The only reason why I quit this game and why new players cannot enjoy it

[DDOisFree]

Finding quests.

Not knowing where entrances are for new quest content.

Nobody wants to wait for group members that are slow and can't follow the zerg, and this isnt a player fault.

Most modern MMOs with similar 'open world / instanced' areas where you need to find a quest entrance allow teleporting to your team mates before entering a quest.

There is absolutely zero point to continue updating DDO with any new content if this feature remains ignored and the devs refuse to implement it.

It is a shame because this was my favourite MMO.

'Just make your own lfm and put you are a newb' is the worst advice this community gives because no one joins those lfms and no one wants to hold anyones hand through content (again, not a player fault).

Implementing a 'teleport to group' feature prior to entering a quest instance is needed. It is simple as well to put in flags to prevent skipping areas you haven't yet reached such as the demonweb quest arc - Why anyone ever thought that players want to spend hours finding where the **** they have to go on their own for the next quest in areas like this is beyond me, no one likes it or wants this kind of mechanic in an MMO where the full group has to be able to reach said content.

[Sam1313]

Finding quests.

Not knowing where entrances are for new quest content.

Nobody wants to wait for group members that are slow and can't follow the zerg, and this isnt a player fault.

Most modern MMOs with similar 'open world / instanced' areas where you need to find a quest entrance allow teleporting to your team mates before entering a quest.

There is absolutely zero point to continue updating DDO with any new content if this feature remains ignored and the devs refuse to implement it.

It is a shame because this was my favourite MMO.

'Just make your own lfm and put you are a newb' is the worst advice this community gives because no one joins those lfms and no one wants to hold anyones hand through content (again, not a player fault).

Implementing a 'teleport to group' feature prior to entering a quest instance is needed. It is simple as well to put in flags to prevent skipping areas you haven't yet reached such as the demonweb quest arc - Why anyone ever thought that players want to spend hours finding where the **** they have to go on their own for the next quest in areas like this is beyond me, no one likes it or wants this kind of mechanic in an MMO where the full group has to be able to reach said content.


But they will sell you a Greater Bracelet of Friends for 150 DDO points. https://ddowiki.com/page/Item:Greater_Bracelet_of_Friends<----Sarcasm

[J1NG]

Perhaps SSG should permit something like the following:

On first registering with DDO, a redeem code for 1x Greater Bracelet of Friends is also offered (these are BTA anyway and so can't be given to others).
On obtaining the first server Point reward, also be given 1x (Normal) Bracelet of Friends.

Any further ones will need to get from the DDO store. But those should be enough for a group of new players to be able to help each other out until mid-low levels if they don't want to wait on another to arrive whilst they get accustomed to the place and setting. Save them if you've got them and don't really need them, and use them when a fellow is lost.

J1NG

[DDOisFree]

But they will sell you a Greater Bracelet of Friends for 150 DDO points. https://ddowiki.com/page/Item:Greater_Bracelet_of_Friends

I used to know about this but had forgotten by now.

This should be a free in game unlimited feature, literally every new MMO I have played has it by default.

[LightBear]

But they will sell you a Greater Bracelet of Friends for 150 DDO points. https://ddowiki.com/page/Item:Greater_Bracelet_of_Friends

Can only be used in public areas and has other limitations.
150 points for 10 charges, kinda pricy if you ask me.

[timmy9999]

There is alot of truth to your comment. I fully agree, the quest can nearly be finished by the time someone explains to a new person how to get to it and they make it. I remember this being terrible when I started. I would ensure I got to the general area asap or get left behind and have to drop. Another problem is the horrible map, it really small. This might be due to my resolution though. I think this, out of all the things people suggest are hard for new players, would be a number one problem. Not the actual fighting and questing. Devs fix this please and do the something actually useful for new players. Not all the other bs that players that have been playing for 10 years still struggle with, like holding the left button down and walking. Stop catering for these 15 year old baby's and their tears on the forums and start actually seeing what the real issues are...thanks. I have some patience waiting for people, and its in ssg favour for us all to sit in a quest while some noob find his way there and our 50% pots are burning. But this is a problem, and not fun for the noob. Why should we burn pots in a quest teaching a new player, so ssg gets another customer.....we are just making up for a bad design and we pay for it. More I think about it this games a joke. I quit...:) I'm not waiting for anyone, or teaching anyone.ssg needs to pay me for my services...

[Sam1313]

I used to know about this but had forgotten by now.

This should be a free in game unlimited feature, literally every new MMO I have played has it by default. I agree.


Can only be used in public areas and has other limitations.
150 points for 10 charges, kinda pricy if you ask me. I agree but it's a small company, they have to make their money any way they can. I used the bracelet all the time when I was teaching my daughter and my niece how to play back in 2016. It will work as long as your not in the quest. The only downside to using it on a new player is that the new player never learns how to get to the quest.

[Sam1313]

I suggested this before but I can't find it in the thousands of posts I have made. So I will just suggest it again. In game there should be something like this https://elderscrolls.fandom.com/wiki/Clairvoyance_(Skyrim) That helps you or new players find the current quest you are on. A Yellow micro door on a huge map isn't enough. They need a line drawn on the ground that leads you to the next quest or adventure pack.

[Valerianus]

half step forward....introduction of mounts, paywalled, the nonsense, not even the anniversary event is rewarding one, new player unfriendly as always

two steps back....no more fast travels since mounts, not even paywalled


plus dungeon alert bonanza and new players left even more far behind than before cause they have no mounts in some situations. and movement speed is still gear-dependant in 2021. i usually play with no pots running, i would help and wait for the new player for sure, can't expect the same from any player on pots. not player fault.


moving around is a base necessity, not a privilege.

