I was thinking the same way Kevingaily, treating it like a life time sub. But i'm the type that plays a game a few months and come back. So it would be much longer to see a return in investment.
Great Dibdabs, and congrats !! I was level 3 and did most of the quest. I may have received it, AND DELETED IT AS JUNK, I'm not sure. So keep your eye on any junk you get from long instances. In what people say it's easy to delete important stuff. I had 100 points, and bought it when it was on sale for 50 points, to be safe.
I don't think you can accidently delete it. as far as i can see, the item was automatically used whenever i got it as a quest reward on both my characters and disappeared from my inventory. Also the item is not really that hard to get, all of the friends i've made in the game so far have managed to get one before reaching the rank cap on lvl 4 so my advice is to just wait until ur level 4 and only buy it with your turbine points if you havent somehow managed to get one by then.
ya this f2p model is close to gw model without the initial cost .ddo might be on to something here without knowing it!
at least for me it make lot more sense the aion p2p model
Sorry, but this is nothing at all like GW.
In the GW store you can buy things like new characters slots, unlocks for things for PVP-only characters, name changes, and appearance changes.
In the DDO story you can buy things like the ability to level higher, the ability to go to certain places, and the ability to create characters of certain races and classes.
They are not at all alike in any way.
The way Turbine is doing this is just one more in a very long line of examples of their poor business sense. They have so many great ideas, but they always have such horrible implementation, marketing, and design. I know I should no longer be surprised by how horrible these people are. Their store is worse than many asian grinders. While I am not surprised, and I more disappointed than ever.
Your post is just sad. This is the best type of item store I have ever seen in a F2P game period. Turbine are simply geniuses to have come up with this idea for an item store. And it is all inside the game not on some outside game website. Why on earth has not other F2P games thought of this kind of model for thier stores. This has totally redefined the way I had always thought of all those crappy shit infested Asian terd games forever. Nuff said! Sheesh!
I think Turbine have managed the impossible - they have come up with a microtransaction system that I like. I never ever thought I'd say that, not in a million years...
I'm playing as a froob (Anarchy Online term for a freebie noob) and I have already managed to unlock some content and also had a Copper Sigil drop that will open up a bit more content. This makes for a bigger sense of achievement than I've felt in any of the MMOs I currently play, and my goal now is to unlock the shared bank feature. That way, I can keep those features I've unlocked if I decide to go with Aion and subscribe to that instead.
Turbine are extremely up front about the DDO store and how it works, and the store is laid out in a very clear fashion indeed. There is just no chance of misunderstanding or confusion or even the mildest of deception on Turbine's part. It would be hypocritical to play the game, what with all the facts laid out so clearly, and then whine because you don't like it.
Wow I was about to try this but after reading this it sounds like quite possibly the worse balance Iv ever seen from a free 2 play game. Instead of selling cosmetics, exp bonus items, Mounts, drop rate+ items or Upgrade components for weapons these guy just skip all the BS and sell you game content. In a way I can see how that is good. Permanent content, its like paying for mini expansions which is really not to bad. Then again...Looking at it from the free 2 play prespective there is nothing worse a free 2 play game can do than restrict actual large sums of content until you pay. For that alone I would say this game should not be called a free 2 play game but more along the lines of permanent free trial.
It's really to bad I wanted to try this game out but I do not want to feel like I HAVE to spend money. The way that the CS is described it seems like players have no choice but to Feel like they have to spend money. Il stick with Atlantica until this cash shop gets more realistic. At least there I have reached 98/120 for free.
Wow I was about to try this but after reading this it sounds like quite possibly the worse balance Iv ever seen from a free 2 play game. Instead of selling cosmetics, exp bonus items, Mounts, drop rate+ items or Upgrade components for weapons these guy just skip all the BS and sell you game content. In a way I can see how that is good. Permanent content, its like paying for mini expansions which is really not to bad. Then again...Looking at it from the free 2 play prespective there is nothing worse a free 2 play game can do than restrict actual large sums of content until you pay. For that alone I would say this game should not be called a free 2 play game but more along the lines of permanent free trial. It's really to bad I wanted to try this game out but I do not want to feel like I HAVE to spend money. The way that the CS is described it seems like players have no choice but to Feel like they have to spend money. Il stick with Atlantica until this cash shop gets more realistic. At least there I have reached 98/120 for free.
Having played both DDO and Atlantica I can tell you in my opinion there is a very good reason Atlantica is free.
What essential varies from people to people some will be happy with some adventure packs other need all the content
What I''ve done is get some extra slots and classes/races, and the last thing I will be getting is the Shared Bank slot. Then if I eventually subscribe, but then decide to go back to F2P at some point, I will have what I consider to be my essentials permanently.
As for Atlantica, I thought that was one of the shallowest games I've ever tried. Probably not the worst, but I deleted the game within a couple of days and never went back to it.
What essential varies from people to people some will be happy with some adventure packs other need all the content
What I''ve done is get some extra slots and classes/races, and the last thing I will be getting is the Shared Bank slot. Then if I eventually subscribe, but then decide to go back to F2P at some point, I will have what I consider to be my essentials permanently.
