Experience with DDO? - Downloaded from the Wizards Community, all coding removed by Solauren

Experience with DDO?

Post/Author/DateTime Post
#1
warweaver
Jun 07, 2010 17:28:48 Two friends and I are looking for a new game to while away the hours on our computers, and I thought of Dungeons & Dragons Online.

How do you people feel about it, especially now that it's a play-free service? Have you had good experiences?

More specifically, what would you suggest for what will possibly be a "no spoilers, 3-man" party?

And what if I like dwarves? :P
#2
dirtyfrank
Jun 07, 2010 17:44:36 I played it some. still like it just busy with other stuff. when i get unbusy with other stuff i'll likely go back to it.

Um only a couple classes seem good at soloing but that shouldn't be an issue if you are to be playing with a couple friends. Even still I'd suggest at least one melee fighter and one healer in the group. Although the healer will likely be a melee person as well.

For the most part the game is free but a few things pretty much can't be unlocked unless you spend money. that or play for a really long time or something.

Most of my experience has been as going solo. The few times i've done stuff with another person i noticed that fighting tactics had to change.

Dwarves, being cool, can play anything well cuz they are badass.
#3
pigknight
Jun 07, 2010 17:59:32 It's like a demo. Once you hit 6 nothing is free anymore.
#4
modern_iconoclast
Jun 07, 2010 18:01:01 It's not the best game around, but if you take it light heartedly and you're just looking to have fun with a bunch of friends for a couple of hours the game will do just fine.

Dwarves kick ass... I recommend primarily melee characters, they're easier to get started with. Oh and have a Cleric in the group this is 3.5 Heck make all 3 clerics and you'll be fine.

#5
dirtyfrank
Jun 07, 2010 20:43:17
It's like a demo. Once you hit 6 nothing is free anymore.

The highest i ever got in lvl was my lvl 6 bard. There were still free things around but it did sort of feel at times like pigknight says above. After a certain point it does feel as if 50% or more of the missions/quests must be purchased. Gets kinda annoying for you feel like you're just playing the same couple of missions in order to lvl up and move on.
#6
zombie_babies
Jun 08, 2010 8:46:46 IMO, it's kinda boring. Then again, I'm not a fan of the quest and grind method that's become the basic style of every modern MMO. Gimme a sandbox, dammit.
#7
boraxe
Jun 08, 2010 9:36:08 I wanted DDO to be great, but it was just a big dose of "meh".
#8
Mechalibur
Jun 08, 2010 14:50:00 I thought it was a lot better than most MMOs out there. You can't do much after level 6, sadly, but the exploration in the outdoor regions like Cerulean Hills was pretty fun for a while. Sadly, though, making it better than most MMOs doesn't necesarily make it good, especially considering most MMOs are garbage.

In fact, I think I have yet to play an MMO that I really like.
#9
DoctorBadWolf
Jun 10, 2010 1:20:26
It's like a demo. Once you hit 6 nothing is free anymore.

Actually, you can easily play up to lvl 10 without buying anything.

Unless of course you refuse to do the quests on normal hard and elite. Even one adventure pack(particularly if you choose the right one) will get you to level 12 with little to no problem.

I'm currently on my second level 10 guy, and while I now have three adventure packs, one of them is only level 4-6 or so, and I only have most of the other two finished on normal on the character I'm mostly playing right now. I think I have a total of three quests from one of the other two finished on hard, and none of them on elite.

Basically, throw down 20 bucks on turbine points, get Tangleroot Gorge, Three Barrel Cove or Sorrowdusk Isle (in that order of priority, and depending one which, if any, are on sale) and you will get halfway through the game, easy. My current character also hasn't done a dozen or so free quests at all, and a dozen or so more I've only done with him on normal or hard. Then, with the leftover you're sure to have, get an xp boost potion, or save it to get another adventure pack or something. You get 50 turbine points the first time you get to certain favour point totals on a server, and 25 for each 100 favour you earn per character, so a couple months of play and 20 bucks should get you at least two good adventure packs, even if you don't buy them while they're on sale. Don't pay to unlock drow, if you can handle waiting. They unlock at 400 favour, which is really easy to get.

If you really like the game, and can spare more money a few months down the road, get Ruins of Threnal, Gianthold, or Vault of Night. Those are in the next level group, and will get you most of the way toward endgame.

Basically, for, say, 100 bucks at most, spread over the course of a year, you can permanently have enough content to easily level up toons without doing the same quests all the time on each one. Which is less than a year of sub, IIRC, and you never have to pay again, if you don't feel like it.

