Best free online MMOFPS/FPS games?

I was just wondering which free online shooters are the best/best rated. I went on a search myself and there are mixed reviews.
I understand that it might be difficult to find online games which don't require real cash for a much better advantage over other
players but well...I used to play Wolfteam, great concept and all but I'm looking for an FPS which will step up another level.
Also, there were too many cashers in WT - which made it impossible for me to play to my greatest potential.
About the search, I found some interesting games such as Tribes: Ascend, Blacklight Retribution and PlanetSide 2.
It would be great not only to tell me which is the best out of the 3 but also to advise me on potentially better
games.
Thanks in advance and looking forward to personal opinions, experiences and answers ;)

( Oh, and don't say Team Fortress, already have it :P )

don't say Team Fortress, already have it

Well, then, you've already got the best...

...but Planetside 2 is pretty good judging from the little I've played of it.

tf2

You can't go wrong with Planetside 2 when it comes to MMOFPS games. 
Tribes and Blacklight Retribution are also really good games just for a quick match or two. 
 
If you're ever gonna play Planetside 2 I would suggest getting into an Outfit with members that actually want to play the game instead of just looking up the ones on forums where people go "We should totally make an outfit, bros! It would be totally radical and awesome and brosome and totally 420, dude, brah, man, dudebro, son, dawg!" those outfits are useless and don't have active members

@believer258: As I mentioned, from what I heard/saw, Planetside looks pretty good. The only flaw is that there is an overload of ways to play, upgrades to make, stuff to buy etc... Also maps are huge and amount of players in games as well (I normally like medium-sized maps). Of course, this does give users plenty of angles for playing the game and keeps you interested in every way possible. However, I do like the simple/classic FPS without jetpacks or flying spaceships if you get what I mean. Although I did say I wanted another level of FPS... Maybe its all about getting used to the game, I don't know.. Anyways, thanks for the reassurance.

You want suggestions of great free-to-play shooters. But not Tribes, Blacklight, Planetside 2 or Team Fortress 2. I'm sorry, But I (we) think those are the best right now. Find some people to play with and find your own favourite play style and you will have a blast with either one of these.

@ZeForgotten: Awesome dude, we should totally make an Outfit........Just messing haha xP I'm guessing an outfit is the equivalent to a clan? And I'm also assuming you play Planetside? If so, how do you find it so far?

And also, Tribes and/or Blacklight is not the type of game you would play for a year (minimum)? That's what youre trying to say right?

How much time are you willing to put into Planetside 2? Because it can take about 5-10 hours to unlock one good thing in the game without giving SOE money for station cash, which will still only buy you one unlock.

I liked Planetside 2 at first but the grind eventually got to me because I had better things to do and other games I wanted to play instead.

i used to play this F2P shooter named Cross Fire which i liked a lot for the time that i played it for. it was simple, fast and it'll run on a toaster. mind you, this was like 4 years ago so i don't know if it's gotten any worse since. link

@Morbid_Coffee: Thats exactly what I'm worried about. Sony has indeed done a good job with this but I'm not a hardcore gamer....I wouldn't spend my time on this 24/7 but I wouldn't play it once a month either. This is also where the vast amount of upgrades and stuff to do come in since I believe these would be time-consuming as you implied...

Furthermore, how exactly do you get SOE money/Station Cash? I didn't really try the game yet :P

mechwarrior online / hawken both currently in open beta

@ZeForgotten: Actually, whenever I get replies, I read every single bit xD What does TL DR mean btw? Also, what's the difference between an Outfit and a Platoon? I'm actually watching every single beginner/tutorial video while Planetside is downloading :P And is it a huge problem if I don't use a mic?

Lastly, I used to play shooters where I would indeed, as you explained, act as a lonewolf. I used to play with friends in clans and stuff but that slowly broke apart. I actually did quite well on my own which is also why I'm not used to so much teamwork since I hate thinking strategically hence why I don't like games like SC2....and moving away from pc games - I never did a single sudoku in my life xD You can call me retarded or whatnot but its just because I'm lazy to think. :P When I play games I want to play them for fun but in the same time actually take care of my KD ratio if you get what I mean

Oh, and Happy New Year....Everyone! xP (And yes, I'm aware that the day didn't come yet, lol...)

Planetside 2 is the best when it comes to MMOFPS - bar none. However, a crisp an AAA feeling free-to-play title like Blacklight Retribution is probably the best for online-shooters. I'll even risk saying that it's superior to current popular shooters like Call of Duty or Battlefield.

All I can think of when I see/hear "Wolfteam"

Also, Planetside 2 is my favorite free online shooter for sure. It has things that need to be fixed, sure, but it's still plenty of fun.

If you're not going to play Team Fortress 2 then you should really be playing Tribes: Ascend. It's way better than Planetside 2 and much easier on your system.

@Jrinswand said:

If you're not going to play Team Fortress 2 then you should really be playing Tribes: Ascend. It's way better than Planetside 2 and much easier on your system.

This!

Also, I so glad they did right by Tribes, finally.