I don't know to what level Cryptic interacts with Wizards of the Coast, but NWO is licensed as a D&D game I hope it never loses that feel entirely, and I really hope Cryptic builds on the D&D concepts it already contains Devs seem to care about balancing classes for PvP, new content, economy management and bug fixing, with some feature adds and remodels
The new content generally feels very Faerun, which is nice, but the rest is fairly generic mmo stuff, and the reworks of classes seem to be pointing us toward parties of 3 interchangeable dps gods supported by a tank and a healbot, which is not at all D&D
I don't think giving TRs the ability to unlock certain shortcuts or secret treasures would necessarily mean all parties would be "forced" to take a TR (as was argued somewhere else when this came up) for a couple of reasons First, that's "meta logic," which is just silly... meta-mentality is just lazy and most players just don't play that way Second, party composition should greatly influence the feel of a dungeon run... If you have a TR, you may be able to open up a shortcut, but if you have Cleric, Zombies and Skeletons won't be much of a problem, and if you have a Bard, maybe there is lore that can used to make some stuff easier
Intelligence, Wisdom and Charisma checks could also be methods to utilize the strengths of certain classes: There could be runes to decipher and guards to bribe as options to just murdering everything as fast as possible, especially if these optional methods produced rewards in loot or time saved
And, yes, as @pterias and @greywynd say the underpinnings for stuff like this don't currently exist in the game, but the new content could have it built in, and one day, when the classes are considered balanced sufficiently, maybe the devs will finally have time to iron out issues in the old dungeons, bring back some of the retired lower level dungeons with these new mechanics, adding those missing underpinnings
This is a feature request, and IMO its a great one, so despite whether you think it is likely to be realized, if you would like to see it in the game, support it and add to the discussion so devs can read this and see that maybe players would enjoy some diversity and complexity
I believe this move backward to enforce classes to only dps, heal or tank is part of why there is no Bard or Druid yet... What role would they fill if there are only three roles? What would be the point of going through all the trouble of designing a whole new class at the risk of unbalancing the game even further for just another generic dps class?
But if a Bard could sing a song that made the bad guys fight among themselves for a bit and a Druid could get the animals and fey to fight on your side, that would be something special and interesting
I think @safespacecadet#3341 is interested in looking at the various classes as what makes them unique, rather than what makes them the same, and I would love it if the game was headed in that direction, too
You'll get used to the combat system, and at a point your party will be face-rolling everything Are you not pausing periodically to set up "rounds?" (for lack of a better term) You may find it better to set up your main character as somewhat tanky with the ability to heal your party... obviously I'd recommend Cleric lol Also remember you can set your companions' AI types, which is nice
Thanks for the advice. I've already gotten used to how it plays somewhat. I just need to play more, so I can learn all the tricks.
@preechr#2215 - There also wouldn't be anything wrong with creating more 10 man epic trials which required specific classes to do class-specific things.
And yet, at the same time, the game doesn't have a true stealth mechanic. The closest it comes is in PvP matches.
Yeah, that was my point, in a roundabout way. The game was designed around certain assumptions (in this case, Stealth is not a D&D-like stealth mechanic, it's basically an Invisibility spell) that gets in the way of trying to build other more D&D-like features (like Perception) into the game without a LOT of restructuring. It's the same story with a lot of other cool things like picking the lock on a dungeon chest, turning undead, etc. It sadly stacks the deck against adding in quite a few things that would make the game more like "D&D".
I think we're stuck with stealth being invisibility for now. Originally, mmorpgs could not pull off shadows with the limited processing power of most desktops at the time. Also, hearing footsteps was probably not something to which they could devote resources. Today, it is possible to hear (or not hear) footsteps and to have shadows dark enough to give a rogue the chance to hide in. However, this will not be feasible for mmorpgs until the prices of computers and computer hardware decreases so that the average gamer has a system with 8-12GBs or ram and a decent video/graphics card.
Still, this doesn't mean that a rogue shouldn't need to hit someone from behind (backstab) in order to do double damage. And perception checks are totally possible. Our characters should have the chance to hear a rogue, even if they can't see him or her. Rogues shouldn't have a 100% to move silently.
