Highly sugest you watch this video. They explain quite a few of the mechanics that people are complaining about here. IE. the reason you can't move and use many of the skills at the same time. And a few other mehanics that people are complaining about.
As far as this being DDO2, I would have to say negative. It's not even remotely close. DDO stuck close to the actual D&D rules. Where as neverwinter very few of the D&D aspects have any real value in the actual game. They are just there for fluff for the most part. The only aspect of D&D that really matters in NWO is the lore is fairly accurate.
I'm not saying NWO is a bad game. It's actually very fun so far. (really opens up past like level 25) But in no way is it the spiritual successor to DDO.
Originally posted by ragz45 DDO stuck close to the actual D&D rules. Where as neverwinter very few of the D&D aspects have any real value in the actual game. They are just there for fluff for the most part. The only aspect of D&D that really matters in NWO is the lore is fairly accurate.
Agree with you a lot, but you completely overlook the most important part of Neverwinter: the DUNGEON MASTER aspect of D&D, the foundry. D&D is not just about "rules"
Neverwinter is the "Dungeon Master's Guide"; you can go behind the screen and shape the adventures. Creating quests/dungeons is a BIG part of D&D IMHO and Neverwinter does it, they do more than just using the "Lore" they really provide a D&D experience if you ask me (even tho they're not using the rules)
puzzles are very basic and laughable at this point - example the one puzzle I ran into from 1 to 30 was 3 statues that you have to turn so they all face forward to open a secret door etc. If your are looking for shroud/reaver type puzzles don't look
Please be careful before purchasing any products from Perfect World Entertainment. The company is known for engaging in consumer fraud and rewards their employee's for conducting it. Also be aware the company uses sponsored players within their products to target/cheat/harass customers. SEE Facebook Page "Neverwinter Alert" for additional information. Its a free country, and if you choose to play at PWE, at least prepare yourself. Thank You & God Bless.
WARNING: PERFECT WORLD ENTERTAINMENT has recently taken their harassment OUTSIDE of their products. With them recently using Facebook to harass me. They have tried reporting my Facebook account for closure including reporting it as being fake. Which it is not, and obviously my account is still open. Why do I say it was Perfect World? Because I have 2 other accounts with crazy names, same friends and...... NOTHING. Only the account that made the page "Neverwinter Alert" was targeted. BUYER BEWARE!! THIS IS A COMMUNIST MMO, THAT OPERATES LIKE WE STILL LIVE IN COMMUNIST CHINA. BUYER BEWARE!!
I have to actually agree with the first reviewer. The game looks good. I actually liked some of the stuff Cryptic's made in the past. Sadly, the minute your account starts acquiring equity, Perfect World Entertainment's sponsored players will begin to target you. NO, they wont do it in the beginning. NO they wont do it if your account doesnt have value. BUT HERE ARE SOME THINGS THAT WILL HAPPEN EVENTUALLY.
1. GAME BUGS, especially if it costs you something, they will allow it to persist. This is one of their "covert" ways of cheating consumers and getting away with it.
2. You WILL be harassed by the sponsored players. Why? Because the sponsored Chinese Gold Farmers are NOT on PWE's official payroll for obvious reasons.
3. If you do not learn to suck up to the sponsored players YOU WILL BE BANNED. Eventually your account will be banned, especially if you get to a point where you NO LONGER require spending any money. They will BAN your account.
This is Perfect World. This is what you can expect when you play there.
