Comments on: Dungeon Love

By: Dragonalf

Dragonalf — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 00:24:04 +0000

You summed up my thoughts exactly on DDO and having a “gaming library” as you put it.

My current gaming library includes Lotro (Founder/lifetime member) and DDO (been playing again since it went free to play).

I think I finally reached burnout on Lotro in the last few months. In fact, since SoM was released, I’ve played it more out of obligation to keep up with my friends than because I was truly excited to play. Instead, in the back of my mind the whole time is, “I really want to be running a dungeon or two in DDO!”

It really is a brilliant and polished game that lends itself to jumping into and out of in spurts. But, at the same time, what else I like about it and I’m sure frustrates others is that it has many layers of complexity. You can enjoy it without peeling back any of those layers but it’s the digging through the layers that really makes it such a great game to me.

Despite what some posters have implied, the combat is not the same ol’, same ol’ as you get higher. The game tempts you to learn better tactics and use all the skills in your classes’ arsenal to continue to be successful. This is what I love. Most games get to the point where you learn a skill rotation and, barring a few tweaks here or there, you stick to this rotation all the way to top level. If you don’t, observe, learn and adapt, then yes DDO can become quite difficult, especially solo. But trust me, it was way more difficult in all facets back when I first played when it launched in 2006. Now, it is well balanced and provides many methods and avenues to get enjoyment out of playing it.

As for the “gaming” library”, I’m planning on adding STO to it to add that scifi spice that’s been missing since Tabula Rasa closed down. Variety is a good thing!

By: /AFK – Expansion Madness Edition « Bio Break

/AFK – Expansion Madness Edition « Bio Break — Sun, 06 Dec 2009 13:12:23 +0000

[...] KTR re: DDO – “I am addicted to Dungeons and Dragons Online. There, I said it.” [...]

By: usagizero

usagizero — Sat, 05 Dec 2009 19:01:50 +0000

Actually, i’d like to point out that if you look on the forums for DDO that people have come up with ways to grind Turbine Points for free. You get about 25 points per 100 favor, and it doesn’t matter what character it’s on, so people have come up with which quests to go for the fastest to get best favor runs. Some have even figured out how much it would take to buy all packs (which when bought apply to your whole account for good) and other items. So it can be totally free, if you don’t mind grinding or spending more time just to get it that way. Me, i prefer to spend money on something i enjoy, and want to show my support to them for what they are doing, but i don’t hold it against those who feel the other way.

By: Kio

Kio — Sat, 05 Dec 2009 16:06:25 +0000

DDO has a bit of “No class is an island” for soloing, but any class can solo.. rangers, paladins, war-forged arcane casters and monks probably have it best, having self-heals (eventually) and reasonable DPS.
rogues, barbarians and fighters do well, but need to carry pots, cleric hirelings, or pick up a level of something that lets them use cure wands with out a “use magic device” check (and even then carrying cure disease and blindness pots is recommended).
clerics heal well, and with good choices in feats and equipment, can solo very well, but otherwise suffer from lack of DPS.
non-warforged arcane casters are typically glass cannons and should generally be in a party of some kind.

multi-classing is not for the inexperienced and comes with a host of potential downsides (particularly complexity of leveling decisions and “pure class” snobbery in parties). should you be willing to take the chance, these are (just two of several) decent “beginner” combos:

ranger/rogue:
pro: high dps with sneak attack bursts, access to a small selection of divine spells (and most of the good wands with no checks), great sneaking/hiding, trap findng and lock picking abilities and (depending on the mix of levels) plenty of skill points.
cons: middling HP, lower AC than most melee types, keeping 2 good level-appropriate weapons on hand gets expensive.

fighter/cleric:
pros: good HP, good AC, reasonable-to-excellent damage output, self-heals and buffs, plenty of feats available, vastly reduced expenses for adventuring.
cons: poor skill points, ease of self-gimping with feat choice overload, somewhat conflicting “vital” ability scores.

at level 5+ soloing gets more and more unfriendly, and after 10 you may well never solo again.

By: Three Truths… | Kill Ten Rats

Three Truths… | Kill Ten Rats — Sat, 05 Dec 2009 12:30:56 +0000

[...] That is, until I read this post written by Ravious. [...]

By: Ravious

Ravious — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 15:34:00 +0000

Yeah, I guess it’s what you are looking for. I have not had a single upgrade in all the Harbor missions because off of newb island I went to the AH and bought +2 stuff. I am hoping that as I get higher levels I will start seeing more varied weapons like +1/reptile bane and what not, but I just got done with the harbor. Going to the next explorable area.

By: Syncaine

Syncaine — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 15:03:26 +0000

I’m not asking for loot pinatas, and I did not really realize this until my fiance mentioned it, but when it’s been over a week of constant playing between a single item upgrade (and the upgrade is a questionable upgrade at that), it takes the fun out of opening yet another chest or getting quest rewards. We did not hit that wall in the docks, but the dungeons in the marketplace were 99% vendor/AH stuff. Not a gamebreak on its own, but combined with combat getting stale around the same time, and it really left us wondering why we are logging in.

By: Bhagpuss

Bhagpuss — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 13:56:01 +0000

Leaving DDO aside, you really hit the nail with the online/offline comment. Dragon Age was my most recent attempt to play offline and it really hasn’t worked. Indeed, I haven’t really been able to engage with an offline game since I first played EQ all those years ago.

Somehow just knowing you’re in the same gamespace as other people makes the whole experience more “real”. I compare it to how much more enjoyable it is to read a book at a cafe table or in a pub than on your own at home. The internal and external worlds feed off each other, and online the process becomes even more complex.

By: Bael

Bael — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 01:46:37 +0000

I really like DDO. I played for about a year when it first came out. But I never found enough time to feel like it was justified spending the money.

Now, with it free, I love just jumping in and doing whatever. I’m even more enthused than ever to spend money to buy some store credits to just play around some more. I guess I like the lack you must pay every month whether you play or not. The way it is now, if I’m in the middle of a dungeon and I gotta run and take care of something at home? No problem. Just quit and come back to it later. I don’t feel guilty or stressed about what will happen to my characters.

By: Tesh

Tesh — Fri, 04 Dec 2009 00:09:27 +0000

I love the game. It’s not one I play a lot, but it’s one that I’ll likely always have installed. They also have a much better chance of earning my gaming money than *any* sub game, precisely because of the pacing and flexibility.

No, it’s not completely free, but neither am I opposed to paying for great product. Hmph, I work in games, it’s bad form for me to not support my fellow inmates.

As to the game proper, I’m playing completely solo, a Ranger/Fighter/Rogue custom build designed for soloability and experimentation. I’m no min/maxer, but neither did I want to stick to the Path. I’m too nonconformist for that, despite the very real potential to gimp myself. With freedom comes the ability to fail, eh?

So far (late level 3), I’m doing just fine for Normal and most Hard content, and loving it. I purchased Stranglethorn Vale, and am looking forward to tooling around in the jungle. Between that and the steampunky main city, I’ll be plenty sated for adventure for a good chunk of the forseeable future.

Bottom line, it’s just fun to play. Loot is just a means to an end. DDO is fun to *play*, which is all I’m really looking for.