Dungeons & Dragons Online Awarded, Updated

[Greg Tito]

Dungeons & Dragons Online Awarded, Updated

The "Best Free-to-Play MMO of 2009" based on the popular roleplaying game, Dungeons & Dragons Online, gets new free dungeons, a new "casual" difficulty level and two live events.

Dungeons & Dragons Online has been around for a while now. Launched in 2006 as a subscription service by Turbine, the MMOG was set in the newest fantasy setting from D&D-makers Wizards of the Coast, the swashbuckling somewhat steampunky world of Eberron. As of September of '09, DDO is free to download and play, with adventure packs and other goodies available for purchase in the DDO Store [http://compendium.ddo.com/wiki/DDO_Store_Guide]. So far, the microtransaction model appears to be working as DDO was recently named the Best Free-to-Play MMO of 2009, by multiple websites like MMORPG.com, Massively.com, ZAM and TenTonHammer.

The update released today looks like it packs some decent features. There are more free high-level adventures which pit you and your party against some classic D&D monsters like a marilith sorceress, a pack of beholders and even an eponymous black dragon. The update also introduces a "Casual Mode" which relaxes the difficulty of dungeons for any party so they can enjoy the content at their own pace, a feature which was restricted to only solo play before. There are also two winter-themed events, "The Traveler's Scavenger Hunt" and "The Risia Ice Games," the latter of which allows you to compete in minigames like ski jumping and halfpipe skating. Both of these events are timed to let players celebrate DDO's 4th anniversary on Feb. 28th.

"2009 was a phenomenal year for DDO. We launched successfully to critical acclaim and have received several awards that have firmly established DDO Unlimited as the best free-to-play MMO in the world," said Executive Producer Fernando Paiz in a statement. "The best free-to-play game just got better as our first update of 2010 is all about rewarding our players for their support by delivering more free content while also removing the leveling sigils that were required to advance through the game to make it even easier and more fun than ever to play DDO Unlimited!"

As I'm a fan of both D&D and MMOG, it's a wonder that I haven't even tried DDO. Maybe it's time to rectify that.






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[katsabas]

Haven't tried it either. Does it have Solars? Cause if it does I am sold.

 

[Quad08]

Wow, guess I'll have to check this out. Didn't know it was that good

 

[The_root_of_all_evil]

I played this and I loathed it. Even being a diehard RPGer and D&Der. I guess as a party it would be cool, but for soloing it's just 3D Diablo, with more restrictive rules.

 

[That's Funny]

I played, it wasn't that great since it seems to me that the learning curve is too steep and parties don't mean anything.

 

[Hurr Durr Derp]

Gave this a try when it first went F2P, but the whole micropayments model they used bugged me so I stopped playing. Sure you could grind your way to most of the buyable content without spending a dime, but to do so required such an investment that it wasn't worth it to me. I'd be playing the game just for the sake of unlocking more of the game to play with rather than because I enjoyed it, and that's just wrong.

 

[Macgyvercas]

Been playing this since October. It's an awesome game.

I'm on the Sarlona server. Drakelius Des Morte and Ganondorff Dragmire.

 

[Mr.Squishy]

Personally, I love this game as a casual, relaxing yet challenging when you need to kind of MMO. Especially cool since it follows 3.5 rules for the most part, which is easily the best edition, closely followed by 4th (jesus, i will be crucified...). I would say it is absolute bliss for D&D players who enjoy a good game and campaign, but not someone who's diehard fanatic about it, I suppose. No surprise to me that it wins Best MMO, in other words, because it is far more relaxed and friendly than WoW.

 

[Jared]

Didnt even know this was out o.o

Might be worth a look but, have hands full with FFXI that I dont wanna play 2 MMOs at the same time

 

[Jaranja]

I played this and I loathed it. Even being a diehard RPGer and D&Der. I guess as a party it would be cool, but for soloing it's just 3D Diablo, with more restrictive rules.

Don't forget the fact that it was SOOOOOOOOOO BORING! Unless you picked a Mage to start with, you were pretty much forced to just keep on swinging that weapon.

 

[Tzekelkan]

I might try it sometime soon. I've always liked D&D, but I never had anyone to play it with. I know much of the general rules due to Order of the Stick, and I find it awesome, but like I said I never played it (except in the original Neverwinter Nights). Seems like this is a perfect opportunity.

 

[Orcus The Ultimate]

The Forgotten Realms is just awesome... i've only read 150 pages from the 1st tome of The Elminster Series and it's really Good in a way that i've never read something that after a few pages i read, i get hooked!

