I'm new and could use a little help

[The_Godslayer]

I just started today, and I have already encountered some questions I could use some help answering. I started earlier and have been playing around a bit, and intend on playing more after I do my homework (curse you comp II, the bane of my online classes this semester). Anyhow, I have some tabletop experience with 3.5, a lot with 4e and a minor bit with 5e. SO, I'm somewhat familiar with the system. Being a single father has limited my ability to get out and play with my old group (and my little one is too young to appreciate the fine art of monster slaying...yet) My usual characters involve strong melee and traditionally, I've always played a sword and board fighter with high AC and punishing offense to maintain monsters attention. My usual characters are a rogue, ranger and/or fighter. I enjoy spellcasters, I just haven't played many. I've been trying to read through some topics to get a feel for DDO, and if I am not mistaken it seems a paladin is the way to go currently for a S&B type. Although I am currently a free to play player, I am not opposed to spending some money for easier progression, although I am by no means wealthy lol. All that to say this...

I made my first character, a stalwart vanguard fighter who is a whopping level 1 (rank 3) right now. Mainly I've been trying to get a feel for the gameplay, but I already have some questions that possibly will be answered as I go, but I am impatient..

1. How many ranks do you go through until you level?
2. I spoke to a different class trainer and it seemed as though I could already multiclass, but I assume I am too low to worry about that until at least level 2?
3. Would I be better served doing a two weapon fighter for now at the early levels, or should I stick to what I enjoy and learn it first?
4. I have not investigated the store yet as I have seen several posts saying to play for free for a while to learn the ins and outs before buying anything, but is there anything any of you would suggest I consider buying first? Like the best value or deal etc..
5. I have only completed a few of the normal quests so far, but I did select the thing where random PC's could join although none did at that point. If I can, as a free to play, should I redo these quests on the harder level for better rewards or should I just focus on going forward?
6. As for this fighter, I am intending to work towards a really strong defensive fighter who is an undead killing machine. I am assuming I should be looking at some paladin levels at some point, is there anything else you would suggest I look into?
7. I keep seeing references to a "subscription", but I'm not sure what this has to do with.
8. Before I get too far into it, if I need to reroll a paladin or something other to fit my theme, I'd just as soon do so now than later. Any suggestions and opinions are appreciated.

Thanks again, and sorry if any of these are repetitive noob questions.

[DrowsworD]

I just started today, and I have already encountered some questions I could use some help answering. I started earlier and have been playing around a bit, and intend on playing more after I do my homework (curse you comp II, the bane of my online classes this semester). Anyhow, I have some tabletop experience with 3.5, a lot with 4e and a minor bit with 5e. SO, I'm somewhat familiar with the system. Being a single father has limited my ability to get out and play with my old group (and my little one is too young to appreciate the fine art of monster slaying...yet) My usual characters involve strong melee and traditionally, I've always played a sword and board fighter with high AC and punishing offense to maintain monsters attention. My usual characters are a rogue, ranger and/or fighter. I enjoy spellcasters, I just haven't played many. I've been trying to read through some topics to get a feel for DDO, and if I am not mistaken it seems a paladin is the way to go currently for a S&B type. Although I am currently a free to play player, I am not opposed to spending some money for easier progression, although I am by no means wealthy lol. All that to say this...

I made my first character, a stalwart vanguard fighter who is a whopping level 1 (rank 3) right now. Mainly I've been trying to get a feel for the gameplay, but I already have some questions that possibly will be answered as I go, but I am impatient..

1. How many ranks do you go through until you level?

There are 5 ranks per level. Once you finish rank 5 (the last blue ball in the bottom right, you can level your character.

2. I spoke to a different class trainer and it seemed as though I could already multiclass, but I assume I am too low to worry about that until at least level 2?

You can multi-class any time you raise in level. You are limited to 3 different classes at once. I suggest getting to know the system and play some different pure classes before deciding to multi-class however.

3. Would I be better served doing a two weapon fighter for now at the early levels, or should I stick to what I enjoy and learn it first?

This is really up to you. first, you must have a high dexterity to use two weapon fighting. Rogues, and Rangers are usually set for this style. There is also two-handed fighting which allows you to use great/two handed weapons. You will get opinions on both fronts as to which is the best. It really depends on your style and character flavor. There is always a debate going on which has the best DPS (damage per second or swing)

4. I have not investigated the store yet as I have seen several posts saying to play for free for a while to learn the ins and outs before buying anything, but is there anything any of you would suggest I consider buying first? Like the best value or deal etc..