As for Atlantica, I thought that was one of the shallowest games I've ever tried. Probably not the worst, but I deleted the game within a couple of days and never went back to it.
Kinda funny how taste can differ from person to person when I first tried this game back in 04 I played it 2 days and quit. It felt like an offline game with lobby- mission - lobby- mission style game play. Hopefully they added some kind of open world by now.
ok i have to post this about the sigils of leveling,
i have a small corp (guild) in eve online and we decided to join DDO for our bipedal fix and to also have something different to do. so we use it as our relax game when no serious in eve. we are all old school D&D pen/paper players and that is how we are playing that game. we usually play together when eve is slow, or when we all agree, hey lets run a dungeon.
that said
we are 6 playing DDO and every one of those 6 characters (some have 2) so i would say 8-10 characters ALL GOT the 4-8 sigil at a random quest at about 1/4-1/2 way to lvl 4. EVERY SINGLE CHARACTER got it as a reward from a random quest, (the pattern is hard or elite mode mostly, i got both of mine doing elite quests in the harbor, friend got both of his in hard mode in the marketplace)
its a great game for a second MMO, and hell we are thinking of getting an adventure pack together. and expensive? with points you get in game and 6,25$ you can get a few adventure, that contains 8 dungeons (each in 3 modes).
this is not your normal MMO, the point of WoW or Aion or anyother main stream MMO is to lvl up. the point of D&D is to play.
and cmon! when you play D&D pen and paper you go and pay for a new adventure book with soem dungeons in it?! why would it be different? for the online version?
seriously guys, the old school D&D players will understand how this game is PLAYED, the new school 13 year olds who play WoW and LOTRO or any other MMO out there. this is a different gameplay. this is a game that you play to do the dungeons, not to get xp and gear.
i payed 20 bucks, got 5 mods and with the rest of the money i got leveling sigils for my two mains up to lvl 8. The thing that i'm seeing is that Turbine is throwing out deals every weekend, usually for adventure packs and leveling sigils. So if you don't find the sigils, you can find them dirt cheap during the sales. So just look out for the deals when if you want to pay money for points.
ok i have to post this about the sigils of leveling, i have a small corp (guild) in eve online and we decided to join DDO for our bipedal fix and to also have something different to do. so we use it as our relax game when no serious in eve. we are all old school D&D pen/paper players and that is how we are playing that game. we usually play together when eve is slow, or when we all agree, hey lets run a dungeon. that said we are 6 playing DDO and every one of those 6 characters (some have 2) so i would say 8-10 characters ALL GOT the 4-8 sigil at a random quest at about 1/4-1/2 way to lvl 4. EVERY SINGLE CHARACTER got it as a reward from a random quest, (the pattern is hard or elite mode mostly, i got both of mine doing elite quests in the harbor, friend got both of his in hard mode in the marketplace) its a great game for a second MMO, and hell we are thinking of getting an adventure pack together. and expensive? with points you get in game and 6,25$ you can get a few adventure, that contains 8 dungeons (each in 3 modes). this is not your normal MMO, the point of WoW or Aion or anyother main stream MMO is to lvl up. the point of D&D is to play. and cmon! when you play D&D pen and paper you go and pay for a new adventure book with soem dungeons in it?! why would it be different? for the online version? seriously guys, the old school D&D players will understand how this game is PLAYED, the new school 13 year olds who play WoW and LOTRO or any other MMO out there. this is a different gameplay. this is a game that you play to do the dungeons, not to get xp and gear.
Totally agree. I have levelled 6 characters to around 7/8 and everyone of them found a sigil before they hit a wall.
A small correction: any appropriate level quest with random rewards can offer a sigil. Difficulty does not affect quest rewards, only in-dungeon loot.
So far, just by playing the game, I have earned enough points to buy a few adventure packs. And by playing those, I can earn even more. In theory, you could grind all the points you want and never have to spend a dime for content.
However, I am enjoying the game so much I bought some points to add to what I'd earned and bought several packs, and still have a lot of points left to spend.
This game has had many QoL improvements since launch and I'm having a blast playing it.
Still level 3, was unable to play the last few days. How many got the "free level 5 sigil " yet, and is it only for level 5 or 5-8, ? And if it's only for level 5 how hard is 6 to get ?
I got the Copper Sigil (lvl 4 to 8) from a Stormreach quest about stopping a kobold invasion. The quest is to kill 200 kobolds and its troglodyte boss. Can be done solo, may be hard but use your head and you will manage.
A friend of mine got to level 9 without paying a dime, it took some time for him to find the 8-12 sigil, but now he's good to go for 4 more levels. Me, on the other hand, chose the vip option and I have to say that the content is far, far better. Bought it from lvl 4, I'm now 11 and I have to say that Gianthold and Sands of Menechturen are a blast to play.
