Sounds pretty interesting. I may give it a shot and see how I like it. I do play WoW but I’d like to delve into D&D. Thanks for the review/vlog.

completely off the subject of the Vlog….I think spoony should grow a beard….like a full on grisly Adams beard….

Actually, you can get sigils from doing quests, but it’s random so who knows when you’ll get one. Via sigils you can level up. And I just realized I typo’d my username. How embarrassing.

Hey, spoony, if you’re looking for an MMO, you could try RuneScape. It might not be your style, though (most think of it as aimed at a younger audience, although no younger than 13, really). It would be interesting to see you do a review of an MMORPG like RuneScape if you hated it. It has its own free game that’s fairly expansive.

I’m excited about The Old Republic but for a totally different reason. Mostly because I’m a whore for Bioware.

I want me some Champions online, but I heard of the fees + the game is a lot. I’ll wait on it, until at least it gos below 30 bucks.

Two main things here:

One is that I got into DDO without any prior DnD experience. My first character was pretty well crap, my second was a bit better, and so on. I figured it all out pretty well though and one of my characters could hold it’s own with anybody on the server before I quit.

Second, the first levels of the game, the ones you complained about, are pretty much what was there when the game was first launched. They do lack variety of all sorts. The higher levels expand so much on that, and you have ranges of enemies to play with and real epic quests and neat raids / raidbosses. I dunno how the pricing system works now, but it’s worth it to try it until you reach at least level 10 so you see what kind of things are available to you then.

Hahaha…yeah I’d hate to whore myself for a group too. Level 3 Rogue! haha funny shit man.

with DDO, you can unlock the extra levels. My friend had made 2 characters and while questing had a reward for the lvels 5-8 unlocked via reward. I myself personally made 100 of that GOLD currency somehow and purchased it on 2 of my characters. 50G each… Next tier is 100G. And at that, you can pay 5$ for 600 gold or something. Your playing a game for free… i dont mind giving them a couple dollars. You dont even need an initial game., so paying a 1/3 of a moths payment and with 0 down you can get to lvl 20.

I tried the BETA and you hit a lot of my own complaints. I don’t understand the vermin exterminator thing at all, it’s fucking boring and games are supposed to be fun. I was positively amused when I realized that Guild Wars has like, one, maybe two “kill X of Y” quests.

Thanks for posting the vlogs—I enjoy them. I’ve been curious about DDO, so I may have to check it out.

AND nice to see your collection making its way back into your room…starting to look more like the ‘Spoony Lair’ we all know and love…

Danm they made kobolds cannon fodder? Any good DM can make them deadly to even higher level players

Did you ever try Final Fantasy XI? I was always a fan and it had some an incredible storyline. Yeah, I know, MMO and storyline don’t seem like they should go hand in hand, but in that game, it worked. It does require a bit of teamwork to get certain things accomplished, but with the quasi-recently update that allows leveling syncing, it’s fairly easy to get groups together. Also, since I got the feeling you’re into exploring vast worlds, FFXI -definitely- has that! I, personally, would find myself leveling up to be strong enough to brave new areas in the game. I’d even risk my character’s life trying to find and enter new places. Oh the trouble I caused my linkshell (FFXI guild of sorts).

Did you ever try Final Fantasy XI? I was always a fan and it had some an incredible storyline. Yeah, I know, MMO and storyline don’t seem like they should go hand in hand, but in that game, it worked. It does require a bit of teamwork to get certain things accomplished, but with the quasi-recently update that allows leveling syncing, it’s fairly easy to get groups together. Also, since I got the feeling you’re into exploring vast worlds, FFXI -definitely- has that! I, personally, would find myself leveling up to be strong enough to brave new areas in the game. I’d even risk my character’s life trying to find and enter new places. Oh the trouble I caused my linkshell (FFXI guild of sorts).

You know, the one thing I liked about Guild Wars was that I needed a group once until the very last missions. They made it possible for you to do most of it alone, and other players always ruin me on MMO’s.

I definately want to try the Star Wars one since I really enjoyed KoTOR, maybe Star Trek. I’m not much of a fan of MMOs, though I am playing Shin Megami Tensei Online Imagine a lot. That one is essentially free. The only thing you CAN pay for is Aeria Points in order to get weapons/armor/rare items that don’t really do much (Especially when you can participate in the events to get some of that stuff anyway), but it’s pretty much free.

I may try DDO, although I haven’t played anything past 2nd edition.

I’ve been playing DDO with some friends because they said I should check it out. The price is right and So far the 10+ hours I’ve been playing does get a bit repetitive but being in a group helps alot. I’m also getting a better understanding of D&D which I have never played. My character is in the 1st world…starts with a ‘T” (I’m not good with fanatsy names : ) and all I’ve fought are Cult members and various vermins and such. If you want to play with my group send me an email. I’m the only noob in the group everyone else has played D&D for years.

I have never seen a good Dungeons and Dragons video game. Dungeons and Dragons online is okay as you mentioned, but frankly I still wouldn’t play it, even for free.

All of the times they’ve tried to recreate the experience by having a computer assume the DM it just falls apart.

The most fun video game version of it that I would even go as far as to say is somewhat true to the game was the Dungeons and Dragons multiplayer map for Warcraft 3: The Frozen Throne. It was a fantastic experience if you had some friends to play it with simply because it put two players in charge of being DM. Mostly because instead of having a computer just throw ones and zeros at you, you had an actual person who was controlling the experience. A person who could be reasoned with, who could be talked to, who could be intimidated, who could be conversed with, who could immediately change absolutely everything making the entire experience more rich, more fulfilling and much more fun to play with friends.

And for the life of me, I can’t figure out why game companies haven’t picked up on this. That killing trash mobs who sometimes drop shinys is more akin to a work simulator than a role playing game. Much of what you mentioned, open, dynamic worlds can’t really be done, at least in the same manner as sitting around a table with your friends, by a computer.

I played the beta for Champions, and I was pretty happy with the game. Not enough to get the lifetime subscription like my fiance did, but I’ll play on his account. Yeah, I have a Dr. Insano build too, which I posted in the forums…

Anyway, I liked Guild Wars, but it’s definitely not everyone’s cup of tea. I liked the fact that with your heroes from the third game, Nightfall (the first three games aren’t really expansions, since you can just get one or the other and play separate from the others), you can pretty much solo most of the three games, plus the expansion. And I really liked the fact that you didn’t have to pay a monthly subscription. Also, I loved that you can have different builds, like my monk/necromancer has three different skill sets that I switch between all the time, depending on the mission. And apparently you can try it for free right now, so says their website…

But right now, I’m an unfortunate WoW whore. Sigh.

I am not really a MMO guy myself, but I am pretty psyched for the Star Trek game. It looks like it might be really good if executed right. Star Wars I am iffy on but the video games have carried on the legacy of the franchise so much better than George Lucas so it will probably be a good game.

Have to agree on City of Villains, it really did not draw me in. Maybe starting that game in caves fighting snakes wasn’t the best way to open a game. Basically, I found it to be a step up from you common sewer level, but not enough.

see ya soon spoony!

Wow, I’m teh suck… been playing warcrack since the BC battle chest came out on a private server and I just can’t seem to bring myself beyond lvl 20 or so.

Hey Spoony, would you have issues with mock cameos… say I dress a kid up like somebody of your show for say a one time occurrence as a tip of the hat to an old friend? Thought it might look cute, with the exclusion of my wife may kill me for it… =P

Guild Wars is pretty damn awesome, maybe a bit biased here because I’ve played from release but it is worth checking out. The problem is if you are going to bother trying Guild Wars, your probably going to need to buy all 3 games + the expansion, and actually play it for a bit rather than go for a week and get bored. The game is hella cheap now, and still pretty awesome if you get into it.

Though you mentioned “Champions Online”, have you tried “CoV/CoH” yet? Even though Champions Online is CoV/CoH with better graphics, but some of my friends who still play the latter rather stick to it. It does have a monthly fee but there is a trial version, the graphics aren’t the best, but it didn’t bother me. I haven’t played it long enough (just the trial infact) to really comment on the gameplay and it may not be the best, but the concept is quite good – and so is the character creation, which I really enjoyed because I’m a character creating bitch.

Anyway, I was about to download the DnD trial version when I heard about the news, but it is kinda hard to download DnD in Germany – and it’s not free over here. Had to drown my depression in a lot of Kraut, I tell ya.

I watched Angry Joe’s interview, and Star Trek sounds pretty awesome. But, like you the idea of paying money for a game that I already bought irks me. But if the guy Joe interviewed wasn’t exaggerating, then Star Trek might be worth it.

Dead on good sir dead on!

I’ve yet to play an MMO that wasn’t garbage in the gameplay department. I’m really looking forward to Star Wars: TOR though because both KOTORs were great and, more importantly, they can transfer the battle system flawlessly into an online format since it is semi-turn (or rather queue) based.

I’ll stick to the Diablo series as far as online lootan and clickan games are concerned. I can do without the “massive” aspect if it means I’ll be having more fun and not repaying for the game multiple times over.

I’ve yet to play an MMO that wasn’t garbage in the gameplay department. I’m really looking forward to Star Wars: TOR though because both KOTORs were great and, more importantly, they can transfer the battle system flawlessly into an online format since it is semi-turn (or rather queue) based.

I’ll stick to the Diablo series as far as online lootan and clickan games are concerned. I can do without the “massive” aspect if it means I’ll be having more fun and not repaying for the game multiple times over.

I spy Spelljammer on the top of the bookshelf!

You know, I always thought the best way to run a game that was free/pay was to actually make two games. One that is the “paid” customers game, where you play your standard character, you can collect all the available items, have a complete inventory, advance through the levels, so on and so forth. The “free” version would instead have you logging in as “Kobold #14″ or whatever. Maybe some kind of very simple system built in to reflect some in game dedication and coolness. Staying part of an instance, continuing to cycle through new monsters and doing well with them could earn you some kind of “freebieXP” that you could use to gain specific bonuses for your next monster you inhabit. This gives the paying customers a cool experience, because though AI’s continue to get better, nothing beats a human intellect for coming up with ways to kill other humans. Not even in a game. And honestly I suspect that a lot of the people that start with the free version would upgrade eventually, because there is only so much fun that can be had in dying horribly over and over, even if you do occasionally manage to score a kill.
Anyway, that is my two cents on the mmo, free/paid thing.

Played:
Dark Age of Camelot.
World of Warcraft.
City of Heroes/Villains.
Eve online.
Guild wars.
Auto Assault. (Which could have been the best of all of them if they had just put in the time to finish the fucking thing before they released it. Massively multiplayer online customizable “Twisted Metal.” /sigh)

I have toyed around a bit with:
Everquest.
Tabula Rasa.
Conan.
Warhammer Online.

Honestly, I can’t think of ONE that couldn’t have been improved with this.
But, I am not a game designer. Tell me what you think. :)

I’ve been playing shin megami tensei online and it’s pretty good + it’s free
try it out if you want to…

Well, sir, if you’re into free MMOs, you might try Silkroad Online (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silk_Road_Online), which is a Korean MMO. My brother tried it for a while back when it was still in beta.

Not sure how many English folks play it, though, lol.

Shave it or grow it. I see an awesome beard in the making but I know you won’t do that.

Well, sir, if you’re into free MMOs, you might try Silkroad Online (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Silk_Road_Online), which is a Korean MMO. My brother tried it for a while back when it was still in beta.

Not sure how many English folks play it, though, lol.

Shave it or grow it. I see an awesome beard in the making but I know you won’t do that.

Is that AD&D… IN SPACE I see behind you? I want to hear more about this.

Like your D&D collection, Spoony. I’m still a 3.5 fan, but 4th edition is fun as well.

Champions online is not free, however you get 30 free days if you buy the game.

The game itself is 50 dollars, I really like it so I’d suggest you give it a shot.

Champions online is not free, however you get 30 free days if you buy the game.

The game itself is 50 dollars, I really like it so I’d suggest you give it a shot.

Looks like spoony is sporting the MMO 36-hour grind shadow. I do not miss those days. Im currently playing champions online (Which is actually pretty good) and of course EvE online. Anyway, I cant wait for more Vlogs. I love watching these.

Not a day spent going through internet videos unless you’ve heard something bad about the star wars prequels.

Man…Took another look at the Star Trek review on this site the other night, guess what I heard?

People just saying they hated them, they were really bad, without giving any kind of a shot to them as individual films is a bit insane.

I need to check out The Old Republic someday probably, I liked KOTOR a lot, didn’t get through KOTOR 2 but know that it didn’t give a conclusive ending either, I’ll check it out again.

That drives me crazy when they make sequels and leave a lot of the story and characters unresolved, and make you wait for a sequel, which might not even resolve more, and might leave a lot of questions.

I felt almost exactly the same way when I picked up DDO about a year ago, I played for a few months, and that was it. I have a extremely minimal amount of DnD experience, but at least enough to know the rules, but it also just felt really boring to me, I stuck around for a little bit because, well its DnD. I was excited when I heard it was going F2P because I was gonna give it another chance since I am also looking for another MMO to play. But yeah, since it hasn’t changed, I guess I’m still on the lookout, I have at least 4 diffrent F2P MMO’s on my PC, and a couple of Pay to play, and I still haven’t found the one. I was looking into Champions Online as well, which kinda just looks like a 1-up’d version of City of Heroes/ Villians, which isn’t necessarily a bad thing, but unfortunately I don’t have the money for something like right now, a review on it would be great!

spoony, did you try Champions online? I recently decided to give it a shot and found it to be pretty fun once you slog your way through the newbie areas. Also I might add that it would be extremely easy to make an insano character in it, and you can even develope things with SCIENCE. heh

anyway, cool review… i was debating checking D&DO at some point, and probably still will.

Actually, for a free MMO, you could try out Runes of Magic. Also, Guild Wars is very PVP-oriented. The story is nice, and classes are balanced and have tons of options, but the level cap is 20, which you automatically hit during the story anyway. Crime Craft lies. It is NOT an FPS, its a third-person shooter, and it does suck, terribly. I would also recommend avoiding games that use GameGuard, although it will cut off a lot of potential games. GameGuard is essentially a virus, and it is the most invasive anti-cheat being used in MMOs.

when he says stick around..do you think he means tonight, or to come back tomorrow..lol

Planescape Online. I’d so play that.

haha paused the video before you mentioned champions…

btw guild wars is actually one of the best free mmo like games going. They also solved allot of the soloing problems with henchmen and later heroes(side kicks who you customise the builds and equipment).

Also, from what I have heard about STO all players will be captains. I believe you can make your main crew members too, so you are not just a floating ship like in other space MMOs.

I’d never tried DDO, and I’ve played many MMOs. I always come back to Anarchy Online though.

You should try it out, Spoony. Or anyone else. It’s old(2001), but it’s free, save for the expansions. But even without the expansions, there is a metric ton of content. Even as a free player, you can reach level 200 (out of 220) and have access to the entire planet and all quest lines leading up to the first major expansion.

