I played a couple years in a Neverwinter Nights persistent world and enjoyed it quite a bit.
My MMO experience was a couple months trying out D&D Online and a week or two of LOTR online. I prefer PC games like Diablo, Elder Scrolls 3 and Mount and Blade.
Being a Robert E. Howard fan and having gotten a decent gaming machine, I decided to try Age of Conan since it was free. Bear in mind I was basically looking to solo and not do guild raids, etc.
I have since subscribed and added the Rise of the Godslayer expansion. Graphically, AoC is a beautiful game. Setting wise, it does a pretty good job of capturing Howard's Hyboria.
I can't really compare the combat method to other MMOs, but I think it's pretty good and different from PC stand alones.
There aren't a lot of people playing it (I started on the PvP server, found that to suck and restarted on the PvE server). Beyond Tortage (the level 1-20, free area) you will usually see a few folks around, but in general, you can roam on your own. I have teamed up a few times, so you're not stuck solo when you need help all the time. I haven't joined a guild (level 32), so I can't comment on that part of the game.
But as somebody who took a long time to join an MMO, I think this is a superior one. There seems to be ZERO role playing (something NWN Persistent Worlds have a lot of), but I just accept that as part of playing AoC. I'm sticking with it and don't have any interest in abandoning this for Pathfinder Online, though I am a Pathfinder PbPer.
If you're tired of Wow and the other "big" MMOs, and you aren't focused on PvP, I'd give this a try. Visually, it's way better than D&D and LOTRO.
Roleplaying seems to consistently lack in MMORPGS even of RP servers.
I'll agree with you Age of Conan is a fun game (that is for an MMORPG, I'm not so much into those). What I like about it is that you actually coordinate the attacks of your character rather than just watching them fighting while occasionally commanding them to do a special attack. Most MMORPGs make me feel more like a Pokémon Trainer than the character because of their combat system. So AoC definitely has that going for it.
I also love the atmosphere and the graphics are pretty good for an MMORPG.
Beyond that I also find it has its flaws, which eventually turned me away from playing.
1: Quests get repetitive (a reason why i haven't stuck with an MMORPG yet) and they are unfortunately the same grind as in AoCs peers. (kill 10 X, collect 15 Y, etc. and always backtrack all the way to your quest giver, once you're done)
2: After the Tortage arc, dialogues only appear in text form anymore, this is a very jarring change after pretty much everyone you talked to was fully voiced and had dialogue animations. So you finally reach what's supposed to be the meat of the game and it feels completely thin. Like they aren't finished making the game or something.
3: Tortage itself gets old pretty quick, if you make a new character and have to go through the exact same storyline again for all of 20 levels, you get tired of it.
I also remember I only managed to beat the last quest on Tortage (getting to the pirate leader) because of my sneak skill, I couldn't fight my way past all those mobs in the way.
Roleplaying seems to consistently lack in MMORPGS even of RP servers.
Beyond that I also find it has its flaws, which eventually turned me away from playing.
1: Quests get repetitive (a reason why i haven't stuck with an MMORPG yet) and they are unfortunately the same grind as in AoCs peers. (kill 10 X, collect 15 Y, etc. and always backtrack all the way to your quest giver, once you're done)
2: After the Tortage arc, dialogues only appear in text form anymore, this is a very jarring change after pretty much everyone you talked to was fully voiced and had dialogue animations. So you finally reach what's supposed to be the meat of the game and it feels completely thin. Like they aren't finished making the game or something.
3: Tortage itself gets old pretty quick, if you make a new character and have to go through the exact same storyline again for all of 20 levels, you get tired of it.
I also remember I only managed to beat the last quest on Tortage (getting to the pirate leader) because of my sneak skill, I couldn't fight my way past all those mobs in the way.
#1 and 3 go together. The FedEx quests (deliver this, go get that) are kinda repetitive. And starting a character over means doing those again.
Though the second time through Tortage, my ranger was better at melee and while I snuck around a lot (I like doing that), the battles weren't as hard as the first time when I mostly used a bow.
#2 didnt bother me. I was used to the aloud conversations, but I didn't really miss them once they were gone.
I liked the personal quest line in Tortage, which added depth to the "Go to White Sands isle or Acheron Ruins and do this version of..."
I understand your not sticking with an MMO because of the limitations. I got more out of the Baldur's Gate and NWN franchises. And I spent about seven months playing Mount and Blade rather than continue D&D Online.
But I didn't expect much out of AoC: I was pulled in by the Robert E Howard subject. It's been a pleasant surprise. And the PvE players have been fine (PvP had some buttheads).
I soloed to the Level 80 cap..and saw pretty much the whole world all the way to Khitai...
It was fun and some of the scenery was incredible.
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I played to level 20-ish about six times (Tempest of Set, Ranger, Conqueror, Demonologist, Necromancer, Priest of Mitra), but didn't get past 44th with my 'main,' because the game just felt so unfinished beyond Tortage.
I really enjoyed the death animations of the Priest of Mitra and the Demonologist and the Ranger. So cruel, so hilarious.
I liked how the healing classes had limited healing options, and that the heals tended to be heals over time, so that the healer wasn't expected to spend every second of every combat healing, and could mix in some combat effects without compromising his healing ability.
Tossing down a bunch of storm totems and mixing up the occasional heal, lightning attack and crowd control was very fun with my Tempest of Set. In EQ, the healer would generally be spamming heals as fast as they recharged, and often not have the opportunity to even switch target off of the tank, let alone contribute to the fight itself.
The Necromancer, particularly with a swarm of mutilators out, was a thing of dark beauty. All those attacks, all that healing. Fun!