Devs, what plans currently exist to grow this game and entice new players?

[Feralthyrtiaq]

Why care about new players when you can forever suck money out of old players by introducing more and more reincarnation systems as players build for an end-game that will never exist?

No "End Game" (ie Reincarnation) is one MAJOR factor that keeps me playing DDO above all others. I never agreed or enjoyed other MMO's ideas of "end-game".

Plus, DDO has the most Vigorous and Fun character movement/control and combat. Plus I can move while casting.

If another MMO delivered ALL of this and MORE DDO would have a run for it's life.

[Severlin]

Our current plan is to finish Ravenloft, market that through social media channels which right now are much more effective for us that other advertising, and drive players to that content. Ravenloft will be level 10 and level 30+ so players at cap have stuff to do. We will have a special "veteran status" option during the launch of Ravenloft that allows players to create level 10 characters and go right there.

We have an adventure pack coming in the summer for players to play; we will be exploring the long term war between Dwarves and Drow and dabbling in the Underdark during this pack. Some of the dungeons look very cool. We are concentrating on dungeons with shorter play times; while Temple of Elemental Evil and the Slaver's series follow the maps and story of those modules, adhering to the source material kept those adventures fairly long so we probably want content that players with shorter play times can play.

One of our goals right now is to concentrate on content that extends the end game. Ravenloft will help, and sentient weapons will offer end game goals that we hope will be really cool. Even with that we are looking at ways to add legendary tokens to end game content and make it more rewarding to run end game Reaper as a way of giving capped characters more goals.

Some current state of the game notes.

~ I disagree that Korthos needs a full revamp; it teaches basic adventurer skills and if it went into character building then it would be too complicated. We have iterated on that content many times, even including outside consultants. The biggest reason for doing a Keep on the Borderlands would be more for existing players restarting characters rather than newer players. If I could change one thing about Korthos it would be to add a hireling and have a short section showing the player how to summon that hireling. I say that mostly because most builds made by anyone with a passing knowledge of how to distribute D&D stats can solo normal with a good hireling. If a player doesn't know to use them they will hit a wall trying to solo content somewhere around level 4-5.

~ It's okay to let players run around with sub-optimal builds. We have revamped the enhancement trees and randomized loot at this point to a degree that most people with a passing knowledge of D&D can stumble onto a build that can solo normal with a healing hireling.

~ We need a revamp of the grouping panel, and a revamp of the Adventurer's Compendium. Maybe even combining the two into something more intuitive. At the very least we need to fix some longstanding problems (particularly having the grouping panel not update to start).

~ We need some system that will lead players to appropriate quests when they log in; a "Quest of the Day" system that suggests appropriate content to the player. If someone comes back to the game there should be a more intuitive way for them to find something to do that remembering how to use the Adventure Compendium and trying to figure our where the location of the quest giver and quest entrance are without trying to piece out the "clues" that panel provide on where to go.

~ We have toyed with ideas for a Travelarium - some magical place that sends players to the location of various questgivers and the entrances of various quests directly, or as directly as we can. There are a lot of complications to it, particularly when many dungeon entrances are inside combat active adventuring landscapes and even dungeons. We've had to scrap two designs for it already. If the Travelarium has different wings or halls for certain level bands then players would naturally see other players there level gathering in that area in groups and new players would have a hub where they can choose content appropriate for their level. That assumes we can come up with a workable design that doesn't completely invalidate a lot of exploratory content.

~ We need a revamp of avatars. The game's use of color and the graphic are dated, but the characters are particularly in need of a refresh. Once we finish up our plans for Ravenloft we will look at some changes. Half Elves need a straight up revamp. Some of the other races need refreshed options or alternate racial choices. We don't want to change out beloved looks of existing characters, so one way we could do it is introducing alternate versions of the races - maybe Forgotten Realms versions of the elves, dwarves, etc. We'd have to solve the problem of how such races would start, though.

Sev~

[Mindos]

One of our goals right now is to concentrate on content that extends the end game. Ravenloft will help, and sentient weapons will offer end game goals that we hope will be really cool. Even with that we are looking at ways to add legendary tokens to end game content and make it more rewarding to run end game Reaper as a way of giving capped characters more goals.

Sev~

So reaper *is* the default expected difficulty for end game players?

