DDO Free Dungeons Coupon

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MadPreacher

DDO Free Dungeons Coupon

Post by MadPreacher »

https://www.ddo.com/news/ddo-free-dungeoncrawl

We would like to thank you for supporting us! Now through April 23rd, 2023 you can enter a special Coupon Code through Redeem Code in the DDO Store in-game to unlock a trove of quests, raids, and adventure packs for free! This content will be permanently added to your account. EVERYONE can redeem the code, whether you are a free player, Premium, or VIP!

The Coupon Code is: DUNGEONCRAWL (1/Account, available to redeem through 11:59pm Eastern (-4 GMT) on April 23rd, 2023)

The coupon code grants the following quest packs:



Against the Slave Lords
Attack On Stormreach
Delera's Tomb
Devil Assault
Disciples of Rage
Dragonblood Prophecy
Harbinger of Madness
Haunted Halls of Eveningstar
Heart of Madness
Hunter and Hunted
Keep on the Borderlands
Peril of the Planar Eyes
Phiarlan Carnival
Reign of Madness
Secrets of the Artificers
Sentinels of Stormreach
Shadow Under Thunderholme
Shan-to-Kor
Sorrowdusk Isle
Tangleroot Gorge
The Catacombs
The Demon Sands
The Devil's Gambit
The Devils of Shavarath
The Dreaming Dark
The Druid's Deep
The High Road of Shadows
The Lost Gatekeepers
The Mines of Tethyamar
The Necropolis, Part 1
The Necropolis, Part 2
The Necropolis, Part 3
The Necropolis, Part 4
The Path of Inspiration
The Reaver's Reach
The Red Fens
The Restless Isles
The Ruins of Gianthold
The Ruins of Threnal
The Sharn Syndicate
The Soul Splitter
The Temple of Elemental Evil
The Vale of Twilight
The Vault of Night
Three-Barrel Cove
Trials of the Archons
White Plume Mountain and Other Tales

Additionally, enjoy a limited time sale on select Expansion quests in the DDO Store where you will be able to pick up the following items for only 99 points through 11:59pm Eastern (-4 GMT) April 23rd, 2023:

Masterminds of Sharn
Menace of the Underdark
Mists of Ravenloft
The Shadowfell Conspiracy


We are happy to have you here!

Sincerely,

The teams at Standing Stone Games
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Rigwort
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Post by Rigwort »

Huh, I guess the free expansion thing for LOTRO worked out if they're now doing it for DDO as well. I remember playing just the intro to DDO but I wasn't interested in the classes so much, but I'm a sucker for free things so I might have another go...
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Ranselknulf
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Post by Ranselknulf »

I tried to make an account to grab the free quests. I figure, why not. If I ever play it they will be there.

I can't make an account though. Game just gives errors.
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Pipeweed
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Post by Pipeweed »

Without paying up you used to get stuck around level 14 or so and that was by doing the same free quests 10 times.

Instead of making the content open to everyone they have to do it through EXCLUSIVE COUPON CODE. Game itself is rife with gambling interfaces and rare item giveaways. The reincarnation system makes veterans rush through the game to get +1 stat on their next rerolled character... Dont fall for this bait.
Last edited by Pipeweed on July 15th, 2023, 08:40, edited 3 times in total.
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rusty_shackleford
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Post by rusty_shackleford »



(ignore the title, it's part of a 'series' — I think he should change it)

Fair summary. The game has a lot of annoying parts, but if you can look past it you will find one of the best online experiences available and also one of the best (houseruled) D&D digital adaptations. Perhaps the only one that gets close to actually feeling like playing D&D.
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Tweed
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Post by Tweed »

DDO? More like Dildo.
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Post by Xenich »

rusty_shackleford wrote: May 7th, 2023, 02:16


(ignore the title, it's part of a 'series' — I think he should change it)

Fair summary. The game has a lot of annoying parts, but if you can look past it you will find one of the best online experiences available and also one of the best (houseruled) D&D digital adaptations. Perhaps the only one that gets close to actually feeling like playing D&D.
Agreed. This is one of the games over the years that I initially thought was bland on release (though exceptional in many sub elements of play) which has eventually opened up into a very well established world with a lot of depth.

There are lots of classes now, lots of races, icon race/classes. Dungeon difficulties to fit your current progression (Solo, Casual, Normal, Hard, Elite, and Reaper. In addition, game differentiates between three tiers of play: Heroic (up to level 20), Epic (21-30), and Legendary (level 31+). A combination of difficulty setting and game tier defines the actual difficulty, for example Heroic Elite or Epic Hard.)

You can reincarnate your character for Heroic and Epic and with each progression, there are hard bonuses you get depending on if you reincarnate by class, race, or iconic. For instance, +1 damage, +1 to DC for a monk or wizard each reincarnation (cap of 3) you do. Those are now auto granted when you start a new progression (used to have to pick them as feats).

While I wasn't a big fan of a restructure they did a long time ago (moving a some of the progression choices to tree format similar to like Wow handles things), they have done a good job and it works well. Destiny was also changed a while back to a similar system, more open to support hybrid builds.

The biggest change I noticed from initial early releases was that they made combat much faster. Mobs used to take an enormous amount of time (mainly boss) to down and the endurance play was key. That said, apparently Reaper mode has brought back a bit more in that area, but I am not heavily experienced in it (I only have 5 past lives) so I only run the lower version of Reaper (There are 1-10 levels of difficulty in Reaper mode alone and it has its own advancement tree specifically for those modes).

Progression is different than other MMOs in that your EXP is mainly obtained through the completion of the dungeon (with some from obtaining objectives within), so if you are a scrub who wipes constantly due to poor play approaches or if you bite off more than you can chew in your difficulty selection, you can spend hours in a dungeon and come out with no real experience gain).

They have had multiple revisions over various systems over the years, for example using RNG generation of gear, which on its initial release was horrible because they tried to replace hand crafted gear with it, but over the years they have adjusted that system to be more complimented to that of crafting gear to synergize with your hand crafted gear and hand crafted gear has become the dominate rewards in end dungeon bosses.

Then list goes and the game is extremely deep in its development system, especially with multi-classing.

Another note on dungeons, they are all instances, this is the base style of play that DDO is with general city hubs where you pick up quests and follow to various instances to complete the story line. Also, over the years they have added "wilderness" zones which are themed to the module or content they release. For instance, they have the entire Sinister Secret at Saltmarsh series of the old 1st edition modules and its organized as a tavern that is the general hub that connects to a open world instance where the dungeon story instances are all laid out according to how the module describes them. There are sub tasks and gear drops, etc.. that can be obtained in between your journey to the various story progressions in the module.


There really is too much to explain it all, but I would say that after playing numerous MMOs since their inception, this in my opinion is the one that more depth in play and content than any other out there. So severely underrated. Oh, by the way it uses AD&D 3.5 as its base ruleset. There is pay to win, but not structured in the manner of "buy this powerful gear", more so in buying more access to the content (races, classes, modules, etc..) which a sub with buying the expansions pretty much resolves.

Interface is still fairly clunky, but... it is very detailed and flexible in its hotkey configurations (even allowing for an additional modifier key to be selected to increase the number of alt action functionalities). Some classes are hard to get used to in the beginning due to its hybrid open action attack system (ie you can point and click in the direction to swing a sword to hit something, but if you are casting a specific spell or using a bow, it is a tab target selection). This one seems to be the largest hang up for some, but it is customizable and can be adjusted in many ways to fit the person, but it is confusing and annoying at the beginning).

They also have hirelings that you can have in any class which come in two flavors (this is some of the PTW that comes in), gold seal and standard. At standard, only 1 hireling per player can be had and these are purchased through in game currency at various vendors. The other is gold seal and these are store purchases, awarded via upper tiers of expansions, etc... and they allow for the entire party slots to be filled if they are available (party size 6).