Plus the character development is awesome.

/end plug

Anyway; more vlogs? Tonight? I might just stay awake a bit longer then!

WoW is ok but D&D is just a little bit better

If you wanna play DnD online. Play NWN 2 on a PW Roleplay Server.

If you wanna play DnD online. Play NWN 2 on a PW Roleplay Server.

I’m currently playing this and it is alright for now. i remember beta testing this game way back in the day. I stayed clear away from it once i was done testing it. can’t say the same for my brother and father who pre-ordered it and played for a month(they didn’t listen to me). anyways it’s somewhat better now then it was back then. Now a game which I can’t wait for is DC Universe Online. Although Star Trek is looking more and more tempting, but still DCUO is the one for me.

* You can solo in this game on normal and hard, but it takes a more skilled player to pull it off. I’m not saying it is easy, just need to know what your doing. Key word is Strategy.

Champions Online is like a better City of Heroes, very alike mind you, but Champions is better.
Its like they took everything that was good from CoH and added some new twists, more engaging twitch gameplay, travel powers at level 5 and most importantly other settings than a city right out of the gate. I am really enjoying, but i think I am only going to play it until The old Repuplic comes out.

You can actually solo almost every quest in the game once you learn how to make a good character. Even on Elite difficulty. Even some Raids are solo able for certain classes/builds.

The kobold brothers quest you mention is actually pretty easy to solo on elite when you know what you are doing.

Virtually no one likes the quest where you kill 200 kobolds, most experienced players skip it on new characters. And there’s been numerous threads on the forums on how to make it more fun but the developers have said they aren’t interested in revising old quests unless they are completely broken.

DDO is easily my favourite MMO, mostly for it’s game mechanics (the ability to stand in front of another character and take blows for them creates WAY more strategic depth to the battles than is seen in any other MMO I’ve played) and character customization. I’ve quit it since they went micro pay, though, since I just hate that system. I don’t know how they divvied up the quests with the micro pay system but before it was added you’d have encountered a much much wider variety of enemies and locations by level 4.

You asked if Champions had a free trial. It doesn’t. And I’d suggest giving it a few months before trying it. I picked it up a few days ago on a whim and am regretting it. But I’m obsessed with (statistical)character customizability in MMOs and Champions doesn’t have much. It has a lot of cosmetic customizability but I couldn’t care less about that. It’s also rather buggy, but that’s hardly surprising for a new MMO.

You can actually solo almost every quest in the game once you learn how to make a good character. Even on Elite difficulty. Even some Raids are solo able for certain classes/builds.

The kobold brothers quest you mention is actually pretty easy to solo on elite when you know what you are doing.

Virtually no one likes the quest where you kill 200 kobolds, most experienced players skip it on new characters. And there’s been numerous threads on the forums on how to make it more fun but the developers have said they aren’t interested in revising old quests unless they are completely broken.

DDO is easily my favourite MMO, mostly for it’s game mechanics (the ability to stand in front of another character and take blows for them creates WAY more strategic depth to the battles than is seen in any other MMO I’ve played) and character customization. I’ve quit it since they went micro pay, though, since I just hate that system. I don’t know how they divvied up the quests with the micro pay system but before it was added you’d have encountered a much much wider variety of enemies and locations by level 4.

You asked if Champions had a free trial. It doesn’t. And I’d suggest giving it a few months before trying it. I picked it up a few days ago on a whim and am regretting it. But I’m obsessed with (statistical)character customizability in MMOs and Champions doesn’t have much. It has a lot of cosmetic customizability but I couldn’t care less about that. It’s also rather buggy, but that’s hardly surprising for a new MMO.

you should try aion online

Try out Dorf Fort

You should try playing Mabinogi. Unlike other MMOs, it doesn’t really use a class system but actually allows you to upgrade you skills by using them. If you want a mage just level up your magic skills. For a fighter, level up your fighting skills. If you want, you can do both, though it will take longer. You get skill points by leveling up and by “getting older” every Saturday. The game actually has a system where you get older (and taller) as the weeks go by and at age 20 (you start at age 12-18, your choice) you can be “reborn” and get set back to level one, but get to keep your upgraded skills and the stat bonuses you get from them. The only thing to actually buy (optional) are pets, extra character (you get three basic character cards for free, one for each race. Human, Elf, and Giant), and special features such as extra storage space, other than that, it’s free.

I used to play D&D boards when i was younger,my brother would always be the Dungeon Master.I haven’t touch anything related to D&D or any for of MMORPGS…it’s all chinese to me.

Since you said you like Conan, give Age of Conan a shot. It had a lot of problems when it came out, but they have been taken care of by now. Best MMORPG out there in my opinion. It’s not free though, but as it is so often in life, you get what you pay for.

Since you said you like Conan, give Age of Conan a shot. It had a lot of problems when it came out, but they have been taken care of by now. Best MMORPG out there in my opinion. It’s not free though, but as it is so often in life, you get what you pay for.

Played DDO way back when it first released… it was pretty meh.

Aion online is another big MMO, releasing this month.

Killing Vermin is just like a tutorial i mean look at
Baldurs Gate
Morrowind
Oblivion
KOTOR 2
Fallout 2
i dont care that much as long as its restricted its ok

hey spoony lots to say

i too saw the angry joe interview…. the guy states that st11 is a fantastic movie
and it seams that the games will in some (normaly impossible) way be based on that
funny … but it is not based on st enterprise (the andorians aparently never destroyed p jem)

so like WOW a lot of kikoolol noobs will play it … it’s ok to try, but over all not a good game

guild wars… i’ts good and free the only thing you pay for is the addons
the poblem is that outside cities you are on your own server….. so only the people or npcs that came with you are here…… so you are a little alone, but there is a good story and the skills are quite awsom

ever considered lineage 2 or ragnarok online…… there are private servers that are free……but closing often caus there are on the fringe of legality

an other free mmo…sort of is gunz, it’s fun but more on the CSS or uT side

the problem with any RPG tranfered on a video game , is that there is no GM…. to witch you can give chips
or that can save your life sometime…. no a computer will stricly play by hard rock rules
and a very unfarovable random number generator as a dice

if you ever play never winter nights 2…. never ever play as a wizard… chose sorcerer
wizards suck

i prefer elder scroll or dungeon siege loose classing than multi classing….

Soon they will be comparing an MMO to Aion.

Soon they will be comparing an MMO to Aion.

Negh…Aion.
But then there’s like kickass AIKA and Blade&Soul comin’ up. *drooool*
Dragonica is pretty… and it is a little different, it’s nice, but too much of it and it gets repetitive. The boss fight is definitely ‘wtf’. I beat the boss and in the next tier, the boss is….a bigger boss AND the first boss. Seriously?

Looking forward to StarWars:TOR as well. StarTrek….errr… don’t know much about that one.

hey, AdamTM your fellow critic here

When i watched your review i thought you were playing another game than me, granted i just started and im only lvl 3 but in my 4 days of playing i never repeated a quest once (except when i ran a friend through it, but it wasnt necessary). First of your complaint about monsters, in my playthrough i encountered the following enemy types:

-Goblins
-Bugbears
-Ogres
-Iron Defenders (mechanical dogs)
-Spiders
-Thieves
-Ice Mephits
-Zombies
-Skelletons
-Mindflayers
-Saguagin (fish people)

oh yeah…and a dragon :P

the only way i can think that you only encountered kobolds is that you completely skipped the Korthos Island story line (you know the one where a mindflayer is controling a dragon) and went straight to Stormreach.

Also as a counterpoint, how about WoW, a zone there usually has not more than 3 enemy types, for example Trisfall Glades has Werewolves Mages and Zombies (im seriously not counting the critters like Wolves and Bears since i could add Spiders and Rats to the above list too), seriously, Hilsbrad Foothills runs on friggin spiders and bears.

About the quest system, like i said before, i leveled up to level 3 without repeating any quests.
Secondly you totally forgot to mention the most important feature of the DDO dungeons THE VOICEACTING
For all that dont know about this, in a DDO dungeon a GameMaster narrates your adventure as you progress through it, and no its not like in Age of Conan where it stops at lvl 10.
This is the immersion WoW and ANY other mmorpg lacks, it makes you feel like it is tailored for you, like you make a difference.
Also on a sidenote, the quests are NOT all extermination quests, in some quests you are explicitly forbidden to kill certain monsters. Actually most of the quests have another purpose than killing 30 kobolds, this introduces also the fact that you can complete them by other means. A rougue might want to sneak and pick locks of the prison to free the two lost adventurer-brothers instead of my paladins approach to spam smite evil on everything that moves. Or a mage/bard finding secret doors and passages allowing entrance to the prison cells avoiding combat almost entirely.
As a clarification, you do NOT gain XP by killing things (except overworld map but even that is a quest), you gain XP by completing the ADVENTURE no matter if you killed one slime or goblin. But yes some quests have killing objectives, which mmo doesnt, though in ddo those quests are a mere 20-30% of the content. In comparison in WoW its 80-90% (80% in wrath and 90% in vanilla+BC probably, questing got better in the new expansion especially with phasing)

One special note would be that it is ABSOLUTELY possible to play DDO completely for free without ever paing a penny, it is just a question of time and commitment. You gain turbine points for completing favor-landmarks (kindof like reputation in WoW), the ammount you can gain max atm from this is around 2000 Turbine points per SERVER, a race costs around 500TP and a class around 500-700 so you can unlock all those without a problem.

As for the level cap, yes the cap is at level 4 and you can buy a “Leveling sigil” for 50-300TP to extend it another 4 lvls, but the fun part is: the lvl-sigil DROPS randomly as a quest reward and in chests, it is almost guaranteed by statistics that you will get them before you hit the lvl 4 cap, if you dont, you can still quest and “grind” for them, or just spend the mere 50TP you get on your first favor-landmark to expand lvling to lvl8 and then for sure another sigil will drop for you until you hit 8.

The only thing i agree on is that you probably will need to buy adventure packs, as free content kinda runs thin from lvl12 onward, but hey, you can still grind for TP on other servers if you have the dedication to do so, its possible.

Im not going to argue that eberron isnt the best setting, but thats flavor and personal preference, as for the idea of having different servers running different campaigns:
ARE YOU CRAZY?! :P do you know how much work that would be to even make Ravenloft playable, thats stuff for expansions, not as a choice from the getgo.

I also dont agree that its hard to get into, yes under the exterior its the hardcore 3.5 system, but you can well play the premade paths and customize them with enhancment feats and dragonmarks to build your own character.
But for people with some little knowledge of the rules the customization is a treat (i only ran 2 dnd tabletop adventures in my life, im nowhere an expert) it lets you create truly unique characters that are actually VIABLE.

In WoW for example (ill just speak from experience here as a lvl80 arcane mage that ran Ulduar) you pick your class and then your race and you set off in the world, then you pick talents that give you 1% more crit and 20 more mana as you go along because that felt sensible at the time. AND THEN END GAME CONTENT HITS YOU IN THE FACE LIKE A TRUCK, telling you that you suck, because you picked the WRONG TALENTS!
You see, in wow you only have certain specs that are viable for a class, you need to use RAWR and talent calculators and read Elitist Jerks to minmax or ppl call you a nab. Also you need to wear best in slot which is usually tier gear that makes you look like everyone else./wow rant over
BTW i love WoW, sheeesh ^^

The character creation screen in ddo tells you exactly how any class will play in solo.
Of course you will get mauled as a bard in solo, everyone that saw Gamers 2: Dorkness Rising knows that! :P
Also multiclassing gives even more choice, i made a barbarian/mage alt which turned out surprisingly viable.

Yes DDO isnt without its downsides, i usually detest instanced content, but it holds up as its own and certainly against AoC or Warhammer, not against WoW though i agree (its just not the same playstyle, the comparisson lacks a bit).

So thats my essay about DDO and your review.

thanks for reading.

hey, AdamTM your fellow critic here

When i watched your review i thought you were playing another game than me, granted i just started and im only lvl 3 but in my 4 days of playing i never repeated a quest once (except when i ran a friend through it, but it wasnt necessary). First of your complaint about monsters, in my playthrough i encountered the following enemy types:

-Goblins
-Bugbears
-Ogres
-Iron Defenders (mechanical dogs)
-Spiders
-Thieves
-Ice Mephits
-Zombies
-Skelletons
-Mindflayers
-Saguagin (fish people)

oh yeah…and a dragon :P

the only way i can think that you only encountered kobolds is that you completely skipped the Korthos Island story line (you know the one where a mindflayer is controling a dragon) and went straight to Stormreach.

Also as a counterpoint, how about WoW, a zone there usually has not more than 3 enemy types, for example Trisfall Glades has Werewolves Mages and Zombies (im seriously not counting the critters like Wolves and Bears since i could add Spiders and Rats to the above list too), seriously, Hilsbrad Foothills runs on friggin spiders and bears.

About the quest system, like i said before, i leveled up to level 3 without repeating any quests.
Secondly you totally forgot to mention the most important feature of the DDO dungeons THE VOICEACTING
For all that dont know about this, in a DDO dungeon a GameMaster narrates your adventure as you progress through it, and no its not like in Age of Conan where it stops at lvl 10.
This is the immersion WoW and ANY other mmorpg lacks, it makes you feel like it is tailored for you, like you make a difference.
Also on a sidenote, the quests are NOT all extermination quests, in some quests you are explicitly forbidden to kill certain monsters. Actually most of the quests have another purpose than killing 30 kobolds, this introduces also the fact that you can complete them by other means. A rougue might want to sneak and pick locks of the prison to free the two lost adventurer-brothers instead of my paladins approach to spam smite evil on everything that moves. Or a mage/bard finding secret doors and passages allowing entrance to the prison cells avoiding combat almost entirely.
As a clarification, you do NOT gain XP by killing things (except overworld map but even that is a quest), you gain XP by completing the ADVENTURE no matter if you killed one slime or goblin. But yes some quests have killing objectives, which mmo doesnt, though in ddo those quests are a mere 20-30% of the content. In comparison in WoW its 80-90% (80% in wrath and 90% in vanilla+BC probably, questing got better in the new expansion especially with phasing)

One special note would be that it is ABSOLUTELY possible to play DDO completely for free without ever paing a penny, it is just a question of time and commitment. You gain turbine points for completing favor-landmarks (kindof like reputation in WoW), the ammount you can gain max atm from this is around 2000 Turbine points per SERVER, a race costs around 500TP and a class around 500-700 so you can unlock all those without a problem.

As for the level cap, yes the cap is at level 4 and you can buy a “Leveling sigil” for 50-300TP to extend it another 4 lvls, but the fun part is: the lvl-sigil DROPS randomly as a quest reward and in chests, it is almost guaranteed by statistics that you will get them before you hit the lvl 4 cap, if you dont, you can still quest and “grind” for them, or just spend the mere 50TP you get on your first favor-landmark to expand lvling to lvl8 and then for sure another sigil will drop for you until you hit 8.

