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DDO V NWO Comparison (Based on Opinion found in DDO Forum) So true?

rogueriderroguerider Member Posts: 22 Arc User
edited August 2013 in General Discussion (PC)
When looking at the DDO Forums, I was intrigued to stumble across this posting about some feedback a player had about both games. This hit home with me and as a D&D Fan. Personally, I think some details in this resonates within this game as points may need to be taken back to the devs for some further analyzing.

***Remember this was posted by another player on the DDO Forum and I wanted to bring it to this groups attention.***

"Hey guys been playing Neverwinter for a bit mostly because my brother wanted to try it out and so far...it's ok....it's not terrible but I doubt it will "kill" DDO anyways here's my Pros, Cons when compared to DDO (and some comparisons to LOTRO)

Pros

- The MAX graphics setting is definitely a little better than DDO
- The visual customization during character creation is better than DDO
- The Foundry, it's pretty awesome and so far the sorting system does a good job of filtering out the drivel. Even if I decide I loathe NWO I'll probably still spend time quest crafting in here.
- Their version of hirelings are permanent and Level with the character...up to a point (see cons)

Cons

- The Lowest setting of graphics is practically unplayable it looks like I took my glasses off...shapes,etc. are barely recognizable. It's not great in DDO but at least it actually functions

- The game is half-instanced, half open world so whilst which is better is entirely subjective (I vastly prefer instanced FYI) going both ways just ends up annoying everyone.

- Each class seems to have 2 or 3 armor models with about a dozen small differences within each of those so even with the greater visual customization during creation the city seems like a sea of clones....cosmetic items become essentially a requirement instead of an option.

- Currency systems is incredibly complicated there's Normal coin (gold,silver, bronze), astral diamonds (a semi-normal currency unlike DDO), Zen (turbine points), Various Seals, Trade Bars, etc.,etc. its really annoying and very much designed to force you to purchase Zen

- Speaking of Zen the cash shop is blatantly Pay-to-Win you can all kinds of stuff that give you a huge edge such as wickedly overpowered "companions" (essentially hirelings that level with you and never expire), super rare crafting ingredients that you'll probably never see drop or can ONLY be purchased in the cash shop, max level removers for your companions

- Annoying *** chest drops that can only be opened with Cash Shop only keys

- The crafting system is incredibly boring you don't get anything cool and you really don't have a choice...you WILL choose your classes relevant craft (ie. Wizard = Tailor) and Leadership (free xp and random chests) it will supply you with level appropriate green quality (white for the first few levels) equipment and well thats it nothing cool like save WoWs engineer profession. Also crafting is very hands-off you choose what you want to craft and half an hour later its done. Not that DDOs crafting system is super awesome or anything it's just better than NWOs

- Despite the Illusion of it there's really almost no choice in leveling and even the "feats" are not even real their just +1% to X...you will eventually notice the difference but it is a shadow of the options granted by feats alone in DDO

- Speaking of "choice" no multi-classing of any sort, now its based off of 4th edition so it doesn't have a-la-carte multi-classing but there is a hybriding system which allows you to get abilities from both classes at the cost of some abilities from both sides. Also since theres no real feats you can't take the multi-class feats either.

- The only thing Neverwinter takes for 4e or even DnD as a whole is the lore...there's no d20 system, the spells aren't dnd spells, the classes are not even classes but "Builds" (ie. instead of Wizard, Rogue, Cleric, Fighter they have Control Wizard, Blaster Wizard, Trickster Rogue, Guardian Fighter, Great Weapon Fighter,etc.) even clerics walk around in robes instead of chainmail or full plate. Despite appearances this really isn't a DnD game.

- Almost EVERYTHING in the game is designed to funnel you to the Zen store.

In short the question isn't will I leave DDO for NWO the question is will I play NWO when the DDO servers are down or will I keep looking. So yeah Turbine as long as you keep multi-classing/other customization options in mind as a strong Pro for DDO NWO will never even come close to touching your bottom line."
Post edited by roguerider on

Comments

  • desstzodesstzo Member Posts: 77
    edited August 2013
    thing is:
    DDO is based on 3.5, NWN is based on 4.0 and thus a comparison about char customizations etc will ofc never be accurate since they cant be compared

    also while some of the points hold true, others are just wrong or at least laughable if you know DDO, esp the points about Zenshop beeing p2w (it just isnt) and the half instance/half open world thing (DDO has gone that direction too)

    Edit: you got the link to the DDO boards of that post?

