Producer's Letter - 5/21/15

[Tyrande]

It's completely acceptable to hate monks, halflings and unyielding sentinels.

Wait, but everyone is a 1/2ling of some sort. Let's see:

Dwarves: Fat half-lings.

Fumans & PDK: Full/tall half-lings.

Elves & Half-elves/Sun Elf: Full/tall half-lings that exercise and loose weight.

Drow: Full/tall black half-lings that exercise and loose weight.

Half Orcs: Angry and fat half-lings

Warforged/Bladeforged: Half-lings that rode on a half-ling transport module. You have to use an X-ray vision spell to see the inner workings of those. Ancient warforged are excluded since those run on older hardware and were driven by Intel 80486 hamsters and may not be capable of support the current half-lings.

Shadai-Kai: Ugly half-lings that loves pain.

Now, why the church of G'nonom don't like half-lings? :\

Monks? I don't know... May be the lack of PRR/MRR thingy? Same issue with traditional casters (arcane).

[Lanadazia]

I wonder if current tech allow to make tree based on two classes. Like, making Eldritch Knight a very specific Fighter/Wizard multiclass tree: Something like Core 1 requires at least Fighter 1 and Wiz 1, and Capstone requires at least Fighter 8 and Wizard 8 (but still char level 20).

Or if is possible to make some feats grant access to enhancement trees, like making the 400 Silver Flame favor reward be access to "Silver Flame Exorcist" enhancement tree via a favor feat.

This would solve a lot of problems with trees that are stuck in one class, but are better aimed at specific multiclasses, like Kensei, Eldritch Knight, Henshin Mystic and Warpriest.

if this was added as a specific tree: ok, but it shouldnt replace an existing tree/revamp an existing tree to be specific for one build (also if you claim it for wiz-ftr there will be others that claim a special tree for another build. in the end there cannot be a tree for each desire..)

i really like the idea with the favor and the tree-unlocking. this makes favor viable each life (cause it'd add another build option if needed)
in general favor rewards should not be one-time bonuses, but more like re-achievable stuff that is always good to have (silver flame, patron shops, yugo pots, etc)
i really liked getting that harper tree for favor, or the harper pins, but from now on each time i get that favor i don't get anything (the harper pins and the enhancement tree make up for this tho)
still i like to get rewarded for my efforts (hence i really like the yugo favor, since you always get a rewarding shop option, especially for casters)
its the favor rewards that are useful each time you achieve it, that are the most awesome.
maybe you can get some ammo in house D, or pack some silver flame potions into your TR cache, but maybe you'll run out before you get the favor and be happy to reach that favor again

so in the future i'd like to see more re-achievable favor stuff. mostly in high level, there seems to be plenty in low level of this (house D,J,P vendors, house K bank space, coinlord inventory space, gianthold rewards, silver flame, etc)

[Postumus]

I don't want to attribute specific feelings to you in particular, Steelstar, but over the course of last 7 years, it's pretty obvious from the results that, if not active hatred, devs historically have not given a **** about divines, except maybe some token hjealbot support. And the gross discrepancy in class features, enhancements, and gearing options that has accumulated over the years still largely exists.

I think this is some selective memory here.

I recall five years ago there was a 12-month stretch where everyone and his brother was a Favored Soul.
There were lots of posts about how OP the FvS class was after some superlative players were able to solo/duo raids with them.


Clerics just got an overhaul last year with enhancements, and Turbine added a third ED for the divine sphere.


Divines aren't the top classes now, but IMO they've had plenty of love over the last 7 years.

[Postumus]

T

All FOUR Divine Trees are badly done!
Radiant Servant has no Attack Power outside TU {and we all know how well that works these days unless you're a maxed Charisma Build}, No defenses whatsoever and Pure Healers are simply not wanted by other players anymore!
Warpriest cannot compete on it's own - Pure Healers may not be wanted but a Cleric who doesn't at least put 20 points into Radiant Servant is NOT A CLERIC!
Divine Disciple seems to have been made with the intent of making Clerics a Caster Class - I've got news for you Devs...WE DON'T HAVE THE SPELLS! {And again, Not a Cleric without at least 20 pts in RS!}.
Angel of Vengeance is a Joke!

The Biggest problem I see with Cleric is their most basic abilities:
Healing -
A Cleric does NOT need to maximise every last drop out of his Healing in DDO - Yes he needs it to be viable but most of the time a single non-empowered Heal or Heal Mass will get the job done.
However: That's no reason to tie their Healing power to a single Tree {and high up in that tree too!}
Turn Undead
Max Charisma Clerics are non-viable anywhere other than Full on Undead Quests where they're Gods! {BTW THEY SHOULD BE!}
Anything other than Max Cha and you can pretty much forget about Turning anything past Lvl 13-14! {Yes I know this is an exaggeration made for effect!}.
Then remember that you have to take TWO FEATS and Go heavily into RS AND gear up properly for it to work in even high level Heroics...Never Mind EEs!
THEN REMEMBER THAT FOR SOME REASON THE DEVS ALLOWED DEATHWARD TO STOP TU AND GAVE PRETTY MUCH EVERY SINGLE UNDEAD CHAMPION DW!

