A plethoera of questions from a potential player

[SaintVigeous]

Hullo everyone,

I have been putting thought lately into trying out DDO. Historically, I have been a pretty hardcore WoW player (Bet you haven't heard that before...), but my interest is waning. I think the game is truly brilliant, but there is only so much one can take. I also have some friends who want to start playing a game together and WoW is not a good option (I don't really want to sart at level 1 AGAIN and they won't be raid-ready for months). As such, I have a ton of questions.

How large of a group do you need to run through a dungeon/instance? I know there are different modes, but I am not sure how they work. Is it possible for 2 or 3 players to have a fulfilling and exciting dungeon experience? What will I miss between that and a full 6-person group?

How easy is it to change your choices? I am an old-school D&D player, so I know the multiclassing mechanics, but if I somehow get to the point where I decide that sorc5/barb5 isn't the best choice, can I change it? ;)

How interesting is the teamplay? My favorite part of WoW is min/maxing a raid group and assigning roles. Will I feel like I am part of a well-oiled machine of specialists?

What is the general maturity/friendliness level of your average DDOer? In WoW, I pretty much stopped getting involved with anyone who wasn't in my guild or a personal friend, because I am socially-challenged enough without having elitists/idiots rain on my parade.

What is the character progression like? Do I frequently get new skills or abilties that make the game feel a little different? WoW has lots of interesting little tricks whereas something like Guild Wars made me feel like I just had 1 or 2 useful spells.

How is the hardcore end-game content? I see that there are raids of 12 players. That sounds pretty good. Can I expect challening and engaging encounters that will punish anyone who isn't fully optomized and prepared, but will handsomely reward those who are?

Um... that's it for now. Looking forward to trying the trial.

Thanks!

[sirgog]

Responses in bold


Hullo everyone,

I have been putting thought lately into trying out DDO. Historically, I have been a pretty hardcore WoW player (Bet you haven't heard that before...), but my interest is waning. I think the game is truly brilliant, but there is only so much one can take. I also have some friends who want to start playing a game together and WoW is not a good option (I don't really want to sart at level 1 AGAIN and they won't be raid-ready for months). As such, I have a ton of questions.

How large of a group do you need to run through a dungeon/instance? I know there are different modes, but I am not sure how they work. Is it possible for 2 or 3 players to have a fulfilling and exciting dungeon experience? What will I miss between that and a full 6-person group?

When you know the quests well, most can be trioed or duoed. This requires skill, experience with the game, and some resources like gold and wands. At first, I'd suggest filling up groups of 4-6 with people you don't know (called PUGging - PUG = pick-up group).

How easy is it to change your choices? I am an old-school D&D player, so I know the multiclassing mechanics, but if I somehow get to the point where I decide that sorc5/barb5 isn't the best choice, can I change it? ;)

You can respec some decisions (feats, spell choices and enhancements) at varying cost. Others (level choices, skill points, initial stats) cannot ever be changed.

How interesting is the teamplay? My favorite part of WoW is min/maxing a raid group and assigning roles. Will I feel like I am part of a well-oiled machine of specialists?

DDO has less of that, as most raids are won or lost based on strategy/skill more than individual players having uber gear, and also as you can generalise a lot - for instance, most melee-types spec their character to be able to use healing wands.

What is the general maturity/friendliness level of your average DDOer? In WoW, I pretty much stopped getting involved with anyone who wasn't in my guild or a personal friend, because I am socially-challenged enough without having elitists/idiots rain on my parade.

5% tard, 95% good folks.

What is the character progression like? Do I frequently get new skills or abilties that make the game feel a little different? WoW has lots of interesting little tricks whereas something like Guild Wars made me feel like I just had 1 or 2 useful spells.

Casters change rapidly as they advance. Melee types change also, but not as quickly. You'll notice a BIG difference between a level 4 and level 6 character, however.

How is the hardcore end-game content? I see that there are raids of 12 players. That sounds pretty good. Can I expect challening and engaging encounters that will punish anyone who isn't fully optomized and prepared, but will handsomely reward those who are?

