Well the game is out retail as of today. Who's playing?
I'm not but it's seriously tugging on my purse strings. I was hoping the AutoAssault beta would hold it off but their useless play schedule isn't doing the trick.
Early reviews I saw for D&D were not overly favourable, though one I saw last week was not that bad. Anyone know if there was much (if any) change from the beta to the retail release?
I'm barely playing Civ IV right now as it is. D&D online doesn't stand a chance of getting my little remaining free time. :)
Quote from: angramainyuEarly reviews I saw for D&D were not overly favourable, though one I saw last week was not that bad. Anyone know if there was much (if any) change from the beta to the retail release?
It would have to be a pretty big change to attract my interest.
If anybody buys it let me know if there's a demo key or something. You know, like WoW came with a free 10-day CD-key for you to lend your friends? I don't want to buy it without trying it first.
From what I've read my feelings are mixed. I think the game actually sounds great and most of the negative comments seem to stem from WoW fatbeards. What is keeping me at bay is the grouping and quest aspects of it. There is nothing wrong with grouping but I don't always have a long time to play I'll sneak in some time in the morning or at lunch. However it's a pretty fixed timeline I can't just play an extra 5 or 10 mins.
So that means I have to find a group which could waste time and then get the quest. Which ties into the next problem area. You only gain experience for completing quests. So if I've got to take off to get to work and the quest isn't done I'm boned, and I'll probably piss off people for disco'ing in the middle of a game.
The fact that there is no large world to just go and explore is also a little annoying. But that's low on my list.
Re: Grouping.
It MAY be possible to do low level dungeons solo, and repeat them to get enough XP to level up, and do slightly higher level dungeons solo... but even if it is possible you'd be doing much easier dungeons than people of your level who can find groups.
Quote from: Name LipsRe: Grouping.
It MAY be possible to do low level dungeons solo, and repeat them to get enough XP to level up, and do slightly higher level dungeons solo... but even if it is possible you'd be doing much easier dungeons than people of your level who can find groups.
I seem to remeber something about grouping being mandatory as in there is no soloing. They may have changed that.
We are not in favor of group only MMORGs. As Our time is limited We often have only enough time to play for small bits of time/space.
Quote from: KnightcrawlerI seem to remeber something about grouping being mandatory as in there is no soloing. They may have changed that.
From all I've read and heard. Grouping is not manditory. It's certainly adviced though. There could be some quests where grouping is necessary because of different qualities certain classes have. For example if you are a fighter and you need to pick a lock to get through a guest you are boned. Likewise if you are the thief and need to kill the big bad, plus all the little bads you could be in trouble.
But this weekend (fucking finally) I should actually be able to play some Auto Assault and see if it's as good as I think it could be. If it fails to deliver I think my resolve will be broken and a moment of weakness will deliver D&Do to my embrace.
In other news, I'm still not certain if you can buy play as you go cards for D&Do but you can buy them online without a credit card through this service, who's name I've just forgotten. But what you do is use your online banking (works in canada also) to send a money transfer to this service and then they email you a pass code. Your bank probably will charge 1.50 for the transaction and they charge $33us for a 60 day pass.
Soooo futureshop had a sale and I was pissed off at how disappointing AutoAssault was so in my momment of weakness I picked up DDO.
It's a really nice looking game and I think for at least the time being I'm in love with it. There is no big world to explore, which is definitely dissapointing - very dissapointing. But in the short term just having various areas to run quests in is enough. It surprisingly does feel quite a bit like D&D, more then any other D&D rpg I've played. They did a really great job of blending in the action to the interface. You can run around and swing and position yourself in combat. It really changes the standard MMo feeling of point click and wait for something to die. You, can play that way but you certainly loose out on the experience. You have to actively block, you can tumble out of the way sneak up on things. It's fun, plain and simple.
