Slated for the end of the summer, DDO is going Free to Play. Actually, it’s going the micro-transaction route favored by the Asian gaming market. They’ll still have a traditional subscription model for V.I.P. access. I’ve been a sibscriber for years now. Does anyone have any thoughts? Do you think it will attract many new players?
A release date for the revamped DDO, Eberron Unlimited, (the free version) has been announced on the DDO forums.
After a month’s delay, DDO has finally made the transition to Free2Play… or microtransaction as may be more the truth. I just logged in on my nephew’s old dead account and it’s alive again. He only got to unlock four of his old characters for play, but he can run around through a handful of adventures with them. As I understand it, new players only get two free characters per server (there being five servers). VIP (full subscription players) have no limits on anything in the game.
For free players a number of things remain to be unlocked: a few races (warforged & drow, but drow can be earned through a week or so of gameplay), a few classes (monks & favored souls, although favored souls can be earned after a LOT of gameplay), a bunch of different adventure areas (there are some free areas, mostly low level), and additional character slots (VIP players start with ten slots with the option to buy more). For now there is only one way to earn Turbine Points, with which to unlock all that stuff or buy certain consumable perks in game. The current (free) method is too build up Favor points in game by running through adventures for different NPC factions. Unfortunately characters can only earn a finite amount of favor for running adventures, although you can delete/reroll characters to begin another chain of favor running. Alternately you can spend real cash/money to purchase Turbine Points to spend for the above mentioned unlocks/items. Ultimately you’ll probably be buying some of the game through cash bought Turbine points unless you’re a very determined player. On second thought, maybe Permadeath players have some unforseen benefit here… having to reroll now and again. 
Yes I think it will attract more player. I am one of them. I had been looking for a new MMO for awhile, I got tired of Guild Wars and SWG. I though about DDO but I wasn’t looking for a pay MMO and at the time all the free MMO’s sucked. I have play a few days and am still hanging around the noob areas but I am hooked. I could see myself paying the VIP fee or at least buying some extra content.
Is anyone playing this? I recently took a break from STO and found myself back in DDO for the past few weeks. I’ve been playing mostly on Thelanis but I haven’t really developed any roots there; Sarlona used to be my main server. If anyone else plays, let me know and I’ll drop by your sever for a visit.
I’m playing as a Premium member now but, I’ve managed (over much time & money) to basically unlock the whole game. So, I can pretty much do anything except open Elite on the firts run.
I play Lord of the Rings Online from the same developers. I thought of trying DDO, but I’m tired of the standard fantasy grind (like Rift) for now. I’m back in EVE Online.
Artificers are coming to DDO. They are a class specific to the Eberron setting, described by the DDO Devs as a quasi-cross between mages & rogues. Magical devices are their usual mode of operation. Anyway, they’re slated to arrive in Update 11 and unfortunately there’s not much information released from Turbine about their take on them or when the update is due.
Do you play? How do/did you find the end game grind for a PvE only gamestyle?
To be honest I’m into too many games to keep up with them all; it’s been Rift lately. I don’t really play for the grinds. I play for new content or variations of old content. In DDO, if I recall correctly, most of the end game stuff is running raids for high end gear or crafting materials to make high end gear. I never got past making my Greensteel blanks. If you mean grinding for levels, to me it’s not really a grind if I’m running through interesting content or at least going through it in new and interesting ways.
DDO allows for a number ways to build your character(s) and thus their way for handling any given situation. Granted, they still use what I call a “Death-gated” mechanic in a lot of areas, meaning you have to kill a specific antagonist to proceed where in table top D&D stealth or incapacitation or even distraction would suffice. Multi classing is very versatile in DDDO, moreso than I can recall in any other MMO. Most MMOs out there lock you into a niche role. In DDO you can mix rogue with wizard with cleric with fighter for whatever abilities work for you. Well that’s a little misleading; DDO allows up to three class combinations, not all four I mentioned.
Another thing I appreciate about DDO is their collision detection which allows for blocking physics. Translated, that means I can dodge some ranged attacks or take cover from them. My eyes glaze over at how many MMOs out there launch guided missiles at you. It’s almost amusing in MMOs with high movement rates like Champions Online or DC Universe when you can see an arrow chase you around a corner. That allows for a tactical play style in ranged combat, where in other games it just comes down to traded blows much like their toe-to-toe combat. What’s more is DDO doesn’t cheat (or allows you to outsmart) with antagonists that can’t physically engage your character. In DDO your character can sit up on a perch somewhere and rain hellfire and arrows down on a pack of wolves that can’t climb ladders. In Champions Online the wolves spit crap at your flying characters. So as you can imagine, a range spec’d character build can give you different gameplay than a tank character or a crowd control Mage or a fanatic self-healing battle cleric.
In short, my “end game grind” gets pushed back every time DDO adds ANY new content.
I don’t play DDO as much as I’d like because I generally spread myself too thin trying out other games’ mechanics and content. And because of that (and life in general I guess) I lost touch with any sense of community there that would make me want to stay in more often.
K. It’s not what I’m looking for atm. Thanks for the review.
I think I heard in an interview that Update 11 is due out on September 12th. For the past couple of weeks I’ve been bouncing around between DDO & Rift, with a little DCUO thrown in there, and as far as DDO goes, I have to say the Artificer class in Update 11 was pretty fun.
There are a few other minor UI changes in the update too, as well as some crafting updates. There’s still no pricing yet for buying the artificer class but, most people are guessing around 850-1100 Turbine Points. In line with their gaming philosophy, there will be a way to grind out unlocking the class in game, namely through acquiring a certain amount of House Cannith favor. The caveat, for now, is there aren’t yet enough quests in game to achieve the needed amount of House Cannith favor. That supposedly will be remedied in Update 12 farther down the road.
Most of Update 11 came out on Monday, to include the new Artificer class. The new dungeon/raid for it is due out tomorrow. Oh, and I’m still having fun with the Artificer class. 
For any of you kobold lovers out there, Crystal Cove is back, Sep 19th through Oct 19th.
Wow! It looks like DDO has some big plans this summer! They’re caving in to all the Eberron-hating, Forgotten Realms fanboys out there and connecting that labyrinthine realm spanning world known as the Underdark to the game. Okay, I have nothing against the Forgotten Realms; I just dislike some of the hate that Eberron used to (or still does?) get. Also, it looks like DDO will FINALLY be getting Druids! And the level cap will be going up into the epics at level 25.
Coming to DDO in the Summer of 2012 - Menace of the Underdark.
Here’s a little behind the scenes video regarding the upcoming Menace of the Underdark expansion…
DDO is patching in their new expansion today: Menace of the Underdark!
Get ready for epic levels, a “new” old world we all remember, and finally… Druids! The game is still F2P and is the ONLY one (well aside from LOTRO which is the same company) that I know of that is completely unlockable (dogged determination required) through in-game play.