[Column] Dungeons & Dragons Online: Four Reasons to Give DDO a Try

BillMurphy · May 2015

There was a time when I would fork over $15 a month for subscriptions to multiple MMOs at a time, and although that’s crazy, I clearly remember Dungeons & Dragons Online being one of the few MMORPGs worth the concurrent investment. Years later, when DDO went free-to-play, it gave me and countless others an opportunity to jump back in and see what Turbine had been doing with the game in the intervening period. While it’s not the newest, prettiest, or easiest to understand game on the block, there’s still so much value to be had in Turbine’s D&D-themed MMO.

Here are four reasons to get back into DDO or give it a try for the first time!

rojoArcueid · May 2015

The last option is not really an option. It is just a heavily restricted trial. That alone is a reason not to play. I dont see this game as something worth of a sub. If they sell me the game and release those free restrictions for game owners then i would totally play it. As it is now, its not worth it IMO.

mgilbrtsn · May 2015

I enjoy it. It's one of those games that is fun to do a little adventure, move on, and come back to in a month or two and do another one.

MMOGamer71 · May 2015

One of best games for a group of friends and/or family to play together simply because of the define classes.

flizzer · May 2015

Originally posted by rojoArcueid
The last option is not really an option. It is just a heavily restricted trial. That alone is a reason not to play. I dont see this game as something worth of a sub. If they sell me the game and release those free restrictions for game owners then i would totally play it. As it is now, its not worth it IMO.

Agreed. If they got rid of this it would be worth playing

mgilbrtsn · May 2015

It's been a while and I can't remember. I don't ever remember buying in game items, so is there an item mall or something? How will they continue to give updates and things if they have no income. Sales alone aren't gonna do it. It's an older game, and I doubt the numbers are there in new box sales to keep it going.

elocke · May 2015

Tried to play this again recently. From tons of rubberbanding while in combat and walking in a zone to the clunky combat that really isn't all that fun to the lack of open world and the overly confusing loot system/stats/feats etc. I just found this game to be utterly unfun and impossible to get into no matter how much "content" it has. But hey, it's free. So if you don't believe me, download it and give it a shot. I know many will agree with me after they try it.

Sovrath · May 2015

And yet I still hate it.

It's D&D!

Well, it may be but the initial setting is atrocious to my taste. I even joined and paid a sub so I could try to level up and go to the Under Dark as well as Temple of Elemental evil and I didn't last long so horrible do I find the initial setting.

Active Combat and Skills

I agree and for me this is what shines about DDO.

Tons of Content

Great, but if I want to bypass a good part of it then that's not a selling point.

It's free

not a selling point. It being free doesn't matter to me and I gladly pay for my entertainment. I just want to pay for good entertainment.

My time is more important to me and how I spend my time has greater meaning than whether something is free or not.

Free "bad" is not better than Paid "good" to my tastes.

Agnostic42 · May 2015

I regularly return to DDO at least twice a year for a month or two at a time. With a 4-6 PC LAN room set up, my family can play through some adventures without anyone having to be the dungeon master and just enjoy the scenario.

We pay the sub so we don't see the FTP restrictions that many complain about. Which allows us to see all of the content and just make some cool characters and have fun.

My only complaint is the servers they use. They have to be the original ones from the games launch, or close to it. They really need to get better ones. The rubber banding and general laggy feel of the game sometimes hurts the playability and can get in the way of a good time.

paulytheb · May 2015

I would go back and play periodically, like I have in the past. For some reason though, it absolutely will not play on my newer laptop.

Even games like SWTOR that this laptop shouldn't be able to play, play just fine. Other MMO's play just fine. Yet DDO is a no go. Tried for days to make it work, no help to be found.

So until I get a machine it will play on, I guess I wont be there.

Hariken · May 2015

Originally posted by rojoArcueid
The last option is not really an option. It is just a heavily restricted trial. That alone is a reason not to play. I dont see this game as something worth of a sub. If they sell me the game and release those free restrictions for game owners then i would totally play it. As it is now, its not worth it IMO.

It is a sucky so called f2p option almost as bad as swotor's. I don't get why these reviewers keep saying this about Tubine's f2p option being good. Its real crap just like Lotro's.

Chadiwicker · May 2015

I would probably play again if I didn't have to pay for the expansions. Same with LOTRO. Just too steep a price to have access to the whole game since I haven't played in years.

Tokken · May 2015

I'll stick with Neverwinter.

jwarlock · May 2015

Sovrath, there is an option, to get level 15 characters: The Shadar-kai, Bladesword, Purple Dragon Knight and Sun Elf can all start at level 15 and in Eveningstar.

DelCabon · May 2015

This is the one game where I look forward to general/zone chats. The community is very mature (for the most part) and focused on enjoying the gaming. There are always people eager to answer questions or help with dungeons.

For immersive dungeon crawls DDO offers some really amazing content. I love how every dungeon offers characteristics which cater to different skills and classes. The narrations are sometimes a mixed bag but overall I like the DM overtures.

If your not familiar with the ADnD ruleset there is definitely a learning curve but in terms of character management I don't know of any game that offers the same depth and level of customization.

Sovrath · May 2015

Originally posted by jwarlock
Sovrath, there is an option, to get level 15 characters: The Shadar-kai, Bladesword, Purple Dragon Knight and Sun Elf can all start at level 15 and in Eveningstar.

huh, this is news to me. I'll look into it. Thanks!

