I'm sold!

theniffrig

Hello,

Recently i've once again found myself looking for a new MMOG since i've gotten bored with WOW. This time i decided to try out D&D online. I *tried* this before, by which i mean never got off the 1st 'port of call' in the game, but back then i never really gave the game a chance, so i decided to really try it this time.

I've played some of the pnp game so i'm familiar with how the game mechanics are ment to work. So, the 1st thing i noticed was my server choice. Living in Europe i was presented with a choice of 2 servers to play on: Devourer or Keeper, so i picked Devourer. I was abit alarmed when i seen only 2 server choices, but shortly after playing the game i've seen alot of players running around both the starting area and the 1st area of Stormreach. This game is by no means dead. I've seen enough other players running around all over the place to put my mind at ease about the games current player base.

The 2nd thing i noticed was the excellent Character Creation. The options allow you to make a really unique looking character. You've gotten your classic Human/elf/dwarf/halfling races available and also some race i never heard of, and to be honest i dont really care for, Warforged. Dark elfs (Drow) can also be unlocked. I'm a tad bit dissapointed with the race options, since i've always wanted to play a 'cool' race such as EQ1's Iksar (as opposed to EQ2's version which i didn't really like) or some sort of dog/wolf/snakeman/goblin race, but i guess you cant have it all. The game graphics are really good, very similar to LOTRO, very realistic, and they make a real change to the cartoon like WOW gfx.

The 3nd thing i noticed was how brilliantly the combat system works in this game. I love it! Basically after trying out different camera views i've decided to settle on a first person shooter style, with the camera zoomed up to just the back of my characters head & using mouse look mode while playing. It's like playing an FPS but its a MMORPG! And the actual combat is not the dull combat from your standard MMO's. You can aim your ranged weapon like a FPS and shoot anywhere or at anything and if you move out of the way of a giant Golem swinging to knock your lights out, it actually misses you. And your sword has to make contact with your enemy for you to be able to have hit it. The combat system really reminds me of the promised system in the upcoming Age of Conan. Its like a mix of real time combat with the classic MMO's behind the scenes combat statistics. Its great & i'm really surprised this game isn't a 'huge' as other MMO's out there purely because of its unique real time combat.

The next thing i noticed was the setting. I've read alot of posts 'bashing' the world for not being set in Forgotten Realms. I know a little about D&D & all i can say is that if they renamed the current city of Stormreach to some Forgotten Realm city & altered the names of a few places in the city that we currently have then these 'bashings' of the game lore wouldn't take place. And frankly i dont give a damm about the setting. Basically its a big 'maze like' city that if you've ever played a D&D game its exactly what it should be. Yes the game gives you a map to help you around but im sure some 'vets' of this game know the place like the back of their hand by now. And thats the way it should be. When you 1st arrive in a big city, you should find it daunting, but with time you should learn your way around. And the city is the world. Is this a bad thing? In my opinion, no. It makes a change. It does annoy me alittle that the dungeons would'nt actually 'fit' together space wise/structurely in the spaces provied below/behind the entrances provided for them, but i can live with that. Especially since the dungeons themselves are excellent.

And thats the next thing i noticed. The Dungeons. I love the Games Masters voice overs. It really takes me back to my PnP days. I like how the dungeons look graphically & the maze like layouts to them mean even if you play them again, you probably wont remember your way around! And the traps! i have to laugh as i think about the moment of not seeing a spike trap as i walked onto it & it was triggerd but i was lucky enough to have been standing inbetween 2 spikes. My heart jumped for a second and i actually said aloud in my moment of shock 'jesus christ'. haha i've never expierenced that with any other MMO i've played before. Another 'jc' moment was when i found a chest down some long tunnel. After i opened it, these really nasty looking large spiders attacked me, and these are not your WOW looking spiders, and me being aracnphobic i was genuinely paniced for a few seconds as i frantically faught them off. Again, no other MMO has ever come close to giving me that kind of experience.

I havn't gotten to group with anyone yet, but thats because i'm taking things at my own pace. I am really looking forward to playing in a group to see how other people approach the combat and dungeon situations & the overall madness of 6 people fighting it out in real time. I've found the Auction House in the game and its basically the same as WOW if your familiar with that. The only thing that i havn't found out to do or if its possible to even do, is to see what items look like before you equip them, like WOW's dressing room feature. I like my characters to look 'cool' and i've seen other players running around with awesome looking armor sets and weapons so at the very least i know i will eventually look 'cool'.

So with all that said, i'm sold on D&DO. Its a great game with a unique setting, great graphics, excellent real time combat and a tried and tested game system. It offers a real change to the norm of current MMO's. I'm looking forward to my future time in this game!

 

AcidicTRG

cool

Rubakai

To be honest I really do not know why I am not still playing this game. I have been pulling my hair out over the last 3/4 of a year trying to find a decent MMO, I tired tabula rasa, lotr, vanguard and eve and I just got bored after 10 or so days. (but longer with LOTR). I remember before Burning Crusade came out I downloaded the trial for DDO and absolutely loved it. It was only that burning crusade came out and I thought I would give WoW another go that I didnt buy the full game. Now that I havent been playing WoW for 8-10 months I might think about going back.

 

At first I was completely against DDO, no PvP?? are you mad. I thrive on PvP in fps and mmo's so I thought DDO would completely bore me. BUT you are correct, the dungeons in that game are by far the best in any MMO i have played oh which there are alot, you are actually involved and they are all little stories, the graphics are also great, character evolution brilliant. However only the one island is  a bit more annoying for me than it is to you.

