All Posts by Elnator

 What's sad is we warned FLS of this problem during Beta.

It's not so much that PotBS is a BAD game... it's got a lot of potential.  But the problem is that it's such a small world with no way for the lower end players to avoid being slaughtered by higher end players if they, god forbid, HAVE to go through a PVP zone in order to do something (like complete a quest, etc).   Higher level chars I don't have much sympathy for.    At higher levels it's not exactly hard to recover from a PVP death.

Originally posted by sonicwhip

can you spell WoW clone?

Considering I detest WoW but loved the WAR Beta?  No, absolutely can't.

Loved the Beta for this... absolutely enchanted me from day one.  Mythic actually hit this one out of the park I think.   Everyone I ran into in the beta loved it too and planned to order it.

Now for my sulk sulk whine moan:

Because my wife decided to pay a bunch of b ills early I can't buy the game till next payday!!!! ARGH!!!! 

Originally posted by OSF8759

My problem with this game is twofold:

1.  DDO is not in any way shape or form D&D.  I was expecting something more akin to Neverwinter Nights, but instead got...this.

2.  Same game play as Guild Wars, but with a monthly fee.  This alone is epic fail.

1) You obviously don't know what you're talking about.  While anyone who has played D&D will agree that it doesn't adhere fully to AD&D rulesets it absolutely *IS* a form of D&D.  I haven't even played the 3.5 ruleset (I only ever played 1 & 2nd edition and stopped buying books after that and I absolutely get the D&D feeling when I play.

2) You are going to have to elaborate on what you mean.  I've played (still do play) both Guild Wars and DDO.  They are absolutely nothing alike other than they are both heavily instanced games.  Beyond that you are comparing apples and oranges.

Originally posted by DT-Dyne

 

I've never been a real fan of D&D or played the online version so I don't understand some of the features you're trying to explain such as "32 point" builds or multiclassing. Although, those don't seem like something I really need to worry myself with. The part of your review that really caught my eye is..

Originally posted by JK-Kanosi

The combat system is a 3rd person twitch system.

I was wondering if you could elaborte a bit more on that comment.

Are you suggesting the gameplay is comparable to a melee/ranged based FPS? I suppose all I'm really trying to get at is - can you manually dodge melee & ranged attacks? When using a ranged weapon does the game require you to aim at your target manually? If so, how "laggy" is the game - will the monsters be swinging at air but also reliably hit me in that manner (clearly, lag or clunky gameplay so good to ask)? Lastly, how does the PvP work and is it balanced?

I'm a huge fan of twitch based combat but I'm just really suprised that of all the MMO's that DDO is the one that has it.

Yes, actually you can.  While you can't 'dodge' ranged attacks you can equip a shield and block them using the block move.  You can also parry blows with your sword/shield by using your block ability.  It doesn't completely evade the attack when you do this but, rather, reduces the ammount of damage an enemies blow can do to you by the ammount of absorption your shield (or weapon) grants you.

As you level up and gain skills in various areas you can add more abilities in your blocking and eventually get to the point where you can block pretty crazy amounts of damage if you so desire.  Many people completely ignore the fact that they CAN block enemy attacks.  But those who are GOOD melee players are VERY good at this.  Even with no weapons equipped sometimes blocking properly can mean the difference between parties surviving or wiping out.

As others have pointed out you can also use terrain/obstacles to assist you in evading incoming enemy fire.  Dodging behind walls, etc, to protect yourself from incoming spells/arrows/bolts etc.  You can jump over enemy attacks if you have high enough skills and with the right skill combinations you can even evade attacks using the tumble ability.  Combine all the possible defensive maneuvers with all the offensive maneuvers you can use and combat is VERY fast paced and feels VERY twitchy.  

It's not 100% twitch based but it's the best blend of twitch and rpg combat I've personally experienced.

Good luck :)

Originally posted by mbd1968

I know there sleeping or at work, but I don't see how only 40K can be online if there are 220K subs, that ~18% of active subs playing at one time, it seems low.

