DDOCast 468 - Casual Gaming: Gearing Up

[Hafeal]

Patrick, thanks for DDOCast. I am sorry I ould not make it on last week but you had a great show and great guests.

As for Fran, please keep putting thoseJewelled Cloaks on the AH, I will pick them up all day long. They are an awesome item for ANY player, casual or otherwise.

[LeslieWest_GuitarGod]

These days Heroic Shroud is no longer a popular Raid - In fact it's about as dead as Reaver's Fate!

Not for everyone it isnt. We just posted a heroic shroud AT LEVEL and it was a ton of fun! Run it on elite with less than pimped out gear and with some new guildies and its actually challenging! TON of fun. We will be posting weekly heroic shrouds again. old raids dead raids... BRING IT!

I am in Guilds on other servers that aren't my own, that do have multiple players, that are considered Casual, Newbie Friendly, One has over 200 active accounts!
And guess what THEY ALL RUN REAPER OR EE WHEN THEY GROUP UP!

Do you just join guilds to do your guild charts? No biggie if you do thats your thing I guess..

There are no Large "Casual" Guilds that aren't either filled with inactive accounts and soloers or cliquey guilds of Static Groups!

We are a medium to large sized guild (by today's standard) that has 109 active players. Sure we have inactive accounts. But many come back when RL isnt kickin their ass.

Do we have static groups? We have a couple that meet once a week, but each member also plays OFTEN with guildies.

Mid sized Guilds and smaller Guilds have this problem even worse! The so-called "Good" ones will generally be full of Elitists NOT Casuals!

What is your definition of a "GOOD" guild Fran? My definition is one that represents IN GAME what they say they represent. Also a good guild KEEPS their guildies because they are HAPPY to be a part of the guild. There are MANY good guilds here that feel like family to players. There are many good guilds on all servers. And its still the best way to play DDO in my opinion no matter your playstyle. We WELCOME small guilds to join our alliance. The FELLOWSHIP is a premiere no drama no zerg alliance that resides on Ghallanda that welcomes casual guilds or anyone that wants to play WITHOUT AHOLES

Heck I've even had people from KNOWN ALL-WELCOME GUILDS {Yeah and you know what I mean} join my LFMs and complain and whinge that I won't change it to Reaper! Or even worse go zerging off through EE Beyond the Rift before the rest of the party have even entered co-incidentally wiping the rest of the party as they all entered one at a time! {This was a while ago}.

If you are the party leader its YOUR party. Do it YOUR WAY. If they dont like it they leave. Or, if you want to run with them... NEGOTIATE! I tell my PUG groups if they zerg in my run, they are soloing it. Works for me every time! Most people that would normally zerg actually play together and have fun. Imagine that.

If you dont speak up, you cant blame party members. Most people just want to have FUN. That's FUN by definition. THEIR definition. No communicate Fran, No Cry Fran.

[LeslieWest_GuitarGod]

We give some tips and a few choice items for Casual Players to Gear Up! We also cover the latest game and community news with our guests Evennote & Evilbeeker!

Have thoughts on this show, ideas for round table topics, questions you’d like us to answer, or topics you’d like to see us debate? Leave us a comment, send us an email (ddocast@gmail.com) or give us a tweet (@ddocast)!

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Casual Gaming: Gearing Up - 4:33
Game News - 1:06:34
Community News - 1:22:14
Lightning Post - 1:28:44
Closing - 1:33:50

Watch shows live at twitch.tv/ddocast

Update 35.1 Release Notes -
Update 35.2 Release Notes -
Riding the Storm Q&A with Torc -
Notes to Strike a Chord: Level 6-10 Gear -
Notes to Strike a Chord: Level 11-15 Gear -
Tactilicious & Craftilicious: Dragon-Re-Born
Confessions of a Geek Mom: The Continued Adventures of the Youngest Halfling Commando
Confessions of a Geek Mom: What a Difference a Year Makes
How to Farm Collectibles

I have to thank you for this DDOCast. Its one of the best ever. Just a great topic.

[Steve_Howe]

Not for everyone it isnt. We just posted a heroic shroud AT LEVEL and it was a ton of fun! Run it on elite with less than pimped out gear and with some new guildies and its actually challenging! TON of fun. We will be posting weekly heroic shrouds again. old raids dead raids... BRING IT!