They've greatly extended the ammount of XP you need to level (10,000 for level2) but given the way you get xp from missions time wise it still feels right. One thing that is great is Action Points. Every 1/4 on the way to your new level you get an action point. Action points are little perks that give you a bonus to using skills or even special mini feat like abilites. It's a great idea.
Now onto grouping. I think if you want to Solo you should definitely start out as a fighter type. They have the HP's, AC's, Attack Bonuses, and weapon skills to survive the starting adventures. Past that you'd need to DC or group because some missions require a rogue to pick a lock or a clerric to heal for example. But initially you can do pretty good soloing as a warriror type. However if you want to keep soloing you probably want to DC with rogue for their skills.
Myself I'm a warforged rogue which I'll d/c to fighter at 2nd level. For me the missions have been tough to solo as there is usually a couple badies that kick my ass, and healing potions right now are out of my price range to be a successful alternative to a clerric. So most missions beyond the starting ones (that require you to solo) I'll have to take a few runs into between deaths to complete. The probelm is that the more times you have to go back in the lower the XP reward. Since there is no XP bonus for soloing a mission it's entirely counter productive. Really the only reason to solo is because you want to for the challenge. You don't have time to form a party or you just feel like being anti-social.
I'll certianly have no problems playing this game for my free month and I'll pick up 60 more days for sure. After that we'll see. But for the time being it's D&D glory.
This game is terrible.
Quote from: Ragnarok N RollThis game is terrible.
You may not like it. But the game is not terrible. You may also be some WoW troll, but we won't comment on that either.
Quote from: kryystYou may not like it. But the game is not terrible. You may also be some WoW troll, but we won't comment on that either.
I'm not a WoW troll I promise. I did beta test for both WoW and DnD online however. I was not impressed at all with the way they have the DnD online game done. No open endedness, you get the same quests for every character you play. Once you've been to a dungeon its the same thing every time, plus a whole host of other issues....
I just got the game for my birthday from my wife. :) Gotta love a woman with the same hobbies as yourself.
I'm Renimus Piolott on the Thelanis sever. I'm going for a wizard/cleric "necromancer" combo.
I played WoW pretty seriously for about 6 months. But it reached the point, a few weeks after hitting 60, that it was no longer fun. It was just grinding and work. And with the kids and other life stuff, there was almost no way I ever had time for a serious instance run.
A very very good game, WoW, but it just didn't fit well with my free time.
DDO, however, looks to be a much better match so far, though I've only gotten to rank 3 of level 1. There's not much of a world to explore, but that's fine, because there's also not a lot of running halfway across a huge world for 20 minutes just to get to the dungeon. The dungeons, so far, are small and self-contained, with a handful or three of monsters. They're quick and easy. Some of the short ones can even be soloed, even for me, a 1st level wizard. But if I want a group, I've yet to have trouble finding one. And if I just want a quick adventure, not necessarily one on my quest list, I can ALWAYS find a group, almost instantly. Nice.
It's a MMO where I can log in for 30 minutes and actually make REAL PROGRESS. As opposed to WoW, where somebody who only has 30 minute windows of playtime will have a very hard time getting anywhere.
Quote from: Ragnarok N RollI'm not a WoW troll I promise. I did beta test for both WoW and DnD online however. I was not impressed at all with the way they have the DnD online game done. No open endedness, you get the same quests for every character you play. Once you've been to a dungeon its the same thing every time, plus a whole host of other issues....
Those issues crop up in every game. You run the same mission - it's the same mission - now I haven't been playing for long so I can't profess to have been in every dungeon multiple times. But each dungeon I've been into has been different. They also offer different strategies to tackling them. You can certainly powerplay through this game relatively quickly but that's missing the point of it.
The graphics are phantastic and copy the look to D&D better then any other D&D game I've played. The sounds the semi-cheese DM voice over it's all great and makes you feel like you are playing D&D. I love the controls it totally chanages the lame as whack-a-mole approach that almost every other MMO takes.