Anyway I have tried all the others mmo's at the moment i might have to give this another bash.

Bill_Pardy

When you start grouping be sure to let people know you are new and look for groups going slow or you may end up watching a zerging groups dust cloud. A lot of long time players run through low level quests fast to level up but in my experience most will slow down for you if they know you are new to the game.

CanesFan311

Awesome. Always good to see new folks coming over.

bezado

This game is still alive, . So much for the real D&D fans sticking to the real rule-sets. Anyway I thought this game was almost dead, less then 50k subscribers last I seen on the charts. I tried it when it first came out and laughed, uninstalled it 2 days later. What a POS game. Worst IP for this type of game ever created.

Hvymetal

First off I want to say welcome. DDO has 2 really great strengths going for it that you found, character customization & combat. Unfortunatly some people have problems with both and quit after 2 days to go back to their cookie cutter MMO.

Just a warning, grouping is an integral part of this game and it is very difficult to go far without grouping, but the LFM system is heavily used so make use of it.

Kyleran

Originally posted by bezado


This game is still alive, . So much for the real D&D fans sticking to the real rule-sets. Anyway I thought this game was almost dead, less then 50k subscribers last I seen on the charts. I tried it when it first came out and laughed, uninstalled it 2 days later. What a POS game. Worst IP for this type of game ever created.

In all fairness, you only need about 8 people to form a group, so 50K should be enough to find one. 

I think people focus way too much on sub numbers.  I doubt DAOC has more than this right now, but you can still have a great time playing it on the classic servers.

 

Sevenwind

Theniffrig try grouping, it really is where this game shines. If you get into a good solid group you can play for hours and not know where the time went. This game is so much fun when you get into a good group that fits your playstyle.

As for the traps, I agree there is just nothing like that out there in other games.

What class did you end up picking?

 

 

theniffrig

I tried out the ranger class 1st as an elf, then the barbarian class as a dwarf and now im onto the fighter class as a human. It's odd how alot of people pick humans instead of a fantasy race in MMO's, since you would think people would not want to play something that they are in reality, but i think its the fact that you can play as something really familiar in a not at all familiar setting that its so appealing. Anyway i ordered the game earlier today from Game.co.uk and it was only £2.99! the postage for the game cost as much. I decided to buy it instead of a digital buy because i 1) still have a few more days left on the trail & 2) i want to have the actual 'physical' game box/cds/manual. I dont know, but i feel better & safer owning a physical item than a digital one.

Anyway, i'll try out a few more classes before i will settle on a 'main'.  

Vincenz

Originally posted by bezado


This game is still alive, . So much for the real D&D fans sticking to the real rule-sets. Anyway I thought this game was almost dead, less then 50k subscribers last I seen on the charts. I tried it when it first came out and laughed, uninstalled it 2 days later. What a POS game. Worst IP for this type of game ever created.

LOL!  yeah, good luck with POTBS.  True genius there.  Zero character customization, WoW combat...or actually worse, insanely repetitive uncreative quests.  It may actually be the worst game I've ever played.

TheFranchise

"I havn't gotten to group with anyone yet,"

The game is 10x better when grouping. Built-in voicechat is amazing. People get annoyed if you don't have it on.

They put voicechat into WoW, and people complain they don't like to use it while teaming. Go figure.

Jetrpg

DDO is a very under rated mmo , its content runs out and i get board of it but the game it self is very enjoyable and the combat is some of the best in any mmo.

Tyrranosaur

I've been on and off with DO over the last year, but recently started a whole new account and jumped back in...by D&D fanishness just demands I really try it.

Some definite advice from someone who prefers soloing:

1. Accept that you need to group. But make sure you let them know you are new, as has been said before, or you'll be following a dust cloud. The grouping in this game is not very painful; classes are by and large a better balance than in games like WoW, where if you're not a tank or healer or AoE you're screwed.

2. Avoid multiclassing until you're a bit more experienced with it all. My earlier efforts to play were thwarted by my gimpy multiclassed characters. Multiclassing is a better deal after you've got a few single class levels under your belt.

3. Don't get in over your head. I'm sure you've figured this out, but I didn't on my first DDO run-thru, and now I'm being very, very careful to pace the levels of dungeons I go in to to match my character level. No more wil I click on the guy who needs you to kill 100 kobolds at the fort with my level 2 character! Learned that lesson the hard way. Unlike other MMOs, DDO doesn't do much hand-holding by restricting what you have access to with quests.....just pay attention. I know this sounds obvious, but trust me, the first time I tried DDO last year, I was fairly oblivious and it got very irritating to keep dying and wonder why my character level didn't really seem to match the dungeon level I'd just entered. In D20 paper/pencil terms, a level 2 dungeon is not a challenge for a level 2 character....it's a challenge for a party of level 2 characters. Anyway, keeping that in mind, my new characters are living much longer now!

4. Finally, DDO is very very close to the paper and pencil game, but it's not really the paper and pencil game. I used to play it with the target and auto-attack mode....sheah right. This game works much better, as you say, when you jump around, dodge a lot, and swing weapons like a crazy loon!

Just my observations.....I've got my main creeping up to level 4 now, so I'm already twice as far in as I was when I tried it a year ago, and having a lot more fun now. It also helps that I quit WoW several months back!