[Wizard1406]

Agree.

The bracelet of friends is mosty useless, as it only works in public areas.

And you can find every public area with the help of wiki easily, after you have understood how the market, houses etc. connect. Being in a guild with a ship that has teleport options really helps too.

The biggest problem are the wilderness zones, and every time someone runs/rides through a wilderness zone getting to quests causes mobs to aggro, fire scripts, pathfinding etc. I think this contributes to lag. Navigating is also difficult the map is too small and it resets to blank all the time. Why is this a thing? For quests too....

So quest teleports that are not tied to quest completion in THIS life, for every wilderness zone quest like in Ravenloft would be GREAT. Or a teleport to entrance when someone in the party is already inside.

[Sam1313]

There are some game mechanics that should be changed. For example I was in a group running the Web Of Chaos quest arc. We was in the quest The Servants of the Overlord, The party leader had a LFG up and a new player joined it. Well the poor guy couldn't enter the quest because he had not ran the quest The Lords Of Dust yet. So the party leader booted the guy from the party. I immediately recalled out of the quest and dropped the party and sent the guy a tell and ran him through the quest arc to Eveningstar.

Another thing that needs changed is Pre Raid Quest flagging. It's hard enough to get a full Raid group but it really stinks when people join then have to drop because they are not flagged.

It would be nice to be able to select a quest from your quest journal and instantly be teleported to the quest entrance. I used to be all for the adventure of getting to the quest but now days time is limited.

This game, as my 14 year old niece puts it: "has become more about the Bling and the Look At Me rather than the Grouping, The Story and the Adventure" She's 14 and plays more than I do now. And as she said to me, Why do grown men want their characters to look pretty and to have ponies?

[Marshal_Lannes]

Bracelet of Friends proves they have the mechanics in place where they can do this. Automatic teleportation to quests should be a VIP feature. I do understand the design behind having to "find" quests - this is a game and part of a questing fantasy game is discovering things. They can't and shouldn't design things specifically for the running as fast as possible 50% XP pot crowd. Still, players should at least have the option to choose whether they are want to jump right to the quest if someone is already inside.

Incidentally, my biggest pet peeve since coming back to DDO are the players who blaze through an explorer zone as fast as possible on horses and leave everyone else on red alert. I don't know how this made it through playtesting. It's a real problem. Inconsiderate players are partially to blame, but the dungeon alert mechanics need some looking into for explorer areas.

[Oxarhamar]

Absolutely finding quests is terribad

[bruener]

Why do grown men want their characters to look pretty and to have ponies?

thats hilarious and she makes a very good point.

[boredGamer]

thats hilarious and she makes a very good point.

Oy, some of us are grown men that want our characters to look badass, and have MOUNTS that look pretty.

[LOOON375]

This is literally a game based around exploration and discovery.

It's not hard to spend some time familiarizing yourself with the public areas.

You can also use the quest journal and the map in your HUD to find the quest giver by name and the quest entrance.

Don't forget to have fun

[Deslen]

Navigating is also difficult the map is too small and it resets to blank all the time.

If you collect all of the explores or journals in a given explore area, the entire map is revealed and stays revealed.

I know this takes time, and resets when you reincarnate (Heroic, Racial, or Iconic), but it's better than nothing. ddowiki.com makes it a lot easier to navigate, at least.

I know it's far from a fix all, but it's one small thing that isn't exactly explained to new players in game (that I'm aware of).

[arminius]

This game, as my 14 year old niece puts it: "has become more about the Bling and the Look At Me rather than the Grouping, The Story and the Adventure" She's 14 and plays more than I do now. And as she said to me, Why do grown men want their characters to look pretty and to have ponies?

Stop judging me! :D

Also, isn't it a little wild to think that we could be playing the game with someone who *wasn't even conceived yet" when we were playing in pre-launch?

[mgoldb2]

Another problem is the horrible map, it really small.

You can make the map any size you want. After enlarging you can drag the corner of the map windows to make it any size. Many times in explorer area I have blown the map up to cover most the screen and just toggle it back and fourth between large and small version as I run to location I trying to reach.

The large version will remain the size it was last time you had it open.

[LightBear]

Once it was so that when you selected the quest in your Quest Journal the map pointed out where you should go.
So if you were in harbor and you had The Sunken Sewer selected it pointed out you should go to the Market gate.
Once in the market it showed where you should go to get to the quests entrance.
And the quest entrance blinking on the map.

I have no idea how it is nowadays as I either know where the quest is or ask it in chat.

[LOOON375]

I have no idea how it is nowadays as I either know where the quest is or ask it in chat.
It still works as intended as long as you are in the correct public area for the quest.

[SiliconScout]

But they will sell you a Greater Bracelet of Friends for 150 DDO points. https://ddowiki.com/page/Item:Greater_Bracelet_of_Friends

You do realize though that the items are basically useless. I have 2 on my mule and have used one of them once (got both free)
.


Only works in public areas (so no shortcuts in Sands as an example or do any of the quests in any slayer area)
Cannot bring anyone to areas they don't already have access to
Cannot bring people between Eberron and the Forgotten Realms


So on the whole basically can be used for quests that are already easy to find, can't really be used to bring you to quests that are hard to get to.