    Ah well
    -Desstzo
  • bpskibbenheimsbpskibbenheims Member, Neverwinter Beta Users, Neverwinter Hero Users, Neverwinter Guardian Users, Neverwinter Knight of the Feywild Users Posts: 210 Bounty Hunter
    edited August 2013
    Unfortunately the person who formulated that opinion/comparison outs themselves as know little about NW. they refer to the zen shop as being where there is some kind of p2w advantage, but if you want to make that argument it isn't the zen shop it's the exchange. "wickedly powerful companions" Really? Which one? They are pretty useless past vanity.

    In the end different games are different, apples and oranges, so on. Personally, I hated DDO so much, thought it was so bad, I am shocked it still is up.
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  • cgta1967cgta1967 Member Posts: 86
    edited August 2013
    Ive been playing DDO again myself. NW only lasted a couple weeks before the realization set in that it really isnt that good of a game.

    opinions are opinions.....
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  • kiralynkiralyn Member Posts: 1,440 Arc User
    edited August 2013
    roguerider wrote: »
    - Currency systems is incredibly complicated there's Normal coin (gold,silver, bronze), astral diamonds (a semi-normal currency unlike DDO), Zen (turbine points), Various Seals, Trade Bars, etc.,etc. its really annoying and very much designed to force you to purchase Zen

    This is kind of funny, considering the wide array of gatherable trade-in items (just like seals & bounty items in NW) that there have been in DDO.
  • kerrovitarrakerrovitarra Member, Neverwinter Beta Users, Neverwinter Hero Users Posts: 559 Bounty Hunter
    edited August 2013
    roguerider wrote: »
    - Speaking of Zen the cash shop is blatantly Pay-to-Win you can all kinds of stuff that give you a huge edge such as wickedly overpowered "companions" (essentially hirelings that level with you and never expire), super rare crafting ingredients that you'll probably never see drop or can ONLY be purchased in the cash shop, max level removers for your companions
    What companion in Zen shop is overpowered? Only Ioun stone comes to mind, bot there are better analogue - cat. Same for crafting materials and tools: all can be found in-game.
    roguerider wrote: »
    - Annoying *** chest drops that can only be opened with Cash Shop only keys
    Agree.
    roguerider wrote: »
    - The crafting system is incredibly boring you don't get anything cool and you really don't have a choice...you WILL choose your classes relevant craft (ie. Wizard = Tailor) and Leadership (free xp and random chests) it will supply you with level appropriate green quality (white for the first few levels) equipment and well thats it nothing cool like save WoWs engineer profession. Also crafting is very hands-off you choose what you want to craft and half an hour later its done. Not that DDOs crafting system is super awesome or anything it's just better than NWOs
    Disagree. I'm a wizard and has all professions capped. I'm helping my guild with craft and selling some craft in AH.
  • morsitansmorsitans Member, Neverwinter Beta Users Posts: 1,284 Bounty Hunter
    edited August 2013
    But which profession did you cap first...?

    Cash shop companions are, while not really 'powerful', certainly better than the default gold-purchased ones. And the cat is so expensive it's actually MORE of a cash shop purchase than the stone.
  • kulrigkulrig Member Posts: 0 Arc User
    edited August 2013
    Personally, I hated DDO so much, thought it was so bad, I am shocked it still is up.

    I loved DDO at first. Until I got to level 6 and found out that in order to get any further I would either have to pay to unlock some more quests, or group with people who insist on having voice chat on so I can listen to them eat Doritos and yell at their kids.
  • sasheriasasheria Member, Neverwinter Beta Users, Neverwinter Hero Users, Neverwinter Guardian Users, Neverwinter Knight of the Feywild Users Posts: 1 Arc User
    edited August 2013
    With DDO, you can actually make a character MORE powerful than NW (true ressurection) and they do have Tome that boost your base stats and starting character at higher level. All DDO cash shop items :)

    Of course there is a big complaint in DDO in terms of "buying power" since relics and such require cash shop (from what I'm told. I haven't play DDO in last 2 expansion)
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  • kiraliakiralia Member Posts: 383 Arc User
    edited August 2013
    To jump on the bandwagon of the original poster on ddo forum not knowing what he is talking about....since when do clerics here wear robes?
  • sasheriasasheria Member, Neverwinter Beta Users, Neverwinter Hero Users, Neverwinter Guardian Users, Neverwinter Knight of the Feywild Users Posts: 1 Arc User
    edited August 2013
    kiralia wrote: »
    To jump on the bandwagon of the original poster on ddo forum not knowing what he is talking about....since when do clerics here wear robes?

