Buy expansion packs / adventure packs.

[Krasuss]

The descriptions in this game are bloody awful and I have no idea what I will be getting if I buy something.

I want to increase the amount of places I can go. The options I see are pay cash for expansions and buy adventure packs for ddo but are these the same thing or different things?

I saw a table that gave the various price for ultimate, collectors, standard and ddo which suggested you get all the map content but you dont get any extra like character slot or mounts if you go with DDO instead of cash. Which would also make DDO more expensive by comparison. Example, a £29.99 bundle would cost £32.50 with DDO. IF you wanted all that content, but you would only pay £19 for the maps/quests so better if you dont want/need the extras.

I just dont want to buy and find out its not what I was expecting. The store descriptions dont tell me a **** thing.

[p0w3rpl4y3r]

The descriptions in this game are bloody awful and I have no idea what I will be getting if I buy something.

I want to increase the amount of places I can go. The options I see are pay cash for expansions and buy adventure packs for ddo but are these the same thing or different things?

I saw a table that gave the various price for ultimate, collectors, standard and ddo which suggested you get all the map content but you dont get any extra like character slot or mounts if you go with DDO instead of cash. Which would also make DDO more expensive by comparison. Example, a £29.99 bundle would cost £32.50 with DDO. IF you wanted all that content, but you would only pay £19 for the maps/quests so better if you dont want/need the extras.

I just dont want to buy and find out its not what I was expecting. The store descriptions dont tell me a **** thing.

Correct. Buying just the adventure packs gives you the maps so you can play those areas. Buying the Expansions gives you bonus things along with the maps. The only area that I am aware of that you have to buy the expansion to play is Isle of Dread. As you said, better if you just want to play the areas and don't want/need the extras.

[Nebless]

There are 2 places you can buy content from:

- The in game store (DDO Store) via store points that you either earn or purchase
- The DDO Marketplace online with cash

All the Adventure Packs are found in the in game store, as are older expansions (all expansions eventually rotate to the in game store after being only available via the DDO Marketplace for X amount of time).

Adventure packs are a set of bundled dungeons that share a theme like 3 barrel cove. An expansion covers more area (like a place or part of a city) with the associated dungeons like Ravenloft - big map with a wilderness area and the various dungeon quests there.

None of the Adventure packs come with any extra's and if you buy an expansion via the in game store it doesn't come with any extra's either (you're getting just the base model - map and quests).

For those that want extra's like mounts, character slots, cosmetics etc..... you need to buy via the DDO Marketplace (online) one of the expansion packages they offer.

There's a few threads on buying adventure packs and expansions floating around: here's an older one: https://forums.ddo.com/forums/showthread.php/424669

[p0w3rpl4y3r]

... An expansion covers more area (like a place or part of a city) with the associated dungeons like Ravenloft - big map with a wilderness area and the various dungeon quests there. ...

Nebless is correct except for this small part. Expansions cover more things, not more area.

For example, take Masterminds of Sharn. With the Standard Edition Expansion you get:

9 new Dungeon Quests, New Raids, New Wilderness Area with mini-dungeons, New Public Areas, New Saga
Tiefling Race
20 Astral Shards
One Major Guild Renown Elixir

If you instead opt for the Adventure Pack you get only the 9 new Dungeon Quests, New Raids, New Wilderness Area with mini-dungeons, New Public Areas, New Saga.

If you don't care about the Tiefling, shards and elixir and just want access to the area and its dungeons then yes the adventure pack would save some money. If you later decide you want to try the Tiefling and you are patient you could eventually buy it with the free points you accumulate OR there are also accessory packs or something like that you can buy that give you just the extras from the expansion or something. I have never paid much attention to those so I don't really know what they are.

[Hanul]

Just remember you can read more details about them here.

https://ddowiki.com/page/Adventure_Packs
https://ddowiki.com/page/Category:Expansion_Packs

[KoobTheProud]

This is a rough list of must-have content by level. Buying these items, some of them quest packs and others expansions, will give you the most bang for your buck. Most quest packs are free for VIP's. If not I have put an asterisk to indicate they need to be purchased.

