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My "one week" review
grimjakk
Member Posts: 192
This is NOT a bog-standard MMORPG. It is very much a translation of the whole "sitting 'round the table, rolling dice with your friends" experience. If you want just another MUD-based EQ/WoW clone, you won't want to waste your time here. If you're looking to re-experience your vorpal sword swinging salad days, or are a fan of the Baldur's Gate/Neverwinter Nights games, then this might be the online RPG for you.
Specifics:
Graphics are outstanding on my machine (ATI x800-225meg) and sound is well done. I'd like to see a little more variation in some of the themes, particularly the tavern music... I've got one song stuck in my head, and its driving me nuts.
The built in voicechat adds to the "RP" immensely for some... eliminates it for others. It all depends on whether you're coming from a PnP or an online perspective. Some groups I've been in use party text chat for RP and voice for tactical. Others RP with voice... PnP style. On the stats side, the flexible 3.5e character generation system has largely made it in-game intact. Some feats and abilities translate better than others, but on the whole, you can tweak to your heart's content. Be advised, tho'... parties tend not to appreciate "Cuisinart" Rogues that can't spot/disarm traps or "Big Axe" Fighters that won't/can't shieldblock. 
Value... depends entirely on what kind of game you're looking for. If you're looking for a standard MMORPG "grind up to the endgame" experience... you WILL hate this game. There IS no endgame in D&D, per se. Grinding and regrinding high XP instances will only guarantee that you bypass 70% of the content only to discover that there isn't anything for you to do until the next content update. If you play it with a few friends or a good PUGs, doing every instance on the way up (and you can repeat most instances on "hard" and "elite" which changes the level and abilities of the mobs in them) you shouldn't run out of new stuff to do before the next content patch. Ultimately tho' the size, quality, and frequency of content patches are gonna determine the long-term value of this game. There's a solid core here, but how well the storylines progress from month to month is gonna be vital.
Fun... I'm having a blast. But your playstyle is gonna be a big factor in whether you enjoy the core gameplay or not. Most of the adventures are balanced for a group of 4 characters. Health and Spell points do not regenerate... making it a game of resource management. If you always take in full groups of 6 into instances set on "easy", it's going to be too easy, encouraging zerg-rushing, sloppy play, and many unnecessary deaths amongst the party. If you take in 3 or 4 players, or take on the instance in "hard" or "elite", and PLAY SMART, the experience is much more rewarding. Too many people seem to have a "zerg it and done" attitude carried over from other MMORPG's, and miss out on the actual ADVENTURE. If there is one issue I'd criticize Turbine over, its that sloppy gameplay isn't punished quite hard enough. The "experience" isn't as good, but the "XP" remains the same... if ya see what I mean.
Community has been very good so far. The official forums have the traditional "Fanboi vs. Trollboi" war raging... and some of the in-game community tools (friend's list and current party windows) are barely functional and need a lot of basic features implemented. Still, the important "matchmaking" stuff like the online players list and the LFG/LFM tools are pretty robust. I've had NO problem finding a group or starting my own, and most of the groups I've had have been mature and helpful. Some luck involved in that, but the voice comms really help with getting things organized.
Performance has been very good, with the instancing keeping lag under control. Combat in this game is very twitch-based. You can time shield blocks to your oponents strikes, and dodging, tumbling and good old fashiond "Quake-stepping" (circle strafing) affect the amount of damage you'll take, so low lag is important. Broad band connections are a must, I think... especially if you use voice.
Customer service has been good... but the first week of release saw some downtime and a small rollback that had the forum trolls shrieking, rattling their cages, and tossing dung at each other. And some of the higher level adventures have been disabled to rework the difficulty and eliminate some exploits (perching mostly, from what I hear). Its really too early to judge the overall CS levels tho'... give it a month.
In conclusion... I love the game. But whether or not I'm playing it 6 months from now will depend entirely on the monthly content patches.
