It's because there's very little longevity to the actual gameplay. Once you've taken a toon to max level there's very little in the game to keep you there. Some people enjoy making more toons and seeing what variations the character development throws up, but generally, all there is to do after running a dungeon once is to try and set a new time record for completing the quest. This game is powergamer central.
I couldnt disagree more...
I have been playing DDO for two years... Yes I play other MMO's but my heart is and probably always wil be in stormreach. I dont believe this game is "Powergamer Central" of course there are some players like this, but I am positive the same can be found in any MMORPG, and in fact remember reading an article about some crazy power gamer in wow who played continuously to reach the highest lvl possible... to the detriment of his health.
You talk about longevity as if every other game has longevity and it is mutually exclusive to all games but ddo... this is incorrect.
NO GAME can cope with the level of demand that is bound to be put upon it by an ever evolving player base... it is human nature to want more more more, more quests, better graphics, more enthralling environments.. no development team in the world can keep up with the myriad of wants.
You play stormreach to the 16 cap it is currently at, you have completed all the quests upto elite dificulty and have all the best items/loot etc. Your character is a gargantuan amongst toons. You are basically unwilling to roll another toon to take that one through the lvls, and now need to wait until the new mod / level cap raises to 20.
how does this differ from other games.. it doesnt, people who play these games all rush to hit cap in whatever game they are playing, then have to wait for new content... longevity only really exists as a concept.. yes you may say requiem or WOW have longevity, but walking round killing spiders and desert goblins is hardly a advertisement for enthralling gameplay.. running from one end of the map to the other to deliver a note which will then mean you have to run all the way back to the start to gain 3.6% xp and a miniscule amount of loot is hardly inspiring.
DDO as a game is a constantly improving entity... if the european advertisement was better and if it was more readily available in the shops then we would probably be more popular.
DDo is a great game, and I would suggest playing for a month until you decide either way whether the game is for you.. and hell, if its not, it doesnt matter.. everyone is unique and desires different things out of their entertainment.
Perhaps I did not make myself clear. I mostly enjoyed my time in DDO, levelling up a wizard to the level cap, taking a fighter to level 10, a cleric to level 11 and a rogue to level 8. However, my enjoyment did depend on me insisting on a "no rushing" playstyle from the other members of the party I was in. If the other members of the party acted otherwise, as is common and an expected way of playing this game, I would find myself lagging behind, basically in a foot race with them to complete the adventure. I understand why "rushing" (a term that I was taught in this game and I'm no stranger to MMOs) is an acceptable way of playing, but in this MMO in particular it just murdered it for me. People rush through the adventures because they have completed them many, many times before. Rogues have no need to look for traps as parties, en masse, run upto the traps and tell the rogues to "hurry up and disarm ffs". Unless, of course, they are tanks with large HPs and the dungeons are set to a lower diffculty, in which case they plough through them expecting heals or consuming vast quantities of heal pots. Wizards and sorcerors are "haste bots", there to cast the spell haste which helps speed the whole tortuous affair of playing in a group with someone up. Add rushing to the twinking, which is rampant, and you get situations in adventures which are totally against the vision that this MMO portrays, ie a version of the table-top game online. Parties are made to complete the adventures in the smallest amount of time as possible with next to zero consideration to group play. This is what I mean by powergaming. Seeing as this style of playing is the norm in this game, I think "Powergamer Central" is a fair assessment of it.
With regard to the longevity of the game. Yes, you are correct in that any MMO will have longevity problems, which are addressed in various ways by different MMOs. DDO's way of addressing this problem is by the introduction of a very limited crafting system which requires you to grind raids to complete. Also, to unlock 2 options in character creation and other benefits in game, DDO has "favour points"; you get favour by completing adventures - the harder the adventure the more favour you receive. To unlock the harder level of advetures per toon, you must complete the adventure on the easier settings. This encourages you to seek to complete adventures many times and if you make more than one toon, well you can see where I'm going here. Also, the much vaunted character creation, with its large amount of character customisation, is another way in which players find more longevity in this game. However, this compounds the need to grind out the adventures which encourages "rushing". So, when I compare DDO's solutions I find the on par with most other MMOs and I'm left with the actual gameplay to keep me paying for the game and as I outline earlier, I find this lacking and hence the longevity, for me, is reduced.
The most fun I had in this game was in my last couple of weeks in this game when I made a permadeath paladin, a character I would delete if he died and so forcing some interesting ingame choices on the play. However, making this character did finally convince me to give up playing even though it was the most fun to play. It convinced me to cancel my subscription because the biggest factor governing the character's chances of survival in the adventure was whether the party it was in was a powergaming party or not and I spent the vast majority of my time on this toon looking for a group that valued group play.
Now dont get me wrong. I think this game is a groundbreaker with regard to the mechanics of combat and so well worth a look by all PC gamers. This game is, in my opinion, is years ahead of other MMOs even the ones released this year and in the foreseeable future when you consider how combat is handled. I do, however, stand by my claim that this game is "Powergamer Central" and of reduced longterm appeal.
Now I understand your definition of Powergamer... then i will admit that there is a lot of that in DDO, and the majority of groups are as you say obsessed with completing quests as quick as possible in there desire to get to the higher lvl quests, or just because they have ran them a million times before. i feel a little sad in retrospect that you hadnt quested with me and my closest friends in stormreach because we as a guild, as a whole enjoy questing at a slower pace and with more regard for the more "Questing is fun, lets enjoy the quest" type of player.
Yes I have capped loads of toons over the time i have been playing, but I still like to "Play" a new toon and when I do I try and play as if I havent done it a million times before.
As for twinking (sending stuff from your highbie to your lowbies) our guild have groups setup on monday, wednesday, and friday which are semi rigid in there rules.. the only class allowed to send stuff to there lowbies are for the clerics in the groups. and usually this is limited to 10,000gp which equates to 20 cure light wands, or 10 cure mod wands.. just to give him a little start.
Twinking isnt a major problem at high lvl, as the uber crafted weapons from the shroud are bound to the character that created them, it only becomes a problem at low lvl or in a rush group or as i like to call it.. the "Non Stop Quest Express" who are 2nd lvl and fully armed with +1 ele weps of pure good Race restricted.. and everytime a kobold or low lvl creature looks at the weapon they just fall over on the spot.. eg: +1 Acid Dwarf Axe of Pure Good RR:Dwarf RL:2 (1d6 Acid Damage + 1d10 Physical damage + 1d6 good damage = Non Critical Max Damage = 22HPS, Critical Max Damage = 66HPS all to a Kobold that has at most 8hps on the normal 24hps on hard and 32 - 56hp's on elite.. so in that respect you can find over powered players who like to rush.. and I am not saying there arnt a lot of them.. but there are groups out there like mine that like to take there time and play for fun..
Not sure if you were referring to EU or US servers btw..
