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DDO or WOW for casual gameplay?
dreadman
Member Posts: 20
Hello, im a hard working man with an intrest in MMORPGs. The problem is that I dont have time to play a lot, because of all the work 
Which game is the best for someone like me? I have tried both DDO and WOW and both games are very nice.
I can only invest about 1 hour a day on games and maybe 3 hours per day on weekends 
. So which game do you think is the best for casual gameplay?
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Comments
WoW is a good game for casual players till you hit level 60, at which point it becomes very raid-centric, which isn't casual friendly at all.
If I had to recommend an MMORPG which IS casual friendly that is already released?
I'd have to go with EQ2.
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Neither are very casual friendly and not something you'd play for a long time. So if you like to put time into a character and would like to keep them progressing for a long time, I'd go with EQ2. Just check the trial. DDO is a terrible game imo.
for the *casual* player this can be a problem because you will OFTEN wind up having to log out before the adventure is complete. Then you have to hope you can find a group that needs your class mid-way through later, so that you can finish the quest.
Trust me, as a casual player I found some aspects of DDO extremely unfriendly. (On top of, as you said, it just being a crappy game, which it is.)
Currently Playing: Dungeons and Dragons Online.
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WoW is much more casual friendly. Patch 1.10 made casual play at 60 without end game raiding even possible. But still though when you reach max level WoW leaves a lot to be desired. But from levels 1 to 59 you will have a lot of fun with a toon from the alliance and then from the Horde. After that the game gets boring pretty fast.
EQ2 is probably a better option for casual play. However sometimes soloing gets a bit difficult due to the grouping of heroic common mobs. But if you KNOW where to look there is always something to solo and something to do.
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Any game where you have to deal with hunting for items or raising money you automaticily add more required time to the game. Adding instanced content even in WOW can exceed 3 hours to complete at times you really removing half the experience.
You might want to try Guild Wars where you can form a AI group and at least do a quick instance in an hour and feel satified or maybe find an old copy of Dungeon Siege which still has an ok sized online community with pickup games.
It would be hard to argue a subscription MMO is for people that have FAR more than one hour a night to play the game.
DDO never
Well, since you asked for either WoW or DDO (not EQ2), I would say WoW is a decent game and very condusive to casual/solo play until you hit 60 anyways...
DDO is the worst MMO in years.
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EQ2 if you want to solo then have plenty to do when you hit 50, 60, then 70. Yes there are two expansions, but both have a ton of content, espically Kingdom of Sky.
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Of the two WoW is more casual friendly, but only until you hit 60. If you are only interested in 3-6 months worth of play, that is definitely the way to go. If you are looking for something to keep your attention longer I would agree with the people who suggest giving EQ2 a look, with the following caveats.
Presumably you will end up soloing a lot on the nights where you can only spend and hour or so. While there is lots of solo content in EQ2 there is also a lot of content specifically aimed at groups, that can’t really be done solo. That bothers some people. If you find the right guild it may still be possible to get these quests done by asking your guild mates for a hand
You can solo all the way to 70 in EQ2 but you will miss many of the more interesting areas, not get the same quality loot (though I find I make more money solo) and generally take longer then someone who spends their time in groups. Finally, unless you do a lot of grinding it’s very possible that you will never max out your character level and AA because SOE is continually adding to these. Again, these are things that bothers some people.
Overall I would say EQ2 works IF find a guild with compatible people. Another possibility if you are willing to try sci-fi instead of fantasy is EVE online. While you will not be as rich as someone who spends a lot more time in the game, skills are independent of the time you actually play so you can never fall behind.
I've played them both and both have pro's and con's. But, they are both games which CAN be played casually if you wish, although I don't believe they're intended for a casual audience. By "casual" I would assume you mean more solo play.
DDO has the option of smaller, less time intensive dungeons, however, if you're playing it casually you will never get the best experience you could since the better dungeons are more time intensive and are focussed more on group play. And we all know, finding a group is one of the most tedious parts of that game.
World of Warcraft is probably the more casual of the two, only because you could solo up to level 60 if you wished to. But you'd miss the enjoyment of group play, and you might also have to avoid the tougher instances because they're not intended for solo play comensurate with your level. It's reall at level 60, when you get to end-game content that you find you'll have to devote more time to group play for raids. But, even then you can still choose to just PvP in the battlegrounds and try to get gear that way (although it's not quite the caliber of the raid epics).
So of the two, in my opinion, I would say that WoW lean's more to the casual player for the amount of content you'd like to have available (because in the question of content anyway, WoW has more than DDO). But unlike what one of the previous posters mentioned...DDO has ALOT of repetitive levelling.
Out of the three (WoW, DDO and CoH/V) I enjoy WoW the most. Unfortunately WoW can be a real time sink. and I'm sure once the expansion is out I'll be sinking most of my time into WoW once again.
Thanks for the answers, seems DDO wont do.
Ive tried EQ2 a little but i didnt like the graphics much so I never really played it.
With casual I mean botrh solo and group but with quests/dungeons that will not take to much time.
I will probably gona haveto solo when I only have about 1 hour to spend and group when I have longer.
