New player, first life need help and some wisdom.

[Livmo]

"Beating the game" doesn't exist. A small segment of the playerbase chooses to do the hardest difficulty at end-game, which has it's own progression system called Reaper. There are even Reaper raids which have an even smaller pool of players that play at the highest difficulty. What gives the game replayability is the past life system, where you gain a little bit of power from starting your character over at level 1 and leveling back up.

Think of DDO as a beer and pretzels game where you have fun hanging out with your buddies. It's more of a cooperative game than a competitive game.

In my mind that's how I justify spending $$$ on the game. I could have spent that money at the bar, or on DDO. I don't see spending money on DDO as an investment. To me it's akin to buying a pint and sandwich.

 

[Livmo]

In my mind that's how I justify spending $$$ on the game. I could have spent that money at the bar, or on DDO. I don't see spending money on DDO as an investment. To me it's akin to buying a pint and sandwich.

Sell good beer and sandwiches and I will keep buying them.

Also been all over the world: many bars, festivals, events etc. I like DDO people better than folks at my local pub.

 

[The Narc]

Make friends and play with people, let them know you are ftp and hopefully they will help you get some quests done on elite and possibly tr twice to allow you to unlock elite on your own. Going it alone on ftp really is not fun.

 

[RangerOne]

Slight aside before replying to the OP.

I just don't get the "the game is terrible for new players" mentality. If that were true no one would play a second time. It is DnD so having at least a rudimentary knowledge of that certainly helps. The only 3.5 rules I was familiar with was Baldur's Gate but I certainly didn't find the game horrible for me as a new player.

OP, others have covered most of your questions very well. I would just add being a cleric is solid since you can at least keep yourself alive as you explore. Damage is better although I find it takes a long time for my cleric to beat down bosses alone (in legendary, at least.) Warlock is pretty easy for heroics. Just hold your left mouse button with chain attack on. Personally, I usually start a game with a bowman of some sort, but archers can be tricky, but rewarding.

But let us know where you land, there are a lot of great folks who are eager to help. I used to just hang out in general chat and answer questions. Might take that up again.

 

[BarryKent]

Thx guys for your discusion. I`m actually testing some builds from strimtom hardcore league builds, but i think for just to hit lv 10 and taste some gameplay i think to try make my NwN character (melee dwarf cleric). If you guys have any suggestions for dwarf cleric or any for game, i will be very happy to read.

 

[Xezon]

DDO is not the easiest F2P game. It is close to rivaling Wizard 101 for Free to Play in name only (Not quite as bad since more content has been made free over time, but once upon a time it was a close rival). Grab any free quest coupons when they come up.

For leveling and grinding purposes, I recommend crafting. Since you will be limited on the content you can run, you will find that there will be holes in your gear. Use Cannith Crafting to fill those holes in your gear as you can. Crafted gear does not compare to set gear, but it is a great way to fill in gaps. It's not a fast system, but with as much repeat playing as you will need to do to reach level 20, you will get plenty of vendor trash gear that can be broken down into crafting exp and material.

As has been stated, there is no "beating the game." DDO is a character development game. There is ALWAYS something you can do to better a character. The moment you think there's not, something new will be released and change that.

 

[Elfishski]

Also as a new player if you're joining any groups don't be afraid to say you're new to the game and learning it. Because of the reincarnation system many people you'll encounter will be doing the content for the 100th time or more (especially anyone with cosmetic wings) and they'll fly through it and be finished before you find the quest entrance and then you'll make a wrong turn trying to find them and get killed. It won't be a great experience.

However, most people playing this game are also really nice, and if they know you're new then a decent proportion will be very happy to slow right down, show you the way through quests, give you tips and tricks, and probably hand you gear they find in chests.

 

[KatzyBaby]

Also, you don't HAVE to reincarnate. I've been playing multiple characters for years and have never reincarnated. You can also easily solo play quests that are up to 5 levels lower than your level, so you can actually do heroic elite quests solo at or lower than your level. Clerics are always a solid character. There is a lot to learn and a lot to make choices for, like feats, spells, enhancements, etc. You also don't have to know the strict DND rule books to play this, the game keeps track of them. Play this for fun, not for endgame and enjoy the community and the quests. There are some real challenging quests, some silly quests, and some horrible, never to be repeated quests. The game is what you make it. Have fun!