The play games itself holds strongly to the D&D feel, but its more fast paced, in general. In D&D, a round was generally understood to be about six seconds long, while in DDO rounds do not exist - although activities
nd allowing player skill to enter into the equation.
As for the new Free To Play model, I think it has been handled very well. An accounts starts off as a "free account", from which you can either upgrade to "premium" by buying anything in the DDO Store, or to VIP by opting to pay a monthly fee. The difference is in the "extras". VIP gets access to all expansion packs and buyable content automatically, for as long as they pay the monthly subscription. Non-VIP accounts can buy (or earn, I will explain shortly) Turbine Points, and use them to unlock Races, Classes, extra character slots, shared bank tab, buy items (none "Godly", mostly convenience-related), and my favorite - buy "adventure packs" (dungeons, quests). Turbine Points can be earned by reaching certain "Favor" milestones in the game (favor is like reputation, for those WoW players out there). The process is explained in depth here: http://furlugedepot.com/2009/09/18/let-free-dom-ring-getting-the-most-out-of-ddo-free-to-play/
Overall, I think the game is much better than it used to be with reference to quality, and while free is always worth the price, I fully play on purchasing some adventure packs, since no matter if I take a few months off from playing, I'll always own them as long as DDO exists, and you only have to pay for what you want. It has been refined into a top quality MMO and I recommend it to any and all.The gameplay itself holds strongly to the D&D feel, but its more fast paced, in general. In D&D, a round was generally understood to be about six seconds long, while in DDO rounds do not exist - although activities
nd allowing player skill to enter into the equation.
As for the new Free To Play model, I think it has been handled very well. An accounts starts off as a "free account", from which you can either upgrade to "premium" by buying anything in the DDO Store, or to VIP by opting to pay a monthly fee. The difference is in the "extras". VIP gets access to all expansion packs and buyable content automatically, for as long as they pay the monthly subscription. Non-VIP accounts can buy (or earn, I will explain shortly) Turbine Points, and use them to unlock Races, Classes, extra character slots, shared bank tab, buy items (none "Godly", mostly convenience-related), and my favorite - buy "adventure packs" (dungeons, quests). Turbine Points can be earned by reaching certain "Favor" milestones in the shooting games (favor is like reputation, for those WoW players out there). The process is explained in depth here: http://furlugedepot.com/2009/09/18/let-free-dom-ring-getting-the-most-out-of-ddo-free-to-play/
Overall, I think the game is much better than it used to be with reference to quality, and while free is always worth the price, I fully play on purchasing some adventure packs, since no matter if I take a few months off from playing, I'll always own them as long as DDO exists, and you only have to pay for what you want. It has been refined into a top quality MMO and I recommend it to any and all.