Maybe I can call in sick for a day or 2 to play more
I think I haveto give EQ2 a good try...
...by the way, I wanna play MMORPGs because there simply aren´t any good RPGs around which will satisfy my apetite. Not until Neverwinternights 2 comes anyway.
I can't say much about DDO, (Looks way too party oriented for a casual to get anywhere though) but about WoW, it's very simple: WoW is casual and solo friendly from 1-60. Then, it switch the pace to a completely insane level once you reach the end game.
So if your goal is only to pass time, doing your little quest and stuff, you can keep leveling character in WoW and have "some" fun. But the minute you will want "more", it will mean you will have to get with 40 mans party and grind the same instance 150 times in order to better your character. There are no casual anymore in WoW once you reach 60. You are either "hardcore" or "ultra hardcore".
What deserves to be done, deserves to be "well" done...
I've played both game extensively, so I feel I know what I'm talking about. In WoW you can play casually, but you will be solo most of the time since you won't have the time to group. The best content in WoW requires a group.
DDO is made for the casual gamer. It is my belief as well as many others, that DDO was targetted for that once a week PnP DnD players. They typically met for once a week for a few hours and that was it. This game is not that far off in that sense. You could play the time you said you have and still get a group and get something accomplished in that time frame.
So I suggest DDO. The majority of people on this site are DDO haters though, mostly because Turbine didn't make it into a explorable world and instead made it instanced. Newcomers to MMO's that don't know the difference, won't mind it I am pretty sure.
plus, what everyone is saying about eq2. if you're into crafting, i'd definitely give eq2 another shot. crafting is what i liked best and least about eq2. even at low levels, i was finding (not sure if this is the right term in eq2) "rare" recipes for different items. that and the amount of items was cool. i disliked all the bazillion sub-pieces i had to make in order to make an item. so if you're a crafter, eq2 definitely has a lot of cool stuff.
now, like others have said, if you're playing as little as you say, wow CAN give you fun until lvl 60. if you're playing as little as you say... wow can give you twice as much fun, if you roll one faction (horde or alliance), play it thru to 60 and then roll a toon in the other faction. play it thru to 60 and then when you start your second toon, it'll be brand new for a while (till around late 20s) and then you'll see overlap... UNLESS you didn't visit all the areas you could've with your first toon, and then it could be a brand new experience all over again thru this lvl 60. plus, they're saying from 60-70 will take as long as 1-60.... so you might run into the expansion before you hit your first 60.
could we please get correspondent writers and moderators, on the eve forum at mmorpg.com, who are well-versed on eve-online and aren't just passersby pushing buttons? pretty please?
I never had the problems you had. I was in a guild and we would log on about the same times every night and those that fell behind were taken care of without question. We would even go through the same content again that was only half way finished by that person.
I feel you would have had a difference of opinion if you were in my guild.
Valid points, but I don't agree. It was always my belief that an MMO should make it where it took you years to complete your character. If he is playing the hours he is, he will easily reach max level in either one of those games before it closes down and would of experienced all the game had to offer, except for WoW with it's long raids.
How many people do you hear complaining because they reached max level too quickly and are bored? I've never heard one extremely casual player like the OP say that they were bored with their MMO. Usually they are the loyal fanbase of each game. The ones who don't rush through everything and take over a year to accomplish all the content in the game, which by that time a new expansion with new content is out.
have you played up to lvl 70 in EQ2 and do all 3 adventure packs and the 2 expansions? Tons of solo content compared to just WoW with its patches.
have you played up to lvl 70 in EQ2 and do all 3 adventure packs and the 2 expansions? Tons of solo content compared to just WoW with its patches.
I found most solo content in Everquest 2 to be mixed in with a lot of group content. If it wasn't that then the mobs were social. If that wasn't the case then you were stuck fighting things that conned lower then you because even things close to your level would kill you if you weren't a caster or had someone healing you and then you aren't soloing but partnering.
WoW is really a lot better when it comes to soloing. EQ2 has solo content but getting to it and taking action against that content can be frustrating if you don't know the small areas or perfect locations where to hunt. You have a much easier time of it in WoW I've found from my experiences.
WoW has places to roam around, dungeons to explore, quests to do. Far more content (wow did I say that about WoW?) than DD0.
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Now im more confused than ever. I did like some parts of DDO very much. But it didnt seem to be finished yet, half completed somehow?
Wow has a nice look to it and its easy to get into. But all this raiding cant be done with my working hours. So ill play a char to level 60 and then its over? Maybee...
Guild wars seems very intressting, looks nice and promising but the world in the game seems very limited.
I guess i will roll the old dice and just go with one game
While it has already been mentioned EVE online sounds like the game would best fit your play style.
If you have to choose from only DDO and WoW, then WoW is the better choice.
If you only want to solo and never interact with other people, then you will be happy with WoW until you hit the max level. If you want to group with people and socialize, then you need to find a casual guild. There is usually one on each realm. If you are lucky you will be able to meet people that play like you do, but even most "casuals" play 16+ hours per week.
I have yet to find a MMO that was so solo friendly from 1-60. At 60 you will quickly be bored.
I would suggest you create a character on a low population realm and one on new hardware.