Alright, I have played most IRE games for extended periods of time. I started out on Aetolia, so I'm a little biased. We might have a smaller player-base, because everyone there is their own ALTs.... but generally it's some decent RP. Granted the "Consaguine" are just a wee bit emo. Is truly my favorite, probably because I know practically everything about it.

Lusternia however, has a grand group of so many different people, it's impossible to be able to RP with all of them, because if you have a million ALTs your head might explode. So I stick with one at a time. I'm trying to learn about Lusternia but it's just too sparklin' BIG and you need to have credits to at least be a decent character. Or be married to the big money to be given power. (i.e. Nereida.)

Achaea is too big, with a lack of good RP. Enough said

Imperian lost my attention in two minutes.

I could never get very into Aetolia, although playing a lycan was fun for a while.

I thought Imperian was great, I played a Warden in Ithaqua for a very long time, had a cool mentor, and was the first person to complete one quests they introduced while I was there. Not to mention bashing was -fun-. Always something to go kill, and always people to go with, and Rings made hunting in groups a fun thing to do. Never really achieved that much on any other character.

Achaea was fun for a while, but eventually felt dated, and the RP was seriously lacking.

Lusternia is what I have played the most. It had the coolest history, which drew me in, and the most vibrant and interesting world. I think some parts of combat are a little over complicated, though, and that really turns a lot of newbies away. And there aren't enough places to bash, but it looks like they've been working on that a little while I've been gone. And the classes/skills in Lusternia are also some of the most interesting and enjoyable, although having to invest in a skill to cure an affliction effectively (focus body -> paralyze) is a little annoying to me. Races are also some of the best, too, and role playing has always been an enjoyable experience. It does seem like it requires more of a credit investment than the other IRE games (except maybe Achaea, where there are so many people loaded) but it has always made me happy that Lusternia never went down the path of stat altering artifacts. And even if they did that now, it wouldn't matter much because of system in place that makes the effectiveness of high stats slow down exponentially. Not to mention Lusternia has some of the most fair and consistent bardics/artisinals, so winning some extra credits on the side to accompany what you buy isn't too difficult.

I have played every IRE game to date. Achaea was where I started, and I still maintain my main character there, Quoren. He is doing pretty well, and his House has fairly good roleplay for Achaea. Probably why I don't have as bad an opinion of the place as many do. Politics there is fun, although here is better, and I love the lack of theft here. It's just too much of a headache in Achaea.

Lusternia has more colour and a smaller, more intimate playerbase, I would agree. Gods are better (though some of the Achaea gods that I'm more acquainted with can be fun, too), trades are more accessible, rp is more widespread (thank goodness), and most things are generally better. That said, I'm not bashing Achaea more than it deserves. It was once the best MUD around and deserves some respect for that. Not to mention, it's slowly getting better in (very small) ways, which I can only hope may eventually be able to turn it around. /hopelessoptimism

Imperian has too few people, and many of its orgs are dead or very close. I never felt like I fit in there, even in the orgs closest to my Achaea main's alignment and personality.

Aetolia I love and try on and off, but it feels a bit too dreary and EMO for me most of the time. What usually hits me are the degraded and dreary differences from Achaea (Yggdrasil fallen down, etc. etc.) Lycans are teh awesome though. If I ever start a more permenant character it will be a lycan.