I have to actually agree with the first reviewer. The game looks good. I actually liked some of the stuff Cryptic's made in the past. Sadly, the minute your account starts acquiring equity, Perfect World Entertainment's sponsored players will begin to target you. NO, they wont do it in the beginning. NO they wont do it if your account doesnt have value. BUT HERE ARE SOME THINGS THAT WILL HAPPEN EVENTUALLY.1. GAME BUGS, especially if it costs you something, they will allow it to persist. This is one of their "covert" ways of cheating consumers and getting away with it.2. You WILL be harassed by the sponsored players. Why? Because the sponsored Chinese Gold Farmers are NOT on PWE's official payroll for obvious reasons. 3. If you do not learn to suck up to the sponsored players YOU WILL BE BANNED. Eventually your account will be banned, especially if you get to a point where you NO LONGER require spending any money. They will BAN your account. This is Perfect World. This is what you can expect when you play there.
funny how these posts keep popping up by new accounts.. I played several pw games over the years and never had any issues
I angered the clerk in a clothing shop today. She asked me what size I was and I said actual, because I am not to scale. I like vending machines 'cause snacks are better when they fall. If I buy a candy bar at a store, oftentimes, I will drop it... so that it achieves its maximum flavor potential. --Mitch Hedberg
I would say that if you like DDO, you're going to love Neverwinter because it seems as if it could just be called DDO 2 at this point. And that's a good thing.
Pros
Strong focus on player-driven content
Gorgeous art style
Events are well-organized and easy to join
Extensive currency system
Exploring is rewarded
Puzzles and hidden rooms!
Cons
Clunky combat
Dated character models
Linear default storyline
---------------------------------------
edit
- fixed the title
- the "I" in the summary is not me
this was pretty much my take in the first beta, I didn't find the actual combat clunky just the animations.
I don't have any hatred for gaming companies it's a brand and if I'm not happy with brand x I don't use it.
Nice judging early game puzzles from the BETA, you're talking about the first puzzle in the game, it was the first dungeon introducing puzzles and you're talking like you already did endgame content and all higher level dungeons?
It's like saying "Oh I played Guild Wars 2, in the beginning tutorial I killed this giant dragon, dragons are easy to kill in this game look somewhere else"
What about doing some REAL dungeons first? You should wait to see more IMHO, and don't forget puzzles made by Foundry creators
I am not judging anything just telling what is. the level cap on release will be level 60 so 1 to 30 is basicly half the game. Might they improve the puzzles sure they might. I am just talking about the first weekend beta.
If things change in the next weekend beta I will come back and my posts will reflect that.
Also about rooted combat you could not use your at will with thw rogue and move, the character would not move at all during an attack only before and after the swing and there was a silght "slow down before your toon moved comepltely freely.
Left click, attack animation no moving, animation ends you move slowy for a sec then hit full movement speed. Any attacks you do while moving are powers that zip you around.
Just for the record I am neither a fanboy nor a hater, I enjoyed the game for what it is which IMHO is very different than DDO.
Brenics ~ Just to point out I do believe Chris Roberts is going down as the man who cheated backers and took down crowdfunding for gaming.
Ok so i have played MMO for well over 13 years, but i have played DnD for well over 30 years ( my first box set was the original "Keep On the Border Lands"), i enjoy DDO, not a fan of the Game world they used but meh i can live with it. I got into the NW Beta weekends and this my opinion of the 2 games compared and who wins in what areas.
Graphics - Its a Draw - Neither Graphics are as advanced i as i would like, but they are both very playable. NW has a slightly darker overtone to the graphics which to me works a little better to get the feeling of the PnP version, but graphics fluidity seems better in DDO
Customization - As of right now DDO wins hands down on both the ability to Multiclass and Subcalss, but NW is truer to the PnP version (well 4th edition at least), and hopefully with time NW will loosen its grip a bit and let more variations in Customization, most games do over time.
Game World - As i said i am not a fan of Ebberon as a game world, its ok but it dosen't have the true spirit that DnD was created with. With the multitude of posibility of creating adventures as the game progresses in the Forgotten Realms, a world featuring the most Iconic characters from DnD Massive library, NW totaly wins in this department.
Magic and Combat - DDO wins in this department at this point, NW has potential but it is as yet untapped. I predict a year down the road after its release they might find a way to tap into that potential, make it more user friendly, but till then DDO will still reign.