After you get all the adventure packs, you don't have to pay for anything, unless you want to pay for the leveling sigils and pay for all the junk that you really don't need
In a sense we can all blame ourselves for this, that is allowing the industry to coin a term "F2P" when it's really "Transaction Based" in scope. The thing is we all know what "F2P" in a mmo stands for, so there is no reason to play stupid here and think that actually means "everything is free to everyone, forever". We all know this, the faster we stop kidding ourselves and try to make some type of point here that is isn't truly free, the sooner we start moving away from this stupid discussions about something we already know. The only person that should be learning anything here, is a complete noob on this subject and yest that can happen. So everyone complaining about "not true F2P"? You are all noobs to this?
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If you like it a lot, imo do yourself the favor an buy a month at a time so you don't have to sweat the small stuff about "what should I do and get?". If you're still wondering if you like it I can understand a little dabbling with the store at first or stay free for as long as you can as you figure it out. If you don't like it, but still play it and want it all for free, then your an internet whiner.
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If you can't afford it and are a kid, ask the parents what you can do for a few extra dollars, they'll be happy you asked. If you're an adult and can't afford it, you have bigger priorities.
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If you really like this game, it will give you way more back then the $15 your giving.
A friend of mine got to level 9 without paying a dime, it took some time for him to find the 8-12 sigil, but now he's good to go for 4 more levels. Me, on the other hand, chose the vip option and I have to say that the content is far, far better. Bought it from lvl 4, I'm now 11 and I have to say that Gianthold and Sands of Menechturen are a blast to play.
Yeah as much as we see threads, "but this one and that one, those are the best adventures to buy". It's very very nice to just have all the content. There is a lot and when I play my goal is to play it all at least once and that means through elite so that could equal 3 times. The content is the game and that is the way it should always be for any of these games. I've played many times when I couldn't get more XP to stay at a certain level for a longer time. IMO this is more what gaming should be, fun and not a race to something in our minds that really doesn't exist.
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I dream of LOTRO meets DDO some day. Wouldn't it be cool to have a wide open land, in the country you see a cave and it's as good as a killer DDO instance when you enter?. Do some country side killing and mining for that epic feel and community warmth. Come into town do your open mmo fare there, trade, craft, socialize etc, but also have several points in town that are like ddo quests. Like a warehouse that is under hostile control, gather a group and play a nicely thought out instance and not a generic mmo instance.
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It's like these two have to combine to finally make a complete mmo. I haven't played any instances that are as neat as DDO's. Traps and fighting model are the reasons why. DDO still has to figure out random traps though to slow zerging because everything is known, I always felt every update they should tweak every quest to place enemies at different places and different enemies in some places, move a trap here or there. To me you would think with an editor you can do something like that in short order, where not talking building reworking. That would slow some parties down and once again raise the cool factor as all the quests keep freshness over a long period of time, I would really be looking forward to every module, we get some brand new stuff but everything you do know, just changed to some degree, so running it for the 10th time has something to look forward to.
I think the primary fail of the OP in determining the cost of DDO is in the assumption that players will be playing every day.
My main MMOG is EvE, which I also play for free using PLEX, but I also like to play plenty of other games. I have a gaming rig, PS3, PSP, and NDS. I don't have much time for MMOGs, so I don't want to pay $15 a month for something if I only play one day per weekend.
Turbine has created an excellent FtP model for someone like me, and it is working. Subscriptions are up 40% and they doubled all internal expectations! Meanwhile, they got FtP gamers like myself spreading the word to friends, some of whom will most likely buy content. I hope other MMOGs adopt this model.
I think the primary fail of the OP in determining the cost of DDO is in the assumption that players will be playing every day. My main MMOG is EvE, which I also play for free using PLEX, but I also like to play plenty of other games. I have a gaming rig, PS3, PSP, and NDS. I don't have much time for MMOGs, so I don't want to pay $15 a month for something if I only play one day per weekend. Turbine has created an excellent FtP model for someone like me, and it is working. Subscriptions are up 40% and they doubled all internal expectations! Meanwhile, they got FtP gamers like myself spreading the word to friends, some of whom will most likely buy content. I hope other MMOGs adopt this model.
Yes Serpens_Sol,
Your right on my original post I assumed a lot, I'll give you that. Please understand the date on that post was at the start of the FTP. Given the information I had at the time. The information is still 100 % valid, BUT and I stress BUT, many variables had been added to the mix, such as your point as its not your main game, and turbine is giving free stuff such as segles, and package deals at lower cost, others are making the best out of finding things for free ( kind of like a mini game ).
In fact I must hand it to Turbine as their not as much monsters as I originally thought. In fact they are somewhat not bad with this FTP, as most games would be, given the history of many MMO's as of late.
I still stand by what I say that this Post is needed to assist others of what the FTP is all about for DDO !!
Me....Well I have to say that I'm off playing other MMO's because this time around I did not experience the fun I had back when I first played. It Just seemed that every dungeon was rushed by the experience players ,and the enjoyment and mystery was not their this time around. I have to add that I did not give it much chance as I only got to level 4 and stopped, and I could be just getting some mmo burnout. But the game is well built, and would suggest to others to give it a chance.