Oh and don't forget they can decline so before you pop it off make sure they are all ready to come first because if they are vendoring or whatnot they aren't coming.

It's literally a trap item, a cash sucker for newbies.

[eightspoons]

You can make the map any size you want. After enlarging you can drag the corner of the map windows to make it any size. Many times in explorer area I have blown the map up to cover most the screen and just toggle it back and fourth between large and small version as I run to location I trying to reach.

The large version will remain the size it was last time you had it open.

I do that too. Which is all fine until you step in to one of those areas that automatically and irritatingly shrinks your map down to a dinky little square, when forgetting to toggle.

Prime examples that leap to mind are the Guild ship, Make Believe quest and the top of the Schindilringadingaling Ziggurat in The Portal Opens. I'm certain there are many more that escape me just at this moment :D

*Edit* I completely forgot to add that I agree with this thread; there are so many roadblocks thrown in the path of new players that probably don't help with the population and could do with being alleviated.

[Matuse]

One of the things I always loved about this game on release was that almost all the quest givers were inside the taverns. It goes back to PnP of the stereotypical trope of everybody meeting in a tavern and heading off together. It was a nice touch. After you entered the main harbor area you were directed to the Leaky Dinghy which had 4 or 5 quest givers inside, you picked up all those quests and the doors were all in the vicinity. After that you were sent over to the Lobster and pick up several quests there.

Not only did they abandon that very simple, very in-game-appropriate plan for no reason at all, they've actually moved several quests OUT of the taverns (at least in the harbor and marketplace).

It was a poor decision that has continued on. At least Ravenloft and Sharn gave a break from that, putting all the quest givers in one spot.

[boredGamer]

One of the things I always loved about this game on release was that almost all the quest givers were inside the taverns. It goes back to PnP of the stereotypical trope of everybody meeting in a tavern and heading off together. It was a nice touch. After you entered the main harbor area you were directed to the Leaky Dinghy which had 4 or 5 quest givers inside, you picked up all those quests and the doors were all in the vicinity. After that you were sent over to the Lobster and pick up several quests there.

Not only did they abandon that very simple, very in-game-appropriate plan for no reason at all, they've actually moved several quests OUT of the taverns (at least in the harbor and marketplace).

It was a poor decision that has continued on. At least Ravenloft and Sharn gave a break from that, putting all the quest givers in one spot.

I do think quest givers should be in one spot, or easy to find, for various things, - however, going to a tavern to get a quest is a comical parody trope. How is that *good*? Versus quest givers out in the world somewhere?

The "hi, I'm an adventurer, do you have an adventure?" in a tavern is pretty lame from a story point of view.

https://rickandmorty.fandom.com/wiki/Thirsty_Step in case you need to review.

[Lonnbeimnech]

Finding quests.

Not knowing where entrances are for new quest content.

Nobody wants to wait for group members that are slow and can't follow the zerg, and this isnt a player fault.

Most modern MMOs with similar 'open world / instanced' areas where you need to find a quest entrance allow teleporting to your team mates before entering a quest.

There is absolutely zero point to continue updating DDO with any new content if this feature remains ignored and the devs refuse to implement it.

It is a shame because this was my favourite MMO.

'Just make your own lfm and put you are a newb' is the worst advice this community gives because no one joins those lfms and no one wants to hold anyones hand through content (again, not a player fault).

Implementing a 'teleport to group' feature prior to entering a quest instance is needed. It is simple as well to put in flags to prevent skipping areas you haven't yet reached such as the demonweb quest arc - Why anyone ever thought that players want to spend hours finding where the **** they have to go on their own for the next quest in areas like this is beyond me, no one likes it or wants this kind of mechanic in an MMO where the full group has to be able to reach said content.

As hard as it is to find the quest entrance, once you do, the hard part has only just begun.
Finding your way to the end of the quest is much harder.

[Tsutti]

And you can find every public area with the help of wiki easily, after you have understood how the market, houses etc. connect. Being in a guild with a ship that has teleport options really helps too.
That and if you can use the bracelet or friends (i.e. are in a public area) it's very easy to just tell the player to stay put for a minute and use the who list to see where they are and go pick them up. The problem is once you're in a quest it can sometimes be difficult to guide people verbally, especially through a wilderness.



nconsiderate players are partially to blame, but the dungeon alert mechanics need some looking into for explorer areas.
I'm guessing the instant dungeon alert may be intentional, with the intent to punish running through all the mobs and ignoring them.



If you collect all of the explores or journals in a given explore area, the entire map is revealed and stays revealed.

I know this takes time, and resets when you reincarnate (Heroic, Racial, or Iconic), but it's better than nothing. ddowiki.com makes it a lot easier to navigate, at least.

I know it's far from a fix all, but it's one small thing that isn't exactly explained to new players in game (that I'm aware of).
I didn't know this... also this is very infeasible in most areas, unless you've basically collected them all before and have them somewhat memorized it may take hours and hours to do in the MotU wildernesses or Stormhorns. The only place with journals where I've ever bothered getting every one is Thunderholme, and the only one's I've ever bothered getting every explorer are the Reaver's Reach areas because they're small so that's often pretty easy to do just on my way to the quest for some bonus xp.



You can make the map any size you want. After enlarging you can drag the corner of the map windows to make it any size. Many times in explorer area I have blown the map up to cover most the screen and just toggle it back and fourth between large and small version as I run to location I trying to reach.