BUT.... Here is the main issue between the 2
You NEVER need to buy anything in NW unless you want to, its all handed to you for free from the start. DDO on the other hand is pretty useless unless you subscribe or spend tons of money in the Turbine store since in my estimation only about 1/4 of the actual game is availible to the F2Players.
This will be the thing that will some day kill DDO, unless they realize it and change thier entire marketing strategy. Once NW is out and the updates and game improvments start DDO will be in serious trouble! I subscribed to DDO for a few years then i had to go to Premium, I was AMAZED at how much of the game is now lost. With NW i wont have that problem, and given how much of the MMO world is moving in the F2P direction, DDO has entered it twilight unless they seriously reconsider how much access the F2Players get, i hope they do before its too late!
I tihnk NWO is a different game than DDO, though the idea is similar. Heavy focus on bringing to the player the oldschool dungeon crawl feeling. I think both DDO and NWO do a good job at it, though DDO's setting, Eberron, is not as attractive as NWO's setting, Forgotten Realms. Add to that the heavy p2p presence in DDO, and that puts a deadly nail on its coffin, keeping the game to a very small niche to fill.
As for NWO, it did those things right. Fully F2P, and using Forgotten Realms as setting. The Foundry of course brings the true essence of DnD to the table - creating stories for players, telling tales and setting up challenges for them. Yeah, some people will make dungeons that are about mindlessly bashing stuff and rushing through. So what? You can choose what to play. And for what I saw in the beta and what I read around, there are plenty of people looking forward to create tales and stories.
For that alone, I believe NWO might be a great success, but not to be mistaken with what a success means here. I see NWO having the kind of success that Eve Online has, with its own crowd of loyal acolytes that can never quit. Not in the sense of a massive crowd hoarding mmo like WoW, which is what about every other mmo aspirant tries, and fails at.
My opinion is my own. I respect all other opinions and views equally, but keep in mind that my opinion will always be the best for me. That's why it's my opinion.
For that alone, I believe NWO might be a great success, but not to be mistaken with what a success means here. I see NWO having the kind of success that Eve Online has, with its own crowd of loyal acolytes that can never quit. Not in the sense of a massive crowd hoarding mmo like WoW, which is what about every other mmo aspirant tries, and fails at.
Agree 100%....I can't wait to play, but can see why many probably won't
Bull crap to this being DDO 2.0. They author doesn't have any idea and never then levelled either a DDO character or a NWO character to max level (even if just beta).
Hey if they balance things right with NWO it can be a fun game, but it just plays out a lot different and sometimes in a good way and sometimes not than DDO.
One thing that isn't stated much but is quite a bit different, is that DDO isn't really linear. You can run all kinds of quest paths for levelling, like dozens of possible ways. NWO you follow the vary narrow choice given to you or you have to rely on the Foundry. But once you get off the main quest line... Can you just pick it up later on. For example I decide to level to 5 with the ingame quests, then jump to Foundry for next 10, then at 15 can I pickup the main quest line at 15 or do I have to go back? Pretty sure I have to go back to level 5 to catch up, will it allow me to or will it say I'm "too high a level"? This issue doesn't exist at all in DDO. The only restricition is if you want to run a module of quests (3-7 chapters) you have to run those in order.
Bull crap to this being DDO 2.0. They author doesn't have any idea and never then levelled either a DDO character or a NWO character to max level (even if just beta).
Hey if they balance things right with NWO it can be a fun game, but it just plays out a lot different and sometimes in a good way and sometimes not than DDO.
One thing that isn't stated much but is quite a bit different, is that DDO isn't really linear. You can run all kinds of quest paths for levelling, like dozens of possible ways. NWO you follow the vary narrow choice given to you or you have to rely on the Foundry. But once you get off the main quest line... Can you just pick it up later on. For example I decide to level to 5 with the ingame quests, then jump to Foundry for next 10, then at 15 can I pickup the main quest line at 15 or do I have to go back? Pretty sure I have to go back to level 5 to catch up, will it allow me to or will it say I'm "too high a level"? This issue doesn't exist at all in DDO. The only restricition is if you want to run a module of quests (3-7 chapters) you have to run those in order.
