I've enjoyed this game since it's launch. I'm working on my endgame builds with heroic and epic reincarnations.
The combat keeps me around. It's dynamic. You can block or dodge attacks. It's not at all like the hotbar dance of WoW. There is no "complete this quest and get the same piece of loot that everyone else has" mechanic.
There is unmatched build diversity. I can say with certainty that there is no other character built or geared like mine. Other MMOs have armies of clones running around with the same appearance and gear. There is the other D&D game that lets you have a few enhancement paths. You know, the one where your feet become anchored to the ground when you attack...
I have been playing DDO on and off since 2006, taking breaks for other games but always going back. I imagine I will be going back until such a time as the game closes or another similar game can takes it place. There is nothing similar, that I have found on the market. I will try to give a positive/negative overview for people considering the game.
1) POSITIVE
Build diversity. This is the number 1 for me - I have never/incredibly rarely grouped with someone playing the same build as me (I do play niche builds). My builds are capable of the toughest content. There are of course fotm style builds, but you can build an effective character that is uniquely you. You can:
Choose from 12 races (8 regular/ 4 Iconics that start at level 15. Max level 28)
Choose your stats - stats that matter
Mix up to 3 classes (there are 13 classes - plus Warlock being released 'soon')
Pick from a list of feats
Most classes have 3 enhancement trees (talent trees) - you can mix from each of your classes enhancement trees (i.e. a Fighter can mix from Vanguard, a dps sword and board tree and tactics tree; Kensai, a dps tree tree; and Stalwart Defender, a tanking/defensive tree).
Choose your spells
Choose your skills - though choice in this area can often be simple
When I try other MMOs, this is what kills them for me. If another MMO had character generation that was as complex and as involved, they would have nabbed me if they met my 2nd criteria.
1) NEGATIVE
Graphics. Biggest hurdle I reckon. I don't care because I am used to them, but they are dated. The art department does a decent job with what they have, but you can't get around the dated nature of the graphics.
2) POSITIVE
Instancing. I dislike games where instancing is the cool factor in amongst the mundane 'world', i.e. the illusion of the world. For instance, WOW, Realm Reborn - I enjoy the instances in the game, but the worlds are often boring quest hubs. I enjoy instancing and DDO is all instancing. I also enjoy 'living world' games, like SWG; I loved the feeling of being part of living breathing world; I did not engage instance in that game, although I think they may have had one when I quit. I feel the mix of instancing and world doe not mix well.
DDO doesn't try to mix - it simply does a good job of instancing. Each quest is an instance, either six man or a twelve man raid. They offer mroe than a lot of games instances - i.e. traps to be disabled, secret door to be found, perches you can reach with a high jump skill, the ability to float with featherfall spells - the game is very 3 dimensional - where as a lot of games it all seems to happen on one level.
2) NEGATIVE
Living world. Related to the above. It is all instanced dungeons, which may put you off. The economy is borked and crafting is poorly implemented with a multitude of settings. So if you are a world type player, I would avoid.
3) POSITIVE: LOOT
While they tried to streamline loot a while ago, to make it easier for new players and emulate other games (imo to the detriment of the game), it is still fairly unique in my experience of games. In a lot of games I have played, loot is simply a ladder of replacing one value with another - i.e. on my fighter each piece of my gear is going to have the same value but go higher as I level. I find this boring. In DDO, there are massive amount of different loot types that give different bonuses, some are unique, and most types don't stack. So you end up carefully planning loot with a mishmash of different types that suit your build.
3) NEGATIVE: BALANCING
This game is incredibly difficult to balance due to its build diversity; they are continually trying and will likely never succeed.
4) POSITIVE: COMBAT/ABILITIES
I guess this is a mixture of tab combating and action. It is very fast and you can use spells/abilities without being rooted to the ground. There is a massive variety of abilities, not all DPS + Healing, lots of sub abilities that add nuances to combat.
4) NEGATIVE: SOLOABILITY?SELF-SUFFICIENCY
Some people may see this as a positive, but I hate it. A lot of the game you can solo now. On the hardest settings, most players need to group. Players wanted the ability to not have to wait for a healer and they got it; most characters are self-sufficient in a healing sense, largely killing the healer as an archetype (which a lot of people like to play). Truth be told, there is often need for a healer in truly difficult content, but the need is niche and limited. Something similar could be said for tanking.
5) BOTH: COMMUNITY
I find largely positive and friendly.
However, certain mechanics of the game reward veteran players for rerunning old content and they can blast through it, making new players feel redundant.
6) POSITIVE: PAYMENT
I think this game is good because it offers a variety of options. For instance, I'm quitting A Realm Reborn, because while my wife enjoys it (and I like playing with her), we would play under 10 hours a month; this isn't worth 2 subscriptions for us. Whereas in DDO she was able to buy each small chunk of content as she needed it. Some notes:
On FTP: You can play completely free but it would be a massive grind.
