Dungeons & Dragons Online: free 10 day Beta

[TheCrimsomBlade]

The wait is over! Dungeons & Dragons™ Online: Stormreach™ is now available for preorder online! This preorder program is your passport to the world of Eberron. Be among the first to receive the game when it launches when you reserve your copy today. Plus, at EBGames.com you can preorder online now and receive a set of keys via e-mail that will grant you access to the full Beta for up to 10 days! Not only that, but the preorder pack also contains other bonuses:

+1 Amulet of Protection: Gain the tactical edge in combat, with +1 to your Armor Class when you start playing the full game.

Head Start Access: Play before release! Reserve a name, start building your character and get a head start over other adventurers.

Stormreach opens its gates to you - Beta access, head start access and bonus magic items.

Go to the following URL for all the details and a direct link to Pre-Order.

http://www.ddo.com/

Best part about the 10 day beta and preordering is if after 5 or 6 days of game play you deside you don't like the game cancle your order and loose nothing.
I have been beta testing DDO since Oct and it is a very well balanced Bugless Game that actually does everything it clams. The Producers have done a really great job of bringing D&D PnP to high speed computers and thats what many RPG Gamers here at IW have been looking for . check it out I know Ziroc will be there.

DDO is nothing like WoW or Guild Wars other than it being an MMORPG. It is alot like Baldurs Gate meets NWN in high rez 3D and its real D&D from the 3.5 rule set.

[Timber Loftis]

Alright, I think I'll do this. Especially since I can reserve the name I want. Imagine those n00bs on WoW, running around with the name "Timber" when in truth THERE CAN BE ONLY ONE!

But, CrimsonBlade, can you please give a bit more on the gameplay? WoW is the only MMO I've ever known, and I like it a TON. I like the art, the cartooniness, the speed of play, and the fact I can log on for an hour and accomplish a bit, or play all day.

Are there professions? Guilds? Instances? Is it all PvP? Do you spend 25 minutes walking places? All I can tell from screenshots is that the artwork is nice.... a bit gloomy, but nice.

[Ivelliis]

I've heard most of it is built around group play, so you *will* need a fighter, a healer, etc.

I also heard the servers will be smaller so it will be a closer community.

This is just what my dad has heard (he is interested in this game too).

[Timber Loftis]

http://www.ebgames.com/ebx/editorial...6&intDeptTab=2

Some reviews. Not all good.

[Timber Loftis]

Does the 10-day trial begin now? Like, could I buy it on Sunday, and play on Sunday?

[TheCrimsomBlade]

I noticed that in all the negitive reviews people were complaining about the level topping out two low. well it's a fact that they haven't read any of the litature that the DDO team has put out every other day with the upgrades.

#1 level cap at 10 with 4 ranks per level = level 40 in most other D&D type games. this is just in the starting Module of game play. If you remember Baldurs Gate II the level cap started at 20 levels and when Throne came out it added from 10 to 20 more levels depending on your class where a ranger or a Paladin could only reach level 34 and a fighter or a Cleric could reach level 40 and then the wizard and Sorserer only could reach level 31.
In DDO everybody gets 10 levels with 4 ranks in each level so that after 40 hrs or hard played gaming I reached level 6 at rank 3 and I was a power to be reconed with because I was at rank 27.
In any other game that would be just plain Level 27 but with the rank system of DDO a level 6 or 7 character is a powerful character and when in a group of 3 or 4 others your holding your own and don't feel like a wimp but then again you are in no way Uber.

#2 in each town area there are doors and man Holes Dungeon access entries everywhere and behind most are new Quests. Before you enter one of these doors you click on them and then you will get a pop up window thats tells you what the quest is in general what level you should be and weather you should get a team of do it alone and who you need to see first(which NPC in Town)to get the quest mission. (EXAMPLE)You then go find the person if you haven't already talked to him/her and they'll tell you a story about a group of kabolds that invaded his dungeon or a cruel Wizard Has placed a curse on him/her and is unable to go into the area and needs you to rid the dungeon of the problem. This would be a level 1 rank 3 type of quest that you can do all by yourself as a more or less training mission to learn how to use your character after you have done the mission once you open up the ability to try the same mission at a "harder" or Hardest level or in party mode mode. The harder the mission the more quest points you win at the end of a completed mission toward gaining the next rank or if your at rank 4 the next level and the next rank 1 in the new level.
You only gane points after you have finished a mission completely.

#3 as you gain levels and rank you can try harder and better Quests and after you reach level 2 rank 2 you will need a balanced party with a Mage or Sorcerer ,fighter, a thief, a Cleric(Healer)is a must have or you'll never finish a quest above level 3 without a healer.
At level 3 the quests start to get hard even at easy level then and each time you try the mission at the harder level it get 2 to 5 times harder and quests points go up 2 to 5 time higher.