From my time in DDO (up to level 20) it did not feel as free form as you explain...maybe they've changed things or added things, but I remember when there wasn't even the open area at the beginning. All the dungeons were VERY similar and you had to constantly repeat quests just to get to the next level so you could rinse and repeat.
DDO had time to add....NW is just kicking in. I think the world, the combat and the Foundry trump DDO pretty well...I'd say the biggest problem with DDO is that it was made by Turbine...Turbine's graphics are too conservative and their classes are very bland...In LOTRO and in DDO.
The skills in DDO seemed meh, whereas the skills in NW have a real purpose at all times.
Just saying, I think you are over-stating the differences a bit too much. To me NW is DDO without the bland, boring world and classes. It's more exciting and the graphics are more vibrant. The classes are well defined and the gears follows suit.
I think the foundry will be what really makes the game special. But I dont think it will appeal to the masses...
Bull crap to this being DDO 2.0. They author doesn't have any idea and never then levelled either a DDO character or a NWO character to max level (even if just beta).
Hey if they balance things right with NWO it can be a fun game, but it just plays out a lot different and sometimes in a good way and sometimes not than DDO.
One thing that isn't stated much but is quite a bit different, is that DDO isn't really linear. You can run all kinds of quest paths for levelling, like dozens of possible ways. NWO you follow the vary narrow choice given to you or you have to rely on the Foundry. But once you get off the main quest line... Can you just pick it up later on. For example I decide to level to 5 with the ingame quests, then jump to Foundry for next 10, then at 15 can I pickup the main quest line at 15 or do I have to go back? Pretty sure I have to go back to level 5 to catch up, will it allow me to or will it say I'm "too high a level"? This issue doesn't exist at all in DDO. The only restricition is if you want to run a module of quests (3-7 chapters) you have to run those in order.
From my time in DDO (up to level 20) it did not feel as free form as you explain...maybe they've changed things or added things, but I remember when there wasn't even the open area at the beginning. All the dungeons were VERY similar and you had to constantly repeat quests just to get to the next level so you could rinse and repeat.
DDO had time to add....NW is just kicking in. I think the world, the combat and the Foundry trump DDO pretty well...I'd say the biggest problem with DDO is that it was made by Turbine...Turbine's graphics are too conservative and their classes are very bland...In LOTRO and in DDO.
The skills in DDO seemed meh, whereas the skills in NW have a real purpose at all times.
Just saying, I think you are over-stating the differences a bit too much. To me NW is DDO without the bland, boring world and classes. It's more exciting and the graphics are more vibrant. The classes are well defined and the gears follows suit.
I think the foundry will be what really makes the game special. But I dont think it will appeal to the masses...
maybe its because DDO tried to get the game as close as they could to the table top version where as neverwinter nights online just throws the book out the window, and did what ever they wanted.
and i still like DDO grapics ya they are dated but they still look half decent and i enjoyu them better then most of the newer cartonny style MMOs we got.
F2P may be the way of the future, but ya know they dont make them like they used to Proper Grammer & spelling are extra, corrections will be LOL at.
Bull crap to this being DDO 2.0. They author doesn't have any idea and never then levelled either a DDO character or a NWO character to max level (even if just beta).
Hey if they balance things right with NWO it can be a fun game, but it just plays out a lot different and sometimes in a good way and sometimes not than DDO.
One thing that isn't stated much but is quite a bit different, is that DDO isn't really linear. You can run all kinds of quest paths for levelling, like dozens of possible ways. NWO you follow the vary narrow choice given to you or you have to rely on the Foundry. But once you get off the main quest line... Can you just pick it up later on. For example I decide to level to 5 with the ingame quests, then jump to Foundry for next 10, then at 15 can I pickup the main quest line at 15 or do I have to go back? Pretty sure I have to go back to level 5 to catch up, will it allow me to or will it say I'm "too high a level"? This issue doesn't exist at all in DDO. The only restricition is if you want to run a module of quests (3-7 chapters) you have to run those in order.