I think one of the main reasons I quit is because it just didn't live up to my expectations. It was pretty much a REALLY watered down version of what PnP D&D is and the instancing drove me nuts after a while. You don't get the feeling that Stormreach is really that "big" of a city but rather 6-8 smaller cities all connected together by "tunnels" that you have to go through (i.e. load the instance) just to get to.
Did that make sense?
Anyway, good game as an appetizer or secondary MMO, but not enough content to keep me interested past 2-3 months.
You are right, the combat is EXCELLENT, however, in most situations, the mobs are way underpowered making the challenge pretty much 0 if you are playing with vets or moderate gamers.
On the other end of the spectrum, if you're all noobs and no one knows whats going on, it's extremely frustrating to try to get through some of the dungeons.
In short, too many instances, not enough content for my tastes.
ive been looking for an mmo that has this type of gameplay and thought it coudln't exist! i thought spellborn was the answer but dam those characters are ugly... is it because of the heavy instances that this combat is possible? if it is why the hell would people complain if it means no more mindless point and click....
I don't understand why people dislike this game so much. I actually love it...it was my warm cuddly bed when WoW lots its taste.
I'll tell you why I don't like the game. I can't say and won't pretend like my opinion is everyone elses though. As a long time D&D dungeon master, I feel like I'm paying $15/monthly for a slightly advanced guild wars. Slightly advanced, because I can jump, and use the 3.5 ruleset. Everything's instanced. There's no feeling of freedom, as they broadcasted during the alpha stages of development. And since everything's instanced, I found it hard to meet up with new players. The original team was sent over to LoTRO DURING development, which greatly inhibited the workflow. They promised no PvP, then got caught on an alpha testers vid from one of their booth presentations saying that PvP would be happening later.
There are some neat things in DDO, like free updates. No item mall crap, etc. But it's still not worth that $15 a month to me. I play GW. I think it's worth the $40 I paid for it, since I can play whenever I want to. I don't think it would be worth $15/monthly. When we were testing, a guy kept crying about how it should be free, and I shrugged it off, till I realized what he meant. It's the same feel as a higher quality F2P game.
HI all when I first heard of this game I was so much looking forward to it I liked the art style also but When i actually started to play.
I Just didn't like the feel of the city at all like many have said the game feels to confined very small world, at least in the begging and why in the hell did they pick the Eberron setting I have no freaking clue out of all the d&d settings! hopfully one day we will get a really awseome d&d mmo in a better setting.
HI all when I first heard of this game I was so much looking forward to it I liked the art style also but When i actually started to play. I Just didn't like the feel of the city at all like many have said the game feels to confined very small world, at least in the begging and why in the hell did they pick the Eberron setting I have no freaking clue out of all the d&d settings! hopfully one day we will get a really awseome d&d mmo in a better setting.
Eberron was chosen as it was D&D's "Official New Campaign Setting" back then. It was inspired from a user made world, that won a WoTC competition.
I wish they had went through Bioware, or even Bethesda Softworks/Zenimax. D&D is king of the pen and paper world. DDO could have been king of the normal fantasy mmos (not a wow killer, but far more subs than VG, and EQ2).
this game is made in groups. look for good guild. my friends and i created a guild where we know who the people are, personally. it made us create an awesome guild that already went to the top.
YEs i hav eto agree with most post in this thread. Except for the soloabilty of the game, when DDO was released it was released without the intentions of it being a soloable game. Turbine got enough complaints about it that they intergrated it into the game at a slow pace. The game itself was designed to be a group game, not single player. Powergamers in DDO of course which mmo doesnt have them in their game? Some of those powerlevlers cant be a bit arrogant and jerks. So what, didnt like them in your group? make a dont group with list and add them to to it.
Content is abit scarce for endgame play. I think Turbine needs to add a couple of different citys you can travel to and have adventures on the way and quests in the new citys.
Are thngs unbalanced in ddo? Yes somethings are. Again show me one mmo out there that doesnt have balance issues.
So if your looking for a mmo that is completely soloable DDO isnt going to be for you. Try WAR that is a very solo friendly game.
DDO's combat is the best out there to date. No more click abilty attack and wait then click againand wait.
Another thing that is overlooked in DDO is the in game voice chat. I see wow tried it but i didnt think it was no where near as good as DDO's. Most mmo's you need vent or that other voice chat hmm cant thik f the name now.
P.S.
Please remember that DDO is niche game all to its own.
Its simple, I've played lots of mmo and for me this is the best combat system. (better than age of Conan which also tried something diff) What people don't like is that there isn't any really open PVP. If you can live in a pure PVE world with a little more thinking before you rush into combat than you'll love this. D&D has always been about character builds with endless possiblities and they did just that!
DDO has a solid combat system, but there is so much fail in the game it's really really hard to get excited about one tiny bright spot.
Combat, excellent quests (what most MMOs call quests are a joke), complex character builds, no real PvP (that is a massive positive to me because I find PvP the most mindless content possible), no huge boring open areas (again I find these tedious) and a great community.
Probably why I haven't managed to play any other MMO for any length of time since without finding them heavily lacking, but other peoples mileage can clearly vary.
DDO has a solid combat system, but there is so much fail in the game it's really really hard to get excited about one tiny bright spot.
Combat, excellent quests (what most MMOs call quests are a joke), complex character builds, no real PvP (that is a massive positive to me because I find PvP the most mindless content possible), no huge boring open areas (again I find these tedious) and a great community.
Probably why I haven't managed to play any other MMO for any length of time since without finding them heavily lacking, but other peoples mileage can clearly vary.
So the game is better because it lacks content that is optional in the first place but enjoyable for many people? Riiiight.
DDO has a solid combat system, but there is so much fail in the game it's really really hard to get excited about one tiny bright spot.
Combat, excellent quests (what most MMOs call quests are a joke), complex character builds, no real PvP (that is a massive positive to me because I find PvP the most mindless content possible), no huge boring open areas (again I find these tedious) and a great community.
Probably why I haven't managed to play any other MMO for any length of time since without finding them heavily lacking, but other peoples mileage can clearly vary.
So the game is better because it lacks content that is optional in the first place but enjoyable for many people? Riiiight.
For me yes, it is nice to have a MMO that has the balance I want. No other MMO meets my needs, but I doubt they are going to change them to suit me, so I find it difficult to get too upset that DDO doesn't meet yours, or any real reason to change it to do so.
People are different and want different things, there is no right and wrong, is that so hard to understand?
DDO has a solid combat system, but there is so much fail in the game it's really really hard to get excited about one tiny bright spot.
Care to elborate or just talking out of your rear?
DDO has more to offer then any MMO on the market. "The" downside with DDO is there's quite a few (ie, millions) who think spamming a single attack and button mashing once someone pulls a single mob is the only way to play a game. What I'm saying here is:
DDO is too advanced for the main stream market. It requires players to use their brains and think of new strategies while working together as a team by using personal skills. The problem is, these people who can't grasp DDO isn't to blame, it's not their fault and they'll likely never understand the concept of high dynamics in an RPG.