Comments
Good review - I am of a similar opinion. The success of this title depends entirely on content updates. Fortunately they have much to draw from the pen-and-paper game - it's really just a matter of how quickly they are able to get it in game.
One of the community managers on DDOs forums just announced the upcoming tweaks in the 3/14 patch and at the end makes a mention of an upcoming content update in April. So it seems new content is on the way - it'll be soon enough for me but probably not for some powergamers that used this game up in the first week.
Here's that content notice http://www.ddo.com/forums/showthread.php?t=10262
grimjack, nice review. I'm curious:
What character class are you running?
What level have you gotten to?
How is the solo/group play? Do you play a lot of PUG or do you have a normal group?
How is the UI?
I have 5 characters on Xoriat, levels 1-4: sorceror, paladin, rogue, cleric, and a warforged fighter. I have "nameholder" characters on other servers, and a few "lets try out this build" characters on Thelanis. This is really the first and only game that Altoholism has really hit me...
The UI is... functional.
It isn't very customizable. We don't even have the ability to map slash-commands to keys at the moment. But it DOES work... and they're working on "enhancing" it in the future. That's a theme that plays through much of DDO... they concentrated on the core gameplay and the really necessary systems, but they didn't add in many "standard" fluff systems like in-game mail and a butt-load of emotes.
Solo play is pretty much nonexistant after the tutorial adventures. There are a few adventure quests that you might be able to handle solo with the right class and build... and I'll run through the "Protect the Warder" or "Miller's Debt" quests real quick if I'm only gonna be on for a few minutes. As you hit level 2 or 3, more of the level 1 stuff becomes soloable... but if you're grinding 'em for XP, you're kinda missing the point, IMO.
This game is ALL about the groups. I normally play PUG's... tho' as you can imagine, that's kind of a hit/miss experience. They seem to work best if you purposely pick a less than ideal class mix. When you hit a long adventure with no cleric, you're kinda forced to play smart... even if you've been through that dungeon before. And I find that much more enjoyable than zerg-rushing an instance with a full group that "just wants to get 'er done".
Forming a group is easy... just look for the players with the big yellow LFG orbs above 'em, and invite... or put up your big yellow LFG orb and wait for an invite. Or you can use the player and grouping tools to see all the other LFG/LFM players out there. You can also add text to your listing on those tools to tell people just what you're interested in doing. There's actually a big LFG button right in the middle of every quest description in your journal that'll fill that part with the title of the quest automatically.
Having said that tho', running the game in a regular group is the best way to play. One of the problems with PUG's, besides mismatched play styles, is that ya almost always end up repeating some content... someone'll want to finish the "Sewer Rescue" or "Kobold Brother's" quest... and you'll go along, even if you've finished 'em half a dozen times already. Running the game with a regular group minimizes that. The main reason I PUG, (and I have so many alts) is that my brother and his wife don't have much time to play... we're trying to set one night a week as "game night", but stuff happens, y'know? And... I AM slowly building up a friends list of people that I've had good experiences with, so hopefully the PUGs will get better with time.
I am new to the world of Dungeons & Dragons, whether it's online or not. I cannot say how close to the mark Turbine came when designing DDO. I do know that I was interested enough to purchase it.
After playing Dungeons & Dragons Online for less than a week, I've made my decision to leave. I am not satisfied with the game and cancelled my would be subscription yesterday morning. Many factors attribute to my decision, but they can be summed up with a few words: it's not fun for me. Like most of the subscribers, I am not new to the environments of MMOG's.
I would like you to know that I will give DDO another chance, if the game changes in a manner that I think it would be fun for me. With that said, I will list some of the factors which I like about the game, as well as factors that limit my enjoyment of the game.
Graphics
The graphics of Dungeons & Dragons Online are good. I won't say great, because I've seen better graphics with other games (EverQuest, EverQuest 2, World of Warcraft, BattleField 2).