[Roland_D'Arabel]

snip

Thanks for taking the time to share this information with us, Severlin.

Perhaps you could also take the time to address the issues many many players are having with expansion pack purchase codes and various other customer service issues that are taking weeks to be dealt with, if at all.

As a subscriber since 2006, this sudden lack of customer service has me feeling extremely concerned about the overall management of this game and I am sure I am not the only one. For myself, I am fortunate to not have had any issues personally, but considering the state of things lately, I could not in good conscience suggest to anyone to give this game a try.

You owe it to your players to break the silence on this issue.

[KoobTheProud]

More Underdark, particularly more Drow cities would be very cool.

Having Netheril completely overtaken by Shadow and enslaved, with the Drow of the Underdark the next targets would make for a great campaign in which players could fight both the Drow and the Shadow forces and maybe even find common cause with the Drow at times now that Lolth has been bested and their deity's protection no longer exists.

[Renvar]

Our current plan is to finish Ravenloft, market that through social media channels which right now are much more effective for us that other advertising, and drive players to that content. Ravenloft will be level 10 and level 30+ so players at cap have stuff to do. We will have a special "veteran status" option during the launch of Ravenloft that allows players to create level 10 characters and go right there.

We have an adventure pack coming in the summer for players to play; we will be exploring the long term war between Dwarves and Drow and dabbling in the Underdark during this pack. Some of the dungeons look very cool. We are concentrating on dungeons with shorter play times; while Temple of Elemental Evil and the Slaver's series follow the maps and story of those modules, adhering to the source material kept those adventures fairly long so we probably want content that players with shorter play times can play.

One of our goals right now is to concentrate on content that extends the end game. Ravenloft will help, and sentient weapons will offer end game goals that we hope will be really cool. Even with that we are looking at ways to add legendary tokens to end game content and make it more rewarding to run end game Reaper as a way of giving capped characters more goals.

Some current state of the game notes.

~ I disagree that Korthos needs a full revamp; it teaches basic adventurer skills and if it went into character building then it would be too complicated. We have iterated on that content many times, even including outside consultants. The biggest reason for doing a Keep on the Borderlands would be more for existing players restarting characters rather than newer players. If I could change one thing about Korthos it would be to add a hireling and have a short section showing the player how to summon that hireling. I say that mostly because most builds made by anyone with a passing knowledge of how to distribute D&D stats can solo normal with a good hireling. If a player doesn't know to use them they will hit a wall trying to solo content somewhere around level 4-5.

~ It's okay to let players run around with sub-optimal builds. We have revamped the enhancement trees and randomized loot at this point to a degree that most people with a passing knowledge of D&D can stumble onto a build that can solo normal with a healing hireling.

~ We need a revamp of the grouping panel, and a revamp of the Adventurer's Compendium. Maybe even combining the two into something more intuitive. At the very least we need to fix some longstanding problems (particularly having the grouping panel not update to start).

~ We need some system that will lead players to appropriate quests when they log in; a "Quest of the Day" system that suggests appropriate content to the player. If someone comes back to the game there should be a more intuitive way for them to find something to do that remembering how to use the Adventure Compendium and trying to figure our where the location of the quest giver and quest entrance are without trying to piece out the "clues" that panel provide on where to go.

~ We have toyed with ideas for a Travelarium - some magical place that sends players to the location of various questgivers and the entrances of various quests directly, or as directly as we can. There are a lot of complications to it, particularly when many dungeon entrances are inside combat active adventuring landscapes and even dungeons. We've had to scrap two designs for it already. If the Travelarium has different wings or halls for certain level bands then players would naturally see other players there level gathering in that area in groups and new players would have a hub where they can choose content appropriate for their level. That assumes we can come up with a workable design that doesn't completely invalidate a lot of exploratory content.

~ We need a revamp of avatars. The game's use of color and the graphic are dated, but the characters are particularly in need of a refresh. Once we finish up our plans for Ravenloft we will look at some changes. Half Elves need a straight up revamp. Some of the other races need refreshed options or alternate racial choices. We don't want to change out beloved looks of existing characters, so one way we could do it is introducing alternate versions of the races - maybe Forgotten Realms versions of the elves, dwarves, etc. We'd have to solve the problem of how such races would start, though.

Sev~

Good stuff. Thanks for weighing in.