The large version will remain the size it was last time you had it open.
Sometimes the map will make itself small and refuse to let you make it bigger... and when you try, for some reason instead of doing nothing it actually grabs the map and drags it around. The area you're doesn't always fit in the map, so basically pulling up your map shows you exactly the same thing as leaving it small when this happens, unless you drag the map part around to look at different stuff not centered on you.



Once it was so that when you selected the quest in your Quest Journal the map pointed out where you should go.
So if you were in harbor and you had The Sunken Sewer selected it pointed out you should go to the Market gate.
Once in the market it showed where you should go to get to the quests entrance.
And the quest entrance blinking on the map.

I have no idea how it is nowadays as I either know where the quest is or ask it in chat.
This is nice, and often useful, but there are a good number of wilderness quests where I'll see someone completely unfamiliar with the wilderness go straight toward the blinking... and this is exactly the opposite direction of where they need to go because of a bunch of mountains that they need to go around. I'm telling them "north north go north go north not east there's a wall in the way and you need to go around" and until I get to the part about a wall, they don't even listen when I say go north half the time, probably because they're looking at the blinking and it definitely does not agree with me.



One of the things I always loved about this game on release was that almost all the quest givers were inside the taverns. It goes back to PnP of the stereotypical trope of everybody meeting in a tavern and heading off together. It was a nice touch. After you entered the main harbor area you were directed to the Leaky Dinghy which had 4 or 5 quest givers inside, you picked up all those quests and the doors were all in the vicinity. After that you were sent over to the Lobster and pick up several quests there.

Not only did they abandon that very simple, very in-game-appropriate plan for no reason at all, they've actually moved several quests OUT of the taverns (at least in the harbor and marketplace).

It was a poor decision that has continued on. At least Ravenloft and Sharn gave a break from that, putting all the quest givers in one spot.
Having the questgivers for a chain all in one spot makes sense, having all questgivers in a tavern does not. Many questgivers are currently right next to the quest they give, rather than just near it, especially in the harbor (where new players initially spend their time, unfortunately this does train them to think that quests are always next to questgivers when sometimes they're about as far from next to each other as it gets). Having all questgivers in one spot doesn't really make sense, why are they all just standing around with no common problems? In chains, all of them are worried about basically the same thing and just have a different person tell you different stuff or whatever. Have them all in taverns, to explain why they're all sitting around together? There are simply way to many quests for that now, you wouldn't be able to move in a tavern if every questgiver were there.

Feywild also sorta put all the questgivers in one spot, although I initially had some trouble finding the ones around Lord Arden because the pixies are so small you cannot see the chalices on their head. I was stubborn and didn't use the map because of how tiny the area is, I figured the quest givers shouldn't be hard to find :P
Actually every expansion has all the questgivers for each chain in one spot. MotU and Shadowfell as well.

[Kielbasa]

thats hilarious and she makes a very good point.


Oy, some of us are grown men that want our characters to look badass, and have MOUNTS that look pretty.

"He's a lumberjack and he's ok..." (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pfRdur8GLBM/)

[Alrik_Fassbauer]

Nobody wants to wait for group members that are slow and can't follow the zerg, and this isnt a player fault.

The problem are indeed impatient players. As I say, speedruns have become the norm.


Most modern MMOs with similar 'open world / instanced' areas where you need to find a quest entrance allow teleporting to your team mates before entering a quest.

Such implementations rather work as a REWARD for those who are impatient ones.

Such implementations do NOT teach things like "patience" !


We are living in timesw in which egoism has taken over. People want things, and they want them fast. Nobody has learned to be patient with something. Nobody believes nowadays that "things take / need time". Instant gratifiication is instead desired !

[Valerianus]

The problem are indeed impatient players. As I say, speedruns have become the norm.



Such implementations rather work as a REWARD for those who are impatient ones.

Such implementations do NOT teach things like "patience" !


We are living in timesw in which egoism has taken over. People want things, and they want them fast. Nobody has learned to be patient with something. Nobody believes nowadays that "things take / need time". Instant gratifiication is instead desired !




your crusade against playstyles different than yours is out of reality and it blinds you a little, if i may say it in a not aggressive tone, just saying, just a consideration.

how do you think it works in a normal mmo?

let's say you are playing lotro, saying lotro just because everyone knows middle earth map, and you are having a good time participating some festival activity in the shire, and your guild is about to do a raid in mordor, how do you think it goes? ride from the shire to mordor? no, you form the party and lauch the instance. teleported in. when you exit, you are in the shire again, or wherever you were. lotro is only 1 year younger than ddo, ddo was badly coded and it was born already old.

ok, there's no landscape in ddo and the world is really really small, so truly there's no real need of instance launcher, but since ddo can't handle mobs aggro and pathing (!!!!!!) we need fast travels not to trigger alert at least for server sake, if not to make it easier for grouping. also, there nothing to do in wilderness except if you go in there for a reason, being doing slayers or just cause you want to explore. explore is fun, if you want to do it. but if you are questing or you join a party in progress, you want to jump into action!

[yfernbottom]

When you are playing solo, finding quest givers and entrances via exploring is fun. When you are trying to hook up with a PUG and you have players waiting on you (or they aren't and you have to rush to make in into the quest before they clear it), it's incredibly stressful. Especially when you have to run through a wilderness area. We all know how hard some of those yellow doors can be to get to, very often you can't run straight to them at all.

Do we want new players to join PUGs or not?

