The State of the Game in My Point of View

[Minezeye]

The only problem I have as a new player right now is, OP many lives characters steamroll zerging content so fast I can literaly never catchup to them.

I basically join a lfg... because I only have 5 min to get the adventure , it takes me 2 min to figure out where the quest entrance is because the quests are so scattered around the maps.

First I have to search for the quest in the adv compendium...
Then I have to search my questlog for the NPC or the location... If I dont have it...
Then I have to beg for a quest share... Which apparently everyone hates to do....
Then I have to get to the quest entrance, and hope that blinking door on my map is the right place.

Then I enter the quest (yay I'm here!), and see an experience award that the quest is finished...

Why even put up a LFM for a quest you can solo in less than 5 min on your 23 lives toon?

and people wonder why I prefer to solo in an mmo....

[Vanhooger]

The only problem I have as a new player right now is, OP many lives characters steamroll zerging content so fast I can literaly never catchup to them.

I basically join a lfg... because I only have 5 min to get the adventure , it takes me 2 min to figure out where the quest entrance is because the quests are so scattered around the maps.

First I have to search for the quest in the adv compendium...
Then I have to search my questlog for the NPC or the location... If I dont have it...
Then I have to beg for a quest share... Which apparently everyone hates to do....
Then I have to get to the quest entrance, and hope that blinking door on my map is the right place.

Then I enter the quest (yay I'm here!), and see an experience award that the quest is finished...

Why even put up a LFM for a quest you can solo in less than 5 min on your 23 lives toon?

and people wonder why I prefer to solo....

Mate some people like me did any quest on this game bazillion times and they run just for xp/min. You obviously can't keep up with them so I suggest put up you're own lfm with you're rules if you want to wnjoy the game.

[Minezeye]

Mate some people like me did any quest on this game bazillion times and they run just for xp/min. You obviously can't keep up with them so I suggest put up you're own lfm with you're rules if you want to wnjoy the game.

yes, thank you, for that amazing insight.

I have done such but 75% of the time I get a many lives zerger who comes in and simply runs ahead to finish the quest because hes just there for exp...
(Dont get me wrong. I have encountered a few people who are willing to slow down and help me learn but they are the exception.)

At some point don't you ask yourself....am I enjoying playing and creating positive memories, or am I just trying to get higher numbers on my character sheet?

I am wary to make my own groups as new player because I don't know **** about these quests and cant really lead...
If I put stuff like that in the notes....nobody joins...

Honestly, I would like a box to check to prevent many lives characters from joining my groups....I would learn more, make more friends and enjoy the game more if i could find people at my speed.

Just saying, if anything is turning away new players in this game its this aspect.

Immortal players should not be mixing it up with newbies, it ruins immersion and the learning curve and makes you feel worth nothing in a group no matter what race/class you play.

[Vanhooger]

yes, thank you, for that amazing insight.

I have done such but 75% of the time I get a many lives zerger who comes in and simply runs ahead to finish the quest because hes just there for exp...

At some point don't you ask yourself....am I enjoying playing and creating positive memories, or am I just trying to get higher numbers on my character sheet?

Everyone plays the way they like. Put your own rules on LFM and if people di zerg squelch them, done. As well try to find a good guild it helps a lot. Complaining on the forum won't make things better for you.

[sk3l3t0r]

yes, thank you, for that amazing insight.

I have done such but 75% of the time I get a many lives zerger who comes in and simply runs ahead to finish the quest because hes just there for exp...
(Dont get me wrong. I have encountered a few people who are willing to slow down and help me learn but they are the exception.)

At some point don't you ask yourself....am I enjoying playing and creating positive memories, or am I just trying to get higher numbers on my character sheet?

I am wary to make my own groups as new player because I don't know **** about these quests and cant really lead...
If I put stuff like that in the notes....nobody joins...

Honestly, I would like a box to check to prevent many lives characters from joining my groups....I would learn more, make more friends and enjoy the game more if i could find people at my speed.

Just saying, if anything is turning away new players in this game its this aspect.

Immortal players should not be mixing it up with newbies, it ruins immersion and the learning curve and makes you feel worth nothing in a group no matter what race/class you play.

