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Dungeons & Dragons Online launches

Atari and Turbine's classic fantasy-franchise-inspired MMORPG goes online in North America.

After nearly three years in development, the first Dungeons and Dragons massively multiplayer online role-playing game has launched. Today, Atari and Turbine announced that Dungeons & Dragons Online: Stormreach has shipped to stores, and its Web site and online support are now fully functional.

Rated T for Teen, the regular version of the PC game retails for $49.99. A special limited edition of the game, which includes a Red Dragon poster, feats chart, "premium packaging," and a special in-game item is available for $59.99.

The purchase price also includes a 30-day subscription to Dungeons and Dragons Online. Once that expires, the flat fee to play the game is $14.99 per month. Those who want to prepay for longer-term subscriptions can choose from three discounted packages: a $41.85 three-month subscription ($13.95 per month), a $77.70 six-month subscription ($12.95 per month), or a $143.40 one-year subscription ($11.95 per month).

Based on the Dungeons & Dragons 3.5 rule set, Stormreach features nine classes from the classic role-playing system: barbarian, bard, cleric, fighter, paladin, ranger, rogue, sorcerer, and wizard. But whereas combat in the pencil-and-paper D&D featured turn-based gameplay, combat in Stormreach is in real time, incorporating gamers' reflexes and mouse-wielding skills. It will also sport integrated voice chat and other tools to help players assemble and coordinate adventuring parties.

For more lore on Dungeons & Dragons Online: Stormreach, check out GameSpot's previous coverage.

37 Comments

  • Sidrat2004

    Posted Mar 2, 2006 12:09 pm GMT

    If I was still in the money way I would still be playing Eve-Online. One of the most overlooked MMORPG available.

    It's not THAT expensive if of course you've got an income but it doesn't cater itself to the casual gamer. Not that you can't play it casually, it just requires more work and thought to know what's going on and what you can do (see my review for my full info).

    However, that being said you CAN have a D&D "game", built up over a series of chapters and the characters were linked so they built themselves up over time. Atleast that's how we played it when I was a little nipper.

  • dryden555

    Posted Mar 2, 2006 6:54 am GMT

    If the massive numbers of annoying little kids stay on WOW so that I can play this new MMO in peace, then I might try it out in a month or so. WOW bites.

  • RipStrike

    Posted Mar 1, 2006 7:38 pm GMT

    So sad, so poor. I expect it'll be a long, long time before any real MMOs get released.

  • rainmanstile

    Posted Mar 1, 2006 6:41 pm GMT

    i understand that the people who make these games need money so a monthly fee is justified, but why do you have to pay for the expansion packs to? i mean dont they get there money and all that from $15 dollars a month. one million players time $15 dollars a month. if a company can't survive on 15 million dollars a month they have horrible manegment.

  • dunamistheou

    Posted Mar 1, 2006 3:17 pm GMT

    It's going to flop, 'tis all.

  • Icekxg

    Posted Mar 1, 2006 10:18 am GMT

    another developer making the same mistakes. they could at least let you host your own server (with like a maximum of 32 players maybe) so that you could play with your fiends without having to pay monthly, just make it so that if you host a server you don't have updates that a subscriber would have. if you can do it in diablo, nwn, guild wars, why not all mmo's?

  • IBEX333

    Posted Mar 1, 2006 8:11 am GMT

    Too expencive... I'd never pay $15 a month to play a game.

    and I agree with "chomium42" who suggests NWN: diamond.

  • strat_1

    Posted Mar 1, 2006 7:32 am GMT

    servers are not crashing all over the place (like WoW), players do not have to wait in queues for hours just to get into the game (again like WoW)

    mmm, DDO have....how many players right now???

    yea, blizzard should solve the server issues they have, agreed, but you cant compare this game in such matters.

  • Paganstar

    Posted Mar 1, 2006 6:35 am GMT

    This is a good game. I was in the beta, been playing in the pre-order event and it is fun. The launch was smooth... servers are not crashing all over the place (like WoW), players do not have to wait in queues for hours just to get into the game (again like WoW)

    Yes there is pretty much required grouping, yes you actually have to control your character (you have to face your opponent to cast a spell at it or hit it), no there is no PvP (at the moment) and yes you have to pay a monthly fee (yes I know guild wars is free but just try to get a GM to help you out in there...) all this will probably tick off the WoW kiddies and allow them to vent their rage... but they will not play the game (and this is a good thing).
    So yea I am going to play this game... Is it going to pull me away from EQ2? Nope that is still my main game but it will be fun to play a few times a week.