[erethizon]

But they will sell you a Greater Bracelet of Friends for 150 DDO points. https://ddowiki.com/page/Item:Greater_Bracelet_of_Friends

I have about a dozen of them and have used them exactly twice (when I found a new player that wasn't able to find quests in town). Those bracelets are almost worthless. You can't use them in explorer areas (so the single quest that needs one the most, Belly of the Beast, doesn't allow its use) and you can't teleport between realms, so the next most valuable place to use it, teleporting people to the Forgotten Realms from Eberron when they don't have any way of getting there, also doesn't allow its use.

I always have a bracelet on me at all times just in case, but I never find people that are lost in the exact way they need to be to use it. I can't use it if I am already in the quest and if I am not yet in the quest they are never very far away and I can just walk them there.

[skaught78]

Agree 100%. I've seen this as a serious drawback to this game for a long time. At the very least, they update the airship drops locations, teleporters, and teleport spell locations.

[Chai]

Yet another example where one p2w agenda conflicts with other pieces of the p2w agenda. People plowing quests for XP with 50% XP potions running don't want to wait for someone else to get to their location.

What was wrong with how Ravenloft was set up?

[MaeveTuohy]

And as she said to me, Why do grown men want their characters to look pretty and to have ponies?

I hope you challenged her on that.

If a man wants to be pretty and have a pony, what's it to her?

I hope she grows up to be whatever kind of woman she wants, not the kind others expect her to be

[Aelonwy]

What was wrong with how Ravenloft was set up?

Some people complained that because they could teleport directly to the quest without exploring first there was subsequently zero reason to use the wilderness zones at all. And they therefor didn't use it but felt they should have been made to use it. Never mind that, that was a personal choice and they preferred that questers personal choice be removed for Feywild and now everyone's forced to cross the zone to get to the quests... every dang time.

Now, I used the teleporters in RL when questing and I explored the wilderness area and did slayers when I felt like it. I think there is a happy middle-ground, I prefer finding a location and being able to teleport thereafter like 3BC or at least being able to teleport to a waypoint or guide-area close to several quest entrances like the Sharn zone or Stormhorns.

Once you've had the taste of being able to teleport to the quest entrance or a waypoint close to the quest entrance going back to being forced to always cross the zone to get to the quests is a giant leap backwards in convenience, it feels so outdated. Keep in mind I love wilderness zones and typically clear most of them to the 750 or 1500 rank while playing but even I just want to run some quests sometimes and not having the option to teleport to or near something I've already found many, many times is not fun, its annoying.

Less frustration hurdles please.

[Sam1313]

Snipped
The biggest problem are the wilderness zones, and every time someone runs/rides through a wilderness zone getting to quests causes mobs to aggro, fire scripts, pathfinding etc. I think this contributes to lag.

Snipped
Incidentally, my biggest pet peeve since coming back to DDO are the players who blaze through an explorer zone as fast as possible on horses and leave everyone else on red alert. I don't know how this made it through playtesting. It's a real problem. Inconsiderate players are partially to blame, but the dungeon alert mechanics need some looking into for explorer areas.

I couldn't agree more. Since I have come back to ddo this year this is also one of my biggest pet peeve's. Another one is inconsiderate people who remain on their mounts while at a vendor, quest giver, or the Bank. It makes it harder to access them and you have to keep maneuvering around the persons mount until you can access the bank, the quest giver, the trainers or the vendor. How hard is it to press the shift button to dismount?

I don't have a mount but my niece does and I told her to dismount before trying to access those in consideration of other players also trying to access them.

Now that you mention it I'm starting to think this may be the cause of a lot of the lag. How many people on each server is speed riding through a wilderness area at the same time in different instances causing red alerts? I don't know how this all works it's not my profession. I'm just guessing. Maybe an IT professional or a programmer or a coder can correct me?

[Tsutti]

What was wrong with how Ravenloft was set up?

I figured the reason they did that for Ravenloft in the first place is that its wilderness is just SO massive that people would would take a solid 5+ minutes just running to the quest if they sprint as fast as they can.

[Tsutti]

Another one is inconsiderate people who remain on their mounts while at a vendor, quest giver, or the Bank. It makes it harder to access them and you have to keep maneuvering around the persons mount until you can access the bank, the quest giver, the trainers or the vendor. How hard is it to press the shift button to dismount?
If people are standing there on mounts you don't need to do fancy maneuvers, just use whatever key you have bound for targeting noncombat things--and if you don't have one bound, you should bind one to much more easily locate things like crests that spawn in a variety of places or keys in lava.

[Sam1313]

If people are standing there on mounts you don't need to do fancy maneuvers, just use whatever key you have bound for targeting noncombat things--and if you don't have one bound, you should bind one to much more easily locate things like crests that spawn in a variety of places or keys in lava.

Go in game and try this for yourself. What happens is you end up reading that person bio instead of accessing the bank.

[Tsutti]

Go in game and try this for yourself. What happens is you end up reading that person bio instead of accessing the bank.

You clearly don't use a key to target noncombat stuff. You are right clicking. They are different. A key for targeting noncombat stuff literally cannot target players. I'm not saying people shouldn't get off their horses, just telling you how to get around it if they don't.

[mgoldb2]

Go in game and try this for yourself. What happens is you end up reading that person bio instead of accessing the bank.

Default is backspace for what Tsutti was telling you. You can keep hitting backspace and it will cycle through any none combat object which means it ignores other players or enemies in dungeons. Once banker is highlighted the default interact key is E.

It also useful for picking stuff off the ground in dungeons or finding stuff for example runes in von 3 since objects are highlight when you got it selected.

