The DDO Scholarship

[ariel7]

So, I've wanted to start some sort of program to help players out and I thought about various options. There are already some great resources available. I wanted to do something exclusively for those on my home server, Thelanis, and first looked at the idea of giving items.

I recall someone handing out potions and what not in the marketplace and I felt it a good idea. I think that kind of cure potions and all that is kind of covered, and while it helps a newer player survive a dungeon or two, it isn't the direction I was thinking.

There is the mentoring thread. That's really kinda hot. Let me go ahead and refer people to that here, although again, it wasn't the type of thing I was seeking to do. http://forums.ddo.com/showthread.php?t=156768

The type of person I'm wanting to help out is the person making the transition from new player to low-level veteran. This person knows most of the quests up to say gianthold and is even making some forays into the raids. This is the poorest person in DDO, imho. Think about it, when your main is just big enough to start going to the desert, and you've got to keep trying to upgrade your weapons, armor, keep enough healing/curative/restorative of whatever type pots and wands, all while trying to get new TYPES of things. It's no longer good enough to have two weapons for fighting, now you have to look for smiters and paralizers, for vorpals and disruptors, not to mention rarer loot that you might have difficulty getting a decent group for, like Xorian Cypher, or desert raiding, or reavering (at level)....hey get shroud flagged and not be able to even get into one until levle 16....or so. It is a lot to keep up with, and it seems to expand exponentially. Let's not forget greater banes, major lores, all the flagging quests, once you try to start really raiding, then all the way to *^#! I gotta get boots so I stop getting banished, gotta eek out the favor to build 32 pointers and all that. THAT is the point I felt the most need in my own DDO time, and that is the point in a person's playing time that I wish to help the most.

My plan? The DDO scholarship. I figure I can afford to donate about x amount gold a week or so, and instead of spreading a lot of help really thinly, I want to help one person each week, as much as I can. Some of those people I can help with gear, maybe they need my ML9 +4 stat item, ML 13 +6 item, or a ML 10 vorpal/disruptor, whatever. Possibly the person needs majors or scrolls, possibly that person is putting their first character through raids and needs help to get some greensteel blanks, or the flagging completed. My assistance doesn't have to be mine alone, I have a few people who have told me set up a giving back program, and they're taking part in it, so its nice to know that there are others willing to help.

Basically anyone interested, and in need of assistance need to come to this thread, or via a pm, and tell me about your experiences and what you are seeking, and I will try to help at least one person per week, more if able. Some people can make blanket donations, or offer various items outright if they wish. If your post is in this thread, and not in a pm, more eyes can see it and the greater the likelihood that someone will be able to assist you.

For the current week, I'm going to assume that Shroud comes back sometime soon, and to that end I'm going to donate 5 of every small, and 5 of every medium ingredient to one person.


Why am I doing this? Well, I just ran up some lowbies and one was a melee drow favored soul. I LOVE this build, one of my best creations yet, but it presented me with a ton of challenges that I feel I was able to meet for two reasons:
1. I know the game well enough to adapt to the given situation or which quests to level up with to pose the least cost to my character
2. I had a few million sitting in the bank and a hagglebard to keep me in heal scrolls

It was tougher than many of my other levelings recently because I did NOT have a lot of excess mid level stat items as I'd gone on an inventory purge and I was just about 100% out of any quality shortsword, particular at level 4-12 range, where I was totally out. Had I been less experienced and less well-off plat-wise, I'd quite possibly have had to abandon this character, which would have been a nearly criminal tragedy as it is one of the funnest I've ever played, and I expect will be once capped and I have wings, and am starting to work in the raid gear that is planned. We've had nearly two full months of this wave of newer players and many that I've partied with are expressing a frustration at the lack of proper gearing for their level is hindering their enjoyment. Before these people give up, let's give them a hand up to the next level.


Applications should state:

Main character/principal benefactor of the scholarship:
Length of time playing:
Item Desired: (For first week, remember I'm offering 5 of each small and medium shroud ingredient)
How the item desired would benefit you especially well:
Your favorite things about DDO:



Anyone wishing to donate anything in particular, or to offer other resources, feel free to pipe in here, or pm me if you wish to make an anonymous donation. Suggestions are welcome, if you have ideas in which we can better help this type of player, I'm 100% all ears.

[al73r]

pretty cool idea. Keep it up

[CE2JRH123]

Hey, I'm interested. I'm not looking for anything heavy, just simple things like ML9 +4's on Every stat but Charisma and intelligence.

Main character/principal benefactor of the scholarship: Mikeren: Human Cleric 10.

Length of time playing: A month and a half

Item Desired: Small and Medium ingrediants would be appreciated but not necessary --- it'll be another month before I use them probably. What I'm really looking for is ML9 +4's of: Wisdom, Dexterity, Strength, and Con, as well as defensive clickies of non-cleric spells (blur, haste). Useful cleric weapons (A d8 base simple weapon (morningstar, heavy mace) with two damage mods, vorpal sickle, simple weapon paralyser, that sort of things) would also be appreciated, but I do have a +3 Ghost Touch of Pure Good which is serving me reasonably well at the moment. Something with medium or heavy fortification would be greatly appreciated as well.

How the item desired would benefit you especially well: I'm a mostly healer cleric (I throw in soundburst and the occasional slay living when it makes sense, and melee in fights that I can) trying my best to keep up with groups and survive. A better weapon (particularly a simple weapon paralyser) would help me reduce incoming damage to the group. The clickies would help me to survive, and the ML9 +4 stats would help me

Your favorite things about DDO: I've played DND 3.5E for quite a while and I love this games take on the WotC system. I really appreciate that the game is based around teamwork; I played a cleric on the original EQ years and years ago, and loved that the game was vastly focused around grouping and teamwork. I appreciate the same in this game. The combat is well done (I can see why the claim "the best MMORPG combat ever" (or something like it, I saw somewhere)), and the dungeons and quest are generally quite well done to provide variety and complexity.

And a game that actually does a good job of integrating interesting puzzles. That is something special

Edit: One last thing I forgot. I've been really enjoying the forums. It's a great community here, with tonnes of great information and cool people.

Even if you give stuff to someone else this week (or skip me entirely, which is fine), I think this is a great idea, and hope to be able to contribute a few months from now.

Thanks in advance.

-CE2JRH123

[ariel7]

Hey, Mikeren, thanks for expressing your interest here. I think I have some things for you, will be on in game after the WS tonight. If you aren't on then, don't fret. Add Daybreak and Veelah to your friends list, and if you see me on, send me a tell.

[Hydrominan]

Hey Daybreak, aren't you still in Legion???

I would tone down this kind of thinking or you are going to seriously hurt your guilds well earned rep !!

I would hate to see the day when Legion gets all puppy dogs and flowers on us, but this is what happens when you forget to review your Xoriat handbook. (Specifically Page 3 Paragraph 2b)

Nice thought process here, I hope it all works out for you.

Darknysss

[DoctorWhofan]

I regularly spend a 100k+ gold on a random stranger.

[Tannniss]

I regularly pass out no min lvl grease clicky items to brand new players as they step off the boat.....

[ariel7]

Hey Daybreak, aren't you still in Legion???

I would tone down this kind of thinking or you are going to seriously hurt your guilds well earned rep !!

I would hate to see the day when Legion gets all puppy dogs and flowers on us, but this is what happens when you forget to review your Xoriat handbook. (Specifically Page 3 Paragraph 2b)

Nice thought process here, I hope it all works out for you.

Darknysss

Being in Legion and being generous aren't ACTUALLY mutually exclusive, due to a by-law in our guild's charter. I just have to be the butt of more jokes than usual.