1 - Keep on the Borderlands (995DP). Offers mounts, newbie weapons, wilderness rares and slayers and 8 low-level quests that offer newbie loot staples.

4 - The Sharn Syndicate (350DP). Offers Coinlord favor early which is good for unlocking the 2nd extra inventory slot. Also offers newbie weapons that are a step up from the KotB staples.

5- Three-Barrel Cove (695DP). The best low level XP chain in the game. Offers wilderness rares and slayers and 9 low level quests. Offers Free Agent favor which is helpful in unlocking superior thieves tools early on.

7 - Sentinels of Stormreach (450DP). Combines with Three-Barrel Cove to make the Pirates of the Thunder Seas Saga. Offers 5 low level quests and a good end reward. Offers House Deneith favor which allows you to buy improved quivers and ammo.

7 (5) - Delera's Tomb (850DP). Offers an end reward trinket that gives +5% XP when worn. Only the first quest is level 5 and you will run most of the rest of the chain at 7+.

8 - Vault of Night (750DP). Second best XP chain at low levels. Offers House Kundarak favor, which is useful in unlocking the 2nd personal bank slot. Offers a raid that is frequently available in LFG - make sure you let the leader know that you have not run it before. The raid loot can be extraordinary.

10 - Demon Sands (950DP). Offers wilderness rares and slayers. Some of the rare chest items are very good after recent revamp. Offers 10 quests and a raid.

10 - Mists of Ravenloft (X-pac/2,495DP). Offers a very good weapon after 1st quest. Offers wilderness rares and slayers. Offers 12 quests and 2 raids. IMO this is a must-have item as the quests are some of the best SSG has released. Note that there are significant optional items to be gained by buying one of the x-pac versions in the DDO Marketplace that are unavailable if you purchase for DP in the store.

13 - Ruins of Gianthold (950DP). Offers 11 quests and a raid.

This list of content alongside the free content should get you comfortably to 16 and well outfitted in the process. If you have the means and plan to play a lot I strongly recommend going VIP for at least a month before you purchase anything else because this will let you preview content for later purchase. Note that VIP's cannot buy packs that are free to VIP's. They don't list in the store so you will have to wait until VIP lapses to buy those packs if that is the path you choose.

[C-Dog]

Once upon a time, deciding to buy which quest pack with your DDO Points was real thing, and waiting/hoping to see which would go On Sale was a bigger thing. Back then, I tried to collate descriptions/reviews of the packs (that were available then) - link to a new (post-covid) thread in my sig, orig thread (w/ reviews) below.

o https://forums.ddo.com/forums/showth...=1#post6110561 (links to reviews @ bottom of 1st post)

Note that the newer packs won't be there (~3 years now), but it might help.

Also, you might want to take the time to read "How to choose an Adventure Pack", link in sig. If you're going to spend your hard-earned DP, might as well get the most out of them.

[Dmitrythewizzy]

This is a rough list of must-have content by level. Buying these items, some of them quest packs and others expansions, will give you the most bang for your buck. Most quest packs are free for VIP's. If not I have put an asterisk to indicate they need to be purchased.

1 - Keep on the Borderlands (995DP). Offers mounts, newbie weapons, wilderness rares and slayers and 8 low-level quests that offer newbie loot staples.

4 - The Sharn Syndicate (350DP). Offers Coinlord favor early which is good for unlocking the 2nd extra inventory slot. Also offers newbie weapons that are a step up from the KotB staples.

5- Three-Barrel Cove (695DP). The best low level XP chain in the game. Offers wilderness rares and slayers and 9 low level quests. Offers Free Agent favor which is helpful in unlocking superior thieves tools early on.

7 - Sentinels of Stormreach (450DP). Combines with Three-Barrel Cove to make the Pirates of the Thunder Seas Saga. Offers 5 low level quests and a good end reward. Offers House Deneith favor which allows you to buy improved quivers and ammo.

7 (5) - Delera's Tomb (850DP). Offers an end reward trinket that gives +5% XP when worn. Only the first quest is level 5 and you will run most of the rest of the chain at 7+.