And yes, as previously suggested, they do have sales on sigils. Like right now, you can get them all for only 10 points each which is nothing.
Please don't let previous posts about frustrations of getting leveling sigils turn you away from this game. Those people are trying too hard and should just enjoy the game. Hell, you still get xp even tho you are past the time to level-up anyway.
It is quite easy to enjoy the game for free if you are a casual gamer which completely grabbed me again. I played it before when you had to pay for it, and it didn't feel like a game I should pay for like I was.
You do not have to have all the adventure packs to level all the way to 20. You do not have to have all the adventure packs to enjoy the game as well. Some adventures you can purchase are YAWN-FESTS.
I love the fact that I can choose when to pay for it. I happen to love to playing all kinds of alts, so I felt the need to purchase points for another class to get a premium account for 4 character slots instead of 2. That was the only time I paid real money. I also made multiple accounts which is always free with different emails. hehe >< I've been playing for about 2 months now and I feel like what I paid for was worth it, and I still keep coming back for more.
Just a few points that I think were missed in all of this.
1) in your options area check 'LOOT ALL' that way you won't have to worry about missing a loot item at the bottom of the list.
2) there is a very good F2P guide either here or on the DDO O-Boards. It shows just how you can maximize getting store points so you can buy follow on adventrue packs etc.... The guide does show that it's possible to play the game for free. Granted it's a long haul type thing but doable.
3) watch the DDO Store specials, I got my level 5 - 8 for 50/75? points on sale.
I don't plan on ever putting cash into the game. I did play back when it was P2p but it's such a casual game (1 or 2 play sessions a week) that I didn't see it being worth the monthly fee. Now with it being F2p I can pick it up when ever I want to. I think I last played a week and a half ago. Had a great time and who knows when I'll do another session, but since it's not costing me a dime who cares.
Will my play style keep me from grouping for some of the higher adventure packs? Yea but that doesn't bother me.
I started playing DDO in beta and then quit about 6 months after release due to hitting the level cap of 10 or 50 ranks at the time and a lack of high end content.
When DDO went F2P a few months ago I returned with a friend of mine to see how DDO had evolved. We were both very impressed with the game but had low expectations of the F2P model given past experiences. In my experience many F2P games are very disingenuous offering the equivalent of extended trials with lots of obstacles to compel micro-transactions.
We have not found that to be the case with DDO. While I opted for the monthly sub, my friend has yet to pay a dime. As a duo we have managed to accumulate enough favor (earning free store points) for him to open up most of the adventure packs at our level. At level 6 he has already obtained his sigil to open levels 8-12.
We are personally not hell bent on min-maxing the whole experience or twinking our toons. I enjoy the game-play for what it is and frankly it makes my brain hurt to even consider all of the options for maxing out my toons.
Unlike other games, DDO is much more focused on immersive game-play than requiring a certain level of gear in order to progress. Because of this the DDO store facilitates the depth of experience more than the level of game play.
At the end of the day its nice to see so many people playing this game again. As a run of the mill fighter with average gear and average skills I rarely wait more than a few minutes to find a group and enjoy an adventure.
Del Cabon A US Army ('Just Cause') Vet and MMORPG Native formerly of Trinsic, Norath and Dereth. Currently playing LOTRO.
My girlfriend & I downloaded this game this past week and have been fooling around with it. So here are my thoughts, so far:
- The micro transaction model for this game works. I could not see myself spending $50/60 on the game and then a monthly fee for it.
- The game is EXACTLY like LOTRO. Period. Other than the classes, the game mechanics, graphics, gameplay, etc are exactly the same with both titles. This was a letdown for us because we did not like LOTRO.
- The game has an awesome online wiki that is just full of amazing information that is not in the manual or FAQ guides.
- You can play through and level through the game without ever spending a dime. However, I can really see where spending a little cash can make things in your character's life much easier (like potions, tomes, etc).
- The monthly 500 points makes the monthly fee tempting and is a nice boon but you can get-by without it. The other in-game features like shared bank space, additional character slots, unlimited auction house trading, etc is the features that have more draw than the points IMO.
- Combat was said to be very unique and amazing in this game; I've found it to be the exact opposite: very sluggish and not get fun.
- The game seems very outdated in terms of features (content I'm not sure about since we just started). Examples include the quests' stories/texts, graphics, quest system, the auction house, etc. i.e. lacks a lot of polish I am used to in paid-for MMOs like WOW.
- Skill, feat, spell system seems very bland and unimaginative for the classes we've fooled around with.
- You can start playing almost immediately while the rest of the game downloads in the background -- This is great for those who want to try the game out but not wait for a 5GB download to finish.
All-in-all, it is a wonderful F2P game but I'm not so sure about the optional monthly fee being worth it -- then again, I don't think LOTRO is either. Just my 2 cents.