I like the idea of revamping the Social panel and Adventure Compendium. I think that could go a long way to helping with the retention. Sure, the Korthos experience and Character Generation screens affect that first 1-20 hours of gameplay. But I think most players get through that. Once they pass about the 3-4 day mark, getting them to 30, 60, or 90 days and beyond requires access to grouping and guilds. That is much more important even than Korthos or character paths. Give them connections to the community and the community will smooth some of those rough edges out anyways.

[zehnvhex]

~ It's okay to let players run around with sub-optimal builds. We have revamped the enhancement trees and randomized loot at this point to a degree that most people with a passing knowledge of D&D can stumble onto a build that can solo normal with a healing hireling.

Just one point of clarification here if you would be so kind.

There's "allowing people to make sub-optimal builds" and then there's "People getting frustrated because the game has become so complex that it becomes a barrier to entry."

I'm not sure who you are addressing with this line item but the long and the short of it, we want a revamped starting experience so that a new player isn't presented with a wall of choices that they have no idea how to handle. Paralysis of choice is a very real thing and honestly I've had so many people give up at character creation it's depressing.

If they could log in, pick ranger and then select 'Acid ranger - 5 stars' from a builds panel and away they go that would be wonderful. The problem is, right now at least, the first thing a lot of new players hear is "Don't use the paths, they are terrible" but then they come to the forums and there is absolutely no structure there to help new players find good newbie builds.

This is a -problem-.

Thanks for your time.

[Greyhawk6]

As a totally shallow graphics nut who will happily play a rubbish game with awesome graphics I heartily cheer this statement:

"~ We need a revamp of avatars. The game's use of color and the graphic are dated, but the characters are particularly in need of a refresh"



To be honest, I'd love to just be able to sheath my weapons like in the character creation screen lol. Beyond that, the animations and body are mostly fine. Its the dead faces that are ugh! Oh and the oddly shaped Purple Dragon Knights with the strangely huge head.

Oh and cloaks!!!!111!111!

[Fnordian]

A lot of good ideas here for new and experienced players alike.

However, finding an unused name is becoming more and more of a bad experience. It's not impossible, but it's certainly a challenge for both new and returning players when even many obscure names are no longer available and it seems to take a minimum of 4 or 5 attempts to find one (sometimes many more). I don't know if anyone new players have actually given up and quit because of it but I know friends I introduce to the game often start to get quite frustrated at that point.

Allowing longer names, extra characters (dashes or spaces in names) or even a random generator to suggest some good (unused) names might help. Or perhaps auto-deleting characters created by free accounts that never logged in?

Are there any plans to address the naming issue?

[KoobTheProud]

I agree that the game is much too complex for a new player building their first character and often for people just interested in casual play. Having to micromanage build points, skills and feats as your opening experience with DDO is a silly barrier to game entry that undoubtedly has driven a lot of people screaming into the parking lot.

Being able to pick just a class and have everything done for you in the opening template and then automatically thereafter would be a much better solution. Think how the Iconics have been optimized for a single build and extend that to each class. Let the player pick just race, class and straight to character graphics, which is something that people will happily customize because it is just cosmetic. Then after they have their feet on the ground after the first life they can check off the option and do what everybody else does, or maybe for the people who just want to play they'll just go with another pure pre-built class to try that out.

[Greyhawk6]

Cannith Crystal needs to go. having a quest like that almost immediately is a real turn-off.

[Wizza]

One of our goals right now is to concentrate on content that extends the end game. Ravenloft will help, and sentient weapons will offer end game goals that we hope will be really cool.

I don't understand how you can keep saying that and then keep Reaper as it is. It doesn't incentivate higher skulls (please don't mention higher drop rates and higher chances of Mythic/Reaper bonus, the "increased" drop rates are a joke), it doesn't incentivate running various content (if someone wanted to play Reaper at endgame to get some rewards, he can choose only between Lv29 and 31 quests, a very small subset of quests).

The last update was obviously not endgame focused, and I doubt the next one will do any better in that regard. You introduced yet another mechanic that rewards Heroic way more than Epics. Rewarding Heroic way more makes people TR, hence end-game scene looks bland, boring and empty. Are you aware that noone runs your newly made Raid because of this?