DDO is the thinking persons game. If you like Chess you're likely to enjoy the dynamics strategies you'll experiance in this game. Otherwise, checkers, or WoW, is probally more your thing.
DDO has a solid combat system, but there is so much fail in the game it's really really hard to get excited about one tiny bright spot.
Care to elborate or just talking out of your rear?
DDO has more to offer then any MMO on the market. "The" downside with DDO is there's quite a few (ie, millions) who think spamming a single attack and button mashing once someone pulls a single mob is the only way to play a game. What I'm saying here is:
DDO is too advanced for the main stream market. It requires players to use their brains and think of new strategies while working together as a team by using personal skills. The problem is, these people who can't grasp DDO isn't to blame, it's not their fault and they'll likely never understand the concept of high dynamics in an RPG.
DDO is the thinking persons game. If you like Chess you're likely to enjoy the dynamics strategies you'll experiance in this game. Otherwise, checkers, or WoW, is probally more your thing.
Elaborating on the failures is pretty easy
1) Content fails
1a) Content fails because each release is so small the content is new for no more than a few days for most players. It also comes very slowly - usually months after it is scheduled to be released.
1b) Content fails because the quality of each release is so low. The game abounds with bugs, often making instances (raids especially) unplayable. Sometimes for MONTHS at a time.
2) Turbine customer relations/game support fails. In game GMs are useless. Dealing with customer service (or god forbid trying to have a discourse with developers on the forums) is a horrifying experience. Try this game and see if you dont believe me (and btw it is obvious they have different teams for different games, so don't think the kind people dealing with you in LOTRO will be there for DDO).
3) Game mechanics fail
3a) Itemiztion is the worst I've ever seen in any MMO. Many of the best items in the game are 100% random drops. The good loot that comes from raids has a ridiculously low chance of actually dropping for your character - an unashamed attempt by the devs to extend the longevity of the sparse content.
3b) Drastic rebalancing of classes/feats/etc frequently takes place, frequently making obsolete specific skills around with people build characters. As a result (and because of the above mentioned poor itemization scheme) players can put months or years into a character to have a sudden nerf of key abilities that makes them no longer desirable in groups.
4) The game fails because it lacks. It lacks a good mail system. It lacks a good auction house. It lacks a good guild interface. It lacks solo content for players who don't always have time to wait for a group. It lacks developed PvP for people who enjoy that.
This game has instances that you need to group with 4-6 other people to play through. People aren't interested in doing the particular instance you want to do, or you can't find level appropriate people to join you? Tough luck. You now get to stand in a tavern for hours scanning the social panel.
___________________________________
To address the notion that this is somehow the "thinking persons" MMO (or however mindspat tried to frame it), nothing could be further from the truth. This is the ONLY MMO I've ever played where strategy to overcome any given challenge was an afterthought. You can be a caster with low AC/HP and run through mobs in elite dungeons without dying. Or you can be a fighter and just run up to a bunch of them and pwn their faces. Heck you can be anything and do pretty much anything effectively. Sounds almost enticing till you realize this is only because the content is so dumbed down it is all trivial.
Comparing it to WoW is a joke. People spent months developing strategies to overcome raid challenges in that game. Many skilled players still havent seen the "end game" in wow because doing so requires organization and discipline orders of magnitude greater than anything required to play DDO. Basically every person who has played DDO for a month or two has every raid in the game on farm. Most "hard-core" players beat the new raids within days (or in some cases hours) of when they hit live servers.
Comparing DDO to chess only makes sense if you go to the local special needs home to play your games of chess. Street Fighter on the old Arcade machines was hands down more complex and challenging than DDO. "The thinking persons MMO," lol.
I think DDO would have been more popular than it is if:
It was based in Forgotten Realms (I understand why they didn't go that route)
It wasn't restricted to Stormreach. (Waterdeep may have been a better place because right underneth WD is the Underdark and being able to explore the land around the city would have been a plus also)
I liked DDO when i did play, but it's one city and it's not Forgotten Realms.
ive been looking for an mmo that has this type of gameplay and thought it coudln't exist! i thought spellborn was the answer but dam those characters are ugly... is it because of the heavy instances that this combat is possible? if it is why the hell would people complain if it means no more mindless point and click....
Why should this game or any game have more or less subs than it currently has? Water seeks it's own level and I think that is somewhat true with these types of games.
Being a big o' geek myself, I can give the reasons I do not play it. I have, several times in the past, I always check out the new updates when they have the free weekend or week.
1) It is pretty obvous that the designers are not role players. They should have played up the fact that it is D&D. Rather than go "Oh this is broken we know what we are doing, and the game designers who wrote it do not, so lets fix it" This is a common problem when table top rpgs gets ported to the computer.
2) They have no idea what is cool about the setting. Eberron is a awesome setting, It is more dynamic than any of the other ones that TSR or WotC has ever put out. It was made to make sense. There is a reason for all the odd monsters. They are in the aftermath of a WWII with magic. And now everyone is in a cold war type setting.
3) It is not a complete game, even now after all this time. Half the races are missing, many of the core classes are missing. More importantly, There is only one of the new races that as added in Eberron in the game currently. The Warforged. Which are cool, but the least impressive of the bunch that were added. Lets not get into the fact that they are missing the Classes that were added in Eberron as well.
4) They set in on the wrong Island. Xendrick is actually a cool place. But without the history and motivations that come from being involved in one of the other great kingdoms, it is sort of pointless. Xendrick is the place of dungeons, and odd adventures. But the whys of it are missing.
5) Eberron is a place of EPIC adventure. Where things much bigger than you are at work. There is so much going on in the world that one party could never take care of it. But this is missing from the game.
6) Level cap is way to low. D&D is a 40 level game basicly. DDO does not even offer to 20 yet ( I do not think, been a bit sinse the last time I checked)
7) Item creation is core to the setting. Yet players can not make their own magic items. You are stuck with random loot drops. Which is a part of D&D but not the main away characters over level 5 get magic items in Ebberon.
In the end, They failed to click with the fans of the setting. Who if it had been done right would have been rabbid and vocal about how cool it was and bring friends. Failed to offer a full game, it is still basicaly in a extended beta. Thought they knew better than professional rpg developers. Who do this for a living, and actually play RPGs.
The only thing it has going for it is the style of play, which I admit I like. I just keep hoping they will finish the base game and include what should be there. I will keep checking back in hopes that it will one day be a game worth playing.