From my time in DDO (up to level 20) it did not feel as free form as you explain...maybe they've changed things or added things, but I remember when there wasn't even the open area at the beginning. All the dungeons were VERY similar and you had to constantly repeat quests just to get to the next level so you could rinse and repeat.
DDO had time to add....NW is just kicking in. I think the world, the combat and the Foundry trump DDO pretty well...I'd say the biggest problem with DDO is that it was made by Turbine...Turbine's graphics are too conservative and their classes are very bland...In LOTRO and in DDO.
The skills in DDO seemed meh, whereas the skills in NW have a real purpose at all times.
Just saying, I think you are over-stating the differences a bit too much. To me NW is DDO without the bland, boring world and classes. It's more exciting and the graphics are more vibrant. The classes are well defined and the gears follows suit.
I think the foundry will be what really makes the game special. But I dont think it will appeal to the masses...
Yeah it's a lot different now. There are so many quests, you don't have to run them all to level, some over and over, like it was years ago. You can truly just pick the one's you want. Now someone can say the Foundry will soon provide that. But the question becomes..."Are you then out of the main story quest line never to return for that character?"
DDO is simply a lot deeper, the part where you say "Skills are meh", they are more sublte, you have resource management with several characters, that adds strategy not spamming. It's just more in-depth and well it's harder if you run it on Elite or higher to.
I don't feel I'm overstating at all. I'm very up to date on how DDO plays and I've put in 2 weekends of NWO. NWO is very linear and limited. It's 3D Diablo, which doesn't mean it can be fun. It's just a lot lighter then DDO in nearly every way imaginable, less the Foundry.
Speaking of the Foundry, we all want it to rock, but this is the 3rd attempt at it for Cryptic, someday it will be all that, but will it be now? It hasn't been the difference maker for them yet.
Yeah it's a lot different now. There are so many quests, you don't have to run them all to level, some over and over, like it was years ago. You can truly just pick the one's you want. Now someone can say the Foundry will soon provide that. But the question becomes..."Are you then out of the main story quest line never to return for that character?"
DDO is simply a lot deeper, the part where you say "Skills are meh", they are more sublte, you have resource management with several characters, that adds strategy not spamming. It's just more in-depth and well it's harder if you run it on Elite or higher to.
I don't feel I'm overstating at all. I'm very up to date on how DDO plays and I've put in 2 weekends of NWO. NWO is very linear and limited. It's 3D Diablo, which doesn't mean it can be fun. It's just a lot lighter then DDO in nearly every way imaginable, less the Foundry.
Speaking of the Foundry, we all want it to rock, but this is the 3rd attempt at it for Cryptic, someday it will be all that, but will it be now? It hasn't been the difference maker for them yet.
What I was really saying is that DDO has had several years to expand itself....comparing DDO at launch to Neverwinter pre-launch, I find that Neverwinter has a quite a bit more to offer.
maybe its because DDO tried to get the game as close as they could to the table top version where as neverwinter nights online just throws the book out the window, and did what ever they wanted.
and i still like DDO grapics ya they are dated but they still look half decent and i enjoyu them better then most of the newer cartonny style MMOs we got.
Im not much for keeping with "Lore" and the way combat should happen....As long as the scenery is consistent nothing else matters...I actually applaud companies for not narrowing their options.
Yeah it's a lot different now. There are so many quests, you don't have to run them all to level, some over and over, like it was years ago. You can truly just pick the one's you want. Now someone can say the Foundry will soon provide that. But the question becomes..."Are you then out of the main story quest line never to return for that character?"
DDO is simply a lot deeper, the part where you say "Skills are meh", they are more sublte, you have resource management with several characters, that adds strategy not spamming. It's just more in-depth and well it's harder if you run it on Elite or higher to.