I proposed some changes back in some thread to make a better endgame:

- Rework the RXP formula to award more in Epics than Heroic. Keep Heroic as is
- Rework the Level Lockout formula and XP for Epics. Keep Heroic as is.
- Rework the drop rates to be significantly better on R8-9-10.
- Rework the drop rates and fix the wrong level of tomes dropping in quests. Add Tomes to the loot table of Reaper 8-9-10 skulls.
- Rework Shroud crafting so it doesn't suck, namely active augments and drop rates of Codex Runes.
- Ask the Item Developer to stop making snarky comments and instead improve items based on feedback. The new Raid isn't being run also because its items are not in the good department.

Even with that we are looking at ways to add legendary tokens to end game content and make it more rewarding to run end game Reaper as a way of giving capped characters more goals.

It was suggested many times, but seeing the Rewards that we have on, I'll hold my judgement until I can look at it.

[Mindos]

To be honest, I'd love to just be able to sheath my weapons like in the character creation screen lol.

Using /sheathe used to work.

[Ahwaric]

First of all, thanks for sharing a lot of great info!

Our current plan is to finish Ravenloft, market that through social media channels which right now are much more effective for us that other advertising, and drive players to that content. Ravenloft will be level 10 and level 30+ so players at cap have stuff to do. We will have a special "veteran status" option during the launch of Ravenloft that allows players to create level 10 characters and go right there.~

I hope that Ravenloft will be a proper expansion pack, with at least a small public area or (preferably and) a wilderness zone. Toee & Slavelords really should have one, with proper quest entrances/separate quest givers. For me they both feel artificially added and out of place (though I quite like ToEE). Thunderpeaks/Orchard are much better because of the different approach.

~ We need a revamp of avatars. The game's use of color and the graphic are dated, but the characters are particularly in need of a refresh. Once we finish up our plans for Ravenloft we will look at some changes. Half Elves need a straight up revamp. Some of the other races need refreshed options or alternate racial choices. We don't want to change out beloved looks of existing characters, so one way we could do it is introducing alternate versions of the races - maybe Forgotten Realms versions of the elves, dwarves, etc. We'd have to solve the problem of how such races would start, though.

Sev~

PDK? Pretty please? I really want to play one, a few times created a test one, took a short run, then decided to play something less ape-like. The short legs and big feet are the killer part, though it needs general change.
In general, how does the character look like while running is a big test - and PDK looks terrible.

[levy1964]

Our current plan is to finish Ravenloft, market that through social media channels which right now are much more effective for us that other advertising, and drive players to that content. Ravenloft will be level 10 and level 30+ so players at cap have stuff to do. We will have a special "veteran status" option during the launch of Ravenloft that allows players to create level 10 characters and go right there.

We have an adventure pack coming in the summer for players to play; we will be exploring the long term war between Dwarves and Drow and dabbling in the Underdark during this pack. Some of the dungeons look very cool. We are concentrating on dungeons with shorter play times; while Temple of Elemental Evil and the Slaver's series follow the maps and story of those modules, adhering to the source material kept those adventures fairly long so we probably want content that players with shorter play times can play.

One of our goals right now is to concentrate on content that extends the end game. Ravenloft will help, and sentient weapons will offer end game goals that we hope will be really cool. Even with that we are looking at ways to add legendary tokens to end game content and make it more rewarding to run end game Reaper as a way of giving capped characters more goals.

Some current state of the game notes.

~ I disagree that Korthos needs a full revamp; it teaches basic adventurer skills and if it went into character building then it would be too complicated. We have iterated on that content many times, even including outside consultants. The biggest reason for doing a Keep on the Borderlands would be more for existing players restarting characters rather than newer players. If I could change one thing about Korthos it would be to add a hireling and have a short section showing the player how to summon that hireling. I say that mostly because most builds made by anyone with a passing knowledge of how to distribute D&D stats can solo normal with a good hireling. If a player doesn't know to use them they will hit a wall trying to solo content somewhere around level 4-5.

~ It's okay to let players run around with sub-optimal builds. We have revamped the enhancement trees and randomized loot at this point to a degree that most people with a passing knowledge of D&D can stumble onto a build that can solo normal with a healing hireling.

