[DDO] Anyone try the free version?

Kyosho · Post by **Kyosho** » Thu Sep 10, 2009 10:39 am

Dungeons and Dragons Online yesterday started their free-to-play model with convenience-related microtransactions. Has anyone tried this yet? Or perhaps, are there any DDO players who have comments on the changes?

I never played the original (heard mixed things), but I'm definitely intrigued by this. My issue is I am low on hard drive space and would have to uninstall some games to fit this thing. So, I'm not sure yet.

Sepiche · Post by **Sepiche** » Thu Sep 10, 2009 10:48 am

I messed around with it some last night and I'd say it's interesting so far. I like that almost everything is an instance, and almost everything has a solo mode as well. Really seems like about the most solo friendly online game I've played so far.

The graphics are pretty mediocre, although I saw something about a high resolution download so maybe I just need to grab that to get some better textures. The new store stuff seems well integrated and they seem to be good about giving you points to spend in the store from quests as well as offering it for sale. Most of the stuff were just items to help you level faster, but there were also a couple classes and races you could unlock as well as a few quests.

The level cap right now is apparently level 4, but with the ranks they use for sub levels that spells out to about level 20 I think. Not sure if you have to subscribe to raise the level cap or if you can just up it for a single character, but level 4 should at least keep me busy long enough to know if I like the game.

Kyosho · Post by **Kyosho** » Thu Sep 10, 2009 11:05 am

Well I decided to download it. The Standard Resolution download is 2.8gb whereas the High Resolution download is 3.8gb. You'd think they'd tell you the system requirements for each version, maybe provide some comparison screenshots/videos on the download page. But, nope. My system being a little out-dated, I'm going with the safer "standard" option. Sorry to hear it's a bit ugly.

Cortilian · Post by **Cortilian** » Thu Sep 10, 2009 11:12 am

I played for a while back when the game came out and just restarted when it became free.

The level cap is now 20. You 'can' level from 1-20 (really 80 levels with the way each level is broken up) without paying for a thing. However, AFAIK, all the raid content and several of the zones are premium content so if you are actually playing at those levels you've spent the 5-10 bucks to unlock that content. You can get points to unlock that content in the free game if you want to though so you really 'could' play it all for free. The game uses a modified 3.5 rule set btw.

The DX10 engine is very good looking and is also free.

There are a couple of us playing on Kyber. I'll be on as Cortilian or Mirimelle I'm having a good time with it so far. There are also some great resources here

NickAragua · Post by **NickAragua** » Thu Sep 10, 2009 11:31 am

Sepiche wrote:I messed around with it some last night and I'd say it's interesting so far. I like that almost everything is an instance, and almost everything has a solo mode as well. Really seems like about the most solo friendly online game I've played so far.

Yep. I'm enjoying it - you can set each dungeon's difficulty as you enter it, so you can either play the solo-friendly "normal" difficulty, or you can group up with a couple of guys and play on hard and elite. I've been having a good time bashing people's heads in with a dwarf cleric/fighter, and I even got a "you can go up to level 8" item drop. Seems like you can go through the whole thing by yourself if you want to, though, without a rogue, you're probably going to miss out on some loot and XP. Incidentally, I haven't seen a single rogue in-game.

It seems that the only stuff you're really required to pay for is adventure packs, races and classes - it seems you can get the rest inside treasure chests and from quest rewards.

wire · Post by **wire** » Thu Sep 10, 2009 2:50 pm

I play LotRO and week ago a DDO download link popped up on my LotRO start screen so I downloaded it to try out. Had to wait till the 9th but apparently you can't just subscribe to DDO using your LotRO account info. Decided I didn't feel like having to create a separate account to play DDO. Not sure why you can't just add DDO to an existing account.

Sepiche · Post by **Sepiche** » Thu Sep 10, 2009 4:42 pm

wire wrote:I play LotRO and week ago a DDO download link popped up on my LotRO start screen so I downloaded it to try out. Had to wait till the 9th but apparently you can't just subscribe to DDO using your LotRO account info. Decided I didn't feel like having to create a separate account to play DDO. Not sure why you can't just add DDO to an existing account.

