Dungeons & Dragons Online – Discoveries of a Returning Player

Mists of Ravenloft, the recently released expansion for Standing Stone Games’ Dungeons & Dragons Online, makes now a great time to revisit this twelve year old fantasy MMO, or even just try it out for the first time. And to help you decide if this is something you might be interested in, this Massively Overpowered article lists ten things that immediately stand out to someone who spends some time with DDO in this day and age. A few examples:

1. There’s still a pretty dedicated community

For a game that’s 12 years old, DDO has an amazingly dedicated community. I won’t make the argument that it’s a massive community — this is a 12-year-old niche title, after all — but there are more blogs, podcasts, and in-game activity than I’m used to seeing in much more modern MMOs.

The game’s instance-heavy and flexible grouping design might be a big factor in this outward enthusiasm, as I’ve seen a lot of players flock to run content together rather than feel resentful about the game forcing them to do so.

2. Guilds and airships are kind of awesome

Speaking of the community, I made it a point of finding a welcoming guild to join. The first thing the GM did was to take me and another newbie on a tour of the guild’s airship, which turned out to be this massive one-stop-shopping and buffing experience. I mean, when I can click on a Thing and get 32 5-hour buffs in one go, it almost feels like I’ve found the game’s cheat code. Almost.

[…]

5. Difficulty levels are so great you wonder why every MMO doesn’t have them

From solo to reaper, DDO’s dungeon difficulty levels allow players to choose the challenge that fits their skill and group size. The harder the difficulty, the better the rewards, and I am always weighing that when I choose. I don’t want it TOO hard that the run will take forever and possibly result in a wipe, but I also won’t do anything on less than “hard” as a matter of principle. It’s a great way to promote replayability and adapt to the various needs of the playerbase.

6. There are so many weird and unusual quests

Friends that have heard me gush about DDO these past few months are probably sick of me geeking out over how really interesting and different these quests can be. Sure, there are plenty of boring dungeon and warehouse runs, but more often than not, you’ll find yourself in some madcap adventure that includes puzzle solving, racing across rooftops to track a thief, convincing a giant to join a theater troupe, and going through a museum of illusions. If you’re really tired of unoriginal MMO quests, this game contains the antidote.