  • kretyn

    Posted Mar 1, 2006 5:11 am GMT

    ill pass up on this one for a few reasons. monthly fees? wtf? dont they get it yet that monthly fees are a turn off. not all the 3.5 rules are not fully implemented and no monk class. gg atari. i thought u wouldve learned by now. u need new management.

  • AngelB1ack

    Posted Mar 1, 2006 5:11 am GMT

    Yea ill stick to Guild Wars its free and has alot more content. Hope Atair doesnt go down the drain though good luck.

  • FuguNabe

    Posted Mar 1, 2006 2:23 am GMT

    Meh... best AD&D game so far was the PC Baldur's Gate series (especially Shadows Of Amn). I hope it's good but I smell mediocrity here. I might give it a try but I doubt the AD&D system will convert well to MMORPG without extensive cleanup and polishing. We'll see.

  • coreyb42

    Posted Mar 1, 2006 1:30 am GMT

    What, MMORPGs have fees?!?! I can't kill steal? The ogres/orcs/centipedes somebody else killed aren't dead for me, too? Waaaaah!!!

  • NinjaFoot

    Posted Mar 1, 2006 12:39 am GMT

    LOL @ all the people who still whine incessantly about the monthly fee required for MMO's. You have been saying "$%^# that" for years now. We get it. Stop whining. Nobody is twisting your arm to play it. Spend the time you spend complaining actually playing a game you DO like and spare the rest of us the grief!

  • jakeboudville

    Posted Mar 1, 2006 12:04 am GMT

    gonna get it

  • crimson_axe

    Posted Feb 28, 2006 9:27 pm GMT

    Well, I think a lot of people undermine its utility as a game. Sure it isnt persistent, and sure it doesnt offer the world of things that other MMOs offer, such as crafting and/or PvP, but its not like every game is made for every person in mind.

    I like those types of games, but most of the time there is too much else going on that is severely lacking, such as the adventure aspect. Too much is left up to the imagination.

    I dont have a lot of time to play, and when I do, I dont want to spend that time running five minutes out of my way to start a quest, spend 5 more running out to do the quest, spend 2 minutes to do it, then run 5 minutes back to finish it. Theres about 10 minutes in there that are completely useless filler. Multiply that by 6 quests and thats an hour spent running to and fro, not to mention whatever else is going on such as talking, fighting off aggro, and other occurances that are there just to grief me.... I just dont have time for that.

    Now, like I said, some people do have time for it, and some people enjoy it. I get it, its still fun, but its just not ideal for me. In D&D everythign is right near where I am. I spend more time participating in the quest than I do NOT participating in it.

    Its simple, sure, but there is fun to be had in simplicity if you look for it. Like I said, D&D is ideal for me personally, and I dont mind paying $15 a month in order to play a game that caters more to me than say WoW or EQ2.

    In the end, its about personal choice. I have fun with the game, and I suspect a lot of others do as well. I just hate when people talk trash about it just because its not "true D&D" lore, or it doesnt have crafting or whatever. Just remember that not all games are made just for you. Its a new type of MMO, and I dig it. Thats enough reason for anyone to accept why I and probably many other people just like me would want to play it.

  • chikahiro94

    Posted Feb 28, 2006 4:15 pm GMT

    No need to accuse anyone of being a message board mole - fanboys are fanboys, and there's always personal tastes to consider. That being said, I can't really see myself getting excited about this. It might have the mother of all RPG licenses attached to it, but RPGs (pen and paper, online, and otherwise) have progressed quite far from their roots mechanically. Good luck Atari, wish you had picked up Rifts, Cyberpunk, Vampire or something a more different than just traditional fantasy...

  • fenriz275

    Posted Feb 28, 2006 3:42 pm GMT

    The one thing that keeps me from picking this game up, or any other MMORPG, is that not only do I have to plunk down $50 to get it but if I want to play for more then a month I have to pay some more. All I can say about that is F*(& that! I don't care how good it is, no game I've ever played is worth sucking money out of my wallet every freaking month.

  • NeoJedi

    Posted Feb 28, 2006 3:42 pm GMT

    I don't see any WoW killer here... pass.

  • weewalio

    Posted Feb 28, 2006 2:46 pm GMT

    "elshaggy wrote:

    people still play D&D?! LOL!.... "

    Actually, approximately twenty million people buy DnD modules and games every year. Stick that in your ear, WoW!!!LOLZORS!!1!11one!!elevel!!