The fact that it doesn't have an open world to explore is one gripe. But now that I've been playing for it I love the fact that I *don't* have to run from heaven to hell for each quest. Having an open world to explore can be fun, once you've explored it. But after that it's just a big world you have to walk across over and over and over again to get to the fun parts.
Adding an open world would be great. But now that I've seen how they've got the game set up not having to deal with an open world all the time is even better.
As for other issues, so far haven't run into any. From what I've seen I think they've implemented the PnP rules into a CRPG extremely well.
Quote from: Name LipsI just got the game for my birthday from my wife. :) Gotta love a woman with the same hobbies as yourself.
I'm Renimus Piolott on the Thelanis sever. I'm going for a wizard/cleric "necromancer" combo.
I'll look you up. I'm on the same Server Jeremiah Grimaxe - Warforged. I'm 1st level rank 3 rogue going either fighter or barbarian, can't decide.
Neat, I'll see you there, I'm sure. A wizard/cleric grouped with a rogue/fighter type is a powerful mix, we could get through lots of adventures just the two of us. :)
kryyst -
I agree the graphics are just unbelievable. But right now this game is just not for me..You've convinced me to revise my opinion that the "game is terrible" to "the game it terrible for me". :p
I'll give it 6 months or so to get some of the more glaring issues worked out and take a second look.
Quote from: Name LipsNeat, I'll see you there, I'm sure. A wizard/cleric grouped with a rogue/fighter type is a powerful mix, we could get through lots of adventures just the two of us. :)
The mix is right, then it's just a question of numbers. As in numbers of monsters wanting to kick our ass. :)
Quote from: Ragnarok N Rollkryyst -
I agree the graphics are just unbelievable. But right now this game is just not for me..You've convinced me to revise my opinion that the "game is terrible" to "the game it terrible for me". :p
I'll give it 6 months or so to get some of the more glaring issues worked out and take a second look.
Yup, I can appreciate that. Even as it is I'm hoping that they add more to it. I've read that in their next upgrade (no timeline as to when) they are increasing the level cap to 12 or 13 and also adding in prestige classes. I would predict we'll see this happen in less then 6 months. Then it'll be time for an expansion. Which will give you a new area and probably higher level content again. It'd be nice that if they put in a high level area if you could instant a higher level character, but have it locked down to just that area.
They are holding fast to their no PvE policy and that's fine with me, never been a make it or break it selling point. However some Team play would be interesting. Having some sort of common adventurers guild. They could set up competitions. Instant a dungeon send teams into it and then have a race to see who completes it first. Relatively simple things like that.
If they put in a Necromancer PrC, I'll be totally ready for it. :D
Quote from: kryystThe mix is right, then it's just a question of numbers. As in numbers of monsters wanting to kick our ass. :)
Great Cleave and Empowered Burning Hands all the way, man! :p
Quote from: Name LipsGreat Cleave and Empowered Burning Hands all the way, man! :p
Indeed, but more importantly if you keep them occupied it's great cleave delivered by a thief so that's sucking in added back stab damage as well :)
Necromancer PrC - not seeing that fall under their 'Good' alignment policy.
Quote from: kryystIndeed, but more importantly if you keep them occupied it's great cleave delivered by a thief so that's sucking in added back stab damage as well :)
In a couple levels, I'll always have a Summon spell prepped for that purpose.
QuoteNecromancer PrC - not seeing that fall under their 'Good' alignment policy.
I picked Neutral. Which might be good enough. A fellow can dream, can't he? :p
Quote from: Name LipsIn a couple levels, I'll always have a Summon spell prepped for that purpose.
I picked Neutral. Which might be good enough. A fellow can dream, can't he? :p
Well guess all they'd need to add in is summon undead minions, or turn undead being able to be used as command undead. Who knows maybe they'll put on an expansion where the races are goblin, orc, drow, bugbear, evil humans etc...
I cant play anything at the moment, so i dunno, a bunch of friends pre-ordered DDO but then switched to other games (couple went back to WoW, rest went back to EQ1...)