[Wizard1406]

Some people complained that because they could teleport directly to the quest without exploring first there was subsequently zero reason to use the wilderness zones at all. And they therefor didn't use it but felt they should have been made to use it. Never mind that, that was a personal choice and they preferred that questers personal choice be removed for Feywild and now everyone's forced to cross the zone to get to the quests... every dang time. [...]


They make game design decisions according to a small explorer / roleplayer minority? I somehow doubt this, the majority of DDO players is probably between a fairly swift pace quester and zerger.


[...]

Now that you mention it I'm starting to think this may be the cause of a lot of the lag. How many people on each server is speed riding through a wilderness area at the same time in different instances causing red alerts? I don't know how this all works it's not my profession. I'm just guessing. Maybe an IT professional or a programmer or a coder can correct me?

I think low CR mobs shouldn't even aggro high lvl players in wildernesses. Does a CR 5 hobgoblin really want to pick a fight with a lvl 20+ player? :-)
Then the meta could be - run to quests in heroic wilderness, if possible, in order to reduce the server lag. And some high lvl quests are in low wildernesses anyway like Bargain of Blood epic.


I figured the reason they did that for Ravenloft in the first place is that its wilderness is just SO massive that people would would take a solid 5+ minutes just running to the quest if they sprint as fast as they can.

By that logic, please make teleports for Storm Horns, Underdark and King's Forest that persist through TR or even without requirement :-) (not as big as RL, but still huge)

Another problem with wilderness maps is that you can't zoom them out so they don't fit on the screen and you have to scroll a lot.

[Tsutti]

By that logic, please make teleports for Storm Horns, Underdark and King's Forest that persist through TR or even without requirement :-) (not as big as RL, but still huge)

Yeah, I would guess the reason they don't have one is that they're older than Ravenloft. Would be kinda nice to have them in all wildernesses just because it would greatly help with what the OP is describing, wildernesses certainly aren't the only place that newer players or people who haven't run a pack before have trouble finding quests but to me it seems like the majority.

[JamnJD]

Once you've had the taste of being able to teleport to the quest entrance or a waypoint close to the quest entrance going back to being forced to always cross the zone to get to the quests is a giant leap backwards in convenience, it feels so outdated. Keep in mind I love wilderness zones and typically clear most of them to the 750 or 1500 rank while playing but even I just want to run some quests sometimes and not having the option to teleport to or near something I've already found many, many times is not fun, its annoying.

^^^Truth

I'll just add three words to this thread...

Chains of Flame

</quickly turns and runs away>

:p

[Anuulified]

Finding quests.

Not knowing where entrances are for new quest content.
Open you quest journal, and look for the blinking door on map.

Nobody wants to wait for group members that are slow and can't follow the zerg, and this isnt a player fault.
Stop listening to other players and start a lfm for Normal difficulty quests that you can lead.

Most modern MMOs with similar 'open world / instanced' areas where you need to find a quest entrance allow teleporting to your team mates before entering a quest.
DDO is miniature compared to eq, wow, ff14. Figure it out, its small settings.

There is absolutely zero point to continue updating DDO with any new content if this feature remains ignored and the devs refuse to implement it.
Huh? We can't walk, or run, for 2 to 3 minutes for most quests? And this is exaggerated. Learn your way around!
It is a shame because this was my favourite MMO.
Obviously not of you quit due to this.

'Just make your own lfm and put you are a newb' is the worst advice this community gives because no one joins those lfms and no one wants to hold anyones hand through content (again, not a player fault).
Really, just make your own LFM and/or do solo Normal difficulty until you learn your way around. Sounds like excuses for not wanting to take time to learn quests.

Implementing a 'teleport to group' feature prior to entering a quest instance is needed. It is simple as well to put in flags to prevent skipping areas you haven't yet reached such as the demonweb quest arc - Why anyone ever thought that players want to spend hours finding where the **** they have to go on their own for the next quest in areas like this is beyond me, no one likes it or wants this kind of mechanic in an MMO where the full group has to be able to reach said content.

What is needed is more experienced players that are willing to help others. But since many have this mentality, we probably won't get them, because they cant be bothered to have fun and learn the game. Instead they complain about not knowing a quest, refuse to help, but OH LOOK, they found their way to the loot.

[Annex]

An Instance Finder type system for entering dungeons, such as that found in The Lord of the Rings Online, would significantly increase my enjoyment of DDO.

[Fnordian]

I always have a bracelet on me at all times just in case, but I never find people that are lost in the exact way they need to be to use it. I can't use it if I am already in the quest and if I am not yet in the quest they are never very far away and I can just walk them there.

I found one use for them--Crystal Cove! When your party members have gone back to the guild ship for buffs and the cove opens, you can bring them to the entrance fast.

[Oxarhamar]

It still works as intended as long as you are in the correct public area for the quest.

Yeah because there aren't multiple public areas

That is not working

[Oxarhamar]

The problem are indeed impatient players. As I say, speedruns have become the norm.



Such implementations rather work as a REWARD for those who are impatient ones.

Such implementations do NOT teach things like "patience" !


We are living in timesw in which egoism has taken over. People want things, and they want them fast. Nobody has learned to be patient with something. Nobody believes nowadays that "things take / need time". Instant gratifiication is instead desired !

Not sure that learning patience is the goal of most players.

If the game had a better path to guide to quests then more players would have the patience to find the quests.

[LOOON375]

Yeah because there aren't multiple public areas

That is not working
Harbor, marketplace, House D, House P, House J, House K, House C....etc.. are all different public areas where you have to zone in.