The character creation engine is quite good. The facial features were well-crafted, especially. It's not the very best I've seen (Star Wars Galaxies), but it's good. I think allowing a player to create a name and surname / title is a good choice. Also, I like the customizability of the feats the avatar will begin with ingame. The character creation process is well-rounded, in my opinion.
Sound
The sound of Dungeons & Dragons Online is good. I won't say great, because I believe improvements could be made with the use of voice chat. Also, I didn't hear much music throughout my experience in the world, with exception to the standard battle music in dungeons. Music helps make the experience much more immersive.
Interface
The user interface of Dungeons & Dragons Online is poorly designed. There are other MMOG's on the market with superior user interfaces, because of their customizability. The limitation of changes that a player can make to the user interface directly affects gameplay and "ease of use" with controlling a character.
Gameplay
The gameplay of Dungeons & Dragons Online is poor. The battles, experiences with traps and riddles mean nothing until the quest is ended. Hard work counts for nothing, if you cannot reach the end of a quest. This is primarily why DOO "forces" grouping. A solo player should have a much more difficult time completing the same task as a group, but the lack of reward for anything other than a completed quest is what makes soloing frustrating in this game. The idea of a "lone wolf" character in DDO is laughable. I believe players should have a choice to group and solo as they see fit.
There is rubberbanding in respawn points, which are located in taverns. However, Turbine claims this will be repaired on Tuesday 03/14/06. Also, avatars tend to skip/hop a step or two when running in populated areas. I notice that even hovering a mouse over the avatar, which changes the contrast of the avatar by means of selection, causes the same type of glitch. It's annoying, but not detrimental to gameplay.
Community
The community of Dungeons & Dragons Online is acceptable. After all, the community is simply the host of players. I've yet to have any interaction with an official of DDO. The NPC's provide a good sense of community, from a questing script perspective. The forums are, well, forums like any other MMO website.
Support
The support of Dungeons & Dragons Online is acceptable. I say that with little experience, other than use of the forums. I find it disappointing that there is no Suggestions forum. I think many good ideas can be found in such a place.
Combat System
The combat system of Dungeons & Dragons Online is acceptable. I dislike the delay in blocking an attack, but that may be reasonable in combat. I dislike the line of sight issues with mobs ingame. I've found that I can sometimes attack a mob, while that mob cannot attack me - and vice versa. It's definitely not a "stand still with autoattack on" kind of combat system, which makes it much more interesting.
Skill System
The skill system of Dungeons & Dragons Online is acceptable. While it seems very diverse and changeable from a class perspective, it is difficult to determine exactly how useful some of them are ingame. I think purchasing and reading D&D books will probably help, but I think a game should be self-explanatory and have all the information needed in the game itself. Informative Descriptions are lacking.
Chat System
The chat system of Dungeons & Dragons Online is poorly designed. I've listed my reasons in the Interface section.
Quests
The quests of Dungeons & Dragons Online are good. I like the interaction between NPC's and players, as well as the narrative throughout each step of a quest. It's well done. I won't say great, due to the lack of any experience rewards during the quest, until the quest is completed. Some people say it's not your typical grind MMO, but it is. Instead of killing individual mobs for experience, you have to grind (repeat) quests over and over for experience - and those quests have mobs.
Lore / Story
The lore/story of Dungeons & Dragons Online is acceptable from what little I've experienced. I'm not familiar with the D&D storyline over the years, however, and the game hasn't really introduced much of it to me as a player so far.
Game Balance
The game balance of Dungeons & Dragons Online is poor. I think there is much room for improvement between NPC's and player combat.
In conclusion, I know that there are many players who enjoy the game as it is right now. I am not one of them. It is entirely possible that I will return to the game at some point, but Turbine has a long way to go before I would spend any more money or time into DDO.
Overall, a well-written review. We'll have to agree to disagree on the quest grinding. There are people who seldom repeat a quest who are progressing quite well.