I dunno im getting jaded by the online market as a whole...everyone is trying to be unique and better then the previous games, but it ends up sucking...WoW was great, but they went for raid crap and I hate raid crap, 5 years of eq will ruin it fast....
Quote from: Reefer MadnessI cant play anything at the moment, so i dunno, a bunch of friends pre-ordered DDO but then switched to other games (couple went back to WoW, rest went back to EQ1...)
I dunno im getting jaded by the online market as a whole...everyone is trying to be unique and better then the previous games, but it ends up sucking...WoW was great, but they went for raid crap and I hate raid crap, 5 years of eq will ruin it fast....
I just can't believe anyone would Switch back to EQ1. I've never been a fan of the MMO, not because of the concept but because of the priciing. I figure if I'm paying for the game I shouldn't also need to pay to play it. Conversly I have no problem paying monthly if you give me the game for free.
So for the most part I was looking at Guild Wars as the perfect MMO, enough content for me to solo in and also plenty of content if I want to group. The problem is that I've just played GW for so long I've lost interest in it.
DDO however I like. The pricing still bugs me and I do have doubts about it's long term appeal. But damn, that initial experience is fantastic. Also one thing I've found is that my online experience has been better then almost every other MMO. Most of the people I've grouped up with have been, well into the grouping aspect. They aren't all just power gamy and rushing everything. It's refreshing.
There seems to be the basis of a very strong community growing there. I think it's a self fulfilling prophesy of the way it all works. The people that are playing, because they want to form guild and actually play D&D Online are sticking around and enjoying the game. Those people that want to just power through and get to the end game are finding it to be shallow and dull so they leave.
Quote from: Ragnarok N RollThis game is terrible.
Did you notice that is coming awful close to a thread crap? Don't you think it's more useful to not only state something is crap but to also make an effort as to why?
This official verbal warning brought to you by Joe's Vet and Taxidermy - either way you get your dog back.
Quote from: PookaDid you notice that is coming awful close to a thread crap? Don't you think it's more useful to not only state something is crap but to also make an effort as to why?
Fortunately his potential threadcrap has been turned into something more constructive.
Yes it had - that will teach me to use Quick Reply it will...
I'm so experienced at this mod gig I don't think I've anything to learn now.
Boo!
Hey, I have met Renimus in-game, and ran with him the last couple nights, which has been great fun... if anyone else is playing (or thinking of it) come on over to the Thelanis server and we'll get you signed up into the Morgrave University League of Explorers. Those bastards over in Korranberg may scoff at our approach to archaeology, but we have a hell of a good time poking about in the ruins of Xen'drik!
On Grouping:
One thing that few people realize is that with the game not being geared towards soloing, you don't have the majority of the population out there doing so. Therefore they are looking to add you to their group as much as you're looking to join them. Your rewards are the same no matter how many you have, so it's just a matter of personal challenge to yourself to go with fewer than six. If you aren't picky about going on one specific quest or having the perfect balance of classes, you can throw a group together in a minute or three and be underway. Dungeons can be done in around 5 minutes if they say "short", about 10-15 if they say "medium", and 15-30 or so for "long". That's not to say there aren't longer things to do... but they are broken up into chains so you don't have to be around for all the parts at once.
Nuts I still haven't run into anyone that I've actually been trying to. I've found other people that have been a pleasure to meet which is perhaps more rewarding. But still grrr...
I played around with the character creation and Intro/Noob quest at a friend's house a few days ago.
It wasn't really enough for me to get a good feeling as to how the game actually plays, which is interesting - usually I'm pretty good at judging these things by their introductions.
I may investigate more, but at the moment I just don't have the time for an MMO.
Quote from: AelfinnI played around with the character creation and Intro/Noob quest at a friend's house a few days ago.
It wasn't really enough for me to get a good feeling as to how the game actually plays, which is interesting - usually I'm pretty good at judging these things by their introductions.
The reason it's a poor way to get the feel is that the whole game is multiplayer. The n00b quest is just to try to teach you the controls and interface.