--Aspirant
There is no Absolute Truth or Absolute Reality. That Truth is whatever the majority on hand want it to be. Real Truth is egalitarian and democratic and not at all compelled to correspond to the world in any useful way. Truth has no respect for Right, What's Best, or Needs Must. Real Truth is a dangerous beast in need of caging in even the quietest of times. Ask any prince or priest. Real Truth was the First Traitor. -- Glen Cook
Being a big o' geek myself, I can give the reasons I do not play it. I have, several times in the past, I always check out the new updates when they have the free weekend or week. 1) It is pretty obvous that the designers are not role players. They should have played up the fact that it is D&D. Rather than go "Oh this is broken we know what we are doing, and the game designers who wrote it do not, so lets fix it" This is a common problem when table top rpgs gets ported to the computer. 2) They have no idea what is cool about the setting. Eberron is a awesome setting, It is more dynamic than any of the other ones that TSR or WotC has ever put out. It was made to make sense. There is a reason for all the odd monsters. They are in the aftermath of a WWII with magic. And now everyone is in a cold war type setting. 3) It is not a complete game, even now after all this time. Half the races are missing, many of the core classes are missing. More importantly, There is only one of the new races that as added in Eberron in the game currently. The Warforged. Which are cool, but the least impressive of the bunch that were added. Lets not get into the fact that they are missing the Classes that were added in Eberron as well. 4) They set in on the wrong Island. Xendrick is actually a cool place. But without the history and motivations that come from being involved in one of the other great kingdoms, it is sort of pointless. Xendrick is the place of dungeons, and odd adventures. But the whys of it are missing. 5) Eberron is a place of EPIC adventure. Where things much bigger than you are at work. There is so much going on in the world that one party could never take care of it. But this is missing from the game. 6) Level cap is way to low. D&D is a 40 level game basicly. DDO does not even offer to 20 yet ( I do not think, been a bit sinse the last time I checked) 7) Item creation is core to the setting. Yet players can not make their own magic items. You are stuck with random loot drops. Which is a part of D&D but not the main away characters over level 5 get magic items in Ebberon. In the end, They failed to click with the fans of the setting. Who if it had been done right would have been rabbid and vocal about how cool it was and bring friends. Failed to offer a full game, it is still basicaly in a extended beta. Thought they knew better than professional rpg developers. Who do this for a living, and actually play RPGs. The only thing it has going for it is the style of play, which I admit I like. I just keep hoping they will finish the base game and include what should be there. I will keep checking back in hopes that it will one day be a game worth playing.
--Aspirant
Well Mod 9 should introduce level 20 I guess in January or so.
Has it been a long time since you played? Because Green steel crafted items have been in for a while now and they are by far the most powerful items in the game so your #7 is basically wrong. Not that I like GS items, they involve tons of farming. But for the sake of correctness etc etc
Anyway I do not like Eberron all that much as a setting and I think Planescape fits the mechancis of the game far better and is just much cooler anyway. The infinite doors and factions are like a perfect fit for DDO's setup.
DDO has a solid combat system, but there is so much fail in the game it's really really hard to get excited about one tiny bright spot.
Combat, excellent quests (what most MMOs call quests are a joke), complex character builds, no real PvP (that is a massive positive to me because I find PvP the most mindless content possible), no huge boring open areas (again I find these tedious) and a great community.
Probably why I haven't managed to play any other MMO for any length of time since without finding them heavily lacking, but other peoples mileage can clearly vary.
DDO definately has great combat, probably the best of any MMO. The quests are the game and those are done amazingly well. I agree on PVP unless the game is truly designed for it(Planetside) it usually is not as great as some seem to think. People tend to act like the AI anyway.
I disagree on the open areas. They do not have to be boring at all. Many games with wide open areas have a lot of good things in those areas. DDO could have done both. Instances and wide open areas with contested MOBS and made it exciting.
Yes most other MMOS have poorer quest system, but those games all have other ways to level, DDO has one way really, completion of quests.
DDO does the things it does very very well and if you started playing today you might have a year or so of good things to do. If you are looking for a more open ended game with a huge world to explore and the option of grouping or going it alone look elsewhere.
DDO has a solid combat system, but there is so much fail in the game it's really really hard to get excited about one tiny bright spot.
Care to elborate or just talking out of your rear?
DDO has more to offer then any MMO on the market. "The" downside with DDO is there's quite a few (ie, millions) who think spamming a single attack and button mashing once someone pulls a single mob is the only way to play a game. What I'm saying here is:
DDO is too advanced for the main stream market. It requires players to use their brains and think of new strategies while working together as a team by using personal skills. The problem is, these people who can't grasp DDO isn't to blame, it's not their fault and they'll likely never understand the concept of high dynamics in an RPG.
DDO is the thinking persons game. If you like Chess you're likely to enjoy the dynamics strategies you'll experiance in this game. Otherwise, checkers, or WoW, is probally more your thing.
DDO offers a very small world and very few options, it really offers less than most MMOS, but what it offers is very high quality for sure.
I played DDO for a year and a half and when i left had beaten everything the devs had put out and I found the game to be more thought invoking than most but not nearly as hard as you claim. As a matter of fact when people did use tactics the devs usually nerfed it and called it an exploit because they wanted things to be done in a certain way.
It is not too advanced for the main stream market, it is too small and too rigid to have widespread appeal. It does not offer the vast array of out of combat things to do to keep millions of players happy and involved. The world itself is too tiny so the the explorer type players left quick, there was no crafting for way too long so those players either never started or left, people who are not big on playing alts hit the cap saw how slow the devs created new content and expanded the level cap way too slowly and they left too.
I rarely hear people saying they left because DDO was too hard for them, they left because DDO failed to deliver content as fast as needed.
My 6 year old nephew was playing and killing stuff the other day, so much for hard to grasp.
Originally posted by Rokurgepta DDO offers a very small world and very few options, it really offers less than most MMOS, but what it offers is very high quality for sure.
I played DDO for a year and a half and when i left had beaten everything the devs had put out and I found the game to be more thought invoking than most but not nearly as hard as you claim. As a matter of fact when people did use tactics the devs usually nerfed it and called it an exploit because they wanted things to be done in a certain way. It is not too advanced for the main stream market, it is too small and too rigid to have widespread appeal. It does not offer the vast array of out of combat things to do to keep millions of players happy and involved. The world itself is too tiny so the the explorer type players left quick, there was no crafting for way too long so those players either never started or left, people who are not big on playing alts hit the cap saw how slow the devs created new content and expanded the level cap way too slowly and they left too. I rarely hear people saying they left because DDO was too hard for them, they left because DDO failed to deliver content as fast as needed. My 6 year old nephew was playing and killing stuff the other day, so much for hard to grasp.
I agree that the public zones are small, but if you gauge the size of the world to include the actual content it's not nearly as small as it appears. The nerf's mentioned are due to actual exploits that players repurpose as a "tactic"; ie, purposely summoning mobs with intent to break AI. The players are always gonig to outthink the QA personel when it comes to locating ways to work around the core design of a game's content and Turbine has to act accordingly to ensure the game is being played through the content rather then by exploiting bugs to advance.