Due to this game trying to emulate AD&D, rogues (and classes of similar skills) have a lot of use due to their ability to disable traps (some can one shot kill you), and to open locked doors and chests. They used to be far more valuable when named gear was locked behind certain doors, or chests, but most of the named gear is now at the end chest encounters. Also, most of the spells from AD&D are present which make for some interesting multi-classing.

Anyway, there is a ton more, as well as a TON of content (this was a problem early on with the reincarnation cycle, but now there is so much that you can make multiple runs and not have to concentrate on the same content).

Sorry for the long wind, but this game really is a diamond in the rough with a TON of content and carries with it the extensive RPG like build meta gaming approaches that I know many of you like from games like Underrail.

Here is a link to the wiki that has a lot on the games features.

Oh and yes, I almost forgot. Raids, quite a few. Level range is up to 30+ now and a lot of the lower content has higher level versions with different objectives and content in them.

https://ddowiki.com/

Enjoy!
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Anon
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Post by Anon »

Xenich wrote: February 27th, 2024, 17:52
rusty_shackleford wrote: May 7th, 2023, 02:16


(ignore the title, it's part of a 'series' — I think he should change it)

Fair summary. The game has a lot of annoying parts, but if you can look past it you will find one of the best online experiences available and also one of the best (houseruled) D&D digital adaptations. Perhaps the only one that gets close to actually feeling like playing D&D.
Agreed. This is one of the games over the years that I initially thought was bland on release (though exceptional in many sub elements of play) which has eventually opened up into a very well established world with a lot of depth.

There are lots of classes now, lots of races, icon race/classes. Dungeon difficulties to fit your current progression (Solo, Casual, Normal, Hard, Elite, and Reaper. In addition, game differentiates between three tiers of play: Heroic (up to level 20), Epic (21-30), and Legendary (level 31+). A combination of difficulty setting and game tier defines the actual difficulty, for example Heroic Elite or Epic Hard.)

You can reincarnate your character for Heroic and Epic and with each progression, there are hard bonuses you get depending on if you reincarnate by class, race, or iconic. For instance, +1 damage, +1 to DC for a monk or wizard each reincarnation (cap of 3) you do. Those are now auto granted when you start a new progression (used to have to pick them as feats).

While I wasn't a big fan of a restructure they did a long time ago (moving a some of the progression choices to tree format similar to like Wow handles things), they have done a good job and it works well. Destiny was also changed a while back to a similar system, more open to support hybrid builds.

The biggest change I noticed from initial early releases was that they made combat much faster. Mobs used to take an enormous amount of time (mainly boss) to down and the endurance play was key. That said, apparently Reaper mode has brought back a bit more in that area, but I am not heavily experienced in it (I only have 5 past lives) so I only run the lower version of Reaper (There are 1-10 levels of difficulty in Reaper mode alone and it has its own advancement tree specifically for those modes).

Progression is different than other MMOs in that your EXP is mainly obtained through the completion of the dungeon (with some from obtaining objectives within), so if you are a scrub who wipes constantly due to poor play approaches or if you bite off more than you can chew in your difficulty selection, you can spend hours in a dungeon and come out with no real experience gain).

They have had multiple revisions over various systems over the years, for example using RNG generation of gear, which on its initial release was horrible because they tried to replace hand crafted gear with it, but over the years they have adjusted that system to be more complimented to that of crafting gear to synergize with your hand crafted gear and hand crafted gear has become the dominate rewards in end dungeon bosses.

Then list goes and the game is extremely deep in its development system, especially with multi-classing.

Another note on dungeons, they are all instances, this is the base style of play that DDO is with general city hubs where you pick up quests and follow to various instances to complete the story line. Also, over the years they have added "wilderness" zones which are themed to the module or content they release. For instance, they have the entire Sinister Secret at Saltmarsh series of the old 1st edition modules and its organized as a tavern that is the general hub that connects to a open world instance where the dungeon story instances are all laid out according to how the module describes them. There are sub tasks and gear drops, etc.. that can be obtained in between your journey to the various story progressions in the module.


There really is too much to explain it all, but I would say that after playing numerous MMOs since their inception, this in my opinion is the one that more depth in play and content than any other out there. So severely underrated. Oh, by the way it uses AD&D 3.5 as its base ruleset. There is pay to win, but not structured in the manner of "buy this powerful gear", more so in buying more access to the content (races, classes, modules, etc..) which a sub with buying the expansions pretty much resolves.

Interface is still fairly clunky, but... it is very detailed and flexible in its hotkey configurations (even allowing for an additional modifier key to be selected to increase the number of alt action functionalities). Some classes are hard to get used to in the beginning due to its hybrid open action attack system (ie you can point and click in the direction to swing a sword to hit something, but if you are casting a specific spell or using a bow, it is a tab target selection). This one seems to be the largest hang up for some, but it is customizable and can be adjusted in many ways to fit the person, but it is confusing and annoying at the beginning).

They also have hirelings that you can have in any class which come in two flavors (this is some of the PTW that comes in), gold seal and standard. At standard, only 1 hireling per player can be had and these are purchased through in game currency at various vendors. The other is gold seal and these are store purchases, awarded via upper tiers of expansions, etc... and they allow for the entire party slots to be filled if they are available (party size 6).

Due to this game trying to emulate AD&D, rogues (and classes of similar skills) have a lot of use due to their ability to disable traps (some can one shot kill you), and to open locked doors and chests. They used to be far more valuable when named gear was locked behind certain doors, or chests, but most of the named gear is now at the end chest encounters. Also, most of the spells from AD&D are present which make for some interesting multi-classing.

Anyway, there is a ton more, as well as a TON of content (this was a problem early on with the reincarnation cycle, but now there is so much that you can make multiple runs and not have to concentrate on the same content).

Sorry for the long wind, but this game really is a diamond in the rough with a TON of content and carries with it the extensive RPG like build meta gaming approaches that I know many of you like from games like Underrail.

Here is a link to the wiki that has a lot on the games features.

Oh and yes, I almost forgot. Raids, quite a few. Level range is up to 30+ now and a lot of the lower content has higher level versions with different objectives and content in them.

https://ddowiki.com/

Enjoy!
Not playing a game where you get slapped with microtransactions while trying to complete a quest, but thanks
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Xenich
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Post by Xenich »

Pipeweed wrote: April 2nd, 2023, 12:27
Without paying up you used to get stuck around level 14 or so and that was by doing the same free quests 10 times.

Instead of making the content open to everyone they have to do it through EXCLUSIVE COUPON CODE. Game itself is rife with gambling interfaces and rare item giveaways. The reincarnation system makes veterans rush through the game to get +1 stat on their next rerolled character... Dont fall for this bait.
Yeah, that was a problem, but now with the massive amount of content, and them handing out a lot of it free, you can play the game sub free without issue. The game is up to level 30 now and if you save points through play, you could technically never pay for a thing (lots more grinding though). If you are the type that doesn't mind a sub, and will buy expansions. The game in my experience is wide open. I don't remember, specifically but I don't think anything is locked from the person who subs and pays for expansions.

Most of the PTW stuff is for people who power game and want to reincarnate in record time without any real effort (ottos boxes that give the player 2million exp which will essentially push you to level 20), as well as potions for exp rate boosts, special hirelings which allow you to go above the limit of 1 per person, etc...

As for "rare item" giveaways, that I have never experienced to be honest, but then admittedly I don't pay a whole lot of attention to that. You can buy raid air ships (guild halls) and those ships do allow buffing systems that do make players strong, but they can be quickly achieved by a guild of players anyway.

