Looking For A Good RPG For A Beginner

Hi Everyone. I'm Amy. I've never played an RPG game before. I thought it might be time to try. I really enjoy adventure games. I wanted to try something new and have been thinking about trying an RPG game. I'm looking for any suggestions on where to begin. Something for a newbie...adventure themed. Any ideas would be extremely helpful. I'm flying completely blind.

My favorites are the Tomb Raider series. The older ones are simpler but definitely full of adventure. You might check out the Hall of Fame list for best RPG games for some ideas. You can look at some of the walkthrus to help you select one too. Good Luck!

Hi Amy,

I'd recommend Skyrim. I was a gormless beginner at RPGs when I picked up this game, but you can set the difficulty to suit yourself, the learning curve is gradual, and it's fabulous fun -- one of the most immersive games I've ever played. So far I've clocked up well over 500 hours of gaming, over three different characters.

I play the PS3 version, but I imagine that if you'd be wanting to play on PC then the controls shouldn't be too complicated.

Actually Skyrim might be too big a world for a beginner - how about the new Dragon Age: Inquisition?
It's pretty easy and a nice learning curve to begin with. Also the character creation is great
You can get it from Origin - download their installer and everything is right there, whenever they update with free expansions etc.

Or maybe the original Witcher? You could even play point and click in that one. I also like the combat in that one - it was not just mad mouse clicking. Plus, you have the oh-so-handsome and sexy Geralt!

Divine Divinity might be a good starter game, too. You can also get it from GOG as a download. I know a couple of folks who tried this game as their first RPG, and it worked out well for them (after that, they were hooked on RPGs).

My first RPG was Baldur's Gate and the combat almost turned me off for good. Patient Boomers, especially Zanthia, helped me get past that and I soon became immersed in the story; never looked back.

Start with something with a decent story, and let us help you with the game mechanics.

My suggestion? Oblivion. Good story, still-decent graphics, and ease of learning. Plus tons of us have played it and can help you.

It's an open world game, but the quests aren't mandatory, you can pick and choose what you do, which is what's so delightful about it. You don't have to follow the main questline. You can stay in one town for a day or a month or even longer; it doesn't matter. As I mentioned in my post above, I was a beginner when I started playing, and I had a ball right from the get go.

One of my first "proper" RPGs was Baldur's Gate

Although it was definitely quite a learning curve for me, being mainly an "Adventure" gamer up until then, I eventually became addicted and enjoyed many, many hours of entertainment !!

[Don't we all ?? ]

Maybe it would be good to use God Mode as an RPG beginner on this one though ??
Just until you are used to the game play.
You can always dispense with it once you feel confident.

Good luck, anyway, with whatever you choose

Cheers.

Mad

I would suggest Risen 3 for a beginner. I am playing it now and find it quite easy and very enjoyable. Play on easy difficulty and once you get past the tutorial, the world opens up and you can go anywhere. I like the combat. There is no button mashing, instead you time the swing of your sword. You get a companion early on who will help with the fighting. If you pick Bones, you get some funny dialogue. There is a good walkthrough at Gamepressure.

http://guides.gamepressure.com/risen3/guide.asp?ID=26207

Hi Amy!

I'm going to second the Oblivion suggestion, but also include the idea of Morrowind as well.

In Oblivion, Bethesda rather successfully simplified the concept of an RPG character development tree making it very easy to follow and track. While not it's not everyone's cup of tea and has been called "Morrowind Lite" due to the simplification factor it is an excellent jump off to the RPG genre.

The graphics are still decent compared to other games.

Gives you a big bang for your buck especially considering that you can find the Game of the Year version of Oblivion, which contains three expansion packs (new major quest lines) for around $10.00.

There are a large number of "mods" available. If you're not familiar with the concept, those are game modifications written by fans and independent developers, collectively known as "modders" that add to or change various aspects of the game. Everything from more people walking around, better looking trees, new quests, awesome (and sometimes overpowered) weapons and armor; the list goes on.


