DDOCast: Win 500 Turbine Points

[pjstechie]

For Episode #307, DDOCast will be doing a grab bag of tips for new players.

To enhance this show's experience we are looking for community input to help us out. To encourage/bribe you into helping we are giving away 500 turbine points!

To enter here's what you do, post your best tip for new players in this thread...that's it!

thanks
/salute
DDOCast

[Krelar]

Use ddowiki to find out more about pretty much everything.

[Havok.cry]

Don't spend money on the AH at all at first. Instead buy consumables. There is a potion vendor in the middle of the market place that sells many things that will help you get by when you need them, and will allow you to preform better and survive better in quests. Spending your platinum there is a better investment. Wait until your income can keep you supplied in those consumables and then start saving for the shinies you see in the auction house or on trade channel.

[TrinityTurtle]

Don't sit around waiting for people to 'show you how to play the game'. Explore, try quests (the game will tell you what you need to do in a quest), learn from failure rather than trying to avoid it at all costs, and keep going until you beat it. Enjoy the experience!

[FranOhmsford]

O = Social Panel!

From this Panel you can choose to look at the Grouping, Guild, Friends and Who Tabs.

-Grouping is the Default:

1) Uncheck Show Groups I'm Not Eligible For - Now you'll be able to see only those Groups that you can actually join without issues.

2) Make sure to READ what the Group Leader has typed in the first {Leader Name} Box - BYOH = Bring your own Heals {sometimes hires will be allowed}, TR's Only = No New Players {These are groups that as a brand new player you should not be attempting to join.
BB Simply means Bravery Bonus and has become the Norm - You will gain this bonus so long as no-one in group is more than two levels above the base Normal Quest Lvl and it is your FIRST run of said quest}.

3) Now look at the second {Quest} Box - If a quest is selected you can mouse over this box to see the difficulty, Questgiver etc.

4) If there are No Groups up currently that are a fit for you it is quite alright to start your own - Use the Create/Edit LFM Button at the bottom of the Tab.

5) When Creating your LFM:
i} 1st Pick your quest from the list.
II} Now choose the difficulty you want to run that quest on by checking either Normal, Hard or Elite. {Rules below assume Elite}
III} Then choose your Lvl Range - A good way to do this is to take either your level or 2 Lvls above the Quest Lvl {whichever's higher} as the max and the min will be 3 lower.
So for a Lvl 2 quest like Walk the Butcher's Path you would choose Lvl 1-4 Unless you yourself are over Lvl 4 {in which case let's say you're Lvl 5 - A Lvl 1 who joins you would get a Huge Penalty to XP so the Lowest Lvl you now want in your group is 2.

This Lvl Range for No Penalty to XP exists from Lvl 1-20 {Epic Quests have a different range}.

So for a Lvl 17 Quest where you're Lvl 16 - Your Lvl range will be 16-19.


Now to the other Tabs

-Guild - You may want to join a Guild or Create your own - This Page will be empty until you do.

-Friends - To add a Player to your friends list just type their name into the box at the top of this page and click add.
There is another box at the bottom of this page where you can add comments e.g. alt of Ensidar or Met in Korthos or Helped me get better.

-Who - This shows you all players currently online and NOT Anonymous {There are a number of players who play Anon}.
DO NOT Invite people to your party blind - Send them a Tell asking if they wish to join you instead {Many will reply - Always be polite whatever their reply BUT Remember for those people who are particularly nasty you can always type /ignore playername in your Chatbox and they will not be able to contact you again}.

On the Left Hand Side of the Who Panel is a Tiny Box with a Symbol of Two Heads {This means that that player is ALREADY in a Group and they are unlikely to respond well to any tells asking them to join yours instead}.

[RedHost]

When starting out, worry less about having an optimized character and more about having fun and figuring out how things work. Following a character build can help you end up with a more powerful character, but not if you never explore and learn the game mechanics so that you understand why the build makes the choices that it does. There is a lot of room for optimization in DDO, as well as a lot of room for failure. And learning from the failures can be a much better teacher than reading what others have refined.

[JonD]

The different classes play very differently to one another, so keep trying them until you find the one(s) you like. Quests vary in style, so keep trying them until you find the one(s) you like. As long as you (and the party you are in) are having fun, anyone who tells you that 'you're not playing the game properly' is wrong. There's a lot of fun available in DDO, there's a lot of information available on the wiki and the forums, do your best to ignore the drama.

