Spiritster
Member
DDO Market:
Now through November 27th in the DDO Market, get:85% off Masterminds of Sharn and the DDO Expansion Trove
60% off Fables of the Feywild
50% off Sinister Secret of Saltmarsh
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50% off +8 Stat Tomes
35% off Tomes of Heroic and Epic Learning
ALSO: Double Bonus Points is back!
Get twice the Bonus Points in the DDO Store through November 27th!
Heroic, Epic and Improved Otto's Boxes are back for a limited time!
Now through November 27th!
Rise Again! Get 30% off:
Select Reincarnation Items
Healing Items
Spell Point Potions
Quest XP Elixirs
Now through November 30th!
Weekly Coupon
Free Lasting Potion of Tumbling (+20) x5
Coupon Code: TUMBLING
Now through November 30th!
The first thing I want to mention is that this is not my Guide.
This guide belongs to my good friend Nroblew
With that being said, I will continue to update this guide.
SO, LET'S GET TO THIS!!
Being new to DDO can be overwhelming, with the new forums I figured this would be a good opportunity to try and compile a list of things that I had to hunt down as a new player all in one place. This post will be Edited quite a bit until I am happy with it =) - I also want to point out that I am very scatterbrained and tend to "jump" around with info and knowledge so as I update this I will try to go back and format the post in sections that make sense instead of being a random manifesto of info.
DDO NEW PLAYER INFO SECTION 1: Server Selection, Useful Links, and Character Creation.
Server Selection - When writing this, Ghallanda is the "Default" server meaning it is the server the Game will put you in as a new player if you don't select something different. The 2 most popular servers when writing this are Orien and Argonesson. I would play on Orien or Argo if you want to pug a lot. However, any server can be a good home provided you find a guild or some friends.
DDO wiki - https://ddowiki.com/
DDO YouTubers with Guides/Updates on the game - https://www.youtube.com/@Strimtom | https://www.youtube.com/@AxelAlexK | https://www.youtube.com/@vooduspyce | and DDO's official YouTube page - https://www.youtube.com/@dungeonsanddragonsonline/videos <- This is a good place to find Cordovan chatting about upcoming events and updates.
Character Creation - The first rule of Fight Club is never to pick a Premade build... Always choose Customize. "But Nroblew I don't even know what class to pick!" Well lucky for you sport DDO is unlike any other MMO on the market, unlike other games that tout the "Be whatever you want to be '' Slogan in this game you actually can do just that as long as you PLAN for it. For your very First Character, keep it as simple as possible. As a new player, you will start out with 28 points to allocate to your stats such as Strength, Dex, Con, etc. Try to never go below 16 in your Primary stat, preferably 18. Let's say you make a Half-orc Barbarian that uses a 2 handed weapon you could put your strength at 20 then con at 18 and the rest into Dex, OR you could put con at 16 and the rest into Dex if you want a higher Reflex save which would help with running through traps and such in dungeons if you are solo or don't have a Trapper friend/hireling.
Heroic levels, Epic levels, and Reaper - Heroic is levels 1-20 followed by Epic levels 20-29, and Legendary levels 30-32. You also have Reaper which is the Hardest difficulty mode in the game Going from Reaper 1 to Reaper 10. You unlock the ability to do Epic mode at level 20+ and you will notice people doing things like Epic Elite or even Epic Reaper. As a "First life," Reaper can be VERY challenging. If you are starting out with a Static group of friends it can be possible to do Reaper 1 as a first life, but there will be times where Game knowledge heavily influences this. A Veteran player could take the same first-life toon as a New player and do Higher Difficulties purely because he knows the dungeons well enough to Avoid traps, Kite mobs, etc.
Speaking of Difficulty modes you have Casual - Normal - Hard - Elite - and as mentioned above, Reaper. If you are a free 2-play member, you cannot choose Hard/Elite/Reaper out the gate. You will have to do the same dungeon 3 times to unlock all difficulty modes or pay for a VIP membership, allowing you to pick whichever you want without unlocking them.