The only thing i agree on is that you probably will need to buy adventure packs, as free content kinda runs thin from lvl12 onward, but hey, you can still grind for TP on other servers if you have the dedication to do so, its possible.

Im not going to argue that eberron isnt the best setting, but thats flavor and personal preference, as for the idea of having different servers running different campaigns:
ARE YOU CRAZY?! :P do you know how much work that would be to even make Ravenloft playable, thats stuff for expansions, not as a choice from the getgo.

I also dont agree that its hard to get into, yes under the exterior its the hardcore 3.5 system, but you can well play the premade paths and customize them with enhancment feats and dragonmarks to build your own character.
But for people with some little knowledge of the rules the customization is a treat (i only ran 2 dnd tabletop adventures in my life, im nowhere an expert) it lets you create truly unique characters that are actually VIABLE.

In WoW for example (ill just speak from experience here as a lvl80 arcane mage that ran Ulduar) you pick your class and then your race and you set off in the world, then you pick talents that give you 1% more crit and 20 more mana as you go along because that felt sensible at the time. AND THEN END GAME CONTENT HITS YOU IN THE FACE LIKE A TRUCK, telling you that you suck, because you picked the WRONG TALENTS!
You see, in wow you only have certain specs that are viable for a class, you need to use RAWR and talent calculators and read Elitist Jerks to minmax or ppl call you a nab. Also you need to wear best in slot which is usually tier gear that makes you look like everyone else./wow rant over
BTW i love WoW, sheeesh ^^

The character creation screen in ddo tells you exactly how any class will play in solo.
Of course you will get mauled as a bard in solo, everyone that saw Gamers 2: Dorkness Rising knows that! :P
Also multiclassing gives even more choice, i made a barbarian/mage alt which turned out surprisingly viable.

Yes DDO isnt without its downsides, i usually detest instanced content, but it holds up as its own and certainly against AoC or Warhammer, not against WoW though i agree (its just not the same playstyle, the comparisson lacks a bit).

So thats my essay about DDO and your review.

thanks for reading.

I dont blame you for not wanting to play Crime Craft, i played the beta for one night and i didnt care for it.

I’ve played both City of Villains and Guild Wars for a long time. Both are darn good when it comes to solo-ing, but for you, I suggest Guild Wars. It’s very narrative driven (as in, cut-scenes, important NPCs), but once you pay the price of the game, that’s it, no monthly pay. Exploring is fun, and you can do it on your own pace and the game basically creates a separate dimension for just you to adventure in while you are out of town.

But in order to advance the plot, you kinda are screwed if you die in missions, as the whole thing starts all over again. Not bad few times, but tiring if you have to do one quest thousand times over to get to new areas. But if you get Eye of the North, the whole land is free to explore from the start, and it is beautiful.

continuance to number 61:

yeah fly for fun is allright… its not that great but it isnt bad either… the air combat system is okay but you cant fly for fun like the name entails untill you get to level 20 (which is very time consuming) it is reletavely difficult and having a party doesnt break it… haveing multiple people fighting the same monster helps but not enough to break the leveling system before that i was playing a game called deicide (deity + homocide) its good its got a solid leveling system where start off as this shell with no skill then by killing things you gain levels on how you kill them (dark magic / light magic / range / close) and you level up in individual catagories rather than overall so you will have a level of 3 in light 6 in dark 2 in range and 8 in close and you got a well rounded level 19 character… that isnt the best idea but its an option… its best to really only focus on 1-2 areas depending on your goal… at level 20 or 25 (i cant remember) you change rank and become your class (paladin 15 close 10 white magic i think) and it takes off there… there arent many quests… its fun for partying… i recently got 4 close friends to download it and now im taking them through it… one of my friends is on pass to surpass me in a week what i took a month of playing (not counting my 2 year break towards the middle)

but anyway the major thing im going to tell you about is an older game from sonic team (sega) PHANTASY STAR ONLINE… (blue burst) this series has been around since the dreamcast and had its stake on the gamecube…. its actually really really fun… this is the game i find myself spending the majority of my time on. you have 3 classes (close, range, magic) then you have 2 builds and 2 genders so in all you got 12 combinations of models to choose from before we even start on the custimizing (its average BTW) its slow to start out but im sure you got some fans that can help you level quickly so you can go out on your own… (its not safe to go out alone…. here take this) its got good boss fights. its got a story (im not saying its good). its got an extensive list of quests… there are only a few drawbacks that can be positives… when you start the game you are taken to the lobby where you create a room where a maximum of 4 people can join… 4 is the max a party can be… however this is good and bad cause once you create a (nonpassword protected room) random people can join with you… and it even got awards… it got… worst coded game of the year… lol… thankfully the codes got fixed in later updates…

well ive rambled on long enough so im ending with this all the things i mentioned are free forever free everything… anything you need to buy is purely ingame money you find on the ground

continuance to number 61:

yeah fly for fun is allright… its not that great but it isnt bad either… the air combat system is okay but you cant fly for fun like the name entails untill you get to level 20 (which is very time consuming) it is reletavely difficult and having a party doesnt break it… haveing multiple people fighting the same monster helps but not enough to break the leveling system before that i was playing a game called deicide (deity + homocide) its good its got a solid leveling system where start off as this shell with no skill then by killing things you gain levels on how you kill them (dark magic / light magic / range / close) and you level up in individual catagories rather than overall so you will have a level of 3 in light 6 in dark 2 in range and 8 in close and you got a well rounded level 19 character… that isnt the best idea but its an option… its best to really only focus on 1-2 areas depending on your goal… at level 20 or 25 (i cant remember) you change rank and become your class (paladin 15 close 10 white magic i think) and it takes off there… there arent many quests… its fun for partying… i recently got 4 close friends to download it and now im taking them through it… one of my friends is on pass to surpass me in a week what i took a month of playing (not counting my 2 year break towards the middle)

but anyway the major thing im going to tell you about is an older game from sonic team (sega) PHANTASY STAR ONLINE… (blue burst) this series has been around since the dreamcast and had its stake on the gamecube…. its actually really really fun… this is the game i find myself spending the majority of my time on. you have 3 classes (close, range, magic) then you have 2 builds and 2 genders so in all you got 12 combinations of models to choose from before we even start on the custimizing (its average BTW) its slow to start out but im sure you got some fans that can help you level quickly so you can go out on your own… (its not safe to go out alone…. here take this) its got good boss fights. its got a story (im not saying its good). its got an extensive list of quests… there are only a few drawbacks that can be positives… when you start the game you are taken to the lobby where you create a room where a maximum of 4 people can join… 4 is the max a party can be… however this is good and bad cause once you create a (nonpassword protected room) random people can join with you… and it even got awards… it got… worst coded game of the year… lol… thankfully the codes got fixed in later updates…

well ive rambled on long enough so im ending with this all the things i mentioned are free forever free everything… anything you need to buy is purely ingame money you find on the ground

P.S. if you want a free MMO Play Shin magmi Tensi: Imagine from Aeria games. It’s free, and the only thing you need to pay for is extra charicter slots and special items.

DDO is actually completly free, the currency used to buy the level range upgrades and everything else is rewarded for solving in game quests.

I upped my level cap to lvl 8 soon after I finished newbie Island.

DDO is actually completly free, the currency used to buy the level range upgrades and everything else is rewarded for solving in game quests.

I upped my level cap to lvl 8 soon after I finished newbie Island.

I made Dr.Insano in fallout 3… but with all the labcoats and goggles and SCIENCE! I had to.

Out of interest, if you read the comments, why does the Old Republic era not grab you that much? Personally I find that it has a lot more potential in it than the original franchise period, mostly because so much of it is untold and waiting for exploration. (It also helps that the recent Dark Horse comic series set before the events of the first game is surprisingly good for a star wars comic series.)

Out of interest, if you read the comments, why does the Old Republic era not grab you that much? Personally I find that it has a lot more potential in it than the original franchise period, mostly because so much of it is untold and waiting for exploration. (It also helps that the recent Dark Horse comic series set before the events of the first game is surprisingly good for a star wars comic series.)

Spoony with a beard?! You look like Chuck Norris!

But I prefer the good old Spoony, go shave, man! Also, I hardly care for Dungeans and Dragons, but this was pretty interesting ^_^

You should try the trial for warhammer online age of reckoning, its kinda like WoW since its essentially where blizzard got the idea from plus it has dudes that look like van helsing, and 25- 27 years of novels, comics and models of kick assitude give it great story and charchters,

You should try the trial for warhammer online age of reckoning, its kinda like WoW since its essentially where blizzard got the idea from plus it has dudes that look like van helsing, and 25- 27 years of novels, comics and models of kick assitude give it great story and charchters,

Everquest used to be really good.

Red Steel

I never got into MMOs. Hmm…

And I Like Free Stuff Too! ;o)

Red Steel

I never got into MMOs. Hmm…

And I Like Free Stuff Too! ;o)

Screw DDO but WOOHOO on the Planescape collection best line ever.

Hi Spoony,

the silver “red steel” box on your shelve reflected the movement of your ceiling fan, and that
realy REALY distracted me the whole time. I´m mebby the only one to notice that, but I´d greatly
apreciate if you could do something about that, cuz I nearly went insane watching this VLog.

Enjoying every minute of your vids,
Brian

Hi Spoony,

the silver “red steel” box on your shelve reflected the movement of your ceiling fan, and that
realy REALY distracted me the whole time. I´m mebby the only one to notice that, but I´d greatly
apreciate if you could do something about that, cuz I nearly went insane watching this VLog.

Enjoying every minute of your vids,
Brian

And to give someone a shameless plug… that DotA mod is going full on game, League of Legends, and shall be free (unless you want the collectors). Aaaaand if enough folks become a fan of it on facebook (40,000) then they all get closed beta keys…

So there’s a bit of new and free combined…. now excuse me I need to watch parts 2,3, and 4 :D

Spoony, you didn’t play FFXI?! Yet you went through the TORTURE of playing FFVIII?!?!?!!?! Duuuuuuuuude! COME TO VALEFOR! I’ll show you the HELL of FFXI!

Spoony, you didn’t play FFXI?! Yet you went through the TORTURE of playing FFVIII?!?!?!!?! Duuuuuuuuude! COME TO VALEFOR! I’ll show you the HELL of FFXI!

Well, for the first time I disagree with you, O Spoony One.

DDO is very funny. It’s possible to play without paying a buck to Turbine, since you gain TP in game.
And the setting is city-based exactly to look different than other MMOs. DDO is not like WoW in a DnD setting, DDO is another type of MMO, a dungeon based MMO, not a “killing mobs endlessly” based MMO(like WoW, Lineage, Guild Wars, Granado Espada, Perfect World, etc…).

Turbine created a new type of MMO. And that’s why DDO is great. It’s a MMO for dungeon crawlers, it gives you the hardcore old-school DnD tabletop experience. You have to disarm traps, search for hidden doors, open chests, solve puzzles, and yes, you kill monsters in the dungeons, but that’s no the focus.
The game is really good and original. It’s a new type of MMO, like I said before.

make the Dr. Insaneo GUILD man! That would be RAD!

make the Dr. Insaneo GUILD man! That would be RAD!

They should have a system similar to Navyfield, an MMO WWII era navy combat game. It’s completely free to play, with no caps, but you can pay to gain XP at a faster rate, and to unlock certain items.

Don’t play Neverwinter Nights 2!
Do the first one of a roleplaying server. Those people are dedicated and the DMs are incredibly creative.

Don’t play Neverwinter Nights 2!
Do the first one of a roleplaying server. Those people are dedicated and the DMs are incredibly creative.

Be aware that the Star Wars MMO probably have nothing to do with the prequel… you dont seem to have played Knight of the Old republic 1 & 2 and thouse games are amazing really good (even if the 2 secound is not finished…) And it’s developed by Bioware the guys who made Kotor 1 and Baldur’s Gate and NeverWinter Night… and they have access to the expertise of Mytic thr guys who made Dark Age of Camelot (the best MMO i have played) and Warhammer Online Age of Reconing…
the Old Republic will probably will be amazing

You did good avoiding Crimecraft, It’s a steaming pile. (was in the beta for it)
It could have been good, if it was B2P, but B2P & P2P no.

And if you’re willing to put up with some shoddily translated games, go for the Korean Free to Play market. They generally never FORCE you to buy shit to progress. It’s just really encouraged.

You did good avoiding Crimecraft, It’s a steaming pile. (was in the beta for it)
It could have been good, if it was B2P, but B2P & P2P no.

And if you’re willing to put up with some shoddily translated games, go for the Korean Free to Play market. They generally never FORCE you to buy shit to progress. It’s just really encouraged.

Try EvE-Online ^^

Well, for the first time I disagree with you, O Spoony One.

DDO is very funny. It’s possible to play without paying a buck to Turbine, since you gain TP in game.
And the setting is city-based exactly to look different than other MMOs. DDO is not WoW in a DnD setting(and if it was I woulnd’t play it), DDO is another type of MMO: not a “killing mobs endlessly” based MMO(like WoW, Lineage, Guild Wars, Granado Espada, Perfect World, etc…), but a a dungeon based MMO(like a NWN meets Tomb Raider, Multiplayer).

Turbine created a new type of MMO. And that’s why DDO is great. It’s a MMO for dungeon crawlers, it gives you the hardcore old-school DnD tabletop experience. And it’s and MMO for people who don’t like, or are bored of, the old MMO formula. You have to disarm traps, search for hidden doors, open chests, solve puzzles, and yes, you kill monsters in the dungeons, but that’s not the focus.

Well, for the first time I disagree with you, O Spoony One.

DDO is very funny. It’s possible to play without paying a buck to Turbine, since you gain TP in game.
And the setting is city-based exactly to look different than other MMOs. DDO is not WoW in a DnD setting(and if it was I woulnd’t play it), DDO is another type of MMO: not a “killing mobs endlessly” based MMO(like WoW, Lineage, Guild Wars, Granado Espada, Perfect World, etc…), but a a dungeon based MMO(like a NWN meets Tomb Raider, Multiplayer).

Turbine created a new type of MMO. And that’s why DDO is great. It’s a MMO for dungeon crawlers, it gives you the hardcore old-school DnD tabletop experience. And it’s and MMO for people who don’t like, or are bored of, the old MMO formula. You have to disarm traps, search for hidden doors, open chests, solve puzzles, and yes, you kill monsters in the dungeons, but that’s not the focus.

Lulz. I was playing WOW as you were giving your report. XD
Anywho, I do enjoy WOW and it’ll probably be forever ’till I’m level 80. However, I’ve got the second expansion pack and I’m waiting for number 4 to come out so I can buy the 3&4 battlechest set. Then I can be a Deathknight!
The problem I do have is with the gankers. There needs to be a WOW police force or something.