[Hue_Dye]

Try and find a pair of headphones with a microphone attached. That way you can ask questions of the group leader . Everyone started out as new at one point, everyone still asks questions, so don't be shy!

[FuzzyDuck81]

Your first character will almost always end up gimpy. This is normal. So will the second, third, fourth & probably fifth, before you've had some time to experiment with different combinations of class(es) & abilities & found a style that fits you. Those characters will also be gimps, and again this is entirely normal - it may not be optimal, but it'll fit YOU & therefore be far more effective than blindly picking up a build from the forums without the intimate knowledge of how your character works.

[quiete]

copy and paste this on your chat box: /tell (name of the party leader) hello i'm a first timer if it's ok i'd like to join.
way more fun for everyone

[Vallar]

Well DDO isn't your average MMO; while in other MMO a + 4 to a stat item coupled with a +5 to the same stat item it would give you a total of +9 to that stat, in DDO it doesn't work that way. Any buffing item (let's take Charisma for example) don't stack -- generally, unless they are different "types" of buffs.

Let's take an example:
+4 Charisma Enhancement bonus goggles
+5 Charisma Enhancement bonus cloak

Both will not total to +9, instead the HIGHEST buff will be applied, in this case, the +5 while the +4 is completely ignored (which means this slot for goggles could be used to buff another stat).

Meanwhile, another example that could stack would be:
+4 Charisma Enhancement bonus goggles
+2 Charisma Insightful bonus cloak

Notice the difference between "Insightful" and "Enhancement"? That is the different buff types, in which case, the total now is +6 (instead of +4 if we applied the previous examples logic) and if you remove the cloak, the bonus applied will go down to +4.


Another tip, don't buy anything when new on the AH. Just sell stuff (the best way to find out if this item is worth anything is asking in /advice channel).
Yes, of course, /advice channel whenever you need anything is a good idea.

Final tip, create a different class on all servers and test all of them (classes and servers) until you find a class you like to play and server that you are comfortable with and before settling on a build, ddowiki is your best place to read up quickly on a class and evade being 100% gimp.

Hope that helps

[Zzevel]

The PURPLE bags on the groud are for everyone. You do not need to leave them on the ground to share, everyone gets their own bag on the screen. Ex: Say 6 people in the party, for every 1 bag that drops, 6 bags can be picked up, 1 by each player

[Xormax]

I've got two tips:

1) Hit enter to open your chat window and type /lfh or /lfb. VERY valuable....

2) If you see my soul stone, don't walk there... It's a trap.

[AZgreentea]

The very first tip I could have used as a new player was that the right mouse button is used to target objects in the environment (by default). I played for a few hours before I managed to figure that out.

[Captain_Wizbang]

For a brand new, never played an mmo,
watch this and other videos
http://youtu.be/bcOetYuvfeo

For an experienced mmo player, new to DDO
watch this series of videos
http://youtu.be/GxnElwJWqBw

And of course listen to http://www.ddocast.com/

[enochiancub]

Ask questions.

Despite what one would assume from the forums, the DDO community is actually very nice and willing to help guide new players along. The catch is we have to actually know that you need help and guidance. Just pipe up with your questions, whether in group, guild, advice or general chat.

[ivo_rocker]

Mi advice would be (and this is something i had to learn the hard way):

Never waste your turbine points. You can farm alot of points, but they are expensive to buy and are very valuable. Earn as much as you can, then wait for store sales and discounts, buy Vale of Twilight and others equaly useful. But don't waste those hard earned points on cosmetics stuff, potions of any kind, event one time items, or any other thing that doesn't serve a purpose.

[Teh_Troll]

Dont' waste money on the pay2win garbage in the store. Buy content and storage, that'll all you need.

oh, and hjeal meh!

[THOTHdha]

Seek out the community that you want to play with. Do not expect them to magically find you. If you are into MMO progression, ask around and find out what guilds have active days and times that fit your schedule. If you want a friendly family guild make some LFMs stating you are looking for this type of people to play with. If you are into RP get on Thellanis or whatever server has groups for that now and start posting and being active in the channels. Be proactive rather than hoping that a great bunch of people will somehow find you.

Just like any F2P MMO there is a wide mix of people who play DDO. Not all of them will be to your liking. But if you make an effort, you can probably find people who are.

[parowan]

Feeling poor? Quit rerolling! Find a class you're decent at and stick with it until you get to epic levels. You'll probably be gimped, but not necessarily useless. The important thing is that high levels are where the money's at. Get a character to high levels and you'll be able to fund whatever brilliant ideas for new characters you came up with on the way.