Asheras wrote on Apr 29^th, 2013 at 3:53pm:



When we talk slippery slope, this for me was the first sign that the game was going in the shitter.  Quite possibly, the most destructive items ever added a game in a cash grab.

Gunga wrote on Apr 29^th, 2013 at 4:19pm:



There isn't "no" end-game, there's less relevant end-game than there was pre-U14.  Expanding the level-cap made the game smaller.

Bigjunk wrote on Apr 29^th, 2013 at 4:26pm:


How so? There was a time that all we did was log in and run shroud on every toon. The only challenge was to run it in less than 20 minutes. For me, there has never been as boring an endgame as that year and a half or so.

Eladiun wrote on Apr 29^th, 2013 at 4:40pm:


1/30/08 - Mod 6
9/1/09 - Epics

Bigjunk wrote on Apr 29^th, 2013 at 4:54pm:


Fair enough.

Bigjunk wrote on Apr 29^th, 2013 at 4:54pm:


Replace Titan with Abbott, this is exactly where I was and am now at. 

Eladiun wrote on Apr 29^th, 2013 at 4:40pm:


what are you talking about? there was only one raid for 2 years. then we got the shit that was vod and hound

What I don't understand is why people continue playing if there are two raids that you run, and everything else is just for the lulz.
I saw the changes coming miles and miles away.  I pre-purchased a collector's edition MotU pack, hoping that I was wrong, and by the time it hit I was into Gw2 (beta at the time), having far more fun than I had in DDO in a very long time.
Now I split my time between Gw2, Defiance and Firefall.  With Neverwinter hitting open beta tomorrow I'll have another to throw into the mix.  Between game hopping (with a few unmentioned others thrown in the mix at various times), I have been having a blast gaming lately without the worries of becoming bored in any one game, or getting to the point where I run the same two raids/instances for a reason and everything else for the lulz.

Seriously, I have had far more fun gaming since I stopped playing DDO than I had for quite a long time while I was playing it, and I don't understand how you guys can play like that and still consider it fun.
If you're staying for the people that's one thing, but the individuals claiming that the game is still fun for them, when they're running the same few instances for a reason and the rest for lulz, just baffles me.

Cale wrote on Apr 29^th, 2013 at 11:15pm:


the only time i have more fun is whrn there is a good xploit going. i play to run with friends and grind out those last few items my 4-5 ttoons ned. no other game comes close to the combat/character building as DDO in an mmo. elder scrolls has some potentiak but so far no mmo's come close to ddo beyond playing them a couple months because they are shiny new. if there was any better i would play it.

Gunga wrote on Apr 29^th, 2013 at 4:46pm:



Misunderstood the reply in the context of what you were replying too.

Dark_Helmet wrote on Apr 29^th, 2013 at 9:21pm:



That's a good point.  It's not log in's it store dollars so there is very little to track it.  Hell Zigna's made a fortune on stupid...

Eladiun wrote on Apr 30^th, 2013 at 12:21am:

I've been having a blast with it.  Of the games that I'm currently playing, Firefall gets the most time by a stretch.
It has more of a sandbox feel to it, but there is always plenty to do.  As more of a sandbox game, crafting is a big part of it.
Instead of choosing a "class", you put on a battleframe.  You can change frames as often as you like anytime you find a battleframe station, so you can play as any "class" you need to at any time.  Experience earned is used as a currency to purchase frame upgrades (more mass, power and cpu - each frame has it's own XP bar) which allows for equipping higher tier modules (which give you your skills, and thus increase the effectiveness of those skills via being higher tier).  These modules are crafted, as are upgraded weapons (again, crafting plays a large role here).
As for the crafting, the thing I usually hate about it is resource collection.  In this case, said resource collection isn't about finding a node and clicking on it.  It's about searching the environment for a good source and calling down a thumper to collect it for you.  The thumper will call mobs as it works, and you need to defend it, so it turns resource collection into on-demand content.  Different types of thumpers are available, ranging from easy mode single player style (with little resource collection) to large scale full party chaos style (with great resource collection) and everything in between.
There are also plenty of events that occur, and time trial style races, etc, as well as the overarching theme of an invasion by enemy forces.  When enemy forces attack a certain area you must repel them or lose the area.  If an area is lost, either you'll have to take it back, or it can possibly become inaccessible for three hours depending on it's location relative to the edge of the map (which moves as areas are lost to the enemy), so getting there to help is highly encouraged.

