Action Combat MMOs

Action combat games are all about maneuvering around your enemies to keep them on the chase while you whittle down their health. It’s the natural next step after tab-targetting, creating an engrossing combat atmosphere, one where you feel an invested sense of skill-based gameplay. The following is a list of playable—or soon-to-be—games that emphasize action combat over traditional tab-targeting.

TERA

[singlepic id=4712 w=600 h=300 float=none]One of my favorite MMORPGs for knowing how to inject itself with Fun, TERA has a stylized approach to action combat with plenty of flashy effects to satiate your daily dopamine requirement. Free-aim your weapons at monstrous creatures and pummel them down, and prepare to bounce around enemies instead of running through them to dodge an attack. For many players TERA still reigns supreme in the action combat department.

Revelation Online

[singlepic id=64139 w=600 h=300 float=none]Revelation Online is a bit of a pseudo action combat system that masks tab targeting and only truly shines for some classes [melee] over others [ranged]. But when it works, it works. You hack and slash enemies using the full range of abilities on your keyboard; you may even develop arthritis by the end of your playthrough.

Black Desert Online

[singlepic id=48606 w=600 h=300 float=none]I would argue Black Desert Online is still one of the smoothest action combat MMORPGs out there, fluid and fast. You zip around enemies like some anime character, slapping them in the face before bouncing back to bullseye an arrow in their dome. Each of the game’s classes takes a different approach but is equally exciting to launch all-out attacks.

HeroWarz

[singlepic id=53837 w=600 h=300 float=none]HeroWarz prides itself as a character-based top-down arcade action game, where you wield a variety of chaotic abilities to mawl dozens upon dozens of mobs at once. It’s a bit graphically dated, but that also means it will run on almost any PC that can connect to the internet. Run down hallways to challenge the boss, who requires more than slamming your keyboard to take down.

Vindictus

[singlepic id=7882 w=600 h=300 float=none]It’s the bloody action MMORPG once known as Mabinogi Heroes with a dark personality: Vindictus. It’s a little older now, but that doesn’t mean players can’t still chain attacks, alternating between light and heavy, in-between hurling spells to eviscerate legions of enemies.

Elder Scrolls Online

[singlepic id=18263 w=600 h=300 float=none]You ever want to play an Elder Scrolls game but with lots of other players? I never really thought of that either, but we still got Elder Scrolls Online, and it’s combat system functions much like its single-player counterparts: block, aim, dodge, dip, roll. I’m exaggerating a bit. But after the One Tamriel update you’re free to roam the entire game’s universe, exploring and defeating enemies across all of Tamriel with classic Elder Scrolls combat.

MapleStory

[singlepic id=7285 w=600 h=300 float=none]Do you like big numbers in a cutesy 2D environment with colorful characters that you send to oblivion with a charming pop? Then MapleStory is your game. Run around delightful environments slicing through incalculable monsters to level up and repeat the process ad infinitum. MapleStory is a classic, and if you missed out then go install it to find out what got so many kids addicted to their monitors.

Guild Wars 2

[singlepic id=13348 w=600 h=300 float=none]Guild Wars 2 demands a player who’s awake enough to dodge around enemies and fire off abilities with finesse. You better aim your attacks or you’ll make air molecules laugh. It’s a fluid combat experience and a pleasure to bounce from one zone to the next reflecting your muscles off enemy domes.

Elsword

[singlepic id=1706 w=600 h=300 float=none]It’s the coziest 2D side-scroller, touting charming anime graphics and variable combat that lets you rip through boldly colored mobs: Elsword. Click with fury, jump, and dazzle with abilities as you fight your way from left to right.

Dungeon Fighter Online

[singlepic id=6893 w=600 h=300 float=none]One of the most popular games worldwide, Dungeon Fighter Online may be the ultimate 2D brawler. Choose from a huge assortment of classes and make it rain equally huge numbers against vividly designed enemies. DFO is a classic. And it’s skill-based combat system helps explain why after over a decade since release it still remains so popular.

Dragon Nest

[singlepic id=15090 w=600 h=300 float=none]The game that says, “Yeah, we kawaii, big deal,” Dragon Nest. Dragon Nest sends you through dungeons left and right-clicking like the ol’ one-two, while dodging enemies and unleashing abilities, racking up your combo chain for a feel-good number validating your prowess. But it’s not a spam-fest forever. You’ll have to know the range, positioning, and consequences of your moves when facing big bad bosses.

Blade and Soul

[singlepic id=43711 w=600 h=300 float=none]NCSoft’s overdue Blade and Soul doesn’t have the same maneuverability as other action combat games, but it’s tagline as the fighting game of MMOs is apt. Use your abilities correctly and you can parry, dodge, and attack with classy panache. It’s all about knowing your abilities and when to use them situationality, creating a high skill cap and one of the most engaging 1v1 PvP experiences in any MMO.

WildStar

[singlepic id=8133 w=600 h=300 float=none]It was supposed to be the chosen one, and while maybe the savior hasn’t arrived yet, WildStar still provides solid action combat gameplay, one brimming at the scenes with telegraphs. You’ll be hopping in and out of bright red markers while returning with your own. WildStar’s combat system makes for one of the most fun and hypnotizing dungeon run experiences: a game where one slip early-on could doom you.

Warframe

[singlepic id=6070 w=600 h=300 float=none]If you ever wanted to be a surreptitious sci-fi ninja that sprints, runs, slides, back-flips, and sptins across walls to decimate enemies from one end of the universe to the other then Warframe is your game. Shake off cryostasis by using katanas, guns, arrows, and everything in-between in environments that are well described as "visual eye-candy."