I don't feel I'm overstating at all. I'm very up to date on how DDO plays and I've put in 2 weekends of NWO. NWO is very linear and limited. It's 3D Diablo, which doesn't mean it can be fun. It's just a lot lighter then DDO in nearly every way imaginable, less the Foundry.
Speaking of the Foundry, we all want it to rock, but this is the 3rd attempt at it for Cryptic, someday it will be all that, but will it be now? It hasn't been the difference maker for them yet.
What I was really saying is that DDO has had several years to expand itself....comparing DDO at launch to Neverwinter pre-launch, I find that Neverwinter has a quite a bit more to offer.
Fair enough. But comparing them now, not saying you are, but to write DDO2 from a journalist. Not really buying that.
Comments
Highly sugest you watch this video. They explain quite a few of the mechanics that people are complaining about here. IE. the reason you can't move and use many of the skills at the same time. And a few other mehanics that people are complaining about.
As far as this being DDO2, I would have to say negative. It's not even remotely close. DDO stuck close to the actual D&D rules. Where as neverwinter very few of the D&D aspects have any real value in the actual game. They are just there for fluff for the most part. The only aspect of D&D that really matters in NWO is the lore is fairly accurate.
I'm not saying NWO is a bad game. It's actually very fun so far. (really opens up past like level 25) But in no way is it the spiritual successor to DDO.
Agree with you a lot, but you completely overlook the most important part of Neverwinter: the DUNGEON MASTER aspect of D&D, the foundry. D&D is not just about "rules"
Neverwinter is the "Dungeon Master's Guide"; you can go behind the screen and shape the adventures. Creating quests/dungeons is a BIG part of D&D IMHO and Neverwinter does it, they do more than just using the "Lore" they really provide a D&D experience if you ask me (even tho they're not using the rules)
i hope thats improved
EQ2 fan sites
*******CONSUMER ALERT*******
Please be careful before purchasing any products from Perfect World Entertainment. The company is known for engaging in consumer fraud and rewards their employee's for conducting it. Also be aware the company uses sponsored players within their products to target/cheat/harass customers. SEE Facebook Page "Neverwinter Alert" for additional information. Its a free country, and if you choose to play at PWE, at least prepare yourself. Thank You & God Bless.
WARNING: PERFECT WORLD ENTERTAINMENT has recently taken their harassment OUTSIDE of their products. With them recently using Facebook to harass me. They have tried reporting my Facebook account for closure including reporting it as being fake. Which it is not, and obviously my account is still open. Why do I say it was Perfect World? Because I have 2 other accounts with crazy names, same friends and...... NOTHING. Only the account that made the page "Neverwinter Alert" was targeted. BUYER BEWARE!! THIS IS A COMMUNIST MMO, THAT OPERATES LIKE WE STILL LIVE IN COMMUNIST CHINA. BUYER BEWARE!!
https://ashesofcreation.com/r/Y4U3PQCASUPJ5SED
I have to actually agree with the first reviewer. The game looks good. I actually liked some of the stuff Cryptic's made in the past. Sadly, the minute your account starts acquiring equity, Perfect World Entertainment's sponsored players will begin to target you. NO, they wont do it in the beginning. NO they wont do it if your account doesnt have value. BUT HERE ARE SOME THINGS THAT WILL HAPPEN EVENTUALLY.
1. GAME BUGS, especially if it costs you something, they will allow it to persist. This is one of their "covert" ways of cheating consumers and getting away with it.
2. You WILL be harassed by the sponsored players. Why? Because the sponsored Chinese Gold Farmers are NOT on PWE's official payroll for obvious reasons.
3. If you do not learn to suck up to the sponsored players YOU WILL BE BANNED. Eventually your account will be banned, especially if you get to a point where you NO LONGER require spending any money. They will BAN your account.
This is Perfect World. This is what you can expect when you play there.
