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Dungeons & Dragons Online: Eberron Unlimited: Update 6 Tour
SBFord
Former Associate EditorMember LegendaryPosts: 33,129
MMORPG.com's Jaime Skelton recently had the chance to go out on a tour of the new Dungeons & Dragons Online content introduced with Update 6. Jaime got a good look at the new Red Fens adventure pack and the quest line that allows players to engage in underwater combat. See what Jaime thought of the Red Fens and fighting beneath the waves.
There's something special about the “underwater level,” some illicit substance in its DNA that compels developers to design it and players to demand it. When the DDO development team tackles its mystic properties, there's a real sense it's going to be an interesting experience, especially given the team's constant experimenting with physics. Three members of the team – Senior Content Producer Charles Miles, Design Director Ian Currie, and Producer Eric Boyer – took me on a tour of the swampy region and its underwater dangers.
Read more of Jaime's DDO Update 6 Tour.
Comments
how is this game doing, was thinking about trying it.
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it's doing very healthy and is quite fun
Definitely no problem finding groups...the game is only barren if you choose to solo the instanced adventures. Good fun imo. My only suggestion for the DDO staff is to tweak the quest journal and chat window management to make it a little more user friendly. It may just be me though...since I was spoon fed by WOW for a few years. Between this..LOTRO and Fallen Earth..I am appreciating the greater difficulty.
Let me reiterate...before the WOW fanatics come at me. By "greater difficulty" I mean the day to day difficulty ..in that there seems to me to be more thought and strategy in the average fight. Using cover...drawing the enemy in ...forcing them into a corner or corralling large numbers into a hallway or tight area. Managing your health and spell power/ki/rage. This is all common and not strictly a concern for RAIDS. I like that. I know raids can be very difficult and do not downplay that fact...I am merely stating that just about every combat can seriously benefit from forethought and quick thinking. They don't seem to be accomplished by mere key spamming and rote memorization. Granted the dungeons themselves can be memorized..but the A. I can be very surprising at times.. Plus it's a great long term or quickie game.
@BarCrow: Isn't it funny that if you don't defend your comments against WoW immediately you will be flamed, like it's almost inevitable? Lol
I tried DDO quite a few times and even though people say it's thriving I still don't see how because I had a helluva time finding groups when I played, the world seemed really empty; but that could be attributed to the vicious heavy instancing.
But congrats to DDO that it survived and is still kicking, I will give it that
The AI in DDO responds the same way every time. There are no surprises unless you go from normal to hard to elite where different spells come into play in many cases. Otherwise if you run the same quest at the same difficulty the monsters react and are in the same place as last time. DDO today is not half as challenging as it used to be and that to me is killing the fun for me.
I don't know, to fight underwater without anything special allowing you to be underwater in the first place, is kinda lame. I mean isn't there some spell allowing you to breathe underwater or some apparatus you can survive in to be underwater with?
Yep. Waterbreathing spells and items. Don't know how it works in this case, couldn't bother to read the article.
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You walk through a magical barrier, which puts a bubble (literally) around you that allows you to do stuff underwater. Personally, I think it's a good mechanic; managing breathing spells is a lame gimmick for underwater zones (anyone remember Kedge Keep?).
I'm far more interested in NWN 3 from Cryptic which will be in the Forgotten Realms with the 4th ed Rules set and setting, thus the Spell Plauge is in effect. It won't be an MMO like WoW or DDO but is supposed to once again allow user created content and user controlled servers. If it's any good I suspect DDO will be a ghost town.
I love it.
That's kinda weird really because the game epitomises everything I hate. Heavy instancing, XP = Level gain and a Cash Shop.
So why do I like this?
Heavy instancing: I used to play D&D on pen and paper. Everything in D&D back then was 'modules'. You could buy them or make them yourself - but it was modules. And when you think about it - Modules are the Pen and Paper equivilent of instancing. D&D is all about running Dungeons too and it makes perfect sense that these be instances. This is what instances were designed for. So, in this case it works.
XP=Level gain: I hate this mechanic in computer games. How uninspired. Computers can track multiple variables - so why not use that? But in Pen and Paper D&D it was done this way because it was manageable. So, in this game, it fits. It just feels right.