I need figures for other MMOs for a comparison.

23hrs/day

Most people play between 3 and 4hrs a day (true for most MMO's actually).

So divide 24/4 (to determine how many time slices there are:

24/4=6

now divide 240,000 (current figure in last CCP announcement) subscribers by 6 time slices

240,000/6 = 40,000ish online

Now, that's a somewhat tilted number since not all 240,000 people play every single day so you'll really only see 40,000 players at peak time, at other times of the day/night you will have fewer players since

a) some timezones have more players than others

b) many people don't play every single day.

On average during non-peak hours you'll see between 15 and 30,000 players.  At peak times you'll see between 34,000 and 44,000 online.

Originally posted by quaiky

just checked population on runnyeye, atm we have 440 players online that show up with /who command (players with anonymous flag won't show up) so absolute number is probably above 500. when i compare this to the numbers i took about a year ago its only 100 players less so its not great but its not thta bad as all people are saying it is.

 numbers usually increase again after summer, if they don't go up enough then they should think about combining servers but not before that.

Uhhh I'm actually rather fond of EQ2 but what you're saying makes absolutely no sense.  If it's true that during peak time a server is under 1000 players then SOE should already be considering merges.  The EQ2 servers were designed to handle 5,000 concurrent active users.  If only 4 or 500 are online at any given time then having the number of servers they currently do is just a waste of resources. 

Sounds like they need to merge several servers.  TBH there's no shame in merging servers to give your players a better gaming experience.  Right now the reason most players turn to AB server is because it's the only one with a decent population 24/7.  Empty servers is ok for established vets but for new players it just means the game is going to be totally boring since they'll never see another soul in the game.  This tends to turn new players off and they wind up quitting.

Just my oppinion, but I've been around MMO's since before they were called MMO's.  Empty servers kill them.  If the servers are as empty as you're implying then they do need to be merged.  It's just common sense.

Originally posted by 4Renziks

I see your playing DDO, iam about to try the trial because i read that it is group based.....how are you liking it ?

I like DDO a lot... I'm on the '9.95' plan ($59/6months) and it's really worth it.   It's a very different feel from most other MMO's though, some folks won't like it, others love it, others love to hate it.  I like the character customization and ability to create such varied templates.   It used to be really bad but Turbine has done a great job of fixing the problems with the game.

It's not perfect... but it is a good game.

Originally posted by 4Renziks

Thanks alot guys for taking the time to post, looks like i will pass then, iam done with solo games and will not play a new MMO unless grouping is the focal point.  someone said WOW is a good grouping game, i dont know it was far to easy and i didnt like it.  Pretty much every since ive quit final fantasy 11 iam having trouble enjoying an mmo more than a month.....i get bored because i feel no sense of accomplishments or dont meet new people.  maybe its me , iam playing EVE now and love the complexity, but again it looks like another solo online game where its rare to do anysort of teamwork (i could be wrong i only been playing for 5hours).  This might be the wrong place to ask this but instead of making a new thread, is there any other game on the market besides EQ( never played it and i think iam a wee bit behind lol) FFIX (ive played for a year and i might go back if i cant find a new home soon) or CoX(I just stop this game, played for over a year....fun times , just wish it was more complex) where leveling and teamwork is needed to progress in the game.  Thanks again

EVE doesn't force you to group but unless you join a corporation and get involved in gang warfare you will never truely experience what EVE has to offer.  Even joining a corporation and doing level 5 missions in a gang with other players blows anything you can do alone in EVE away for 'fun factor'.

Also from what I recall you are selling EQ2 short.  It has a great deal of group content and, in fact, several aspects of the game can ONLY be done in groups/guilds/raids.  You CAN solo, and many do, but the focus of EQ has always been grouping.

So far I haven't needed to group at all.  Level 8 now.  If memory serves the 'need/desire' to group really doesn't start till around 10th or 11th level.   That may have changed... I'm just coming back for the first time since the year the game released.  It seems better now.