You also can buy books that give + to stats, I think the supreme tome is +8 and it is pricey, but I play the game solo and have done content where those books drop from time to time anyway, not to mention if you plan to raid at all, it is stupid to pay for them anyway as they drop like candy in the raids.

I have put money because of my play style over the last decade into the game (I solo a lot), but the bulk of it was for content (ie modules, classes, races, bank space, bag space, etc..) which you automatically get 500 points per month with a sub, so waiting for the major sales and its a non-issue.

Like I said, a sub shores up a lot, but if your goal was to play FTP, well.. it comes with requirements, grind, etc.. to obtain them without pay, which really is what all FTP games do anyway.

Buy the expansions, pay a sub and NONE of that is an issue.
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Xenich
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Post by Xenich »

Anon wrote: February 27th, 2024, 17:53
Xenich wrote: February 27th, 2024, 17:52
rusty_shackleford wrote: May 7th, 2023, 02:16


(ignore the title, it's part of a 'series' — I think he should change it)

Fair summary. The game has a lot of annoying parts, but if you can look past it you will find one of the best online experiences available and also one of the best (houseruled) D&D digital adaptations. Perhaps the only one that gets close to actually feeling like playing D&D.
Agreed. This is one of the games over the years that I initially thought was bland on release (though exceptional in many sub elements of play) which has eventually opened up into a very well established world with a lot of depth.

There are lots of classes now, lots of races, icon race/classes. Dungeon difficulties to fit your current progression (Solo, Casual, Normal, Hard, Elite, and Reaper. In addition, game differentiates between three tiers of play: Heroic (up to level 20), Epic (21-30), and Legendary (level 31+). A combination of difficulty setting and game tier defines the actual difficulty, for example Heroic Elite or Epic Hard.)

You can reincarnate your character for Heroic and Epic and with each progression, there are hard bonuses you get depending on if you reincarnate by class, race, or iconic. For instance, +1 damage, +1 to DC for a monk or wizard each reincarnation (cap of 3) you do. Those are now auto granted when you start a new progression (used to have to pick them as feats).

While I wasn't a big fan of a restructure they did a long time ago (moving a some of the progression choices to tree format similar to like Wow handles things), they have done a good job and it works well. Destiny was also changed a while back to a similar system, more open to support hybrid builds.

The biggest change I noticed from initial early releases was that they made combat much faster. Mobs used to take an enormous amount of time (mainly boss) to down and the endurance play was key. That said, apparently Reaper mode has brought back a bit more in that area, but I am not heavily experienced in it (I only have 5 past lives) so I only run the lower version of Reaper (There are 1-10 levels of difficulty in Reaper mode alone and it has its own advancement tree specifically for those modes).

Progression is different than other MMOs in that your EXP is mainly obtained through the completion of the dungeon (with some from obtaining objectives within), so if you are a scrub who wipes constantly due to poor play approaches or if you bite off more than you can chew in your difficulty selection, you can spend hours in a dungeon and come out with no real experience gain).

They have had multiple revisions over various systems over the years, for example using RNG generation of gear, which on its initial release was horrible because they tried to replace hand crafted gear with it, but over the years they have adjusted that system to be more complimented to that of crafting gear to synergize with your hand crafted gear and hand crafted gear has become the dominate rewards in end dungeon bosses.

Then list goes and the game is extremely deep in its development system, especially with multi-classing.

Another note on dungeons, they are all instances, this is the base style of play that DDO is with general city hubs where you pick up quests and follow to various instances to complete the story line. Also, over the years they have added "wilderness" zones which are themed to the module or content they release. For instance, they have the entire Sinister Secret at Saltmarsh series of the old 1st edition modules and its organized as a tavern that is the general hub that connects to a open world instance where the dungeon story instances are all laid out according to how the module describes them. There are sub tasks and gear drops, etc.. that can be obtained in between your journey to the various story progressions in the module.


There really is too much to explain it all, but I would say that after playing numerous MMOs since their inception, this in my opinion is the one that more depth in play and content than any other out there. So severely underrated. Oh, by the way it uses AD&D 3.5 as its base ruleset. There is pay to win, but not structured in the manner of "buy this powerful gear", more so in buying more access to the content (races, classes, modules, etc..) which a sub with buying the expansions pretty much resolves.

Interface is still fairly clunky, but... it is very detailed and flexible in its hotkey configurations (even allowing for an additional modifier key to be selected to increase the number of alt action functionalities). Some classes are hard to get used to in the beginning due to its hybrid open action attack system (ie you can point and click in the direction to swing a sword to hit something, but if you are casting a specific spell or using a bow, it is a tab target selection). This one seems to be the largest hang up for some, but it is customizable and can be adjusted in many ways to fit the person, but it is confusing and annoying at the beginning).

They also have hirelings that you can have in any class which come in two flavors (this is some of the PTW that comes in), gold seal and standard. At standard, only 1 hireling per player can be had and these are purchased through in game currency at various vendors. The other is gold seal and these are store purchases, awarded via upper tiers of expansions, etc... and they allow for the entire party slots to be filled if they are available (party size 6).

Due to this game trying to emulate AD&D, rogues (and classes of similar skills) have a lot of use due to their ability to disable traps (some can one shot kill you), and to open locked doors and chests. They used to be far more valuable when named gear was locked behind certain doors, or chests, but most of the named gear is now at the end chest encounters. Also, most of the spells from AD&D are present which make for some interesting multi-classing.

Anyway, there is a ton more, as well as a TON of content (this was a problem early on with the reincarnation cycle, but now there is so much that you can make multiple runs and not have to concentrate on the same content).

Sorry for the long wind, but this game really is a diamond in the rough with a TON of content and carries with it the extensive RPG like build meta gaming approaches that I know many of you like from games like Underrail.

Here is a link to the wiki that has a lot on the games features.

Oh and yes, I almost forgot. Raids, quite a few. Level range is up to 30+ now and a lot of the lower content has higher level versions with different objectives and content in them.

https://ddowiki.com/

Enjoy!
Not playing a game where you get slapped with microtransactions while trying to complete a quest, but thanks
There is that, I am assuming you are talking about the "here is your reward, spend astral to do another roll up to 3 times"?

Yeah, its annoying to see it, but... my thought is, the games mechanics, content, and play is superior to most out there in depth, that a little "reroll" button at the bottom of the loot interface of the chest doesn't bother me.

Its not like playing Perfect world or many like them where PTW is required if you want to honestly progress in the game, but I understand the point, and it is unfortunate as the game in no way requires it for success of play. My only point is that while I completely understand your point, there is so much game play that I know many would absolutely love if they could just ignore that. Besides, its just a button, not like a full on spam advertisement like some games have.
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rusty_shackleford
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Post by rusty_shackleford »

If you grab the free coupon while it's active it's a ton of free and good content. Really underrated.
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Xenich
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Post by Xenich »

rusty_shackleford wrote: February 27th, 2024, 18:16
If you grab the free coupon while it's active it's a ton of free and good content. Really underrated.
Yeah, it is a ton of content to be honest. I was playing sub for years, buying the expansions that came out, even applied the original games code which gave me all of the early release content and still there was a ton I did not own. Once I entered that code in, I only had a couple of the special classes/races to pick up and I don't sub the game anymore. I have all the content. Now it is just upkeep of new expansions, and never sub again.
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Post by DagothGeas5 »

I might actually give this a go, but I have grown to have very thin skin when it comes to certain "STOP! You must pay to enter this area/play this quest, even if we have dangled the intro in front of your face." "You are out of energy to inspect this item! Good for you, you can pay and get 1 more energy!". That huge list on the OP post about things that are now "free for a time" (which has now expired) has really given me a bad impression on what large amount of content is locked, like in Elder Scrolls Online where you cannot even loot a cache without having bought the "expansion pack" cut out of the base game to sell it on the side, and this game wasn't even free at launch for the Thieves Guild.
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Xenich
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Post by Xenich »

How many MMOs have taken this route?

