I'll be dead honest, I'm someone who would jump from a bridge before I touch another F2P MMORPG... until I got to try out the beta version of Runes of Magic (RoM). RoM is a fantasy MMORPG that plays in a world called Taborea. The god Ayvenas who has created this world isn't really satisfied with how things are going and spreads so-called runestones all over it. The people of this world love these due to their magical properties and the same goes for the opponents of our "beloved" god. Before you know it everyone in-game is bashing each other's head for some shiny stones. How beautiful the lust for more power is!

To make this possible new players will be able to choose from six classes going from the well-known warrior and mage to the more special scout and knight. In the future the choices will be expanded but it's still unknown when we can expect this. Nice extra is that as of level 10 also a secondary class can be chosen. A warrior with some magic is no problem by choosing a mage as second class. Advantage is that as player you're less dependant on others but at the same time can offer additional help in a certain situation. In total up to 30 combinations will be possible so plenty of choice if you ask me.

PvE fanatics will have plenty to do. With over 600 quests and raids that can go to up to 36 people you'll see the hours fly by. Those that prefer not to do raids will also have enough choice with the existing six men instances where you can kill and plunder some strong monsters with your own friends/party.

PvP is also plenty available. When a player reaches a certain goal he becomes a possible target and can be attacked just about everywhere. Depending on the level that the attacker or victim is a reputation can be had which makes that gamers gets new items through certain NPCs. Other possibilities in PvP is a war between two guilds or even servers. All these options are of course only available on a PvP server so that if you want to safely PvE without having to check your surroundings all the time for hostile players, you can just go on a PvE server.

Fighting isn't the only thing the game has to offer. Players can learn different skills like blacksmithing and alchemy with which items can be made. A pretty large addition is housing so players can own and decorate their own home. Advantage is that you can use that place for all your characters which makes it easy if you want to transport a certain object to another character. Also guilds have this possibility so that motivated groups of players really have something to show off with when these guild houses get expanded.

Like most F2P MMORPGs so-called micro-payments can be used but contrary to the existing competition paying players will have less advantages. It's mostly cosmetic upgrades and items that make you reach a higher level quicker like a potion that allows you to gather experience faster. Advantage is that free players are less discouraged to play as the difference in strength towards paying players is limited.