I've heard about a number of people complaining about that. I think I saw someone say you could call Turbine directly and they could add it to your LotR account, but there was no way to do it automatically yet.

gwartok · Post by **gwartok** » Thu Sep 10, 2009 8:25 pm

wire wrote:I play LotRO and week ago a DDO download link popped up on my LotRO start screen so I downloaded it to try out. Had to wait till the 9th but apparently you can't just subscribe to DDO using your LotRO account info. Decided I didn't feel like having to create a separate account to play DDO. Not sure why you can't just add DDO to an existing account.

Weird, I've been in since the 1st (early access from beta) but I had np at all adding DDO to the account I had lotro on.

Anyway, I've been enjoying it and you can't beat the price. Although you can run instances solo I think this game would really shine if you had a regular group to run instances with.

Kyosho · Post by **Kyosho** » Thu Sep 10, 2009 10:52 pm

Alright, I haven't actually played it yet. Some other stuff has come up. But I got as far as making my character (didn't actually enter the world). Holy crap is their character creator awesome. I went in and made a Ranger and did the custom option and did my stats how I wanted and picked my feats and stuff. I really liked that I could set things up how I want from the get go. Other MMOs usually start you out as a very generic version of your class and then slowly give you abilities. Whereas this felt like I had so much direct control over how my character is going to end up playing. Whether that's true in execution or not, I don't know of course. Here's hoping.

I might play it in a little while assuming I can stay awake. If not, I will tomorrow.

Jaymon · Post by **Jaymon** » Thu Sep 10, 2009 11:45 pm

The actual gameplay is almost the same as it was when they charged by the month.
There are a large number of free quests, which you can repeat as you like, and change the difficulty setting.
There are a number of quest lines that you need to pay for (a one time fee to unlock).

Some races (drow, warforged) some classes (monk, favoured soul) are premium content and must be purchased.
Free players also have a limited number of character slots.

If you played before when it wasn't free, then you get some extra stuff that new players will have to pay for, such as extra character slots.

As you play through the game, you earn favour points with the various houses. My understanding is at certain levels of favour, you get currency which can be spent in the online store, but a quick look showed me that its just a tease, you don't get enough to unlock anything cool.

Yes you can play solo, but because its D&D, it really is better with a group.
It is an action based game, the mobs tend to jump around and change position. You have to swing your sword manually, and if the mob is no longer there, you miss. Things are based on combat rounds, so sometimes there is a delay after you press an action button (like change weapon set) before the action happens. There is an active block system you can use, but shields still contribute passively to your defense, so thats fine.

You earn experience only for quests and missions. Some quests require a certain number of mobs killed, or specific bosses defeated, and there is often bonus experience rewarded for killing more mobs than required. In this game, there is no penalty for "stealthing" missions.

Unfortunately, there is a problem with diminishing returns. Repeating the same mission will grant less and less experience each time, and some of the larger reward chests are on a timer, so you can only collect them once a week or so.

There are a large number of traps in the game, and only a rogue can handle them.
You may be tempted to make a multiclass, rogue/something, but after the beginners area that no longer works. The skill required to disable traps levels up, and unless you are a single class rogue, you won't be able to keep up with the curve. (thats my experience, yours may vary)

One of the great parts of this game is the wacked out items you can get.
+2 Mithril Flaming Burst Pure Chaos Dwarven Battle Axe of Lesser Human Bane

Good thing you don't have to say it out loud when you switch to it.

Kyosho · Post by **Kyosho** » Fri Sep 11, 2009 12:10 am

Everything you just said sounds awesome. I just might have to play a Rogue. That sounds like the best implementation of that class of any MMO I've heard of. Why was there such mediocre response to this game in the past?

[rambling]
However, the more I hear about this game, the more I wish it were turn-based hardcore real D&D combat and stuff. I still haven't played so obviously I can't say whether I'll like the combat. But in my head, an online, direct replica of the PnP game would be seriously awesome. With full voice chat between party members, etc. Oh well. I really need to find a roleplaying group in my area.
[/rambling]

razgon · Post by **razgon** » Fri Sep 11, 2009 4:39 am

A turn based version of the game as it is now, would be just too slow I'm afraid, especially since Its an MMO.