  • runstalker

    Posted Feb 28, 2006 1:49 pm GMT

    [This message was deleted at the request of a moderator or administrator]

  • emagius

    Posted Feb 28, 2006 12:51 pm GMT

    "people still play D&D?! LOL! "

    It's a heck of a lot better than the cheesy toy cRPGs (Elder Scrolls, Final Fantasy, WoW, etc.) out there. Of course this game has very little to do with D&D.

  • laptopdance2

    Posted Feb 28, 2006 12:36 pm GMT

    I have been playing this for along time now, and its an amazing game. I played Guild Wars and enjoyed it but this is way better then GW. Sure it dosent have crafting or pvp but the dugeons are amazing and the traps are so much fun. I love how many items there are!

  • JodoMcFatty

    Posted Feb 28, 2006 12:32 pm GMT

    well I for one have enjoyed the beta, enjoyed the clean launch of the pre-order. Shall see what happens today, but so far a pretty clean launch. Atari is only publishing it, Turbine made it. Course that opens a new can o worms if your a Turbine hater. I played AC2 from beta-end of game and it was fun. Yes this is a MMO, yes it has a sub, if you don't like it, there are tons of games for you out there. I for one don't mind a sub since Turbine is known for adding content on a monthly basis unlike Blizzard or even NCSoft (guild wars is free so i can certainly forgive them)

  • crucifine

    Posted Feb 28, 2006 12:27 pm GMT

    I was in the beta, I thought it was great. I was in the WoW beta, and thought it was trash. If I had the money, and if I wasn't in college, this game would be in my hands.

  • strangestguy

    Posted Feb 28, 2006 12:25 pm GMT

    well i suppose the monthly fee is there to pay the people who create the scenarios for the campaigns. since its not just a straight mmo world but like different campaigns and you just choose which you enter.

    but i dont know much about it. playing a thug that attacks a carravane guarded by trained mercenairies who could actually be player would be nice

  • 4esth

    Posted Feb 28, 2006 12:24 pm GMT


    "Second, that subscription system sucks! For your $50 you only get 1 month of a subscription?"

    Welcome to the world of MMO's.

  • chromium42

    Posted Feb 28, 2006 11:47 am GMT

    Go pick up Neverwinter Nights Diamond edition for $30, and you can play D&D online and offline for free each month!

  • elshaggy

    Posted Feb 28, 2006 11:14 am GMT

    people still play D&D?! LOL!

  • NpL-Glacius

    Posted Feb 28, 2006 11:13 am GMT

    Atari can rot for all I care. First they shor-run produced the game, making it so that only the twinks that pre-ordered (zombies) can get a copy today.

    Second, that subscription system sucks! For your $50 you only get 1 month of a subscription? So that's like saying that you can play one game for a month for $50. Does that sound like a good deal to anyone? Guess what, after that you can pay $42 to play it for another 3 months. $92 to play a game for 4 months? Come on!

  • Kizmet

    Posted Feb 28, 2006 11:08 am GMT

    Id rather just play some Neverwinter Nights.

  • BetMonty

    Posted Feb 28, 2006 10:54 am GMT

    I dunno, I think it's trying to be true to the D&D experience, rather than being just an MMO set in the D&D world. The classic D&D experience has always been: You gather a party and go through a campaign. When you consider that, it's easy to see why there is no persistance; there really isn't any in the D&D experience, either (you get persistance in your campaign, but what you did to the world has no effect on the world seen by some totally unrelated party playing with a different GM).

    Still, it's hard to justify the monthly fee, in light of guild wars, isn't it? My monthly fee better buy me all sorts of content updates and incredible support (e.g. way more than we see in GW), otherwise it's going to feel like the "more expensive Guild Wars" no matter what they do.

  • THF2

    Posted Feb 28, 2006 10:51 am GMT

    gl to atari, but i really think it's gg atari.

  • Netherscourge

    Posted Feb 28, 2006 10:45 am GMT

    No PvP, No Crafting, No Persistant World....

    No Thanks. Guild Wars has more and it's FREE ONLINE.

  • Donkeljohn

    Posted Feb 28, 2006 10:45 am GMT

    Unless levitate, Tensor's Floating Disk, and Armor of Calling are available, it still is not D&D in a game.

  • Raeldor

    Posted Feb 28, 2006 10:42 am GMT

    Hope this works out for them. This is probably Atari's last hope.

  • emo_worm

    Posted Feb 28, 2006 10:34 am GMT

    I predict a flop

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