I'm positive everyone would agree that DDO suffered from poor design at its launch. It was not a good game to play during the first year and the current content is something that should have been present from the start. I am one of those who does not play Alts and quit after the first month the game launched. Retruning a little over a year later I found the game to be fresh with content that has kept me more interested and engaged then anything else I've played. Besides this, it's still nice to take a month absence every other month or so - as I do with any game.
It's easy enough on the surface for a kid to play and feel rewarded while having the statistical dynamics to challenge those seeking end game mechanics. While I bet the 8 year old nephew had a blast kick Kobold Ass it's reasonable to assume they had no understanding of the dynamics needed to build a character for mid-to-high level content.
As mentioned in an earlier post, the game's greatest weakness is public outdoor areas without contested mobs. If Turbine were to implement a system similar to Warhammer's "Public Quests" it would not only fill this gap nicely but would also round out the game. Currently this is one area that DDO suffers the most.
I have played for 2 years now and the improvements have been wonderful. Is it a small world,...yes and no. Travelling does not exist in Eberron except for a few occasions. Instead of walking forever, Stormreach utilizes teleport gates, airships, waterships, and caravans to get you where you need to go without travelling time. As for exploring areas, there are now Korthos Island (med), Cerrullean Hills (med), Tangleroot (med), Three Barrel Cove (lg), Searing Heights (med), Sorrowdusk (med), Mene. Desert (lg), Gianthold Ruins (lg), Orchard of the Macabre (lg), The Vale of Twilight (lg), The Subterrannae (sm), and 4 new small areas in Reaver's Refuge. There are also some outdoor areas attached to quests that you will need to traverse but they are small. As for quests, most are walk-up and I have yet to do all of them. Though I have done most.
The real beauty of this game is character customization imho. Creating the build that will have all the right saves, weapon prof, armor, spells, gear, and stats that fit my play style and can contribute significantly in a party for as many quests as possible. Because every class and every build has talents, not every build is going to be as useful as another at any given time. Is this unbalanced? Yes, as it should be. Why bring a knife to a gun battle when you have a sorc who can instakill both of you?
However, building the right toon and then team up with others to do a quest. The most fun are the least ideal for the quest and coming up with a strategy to beat it. It can be amazing to see what everyone comes up with for options.
Comments
I couldnt disagree more...
I have been playing DDO for two years... Yes I play other MMO's but my heart is and probably always wil be in stormreach. I dont believe this game is "Powergamer Central" of course there are some players like this, but I am positive the same can be found in any MMORPG, and in fact remember reading an article about some crazy power gamer in wow who played continuously to reach the highest lvl possible... to the detriment of his health.
You talk about longevity as if every other game has longevity and it is mutually exclusive to all games but ddo... this is incorrect.
NO GAME can cope with the level of demand that is bound to be put upon it by an ever evolving player base... it is human nature to want more more more, more quests, better graphics, more enthralling environments.. no development team in the world can keep up with the myriad of wants.
You play stormreach to the 16 cap it is currently at, you have completed all the quests upto elite dificulty and have all the best items/loot etc. Your character is a gargantuan amongst toons. You are basically unwilling to roll another toon to take that one through the lvls, and now need to wait until the new mod / level cap raises to 20.
how does this differ from other games.. it doesnt, people who play these games all rush to hit cap in whatever game they are playing, then have to wait for new content... longevity only really exists as a concept.. yes you may say requiem or WOW have longevity, but walking round killing spiders and desert goblins is hardly a advertisement for enthralling gameplay.. running from one end of the map to the other to deliver a note which will then mean you have to run all the way back to the start to gain 3.6% xp and a miniscule amount of loot is hardly inspiring.
DDO as a game is a constantly improving entity... if the european advertisement was better and if it was more readily available in the shops then we would probably be more popular.
DDo is a great game, and I would suggest playing for a month until you decide either way whether the game is for you.. and hell, if its not, it doesnt matter.. everyone is unique and desires different things out of their entertainment.
Perhaps I did not make myself clear. I mostly enjoyed my time in DDO, levelling up a wizard to the level cap, taking a fighter to level 10, a cleric to level 11 and a rogue to level 8. However, my enjoyment did depend on me insisting on a "no rushing" playstyle from the other members of the party I was in. If the other members of the party acted otherwise, as is common and an expected way of playing this game, I would find myself lagging behind, basically in a foot race with them to complete the adventure. I understand why "rushing" (a term that I was taught in this game and I'm no stranger to MMOs) is an acceptable way of playing, but in this MMO in particular it just murdered it for me. People rush through the adventures because they have completed them many, many times before. Rogues have no need to look for traps as parties, en masse, run upto the traps and tell the rogues to "hurry up and disarm ffs". Unless, of course, they are tanks with large HPs and the dungeons are set to a lower diffculty, in which case they plough through them expecting heals or consuming vast quantities of heal pots. Wizards and sorcerors are "haste bots", there to cast the spell haste which helps speed the whole tortuous affair of playing in a group with someone up. Add rushing to the twinking, which is rampant, and you get situations in adventures which are totally against the vision that this MMO portrays, ie a version of the table-top game online. Parties are made to complete the adventures in the smallest amount of time as possible with next to zero consideration to group play. This is what I mean by powergaming. Seeing as this style of playing is the norm in this game, I think "Powergamer Central" is a fair assessment of it.
With regard to the longevity of the game. Yes, you are correct in that any MMO will have longevity problems, which are addressed in various ways by different MMOs. DDO's way of addressing this problem is by the introduction of a very limited crafting system which requires you to grind raids to complete. Also, to unlock 2 options in character creation and other benefits in game, DDO has "favour points"; you get favour by completing adventures - the harder the adventure the more favour you receive. To unlock the harder level of advetures per toon, you must complete the adventure on the easier settings. This encourages you to seek to complete adventures many times and if you make more than one toon, well you can see where I'm going here. Also, the much vaunted character creation, with its large amount of character customisation, is another way in which players find more longevity in this game. However, this compounds the need to grind out the adventures which encourages "rushing". So, when I compare DDO's solutions I find the on par with most other MMOs and I'm left with the actual gameplay to keep me paying for the game and as I outline earlier, I find this lacking and hence the longevity, for me, is reduced.
The most fun I had in this game was in my last couple of weeks in this game when I made a permadeath paladin, a character I would delete if he died and so forcing some interesting ingame choices on the play. However, making this character did finally convince me to give up playing even though it was the most fun to play. It convinced me to cancel my subscription because the biggest factor governing the character's chances of survival in the adventure was whether the party it was in was a powergaming party or not and I spent the vast majority of my time on this toon looking for a group that valued group play.
Now dont get me wrong. I think this game is a groundbreaker with regard to the mechanics of combat and so well worth a look by all PC gamers. This game is, in my opinion, is years ahead of other MMOs even the ones released this year and in the foreseeable future when you consider how combat is handled. I do, however, stand by my claim that this game is "Powergamer Central" and of reduced longterm appeal.