There is full voice chat in groups ingame, so that's one wish granted

The game is great, actually- I'm enjoying it far more than I thought I would.

As for levels above level 4, you have to either pay for unlocking the next 4 levels, or find a stone that does this. I got one as a quest reward, but no idea how rare that is

Cortilian · Post by **Cortilian** » Fri Sep 11, 2009 7:12 am

razgon wrote:A turn based version of the game as it is now, would be just too slow I'm afraid, especially since Its an MMO.

There is full voice chat in groups ingame, so that's one wish granted

The game is great, actually- I'm enjoying it far more than I thought I would.

As for levels above level 4, you have to either pay for unlocking the next 4 levels, or find a stone that does this. I got one as a quest reward, but no idea how rare that is

The sigil to be able to advance to the next tier of level is pretty common. I got mine in my second dungeon after the starter island. I wonder what their thought process was in that mechanic because even VIP players (still paying the 10.00 sub price) have to get this.

Wanderers guild was formed on Kyber last night. Msg a member is you want in.

Stridergg · Post by **Stridergg** » Tue Sep 15, 2009 1:39 pm

The level cap is now 20. You 'can' level from 1-20 (really 80 levels with the way each level is broken up) without paying for a thing. However, AFAIK, all the raid content and several of the zones are premium content so if you are actually playing at those levels you've spent the 5-10 bucks to unlock that content. You can get points to unlock that content in the free game if you want to though so you really 'could' play it all for free. The game uses a modified 3.5 rule set btw.

There are no free content to get you beyond lvl 12. By getting one char to lvl 12, the max Turbine Points you can earn is about 200, which is not enough to buy any content beyond lvl 12. So the only way to (theoretically) level to lvl 20 for free is to grind multiple characters lvl 1-12 on multiple servers. That's months and months of grinding if I understand it correctly. I think it is safe to conclude that, unless you like supergrind, you will have to pay to advance beyond lvl 12.

Some races (drow, warforged) some classes (monk, favoured soul) are premium content and must be purchased.

Drow and Favorite Soul can be unlocked by leveling up - Drow requires you to get 400 favor points and FS requires about 1200 IIRC. You unlock them on the specific server though, where you earned that favor. If you buy it, it's yours to use wherever.

Free players also have a limited number of character slots. If you played before when it wasn't free, then you get some extra stuff that new players will have to pay for, such as extra character slots.

Actually it works like this. If you never ever paid any money for DDO, you are a free player and you get 2 char slots and a bunch of limitations (tells, auction, bank, mail, etc.). If you pay (or paid in the past) at least something (a month os subscription or 400 Turbine points, it doesn't matter), you become a Premium player and get 4 char slots and those limitations are removed. So if you like the game enough, it makes sense to spend at least $7 to unlock certain stuff.

There are a large number of traps in the game, and only a rogue can handle them.
You may be tempted to make a multiclass, rogue/something, but after the beginners area that no longer works. The skill required to disable traps levels up, and unless you are a single class rogue, you won't be able to keep up with the curve. (thats my experience, yours may vary)

You can make multiclassing into rogue work, you will have to sacrifice certain things though (hehe, everything is a trade in D&D). Here how it works for my Cleric/Rogue. You need your Int at least 16 at the start (so you probably lose some Str), you start as a rogue, then switch to Cleric at lvl 2. Level up some as Cleric, invest all your skill points into Search, Spot, Disable Devices and Open Locks (obviously you lose Concentration). Then at some point get another level of Rogue and invest all skill points into these skills again.

It's not an easy kind of build, you will probably need to use some tomes to increase your stats (Int and Wis) and other items to complement your weak points. It's a very group oriented build, not good for soloing but great for duo'ing.

Why was there such mediocre response to this game in the past?

The main 2 reasons were lack of content (so you had to grind the same quests/instances over and over (which is fixed now) and lack of solo-bility (which is also fixed to a large extend).

wire · Post by **wire** » Tue Sep 15, 2009 2:05 pm

I think their choice of Eberron had a little to do with the reception of the game. If they had gone with any of the more common settings like Forgotten Realms, Dragonlance or Greyhawk they would have had more to draw from for content and pen & paper gamers may have flocked to see their favorite places and characters (as NPC's) in game.