Now you never need to do any quest twice but at lower levels its the fastest way to gain experence points and gain enough ranks to level up. Most times when your with a group most people want to redo the missiions at harder settings to gain the bigger prizes and treasures hidden in every quest and everybody wins equal amounts of treasure from every chest, book shelf, or dead NPC no-one is left out or cheated out of their prizes or Platinum,Gold,silver or copper coins everybody on the team wins everytime.

#4 Game Play in towns and in Missions.
In towns or should I say town areas they are crowded with lots of structures and Doors or gates for the 140+ dungeons and you can run around trying the doors in which some lead to stores market places Trainers for each of the Classes and you can interact with all the PC in town and talk to everybody in the area your are in weather they are Players or NPC's. Once you start a mission the only people you will see in the game are team members that you recruted or those that recruted you and NPC's. The people in your team can all talk to one another in game all you need is a head set and mike and everybody has them because if you don't most times they kick you off the team because it takes to long to type and read when the rest of the team is fighting and talking in character (stupid little voices are not required)the program for speaking is free with the game .
This way you really get involved in game play with your team and and work out tatics and stratgies on the run. And sometimes you are really on the run looking for high ground and an avantage point high up on boxes or stacks of bags. Love those boxes.

#5 I have found alot of really good role players in game during beta and when you play the game correctly as an RPG and not as a hack and slash you will have a hell of alot of fun.

DDO is not a Hack and slash game!!! You don't gain points for killing things!! You gain points for killing things in smart ways, that allow you walk away unharmed from even the biggest badddes. ALL because you used your head and found a vantage point where you could do in the "Spiders" or "giant scorpeons" or what ever your fighting. If the baddies never touched and were unable to cause you more than just a little if any damage while at the same time your team mates were able to do the same thing working together uyou will gain in mission special points little bonuses on top of you quest EX points.

AT all times listen to the in game WEB Master and Be careful of the Web Master he can sometimes have duel meanings to his hints that if not thought out he will send you to your doom. (remind you of someone in undermountain?)

There are alot of acid and fire traps that can steel every ounce of your hit points in seconds flat so keep your rogue and rangers in detect trap and secret door mode when ever your in any mission and not fighting the bad guys!!!

One last thing!!
The Bad guys all of them have one really nasty trick.
Example that Killed 3 of 5 in my team :Your walking slowly down a low lit dungeon passage and you see one or two bad guys. They will take 3 or 4 steps toward you then turn and run. THIS is a Trap they want you to chase them only to find out too late that you triggered a hundred arrows that fly out of tiny holes in the walls from both directions and just killed your rogue,ranger and fighter leaving your wimpy sorcerer and cleric with little or no defence to fend off the 15 friends Those two that tricked you have waiting 5 feet from the resurection shrine you need to bring back your friends just 50 feet past the already tripped arrow trap and then they all come after the remainer of your team. So you end up failing the mission you get NO experence points no treasure and all your team can do is start over(a little smarter). So play smart because this is a smart game not hack and slash and it takes smart people like you guys and girls here at IW to win this game. Have fun because I have had alot now that I started following my own advice ,He,He,He [img]smile.gif[/img]

Any body that says this is a dumb game or its boring or its an unballanced hack and slash has no Idea how to play a real RPG and never will.
And the developers have chapter two more than 2 thirds finished and plan to release it into the game VIA auto Patch much like Guild wars does and they have plans to release more game content every 3-6 months with more than 1000 Quests already written and 100 new quests and missions going into in alpha the day the first chapter goes live this Janurary 2006 with 1-5 new levels to be added with it.

[ 12-30-2005, 12:05 AM: Message edited by: TheCrimsomBlade ]

[TheCrimsomBlade]

There is no PvP what so ever in DDO because PvP is pure hack and slash and the developers say they have no plans at any time to even consider adding PvP to DDO becaust DDO is RPG 100%.

[SpiritWarrior]

Looks a little rocky after reading those reviews. Eq2 and WoW got astounding beta reviews in fairness. I will wait on this one and see how you all find it. Anyone who gets it be sure to post your personal review here as I really do hope for this to be a hit!

[TheCrimsomBlade]

