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Hot Dragons & Dirty Dungeons for free
- Thread starter Kane
- Start date
I don't know if anyone else here is still playing this, but I am.
I hit level 16 with my fighter recently. I started to think that I was getting close to completion, but the game really is now just picking up speed. There is a shit ton of stuff to learn! If you really want to excel at your class, there is so much work and preparation (read: grinding, but meh, not really) to be done, even for a simple straightforward class like fighter.
For example, there's the whole Greensteel thing. For those unfamiliar, starting at about the 16th/17th level range, you gain access to an area called the Vale of Twilight, in which you begin farming ingredients to craft high-end weapons and other items that are known as Greensteel. I've haven't yet begun this process, as I really am still learning the game even after six months of playing it, but if you read anything about these items you begin to realize the complex process of creating them, upgrading them, and adding more of them to your inventory. They're basically considered "endgame" items.
Anyway, even though I haven't played many MMO's, DDO still seems to be one of the deepest in terms of gameplay. It seems relatively simple at first, and if you possess any D&D knowledge it certainly is easy to get into, but it takes real dedication and practice to even begin to master.
Still enjoying!
I hit level 16 with my fighter recently. I started to think that I was getting close to completion, but the game really is now just picking up speed. There is a shit ton of stuff to learn! If you really want to excel at your class, there is so much work and preparation (read: grinding, but meh, not really) to be done, even for a simple straightforward class like fighter.
For example, there's the whole Greensteel thing. For those unfamiliar, starting at about the 16th/17th level range, you gain access to an area called the Vale of Twilight, in which you begin farming ingredients to craft high-end weapons and other items that are known as Greensteel. I've haven't yet begun this process, as I really am still learning the game even after six months of playing it, but if you read anything about these items you begin to realize the complex process of creating them, upgrading them, and adding more of them to your inventory. They're basically considered "endgame" items.
Anyway, even though I haven't played many MMO's, DDO still seems to be one of the deepest in terms of gameplay. It seems relatively simple at first, and if you possess any D&D knowledge it certainly is easy to get into, but it takes real dedication and practice to even begin to master.
Still enjoying!
SerratedBiz
Arcane
- Joined
- Mar 4, 2009
- Messages
- 4,143
So, you have to grind stuff for money and ingredients to craft high-end items?
Sounds like real MMO innovation right there.
Sounds like real MMO innovation right there.
SerratedBiz said:
It's obviously a lot more than that. Character builds and their efficiency are of primary concern in DDO. Literally one bad choice in the long history of levelling most characters can essentially ruin him, to the point where you're getting out-performed by a large margin and must face the possibility of a rather drastic set of changes or even a complete re-roll.
There's also a more party-centric dynamic, which can be either very rewarding or extraordinarily frustrating. Soloing is possible, but it's usually awkward at best, and nearly impossible for raid quests.
I'm just saying that of the limited number of MMO's I've played in my day, this one seems to have the most staying power because of the above characteristics and others.
There's also a more party-centric dynamic, which can be either very rewarding or extraordinarily frustrating. Soloing is possible, but it's usually awkward at best, and nearly impossible for raid quests.
I'm just saying that of the limited number of MMO's I've played in my day, this one seems to have the most staying power because of the above characteristics and others.
SerratedBiz
Arcane
- Joined
- Mar 4, 2009
- Messages
- 4,143
I don't want to speak ill of DDO since I never actually played it. I did download the game and all but I couldn't get it to run for longer than five minutes without my system overheating, for some reason. A quick uninstall ensued. But what you're saying strikes me in the odd zone.
If I understood you correctly, the game encourages building your character in a certain manner because that way is the best way to build them. Again, that's an old staple of MMOs, and one that I've never been fond of. Especially in a game like DDO where leveling is slow and huge in terms of character development; that you could actually make a mistake in decision that would render your character obselete and potentially make you want to start a new one makes me queasy. Eventually everyone starts playing the same builds and / or characters, in the same farmable areas.
And again, this is just about the same kind of thing you see in every other MMO but in a different flavor. Not that DDO isn't unique in some aspects, just not these.
If I understood you correctly, the game encourages building your character in a certain manner because that way is the best way to build them. Again, that's an old staple of MMOs, and one that I've never been fond of. Especially in a game like DDO where leveling is slow and huge in terms of character development; that you could actually make a mistake in decision that would render your character obselete and potentially make you want to start a new one makes me queasy. Eventually everyone starts playing the same builds and / or characters, in the same farmable areas.
