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Not the same DDO as in '06 - deserves a reset of score
brostyn
Member, Newbie CommonPosts: 3,092
I used to be a pretty big hater of DDO. I decided to give it a try after users on this board said things have changed. Wow.
This is not the same DDO I played back in '06. This game is awesome. I haven't been this excited about playing a game, since my EQ/DAOC days. Groups are so easy to get together now. The loot and quest system is fantastic. The leveling system is beyond amazing.
I'm so glad I retried DDO. Its about the only game on the market where people group from low level to max, and that is why I play MMOs. Soloing is difficult, but not impossible. I also love how you aren't penalized for having a full group like all other MMO penalize for.
This game is truly, imo, the best out there.
Comments
If may or may not be the best. That does not matter. The fact is that it has vastly improved. There was a thread a few weeks ago asking MMORPG to re-review it.
It is one of the 2 MMO's that I play and the reason is like you said, you can find a group. The demand for solo play has not ruined it yet.
What is the deal with everyone saying the game is going solo, or it's slowly being ruined by them bowing to solo players? To be quite honest, I went back last month to DDO because of everyone saying how much better and nicer it was for solo players. Maybe I'm missing something, but the game hasn't changed since the last time I played. (A year and a hlaf ago!) Where is all this solo content people speak of? Yes, you can solo up to level 2, then all the dungeons I've encountered require either a super tweeked character (Something I do not have) or a party. They don't even give you the option of solo yet in the Waterworks or in the Catacombs?
The sad thing is this game would be great if they had more content. I feel, as do my friends, a character should not have to replay a module over and over just for experience. That is exactly what you are forced to do. I don't want to turn people off from this game, because it has such great potential. But, this grand touting of how much it's improved because of more content and better solo play is a little too much.
You don't need a super tweaked character equipped with best items to solo. You only need to know the ruleset and customize your character for best solo experience. Apparently you can't solo with any class. In addition, it's important for a player to know the dungeons before going in alone.
This game does not force you to rerun the same dungeons. There are enough dungeons for you to be capped without going the same dungeon twice. And I'm not sure why is everyone so negative about re-running some dungeon from time to time. Don't tell me you never have to redo a content in the MMORPG you play right now. Especially end-game in most of the games is consisted of rerunning the same dungeon every week.
REALITY CHECK
QFBS [definitely NOT for Truth!]
I call BS! No way you have returned after 1 1/2 years and see nothing different - the game has changed VASTLY in that time!
1. You can leave the entry part of the harbor without doing Goodblade's quests.
2. You can enter the Marketplace without completing Waterworks [You can get the writ after only the first two quests now!]; you don't even have to start the waterworks, you just need to pay 20gp to enter.
3. There is a bank in the Harbormaster's house.
As to soloing:
There are solo levels added to quests up to at least 6th level! Not all quests have the solo option and some are definitely easier to solo than others. As an example, "Freshen the Air" a level 4 quest is a difficult solo UNLESS you are a warforged [and thus immune to trog stench] in which case it can be soloed by a 2nd level WF Wizard.
I solo 90% of the time, exclusively solo on two of my characters [the two highest level ones, so I'm not twinking them with a maxed character]. The two keys to soloing are: Practice - keep trying the quests, some are not possible to do with a given character at a given level, come back next level, learn from your mistakes; and, Gear - once you have failed a time or two, you will figure out what gear you need to succeed - buy it from the auctioneer or from a vender. Tactics also help - shoot & scoot works as well for bows and crossbows as it does for modern artillery [get behind a pillar, jump out and acquire your target, jump back to cover, jump out and fire, jump back, repeat] Fight with your back to a wall to limit the number of enemies that can flank you. Take the "Diehard" feat so you will heal back to 1hp if you are knocked down/out [Not necessary on Warforged, they have it - but look out as it still allows you to take the feat, thereby wasting one!]
DDO definitely has changed drastically, and as such, deserves a re-review [though maybe waiting 'til Monks are in would be ok!]
<p align=center><a target=_blank href=http://www.nodiatis.com/personality.htm><img border=0 src=http://www.nodiatis.com/pub/20.jpg></a></p>;
Another major change that was put in is the current lfg system. You can press O, and find people on certain quest. Double click on them, and viola you're in a group(if they accept). Or you can be the one to set up a group.
To me, this is one of the best added features.
After 1.5 years later and you aren't able to identify the differences with how characters are built through using feats and enhancements? This alone proves that you never played a character past level 1 and is likely the reason you claim it requires a twinked out character to complete quests.
Solo content, you know the area that you run through to get to the entrance of dungeon for the 1st part of the Water Works? That is also solo content. Cerullian Hills is more soloable content with plenty of good hours of game play availble.
Do you have to repeat content? No. The thing here is some of the adventures are so well designed that players actually WANT to repeat them and the ones we don't like we simply do not run again. To make things better if we repeat them we'll run the quests on Hard and then on Elite for increased rewards, experiance and challenge!
You can complete every quest once and it should put you near the level cap. I believe you could do it all on normal although it is not possible to solo ALL the way from lvl 1 to lvl 16, and who the hell would want to anyways!?!
There's at least 5 out door areas in the game that were not present a year and a half ago. These are ideal for solo players although if you are to focus on the full reward potential it would be nesceary to revist these zones, but it is not required. What's cool is that these outdoor areas completely support players who might only be able to lpay for 45 minutes a day. Not to mention there's a continual revamp to make more and more currently availble areas explorable with slayer exp and named rares for loot.
Currently, I run the Vale solo and only put up LFM's so others can benefit from the Slayer EXP and Loot rewards.
Mindspat, Uncuss, and Thellian,
I apologize greatly if I offended. I did not mean to. I will take your advice on soloing and put it to use. And yes, I suppose the ommision of truth is a misstatement of facts, so sorry about that. But, please understand I wasn't trying to bash the game, (as I said in both posts about soling I like this game a lot), nor was I trying to turn people off from the game by a misrepresenting the facts. I was just simply stating that the initial reason i left was lack of solo content, and it appeared to me that there was not a lot of dungeons that had added the solo box. It still made you check: easy, moderate, hard, elite, etc.
As for character customization, in another post I stated that I really liked the game mechanics, ruleset, and character development. I've always liked it, both with changes and without. I truly enjoy the ruleset for 3.5. Perhaps, my tone did not come across as it should have, and for that I'm sorry.
The only thing I still object to is being called a BS'er. I am not. I played a little over a year ago and left at third level due to solo content. I play now (and enjoy it I may add), but find solo content still lacking. That was all I meant. I did notice notice the outside area Cerrion (Spelling) Hills, the waterwork revamp, and the two guards in the Harbor that say they have nothing to bet over now that adventurers don't have to go through the sewers to get to the first real area with trainers. (Near Philosopher's Row.) So it's true my experience has been minimal, but I don't lie.
Thanks for advice. I look forward to trying it out.