Xp spee,d and balance

[ddocurious]

First off, holy smokes it was a pain registering for this forum, after messing around with it for who knows how long I find a small " register forum account" link, separate from my ddo account, thanks for sharing that i needed to do that poorly designed website!

anyway

Hello, noob here, havent play'd the game
I used to play Neverwinter Nights (1) if someone can compare the two

I have two major questions
and a couple of small ones

1: How is the xp rate on this? I hate most MMORPGs because they are sooo redundant and take for ever to level up

2: how balanced are the classes, and spells? are there issues ?

and a few small questions, are spells like ray of frost still some lame level 1 spell you will eventually discard for something better by level 5 ? or does spell power level up with your character, so there is no such thing as a "" useless spell"" at higher levels?

I will probably come up with more questions but thats good for now ^.^

[Spoprockel]

Hi there, welcome to DDO!


I played NWN 1, but ages ago, so i can't tell you anymore than they are based from the same core rules.


The xp rate is quite good, it won't require any grinding to lvl your first toon to cap if you own the right adventure packs.

The grind for high lvl gear seems to be similar to other mmorpgs, i can't really tell, as i have only played few others and none to end game.


I can't say too much about balance, only that every class can find it's place in DDO, and there is more than one way to play each class.

DDO is PvE based, so balance between classes in PvP does not exist. PvP in DDO is irrelevant though, so that doesn't matter.


Spells gain power (damage) with your caster lvls. A niac's cold ray cast by a lvl 5 caster deals 5x the damage compared to the same spell cast by a lvl 1 caster.

There are restrictions though, at lvl 5 niac's cold ray for example stops scaling with your lvl, so you might want to replace it once you grow out of it.


Hope that helps

[Noctus]

All classes are viable.

To what i heard the grind (loot/ XP) is much lower than in other comparable MMOs (definitely not looking at WoW *wink, wink* .....;))

Spells level with your caster´s power. Some damage spells you´ll grow out and get others, CC spells can be kept through most of the game with a feat called "Heighten Spell", which makes them combative through all the levels - Web is awesome all the time with it.

[ddocurious]

well, from what i can tell i might like the game then, but no PVP ?????? T.T

also, from what I can tell most of the game looks Hack and slash, this is just based off of gameplay videos,
which is fine with me, im in the mood for a good mmo hack and slash,


but are there role playing things to do?
like choose to kiss the black-smiths ass, or tell him to go @#$$ him self, each giving you different reputation, and things to do with repercussions etc etc?

what about class balance via fun to play, in NWN for example in my opinion, fighters were soooo boring compared to casters because they didnt have very many combat choices of things you can do, fighters get like 2 feats? by level 20 while casters choose from dozens of spells?

I should probably just try the game, but the thing is i need to make room on my computer, so I like to know more about it, thanks for your answers!

oh heres one, are there trojans when you download DDO ? I downloaded a free game a while back, and my computer has been acting strange ever since

[SaneDitto]

well, from what i can tell i might like the game then, but no PVP ?????? T.T

No emphasis on PvP, sorry. There are "brawl" areas in taverns, and you can play some PvP games (Capture the Flag, etc), but the actual PvP itself is grossly imbalanced and more of an afterthought.


also, from what I can tell most of the game looks Hack and slash, this is just based off of gameplay videos,
which is fine with me, im in the mood for a good mmo hack and slash,


but are there role playing things to do?
like choose to kiss the black-smiths ass, or tell him to go @#$$ him self, each giving you different reputation, and things to do with repercussions etc etc?

Straight-up hack and slash. If you want roleplaying, you'll either have to do it yourself or join a roleplaying-intensive guild.


what about class balance via fun to play, in NWN for example in my opinion, fighters were soooo boring compared to casters because they didnt have very many combat choices of things you can do, fighters get like 2 feats? by level 20 while casters choose from dozens of spells?

The FPS nature of combat means that playing a fighter may be less boring. Trip, Stunning Blow, taking advantage of Flanking, trying to Intimidate that monster from chewing the backstabbing rogue, etc. It's also a recommended class to play until you get the hang of the differences between NWN and this game. ;)


I should probably just try the game, but the thing is i need to make room on my computer, so I like to know more about it, thanks for your answers!

oh heres one, are there trojans when you download DDO ? I downloaded a free game a while back, and my computer has been acting strange ever since

AFAIK, aside from the ex-Offer Wall scare, DDO itself is safe.