My wife is one of your newer guildies and was in that Shroud group. She said she had a lot of fun despite Harry, the blades, and the Devils bugging out in part 5 during the first attempt.

[LeslieWest_GuitarGod]

My wife is one of your newer guildies and was in that Shroud group. She said she had a lot of fun despite Harry, the blades, and the Devils bugging out in part 5 during the first attempt.

Ahh no kidding! That's GREAT to hear Steve! I already posted another heroic elite Shroud for next week. Hope she can make it

There is no better fantasy MMO game for casual multiplayer gaming. There can't be

[Livmo]

Fran,

The Jeweled Cloak, whether you like it or not, is indeed a casual player item.

I see all Heroic versions in the Plat AH all the time and I see Epic Normal versions in the Plat AH as well.

The EH and EE versions, however, are almost exclusively in the Shard AH. Regardless, the EN version is perfectly acceptable.

I play on all the servers and oodles of first life toons. Other than projects and my main on Sarlona, I guess all the other would be considered casual.

I tend to start new iconics and one of the first items I get is a Jeweled Cloak. I put a Deathblock augment in the yellow slot and my off or dump stat in the clear slot. Opens up allot of gear options. I wear that L14 Elite cloak to epics when I can equip either the EH or EE version and call it good on cloaks for the toon.

I rarely need more spel absorbtion than that. If I do later in epics, I can swap in an out the trinket from Haunted Halls once my cloak runs out of charges. My trinket slot is a swap slot for me.

This cloak makes it easy to focus on other gear like armor, rings etc. If I don't pull it, there are sometimes allot of them on the AH. It drops in 2 quests in the GH chain. Sometimes I go back and farm Maze of MAdness for it before epics if I didn't pull it and none on the AH.

[FranOhmsford]

I tend to start new iconics and one of the first items I get is a Jeweled Cloak. I put a Deathblock augment in the yellow slot

See, this is exactly what I'm talking about!

DB is a Store Only Augment!

This is NOT the act of a "Casual"!

[FranOhmsford]

The usual

Wow, You really will take ANY opportunity to advertise your Guild won't you?

[Livmo]

See, this is exactly what I'm talking about!

DB is a Store Only Augment!

This is NOT the act of a "Casual"!

You can get them for free in-game, but I don't have time for that, so when I do get from store they are 90 or 95 TPs. You need 4 x 25 Favor emails to get one. Faster IMO than doing the collectables, etc. (getting from store).

If you're brand new to a server and get that nice 1st 50 TPs email, then only 3 favor hits for the augment.

Here is the collectables page if anyone wants it, http://ddowiki.com/page/Augment_Slot...sable_Augments

You can also buy the augment for shards from the collectable vendor if you get free shards from the MM or Daily Dice. I still think its faster just to buy it from the in-game store with TPs from favor.

[Alfhild]

I'm asking you to stop misrepresenting "Casuals"!

I'm asking you to stop misrepresenting the exclamation mark.

[Renvar]

See, this is exactly what I'm talking about!

DB is a Store Only Augment!

This is NOT the act of a "Casual"!

Casual gamer does not mean poor gamer or gamer who doesn't want to spend money.

Casual gamer means a gamer who has limited time to dedicate to a particular character. Either because of time constraints or alt-itis. They may well have and be willing to spend money on the game.

Your vision of casual as a poor, novice, unguilded player who doesn't spend a lot of time in game is a very narrow definition and only one possibility. Again, you are free to define casual however you want and I encourage you to do so and post your recommendations for that segment of player.

But when you object to every suggestion with the same "that's not my definition of casual" it's really not helping any casual players figure out what makes sense for them.

EDIT: On the topic of money being spent, I think you would find that casual gamers do spend money on the game and account for a large amount of expenditures. Who do you think buys more Otto's boxes, for example? People who play the game between 5-15 hours a week or people who play the game 30-60 hours per week? I'd bet it's the former. Let's not assume that "limited play time due to time constraints" means "not emotionally invested enough to spend money". That's simply a false narrative.

Now, that doesn't mean that the only solutions for casual gaming is to buy shortcuts. But that doesn't mean that we should avoid talking about ever spending money.