There ARE minor exp awards throughout an adventure, as optional objectives are completed, but saving the big payoff for the finale is pure D&D. Its intended to keep your focus on getting the GROUP to the objective, not grinding mobs for personal XP.
I do agree with most of your comments on the UI tho'. Its functional, but not finished. They have said they're addressing it tho', so having dealt with the original EQ and DAOC static interfaces for so many years, I'm maybe a bit less critical so long as it doesn't get in my way.
I'll also reply to this
i'm a bard
lvl 2.4
I play mmos to play in groups. I have a good strong and solid guild
i don't mind the UI... more you used it, more you get used to it.
eqnext.wikia.com
What is causing me to hesitate to buy the game are two simple things, and maybe those of you who are currently playing it can comment and help me make up my mind.
First, the "twitch" combat. I understand that, on one hand, not everyone likes the "hit the button and sit back" kind of combat, but I worry (perhaps wrongly) that combat in DDO resembles more of a FPS than anything else. How much "twitch" is in the game?
Second, is what seems to be the fact that there is not much to do aside from the instance dungeons, which means that players are forced to return to the same dungeon over and over and over. Sure, you can up the difficulty level, but that does not (that I have read) seem to change the dungeon itself? The traps are still in the same place, the treasure still in the same place.
I've been playing D&D tabletop since 1976, and few of my players would be interested in repeating the same adventure module over and over, even if I did change the number/level of the monsters. It appears to me, based on all I have read up to this point, that the sucess of this game will hinge on Turbine producing content (read: more dungeons) quickly and regularly, before people burn out from doing the same adventure/dungeon/quest over and over.
Any insight from current players is appreciated!
-Jeff
There's really not a "need" to repeat the same quests over and over again. There are plenty of quests to do, but some people will repeat the for the challenge of a higher difficulty level or simply because it gave them good exp compared to the time it took to complete the quest. So while the game is built around instanced dungeons, they aren't necessarily repetitive.
As far as the "twitch" combat, I'm not really sure to what that refers. The mobs do tend to move around a bit during combat as opposed to just running up to you and stopping. Sometimes they will just back or move over to flank you. All you have to do is face them, or follow them and this is only necessary for the melee players. Sometimes I think it's an inconvenience to have to keep an eye on them, but it's also somewhat of a challege not to just sit back until something dies. It makes melee combat more interesting. I don't think it's like an FPS. So, I hope that was what you were talking about.
As far as content, you're right. They will need to add content regularly to keep some of the player base satisfied, but the game degfinately isn't for power-gamers though. It's more for the casual sit down and play type of gamer who doesn't just want to grind their way to max level. If you try to do that, you'll be bored and you'll hit max level before they can add more content. It's not meant to be a grindfest.
Also, if you were that much into the pen and paper D&D, you'll probably enjoy the game and its community, particularly if your RL friends play with you.
Thanks Brihtwulf, those were the kind of answers I was looking for. I appreciate it.
-Jeff
I was about to write a nearly identical post until I saw your grimjakk. I agree nearly 100%.
My firiend and I are having a blast! We cam from PnP many years ago and then tried UO->AO->AOC2->EQ2->WoW and dabbled with a few minor MMOs. DDO is such a refreshing change to the grind till your knuckles bleed games like the ones we tried prior. There are fun puzzles, fighting and etc. here that you just don't see in any other MMOs. It is a much more interactive world in that sense. It's very similar to PnP (Pen and Paper) Dungeons and Dragons.
I am very pleased and look forward to seeing how this game grows.
Another thing, I don't feel like the game "owns" me like the other MMOs do.
Fej
In my opinion the UI is really pretty bad. All through alpha and beta there were plenty of comments about the UI and Turbine has acknowledged that is something that they are working on. Luckily its not a game killer for most.
The community in this game will only get better over time as there are alot of people trying this game out that won't be here a month from now. The people leaving fast will be more fans of MMORPG's then D&D for the most part. I think it is much better for game designers to really niche in on games then to try and make a general game that tries to satisfy everyone.