I angered the clerk in a clothing shop today. She asked me what size I was and I said actual, because I am not to scale. I like vending machines 'cause snacks are better when they fall. If I buy a candy bar at a store, oftentimes, I will drop it... so that it achieves its maximum flavor potential. --Mitch Hedberg
this was pretty much my take in the first beta, I didn't find the actual combat clunky just the animations.
I don't have any hatred for gaming companies it's a brand and if I'm not happy with brand x I don't use it.
I am not judging anything just telling what is. the level cap on release will be level 60 so 1 to 30 is basicly half the game. Might they improve the puzzles sure they might. I am just talking about the first weekend beta.
If things change in the next weekend beta I will come back and my posts will reflect that.
Also about rooted combat you could not use your at will with thw rogue and move, the character would not move at all during an attack only before and after the swing and there was a silght "slow down before your toon moved comepltely freely.
Left click, attack animation no moving, animation ends you move slowy for a sec then hit full movement speed. Any attacks you do while moving are powers that zip you around.
Just for the record I am neither a fanboy nor a hater, I enjoyed the game for what it is which IMHO is very different than DDO.
Brenics ~ Just to point out I do believe Chris Roberts is going down as the man who cheated backers and took down crowdfunding for gaming.
Ok so i have played MMO for well over 13 years, but i have played DnD for well over 30 years ( my first box set was the original "Keep On the Border Lands"), i enjoy DDO, not a fan of the Game world they used but meh i can live with it. I got into the NW Beta weekends and this my opinion of the 2 games compared and who wins in what areas.
Graphics - Its a Draw - Neither Graphics are as advanced i as i would like, but they are both very playable. NW has a slightly darker overtone to the graphics which to me works a little better to get the feeling of the PnP version, but graphics fluidity seems better in DDO
Customization - As of right now DDO wins hands down on both the ability to Multiclass and Subcalss, but NW is truer to the PnP version (well 4th edition at least), and hopefully with time NW will loosen its grip a bit and let more variations in Customization, most games do over time.
Game World - As i said i am not a fan of Ebberon as a game world, its ok but it dosen't have the true spirit that DnD was created with. With the multitude of posibility of creating adventures as the game progresses in the Forgotten Realms, a world featuring the most Iconic characters from DnD Massive library, NW totaly wins in this department.
Magic and Combat - DDO wins in this department at this point, NW has potential but it is as yet untapped. I predict a year down the road after its release they might find a way to tap into that potential, make it more user friendly, but till then DDO will still reign.
BUT.... Here is the main issue between the 2
You NEVER need to buy anything in NW unless you want to, its all handed to you for free from the start. DDO on the other hand is pretty useless unless you subscribe or spend tons of money in the Turbine store since in my estimation only about 1/4 of the actual game is availible to the F2Players.
This will be the thing that will some day kill DDO, unless they realize it and change thier entire marketing strategy. Once NW is out and the updates and game improvments start DDO will be in serious trouble! I subscribed to DDO for a few years then i had to go to Premium, I was AMAZED at how much of the game is now lost. With NW i wont have that problem, and given how much of the MMO world is moving in the F2P direction, DDO has entered it twilight unless they seriously reconsider how much access the F2Players get, i hope they do before its too late!
I tihnk NWO is a different game than DDO, though the idea is similar. Heavy focus on bringing to the player the oldschool dungeon crawl feeling. I think both DDO and NWO do a good job at it, though DDO's setting, Eberron, is not as attractive as NWO's setting, Forgotten Realms. Add to that the heavy p2p presence in DDO, and that puts a deadly nail on its coffin, keeping the game to a very small niche to fill.
As for NWO, it did those things right. Fully F2P, and using Forgotten Realms as setting. The Foundry of course brings the true essence of DnD to the table - creating stories for players, telling tales and setting up challenges for them. Yeah, some people will make dungeons that are about mindlessly bashing stuff and rushing through. So what? You can choose what to play. And for what I saw in the beta and what I read around, there are plenty of people looking forward to create tales and stories.
