I have played DDO off and on since it was beta over 7 years now. I can honestly say the game continued to improve once they went "free to play" and had the cash to keep cranking out new content. It remains a very satisfying experience if you have a background in pen and paper D&D. The graphics have benefited from the LOTRO title sharing the same engine as well. It's really rare to see a single title continue to evolve and improve over so many years. The servers are busy and new content continues to arrive.
I have played a rogue to level 10 without spending any money on the game. I could have kept playing but decided to buy the new expansion, underdark. It is for level 17 characters, but I really liked the game and I got a good deal on some points as a bonus buy for getting the collectors edition. Now I have more than enough and don't feel the need to favor farm at all. It is fun for free but it is even more fun if you spend a little money on it. You can choose how you want to play, all free or half-pay, or full-pay. Up to you.
. I have heard that it is impossible to go to 20 on just free content, but I have also heard it has been done. What matters is that you are having fun. If not, then don't play. I think it is the best game out there right now. I play all of them a little, just to at least see how they are. Nothing is as fun as this one. Some come close... i am enjoying PlanetSide almost as much. . The key to this game is to find your own style of play. There are 'unlimited' customization options, really. Maybe you like to tank, maybe dps, maybe heal, or maybe freestyle. All is possible. Enjoy.
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This game has turned itself around, and now that there's plenty of players- it's a lot of fun. The action aspect of it makes it very different from other mmos. Personally, this is my favourite F2P by a long shot, and the only time I put it down is to try out a new mmo or to play through a console game that came out- and since I'm not paying I can put it down and not worry at all. This game is just awesome, and I'll be playing it for years.
Well. What do you say about a game based off of a cherished pen-and-paper system that was so tweaked out the wazoo that they have to constantly rebalance everything with every content patch? Either that's dedication or insanity. I'm inclined to believe the former, though. Because the amount of work that is constantly poured into this game via Turbine is amazing. The game is already based off of what is undoubtedly one of the greatest RPG systems ever created, so it would make sense that Turbine would go the extra mile, and for that I salute them. Oh, and did I mention that the game is an action MMO with actual challenge, with deep and involving party-based gameplay? Or that there is soooo much content for both free-to-play players AND subscribers? And that the DDO store prices are very reasonable? I have played many a bad and good MMO in my life, and let me tell you: DDO: EU is the BEST MMO out there right now, hands down. Not even SWTOR can steal its thunder in my book. Check it out if you're into MMO's, you might be surprised.
I have played this game for over 3 years(among many other games.) I have payed the money price for more quests and classes but never "payed to win"(never bought gear or boosts from store) or anything like that. I was one of very few who liked the game for its role-playing elements and gameplay rather for the regular grinding fest and ever-ending loot hauling. So if you are a like-minded individual such as me you should consider this criticism. As a veteran of the game who managed to get his characters to the highest levels not using any external sources or getting any help by others who knew the "easy way" to get things, playing mostly with my close friends I will just give you a spot-on list for the PROS and CONS combined with examples and opinions. I will giev the 3 PROS I find the most relevant and the 3 CONS I find the most annoying. I could give more but I don't have the space or your attention enough :P
PROS -
Quests&Objectives: The whole game is based on finishing quests, and quests are won by finishing objectives. Objectives are much more Role-Playing friendly and fun(imo) than other MMOs where you only progress by killing mobs time after time over and over again. You can(if you wish for it) finish certain quest without killing a single unit if your character is diplomatic and charmful enough. You can skip entire sections by sneaking past them if your character is sneaky, or you could find extra content and treasoures if your character has the eye for it!
Cooperation: Every class feels and plays differently. Different types of characters with different class-type needs to cooperate in a thoughtful, fitting way in order to make the most of a quest. For example In a forest you'd give your group members different roles to fill than for a crawl in a dungeon. There are tons of skill-types and magic-types in the game, each character holds some and with the right cooperation the combination can achieve greatness indeed.