My girlfriend & I downloaded this game this past week and have been fooling around with it. So here are my thoughts, so far:
- The micro transaction model for this game works. I could not see myself spending $50/60 on the game and then a monthly fee for it. - The game is EXACTLY like LOTRO. Period. Other than the classes, the game mechanics, graphics, gameplay, etc are exactly the same with both titles. This was a letdown for us because we did not like LOTRO. - The game has an awesome online wiki that is just full of amazing information that is not in the manual or FAQ guides. - You can play through and level through the game without ever spending a dime. However, I can really see where spending a little cash can make things in your character's life much easier (like potions, tomes, etc). - The monthly 500 points makes the monthly fee tempting and is a nice boon but you can get-by without it. The other in-game features like shared bank space, additional character slots, unlimited auction house trading, etc is the features that have more draw than the points IMO. - Combat was said to be very unique and amazing in this game; I've found it to be the exact opposite: very sluggish and not get fun. - The game seems very outdated in terms of features (content I'm not sure about since we just started). Examples include the quests' stories/texts, graphics, quest system, the auction house, etc. i.e. lacks a lot of polish I am used to in paid-for MMOs like WOW. - Skill, feat, spell system seems very bland and unimaginative for the classes we've fooled around with. - You can start playing almost immediately while the rest of the game downloads in the background -- This is great for those who want to try the game out but not wait for a 5GB download to finish. All-in-all, it is a wonderful F2P game but I'm not so sure about the optional monthly fee being worth it -- then again, I don't think LOTRO is either. Just my 2 cents.
This game does not sell for $50 or $60 any more anywhere. It is a free download.
I find LOTRO to be a more mainstream MMO then DDO.
I find the combat to be much better in DDO then any other MMO I have ever played. Your opinion may vary.
DDO is not like WOW, this does not mean it lacks polish. It is simply different from every MMO you have played before.
You are obviously low level if you think the skills, feats, spells and enhancements are bland. Level up a bit and experiment, then come back and see if you feel the same.
My girlfriend & I downloaded this game this past week and have been fooling around with it. So here are my thoughts, so far:
- The game is EXACTLY like LOTRO. Period. Other than the classes, the game mechanics, graphics, gameplay, etc are exactly the same with both titles. This was a letdown for us because we did not like LOTRO. -
uh? No it's not.
DDO is based on Dungeons and Dragons. The classes and skills and leveling is based on Dungeons and Dragons. As are the classes.
LOTRO is not based on Dungeons and Dragons.
Like Skyrim? Need more content? Try my Skyrim mod "Godfred's Tomb."
Comments
I was thinking the same way Kevingaily, treating it like a life time sub. But i'm the type that plays a game a few months and come back. So it would be much longer to see a return in investment.
I'm sure DDo will be around for a long time
I don't think you can accidently delete it. as far as i can see, the item was automatically used whenever i got it as a quest reward on both my characters and disappeared from my inventory. Also the item is not really that hard to get, all of the friends i've made in the game so far have managed to get one before reaching the rank cap on lvl 4 so my advice is to just wait until ur level 4 and only buy it with your turbine points if you havent somehow managed to get one by then.
Sorry, but this is nothing at all like GW.
In the GW store you can buy things like new characters slots, unlocks for things for PVP-only characters, name changes, and appearance changes.
In the DDO story you can buy things like the ability to level higher, the ability to go to certain places, and the ability to create characters of certain races and classes.
They are not at all alike in any way.
The way Turbine is doing this is just one more in a very long line of examples of their poor business sense. They have so many great ideas, but they always have such horrible implementation, marketing, and design. I know I should no longer be surprised by how horrible these people are. Their store is worse than many asian grinders. While I am not surprised, and I more disappointed than ever.
Your post is just sad. This is the best type of item store I have ever seen in a F2P game period. Turbine are simply geniuses to have come up with this idea for an item store. And it is all inside the game not on some outside game website. Why on earth has not other F2P games thought of this kind of model for thier stores. This has totally redefined the way I had always thought of all those crappy shit infested Asian terd games forever. Nuff said! Sheesh!
If you come from a game like Everquest 2 or similar you will appreciate the F2P business model Turbine has
embraced. EQ2 charges about 15 a month THEN charges you for expansions, also EQ1 as OLD as it is still does that,
and still costs 15 too. But yeah I know you can get a station access account for 29.95 and play all sony MMOs...
Good job Turbine on the store!
Thanks for this info because I am new and did'nt understand the points and things I need to purchase,
this helped.
Good to know I don't have to buy certain packs.
playing: DDO / EVE / EQ1 & 2
played: WoW / AoC / AO
want to review: Aion / LoTRO / MO / CO / FE, and some others
most excited about: Mortal Online
I think Turbine have managed the impossible - they have come up with a microtransaction system that I like. I never ever thought I'd say that, not in a million years...
I'm playing as a froob (Anarchy Online term for a freebie noob) and I have already managed to unlock some content and also had a Copper Sigil drop that will open up a bit more content. This makes for a bigger sense of achievement than I've felt in any of the MMOs I currently play, and my goal now is to unlock the shared bank feature. That way, I can keep those features I've unlocked if I decide to go with Aion and subscribe to that instead.