[Oxarhamar]

Harbor, marketplace, House D, House P, House J, House K, House C....etc.. are all different public areas where you have to zone in.

Thanks for listing those care to finish that list & further prove the point?

This is not working

Ifn you ain't in the proper zone already ?

[Bjond]

Absolutely finding quests is terribad

Sadly, I don't need to ponder directions anymore. It's practically auto-pilot, like driving to the store. After arrival = uh, how did I get here? But, I remember it being a major issue for me when I was new; I kept a zone-connection diagram open on a second screen so I could quickly figure out how to reach an in-progress group before they finished or (better) soon enough to make some kind of contribution.

IMHO, one of the biggest failings of Turbine or SSG wrt DDO was that they did not have an ongoing QOL/UI effort. So, every other MMO now has a phenomenally better UI. DDO plays like old EQ1 because they haven't updated anything. The play is sedate, slow, and clunky.

[Oxarhamar]

Sadly, I don't need to ponder directions anymore. It's practically auto-pilot, like driving to the store. After arrival = uh, how did I get here? But, I remember it being a major issue for me when I was new; I kept a zone-connection diagram open on a second screen so I could quickly figure out how to reach an in-progress group before they finished or (better) soon enough to make some kind of contribution.

IMHO, one of the biggest failings of Turbine or SSG wrt DDO was that they did not have an ongoing QOL/UI effort. So, every other MMO now has a phenomenally better UI. DDO plays like old EQ1 because they haven't updated anything. The play is sedate, slow, and clunky.

Exactly

If you know how to get there it's easy enough it's when you don't know it's a detriment.

[TedSandyman]

Finding quests.

Not knowing where entrances are for new quest content.

Nobody wants to wait for group members that are slow and can't follow the zerg, and this isnt a player fault.

Most modern MMOs with similar 'open world / instanced' areas where you need to find a quest entrance allow teleporting to your team mates before entering a quest.

There is absolutely zero point to continue updating DDO with any new content if this feature remains ignored and the devs refuse to implement it.

It is a shame because this was my favourite MMO.

'Just make your own lfm and put you are a newb' is the worst advice this community gives because no one joins those lfms and no one wants to hold anyones hand through content (again, not a player fault).

Implementing a 'teleport to group' feature prior to entering a quest instance is needed. It is simple as well to put in flags to prevent skipping areas you haven't yet reached such as the demonweb quest arc - Why anyone ever thought that players want to spend hours finding where the **** they have to go on their own for the next quest in areas like this is beyond me, no one likes it or wants this kind of mechanic in an MMO where the full group has to be able to reach said content.

As a long time player I also have issue with this. I just cant remember where every quest is any more. I'm getting old and there are a lot of quests. Especially quests I don't run very often. The Devils Battle field for example. I know where the quests are, I'm just never sure which is which.

Sometimes knowing where a quest is is the problem because you know you probably cant reach the quest in time because it is so far away. I wont join any ice or swamp area LFMs in the feywild if they have already started. I like to go to an entrance then join a group so I can step in immediately.

Also, there is a quest name and a separate quest location that are interchangeable and can be confusing. And throw on top of that people who just want to abbreviate everything and assume everyone else knows the abbreviation. There are some well used ones like OOB of course. But I will see things like TTJJSD and just wonder.

Now that I said all of that, one of the true joys I get from the game is exploring and finding things. When a new outdoor area comes out I explore it all, try to find all the locations in my first go. Then, when all the black is gone from the map, I make a screen shot and start marking the map with locations and rares. To me this seems to be more of what dungeons and dragons is supposed to be about. Not running through quests or areas to level as quickly as possible.

[ValariusK]

Of course the relative scarcity of groups aggravates all of the above. When there are a ton of groups posted in your level range, if you don't know where something is, or you don't know if you can get there in time, you just pick one that's either still forming or that you know you have time to get to. But that doesn't happen much anymore, outside of the hardcore server when its up. So people approach the LFMs with a sense of scarcity, and often desperation. That scarcity means that the zergers, blitzkriegers, and flower sniffers don't really feel able to avoid each others groups, and people woefully unready for reaper join inappropriate groups because...drum roll...they're the only group available.

About the only thing that alleviates the problem is buddy bonus weekends.

[Alrik_Fassbauer]

After arrival = uh, how did I get here?

I remember having had this exact problem when I was VERY new to SWTOR, because it has such an "teleport" feature.
It was impossible for me to find quest givers from these quests again when I wanted to solo them.

[cdbd3rd]

....

Now, I used the teleporters in RL .....


All this time and I still can't unsee "RL" as anything but "Real Life".

Therefore, beware of bridge supports...

https://i.imgur.com/HAvCvhR.jpg


[[from the TV show, 'Debris'. ]]

______________________


As for the original topic of finding quests - The Adventure Compendium could use a little buff on it's "quest location" info. Any quest you haven't already found the 'Giver for just says you haven't started it yet. Well, ya, no carpfish I haven't started it since I can't find it!

[Nebless]

Finding quests.
Not knowing where entrances are for new quest content.

I've been playing since 2009 and I STILL use the arrow that shows up on the mini-map and look for the blinking door icon on it. It's not like the game doesn't help you get there, just follow the arrow.

[PsychoBlonde]

The biggest problem are the wilderness zones, and every time someone runs/rides through a wilderness zone getting to quests causes mobs to aggro, fire scripts, pathfinding etc. I think this contributes to lag. Navigating is also difficult the map is too small and it resets to blank all the time. Why is this a thing? For quests too....