[AyumiAmakusa]

First stop, www.ddowiki.com where almost everything you need is there. Read the 'Beginner's guide' to start off and if you have any further questions, ask away!

[Lithic]

It is possible to level a character from start to finish in 3 days. Probably less. That assumes you play 12+hours a day, own all the best xp/minute packs, and zerg like crazy. Getting all the gear you need for that character though will take months.

I wouldn't recommend trying to cap as fast as possible though. I think its in a newbie's best interest to run every quest in the game on Normal, hard, and elite at least once at or near the quest level to get the full experience from it.

[DasLurch]

Hello, noob here, havent play'd the game
I used to play Neverwinter Nights (1) if someone can compare the two

I have two major questions
and a couple of small ones

1: How is the xp rate on this? I hate most MMORPGs because they are sooo redundant and take for ever to level up

it's easy. you can hit level 4 in a few hours if you play it right.

2: how balanced are the classes, and spells? are there issues ?

Somewhat? There is no "I win" class in the game, but some are much more solo friendly than others

and a few small questions, are spells like ray of frost still some lame level 1 spell you will eventually discard for something better by level 5?

Some of the low level spells suck at higher levels, and some are better than at low levels. They generally progress at a nice pace. Some 1st level spells are even very widely used even at level 20.

or does spell power level up with your character, so there is no such thing as a "" useless spell"" at higher levels?

Yes ther are some useless spells, but thankfully they are pretty easy to distinguish after playing with them for a bit.


Replies in BOLD

[Koravel34]

I also used to, in fact still do, play NWN 1 and 2, (though 1 is better).

The feel of the game is a LOT like a FPS version of NWN, though first-person shooter is a bit misleading.

I'd strongly recommend going to *this* thread http://forums.ddo.com/showthread.php?t=232660 and looking around at the different paths.

There are a lot of things that are very similar to NWN, though there are numerous things that are different.

I'd roll a few characters, see what you want to be, and have at it.

[Noctus]

It is possible to level a character from start to finish in 3 days. Probably less. That assumes you play 12+hours a day, own all the best xp/minute packs, and zerg like crazy. Getting all the gear you need for that character though will take months.


While this is in the realm of the humanly possible, it requires time, dedication and skill on the level of Oberst Rudel. It is nothing you can realistically archive passing by, or that most good veteran players will reach, ever.

Comparison you can be a crack flying ace in WWII, but you will be hard pressed to reach this achievement, although its possible:


Rudel flew 2,530 combat missions claiming a total of 2,000 targets destroyed; including 800 vehicles, 519 tanks, 150 artillery pieces, a destroyer, two cruisers, one Soviet battleship (the Marat (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Russian_battleship_Petropavlovsk_%281911%29)), 70 landing craft, 4 armored trains, several bridges and nine aircraft which he shot down.[1] (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hans_Rudel#cite_note-0)

So even if you need a month to level up to 20th after some time, you are not a "slow leveler". - Just not to raise false expectations of typical leveling speed.





P.S.
Yes, Lithic is like The Flash in dungeons..... I had the pleasure of grouping with him a few times.

[CR-Shadowborn]

Hello and welcome to the addiction!
I played both NWN 1 and 2 and found them to be boring after about the mid point in both games but i had high expectations about how close to pen and paper they would be.
This game is the closest to old school beer and pizza D&D i have ever played.
It is fun and there are a wide variety of things you can do with any character you choose to play.
I have been playing for about three months now and after a few "do overs" i have capped my first toon and am having a blast still playing it and still have not run all the content that a ViP account gives access to.
For me the best part of the game is what was the best part of the P&P game and that is playing with a group of friends.
Sure there are builds posted in other forums that are solo monsters and can run just about everything alone but the social aspect of the game is what has kept it alive and making money since the late 1970's!
Not a lot of games out there can say that so the best advice i could give is jump in and have fun! Look for a group to run with or get some RL friends to try the game and have a blast.
Don't be afraid to PuG (public group) some people have nothing but bad things to say about PuG's but i have met some really good players in PuG's with only a few tards in the mix.
Good luck to you!