8 - Vault of Night (750DP). Second best XP chain at low levels. Offers House Kundarak favor, which is useful in unlocking the 2nd personal bank slot. Offers a raid that is frequently available in LFG - make sure you let the leader know that you have not run it before. The raid loot can be extraordinary.

10 - Demon Sands (950DP). Offers wilderness rares and slayers. Some of the rare chest items are very good after recent revamp. Offers 10 quests and a raid.

10 - Mists of Ravenloft (X-pac/2,495DP). Offers a very good weapon after 1st quest. Offers wilderness rares and slayers. Offers 12 quests and 2 raids. IMO this is a must-have item as the quests are some of the best SSG has released. Note that there are significant optional items to be gained by buying one of the x-pac versions in the DDO Marketplace that are unavailable if you purchase for DP in the store.

13 - Ruins of Gianthold (950DP). Offers 11 quests and a raid.

This list of content alongside the free content should get you comfortably to 16 and well outfitted in the process. If you have the means and plan to play a lot I strongly recommend going VIP for at least a month before you purchase anything else because this will let you preview content for later purchase. Note that VIP's cannot buy packs that are free to VIP's. They don't list in the store so you will have to wait until VIP lapses to buy those packs if that is the path you choose.

This is a really good list. Thank you for tanking the time to type it out.

[jfgddo]

The descriptions in this game are bloody awful and I have no idea what I will be getting if I buy something.

I want to increase the amount of places I can go. The options I see are pay cash for expansions and buy adventure packs for ddo but are these the same thing or different things?

I saw a table that gave the various price for ultimate, collectors, standard and ddo which suggested you get all the map content but you dont get any extra like character slot or mounts if you go with DDO instead of cash. Which would also make DDO more expensive by comparison. Example, a £29.99 bundle would cost £32.50 with DDO. IF you wanted all that content, but you would only pay £19 for the maps/quests so better if you dont want/need the extras.

I just dont want to buy and find out its not what I was expecting. The store descriptions dont tell me a **** thing.

If you are patient, SSG/DDO have given out a huge amount of adventure packs recently (Covid), for free, which would greatly increase the amount of places to go to quest.
Not sure if and or when (most likely later this year?) they might re-release it out again, but it is a free alternative (they gave out a code like DDOQUESTS2022 or something like that for a ton of older but still good adventure packs...LOTS }, if your patient and wait for it!

Hope that helps out a little and also good luck!

[archest]

VIP gets access to all adventure packs, VIP does NOT give you access to the expansion packs: MotU, Shadowfell, Ravenloft, and sharn
this is dated information not sure if any of these are included with a vip subscription but most of the other content is so i would if i were you join as vip and purchase what expansion packs you need and be done with it.

[Avatarded]

VIP gets access to all adventure packs, VIP does NOT give you access to the expansion packs: MotU, Shadowfell, Ravenloft, and sharn
this is dated information not sure if any of these are included with a vip subscription but most of the other content is so i would if i were you join as vip and purchase what expansion packs you need and be done with it.

There is a complete list of what VIP gives on the wiki:
https://ddowiki.com/page/VIP

In addition to giving access to all non-expansion pack Adventure Packs, it also gives you the ability to open any quest you can do on any difficulty without having to do them first. This is a feature normally reserved for characters that have TR'd 3 times. Also, and of lesser importance, it gives access to the account bank, and all Monster Manuals while subscribing.

While it does cost $15 USD a month it does come with a ~$5 in-store credit (500 points) every month.

As for what expansion packs are worth buying? Well, the easiest way to know is to pay attention to what public groups are running while having groups you're not eligible for also shown.

[Krasuss]

VIP gets access to all adventure packs, VIP does NOT give you access to the expansion packs: MotU, Shadowfell, Ravenloft, and sharn
this is dated information not sure if any of these are included with a vip subscription but most of the other content is so i would if i were you join as vip and purchase what expansion packs you need and be done with it.

I have VIP but I dont have access to all the adventure packs. Saltmarsh for example.

[cru121]

I have VIP but I dont have access to all the adventure packs. Saltmarsh for example.