The game only stores so many maps for you, so if you enter that many different areas, your map for other areas resets to black. However, if you go and find all of the exploration objectives in the wilderness area, the map is permanently revealed. Also, you can now always see the quest door entrance regardless of whether the map is black or not. Exploration and learning your way around is a part of this game. Just spoon-feeding everything to you so that you never have to turn your brain on, not so much.

Also, the primary reason why they don't have an instant magical "teleport to quest" button in the game is because this would make multi-boxing effortless. They don't discourage multi-boxing. They don't even try to stop you. But they aren't going to make it THAT easy, either. You can teleport around pretty easily as it is.

[PsychoBlonde]

I've been playing since 2009 and I STILL use the arrow that shows up on the mini-map and look for the blinking door icon on it. It's not like the game doesn't help you get there, just follow the arrow.

Yup. I find it MUCH more difficult to find the QUESTGIVER for new content than the QUEST ENTRANCE.

[Wizard1406]

The game only stores so many maps for you, so if you enter that many different areas, your map for other areas resets to black. However, if you go and find all of the exploration objectives in the wilderness area, the map is permanently revealed. Also, you can now always see the quest door entrance regardless of whether the map is black or not. Exploration and learning your way around is a part of this game. Just spoon-feeding everything to you so that you never have to turn your brain on, not so much.

I think I read way back in like 2006, that zones go back to black after like 12 other quests, because it uses too much server storage per character.

But the year is 2021 now and maybe it's time to update server storage so that once uncovered maps stay uncovered even after doing other quests.

For the wilderness zones, if you do all the explorations, does it stay uncovered if you TR? Otherwise, not that useful sadly.

And to the last sentences, some people, including me simply have major navigation problems both IRL and in games. Doesn't have anything to do with "brain dead" and not willing to explore. My mom gets lost on the simplest routes, thankfully I have it not as bad.

Only having to uncover a map once per character or account would help. And a bigger zoom-out to make the whole map visible without scrolling.

But I'm really thankful that the wiki exists. Thanks Psychoblonde for contributing there with maps! :-)

[Dark_Lord_Mary]

Finding quests.

Not knowing where entrances are for new quest content.

Nobody wants to wait for group members that are slow and can't follow the zerg, and this isnt a player fault.

Most modern MMOs with similar 'open world / instanced' areas where you need to find a quest entrance allow teleporting to your team mates before entering a quest.

There is absolutely zero point to continue updating DDO with any new content if this feature remains ignored and the devs refuse to implement it.

It is a shame because this was my favourite MMO.

'Just make your own lfm and put you are a newb' is the worst advice this community gives because no one joins those lfms and no one wants to hold anyones hand through content (again, not a player fault).

Implementing a 'teleport to group' feature prior to entering a quest instance is needed. It is simple as well to put in flags to prevent skipping areas you haven't yet reached such as the demonweb quest arc - Why anyone ever thought that players want to spend hours finding where the **** they have to go on their own for the next quest in areas like this is beyond me, no one likes it or wants this kind of mechanic in an MMO where the full group has to be able to reach said content.

The whole point of playing an MMO is to immerse yourself into the world and figure stuff out for yourself.

Also - if you were sitting at my table and I were DM for a TTRPG game, I would say, 'you character does what?'
you can either complain or get up and look around and try to figure it out.

[Hurb]

Finding quests.

Not knowing where entrances are for new quest content.

Nobody wants to wait for group members that are slow and can't follow the zerg, and this isnt a player fault.

Most modern MMOs with similar 'open world / instanced' areas where you need to find a quest entrance allow teleporting to your team mates before entering a quest.

There is absolutely zero point to continue updating DDO with any new content if this feature remains ignored and the devs refuse to implement it.

It is a shame because this was my favourite MMO.

'Just make your own lfm and put you are a newb' is the worst advice this community gives because no one joins those lfms and no one wants to hold anyones hand through content (again, not a player fault).

Implementing a 'teleport to group' feature prior to entering a quest instance is needed. It is simple as well to put in flags to prevent skipping areas you haven't yet reached such as the demonweb quest arc - Why anyone ever thought that players want to spend hours finding where the **** they have to go on their own for the next quest in areas like this is beyond me, no one likes it or wants this kind of mechanic in an MMO where the full group has to be able to reach said content.

I've found a few quite a few patient and friendly peeps to run with as a new player, although I've had a few bad apples.
Removing the resistance shrines in the guild ships was a really poor choice as this just further increases the disparity between vets and noobs.
I guess you just learn the ropes and then once you're advanced enough you start running your own parties.

[kanordog]

This is literally a game based around exploration and discovery.


It is not.
It is based around challenge.

And payment.

[Bjond]

This is literally a game based around exploration and discovery

If this were true, it wouldn't erase all my exploration progress on TR. One of the things I really liked a lot about many MMOs is how typically maps don't light until you explore them. So, I explored in DDO. Then I TR'd and all my maps went dark.

I haven't explore anything since in DDO. There's no point. Not new maps, not Feywild, not Sharn, nothing. They killed that completely.


It is based around challenge.

I'd disagree with this one, too. The game play is sedate. The challenge occurs when you're building the character. It's not so much playing the game as testing a build.


And payment.

LOL. This one I'd agree with. DDO is the only game that insists on full payment for each and every ancient release they've done over their entire history. Others consider the past to be part of the future.