# anyone come back to DDO?



## GlassJaw (Sep 11, 2009)

Just wondering if anyone has come back to DDO now that it's free-to-play.  I did after a year off and it's been a lot of fun.  I've always liked DDO but Turbine has really polished it and added a TON of content.

Anyway, if anyone is playing or interested in giving it a shot, look for Felecia (level 6 drow favored soul) on Cannith (the new server).

I've been playing with Wulf here on the forums - he's playing a drow bard named Elvish (Presley that is hehe).


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## Chaz (Sep 13, 2009)

I had been watching for the free try thing, so I jumped in a little on the 9th... Its fun. I still play NWN2 PW I like, but I do jump in a little.

Peace


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## GreyWizard77 (Sep 15, 2009)

I've been thinking about. I've never played an MMO before, though. I'm afraid that once I'll start I won't be able to stop. Is the Free DDO worth looking into? Is it actually playable without sinking money into items and stuff?


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## The_Warlock (Sep 15, 2009)

I was originally in as a Founder at the launch, the problem was, my friends had vastly divergent schedules, and we found it hard to get a group time set down.

So I quit...and so did all my friends.

We've all come back with Free to Play, and while it looks like we may still have an issue getting the group together regularly - the significant increase in solo content, and quests which can be handled by 2 characters has increased the playability for us significantly.

And the combat system is a welcome change from the other MMOs we play regularly, so it's a great break from the norm.


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## GreyWizard77 (Sep 16, 2009)

So, how does DDO stack up compared to other "free-to-play" MMO's? Is it good for beginners? How closely does it follow the DnD rules (3.5 I presume)? Any other thoughts/advice?


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## Remus Lupin (Sep 16, 2009)

GreyWizard77 said:


> So, how does DDO stack up compared to other "free-to-play" MMO's? Is it good for beginners? How closely does it follow the DnD rules (3.5 I presume)? Any other thoughts/advice?




Well, I just downloaded it last night, and I have to say I'm liking it more than I thought I would. I suppose that a lot will depend on the "grind" factor, but it seems to play more like Baldur's Gate or NWN than like WoW, which suits me just fine.

Of course, it's "free" only up to a point. You have to pay for things like extra character slots or if you want to be a warforged or a drow. But again, that suits me just fine. If I ever get the yen to play a warforged, I'll be happy to pony up the money.


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## GlassJaw (Sep 16, 2009)

GreyWizard77 said:


> So, how does DDO stack up compared to other "free-to-play" MMO's? Is it good for beginners? How closely does it follow the DnD rules (3.5 I presume)? Any other thoughts/advice?




The learning curve is a tad steep but if you know the 3.5 rules, you have a good start.  DDO is "based" on the 3.5 rules so there are some differences, and even the things in DDO that are the same as in 3.5 play differently  For example, Toughness is an important feat.  

You also get a LOT more items than you do in 3.5, but that has to do more with the nature of MMO's.

The only other challenge to new players is that if you hook up with a group of experienced players, be prepared to chase them.  Zerging is fairly commonplace since those players are mostly likely running content that they've done many times before.  I recommend playing through the early content solo (or with a buddy or two that's just starting as well).  If you make a melee class or a cleric, the early content is fairly easy to solo.  That will give you a good feel for the game and interface.



> We've all come back with Free to Play, and while it looks like we may still have an issue getting the group together regularly - the significant increase in solo content, and quests which can be handled by 2 characters has increased the playability for us significantly.




Warlock, what server do you play on?  If you are heading to Cannith, let me know.


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## GlassJaw (Sep 16, 2009)

On a side note, since there seems to be some interest here (and on CM), I think I might create a monk to see if I can run some quests with anyone who's new to the game and wants some help getting a hang of things.

I haven't tried the monk yet so I figure this would give me a chance to check it out.

If you are Cannith, post your name and I'll look for you in-game.


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## The_Warlock (Sep 16, 2009)

GlassJaw said:


> Warlock, what server do you play on?  If you are heading to Cannith, let me know.




Alas, we are on Khyber (formerly on Riedra before the Great Consolidation), with no immediate intent of switching. Losing our Favor from back in the day would make us all sad pandas.


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## GlassJaw (Sep 16, 2009)

The_Warlock said:


> Alas, we are on Khyber (formerly on Riedra before the Great Consolidation), with no immediate intent of switching. Losing our Favor from back in the day would make us all sad pandas.




I have 2 years invested on Thelanis (formerly Xoriat) but the thought of starting from scratch on a brand-new server along with everyone else was the reason I switched!  

