Is it worth getting into AL in 2026 as a new player?

[Vapourised]

Best to be an optimist and be wrong than a pessimist and be right. I think that's one of Elon Musk's but not sure.
Anyway, he's predicted that there will be no phones, no apps and no social media in 5-6 years time. Everything will be AI and everything you want will be sorted by AI. There will be more robots than people according to him.
I know what I want and it's not what he has predicted. So play the game..and..make some time for enjoying getting out with family and friends irl too. Just try AL, you can always quit if you don't like it. It's not mandatory to stay. I don't understand why people ask if it's worth playing because it's free to download, it doesn't take that much data and you can play as a guest for a test run. Just do it.

Sure but in many cases, the early game is not representative of the game as a whole. The reason why I posted here was to get a more holistic view of the game rather than a limited viewpoint from my end. For me, it is important to know if a game has predatory microtransactions or is active. Out of principle, I have dealbreakers when it comes to online gaming.

[Vapourised]

mate its hard to get into AL even as an existing player lol. like you returned to OSRS, i went back to Classic WoW. its paid but i at least dont have to dish out billions and bajillions just to be viable in that game. the leveling is fun, ALL gear acquired through gameplay (sigh of relief), the zones are massive, lore is rich and deep, immersion is good, community is helpful and accomodating, and most importantly its not broken to the point where dungeons and raids can be done solo. its the best money i spend every month. id much rather pay upfront to play a game than a f2p gacha that makes being even viable (!!) requiring a butt load of real money investment + time on top of that.

for context, i bought 4k+ plat last month and felt like i barely made any progress at all. couldnt buy those expensive auras cuz of ping, high cost of items, deteriorating community, divisive and alienating game mechanics... its very very hard to even justify spending money these days in AL. that 4k plat couldve got me ~5 months of WoW sub time.

all of this is my perspective as a player who started all the way back in 2015. and idc what anyone says - game's been at an all time low, and its incredibly sad. its my opinion and im not here for a rebuttal.

I will have a look at classic WoW. Sounds like a great experience. Yeah I am hearing many people say that there are many paywalls in AL. As a new player, this is highly discouraging. I'm not against spending money on my entertainment but I do not plan to whale just to be able to play the game.

[Oakmaiden]

If you enjoy frustration and dissatisfaction coupled with confusion and disappointment. Yes it’s worth every effort.

[Lolifee]

Dont forget random nerfs after a couple of days after you paid 500m and cant get any refund

[jafaarrasta]

Right now, I play old school runescape and am honestly having a blast with the endgame. It is new player friendly and Jagex put a lot of effort into producing frequent, quality updates that they poll to players to ensure that players are happy with it. Pvp (pking its called over there) is not the main focus of the game but its not ignored either and the pvp scene is active. There's no microtransactions or fomo. Plenty of engaging, challenging PVE and a very well developed quest line / story.

AL is the complete and total opposite of what u just described. Am not at all happy to say it, but:

Frequent, but crappy updates, mostly nerfs and fixing absolutely untested content or copy/paste errors. Rarely something useful, as the recent inventory auto sell feature that was 13yrs overdue.

PvP is barely alive. And so is almost all the maps, except gold farm maps, which are limited to two portal bosses and one normal zone. Events are totally unrewarding, mostly mindless grind with non existing f2p loot.

Micro transactions is the main focus, disregarding the need of new f2p players to populate the game. Fun is something that has been long ago forgotten as an objective.

All new items are behind a paywall, meaning p2w.

Gacha mechanics is employed almost anywhere.

Mostly dull, sometimes unnecessarily confusing questline. Not mysterious or intriguing. Just plain confusing.

Brutally repetitive requirements for some achievements which take years if u don't play 24/7.

They do collect and read players opinions but rarely implement anything, because they are mostly about less p2w. When they do, they usually overcompensate with heavy nerfs in other aspects. Questions from players get answers sporadically, mostly once or twice after a new event announcement and then it's over.

[Lolifee]

AL is the complete and total opposite of what u just described. Am not at all happy to say it, but:

Frequent, but crappy updates, mostly nerfs and fixing absolutely untested content or copy/paste errors. Rarely something useful, as the recent inventory auto sell feature that was 13yrs overdue.

PvP is barely alive. And so is almost all the maps, except gold farm maps, which are limited to two portal bosses and one normal zone. Events are totally unrewarding, mostly mindless grind with non existing f2p loot.

Micro transactions is the main focus, disregarding the need of new f2p players to populate the game. Fun is something that has been long ago forgotten as an objective.