You can unlock the upper levels by doing quests. It really isn’t hard.
I agree that it is repetitive in both monster variety and replaying missions.

You can unlock the upper levels by doing quests. It really isn’t hard.
I agree that it is repetitive in both monster variety and replaying missions.

Aion is the best that ever has hit the MMO world… If you’re an an emo vampire roleplayer and into anime’ish emobishounen chars. Enjoy

I really like Champions, but it’s going through growing pains right now. The instances are a lot of fun and I am a fan of the public quests. The crafting isn’t very deep, but the customization is. Also, there is a 30 day trial that comes with the game. Personally, my favorite part is rumbling with my custom made nemesis.

DnDO sounds like an MMO for me. At least the semi-trailversion sounds interesting. It kinda reminds me of Diablo though and I dont know if that’s a good sign. I hope that having played and liked NWN is enough to understand and like the gameplay.

DnDO has really nothing to do with Eberron. I mean sure, there’s city, but there’s plenty of other stuff to do. DnDO misses the point entirely, and there’s nothing of what gives Eberron it’s nice aspects, like the various continents and countries with exotic landscape, or the action packed setting where one can have a sword fight on the roof of a train or on an airship.

DnDO has really nothing to do with Eberron. I mean sure, there’s city, but there’s plenty of other stuff to do. DnDO misses the point entirely, and there’s nothing of what gives Eberron it’s nice aspects, like the various continents and countries with exotic landscape, or the action packed setting where one can have a sword fight on the roof of a train or on an airship.

Hey Spoony I’ve been liking DDO so far, and I’m sure everyone has told you that you can level past 4 if you get a leveling sigil. They aren’t too hard to get, I got mine from a quest at random. The only problem I have is all the information is written in Dugneons and Dragons talk, I had to look up what 1d20 meant and some of the wording on the item and spell descriptions confuses me. I still can’t figure out if my “Bless” spell is only against enemies that have fear because it’s described as “Grants +1 morale to attacks and saves against fear.” so I can’t figure out if it’s attacks in general or attacks against fear.

WoW was the first MMO that really hooked me. Before that I played Dark Age of Camelot (which was pretty good) and played Star Wars Galaxies for a like a month (I hated it). I’m kinda like you in the sense that i’m not a big raider or an item whore. I just like to play the standard game, but that means when you reach top level, the game is essentially over. Warhammer Online was “OK”, but I just couldn’t get into it like WoW and I hear they are already merging servers cause of a lack of players and imbalances of the teams.

I’m watching Star Trek and Old Republic very closely. I think I heard something about Old Republic being cross platform with X Box 360. If that’s true, then that gives me a VERY bad feeling about that game. Damn consoles dumb down everything. How can you play a good MMO on a console? I don’t know.

Anyways, Team Fortress 2 is my favorite game so far and has been since I got orange box. I’ll just keep playing that.

WoW was the first MMO that really hooked me. Before that I played Dark Age of Camelot (which was pretty good) and played Star Wars Galaxies for a like a month (I hated it). I’m kinda like you in the sense that i’m not a big raider or an item whore. I just like to play the standard game, but that means when you reach top level, the game is essentially over. Warhammer Online was “OK”, but I just couldn’t get into it like WoW and I hear they are already merging servers cause of a lack of players and imbalances of the teams.

I’m watching Star Trek and Old Republic very closely. I think I heard something about Old Republic being cross platform with X Box 360. If that’s true, then that gives me a VERY bad feeling about that game. Damn consoles dumb down everything. How can you play a good MMO on a console? I don’t know.

Anyways, Team Fortress 2 is my favorite game so far and has been since I got orange box. I’ll just keep playing that.

Have you ever thought about telling the creators any of these thoughts, cause i feel like some of those ideas are great.

Spoony, hey I don’t know whether you will get to this, I know you are a busy guy, but if you mean to look for an MMO that is actually worth a try, did you ever consider Lord of the Rings Online? I looked over the comments here, seeing alot of different responses and actuall surprised Lord of the Rings was not mentioned.
Yes, there is a free trial, for I think actually 10 days and apparently some deal that if you are hooked that you can play for 9.99 a month, which still sucks that you have to pay, but at least it isn’t 14.99 like WoW. Anyways, to get to the point, Lord of the Rings actually makes you immerse yourself in a very well designed game. Yes, it is WoW like at first glance, and the move settings feel very similar depending what you choose. From what you said, you sound like a ‘rogue’ kind of guy, which I was also when I played WoW which makes me warn you about the ‘burglar’ class in LOTRO (Lord of the Rings Online…Duh :P ). It’s actually a really complex class that makes you use riddles, and tricks and actual rogue like things similar to D&D.
Also, cobalts are not seen in the beginning. The enemies you fight actually differ, and depending on what race you choose, the game starts out differently, showing you one of the major things in LOTRO: Story. The lore is there, and it’s so heavy, that it actually seems to ‘motivate’ you into wanting to Role Play! Very D&Dish!
Anyways, to conclude, since I don’t take up too much space here for you, I recommend not wasting your time on Age of Conan if you get curious since the game has flopped as a whole. I am serious, 26 realms cut into 6 realms over the time of less then a year shows that the game has critical flaws….so bad that I am not going to even bother with it. Just give it a look! Plus, if you actually really do get into it, then you will get to see one of the awesome things about it: The Legendary Weapon system!

Customizing your own weapon with stats, a unique name and overall scheme that allows your weapon to gain experience and lvl up is something even WoW is trying to implement. In fact, WoW has taken alot from LOTRO. Achievements, and with that new expansion, apparently guild rank too! Though it’s called kin on LOTRO. Anyways. here is a link, if you want to look. Recommendations, and seriously, if you want the best taste for the game, go on the BRANDYWINE server. Good role playing there, and all and all, you will see a mature community, a really awesome lvling system, good controls and a reason to actually EXPLORE an open field. Great game. Hope you try man.

Here is a link:
http://www.lotro.com/

Since you mentioned that you like turnbased games, I’d suggest trying out Atlantica Online. It does have some trappings of typical korean free-to-play games (that try to make you spend money for special stuff ingame), its pretty good for a free game and it’s turnbased. You don’t just play one character either, but a group of up to nine.

It’s no WoW, but it kinda stands on its own in several ways.

I usually get suckered in to Star Wars too, which is why I love all the live action films. Including the prequels, yes, bite me!

I usually get suckered in to Star Wars too, which is why I love all the live action films. Including the prequels, yes, bite me!

Champions Online is the same system as WoW is. It comes with a 30-day free trial (Which I find somewhat ironic, as you have to pay $50 for the game itself) but the game itself is WELL worth the money. It’s extremely action-oriented as opposed to other MMOs’ system of “Press buttons, wait for cooldowns.” You can actually move around as you fight, and enemies will do the same. Plus, you need to occasionally block enemy attacks by stopping what you’re doing and holding the block key. It’s actually very cool, because I haven’t seen any other MMO so focused on actually ‘playing’ the game.

The character builder is amazing (As you’ve probably seen). It’s apparently much better than City of Heroes, and has a huge variety of customization options. There are literally billions of possible characters that can be made through all the different costume pieces. Both my friend and I are having a hard time just getting out of that; we’ve both created about two dozen characters before we finally managed to get down to one main and a few alts.

The power system is really what shines in Champions. There are a total of 18 different powersets, ranging from Elemental (Fire, Ice, Lightning, and Force) to sheer beatdown (Might and the various Martial Arts) to, of course, Gadgeteering. And each system is unique in its own way. If that wasn’t enough, you can even customize how you play your character. You could go through the entire game picking random powers from every other powerset in a single character, though it probably wouldn’t be a good character. The main point is, the game allows you infinite customization in building the hero you want to build. It doesn’t restrict you on what class you want to play.

I’d love to say more on Champions Online (I could rant for hours on this game, honestly) but I’m going to get around to watching your next Vlogs. Seriously, if you want a new and different MMO that isn’t WoW or DDO, give Champions Online a try.

would love to see that Dr insano build.

would love to see that Dr insano build.

You should play Kotor for the xbox it was made by bioware it is the pre curser to the star wars mmo. They have set up their own story since it is manny years before new hope. Kotor one was 4000 years before the EP 1 and i think the mmo is 3000 years. There are alot of videos out for it. I think it is coming out fall next year.

you can advance past level 4 playing for free… theres a random quest reward that allows you to go to level 8, not paid at all =)

don’t know about past that, tho…but i think it’s the same thing

you can advance past level 4 playing for free… theres a random quest reward that allows you to go to level 8, not paid at all =)

don’t know about past that, tho…but i think it’s the same thing

Is it wrong that I still think I’m more nerdy than you are despite never playing DND?

You should try Guild Wars. You buy it once and there’s no monthly fee after that. You might want to try a trial of it beforehand, although I think those you have to pay for (not much though). The way they get you with the monthly fee is weird but effective for me- basically there’s 3 games and an expansion pack (which requires any of the 3 “campaigns” as they call them. I suggest you start with Prophecies, as it is the best campaign and also the first one, so you’ll be set for the other campaigns (although the stories don’t really have any connections; however there are some relationships).

I’m calling bullshit. Your level’s not capped at 4. You get tokens as quest rewards that allows you to increase further. You get all races but Warfrged and Drow, and all classes but Favored Soul and Monk. Both Drow and Favored Soul can be unlocked by playing the game. And you get tons of free Turbine points. You can, in theory, get infinite Turbine points if you want to grind A LOT, and, eventually unlock ALL the content for free (though since you only get about 35 cents worth of points for what’s probably a day’s worth of grinding, it’s not really worth it).

You should try Guild Wars. You buy it once and there’s no monthly fee after that. You might want to try a trial of it beforehand, although I think those you have to pay for (not much though). The way they get you with the monthly fee is weird but effective for me- basically there’s 3 games and an expansion pack (which requires any of the 3 “campaigns” as they call them. I suggest you start with Prophecies, as it is the best campaign and also the first one, so you’ll be set for the other campaigns (although the stories don’t really have any connections; however there are some relationships).

Nice vlog… not into MMOs myself, though. Never played one either because I know the consecuense, lol.

Btw… I have this beta key to this game MMORPG game called Aion, so if anyone is interested in it, just let me know. I really can’t stand MMOs, sorry :p Just leave an e-mail in the comments or something – I’m not sure I’ll check the comments, but you know… in case.

Nice vlog… not into MMOs myself, though. Never played one either because I know the consecuense, lol.

Btw… I have this beta key to this game MMORPG game called Aion, so if anyone is interested in it, just let me know. I really can’t stand MMOs, sorry :p Just leave an e-mail in the comments or something – I’m not sure I’ll check the comments, but you know… in case.

Well, there are a lot of good free mmorpg, Im playing Shaiya online and is actually very funny

Were you playing the original DDO that was released many years ago? I solo exclusively with my pally and easily take down “Normal” and, with a little work “Hard” modes in quests. There’s a massive amount of variety, just on newbie island. You shouldn’t talk about things you don’t know anything about. The difficulty settings aren’t just “bigger group=harder”. If you play “Normal” with 2 people, it’ll scale the difficulty to be the same if you go “Normal” with 6 people. “Elite” will smack you around with 6 just as well as 2.

Were you playing the original DDO that was released many years ago? I solo exclusively with my pally and easily take down “Normal” and, with a little work “Hard” modes in quests. There’s a massive amount of variety, just on newbie island. You shouldn’t talk about things you don’t know anything about. The difficulty settings aren’t just “bigger group=harder”. If you play “Normal” with 2 people, it’ll scale the difficulty to be the same if you go “Normal” with 6 people. “Elite” will smack you around with 6 just as well as 2.

I’m big dungeons and dragons fan (I mean the tabletop pen and paper rpg). its kinda hard because my friend is more in to GURPS or VTM. I’m quite experienced game master in DnD and played a lot of games as player. My favorite world setting is Forgotten realms moslty because of baldur’s gate 2, that game is still best for me and i’m waiting for Dragon age.
As fo MMO i don’t really like WoW played few month and got bored but i really like Everquest 2 it has around the same feeling as Wow but something is ore attractive for me. And i play guild wars yers its good game a very good game if you like kinda sports like competition its not a classic kind of mmo where you grind collect stuff get stringer etc.. in guild wars it’s mostly about player skill ant it’s like tournaments where team meets team and they fights yes in GW pvp is awesome if you like that kind of thing well pve is not much i mean is hard.. you need to tinker your build to know enemy etc. etc. but you finish the story line and thats pretty much it, of course you can go in hard mode that’s really hard i mean normal mode is hard compared to most of other mmo out there….
And again my favorites mmo is Everquest 2 and guild wars.. but guild wars is not the usual one.. you either like it or you hate it because its competative.. but not grinding, its balanced but requires a lot of knowelage.. and i think its more about pvp not pve because pve after you finish the story line is not much..

hmm you probaly should try out Requiem bloodymare.. its a kinda gory fantasy hulking game and its for a free mmo ;P and i diddnt see any doctor insano yet ;)

hmm you probaly should try out Requiem bloodymare.. its a kinda gory fantasy hulking game and its for a free mmo ;P and i diddnt see any doctor insano yet ;)

Wow, that Red Steel Box on the shelf makes the camera goe apeshit ^^
you should place it somewhere else – the flickering really makes the eye twitch :)

A friend has been nagging me to try out DD Online, I hope it’s not going to be as unfun in the beginning as you mentioned it to be.

I think Tabula Rasa was actually very good, but buggy as hell, lag would take over on the third planet, and probably due to poor Python integration with the program, the game would eat memory until it crashed.

In the end I didn’t feel it was worth paying for a game that, although very good, never left the beta stage.

I share most of Spoony’s knocks against DDO, but IF you went in with a full group of friends (ie didn’t have to get a group, etc etc) the game REALLY did shine past about lvl 6 or so…once you got into the second-tier of dungeons (past Steam Tunnels and rat/spider/kobold killing) they were loads of fun IMO. Challenging puzzles (if you weren’t a wuss and looked up the answers), harder/more interesting mobs, MUCH better storylines. The module narrated by Gygax was a nice surprise.

The game is worth a runthrough. After doing high-end raiding in EQ1, EQ2, DAOC, VG, and WoW, my 3-4 months in DDO (with a full group of friends) are still some of my most fond memories on on-line gaming.

I share most of Spoony’s knocks against DDO, but IF you went in with a full group of friends (ie didn’t have to get a group, etc etc) the game REALLY did shine past about lvl 6 or so…once you got into the second-tier of dungeons (past Steam Tunnels and rat/spider/kobold killing) they were loads of fun IMO. Challenging puzzles (if you weren’t a wuss and looked up the answers), harder/more interesting mobs, MUCH better storylines. The module narrated by Gygax was a nice surprise.