Tokek · Post by **Tokek** » Thu Sep 17, 2009 7:58 pm

I keep trying to play this game but I can't get past the "loading...please wait" screen when entering worlds. Sucks.

NickAragua · Post by **NickAragua** » Thu Sep 17, 2009 11:17 pm

Well, I think they put out a new patch today, which fixes several issues that players were complaining about, including:

- balance changes
- NPC locations moved closer to their quests
- THE GAME BEING ABLE TO START

Tokek · Post by **Tokek** » Fri Sep 18, 2009 1:06 am

Looks like the patch did it for me, I was finally able to get in the game

Grey Fox · Post by **Grey Fox** » Fri Sep 18, 2009 2:16 am

razgon wrote:A turn based version of the game as it is now, would be just too slow I'm afraid, especially since Its an MMO.

Turn based like how KOTOR is turn based would work, maybe?

razgon · Post by **razgon** » Fri Sep 18, 2009 5:35 am

Dreadnought wrote:
razgon wrote:A turn based version of the game as it is now, would be just too slow I'm afraid, especially since Its an MMO.
Turn based like how KOTOR is turn based would work, maybe?

Pausing aside, thats actually already pretty much how it works. Heck, how every MMO works. Attacking IS turnbased, just in a realtime environment. Pausing with 6 people in a party doesnt seem like a feasible idea to me. I'd hate to have to wait for 5 other people before I could do one move - especially when there might be MANY turns to each combat round

Skinypupy · Post by **Skinypupy** » Fri Sep 18, 2009 12:15 pm

I did a preview of the free version for GT a couple months back. Thought it was decent enough, but didn't really have much basis of comparison since I'm not big into MMO's.

craterus · Post by **craterus** » Fri Sep 18, 2009 9:32 pm

giving this a shot now... using the turbine download option... I like how it downloads and installs .net even though I think it is already installed.

edit---
my favorite dwarf name is taken --- Amadeus Axeworthy (along with various spellings and various endings... ready stout hardy etc.)

Looking again at the reject box it is saying that the first name needs to be replaced... don't tell me you can't have a duplicate first name??

edit2 ---
yep its looking that way - why bother with surnames when you can't have a duplicate first name for any character on a server? unbelievable...

a dwarf name generator (for anyone that is in a bind)
http://grey-starr.ca/Tools/random-male-dwarf-name.htm" target="_blank

edit3 ---
not too bad for a free game - i have to get used to NOT pointing and clicking to move --- combat is a little confusing but the ability to move around and strafe attack looks pretty good. We'll see...

edit4 ---
sent a message to cort to join the wanderers... but while my application is being reviewed I am willing to play with other noobs in the starting area (message/friend me araim axeworthy)

btw - it looks like a lot of people were frustrated with the first name only one per server rule... I have seen some horribly bad names out there for an RPG type game (meowmeowmeow for example)

spoiler map?
http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a289/ ... island.jpg" target="_blank

pricing blog
http://furlugedepot.com/2009/09/15/the- ... e-to-play/" target="_blank

a thief build
http://forums.ddo.com/showpost.php?p=24 ... ostcount=4" target="_blank

a build template thread
http://forums.ddo.com/showthread.php?t=147492" target="_blank

a character planner
http://www.rjcyberware.com/DDO/" target="_blank

new players links
http://forums.ddo.com/showthread.php?t=170873" target="_blank

a DDO wiki
http://ddowiki.com/index.php?title=Paladin&" target="_blank

from the wiki link above - might be useful for people to know this...

Paladins and Rangers are supposed to receive 5 SP at level 4. However, due to an unfixed bug, they are receiving only 2 SP at that level.

a thread commenting on servers... (Cannith is the new one?)
http://forums.ddo.com/showthread.php?t=201879" target="_blank

podcast
http://www.ddocast.com/" target="_blank

I am currently running a dwarf Paladin, but might build a human thief/mage (not sure if they still allow dual classing for humans in this ruleset - i will check it out later) Can any of the regular players comment on how important charisma is to the game? for example, trading with npc's better cha = better money or not? (if I go human thief/mage i will probably be maxing out dex and int at most other stats expense)

Also is there a crafting market for players? (players craft cool items and sell them in game?)