Turbine are extremely up front about the DDO store and how it works, and the store is laid out in a very clear fashion indeed. There is just no chance of misunderstanding or confusion or even the mildest of deception on Turbine's part. It would be hypocritical to play the game, what with all the facts laid out so clearly, and then whine because you don't like it.
Wow I was about to try this but after reading this it sounds like quite possibly the worse balance Iv ever seen from a free 2 play game. Instead of selling cosmetics, exp bonus items, Mounts, drop rate+ items or Upgrade components for weapons these guy just skip all the BS and sell you game content. In a way I can see how that is good. Permanent content, its like paying for mini expansions which is really not to bad. Then again...Looking at it from the free 2 play prespective there is nothing worse a free 2 play game can do than restrict actual large sums of content until you pay. For that alone I would say this game should not be called a free 2 play game but more along the lines of permanent free trial.
It's really to bad I wanted to try this game out but I do not want to feel like I HAVE to spend money. The way that the CS is described it seems like players have no choice but to Feel like they have to spend money. Il stick with Atlantica until this cash shop gets more realistic. At least there I have reached 98/120 for free.
Having played both DDO and Atlantica I can tell you in my opinion there is a very good reason Atlantica is free.
What I''ve done is get some extra slots and classes/races, and the last thing I will be getting is the Shared Bank slot. Then if I eventually subscribe, but then decide to go back to F2P at some point, I will have what I consider to be my essentials permanently.
As for Atlantica, I thought that was one of the shallowest games I've ever tried. Probably not the worst, but I deleted the game within a couple of days and never went back to it.
What I''ve done is get some extra slots and classes/races, and the last thing I will be getting is the Shared Bank slot. Then if I eventually subscribe, but then decide to go back to F2P at some point, I will have what I consider to be my essentials permanently.
As for Atlantica, I thought that was one of the shallowest games I've ever tried. Probably not the worst, but I deleted the game within a couple of days and never went back to it.
Kinda funny how taste can differ from person to person when I first tried this game back in 04 I played it 2 days and quit. It felt like an offline game with lobby- mission - lobby- mission style game play. Hopefully they added some kind of open world by now.
ok i have to post this about the sigils of leveling,
i have a small corp (guild) in eve online and we decided to join DDO for our bipedal fix and to also have something different to do. so we use it as our relax game when no serious in eve. we are all old school D&D pen/paper players and that is how we are playing that game. we usually play together when eve is slow, or when we all agree, hey lets run a dungeon.
that said
we are 6 playing DDO and every one of those 6 characters (some have 2) so i would say 8-10 characters ALL GOT the 4-8 sigil at a random quest at about 1/4-1/2 way to lvl 4. EVERY SINGLE CHARACTER got it as a reward from a random quest, (the pattern is hard or elite mode mostly, i got both of mine doing elite quests in the harbor, friend got both of his in hard mode in the marketplace)
its a great game for a second MMO, and hell we are thinking of getting an adventure pack together. and expensive? with points you get in game and 6,25$ you can get a few adventure, that contains 8 dungeons (each in 3 modes).
this is not your normal MMO, the point of WoW or Aion or anyother main stream MMO is to lvl up. the point of D&D is to play.
and cmon! when you play D&D pen and paper you go and pay for a new adventure book with soem dungeons in it?! why would it be different? for the online version?
seriously guys, the old school D&D players will understand how this game is PLAYED, the new school 13 year olds who play WoW and LOTRO or any other MMO out there. this is a different gameplay. this is a game that you play to do the dungeons, not to get xp and gear.
i payed 20 bucks, got 5 mods and with the rest of the money i got leveling sigils for my two mains up to lvl 8. The thing that i'm seeing is that Turbine is throwing out deals every weekend, usually for adventure packs and leveling sigils. So if you don't find the sigils, you can find them dirt cheap during the sales. So just look out for the deals when if you want to pay money for points.
Totally agree. I have levelled 6 characters to around 7/8 and everyone of them found a sigil before they hit a wall.
A small correction: any appropriate level quest with random rewards can offer a sigil. Difficulty does not affect quest rewards, only in-dungeon loot.
So far, just by playing the game, I have earned enough points to buy a few adventure packs. And by playing those, I can earn even more. In theory, you could grind all the points you want and never have to spend a dime for content.
However, I am enjoying the game so much I bought some points to add to what I'd earned and bought several packs, and still have a lot of points left to spend.
This game has had many QoL improvements since launch and I'm having a blast playing it.
I got the Copper Sigil (lvl 4 to 8) from a Stormreach quest about stopping a kobold invasion. The quest is to kill 200 kobolds and its troglodyte boss. Can be done solo, may be hard but use your head and you will manage.
A friend of mine got to level 9 without paying a dime, it took some time for him to find the 8-12 sigil, but now he's good to go for 4 more levels. Me, on the other hand, chose the vip option and I have to say that the content is far, far better. Bought it from lvl 4, I'm now 11 and I have to say that Gianthold and Sands of Menechturen are a blast to play.