~ We need a revamp of the grouping panel, and a revamp of the Adventurer's Compendium. Maybe even combining the two into something more intuitive. At the very least we need to fix some longstanding problems (particularly having the grouping panel not update to start).

~ We need some system that will lead players to appropriate quests when they log in; a "Quest of the Day" system that suggests appropriate content to the player. If someone comes back to the game there should be a more intuitive way for them to find something to do that remembering how to use the Adventure Compendium and trying to figure our where the location of the quest giver and quest entrance are without trying to piece out the "clues" that panel provide on where to go.

~ We have toyed with ideas for a Travelarium - some magical place that sends players to the location of various questgivers and the entrances of various quests directly, or as directly as we can. There are a lot of complications to it, particularly when many dungeon entrances are inside combat active adventuring landscapes and even dungeons. We've had to scrap two designs for it already. If the Travelarium has different wings or halls for certain level bands then players would naturally see other players there level gathering in that area in groups and new players would have a hub where they can choose content appropriate for their level. That assumes we can come up with a workable design that doesn't completely invalidate a lot of exploratory content.

~ We need a revamp of avatars. The game's use of color and the graphic are dated, but the characters are particularly in need of a refresh. Once we finish up our plans for Ravenloft we will look at some changes. Half Elves need a straight up revamp. Some of the other races need refreshed options or alternate racial choices. We don't want to change out beloved looks of existing characters, so one way we could do it is introducing alternate versions of the races - maybe Forgotten Realms versions of the elves, dwarves, etc. We'd have to solve the problem of how such races would start, though.

Sev~

don't forget remove lockout...

[lunah69]

What i would do is "fix" Customers Service first. People are about to walk away from the game because of the lack of communication. Some people have said CS is a myth, that it doesn't excist.

I've bought MotU 16 days ago and got a code that doesn't work, there are several of us, check the customer service part of the forums. Several emails, tickets, PMs to head of CS have lead to nothing. Money gets taken and the product bought isn't working. For me a good customer service is as important as game content. I have been waiting for 16 days now and no-one has bothered to reply, and i am not the only one :/ I am starting to lose the joy in playing, because of the louzy customers service. This needs to be fixed too. Not just add content, content which i am not able to use because i have payed for an invalid code. The lack of any reply is frustrating....

[JOTMON]

Our current plan is to finish Ravenloft, market that through social media channels which right now are much more effective for us that other advertising, and drive players to that content. Ravenloft will be level 10 and level 30+ so players at cap have stuff to do. We will have a special "veteran status" option during the launch of Ravenloft that allows players to create level 10 characters and go right there.

New content is eagerly anticipated.
..heres to hoping the loot doesn't disappoint.

We have an adventure pack coming in the summer for players to play; we will be exploring the long term war between Dwarves and Drow and dabbling in the Underdark during this pack. Some of the dungeons look very cool. We are concentrating on dungeons with shorter play times; while Temple of Elemental Evil and the Slaver's series follow the maps and story of those modules, adhering to the source material kept those adventures fairly long so we probably want content that players with shorter play times can play.

Would love to see more underdark content..
we have such a barren underdark zone in FR.

One of our goals right now is to concentrate on content that extends the end game. Ravenloft will help, and sentient weapons will offer end game goals that we hope will be really cool. Even with that we are looking at ways to add legendary tokens to end game content and make it more rewarding to run end game Reaper as a way of giving capped characters more goals.

We are also hoping the sentient stuff is cool..

End game content Reaper definitely needs some love..
the current loss of bonuses beyond the first time makes endgame Reaper XP sucky in comparison to TR lives.. and we can only TR so many times before we cap all that TR's have to give..
Heres to hoping Endgame Reaper is ready when we get back there..

~ I disagree that Korthos needs a full revamp; it teaches basic adventurer skills and if it went into character building then it would be too complicated. We have iterated on that content many times, even including outside consultants. The biggest reason for doing a Keep on the Borderlands would be more for existing players restarting characters rather than newer players. If I could change one thing about Korthos it would be to add a hireling and have a short section showing the player how to summon that hireling. I say that mostly because most builds made by anyone with a passing knowledge of how to distribute D&D stats can solo normal with a good hireling. If a player doesn't know to use them they will hit a wall trying to solo content somewhere around level 4-5.

Korthos isn't bad, but fairly limited for new players.
a pre-Korthos zone like a Dojo type area where people can play and test is desirable..