Cerulean Hills, Ataraxia's Haven and..can't remember it's name,but you get to it from the marketplace, near the entrance to the Enclave of The Twelve, are all free wilderness areas. The first two have a couple quests in them, as well. All three are worth a good chunk of xp for their level, and are pretty fun to explore.

Also, Turbine is semi-regularly adding new free content, along with the new paid content, so the ease of leveling for free will just get greater over time. And honestly, most people will probably end up making a couple characters and leveling them to level 4 or so before finding one to really stick with. It's just the nature of games with the level of custimization DDO has.

Most of all, the game is really fun. Characters are even more custimizable in some ways than in pencil and paper 3.5 dnd, and non casters are useful throughout the game. :P They added in an enhancement system, so you get 4 action points per level, which can be spent on enhancements, which make your character better at certain things depending on race or class. They also got rid of multi-classing xp penalties, so more build options are available.

Oh, and guilds are getting all kinds of cool stuff in the next update(which I think is this month). For instance, guild housing in the form of custimizable airships, and finally a guild renown system.

If you're really into pvp, other games might be more optimal for you, though. The game is based on 3.5 dnd, and a basic two weapon ranger just can't survive against a basic cleric at high levels. pvp exists, but it's fairly limited. I've heard rumours that I can't elaborate on that they're working on expanding and improving pvp, without changing how the main game works, but we'll see.

Challenging other parties to pvp duels is fairly fun, though. You just don't get anything out of it, other than the fun.

One of the big selling points, for me, is that combat is different than, say, WoW. It's a bit less point and click, a little more fps, active combat style. You can zoom out, and you have "clickies", but it's definately a noticable difference.

Also, while there can be some grind involved, at least it isn't fetch and gather quest style grind. No one asks you to go out into the wilderness and collect 30 wolf pelts, 12 boar tusks, and 16 bear spleens. Ever.

Go, check it out. Get on the Khyber server and look up Giltar, Djak, Vilet, Audun, Delgark, Urrd or Xha. Or anyone else you see with the Bogwater Bridage guild name under their name. We're guildies who all live in the same town and are friends IRL, and we're always happy to help noobs find their way around the game.

Feel free to send me a PM if you'd like advice on builds and such, or would like to coordinate some play time with us. There's three of us who play pretty regularly, and a couple more who vary from all the time, to every once in a while.

And if you can't afford to buy any content, we'll be happy to help you level without paid content. It's really not a problem. *

*As an aside, there is a bit of a cheesy way to get some quickish turbine points if you have time to spare, and really want to get an adventure pack without using real money. You make a toon on each server, and get them through the first few levels of play. You'll get 50 one time TP on each one by the time you're out of the noob area, and at least another 50 with another few days or so of play, if you can PUG(pick up group) or are doing it as a group. On top of that, you'll be getting the 25 pt favour rewards each 100 favour. Without having all the hard numbers in front of me, I'd guess 450 to 500 TP for getting a toon to level 4 on each server(which takes damn near no time.)
Honestly, just doing the noob area all the way through on elite on each server will probably be even more. It's generally easy to find a group wanting to do the noob quests on elite, as well, so it's pretty easy.

It's cheesy as hell, and may not sound like a fun time in any way, shape or form(I've been tempted to do it because I'm pretty broke right now and there are things I'd love to get, but I just really don't like grinding), but the option is there. :P

#10
warweaver
Jun 10, 2010 2:42:58 Wow. Thank you, Dr.BadWolf, for that very informative post! I made a dwarf wizard just to try it out on Khyber, maybe I'll look your buddies up once I've had my fill of the starting area. :P
#11
DoctorBadWolf
Jun 10, 2010 20:54:24 Right on. I don't think I've ever seen a dwarf wizard, but I can't think of any reason it couldn't work. Warforged Wizards are amazing because they can heal themselves(repair spells act like cure spells for them) and have no real detriment to the role, so I could see dwarves being at least almost as good.

I played a Dwarven two weapon ranger a while ago, and it was fantastic. I lost interest due to the monk class, however. :P

Anyway, I hope you enjoy the game. Let me know if you need any further help/advice. The tutorial doesn't quite cover everything, so any questions you still have, feel free to ask.
#12
warweaver
Jun 11, 2010 1:01:18 Yeah I just went with dwarf wizard to try out the game - I didn't know what my bro would try to play yet. And I like arcane and I like dwarves, suboptimal or not. :P
#13
DoctorBadWolf
Jun 13, 2010 16:15:42
Yeah I just went with dwarf wizard to try out the game - I didn't know what my bro would try to play yet. And I like arcane and I like dwarves, suboptimal or not. :P

Awesome. The main thing is that you enjoy your character.

