D&D Online: Looking good

[Whizbang Dustyboots]

Folks in the closed beta are saying the game's a mess, moreso than other MMORPGs are at this point. Given AC2 being the flop that it was, I hope no one new to MMORPGs is getting their hopes up too high just yet.

 

[TogaMario]

I might have seen things related to this game. And those people in that closed-beta may be correct in saying what they said.

 

[KenM]

Folks in the closed beta are saying the game's a mess, moreso than other MMORPGs are at this point. Given AC2 being the flop that it was, I hope no one new to MMORPGs is getting their hopes up too high just yet.

Any details??

 

[DaveMage]

I might have seen things related to this game. And those people in that closed-beta may be correct in saying what they said.

Please, continue to hypothesize what these people may be saying...

 

[Troll Wizard]

Folks in the closed beta are saying the game's a mess, moreso than other MMORPGs are at this point. Given AC2 being the flop that it was, I hope no one new to MMORPGs is getting their hopes up too high just yet.

Hmm, well I never played AC2 so I can't compare DDO with it. Due to the NDA I will only confirm what the developer's themselves have released

1. as the developers keep say "beta is coming sooner rather than later"....

2. It's D&D so its "very" party (i.e. grouping required) focused, don't expect to play solo very long... the developers have stated this from the beginning! Really this is not intended for solo gamers.
- - No PvP and no evil characters (one its D&D and two WOTC may be restricting this as they did for TOEE)

3. There is a budget they are working under; thus early on certain things were cut to make sure what is going into the game is the best they can make it.
- No druids, monks, artificers,...
- No half-orcs, changlings,...
- No PrCs
somewhere on their open forum there is a list of 3.5 ruleset features that have been cut http://www.ddo.com/forums/index.php

4. Spell Points versus spell slots, this is one thing I dislike... due to the mechanical and space limitations of the UI, they pretty much had to go with spell points. They do have memorized slots though, so there is a difference between wizard and sorcerer (this iinfo was just released last week in a alpha letter to the forum). They could do spell slots at low levels, but at high levels I can see where the problems would be. Add in easy access for wands, scrolls, and potions, the UI will get really cluttered for the caster class.

5. The quests/adventures are "instances" (some quests are short (15-20min) and some are really long "hours")

6. Party size limit is six

7. Max limit of 3 classes for multi-classing purposes.

8. Max 10 levels, each have four sublevel milestones

9. Is it Eberron? See the screens shots released on their homepage, I am no Eberron expert to judge whether it feels like Eberron or not.

10. One important thing that might be bothering non-D&D people, this game in a lot of its mechanics and especially in terminology is very D&D... (WOTC's is providing input and feedback to Turbine)... People have posted on their open forum that they have gone out and bought the PH and Eberron books to get a start on creating their characters (28 point buy)

11. Does it feel like D&D? In truth yes, despite where they had to compromise from PnP to online play, they do strive to make it feel like D&D.
- Now being an online game you can't have rounds and initiative, so in one sense it does have the combat/melee style an online shooter, but with swords, shields, and spells... feats and class abilities do come into play...
- Every class feels useful, rogues pick locks and disable devices; clerics heal, remove stat damage, buff party; bards inspire the party; mages blast and summon; fighters fight very well, paladins fight and can cast; the same for rangers, sorcerers....
- party tactics count during combat
- people do role play

 

[Troll Wizard]

Here is some recently released character creation info to the public forum yesterday

Building the Deadly Rogue

DDO affords us rogue aficionados the opportunity to really explore what it's like to be a crafty shadow-dweller. Whether it’s picking locks, disarming deadly traps, or delivering death upon your enemies in silence, DDO allows the rogue to shine. This is my version of a rogue build, based on my own personal taste and the options DDO gives me.

Character Creation:

I decided to create a dual-wielding shadow stalker. I start off with 8 points in every attribute which is modified by my race. I selected Halfling because they are small and agile. By selecting Halfling, I gain the following bonuses:

+2 to Dexterity: By far the most important rogue stat.

+1 size bonus to Armor Class: Halflings are small and therefore harder to hit.

+4 on Hide checks: Rogues are masters of the shadows and the +4 bonus is a nice deal for a new character.

+2 morale bonus on saves vs. fear.

+2 bonus on Listen checks: A keen ear is important for a rogue.

+1 on all saves: Who wouldn’t benefit from this?

+1 to Jump and Move Silently checks: Move Silently is the one we are most interested in.

I get a -2 on my Strength score by choosing Halfling because they’re small, but that can be adjusted as you will see during the point buy allocation.

Point buy:

I get 28 points to distribute between the 6 ability scores which right now look like this...