Cash Shop: I hate this in most games because of how it is run. It's run by greed. In DDO it's not. You can play 100% for free. The cash shop offers nothing you cannot 'earn' in game. Simply by playing (and completing quests) you earn Turbine Points - the same ones you can buy. So, you have a choice; buy Turbine Points, earn them or go the traditional subscription route and buypass them entirely. This hybrid model is a winner.
And finally: the feel of the game. Play a rogue or a paladin or a wizard. It's one of the few games I have played where my rogues actually feel like rogues, my paladins actually feel like holy warriors smiting undead, my wizards feel like they have magical power.
Yeah, I like this. Just goes to show that done appropriately even a heavily instanced cash shop game can work with the right IP.
But I certainly would not try this approach with other IPs... space games for example...
Nothing says irony like spelling ideot wrong.
I highly doubt NWN 3 will turn DDO into a ghost town. This claim is made every time X is released and almost every time has been false. It is time to give up on X making Y a ghost town. With DDO F2P as an option at all times people have no real reason toever leave for good, especially for another NWN game, the last one was a DDO killer as well.
If you want good AI the only MMO currently offering that is Darkfall, even the goblins are reasonably intelligent in that. Shame about alot of the other features in Darkfall.
I am tempted to try DDO again, I last tried it in 2006 and I am sure alot has changed since then.
I haven't enjoyed much of the newer content. Its just not fun. Its far too tedious and time-consuming.
The last content update I enjoyed was Dreaming Dark, and even that is iffy.
What is wrong with quest like Delaras, Tear of Dhakan, Giant hold quest, or Sands of Menechtarun? You can definitely tell the talent that was at DDO was laid off, and they have hired a whole new boring staff fresh from WoW.
The big difference I find between the quests you mention and the new stuff is those older quests let you really do some exploring. You can take multiple routes in some of them to get to the next area such as Deleras part one with some options, while the newer quests seem to lead you from one objective to the next in a linear fashion. The Sentinals quests seemed that way to me, like there was no wrong way to go because you were pretty much pushed to the next part and actually figuring anything out was not needed. But this is what you get when a game goes from niche and creative to money hungry and main stream. Originality and creativity are pushed aside so cookie cutter and quick can take their places.
And I dont. It will be D&D and you will be able to create your OWN adventuers and play on servers ran by players. That is far far better than a wattered down version of Eberron where you are stuck in Xen Drik and Storm Reach. The potential NWN has over DDO is limitless and also many people playing DDO that I met would have rather been in Forgotten Realms. I think you will be dissapointed. And it isn't false. DDO IS pretty sparse.
Sparse? The population is at an all time high. The game DDO is becoming is not one I like as much, but no NwN is going to kill it. NwN 2 was not able to do it and with the way DDO is now with F2P you are dreaming if you think NWN 3 will do it. You simply do not understand or choose to ignore the fact that DDO is a much bigger game now and in no threat of sying to a non MMO D&D game. Sorry but you are wrong.
As an addition:
I would love a Forgotten Realms MMO and would leave DDO for one in a heartbeat, but NWN is not an MMO. If they made a NWN MMO I would completely agree with you on people leaving DDO, but NWN will not be and by itself will have next to no impact on DDOs population.
Thinking about trying the game!
I'm not saying that fighting mob's in DDO is like going against elite nnja warriors being commanded by Alexander the Great and Sun Tzu. Merely that ..imo...there are rare moments when they throw me off with an unexpected spell or maneuver..which is more than I can say for most mmos. The big plus is the ability to use terrain effectively..which again is a rarity in most mmos. The collision detecton could use some work though...and I do wish they would solidify more models instead of making me feel like a ghost . e.g. walking through trees and bushes mainly..lol. Anyway...you're right ..it isn't as difficult as it was a few years ago. My 3rd level barbarian could have never soloed the early waterworks quests then..but with a bit of preparation and forethought..it is possible these days without using the , on the spot , DDO store.(even elite can be soloable in some cases based on preparedness.)
Waterbreathing items and spells are in the game, but not used in this circumstance. The enchantment allowing you to move and fight underwater is provided by the rebels.
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