Now I understand your definition of Powergamer... then i will admit that there is a lot of that in DDO, and the majority of groups are as you say obsessed with completing quests as quick as possible in there desire to get to the higher lvl quests, or just because they have ran them a million times before. i feel a little sad in retrospect that you hadnt quested with me and my closest friends in stormreach because we as a guild, as a whole enjoy questing at a slower pace and with more regard for the more "Questing is fun, lets enjoy the quest" type of player.
Yes I have capped loads of toons over the time i have been playing, but I still like to "Play" a new toon and when I do I try and play as if I havent done it a million times before.
As for twinking (sending stuff from your highbie to your lowbies) our guild have groups setup on monday, wednesday, and friday which are semi rigid in there rules.. the only class allowed to send stuff to there lowbies are for the clerics in the groups. and usually this is limited to 10,000gp which equates to 20 cure light wands, or 10 cure mod wands.. just to give him a little start.
Twinking isnt a major problem at high lvl, as the uber crafted weapons from the shroud are bound to the character that created them, it only becomes a problem at low lvl or in a rush group or as i like to call it.. the "Non Stop Quest Express" who are 2nd lvl and fully armed with +1 ele weps of pure good Race restricted.. and everytime a kobold or low lvl creature looks at the weapon they just fall over on the spot.. eg: +1 Acid Dwarf Axe of Pure Good RR:Dwarf RL:2 (1d6 Acid Damage + 1d10 Physical damage + 1d6 good damage = Non Critical Max Damage = 22HPS, Critical Max Damage = 66HPS all to a Kobold that has at most 8hps on the normal 24hps on hard and 32 - 56hp's on elite.. so in that respect you can find over powered players who like to rush.. and I am not saying there arnt a lot of them.. but there are groups out there like mine that like to take there time and play for fun..
Not sure if you were referring to EU or US servers btw..
I spent my time on Keeper, an EU server.
I think one of the main reasons I quit is because it just didn't live up to my expectations. It was pretty much a REALLY watered down version of what PnP D&D is and the instancing drove me nuts after a while. You don't get the feeling that Stormreach is really that "big" of a city but rather 6-8 smaller cities all connected together by "tunnels" that you have to go through (i.e. load the instance) just to get to.
Did that make sense?
Anyway, good game as an appetizer or secondary MMO, but not enough content to keep me interested past 2-3 months.
You are right, the combat is EXCELLENT, however, in most situations, the mobs are way underpowered making the challenge pretty much 0 if you are playing with vets or moderate gamers.
On the other end of the spectrum, if you're all noobs and no one knows whats going on, it's extremely frustrating to try to get through some of the dungeons.
In short, too many instances, not enough content for my tastes.
I don't understand why people dislike this game so much. I actually love it...it was my warm cuddly bed when WoW lots its taste.
I'll tell you why I don't like the game. I can't say and won't pretend like my opinion is everyone elses though. As a long time D&D dungeon master, I feel like I'm paying $15/monthly for a slightly advanced guild wars. Slightly advanced, because I can jump, and use the 3.5 ruleset. Everything's instanced. There's no feeling of freedom, as they broadcasted during the alpha stages of development. And since everything's instanced, I found it hard to meet up with new players. The original team was sent over to LoTRO DURING development, which greatly inhibited the workflow. They promised no PvP, then got caught on an alpha testers vid from one of their booth presentations saying that PvP would be happening later.
There are some neat things in DDO, like free updates. No item mall crap, etc. But it's still not worth that $15 a month to me. I play GW. I think it's worth the $40 I paid for it, since I can play whenever I want to. I don't think it would be worth $15/monthly. When we were testing, a guy kept crying about how it should be free, and I shrugged it off, till I realized what he meant. It's the same feel as a higher quality F2P game.
HI all when I first heard of this game I was so much looking forward to it I liked the art style also but When i actually started to play.
I Just didn't like the feel of the city at all like many have said the game feels to confined very small world, at least in the begging and why in the hell did they pick the Eberron setting I have no freaking clue out of all the d&d settings! hopfully one day we will get a really awseome d&d mmo in a better setting.
Eberron was chosen as it was D&D's "Official New Campaign Setting" back then. It was inspired from a user made world, that won a WoTC competition.
I wish they had went through Bioware, or even Bethesda Softworks/Zenimax. D&D is king of the pen and paper world. DDO could have been king of the normal fantasy mmos (not a wow killer, but far more subs than VG, and EQ2).
this game is made in groups. look for good guild. my friends and i created a guild where we know who the people are, personally. it made us create an awesome guild that already went to the top.
Watch World Cup Finals Free Online Streaming
YEs i hav eto agree with most post in this thread. Except for the soloabilty of the game, when DDO was released it was released without the intentions of it being a soloable game. Turbine got enough complaints about it that they intergrated it into the game at a slow pace. The game itself was designed to be a group game, not single player. Powergamers in DDO of course which mmo doesnt have them in their game? Some of those powerlevlers cant be a bit arrogant and jerks. So what, didnt like them in your group? make a dont group with list and add them to to it.
Content is abit scarce for endgame play. I think Turbine needs to add a couple of different citys you can travel to and have adventures on the way and quests in the new citys.
Are thngs unbalanced in ddo? Yes somethings are. Again show me one mmo out there that doesnt have balance issues.
So if your looking for a mmo that is completely soloable DDO isnt going to be for you. Try WAR that is a very solo friendly game.
DDO's combat is the best out there to date. No more click abilty attack and wait then click againand wait.
Another thing that is overlooked in DDO is the in game voice chat. I see wow tried it but i didnt think it was no where near as good as DDO's. Most mmo's you need vent or that other voice chat hmm cant thik f the name now.
P.S.
Please remember that DDO is niche game all to its own.
Its simple, I've played lots of mmo and for me this is the best combat system. (better than age of Conan which also tried something diff) What people don't like is that there isn't any really open PVP. If you can live in a pure PVE world with a little more thinking before you rush into combat than you'll love this. D&D has always been about character builds with endless possiblities and they did just that!
It's kinda like a really hot chick with no other redeeming qualities. Ever dated one of those?
DDO has a solid combat system, but there is so much fail in the game it's really really hard to get excited about one tiny bright spot.
Combat, excellent quests (what most MMOs call quests are a joke), complex character builds, no real PvP (that is a massive positive to me because I find PvP the most mindless content possible), no huge boring open areas (again I find these tedious) and a great community.
Probably why I haven't managed to play any other MMO for any length of time since without finding them heavily lacking, but other peoples mileage can clearly vary.
Combat, excellent quests (what most MMOs call quests are a joke), complex character builds, no real PvP (that is a massive positive to me because I find PvP the most mindless content possible), no huge boring open areas (again I find these tedious) and a great community.
