Ewilan wrote on May 3
rd, 2013 at 5:23am:
nw vs ddo
graphics: better
combat: similar approach, but more real time active combat
customization: ddo wins easily. there aren't many games with the amount of possibilities ddo offers (although at this time, the "endgame" pushes players to play specific builds such as hybrids (juggers, pyrene..), monkchers & shiradi casters
player base: nw clearly has a big advantage here
questing: well, i haven't leveled much in nw but from what i've seen it's nothing "out of the box".. go kill X.., go pick Y... (so ddo is better in that aspect)
endgame: no clue
game difficulty: ddo is having huge issues with this atm, and considering how easily ppl are leveling in nw, it's got similar problems (although it's still in "beta" so we can't tell for sure)
conclusion: it's not the wow killer for sure, but it's a solid game. Give it a try for sure, and when DDO is dead, i'm guessing many players will head there
Ran around on Dragon (Toon name Asheras) for a few hours.
Graphics: Better? I agree as far as scenery and cut scenes, but the overall character and mob graphics don't really feel all that more awesome. It looks very much like Dragon Age to me. Which is OK, but not a huge selling point, imo.
Combat: Meh. I was low level, but still, very limited in terms of options. I had an at-will power, an encounter power, and a daily power and that's about it. I only had 3 places to slot things from inventory to use (potions and such).
Customization: To say DDO wins is a massive understatement. Race means nothing. It's 90% flavor. You get small benefits that do not really matter. In fact, starting stats don't seem to matter all that much. You have 4 classes (fighter has two options).
Great Weapon fighter - THF Fighter. Pure DPS. Almost no defense. Can't TWF, as far as I can tell.
Guardian Fighter - S&B Fighter. Stalwart Defender basically. Moderate DPS. Decent protection from physical damage.
Rogue - A TWF skirmisher. Typical Rogue stuff.
Cleric - Heals and some offensive powers. Very few options.
Control Wizard - Some DPS powers, some debuffs, and some CC.
Customization just...there isn't any.
The spell/power selection is so small. In comparison with the traditional D&D. There is no concept of limiting spell points or spells per day. Everything either is spammable(At-will), recharges on timers (encounter powers) or based on charges being built up by clickies (Much like how the ED fey favor, Blitz, ardor, EiN stuff works) (daily powers). A caster never runs out of mana.
In fact, it's so far from traditional D&D that it doesn't even feel like D&D. Part of that is the 4e stuff, part is the MMO. You start with hundreds of HP at level 1. You deal way more damage than you should. There are no saving throws. There's no insta-death spells. It feels like playing a fantasy MMO/console game. It doesn't feel like D&D at all, besides the Neverwinter setting.
Side Note: I ran 3 FoT's and 1 CiTW in the last 2 days. We never had more than 1 monkcher and Jugg in the party in any of the runs. The idea that everyone is running FoTM builds is bullshit. There is customization. Play NW for a while and see how it feels.
Questing: So far, very linear. Haven't run any skrimishes or dungeon delves yet. They literally give you a glowing path on the floor to follow. And, sadly, you deviate from it, there is no where to go or nothing to do. And I haven't seen an optional or "wrong path" you can take in any of the quests yet. Maybe a collectible here or there in a corner. That's about it. But, then, starter quests generally are "meh". Funny, though. I didn't feel that way about DDO. I loved my first ever run through Low Road and Goodblades and Kobold's Ringleader. And I got my ass kicked. Repeatedly. This game, I've not died yet. And I legitimately suck at the controls so far.
Game Difficulty: NW has none. There is no difficulty level that you can choose. You step in and you pwn shit. I have crap gear, no skill, and a low level toon and I didn't ever even get to half health. Now, I have like 700 some HP, but still....
Conclusion: If DDO dies, I might give it a shot. But I'm too spoiled with DDO's character and race options and combat system. For all it's flaws and deviations, this is still D&D. NW isn't.
DISCLAIMER: I only played for a few hours. I didn't get very high level.