You can earn enough Turbine Points (TP) by running quests to gain some items and if you save them you can get enough to buy Adventure Packs. If you want to buy TP early, wait a few weeks as there is usually a big sale on both points and adventure packs. Search the forums on the best packs to buy at which level. Again, with the forums, you will get a lot of opinions.
You also asked about a subscription. The VIP subscription gets you a lot of stuff. Look here for what you get and how much it costs:http://www.ddo.com/en/become-vip

5. I have only completed a few of the normal quests so far, but I did select the thing where random PC's could join although none did at that point. If I can, as a free to play, should I redo these quests on the harder level for better rewards or should I just focus on going forward?

You can try them on hard or find others to join you after you have a few levels or run them with a group. Check the Social Panel (hit O and Grouping tab) to see if anyone is looking to run the quests. Be careful though as some people are experienced and running the low levels fast and elite as they have high end gear and have ran them before. You may get in over your head or get left behind. Also ask in chat about a help group. I run some help characters a few nights on different servers. Send me a message as to what server and name and I will look you up.

Gotta go for now. Check on the forums in the Static Group Thread to find some groups looking for new players.

[Mindos]

I just started today,

Welcome to the game, it can be addictive. What world are you on? There's a lot of people that would probably run around with you!

[Loromir]

I just started today, and I have already encountered some questions I could use some help answering. I started earlier and have been playing around a bit, and intend on playing more after I do my homework (curse you comp II, the bane of my online classes this semester). Anyhow, I have some tabletop experience with 3.5, a lot with 4e and a minor bit with 5e. SO, I'm somewhat familiar with the system. Being a single father has limited my ability to get out and play with my old group (and my little one is too young to appreciate the fine art of monster slaying...yet) My usual characters involve strong melee and traditionally, I've always played a sword and board fighter with high AC and punishing offense to maintain monsters attention. My usual characters are a rogue, ranger and/or fighter. I enjoy spellcasters, I just haven't played many. I've been trying to read through some topics to get a feel for DDO, and if I am not mistaken it seems a paladin is the way to go currently for a S&B type. Although I am currently a free to play player, I am not opposed to spending some money for easier progression, although I am by no means wealthy lol. All that to say this...

I made my first character, a stalwart vanguard fighter who is a whopping level 1 (rank 3) right now. Mainly I've been trying to get a feel for the gameplay, but I already have some questions that possibly will be answered as I go, but I am impatient..

1. How many ranks do you go through until you level?
2. I spoke to a different class trainer and it seemed as though I could already multiclass, but I assume I am too low to worry about that until at least level 2?
3. Would I be better served doing a two weapon fighter for now at the early levels, or should I stick to what I enjoy and learn it first?
4. I have not investigated the store yet as I have seen several posts saying to play for free for a while to learn the ins and outs before buying anything, but is there anything any of you would suggest I consider buying first? Like the best value or deal etc..
5. I have only completed a few of the normal quests so far, but I did select the thing where random PC's could join although none did at that point. If I can, as a free to play, should I redo these quests on the harder level for better rewards or should I just focus on going forward?
6. As for this fighter, I am intending to work towards a really strong defensive fighter who is an undead killing machine. I am assuming I should be looking at some paladin levels at some point, is there anything else you would suggest I look into?
7. I keep seeing references to a "subscription", but I'm not sure what this has to do with.
8. Before I get too far into it, if I need to reroll a paladin or something other to fit my theme, I'd just as soon do so now than later. Any suggestions and opinions are appreciated.

Thanks again, and sorry if any of these are repetitive noob questions.

Most of your questions have been answered...I will chime in though.

Fighter is a good class to start out with...not because it is easy, but because it teaches you to learn some self sufficiency. Fighters have few options for self healing. Fighters don't necessarily have the greatest saves. So these alone require you to pay more attention to your health and teach you to be more tactical in your approach to the game. This is a good thing, but could lead to frustration unless you are patient and really want to learn.

This game only vaguely resemble table top D&D, so don't get too tied down to what you are used to doing. Don't be afraid to play a few quest, then re-roll and start over. Most of us made huge mistakes with our first few characters...but we learn from our mistakes.

Welcome to DDO...it is the best MMO available right now and nothing else is at all like it.