Probably why I haven't managed to play any other MMO for any length of time since without finding them heavily lacking, but other peoples mileage can clearly vary.
So the game is better because it lacks content that is optional in the first place but enjoyable for many people? Riiiight.
Combat, excellent quests (what most MMOs call quests are a joke), complex character builds, no real PvP (that is a massive positive to me because I find PvP the most mindless content possible), no huge boring open areas (again I find these tedious) and a great community.
Probably why I haven't managed to play any other MMO for any length of time since without finding them heavily lacking, but other peoples mileage can clearly vary.
So the game is better because it lacks content that is optional in the first place but enjoyable for many people? Riiiight.
For me yes, it is nice to have a MMO that has the balance I want. No other MMO meets my needs, but I doubt they are going to change them to suit me, so I find it difficult to get too upset that DDO doesn't meet yours, or any real reason to change it to do so.
People are different and want different things, there is no right and wrong, is that so hard to understand?
Care to elborate or just talking out of your rear?
DDO has more to offer then any MMO on the market. "The" downside with DDO is there's quite a few (ie, millions) who think spamming a single attack and button mashing once someone pulls a single mob is the only way to play a game. What I'm saying here is:
DDO is too advanced for the main stream market. It requires players to use their brains and think of new strategies while working together as a team by using personal skills. The problem is, these people who can't grasp DDO isn't to blame, it's not their fault and they'll likely never understand the concept of high dynamics in an RPG.
DDO is the thinking persons game. If you like Chess you're likely to enjoy the dynamics strategies you'll experiance in this game. Otherwise, checkers, or WoW, is probally more your thing.
Care to elborate or just talking out of your rear?
DDO has more to offer then any MMO on the market. "The" downside with DDO is there's quite a few (ie, millions) who think spamming a single attack and button mashing once someone pulls a single mob is the only way to play a game. What I'm saying here is:
DDO is too advanced for the main stream market. It requires players to use their brains and think of new strategies while working together as a team by using personal skills. The problem is, these people who can't grasp DDO isn't to blame, it's not their fault and they'll likely never understand the concept of high dynamics in an RPG.
DDO is the thinking persons game. If you like Chess you're likely to enjoy the dynamics strategies you'll experiance in this game. Otherwise, checkers, or WoW, is probally more your thing.
Elaborating on the failures is pretty easy
1) Content fails
1a) Content fails because each release is so small the content is new for no more than a few days for most players. It also comes very slowly - usually months after it is scheduled to be released.
1b) Content fails because the quality of each release is so low. The game abounds with bugs, often making instances (raids especially) unplayable. Sometimes for MONTHS at a time.
2) Turbine customer relations/game support fails. In game GMs are useless. Dealing with customer service (or god forbid trying to have a discourse with developers on the forums) is a horrifying experience. Try this game and see if you dont believe me (and btw it is obvious they have different teams for different games, so don't think the kind people dealing with you in LOTRO will be there for DDO).
3) Game mechanics fail
3a) Itemiztion is the worst I've ever seen in any MMO. Many of the best items in the game are 100% random drops. The good loot that comes from raids has a ridiculously low chance of actually dropping for your character - an unashamed attempt by the devs to extend the longevity of the sparse content.
3b) Drastic rebalancing of classes/feats/etc frequently takes place, frequently making obsolete specific skills around with people build characters. As a result (and because of the above mentioned poor itemization scheme) players can put months or years into a character to have a sudden nerf of key abilities that makes them no longer desirable in groups.
4) The game fails because it lacks. It lacks a good mail system. It lacks a good auction house. It lacks a good guild interface. It lacks solo content for players who don't always have time to wait for a group. It lacks developed PvP for people who enjoy that.
This game has instances that you need to group with 4-6 other people to play through. People aren't interested in doing the particular instance you want to do, or you can't find level appropriate people to join you? Tough luck. You now get to stand in a tavern for hours scanning the social panel.
___________________________________
To address the notion that this is somehow the "thinking persons" MMO (or however mindspat tried to frame it), nothing could be further from the truth. This is the ONLY MMO I've ever played where strategy to overcome any given challenge was an afterthought. You can be a caster with low AC/HP and run through mobs in elite dungeons without dying. Or you can be a fighter and just run up to a bunch of them and pwn their faces. Heck you can be anything and do pretty much anything effectively. Sounds almost enticing till you realize this is only because the content is so dumbed down it is all trivial.
Comparing it to WoW is a joke. People spent months developing strategies to overcome raid challenges in that game. Many skilled players still havent seen the "end game" in wow because doing so requires organization and discipline orders of magnitude greater than anything required to play DDO. Basically every person who has played DDO for a month or two has every raid in the game on farm. Most "hard-core" players beat the new raids within days (or in some cases hours) of when they hit live servers.
Comparing DDO to chess only makes sense if you go to the local special needs home to play your games of chess. Street Fighter on the old Arcade machines was hands down more complex and challenging than DDO. "The thinking persons MMO," lol.
I think DDO would have been more popular than it is if:
It was based in Forgotten Realms (I understand why they didn't go that route)
It wasn't restricted to Stormreach. (Waterdeep may have been a better place because right underneth WD is the Underdark and being able to explore the land around the city would have been a plus also)
I liked DDO when i did play, but it's one city and it's not Forgotten Realms.
D&D Home Page - What Class Are You? - Build A Character - D&D Compendium
Why should this game or any game have more or less subs than it currently has? Water seeks it's own level and I think that is somewhat true with these types of games.
Being a big o' geek myself, I can give the reasons I do not play it. I have, several times in the past, I always check out the new updates when they have the free weekend or week.
1) It is pretty obvous that the designers are not role players. They should have played up the fact that it is D&D. Rather than go "Oh this is broken we know what we are doing, and the game designers who wrote it do not, so lets fix it" This is a common problem when table top rpgs gets ported to the computer.
2) They have no idea what is cool about the setting. Eberron is a awesome setting, It is more dynamic than any of the other ones that TSR or WotC has ever put out. It was made to make sense. There is a reason for all the odd monsters. They are in the aftermath of a WWII with magic. And now everyone is in a cold war type setting.
3) It is not a complete game, even now after all this time. Half the races are missing, many of the core classes are missing. More importantly, There is only one of the new races that as added in Eberron in the game currently. The Warforged. Which are cool, but the least impressive of the bunch that were added. Lets not get into the fact that they are missing the Classes that were added in Eberron as well.
4) They set in on the wrong Island. Xendrick is actually a cool place. But without the history and motivations that come from being involved in one of the other great kingdoms, it is sort of pointless. Xendrick is the place of dungeons, and odd adventures. But the whys of it are missing.
5) Eberron is a place of EPIC adventure. Where things much bigger than you are at work. There is so much going on in the world that one party could never take care of it. But this is missing from the game.
