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Some impressions
Wrymstrum
Member Posts: 196
Having played the game for a little bit, I'm kind of liking the combat. I'm playing an elf chick ranger, and she pretty much destroys. You can either use an auto attack that works like it does in other MMO's or you can push a button to swing your weapons kind of like Oblivion. I've had my sword cleave multiple mobs that were attacking me, so I guess there's some built in AOE based on if your weapons physically hit the mobs. The combat works with the D&D rules, so it's very different from your typical MMO. There's no health regen, so you have to play somewhat strategically.
You can also run around and bash crates diablo style. If there's a ledge you can run towards it and your character will automatically climb up. You can also climb up ladders. To finish this one quest I had to solve this puzzle where I rotated the tiles on the floor to get this energy stuff to flow the right way. Earlier I was walking down this dungeon hall and I got a message saying that I noticed a draft, so I used my search skill and I found a secret passage which was pretty cool. The environment is much more interactive than what I'm used to dealing with in an MMO. It's kind of like a blend of an action games such as Zelda/Oblivion with an MMO using D&D rules. The D&D character development seems a lot more complex than what you find in other MMO's, so I think that probably helps keep out the annoying kiddies.
~~~ Currently Playing ~~~
LOTRO- Guardian Wrymstrum & Lore-master Stabler on Nimrodel.
Conan- Zoltar <Angels of Death> Guardian on Stormrage.
Comments
Hiya, I've been playing now about a week and I agree. This game is extremely interactive in a great way.
DDO is really a great game. You will find as you go through quests a LARGE range of interactive content. Every adventure has multiple things to do and usually a lot of [optional] content. You may not be able to experience it all in solo mode or without a group but it's there! I'm excited to see if you post again when you start gaining a few more levels and try out some of the more strategy based content.
I also agree that combat in this game is very unique. I enjoy how you just don't stand in one place and swing away using clickies for 5 minutes to kill a mob. The combat is very dynamic. I've also heard some people describe the movement as a Tomb Raider type game.
The character creation can be very complicated if you want it to be. It can also be simple if you just want to jump right in and start playing. The more you play and figure out the game the more you will want to roll and re-roll alts to tweak your character. IMO, the best builds are calculated and planned out from the character creation screen. You decide exactly how you want your character to be by level cap. This means stats, skills, feats, gear, EVERYTHING. Then you roll the toon and play away enjoying the content and working closer and closer to your desired goal.
I just came back to DDO about a week ago and started the new content with my LvL 14 Cleric. I wish I had never left.
hope you have fun and stick around to see all the zones. Turbine is doing a great job with this game!
the only thing i9 really have an issue with is the setting. I'd prefer a more traditional medieval type of setting rather than this techno-magical world.
~~~ Currently Playing ~~~
LOTRO- Guardian Wrymstrum & Lore-master Stabler on Nimrodel.
Conan- Zoltar <Angels of Death> Guardian on Stormrage.
The only thing which caught me, an old school original AD&D player, off guard was Warforged. I don't mind the newer settings 'cs the game is just so damned good!
What mainly interests me is why this game is not recieving the recognition it deserves for being something that far exceeds most online games availble. I guess it must be due to the initial launch which was somewhat lacking even though the game has a hell of a lot more content now and the dynamics surpas everything else on the market.
Mindspat, I think DDO is what it is for 3 reasons:
1. Some people just don't care for the D20 rules OR were too concerned that the game used spell points instead of memorisation. Some hated the inclusion of Action points. Most of those people left during beta.
2. At launch, there just was NOT enough content. Having to repeat the same dungeon 3 times [normal, hard, elite] for favor is tollerable; back then, you had to repeat 10+ times.
3. Some people wanted to solo through all the content, which is impossible [see the thread on the DDO forums - the few dungeons which absolutely cannot be soloed are all lower level, around 4-5 IIRC]
The sad thing is that Turbine has in the last 2 years dealt with these concerns. Nothing can be done about #1, but for #2, they've added a ton of new material - including the <doh forgot what they call it!> wilderness areas where you can get minor xp and just explore [Kobold island is a waste, but the cerialian hills? is very good]. They expanded the WaterWorks to include extra quests [I haven't checked the SteamWorks yet, but I assume they did the same there]
With the new "No more loss of xp on death", DDO is even more newbie/solo friendly. Before I found the Anonymous button, I was getting invites every 15 min-1/2 hour regardless of whether I was playing my level 1 Fighter or Rogue. The "I can't find a group" complaints are either not valid on the Khyber server or those people have annoyed too many other people somehow. Before I found the anon button, everyone that I declined joining was very polite about it even to the extent of offering help from their higher level character if I needed.
So, while I have posted my disappointment at the current implementation of crafting [Raid only], I do very much like the game!
<p align=center><a target=_blank href=http://www.nodiatis.com/personality.htm><img border=0 src=http://www.nodiatis.com/pub/20.jpg></a></p>;
Thankfuly the system being used (action points and spell points) is a superior mechanism that enhances online game play in a real time evironment. This system permits as close to a sandbox charcter design process as possible. The only other thing which was remotely similar, in my experiances, was Star Wars Galaxies.
The content at launch was very lacking although I never felt like I was repeating quests. I had quit during the seconds month and did not return to DDO until 1/2007 and was well surprised to see first hand the amount of improvements made to the game.
The newer content has been designed very well. Outdoor areas are great and if you get the slayer optionals you can gain some pretty good exp. These new areas are great places for a solo player to relax and enjoy the views while gaining some exp. Unfortunately, the lower level out door areas do not provide nearly as much exp as the high level zones and could benefit from a slight redesign - few of the outdoor areas were already redesigned to inrease exp.
I'm liking the new death penalties. At first I was concerned about item decay and how the temp negaitve level would affect an Sorcerer/Wizard. Being an old school Star Wars Galaxies player (12pt Weaponsmith; Bria) it seemed interesting enough to give it a chance.
To say the least, I'm won over by the new modifications to the death penalty. As said, it is very new player friendly since the few mistakes that lead to death can easily be overcome. Before, the exp debt would be very daunting for a new player and now your items could be replaced before they need repairs.
The crafting system isn't anything more then a time sink of collectibles. Like the relics, tokens, tome pages and shield pieces before them, yet the new system offers a lot more diversity in the reward.
Do you feel the reciepes should be made availble through a loot mechanism or be completly player discovered and gained through word of mouth?
With this new module I find this game to be more enjoyable now then it has ever been before, even if I "thought" there could have been a different way to do "crafting". Maybe the REAL crafting will be more like what we all expect.