DDO: A Review Six Months (and 2 modules) In

So, where are we at now? Why are we playing 10-15 hours a week?   Has the game been completely fixed and it’s the most exciting game ever?

Ok, first off, no, the game isn’t the most exciting RPG game ever.  Not sure what that game would be, seems more games than ever are released in a beta state.  Though Might and Magic: Dark Messiah might not be too far off in my opinion. ;)  But the game IS fun, and addictive, and makes most other MMO’s boring IMO (though I'll continue to try each and every one of them! ;)).

Now first off none of the Dndorks crew are heavy pvpers, so I’m not talking about pvp nor DDO’s lack of it (thus far,since module 3 in October will introduce it).  I don’t think the addition of pvp makes a game great, nor that it ruins a game.  I know some out there will disagree both ways. Fine.  Consensual pvp, as opposed to forced pvp, DOES make a game better, in my opinion, and DDO will impliment this form of pvp.  Anyways, lets move on to what is, in my opinion, the more important aspects of DDO, the reason why its become more fun (for us).

Favor
Favor, the mechanic where doing missions for a faction gives you one or more favors that the faction can help you with, is a fantastic addition to the game.  It gives you a goal other than leveling or searching for loot.  It helps areas of the game that were too limited or too expensive, without taking completely away from the D&D reasons for why something might have been too limited or too expensive.  Favor is something that, after having come out of a mission having lost a lot of experience from dying and damaged a lot of equipment due to too many fire elementals, can help satiate you a little bit when you open up your adventure compendium and can sigh with relief that at least your House Kundarak favor went up a few points. ;)

 Better D&D Rule Implimentation

Overall the game seems to be going in a better direction, utilizing existing D&D rules, which doesn’t just satisfy the inner Dndork in me, it actually makes the game more enjoyable.  D&D has evolved over many decades, many of the rule mechanics have evolved because the majority of players enjoy them more than any other.  Things like giving a person affected by hold person another save every round simply is more enjoyable, and works. 

Faster Level Progression

Levels one through three had the amount of experience needed per level reduced.  This has meant that I can more easily play with new character builds and get to a reasonable level in a shorter period of time.  I see this a lot in MMOs, and it was a good choice here, helping people to get out of the lower level dungeons where everything looks the same.

Is all of this enough? Well, it was enough to get me and the rest of the crew through the low levels and to the point where we are having fun. 

The reason I think I enjoy DDO more than any other MMO is because it doesn’t have an emphasis on grind simply for the sake of grinding.  There is virtually no endgame content, so I don’t feel any particular reason to fight to get as high level as I can to the expense of anything else.  Further, my objectives aren’t simply to kill monsters, I’m trying to figure out the best way to solve the quest I’m on.  That is an aspect that other MMO’s fail in.

There is only so many ways you can kill the same monster over and over again.  Its for this reason that many people say that pvp is the solution to the fact that combat versus monsters gets boring.  I disagree, I think that DDO has come up with an alternate challenge that no other MMO has come up with so far, an actually engaging environment that gives you a feeling of accomplishment upon having “solved” it.