Found this quote on the forum - this is one of the things i hate about games in general

"IMO, Stealth is worthless because the quest designers have ignored it.

They want to make quests that any group can do, they don't want you to need a rogue. They have made three quests that have multiple solutions: teh brute path and the stealth path. I love those, but they don't seem to want to have more than one way to solve a quest. Usually if they see players doing something unexpected to beat a quest they call it exploiting. I really don't understand the attitude, but it is what it is."

Hopefully they have some sort of arena combat area...

Also the name of the world we want to be on is - Khyber - right?

man o man is there alot of crates in this noob area... old man murray would be proud!

craterus · Post by **craterus** » Sat Sep 19, 2009 9:02 am

Not sure it this will work - but here is my noob dwarf paly... probably spent too much on wisdom at the expense of charisma... I can always re-roll

removed bad build

Zenn7 · Post by **Zenn7** » Sat Sep 19, 2009 2:58 pm

To answer a few of your questions:

Dual class is not a 3/3.5 option (that was 2nd addition and/or 1st). This is 3.5 ruleset. You can multiclass any race/class you want. When you level, instead of taking the next level in your current class, you take a level in another class. For XP needs though, your total character level is what counts. You do NOT get the benefits of "Level 1" for taking that class (you do not get 4x skill points for example). You do get class specific things (whatever their level 1 saves are are added to yours, like a Wizard gets +2 will, your will save will go up by 2).

Charisma: if you are not a class that uses Charisma (Bard/Sor high, Cleric/Pally some, Rogue for some skills), it only affects your skills. But there are a couple key skills it affects: Haggle (this is your price modifier with merchants skill), Diplomacy (AOE aggro dump), Use Magic Device (I believe), but you can only use that if you have invested skill points into it. Possibly some others, but I'm not fully up on every detail of the online game.

Khyber was the world they'd mentioned here.

For the most part, focusing your stats is the way to go. Con affects your health, probably don't want that too low. Others are more dependent on what you want to do and if you plan on traveling with others (some things can only be used/found w/ high search/spot or Int as an example).

You will miss a lot of treasure I think w/o a Lockpicker (Rogue or Bard I think are the only ones who can keep the skill up), or a caster with Knock.

I have a dwarf barbarian on that server (Theldwor I think, have to look up how I spelled that). Have a mage too but grouping him with a buddy already.

Zenn7

craterus · Post by **craterus** » Sat Sep 19, 2009 4:14 pm

Zenn7 wrote:
Charisma:But there are a couple key skills it affects: Haggle (this is your price modifier with merchants skill), Diplomacy (AOE aggro dump), Use Magic Device (I believe)
Zenn7

i have not seen a haggle option in the game yet (could be due to my low charisma)... that is the type of thing i was wondering about.

Looking forward to seeing some of you in-game... the fast start option was FAST - was able to start building a new character almost immediately and get into the noob area probably within 10 minutes from registering.

one annoying thing is to be in a game like this with no guildies - the other is they give out a flaming weapon at the beginning of the game - EVERY noob is swinging one around (what were the designers thinking?)

You can get a nice look at a dragon within minutes of starting the game which was pretty cool.

Zenn7 · Post by **Zenn7** » Sat Sep 19, 2009 6:36 pm

It's a passive skill, automatically factored in. Look at the skills, some are square, some are octogontal (sp?). 1 type is activated, 1 type is passive and automatically applied (I can't remember which is which off the cuff, but look at Search (active) and Spot/Listen (Passive skills).

Haggle is passive/automatic.

The Ember weapons were a very odd choice, but I guess their cool at least. Does not take long to get more stuff.