I'm trying out the warden.  Really like what I see of the game so far, though I'm not that impressed with the artwork they chose to go with for the fae.

don't have any of my original CD's so I downloaded the trial to take advantage of this and logged in with my old account.  Sure enough it works.  Only 1 question:

How do I get the free expansion content?  Or will it just patch down automatically (or has it already)? 

Actually EQ2's graphics are quite well done.... Though I think they made the newer zones (Kelethin, etc) a bit too wow-esque.... I was really dissapointed with the Fae race as well.  Faces look horrible.

But overall?  No I dissagree with the OP... EQ2's graphics are quite good.  I just re-installed it last night to check it out on the free 'come back to norrath for the summer' deal going on.

Doubt I'll stick with it beyond the free time but it's kind of fun to be back in norrath.  I still wish more MMO's would do voiceovers like EQ2 has.

Originally posted by brostyn

I recently left DDO, because most of my time was being spent LFG instead of actually playing. It's the best MMO out when you can find a group, imo. Unfortunately, that last until about lvl 5.

Finding a group in DDO is as simple as:

Opening the group pannel (CTRL-G) wow that was hard

And clicking on the "looking for more" tab and joining any of the groups you qualify for.  If none are available then you just start one and people will join it.  I've never had to wait more than 5 or 10 minutes for a group.

Originally posted by AgtSmith

 

Originally posted by Elnator 

Your arguements are flawed and biassed.  You have played the game for minimal ammt of time and yet act as if you know every aspect of it when every time you start talking about actual game mechanics you make it blatantly obvious that you don't know how they work.

Yes, the game has some flaws (in my opinion the few flaws it has are minor ones and there are fewer every month).  Like I said, show me an MMO that doesn't?  Especially one only 2 years old?    But you are over-exaggerating the flaws because you don't like the game.    That is why you have no credibility on these forums.  At least as far as DDO is concerned anyway.

 

 

Biased, yes they are as they are opinions - there is really no way to not be biased on such things.  Flawed - again, it is an opinion so how can I be wrong about what I think about the game?  Do you suggest I really love these things but mistakingly think I dislike them?  As for limited play - how is a total of three months (month+ back at launch and trial+month recently) not enough time?  Credibility?  Please, it is fair to say by the things most people say about DDO that far, far more agree with me than with you.  DDO is at best a niche-niche game with a very minor population in terms of MMOs.  Perhaps enough to warrant turbine keeping it open and whatnot, but this is not about it's economic success/failure. 

Didn't say it wasn't enough time to know whether YOU like the game or not.  But you post stating 'the vast majority of the gaming community'.  "Everyone".  "All players".  "Nobody likes".  And other such statements.  Sorry but you just don't have the credibility to try to speak for "the entire gaming community".  Nobody here does, really. 

 

The flaws are there - they are obvious, and any honest player (fan or hater) will acknowledge them.  Some may not mind, some may enojy the character building and crafted quests anyways - but to deny this game is anything but gear, attributes, and dice rolls is rather specious.  And yes, those things matter in all MMOs - the failing in DDO is how they matter so much more than mostly anything else like what a player does. 

 No, it's not.  While much of a situation is dictated by dice/gear/stats every single dungeon in the game is also affected at least as much by player tactics and actions.   The fact that you flat out refuse to admit this shows just how biassed your arguements are.   Again, reducing your credibility.  Yes, stats and dice rolls (and thus also equipment since it affects your stats) do impact how the gameplay falls but so too do player actions, tactics, and decisions.

You aren't wrong.  There ARE problems with the game.  But the problems you have chosen to point out are either flat out untrue or you are blowing them so far out of proportion to be ludicrous to anyone who's played this game for more than a couple days.

Originally posted by madkk

Additionally, my friend who still plays this game also reports the following nonsensical change to the game mechanics:

 

drinking a potion now breaks the Combat Expertise stance.

 

As we all know, combat expertise has a HUGE cooldown timer.

