So who all plans on playing DDO?

[Angel Tarragon]

I'll be buying, just for collectable value alone. I internd it in its shrinkwrap and put it on display.

 

[IronWolf]

Nope, I hate the idea of paying a monthly fee for a game. There are things I would rather spend by money on than that recurring fee. And.... some of the things I have heard have not been all that favorable thus far.

 

[IronWolf]

Is there a trick to getting into the public beta?

I have heard that being active on their forums helps, as well as having some other beta testing experience in the past. No idea if those were accurate statements or not.

 

[KenM]

I'm trying out the stress test this week to see how it is.

 

[Troll Wizard]

I'm trying out the stress test this week to see how it is.

NDA... so I can't give specifics, but play it like you would in a table top D&D game, if you play with the attitude of a WoW player or a twitch player - then you will have a TPK. I don't believe the stress testers have access to the standard alpha/beta discussion boards, if you do find the thread in the combat forum called "tactics, tactics..." it pretty much covers everything people here already know from playing table top 3.5 D&D. The game is very party focused, while its possible to solo some quests, the majority require a balanced party. Especially if you want to complete all the side/optional quests for xp and loot.

 

[PosterBoy]

I'll have to give it a try. I don't really have high hopes, but its D&D.

 

[Cergorach]

I'm still in dubio wether or not to start WoW, but if i start playing a MMORPG, WoW it'll be. I honestly doubt that i'll even consider playing two MMORPGs at the same time, WoW will have an expansion in 2006, so i doubt that if i start playing it i'll stop anytime soon...

And... NWN2 is comming up, so that should ease my D&D needs quite nicely.

Personally i think it's to little to late, if it was available a year ago (and was worth playing it) a lot more folks would be interested. WoW seems to be 'the' fantasy MMORPG at the moment and most folks are like me, they are not going to play more then one MMORPG at a time (paying a monthly fee twice is something most people balk at).

 

[WizarDru]

And... NWN2 is comming up, so that should ease my D&D needs quite nicely.

Personally i think it's to little to late, if it was available a year ago (and was worth playing it) a lot more folks would be interested. WoW seems to be 'the' fantasy MMORPG at the moment and most folks are like me, they are not going to play more then one MMORPG at a time (paying a monthly fee twice is something most people balk at).

Heh, you'd be suprised how many people I know who ARE playing more than one MMORPG at a time. I even know a couple who literally played them simutaneously.

That said, WoW's main problem, for me, is that it apparently falls into 'the grind'. After you progress to a certain point, you have to go through the leveling grind that is part and parcel of most MMORPGs. Further, raiding is required, which also doesn't appeal to me. DDO is focused, supposedly, on small party play, which appeals to me. Further, the xp model is built around quest completion, not 'the grind'. How successful they are at implementing this model remains to be seen.

Most of my friends have dropped EQ, EQ2 and nearly dropped WoW in favor of CoH and CoV, which they are having a ball with. If I were to join an MMORPG, it would CoH. NWN2 sounds good, but also sounds like it suffers from some of NWNs weaknesses; we'll have to wait and see on that one, too. DDO's stated intention of trying to move some of the content into individual DM hands is also quite promising, and unlike any other MMORPG. I played Turbine's first MMORPG, Asheron's Call, for 3.5 years...so I'm willing to cut them some slack.

Remember, when WoW came out, a lot of naysayers claimed that it would be crushed by EQ2 in an overcrowded market. Which just goes to show they underestimated Blizzard. There's always room for a better game, IMHO.

 

[Dark Jezter]

That said, WoW's main problem, for me, is that it apparently falls into 'the grind'. After you progress to a certain point, you have to go through the leveling grind that is part and parcel of most MMORPGs.

I never did level grinding to reach level 60, and neither did most other players I know. I got to level 60 completing quests and exploration.

Further, raiding is required, which also doesn't appeal to me.

In which way do you mean this? If you mean that raiding is required if you want to get the epic raid armor sets, then yes, raiding is required.

However, if you mean that raiding is required to create a powerful character or enjoy the game, that simply isn't true. I know a lot of people who have reached max level and still continue to enjoy the game and have never set foot in a raid dungeon.

 

[WizarDru]

I never did level grinding to reach level 60, and neither did most other players I know. I got to level 60 completing quests and exploration.

That may be true, but it's clearly not everyone's experience. By most reports, the level grind is much easier in WoW than elsewhere, but it IS there. I see things like this, this and this fairly regularly. This doesn't mean I'm not interested in the game or unimpressed with it. I am. Just that I think that grinding is clearly a factor in the game, particularly past 40th-50th level.

However, if you mean that raiding is required to create a powerful character or enjoy the game, that simply isn't true. I know a lot of people who have reached max level and still continue to enjoy the game and have never set foot in a raid dungeon.

Well, I've never played the game, I'm mostly going on second-hand information from friends and online posts. Most of the accounts I've heard had led me to believe that after a certain point, raiding was virtually required to do anything in the game. If that's not the case, I'm glad to hear it. WoW has far more character and story than most of the other MMORPGs put together, and I've been tempted more than once to join it.

Of course, I've also been highly tempted to join City of Heroes...but I'm a casual gamer. I'm not sure I could really afford the time for either, as much as I'd like to.