DDO or Neverwinter

[Chai]

The audience overlap for these 2 games will be a small percentage at best. Sure alot of people who favor DDO may try it out, but they will continue playing DDO. Those drawn to NWO will be those who favor forced cooperation, the foundry, and traditional MMOs. The people who stay here will be the build enthusiasts, and FPS players. NWO has less in common with DDO than LOTRO does. If they werent using the name D&D to market it, most of the debate wouldnt even exist.

[~whom-head]

Thanks for those writing up your experiences. Sounds like NWO might not be worth checking out with my limited play time.

[Arnez]

I agree with "Why not both?"

Given how OFTEN there is "maintenance" in DDO- it should offer HOURS of play time in NWO. Just sayin.


-- I think I've invested too much into DDO to give up on it and move on- but the "maintenance" IS getting to be a drag (both in Guild Decay and quantity of downtimes)- I've managed to cap characters in Champions Online, DCUO, and I suspect I'll do the same with NWO with the sheer amount of downtime DDO has had lately.

[~hallenbeck]

I agree with "Why not both?"

Given how OFTEN there is "maintenance" in DDO- it should offer HOURS of play time in NWO. Just sayin.


-- I think I've invested too much into DDO to give up on it and move on- but the "maintenance" IS getting to be a drag (both in Guild Decay and quantity of downtimes)- I've managed to cap characters in Champions Online, DCUO, and I suspect I'll do the same with NWO with the sheer amount of downtime DDO has had lately.

hahaha truest quote of the day.

[~MagisterSvid]

At the moment the biggest flaw I see with Neverwinter--and I'm not claiming the game is flawless by any means--is the lack of a regular in-game currency auction house. They have an auction house for astral diamonds (and unlike DDO there are ways to make the stuff in-game rather than having to only buy points) but there's none for gold. And early in the game gold is very hard to come by. In fact up until level 16 I had to spend much of the silver I had paying for enough healing potions to keep me alive. Up to level 20 I only managed to make a total of one gold piece after all of the surplus drops my character came across. My whole argument to the possible superiority of Neverwinter over DDO is that the "free player" has much more access to the game, is given much more, but also that they manage to bring in much more revenue for the game company in doing so. Cryptic's weekly updates to me suggests a gaming company with revenue to spend on development. I may get irritated from time to time when I see their aggressive marketing but when I do spend money in their cash shop I think I get more bang for the buck in theirs than in Turbine's. I spent ten bucks yesterday for 4 character slots which cost me 1000 points (I didn't read the fine print--I thought I was only buying two slots). Anyway, that's 100 points per dollar, which beats Turbine's scheme even when their points are on sale and the best thing is I never have to buy content like I do with DDO. I'm not suggesting I'm going to abandon DDO by any means but I would like the new competition make them re-think some of their gaming policies and ultimately make the game stronger.

[SirShen]

For me its both i like DDO and i like Neverwinter foundry. I just wish i could make a foundry quest but it too over my head to try and do it without seeing what i need todo.

[Synther]

Having played Neverwinter up through level 13, all I can say is that Cryptic/Perfect World has made a game that only pays lip service to Dungeons & Dragons. The lore of the world is correct but that's really about it. People that complained that DDO deviated too much from the 3.5 rules should see what NWO has done with the 4th Edition rules. It's a complete bastardization designed for the average simpleton. There is next to no real character customization aside from the eye candy of the toon. Instead, you're pigeon holed into playing a particular class and only offered limited choices for advancement beyond that.

Leveling is a complete joke and does not capture the pacing of an actual Dungeons & Dragons game in any sense of the word. Turbine at least had the foresight to use the Action Point system from the original Eberron campaign books to give the online players a bit of a feeling for accomplishment for mini-dings on their way to the next level, but overall DDO feels like a pen-n-paper game that it was based on. NWO on the other hand feels like you're playing Gauntlet. In just under an hour I easily hit level 10 and was never in any danger of dying. At one point, my cat knocked over the trash can in our bathroom. I got up, removed said cat, cleaned up the trash, took it out to the dumpster, put in a fresh bag, and came back. While I had been away, mobs had respawned and had been beating on my Halfling Trickster Rogue for nearly six minutes without actually killing me. My HP was low, but no where near death. I then promptly dispatched three assailants in under five attacks.