The first year I played exclusively solo simply because I wanted to learn the locations of the quests, explore the wilderness zones at my own pace and explore all those nooks and crannies that the vets didn't want to do because it impacts their xp / min zerg fest...then I met a like minded guild and joined them, ever since then I have learned tons about the game and it was because I found a group of people that had the same play style as me...that is what I would suggest for you...or if you are on Sarlona...send me a tell...I will gladlly quest qith you at a slower pace and teach you anything along the way.

[changelingamuck]

I am wary to make my own groups as new player because I don't know **** about these quests and cant really lead...
If I put stuff like that in the notes....nobody joins...

Honestly I would like a box to check to prevent many lives characters from joining my groups....I would learn more, make more friends and enjoy the game more if i could find people at my speed.

If someone sees an lfm that says in the comment box, "Doing optionals, breaking breakables. Not zerging. Newbies welcome" or something like that and joins, then they're probably not the kind of player who is going to care if you have the quest memorized.

IMO, it really is about actively repelling the wrong people. And yes, you'll get a lot fewer joiners; but if you're preference is to either have a non-zerging party or to just solo if you can't get one, then you're good.

I've been bothered by the same experiences as you. Getting used to posting your own lfms is really your best option though. I think over years of pugging, I haven't run into more than one or two pug players who cared one bit if I'd never done the quest before or if I'd forgotten it. People aren't putting as much pressure on you being the 'star holder' as you're putting on yourself.

[memloch]

I run a DC wizard that does ok in epics. On elite it sometimes takes a debuff to land a spell. The only real problems are bosses and the support of melee players is needed to kill them. To get to this point did take many lives.

Op, you need to have patience as they continue to do class updates.

A spell pass is also needed badly and would help all spell using classes.

[Minezeye]

Everyone plays the way they like. Put your own rules on LFM and if people di zerg squelch them, done. As well try to find a good guild it helps a lot. Complaining on the forum won't make things better for you.

Are you just trying to berate me or do you disagree that a newbie encountering a many lives zerger vet can ruin a newer players experiance?

Cause it sounds like you're just telling me to F off...captain obvious... please return to your zerg fest.

[scipiojedi]

First I have to search for the quest in the adv compendium...
Then I have to search my questlog for the NPC or the location... If I dont have it...
Then I have to beg for a quest share... Which apparently everyone hates to do....
Then I have to get to the quest entrance, and hope that blinking door on my map is the right place.

I do all this before I hit the lfm. I get to the quest. If they still haven't finished THEN I hit "join group" then BAM step right in before they finish. Once you start doing this you will learn where quests are it gets less frustrating. I used to be like you and had trouble grouping up before I was in a guild. I still PUG a lot but proactively heading to quests before you join group helps out a lot. I hate sharing because a lot of quest givers are right.at.the.entrance. to the quest - so I perceive the person joining the group as lazy when they ask for a share. I share when the quest giver is far away from the quest entrance because new players don't know where the quest giver is - I get that.

[Vanhooger]

Are you just trying to berate me or do you disagree that a newbie encountering a many lives zerger vet can ruin a newer players experiance?

Cause it sounds like you're just telling me to F off...captain obvious... please return to your zerg fest.

Chill dude, you were asking for advice.

I gave you some answer.

You may not like them, so I can't help you that much.

[nokowi]

The only problem I have as a new player right now is, OP many lives characters steamroll zerging content so fast I can literaly never catchup to them.

I basically join a lfg... because I only have 5 min to get the adventure , it takes me 2 min to figure out where the quest entrance is because the quests are so scattered around the maps.

First I have to search for the quest in the adv compendium...
Then I have to search my questlog for the NPC or the location... If I dont have it...
Then I have to beg for a quest share... Which apparently everyone hates to do....
Then I have to get to the quest entrance, and hope that blinking door on my map is the right place.

Then I enter the quest (yay I'm here!), and see an experience award that the quest is finished...

Why even put up a LFM for a quest you can solo in less than 5 min on your 23 lives toon?

and people wonder why I prefer to solo in an mmo....

Devs have done NOTHING in the 6 years I played to improve new player experience.

While the forumites bicker back and forth about who the game should be designed around, devs continue to make the game easier and easier, it doesn't make the game any more fun to play for anyone. It just pushes inexperienced players into content they should not be running with players they don't enjoy running with.

If I was in charge, I would value your play experience tremendously and spend the resources to create a good new player experience.

