Custimization and Re-spec thoughts...

[Gum]

Hjello,

Just wanted to type a little bit of thoughts about customization and re-spec today.

To begin, I would just like to be able to change things like alignment, redistribution of stats, race, redistribution of level up stats *very needed imo*, and skill points.

It would really help new players when they make common beginner mistakes, and veterans who want to keep up with all the changes that have been been made through the mods.

Furthermore, I would absolutely love it if we could change our hairstyle, "I understand in the new DDO.store we can change our hair color, and this is a good step in the right direction imo" facial features, eye color, skin tone, WF body color, etc. My view on this is we've got a long time to look at our characters, and what eye color/skin tone you liked at creation, may not be what floats your boat in Mod 9 or 10 etc. Also, our characters may have been hanging out in the desert too long and picked up a good tan, or maybe they've been held up in the necropolis, and have paled up a little. Maybe sally the barbarian wants a makeover, or Johnny the handsome bard doesn't feel so handsome anymore and wants a new hair-cut. Maybe Kurtis the fighter has picked up a scar or two from all that front line combat. Anyway, just my thoughts on re-spec and customization that imo would enhance DDO to even more of its potential, and keep players new and old mixing it up and keeping it fresh ;)

[Jonny_D]

Johnny the handsome bard

fyi there is no "h" in jonny ;)
and i like all those ideas

[Mistinarperadnacles]

Have to add that I'm not in favour of such a broad respec.

Skill points, Up to 6 Stat points, Enhancements, Feats and Appearence (Hair, facial detail) - Yes.

Race, Alignment, All Stats - No.

Changing a Int focused Drow Wizard into a Str focuse Human Barb is too radical.

I'd also like to see a better mechanic for changing out spells. 1/3days doesn't cut it. 1/1 day would be much better for Bards and Sorcs. Possibly applying the same to Feat exchanges with Fred.

[Thelmallen]

I personally think an alignment respect is something that should have been added a long time ago. It is a well-established element of the PnP game (I've had the DM change my alignment a few times over the years due to play style) and as new things have come along (monks), some alignments and builds are not compatible.

[Goldeneye]

I am all for complete respects. If the dev's implemented a true respec system, it would absolutely no doubt be the best decision they made for this game.

A major complaint of the many people that quit ddo, is how easy it is to gimp a toon. Maybe you chose the wrong skill, or maybe your mod 2 build has been gimped by a mod. Whatever reason, it is it is very very easy to eternally gimp a toon.

Unlike games like WoW, or Guild Wars, where there is no way you can permanently gimp your toon, DDO isn't as flexible. The only solution is to screw all the hours you invested into that character and start again/

[jsaving]

If everyone entered DDO with a strong understanding of the ruleset, and if everyone had the time and skill to design optimal builds, and if the designers never altered the treatment of bosses or the relative strength of THF/TWF/S&B or any of the other factors that strongly affect which builds are optimal, then a reasonable case could be made against respecs of any sort. But all of these problems do exist, making it difficult if not impossible to come up with builds that are strong today and also guaranteed to withstand the test of time.

It also seems to me that, in an environment where DDO seeks to capture new players and then keep them interested in spending time and money, it isn't viable to simply shrug one's shoulders at gimped builds and tell new players they'll just have to start over. Most of us on these boards have created any number of alts so we could experiment with one build or another, and we were willing to pay the price of starting over. But the sort of player Turbine is seeking to attract won't have the patience to do this -- they'll simply move on to a different MMO and take their wallets with them.

It may be tempting to respond with a "good riddance," pleased that a blow has been struck against the "easy button" some newbies seem to expect today. But the bottom line is that DDO needs to bring in more revenue if it is going to survive. Many of us may have misgivings about the microtransaction model, but the alternative isn't a return to the glory days when everyone earned their keep, but potentially the end of DDO altogether. Which makes respecs more palatable than they might otherwise be, in my view at least.

[bandyman1]

Alignment and appearence respec definately needs to be implemented.

As for the rest;

I really don't understand this argument about people going from level 20 barb to level 20 sorc. It just doesn't make any sense now, and it never did.

If you've played a barb to level 20, collected raid loot useful to a melee toon, ground DT useful to a melee, ect, then you more than likely enjoy that type of toon. Why in the world wouldn't you just roll a sorc???

Note that I'm NOT saying that no one would ever do it ( it takes all kinds :rolleyes: ), but I don't see this being common in ANY shape, form, or fashion.

So I'd say put it all in for my vote.

[Gum]

Viva La Re-spec!

Thanks yall for the input. Some good points brought up ;)

[Alavatar]

I vote for the following respecs:


Race
Alignement
Starting attributes
Level up attributes
Skill points
Class
Feats (already have)
Spells for Bards and Sorcerers (already have)
Enhancements (already have)
I vote to make the cost for all of these respecs representative of the value of the respec. For instance, respec'ing Enhancements isn't a big deal, so respec is cheap. Respec'ing skills isn't that bad, so make it slightly more expensive than Enhancements. Respec'ing class is a big deal, so make it costly (more costly than feats, obviously). Respec'ing attributes is HUGE, so make it require Raid loot or something.

And only offer comprehensive respecs as a premium service.

That is my opinion on the subject.