“The disappointment is palpable” I am astonished that D&D, of all people, can’t put together a fun MMORPG game. The graphics are great, but it doesn’t matter, because the frustrations are numerous.

I used to play D&D when I was very young, but let’s face it, I’m not so young anymore, so I don’t remember what feats I should choose *at the character creation screen before the game has actually started*!!! I shouldn’t need to have a B.A. in D&D to figure out what 87 skills I need to start the game with.

This might be “true” to D&D but it is NO FUN. Want to regenerate health and mana during a dungeon? No. Oh you can, but only at one spot and only once. If you wipe, start over. You heard me–start over. Delightful. I was in a party with a mage. He used his spell power in the first fight. Can’t get it back. In the 1,205 fights that followed, he stood around and watched us.

Let me mention the control system. Incredibly unwieldly. In the early stages, you’re just never sure wh…

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Product Description

Dungeons & Dragons Online: Stormreach takes you into a classic fantasy world, for incredible MMORPG gaming. Travel to Stormreach for exciting adventures where you’ll face impossible challenges and unbeatable monsters, all for fortune and glory. Choose from nine classes and five races, including the Eberron warforged race – then enter ancient dungeons and complete missions to find gold, magic and treasure. Beware: Each dungeon has multiple paths to success. While a fighter is best off slaying the enemies before him, a rogue with Hide and Move Silently skills might be best off avoiding their notice. Dungeons & Dragons Online: Stormreach is the first massively multiplayer online role-playing game to feature voice chat integrated into the service. Follows the D&D version 3.5 Core Rules. DVD for Windows. Gather in taverns to meet fellow adventurers, find new allies and quests, and rest up between battles Integrated voice chat lets you coordinate your team efforts more effectively

Dungeons & Dragons Online: Stormreach recreates the essence of the classic pen-and-paper roleplaying experience – with an emphasis on non-grinding, instanced quests that provide a unique, immersive experience for each party. Authentic features in the game include customizable characters; dungeons filled with devious traps; monsters and stories from the Eberron campaign setting; an on-screen d20 (20-sided die) and a dungeon master. The unique online world of Stormreach is a bustling city with thousands of players from around the world. It represents a new paradigm for the MMO genre with unique features including party-based quests, integrated voice chat, real-time action combat, and award winning graphics. DDO is based on the world-renowned Dungeons & Dragons brand.

The included Twilight Forge module offers new content for players of all levels ranging from new soloable dungeons in the harbor to additional advanced-level quests that culminate in a new raid encounter with the legendary Warforged Titan. The player experience has been vastly improved by including new features that make grouping easier, an improved user interface, and enhancements to the dungeons in the harbor that enable more solo-play and more diverse monster encounters.

In addition to the ability to create characters based on the drow, also known as the dark elf, players can expect to encounter eight new monsters from the D&D universe, including the Mindflayer, Ogre Magi, Warforged Titan, Mummy and Lich. Finally, the Twilight Forge module includes a new award system that gives players bonuses for completing dungeons on all difficulty levels.
Features:
  • Be a champion in private quests focused on adventure, not grind.
  • Survive unforgiving dungeons, fiendish traps and foes that punish the foolish.
  • Create a custom hero from five races, nine classes, and hundreds of skills, feats and looks.
  • Fight using active combat where skill matters and seconds count.
  • Experience classic D&D role-playing based on the v3.5 rules.

Why pay per month?
I have mixed emotions about this game. On one hand, the graphics and sounds are very good. On the other hand, the gameplay is extremely repetitive.

There is a serious lack of content with this game. It has absolutely nothing for you to do unless you are grouping. The fact of the matter is, if you don’t get a group of friends to play this game with you.. when you want to play… in the dungeon you want to play in.. this game sux.

Guildwars or later when Never Winter Nights comes out, those are the same type of Instance with some friends dungeon game and you don’t have to pay for it each month.

I found the people I grouped with to be extremely obnoxious. Most of them just ran through the dungeons as fast as possible and there was very little DnD play at all. It was just a bunch of speed freaks running around crashing barrels.

There are people trying to defend the game saying all that other stuff the other games have is just time syncs and a waste of space. Bull. This is the cheesiest game I have ever seen.

