Classic DDO Server

[Br4d]

I think a true Classic DDO server would end at level 20 before ED's were introduced. I think Update 12: Vaults of the Artificers would be a good ending point for the initial release of Classic. I think that's +6 items and weapons but I might be off. A lot changed pretty quickly in the next update and then the release of Menace of The Underdark.

 

[Deamon81]

No. It's not a dream of an old player, it's an old player with rose colored glasses. Original DDO was a very, very different game. I don't think you'd enjoy it at all after years of playing the modern version.

Do you remember how black widow spiders and all scorpions had so much AC that even the most decked out combat specialist melee who was 5 levels overleveled for the quest could only hit them on a 20?

Do you remember how the enhancement system didn't exist, and we got Action Points 4 times per level that let you pick ONE small boost ability? Spellpoints I at level 1, Spellpoints II at level 4, Spellpoints III at level 7. That was it. You picked 4 things out of a pool of about 10 boosts.

Do you remember how spells were different? Blindness was permanent until it was cured or you died. Curse was permanent until it was cured - dying wouldn't make it go away. People would be stuck in taverns for HOURS trying to get a curse removed because level 5 clerics didn't exist to remove it, and the 900 gold that the soulbinder wanted to cure it was like 5 days worth of adventuring.

Do you remember how dungeons were different? In order to get from the Stormreach entry area (now the Inspired Quarter) to the Harbor, you -had- to do Butcher Path. It was the only way. Did you want to go from the Harbor to the Marketplace? You -had- to do Waterworks. It was the only way.

Do you remember sitting around doing nothing because you couldn't find a cleric or a rogue? You also had to pay the cleric at the start of the quest to support their wand fund, because nobody had enough healing power to get a party through an adventure without using wands. Traps (on Normal difficulty) would wipe entire parties, so going without a rogue was not an option. If you didn't have either of those classes, then you didn't go questing that day.

Do you remember the itemization? I have one of my original characters left over from the early days. It's a 9 Pal/1 Cle (the cleric level was so I could take the divine vitality to give spellpoints to other people in the party). The best weapon that character ever found was a +1 electric adamantine longsword of Power I. The 1d6 electrical damage was the best boost I could get, and it was important because electrical kills didn't vaporize the body and mean no collectible bag would drops. All the other element types would destroy corpses and reduce the loot you got. Power I was 10 spellpoints! Woohoo! And adamantine? A double bonus - it hit through wizard stoneskins, and also had high hardness and durability so it didn't get damaged so much.


So no, I would not really be in favor of a classic DDO server.

Well I believe its just also a preference as some of your points are something why I loved to play the game in the beginning.

I was also never sitting around as the Guild was strong and lots of players to join also international (Dorn Server)
Also about the weapons, my meele Pala has up to 8 different longswords for different enemys so it was also a challange to take the correct weapon, do I see it as a problem, no.

There are I think some more points I liked but well its a personal preference and as I can see here some would like it and some would hate it

 

[paddymaxson]

Not sure if its just a dream of an old player that in the past all was better What do you think?

If they bring back the ability from the beta to climb flat surfaces purely by jumping up againstthem I'm in.

But tbh release DDO was very "minimum viable product", lots of issues, like tabletop accurate low con mages couldn't clear the tutorial.

Edit: I can see the appeal in how it was much more accurate to the core ruleset though, which I do like a lot, but I just don't think that many people are interested. It'd be nice to try for 30 mins before realising that it's unplayable as most classes can't solo things and only 4 people are playing.

 

[Cheeps]

Sign me up!

I miss the old builds the game used to have.

 

[Notadrizztvariant]

such things certainly have their appeal, but don't underestimate nostalgia. Everything was better back then cause you were young. I learned that when revisiting various things I enjoyed greatly, like GW1 and a lot of stuff on old plattform emulators. No, you cannot recapture the moment. To add a dark thought: Growing older is just a precursor to dying - and revisiting stuff of your youth makes that abundandly clear sadly.

 

[SilverScreen]

Yeah I'd love a classic server if they could spin one up. It was a very very different game and I'd enjoy playing through it

 

[Coffey]

There are I think some more points I liked but well its a personal preference and as I can see here some would like it and some would hate it

I would like to hear the other points you have. We are just talking here after all lol.

