Dungeons & Dragons Online

Summary:

• Free MMORPG
• Incredibly mature, polished feel to the gameplay, interface, social interaction, etc.
• Deeply customizable controls.
• Richly developed world! Dive into plots and stories, or click past flavor text for quick hack-n-slash play.
• Many hours of free content, and much more available to purchase item by item, adventure by adventure, or as a monthly plan.

Personally: I've been playing this since fall 2009. This is pretty much the only game I play now. Very inexpensive compared to keeping up with console games! I continue to be impressed with their constantly improving content. Having tried several other free MMO's (mostly from curiosity), I think DDO stands head and shoulders above the rest, particularly in polished game-play and amount of free content.

Criticism?: It could be said that it takes too long to level up. The leveling and scaling system is balanced and works well, but players that are used to blasting through low levels so they can enjoy having power will be disappointed. That's just not what this game is made to do. Once you do get to higher levels, the game does not disappoint in making sure that a level 20 can sneeze and obliterate a level 1.

New Users May Want to Know:

• If you have a connection speed less than optimal, that's okay. I can run this game just fine on a 1.5mb connection. It might be hard to use voice chat in it if you're that slow on DSL, but you can still play. If your connection is slow though, you might want to consider downloading the lower res version.
• Visit ddowiki.com if you have questions about what type of character to make. There's tons of info and beginner's guides here.
• Server choice... There used to be a forum entry talking about the social culture trends on each server, but I don't see that anymore. The wiki doesn't have this info, but should. Based on my experience, Thelanis has lots of people that want to role play, Khyber has lots of power-gamers, and Cannith has younger, more casual players. It might be worth searching around before deciding on one if it matters to you. You can't switch a character from one server to the next.
• Leveling up takes a long time. Don't get discouraged by this, it's built into the game. You'll get regular power-ups between levels and gradually get better equipment as you go through the levels as well. You won't be able to blaze through and reach the maximum level of 20 right away. This game makes it a journey. Enjoy the level you're at! If you get antsy, get into the other features of the game like the item auction, favor points, and crafting.
• Play with the settings right away! Most things can be changed in one way or another.
• Announce that you just started on general chat or advice chat and other players will be very helpful. They use tons of acronyms, so just be honest and ask what they mean. Most players are very ready to help.
• Never beg for freebies. You'll be shunned. Just try hard to be a good teammate when you're in a group and do your part. The majority of players are very friendly and supportive as long as you do your part.
• I played for months before I ever adventured with another player. You can play solo for lower levels, but once you get into level 5 or so, you'll need to join an adventuring party each time you do a quest. The party is temporary, lasting until you leave it or everyone has logged off, whichever is first.

Hey look at that, you read the whole review; I hope it was helpful! Have a great day!