EQ2 has gotten horrible about it and I would say worse in its advertisement of it. They actually spam you if you are not subbed on some things. Not sure about EQ 1, been a while since I paid attention to that. WoW I haven't played since Cata, but various things I have seen shows its applying like behavior (at least in its offerings of level up and the like).

Reality is, most games do it now (which sucks), but I changed my position on this over the years. I still don't agree with it, but I pick and choose my battles now and since there is slim to no selections out there, I can choose not to play what is overall a very good detailed game, or.. I can play nothing, which is the same compromise I make with other games by modding out their garbage.

As I have said, most of these "bonuses" are to gimmick people to buy them early. The chest re-rolls are to get you to act hasty to see if you can get the item to pop rather than running it again. Over all though, other than in some cases, it doesn't take long to get the item you were looking for in that dungeon and also, with all the store crap (which again is just tomes for stat boosts, reincarnation tools/boosts, etc... just playing the game normally (ie not heavy grind till you are blue in the face) will produce the same results, ESPECIALLY if you are raiding.
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Anon
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Post by Anon »

Xenich wrote: February 27th, 2024, 18:29
How many MMOs have taken this route?

EQ2 has gotten horrible about it and I would say worse in its advertisement of it. They actually spam you if you are not subbed on some things. Not sure about EQ 1, been a while since I paid attention to that. WoW I haven't played since Cata, but various things I have seen shows its applying like behavior (at least in its offerings of level up and the like).

Reality is, most games do it now (which sucks), but I changed my position on this over the years. I still don't agree with it, but I pick and choose my battles now and since there is slim to no selections out there, I can choose not to play what is overall a very good detailed game, or.. I can play nothing, which is the same compromise I make with other games by modding out their garbage.

As I have said, most of these "bonuses" are to gimmick people to buy them early. The chest re-rolls are to get you to act hasty to see if you can get the item to pop rather than running it again. Over all though, other than in some cases, it doesn't take long to get the item you were looking for in that dungeon and also, with all the store crap (which again is just tomes for stat boosts, reincarnation tools/boosts, etc... just playing the game normally (ie not heavy grind till you are blue in the face) will produce the same results, ESPECIALLY if you are raiding.
OSRS doesn't, that's why I still play it
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Xenich
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Post by Xenich »

DagothGeas5 wrote: February 27th, 2024, 18:24
I might actually give this a go, but I have grown to have very thin skin when it comes to certain "STOP! You must pay to enter this area/play this quest, even if we have dangled the intro in front of your face." "You are out of energy to inspect this item! Good for you, you can pay and get 1 more energy!". That huge list on the OP post about things that are now "free for a time" (which has now expired) has really given me a bad impression on what large amount of content is locked, like in Elder Scrolls Online where you cannot even loot a cache without having bought the "expansion pack" cut out of the base game to sell it on the side, and this game wasn't even free at launch for the Thieves Guild.
Is subbing a problem for you? If not, sub...

https://ddowiki.com/page/VIP

That is the benefits of subbing.

I can't remember up to what expansions it covers, but I want to say... at least up the last couple (may even be up to the latest).

What subbing will do is remove the majority of what is paywalled. There might be some "special" classes, iconics, or races that are locked, but I don't think that many and I think the free code up there takes care of a lot of that anyway.

Point is, as I said... sub + expansion buying (the traditional method for gaming) removes 98% of those issues. You will still see a dice pop up each day (this is the silver roll/Gold roll) which everyone gets a silver roll each day and subs get a golden roll every week. Last I checked, there is no gear in that, its just potions, exp boosts, etc.. minor things that have no real bearing on play and to be honest and half the time I don't even bother rolling on them as they take up bag space.

If you are playing FTP, this one... I can't agree with some people on as if its free, did you really expect there to be none of those things encountered? FTP is in itself an advertisement scheme, you get what you pay for on that note.

Edit: Just read the VIP details, it also includes all of the modules and expansions. Subbing is the only real to play this game (at least until you have enough points to buy all the content and stop subbing, took me years though)
Last edited by Xenich on February 27th, 2024, 18:41, edited 1 time in total.
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Post by Xenich »

Anon wrote: February 27th, 2024, 18:36
Xenich wrote: February 27th, 2024, 18:29
How many MMOs have taken this route?

EQ2 has gotten horrible about it and I would say worse in its advertisement of it. They actually spam you if you are not subbed on some things. Not sure about EQ 1, been a while since I paid attention to that. WoW I haven't played since Cata, but various things I have seen shows its applying like behavior (at least in its offerings of level up and the like).

Reality is, most games do it now (which sucks), but I changed my position on this over the years. I still don't agree with it, but I pick and choose my battles now and since there is slim to no selections out there, I can choose not to play what is overall a very good detailed game, or.. I can play nothing, which is the same compromise I make with other games by modding out their garbage.

As I have said, most of these "bonuses" are to gimmick people to buy them early. The chest re-rolls are to get you to act hasty to see if you can get the item to pop rather than running it again. Over all though, other than in some cases, it doesn't take long to get the item you were looking for in that dungeon and also, with all the store crap (which again is just tomes for stat boosts, reincarnation tools/boosts, etc... just playing the game normally (ie not heavy grind till you are blue in the face) will produce the same results, ESPECIALLY if you are raiding.
OSRS doesn't, that's why I still play it
OSRS? what's that?

NM, runescape. Well.. not the same level of complexity in systems I experienced with DDO, but hey... to each their own.
Last edited by Xenich on February 27th, 2024, 18:39, edited 1 time in total.
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Post by Anon »

Xenich wrote: February 27th, 2024, 18:38
Anon wrote: February 27th, 2024, 18:36
Xenich wrote: February 27th, 2024, 18:29
How many MMOs have taken this route?

EQ2 has gotten horrible about it and I would say worse in its advertisement of it. They actually spam you if you are not subbed on some things. Not sure about EQ 1, been a while since I paid attention to that. WoW I haven't played since Cata, but various things I have seen shows its applying like behavior (at least in its offerings of level up and the like).

Reality is, most games do it now (which sucks), but I changed my position on this over the years. I still don't agree with it, but I pick and choose my battles now and since there is slim to no selections out there, I can choose not to play what is overall a very good detailed game, or.. I can play nothing, which is the same compromise I make with other games by modding out their garbage.

As I have said, most of these "bonuses" are to gimmick people to buy them early. The chest re-rolls are to get you to act hasty to see if you can get the item to pop rather than running it again. Over all though, other than in some cases, it doesn't take long to get the item you were looking for in that dungeon and also, with all the store crap (which again is just tomes for stat boosts, reincarnation tools/boosts, etc... just playing the game normally (ie not heavy grind till you are blue in the face) will produce the same results, ESPECIALLY if you are raiding.
OSRS doesn't, that's why I still play it
OSRS? what's that?
oldschool runescape
Last edited by Anon on February 27th, 2024, 18:39, edited 1 time in total.
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Post by Anon »

Xenich wrote: February 27th, 2024, 18:15
Anon wrote: February 27th, 2024, 17:53
Xenich wrote: February 27th, 2024, 17:52


Agreed. This is one of the games over the years that I initially thought was bland on release (though exceptional in many sub elements of play) which has eventually opened up into a very well established world with a lot of depth.

There are lots of classes now, lots of races, icon race/classes. Dungeon difficulties to fit your current progression (Solo, Casual, Normal, Hard, Elite, and Reaper. In addition, game differentiates between three tiers of play: Heroic (up to level 20), Epic (21-30), and Legendary (level 31+). A combination of difficulty setting and game tier defines the actual difficulty, for example Heroic Elite or Epic Hard.)