NWO is not Dungeons & Dragons. But it does play like Diablo III. And I'm sure it will do fairly well for the average gamer out there that is too dim to grasp the idea that this is not what the game was supposed to be like and only wants instant gratification. NWO is made for the fanboi that wants to tell everyone that they play a Dungeons & Dragons game while not having to do any work to figure out how to actually play the game and will only feel a sense of accomplishment if they're able to tell people they have a level 60 character (which would never happen in a real D&D game...ever).

The graphics are pretty for the most part. I have a bit of an issue with the eyes on some of the elves and a huge issue with the size of characters hands. I don't remember reading anywhere that a halfling's hands are nearly as long as their entire forearm. It makes them look ridiculous.

NWO is fun for casual play but if you are looking for a more realistic Dungeons & Dragons experience, DDO is definitely the game to play.

[voodoogroves]

NWO has less in common with DDO than LOTRO does. If they werent using the name D&D to market it, most of the debate wouldnt even exist.

Amen

[thenerfed]

If they werent using the name D&D to market it, most of the debate wouldnt even exist.

This can not be overstated. While there is a certain "dodge mechanic" to give combat slightly more engaging than WoW, there really isn't anything from DDO here (except for the beach; that appears to be a homage considering they didn't touch anything else).

D) Oh yeah. If you don't like the sparklies in NW, turn em off. Problem solved.

Only if there is a helpful wiki with a map. Otherwise you can be endlessly wandering the landscape (I assume it is safe to turn off in a dungeon).

Notes from a basic review:
Started with a greatsword fighter. Dull.
Tried a cleric. For those insisting NWO & 4e are "Dungeons and Dragons", you better find Celimas's (yes, named after her) mace. I can't find it. Basically a weak DPS caster, healing (even self) isn't worth bothering with. Oddly enough, healing companions appear to work fine. I can't imagine bringing one of these in a group and explaining to *everybody* that you don't heal.
Tried a rogue. One little hobbity ball of fury, rogues are generally admitted OP on NVO forums. Recommended if you like that sort of thing.

Other issues? I seem to be rocketing through the levels without stopping. I'm guessing a level every 15 minutes? No idea how this is supposed to be a long term game. Haven't tried the homebrew foundry quests, they will certainly make or break this game. I haven't seen a way (or tried) to repeat a succeeded quest: one less way to force grinding on you (at least until cap). I also hit level 20 (i.e. barely started) and have only seen two "group recommended" quests. I also seem to have run out of quests, but it shouldn't take too long to find more (good time for a foundry quest).

The graphics look great: I think the [static] artists did a great job. The graphics engine also seems to do its job well. Animations aren't really sufficient, I'm guessing they cut corners there. Whats really wrong are the graphics overlays: they spew red lines everywhere there is a "threat" (not always, Ogre clubs are telegraphed well enough they don't bother with red areas). The whole thing looks like an arcade [console for you young'ins] fighting game, not a RPG. As far as combat goes, it is mostly a WoW style "babysit your timeouts" (while mashing the mouse key) and hitting "dodge" when red pops up underneath out (easier said than done on some classes/attacks when attacking roots you. Either rogues are much better at it or I didn't get the hang of it till starting my rogue). Don't try to compare NWO combat to DDO, compare it to WoW or LOTRO.

Overall:
DDO: DDO grabbed me and all I wanted to do was run back to Korthos. It took years before burned out and realized I really didn't want to run another quest.
WoW: You can download the client and play for free up to level 20. I got to level 10 and couldn't be bothered to do a full trial.
LOTRO: Tried (and quickly got tired) of hobbit burglars when it went f2p. After getting tired of DDO I tried it again and it grabbed me for a few months, but nothing like DDO.
NWO: meh. Maybe it is 4e's powers (your mouse button mashing is using your at-will "I swing my sword power") not resembling anything out of Dungeons and Dragons (I still need to choose feats. It looks like respecing is a moneygrab, so I have been avoiding it). Maybe it is the goofy graphics (while not as cartoony as WOW, the HUD overlays on the otherwise realistic graphics make things that much worse). Whatever it is makes this game just not grab me at all.