[SpiritofAlba]

Welcome to the game. Good advice above, but a couple of general things to add:

The game is huge in extent. (Although experienced players may grumble about wanting more content, which is understandable, there is loads and loads for a new player to explore).
My view is don't rush to spend money. There is plenty of free content and you can get a long way without buying anything - in fact, you never HAVE to spend money to play the game, although spending a bit of cash will make sense in due course. Once you have been playing for a while you will have a much better sense of what to spend.
It does take time to build a really powerful character. It is a good goal, but don't forget to have fun along the way.
Say you are new, and ask for help, in game as well as on the forums. There are a lot of very experienced players who can get frustrated by poor play, but most of the them are also hugely helpful and generous if they know you are new.
Ddo wiki (google it) has all the answers. Up to you whether you want quest spoilers, but for most players its hugely useful, certainly to get your head around the basics.

[EnziteBob]

This is one of the most helpful tools you will ever use http://ddowiki.com/ It will help you plan out your build or help you get through a quest you are stuck on.

[the_one_dwarfforged]

I just started today, and I have already encountered some questions I could use some help answering. I started earlier and have been playing around a bit, and intend on playing more after I do my homework (curse you comp II, the bane of my online classes this semester). Anyhow, I have some tabletop experience with 3.5, a lot with 4e and a minor bit with 5e. SO, I'm somewhat familiar with the system. Being a single father has limited my ability to get out and play with my old group (and my little one is too young to appreciate the fine art of monster slaying...yet) My usual characters involve strong melee and traditionally, I've always played a sword and board fighter with high AC and punishing offense to maintain monsters attention. My usual characters are a rogue, ranger and/or fighter. I enjoy spellcasters, I just haven't played many. I've been trying to read through some topics to get a feel for DDO, and if I am not mistaken it seems a paladin is the way to go currently for a S&B type. Although I am currently a free to play player, I am not opposed to spending some money for easier progression, although I am by no means wealthy lol. All that to say this...

I made my first character, a stalwart vanguard fighter who is a whopping level 1 (rank 3) right now. Mainly I've been trying to get a feel for the gameplay, but I already have some questions that possibly will be answered as I go, but I am impatient..

1. How many ranks do you go through until you level?
2. I spoke to a different class trainer and it seemed as though I could already multiclass, but I assume I am too low to worry about that until at least level 2?
3. Would I be better served doing a two weapon fighter for now at the early levels, or should I stick to what I enjoy and learn it first?
4. I have not investigated the store yet as I have seen several posts saying to play for free for a while to learn the ins and outs before buying anything, but is there anything any of you would suggest I consider buying first? Like the best value or deal etc..
5. I have only completed a few of the normal quests so far, but I did select the thing where random PC's could join although none did at that point. If I can, as a free to play, should I redo these quests on the harder level for better rewards or should I just focus on going forward?
6. As for this fighter, I am intending to work towards a really strong defensive fighter who is an undead killing machine. I am assuming I should be looking at some paladin levels at some point, is there anything else you would suggest I look into?
7. I keep seeing references to a "subscription", but I'm not sure what this has to do with.
8. Before I get too far into it, if I need to reroll a paladin or something other to fit my theme, I'd just as soon do so now than later. Any suggestions and opinions are appreciated.

Thanks again, and sorry if any of these are repetitive noob questions.

1: 5. you hit 20th lvl upon reaching rank 96 though.

2: you can multiclass with any class at any level, providing you do not exceed 3 total classes, and that the class you are attempting to multi with does not break alignment restrictions. there are no penalties for multiclassing other than potentially gimping your character.

3: two weapon fighter is in fact typically regarded as the least useful fighting style at the lower levels, being heavily dependent on feats which require bab (meaning the only way youre going to be able to add these feats is by waiting til you level up to meet the bab prereq, no way aruond this) to add off hand hit chance.

4: earning enough free tp to buy packs is doable, but not easy. it will require to some degree or another (depending on your goals, how much you intend to play, and how much money you spend if any) farming/grinding. personally i suggest just buying the packs when they are on sale, or if they are a particularly important pack to own just buying them. i considering buying the actual content in this game a fairly cheap investment in fun, and you can buy it as you play it. packs of note: necro bundle, 3bc, deleras, von, gianthold, vale, motu expansion, shadowfell expansion. the necro bundle will provide you with 4 quest chains you can run at various levels for pretty good ex, including an epic version of the final chain which includes some decent starter type gear. the necro bundle will also provide you with 2 raids. 3bc (three barrel cove) provides an absolute a$$load of xp at low/mid heroic levels, and also has an epic version with some decent starter type gear. deleras is a popular high xp low/mid level heroic xp pack, and provides you with an xp reward increasing item. von (vault of night) provides 4 high xp quests for mid level heroics, as well as a very high xp preraid and a raid, and this pack has an epic version. gianthold has many quests and a raid for mid/high level heroics, providing you lots of xp and favor, and also a choice of fairly useful favor rewards, and also has an epic version. vale (of twilight) provides 5 high xp quests for high level heroics as well as 3 raids. motu (menace of the underdark) provides 3 epic quest chains and an epic raid. the shadowfell conspiracy provides 2 epic quest packs.

thats quite a bit of money to consider spending, but would provide you a good start with valuable content to get into the game.