Gotta leave in a few for dinner, but if I get on tonight, I'll get my exact character name and post here. I'm L2 (almost 3) and just left the village behind for Stormreach.

wire · Post by **wire** » Sun Sep 20, 2009 1:43 am

I'm on the Khyber server and have a lvl 2 Dwarven Cleric named Jaelix Rockfist. About the leave Korthos Island, that is if I can get that last rare encounter to spawn for me.

craterus · Post by **craterus** » Sun Sep 20, 2009 9:39 am

wire wrote:I'm on the Khyber server and have a lvl 2 Dwarven Cleric named Jaelix Rockfist. About the leave Korthos Island, that is if I can get that last rare encounter to spawn for me.

i just went outside for the first time with the help of a player from here (Hamlet?) last night - i was wondering about that rare encounter stat. (also i did a search to try and add you to friends list Jaelix and it said not available when i put the full name in, but when i put the single name in - adding you to the friends list worked)

I have been playing in windowed mode so that i can page through the wiki when necessary and have started having problems during fights with the screen moving off the monitor (due to my frantic clicking and sweeping during the fights... if you play with me be sure to remind me to switch to full screen mode

)

One of the questions i have for the vets is - I assume that we won't be able to go back to the start area with our character that leaves for stormreach... Do you think it is worth going through and redoing missions until we complete them at the elite level?

I have noticed that when i repeat missions at higher difficulty levels I am definitely getting better loot... but i am starting to get the deductions to xp for repetition... as i am sure has been mentioned before.

I really think this game could get old fast without realm battle or an arena of some sort (ANY sort of arena would be an improvement I think... even something similar to the 12 man faction maps in guildwars). It would be nice if they did something like what Team Fortress did and add a few class specific areas one at a time (a thieves guild challenge area - a melee arena school - a mage puzzle (or dueling) challenge, and then a mixed arena). Even with guildwars I tend to avoid repeating quests whenever possible (I have two toons from the beginning of that game and after 4 years of PvP I am starting to repeat some missions to fill them up and it is tedious to say the least)

I will probably play most of the day today (with a few breaks to check in on football) - would be glad to repeat missions with people at higher levels... (still working my way through the outside missions for the first time too)

edit
got my first rare encounter near the ice river - Zeer Ice Mephit

spoilers follow in this wiki obviously (if you are stuck on where to look for your rare encounters):
http://ddowiki.com/page/Korthos_Island" target="_blank

well this blows... necros doom final chest is behind a locked cell door - I may roll a thief to help noobs after I get this character out of the new area...

Zenn7 · Post by **Zenn7** » Sun Sep 20, 2009 11:07 am

Theldwor Axebore (L2 Barbarian Dwarf) and Freynok Silverleaf (L3 Wizard, Elf). The Wizard I'm only on with my IRL friend but we can join up (some of the quests after the starting island suggest 3+ players). He's got a Fighter (2weapon-fighting).

"well this blows... necros doom final chest is behind a locked cell door - I may roll a thief to help noobs after I get this character out of the new area..."

Get used to that. You will see it quite a bit going forward. Me and my friend were ecstatic when I reached level 3, cause I made darn sure I took KNOCK as one of my 2 spells (Knock opens locked things for those who do not know).

I'm not a vet, but from what I've seen/heard, you can come back to the island later. Sometimes, things get a little funky when you group w/ someone who has not left the island. The dungeons scale in difficulty with your level though, so you can't come back w/ a L1 dungeon at L4 and blow through it. I tried to do one of the in town ones before leaving the island (it was L1, I was L2) on hard or elite. That was a quick failure.

I'll be on for the next hour or so, possibly much later tonight as well (not sure, have some WOW stuff to do, generally not on much during the day, even on weekends, family time, but they're at church right now=GAME TIME..

)

craterus · Post by **craterus** » Sun Sep 20, 2009 11:17 am

Zenn7 wrote: I'm not a vet, but from what I've seen/heard, you can come back to the island later. Sometimes, things get a little funky when you group w/ someone who has not left the island. The dungeons scale in difficulty with your level though, so you can't come back w/ a L1 dungeon at L4 and blow through it. I tried to do one of the in town ones before leaving the island (it was L1, I was L2) on hard or elite. That was a quick failure.

I'll be on for the next hour or so, possibly much later tonight as well (not sure, have some WOW stuff to do, generally not on much during the day, even on weekends, family time, but they're at church right now=GAME TIME.. )

Yep - it looks like characters can only team with like characters (noobs with noobs and vets with vets) - thanks for making the attempt to meet up in game - it does not look like you are guild affiliated (i wonder how many wanderers there are in the guild? still have not got access to wanderers board - cortilian must have a real life

)

i am conflicted with this game - really pumped to play more at the moment though... and especially interested in seeing how much better it is with a larger group.

