MMO Games - Dungeons & Dragons vs Neverwinter

MMO Games published a new article that compares Dungeons & Dragons Online, and Neverwinter to see what MMO game is better than the other one.

Once upon a time, geeks across the country flocked to the darkest depths of their parents’ basements where they would role dice and take turns creating epic tales. While Dungeons & Dragons maintained a very popular subculture for quite some time, it has also seen a shift to the virtual medium. No longer do friends sit in crowded basements or tucked-away game stores, but instead they interact with each other through emotes and VoIPs. As technology changes, we also change with it, but that doesn’t mean we can’t stay true to who we are. As proof, there are two fairly popular MMORPGs that follow very closely to those D&D roots. Both Dungeons & Dragons Online and Neverwinter have the positives and negatives, but which one follows more closely to the true D&D formula?

More information.

As someone who has played both games I thought this was a very fair article and well worth reading. I agree with the writer that DDO is the better game overall and I encourage everyone to try it. Don't forget that the Watch has its own DDO Guild on Khyber server which is open to all registered posters on the Watch. We run regular gaming sessions and with our wide international spread, it's rare if you can't find someone from here to join you in a quest. There are 2 dedicated Threads for the game as well; one in the MMO forum and the other in the OT forum.

DDO is a million times better in terms of content and design. Unfortunately, it's so very old and "quaint" when it comes to feel and combat.

DDO would quickly become my favorite MMO, if only they modernised it and integrated the design into a proper engine.

Obviously, that will never happen

I like DDO. They did a great job on the longer quests but there are two things I don't like about it.

1) I have no idea where to go next. I just randomly pick a dungeon to hit. There is no guidance whatsoever.

2) Forced grouping. I don't mind grouping (but I do prefer solo as I get on at random times) but there comes a time where you cannot continue without a group. You can rent henchmen but its not a fix and doesn't work that well.

Originally Posted by Toff
1) I have no idea where to go next. I just randomly pick a dungeon to hit. There is no guidance whatsoever.

Levels are your rough guide.

And, as someone once in the DDO forums had put it : Your mind is yoiur map of stories.

In fact, in the beginning, *all* quests more or less look like solitery mini-stories.
Only at mid-game these puzzle pieces actually link together - but only in your mind ! You've got to do the "sorting it out" yourself.

One example is the Waterworks quest line and Baudry's quest line. Names get dropped - and they reappear much later !