On subscribing: I subscribe because I think it's worth it - lots of content and regular updates.
On BTP: My wife no longer plays. When she did, she went the BTP route, buying the quest packs as she needed them. This worked for her, as her play time was limited. BTP is probably cheaper in the long run, if you buy all the quest packs than subscribing, but subscribing gives you perks.
On P2W: I guess I'm pretty antagonistic vs any p2w - this game has a little bit. Nowhere near like NWO, but certainly there.
6) NEGATIVE: POLISH
Polish is poor. Lag was an issue in some high level raids for a while but has improved, which is encouraging. Bugs creep into the main game. Exploits take too long to be fixed. However, generally the environment is lag and bug free and you can enjoy it.
ON NWO
Regardless on which game is better, this game is more DnD in a mechanics sense. There have been massive adjustments made to the rule-set, but it gives you the flavour and thought of the original mechanics.
ON STARTING FRESH
Ignore the recommended starting server. It rotates. I would find out first which server boasts the biggest population.
Due to build complexity expect to re-roll your character as you learn the game; that is fine (build respeccing is expensive), we all did.
Don't use the recommended builds in character creation, unless you really want to just jump into it - they are poorly made and outdated. Use the 'customise' option. Either research builds or tinker yourself (to me, as you can see for part 1, you really need to enjoy doing this in this game).
In groups, let people know you're new - if you want to go slow, let them know that; a lot of people will go slower once they are aware of that.
I hope that gives a well-rounded perspective of the game.
I played this for a bit while waiting for ESO to launch. Honestly I was completely blown away. It felt so "D&D" (much more so than NWO), character customization is so deep (and fun), the monster AI is pretty good, and I loved the way you could use lure out mobs with skills/sounds similarly to Skyrim.
I think Bobodaclown's write up is spot on, but I would also add that the dungeon level design was amazing. I haven't experienced that level of dungeon crawling fun in an mmo before, and the DM voice-overs were a great touch.
The graphics were off-putting, but what mainly stopped me from playing was that around level 6-8 the game became a huge grind. I had to do the same instances over and over, and they are the sort of dungeons that are fun to do maybe a couple of times (I had the sub too).
I really want to go back and level up more at some point, because I hear that the later level content is quite good.
I was into heavy then everyone i played with got bored n left. Then i return in the "ftp" n felt jilted. Really is a sub game, good, but barely enjoyable ftp. Much love ddo.
Comments
I've enjoyed this game since it's launch. I'm working on my endgame builds with heroic and epic reincarnations.
The combat keeps me around. It's dynamic. You can block or dodge attacks. It's not at all like the hotbar dance of WoW. There is no "complete this quest and get the same piece of loot that everyone else has" mechanic.
There is unmatched build diversity. I can say with certainty that there is no other character built or geared like mine. Other MMOs have armies of clones running around with the same appearance and gear. There is the other D&D game that lets you have a few enhancement paths. You know, the one where your feet become anchored to the ground when you attack...
The Old Timer's Guild DDO Chapter Leader
I have been playing DDO on and off since 2006, taking breaks for other games but always going back. I imagine I will be going back until such a time as the game closes or another similar game can takes it place. There is nothing similar, that I have found on the market. I will try to give a positive/negative overview for people considering the game.
1) POSITIVE
Build diversity. This is the number 1 for me - I have never/incredibly rarely grouped with someone playing the same build as me (I do play niche builds). My builds are capable of the toughest content. There are of course fotm style builds, but you can build an effective character that is uniquely you. You can:
Choose from 12 races (8 regular/ 4 Iconics that start at level 15. Max level 28)
Choose your stats - stats that matter
Mix up to 3 classes (there are 13 classes - plus Warlock being released 'soon')
Pick from a list of feats
Most classes have 3 enhancement trees (talent trees) - you can mix from each of your classes enhancement trees (i.e. a Fighter can mix from Vanguard, a dps sword and board tree and tactics tree; Kensai, a dps tree tree; and Stalwart Defender, a tanking/defensive tree).
Choose your spells
Choose your skills - though choice in this area can often be simple
When I try other MMOs, this is what kills them for me. If another MMO had character generation that was as complex and as involved, they would have nabbed me if they met my 2nd criteria.
1) NEGATIVE
Graphics. Biggest hurdle I reckon. I don't care because I am used to them, but they are dated. The art department does a decent job with what they have, but you can't get around the dated nature of the graphics.
2) POSITIVE
Instancing. I dislike games where instancing is the cool factor in amongst the mundane 'world', i.e. the illusion of the world. For instance, WOW, Realm Reborn - I enjoy the instances in the game, but the worlds are often boring quest hubs. I enjoy instancing and DDO is all instancing. I also enjoy 'living world' games, like SWG; I loved the feeling of being part of living breathing world; I did not engage instance in that game, although I think they may have had one when I quit. I feel the mix of instancing and world doe not mix well.
