DDOU – Another Shot

I played DDO not that long ago, writing a review for MMORPG about the newly revamped starter area (I no longer write reviews, or at least I try not to as it’s simply not my style of writing and I don’t have a thick enough skin for that sort of business). At the time, I did not enjoy the game. I was on an older machine that ran the game poorly, the controls were unfamiliar to me, and there were multiple other facets that I just didn’t enjoy in the least. I made no secret that I did not enjoy the game which of course brought the masses down upon me flogging me for my dislike.

I have no issue giving games a second (or third or fourth) try in order to see if it will eventually grow on me. When EQ2 first came out it didn’t hook me right away either. When EQ came into my gaming vision I was happily playing MUDS and it took me a good while to start playing on a regular basis.

I beta tested DDOU for a while, though I didn’t make it in game nearly as much as I would have liked, and I found that if I revamped almost all of my command keys, the game was a little more enjoyable. If I tweaked the graphic settings, again it was a little more enjoyable. Playing in the beta gave me early access yesterday when the new free to play version of the game went live, and I decided to create a character on the new server that opened, Connith (I may have the name of that server spelled wrong, it’s early and I wasn’t paying nearly enough attention I was so excited).

Sticking with my elf, I noticed you can pay money to unlock two other races. I decided to choose a cleric again, something I’m most comfortable with. Thus Stargrace the Warpriest of Siberys was born.

The more I started to play and run around dungeons exploring, the more I found myself enjoying the game. The community was exceptionally friendly, answering questions and comments from veterans and fresh players alike. There were more people running around then I had ever seen before, masses of them during off peek hours. It was great.

An hour went by and I started thinking of a character background for my cleric, giving her a history and character traits. I enjoy having my characters come to live in that manor, and it was something I did not expect to happen while playing DDO so the effect caught me off guard. I giggled to myself as I ran around breaking sarcophagus looking for coins (or the odd skeleton) and shouted battle cries to the empty (thankfully) living room as I charged diseased rats and spiders.

Why the sudden change of heart towards a game I had always viewed as one of the worst games I’d ever played?

I’m really not sure. Game mechanics and the starting area haven’t changed since last I played. I did spend a good amount of time customizing things this time around so they were more comfortable to me which was a huge help, but could that be all it took?

The friendly community was a huge part in this new found love, so I can only assume it was a combination of things yesterday that had me playing and enjoying the game as much as I did.

I’m unsure at this point how far you can get on the free to play model before you’ll want to have to start forking out money, but it’s certainly a lot of fun. I plan on posting more in depth looks at the game as I continue along, and as I learn and discover things. Main game of choice? No, EQ2 will probably hold that spot for some time to come, but there’s always room for another game (or two or three).

Happy gaming, no matter where you find yourself!