8 Best MMOs With Fun Grinding

Grinding is essential in most games, especially MMOs. Unfortunately, not all grinds are created equal and some feel like a mindless chore. If you’re someone who doesn’t enjoy repeating the same tasks endlessly, you’re in the right place.

A great MMO understands the balance between a rewarding grind and one that’s necessary to give players the gear and skills they need to beat the end-game.

If you’re looking for an MMO that offers steady progression or one that has a great mix of combat, crafting, PvP, and more, you’re sure to find one on this list. Here are the best MMOs where grinding is actually fun.

8 Old School RuneScape

A Nostalgic Grind

The thing about Old School RuneScape is that the satisfaction you get from playing comes from long-term progression rather than action-packed gameplay. Meaning that if you enjoy spending hours clicking on the same tree for logs, you’ll love the game.

Me personally? I prefer flashy combat.

Aside from just combat, there are a variety of activities that have skills you can level up – woodcutting, thieving, crafting, fishing (this might help if you ever do it), and more.

But that’s the thing about OSRS – grinding isn’t just a mechanic or a means to an end, it’s a way of life. You don’t just “get good” in this game, you earn it.

There is a massive amount of content to enjoy, from fighting bosses to general questing, minigames, and PvP.

Combine this with how fulfilling the grinding process is and you have a solid experience.

However, the game features click-heavy gameplay, slow combat, and dated graphics, so newer players might not get into it so easily. That said, even though it does look like a relic, it can still devour your time faster than any modern MMO.

7 Albion Online

Open-Ended Grinding

“You are what you wear” – you’ve probably heard that countless times from YouTube ads, right? Well, it’s one of the aspects that makes grinding in Albion Online enjoyable.

Grinding in this game is heavily tied to the player-crafted gear system. You don’t get gear from enemy drops (if you do, it’s bad), you get it from the player-driven marketplace.

That said, there is a massive amount of PvE content like dungeons, world bosses, raids, etc. However, the main grind comes from PvP and the gear you get from defeated players. Despite the cute graphics, the game is actually quite brutal.

Albion Online shines with guild wars, territory control, and trading. However, if PvP isn’t your cup of tea then you won’t enjoy the grind in this game – it can be punishing. There are literally players who make their gold by targeting high-level players and selling their gear.

I’m not joking. They come in with terrible gear, and repeatedly go after high-level players. Because they only need 1 or 2 kills to make a profit, even if they die like 7 times.

If you do enjoy participating in the destruction of enemy players though, then this game is for you.

6 Lost Ark

Loot-Driven Progression

Getting better gear is the key grind in Lost Ark, and when you combine that with its fast-paced ARPG-style combat, it’s extremely fun. It’s a grind-fest, but an enjoyable one.

There are many ways to grind, both in PvE and PvP, making the grind more diverse.

You can participate in dungeons, world bosses, raids, and more for PvE (pretty much what you would expect from an MMO).

In terms of PvP, there is the arena and guild wars content. Then, for more exploration-based grinding, there is trading and island quests.

However, the only drawback is the endgame gameplay. The game uses an RNG-based gear upgrading system, which can be frustrating because you can lose your materials with no guarantee of an upgrade.

I sometimes think the abilities are a bit too OP, because that results in either having to add more enemies, or making them more spongy. Which I suppose is the point of the game. But, I guess that’s why I prefer the next entry more, which is a bit more grounded.

5 New World

Player-Driven Economy and Exploration

New World is a very grindy game, but this is balanced by the classless progression system and how your grind directly impacts your power.

In other words, dungeons, PvP, exploring, and questing get you equipment and crafting materials either as rewards or drops. You never leave empty-handed.

And that’s the beauty of the game. Sometimes I log in thinking I will just gather some ore, but three hours later I’m deep into questing and dungeon runs (expeditions).

The classless progression system lets you change builds on the fly, as your abilities are tied to your weapons.