DDO doesn't try to mix - it simply does a good job of instancing. Each quest is an instance, either six man or a twelve man raid. They offer mroe than a lot of games instances - i.e. traps to be disabled, secret door to be found, perches you can reach with a high jump skill, the ability to float with featherfall spells - the game is very 3 dimensional - where as a lot of games it all seems to happen on one level.
2) NEGATIVE
Living world. Related to the above. It is all instanced dungeons, which may put you off. The economy is borked and crafting is poorly implemented with a multitude of settings. So if you are a world type player, I would avoid.
3) POSITIVE: LOOT
While they tried to streamline loot a while ago, to make it easier for new players and emulate other games (imo to the detriment of the game), it is still fairly unique in my experience of games. In a lot of games I have played, loot is simply a ladder of replacing one value with another - i.e. on my fighter each piece of my gear is going to have the same value but go higher as I level. I find this boring. In DDO, there are massive amount of different loot types that give different bonuses, some are unique, and most types don't stack. So you end up carefully planning loot with a mishmash of different types that suit your build.
3) NEGATIVE: BALANCING
This game is incredibly difficult to balance due to its build diversity; they are continually trying and will likely never succeed.
4) POSITIVE: COMBAT/ABILITIES
I guess this is a mixture of tab combating and action. It is very fast and you can use spells/abilities without being rooted to the ground. There is a massive variety of abilities, not all DPS + Healing, lots of sub abilities that add nuances to combat.
4) NEGATIVE: SOLOABILITY?SELF-SUFFICIENCY
Some people may see this as a positive, but I hate it. A lot of the game you can solo now. On the hardest settings, most players need to group. Players wanted the ability to not have to wait for a healer and they got it; most characters are self-sufficient in a healing sense, largely killing the healer as an archetype (which a lot of people like to play). Truth be told, there is often need for a healer in truly difficult content, but the need is niche and limited. Something similar could be said for tanking.
5) BOTH: COMMUNITY
I find largely positive and friendly.
However, certain mechanics of the game reward veteran players for rerunning old content and they can blast through it, making new players feel redundant.
6) POSITIVE: PAYMENT
I think this game is good because it offers a variety of options. For instance, I'm quitting A Realm Reborn, because while my wife enjoys it (and I like playing with her), we would play under 10 hours a month; this isn't worth 2 subscriptions for us. Whereas in DDO she was able to buy each small chunk of content as she needed it. Some notes:
On FTP: You can play completely free but it would be a massive grind.
On subscribing: I subscribe because I think it's worth it - lots of content and regular updates.
On BTP: My wife no longer plays. When she did, she went the BTP route, buying the quest packs as she needed them. This worked for her, as her play time was limited. BTP is probably cheaper in the long run, if you buy all the quest packs than subscribing, but subscribing gives you perks.
On P2W: I guess I'm pretty antagonistic vs any p2w - this game has a little bit. Nowhere near like NWO, but certainly there.
6) NEGATIVE: POLISH
Polish is poor. Lag was an issue in some high level raids for a while but has improved, which is encouraging. Bugs creep into the main game. Exploits take too long to be fixed. However, generally the environment is lag and bug free and you can enjoy it.
ON NWO
Regardless on which game is better, this game is more DnD in a mechanics sense. There have been massive adjustments made to the rule-set, but it gives you the flavour and thought of the original mechanics.
ON STARTING FRESH
Ignore the recommended starting server. It rotates. I would find out first which server boasts the biggest population.
Due to build complexity expect to re-roll your character as you learn the game; that is fine (build respeccing is expensive), we all did.
Don't use the recommended builds in character creation, unless you really want to just jump into it - they are poorly made and outdated. Use the 'customise' option. Either research builds or tinker yourself (to me, as you can see for part 1, you really need to enjoy doing this in this game).
In groups, let people know you're new - if you want to go slow, let them know that; a lot of people will go slower once they are aware of that.
I hope that gives a well-rounded perspective of the game.
I played this for a bit while waiting for ESO to launch. Honestly I was completely blown away. It felt so "D&D" (much more so than NWO), character customization is so deep (and fun), the monster AI is pretty good, and I loved the way you could use lure out mobs with skills/sounds similarly to Skyrim.
I think Bobodaclown's write up is spot on, but I would also add that the dungeon level design was amazing. I haven't experienced that level of dungeon crawling fun in an mmo before, and the DM voice-overs were a great touch.
The graphics were off-putting, but what mainly stopped me from playing was that around level 6-8 the game became a huge grind. I had to do the same instances over and over, and they are the sort of dungeons that are fun to do maybe a couple of times (I had the sub too).
I really want to go back and level up more at some point, because I hear that the later level content is quite good.