5: it depends on what you are going for. if you intend to actually play this game, and eventually play at cap or serial tr, then xp is the most important thing, and you should get it however you can for now. if you aim to favor farm, then you will want to do elite. in either case, it will be rewarding to learn how to handle and what to expect in elite. when most players tr, they will run quests once only and only on elite.

6: im not sure what you expect fighter to add towards killing undead specifically. they are not specifically suited towards that goal at all. as far as splashing paladin goes, a snb paladin is not necessarily any good at killing undead specifically either. turn undead is basically a worthless ability. however i would unfortunately recommend paladin over fighter as a whole, anyway. fighters as a whole got hit pretty hard by a recent "balance" update, though vanguard fighters (snb, which is what you apparently want to play) actually escaped an important part of the nerf as well as gained access to some new, decent, fighter specific feats resulting in much more balance between fighter and paladin vanguards than there used to be (used to be when comparing paladin and fighter, fighter was by far the worst when comparing snb builds). paladin though is still much more new player friendly, and i think that you will go farther more easily with that class (much better saves, free access to self healing, having charisma as your 2nd stat helps with the all important umd).

7: vip subscription. basically this game has the option of giving you the freedom to spend nickels and dimes on the game to get what you want when you want it, or you can pay 10 (might be 15?) dollars a month for access to all the content in the game, with a few additional perks. however if your vip access goes down, you wont own any of the content which can cause issues (some character races/class count as p2p content, or you wont be able to take your character into certain quests because they are p2p and you no longer have access to them).

8: see 6.


additional advice: dont treat this game as d&d online. sure its based on 3.5, but its moved quite a bit away from those rules (since day 1 even). youll do better and fall into less traps by treating it as a whole new game to learn.

[The_Godslayer]

Thank you all for all of the helpful info!

I have been working with my fighter a little and I intend to sample a couple of other classes. I'm debating between rogue and ranger, or a possible multiclass of the two (I'm still investigating that one lol), and I may even try a caster. But you all have given me a lot to think about. The main thing that I'm considering buying at this point would be like Drow, Warforged, Druid, and 32 pt build. I'm also looking at the vet perks of starting at lvl 4 or 7, although I'm going to play through to those levels before deciding if I want to skip them in the future. I also eyeballed the extra character slot, but I don't think I need that right now. I will only have time for a character or two for now, so no point spending the money if I don't have to. I used to like Drow and Warforged, but I suspect I will buy the Drow and do a ranger, rogue, rogue/sorcerer(if that synergizes in this version), or ranger/rogue. 32pt buy seems unnecessary for a decent character at this point, but is something I will think about down the road.

Again, thank you all for your help!

[Jasparion]

Welcome to the game.

Firstly, if you like Sword and Board then Paladin Vanguard is also a very powerful option. Great saves, though not as many feats as Fighter. You want to be getting all the Shield Mastery feats, Power Attack is another good one. Be careful when you read the descriptions though, some feats may be great in Pen&Paper but can be terrible in DDO.

If you are just testing the game the best thing I would recommend is the $7 Premium option. Unlocks 4 character slots and allows you much better interaction with the Auction House for buying and selling.

Thanksgiving is coming, so hopefully Turbine offer some good deals (in the last few years they have been "good", many years ago they had some "fantastic" ones... we all live in hope that the days of "fantastic" deals return).

So enjoy the game for a week, and see what Turbine have to offer.

Dont buy Drow. You can unlock it for free at 400 Favor. 400 Favor will take a while to get to (each dungeon provides a small amount of Favor, the higher the difficulty the more the Favor - though you dont get Favor for each completion of the dungeon, only the highest difficulty).

There are a few other "Dont buy" things - like Veteran. They can be earned by playing the game. And often there are things in the Store which look good, but are really a trap to get you to spend what you didnt need to spen. Others should be able to let you know the specifics.

Finally, the forum is a mix of very helpful and simply unhelpful. You should be able to quickly work out which is which.

[the_one_dwarfforged]

Thank you all for all of the helpful info!

