Whether you’re a D and D fan or just looking for a good MMO, DDO is your ticket to high fantasy fun.
DDO includes most of what you would expect from both a fantasy rpg and a Dungeons and Dragons game. Elves, Dwarves, and Humans are all present, with a new Ironforged race. Most of the classes are there, such as ranger, fighter, cleric, but the monk is absent, though certainly to be added in later content upgrades.
Spending some time with most of time with most of the classes, my fears of unbalanced play favoring a particular class over another were allayed, as all classes are equally as useful. For the first time in Dungeons and Dragons history, the Bard is worth playing.
The gameplay adds some excellent surprises to create a unique atmosphere for the game, most notably the live action fighting. Push a button, swing a sword, block a hit, it all happens real time. This is a refreshing change from the hands off approach that the majority of mmo’s take in regards to combat. Does this mean that a skilled wizard can melee? Absolutely not, but it does make the game that much more interesting.
Furthermore, quests are the staple of the games content, as one could expect. Some notable additions make the process much more enjoyable, such as a narrator taking the place of the dm and describing events as they happen, or xp bonuses for completing optional objectives. To make these objectives more challenging, your party can only heal in a rest shrine to recharge spells and life, but you can only use a unique rest shrine once. This adds an element of resource management to deal with in gameplay, which makes dungeons exciting even after the first time.
The graphics and sound are fantastic if you have a machine good enough to run the game. The animations, spell graphics, and bleeps and bloops are all above quality.
Whether you’re a D and D fan or just looking for a good MMO, DDO is your ticket to high fantasy fun.