The game is worth a runthrough. After doing high-end raiding in EQ1, EQ2, DAOC, VG, and WoW, my 3-4 months in DDO (with a full group of friends) are still some of my most fond memories on on-line gaming.

SPOONY SHOULD GROW OUT HIS BEARD

Hail Spoony.
Nice review on D&D O. yea unforturnatelly microtransations are what destroy free MMORPG. Altough there are some online games which they only are there for cosmetical stuff.
I would love seeing you doing a review of Neverwinter Nights + exps and Neverwinter Nights 2 + exps. Think about it at least will ya :D?

To add: You probably would like guild wars tough if you are into PvP and tatical combat.

Hail Spoony.
Nice review on D&D O. yea unforturnatelly microtransations are what destroy free MMORPG. Altough there are some online games which they only are there for cosmetical stuff.
I would love seeing you doing a review of Neverwinter Nights + exps and Neverwinter Nights 2 + exps. Think about it at least will ya :D?

To add: You probably would like guild wars tough if you are into PvP and tatical combat.

Lord of the Rings Online is good and affordable.

It’s like WoW but better in EVERY WAY

Your comment on “Looking For Group” advertisements cracked me up.

I have the most fun and most skill at healers, so I feel like a pimp. Players keep asking me to join their group, I’m up to my eyeballs in groupies.

Your comment on “Looking For Group” advertisements cracked me up.

I have the most fun and most skill at healers, so I feel like a pimp. Players keep asking me to join their group, I’m up to my eyeballs in groupies.

I would suggest trying out Lord Of The Rings Online. Its the same type of MMO as World of Warcraft. But it has UBER graphics. And the quest seem to be put together quite well. The only thing I dont like is that paint dries faster than you would level. After you get past level 10 its slow going from there. But, overall its a good game and sorta keeps with the story line.

Compared to World of Warcraft, I know of one other very solid MMO and that is Ragnarok Online. It’s kind of old and all the graphics are very detailed sprites and the game play (grinding, parties, etc.) are all very intuitive and the community is fairly nice. My only problem is that it succumbed to the corporations and now has ‘free’ severs and ‘pay’ severs as well as the Kafra(read: Cash) Shop which I hate the most. So go with a vanilla private sever with normal to x3 rates and its really fun.

Compared to World of Warcraft, I know of one other very solid MMO and that is Ragnarok Online. It’s kind of old and all the graphics are very detailed sprites and the game play (grinding, parties, etc.) are all very intuitive and the community is fairly nice. My only problem is that it succumbed to the corporations and now has ‘free’ severs and ‘pay’ severs as well as the Kafra(read: Cash) Shop which I hate the most. So go with a vanilla private sever with normal to x3 rates and its really fun.

Champions Online has yet to have a trial. >:3.

TRY GUILD WARS! Seriously its like the best designed mmo game ever!

TRY GUILD WARS! Seriously its like the best designed mmo game ever!

I played City of Heroes/Villains for 3 years before branching out to the 2 major new games coming out very soon, being Champions and Aion. While most about Champions has already been said by previous commenters, and very well said I might add, Aion is quite different from Champions. So I’ll talk a bit about that.
Aion’s story revolves around the planet Etreaya (Spelling), and the God they worship, Aion. Aion created two races, the Elyos and the Asmodians. He also created a third race that I won’t even attempt to spell, that grew too powerful and shit began to hit the fan. In the war between them and the 2 other races of Etreaya, a secred monument called the Tower of Eternity was broken into two pieces, splitting the world in two. Confused? About to call bullshit on the world-splitting after one tower is broken? Well so did I. But after playing, it’s easy to look past. Basically you wake up with no memory of who you are, and you go through the storyline and eventually find out:
A. You are immortal, and
B. You get wings.

Does it really get any better than that?

So you go to a city where other people like you live, with wings and all, and go through a series of quests that are all Open World content. No door missions (As far as I could see). That doesn’t create much problem, since not many players will be on the same quest you are on at the same time, and the respawn times for the quests are very frequent.

You also get MUCH customization, both in your player’s look, and powers. You pick up weapons from fallen enemies or buy them from shops in a Diablo 2-esque-fashion, without the pesky repairing you need to do in Diablo 2. You can customize your builds to be either Air-Heavy or Ground-Heavy, such as enhancing your wings to be better in the air, etc.

Also, the world is just simply Beautiful. The graphics are amazing to a point that cannot be expressed in words, and you can travel miles just to see all of the detail and thought that was put into every square inch of the world that you chose, either on one side as an Asmodian or the other side of the planet as an Elyos. Even looking into the sky is a phenomenon for the eyes, as you see stars, auroras, and the glowing stump of the Tower of Eternity.

Aion is a beautiful game in the literal and non-literal sense, and very fluent in gameplay. If you’re looking for a new MMO, Aion is definitely worth looking at, even if it’s not for you.

I saw it free, so I went and tried it, and yes it IS free. There is BARELY any limitation, which are ALL lifted if u purchase ANYTHING. which makes u a premium member. U get a level cap u get lifted by getting favour from doing quests.

I say it holds far above WoW. It has a great combat system, using a good version of D&D (3.5) It’s made for multiplayer, especially with friends. It’s only boring if u play solo. Wow lacks depth in the combat system, which makes it feel repetative with very limited tactics which mostly end up at the same thing. In D&D you NEED tactics and a multitude of classes to actually complete dungeons to their full capacity, and it is good to have at least some D&D knowledge. You aren’t stuck in any city, you are only stuck by your level compared to the quest level. WHY WOULD YOU WANT TO SOLO ON AN MMO. Hard mode and Elite mode not only challenge you on a harder level (they are HIGHER LEVEL monsters NOT just more. A spiders AC can go from 8 to 18. You earn turbine points by getting favour, which you get by doing missions, and on harder difficulty.

As a D&D fan, i have greatly enjoyed the game, to which I have, in 3 weeks, got to lvl 6, and made a guild by spending 6 bucks just because I wanted to become premium. So far I haven’t spent shit on anything else and am having a blast with a party of 6 friends. Recommending WoW has lost my respect.

I saw it free, so I went and tried it, and yes it IS free. There is BARELY any limitation, which are ALL lifted if u purchase ANYTHING. which makes u a premium member. U get a level cap u get lifted by getting favour from doing quests.

I say it holds far above WoW. It has a great combat system, using a good version of D&D (3.5) It’s made for multiplayer, especially with friends. It’s only boring if u play solo. Wow lacks depth in the combat system, which makes it feel repetative with very limited tactics which mostly end up at the same thing. In D&D you NEED tactics and a multitude of classes to actually complete dungeons to their full capacity, and it is good to have at least some D&D knowledge. You aren’t stuck in any city, you are only stuck by your level compared to the quest level. WHY WOULD YOU WANT TO SOLO ON AN MMO. Hard mode and Elite mode not only challenge you on a harder level (they are HIGHER LEVEL monsters NOT just more. A spiders AC can go from 8 to 18. You earn turbine points by getting favour, which you get by doing missions, and on harder difficulty.

As a D&D fan, i have greatly enjoyed the game, to which I have, in 3 weeks, got to lvl 6, and made a guild by spending 6 bucks just because I wanted to become premium. So far I haven’t spent shit on anything else and am having a blast with a party of 6 friends. Recommending WoW has lost my respect.

I’m waiting up for DC Universe online, that looks great

I’m playing Lord of the Rings Online atm, it’s pretty fun.

I’m playing Lord of the Rings Online atm, it’s pretty fun.

You GOTA go to nexon.net. They have a bunch of awesome free online games. They got everything form rpg’s to fps’s. Just take a peak. You wont be sorry you did.

Did you try Kingdom of Loathing Spoony? :D It’s a very unique game.

Oh, and it’s free and online. Forgot to add that.

Did you try Kingdom of Loathing Spoony? :D It’s a very unique game.

KoL?
Really?
Why not just send him here and be done with it?
http://progressquest.com/

KoL?
Really?
Why not just send him here and be done with it?
http://progressquest.com/

Guild wars is a very Diablo II esque game from what I remember. Fun for the most part. just replace the chat room with the town square. I personally enjoy the difficulty of final fantasy XI. Though it was a lot more difficult and less appealing when it came out.

First thought when I heard about Spoony hating basements and fighting off vermon: FFXII. Very first thing you do is fight off some rats in this sewer-ish place. And the story only starts once you have done that. Completely pointless.

First thought when I heard about Spoony hating basements and fighting off vermon: FFXII. Very first thing you do is fight off some rats in this sewer-ish place. And the story only starts once you have done that. Completely pointless.

Hey Spoony, what do you think about Neverwinter Nights Path of Ascension/Higher Ground?

If your not familiar with it you should definitely check it out. Its pretty much my favorite rpg and introduced me to D&D

http://nwn.bioware.com/players/profile_higher_ground.html
http://wiki.hgweb.org/wiki/Main_Page

heres a list of subraces

http://nwn2forums.bioware.com/forums/viewtopic.html?topic=473469&forum=98&sp=90

heres a list of subraces

http://nwn2forums.bioware.com/forums/viewtopic.html?topic=473469&forum=98&sp=90

wrong list, I cant seem to find the subrace list online for the cep (community expansion pack) kinda odd?

Spoony, you should try out 9dragons it’s a Free MMORPG Published by Acclaim, it’s like almost every Free MMORPG Koran made tough… indy21 made it anyway you should check it out! http://9dragons.acclaim.com/

Spoony, you should try out 9dragons it’s a Free MMORPG Published by Acclaim, it’s like almost every Free MMORPG Koran made tough… indy21 made it anyway you should check it out! http://9dragons.acclaim.com/

I tried WoW for about 2 weeks, absolutely hated it. Champions Online looks pretty awesome, but I’m with you, I like free things. I want to pay for a game ONCE and let that be it. Yeah sure, I know they have servers to maintain, patches to release, expansions to make, but I still hate what is effectively leasing a game. If I pay $40 or $50 for a game, I want to be able to play it whenever the fuck I want without making subsequent smaller payments.

I’d recommend giving Warhammer Online a try. It’s far from perfect, but I think it’s refreshing and I do believe they have a ten day free trial, with some limitations, but they’re not saying it’s Free 2 Play, so it’s not like they’re dishonest. lol

I’d recommend giving Warhammer Online a try. It’s far from perfect, but I think it’s refreshing and I do believe they have a ten day free trial, with some limitations, but they’re not saying it’s Free 2 Play, so it’s not like they’re dishonest. lol

I got a game for ya! Spellborn.

Its free, but it wont be updated until 2010. They Run events though until they have the update.

The Gameplay is pretty unique, but big download.

I feel like a dork because I have played and liked Eberon XD So did my brother (who actually is an old school gamer)

Though yeah, a more popular or main campaign woulda been better.

I feel like a dork because I have played and liked Eberon XD So did my brother (who actually is an old school gamer)

Though yeah, a more popular or main campaign woulda been better.

I wish they would do a Dark Sun game, online or single player.

The greatest MMORPG ever made is also free and still in development.

2 Swedish students created the most sandbox MMO ever made.

http://www.havenandhearth.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=1718&sid=843d69d01ab3a3a3e00acdced614f19a

Real money – Coins come from players printing money from metal they mined out, no inflation in this game.
Real player build roads and cities – anywhere to anywhere
Property, crime and punishment – players can track crimes and find thiefs and murders even if logged off
Open PvP and permanent death – elegant systems to prevent griefing
Everything player crafted

It is great to start up a city (feels like a strategy sim game with players causing the random events) but slows down once you get all your industry up. The political scene with alliances between cities hasn’t gotten that big yet but the game is still very short in development, but it already has brilliant design systems (you gain stats based on the food you eat and you can’t overeat, this slows growth and makes leveling an economic item that can be traded).

The greatest MMORPG ever made is also free and still in development.

2 Swedish students created the most sandbox MMO ever made.

http://www.havenandhearth.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=6&t=1718&sid=843d69d01ab3a3a3e00acdced614f19a

Real money – Coins come from players printing money from metal they mined out, no inflation in this game.
Real player build roads and cities – anywhere to anywhere
Property, crime and punishment – players can track crimes and find thiefs and murders even if logged off
Open PvP and permanent death – elegant systems to prevent griefing
Everything player crafted

It is great to start up a city (feels like a strategy sim game with players causing the random events) but slows down once you get all your industry up. The political scene with alliances between cities hasn’t gotten that big yet but the game is still very short in development, but it already has brilliant design systems (you gain stats based on the food you eat and you can’t overeat, this slows growth and makes leveling an economic item that can be traded).

By development I mean constant updates, it is released now. It is currently in a very playable state (minus random lag) and quick to join and play (log in doubles as forum account and all character growth is in-game).

Depending on the themes that interested/held your attention/that you enjoyed most about D&D, I’d suggest you click my username/link. (Expect 0 population. I’m all alone. :( )

If you do happen to glance by this to try it out, feel free to join the stated IRC if you need any help/want another PC online other than just you.

(Maybe I should just get around to registering on your forum and post it on there. Tomorrow, perhaps.)

Depending on the themes that interested/held your attention/that you enjoyed most about D&D, I’d suggest you click my username/link. (Expect 0 population. I’m all alone. :( )

If you do happen to glance by this to try it out, feel free to join the stated IRC if you need any help/want another PC online other than just you.

(Maybe I should just get around to registering on your forum and post it on there. Tomorrow, perhaps.)

As a long time fan of yours spoony and a big time D&D player AND one of those guys bought DDO at release! let me say that you hit alot of good points! game isn’t some awesome sauce game, it has its issues but have to admit that does deviate from things make mmo’s lame! all quests being instanced was great! but your right if your not a D&D fan, if you don’t know system you will fail and fail hard, my friends and i intend to jump into DDO soon, and gonna have nice strong 5 man group(hopefully) since we all play(well one new guy but! we’ll help him). At anyrate game has promise, i am a huge fan of eberron so thats a plus! OH btw! you kept mentioning ” why eberron” i can answer that actually! eberron was chosen for this game because at the time, the campaign just released and was sort of a promotion of what wizards hoped would take off. Saddly most didn’t like it, also confused why never added half-orcs or half elves… oh well now i’m rambling haha!

Oh you made some comments about champions as i beta tested it and playing my free month(no its not free) it shares alot of issues that DDO has. If don’t know anything about Champions pen and paper(its a super hero game like D&D suppose to be good) you will fail and fail hard! i see countless posts on forums everyday of people saying they suck because nerfed powers and defensive don’t work now(they got nerfed opening day), yet some one understands system will have no issues. Champion is very fast paced but i am leaving it for now, group content is busted and just lame at the moment.

Startrek online you also mention if look on site alot of vids all about it, everyone gets own star ship, and gets to make own crew. You team up for away missions or team up as a starship team, are 2 factions at start i think i forget which 2 off hand… but made a comment that will be more added. Its suppose to play like E.V.E if you’ve seen that.