6) Level cap is way to low. D&D is a 40 level game basicly. DDO does not even offer to 20 yet ( I do not think, been a bit sinse the last time I checked)
7) Item creation is core to the setting. Yet players can not make their own magic items. You are stuck with random loot drops. Which is a part of D&D but not the main away characters over level 5 get magic items in Ebberon.
In the end, They failed to click with the fans of the setting. Who if it had been done right would have been rabbid and vocal about how cool it was and bring friends. Failed to offer a full game, it is still basicaly in a extended beta. Thought they knew better than professional rpg developers. Who do this for a living, and actually play RPGs.
The only thing it has going for it is the style of play, which I admit I like. I just keep hoping they will finish the base game and include what should be there. I will keep checking back in hopes that it will one day be a game worth playing.
--Aspirant
There is no Absolute Truth or Absolute Reality. That Truth is whatever the majority on hand want it to be. Real Truth is egalitarian and democratic and not at all compelled to correspond to the world in any useful way. Truth has no respect for Right, What's Best, or Needs Must. Real Truth is a dangerous beast in need of caging in even the quietest of times.
Ask any prince or priest.
Real Truth was the First Traitor.
-- Glen Cook
Well Mod 9 should introduce level 20 I guess in January or so.
Has it been a long time since you played? Because Green steel crafted items have been in for a while now and they are by far the most powerful items in the game so your #7 is basically wrong. Not that I like GS items, they involve tons of farming. But for the sake of correctness etc etc
Anyway I do not like Eberron all that much as a setting and I think Planescape fits the mechancis of the game far better and is just much cooler anyway. The infinite doors and factions are like a perfect fit for DDO's setup.
Combat, excellent quests (what most MMOs call quests are a joke), complex character builds, no real PvP (that is a massive positive to me because I find PvP the most mindless content possible), no huge boring open areas (again I find these tedious) and a great community.
Probably why I haven't managed to play any other MMO for any length of time since without finding them heavily lacking, but other peoples mileage can clearly vary.
DDO definately has great combat, probably the best of any MMO. The quests are the game and those are done amazingly well. I agree on PVP unless the game is truly designed for it(Planetside) it usually is not as great as some seem to think. People tend to act like the AI anyway.
I disagree on the open areas. They do not have to be boring at all. Many games with wide open areas have a lot of good things in those areas. DDO could have done both. Instances and wide open areas with contested MOBS and made it exciting.
Yes most other MMOS have poorer quest system, but those games all have other ways to level, DDO has one way really, completion of quests.
DDO does the things it does very very well and if you started playing today you might have a year or so of good things to do. If you are looking for a more open ended game with a huge world to explore and the option of grouping or going it alone look elsewhere.
Care to elborate or just talking out of your rear?
DDO has more to offer then any MMO on the market. "The" downside with DDO is there's quite a few (ie, millions) who think spamming a single attack and button mashing once someone pulls a single mob is the only way to play a game. What I'm saying here is:
DDO is too advanced for the main stream market. It requires players to use their brains and think of new strategies while working together as a team by using personal skills. The problem is, these people who can't grasp DDO isn't to blame, it's not their fault and they'll likely never understand the concept of high dynamics in an RPG.
DDO is the thinking persons game. If you like Chess you're likely to enjoy the dynamics strategies you'll experiance in this game. Otherwise, checkers, or WoW, is probally more your thing.
DDO offers a very small world and very few options, it really offers less than most MMOS, but what it offers is very high quality for sure.
I played DDO for a year and a half and when i left had beaten everything the devs had put out and I found the game to be more thought invoking than most but not nearly as hard as you claim. As a matter of fact when people did use tactics the devs usually nerfed it and called it an exploit because they wanted things to be done in a certain way.
It is not too advanced for the main stream market, it is too small and too rigid to have widespread appeal. It does not offer the vast array of out of combat things to do to keep millions of players happy and involved. The world itself is too tiny so the the explorer type players left quick, there was no crafting for way too long so those players either never started or left, people who are not big on playing alts hit the cap saw how slow the devs created new content and expanded the level cap way too slowly and they left too.
I rarely hear people saying they left because DDO was too hard for them, they left because DDO failed to deliver content as fast as needed.
My 6 year old nephew was playing and killing stuff the other day, so much for hard to grasp.
I agree that the public zones are small, but if you gauge the size of the world to include the actual content it's not nearly as small as it appears. The nerf's mentioned are due to actual exploits that players repurpose as a "tactic"; ie, purposely summoning mobs with intent to break AI. The players are always gonig to outthink the QA personel when it comes to locating ways to work around the core design of a game's content and Turbine has to act accordingly to ensure the game is being played through the content rather then by exploiting bugs to advance.
I'm positive everyone would agree that DDO suffered from poor design at its launch. It was not a good game to play during the first year and the current content is something that should have been present from the start. I am one of those who does not play Alts and quit after the first month the game launched. Retruning a little over a year later I found the game to be fresh with content that has kept me more interested and engaged then anything else I've played. Besides this, it's still nice to take a month absence every other month or so - as I do with any game.
It's easy enough on the surface for a kid to play and feel rewarded while having the statistical dynamics to challenge those seeking end game mechanics. While I bet the 8 year old nephew had a blast kick Kobold Ass it's reasonable to assume they had no understanding of the dynamics needed to build a character for mid-to-high level content.
As mentioned in an earlier post, the game's greatest weakness is public outdoor areas without contested mobs. If Turbine were to implement a system similar to Warhammer's "Public Quests" it would not only fill this gap nicely but would also round out the game. Currently this is one area that DDO suffers the most.
I have played for 2 years now and the improvements have been wonderful. Is it a small world,...yes and no. Travelling does not exist in Eberron except for a few occasions. Instead of walking forever, Stormreach utilizes teleport gates, airships, waterships, and caravans to get you where you need to go without travelling time. As for exploring areas, there are now Korthos Island (med), Cerrullean Hills (med), Tangleroot (med), Three Barrel Cove (lg), Searing Heights (med), Sorrowdusk (med), Mene. Desert (lg), Gianthold Ruins (lg), Orchard of the Macabre (lg), The Vale of Twilight (lg), The Subterrannae (sm), and 4 new small areas in Reaver's Refuge. There are also some outdoor areas attached to quests that you will need to traverse but they are small. As for quests, most are walk-up and I have yet to do all of them. Though I have done most.
The real beauty of this game is character customization imho. Creating the build that will have all the right saves, weapon prof, armor, spells, gear, and stats that fit my play style and can contribute significantly in a party for as many quests as possible. Because every class and every build has talents, not every build is going to be as useful as another at any given time. Is this unbalanced? Yes, as it should be. Why bring a knife to a gun battle when you have a sorc who can instakill both of you?
However, building the right toon and then team up with others to do a quest. The most fun are the least ideal for the quest and coming up with a strategy to beat it. It can be amazing to see what everyone comes up with for options.