 

[Nokowi]

They could have filled an entire server with dedicated stealth tactics. They had the core of what they needed before they stopped supporting it. It was easier for SSG to drop a playstyle than actually manage invis-running in a sensible way. Would I go back? Probably not, once you lose trust in game designers you're not going to invest in their product. Hardcore that was actually hardcore would be worth playing, but all I saw was people with the least possible risk builds completing content as if taking no risk was an achievement. DDO has gone through so many pendulum swings there just isn't a classic server that could meet many preferences. You need design that continuously supports the players that it has, and DDO has only occasionally done this.

 

[Br4d]

The original stealth system was the best. No invisibility involved in stealth at all. If you were out of the shadows and the mobs were facing you you were busted. The lightbulbs weren't over the mobs head they were over your head so you could tell how exposed you were.

I remember being amazed at how hard it was to complete a real stealth run and how it often depended on where a mob pathed too during the run.

 

[FaustianBargain]

.. The best weapon that character ever found was a +1 electric adamantine longsword of Power I….

When my fighter found a +2 shocking battle axe I was stoked. The kind of stuff I don’t even waste a backpack space on to sell or break down for essences these days.

I also don’t miss having to link my Harry beater in chat by certain fussy raid leaders.

 

[Mand O'Lin]

The original stealth system was the best. No invisibility involved in stealth at all. If you were out of the shadows and the mobs were facing you you were busted. The lightbulbs weren't over the mobs head they were over your head so you could tell how exposed you were.

I remember being amazed at how hard it was to complete a real stealth run and how it often depended on where a mob pathed too during the run.

Did you ever play the original "Thief: The Dark Project"? I played it right after it was released (1998) and WOW! Talk about sweaty palms and suspense. It was just amazing and could be a great inspiration for stealthy play in DDO.

 

[Shear-buckler]

There is very little point to it since all the content from that time is still very much relevant today thanks to TR and hardcore. WoW classic made sense because that content was completely dead and forgotten.

 

[kmoustakas]

During the Hardcore Session I talked to some guys also older players and some told me how challanging it it to start with nothing and that they like it!.

I´m one of the players who is playing DDO since Level 10 was max, so the early days. I played DDO up 2014 and then I went into a break until 2020.
The frist thing I realized was the the equipment is outdated and all new stuff is overpowered... to be honest I didn´t like it... But with the years, now I´m back for 3 I accepted it and tried to arrange with it.

On some days I think back where Items with only +5 Boni was very powerfull and also about the real difficulty to play Elite and not Reaper (as this seems to be a result from over powered items to get a challange)

I often think less would be more and if you put in more powerfull items you have to put in more powerfull enemeys and the spiral beginns to twist....

My idea would by, why not creating a Classic DDO Server, so lets say starting with the first content (max level 10) but less bugs
And if that works maybe go up to Level 20 but keep the overpowered stuff away ...

Not sure if its just a dream of an old player that in the past all was better What do you think?

Server population is low enough that even seasonal hardcore empties the regular servers at least the first week so NO. HELL NO. What we need is fewer servers, not more!

Nothing is stopping you from running with korthos or borderlands gear and no enhancements on casual or normal difficulty without affecting anyone else though. Try doing it on wayfinder for even more fun.

 

[Mindos]

Did you ever play the original "Thief: The Dark Project"?

https://store.steampowered.com/app/211600/Thief_Gold/

https://www.gog.com/en/game/thief_gold

Thief was followed by an expanded edition entitled Thief Gold (1999) which modified certain missions and included a few brand new levels

 

[saekee]

I can see a hardcore season going back to when cap was 20. It was much more a team (full party) game back then.

This is a cool idea. Something totally retro for a HC run.

 

[Lyrin]

I remember subbing (no free to play!) a month after the game released. I remember seeing someone standing in the harbor with two frost cicles and thinking he was an absolute beast.

I recall my disappointment upon finding that the level cap was 10. Still, the game was fun. Sure, it had its issues, but it has been fun for me for many long years.

I do not miss being told how to play. As others have mentioned, you had to wait for healers and trappers. Clerics told me to put a shield in my off hand (dual wielding fighter). I made a ranged fighter build once. I would be kicked from parties after explaining that I was not a tank.

I do not miss having to run the same quests over and over in order to level up. I don't miss trying to have friends play, only for them to lag behind for loosing so much xp from dying repeatedly.