Optimization and phat loot are less important than playskill and strategy at endgame. The game's biggest challenge currently is the Black Abbot raid, which most people are too frustrated with to seriously try (bad quest design IMO). The difficulty level of current endgame isn't too high, with the exception of 4 encounters I can think of (Shroud parts 2 and 4 elite, Black Abbot any difficulty, possibly Running with the Devils elite just for the bosses).

Um... that's it for now. Looking forward to trying the trial.

Looking forward to having you :-)

Thanks!

[tihocan]

How large of a group do you need to run through a dungeon/instance? I know there are different modes, but I am not sure how they work. Is it possible for 2 or 3 players to have a fulfilling and exciting dungeon experience? What will I miss between that and a full 6-person group?
Definitely, though I'd say 3 brings a lot more possibilities than 2. You really won't miss much, there aren't many quests you can't do with 3 people.
Note however that you should expect to repeat quests a few times before you can short-man them reliably, in order to gain XP to level up to be able to tackle the higher level ones (and get money to fund your ressources).

[vainangel]

Many of your concerns are answred in various ways on this website.

As far a raids and players....it all depends on your play style and what you expect from the game. You should have enough time in your trial to find the answers you are seeking. Many of them will answer themselves after a day or so.

I would suggest looking at joining a large guild. There are alot of wonderful guilds willing to assist new players and help you find your playstyle.


Welcome to the game.

[SaintVigeous]

I have played a little bit at this point, so I have some context.

First, when I said optomization earlier, I didn't mean having the perfect gear. I know that alot of people like to drive home that this is not as gear-centric as WoW. When I say optomization, I mean every possible buff is cast on the right person, the group is balanced (healers, tanks, ranged, melee, crowd control, curing, etc...) and everyone has their job to do.

I played through the first set of group quests with a friend (The scrolls, daggers and potions from Goodblade). I liked the fact that they were dynamic and had little puzzles, but I didn't feel like it was a group thing (I actually soloed one on normal mode first). Basically, we were just hacking at things with our swords whenever they showed up. We would try to flank (is flanking in there or was I imagining the +2 Attack bonus) and I would sometimes throw an intimadate to try and hold aggro, but in general it felt like zerging.

In WoW (don't hurt me. It's just my only point of reference ;) ), within about 2 hours of starting, you can do the first instance and it pretty much requires a full group (or at least a very well-coordinated 3-person group). You need to have someone tank the mobs. You need a guy keeping the tank alive. In general you want some DPS to kill things faster. There are plenty of opportunies to use crowd control and even advanced tactics like pulling patrols or silence pulling.

Later, there are instances that require a full group who execute their jobs perfectly (For all you WoW players that are familair with the 45-minute Stratholme run, that was one of my favorite things).

I will get as far as I can with the trial, but I am trying out LotRO at the same time and have a pretty busy schedule right now.

Sorry to bother. Just trying to make an informed decision. The social gamer in me tells me that DDO has an AWESOME community. The casual gamer tells me it will let me have a life. The hardcore tactician is concerned ;)

Thanks!

[SaintVigeous]

Oh! Another more specific question:

What is to stop a person from just loading up on healing potions and soloing everything? Just the monetary aspect? Is there a problem with people just farming gold (or buying) and Diabloing (Hurray for new verbs) their way through quests?

[Arianrhod]

Please don't use the Goodblade quests as a gauge for the rest - they are possibly the most soloable quests in the game (even on "elite" difficulty setting). Probably the first "tough boss" fight you'll get to will be the Shan-to Kor quest series; might want to try that one to get a better feel for group interdependence.

In general, nothing in DDO is set up so as to need a "perfect" group to get through it. The challenge lies more in trying to succeed with more unusual groups and characters (all-ranger groups, for instance, can be quite interesting). As for brute-forcing your way through everything by spending a lot on gear and potions - some people may be able to do it, but they are exceptional players. There's no potion that can heal you as fast as high level opponents and traps can damage you, and even if you can keep yourself alive, you still have to find some way to deal damage enough to take out the threat before it finishes you. To discover the value of a group at low levels, try running any quest with kobold shamans (Butcher's Path, perhaps) on hard difficulty. Hold person spells definitely make you appreciate having some backup.