    Heh. Since when cleric wear robes into combat? I can wear mail armor in DDO ;) and mail armor in NW :)
    I guess we can wear robes when we are not fighting.
    To grow old is inevitable, to grow up is optional.
    Please review my campaign and I'll return the favor.
  • powereddjinnpowereddjinn Member, Neverwinter Beta Users, Neverwinter Guardian Users Posts: 1 Arc User
    edited August 2013
    DDO - a game I haven't played since it failed (oops converted to p2w)!
  • allaerraallaerra Member, Neverwinter Beta Users Posts: 838 Bounty Hunter
    edited August 2013
    Well...people seem to be rushing to the defense but what he said holds true for the most part. The P2W argument has been hashed out many times and will never really be resolved as everyone has a different opinion on it.

    Lack of variety in gear is absolutely true and something that has been brought up time and again since Alpha/Beta. Fact is they want you to use the Zen store. Maybe not P2W but P2P in order to have a full experience.

    Cash shop most certainly has items that are P2W by my definition. Blue and Purple crafters, the Ioun Stone, Health and Res stones and Dragon Eggs all come to mind. Some will argue those are not P2W but P2P in order to have a good experience. Muddy waters if you ask me.

    People want to keep going back to the 3.5 vs. 4e argument. Having played pretty much every D&D marketed game since video games first came out, I can say that NW is one of the least D&D of anything I've played other than name and "skin". I was hoping for more, it could be more, but instead it "feels" like one big cash grab. The game is fun, I enjoy playing, but it has so much unrealized potential that it is bittersweet. The changes that keep occurring take a bit more of the fun away each time.
  • chrono0812chrono0812 Member, Neverwinter Beta Users, Neverwinter Guardian Users Posts: 501 Bounty Hunter
    edited August 2013
    Should change it too (opinions may differ) depending on which game a player likes more. Same thing happens all the time in World of Warcraft or any online game for that matter. The grass is always greener on the other side of the fence mentality when dealing with MMO's is a funny thing.
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  • srazysrazy Member, Neverwinter Beta Users Posts: 207 Bounty Hunter
    edited August 2013
    I logged to DDO yesterday since there was a big update to enhancements and all, the person that made that thread must not have played long enough to understand the currency system and barter system in NW, but it doesnt matter, most of that thread are just febble dabs, since in order to get a real opinion one must cap a character and experience the game from top to bottom.

    Graphically DDO is still 2005 DX9, there are no physics, collision with mobs cause your character to phase and being unable to do anything. When you play a caster class the server cant keep up with spellcasting speed of sorcerers and you can end up wasting mana because the server didnt register your casting.

    In DDO i have a almost 24 sorc and a third life favored soul. And that game unlike NW is made so u have to spend money, F2p people can only post 1 item on ah with a 1 hour CD if that item is sold and you want to repost, gold cap that gets lifted as you level trough the game.
    F2p content will only last you until lv 16 or so of as of yesterday 28 levels.

    DDo had the turbine point gain via favor, quest done on elite difficulty gave you favor and every 100 of that favor you get a very small amount of TP, with some milestones like first time on that server, 500 favor 1k favor etc. and some server account unlocks, the most worth it was the favored soul unlock.

    DDO still have some thing going on for it, like instanced loot, there is no ninja looting, zero gold seller spam, a great LFG page, there is an untold need before greed rule of thumb, so people help each other to get gear that is class specific but is bound to character and those items can only be passed on the chest, and yes people give each other those items for free and since people cant buy gear score and quests unlock only once you reach the appropriate level, on raids and all you dont get total noobs like here, that bought their gear on AH and decided it was cool to try spellplague/dread vault epic for the first time :/
  • xgamemonsterxxgamemonsterx Member Posts: 0 Arc User
    edited August 2013
    I still have DDO [and LotRO] installed on my comp, but I really don't enjoy playing [either] anymore. Without maintaining a subscription, too many adventure areas and quests are locked. I love the IPs, but their "free-to-play" model is horrible.
  • norobladnoroblad Member Posts: 556 Arc User
    edited August 2013
    roguerider wrote: »
    When looking at the DDO Forums, I was intrigued to stumble across this posting about some feedback a player had about both games. This hit home with me and as a D&D Fan. Personally, I think some details in this resonates within this game as points may need to be taken back to the devs for some further analyzing.