For that alone, I believe NWO might be a great success, but not to be mistaken with what a success means here. I see NWO having the kind of success that Eve Online has, with its own crowd of loyal acolytes that can never quit. Not in the sense of a massive crowd hoarding mmo like WoW, which is what about every other mmo aspirant tries, and fails at.
My opinion is my own. I respect all other opinions and views equally, but keep in mind that my opinion will always be the best for me. That's why it's my opinion.
Agree 100%....I can't wait to play, but can see why many probably won't
Bull crap to this being DDO 2.0. They author doesn't have any idea and never then levelled either a DDO character or a NWO character to max level (even if just beta).
Hey if they balance things right with NWO it can be a fun game, but it just plays out a lot different and sometimes in a good way and sometimes not than DDO.
One thing that isn't stated much but is quite a bit different, is that DDO isn't really linear. You can run all kinds of quest paths for levelling, like dozens of possible ways. NWO you follow the vary narrow choice given to you or you have to rely on the Foundry. But once you get off the main quest line... Can you just pick it up later on. For example I decide to level to 5 with the ingame quests, then jump to Foundry for next 10, then at 15 can I pickup the main quest line at 15 or do I have to go back? Pretty sure I have to go back to level 5 to catch up, will it allow me to or will it say I'm "too high a level"? This issue doesn't exist at all in DDO. The only restricition is if you want to run a module of quests (3-7 chapters) you have to run those in order.
From my time in DDO (up to level 20) it did not feel as free form as you explain...maybe they've changed things or added things, but I remember when there wasn't even the open area at the beginning. All the dungeons were VERY similar and you had to constantly repeat quests just to get to the next level so you could rinse and repeat.
DDO had time to add....NW is just kicking in. I think the world, the combat and the Foundry trump DDO pretty well...I'd say the biggest problem with DDO is that it was made by Turbine...Turbine's graphics are too conservative and their classes are very bland...In LOTRO and in DDO.
The skills in DDO seemed meh, whereas the skills in NW have a real purpose at all times.
Just saying, I think you are over-stating the differences a bit too much. To me NW is DDO without the bland, boring world and classes. It's more exciting and the graphics are more vibrant. The classes are well defined and the gears follows suit.
I think the foundry will be what really makes the game special. But I dont think it will appeal to the masses...
maybe its because DDO tried to get the game as close as they could to the table top version where as neverwinter nights online just throws the book out the window, and did what ever they wanted.
and i still like DDO grapics ya they are dated but they still look half decent and i enjoyu them better then most of the newer cartonny style MMOs we got.
F2P may be the way of the future, but ya know they dont make them like they used to
Proper Grammer & spelling are extra, corrections will be LOL at.
Yeah it's a lot different now. There are so many quests, you don't have to run them all to level, some over and over, like it was years ago. You can truly just pick the one's you want. Now someone can say the Foundry will soon provide that. But the question becomes..."Are you then out of the main story quest line never to return for that character?"
DDO is simply a lot deeper, the part where you say "Skills are meh", they are more sublte, you have resource management with several characters, that adds strategy not spamming. It's just more in-depth and well it's harder if you run it on Elite or higher to.
I don't feel I'm overstating at all. I'm very up to date on how DDO plays and I've put in 2 weekends of NWO. NWO is very linear and limited. It's 3D Diablo, which doesn't mean it can be fun. It's just a lot lighter then DDO in nearly every way imaginable, less the Foundry.
Speaking of the Foundry, we all want it to rock, but this is the 3rd attempt at it for Cryptic, someday it will be all that, but will it be now? It hasn't been the difference maker for them yet.
What I was really saying is that DDO has had several years to expand itself....comparing DDO at launch to Neverwinter pre-launch, I find that Neverwinter has a quite a bit more to offer.
Im not much for keeping with "Lore" and the way combat should happen....As long as the scenery is consistent nothing else matters...I actually applaud companies for not narrowing their options.
Fair enough. But comparing them now, not saying you are, but to write DDO2 from a journalist. Not really buying that.