Definitely makes running the early quests exciting again.


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## The_Warlock (Sep 16, 2009)

GlassJaw said:


> I have 2 years invested on Thelanis (formerly Xoriat) but the thought of starting from scratch on a brand-new server along with everyone else was the reason I switched!
> 
> Definitely makes running the early quests exciting again.




See, I've been gone so long, most of the starter quests were redone or moved...it is new and exciting. And I love the new wilderness zones. 

Besides, I have a terrible addiction to my Acidic Longbow of Pure Good, half the time enemies melt in a puff of green mist, the rest they are sent to heaven in a transporter like haze of pure good.

I can't let that go... 

PS: And when the mage makes me some fire arrows, oh, the glorious damage numbers!


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## Felon (Sep 16, 2009)

I'd like to hear more about the wilderness zones. Do they contain dynamic spawns, or is it just a slight twist on their dungeons?

Not having any kind of dynamic content is really what hurt DDO. Instead of giving us some Diablo-style infinite dungeons, or even dungeons that randomly spawn two or three different variations (e.g. goblins one time, kobolds the next, or a shaman boss one time, a warlord boss the next), they just spent a lot of time building a handful of detailed dungeons. That's great for a game that you only expect people to play casually until they finish it, but how Turbine figured that would work for a subscription-oriented game is beyond me.


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## Remus Lupin (Sep 16, 2009)

I'm playing in Cannith.


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## GlassJaw (Sep 17, 2009)

Remus Lupin said:


> I'm playing in Cannith.




Cool.  What is your character's name?


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## The_Warlock (Sep 17, 2009)

Felon said:


> I'd like to hear more about the wilderness zones. Do they contain dynamic spawns, or is it just a slight twist on their dungeons?




It's more of the slight twist on dungeons, with exploration, slayer, and rare spawn encounter deeds.

And there are now often dungeons/quests which branch off/out of the wilderness zones, some which you get outside them, and some which you get from quest givers inside the zone. 

That said, they are well done, and I have already enjoyed going in to some of the wilderness zones to kill things by the light of Eberron's twin moons. 

But if what you are looking for is random encounters in a randomly generated wilderness, that doesn't exist to the best of my knowledge, and I'm pretty sure nothing in the engine is designed for such procedural generation.

On the other hand, the quests do now have difficulty scaling, and opponents will be slightly modified in capabilities to better meet the capabilities of different sized and leveled parties within the max and minimum specs of the quest difficulty.


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## Remus Lupin (Sep 19, 2009)

GlassJaw said:


> Cool.  What is your character's name?




Henryd Q'varr


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## GlassJaw (Sep 19, 2009)

Remus Lupin said:


> Henryd Q'varr




Cool.  I made a bard last night (now level 2) named Gershwin.


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## Remus Lupin (Sep 20, 2009)

I bought some more character slots, so I might be trying out a new concept tonight.


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## Man in the Funny Hat (Sep 21, 2009)

I abandoned DDO barely a few weeks after I bought it upon first release.  It was simply not what I wanted in an MMO though I'd had high hopes it would be.

I've just started Aion tho and at the very least it's different enough from WoW and CoH that I think it'll hold my interest long enough to have been worth the money.


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## Brakkart (Oct 18, 2009)

I'm not the sort who would pay a subscription fee to play a MMO. That said I am loving DDO, and I think the idea of the Store is brilliant and I've bought stuff there (healing potions and quest packs mostly) a few times now.

I can be found on Cannith as Brakkart Fellblade (Ranger lvl 4 currently). Gimme a tell, I'm usually happy to group, especially if you're killing kobolds!


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## Remus Lupin (Oct 22, 2009)

I played it a lot in the first week or so, but life got in the way. I hope to find some time to play this weekend. But then, that's why I like not paying a subscription, it makes it a lot easier to be casual about playing.


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## Ryan_Singer (Oct 22, 2009)

I never considered buying DDO, but since it became free, I started playing last week.

I'm hooked. Much more fun for a D&D fan than WOW. I even spent the $12 to get the drow race, in order to play a more optimized Wizard.

You can find me on Cannith. My characters name is Lascielle.


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## Cergorach (Oct 29, 2009)

I liked DDO when it was in beta, I really liked the atmosphere of the quests, very D&D like. But it wasn't worth the €15 a month to subscribe to it (there are sometimes months between active MMO periods for me), so I didn't do anything with it for years. When it was released for free I started playing again, It's a lot better then the original Beta. I even invested some money in all the races, classes and low and mid level adventures (bought 10,000 points for $100 => ~€70) So I can play those whenever I want.


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