side effect of my.ddo in-game?

[DANTEIL]

So this is just out of curiosity..

Are people now using the availability of my.ddo in-game to selectively screen people for groups? If so, is this good or bad?

[Flasharte]

how would this work? do you mean that a party leader would decide on whether to accept someone into their party based on what kind of charaters they have besides the one they are on?

[Riorik]

It's probably more along the lines of seeing what kind of gear they're using and their stats & hitpoints.

It says a lot if you have <200 HP at level 20 and you think you're a tank.

[chipparoni87]

Yes - I've been using myddo for group screening since it came out. More convenient now that i don't have to constantly alt - tab :)

[Bracosius]

Doh! My gimp toons will never find a group again.

[Donnie]

Considering how slow my.ddo.com is to update sometimes, and the rate we change items in this game, I have to laugh at anyone screening based on gear listings on my.ddo.com.

[Samadhi]

Considering how slow my.ddo.com is to update sometimes, and the rate we change items in this game, I have to laugh at anyone screening based on gear listings on my.ddo.com.

It is pretty easy to see if someone is at 200 HP, though, that even if they are wearing all gear slots switched to something else, they still are not going to be able to switch in enough items to matter.

[Wieland]

So this is just out of curiosity..

Are people now using the availability of my.ddo in-game to selectively screen people for groups? If so, is this good or bad?

The same people who have been using it before (by alt-tabbing) will just have an easier time using it now. I think everyone understands by now that gear snapshots aren't accurate, so it's mostly used to check basic character stats to see if you really really messed up horribly when building it. It's also sometimes funny to use to check out your party members' stats after a nasty near-wipe and find out that the tanks had a two-digit number of HP and such :eek:

[captain1z]

Ive seen it a few times in game already. Most people are just looking for major gimpage, not nitpicking every stat and gear piece.

If a fighter with 8 con wants to join, whether he forgot to put on his con item or not, you may wanna know about it if its an "important" run for you......

Review at a glance is fine for me, some may even take great pride in thier builds. Most (not all) of the people who dont want you to look have flaws in stat points they dont want anyone to see.

Will there be extremists who take myddo to far? Of course, tools are tools and in the wrong hands will do great harm but I wouldnt blame the tool itself.

Knives work magic in the hands of chefs (Yann can cook) and artists but take lives in the hands of serial killers.

[Rumbaar]

Darn, my.ddo.com still points to a Level 2 long dead version of one of my characters. So I hope people don't use that as a guide :)

[Goldeneye]

Even before in-game browsing I used it all the time to screen people. I run double monitor, so it is very easy to look up someone on my 2nd screen. Though not perfect, a person's build and gear can reveal to me if they are a new player, or an experienced player. Obviously I want the more experienced player in my group.

[Crazyfruit]

I checked a few people in the middle of a Dreaming Dark (lvl 20) quest that was going poorly. Rogue with under 120 hp, 200 hp ranger tank with 0 fortification ...

The rest of us kinda gave up on the quest :|

[Rumbaar]

I checked a few people in the middle of a Dreaming Dark (lvl 20) quest that was going poorly. Rogue with under 120 hp, 200 hp ranger tank with 0 fortification ...

The rest of us kinda gave up on the quest :|120HP isn't a timing issue.

But a player can swap in and out a 100% fort item long before it ever updates on my.ddo.com. Also if you just quit and not logout I find it doesn't update at all.

But I'm sure it was a good choice either way.

[Crazyfruit]

*nod* I asked them afterwards.

Was quite fun until our 2nd fail at the boss though! Like 50 deaths in that quest hehe

[chester99]

my.ddo is only used for evil.

but, after all, I'm not a nice guy, so it fits me really well. and yeah, when I'm bored (see also most raids in this game) I bring up everyone's account and commence the analysis....

hot tip everyone: fortification is your friend.

[Delt]

my.ddo is only good for trash talking or calling bluffs (speaking of which, that new feature of linking items in chat is also awesome).

99% of the time, if you can't carry a few gimps through any quest, you need to reroll your own toon too.

[MrWizard]

so...before you log out, put all your cool gear on, double wield some greensteel (does not show what tier they are) and by the next day that should be up making you look uber.....:)

[ChaupSuey]

The only side effect I have had is another annoying hot-key combo popping up a window in the middle of a battle.

[Waukeen]

so...before you log out, put all your cool gear on, double wield some greensteel (does not show what tier they are) and by the next day that should be up making you look uber.....:)

It does show what tier they are. hover over it and it'll say great commander (tier II) supreme tyrant (tier III) etc.

This is an excellent tool to have in game. So far I use it to confirm my suspicions about PuGgers that seem to well, suck.

Just yesterday I met a lvl 16 wizard with 110 hp...

The highlight so far is a 6 con rogue with <80 hp at lvl 10.

If I ever get over my sickness at leading these new players ( i am in solo and lfm click mode for now) I will judiciously use it when I have suspicions about a pileon.

Its also fun for Forum Posters who dont list their characters, sometimes their myddo is showing :D

[chipparoni87]

double wield some greensteel (does not show what tier they are)

Shows the tier of the GS item in the name: Commander = t2, Tyrant = t3

[Strakeln]

So this is just out of curiosity..

Are people now using the availability of my.ddo in-game to selectively screen people for groups? If so, is this good or bad?

Yes.

Bad. And not because I get denied from any groups. Anyone who thinks myDDO is a good representation of a player is dumber than a box of rocks. Heck, anyone who thinks that the stats they see in myDDO are even remotely accurate... is dumber than a box of rocks.

On second thought, maybe it's a good thing. Keeps the average player from grouping with the ********.

[Flasharte]

yea im not sure if its good or bad. I guess if you really have a hard time grouping with people who haven't built their toons in accord with what is accepted as the correct way, or haven't had time (or luck) to grind all the gear yet, then it will save you the trouble of slumming with those people, then it will be good for you. It will probably suck for people whose build and gear is lacking cause it will be hard for them to get good gear and learn how to build toons better as they will not be in groups as much.

i am pretty sure that having it in game doesn't really change who uses it and who does not.

On the other hand, if you enjoy helping people, contributing to the community, and feel confident that you can get any mix of players through any quest it might be a good thing. It could give you the opportunity to say things like " i noticed you don't have heavy fortification, i have some extra items in the bank i can give ya if ya want", or "hey i see that you have a +5 chr item on that wiz but not a +6 int item, you would be better off if that were not the case", or "hey your hit points are kinda lower than a tank at that lvl should be, a greater false life item would be better for you than that spot +5 ring"

[Mockduck]

I'm not that concerned about people checking up on my gimped builds on My.DDO.com. I've generally found that the people who would deny me from a group after taking a quick look at my character are not the people I'd want to be grouping with anyway. Rash judgments based on gear or a stat or two simply tells me that they are more interested in what I have over how well I play. The same in-game trolls would have just dropped me in the group in the past due to some perceived slight, now I don't need to waste my time joining their group to begin with.

My.DDO is a great way to compare builds, though, and get information about why that rogue is rocking so much, or why that multiclass is on the right track. Also nice to see from a social standpoint what people are running, what gear they have, etc.

It's also a great way to quickly determine that the uber battle cleric who claims to have 44 wisdom, 1000 hit points and a reflex save of 256 is lying...