[theboyftw]

the thing about this game I LOVE is I can play my own character and not worry about what other people are playing and what is or is not broken/op. the people I group with are the same. we have FUN with our characters and in parties together, not stressing about things we can't control.

[Gannicus]

Ok I figure the OP has to be trolling, because there is just no way.

Now most of what I would say has been said here already so I will just skip to the champions.

The champions were an excellent addition, before champions it was just pure button mashing zerg fest no tactics, I would remove "Trip" from my hotbar on the strength toon because it just slowed things down. Now you see a champion you use a simple tactic, champ is dead 10 seconds. Later and you continue on, at least it forces some tactics back into a game that USED to focus almost entirely on tactics.

Other than that most the classes are pretty balanced as is, I see people running all kinds; yes warlock is ridiculous atm but so has every new class upon release. When monk first came out it was game breaking. And as others have said class passes are the main priority devs are working on just play something else for now if you feel a certain class is under powered, later tr and come back to that after the pass. The beauty of DDO is the ability to tr and do it all on one main toon. Just have fun, it is still a game.

And as a side note I just want to say the devs recently have been doing a really great job, coming out with a long awaited crafting pass is a MAJOR under taking and I just want to say thanks.

[Grosbeak07]

The introduction of new content makes old, available content obsolete (no surprise there). Yet, it is worse than intended. The majority of the classes are having a terrible time keeping up, or even participating, in most every quest, including Monk, Cleric, Favored Soul, Druid, Sorcerer & Artificer, all in the desolate lower class. Many people run a 45 minute quest, unable to achieve 'one' on the kill count, running a monk or cleric. Many here on the forum may make the excuse of inexperience. So, we have no incoming players with any hope of competing for just one kill in the quest. Why would a new person play this game with so many other games friendly to new people. Dungeons and Dragons Online will go offline soon. That is my point of view. If the producers of this game want to make money, something must be done about the multiple problems.

I think the developers are well aware of the problems with certain classes. Problem is time and money to actually fix them, in addition to everything else the community wants them to do.

The present state of the game intensely favors the Wizard and Warlock class, the later published as an easy way to make money, both modeled because the strong voices on the forums to improve these seemingly self-centered classes, self-centered in a way because of the people who play them do not see the bigger picture. For example, the Wizard class was given the opportunity to use the Intelligence modifier for both attack and damage, an opportunity Never offered the Monk class for either Wisdom or Dexterity, completely supporting the notion of short-sightedness. Both the Warlock and the Wizard are given the opportunity to have a full base attack bonus, not offered to Monk, easier to achieve than the Cleric and Favored Soul. How could a pure Sorcerer have much melee dps without changing the computer functions of Charisma ?? I am explaining how I go through the character creation process.

In some ways, this is what makes DDO really great, the fact that we can make these crazy builds and have them be at least playable. Again, see my comment above. The developers are well aware of certain class shortfalls, monk in particular. They have also stated numerous times that they want to 'fix' Monk, when they do it, meaning fixing handwraps in addition to balancing the class. My guess is this is more of a task then they had originally hoped.

Some classes are so pathetic, their favored weapon is a heavy mace; really, have the developers completely fallen asleep ?? furthermore, the race who has their favored class Cleric can use their Dexterity modifier for damage ?? what? Wisdom a dump stat, Its hilariously stupid. A monk can specialize in force and fire damage, HAHA. A Druid unable to use weapons in epic quests because, to do so, they need to have Wisdom a dump stat, HAHA. The strongest dps Sorcerer builds require Intelligence, rather than Charisma. One race that increases Spell Craft by 20 ? which disables any hope of running any other race to maximize spell damage. You got to be kidding me.

DDO is old. It was originally based on the 3.5 rule set, but during it's life, both Version 4 and 5 rules have come out for DDO. Probably because Wizards of the Coast made them, when these classes were updated at the time they incorporated some of these new and (now obsolete) rules. So DDO has incorporated some of the PnP Flavor and rules into the game. Do they make a ton of sense from an actual gameplay perspective? Not always, but there is usually a reason to their madness.