In a nutshell, that's the game.  It was a bit confusing and aimless for a little while at first, but I've found it to be far more fun than I expected once I figured things out.
There are also a couple of PvP maps if that's your thing, as well as open world PvP in the works eventually, and another patch next week which will be making some changes. {edit: and reports of a PvE story line coming eventually as well at some point}
Basically, for a sandbox game there is an impressive number of things that you can do, and if nothing suits your fancy at that moment you can simply thump and work towards some upgrades.

Their goal is to eventually have the world cover approximately 10% of the planet Earth.  A lofty goal to say the least.  And they may need it.  I love the game right now, but I can see it getting repetitive and grindy after a while.  A HUGE game world will solve a lot of that simply by the events and enemy incursions that happen.  As it stands now, the world is fairly small (to very small, depending on your outlook), so this will be an issue for a while I think.  But even so, grindy shooters feel less grindy than other types of games.  Especially when you have gliders and jetpacks.

The Dev team is impressively responsive to player feedback, and are constantly making adjustments and trying different things based upon that feedback.  This is by far the best player to dev interaction I have ever witnessed in a beta.  Hands down.  Which is probably why the beta has gone on for so long.  They have literally redesigned the game mechanics twice, meaning they have essentially built the game three different times.  They're really trying to get it right.  Since open beta starts in July, they're getting to where they feel it's close.

They just sent me another set of invites, too.  So hit up my inbox with an email addy if you want to try it out.  If you take one, you will also get five invites of your own to spread around.

Cale wrote on Apr 29^th, 2013 at 11:15pm:


I think what you are describing re: DDO is the problem with end game right now.  End game is too small and gets too repetitive.  Loot grind is a tough balance, especially when the loot everybody wants is only coming from a handful quests/raids.  ED XP is also a large grind that comes mainly from 3-4 quests. 

What makes DDO great is not the content though.  Most of us here have the content memorized.  What makes DDO great is the character build system.  And the combat system.  Which makes different builds and playstyles new and exciting to explore.  The content isn't the point.  The character is.  And the character can always be evolving and changing. 

Keep in mind, this comes from my perspective.  I'm not the most skilled player, nor do I play the game more than 15-20 hours per week.  So, for me, there continues to be new things to try and new options to explore for each of my characters.  It takes me a month or more after a new release to explore the content, get the gear for all my toons, and challenge myself on it from group play to solo play on EE.  When the content feels "played out" I still have other things I've been dying to try out, but haven't gotten to yet.  For example, I have yet to really explore the Druid class at all.  Let alone any of the multi-class variations.  I've also not played a Juggernaut build.  Just before the release of eGH, I was leveling a Moncher build.  It's fun and interesting in it's own way.  It can do things no other build I have has been able to do.  And requires a set of gear that I didn't have on that toon.  It's been fun getting it properly setup and seeing what it can do.

With my play time, I can easily fill weeks and months between content releases and always be interested and exploring aspects I haven't seen.  In fact, my familiarity with the quests and the combat and the mechanics allows me to fully experience the differences in the character builds.  It's a different level of fun and satisfaction.

The enjoyment you describe is that initial Wow! feeling of a new world, new mechanics, new story, etc.  You don't understand what's going on or why.  You enjoy figuring it out.  And going from 0% mastery to 75% mastery.  I like that too, but am enjoying going from 75% to 100% on a single game. 

If I get to a point where I feel like I've done 100% of what there is I want to do on DDO, I probably will move on.  But right now, I'm still enjoying the ride.      

The enhancement revamp will do one of two things:  open a whole new set of possibilities in builds and characters that were never possible and create hours of more experimentation.   Or, it will totally destroy the second best part of DDO (Behind the combat system) and ruin the game for good.  Not too much pressure there.