@preechr#2215 - Baldur's Gate 2 is so much easier with Fighter. Btw, I meant I'm playing it on the Core Rules difficulty, not Normal.
Also, all of my comments and suggestions are based on my opinion that Neverwinter is the best modern mmorpg available to play at this time. However, I believe it could also be much better. Two times better at least. Neverwinter could actually become the #1 most played and most profitable mmorpg on the market. It has a lot of potential. The D&D IP is a gold mine really. But it's largely wasted if the developers don't decide to integrate a lot more tabletop D&D mechanics into the game. I understand that this would require more time, more money, and more (as in a greater number of) skilled designers and programmers working on it. However, like they say, you have to spend money to make money.
If I had millions of dollars, I'd make my own mmorpg. However, as I do not currently possess that much money, I have devoted some of my free time to offer advice and suggestions. The only compensation I can hope for is a more fun, more enjoyable, more immersive, and more challenging game to play. If I am ignored, so be it. At least I tried.
Comments
I hope it never loses that feel entirely, and I really hope Cryptic builds on the D&D concepts it already contains
Devs seem to care about balancing classes for PvP, new content, economy management and bug fixing, with some feature adds and remodels
The new content generally feels very Faerun, which is nice, but the rest is fairly generic mmo stuff, and the reworks of classes seem to be pointing us toward parties of 3 interchangeable dps gods supported by a tank and a healbot, which is not at all D&D
I don't think giving TRs the ability to unlock certain shortcuts or secret treasures would necessarily mean all parties would be "forced" to take a TR (as was argued somewhere else when this came up) for a couple of reasons
First, that's "meta logic," which is just silly... meta-mentality is just lazy and most players just don't play that way
Second, party composition should greatly influence the feel of a dungeon run... If you have a TR, you may be able to open up a shortcut, but if you have Cleric, Zombies and Skeletons won't be much of a problem, and if you have a Bard, maybe there is lore that can used to make some stuff easier
Intelligence, Wisdom and Charisma checks could also be methods to utilize the strengths of certain classes: There could be runes to decipher and guards to bribe as options to just murdering everything as fast as possible, especially if these optional methods produced rewards in loot or time saved
And, yes, as @pterias and @greywynd say the underpinnings for stuff like this don't currently exist in the game, but the new content could have it built in, and one day, when the classes are considered balanced sufficiently, maybe the devs will finally have time to iron out issues in the old dungeons, bring back some of the retired lower level dungeons with these new mechanics, adding those missing underpinnings
This is a feature request, and IMO its a great one, so despite whether you think it is likely to be realized, if you would like to see it in the game, support it and add to the discussion so devs can read this and see that maybe players would enjoy some diversity and complexity
I believe this move backward to enforce classes to only dps, heal or tank is part of why there is no Bard or Druid yet... What role would they fill if there are only three roles? What would be the point of going through all the trouble of designing a whole new class at the risk of unbalancing the game even further for just another generic dps class?
But if a Bard could sing a song that made the bad guys fight among themselves for a bit and a Druid could get the animals and fey to fight on your side, that would be something special and interesting
I think @safespacecadet#3341 is interested in looking at the various classes as what makes them unique, rather than what makes them the same, and I would love it if the game was headed in that direction, too
Still, this doesn't mean that a rogue shouldn't need to hit someone from behind (backstab) in order to do double damage. And perception checks are totally possible. Our characters should have the chance to hear a rogue, even if they can't see him or her. Rogues shouldn't have a 100% to move silently.
Also, all of my comments and suggestions are based on my opinion that Neverwinter is the best modern mmorpg available to play at this time. However, I believe it could also be much better. Two times better at least. Neverwinter could actually become the #1 most played and most profitable mmorpg on the market. It has a lot of potential. The D&D IP is a gold mine really. But it's largely wasted if the developers don't decide to integrate a lot more tabletop D&D mechanics into the game. I understand that this would require more time, more money, and more (as in a greater number of) skilled designers and programmers working on it. However, like they say, you have to spend money to make money.
If I had millions of dollars, I'd make my own mmorpg. However, as I do not currently possess that much money, I have devoted some of my free time to offer advice and suggestions. The only compensation I can hope for is a more fun, more enjoyable, more immersive, and more challenging game to play. If I am ignored, so be it. At least I tried.