I'm really liking how easy it is to get groups. Like Thanatos said, since EVERYBODY wants to group, it's easy finding groups. At any given time there's tons of people looking to group. And so soon after launch! The "played it at my friends house" or "read the review and liked it" crowd hasn't even hit yet.
So far the only think I can't get working is my mic. I can hear other people chatting. In windows my mic works fine. But in the game doesn't seem to work at all. I've read through the FAQ's checked the help and nothing that I've done/doing goes outside of what they've said. I may get a USB mic if they weren't so ridiculously expensive for just a stupid mic.
Plus I have some confidence that they'll patch it since I'm not the only person that seems to be doing everyting correctly yet still can't get it working. My own $.02 is that they should tell gamespy's vchat to piss off and use their own.
Quote from: kryystSo far the only think I can't get working is my mic. I can hear other people chatting. In windows my mic works fine. But in the game doesn't seem to work at all. I've read through the FAQ's checked the help and nothing that I've done/doing goes outside of what they've said. I may get a USB mic if they weren't so ridiculously expensive for just a stupid mic.
Plus I have some confidence that they'll patch it since I'm not the only person that seems to be doing everyting correctly yet still can't get it working. My own $.02 is that they should tell gamespy's vchat to piss off and use their own.
That's really weird, I just picked up a cheap-o $6 mike/headset that I saw in passing at the hardware store (of all places). I just plugged it in, checked the boxes in the sound options, and it worked. What happens when you try the Mic Test option? Can you hear yourself?
Quote from: Name LipsThat's really weird, I just picked up a cheap-o $6 mike/headset that I saw in passing at the hardware store (of all places). I just plugged it in, checked the boxes in the sound options, and it worked. What happens when you try the Mic Test option? Can you hear yourself?
I can hear myself over my speakers but the Mic Test doesn't register anything. I've printed out some more Faq's on the subject and I'll paly with some more settings at home. I'm sure it's something stupid, yet simple that I've missed because I was flipping back and forth. Between various windows and the online help.
Quote from: kryystI can hear myself over my speakers but the Mic Test doesn't register anything. I've printed out some more Faq's on the subject and I'll paly with some more settings at home. I'm sure it's something stupid, yet simple that I've missed because I was flipping back and forth. Between various windows and the online help.
In the DDO Audio Options do you have Hands Free Voice checked? Mine didn't work until I checked that box.
Quote from: Name LipsIn the DDO Audio Options do you have Hands Free Voice checked? Mine didn't work until I checked that box.
Got it working. Just went through double checking all the settings and now it's working. I have it tied to a button press though because, well because I don't want heavy breathing, ambient sounds and what not going through constantly. It's a pain when other people are doing it. But voice chat makes a world of difference. It's also refeshing to see how many people are actually using it. Even for those that aren't speaking at least they can hear what's being sand and you only have 1 or two people in a typical party typing.
How long do you think it will take to hit the level cap? Will there be any point in playing after that point? The reason I ask is I was in beta, and while the game was ok, it didn't fit my play style. I'm not ususally on for hours upon end, so grouping isn't always viable for me since I may only be on for a half an hour at times. Plus, I've heard from some players that it's not hard to max out your character, many predicting that even casual players would be able to get to level 10 within a month and a half to two months. If that's all the content that there is, then I'm not content to pay a monthly fee to wait for new content.
While I think the game has some promise, I'm going to wait on buying until it's been out for a few months. I want to see if they are going to expand the world beyond Stormreach and add content.
The issue is in defining what casual play is. I played for one month casually and I hit level 3, though I did it with a couple characters. I think you have to be pretty hardcore and just zerg the game to hit level 10 within a month or 2. They added new high end content in terms of a huge dragon module and have said that they will release further content that ups the level cap a couple levels at the time.