I think the word twitch combat has really become a bad description. Twitch makes me think of something that you need to be 15 years old with super high reflexes to play. Its more fast paced and tactical then typical MMORPG combat systems.
The replaying quests has also been overstated a bit. Why do you play D&D? For the quests and adventures. Sometimes you will play a really fun adventure and those are the ones that are worth repeating for each player. Sometimes you will have one that is not your cup of tea. At present there is enough variety to avoid the quests you didn't like so much and replay a few you did. It is also fun to run a much different class through the same dungeon. I primarily play a rogue and have just recently started a bard. Two totally different approaches to the same content. The April patch will be fun to see the amount of content that is added. Turbine did a very good job in AC1 and they have a much bigger live team now then AC1 did, so they should be able to surprise a few people. I think peoples expectations are a bit low from the abyssmal rate at which WoW adds content.
Good thing this is just your OPINION... That way I can't say you are wrong, because it is only your opinion.
Oh, and let's not forget AC2 and the fine job they did with that one...
The UI seems reasonable. The only thing that I noticed is that they didn't follow the "right-click get menu". So it feels less intuitive that what I was used to. After a short period it's a snap. As far as clutter goes, which I have seen mentioned, it doesn't seem any more or less cluttered the any other MMO. It's different because it is not the typical MMO. Therefore it shouldn't be surprising that the DDO UI behaves differently.
Yea, I don't get the twitch comment either. DDO has really raised the bar as far as combat goes in MMOs. It's more interactive but not fast paces. You have think, dodge, block, tumble to be successful in melee but the reaction time is fairly slow. Easy and fun for an old badger like me. Which is much different than the the usual type of click-fest, or click and kick back combat of the other MMOs.
Fej
I used to be into Pen and paper D&D back in the 70's and early 80's. I tried out D&D online and I have quit after just 4 days of playing. To me it feels nothing like what I remeber from my old pen and paper days.I played with a few RL freinds and so far we are pretty much split on its enjoyment factor. Out of 5 of that picked up the game two are still playing and really seem to love it. Myself and two others have gone back to playing Eve , CoV and Wow. I gave my copy of the game away to a freinds son and he really likes it, so I am starting to think this is one of those love it or hate it games.
"Twitch" may be too general a term... its definitely "interactive".
The mobs shift position to keep out of your reach and, when there are multiples, try to flank you for that "to Hit" bonus.
Players need to keep moving, to keep from being flanke. They can dodge out of the reach of a mob, or to the side to get THEIR flanks... they can use the tumbling skill to up their AC... and most importantly, they can time "blocks" to the mob's attacks to get the benefits of shield damage absorption and block any special attacks.
So, there is some "twitch reflex" play to get the most efficiency out of your character in combat. Too many people haven't caught on to the fact that they are responsible for their own HP/SP resources yet.
It is. It all depends on your mindset and playstyle. Personally I'm getting my sci-fi fix from EVE and my fantasy fix from DDO, so I'm keeping subs to both. If I need a break from one I just play the other for a bit, works great for me.
From what I've read from you guys it seems like a "love it or hate it" game. A game designed for one type of players. I've just ordered it without playing beta or anything, so I'm pretty excited now.
Will come back to my views on this game when I've played it for a while
If you are not a die hard D&D pnp (real picky), like to group with 2 or more people, and have an open mind (it's different from other MMOs) you're going to like it. My friend and I really enjoy it. We will probably be canceling our WoW accounts shortly. It doesn't feel like a rat-race to the top.
Hope you enjoy it!
Fej
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I've played World of Warcraft off and on for awhile. While playing, I heard good things about Dungeons & Dragons Online. So, I was looking forward to trying it out. I was very disappointed. However, I just cancelled my World of Warcraft account as well. I'll be going gameless until I find something that entertains me.
Hero's Journey and Vanguard: Saga of Heroes look interesting.