I’m re-writing this after “rage-quitting” yesterday when WordPress unceremoniously deleted the entire post when I hit the “Publish” button…
Most of this week I’ve been spending my game-time in DDO Unlimited. I’ve really been enjoying the game A LOT more than I did way back when it first came out. I’ve also had the opportunity to make a few micro-transactions, and it was extremely smooth and efficient. I already had some “Turbine Points” to spend from various task completions etc, when I decided to make my first use of the in-game store.
My first venture into the Turbine Store was to purchase some spell reagents. I had run out of “pinches of sand” while mid-way through a rather large dungeon crawl and I didn’t really relish porting out and running back to town just to buy some – which also would’ve resulted in an XP penalty. So I checked the in-game store, and sure enough, they had what I needed and the sand immediately popped into my ‘toon’s pack – very handy!
On a subsequent adventure I found myself out of health potions, which are exorbitantly priced on NPC and Auction markets, so I searched the in-game store once more. Instead I found a nice health wand. With such things being so handy, I decided to make an actual “real money” micro transaction to boost my “Turbine Points,” so I would be able to get similar items with my other toons when I forget to stock up at the normal NPC vendors.
After that, the next time I logged in I noticed that my account had been “upgraded” to a “Premium Account,” which afforded me up to four characters per server – and still no monthly fee. I thought it was a nice bonus that by spending a target amount through micro-transactions, my account was auto-magically upgraded. It made me like the game more, and the “perks” don’t really seem to be anything that would negatively impact game balance – so far…
As for the game play itself, I’m really enjoying it. So far I’ve rolled up quite a number of characters and classes just to see how they play out. All of my characters are still somewhat “newb,” with the highest level being 3 or 4. At low levels I can say the Paladin is “easy mode” and my Sorceror is “hard mode.”
Besides the Paladin, other good class choices for new players would be the straight-up Fighter class, the “Tempest” Ranger, and Clerics also seem quite capable of handling themselves. Rogues, while great for finding secret rooms and unlocking doors/chests, seem quite gimped on damage output, and I had a tough time with some of the dungeon “bosses.” I’ve yet to try the Bard or the Wizard, and I haven’t unlocked the “Favored Soul,” so I can’t comment on those classes.
All things considered, I think I have the most fun on my dual-wielding Tempest Ranger, with my Paladin and Fighter tieing for second. The Rogue was my least favorite, while I really want to like my Sorcerer, he’s a bit tough to solo with, so I’ll probably let him rest for awhile.
I hope your weekend is shaping up to be fun, or at least relaxing – Enjoy!