However they still have no plans on implementing any PvP (not a problem for me) nor are they going to be concentrating on more solo style missions (which is a problem for me). The game is great, but it is a group effort. Soloing works in bits and pieces and with the right class build. However it's more like shaving a round peg to fit into a square hole. It's unfortunate because I really like the game but I can only play a bit here and there so grouping falls down. I either have to constantly run short missions repeatedly or I have to drop half way out of a major mission. Which sucks cuz them I'm running the same part over and over and also means I'm shafting the group I started with.
Such a shame really, so much potential and coolness just not enough game for anyone but the no working, no responsibility sit at home geek.
Quote from: kryystSuch a shame really, so much potential and coolness just not enough game for anyone but the no working, no responsibility sit at home geek.
Yep. I also didn't like the aspect that everything happens around Stormreach (mostly in SR from what I saw in the beta). A D&D MMORPG, IMO, should be a wide world. Eberron would be great for this with all the wide and varying styles of play that can be found in that setting. Instead, they gave us a rather generic game. Nothing about DDO made me feel like I was playing in Eberron beyond playing as a Warforged. It's an OK game, but it missed out on being a game that could really go toe to toe with other MMORPG's like WoW.
I'm all for the grouping aspect to the game, since D&D is pretty much a group venture. Some soloing content would have been nice just to be able to keep the hook in the casual players even better. It's a bit of a problem for me due to my schedule, but overall I understand the aspect.
Why they didn't make it a big world to explore is beyond me. YOu could have still had the instanced dungeons and quest areas just fine. That's always one of the things I look forward to in an MMORPG: exploration. There's just not to much to it beyond going through quests again and again until I find everything I may have missed...that's dull as hell to me.
Maybe someday in the future someone will do an online D&D game right.
I strongly suspect that there will be more "Dungeons and Dragons Online" games coming out. Remember, this one is titled "Dungeons and Dragons Online: Stormreach."
I feel that they'll probably come out with other cities and locations, but I have no idea if you'll have to create new characters for each one, or even if you can use the same account. It's probably all based on how well DDO does, and right now it's still in the midst of the "Oblivion Slump." :p
I'm not really interested in the format as it currently is. I wasn't enamored with the set up as it is now in DDO with huge amounts of XP needed to level and a perk every quarter of the way. It's just an instance of the game not meeting my personal expectations. They'd have to really retool to make a game that I'll really want to sink money into. Now, if it gets good in the realm of content, I could be swayed, but I doubt I'll be a subscriber any time soon.
There's something to be said for really and actually translating a published D&D campaign world into an expansive MMORPG setting, with all D&D rules intact, huge swaths of wilderness, PrCs (actually joining an organization to gain access to the class), etc.
But I don't see it happening. DDO is fun, but it's almost a toy... a trivial amusement compared to more expansive MMOs.
My hopes for DDO is that it starts to follow the Guild Wars style of game. Have instanced everything except for the city centres, but allow you to go and explore the world. They do have small wilderness encounter areas already but they are ridiculously tough and unsoloable. They have yet to put out any good arguments about why they haven't made an expansive world or really done any of the things people had expected in an MMO. Their typical response to any sort of questionig is it's our game if you don't like it fuck off. While it is their right to make a game however they want. They should be mature enough to actually back up their decisions and reasoning.
Name Lips hit it right on the button. It feels more like a toy then a finished game. The teaser you get on a demo disk. Perhaps down the line they'll introduce another box set that adds massive content to the game, but until then I won't be paying. With Oblivion being all consuming and Guild Wars Faction a few days away. DDO can't compete feature for feature with either of those games. So they just sit and watch their user base dwindle. I use to get a kick out of reading their forums. I mean the founders on their are generally terrible posters and flame anyone who tries to criticize the game. But it's funny as hell watching them try to kick people out of their sandbox.
Quote from: kryystMy hopes for DDO is that it starts to follow the Guild Wars style of game. Have instanced everything except for the city centres, but allow you to go and explore the world. They do have small wilderness encounter areas already but they are ridiculously tough and unsoloable. They have yet to put out any good arguments about why they haven't made an expansive world or really done any of the things people had expected in an MMO. Their typical response to any sort of questionig is it's our game if you don't like it fuck off. While it is their right to make a game however they want. They should be mature enough to actually back up their decisions and reasoning.