STR 6
DEX 10
CON 8
INT 8
WIS 8
CHA 8

When I build a rogue I list my stats in order of importance as follows: Dexterity, Intelligence, Strength, Charisma, Constitution, and finally Wisdom. Why? Dexterity is the primary ability score for rogues, intelligence gives a rogue extra skill points, and Strength for damage potency. All the rest are a matter of taste.

Point buy is a topic that could be written up as another guide entirely. In order to save space, I will just show you how I construct my starting rogue:

STR 14 +2 - Extra damage, 'nuff said!
DEX 16 +3 - The most important rogue stat
CON 10 +0 - If your enemy is dead before they can hit you, who needs extra hit points?
INT 14 +2 - An extra 8 skill points at creation, +2 extra per level
WIS 10 +0 - A dump stat for a rogue
CHA 10 +0 - While important in some builds, less important in this one

Here you see a rogue that has no negatives, a great Dex score, and good Intelligence and Strength. At levels 4 and 8, I will get a single point to disperse between my scores. I would choose Dexterity to get maximum bonuses out of that crucial stat.

This selection of ability scores gives my Halfling rogue a starting collection of saves as follows...

Fortitude +0
Reflex +5
Will +0

The Reflex is great, Fortitude and Will obviously aren't but at least they aren't negative. They will improve slowly as you level.

Skill selection:

Skills are what make the rogue class. No other class gets as many skill points or class skills to work with. Because of the +2 INT bonus, my rogue will have a whopping 40 points to spend in skills.

While some players choose to throw points into everything they can, I don’t. Because 4 is the max we can put into a skill at creation, I choose 10 skills and max them. I feel it is better to be excellent in some things than mediocre in all.

These are the skills I chose for this rogue build and their modified scores with bonuses and points allocated:

Balance 7 - Get up quicker when knocked down
Bluff 6 - Allows you to trick enemies to get sneak attacks
Disable Device 6 - Traps? With this they will be no problem
Hide 11 - Halfling rogues are masters of the shadows
Listen 6 - Nothing sneaks up on a rogue
Move Silently 8 - Important when it's you doing the sneaking
Open Locks 7 - Locked doors and chests will pose no problem for you
Search 6 - For finding traps before they spring on you
Spot 4 - A passive skill that will indicate a trap before you search
Tumble 7 - In combat, rogues are dexterous and hard to catch

Feat Selection:

Halfling rogues get only one feat at character creation, so it is important to choose wisely. Throughout your rogue’s career in DDO you will gain 4 feats total. In this build I am concentrating on two-weapon combat for potent sneak attacks, so these are the ones I would choose in order of level.

Level 1 Two-Weapon Fighting
An extra weapon in hand means more damage output

Level 3 Weapon Finesse
Weapon finesse allows you to use your dexterity bonus on attack rolls with certain weapons. Excellent for rogues with average strength scores

Level 6 Two-Weapon Defense
Adds a +1 to AC when wielding dual weapons

Level 9 Improved Two-Weapon Fighting
Gain a second off-hand attack; make sure that by level 8 you have raised your dexterity at least one point to 17 to take this feat

By building my rogue this way, I have constructed a lean, mean, two-weapon fighting machine capable of eliminating enemies and retreating back into the darkness before he is even noticed. Be sure to use lighter weapons such as rapiers and short swords. Take care to avoid direct confrontations when you can. And for those times when a face-off is inevitable, learn proficiency in the use of tumble. It will save your life.

This is not the only way to build a rogue, nor will I claim it’s the best way, but it has been a successful build for me and my play style. I hope this guide will spawn ideas of your own for that perfect rogue you’ve been dying to play in DDO.

There is also a write-up for a necro-focused sorcerer, I can cross post it if some one wants to see it.

 

[DaveMage]

8. Max 10 levels, each have four sublevel milestones

Wait - are you saying that characters are capped at level 10?

If not, what do you mean by this?

 

[TogaMario]

Well, I can confirm (as some may have already seen) with particular graphic settings on, it's pretty as all get out.

As stated before, the NDA is still on, so I'm not at liberty to say a whole lot ... but I'm happy that troll wizards decided to run with the confirmable info. DND has always been a group game in my eyes, no fun to have just you and the DM ... or even worse, just you. But I've always enjoyed the DND computer game that let me choose to stubbornly go solo. I especially love an MMO with that option, because sometimes you only have an hour to play and don't want to spend 30 minutes looking for companions.

 

[KenM]

Well, I can confirm (as some may have already seen) with particular graphic settings on, it's pretty as all get out.

As stated before, the NDA is still on, so I'm not at liberty to say a whole lot ...

So you can't tell us at this point how screwed up it is?

 

[TogaMario]

See, that would be bad P.R. Lol, It's just different than what I thought it would be. Not at all what I enjoy in a MMO. But bless them for trying.