Because Saltmarsh is an expansion pack.

[archest]

I have VIP but I dont have access to all the adventure packs. Saltmarsh for example.

saltmarsh is another expansion pack I think it was described as one .
I'm premium
I purchased MotU, Shadowfell, Ravenloft, sharn and Fey throughout the years of playing.
got the free coupon which negated the need to purchase a few packs which I hadn't already purchased before its release.

I dont have saltmarsh or hunt
nor isle of the dread.

MotU, Shadowfell, Ravenloft, sharn ,Fey, and saltmarch
these are the packs you should be looking at adding to VIP if needed.
if you choose VIP. see cru121 post above.

DDO Expansion Trove! and sharn would be a good starting point with VIP access.

I would go without collectors additions but that's me. just the basics to give access to the quests.
you can get a horse from keep and such and hires are freely available at venders and tag alongs are rewards from the monster manual.

[Krasuss]

Im pretty sure you can only buy expansion packs with money. Where as saltmarsh is under the adventurers pack section of the store.

[cru121]

Im pretty sure you can only buy expansion packs with money.

No. Initially, expansion content is cash only; after ~6 months the stuff is made available in the DDO Store.

[KoobTheProud]

No. Initially, expansion content is cash only; after ~6 months the stuff is made available in the DDO Store.

Again, the difference between x-pac for cash and buying in the store for DP usually involves one or more x-pac incentives that will not be acquired by a DP purchase.

Typically this involves permanent gold-seal hirelings and more. The gold seal hirelings cannot be acquired by any other method to date.

[Katalissa]

I want to increase the amount of places I can go. The options I see are pay cash for expansions and buy adventure packs for ddo but are these the same thing or different things?

All adventure packs basically give you access to a new set of quests, and sometimes a new wilderness area (or public area) as well. They can all be bought for DDO points in the in-game store.

The Expansion Packs are from the "Shop" section of ddo.com - they are basically larger adventure packs with more quests, better loot, often new races and universal trees, a saga and a raid or two. That said, a couple of adventure packs are close to expansion level content-wise and do also include raids - these include Demon Sands, Gianthold and Vale of Twilight.

The more expensive "collector/ultimate" bundles are basically a bunch of extremely over-priced extras in my opinion. If there is something you know you really want in them, fine, but you are not losing out on any extra content or gameplay. Most expansions have included universal enhancement trees that come with a collector's edition, but these trees are all unlockable, usually after completing all/most of the expansion on elite. Standard editions often do include a race or something else. If the expansion is available from the in-game DDO store for points, it will not include any of this - you only get the actual quests.

The list Koob gave is pretty good IMO. I might move Demon Sands higher up the list because of the recent loot revamp. Vault of Night too is a classic that still gets run a lot. Ravenloft can now only be purchased for DDO points or as part of the "Expansion Trove". To be honest, if I had to choose between Ravenloft and Sharn, I would be mighty tempted to go Sharn instead... (Well it does have 2 sagas, a pretty interesting story, and a Sharn gearset will serve you well right up into epic levels.)

[archest]

Again, the difference between x-pac for cash and buying in the store for DP usually involves one or more x-pac incentives that will not be acquired by a DP purchase.

Typically this involves permanent gold-seal hirelings and more. The gold seal hirelings cannot be acquired by any other method to date.

just a not since its the subject.
I did get a free permanent rogue level 8 hire warforged shadow when I first started playing some ... years ago.
I had purchased it with game points but it disappeared .. which they should do, which at the time I did not understand.
complained and received it as a gift.
it currently is BTC on my crafter which doesn't play in quests because all my crafting xp is with that character.

however when I did play him it was good till level 14 or so kinds of like the scarecrow from raven loft.
I felt special to have received such a wonderful gift and do appreciate it yet dont use it till i can draw the toon away from crafting for another life.....

[PsychoBlonde]

The only area that I am aware of that you have to buy the expansion to play is Isle of Dread. As you said, better if you just want to play the areas and don't want/need the extras.

It'll probably be available for points in approx. 6 months.