[tihocan]

I can definitely backup Arianrhod's post.
Low level quests are meant to be solo-able, because lots of people come from other MMO's and are used to soloing. It's intended that you don't need a full group for them.
The challenges really start at level 4+ I'd say. Or on hard/elite settings of course ;)

And just buying pots is not an option. It works in early quests where you can fight, heal, fight, heal, etc., but soon you won't be able to solo each fight with just your own HP buffer.

PS: that being said, most of the game can be soloed, but it takes an appropriate build, experience with the quests and game mechanics, and a lot of patience

[Velis]

The story of the OP is very similar to mine. I find myself bored with WOW more and more and wanting more from a game than just button mashing and Min/Maxing. I have played WOW since release and killed every boss the game has to offer (except Viscidus ). I am an old school PNP DND player and love the class balancing and combat system. WoW continues to fall further and further from the game I want to play, the WOW expansion has been nothing but a let down.

In wow older content is completely outdated and long term accomplishments are washed away with every patch. In DDO are lower level raid dungeons still ran on a regular basis? I know they have raised the level cap a few times, does each new module make your prior accomplishments insignificant? Basically can I start playing DDO and still get to see most of the game? Or will it be a rush to max level so I can catch up, I would prefer to enjoy the journey and not worry about reaching 16 from the start.

[Uska]

Lets see if I can add my opinions to this.

1. Most low-mid quests can be done fairly easy with a duo or trio, some of the high level quests you will need some help but wont have any trouble getting people to join you for those.

2. Multiclassing is good if you are careful and no you cant respec your build by redoing what classes you have, so a 5/5 sorc/bard really isnt a good idea, but some multiclassing can work well. You should check the class forum for the more popular builds on that.

3. Come and bring your friends I think you will all have a good time and there are good helpful people on all of the servers to get you guys into the swing of things, my favorite two are Khyber and Ghalandra(spelling) but have played a bit on the others and found good people on those as well.

4. With some of the new quests you can really get the old pnp feel I mean rainbow in the dark with the light source and the gelantinous cubes, how cool is that. Of course some of the old quests are really nice as well.

5. Cant say this enough come bring your friends you will have a good time and now is the best time to sign up with the 6 month special price that works out to 9.99 you cant go wrong for .33 a day. The more players we have in the game the better.

[Uska]

The story of the OP is very similar to mine. I find myself bored with WOW more and more and wanting more from a game than just button mashing and Min/Maxing. I have played WOW since release and killed every boss the game has to offer (except Viscidus ). I am an old school PNP DND player and love the class balancing and combat system. WoW continues to fall further and further from the game I want to play, the WOW expansion has been nothing but a let down.

In wow older content is completely outdated and long term accomplishments are washed away with every patch. In DDO are lower level raid dungeons still ran on a regular basis? I know they have raised the level cap a few times, does each new module make your prior accomplishments insignificant? Basically can I start playing DDO and still get to see most of the game? Or will it be a rush to max level so I can catch up, I would prefer to enjoy the journey and not worry about reaching 16 from the start.

Friend all new stuff just adds to what was before so no your old accomplishments are not washed away and yes you can still enjoy the whole ride. I myself am always making new characters and trying new things, sometimes I do rush through old stuff but not if there are new people in the group who want to experince it for the first time, I will not warn people about traps or ambushes unless they want me to. So come join the fun you havent really missed anything. The more new players we have the better.

[Velis]

Can you suggest any servers which are more accommodating to new players than others????

[Uska]

Can you suggest any servers which are more accommodating to new players than others????

Well depending on your times but Ghalandra(spelling) and khyber are very good as well as Thelanis and Argosen(spelling) but the other server is fine as well I am sure(name slips my mind) you can make characters on each server and see which fits you better wtihout any trouble and check each servers fourms and see how people are there. A very good and friendly guild on Ghalndara is the Fellowship all of those people are great and welcoming to new and old players alike. If you come to khyber you can look fo rme there if you wish. I am usually on one of the following
Akus
Uska
Auks
Kasu
Asku(my new fave)
Daynar(yeah breaks the theme)
if it has the letters A,K,U,S it might be me except for Kusa someone else got that darn it.

[tihocan]

Can you suggest any servers which are more accommodating to new players than others????
I never heard about one being more than another. Pick whichever name your like, or browse server guild listings to find what guilds you may be interested in joining.