Not working on a world means an easier time for them product wise plus no chance of people just grinding out on wandering monsters and such. Building the world and graphics for the world takes time and effort..
Really disappointed on the result because this style won't attract many people for long.
Quote from: Phantom StrangerNot working on a world means an easier time for them product wise plus no chance of people just grinding out on wandering monsters and such. Building the world and graphics for the world takes time and effort..
Really disappointed on the result because this style won't attract many people for long.
Currently grinding on wandering monsters is pointles you get ridiculously little xp. Plus it's not for grinding that people want a world. They just want a world to walk around in. Stormreach is a fairly small place.
Quote from: kryystCurrently grinding on wandering monsters is pointles you get ridiculously little xp. Plus it's not for grinding that people want a world. They just want a world to walk around in. Stormreach is a fairly small place.
Exploration is one of the main sources of fun for me in an MMORPG.
Quote from: kryystCurrently grinding on wandering monsters is pointles you get ridiculously little xp. Plus it's not for grinding that people want a world. They just want a world to walk around in. Stormreach is a fairly small place.
I don't disagree, just pointing out reasons they won't or didn't do it (perceived reasons from MMORGP experience).
Honestly it seems little more then Neverwinter Nights on Roids and with a fee.
Quote from: kanegrundarExploration is one of the main sources of fun for me in an MMORPG.
This is the seed idea for my MMO concept - a MMO with dynamic terrain that shifts and changes totally randomly, at random times, and judges advancement on exploration-type actions rather than fighting.
So you'd "grind" by exploring new and (hopefully) interesting places. :)
Quote from: Name LipsThis is the seed idea for my MMO concept - a MMO with dynamic terrain that shifts and changes totally randomly, at random times, and judges advancement on exploration-type actions rather than fighting.
So you'd "grind" by exploring new and (hopefully) interesting places. :)
That would be cool. Granted, there's gotta be some fighting. It's not a game without a dose of bloodletting! :D
Quote from: Phantom StrangerI don't disagree, just pointing out reasons they won't or didn't do it (perceived reasons from MMORGP experience).
Honestly it seems little more then Neverwinter Nights on Roids and with a fee.
To a point the quests in NWN are even more dynamic, the world feels about the same size though (not including expansions). I don't see why they didn't even do NWN style quests in DDO. The world is instanced anyway there is no reason why they couldn't put you on a more indepth quest instead of just clear out this dungeon. Now there are some very fun quests in DDO but they all feel extremely issolated. If DDO didn't have a monthly fee most of these conversations wouldn't even be happening. The game is good the problem is that there isn't enough of a game to warrant $15 a month. It really is just a smaller version of Guild Wars, without the PVP.
Well I downloaded the free trial on friday and played it over the weekend.
Good Points
1) Looks nice.
2) It's feels like D&D.
3) Quests work well with a balanced party. But most seem go here kill that.
4) Clever tactics can actually pay off.
Bad Points
1) Progression is slow, still 1st level, although admittedly I'm Rank 3, in my main character and I have tried 4 character builds so far. The action point things are nice I suppose but there only seems one or two must haves and the others aren't exactly thrilling. In fact I've not picked up my Rank 3 AP since I couldn't be bothered to run back across town to the trainer.
2) You need to seek groups, in other MMORPG you seem to get random invites, I didn't in this, could be because people solo a bit more at this level.
3) Soloing is a nightmare. So much so the game is hardly worth playing when there aren't many folks online. Or you don't have at least an hour to two free. Nothing worse than dying on a quest, and gettting nothing for all that play time.
4) Servers are flakey, over the weekend, I had two occasions were the server died, another were the server was announced for a restart. And other times where I'ld logoff correctly and find that quests I had completed were listed as not and items I bought were no longer in my inventory but stuff I sold was.
