DDO. Fun? Interesting? Please give me your thoughts and insights as I am debating downloading the 10-day trial. Thanks.
DDO. Fun? Interesting? Please give me your thoughts and insights as I am debating downloading the 10-day trial. Thanks.
I played it during beta and a few months live. Overall I was not very happy with the game, the primary problem that I had with it was the way the enhancement system really messed up game balance. Also the combat system was too twitch based for my aging reflexes and not steller cable modem.
Now I understand that a significant number of changes have been made to the system and a number of people are happier. I simply don't have the time for another MMO at this time.
My advise, try it out! There are fun things to do and it is interesting. It just isn't for everyone.
RPG Superstar 2009 Top 32
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DDO. Fun? Interesting? Please give me your thoughts and insights as I am debating downloading the 10-day trial. Thanks.
I play DDO and I enjoy it alot. They are currently refining the system. I play on Khyber, but Argonessan has the highest population, although a recent server merge has seen fit to even out the numbers a bit.
As a casual player I find this game alot more appealing than WoW, as you can play at a more relaxed pace and as it follows the 3.5 system (albeit with some tweaking) it won't be a huge jump in learning.Give the 10-Day trial a go and if you don't like it then I would suggest either WoW (if you have alot of time on your hands) or possibly LotR Online which looks really good and is made by the same guys that made DDO.
Thanks for the quick replies. Do you guys know about how much space it eats up? I am downloading it onto a laptop, likely. I have a decent amount of space, but was wondering all the same.
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RPG Superstar 2009 Top 32
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Thanks for the quick replies. Do you guys know about how much space it eats up? I am downloading it onto a laptop, likely. I have a decent amount of space, but was wondering all the same.
I have it on my Laptop atm and it eats up 6.45 GB.
A new Module is also due by the end of August so that will rise slightly. Expect a couple of hours to update to the current version after you've installed it also.
I played for a couple of months when it first came out. There are things I liked and things I didn't. Some of my information may be outdated because I stopped playing a while back. Here's what I liked:
It's D&D. It's online. I can play an Elven Cleric and cast the spells I know and love. Instead of basic grinding you are rewarded for accomplishing goals, completing quests, finishing dungeons. When you have a good team you can do some really cool tactical stuff. Rogues are actually useful.
Here's what I didn't like:
It is set in Eberron which is so not my cup of tea. The setting alone made it seem less like D&D than I had hoped. The avatar models are limited. If you want to play a male human rogue you don't look that stealthy...you look kind of like a lumbering oaf. If you want to be a male elf you pretty much get one look--heroin chic. It is very hard or impossible to solo once you reach a certain point--so you often have to group with strangers of questionable talent and social skills. Many of the players are not interested in the story or the plot, they just want to get the phat lewt. And that often means sprinting through the dungeon and running at breakneck speeds through traps and monsters alike--the exact opposite of a mysterious and careful dungeon crawl. Most players I encountered had no context for the role of Clerics in D&D and expect Clerics to be heal-bots who do nothing but watch everyone's health bars--and any Cleric who tries to mix it up with his mace is chided as being one of those "battle clerics." Oh, and instead of getting to explore uncharted wilderness, you're pretty much confined to exploring...one town...and its sewers and warehouses. (They may have added some wilderness areas by now, though).
Overall, I think it is an interesting game that does exhibit some real innovations in MMORPG design. I agree with the others who said give the 10 day thing a shot. You might really like it.
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RPG Superstar 2009 Top 32
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I played for a couple of months when it first came out. There are things I liked and things I didn't. Some of my information may be outdated because I stopped playing a while back. Here's what I liked:
It's D&D. It's online. I can play an Elven Cleric and cast the spells I know and love. Instead of basic grinding you are rewarded for accomplishing goals, completing quests, finishing dungeons. When you have a good team you can do some really cool tactical stuff. Rogues are actually useful.Here's what I didn't like:
It is set in Eberron which is so not my cup of tea. The setting alone made it seem less like D&D than I had hoped. The avatar models are limited. If you want to play a male human rogue you don't look that stealthy...you look kind of like a lumbering oaf. If you want to be a male elf you pretty much get one look--heroin chic. It is very hard or impossible to solo once you reach a certain point--so you often have to group with strangers of questionable talent and social skills. Many of the players are not interested in the story or the plot, they just want to get the phat lewt. And that often means sprinting through the dungeon and running at breakneck speeds through traps and monsters alike--the exact opposite of a mysterious and careful dungeon crawl. Most players I encountered had no context for the role of Clerics in D&D and expect Clerics to be heal-bots who do nothing but watch everyone's health bars--and any Cleric who tries to mix it up with his mace is chided as being one of those "battle clerics." Oh, and instead of getting to explore uncharted wilderness, you're pretty much confined to exploring...one town...and its sewers and warehouses. (They may have added some wilderness areas by now, though).Overall, I think it is an interesting game that does exhibit some real innovations in MMORPG design. I agree with the others who said give the 10 day thing a shot. You might really like it.
Once you know what you are doing it is quite easy to solo alot of adventures, but it is true that after a certain point it becomes harder to do.
It is true however that alot of players don't care about the story and are only interested in the XP and Loot. I do like to take the time to read NPC interactions but it does mean that other PCs can get ahead of you.
They have added wilderness areas (and are slowly converting old areas to the new format).
All in all the pros do outweigh the cons, but there are cons, so again, give it a shot and see for yourself.
And if you need a tour guide then I would be happy to help if you join the Khyber Server.
My e-mail address is flash_cxxi@hotmail.com
My Characters are:
Sythara
Jacinta
Caliope
Alessandra
Saybriel
Parchment
Add them to your friends list and if I am online when you are I will be happy to answer any questions or show you around.
Enjoy! =)
Thanks. I am downloading the freebie right now ( a bit slow) I may look you up. Thanks again . .
It was less than perfect in gameplay when I tried it, but it was aesthetically perfect.
I was also quite delighted when Secrets of Xen'Drik came out some time later and I realized that the map of Stormreach in that book was very much the Stormreach of DDO. It's nice that they managed to integrate the canon like that... although it wouldn't have been as nice if the game had been less pretty.
(As a side note, I'm certain that at least one of the "adventure sites" in that book is a location appearing in one of the short stories in "The Last War".)
I also currently play DDO and love it. As a full time DM working a campaign each week, DDO alows me to be a player again and just "play".
All of the spells, monsters, characters and classes are stuff you are already familier with so there is practically zero learning curve. I have found the action to be stimulating and the story lines to be good solid D&D material. The server merger that was spoken of by an earlier poster has actually helped my enjoyment of the game as I now can log on and jump into an adventure almost right away. I also play on the Khyber server and reccomend it, there are lots of great "team players" who understand that D&D is about working together with the other people at the (virtual) table to comleat the adventure.
Check it out, I highly reccomend it.
My characters are:
Rothandalan - Ftr/Bbn
Kiroar - Ftr
Marcurial - Wiz
Fortias - Brd
Eintoht - Clr
Jaffa - Rog
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I also play DDO (I am a purist and held out on the MMO craze until there was an 'official' D&D one). I love the game and the best way to do it IMHO is to find a good guild to join. You'll never have to worry about finding a group if you are in a big enough guild. I have never played WOW, but I am happy enough with DDO that I don't really care to. Give it a try and you may like it.
I play on Sarlona server. Hopefully, I'll see you there.
Sardonis - Human Fighter
Xenthias - Elven Wizard
Novan - Human Cleric
Jaxarlis - Drow Paladin
Kraylith - Halfling Rogue
Alexiana - Human Wizard
Obsidiansky - Elven Ranger/Rogue