DDO Requires you not only to Maximise your Wisdom for Casting ability {and even then without gear, tomes etc. you may as well forget it!} but also to have high Str, Con and Cha - This is simply too much!
I don't understand how or why TU got moved to Charisma in the first place - It was always based on having Willpower {WISDOM}!

FavSouls are in the same boat when it comes to Multi-Attribute dependancy!
Drop the Wisdom requirement and make Cha their FULL Casting stat!


Divines were NEVER JUST HEALERS in PnP!
I was always against the Tank, Healer, DPS Trinity in DDO not because I hated waiting for a Cleric {or a Rogue} but because that's NOT what a Cleric is in D&D!
Clerics don't have to have equal casting ability to Wizards or equal melee ability to Fighters but they shouldn't be anywhere near as far behind as they are in DDO!
Where the problem lies is in DDO's insistence on making anything other than Max DCs useless!
Fighters can't Trip at all unless they Max Str! {Yes I'm still annoyed at the re-nerfing of Trip!}.
Clerics can forget about TU unless they Max Cha, take a Feat, go into RS AND gear up {or at least 3 out of 4 of these!}
Non-Maxed Wizards need to Energy Drain mobs TWICE before a FoD will even work at all - Never mind at 100%! {That's a stupid SP Cost!}

Another issue is that there's far too many REQUIRED Metamagic Feats in DDO!
Players are forced into taking these feats and ONLY these feats just to be any good {note far more is required to be great} at their main focus {forget everything else!}.
SP Costs of Metamagics are also higher than they should be!

snip

I disagree with everything above in RED. I think it is demonstrably false unless set only in the context of soloing about 12 EE quests.

[Wipey]

Clerics just got an overhaul last year with enhancements, and Turbine added a third ED for the divine sphere.

Thank god for that. There are five people on the server still playing cleric. Without this overhaul there would be none.

[JOTMON]

Thank god for that. There are five people on the server still playing cleric. Without this overhaul there would be none.

Four. I just TR'd..

oops, that's my server.. you may still have Five on yours...

[Postumus]

Thank god for that. There are five people on the server still playing cleric. Without this overhaul there would be none.

I haven't been pugging for the last year or so, but I've been playing a cleric as one of my mains now for a while and I really like the Warpriest enhancements.

[Drathsiddh]

So what happened to Anauroch?

[Steve_Howe]

So what happened to Anauroch?

It rained a lot.

[Cleanincubus]

So what happened to Anauroch?

They made ToEE instead, because of the "popularity" of Haunted Halls.

[Oliphant]

Investment in new hardware sounds like some real commitment to the game (I hope). Great news (I think)!

[Svartelric]

I am very happy! Thanks Severlin.

[starbuck1771]

Greetings!

It’s been extremely busy and fun for us here on the DDO team this year and we feel the time is right to provide an update on some of our plans over the next few months.

We’ve made some excellent strides to reduce lag and improve stability, and we are continuing to work towards these goals. One of the larger projects that we are working on is a transfer of our game servers and other hardware to a new data center. The new facility will provide both Dungeons and Dragons Online and our friends over at The Lord of the Rings Online with more stability, greater CPU power, and a better networking capability. This will complement our ongoing efforts to reduce lag. It’s a big project and as the year progresses we will be working toward a date where we will migrate to the new datacenter.

Update 26 is coming in June, and it will focus mainly on a new class; the Warlock! Warlocks make pacts with powerful otherworldly patrons and channel that eldritch power into powerful blasts and arcane spells. The Warlock can choose a pact with Fiends, Archfey, or even a Great Old One. The Warlock will also have three enhancement trees; the Tainted Scholar, the Souleater, and the Enlightened Spirit.

Update 27 will follow in July. It includes an all-new adventure pack that returns to Shavarath, showcasing the Archons’ side of its endless war. With your help the Gatekeepers have gathered enough Mysterious Remnants to continue their research. They’ve tracked the Remnants back to Shavarath, the Plane of Battle. You need to travel there to recruit the help of the Archons in unravelling this mystery. The Archons, however, will only aid those who are worthy, and you find yourself embroiled not only in their tests, but in their eternal struggle with the Devils and the Demons. This adventure pack will include three new dungeons and a new raid, and as usual will be free to VIPs.