5) Control system is a pain in the backside, it's not intuitive at all.
6) Very demanding graphically, often it lags on entering a inn, which is a pain since I recently upgraded my machine and have no problems in games like CoH/CoV with everything set to maximum. With DDO I have screen size maximum to match my monitor natural rez, but then other stuff can't be without an noticable performance drop.
7) Character doesn't change when you add some items, like cloaks.
8) Healing in a Inn is a pain in the backside, with the low HP you have at 1st level, god knows what it will be like later on.
9) Getting nothing to show for 'almost' completing a long quest is a real pain in the backside, which makes you less likely to take them.
10) Doesn't really support casual play. You can't effectively do anything with 30mins, and with a couple of hours you'ld best stick to short missions.
Bagpus, you've pretty much summed up the general concensus on the game. I personally liked the controls, but the rest is pretty accurate.
Maybe it's because I'm comparing the control system with CoH and Guildwars, which are both a lot easier to target your enemy and yet still have the mouse available for both movement and selecting special attacks/spells.
Quote from: BagpussMaybe it's because I'm comparing the control system with CoH and Guildwars, which are both a lot easier to target your enemy and yet still have the mouse available for both movement and selecting special attacks/spells.
True, but I like the control scheme for DDO. Iit makes it feel more like you are actually contorlling the character and turns it from a tactical style game to an action based game.
It works in DDO and DDO alone. I wouldn't want to attempt Guild Wars or most 3/4 view games with that type of control.
Well I my Warforged Fighter to second level last night! What a let down that was, the Feat I picked Dodge, was less interesting or useful than the Action Points I'ld picked up along the way, which just seemed wrong somehow.
Still I've gone for a less than obvious build, Str 16, Dex 13, Con 13, Int 14, Wis 8, Cha 6 (I intend increasing Con at 4th level). Which was handy as the Dex and Int has allow me access to defensive feats, and also to open some rune doors that Barbarian and Str heavy Fighters I've groupped with have been unable to open. Picked up a load of magic items as well +1 Heavy Steel Shield, +1 Maul, Helmet and Necklace each giving +1 to Haggle (hmm I didn't check to see if they stacked at all) and a Belt of Lesser False Life. Unfortunately the only masterworked slashing weapon I've found is Exotic.
Oh and how is that Skeleton in "Sewer Rescue" ment to be CR2?
Off work this afternoon waiting for a surveyor to look at the house, might give a spell casting class a go.
Yeah that skelleton in the sewer rescue is friggen nasty. You do need a party of cr 2 characters to take it out 1 person is going to have a hard time.
For your fighter I'd suggest doing a sword and board build and improving your shield mastery feats it can be extremly effective. You can block and attack with your shield and not loose your ac. Plus it increases your AC over going two weapon style. Which is ultimately not as good as people were originally thinking. Two-handed style is also pretty good if you want to deal more damage. But without a strength of 18 then two-handed style is a little wasted.
How do you Shield Bash? Do you need the Improved Shield Bash feat? or can you do it without it?
Quote from: BagpussHow do you Shield Bash? Do you need the Improved Shield Bash feat? or can you do it without it?
You can shield bash without the feat just hold down shift like you normally would to block but hit the attack button and you'll see yourself do a shield bash. Try it against inanimate objects like barrels first to get the hang of it and the timing of going from defensive to offensive mode.
The advantage of the Improved Shield Bash feats is that you get to keep your ac bonus with your shield while bashing.
Is the problem with Shield Bash that you tend to only get it against melee opponents, things like spellcasters and archer types, just keep doing that nice little 5ft hop back, so you end up out of range, and you can't really chase them very effectively with the SHIFT key down.
Yeah that's one thing against shield bash is that it's short range so against mobile targets it's not as effective. But you really shouldn't be using it for that.
Shield bash works best when you are being the wall. Standing there tying up an entry and keeping monsters at bay.