You can reincarnate your character for Heroic and Epic and with each progression, there are hard bonuses you get depending on if you reincarnate by class, race, or iconic. For instance, +1 damage, +1 to DC for a monk or wizard each reincarnation (cap of 3) you do. Those are now auto granted when you start a new progression (used to have to pick them as feats).

While I wasn't a big fan of a restructure they did a long time ago (moving a some of the progression choices to tree format similar to like Wow handles things), they have done a good job and it works well. Destiny was also changed a while back to a similar system, more open to support hybrid builds.

The biggest change I noticed from initial early releases was that they made combat much faster. Mobs used to take an enormous amount of time (mainly boss) to down and the endurance play was key. That said, apparently Reaper mode has brought back a bit more in that area, but I am not heavily experienced in it (I only have 5 past lives) so I only run the lower version of Reaper (There are 1-10 levels of difficulty in Reaper mode alone and it has its own advancement tree specifically for those modes).

Progression is different than other MMOs in that your EXP is mainly obtained through the completion of the dungeon (with some from obtaining objectives within), so if you are a scrub who wipes constantly due to poor play approaches or if you bite off more than you can chew in your difficulty selection, you can spend hours in a dungeon and come out with no real experience gain).

They have had multiple revisions over various systems over the years, for example using RNG generation of gear, which on its initial release was horrible because they tried to replace hand crafted gear with it, but over the years they have adjusted that system to be more complimented to that of crafting gear to synergize with your hand crafted gear and hand crafted gear has become the dominate rewards in end dungeon bosses.

Then list goes and the game is extremely deep in its development system, especially with multi-classing.

Another note on dungeons, they are all instances, this is the base style of play that DDO is with general city hubs where you pick up quests and follow to various instances to complete the story line. Also, over the years they have added "wilderness" zones which are themed to the module or content they release. For instance, they have the entire Sinister Secret at Saltmarsh series of the old 1st edition modules and its organized as a tavern that is the general hub that connects to a open world instance where the dungeon story instances are all laid out according to how the module describes them. There are sub tasks and gear drops, etc.. that can be obtained in between your journey to the various story progressions in the module.


There really is too much to explain it all, but I would say that after playing numerous MMOs since their inception, this in my opinion is the one that more depth in play and content than any other out there. So severely underrated. Oh, by the way it uses AD&D 3.5 as its base ruleset. There is pay to win, but not structured in the manner of "buy this powerful gear", more so in buying more access to the content (races, classes, modules, etc..) which a sub with buying the expansions pretty much resolves.

Interface is still fairly clunky, but... it is very detailed and flexible in its hotkey configurations (even allowing for an additional modifier key to be selected to increase the number of alt action functionalities). Some classes are hard to get used to in the beginning due to its hybrid open action attack system (ie you can point and click in the direction to swing a sword to hit something, but if you are casting a specific spell or using a bow, it is a tab target selection). This one seems to be the largest hang up for some, but it is customizable and can be adjusted in many ways to fit the person, but it is confusing and annoying at the beginning).

They also have hirelings that you can have in any class which come in two flavors (this is some of the PTW that comes in), gold seal and standard. At standard, only 1 hireling per player can be had and these are purchased through in game currency at various vendors. The other is gold seal and these are store purchases, awarded via upper tiers of expansions, etc... and they allow for the entire party slots to be filled if they are available (party size 6).

Due to this game trying to emulate AD&D, rogues (and classes of similar skills) have a lot of use due to their ability to disable traps (some can one shot kill you), and to open locked doors and chests. They used to be far more valuable when named gear was locked behind certain doors, or chests, but most of the named gear is now at the end chest encounters. Also, most of the spells from AD&D are present which make for some interesting multi-classing.

Anyway, there is a ton more, as well as a TON of content (this was a problem early on with the reincarnation cycle, but now there is so much that you can make multiple runs and not have to concentrate on the same content).

Sorry for the long wind, but this game really is a diamond in the rough with a TON of content and carries with it the extensive RPG like build meta gaming approaches that I know many of you like from games like Underrail.

Here is a link to the wiki that has a lot on the games features.

Oh and yes, I almost forgot. Raids, quite a few. Level range is up to 30+ now and a lot of the lower content has higher level versions with different objectives and content in them.

https://ddowiki.com/

Enjoy!
Not playing a game where you get slapped with microtransactions while trying to complete a quest, but thanks
There is that, I am assuming you are talking about the "here is your reward, spend astral to do another roll up to 3 times"?

Yeah, its annoying to see it, but... my thought is, the games mechanics, content, and play is superior to most out there in depth, that a little "reroll" button at the bottom of the loot interface of the chest doesn't bother me.

Its not like playing Perfect world or many like them where PTW is required if you want to honestly progress in the game, but I understand the point, and it is unfortunate as the game in no way requires it for success of play. My only point is that while I completely understand your point, there is so much game play that I know many would absolutely love if they could just ignore that. Besides, its just a button, not like a full on spam advertisement like some games have.
Fair points, I'll reconsider playing it someday
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Post by DagothGeas5 »

Xenich wrote: February 27th, 2024, 18:29
How many MMOs have taken this route?

EQ2 has gotten horrible about it and I would say worse in its advertisement of it. They actually spam you if you are not subbed on some things. Not sure about EQ 1, been a while since I paid attention to that. WoW I haven't played since Cata, but various things I have seen shows its applying like behavior (at least in its offerings of level up and the like).

Reality is, most games do it now (which sucks), but I changed my position on this over the years. I still don't agree with it, but I pick and choose my battles now and since there is slim to no selections out there, I can choose not to play what is overall a very good detailed game, or.. I can play nothing, which is the same compromise I make with other games by modding out their garbage.

As I have said, most of these "bonuses" are to gimmick people to buy them early. The chest re-rolls are to get you to act hasty to see if you can get the item to pop rather than running it again. Over all though, other than in some cases, it doesn't take long to get the item you were looking for in that dungeon and also, with all the store crap (which again is just tomes for stat boosts, reincarnation tools/boosts, etc... just playing the game normally (ie not heavy grind till you are blue in the face) will produce the same results, ESPECIALLY if you are raiding.
My only gripe is if they lock the quests, areas, raids and lore but not in a "buy the new expansion", I mean in a: "Play the farm game! What's that? You want to plant crops? Buy the DLC. Hm? What do you mean where is your storage to put the crops? You have to buy the other DLC for that. What's that? Where are your animals to feed the crops you planted to? You have to buy the other DLC for it." Hope I am making sense. Another example would be to buy a hamburger, and they give you the two slices of bread only, everything else needing to be purchased separately. I am fine with expansions, especially for a free game, but I'd rather not buy 60 DLC to restore what was supposed to be in the base game from the start.
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Post by Xenich »

Anon wrote: February 27th, 2024, 18:38
Xenich wrote: February 27th, 2024, 18:38
Anon wrote: February 27th, 2024, 18:36


OSRS doesn't, that's why I still play it
OSRS? what's that?
oldschool runescape
I have always wanted to try it. It looks fun, I think I was in other MMOs a the time or Mudding. That said, a simple sub takes care of most of the issues (other than the one we talked about).
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Post by Xenich »

DagothGeas5 wrote: February 27th, 2024, 18:42
Xenich wrote: February 27th, 2024, 18:29
How many MMOs have taken this route?

EQ2 has gotten horrible about it and I would say worse in its advertisement of it. They actually spam you if you are not subbed on some things. Not sure about EQ 1, been a while since I paid attention to that. WoW I haven't played since Cata, but various things I have seen shows its applying like behavior (at least in its offerings of level up and the like).