Story: usually MMOs don't develop good stories, this one does! You can either skip it or stick to it. There are many different storys that feel personal and oftenly offers the player choices to make. Each story takes place in a very different scenatio and represents very different challenge. There are many storys and many quests to go through. I would not lie If id say its over 200 hours of storytelling before you finish them all.
CONS
The game is static: There is almost no dynamic events happening in quests. When playing a quest again you would notice things you haven't noticed before or make choices different than you have done before but everything is scripted. So the game is basically linear. Its understandable since the game is story based and imaginative storys can't fit random events without falling shallow. But its still making the game less repetetive than I'd like, and after finishing all the quests there is not much else to do other than grinding loot (bagh)
Strangers ruin the game: That is avoidable if you have a group of friends. But if you don't(not all of us have!) believe me, you can just forget about the role-playing aspect. I have stated the game is static and every quest will repeat itself if you engage it again. Therefor everyone who already know the story of the quest and the events to happen tell away what is going to happen, where is the secret door, loot, etc and ruin the fun of wondering. You won't have time to hear the storyline or talk to NPC's while you are in a group of strangers unless you want to break group-structure.
World feels too artificial: The world is made of instaces and has almost no ground connecting between places. You are forced to teleport from an instace to an instace rather than have the abilliy to travel and make a journey that feels natural. There is no actual "wilderness" that means you cant "bump into another player" while you are on the wild, since the wild is an instance you are in and is made specially for you. I feel a sense of a real geographic world would add tons of immersion to the game and let people feel they actually belong to a place.
On launch, D&D online was a lesser game but was vastly improved with Eberron Unlimited. Dungeons & Dragons is unique and pure fun. Tabletop D&D 3.5 rules make a great MMO, for some reason; After playing Dungeons & Dragons online, I realize that most MMOs are WoW clones, even those games I wouldn't normally think of that way. D&D online can be soloed, but puts a strong emphasis on party play. However with it's incredible character generation & level up systems soloing multiplayer content is a challenge anyone can take on with a little research. PCs can multi-class their builds & players can make utterly unique characters DDO's system allows players to take one level of wizard and one of rogue, for example. Dungeon crawls, enhanced by the skill system, put PCs against complex traps, finding secret doors to extra bosses, surviving long drops & obstacles, and picking locks. Different classes have unique approaches to survivability: a rogue will be squishy in combat but can dodge or disable a nasty trap. A meat wall in plate will survive heavy melee, but is not as mobile or cannot jump well. It's hard game to explain and these are simple examples; One potential drawback of DDO is its complexity. Without a bit of research (I recommend the DDO forums) it's easy to put too much time into a character who just doesn't survive later levels. If you are familiar with traditional Dungeons and Dragons, this will help you, although there important differences. DDO has unique & useful UI features but suffers from also being rough around the edges. Inventory management is amazing, a searchable tabbed interface, among other things. Movement controls and action bar management are very clunky. Despite issues this is my MMO of choice right now.
D&D Online is an interesting mix of MMO and action hack and slash. There is actually very little RPG involved, unless you count the exceedingly cool DM announcer that talks though some of the quests. For the first 10 or so levels it is very easy and at times, enjoyable to play. Beyond that, it becomes ever more difficult to find groups to adventure with. Ordinarily that wouldn't be an issue but the content gets exponentially more difficult so it is for all intents and purposes, required if you want to get to the end game content. The game overall isn't bad per se, but it is an absolute grind fest, even at lower levels. But the game mechanics appeal to a certain niche gamer. If you are expecting this to be similar to Neverwinter Nights or NWN 2, you will be disappointed. While the core leveling and skills are present from D&D, this is a pure hack and slash game.
SummaryDungeons & Dragons Online: Eberron Unlimited raises the level cap, introduces a new player class, adds major new content and makes the game free to play for everyone. The new DDO Unlimited delivers heart-pounding gameplay featuring the industry's best combat system, a massive world with state-of-the-art graphics and gameplay, and a ...