After you get all the adventure packs, you don't have to pay for anything, unless you want to pay for the leveling sigils and pay for all the junk that you really don't need
In a sense we can all blame ourselves for this, that is allowing the industry to coin a term "F2P" when it's really "Transaction Based" in scope. The thing is we all know what "F2P" in a mmo stands for, so there is no reason to play stupid here and think that actually means "everything is free to everyone, forever". We all know this, the faster we stop kidding ourselves and try to make some type of point here that is isn't truly free, the sooner we start moving away from this stupid discussions about something we already know. The only person that should be learning anything here, is a complete noob on this subject and yest that can happen. So everyone complaining about "not true F2P"? You are all noobs to this?
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If you like it a lot, imo do yourself the favor an buy a month at a time so you don't have to sweat the small stuff about "what should I do and get?". If you're still wondering if you like it I can understand a little dabbling with the store at first or stay free for as long as you can as you figure it out. If you don't like it, but still play it and want it all for free, then your an internet whiner.
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If you can't afford it and are a kid, ask the parents what you can do for a few extra dollars, they'll be happy you asked. If you're an adult and can't afford it, you have bigger priorities.
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If you really like this game, it will give you way more back then the $15 your giving.
Yeah as much as we see threads, "but this one and that one, those are the best adventures to buy". It's very very nice to just have all the content. There is a lot and when I play my goal is to play it all at least once and that means through elite so that could equal 3 times. The content is the game and that is the way it should always be for any of these games. I've played many times when I couldn't get more XP to stay at a certain level for a longer time. IMO this is more what gaming should be, fun and not a race to something in our minds that really doesn't exist.
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I dream of LOTRO meets DDO some day. Wouldn't it be cool to have a wide open land, in the country you see a cave and it's as good as a killer DDO instance when you enter?. Do some country side killing and mining for that epic feel and community warmth. Come into town do your open mmo fare there, trade, craft, socialize etc, but also have several points in town that are like ddo quests. Like a warehouse that is under hostile control, gather a group and play a nicely thought out instance and not a generic mmo instance.
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It's like these two have to combine to finally make a complete mmo. I haven't played any instances that are as neat as DDO's. Traps and fighting model are the reasons why. DDO still has to figure out random traps though to slow zerging because everything is known, I always felt every update they should tweak every quest to place enemies at different places and different enemies in some places, move a trap here or there. To me you would think with an editor you can do something like that in short order, where not talking building reworking. That would slow some parties down and once again raise the cool factor as all the quests keep freshness over a long period of time, I would really be looking forward to every module, we get some brand new stuff but everything you do know, just changed to some degree, so running it for the 10th time has something to look forward to.
I think the primary fail of the OP in determining the cost of DDO is in the assumption that players will be playing every day.
My main MMOG is EvE, which I also play for free using PLEX, but I also like to play plenty of other games. I have a gaming rig, PS3, PSP, and NDS. I don't have much time for MMOGs, so I don't want to pay $15 a month for something if I only play one day per weekend.
Turbine has created an excellent FtP model for someone like me, and it is working. Subscriptions are up 40% and they doubled all internal expectations! Meanwhile, they got FtP gamers like myself spreading the word to friends, some of whom will most likely buy content. I hope other MMOGs adopt this model.
Yes Serpens_Sol,
Your right on my original post I assumed a lot, I'll give you that. Please understand the date on that post was at the start of the FTP. Given the information I had at the time. The information is still 100 % valid, BUT and I stress BUT, many variables had been added to the mix, such as your point as its not your main game, and turbine is giving free stuff such as segles, and package deals at lower cost, others are making the best out of finding things for free ( kind of like a mini game ).
In fact I must hand it to Turbine as their not as much monsters as I originally thought. In fact they are somewhat not bad with this FTP, as most games would be, given the history of many MMO's as of late.
I still stand by what I say that this Post is needed to assist others of what the FTP is all about for DDO !!
Me....Well I have to say that I'm off playing other MMO's because this time around I did not experience the fun I had back when I first played. It Just seemed that every dungeon was rushed by the experience players ,and the enjoyment and mystery was not their this time around. I have to add that I did not give it much chance as I only got to level 4 and stopped, and I could be just getting some mmo burnout. But the game is well built, and would suggest to others to give it a chance.
So have fun, it's a good game
LEVELING SIGILS ARE NO BIG DEAL.
And yes, as previously suggested, they do have sales on sigils. Like right now, you can get them all for only 10 points each which is nothing.
Please don't let previous posts about frustrations of getting leveling sigils turn you away from this game. Those people are trying too hard and should just enjoy the game. Hell, you still get xp even tho you are past the time to level-up anyway.
It is quite easy to enjoy the game for free if you are a casual gamer which completely grabbed me again. I played it before when you had to pay for it, and it didn't feel like a game I should pay for like I was.
You do not have to have all the adventure packs to level all the way to 20. You do not have to have all the adventure packs to enjoy the game as well. Some adventures you can purchase are YAWN-FESTS.
I love the fact that I can choose when to pay for it. I happen to love to playing all kinds of alts, so I felt the need to purchase points for another class to get a premium account for 4 character slots instead of 2. That was the only time I paid real money. I also made multiple accounts which is always free with different emails. hehe >< I've been playing for about 2 months now and I feel like what I paid for was worth it, and I still keep coming back for more.