Reality is, most games do it now (which sucks), but I changed my position on this over the years. I still don't agree with it, but I pick and choose my battles now and since there is slim to no selections out there, I can choose not to play what is overall a very good detailed game, or.. I can play nothing, which is the same compromise I make with other games by modding out their garbage.

As I have said, most of these "bonuses" are to gimmick people to buy them early. The chest re-rolls are to get you to act hasty to see if you can get the item to pop rather than running it again. Over all though, other than in some cases, it doesn't take long to get the item you were looking for in that dungeon and also, with all the store crap (which again is just tomes for stat boosts, reincarnation tools/boosts, etc... just playing the game normally (ie not heavy grind till you are blue in the face) will produce the same results, ESPECIALLY if you are raiding.
My only gripe is if they lock the quests, areas, raids and lore but not in a "buy the new expansion", I mean in a: "Play the farm game! What's that? You want to plant crops? Buy the DLC. Hm? What do you mean where is your storage to put the crops? You have to buy the other DLC for that. What's that? Where are your animals to feed the crops you planted to? You have to buy the other DLC for it." Hope I am making sense. Another example would be to buy a hamburger, and they give you the two slices of bread only, everything else needing to be purchased separately. I am fine with expansions, especially for a free game, but I'd rather not buy 60 DLC to restore what was supposed to be in the base game from the start.
Can you give an example within the games context?

First, are you playing FTP? If so, honestly that one I never bothered with until I had purchased all the content over the years. Only now can I play the game in free mode and its entirely open to me (unless there is some minor addition I am missing from VIP benefits).

Subbing takes care of most of that and opens it up, which arguably is the traditional method MMOs always were pre-FTP pay shops.
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Post by Xenich »

Ok, let me be clear, not seeing any of your complaints in the game IF you sub.

As I said, the VIP doesn't even require you to buy the expansions. You should be good for a try.

I would say experiencing the game as subbed, will give you the best representation of the experience the game can offer. If you don't sub, you are going to get pay walled, blocked, etc...

An example is Dungeons. FTP is limited to a scope of dungeons (the free code opens a lot up, but many issues will still remain). For instance, Dungeon levels... Easy up to Reaper. I think they opened it up a bit (ie you can start as hard, I think... when you try a dungeon for the first time). In order to unlock additional difficulties, you will have to first complete the Hard, and then you can move to the elite. The difference is that Elite has a higher rate of drop for the named gear, but.. at the cost of increased difficulty. With a sub, you are not restricted here.

There are tons of little restrictions like this throughout the game with FTP, which is why FTP should only be used to judge the basic mechanics of the game play, not an evaluation of the "pay walls" as a sub clearly resolves much of the problems here other than special content they expect you to buy as if it were an expansion or addition to the game (which isn't much for a sub).
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Post by DagothGeas5 »

Xenich wrote: February 27th, 2024, 18:48
DagothGeas5 wrote: February 27th, 2024, 18:42
Xenich wrote: February 27th, 2024, 18:29
How many MMOs have taken this route?

EQ2 has gotten horrible about it and I would say worse in its advertisement of it. They actually spam you if you are not subbed on some things. Not sure about EQ 1, been a while since I paid attention to that. WoW I haven't played since Cata, but various things I have seen shows its applying like behavior (at least in its offerings of level up and the like).

Reality is, most games do it now (which sucks), but I changed my position on this over the years. I still don't agree with it, but I pick and choose my battles now and since there is slim to no selections out there, I can choose not to play what is overall a very good detailed game, or.. I can play nothing, which is the same compromise I make with other games by modding out their garbage.

As I have said, most of these "bonuses" are to gimmick people to buy them early. The chest re-rolls are to get you to act hasty to see if you can get the item to pop rather than running it again. Over all though, other than in some cases, it doesn't take long to get the item you were looking for in that dungeon and also, with all the store crap (which again is just tomes for stat boosts, reincarnation tools/boosts, etc... just playing the game normally (ie not heavy grind till you are blue in the face) will produce the same results, ESPECIALLY if you are raiding.
My only gripe is if they lock the quests, areas, raids and lore but not in a "buy the new expansion", I mean in a: "Play the farm game! What's that? You want to plant crops? Buy the DLC. Hm? What do you mean where is your storage to put the crops? You have to buy the other DLC for that. What's that? Where are your animals to feed the crops you planted to? You have to buy the other DLC for it." Hope I am making sense. Another example would be to buy a hamburger, and they give you the two slices of bread only, everything else needing to be purchased separately. I am fine with expansions, especially for a free game, but I'd rather not buy 60 DLC to restore what was supposed to be in the base game from the start.
Can you give an example within the games context?

First, are you playing FTP? If so, honestly that one I never bothered with until I had purchased all the content over the years. Only now can I play the game in free mode and its entirely open to me (unless there is some minor addition I am missing from VIP benefits).

Subbing takes care of most of that and opens it up, which arguably is the traditional method MMOs always were pre-FTP pay shops.
I have never played this game, I am asking you actually :3 I have seen this DDO around a few times over the years, but I never "felt it", so to speak. If it's not predatory in how it handles content, I would like to give it a try, but the OP post with that huge list really turned my interest off.
As an example more on gaming context, I would say:
--What it's fine by me--
I play the game with lower XP gain, fewer classes, but a huge map to explore and single-player quests I can sink my teeth into. I then find out there is a whole continent of content, and see players with mounts and armor I have never seen. I look them up, and find out I have to buy the DLC to get those. I am fine with that, because it also supports, hopefully, the game I like.

--What I am not fine with--
Continuing from the example above, I buy this expansion and then go to this new continent. In it, at first things seem to be the same, but instead I find out that the expansion I bought is not Platinum++Erotic9000 Edition, so I can only explore a few areas, all the raids are locked but a few "demo" ones, and the mounts and armor look like they are made in papermaché. So let's say I then buy this plus-platinum-whatever edition, what I find out is that the raids are still locked, for example. And this is how I find that every single raid has to be bought separatedly, and it is just the beginning, because this also applies to the classes and everything else, PLUS cosmetics if one wants them. My interest in "supporting" this company is gone at this point.

Hope I am making sense! Elder Scrolls Online and other games I don't recall the names of made me like this, but, as I removed them from my interests, I cannot presently recall their names. I remember Elder Scrolls Online because I have it in my Steam library, and I have SOME hope it can be playable.
Xenich wrote: February 27th, 2024, 18:56
Ok, let me be clear, not seeing any of your complaints in the game IF you sub.

As I said, the VIP doesn't even require you to buy the expansions. You should be good for a try.

I would say experiencing the game as subbed, will give you the best representation of the experience the game can offer. If you don't sub, you are going to get pay walled, blocked, etc...

An example is Dungeons. FTP is limited to a scope of dungeons (the free code opens a lot up, but many issues will still remain). For instance, Dungeon levels... Easy up to Reaper. I think they opened it up a bit (ie you can start as hard, I think... when you try a dungeon for the first time). In order to unlock additional difficulties, you will have to first complete the Hard, and then you can move to the elite. The difference is that Elite has a higher rate of drop for the named gear, but.. at the cost of increased difficulty. With a sub, you are not restricted here.

There are tons of little restrictions like this throughout the game with FTP, which is why FTP should only be used to judge the basic mechanics of the game play, not an evaluation of the "pay walls" as a sub clearly resolves much of the problems here other than special content they expect you to buy as if it were an expansion or addition to the game (which isn't much for a sub).
I finished typing when you posted this, so I am keeping the first part for posterity.
In this case, could you go into more detail about what is blocked, exactly? Difficulty being blocked or gear being harder to gain it's not a problem for me, like, as you said, it's like buying things to have a "boost" though it's for a problem they themselves created to begin with
Last edited by DagothGeas5 on February 27th, 2024, 19:06, edited 1 time in total.
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Post by Xenich »

I know I sound like some stupid fan boy, but seriously, as even Rusty mentioned, its SEVERELY underrated. Much of the issues people have are the FTP and its understandable, its pretty fubar if you are new and haven't obtained anything. I hate FTP with a passion, I hate PTW, and this game has some elements as I mentioned, but... a sub play is very clean. It is just a shame for some of you to miss out on what is a amazing in depth system of AD&D (this is my biggest swoon over the game because I am a long time fan) with tons of the old 1st edition modules in play. Don't miss out, sub it once, try it for the month with honest approach and if you hate it still, then that is an honest experience and fair.