The big thing to remember when transitioning to a genre like RPG's is not to get stressed out about your character getting killed, sometimes repeatedly. It happens and it's not the end of the world, just laugh it off, rethink your strategy and try again. You can also begin the game at an easier level until you get used to combat and then later raise the difficulty. Getting used to keeping revolving saves (i.e. keep three active saves, my personal method) and cycle through them when you come to areas or encounters that may be dangerous or could impact your continued game will also help. Plus there are plenty of folks here that can give you tips and pointers.

Morrowind is the earlier game in The Elder Scrolls series and is considered a classic by most even though the graphics and combat by today's standards is outdated. Even so, it is a very atmospheric game, gives you the back story of the continuing Elder Scrolls saga and like Oblivion can be very inexpensive.

If you are a Steam user, they currently have a sale on both games. Here are the links:

For Oblivion: http://store.steampowered.com/app/22330/

For Morrowind: http://store.steampowered.com/app/22320/

Sexy works for me...lol !!! Draclvr

I want to THANK YOU ALL SO MUCH...YOUR AWESOME!! You've given me a lot of ideas. Time to do a little research. Everyone has been so kind and very helpful. I hope you don't mind me coming back...because I'm sure I'll have a ton of questions. Wish me luck

Please do come back. The more the merrier

Can't wait to see what your research comes up with! The original Witcher is available on GOG.

One caveat - do make sure your computer is capable of playing these games. Although a lot of these are older games with low computer specs, they may require more than a basic computer has.

Very good point. It would really suck to find a game I want to try only to find out my computer isn't capable of of handling it.

Why don't you post your computer specs and we can give you a sense of what you can play and what you can't.

I think Morrowind and Oblivion should be relatively easy on the computer specs, as both a quite old.

Both are great games, but Morrowind is more demanding. There is no fast travel, and directions to the myriad locations in the game can be frustratingly vague. For the die-hard purist, that's a plus. For the beginner, not so much.

The most frustrating thing for me in Morrowind was that silly little Kwama Forager (read as wormy, little caterpillar..er..thing) that killed my character after only playing for about, oh, 10 minutes. Taught me real quick that you need to move your character around a bit when in combat and not just stand there whacking your opponent with a pointed stick.

When you've just finished one game and have started a new one, there's always that humiliating moment where you remember that you're no longer a level 57 assassin/mage, and a rat can take you out.

Truer words were never spoken

I won't admit to how many times I re-started Morrowind because of instances of that nature !!

Oh....uh...so, NOT just whacking with a pointed stick?

Nope. Not successfully whacking with anything.
Just getting plain, downright slaughtered before I've worked out how to defend myself !!

So over the years a ploy has gradually developed in that I start the game and experiment for a while - often getting killed pretty darn soon. Then I repeat that procedure a few times.
[ Just for the experience, you understand ?? ]

Eventually I DO start for real .... and somehow manage to survive for five minutes longer

I've died trying to defend myself with a lockpick in my hands.

Oh good grief, I forgot about that. Watching your character's health drop with each swipe by your opponent as your wrist does that twitchy little twist with lock pick in hand.

hagatha !!!!!!!!

OMG, that is so funny! Can't say I've ever tried to defend myself with a lockpick - YET THAT IS!

These are available from GOG and have a strong adventure component:

Quest for Glory
Quest for Infamy

GOG has configured them to play on nearly any computer.

You might also want to check out YouTube playthroughs of a few RPG's to get an idea of what they're like.

One thing to consider is whether you want fantasy or science fiction.

Check the "DarkSide" game list for more ideas
http://www.gameboomers.com/GameBoomersAnnualGamelist.htm

Again your awesome...what specs from my computer would help?

Everything! Processor, RAM, video card etc.

I would recommend Oblivion (The Elderscrolls IV) since it had a few adventure like quests for example going inside a painting or some puzzles. Skyrim has good puzzles too in Nord Caves but it's a huge world for a beginner. Gothic 1 is good too & also Witcher 1.