Dungeons & Dragons Online Unlimited

[Morreion]

Dungeons & Dragons Online: Unlimited Examined

No major North American studio has tried to switch a game's business model years after launch. Turbine, recently,moved Dungeons and Dragons Online in that direction, pioneering a movement that, if successful, could have a lasting impact on an MMO industry that has already shown more openness to the item shop model.

Time and time again industry experts have said that in order for an item shop game to be successful, it has to be applied in the right way, to the right game. Is Turbine the right company? Is the system well implemented? Does the item shop unbalance the game? Is DDO, a game conceived as a subscription MMO, the right game to make this transition? Is now the time to be making the move? These and other questions need to be answered before anyone can judge such a controversial change.

Anybody interested in trying DDO's new free-to-play model? Might be worth a look...

DDO Unlimited Official Site

DDO Unlimited FAQ

DDO Unlimited Manual (PDF format)

[Oatik]

10. If I don’t have a DDO subscription, how much game content can I access?

Frankly, that all depends on what kind of gamer you are. Free content is widely available for low-level characters and becomes sparser as a character’s level increases. However, additional premium modules such as standalone adventures—and other areas of the world—are available for players of all levels to purchase through the DDO store. Once the module has been added to your account, it will be permanently available to all your characters.

I saw we make an army of low level alts!

[Morreion]

That's a great idea, Oat! It's free and it'll give us something to do while awaiting Aion. Count me in

[Loendal]

Go to Thelanis, that's sort of the unofficial RP server.

Look for Anuilden, Eajis or Popoe while your at it

[Morreion]

I intend to try DDO now that it is free to play, Aion has temporarily derailed these plans for now but we will see!

[Loendal]

For those that have an interest in this game, I have created a guild which I hope to put out there as a light roleplay / medium roleplay type of organization (Like Haven was back in it's prime on Nimue). Can't tell you how successful I will be, but if you would like to join the guild, it's called Cuan an Caillte, a name my wife researched meaning Haven (or Home) of the Lost.

As a side note, my wife played Elethea, for those who remember her

Send a mail to Anuilden or Eajis (Both me, my mains) and I'll get a Recruitment Sigil sent your way!

[Morreion]

One million new adventurers in Dungeons and Dragons Online (Massively)

...since relaunching as a hybrid F2P in September, DDO has managed to amass more than 1 million new players who had never played the game before. According to Turbine, there are over twice as many paid subscribers as there were prior to the change. The revenue from DDO store transactions is now also over 500% -- three times the industry standard for similar titles!

According to a statement from Jim Crowley, president and CEO of Turbine, Inc: "The response from players to DDO Unlimited has been nothing short of phenomenal. We've known all along how great this game is and by implementing an innovative new model that put the players in charge of how they pay and play DDO Unlimited, we've successfully expanded our reach and injected new energy into the game. Without a doubt, DDO Unlimited is a hit!"

[Regolyth]

A lot of RD members have started playing DDO again.

[Morreion]

GDC10: Massively's interview with Dungeons and Dragons Online, part 1

In the end, Dungeons and Dragons Online is the same game it was one year ago when it was "the forgotten MMO": "We're the same crunchy, hardcore, complex, rules-heavy game we've always been, and we're being called the most successful online game." The business model and accessibility is what turned it around. Players that left are returning and there's no question that it's been a huge financial success. Paiz had quite a bit to say about why this is, but at the core, "I think there's a combination of things. One is we didn't set out to just make the same free-to-play business model that other games have tried [...] We always had a sensitivity to what the Western market would accept. The general shift in the market over the past few years definitely helped smooth their path as well -- the public has become much more accepting of the entire microtransaction concept.

I have to admit that DDO has the best cash shop model I've seen in an F2P game. Not that I liked getting all the emails about cash shop sales, but they didn't pull an Allods- charging you a lot for things you really need to play the game.

[Loendal]

There is nothing that I have purchased in the online shop that I absolutely NEEDED to continue my enjoyment of the game. They were always things I wanted.. Such as the Medium Loot Jewels, Bells of Opening and the Twig that finds Secret Doors. My wife has bought gear from on there, and the Favored Soul. That's really all that we collectively have purchased, none of it required, but all of it useful