After I advance this character off the island - I will create a thief character to help noobs for as long as I can here.

edited to add...
I have done some of the missions on hard solo... and I think I got one of the early easy in town quests on elite already... I would love to do more of the easier ones on elite with teammates (especially with a healer since that is the big issue right now - and idiot that i am - i spec'ed my charisma too low for lay hands - my understanding though is that we get more points when we reach 1500 favor? how likely is that on free status? I may have to re-roll this one so i might switch to thief to kill time while finding out the details on that one)

PS -- I am quite annoyed with how dark it is in these dungeons... cant see a thing. Don't dwarves have night vision??

Hamlet3145 · Post by **Hamlet3145** » Sun Sep 20, 2009 2:20 pm

Hey Craterus!

Yep, that was me last night. I'm off the newbie island now and wandering around Stormreach halfway between level 2-3. I did all the island quests though I didn't feel the need to go through them all again on the hardest modes as I figure that equipment would be outdated in a couple of levels anyhow. Really enjoying my dual wielding elven fighter. Slice & dice! Slice & dice!

Cortilian · Post by **Cortilian** » Sun Sep 20, 2009 2:48 pm

Look up any of the Wanderers for an invite. In fact, you can PM me in game if I'm not on and when I log in I can mail an invite to you.

craterus · Post by **craterus** » Sun Sep 20, 2009 3:14 pm

Cortilian wrote:Look up any of the Wanderers for an invite. In fact, you can PM me in game if I'm not on and when I log in I can mail an invite to you.

yep - i guess i can't actually join until i leave the island

looks like friends lists don't automatically follow you - you have to export and import files...

now playing "Jonar" a rogue...

craterus · Post by **craterus** » Sun Sep 20, 2009 10:28 pm

Do any of the vets have recommendations for which adventures to buy? Not planning to purchase today but some of these deals seem low...

Has anyone seen a review site for the individual adventures?

Do the Wanderers have any particular adventures that they plan to run on?

I just noticed Three Barrel Cove is 50% off at $3
Also the Devil Dungeon is a buck?

Has anyone been following how long "todays" deals last?

Cremator · Post by **Cremator** » Mon Sep 21, 2009 5:16 pm

I'm not much of a "vet" - I've played through the Beta and now as a Premium player. I felt I definitely got my money's worth from 3-barrel cove and the Sharn Syndicate.

craterus · Post by **craterus** » Wed Sep 23, 2009 12:19 pm

Todays specials really stink - almost all hirelings specials (25% off 10cr is not much of a deal). The todays special has been the same for the last few days, so if you are planning to make a purchase at some point in the future - you might want to do it when they are having sales on adventure packs.

after a few days of playing, I have been having fun solo and have not yet experienced a big group adventure.

my only comparison point really is Guildwars (and I will be comparing lowest setting graphics vs lowest setting graphics... I think graphics-wise it is no where near guildwars - even on the lowest settings GW still looks pretty great while DDO is EXTREMELY blocky environment.

I think DDO missed a great opportunity to have toons reflect the gear better (i have a cloak that does not appear on my toon... even if it was generic cloak with various designs on it for different magic items it would be better)... so far i have not seen many different armors, but I attribute that to being in the start area.

I guess my main gripe regards the ability to check out how your toon looks - the in-game item sheet does not have a view that shows your character while you are swapping out armor and weaps etc and in this game you are looking at the back of the toons head all the time. The first time I saw all my cool new gear on my toon was when i logged back in - the only place that you can see the front of your character in the game (so far that i found at this point)

Regarding the start area - pretty good except for the last quest. A decent mixture of fights and puzzles and story telling. The last quest "Miserys Peak" is well named... fighting your way through a map to click levers and then running for minutes through the empty map you just conquered to get to the door you had to flip levers for was ridiculous (not to mention you are doing all of this running in an area with high catwalks with no railings so that when you fall off your toon dies = bad). There was a pretty cool end scene to that one though...

I really hope that they do not resort to the "show you a door and click levers for 30 minutes and make you run back through the map for 10 minutes to the door you just opened" trick again...