 

[BangsLiekWhoa]

I played this in beta then stopped at release since I had just quit WoW, and was tired of paying a monthly fee. I picked it up again when it went F2P and enjoy it immensely! I have paid some micropayments to Turbine, but they are well worth it and much better than a monthly fee.

As a big fan of pen and paper D&D, I find this game to be a wonderful adaption of the 3.5 ruleset (if it were 4.0, I would probably rather cut myself, but I digress...) It is quite a bit different from most other MMOs, especially with its heavy party focus. Personally, I find this refreshing; you form more of a sense of community than you would in games where you mostly just group for raids.

In conclusion: Excellent game IMO, and you should give it a try!

 

[Flying Dagger]

I might try it sometime soon. I've always liked D&D, but I never had anyone to play it with. I know much of the general rules due to Order of the Stick, and I find it awesome, but like I said I never played it (except in the original Neverwinter Nights). Seems like this is a perfect opportunity.

this except i don't have the time to start up an mmo, so i probably won't give it a go

 

[Macgyvercas]

Gave this a try when it first went F2P, but the whole micropayments model they used bugged me so I stopped playing. Sure you could grind your way to most of the buyable content without spending a dime, but to do so required such an investment that it wasn't worth it to me. I'd be playing the game just for the sake of unlocking more of the game to play with rather than because I enjoyed it, and that's just wrong.

I just buy turbine points to unlock content. I'll enventually get everything a VIP player would have. Then again, I do have a slight case of disposable income...

 

[Eri]

in other words, because it is far more relaxed and friendly than WoW.

Hahahaha, that's a joke. WoW is one of the most easy and casual MMOs out there. If you thought WoW was hard, I feel sorry for you.

 

[Hurr Durr Derp]

Gave this a try when it first went F2P, but the whole micropayments model they used bugged me so I stopped playing. Sure you could grind your way to most of the buyable content without spending a dime, but to do so required such an investment that it wasn't worth it to me. I'd be playing the game just for the sake of unlocking more of the game to play with rather than because I enjoyed it, and that's just wrong.

I just buy turbine points to unlock content. I'll enventually get everything a VIP player would have. Then again, I do have a slight case of disposable income...

It's not really a matter of being able to afford it or not, it's just that I don't like having to pay for all those little bits of the game, either in cash or in time spent grinding points. An F2P game is perfect for killing some idle time, and it makes perfect sense that an F2P game would make money through micropayments, but stuff like getting less character creation points unless you first unlock something, or that you simply run out of things to do at a certain point without paying for it just rub me the wrong way. I have no issue with giving people ingame money, items, experience, or whatever for their money, but locking away essential parts of a 'free' game until you pay for them is just not something I can appreciate.

If paying for an MMO is what it takes to get the full game, then I'd rather shell out a few bucks more for a proper P2P one than deal with the death of a thousand micropayments to enjoy a 'free' MMO.

 

[Warrior Irme]

in other words, because it is far more relaxed and friendly than WoW.

Hahahaha, that's a joke. WoW is one of the most easy and casual MMOs out there. If you thought WoW was hard, I feel sorry for you.

There is the possibility that he played back before BC when it actually was fun and challenging.

 

[RedFox042]

I payed for it when it first came out, then dropped it. and was super excited when I heard it was going f2p. I love D&D but don;t get to play as often as i like. and while this isn't the table top that i know and love. its a great substitute. I love messing around with different characters and builds just making crazy players. like a halfling monk with an 18 dex and wis and 8s in everything else. so much fun to play.

 

[Macgyvercas]

Gave this a try when it first went F2P, but the whole micropayments model they used bugged me so I stopped playing. Sure you could grind your way to most of the buyable content without spending a dime, but to do so required such an investment that it wasn't worth it to me. I'd be playing the game just for the sake of unlocking more of the game to play with rather than because I enjoyed it, and that's just wrong.

I just buy turbine points to unlock content. I'll enventually get everything a VIP player would have. Then again, I do have a slight case of disposable income...

It's not really a matter of being able to afford it or not, it's just that I don't like having to pay for all those little bits of the game, either in cash or in time spent grinding points. An F2P game is perfect for killing some idle time, and it makes perfect sense that an F2P game would make money through micropayments, but stuff like getting less character creation points unless you first unlock something, or that you simply run out of things to do at a certain point without paying for it just rub me the wrong way. I have no issue with giving people ingame money, items, experience, or whatever for their money, but locking away essential parts of a 'free' game until you pay for them is just not something I can appreciate.

If paying for an MMO is what it takes to get the full game, then I'd rather shell out a few bucks more for a proper P2P one than deal with the death of a thousand micropayments to enjoy a 'free' MMO.

I guess that makes sense. Never really thought about it that way. Oh, well. I still find it a blast.