I think classic would be best as part of a limited hard-core season, if at all.

 

[Kissfan]

If they bring back the ability from the beta to climb flat surfaces purely by jumping up againstthem I'm in.

But tbh release DDO was very "minimum viable product", lots of issues, like tabletop accurate low con mages couldn't clear the tutorial.

Edit: I can see the appeal in how it was much more accurate to the core ruleset though, which I do like a lot, but I just don't think that many people are interested. It'd be nice to try for 30 mins before realising that it's unplayable as most classes can't solo things and only 4 people are playing.

I’d prefer if if soloing was much more difficult or near impossible

 

[Br4d]

I’d prefer if if soloing was much more difficult or near impossible

This is what almost killed DDO in the early days. No solo play, low level cap, no feeling of advancement when you did manage to level.

The idea of no solo play just doesn't draw enough revenue to keep a game alive, which is why no multi-player ARPG's feature it.

 

[erethizon1]

Not a bad idea for a VIP perk. Most games with classic servers have monthly subscriptions, so they could make it a VIP thing and possibly get a little more subscription revenue (especially if the classic server doesn't have all the OP stuff in the cash shop like when the game was new).

 

[erethizon1]

No. It's not a dream of an old player, it's an old player with rose colored glasses. Original DDO was a very, very different game. I don't think you'd enjoy it at all after years of playing the modern version.

Do you remember how black widow spiders and all scorpions had so much AC that even the most decked out combat specialist melee who was 5 levels overleveled for the quest could only hit them on a 20?

Do you remember how the enhancement system didn't exist, and we got Action Points 4 times per level that let you pick ONE small boost ability? Spellpoints I at level 1, Spellpoints II at level 4, Spellpoints III at level 7. That was it. You picked 4 things out of a pool of about 10 boosts.

Do you remember how spells were different? Blindness was permanent until it was cured or you died. Curse was permanent until it was cured - dying wouldn't make it go away. People would be stuck in taverns for HOURS trying to get a curse removed because level 5 clerics didn't exist to remove it, and the 900 gold that the soulbinder wanted to cure it was like 5 days worth of adventuring.

Do you remember how dungeons were different? In order to get from the Stormreach entry area (now the Inspired Quarter) to the Harbor, you -had- to do Butcher Path. It was the only way. Did you want to go from the Harbor to the Marketplace? You -had- to do Waterworks. It was the only way.

Do you remember sitting around doing nothing because you couldn't find a cleric or a rogue? You also had to pay the cleric at the start of the quest to support their wand fund, because nobody had enough healing power to get a party through an adventure without using wands. Traps (on Normal difficulty) would wipe entire parties, so going without a rogue was not an option. If you didn't have either of those classes, then you didn't go questing that day.

Do you remember the itemization? I have one of my original characters left over from the early days. It's a 9 Pal/1 Cle (the cleric level was so I could take the divine vitality to give spellpoints to other people in the party). The best weapon that character ever found was a +1 electric adamantine longsword of Power I. The 1d6 electrical damage was the best boost I could get, and it was important because electrical kills didn't vaporize the body and mean no collectible bag would drops. All the other element types would destroy corpses and reduce the loot you got. Power I was 10 spellpoints! Woohoo! And adamantine? A double bonus - it hit through wizard stoneskins, and also had high hardness and durability so it didn't get damaged so much.


So no, I would not really be in favor of a classic DDO server.

I remember, back in Alpha testing, that spiders did strength damage, stat damage did not go away, and having 0 strength didn't kill you but just made you immobile. So if you got down to 0 strength from the spider poison you were simply stuck. If no one could cure stat damage all you could do is recall from the dungeon and shout in area chat for a cleric to come by and cure your stat damage so you could walk (the option to go to a tavern or pay the silver flame to cure it wasn't there because you were unable to move from the dungeon entrance where recalling spit you out.

I used to play clerics 99% of the time because having lesser restoration was so important that I didn't want to play without it. I also remember running Miller's Debt over and over until my characters were level 7 because the game was so unbelievably difficult that repeating that one quest hundreds of times was the best way to level (it was also much shorter than it is today as it started at the point where you talk to the miller and just had to kill his named dog to finish the quest).

I had been dreaming of DDO for a long time, but there is a reason I left the game before it was even released and didn't come back until it went Free to Play. The original game simply wasn't very good.