DDO Top 10: Reasons to Play DDO

By Zed

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You're looking for a
massively-multiplayer online game (MMOG) to play. You're browsing the
local games shop and see titles like World of Warcraft (WoW), EverQuest
2 (EQ2), Auto Assault and of course Dungeons and Dragons Online:
Stormreach (DDO). Why should
you pick up and try DDO? What makes it different from other typical
games of the genre?



Well hopefully this top 10 list will give you some ideas of why
you should at least try the game.

Turbine released Asheron's Call at the end of 1999. They were arguably
the first company to release monthly updates wrapped in a story which
actually affected the way the world looked and felt—shadow spires in
the skies moving across the land were later destroyed, damaging
buildings or creating craters in the landscape around the towns.
Turbine is the master at regular content—and good content updates at
that. DDO is no exception.

”Guild wars!” cried many. Not really. Since DDO is based on Dungeons
& Dragons (more on that shortly), the instanced quests allow
players to experience a private playground. Role-play with friends or
guilds, or just blast your way through the quest knowing when you get
to the end boss it won't be camped by 100 other people. The downside
perhaps to instanced play is the lack of areas to explore at your
leisure, but then you are catapulted into the excitement immediately.

Each dungeon is created by hand. While this means it's very difficult
to add random elements to the game (such as continual spawns or totally
random trap placements), it also means that each dungeon is laid out
well and looks stunning.

To date, I've not seen a treasure system like DDO's anywhere else. No
monster drops loot (so no 2 handed great swords or full plate armour
dropping off a 2 foot long rat). Instead, chests are dotted around the
instance. Each chest generates a separate treasure haul for each player
as he opens the chest. Only that player can take this treasure. No
“ninja looting” of treasure for the most part.

6 Races. 9 Classes. Over a dozen skills and 10's of Feats. This adds up
to mean no two builds will be identical. The possible combinations give
literally thousands of options for building your character, and even
today no one really talks about Flavor of the Month builds but rather
various options around class concepts (such as, say the href="http://ddo.tentonhammer.com/index.php?module=ContentExpress&func=display&ceid=215">Turn
Undead
cleric)
Be what you want to be—not what everyone else wants you to be.

Traps will kill. DDO's traps are lethal traps that, if tackled badly,
can seriously damage your character. Yet, most traps throughout the
game can be disarmed using the right Skills (more later). Puzzles, too,
can be ingenious tests of memory recall—or if you're like the writer,
sheer luck by pulling a lever until something glows.

A rogue can really disarm that trap you've just triggered. Or, in many
cases, pick the lock on the door you've just found. Jump can help
you…well jump higher. Use Magic Device lets your character use items
that might be race- or class-restricted, and Swim lets you stay
underwater longer. Skills are an important part of the game unlike many
other MMOG's on the market.

Gone are the days of needing to purchase or join a Teamspeak or
Ventrillo server. Voice chat is built into the game, allowing players
to coordinate strategy and issue warnings quickly. It can facilitate
role-playing and story telling but generally it allows strategy and
tactics.

The fast, interactive combat isn't simply press button1…then 2…then
3…then repeat. Nor is it “hit auto attack and go make coffee,
sandwiches or nip out the local McDonald's knowing you will easily kill
the monster.” The ability to move out of the way, dodge and block with
a shield all make combat much more interactive

Now, many might argue that DDO is nothing like D&D, and true,
Turbine made some changes to translate the game to a fast-paced, real
time game; yet, DDO is still based on D&D--when you build a wizard
is feels like a D&D wizard. DDO also uses monsters from D&D,
spells from D&D and Feats and Skills from D&D. And with each
new update Turbine more and more core components of D&D.



There are many other reasons to play DDO. There are so many things
about DDO that make it fun, like its epic dragon and warforged titan
raids (which are not 100 man efforts but 12 man groups that can take a
couple of hours) and the short quests (most take an hour or less to
complete) The new href="http://ddo.tentonhammer.com/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=451">patron
system,
the upcoming arena for player vs. player combat—DDO will offer
something to many. It might not be as massively subscribed as WoW, but
then it doesn't play like WoW. DDO really should be given a chance.
Check out the href="http://ddo.tentonhammer.com/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=337">7-day
DDO trial
to see just how good it can be!



And, now consider skipping over to read Darkgolem's href="http://ddo.tentonhammer.com/index.php?module=ContentExpress&func=display&ceid=279">Top
10 Things Turbien Should Fix!

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