Post/Author/DateTime	Post
#1 warweaver Jun 07, 2010 17:28:48	Two friends and I are looking for a new game to while away the hours on our computers, and I thought of Dungeons & Dragons Online. How do you people feel about it, especially now that it's a play-free service? Have you had good experiences? More specifically, what would you suggest for what will possibly be a "no spoilers, 3-man" party? And what if I like dwarves? :P
#2 dirtyfrank Jun 07, 2010 17:44:36	I played it some. still like it just busy with other stuff. when i get unbusy with other stuff i'll likely go back to it. Um only a couple classes seem good at soloing but that shouldn't be an issue if you are to be playing with a couple friends. Even still I'd suggest at least one melee fighter and one healer in the group. Although the healer will likely be a melee person as well. For the most part the game is free but a few things pretty much can't be unlocked unless you spend money. that or play for a really long time or something. Most of my experience has been as going solo. The few times i've done stuff with another person i noticed that fighting tactics had to change. Dwarves, being cool, can play anything well cuz they are badass.
#3 pigknight Jun 07, 2010 17:59:32	It's like a demo. Once you hit 6 nothing is free anymore.
#4 modern_iconoclast Jun 07, 2010 18:01:01	It's not the best game around, but if you take it light heartedly and you're just looking to have fun with a bunch of friends for a couple of hours the game will do just fine. Dwarves kick ass... I recommend primarily melee characters, they're easier to get started with. Oh and have a Cleric in the group this is 3.5 Heck make all 3 clerics and you'll be fine.
#5 dirtyfrank Jun 07, 2010 20:43:17	It's like a demo. Once you hit 6 nothing is free anymore. The highest i ever got in lvl was my lvl 6 bard. There were still free things around but it did sort of feel at times like pigknight says above. After a certain point it does feel as if 50% or more of the missions/quests must be purchased. Gets kinda annoying for you feel like you're just playing the same couple of missions in order to lvl up and move on.
#6 zombie_babies Jun 08, 2010 8:46:46	IMO, it's kinda boring. Then again, I'm not a fan of the quest and grind method that's become the basic style of every modern MMO. Gimme a sandbox, dammit.
#7 boraxe Jun 08, 2010 9:36:08	I wanted DDO to be great, but it was just a big dose of "meh".
#8 Mechalibur Jun 08, 2010 14:50:00	I thought it was a lot better than most MMOs out there. You can't do much after level 6, sadly, but the exploration in the outdoor regions like Cerulean Hills was pretty fun for a while. Sadly, though, making it better than most MMOs doesn't necesarily make it good, especially considering most MMOs are garbage. In fact, I think I have yet to play an MMO that I really like.
#9 DoctorBadWolf Jun 10, 2010 1:20:26	It's like a demo. Once you hit 6 nothing is free anymore. Actually, you can easily play up to lvl 10 without buying anything. Unless of course you refuse to do the quests on normal hard and elite. Even one adventure pack(particularly if you choose the right one) will get you to level 12 with little to no problem. I'm currently on my second level 10 guy, and while I now have three adventure packs, one of them is only level 4-6 or so, and I only have most of the other two finished on normal on the character I'm mostly playing right now. I think I have a total of three quests from one of the other two finished on hard, and none of them on elite. Basically, throw down 20 bucks on turbine points, get Tangleroot Gorge, Three Barrel Cove or Sorrowdusk Isle (in that order of priority, and depending one which, if any, are on sale) and you will get halfway through the game, easy. My current character also hasn't done a dozen or so free quests at all, and a dozen or so more I've only done with him on normal or hard. Then, with the leftover you're sure to have, get an xp boost potion, or save it to get another adventure pack or something. You get 50 turbine points the first time you get to certain favour point totals on a server, and 25 for each 100 favour you earn per character, so a couple months of play and 20 bucks should get you at least two good adventure packs, even if you don't buy them while they're on sale. Don't pay to unlock drow, if you can handle waiting. They unlock at 400 favour, which is really easy to get. If you really like the game, and can spare more money a few months down the road, get Ruins of Threnal, Gianthold, or Vault of Night. Those are in the next level group, and will get you most of the way toward endgame. Basically, for, say, 100 bucks at most, spread over the course of a year, you can permanently have enough content to easily level up toons without doing the same quests all the time on each one. Which is less than a year of sub, IIRC, and you never have to pay again, if you don't feel like it. Cerulean Hills, Ataraxia's Haven and..can't remember it's name,but you get to it from the marketplace, near the entrance to the Enclave of The Twelve, are all free wilderness areas. The first two have a couple quests in them, as well. All three are worth a good chunk