A great casual gamer XP tactic can be to prep adventure areas to 4990 or 7490 on slayers and run all the quests required for sagas and then drink a short duration XP pot (3 hour variety, which is cheaper) and get 5000 or 7500 kills in a bunch of adventure areas and turn in 5-6 sagas all in 1 hour, getting the XP boost for all of them.

Again, tips for casual gaming means: give me the most return on my investment. Be that time, or money. Show me where the efficiencies are.

[Livmo]

Casual gamer does not mean poor gamer or gamer who doesn't want to spend money.

Casual gamer means a gamer who has limited time to dedicate to a particular character. Either because of time constraints or alt-itis. They may well have and be willing to spend money on the game.

Aside from my main, I wish I had more time on other servers. I do have a spreadsheet of all my main/alts by server and sometimes just cycle thru, but lately have been geeked on my warlocks and clerics. I really need to do my first RR on my main.

I fall under limited time and alt-itis and server itis.

[stoerm]

Just here to say thanks for another excellent podcast.

[LeslieWest_GuitarGod]

Wow, You really will take ANY opportunity to advertise your Guild won't you?

Any? Absolutely not.

But in a thread about a podcast that discusses casual gaming. These are our peoples!

Cheer up Fran.

[LeslieWest_GuitarGod]

See, this is exactly what I'm talking about!

DB is a Store Only Augment!

This is NOT the act of a "Casual"!

That doesn't make any sense. "Casual" players are just as likely to spend in the DDOStore as the "elites" (or "long time players" or "VIP" or well you should get the idea), just for different reasons. These "labels" overlap, more so now then ever before in DDO's history.

I tend to start new iconics and one of the first items I get is a Jeweled Cloak. I put a Deathblock augment in the yellow slot and my off or dump stat in the clear slot. Opens up allot of gear options. I wear that L14 Elite cloak to epics when I can equip either the EH or EE version and call it good on cloaks for the toon.

This cloak makes it easy to focus on other gear like armor, rings etc. If I don't pull it, there are sometimes allot of them on the AH. It drops in 2 quests in the GH chain. Sometimes I go back and farm Maze of MAdness for it before epics if I didn't pull it and none on the AH.

This is a GREAT TIP for a casual gamer or anyone really.

My advice to newer DDO players who consider yourselves casual gamers: Please consider playing DDO and hooking up with a good guild that prides themselves on casual and social gaming. There are many guilds that will gladly add you to their roster.

Casual DDO players are extraordinarily loyal to the game, and can be green or vastly experienced. If you consider yourself as a casual gamer, your DDO landscape and future is brighter now than ever before. The game has many more options to choose, from class/race/quest/gear or difficulty setting. Few games can compare to the sheer vastness of DDO. And the community here is top tier.

[Kylstrem]

It's all well and good saying "Join a Guild" or "Find a better Guild" but that's actually quite a lot harder to do than given credit for - Especially if like me you've levelled your OWN guild past 150 or even to lvl 50 or 75 or 90 or so on!

Fran: Serious question for you. You said you stopped listening to the podcast when you realized it wasn't giving accurate information for casuals.
But look at your quote above. How many casuals are going to have worked long enough to solo level a guild past 150, or even to 50? If someone has run that many quests and figured out how to maximize guild renown, they probably aren't a casual player.

So, are you trying to give advice to casuals or not? It seems on your quote above, your stance would be: Don't try to join an existing guild... you can level your own guild ship to 50 or 150. Oh and after you do, you certainly can't join another guild that has an airship at your level or higher because you will then have lost all that work for your "personal" airship and you can't give up all that work to join a guild that has exactly the same amenities as your own ship

It seems that you consider yourself a "casual" player and then when anyone gives advice for casuals, if that advice doesn't fit your personal definition for "casual" and/or your personal play-style, then you immediately say WRONG! and start talking in absolutes about how ALL casual players are.

[Draculetta]

See, this is exactly what I'm talking about!

DB is a Store Only Augment!

This is NOT the act of a "Casual"!

So now, your saying that a "Casual" player does not use the store?

I am a VERY casual player, if you listen to the podcast you will know this, and I use the store.. Just sayin....