And again, this is just about the same kind of thing you see in every other MMO but in a different flavor. Not that DDO isn't unique in some aspects, just not these.
Good points and let me clarify somewhat.
If you were to choose an "odd" build in DDO, you're not necessarily going to be permanently ostracized and incapable of playing the game. You'll do fine as long as you don't make seriously stupid mistakes, like specializing in a two-handed sword for your mage, etc. Hell, a whacky build is actually fun to try out and to experiment with. Some of the "monster" builds touted on the games' message boards actually start off as ugly ducklings, out of necessity.
Other than those, though, and later in the game, such as when you begin to run raids and the deadlier high-end content, you're certainly going to find it more and more difficult to "get along". Certain groups may bring you along anyway, some may outright reject you (looking at your character's vitals using myddo.com is becoming a more frequent practice), and so often you'll find yourself regretting some of the less informed choices.
Of course this is not unique to DDO; I simply believe that it's emphasized much more so than in say your LoTRO or WoW -- although I'm certainly no expert in either of those two, only tried the trial of LoTRO.
It's not a game for everyone. It is rather unforgiving, but I think that's what keeps its spice fresh for me. I appreciate not being able to master its nuances right away and not have to rather just endlessly (and mindlessly) grind to get the good stuff. A good player combined with at least a competant build will always excel, whereas a store-bought level 60 whatever in some of the other MMO's is all you'll ever need.
Edit: And I will concede that my description of the Greensteel stuff really does just sound like any other MMO loot. Bad example.
If you were to choose an "odd" build in DDO, you're not necessarily going to be permanently ostracized and incapable of playing the game. You'll do fine as long as you don't make seriously stupid mistakes, like specializing in a two-handed sword for your mage, etc. Hell, a whacky build is actually fun to try out and to experiment with. Some of the "monster" builds touted on the games' message boards actually start off as ugly ducklings, out of necessity.
Other than those, though, and later in the game, such as when you begin to run raids and the deadlier high-end content, you're certainly going to find it more and more difficult to "get along". Certain groups may bring you along anyway, some may outright reject you (looking at your character's vitals using myddo.com is becoming a more frequent practice), and so often you'll find yourself regretting some of the less informed choices.
Of course this is not unique to DDO; I simply believe that it's emphasized much more so than in say your LoTRO or WoW -- although I'm certainly no expert in either of those two, only tried the trial of LoTRO.
It's not a game for everyone. It is rather unforgiving, but I think that's what keeps its spice fresh for me. I appreciate not being able to master its nuances right away and not have to rather just endlessly (and mindlessly) grind to get the good stuff. A good player combined with at least a competant build will always excel, whereas a store-bought level 60 whatever in some of the other MMO's is all you'll ever need.
Edit: And I will concede that my description of the Greensteel stuff really does just sound like any other MMO loot. Bad example.
Clockwork Knight
Arcane
Crispy said:
Reminds me of Maplestory. 5 points instead of the minimal 4 in luck for your lvl 35 luckless mage? LOL REROLL OR ENJOY YOUR GRINDING IN LVL 3* AREA UNTIL YOURE LVL 50
Multi-headed Cow
Guest
Felt a bit bad I missed the sale on DDO points during PAX, but after reading Crispy's posts now I'm not so sure I should throw money at it. I still fire it up occasionally and play my free character, but if the difficulty ramps up that much and character build gets that important it might be too hardcore for me unfortunately.
Well, that, and I'm still pissed I missed the sale. Buying 5,000 points for $50 stings when they were recently going 7,000 for $50. Still, keep posting about it Crispy. I'm interested to hear how things go for you.
Well, that, and I'm still pissed I missed the sale. Buying 5,000 points for $50 stings when they were recently going 7,000 for $50. Still, keep posting about it Crispy. I'm interested to hear how things go for you.
Nim
Augur
- Joined
- Oct 22, 2006
- Messages
- 458
Crispy said:
Could you enlighten me about this deep gameplay ? I'm trying it atm and I just don't see it. Combat is bleh, level design so far is average to bad ( 2 signal levers anyone ? :D ), haven't played too much in parties but from what I saw I don't really want to either.