Anyway stop rambling now! DDO is decent its not WoW but thats a good thing… oh keep eyes open for NWN Online! its coming as well ^^ though saddly won’t be made by bioware…total let down!

I was in the beta test for Crimecraft, and I assure you that you are 100% correct about how terrible it is, it is a mediocre shooter and a mediocre MMO that they expect you to cough up $50 for then pay them a monthly fee, and did I mention there are micro transactions too? It’s a disgrace.

I was in the beta test for Crimecraft, and I assure you that you are 100% correct about how terrible it is, it is a mediocre shooter and a mediocre MMO that they expect you to cough up $50 for then pay them a monthly fee, and did I mention there are micro transactions too? It’s a disgrace.

City of Villains is pretty good. laid back, all that kind of stuff

it’s the only MMO i liked but if it’s not your cup of tea, ehhhh

though i can see why you might not like City of Heroes (the SEWERS {though you only spend like twenty/twenty-five minutes in there after making a character to leap up to like level 7})

wasn’t there a free MMO almost exactly like WoW somewheres

oh well, i’d probably wait for Star Trek/Star Wars too

Interesting review spoony. I may try out DDO since its free.Also there is a Star Wars MMO out currently, called Star Wars Galaxies. It gives me my fill of star wars, and will last me till TOR comes out. If you are interested, tyr the 14 day trial at Sony Online Entertainment’s website. But if you do plan on playing the game, try and go in with an open mind, since the game has gotten a bad rep, due to some idiotic move by Lucas Arts to make the game trendy, by being a WoW clone.

Interesting review spoony. I may try out DDO since its free.Also there is a Star Wars MMO out currently, called Star Wars Galaxies. It gives me my fill of star wars, and will last me till TOR comes out. If you are interested, tyr the 14 day trial at Sony Online Entertainment’s website. But if you do plan on playing the game, try and go in with an open mind, since the game has gotten a bad rep, due to some idiotic move by Lucas Arts to make the game trendy, by being a WoW clone.

I play D&D with a small group of friends and we play Eberon sometimes, and since I’m out of an MMO anyway (I used to do runescape) I thought I might just try this to hold me over until I get Fallout3 (I know not an MMO)

Well, if you want to try a free one, I don’t know if you may enjoy it or not but I really enjoy Shin Megami Tensei: Imagine, which you can get from Aeria’s website.

Or, if you’d like, you can always check out DC Universe online when it comes out.

Well, if you want to try a free one, I don’t know if you may enjoy it or not but I really enjoy Shin Megami Tensei: Imagine, which you can get from Aeria’s website.

Or, if you’d like, you can always check out DC Universe online when it comes out.

What about Dragonlance? I would think it would be a great place for an MMO.

it is more or less free to play, it is surprisingly possible to get the leveling sigil stones from quest rewards to raise your level cap

it is more or less free to play, it is surprisingly possible to get the leveling sigil stones from quest rewards to raise your level cap

An excellent FREE MMO is Perfect World (International). There ARE real-money items, but they’re not totally necessary (they just make certain things easier, is all). It’s really fun though, and your character is totally customisable :)

As a player of Dungeons & Dragons Online and a long time fan Spoony I would like to leave a give a few comments on your comments of DDO:

1) Ebberon Campaign – The reason they went with the Ebberon campaign was to allow for freedom of creation. I know it’s more of a Pen & Paper conflict you’re having here, but if they had gone with the other campaign settings you talked about, then there would be too many A) Expectations, B) Too much NECESSARY lore/characters, and C) Too much nitpicking (while relating to A and B, this gets its own thing as there would still be people who like other settings versus forgotten realms). Ebberon allows them an almost blank slate with some lore that they have to throw in there because of WotC, but overall it allows them to create an almost actively updated campaign of their own with its own kind of possible world shattering events.

2) Enemy Varieties – I will agree with you here. You fight the same enemies only up until level 4 or 5 (depending on when you push into the different houses in Stormreach, and after that it does take off). However this has a lot to do with the underlying story that encompasses the game and the quests you’re running in the harbor. The city is under siege and the Kobolds are actually being kicked into attacking the city by the hobgoblin and Giant hordes in order to keep the city guards occupied, and that allows all of the other armies to attack. Gladewatch Outpost, Invaders, and Archer Point Defense really follow this story, as well as Stormcleave Outpost that really kick up the story about you protecting this city.

The enemy varieties for quests begins to just shoot up after level 4 astronomically, and you find yourself encountering enemies that require more than just your basic +1-3 weapon (Damage Reduction bypassing weapons are pretty necessary in this game, but don’t worry, they drop quite often later on). I would have to say you should give it some more time, use some of your Turbine Points on a level sigil and go from there.

3) Solo ability – This game, I admit, at first, is not very solo friendly, as a lot of the mechanics are hard for a person to just pick up and go. Also, like you said, the game does try to push more towards people grouping together, but it is possible to actually solo your way all the way up to the 20 level cap in the game.

Unlike a lot of your typical MMOs, DDO is a game where skill with the mechanics becomes necessary if you are going to solo. It’s a lot more than pressing necessary buttons when cooldowns complete like in World of Warcraft.

4) “Free 2 Play” – I admit, they do kind of pigeonhole the Free 2 Play players into actually paying money for the game, but in all honesty, how could they afford to keep the game running without this? You can just sign up for a subscription and have EVERYTHING available (except favored soul, but getting used to the game is almost a must in my opinion before you try to pick that class up and go with it), which would allow you to see more of the game and even get 500 Turbine Points a month for the sub fee.

5) Leveling – Yes the leveling in this game is confusing for the D&D settings, and we’ve tried to get them to create a better tutorial, but the DDO development team seems to think it introduces enough of the skills based on how the quests are setup. However, the forums are there to help newer players out, and there are plenty of things to read and a welcoming group of players there to give a helping hand to the newer players.

6) Difficulty Settings – Higher settings allow more XP and if you pay to play, you get access to hard difficulty right off the bat. However, there is enough experience and quests available to do each quest on Normal and the ability to get to or almost to the cap of the game. The Free 2 Play fans don’t get to see this as the amount of experience needed to get to level 4 is VERY low.

Overall I would say that you could dump $15 for 1 month on the game, then change your account back to Free 2 Play and then you have ALL of the current content, or can continue to play to keep all of the different options now available to you. It’s a great game when you get into it and get beyond the level 4 area.

PS – What server were you playing on? Shoot me an email and let me know and I can help you get to see the rest of the game.

As a player of Dungeons & Dragons Online and a long time fan Spoony I would like to leave a give a few comments on your comments of DDO:

1) Ebberon Campaign – The reason they went with the Ebberon campaign was to allow for freedom of creation. I know it’s more of a Pen & Paper conflict you’re having here, but if they had gone with the other campaign settings you talked about, then there would be too many A) Expectations, B) Too much NECESSARY lore/characters, and C) Too much nitpicking (while relating to A and B, this gets its own thing as there would still be people who like other settings versus forgotten realms). Ebberon allows them an almost blank slate with some lore that they have to throw in there because of WotC, but overall it allows them to create an almost actively updated campaign of their own with its own kind of possible world shattering events.

2) Enemy Varieties – I will agree with you here. You fight the same enemies only up until level 4 or 5 (depending on when you push into the different houses in Stormreach, and after that it does take off). However this has a lot to do with the underlying story that encompasses the game and the quests you’re running in the harbor. The city is under siege and the Kobolds are actually being kicked into attacking the city by the hobgoblin and Giant hordes in order to keep the city guards occupied, and that allows all of the other armies to attack. Gladewatch Outpost, Invaders, and Archer Point Defense really follow this story, as well as Stormcleave Outpost that really kick up the story about you protecting this city.

The enemy varieties for quests begins to just shoot up after level 4 astronomically, and you find yourself encountering enemies that require more than just your basic +1-3 weapon (Damage Reduction bypassing weapons are pretty necessary in this game, but don’t worry, they drop quite often later on). I would have to say you should give it some more time, use some of your Turbine Points on a level sigil and go from there.

3) Solo ability – This game, I admit, at first, is not very solo friendly, as a lot of the mechanics are hard for a person to just pick up and go. Also, like you said, the game does try to push more towards people grouping together, but it is possible to actually solo your way all the way up to the 20 level cap in the game.

Unlike a lot of your typical MMOs, DDO is a game where skill with the mechanics becomes necessary if you are going to solo. It’s a lot more than pressing necessary buttons when cooldowns complete like in World of Warcraft.

4) “Free 2 Play” – I admit, they do kind of pigeonhole the Free 2 Play players into actually paying money for the game, but in all honesty, how could they afford to keep the game running without this? You can just sign up for a subscription and have EVERYTHING available (except favored soul, but getting used to the game is almost a must in my opinion before you try to pick that class up and go with it), which would allow you to see more of the game and even get 500 Turbine Points a month for the sub fee.

5) Leveling – Yes the leveling in this game is confusing for the D&D settings, and we’ve tried to get them to create a better tutorial, but the DDO development team seems to think it introduces enough of the skills based on how the quests are setup. However, the forums are there to help newer players out, and there are plenty of things to read and a welcoming group of players there to give a helping hand to the newer players.

6) Difficulty Settings – Higher settings allow more XP and if you pay to play, you get access to hard difficulty right off the bat. However, there is enough experience and quests available to do each quest on Normal and the ability to get to or almost to the cap of the game. The Free 2 Play fans don’t get to see this as the amount of experience needed to get to level 4 is VERY low.

Overall I would say that you could dump $15 for 1 month on the game, then change your account back to Free 2 Play and then you have ALL of the current content, or can continue to play to keep all of the different options now available to you. It’s a great game when you get into it and get beyond the level 4 area.

PS – What server were you playing on? Shoot me an email and let me know and I can help you get to see the rest of the game.

I don’t hate Ebboron, but the first group I played in was an ebboron campaign.
Here is my reasoning for never leaving the city from a guy who’s played Ebboron but no DDO, Ebboron is a dungeon punk noir campaign that is has a lot of political stuff and had a lot of big cities, and i don’t think it translates into MMO form (good luck old republic), If I’m wrong tell me.

If you want to try a new mmo. here is one i’ve been playing for years: http://www.dofus.com/en it is a strategy mmo. the combat is in the vein of final fantasy tactics, and front mission. but you only control one character. It’s very good, also it’s free to play as long as you like, but you get restricted to one small area and no profession can go over level 30. it’s also cheap to subscribe being about 7 dollars a month.

There is a major graphic overhaul coming out in about 3-4 months. But if you dislike the graphic style THAT will be kept.

If you want to try a new mmo. here is one i’ve been playing for years: http://www.dofus.com/en it is a strategy mmo. the combat is in the vein of final fantasy tactics, and front mission. but you only control one character. It’s very good, also it’s free to play as long as you like, but you get restricted to one small area and no profession can go over level 30. it’s also cheap to subscribe being about 7 dollars a month.

There is a major graphic overhaul coming out in about 3-4 months. But if you dislike the graphic style THAT will be kept.

Stay away from Guild Wars. If you thought redundant games like WoW and DD didn’t hold your attention that game will completely turn you away and fast. You kill the same enemies over and over again. There’s no real weapons/armor, or unique rewards, everything is pretty much equal. Not to mention it’s hardly an MMO you only see other players in towns, but they are mostly young children who’s parents would not pay for them to play games like Warcraft. It’s good for a while but it get’s boring QUICK!

hehe, i played one a while back, it is called fiesta. It wasnt bad at all, just do not take a magic user. Make sure they can do melee with a sword or something. They really fucked the magic user on that game. I do believe the cleric was good, but the black magic one needs a group. It is quite big.

hehe, i played one a while back, it is called fiesta. It wasnt bad at all, just do not take a magic user. Make sure they can do melee with a sword or something. They really fucked the magic user on that game. I do believe the cleric was good, but the black magic one needs a group. It is quite big.

I always enjoyed The Old Republic setting.. none of the prequel bullshit, all of the good storytelling and ideas Lucas had before losing the magic touch. And it’s Bioware, so how can they go wrong, right?

For DDO; I fought those weird fish people for my opening bit. Apparently they’re terrorizing the small fishing town I’m at & sacrificing people to some evil god or something like that.

The classes are really different from what I’m used to. It’s different enough to be interesting. I’m so ballsy that I’m trying to do a warrior/caster out the gate… yeah, that’s not going to end well…

For DDO; I fought those weird fish people for my opening bit. Apparently they’re terrorizing the small fishing town I’m at & sacrificing people to some evil god or something like that.

The classes are really different from what I’m used to. It’s different enough to be interesting. I’m so ballsy that I’m trying to do a warrior/caster out the gate… yeah, that’s not going to end well…

Guild Wars was/is the best MMO for PvP. It also had no monthly fees, so you only needed to buy the game and its expansions (if you so chose). PvE grinding wore me out after DAoC, so Guild Wars was a breath of fresh air since you didn’t have to do any grinding to compete at PvP on a completely level playing field. And, I’m not someone who prioritizes graphics in games, but GW’s graphics still look better than most new games coming out, and it runs very smooth.

MMOs are a bad habit though, and I have retired from them for now. GW2 is the only one I would consider coming back for since it requires no grinding to compete in PvP. And that is what is fun for me. Log on for 2-3 hours a few days a week for some PvP action, then log off and get on with your life. You simply can’t do that with the other MMOs and expect to have the levels and gear to compete with the hardcore grinders who play for 10+ hours every day.

DDO was never ment to be WOW, they said it all the time.
I’m not defending it by that, and i’m not attacking WoW, i play wow…i have raided in wow for 4 years, which means i am an uber nerd, eltist jerk.
His description of the start of DDO sounds oddly like the first…8 levels of Everquest 2 though.

DDO was never ment to be WOW, they said it all the time.
I’m not defending it by that, and i’m not attacking WoW, i play wow…i have raided in wow for 4 years, which means i am an uber nerd, eltist jerk.
His description of the start of DDO sounds oddly like the first…8 levels of Everquest 2 though.

Not sure if you have ever heard of it but Aion might be worth a look its not free but it plays well and looks beautiful

This has certainly been posted already, but it bears repeating – you’re not capped at levels in DDO. You just have to get a “level sigil” from beating a quest. I got one for beating some quest at level three, now my cap’s level eight and I haven’t paid a single red cent.

I can’t really disagree that’s it not that great a game, but it’s free and I’ve been having an MMO itch that needs scratching lately. Also my friends were playing so I didn’t have to worry ’bout no groups.

Other good MMOs include: City of Heroes/Villains (they’ve added a shit ton of new features since release) and Lord of the Rings Online (yeah I know but it’s basically a superior World of Warcraft and I liked it a lot more), both of which have free trials available!

This has certainly been posted already, but it bears repeating – you’re not capped at levels in DDO. You just have to get a “level sigil” from beating a quest. I got one for beating some quest at level three, now my cap’s level eight and I haven’t paid a single red cent.