of xp for their level, and are pretty fun to explore. Also, Turbine is semi-regularly adding new free content, along with the new paid content, so the ease of leveling for free will just get greater over time. And honestly, most people will probably end up making a couple characters and leveling them to level 4 or so before finding one to really stick with. It's just the nature of games with the level of custimization DDO has. Most of all, the game is really fun. Characters are even more custimizable in some ways than in pencil and paper 3.5 dnd, and non casters are useful throughout the game. :P They added in an enhancement system, so you get 4 action points per level, which can be spent on enhancements, which make your character better at certain things depending on race or class. They also got rid of multi-classing xp penalties, so more build options are available. Oh, and guilds are getting all kinds of cool stuff in the next update(which I think is this month). For instance, guild housing in the form of custimizable airships, and finally a guild renown system. If you're really into pvp, other games might be more optimal for you, though. The game is based on 3.5 dnd, and a basic two weapon ranger just can't survive against a basic cleric at high levels. pvp exists, but it's fairly limited. I've heard rumours that I can't elaborate on that they're working on expanding and improving pvp, without changing how the main game works, but we'll see. Challenging other parties to pvp duels is fairly fun, though. You just don't get anything out of it, other than the fun. One of the big selling points, for me, is that combat is different than, say, WoW. It's a bit less point and click, a little more fps, active combat style. You can zoom out, and you have "clickies", but it's definately a noticable difference. Also, while there can be some grind involved, at least it isn't fetch and gather quest style grind. No one asks you to go out into the wilderness and collect 30 wolf pelts, 12 boar tusks, and 16 bear spleens. Ever. Go, check it out. Get on the Khyber server and look up Giltar, Djak, Vilet, Audun, Delgark, Urrd or Xha. Or anyone else you see with the Bogwater Bridage guild name under their name. We're guildies who all live in the same town and are friends IRL, and we're always happy to help noobs find their way around the game. Feel free to send me a PM if you'd like advice on builds and such, or would like to coordinate some play time with us. There's three of us who play pretty regularly, and a couple more who vary from all the time, to every once in a while. And if you can't afford to buy any content, we'll be happy to help you level without paid content. It's really not a problem. * *As an aside, there is a bit of a cheesy way to get some quickish turbine points if you have time to spare, and really want to get an adventure pack without using real money. You make a toon on each server, and get them through the first few levels of play. You'll get 50 one time TP on each one by the time you're out of the noob area, and at least another 50 with another few days or so of play, if you can PUG(pick up group) or are doing it as a group. On top of that, you'll be getting the 25 pt favour rewards each 100 favour. Without having all the hard numbers in front of me, I'd guess 450 to 500 TP for getting a toon to level 4 on each server(which takes damn near no time.) Honestly, just doing the noob area all the way through on elite on each server will probably be even more. It's generally easy to find a group wanting to do the noob quests on elite, as well, so it's pretty easy. It's cheesy as hell, and may not sound like a fun time in any way, shape or form(I've been tempted to do it because I'm pretty broke right now and there are things I'd love to get, but I just really don't like grinding), but the option is there. :P
#10 warweaver Jun 10, 2010 2:42:58	Wow. Thank you, Dr.BadWolf, for that very informative post! I made a dwarf wizard just to try it out on Khyber, maybe I'll look your buddies up once I've had my fill of the starting area. :P
#11 DoctorBadWolf Jun 10, 2010 20:54:24	Right on. I don't think I've ever seen a dwarf wizard, but I can't think of any reason it couldn't work. Warforged Wizards are amazing because they can heal themselves(repair spells act like cure spells for them) and have no real detriment to the role, so I could see dwarves being at least almost as good. I played a Dwarven two weapon ranger a while ago, and it was fantastic. I lost interest due to the monk class, however. :P Anyway, I hope you enjoy the game. Let me know if you need any further help/advice. The tutorial doesn't quite cover everything, so any questions you still have, feel free to ask.
#12 warweaver Jun 11, 2010 1:01:18	Yeah I just went with dwarf wizard to try out the game - I didn't know what my bro would try to play yet. And I like arcane and I like dwarves, suboptimal or not. :P
#13 DoctorBadWolf Jun 13, 2010 16:15:42	Yeah I just went with dwarf wizard to try out the game - I didn't know what my bro would try to play yet. And I like arcane and I like dwarves, suboptimal or not. :P Awesome. The main thing is that you enjoy your character.