Then we have Champion Monsters/Enemies. Run. Almost everyone runs. One Champion enemy at the end of a 45 minute quest can make you fail the quest (not the main boss), wasting 45 minutes of your time: Hang it Up already. It is almost as if the people who came up with this Chit are complete Azz/Hools. Really, if I agree with my significant other to play a game for 45 minutes, then fail due to a problem with programing, would anyone in their right mind ever come back ??

I don't even notice them anymore, even on Epic Elite. Honestly it's called combat awareness, you see a champion you *might* actually have to change up tactics, instead of brainlessly hacking your way through a dungeon (or skipping 99% of the mobs as has been popular at times). They are not a perfect solution to increasing game difficulty for veteran players, but they have helped.

These are my points of view. I am stating (mostly) facts. If you producers want to continue to make money, either invest in something else of fix your current investment.

The developers won't be able to make everyone happy 100% of the time. I honestly believe they are doing the best they can with what they got. But they want to see the game succeed and in a perfect world would be able to tackle a lot of these problems in a more timely manner, but I fear that is not in the cards at the moment.

[Minezeye]

I do all this before I hit the lfm. I get to the quest. If they still haven't finished THEN I hit "join group" then BAM step right in before they finish. Once you start doing this you will learn where quests are it gets less frustrating. I used to be like you and had trouble grouping up before I was in a guild. I still PUG a lot but proactively heading to quests before you join group helps out a lot. I hate sharing because a lot of quest givers are right.at.the.entrance. to the quest - so I perceive the person joining the group as lazy when they ask for a share. I share when the quest giver is far away from the quest entrance because new players don't know where the quest giver is - I get that.

I am getting better at this tactic doing what you mentioned but its still taking me more than 5 min and by the time I enter the quest its half done or the timer expired...
Its not lazyness, I assure you.

Some of these quest givers are hidden, behind buildings, on top of buildings you have to parkour too, inside Inns, obfuscated by a bush, or my favorite....inside a small pre dungeon (wilderness?)entrance that is not listed anywhere in the quest log...so when you look at the dungeon entrance you think your in the wrong place...

Thank you all for your kind words of encouragement, advice and willingness to admit you went through similar difficulties!

[jalont]

they are solid for sure but if they are the strongest in the game I am missing an opportunity to improve.

Have you tried Eth's build?

[LongshotBro]

The introduction of new content makes old, available content obsolete (no surprise there). Yet, it is worse than intended. The majority of the classes are having a terrible time keeping up, or even participating, in most every quest, including Monk, Cleric, Favored Soul, Druid, Sorcerer & Artificer, all in the desolate lower class. Many people run a 45 minute quest, unable to achieve 'one' on the kill count, running a monk or cleric. Many here on the forum may make the excuse of inexperience. So, we have no incoming players with any hope of competing for just one kill in the quest. Why would a new person play this game with so many other games friendly to new people. Dungeons and Dragons Online will go offline soon. That is my point of view. If the producers of this game want to make money, something must be done about the multiple problems.

The present state of the game intensely favors the Wizard and Warlock class, the later published as an easy way to make money, both modeled because the strong voices on the forums to improve these seemingly self-centered classes, self-centered in a way because of the people who play them do not see the bigger picture. For example, the Wizard class was given the opportunity to use the Intelligence modifier for both attack and damage, an opportunity Never offered the Monk class for either Wisdom or Dexterity, completely supporting the notion of short-sightedness. Both the Warlock and the Wizard are given the opportunity to have a full base attack bonus, not offered to Monk, easier to achieve than the Cleric and Favored Soul. How could a pure Sorcerer have much melee dps without changing the computer functions of Charisma ?? I am explaining how I go through the character creation process.

Some classes are so pathetic, their favored weapon is a heavy mace; really, have the developers completely fallen asleep ?? furthermore, the race who has their favored class Cleric can use their Dexterity modifier for damage ?? what? Wisdom a dump stat, Its hilariously stupid. A monk can specialize in force and fire damage, HAHA. A Druid unable to use weapons in epic quests because, to do so, they need to have Wisdom a dump stat, HAHA. The strongest dps Sorcerer builds require Intelligence, rather than Charisma. One race that increases Spell Craft by 20 ? which disables any hope of running any other race to maximize spell damage. You got to be kidding me.