I can’t really disagree that’s it not that great a game, but it’s free and I’ve been having an MMO itch that needs scratching lately. Also my friends were playing so I didn’t have to worry ’bout no groups.

Other good MMOs include: City of Heroes/Villains (they’ve added a shit ton of new features since release) and Lord of the Rings Online (yeah I know but it’s basically a superior World of Warcraft and I liked it a lot more), both of which have free trials available!

I know that you mentioned that Guild Wars wasn’t your type of game, but I would actually dare you to try it.
AND, it’s totally free. The first game and the expansions are not that epic but there is coming a sequel and on that game you’ll be able to be other characters, like the enemies that you fight in the first game and some other really cool characters. Well anyway keep up the good work!

Oh so it has nothing to do with the Dragonlance series?

Well I think I’ll stick to The Lord of the Rings Online.

Oh so it has nothing to do with the Dragonlance series?

Well I think I’ll stick to The Lord of the Rings Online.

You could all ways try EVE online. It has a large learning curve but its a defiantly fun game.

I don’t know if you’ve seen/heard about this one, but Runescape is a great MMO (in my humble opinion). You have to pay if you want to do some quests or special features, but there basiclly extras. I’ve been on it for about a year, but I haven’t really had the time to play it that much. As far as I’ve seen, the world is pretty big for free players, the quests fun, but (again, as far as I’ve seen) not that many different monsters. *shrugs* I don’t know if you’d like it, but hey, if it’s free, you don’t have anything to lose trying it out, right?

I don’t know if you’ve seen/heard about this one, but Runescape is a great MMO (in my humble opinion). You have to pay if you want to do some quests or special features, but there basiclly extras. I’ve been on it for about a year, but I haven’t really had the time to play it that much. As far as I’ve seen, the world is pretty big for free players, the quests fun, but (again, as far as I’ve seen) not that many different monsters. *shrugs* I don’t know if you’d like it, but hey, if it’s free, you don’t have anything to lose trying it out, right?

I think your cam is pulling focus off of your bookshelf, makes it look like a high res blue screen behind an out of focus spoon! And the reflection of your ceiling fan is somewhat distracting. Enjoyable otherwise! Great content as always.

Well I played DDO and I have to admit it’s a bit of a let down for me. I find it hard to warm up to the Eberron campaign setting and the gameplay. Combat is not really well done. It’s not exciting and most of the time you haplessly swing your weapon hoping to hit something. Not that it is that difficult, but it’s just not exciting. Same goes for the story…it doesn’t captivate me. Maybe it gets better later, but so far DDO is okay in my opinion…not great, not terrible…just okay.

Well I played DDO and I have to admit it’s a bit of a let down for me. I find it hard to warm up to the Eberron campaign setting and the gameplay. Combat is not really well done. It’s not exciting and most of the time you haplessly swing your weapon hoping to hit something. Not that it is that difficult, but it’s just not exciting. Same goes for the story…it doesn’t captivate me. Maybe it gets better later, but so far DDO is okay in my opinion…not great, not terrible…just okay.

lol Pretty true about the whoring for group thing. I remember WoW actually tried to fix that from the very start with those stones outside of instances which would que you up for a group. But nobody used them so they didn’t work. Plus they didn’t build balanced groups anyway. But at least they tried to fix that old MMO problem. An yeah I was about the same I leveled up to 70 in WoW ran some dungeons an finally realized it was only going to be a raid game an I had no fun being 1 dude out of 30 or so spamming a heal over an over an if you wiped good lord it could take like 20 minutes before people recovered an set up for another attempt. Not my kind of gameplay at all.

Free MMOs? Here’s a few you could try:

ACE Online
Perfect World International
Soul of the Ultimate Nation
GhostX
Atlantica Online
Ether Saga Online
Battlefield Heroes
Project Powder
Shin Megami Tensei: Imagine
S4 League
Exteel
Mabinogi
Dream of Mirror Online
Sword of the New World
Battleforge
Combat Arms
Dragonica Online
FreeStyle Street Basketball
GunZ: The Duel

Free MMOs? Here’s a few you could try:

ACE Online
Perfect World International
Soul of the Ultimate Nation
GhostX
Atlantica Online
Ether Saga Online
Battlefield Heroes
Project Powder
Shin Megami Tensei: Imagine
S4 League
Exteel
Mabinogi
Dream of Mirror Online
Sword of the New World
Battleforge
Combat Arms
Dragonica Online
FreeStyle Street Basketball
GunZ: The Duel

I haven’t gone through all 171 comments to see if anyone has mentioned this yet. But had you posted this like, a week ago I could have suggested popping in to Aion’s open beta. It ended Monday evening though. :( However, I have played many MMOs, including DDO and WoW. I dunno exactly what it is that you want, Spoony but based on what you have said I’d say try out Aion as it is about to launch in the US on the 22nd. It won’t be free at that point, but just like Champions Online (which I do think you should also give a shot, despite all the Dr. Insanos running around :P) that gives you a free month with your purchase. If you wanna try your luck getting in to the Star Trek Online closed beta here’s the link to apply: https://www.startrekonline.com/user/register?destination=preview_application

Star Wars The Old Republic is still way down the pipeline. I’d be surprised if it launched next year, but it could very much launch in 2011. (though I’m speculating. If it goes live in 2010 I drop everything for that one.) Anyway, I’ll be playing both Champions and Aion so if you land up trying either or let us know :)

Dunno if someone else already mentioned it (lazy to read) but give EVE Online a shot. It’s a space MMO (you fly a ship, no running around), it’s very complex but rewarding. The freedom in game is amazing, there’s only one server everyone plays on and it’s very PvP oriented (altought you can play it without ever PvPing but that’s where all the fun is :-) )

There’s a 14 day trial, 21 days if you get a friend invite, you can send me a mail if you want (I guess you can see it I guess, I do have to type it in after all). Monthly subscription is $14.95 but as you get better at the game you can acctualy buy game time with in-game money (I didn’t pay my account with real money in months). If you do try pop me a mail ingame (EVEmail as it’s called), character name is Onyx47.

Anyway, the mission system (which the tutorial mainly introduces you to if they haven’t changed it too much) might seem dull and repetitive (and it is, I hate it, but it’s a nice way to get cash :-P) but the pure freedom of choice in this game is amazing and there’s always something new to do. You can mine, trade, build items, be a pirate, fight over rich unsecured (unsecured by NPC “police” that is) space with your alliance… And yes, the conquered teritory and wars fought over it acctualy impact the whole universe since whole market system is entirely player based, every item on the market was built by someone, from materials mined by someone.

Trial is free, game client is free, nothing to lose really. And it’s a blessing to any SciFi fan willing to invest some time in learning the game :-)

Dunno if someone else already mentioned it (lazy to read) but give EVE Online a shot. It’s a space MMO (you fly a ship, no running around), it’s very complex but rewarding. The freedom in game is amazing, there’s only one server everyone plays on and it’s very PvP oriented (altought you can play it without ever PvPing but that’s where all the fun is :-) )

There’s a 14 day trial, 21 days if you get a friend invite, you can send me a mail if you want (I guess you can see it I guess, I do have to type it in after all). Monthly subscription is $14.95 but as you get better at the game you can acctualy buy game time with in-game money (I didn’t pay my account with real money in months). If you do try pop me a mail ingame (EVEmail as it’s called), character name is Onyx47.

Anyway, the mission system (which the tutorial mainly introduces you to if they haven’t changed it too much) might seem dull and repetitive (and it is, I hate it, but it’s a nice way to get cash :-P) but the pure freedom of choice in this game is amazing and there’s always something new to do. You can mine, trade, build items, be a pirate, fight over rich unsecured (unsecured by NPC “police” that is) space with your alliance… And yes, the conquered teritory and wars fought over it acctualy impact the whole universe since whole market system is entirely player based, every item on the market was built by someone, from materials mined by someone.

Trial is free, game client is free, nothing to lose really. And it’s a blessing to any SciFi fan willing to invest some time in learning the game :-)

And I just saw someone mentioned it a few comments ago. Well, at least I added a bit more elaborate explanation :-P

You still completely run out of free content at level 12 and must buy every single dungeon and quest you want to play after that (and don’t have access to many of the sub-level 12 ones).

You still completely run out of free content at level 12 and must buy every single dungeon and quest you want to play after that (and don’t have access to many of the sub-level 12 ones).

Oh, and try Guild Wars!

There is a really different MMO out there were one plays as a deer… It’s called The Endless Forrest by Tale of Tales games (of The Path notoriety). It’s rather slow and doesn’t really involve anything beyond exploration, but it wasn’t mentioned in the review, so I figured I would throw it out there.

There is a really different MMO out there were one plays as a deer… It’s called The Endless Forrest by Tale of Tales games (of The Path notoriety). It’s rather slow and doesn’t really involve anything beyond exploration, but it wasn’t mentioned in the review, so I figured I would throw it out there.

Spoony, THANKYOU. Recently DDO caught my eye and I was going to play it. Of course, I haven’t registered because the D&D Online website is broken when it comes to registration. So thank you for making this at such a convenient time, before I’d wasted any of my precious free time on it.

in terms of fantasy mmo’s cant really say any of them have really impressed me, Guild Wars was pretty fun but I don’t think that many people play it anymore. I would however hugely recommend EVE Online, a spaceship MMO and a good game to just kill time with. One huge plus in my opinion is the fact you don’t have to grind exp to level your skills up you just learn them over time and they grow even when your logged off, the games much more about making money to fund your ships than anything and that’s not that hard really. It has quite a tough learning curb compared to any other MMO but thats a good thing as it means that kids get put off by it :) I guess the game may be quite slow to some people and a little bit hard so it’s not going to be everyones cup of tea but certainly worth giving the trial a try I believe.

in terms of fantasy mmo’s cant really say any of them have really impressed me, Guild Wars was pretty fun but I don’t think that many people play it anymore. I would however hugely recommend EVE Online, a spaceship MMO and a good game to just kill time with. One huge plus in my opinion is the fact you don’t have to grind exp to level your skills up you just learn them over time and they grow even when your logged off, the games much more about making money to fund your ships than anything and that’s not that hard really. It has quite a tough learning curb compared to any other MMO but thats a good thing as it means that kids get put off by it :) I guess the game may be quite slow to some people and a little bit hard so it’s not going to be everyones cup of tea but certainly worth giving the trial a try I believe.

Guild Wars is kinda dead. It’s a good concept that there is no monthly fee, but they do manage to drag money out of you by making more campaigns which become necessary because the skills you get from them are better than the ones you had before. It’s kind of like the Yu-Gi-Oh card game, they ban the good cards from the first few sets and thereby force you to buy more of the later ones so you can actually be competitive in the new metagame. If you want my advice, don’t get Guild Wars, wait for Guild Wars 2 to come out if you’re at all interested.

Is Space Cowboy still free I remember that being a game that will entertain for awhile.Haven’t played it in years though so i’m not sure if it’s riddled with cheaters and microtransactions.

Is Space Cowboy still free I remember that being a game that will entertain for awhile.Haven’t played it in years though so i’m not sure if it’s riddled with cheaters and microtransactions.

What do you think about Ultima Online? its been out there for 12 years now.

Im looking forward to DC Universe Online. I hope it turns out good.

Im looking forward to DC Universe Online. I hope it turns out good.

I haven’t read all previous 150 or so comments so i apologize if this has been mentioned prior to this message:
Anarchy Online – http://www.anarchy-online.com/wsp/anarchy/frontend.cgi?func=frontend.show&template=main
In short it’s a sci-fi, skill based, mmo. Now it looks old and dated, probably turns away some people who doesn’t appreciate characters that resembles Lego, but having played the game for three years i still keep coming back to it. Trying to explain “why” is kind of difficult (especially with a tip of my finger missing after a cooking related accident) but if you’re into free games i recommend you give AO a try.

/Klante

I have been 2-manning quests (including the “EXTREME DIFFICULTY” quests, like the 200 kobolds and the Hobgoblin island thing). And no healer. I’m a barbarian, my friend is a fuckin’ RANGER.

We’re both level 5 and haven’t paid a dime.

I have been 2-manning quests (including the “EXTREME DIFFICULTY” quests, like the 200 kobolds and the Hobgoblin island thing). And no healer. I’m a barbarian, my friend is a fuckin’ RANGER.

We’re both level 5 and haven’t paid a dime.

Well, Noah, I decided to give it a try after you mentioned just because I’m jobless at the moment and am bored to tears with WoW. I got my DK tank to 80 participated in raids and got some decent gear. Now I’m bored with guild politics and other crap. I gotta say I played DDO for a total of 8 hours and am just now level three. I’m a ranger and I’m not sure how they work out in this game. I just wanted dual wielding for free lol. Well in those 8 hours I’ve already gotten my level cap increased to 12. For absolutely free. I’m also guessing you didn’t spend much time on newb island. There seems to be an okay amount of monster variation. It’s actually a bit better then the monster populations in WoW. So far it seems okay and I have to say my big complaint with third edition is a benefit here. That is to say I always thought that 3ed was too videogamey. It works really well for videogames though. I’m not sure what my score will end up being on this one. I understand WHY they did the ranks per level thing I just have to say it STILL feels really contrived. It’s fun so far and I LOVE the cheesy DM. I mean that’s kind of awesome. Oh and if you are adventuring with someone who has already unlocked the difficulties for a dungeon you DON’T have to unlock it yourself to to do it. I’m not disputing your claims, I’m just trying to clarify. You probably already knew all this and just didn’t have time to mention them. But if you feel like giving it another shot I’m going to be playing with it for a week or two. Send me a ,line and we can get that level cap cleared for you.

In your quest for a none WoW MMO, you described pretty much the exact path I took. I’ve settled on Champions Online for the time being, it’s a broken game on release just like every MMO and its dog. But I’m a sucker for superhero based MMOs. Let us know if you find one that’s good for you as I’d probably enjoy it too.

In your quest for a none WoW MMO, you described pretty much the exact path I took. I’ve settled on Champions Online for the time being, it’s a broken game on release just like every MMO and its dog. But I’m a sucker for superhero based MMOs. Let us know if you find one that’s good for you as I’d probably enjoy it too.

Um Spoony? You can increase the max level on your character by using those flavor points (the real money points you mentioned). The first one costs 50 FP to go to 8, the second is a hundred to bring you up to 12, and so forth I think. Basically, simply go to the store (it has it on the menu) and go to the selection of levels. Granted, it’s pretty much going to take most of your points to raise that level, but most of the stuff there really isn’t that interesting, save for the really expensive stuff that costs like say, 400 points (by the way, did you play the village quest? Not the most interesting either, but at least they give you something more interesting to fight thank kobolds and spiders…as in mostly zombies, cultists, sea devils, and spiders. Always the spiders.)

“I don’t like paying for things….I like free things”
This line cracked me up for whatever reason. Great review Spoony!