We've also been hearing your feedback that you'd like an improved experience when using the DDO Store, and we're happy to say that we'll be introducing a new store in the near future! We expect the updated DDO Store to offer a streamlined experience when making purchases and many other improvements. We're planning to start rolling out the new DDO Store to players later this summer. You will still be able to purchase Turbine Points with a credit/debit card, PayPal, and a wide selection of alternate payment methods. We'll have more to say about the DDO Store as we get closer to its launch.

We'll have more updates this year as well, of course. Players will be able to increase their character level to 30. We’ll have more adventure packs for you. We’ll have an Epic and extended version of our popular Shroud raid and a new adventure pack that relates to the Vale of Twilight. Players will be able to use an updated and epic version of Greensteel to craft more powerful gear. We are excited to bring this content to you!

Thank you for being a part of the Dungeons & Dragons Online community, and we love hearing your feedback. It's been a pleasure to talk to everyone here, and we hope to see you in-game for a long time to come.

Robert “Severlin” Ciccolini

How about adding housing and tropheys. Would love a guild hall with dragon heads and stuff to hang on my walls.

[phillymiket]

Investment in new hardware sounds like some real commitment to the game (I hope). Great news (I think)!

I also think this definitely might possibly could be great news I hope... depending.

[esojiul]

Yep this is what I was afraid of with all the warlock focus. I wish the warlock was coming in July and Shavarath in June. Players havent been leaving DDo due to a lack of classes/races to play, but due to a lack of end game content. I know you guys say you are "aware" of this, but it doesnt feel like the message has really sunk in yet.

I was thinking, the solution ddo need to develop ddo foundry tech (similar to neverwinter foundry), give one step futher, also be able to customize art etc etc. But not give it for free, rent whole infrastructure (even the collection money). In ddo comunity they are people retired, programer, profesional players etc etc, can make a living on it and make ddo make more money. It can be use a different server. If Turbine decide to make a new class or add spells etc etc, not make a content. everyone continue happy.

If someone doesnt like the content, invest from his pocket on his own projects.

[phillymiket]

I was thinking, the solution ddo need to develop ddo foundry tech (similar to neverwinter foundry), give one step futher, also be able to customize art etc etc. But not give it for free, rent whole infrastructure (even the collection money). In ddo comunity they are people retired, programer, profesional players etc etc, can make a living on it and make ddo make more money. It can be use a different server. If Turbine decide to make a new class or add spells etc etc, not make a content. everyone continue happy.

If someone doesnt like the content, invest from his pocket on his own projects.

This comes up a lot and I always think how great that would be,
But honestly, last time I checked, The Foundry in NWO had woefully incomplete tools, is buggy and is exploited.
...and that game was set up from the start to support it.
How can DDO possibly horn-rim it in?

I think we should, IDK, go on to the White House website and start a petition for Turbine to relaunch as DDO2 with every dream feature built right in, complete with character transfers from this game. Let's get the Pope involved.
We can do this.

[The_Human_Cypher]

I think we should, IDK, go on to the White House website and start a petition for Turbine to relaunch as DDO2 with every dream feature built right in, complete with character transfers from this game. Let's get the Pope involved.
We can do this.

DDO 2.0 may happen in 5 or 10 years as this game has shown longevity (10th anniversary is approaching). There are also only 2 D&D MMORPGs and only one of them is any good.

[elkorm]

*invest on new hardware*
when your car has a flat tire, you do not "invest" in a new tire...you repair it.
cheers
Elk

[Major_Woody]

Yep this is what I was afraid of with all the warlock focus. I wish the warlock was coming in July and Shavarath in June. Players havent been leaving DDo due to a lack of classes/races to play, but due to a lack of end game content. I know you guys say you are "aware" of this, but it doesnt feel like the message has really sunk in yet.

Lack of end game is not the reason this game is failing. It's failing because it is NO LONGER Dungeons and Dragons. It is an uber self sufficient toaster **** fest. Gone are the days of NEEDING a balance group for anything. Now all you have are uber asses with attitudes who could care less about community or helping new players. It's only, "Heal yourself, keep up or leave." That is the new DDO moto. Allowing everyone to be able to pick locks, heal, do mass dps, etc is what killed this game.

[Aons]

Lack of end game is not the reason this game is failing. It's failing because it is NO LONGER Dungeons and Dragons. It is an uber self sufficient toaster **** fest. Gone are the days of NEEDING a balance group for anything. Now all you have are uber asses with attitudes who could care less about community or helping new players. It's only, "Heal yourself, keep up or leave." That is the new DDO moto. Allowing everyone to be able to pick locks, heal, do mass dps, etc is what killed this game.

I fully second this (4 players out of 7, that i personaly know in RL, left for those reasons the past 2 years). DDO is JUST a HacknSlash, measuring DPS and some kinds of defense. I even dont understand how the dnd licence can still be applied.

This game declines because it loses identity... and because we are, for part of us, dancing with mobs in EE, which is not supposed to happen. 4 levels of difficulty for this... shame...

++