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NEW PLAYER INFO SECTION 2: What to buy, when to buy it, and Character Creation Extended
Enhancement Trees - When you first make your toon and get to level 2 you will notice an Icon at either the top left or top right of your screen with a yellow circle and cross in the middle when you hover over it you should have 4 Action points. You get 1 action point every 4 ranks then the 5th rank you level up These are mini levels that slowly increase your power. You have Racial Trees that are different depending on which race you pick then each class gets 3 unique trees. With the Archetypes update if you pick a Sacred fist pally instead of a normal pally one of your Enhancement trees will be Different from the Standard class selection. The game also offers Special Enhancement trees that you can either A) Earn with favor if you own the proper content or B) Buy in the DDO store for about 5$ or 495 DDO points. These special Enhancement trees can have a range of unique buffs and benefits but one thing worthy of note is Hit modifiers. Let's say you want to make a Cleric that's Heavily focused on Melee like 2 handed maul or sword. You wouldn't want to spread yourself thin trying to get the max strength for melee when you need wisdom for casting heals as well in theory so you could get the Falconry Enhancement tree which would allow you to get Killer Instinct and use Wisdom as your Hit/Damage Modifiers instead of Strength. Thus, allowing you to take the BARE minimum in strength to get the 2-handed fighting feat and improved 2h fighting later on. There is a way to make pretty much any stat your Hit/Damage modifier, Dexterity can be done using Weapon finesse or Racial Enhancement tree as a Tabaxi, Wisdom with the Falconry tree, Charisma with the Illusionist Tree, Intelligence with the Harper Tree.
What Expansions Should I Buy? - When you first start the game, I wouldn't stress about sinking any money beyond the VIP monthly fee if you don't mind that investment. If you come in around Anniversary time when a Redeem Code that gives away dungeons is going on take full advantage of that as it can provide you with enough content to enjoy the game up to level 20 and beyond thoroughly. Sometimes they even offer Expansions such as Ravenloft, Sharn, Menace of the Underdark, and Shadowfell for 99 DDO points in the DDO store. that'd be 4$ vs. the usual 80$ or so to get those expansions when writing this. Personally, I'd Recommend just going as far as you can with the Bare minimum / just VIP and then when you get to level 20 and beyond you can decide if you want to buy the latest expansion and try to get into the "endgame" crowd that's always doing current content or you can focus on buying content based on things like your build and static group if you are playing with Friends. Expansions like Ravenloft and Sharn are Praised for the Gear they offered at their respective levels. With all of this said. If you are just genuinely excited to play a good D&D game and want to spend the $$ and support the game and its developers You will always get the best bang for your buck by buying the ultimate bundles/collectors editions that offer unique rewards, mounts, and Hirelings. P.S ALWAYS WAIT UNTIL EXPANSIONS GO ON SALE, DURING TIMES, SUMMER, AND CHRISTMAS, IF YOU WANNA BUY MULTIPLE EXPANSIONS AT ONCE.
What's worth Buying in the DDO store? - +8 Supreme tomes, Lesser/Greater Heroic and Epic Experience tomes, and Veteran Status if you are an Alt-o-holic. With all of this said a Free to play character can 100% get all stats +8 with tomes FOR FREE it would take a long amount of time and favor grinding and many past lives. you can get a +8 Supreme tome for 60$ sometimes 40$ with sales/bundles which isn't a bad investment. The Heroic and Epic Learning/Experience tomes increase your first-time dungeon bonus by 25% and 50% which is pure convivence but really nice when you are multiple TRs in, and it takes you double the XP to hit level 20 it takes a First life! Veteran Status can allow you to start a toon at level 4 or level 7 depending on which one you buy.
THIS GUIDE IS UNFINISHED. IT WAS STARTED 5/3/2023 WHEN THE NEW FORUMS CAME ONLINE. I WILL UPDATE IT AS MUCH AS I CAN TO CREATE A COMPREHENSIVE UP TO DATE GUIDE FOR ALL NEW & RETURNING PLAYERS!
IF YOU ARE LOOKING FOR A HOME TO LEARN THE GAME AND HAVE AN ACTIVE COMMUNITY IN GENERAL DUNGEON RUNNERS INC. ON ORIEN SERVER IS ALWAYS RECRUITING & HELPING FIRST LIVES! Contact Spiritster, Wilberto, Sman, Azshia, Stibstab in the game. /Msg, or mail
My / Dungeon Runners Inc. Discord - LINK HERE Please contact me here or message me directly on the forums if you need any questions or want to be answered in the guide. Or feel free to post here with anything you feel should be added!
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