“I don’t like paying for things….I like free things”
This line cracked me up for whatever reason. Great review Spoony!

A really good mmo is EVE online is heavily player based with the Economy and you can solo most of the game but there is loads of fun in grouping in epic story arcs and corporation wars

haha i forgot to mention if your stuck and don’t know what to do theres an awesome help community in game with the newbie chat and in game web browser and wikipedia

haha i forgot to mention if your stuck and don’t know what to do theres an awesome help community in game with the newbie chat and in game web browser and wikipedia

I’m level 5 and haven’t paid a cent. All you gotta do is get a leveling sigil, which I guess is a rare item, hence why it’s easier to just buy it.

What Rallard said is correct. Also you can buy it by using Favor Points. By doing quests you get Favor points and you can buy the Sigil that way. You can also bring up your Diplomacy and then Diplomacy all people before you get your quest item, and Diplomacy every chest you see (not kidding) you will get better items, and I guarantee you will get the Sigil.

What Rallard said is correct. Also you can buy it by using Favor Points. By doing quests you get Favor points and you can buy the Sigil that way. You can also bring up your Diplomacy and then Diplomacy all people before you get your quest item, and Diplomacy every chest you see (not kidding) you will get better items, and I guarantee you will get the Sigil.

you could give warhammer online a try, heard they fixed a lot of the bugs from release and there’s a free trial

Okay Spoony if you read this i recommend Eq2. You get to choose a side to begin with and alot of different races,classes 24 different classes and you don’t start of killing rats unless you wanna really go down the city servers and the quests there suck, I’d get the Kunark trial version and try it out there’s a PVP server and a PVE server there’s also alot of solo content and really good group content aswell when you get the trial you cannot advance beyond lvl 10 when the really good content begins but it’s gonna be good for you to actually see wether you like the game or not it’s my fav MMORPG by far :-)

Okay Spoony if you read this i recommend Eq2. You get to choose a side to begin with and alot of different races,classes 24 different classes and you don’t start of killing rats unless you wanna really go down the city servers and the quests there suck, I’d get the Kunark trial version and try it out there’s a PVP server and a PVE server there’s also alot of solo content and really good group content aswell when you get the trial you cannot advance beyond lvl 10 when the really good content begins but it’s gonna be good for you to actually see wether you like the game or not it’s my fav MMORPG by far :-)

EQ2 = Everquest 2 sorry :-)

You DM? Sweet!

You DM? Sweet!

I know you said it wasn’t your cup of tea, but – - – GuildWars is worth a look for $15 on Newegg. Especially since you don’t need to pay more than that and you’ll get a nice big chunk of content for it.

I play GuildWars myself, have been playing for about 4 years now, and the no monthly fee means you buy it (like you would, say, Diablo 2) and never NEED to pay another cent to enjoy it. Sure, you want to check out one of the other realms you would shell out $10-$15 on Newegg . . . but it’s pretty well honed. (And to a comment earlier, no, they don’t “ban” older content from being used or anything like that, they just add extra content which can build off the current stuff if you’ve finished it all.)

There are two separate games going in it – there’s the PvE and the PvP – make NO mistake they are different. You can go on and PvP your way along and never really need to do the grind. I think it’s pretty well polished, with some rough edges you can get caught on . . . but experience playing with it can help you get through it. I’m not big on it, but I’ve given it a spin and I can see it’s really . . . really good.

The PvE is also largely exempt from grind in the sense Diablo 2 is. Whomever likened the two earlier is pretty accurate, as your level caps at 20 and your only reason to collect more experience is to improve your variety of skills. There is a hard cap on how powerful weapons and armor can get, and the almighty gold coin does not rule the ability to be competitive; you can get by rather well without needing to grind serious virtual cash for your character.

Part of that balance is why the PvP behaves well – those who have more time are more skilled but NOT intrinsically more powerful by virtue of grinding time. The storyline is . . . okay, there are cliches everywhere and the first two campaigns’ voice acting can be kind of weak. But the world is richly done, the graphics are amazing even on low-end computers (It’s like Diablo 2 – if you can meet the minimal or recommended requirements you REALLY shouldn’t have technical issues playing it). They put a lot of effort and care into making it work, and it DOES show.

Oh, and yes, if you are so inclined you can do NIGH EVERYTHING in the PvE side of the game on your own with NPC assistants. It isn’t going to be easy in some parts, but it CAN be done. (I did, even going back on my own to places I took player help to get through smoother).

Yeah, I’m kind of gushing a bit, but I do implore people to try it. After all, the worst which can happen is like buying a PS3 game and deciding you don’t like it. Only you’ll be out less money.

I dunno if it’d be something you’re interested in, but imagine if Tekken was an MMO. Rumble Fighter is a free fighting-type MMO with four classes to choose from, clothes and hair, and fighting styles and exocores, which is a sort of super form. True, there are carat items( which is in-game currency) and Astro items (real money currency), and the Astro items tend to outnumber the carat items, and you need a bunch of carats to get most of the best items, it’s still fun to earn the money, and you can finally AIR JUGGLE THEIR ASSES!

I dunno if it’d be something you’re interested in, but imagine if Tekken was an MMO. Rumble Fighter is a free fighting-type MMO with four classes to choose from, clothes and hair, and fighting styles and exocores, which is a sort of super form. True, there are carat items( which is in-game currency) and Astro items (real money currency), and the Astro items tend to outnumber the carat items, and you need a bunch of carats to get most of the best items, it’s still fun to earn the money, and you can finally AIR JUGGLE THEIR ASSES!

Actually, I have been playing the DDO for about 2 weeks now, have a level 5 character, and I never spent a dime on it, the leveling sigil just droped from a solo quest, im suspecting the next one will to, yeah, i can agree, untill level 4-ish you are basicly just fighting kobolds, but after that it’s starting to show some diversity, I already fought hill giants, cave trolls, ogres, orcs, humans, undead (too many actually), earth elementals, and some other species whos name i forgot, and yeah, it is fun, not a big D&D player myself (only tried NWN and some other game) but its fun to play so far, and i’m loving the setting (althou this is comming from someone who dislikes the generic Forgoton Realms, so yeah).

I don’t know, maybe the free to play thing will bite me in the ass when im higher level, but then again, paying a couple of $ once in a while to unlock some sought-after dungeon seems better to me then paying 15$/month.

Well, I have to disagree of almost everything.

First, you cant compare WoW and DDO. Starting by the fact that WoW follow the “generic korean MMORPG”, and it is: Highly especialized classes(Warrior use heavy armor and fight melee, Mage have powerfull magics but its weak, Ranger use ranged weapons and so on). And leveling is just based on pure grinding and grinding quests.

In DDO you have an entire new way to build characters, you can do anything you want with your character. You’re not limited by MMORPG stereotypes like “Wizard has to use a robe and a Staff”. You can just build a Wizard with Full Plate Mail and a Great Axe and it will still be funcional.

Second, in games like WoW you have to spend months leveling alone just to reach the max level and THEN starting doing the raids. In DDO you can start playing with a 4+ players party and still having challenge in the first quest of the game. And your XP gain on a quest depend on how well your team performance is, motivating you to play well, not just sleeping in the front of keyboard and clcking every monster that apears on the screen for hours just to get levels.

Well, I have to disagree of almost everything.

First, you cant compare WoW and DDO. Starting by the fact that WoW follow the “generic korean MMORPG”, and it is: Highly especialized classes(Warrior use heavy armor and fight melee, Mage have powerfull magics but its weak, Ranger use ranged weapons and so on). And leveling is just based on pure grinding and grinding quests.

In DDO you have an entire new way to build characters, you can do anything you want with your character. You’re not limited by MMORPG stereotypes like “Wizard has to use a robe and a Staff”. You can just build a Wizard with Full Plate Mail and a Great Axe and it will still be funcional.

Second, in games like WoW you have to spend months leveling alone just to reach the max level and THEN starting doing the raids. In DDO you can start playing with a 4+ players party and still having challenge in the first quest of the game. And your XP gain on a quest depend on how well your team performance is, motivating you to play well, not just sleeping in the front of keyboard and clcking every monster that apears on the screen for hours just to get levels.

You could tryout FFXI online Its Finding a pt system’s fix’s the need to ask around (I always felt like that too lol)
You just put yourself in a list that leaders can look though for what they need

You’re complaining about the dungeons being repetitive and doing the same one over and over? Welcome to MMO progression! Like it or lump it that’s how it works. You get to max level and then you run the same dungeons over and over for loot, etc. If this doesn’t appeal to you, the MMO genre might not be for you.

You’re complaining about the dungeons being repetitive and doing the same one over and over? Welcome to MMO progression! Like it or lump it that’s how it works. You get to max level and then you run the same dungeons over and over for loot, etc. If this doesn’t appeal to you, the MMO genre might not be for you.

DONT PLAY CRIME CRAFT!! its bad…..

Have you checked out Lord of the Rings Online? I’ve been playin that for a couple years and its actually one of the better MMOs I’ve played. I know they have a 14 day free trial atm, you should check it out.

60 Hobbit Minstrel, Tediarock — Silverlode

Have you checked out Lord of the Rings Online? I’ve been playin that for a couple years and its actually one of the better MMOs I’ve played. I know they have a 14 day free trial atm, you should check it out.

60 Hobbit Minstrel, Tediarock — Silverlode

Players don’t need to spend money on Dungeons and Dragons Online at all. Players are awarded Favor Points by completing quests that can be redeemed at the DDO. And within said store is an item called Sigil of Leveling which extends the players level cap from 4 to 8. Once the player has done this four times then the character has maxed it’s level cap to 20 – the highest it’ll go. Other items such as adventure packs (what they call Game Modules), potions, spells, armor, weapons, etc, can be purchasable through Favor Points. Now if you want to spend real money you can but you don’t have to. The only draw back to being a F2P (free-to-play) player versus a subscriber is the fact that you need to work a little harder at getting the items you need or want from the DDO store. Subscribers, however, have free game content, level cap is at 20, unlimited voice chat, unlimited forums posts, and more inventory slots and banks slots. Perks of being a subscriber.

I'm not a WoW fan either. I prefer to play good games rather than mediocre ones :p
[/leaves before flames]

Oh, and you should try Champions Online.

Mr. Spoony have you tried runescape? I have a few notes on that.
1: F2P is basically a demo for Members the size comparison is something like 1/20th what 6$ a month gives you.(just recently they made a demo that is 1/4th the size of f2p and requires no account at all)
2: It took them 7 or 8 years to hire some one to handle public relations for them so now the log in screen got hammed up
3: New game play elements in the last 3 years have changed the game making grinding less tedious and adding alot of co-op
4: It recently released a new skill that people are calling the best thing that happened to the game (I do not agree though)

Tis true, they have removed the level cap sigils. They also made all dungeons have a solo/casual. It would be interesting to see how the spoony one would like the game and review it now that they've made some changes.

P.S. if the spoony one made an online appeal surely they would take away their doctor insano character names so he could make one, that or he could be DOCTOR INSANO PRIME.

Personally I think Eberron would be great for a MMoRPG… if done well. You have more forms of transport and more guilds/organizations in the Mark houses to assist in adventuring, so really it should be great for that continent-spanning face a lot of enemies you were talking about. Some areas are still very hard to get to, but accessibility and world-spanning is there.

Using Eberron and fighting nothing but dungeon quests completely misses the point, like setting a Planescape game entirely in a normal part of the outlanders indistinguishable from a generic D&D world.

Eberron took a lot of classic tropes from D&D and gave them new twists, it's definitely not about grinding kobolds.

you should try lineage

i know i may be beating an already dead horse here, but the amount of disinformation in this post is incredible. I have two characters at 80, with a 3rd and 4th on the way.

first off: i haver never had a quest in world of Warcraft where i had to kill more than 20 of the same thing, and even then those quests are unique in that you have to do so. In fact theres an achievement for it. I know a lot of the vanilla wow stuff has a lot of rep grinding and mob grinding, but the game as it stands today is a lot of fun, and is very very different.
2nd: from level 15( which is pretty easy to get to, couple hours of game play) you can pretty much do dungeons whenever you want with random groups of players of all types, some people even forgo questing for the dungeon experience. also from level 10 on you can enter PVP battlegrounds which also reward(exp) players on accomplishing certain objectives within them, whether it be CTF or capturing control points. thats 3 different ways you can level in world of Warcraft all of which are viable.

3rd: the reason why you can't create a mage who wheres plate and uses an axe in Warcraft is because of a thing called “pvp balance” granted wow isn't the best at balancing pvp, but even i can see this is an overpowered type of character. Warriors where plate and fight melee, but are weak on ranged, thats the point, if you made them strong on both melee and ranged they would be impossible to kill. Same for mages, they don't where armor but they put out so much damage that half the time they kill the opponent before they even come into range of them.

and lastly: it doesn't take months to level in world of Warcraft, i myself have just leveled a shaman from 1-65 in about 2 weeks without even trying all that hard.

as a side note: i think Spoony should maybe try to pick up WoW again, the game is vastly different from what it was even when the burning crusade came out, and its only gonna get better with cataclysm. I know you said you didn't like paying for stuff, but sometimes. Theres some interesting things like for instance theres a series of dungeons in world of Warcraft where you go back in time to help certain NPCs through certain lore points (sometimes retreading over the Warcraft RTS').

you should try playing Lord of the Rings online. is going “free” soon and is actually a pretty good mmo. If you like the books it does a pretty good job being close to the books and has some refreshing changes to the traditional WoW classes. i actually really enjoy just being able to explore the world of lord of the rings. not sure how big a fan of the books you are but if you do like them its worth the 10 day free trial the game gives out for free online right now.
if you do would like to know what you think.

Wow. I just started playin neverwinter nights again… and i created a rogue and of course spoony says, above ALL classes not to build a rogue if u dont know about DnD. Im fucked lol gonna look for a guide then i guess… thx alot Spoony! hehe :P

You can increase the level cap without paying. There is a chance that you can get the token after you turn in a quest which can increase your level cap. The downside? Unless you pay for the new dungeons, you will quickly out level everything and be stuck as a level 20 or so without anything to do XD

Just try out a Lineage 2 private server. It’s free, many races and classes, graphics are awsome and many other tuff like server dedicated to role play, pvp, massive raid and siege. I realy love it and if you like ”childish” graphics take a look at ragnarok online :) and by the way, World of Wordcraft juste teal life from people… it’s eviiiiiil !!!!!!

i remeber trying this and LOTR online out..

pest control…fuck that shit, im playing guild wars where im dropped in a damn war!

i want to ruin trolls shit with a bunch of people not sweep spiders under a rug and not know how the economy works.

I highly recomend Champions Online. And the free is really good!

This game just makes me wanna play Neverwinter Nights 

Try Rusty Hearts, Angry Joe did a review. It’s free to play and the only microtransactions are costumes. It’s an awesome hack and slash type of RPG. The story is actually pretty good too.