On September 9, 2009 Turbine, Inc. launched Dungeons and Dragons Online: Eberron Unlimited (DDO.) DDO is a free to play massive multi-player online role-playing game (MMORPG.) In this game, players control a single character that will improve its abilities and partake in quests.
Character Creation in Dungeons and Dragons Online
When players first log onto the DDO they will be asked to create their first character. First, they must pick the class and sex of their character, and they are given the following choices:
Melee
(A melee character is one that fights with a close combat weapon, such as a sword or mace. They, typically, either have a good strength and defense (so that they live longer) or are quick and agile.)
For a beginning player, the Paladin class is highly recommended. They have a high constitution (which gives players a higher amount of life), a high strength, and have spells and abilities to keep the user alive and useful in a variety of situations. The Paladin class is also rated as having a good solo ability, which means that players should be able to defeat a dungeon by themselves.
Spell
(A spell character is one that uses magic to attack. Most magic is used at a range, but there are close ranged magics. Magic has a variety of uses such as doing damage, improve a characters abilities, summoning, or healing.)
For a beginning player, the Cleric class is highly recommended as it has a "very good" solo rating. Clerics possess a variety of healing, buff, and some damage spells. For a player who likes to summon and do lots of magical damage though, the Wizard or Sorcerer are recommended.
Specialist
(Specialists are classes that serve a specific purpose. Each is useful in different situations.)
The rogue is recommended for newer players, due to its ability to pick locks and hide in the shadows. Rogues are the only class that can open locked doors and treasure (excluded the wizard, which can learn the spell Knock at level 3.)
After players pick their character's class, they will be asked to pick the characters "path". These paths can be thought of as templates for different focuses of the character's abilities. Players who have a good grip on the Dungeons and Dragons abilities and feats can make their characters from scratch, if they so choose.
Next, players will be asked to pick their character's race. Each races has small advantages or disadvantages over the others, and depending on what class the player chose, can be quite helpful. The options for races are:
- Human
- Elf
- Halfling
- Dwarf
- Warforged
- Drow Elf
Then the last step players must take in their character creation is to chose the character's looks and its name. Players are given the choice between a wide variety of colors and styles for their character creation, so it leaves little chance that many characters will look alike.
The Game-play of Dungeons and Dragons Online
The game-play of DDO is unique from many other MMOs in the market today. Instead of players running around taking quests, killing an amount of monsters, and then gaining experience and rewards, players will partake into a deep story-line.
Every quest that a player takes tells a bit of a storyline, whether it pertain to the main overarching plot of the campaign they are in or a sub-plot for the individual character who is giving them the quest. Almost all quests will take players into a "dungeon".
This dungeon will be instanced, meaning that only the player and their group can see each other in it. While in the dungeons, players will fight monsters, solve puzzles, and gain optional sub-quests to partake in also. Unlike most MMOs, players will not gain their experience until they beat a sub-quest or the quest that allowed them to enter the dungeon. After they complete the dungeon, they can receive a reward from the Non-Player Character (NPC) that gave them the quest.
Each dungeon has four difficulty modes, which allows players to take on a greater challenge and also ups the re-playability of the games dungeons.
The combat of DDO is also unique compared to other MMOs. Instead of being point and click, players must face the enemy that they want to hit, be in range with their weapon, then hold the mouse button to attack. The game then "rolls" to see if the player hits. Using this combat system, players (and monsters) can also dodge attacks. Players will also have spells or abilities to use, that further their combat experience.
Can Players Truly Play for Free?
As a free player, you can buy adventure packs (additional areas and quests), the races, and the classes separately in the store. The good news for players that don't wish to spend a cent is that as they raise a faction's liking of them in game (by doing quests), they will gain free Turbine Points. (Note: The Drow race is unlocked when players reach 400 favor points and the Favored Soul class when players reach 2500 favor points.)
DDO offers a subscription service for those who wish to partake in it, and also has a micro-transaction shop. Subscribing players gain access to all races, classes, and adventure packs, and then also get a shared bank slot and 500 Turbine Points per month (for use in the DDO store.) The classes unlocked are the Monk and Favored Soul, while the races unlocked are the Warforged and the Drow.
So it is possible to play completely for free and still unlock new adventures.
Is the Game Worth Playing?
Yes, the game is worth playing! It offers players a fun, completely unique turn on the MMORPG genre. With the ability to play for free, it is especially appealing! The four difficulty modes on dungeons provide as much of as challenge as players wish. The highest difficulty, Elite Mode, will provide a challenge for any D&D veteran.
As a warning, besides dungeon crawling, Player VS Player, and crafting, there isn't much to do, though. So, for players that do not like these activities, this game is not for them.
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