Well, read the rest of that and my other posts, but I should have specified that the depth is in the character development. As I explained, there is a rather complex set of dos and don'ts if your aim is to develop an effective character who will shine at the later stages of the game.
You say the combat is meh, but there is a higher degree of control over your toon in DDO than in most other MMO's that I know of, which is refreshing.
All in all I'm just saying that I'm surprised myself that I am still playing this thing. Normally I would've given up on just about any other grindfest by now.
You say the combat is meh, but there is a higher degree of control over your toon in DDO than in most other MMO's that I know of, which is refreshing.
All in all I'm just saying that I'm surprised myself that I am still playing this thing. Normally I would've given up on just about any other grindfest by now.
Multi-headed Cow
Guest
6,900 points for $50 and all quests 30% off over the weekend. Tempting.
Got my ass handed to me last night. Ran a quest into this volcanic cave deep in a mountain off of the Reaver's Refuge (level 18+ content) called "Enter the Kobold".
You would think that any quest involving kobolds would be a walk in the park, but man was I wrong. Granted, this was just a PUG, but dying once on the way to the quest, 4 times during the quest, and even once after we had finished due to a very nasty trap just ruined my evening.
I was very impressed with the survivability of monks, though. There were two in our group who had a much easier time running around dodging all the fireballs, meteor swarms and dealing with the quest bosses than I did, and my fighter now has over 500hp.
Still incredibly fun, though. If it were always easy I guess I would've become bored long ago. I have a lot of work to do yet.
You would think that any quest involving kobolds would be a walk in the park, but man was I wrong. Granted, this was just a PUG, but dying once on the way to the quest, 4 times during the quest, and even once after we had finished due to a very nasty trap just ruined my evening.
I was very impressed with the survivability of monks, though. There were two in our group who had a much easier time running around dodging all the fireballs, meteor swarms and dealing with the quest bosses than I did, and my fighter now has over 500hp.
Still incredibly fun, though. If it were always easy I guess I would've become bored long ago. I have a lot of work to do yet.
Shannow
Waster of Time
Why would that surprize you? The monk's concept is as a mage-killer. It's only in toe to toe melee where fighters out-do monks due to higher attack bonus and hp. That's the case in basic D&D and that was the case in what I saw from DDO...Crispy said:
And wait, you're level 16, frequent the DDO boards and have only now realized the monk's efficiency?
MetalCraze
Arcane
Nevar forget the Brotherhood Of Butthurt
forgotmypasswordagain
Educated
- Joined
- Dec 1, 2009
- Messages
- 178
Which servers do you lot play this one on?
GarfunkeL
Racism Expert
Anyone playing on European-servers anymore? I'm thinking of giving this a go when I get back to UK in late August.
Oh, we could always try to revive the old Brotherhood of Butthurt …
MetalCraze
Arcane
Too bad they prune inactive accounts.
Getting back to our high levels will be like grinding
Still Brotherhood of Butthurt was a major success.
Turbine will make LOTRO free to play this fall and there is a beta sign up right now btw.
Getting back to our high levels will be like grinding
Still Brotherhood of Butthurt was a major success.
Turbine will make LOTRO free to play this fall and there is a beta sign up right now btw.
I've played a moderate bit of LOTRO and I don't think it supports quick up and party play like DDO and Alien Swarm and whatever else you guys play. It's more of a Wow-like leveling progression, so 90% of your time spent in it will neither rely on skill nor creativity but just doing simple quest after simple quest. With that said, it's a faithful and well designed world and atmosphere, with well written quests.
MetalCraze
Arcane
What I also liked about DDO is people. Zero teenage retards.
In fact you'd been surprised by all the friendly atmosphere - I wonder if biowarians ever suspected who we are though
Anyway
The Founding Fathers:
The discovery of the Codex
Rollin' with the enemy
Nevar forget
In fact you'd been surprised by all the friendly atmosphere - I wonder if biowarians ever suspected who we are though
Anyway
The Founding Fathers:
The discovery of the Codex
Rollin' with the enemy
Nevar forget
Well the population of LOTRO is actually pretty decent. No kids, mostly just typical adult Tolkien-loving carebears.
GarfunkeL
Racism Expert
Well, maybe I'll give a shot to them both 
Excidium
P. banal
Is the game still getting any support? I haven't read about it for some time, seems like Turbine is only working on LOTRO, they're even about to release another expansion.
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