[FranOhmsford]

Fran: Serious question for you. You said you stopped listening to the podcast when you realized it wasn't giving accurate information for casuals.
But look at your quote above. How many casuals are going to have worked long enough to solo level a guild past 150, or even to 50? If someone has run that many quests and figured out how to maximize guild renown, they probably aren't a casual player.

So, are you trying to give advice to casuals or not? It seems on your quote above, your stance would be: Don't try to join an existing guild... you can level your own guild ship to 50 or 150. Oh and after you do, you certainly can't join another guild that has an airship at your level or higher because you will then have lost all that work for your "personal" airship and you can't give up all that work to join a guild that has exactly the same amenities as your own ship

You know it doesn't take till Lvl 150 to feel your efforts would be wasted by joining another Guild.
It doesn't take till Lvl 50 either.
I've felt that way since Lvl 20!

That also goes to another point about "Casuals" that I was making in that Casuals generally don't have one single character - They can go through many before settling on one or like me they can keep most or even all of their alts as more or less equal mains.
As that sort of Casual player you can quite easily get into a Grind mindset about leveling your Guild or in my case about maxing out Slayers early on - I really had a thing about maxing every slayer up to and including Sorrowdusk on every character, every life and I've only recently got past that somewhat.

You know what happened when I got my Guild to Lvl 165 and stopped running Sagas - My Gametime went down by 3/4s easily - It's been 5 months now and my Guild has only hit 166 in the past couple weeks.


You don't stop being a Casual because you've hit some ephemeral number of hours playing the game!


Everything's a "Grind" in DDO - You Grind for XP or you Grind for Loot or you Grind for Renown or you Grind for simply the feeling of achievement i.e. because it's there - why else would people max out Red Fens slayer at 150 mobs a run average and 7,500 max?
The point I've been trying to make really since MotU came out is that the Devs are introducing REQUIRED Grinds one on top of another and leaving new players and casuals and altoholics and many others too so far behind there's just no way to catch up anymore unless that new player is willing to zerg grind xp till their eyes bleed!

[FranOhmsford]

That doesn't make any sense. "Casual" players are just as likely to spend in the DDOStore as the "elites" (or "long time players" or "VIP" or well you should get the idea), just for different reasons. These "labels" overlap, more so now then ever before in DDO's history.

So the very first thing you want a "Casual" or "New" Player to buy on the DDOStore is a DB Augment?

Lord only knows how much total TP {Real Money unless you're willing to grind Favour} is required now just to get all packs, all races, all classes and Shared Bank never mind all the other stuff - No Go ahead and buy that DB Augment!

Oh and I suppose you'll say well VIPs get all that but there's tonnes a VIP doesn't get that he/she is likely to want before spending money or earned TP on a DB Augment {no matter how great Deathblock is it doesn't equal an extra inventory tab or Bank tab or Shared Crafting Bank Upgrade or so much else!}

[LeslieWest_GuitarGod]

So the very first thing you want a "Casual" or "New" Player to buy on the DDOStore is a DB Augment?

Lord only knows how much total TP {Real Money unless you're willing to grind Favour} is required now just to get all packs, all races, all classes and Shared Bank never mind all the other stuff - No Go ahead and buy that DB Augment!

Oh and I suppose you'll say well VIPs get all that but there's tonnes a VIP doesn't get that he/she is likely to want before spending money or earned TP on a DB Augment {no matter how great Deathblock is it doesn't equal an extra inventory tab or Bank tab or Shared Crafting Bank Upgrade or so much else!}

You know Fran, in all the years we've been a guild Ive never ONCE asked a guildie to buy anything from the DDO store. We are like family in Tyrs, yet I have no CLUE what anyone buys because it doesn't matter to us. I just know that many of our casual guildies pay it forward pretty big in the DDO Store.

We STILL offer guild healers free mana pots or heal scrolls when a healer goes over and beyond for the guild. In fact we did that for the heroic run with a newish healer.

We'll get passes for new F2P guildies to try out paid content. Stuff like this matters to new or casual players.

So yeah I dont know what you are worrying about Fran. Your definition of casual seems off. But maybe that's just me.

To me it just sounds like you arent having fun playing anymore and you are trying to justify the time you play by comparing it to everyone else's definition of casual. Doesn't sound like a very valuable or sound strategy. My advice which I'm sure you won't heed is just focus on having fun and play!