~ It's okay to let players run around with sub-optimal builds. We have revamped the enhancement trees and randomized loot at this point to a degree that most people with a passing knowledge of D&D can stumble onto a build that can solo normal with a healing hireling.

Every build should have something positive and unique to offer strength to the group..
Group dynamics to encourage the diversified party has been deteriorating over time to the cutaway solo players grouping together instead of the strongest party being the most diversified.
A revisit to support toons and what they can offer to better the group is needed.. otherwise the chosen few builds will dominate.
Every class should have solid strengths and glaring weaknesses. that when consolidated in a diversified party makes the group the best it can be.

~ We need a revamp of the grouping panel, and a revamp of the Adventurer's Compendium. Maybe even combining the two into something more intuitive. At the very least we need to fix some longstanding problems (particularly having the grouping panel not update to start).

~ We need some system that will lead players to appropriate quests when they log in; a "Quest of the Day" system that suggests appropriate content to the player. If someone comes back to the game there should be a more intuitive way for them to find something to do that remembering how to use the Adventure Compendium and trying to figure our where the location of the quest giver and quest entrance are without trying to piece out the "clues" that panel provide on where to go.

Message boards that point players to quest givers grouped by level ranges...

better descriptions for the quests.. like where the quest giver is and where the quest is when you haven't picked it up yet..
finding some of this s tuff is a Pita especially if you are in a different house or other zone...

NPC's in various area's that can point you in the right direction or take you there directly.. for a price...
I would even be happy to have a LFM leader have the port to me option..
or even a party member port to quest giver of active LFM...

~ We have toyed with ideas for a Travelarium - some magical place that sends players to the location of various questgivers and the entrances of various quests directly, or as directly as we can. There are a lot of complications to it, particularly when many dungeon entrances are inside combat active adventuring landscapes and even dungeons. We've had to scrap two designs for it already. If the Travelarium has different wings or halls for certain level bands then players would naturally see other players there level gathering in that area in groups and new players would have a hub where they can choose content appropriate for their level. That assumes we can come up with a workable design that doesn't completely invalidate a lot of exploratory content.

a Travelarium.. sure.. a place where people can go to find tasks that need to be accomplished, collect information to seek out NPC's who are willing to reward some adventurers..
add some things that allow adventurers with better house favor or deeper pockets to be transported closer and quicker than those that haven't proven themselves..

you would expect there would be houses involved in the barter of information and fast travel...
http://ddowiki.com/page/Dragonmarked_Houses
Rumor houses, message boards, level appropriate gathering area's...

~ We need a revamp of avatars. The game's use of color and the graphic are dated, but the characters are particularly in need of a refresh. Once we finish up our plans for Ravenloft we will look at some changes. Half Elves need a straight up revamp. Some of the other races need refreshed options or alternate racial choices. We don't want to change out beloved looks of existing characters, so one way we could do it is introducing alternate versions of the races - maybe Forgotten Realms versions of the elves, dwarves, etc. We'd have to solve the problem of how such races would start, though.

FR could use a viable stepping off place for FR origin races..
Perhaps a FR starter zone that Lloth broke away from FR and is trapped in the rift'', local planescallers were able to create unstable rifts that sends the new FR adventurers to begin in Eberron..

[goldgolem]

Advertising is easy, quick and measurable. Honestly, a complete idiot could do facebook advertising

Just put $50 a day into facebook ads targeted at other mmos and D&D fans. Job done

[Loromir]

More Underdark, particularly more Drow cities would be very cool.

Having Netheril completely overtaken by Shadow and enslaved, with the Drow of the Underdark the next targets would make for a great campaign in which players could fight both the Drow and the Shadow forces and maybe even find common cause with the Drow at times now that Lolth has been bested and their deity's protection no longer exists.

I would love to see them add a couple of new dungeons with entrances in the current Underdark Wilderness area. It is a fantastic space that is very much under utilized.

[RoberttheBard]

I think the last advertisement for DDO I remember seeing was when it first went F2P which was when I initially started playing. Though this was for such a short time as spent about 3hrs downloading the client and the updates. Ran through some of korthos then stopped playing for a year before seeing some youtube content.

It's been on the banner on my Steam store page every day for the last week, off the top of my head.