    ***Remember this was posted by another player on the DDO Forum and I wanted to bring it to this groups attention.***

    "Hey guys been playing Neverwinter for a bit mostly because my brother wanted to try it out and so far...it's ok....it's not terrible but I doubt it will "kill" DDO anyways here's my Pros, Cons when compared to DDO (and some comparisons to LOTRO)

    Pros

    - The MAX graphics setting is definitely a little better than DDO
    - The visual customization during character creation is better than DDO
    - The Foundry, it's pretty awesome and so far the sorting system does a good job of filtering out the drivel. Even if I decide I loathe NWO I'll probably still spend time quest crafting in here.
    - Their version of hirelings are permanent and Level with the character...up to a point (see cons)

    Cons

    - The Lowest setting of graphics is practically unplayable it looks like I took my glasses off...shapes,etc. are barely recognizable. It's not great in DDO but at least it actually functions

    - The game is half-instanced, half open world so whilst which is better is entirely subjective (I vastly prefer instanced FYI) going both ways just ends up annoying everyone.

    - Each class seems to have 2 or 3 armor models with about a dozen small differences within each of those so even with the greater visual customization during creation the city seems like a sea of clones....cosmetic items become essentially a requirement instead of an option.

    - Currency systems is incredibly complicated there's Normal coin (gold,silver, bronze), astral diamonds (a semi-normal currency unlike DDO), Zen (turbine points), Various Seals, Trade Bars, etc.,etc. its really annoying and very much designed to force you to purchase Zen

    - Speaking of Zen the cash shop is blatantly Pay-to-Win you can all kinds of stuff that give you a huge edge such as wickedly overpowered "companions" (essentially hirelings that level with you and never expire), super rare crafting ingredients that you'll probably never see drop or can ONLY be purchased in the cash shop, max level removers for your companions

    - Annoying *** chest drops that can only be opened with Cash Shop only keys

    - The crafting system is incredibly boring you don't get anything cool and you really don't have a choice...you WILL choose your classes relevant craft (ie. Wizard = Tailor) and Leadership (free xp and random chests) it will supply you with level appropriate green quality (white for the first few levels) equipment and well thats it nothing cool like save WoWs engineer profession. Also crafting is very hands-off you choose what you want to craft and half an hour later its done. Not that DDOs crafting system is super awesome or anything it's just better than NWOs

    - Despite the Illusion of it there's really almost no choice in leveling and even the "feats" are not even real their just +1% to X...you will eventually notice the difference but it is a shadow of the options granted by feats alone in DDO

    - Speaking of "choice" no multi-classing of any sort, now its based off of 4th edition so it doesn't have a-la-carte multi-classing but there is a hybriding system which allows you to get abilities from both classes at the cost of some abilities from both sides. Also since theres no real feats you can't take the multi-class feats either.

    - The only thing Neverwinter takes for 4e or even DnD as a whole is the lore...there's no d20 system, the spells aren't dnd spells, the classes are not even classes but "Builds" (ie. instead of Wizard, Rogue, Cleric, Fighter they have Control Wizard, Blaster Wizard, Trickster Rogue, Guardian Fighter, Great Weapon Fighter,etc.) even clerics walk around in robes instead of chainmail or full plate. Despite appearances this really isn't a DnD game.

    - Almost EVERYTHING in the game is designed to funnel you to the Zen store.

    In short the question isn't will I leave DDO for NWO the question is will I play NWO when the DDO servers are down or will I keep looking. So yeah Turbine as long as you keep multi-classing/other customization options in mind as a strong Pro for DDO NWO will never even come close to touching your bottom line."

    I think this guy likes DDO better and his comments are biased and unfair.
    Lets look again..

    - The graphics here are orders of magnitude better. DDO graphics look like a free to play no-name game -- not quite as bad as something like wizardry online, but almost. Its poor. Compare even to their own products; LOTRO is far better looking. They are not just "a little better" in NWN they are tons better. Graphics, however, is not that important in an MMO to me.

    - The foundry IS awesome.

    - Companions are sufficient for what they do. The stat pets support you for tough content, and the healers etc are usable for solo play. They could be better, but to have a companion in LOTRO you spend real money TO SUMMON IT AT ALL OUTSIDE SPECIAL AREAS. The thing is, in DDO content is hard enough that you need a companion unless maxed out. Here also you find a companion useful for tougher areas. And guess what: in both games the power and function of the companions are appropriate to the content. That is, in both games, the companions suffice to give you what you need to do the content. So claims that ours are weak theirs are strong... is dumb because their world is tougher (harder to heal yourself, can't dodge attacks in tradational mmo combat, deadly enemy CC and damage magic, more).

    cons..
    -graphics again? Who cares about the lowest setting? DDO's lowest setting looks like wolfenstein 1992, maybe not even that good.