While not all of you will like it for various reasons, I would wager some are going to go nuts on the meta gaming. By the way, there is a character editor for this game as well, similar to Undrerail that allows you to pre-build your runs, and honestly, I advise doing this because you can gimp your character sometimes just like Underrail if you shoot from the hip. Most single builds should be ok, with limitations depending on play style, the adventure you are doing, etc... Easiest approach for non-grognards of AD&D is to pick a melee character (monks are amazing first time characters, Barbarians, Fighters, etc...) Your advancement trees can be reset pretty easily within the games own curency and systems. Feats and class fixing (ie you screwed up a multi-class or need to change multiple feats) are a problem. Only way to repair those is the store, or.. suck it up, get to 20, farm some dungeons for tokens to get reincarnation tokens, and then reincarnate again.

There is a limited free respec for feats in the game (its a quest), but it only allows a direct swap. If you have a feat that is layered (ie improved critical), you would have to remove it before you removed its parent (ie you need the store).

As long as you plan your build properly before you play (or select something simple that is generally effective), you won't have any issues. You get complex, you had better have a template as it can get messy.
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Post by Xenich »

DagothGeas5 wrote: February 27th, 2024, 19:05
I finished typing when you posted this, so I am keeping the first part for posterity.
In this case, could you go into more detail about what is blocked, exactly? Difficulty being blocked or gear being harder to gain it's not a problem for me, like, as you said, it's like buying things to have a "boost" though it's for a problem they themselves created to begin with
Lets see...

Keep in mind its been a while since I played FTP fresh with no content purchased.
Use the wiki for any specifics on the issue, I think it outlines what is pay-walled on some of the things. I will give you a general idea of what though.

https://ddowiki.com/page/VIP (edit added a direct link to VIP so you can browse basically what might be paywalled)

1. Classes: Some base classes may be paywalled, Alchemist for instance, monk used to be.
2. Base Races: Some of the special races are also paywalled (can't remember which ones).
3. Dungeon access to higher tiers: Not pay walled, but "grind" as I said.

4. Modules and expansions
(every dungeon is an instance, there are NO open areas that are not instanced except cities and taverns). Each of these are either "individually" a module, or a series of them. Each is paywalled, with a certain subset that is released for FTP. Subs have no issues, all are completely open. So either its free, you bought the expansion that had them, or you pay individually for them.

5. Bank and bag slots. This can be earned through the game as you play through faction reward, but there a couple of bag and bank slots that are paywalled (unless you sub).

6. Advancement Trees some that are specialized are pay walled (unless you sub).

7. Challenges are paywalled (special event instances that have a rewards) (unless you sub)

There may be more, but there are no gear restrictions, no "this player is more special than you because they paid more" type of garbage outside of the cosmetic stuff, which I never really paid attention to. and the various minor bonuses that VIP sub gives.

I think there used to be some benefits VIPs subs got on raid timers and the like, but I can't remember, I never raided much (other than solo running a low level instance with a high level)

Like I said, if you plan to never sub, then the game will have a lot of "this is not available without purchase".

Also, many of the dungeons provide you with points on completion that are direct cash that can be used in the store. You will often get a mail in the mailbox saying (you have obtained 25 DDO points) and it is because you finished some line of quest or a specific dungeon in the game. FTP players will often outline and map out these and farm them excessively on multiple servers to get up enough points to buy something before they start a real toon (points if I remember right, I think are account wide).

Remember though, sub gives you 500 points a month, and you earn points by just playing, so some people will sub for a while, playing heavily and that is enough over time to buy all the content they want before they revert to FTP form then on.

Point is, no major gimmicks like you pointed out, other than what I would call reasonable pay walls for the content. For me, if I buy the new expansions as they come out, I don't need to sub (unless for the little benefits like bonus exp and the like) as each expansions comes (might need to buy the higher tier releases) with everything that ends up in the store anyway. So at that point, the game becomes "Buy to play" mostly.

Again, I want to be clear, all of these "road blocks" are removed with a VIP Sub.
Last edited by Xenich on February 27th, 2024, 19:42, edited 4 times in total.
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Post by DagothGeas5 »

Xenich wrote: February 27th, 2024, 19:33
DagothGeas5 wrote: February 27th, 2024, 19:05
I finished typing when you posted this, so I am keeping the first part for posterity.
In this case, could you go into more detail about what is blocked, exactly? Difficulty being blocked or gear being harder to gain it's not a problem for me, like, as you said, it's like buying things to have a "boost" though it's for a problem they themselves created to begin with
Lets see...

Keep in mind its been a while since I played FTP fresh with no content purchased.
Use the wiki for any specifics on the issue, I think it outlines what is pay-walled on some of the things. I will give you a general idea of what though.

https://ddowiki.com/page/VIP (edit added a direct link to VIP so you can browse basically what might be paywalled)

1. Classes: Some base classes may be paywalled, Alchemist for instance, monk used to be.
2. Base Races: Some of the special races are also paywalled (can't remember which ones).
3. Dungeon access to higher tiers: Not pay walled, but "grind" as I said.

4. Modules and expansions
(every dungeon is an instance, there are NO open areas that are not instanced except cities and taverns). Each of these are either "individually" a module, or a series of them. Each is paywalled, with a certain subset that is released for FTP. Subs have no issues, all are completely open. So either its free, you bought the expansion that had them, or you pay individually for them.

5. Bank and bag slots. This can be earned through the game as you play through faction reward, but there a couple of bag and bank slots that are paywalled (unless you sub).

6. Advancement Trees some that are specialized are pay walled (unless you sub).

7. Challenges are paywalled (special event instances that have a rewards) (unless you sub)

There may be more, but there are no gear restrictions, no "this player is more special than you because they paid more" type of garbage outside of the cosmetic stuff, which I never really paid attention to. and the various minor bonuses that VIP sub gives.

I think there used to be some benefits VIPs subs got on raid timers and the like, but I can't remember, I never raided much (other than solo running a low level instance with a high level)

Like I said, if you plan to never sub, then the game will have a lot of "this is not available without purchase".

Also, many of the dungeons provide you with points on completion that are direct cash that can be used in the store. You will often get a mail in the mailbox saying (you have obtained 25 DDO points) and it is because you finished some line of quest or a specific dungeon in the game. FTP players will often outline and map out these and farm them excessively on multiple servers to get up enough points to buy something before they start a real toon (points if I remember right, I think are account wide).

Remember though, sub gives you 500 points a month, and you earn points by just playing, so some people will sub for a while, playing heavily and that is enough over time to buy all the content they want before they revert to FTP form then on.

Point is, no major gimmicks like you pointed out, other than what I would call reasonable pay walls for the content. For me, if I buy the new expansions as they come out, I don't need to sub (unless for the little benefits like bonus exp and the like) as each expansions comes (might need to buy the higher tier releases) with everything that ends up in the store anyway. So at that point, the game becomes "Buy to play" mostly.