What would be really nice is if DDO created an Architect tool like CoX - so that players could submit new adventures. Or if they allowed guilds to create strongholds to defend... I would love to have the opportunity to create a stronghold for people to try and break into... it would be a good money sink for the game as well.

ps - another gripe, the key mappings don't seem to save... i have removed the key mapping for the store (ctrl-s) multiple times because the ctrl key controls the tumble action and i am hitting keys all around s constantly... it is not cool to be in combat and have the store pop up to bblock your view if you hit ctrl s accidentally... i remove the mapping and when i log back in its back again...

Hyena · Post by **Hyena** » Thu Sep 24, 2009 11:50 am

I made two toons last night, an elven ranger and a human fighter. Didn't get either one off the island yet, but I prolly will this weekend. I'll send a tell for an invite if that's cool.

wire · Post by **wire** » Thu Sep 24, 2009 12:08 pm

I got my Dwarven Cleric Jaelix into the guild the other day and then found myself making a Human Thief Acrobat. Using a quarterstaff he can put the hurt on several opponents at once. Now if I could just get a quarterstaff to drop as a quest reward so I can upgrade from the mastercraft one I got early on. A monk says he gets them all the time but for some reason the acrobat doesn't even though it specifically says in it's description the quarterstaff is the preferred weapon. Grr...

So I'll either be on as Jaelix or Eleyan, who still needs to join the guild.

Terrified · Post by **Terrified** » Thu Sep 24, 2009 12:47 pm

craterus wrote:The first time I saw all my cool new gear on my toon was when i logged back in - the only place that you can see the front of your character in the game (so far that i found at this point)

Middle mouse button I think... If you hold that down and swing the camera around, you can look at the front of your toon.

Stridergg · Post by **Stridergg** » Thu Sep 24, 2009 12:49 pm

my only comparison point really is Guildwars (and I will be comparing lowest setting graphics vs lowest setting graphics... I think graphics-wise it is no where near guildwars - even on the lowest settings GW still looks pretty great while DDO is EXTREMELY blocky environment.

I don't know, I am playing on Ultra High (and it runs great on my 2.5 years old PC, yay) and it looks pretty damn good.

I think DDO missed a great opportunity to have toons reflect the gear better (i have a cloak that does not appear on my toon... even if it was generic cloak with various designs on it for different magic items it would be better)... so far i have not seen many different armors, but I attribute that to being in the start area.

Yes, AFAIK DDO doesn't display cloaks and I am glad it doesn't because I always turn cloaks off in other games if I can. I am not sure if the game displays various boots, belts and gloves, never checked it. It does display armor, helmets and weapons and with a lot of variety. People in our group of 4 all have a "+1 Full Plate" but it looks different (and pretty cool, except for one, hehe) on each of the characters. I've also seen some high level armor on some guys and it looks pretty cool too.

I guess my main gripe regards the ability to check out how your toon looks - the in-game item sheet does not have a view that shows your character while you are swapping out armor and weaps etc and in this game you are looking at the back of the toons head all the time. The first time I saw all my cool new gear on my toon was when i logged back in - the only place that you can see the front of your character in the game (so far that i found at this point)

If you press and hold the scrolling wheel on your mouse, you can move the camera around your character by moving the mouse.

ps - another gripe, the key mappings don't seem to save... i have removed the key mapping for the store (ctrl-s) multiple times because the ctrl key controls the tumble action and i am hitting keys all around s constantly... it is not cool to be in combat and have the store pop up to bblock your view if you hit ctrl s accidentally... i remove the mapping and when i log back in its back again...

I am not sure what's happening in your case, my friend and I have changed a lot of key mappings and they all saved. My changes were pretty simple (Alt-C instead of C for the characters screen, assign keys to hotbar slots, etc.) but my friend was determined to make the controls as close to WoW as possible and he was able to do it to his satisfaction.

Make sure when you change the key mapping the one is listed on the screen, then make sure you are not canceling the changes.

I just checked the official forum and it seems many people are experiencing this issue. I don't have much time to search for the solution, check this link (and other posts as well): http://forums.ddo.com/showthread.php?t=201281