    - DDO is about the same, instanced world. I don't even understand what he is saying is different.

    - Lack of cosmetic items: a known and valid complaint, but he compares a decade old game to a new one. They will continue to be added slowly.

    - Currency? Barter items.... you want to go there? DDO drops them like MAD and you have to find the specific NPC to barter with for the specific item. And they use regular bag space. The barter items have to be discarded by free to play folks, or you run out of space. The same is true of crafting materials, you just can't store all that <font color="orange">HAMSTER</font>. As for the 3 currencies, its not that hard, real money currency (zen, same as turbine points), gold (same as gold in DDO) and one more that really exists to convert to and from zen (not possible in DDO). I could live with doing away with gold in NWO, but no one asked me. Still, you CANNOT do much in the store in DDO without BUYING TP. Here, you can earn zen and buy anything you want and its not difficult. LOTRO you can do that but its a grind about like $1 worth per hour tops, and usually a fraction of that!! NWN you can make easily $1 in the background (leadership) with 0 game time spent on the effort. That is HUGE.


    - Pay to win is it? DDO you cannot even do more than a few basic quests without BUYING ACCESS TO CONTENT. Sure, you can do the same stupid quest 1000 times to level up rather than a variety, but you pay if you want to do 10 or 15 interesting quests. The zen store items give little real advantage, the biggest thing being 1) mounts in pvp and 2) crafting tools. And guess what: you can get ALL of that for free easily. TRY to earn a free quest pack in DDO? IT takes months and months of grinding. This review is from a paying DDO customer, you can count on THAT.

    - Drop chests that you pay to open? LOTRO has those... DDO instead has a place where you can PAY to get a random chest like thing, you get one free per day and can buy more. You may get 2 per day if you paid enough to them already. Regardless, its the SAME THING.

    - Agreed, the crafting is boring. But at least you CAN craft. DDO crafting is insanely complicated and requires 3 full bags of junk (bought in the handy dandy store!) to accomplish anything. I could not accomplish anything with it at all due to lack of space, it may as well not have existed.

    - Leveling, feats and all there is no choice yet due to not yet released paragon paths. I am frustrated that these are not out yet, but at the same time, its not a fair complaint to fuss about things that are labeled as in progress.

    - Yes, you can multiclass in DDO. Except you can't really --- you can't make a cleric -> weaponmaster because that is a fighter thing. (Compare to NWN where you simply took the correct feats to get the weaponmaster). Assassin bard or monk is also no-go, because assassin is a thief thing. Its marginal --- all you can do is be a fighter/thief type "multiclass" nothing special or interesting. Its better than NWO, but NWN blows both away.

    - of course, the D&D complaint. While a valid point, its like saying "NWO is terrible because it has a different rule set and game mechanics".


    - Everything sends you to the zen store????!!!! This is just total biased BS. As I said, look again:
    DDO:
    - want to do the content? pay for it
    - want to craft? Buy bank and bag space to hold it
    - want to use the barter currency? Buy space to hold that too
    - want to play some races and classes? Pay!
    - want anything from the store? PAY, you can't earn it in game beyond a sample. The sample is obviously there just to get you to go to the store once to look around.
    - Want to respec your character? Pay (same as NWO, but his point is NWO is the one that costs and implies DDO is free)
    - want to do the high end content? PAY! (you have to pay to do that funny thing at max level, reincarnation or some word that means the same thing, which unlocks having good stats and being maxed out)

    etc.... DDO I quit playing because of having to do the same quests over and over, having no bag space, having no content, unable to make the multiclass characters I had hoped of, crappy graphics, incoherent story, and more. Its not a bad game, but the posted comparison is too biased to be anything but garbage.
  • zebularzebular Member, Neverwinter Moderator, NW M9 Playtest Posts: 15,270 Community Moderator
    edited August 2013
    . . . . . Pay to win arguments are not allowed and neither is the discussion or comparison of other MMOs. Also, I quit threads and posts, or any semblance there of, are not allowed. Topic closed.
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    Rule 3.02 - No "I Quit" Threads or Posts
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