All new items are behind a paywall, meaning p2w.

Gacha mechanics is employed almost anywhere.

Mostly dull, sometimes unnecessarily confusing questline. Not mysterious or intriguing. Just plain confusing.

Brutally repetitive requirements for some achievements which take years if u don't play 24/7.

They do collect and read players opinions but rarely implement anything, because they are mostly about less p2w. When they do, they usually overcompensate with heavy nerfs in other aspects. Questions from players get answers sporadically, mostly once or twice after a new event announcement and then it's over.

Best summary. Only veterans and platwhales still here but I guess sts went whale hunting and got who they needed to make bank

[Susanne]

Looks like AL is too expensive for what it offers now.

[CLN3696]

No it is not worth playing AL in 2026.

[Vapourised]

For anyone wondering, Eterspire is a rapidly growing mobile MMO that encapsulates a lot of what used to make AL great during the golden era.

Just throwing out a recommendation since I came across it recently

[Clickbangboom]

I just came back after being gone for years and I am confused and lost.

[Pyrogenie]

No. The answer is no. Go DL Genshin or BPSR.

[Sampep]

There is no point wasting time playing to farm gold , unless you live outside usa


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[Arcaneking11]

Considering coming back to al, but it feels so empty


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[Arcaneking11]

Returning on & off player since 2013 - why does the game seem so dead? Started new character, most of the maps seem empty. I remember that any maps used to have someone running at all times, now the starting areas feel empty. I had a Medusa set which i got long ago, & still sitting on it, before Medusa’s used to sell like hot cakes now no ones even interested in it, same for lepre banner, etc. What’s happening? Worth it to come back?


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[Statsonly]

Returning on & off player since 2013 - why does the game seem so dead? Started new character, most of the maps seem empty. I remember that any maps used to have someone running at all times, now the starting areas feel empty. I had a Medusa set which i got long ago, & still sitting on it, before Medusa’s used to sell like hot cakes now no ones even interested in it, same for lepre banner, etc. What’s happening? Worth it to come back?


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The player base is almost dead due to the developers singlehandedly ignoring the comments, needs and overall feedback of the community. Add items every 3-4 months we don't need and making huge game changes out of the blue. The skip in hp pools, gear and the amount of gold needed to play at max level from 86-91 is INSANEEEE!. Average players can't keep up with the game, it can't all be free to play but it shouldn't all be pay to win right??. Constantly changing events from the ones that have been the same for years, new and old items behind paywalls. I can go all day

[Ionuttzz]

I remember this game kept me busy for days now nothing is worth doing is p2w fiesta dead events

[Naimadark]

Looks like we aint playing the same game.. you can’t say devs arent listening to feedback.. there was a lot of changes regarding feedback, even for next incoming awakening event feedback were asked.. we can now select which type of items we want to keep with the auto sell.. someone asked for soccer jersey and we got a whole event with a field, people wanted jersey price to be lower and it has been lower.. and I could keep on going. we got cinco talking about arcane remasterize, about pvp… yes there are a lot of expensive sets but don’t say devs don’t answer because this part isn’t true.

[Naimadark]

Returning on & off player since 2013 - why does the game seem so dead? Started new character, most of the maps seem empty. I remember that any maps used to have someone running at all times, now the starting areas feel empty. I had a Medusa set which i got long ago, & still sitting on it, before Medusa’s used to sell like hot cakes now no ones even interested in it, same for lepre banner, etc. What’s happening? Worth it to come back?


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If your leveling up from scratch I’ll say maybe look for the double xp day, you might find more people running in map at this moment. There is also the possibility to go in town search for low lvl and ask to run quests together or join a guild..

[Statsonly]

Looks like we aint playing the same game.. you can’t say devs arent listening to feedback.. there was a lot of changes regarding feedback, even for next incoming awakening event feedback were asked.. we can now select which type of items we want to keep with the auto sell.. someone asked for soccer jersey and we got a whole event with a field, people wanted jersey price to be lower and it has been lower.. and I could keep on going. we got cinco talking about arcane remasterize, about pvp… yes there are a lot of expensive sets but don’t say devs don’t answer because this part isn’t true.

That's what u call helping the game and community? . if it isn't true why is the game basically dead? Explain

[Naimadark]

Well I see ppl in towns, at beginning or end of events the event town always full of players.. lower maps are more empty but many use pack to lvl up or don’t build alts.. I bet it’s part of why.. many want everything without working for anything.. there are so many things to work for in this game.. I don’t know why your saying basically dead.. well in my point of view it’s not.