Again, I want to be clear, all of these "road blocks" are removed with a VIP Sub.
Since it's free to try things out, I might actually add it to Steam and take a look for myself because from what you are saying it's not that bad, reminds me of Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic in a way, but that list really has me thinking twice. I will check it out when I have time then. As for the wikipedia, I actually visited that and the VIP page before asking you, but the VIP page was, as it is always the case, lackluster in information, so if you are just browsing you don't realize what you are getting into before it's too late, as some people get "addicted" ("I played this far, might as well keep going"), so perhaps it is purposefully done to not make it seem too bad at face value. As for races, the free races are quite alright in selection, much more than I expected, but from what you said about the monk class being purchase only, I am thinking that many of these features have been made to be free only recently. We'll see though, I'll take a look and see how it goes, thank you so much for all the information! :D
Last edited by DagothGeas5 on February 27th, 2024, 19:57, edited 1 time in total.
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Xenich
Posts: 703
Joined: Feb 24, '24

Post by Xenich »

DagothGeas5 wrote: February 27th, 2024, 19:55
Xenich wrote: February 27th, 2024, 19:33
DagothGeas5 wrote: February 27th, 2024, 19:05
I finished typing when you posted this, so I am keeping the first part for posterity.
In this case, could you go into more detail about what is blocked, exactly? Difficulty being blocked or gear being harder to gain it's not a problem for me, like, as you said, it's like buying things to have a "boost" though it's for a problem they themselves created to begin with
Lets see...

Keep in mind its been a while since I played FTP fresh with no content purchased.
Use the wiki for any specifics on the issue, I think it outlines what is pay-walled on some of the things. I will give you a general idea of what though.

https://ddowiki.com/page/VIP (edit added a direct link to VIP so you can browse basically what might be paywalled)

1. Classes: Some base classes may be paywalled, Alchemist for instance, monk used to be.
2. Base Races: Some of the special races are also paywalled (can't remember which ones).
3. Dungeon access to higher tiers: Not pay walled, but "grind" as I said.

4. Modules and expansions
(every dungeon is an instance, there are NO open areas that are not instanced except cities and taverns). Each of these are either "individually" a module, or a series of them. Each is paywalled, with a certain subset that is released for FTP. Subs have no issues, all are completely open. So either its free, you bought the expansion that had them, or you pay individually for them.

5. Bank and bag slots. This can be earned through the game as you play through faction reward, but there a couple of bag and bank slots that are paywalled (unless you sub).

6. Advancement Trees some that are specialized are pay walled (unless you sub).

7. Challenges are paywalled (special event instances that have a rewards) (unless you sub)

There may be more, but there are no gear restrictions, no "this player is more special than you because they paid more" type of garbage outside of the cosmetic stuff, which I never really paid attention to. and the various minor bonuses that VIP sub gives.

I think there used to be some benefits VIPs subs got on raid timers and the like, but I can't remember, I never raided much (other than solo running a low level instance with a high level)

Like I said, if you plan to never sub, then the game will have a lot of "this is not available without purchase".

Also, many of the dungeons provide you with points on completion that are direct cash that can be used in the store. You will often get a mail in the mailbox saying (you have obtained 25 DDO points) and it is because you finished some line of quest or a specific dungeon in the game. FTP players will often outline and map out these and farm them excessively on multiple servers to get up enough points to buy something before they start a real toon (points if I remember right, I think are account wide).

Remember though, sub gives you 500 points a month, and you earn points by just playing, so some people will sub for a while, playing heavily and that is enough over time to buy all the content they want before they revert to FTP form then on.

Point is, no major gimmicks like you pointed out, other than what I would call reasonable pay walls for the content. For me, if I buy the new expansions as they come out, I don't need to sub (unless for the little benefits like bonus exp and the like) as each expansions comes (might need to buy the higher tier releases) with everything that ends up in the store anyway. So at that point, the game becomes "Buy to play" mostly.

Again, I want to be clear, all of these "road blocks" are removed with a VIP Sub.
Since it's free to try things out, I might actually add it to Steam and take a look for myself because from what you are saying it's not that bad, reminds me of Star Wars: Knights of the Old Republic in a way, but that list really has me thinking twice. I will check it out when I have time then. As for the wikipedia, I actually visited that and the VIP page before asking you, but the VIP page was, as it is always the case, lackluster in information, so if you are just browsing you don't realize what you are getting into before it's too late, as some people get "addicted" ("I played this far, might as well keep going"), so perhaps it is purposefully done to not make it seem too bad at face value. As for races, the free races are quite alright in selection, much more than I expected, but from what you said about the monk class being purchase only, I am thinking that many of these features have been made to be free only recently. We'll see though, I'll take a look and see how it goes, thank you so much for all the information! :D
No problem, yeah.. the VIP doesn't get into details, mainly because it pretty much opens everything up. Once you added all the content, there isn't really much to push.

Let me clarify a little bit more about the store and what it has that I would call the biggest PTW parts outside of consumables which are common these days.

1. Stat tomes: there are +1 to up to +8 to any stat already in the game. You get them from all kinds of sources (mostly very difficult dungeons and most raids, sometimes the random reward on your daily spin, etc..) These are permeant bonuses to your stats that unlock at certain level ranges. For instance, +8 won't unlock until you are level 22, so it has some reasoned restriction to it. You don't need this to succeed, but it does make things easier. Perm, even through reincarnation.

2. Exp tomes: These I don't know if are in game or not, but you can buy a perm tome that will give you a bonus to your exp totals when you complete a dungeon. They have one both for Heroic and Epic. These are one time use, always with you, even through reincarnation.

3. Skill Tomes: Same as stat tomes, but for skills. Cap is +6 I think, also they drop in the world and are perm through reincarnation.

4. Astral Curency: Used to pay for rezes (when you don't have any other means to rez) can be traded, extra rolls, buying an air ship (you can buy one with coin as well), etc...

5. Boosts: Everything from exp boosts, monster slying boosts, increase odds of quality in drops, etc.. All of these drop in game as various rewards throughout as well.

6. Gold seal Hirelings: Can have a full party solo of various classes. (standard in game limited to 1 and only summon able at dungeon start)

7. Slots and space: Bank and bag slots (basically two above FTP I think), space you can buy 10 spaces in the bank as well as increase coin for your bank.

8. Special bags and folders: There are lots of things in the game, such as collections, ingredients for crafting, Ammunition, gems, etc.. and there are bags you can get to help with capacity on your charcter. Most of these are in game, but I am not sure if the very large ones are in the game or not.

8. Food, potions, etc..: Various effects all in game already and not really powerful.

9. Reincarnation tomes: True (for starting over as you hit your cap), and numerous ones that are for changing your mind about your build for single and multiclass, as well as changing race as well.

10. Otto's Boxes. These are the biggest cheat out of all as they allow a player to drink a potion and automatically get 2 milion exp, they come with the other standard stuff like exp boosts , etc... but this is the biggest one that I really dislike. They are not always available though, so they release them from time to time.

That sums up about most if not all the PTW in the store.

Edit: Btw, get back to me if you have any more questions while you play that I might be able to explain.
Last edited by Xenich on February 27th, 2024, 20:32, edited 1 time in total.
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Xenich
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Post by Xenich »

One other thing, you get more points for stats on each reincarnation up to 36. I think it takes 3 reincarnations before you get to it, but this is a mechanic that has always been in the game from the start and I don't think they sell anything in the store to directly give this. Though there is I think a Veteran option that allows you to start your new character at level 7, but doesn't work for reincarnation, and it is earned in game at some point. Same with the Drow race, its earned by completing a certain quest line or getting to a certain total of quests can't remember.

Almost forgot, I think it is open to FTP... if it is, do borderlands rather than Korthos line, Korthos has been around from the start and doesn't represent the overall structure of the game as well as the new content. So if borderlands is available, most definitely do that.
Last edited by Xenich on February 27th, 2024, 20:39, edited 1 time in total.
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