Cabal 2 vs Salem
Cabal 2
Cabal 2 , developed by ESTsoft Corp, is a rather underrated MMORPG. This is mainly because the game has a storyline that's as immersive and rich as Skyforge or Revelation Online, a stunning open world known as Ektensia for you to explore as you wish, various character classes to play as, and excitingly fast-paced and skill-based combat to master. There are plenty of challenging dungeons, instances, and even, for the PvP-inclined, battlefields for you to test your mettle in, as well as a fun yet in-depth crafting system to take advantage of.Cabal 2 may not be on everyone's lips unlike hugely popular MMORPGs like World of Warcraft, but the game is incredibly well-made and enjoyable to play. The only thing it sorely lacks is a massive player population and well... by playing this game or at least try it out, you'll be helping to rectify this issue.
Salem
Salem is an old-school and somewhat obscure (but fun) sandbox MMORPG that unlike Wurm Online has a stronger emphasis on its in-depth crafting system and survival aspect rather than building.Similar to Wurm Online though, Salem is not a voxel-based game, but you are still able to mold the game environment through resource gathering, mining and digging in a way that reminds me of the currently-shelved MMORPG, EverQuest Next: Landmark. Of course, although not exactly the focus of the game, you can still build your homestead and the process is quite similar to Wurm Online except that it occurs at a much higher speed.
Not to mention, the game world in Salem is simply humongous to the point where it feels like an actual world. Salem also borrowed some features from ArcheAge where open-world PvP is the norm, so you'll need to be vigilant at all times, but players who kill and steal for no reason will be labelled as criminals and can be punished.
However, as good as it is despite being an indie MMO and all, Salem does have its fair share of flaws due to its low development budget. So, we'd recommend you to take a look at Salem without carrying along any high expectations. It's a pretty good MMORPG like Minecraft, but if you're expecting a Minecraft clone, you may end up disappointing yourself.