I have been working with my fighter a little and I intend to sample a couple of other classes. I'm debating between rogue and ranger, or a possible multiclass of the two (I'm still investigating that one lol), and I may even try a caster. But you all have given me a lot to think about. The main thing that I'm considering buying at this point would be like Drow, Warforged, Druid, and 32 pt build. I'm also looking at the vet perks of starting at lvl 4 or 7, although I'm going to play through to those levels before deciding if I want to skip them in the future. I also eyeballed the extra character slot, but I don't think I need that right now. I will only have time for a character or two for now, so no point spending the money if I don't have to. I used to like Drow and Warforged, but I suspect I will buy the Drow and do a ranger, rogue, rogue/sorcerer(if that synergizes in this version), or ranger/rogue. 32pt buy seems unnecessary for a decent character at this point, but is something I will think about down the road.

Again, thank you all for your help!

drow is the absolute worst thing you could possibly buy, as its the easiest thing in the whole game to earn for free.

[DrowsworD]

Thank you all for all of the helpful info!

Again, thank you all for your help!

Tell which server and your character name. I am sure several here would be willing to join up and help you out.

[The_Godslayer]

I am on Argonnessen right now and my toons name is Imperius the Godslayer


I will have to figure out how much the hardest level rewards for favor so I can plot how long I have to go to get access to Drow. I was kinda wanting that for my ranger or rogue, but I don't mind waiting as long as it won't take 2 years or anything lol.

You say veteran can be earned in the game? What does one have to do to obtain that?

[DrowsworD]

I am on Argonnessen right now and my toons name is Imperius the Godslayer

I will have to figure out how much the hardest level rewards for favor so I can plot how long I have to go to get access to Drow. I was kinda wanting that for my ranger or rogue, but I don't mind waiting as long as it won't take 2 years or anything lol.

You say veteran can be earned in the game? What does one have to do to obtain that?

Take a look at this DDOWiki page http://ddowiki.com/page/Favor

Drow is 400 Total Favor, which is the total of all House Favor. Veteran is 1000 Total Favor. This may seem like a lot but to get, but it goes fast.

The favor to look for first is Coin Lord and House Kundarak. Coin Lord favor gives you more pack space to hold all your loot. House K favor gives you more bank space, to store loot you will need later or when you need to free up pack space.

Don't forget to get your gem, collectible and ingredient bags to save on space also.

Look at this page http://ddowiki.com/page/Turbine_Point

It explains about Turbine Points. About half-way down it shows how many points you get at different values of favor. Each time you get a favor reward you get a message in your mail box.

Good Luck

[The_Godslayer]

Take a look at this DDOWiki page http://ddowiki.com/page/Favor

Drow is 400 Total Favor, which is the total of all House Favor. Veteran is 1000 Total Favor. This may seem like a lot but to get, but it goes fast.

The favor to look for first is Coin Lord and House Kundarak. Coin Lord favor gives you more pack space to hold all your loot. House K favor gives you more bank space, to store loot you will need later or when you need to free up pack space.

Don't forget to get your gem, collectible and ingredient bags to save on space also.

Look at this page http://ddowiki.com/page/Turbine_Point

It explains about Turbine Points. About half-way down it shows how many points you get at different values of favor. Each time you get a favor reward you get a message in your mail box.

Good Luck

Awesome, thank you. The quest info is very useful. I'm guessing the favor can be grinded since the wiki says groups advertise the run is for favor, but to get access to the Drow, would I need 400 total favor from one faction or just 400 in total? I'm guessing in total, and that would unlock it on that server only if I'm reading it correctly. I did get my ingredient bag already, but I will make sure to get the other two. Thank you again for your help.

[Discpsycho]

You need 400 favor total, not from one individual faction, and you're correct about it being on a per-server basis. If you open your Adventure Compendium (press P) and go to the far right tab (Patrons), at the bottom there's a line that says Total Favor. You can check your progress there at any time, but you'll automatically receive some in-game mail when you reach it.

Also, I'm on Argonessen! Hit me up sometime, I'm usually on Tharnapple

[Hafeal]

Welcome to DDO.

There is a strong vibrant community to help here - both on the forums and player made resources such as the DDOWIki, blogs like Geoff Hanna's, DDOCast, DDO Players News, and many more.

Remember - enjoy the journey and have fun.

[Sehenry03]

If you would enjoy a little help in game both with info as well as a little gear and you are either on Sarlona or don't mind startin over on Sarlona, send a tell to any of my toons.

Mheka / Hirtz / Ziffin

I would be happy to help in any way I can as well as help with showing you around and helping you with some questing/xping.