Dungeons & Dragons Online: Stormreach (DDO), won't be the first effort to transform the classic pen-and-paper RPG into a video game, but it does stand to break new ground by bringing the Eberron to life in a persistent online world. I've been following the game's progress and had a chance to participate in the beta test. DDO is scheduled for release at the end of February.
No Dice Required
I'll begin by saying that I haven't played tabletop D&D in many years, so I won't attempt any lengthy comparison of the two. A couple of major differences, however, should be mentioned. While there are occasional bits of "DM text" in DDO, there is no live Dungeon Master overseeing your adventures. Secondly, unlike the pen-and-paper version, DDO is played in real-time. Within these limits, it does try to stay close to its D&D roots, right down to the 20-sided die that shows your rolls on the side of the screen.
See You in the Tavern
One thing you won't be doing in DDO is counting the number of spiders you need to get to the next level. You don't even get experience for killing monsters. To advance you must complete quests, and all the quests are instanced, meaning that a private copy of each adventure is created on demand for your party, so you can complete the quest without interference from the hundreds of other players in the world.
The city of Stormreach and its taverns serve as meeting places for you to form a party. These are also instanced, but you have the ability to move between city instances by selecting them from a dropdown menu, making it easy to hook up with friends. If the instancing approach sounds a lot like Guild Wars, that's because it is. Outside of the city you will never run into other players that are not in your group.
Quests are, for the most part, designed for parties of up to 6 players. There are no NPC henchmen to fill out your party, so you can expect to spend some time looking for suitable groups. You can try to solo dungeons that are well below your level, but it's neither particularly rewarding or fun. The good news is that the player search functions are quite robust, so putting together groups is fairly easy.
The quests include secret areas, traps, and puzzles that are a cut above what games of this kind typically offer. Instancing makes it possible to have quest areas that are dynamic. In one early mission, for example, the entire dungeon starts to collapse forcing you to run for cover.
Despite the many advantages of instancing, it does make the world feel less alive in my view, but a lot of players won't miss this.
Combat Tactics
At first glance the combat system seems pretty standard, with the mandatory shortcut bar populated with various D&D skills and spells. Once you've spent some time with it, however, you realize that there is lot more here than you normally find in games of this kind. Blocks are not simply passive functions, but rather actions that must be implemented manually. Flanking bonuses, player position, and the ability to use environmental features as protection all factor into the outcome of a battle.
Another thing that takes some getting used to is that you don't constantly regenerate hit points and spell points (mana) while you aren't fighting. If you don't have a healer, the only way to recover hit points is by using the one-time "rest shrines" in some dungeons, or returning to a tavern. Because of this, every swing and spell counts; you can't afford to use your abilities with wreckless abandon, or you may find yourself too weak to complete the quest.
Odds and Ends
There is no player versus player combat planned for DDO. This is understandable, since PvP was never a big part of traditional D&D. You choose an alignment during character creation, but it's merely a token; there aren't any evil paths to pursue in the game. Similarly, there doesn't appear to be much by way of crafting or tradeskills.
The graphics look terrific, and the engine has some neat features, such as the ability to climb. You can jump, fall, and move very freely within a zone.
The game will also have integrated voice chat, which is certain to make organizing groups a great deal easier.
Unlike some of their closest competition, such as Guild Wars and Neverwinter Nights, they plan to charge a monthly fee, which could prove to be a tough sell.
Bottom Line
DDO is taking a slower, more methodical, highly teamwork-oriented approach to gameplay that probably won't appeal to the trigger-happy impatient crowd that romp through many of today's MMORPGs as though they were in some sort of race. For small groups of D&D fans who enjoy putting some thought into a quest, it has a lot to offer. The potential for interesting puzzles, traps, and dynamic areas is tremendous. DDO: Stormreach stands to carve out a niche for itself among those that are dissatisfied with the relatively simplistic combat that has become the norm for this type of game.
