game flesh out specific bonuses that further specific playstyles. Beyond the builds and skills, however, this title puts more emphasis on the actual gunplay tactics compared to other MMORPGs.
5) Warframe
Platforms: PC, PS4, PS5, Xbox One, Xbox Series X/S, Nintendo Switch
Warframe is an exemplary looter-shooter MMORPG when it comes to maintaining a fair and non-intrusive free-to-play model. Nearly all of the content in the game is accessible to all players without spending a dime, including most cosmetics. The title recently completed its 10th year, marking hopefully the first of many milestones in a journey of remarkable progress.
A ‘Conclave’ faction cordons off Warframe’s relatively untouched PvP mode. Even though it is feature-complete, only a minority of the playerbase is interested in PvP. It does not garner much support from the developers either, as the bread and butter of the game’s balance is beset upon the expansive PvE gameplay.
Warframe’s MMORPG components are limited to co-op mode and a four-person squad. This is arguably the only big limitation of the game as a multiplayer PvE experience. Barring this, the title offers a number of MMORPG staple features: a steep progression curve, huge variety of builds, a free market, open landscapes, and end-game raids.
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