Beware.. and I mean a BIG beware. The game is only 3 weeks old and people have already reached max level and done every dungeon in the game. People already complaining that its hard to find a group to play with. People complaining that when you can’t find a group, there is absolutely nothing else to do. People complaining that there is no world to explore..at all, people complaining about all the dungeons that are closed because they are bugged, people complaining that the chat engine is busted….

Let’s talk about that one.. they released this game with broken chat features.. you have no way to know if your friends are online, it’s broken. That’s so terrible I can’t even explain what a waste it is.

I played the game for 2 weeks. I felt so strong about it actually that I came here on my Amazon account and wrote this review. My first one in the years I have been here.

Buyer Beware. Did I mention this is the same company that tricked its customers into buying and expansion for Asheron’s Call 2 and then quickly after the sale of the expansion closed down the game?

I wish I had paid more attention to the bad reviews of this game. There were so many fans of the game talking it up, I just didn’t want to believe they could all be this misled.

…more info

This is no Ordinary game
Dungeons & Dragons Online (DDO) is not your normal online adventure game. To say the least, it is in a league of its own.

What makes DDO unique? Let me name just a few:

- The graphics are out of this world. Turbine, the company that created online games such as Lord of the Rings Online (LoTRO), Asheron’s Call, and Asheron’s Call 2 have always been known as a premiere provider of high quality graphics. The graphics engine for this game was built by Turbine from the bottom up. Throw your resolution setting up and you will be treated to a host of visual wonders (water, smoke, shadows and reflections). It is definitely a must see, even if you only view it through the 10 day trial subscription. There is nothing like the atmosphere they have created.

- Video game developers are constantly tweaking and adjusting things to ensure nothing unbalances the game. Often players, having found something that works great, then log-in one day to find their item “gimped”. Turbine, in DDO, is forced to follow certain rules and standards that prevent the massive “gimping” common to online games like WoW and others.

- Like groups or prefer solo? It doesn’t matter. Turbine is catering to both.

- Like magic or don’t want anything to do with it? Play your own way. The group I run around with doesn’t touch the stuff.

- In-game email. It’s great.

- Buy and sell your items in-game with a system that is reminiscent of eBay. It has undergone some big improvements that allow you to sort by level and item.

- Quests like no other. The quests/missions are well thought out and the Narrator voice you experience, in quest, sets the whole mood. These adventures are not your average hack and slash. There is a reason why there are search and hide abilities. This is a thinking man’s game. Just ask my brother (I’ve gotten him killed enough times he’s shaved his head so people can’t see he’s gone prematurely gray). Traps, spikes, secret doors and hidden treasure are just a little of what awaits you. Did i mention there is a quest tracker in game? Get lost? Check the in-game map.

- The size and scope of this game is huge. Did I mention the size of the game world has increased at least by 30%?

Did I mention all the game updates?

Did I mention the variety of clothes to choose from?

Did i mention the advantages of currying favor with NPCs?

DDO is a thrill ride that only a dwarf could stop….more info

The box says Dungeons & Dragons but its not…
I think the only reason this game is even selling is because of the Dungeons & Dragons name, give it another name alltogether and it wouldn’t have half the following nor half the fans cheering it on.

I”m wondering if the same people who support this game would do so if it had a different name altogether, maybe something like Adventures Quest…more info

For serious gamers only
Review after review from people who are rating this game based on most other RPG games. This is D&D. Everything about it is about detail. You have to pay attention to what your character is and how that character will help you advance in the game. The challenges are frustrating as all get out…the dungeons will leave you with stubs for nails and clumps of hair in your hands, but when you are done, you feel like you have moved mountains and you sigh under your breath, “Thank God, I’m done!”

My major complaints are quite minor, really. There are a few things that need tweaking, but hey, it’s a new game. My only change would really be that perhaps you have a trial place to try out all these different characters. Mainly to “test drive” them before using them. And perhaps add a large, very detailed tutorial for those people playing the game complaining…obviously they didn’t get it.

The only reason this game doesn’t get a 5 stars review is strictly because it needs a little fine tuning. But so far it’s the most challenging game I’ve ever played. Damn those traps!!…more info