Letsinod · May 2015

Forever will not play this because you can resize hotbars. On a hi res monitor the hotbars are squinty

hfztt · May 2015

I have over time bought nearly all adventure packs for this. I like how they made straight out buying permanent access to content a very viable alternative to buying a sub. IN that way I see this one much more as b2p than f2p really. You can just b2p in smaller chunks than you would in something like GW2. On the bright side this game has no lock boxes which is my number one hate item in other f2p/b2p titles.

Ausdoerrt · May 2015

Originally posted by Agnostic42
My only complaint is the servers they use. They have to be the original ones from the games launch, or close to it. They really need to get better ones. The rubber banding and general laggy feel of the game sometimes hurts the playability and can get in the way of a good time.

Agreed, pretty old servers can cause problems - but they just recently announced that they'd be moving to new hardware this year, so something to look forward to.

Also, you'd be surprised how much user-end can affect this game's performance - refreshing my laptop's thermopaste and switching to an SSD did wonders for the game's loading times and much of in-game 'lag'.

Originally posted by Sovrath
Well, it may be but the initial setting is atrocious to my taste. I even joined and paid a sub so I could try to level up and go to the Under Dark as well as Temple of Elemental evil and I didn't last long so horrible do I find the initial setting.

Well, that's probably why they introduced Iconic Characters, which let you start the game at level 15 and go straight to the FR setting. You should try that. I still love the steampunky weirdness of Eberron over the more stale FR, but hey, a matter of taste.

jdlamson75 · May 2015

Stopped reading after the first sentence. If multiple games are good enough, paying a $15 sub isn't "crazy", unless you're taking money away from more important things. Like hookers and beer.

Azrilee · May 2015

I constantly go back to DDO, one of the benefits of it being a F2P game. With the way you can earn points just from completely quests, which allow you to buy other quest packs or races, it really is a neat system. I never felt restricted because I am a free player, although i did buy some things just so I would get bumped up ( by making one purchase, you get some extra perks forever). The game overall is a lot of fun, my favorite part is just the way the dungeons are done with traps, ambushes and stuff like that, it is nice soloing those quests/dungeons and there is a huge amount of replayability because classes are so distinct.

Nebless · May 2015

Originally posted by Hariken
Originally posted by rojoArcueid
The last option is not really an option. It is just a heavily restricted trial. That alone is a reason not to play. I dont see this game as something worth of a sub. If they sell me the game and release those free restrictions for game owners then i would totally play it. As it is now, its not worth it IMO.

It is a sucky so called f2p option almost as bad as swotor's. I don't get why these reviewers keep saying this about Tubine's f2p option being good. Its real crap just like Lotro's.

I always enjoy when someone says 'a heavily restricted trial'. Well if it is I've been playing it since it first went F2p and haven't had a problem yet. Some of the Trial Period's I've seen elsewhere limit you to 2 weeks or a low level before you have to buy. Here there's no level cap or time limit. Yes you don't get ALL the bells and whistle's if you don't sub, but if that's what you want ...... THEN PAY A SUB. As it is I get what I pay for and am fine with that.

As to how the option is run I like it. I've bought a couple Adventure Packs over the years. But just the one's that interest me. I'm not an end raider or an altaholitic. I have my original guy and am at a wopping lvl 9 (which I just hit this year). I play when I want to and what I want to with the mindset like the family guy that posted above. Run a dungeon for the fun of it.

I could sub and support the company and am probably a butt for not since I like the game, but not HAVING to play it to get my money's worth is a pretty good deal.

Sovrath · May 2015

Originally posted by Ausdoerrt

Well, that's probably why they introduced Iconic Characters, which let you start the game at level 15 and go straight to the FR setting. You should try that. I still love the steampunky weirdness of Eberron over the more stale FR, but hey, a matter of taste.

That was mentioned above so downloading so I can try it. I have no problem with steam punk but I dont like how ddo did it. In any case, thanks for affirming that this is possible!

tawess · May 2015

Sadly i´d say the community is the games worst part.. have always been... (and yes i still have my red little CE box sitting at home.. ) There has always been a sense of rush and push in the game and now that it is top heavy as all come funk it has just gotten worse.

If you look at this game... Get a good guild first that are willing to let you explore the content at your own pace... Or find your self rushed past by a crowd on their umpteenth re-roll getting pissy with you for not knowing every single inch of every single dungeon.

But with a good group of friends that still knows how to enjoy a nice dungeon crawl... It can be a very entertaining game.

CynicDS · May 2015

Honestly, for me you missed out the best reason to try it - build diversity. Most other MMOs let you choose a class and race, and thats about it. DDO makes you choose race, class ( or multiple classes if you prefer) skills, feats, enhancements and what spells you can use. i've yet to see another game that even gets close in this respect.

tawess · May 2015

it is actually pretty common these days.. they just call it different things.

That being said, DDO does it fairly well. But they are not really special.

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[Column] Dungeons & Dragons Online: Four Reasons to Give DDO a Try

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[Column] Dungeons & Dragons Online: Four Reasons to Give DDO a Try

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Proud MMORPG.com member since March 2004! Make PvE GREAT Again!

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