I looked up alot of the names that were on these so called forum reviews and not one of the negetive reviewers were regestered with DDO everbody is in a list with our e-mail address and interactive beta tester forum for beta testers only.
DDO is not a cartoon adventure like WoW or Guild Wars and I love GW. Both Of these games are great comedic hack and slash RPGs where as DDO is true RPG with set rules fromthe D&D 3,5 rule set. Most of the kids that play WOW and GW are looking for fast easy EX points and high levels. any kids Playing DDO are more than likely looking for a fast paced mindless attack and kill and gain points and treasures and move on to the next mission type of game and they won't find it. If this is what your looking for you will hate DDO. Once you start playing DDO your whole Idea of game play is going to change or will have to change or you'll never make it to level 3. DDO requires you to think and to work as a real team and communitate with your team at all times warning each other assisting each other and fighting and thinking about everything you do or your dead meat on the floor of a dungeon.
Those of you that have fought Dragons in WoW, NWN, GW, Baldurs Gate and Diablo and you got hit by fire breath the first time or you got bit, you take some hit points and keep fighting. In DDO if you get hit by fire breath or poison or get bit by a large monster "YOU DIE PERIOD" or your wounded into unconsienceness and then it eats you eighter way your Dead. In order to avoid this you need to lay plans out set up deversons and let the Ranged PC take out the monster with High power spells and ranged weapons by striking first by suprise. At the same time haveing a route of escape set up before it counters the attack and wipes out your whole teem with one blast of its fire ,Acid, or Ice breath and this is just the little monsters. You don't get to meet the Giant Red Dragon until your whole team has reached level 10 rank 4 and you own the retail verison.
There are requirements for doing different Missions and Quests and those are the requirement needed to go up against the Dragon otherwise you wont be strong enough to kill it. The game will advise you of the level requirements needed before it lets you even start any quest mission so you don't waste your time trying to do missions you and your team can't handle.

SpiritWarrior I think you have given everybody here very good advice in waiting until the game has been out for a couple of weeks live on line. Then after the full reviews by people that write Reviews for a living come out you'll be able to get a better Idea weather or not you want to buy the game. As for me I'm not planing to buy it at this time. I'm looking forward to The Elder Scrolls Oblivion and NWN II mainly because I'm too cheep to pay $14.95 a month to play any on line game that I have to buy in a store first for $50.00.
I got to play for free for three months and never got past level 8 rank 2 with any of the 8 different characters I made and yes I found it to be a great game but I'm going back to the Single Player RPG's. I enjoy them 10 time more and won't have to deal with all the kids on line that don't understand non hack and slash game play that I have met in Beta in the past 3 months.

[ 12-30-2005, 10:46 AM: Message edited by: TheCrimsomBlade ]

[SpiritWarrior]

Originally posted by TheCrimsomBlade: I looked up alot of the names that were on these so called forum reviews and not one of the negetive reviewers were regestered with DDO everbody is in a list with our e-mail address and interactive beta tester forum for beta testers only. DDO is not a cartoon adventure like WoW or Guild Wars and I love GW. Both Of these games are great comedic hack and slash RPGs where as DDO is true RPG with set rules fromthe D&D 3,5 rule set. Most of the kids that play WOW and GW are looking for fast easy EX points and high levels. any kids Playing DDO are more than likely looking for a fast paced mindless attack and kill and gain points and treasures and move on to the next mission type of game and they won't find it. If this is what your looking for you will hate DDO. Once you start playing DDO your whole Idea of game play is going to change or will have to change or you'll never make it to level 3. DDO requires you to think and to work as a real team and communitate with your team at all times warning each other assisting each other and fighting and thinking about everything you do or your dead meat on the floor of a dungeon. Those of you that have fought Dragons in WoW, NWN, GW, Baldurs Gate and Diablo and you got hit by fire breath the first time or you got bit, you take some hit points and keep fighting. In DDO if you get hit by fire breath or poison or get bit by a large monster "YOU DIE PERIOD" or your wounded into unconsienceness and then it eats you eighter way your Dead. In order to avoid this you need to lay plans out set up deversons and let the Ranged PC take out the monster with High power spells and ranged weapons by striking first by suprise. At the same time haveing a route of escape set up before it counters the attack and wipes out your whole teem with one blast of its fire ,Acid, or Ice breath and this is just the little monsters. You don't get to meet the Giant Red Dragon until your whole team has reached level 10 rank 4 and you own the retail verison. There are requirements for doing different Missions and Quests and those are the requirement needed to go up against the Dragon otherwise you wont be strong enough to kill it. The game will advise you of the level requirements needed before it lets you even start any quest mission so you don't waste your time trying to do missions you and your team can't handle. SpiritWarrior I think you have given everybody here very good advice in waiting until the game has been out for a couple of weeks live on line. Then after the full reviews by people that write Reviews for a living come out you'll be able to get a better Idea weather or not you want to buy the game. As for me I'm not planing to buy it at this time. I'm looking forward to The Elder Scrolls Oblivion and NWN II mainly because I'm too cheep to pay $14.95 a month to play any on line game that I have to buy in a store first for $50.00. I got to play for free for three months and never got past level 8 rank 2 with any of the 8 different characters I made and yes I found it to be a great game but I'm going back to the Single Player RPG's. I enjoy them 10 time more and won't have to deal with all the kids on line that don't understand non hack and slash game play that I have met in Beta in the past 3 months.

Well CB if you liked it that much isn't it worth the $15 a month even for a few months? It sounds promising, the part about it being different from regular MMO's and I *do* need a break from the norm. I am and have been, watching this one carefully, don't think.

[ 12-30-2005, 01:28 PM: Message edited by: SpiritWarrior ]