The game also doesn’t tie you down to just killing enemies for XP or gear – you can also gather, trade, and participate in faction-based PvE events. And there’s a wealth of continually expanding content, so you won’t run out of things to do.

There are also map bonuses from territory control that can give you additional XP or speed boost for gathering when playing in a certain zone, which helps a lot when grinding.

Open-World With Build-Centric Progression

There is so much to do in Elder Scrolls Online, from traditional quests to dungeons, PvP, crafting, and even housing. This makes grinding fun, because it’s not just all about combat.

Speaking of combat, your abilities are pretty much tied to your gear and skill trees, allowing you to experiment with many different builds.

Regarding content, ESO is one of the largest MMOs with expansions being added regularly, bringing in new storylines, dungeons, and zones to explore.

One key feature that makes grinding fun in ESO is how the loot system works. Yes, enemies can drop gear, but that’s not where you get the best loot.

You’ll have to grind specific content to get targeted gear sets – this usually means playing your way through quests rather than running around and fighting every enemy you see in hopes of a powerful gear drop.

Of course, if this isn’t the type of grind you like, then you probably won’t enjoy the game. But I love questing. In particular, detailed quests, like ESO offers, not just the typical MMO “go fetch” kind of questing.

Now, don’t get me wrong, the combat is fun, but at times it can feel weightless. Sometimes it doesn’t feel like I’m attacking an enemy with a massive battleaxe, instead it feels like a pool noodle.

3 Guild Wars 2

Dynamic Events and Horizontal Progression

Whereas most MMOs force you into hours of grinding to get max-level gear to beat the end-game, but Guild Wars 2 takes a different approach.

The developers clearly didn’t see grinding as a “necessary evil” to reach the real content, which I love. It grinds my gears when MMOs make you do chores such as prologue quests, while the real content is locked at higher levels.

In all honesty, you don’t need to grind in the traditional sense to enjoy the core game content. No grinding quests or farming enemies.

Guild Wars 2 allows you to jump into all the content at your leisure – explore, participate in world events, complete quests, craft, participate in the insane world PvP, and a lot more.

While you’re mainly “grinding” for cosmetics, there is a parallel grind you can do if you want – achievements and collections.

In other words, I don’t feel like an employee working for an MMO when playing Guild Wars 2. I feel like an adventurer, which is how you should feel when playing an MMO.

2 Black Desert Online

Addictive, Open-Ended Grind

There are games where grinding is a means to an end, and then there’s Black Desert Online where it’s the entire point.

The extremely satisfying combat makes grinding fun – it’s fast and flashy, and you feel like a badass.

There’s a massive amount of content to grind, from world bosses to PvP wars, dedicated grinding spots, and other side activities like trading, crafting, and more.

Once you complete the initial few quests that introduce you to the game, it opens up, allowing you to do whatever you want without strict questing paths.

The only drawback is RNG-based gear enhancements – if the upgrade fails, you lose materials. But, the game more than makes up for it with a power system that directly relates to your grind effort.

That said, while I enjoyed its gameplay, there was just something about the graphics/art style that didn’t allow me to fully get into Black Desert Online. Oh, and the Black Spirit had an annoying voice and character IMO.

1 Final Fantasy XIV

Deep Story and Rewarding Progression

In my opinion, a great MMO should make grinding feel like a rewarding journey, not something that artificially extends content, which Final Fantasy XIV understands, too. The game was so popular at a time that Square Enix had to briefly pause sales.

And when trying to log in, there’s an actual queue. Still. And it’s 12 years later after A Realm Reborn launch.

Not only is the combat system well-balanced and polished, but it feels as rewarding as the grind in the game.

You don’t just have to farm mobs – there are deep story-driven quests, gathering, crafting, dungeons, building your own island, a lukewarm PvP, and more.

There’s always something to do or grind for with constant expansions, seasonal events, and endgame content.

Not only can you play every class on a single character, but you can also upgrade your gear without worrying about the RNG gods.

In a nutshell, Final Fantasy XIV respects your time, and all the improvements on your character and gear feel fulfilling.