Then we have Champion Monsters/Enemies. Run. Almost everyone runs. One Champion enemy at the end of a 45 minute quest can make you fail the quest (not the main boss), wasting 45 minutes of your time: Hang it Up already.Really, if I agree with my significant other to play a game for 45 minutes, then fail due to a problem with programing, would anyone in their right mind ever come back ??

These are my points of view. I am stating (mostly) facts. If you producers want to continue to make money, either invest in something else of fix your current investment.

i can appreciate this point of view only because it is simply that: one player's perspective on how they see the game and sharing with the community. We all have our points of view.

The standouts to me here, though, are two things.

One, as regards the champions, i've never myself run away in fear or seen anyone else do that. Maybe if i notice a crown i'll make a mental note but by and large champions haven't been a stumbling block. But even if they do on occasion hit hard, why is that a failure and waste of time? If i was playing a quest for close to an hour and died, i'd definitely try to get back in there and finish. In a party, of course it's not a question of time (like the quest will reset before you can return). Better to get some xp and reward after the investment of time than none at all.

The second thing is regarding class balance. There is certainly some disparity among them, but i haven't found things like monk or cleric to be quite as useless as this player has, which is unfortunate for them. This stood out to me only because i recently started playing a monk for the first time. It's a new character on their first life, and i've found it to be wonderfully fun. It's capable solo and a contributing member of parties.

Believe me, there are periods when this game frustrates me and i take a break but, overall i am happy my perspective isn't quite as dour as this.

Lastly, these aren't "mostly facts" - they are your perspective.

[Marshal_Lannes]

Current Situation and Class Order of Power:

1) Warlock & Wolf Druid
2) Rogue {Mechanic Only}
3=) Paladin
3=) Barbarian
5=) Bard
5=) Fighter
5=) Ranger
8) Rogue Assassin
9) Sorcerer
10) Artificer
11) Monk & Rogue Acrobat
12) Wizard & Caster Druid
13) FavSoul
14) Cleric
15) Bear Druid

Good breakdown. I don't think it is any secret that some classes are better than others because some are 'modern' classes who have revamped trees and others don't. There really isn't much to complain about here and I agree with what others have pointed out that this seems to be a venting post. I would actually point out that the Devs have done a pretty darn good job balancing classes. Yes, Warlock and Mechanic are clearly the best classes but I see these as a bridge the Devs have provided for those with alts or new players - basically anyone who doesn't have 50 past lives. Warlock and Mechanic neutralize a ton of past lives. Paladin/Barbarian/Ranger/Bard are all about equal. I can't speak to fighters having never tried them or been that impressed by them. Assassins are a league of their own due to a different play style - they can be better than some of the classes above them or worse depending on the player. Assassin might be the perfect class. And yes, then you have the non-revamped classes. Some people have claimed sorcerers are better than Warlocks though so keep that in mind.

[dunklezhan]

On the subject of stats and attack/damage:

In my view it was a big mistake when TSR/WOTC/whoever decided that there should be more options for to hit and damage. It made build choices too easy in pnp (always max a prime stat + Con, everything else is optional) and made it hard for DDO to resist doing the same.

However, they did, and that's where they are. A developer has 2 choices at that point: every class gets its prime stat to hit and damage (or has the option to do that), or apply it with some kind of logic behind it.

The latter means that realistically neither Con nor Cha should get anything in this regard (which does not mean they shouldn't get other cool things, like say Con bonus to AC or Cha bonus to dodge because you're so good at faking out your opponent or whatever). A case can be made in my view for Dex (accurate hits at least maybe added damage for ranged weapons only), but Int and Wis bonuses would in my opinion be best applied as tactics bonuses, not +hit and damage.

[dunklezhan]

On the subject of Champs:

I inspected a lot of champs at the beginning (three wil'o'whisps with a meaningless lightning vulnerability in the first day, chortle), and tried a bunch of different stuff in that first unnerfed week or two because champs kept oneshotting me. On EE they still do. But then everything seems to .

All other difficulties in which they appear... since the initial nerf they're just not that tough if you have a: a ranged build or b: any kind of CC - whether melee tactics or spell based.

I have seen very very few champs with any kind of crowd control immunity. They often take trips, webs, dances, bluffs, stuns and so on pretty easily.

They also very rarely even have FOM so in a pinch a heightened grease will do (except EE where all mob saves pretty much mean I am excluded from playing any kind of DC caster I'm capable of building/gearing anyway).