Originally posted by JK-Kanosi

Originally posted by Valczir

Originally posted by Matt_UK

 

Get a life.... or at least a girlfriend.

 

He's got a wife.  How's that?  And he's got a job.  Maybe you should, you know, not post when you don't have anything useful to say?

 

Thanks Valc for defending me, but you didn't have to. You see, I came to this conclusion. When a person states in his post that he is married and has a kid, and then a person comes along and makes a comment like that, it only tells me that the person is looking to get a rise out of the OP. It also tells me how sad that persons life is and how unintelligent they are. I looked at his post history and seen how bitter he was and I decided to ignore him.

Meh.  I can't help myself.  Would rather say something.  I'm still somewhat childish in many ways.

Starting arguments is somewhat of a passtime of mine, kinda always has been.  Most of my friends have figured this out, by now, and know that I don't mean anything by it.  Makes for a lot of interesting conversation.

Originally posted by Hvymetal

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.

 

Meh different strokes for different folks but please eloborate on what exactly is not any way shape or form D&D please.

 

And personally the GW community was epic fail for me....... probablly one of the worst I have experienced.

I'd have to agree. Good game, good community. GW's community was one of the worst I have experienced in 11 years (maybe 12..not sure anymore) of mmo's. Wasn't a ddo original player so I have no problem with how ddo is but if you expected the online version to be like the pen and paper without some concessions to online play or to be like nwn I think you were probably fooling yourself.

I thought your review was a good one.  I liked the game but I have not played in several weeks.  I updated the game on Thursday 2 weeks ago and played for about an hour.  I have a lvl 5 magicuser but there has been so few areas  that I have adventured in because I have not been able to get in a group.  I have done the initial quests and the quests in the market so many times  that I have grown tired of the game.  I also have a lvl 5 rogue but I have not played him at all since I am on at times when no one else is on.  I may give it another try this weekend but I may end up cancelling the subscription.   It is good to hear a great review of a game and am glad that DDO is still being played.  Have fun. 

I've never played DDO but I was a huge PnP AD&D lover from 1980  to the time that Wizards of the Coast took over .

 I have to be honest when I say this is definitely a well written review.

 Kudos !!!

I was a founder as well and almost made it to one year before I left. Loved the combat and the lower level dungeons. Not a big fan of high level raiding as it exists in mmo's these days. The early dungeons were full of folks excited to be there (if a little haphazard) but the high end raids drove me crazy. It was "paint by the numbers" as most mmo's are at that point. You follow the steps to beat the dungeon and woe to you if you deviated from the routine. I always find it restrictive and stressful with none of the adventuring feel you got early on in ddo. Great game but I'll take lotr pvp any day. (Although turbine is working hard on structuring that too).

One of the great joys for me in DDO was raiding with my guild and short manning them. Trying to come up with tactics that worked with less people and the more we did it the more the devs made those tactics not work. I am not talking exploits I am talking the devs almost getting annoyed about raids being beaten and instead of adding new content they were still changing the dragon over a year after it came out.

I left after a year and a half because I was tired of fighting the devs instead of trying to work together.

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.

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.

Thanks for the good review and the helpful responses. Currently playing AoC (sorry! :) ), but I think I'll give DDO another go once I have had enough of Conan or Funcom shuts it down... :)

Originally posted by Elnator

...While you can't 'dodge' ranged attacks you can equip a shield and block them using the block move...

You can actually dodge ranged attacks, the mobs will lead you though so it is a little tricky to get the timing right.They shoot where you will be if you are moving when they fire, or where you are standing if you are standing still. So if you pay attention to the attack animations you can dodge every arrow they shoot at you.

I usually stand still and make a quick step to the left or right as soon as they fire, If i'm in a situation where I have to keep moving I will change direction once they fire. Another option is to stand behind somebody who is shield blocking as they will absorb the hit instead of you.