 

So now AC tanks can't help the cleric by being self-sufficient and drinking potions.

 

Way to go Turbine!

They either really hate clerics because their trying their best to make clerics babysitters...

...or...

...they really love clerics because they're trying their best to make sure that every group has a cleric.

 

So much for soloing or running in groups without a cleric...

Yeah the recent potion changes seem kind of bone headed.  Hopefully they'll get reversed.  But, just an FYI:  There is not a single quest in the game (quest, not raid) where you have to have a cleric in the group.

 Try getting a haste spell to hit you if you are just a few feet away and on a slope - is hit or miss.

I play both a bard, and a Wizard (both are haste casters).  I have never, not once, had haste not hit a member that was in range of the spell.  The only time I have had it 'miss' is when I had the spell at level 5 as a wizard... because the Haste spell is level limited... you can only hit as many people as your level with it... So at level 5 you can't haste an entire group...  At level 10 you can't haste an entire raid....   At level 12 is the only time you can toss haste and be guaranteed to hit everyone in the group if they are all in range on a raid (likewise lvl 6 for a group)  (Casting level, mind you).

  Lastly, there is NO excuse for the defenders melee trip attack to work at that range so that much remains demonstrated. 

Agreed, there is a glitch with trip but it works that way for players too.  I've tripped mobs halfway across the room.  So at least it works both ways :)  And I have tossed grease (playing around with items, never as  a spell... I don't keep it memorized ever) pretty far before.

Go to threnal and check what I say against teh Beholder in the part of the cave where the key drops

Been there, both as caster, melee and ranged.... never had a real problem fighting him.  What you describe I have not had happen to my groups.

, check the mummies around in the desert quests, check how often paralyzed MOBs move and even attack - these things are common occurances at higher levels.

 What about them?  Kill them all the time?  What exactly about the mummies are you referring to?

And no matter what the issue is with the chaincasting, unlimited mana, uninteruptable, crazy high save/resists MOBs are or are not - the fact remains that it is a flawed ssytem where so much of an outcome is determined by dice rolls/gear/character attributes and so little is decided by player actions.

Once again I would point out that you don't know what you're talking about.  A VERY great deal in the game is dictated by "player actions".  Done titan lately?  Can't get through the puzzle unless you are not only smart, but have a team that works well together.  Done STK on elite?  Takes a rogue who knows wtf they're doing to get through the firetrap on elite at level 6/7....  Done the level 11 tombs quests in Necropolis?  Again many of those take a certain level of intellect and teamwork to complete.  Crucible requires incredible player ability to navigate both the maze and the swimming part safely.  There's not a lot that 'good dice rolls' will do for you in there.  I personally STILL haven't mastered the swim in that place.  Done the dragon?  If you don't pay attention and do the process right you won't kill the dragon.  Been there with groups that know what they are doing and work together and been there with groups that were clueless... clueless groups, no matter what level they were (even 16's) died... while organized groups did it with no problem... even with just 10's and 11's in the group.   Hell even in a dungeon as early as WATER WORKS how a group of players works together can drastically affect how smoothly or poorly the adventure goes.... Also in Butchers path same story.... Play those dungeons on elite and do stupid things at low levels and you'll party wipe... play smart and use good tactics and work as a team, and it goes smooth as butter.  Knowing the best paths to take to make a mission easier.... learning which methods work best at killing which mobs....  These are all "player" dictated, rather than dice dictated.

Your arguements are flawed and biassed.  You have played the game for minimal ammt of time and yet act as if you know every aspect of it when every time you start talking about actual game mechanics you make it blatantly obvious that you don't know how they work.

Yes, the game has some flaws (in my opinion the few flaws it has are minor ones and there are fewer every month).  Like I said, show me an MMO that doesn't?  Especially one only 2 years old?    But you are over-exaggerating the flaws because you don't like the game.    That is why you have no credibility on these forums.  At least as far as DDO is concerned anyway.

Originally posted by AgtSmith

 

Originally posted by BesCirga

Loo