Just a few points that I think were missed in all of this.
1) in your options area check 'LOOT ALL' that way you won't have to worry about missing a loot item at the bottom of the list.
2) there is a very good F2P guide either here or on the DDO O-Boards. It shows just how you can maximize getting store points so you can buy follow on adventrue packs etc.... The guide does show that it's possible to play the game for free. Granted it's a long haul type thing but doable.
3) watch the DDO Store specials, I got my level 5 - 8 for 50/75? points on sale.
I don't plan on ever putting cash into the game. I did play back when it was P2p but it's such a casual game (1 or 2 play sessions a week) that I didn't see it being worth the monthly fee. Now with it being F2p I can pick it up when ever I want to. I think I last played a week and a half ago. Had a great time and who knows when I'll do another session, but since it's not costing me a dime who cares.
Will my play style keep me from grouping for some of the higher adventure packs? Yea but that doesn't bother me.
SWG (pre-cu) - AoC (pre-f2p) - PotBS (pre-boarder) - DDO - LotRO (pre-f2p) - STO (pre-f2p) - GnH (beta tester) - SWTOR - Neverwinter
I started playing DDO in beta and then quit about 6 months after release due to hitting the level cap of 10 or 50 ranks at the time and a lack of high end content.
When DDO went F2P a few months ago I returned with a friend of mine to see how DDO had evolved. We were both very impressed with the game but had low expectations of the F2P model given past experiences. In my experience many F2P games are very disingenuous offering the equivalent of extended trials with lots of obstacles to compel micro-transactions.
We have not found that to be the case with DDO. While I opted for the monthly sub, my friend has yet to pay a dime. As a duo we have managed to accumulate enough favor (earning free store points) for him to open up most of the adventure packs at our level. At level 6 he has already obtained his sigil to open levels 8-12.
We are personally not hell bent on min-maxing the whole experience or twinking our toons. I enjoy the game-play for what it is and frankly it makes my brain hurt to even consider all of the options for maxing out my toons.
Unlike other games, DDO is much more focused on immersive game-play than requiring a certain level of gear in order to progress. Because of this the DDO store facilitates the depth of experience more than the level of game play.
At the end of the day its nice to see so many people playing this game again. As a run of the mill fighter with average gear and average skills I rarely wait more than a few minutes to find a group and enjoy an adventure.
Del Cabon
A US Army ('Just Cause') Vet and MMORPG Native formerly of Trinsic, Norath and Dereth. Currently playing LOTRO.
My girlfriend & I downloaded this game this past week and have been fooling around with it. So here are my thoughts, so far:
- The micro transaction model for this game works. I could not see myself spending $50/60 on the game and then a monthly fee for it.
- The game is EXACTLY like LOTRO. Period. Other than the classes, the game mechanics, graphics, gameplay, etc are exactly the same with both titles. This was a letdown for us because we did not like LOTRO.
- The game has an awesome online wiki that is just full of amazing information that is not in the manual or FAQ guides.
- You can play through and level through the game without ever spending a dime. However, I can really see where spending a little cash can make things in your character's life much easier (like potions, tomes, etc).
- The monthly 500 points makes the monthly fee tempting and is a nice boon but you can get-by without it. The other in-game features like shared bank space, additional character slots, unlimited auction house trading, etc is the features that have more draw than the points IMO.
- Combat was said to be very unique and amazing in this game; I've found it to be the exact opposite: very sluggish and not get fun.
- The game seems very outdated in terms of features (content I'm not sure about since we just started). Examples include the quests' stories/texts, graphics, quest system, the auction house, etc. i.e. lacks a lot of polish I am used to in paid-for MMOs like WOW.
- Skill, feat, spell system seems very bland and unimaginative for the classes we've fooled around with.
- You can start playing almost immediately while the rest of the game downloads in the background -- This is great for those who want to try the game out but not wait for a 5GB download to finish.
All-in-all, it is a wonderful F2P game but I'm not so sure about the optional monthly fee being worth it -- then again, I don't think LOTRO is either. Just my 2 cents.
This game does not sell for $50 or $60 any more anywhere. It is a free download.
I find LOTRO to be a more mainstream MMO then DDO.
I find the combat to be much better in DDO then any other MMO I have ever played. Your opinion may vary.
DDO is not like WOW, this does not mean it lacks polish. It is simply different from every MMO you have played before.
You are obviously low level if you think the skills, feats, spells and enhancements are bland. Level up a bit and experiment, then come back and see if you feel the same.
uh? No it's not.
DDO is based on Dungeons and Dragons. The classes and skills and leveling is based on Dungeons and Dragons. As are the classes.
LOTRO is not based on Dungeons and Dragons.
Godfred's Tomb Trailer: https://youtu.be/-nsXGddj_4w
Original Skyrim: https://www.nexusmods.com/skyrim/mods/109547
Serph toze kindly has started a walk-through. https://youtu.be/UIelCK-lldo