Dungeons and Dragons Online: Stormreach

This is a review of Dungeons and Dragons Online: Stormreach. The game starts off at a character creation screen. You start by choosing your race and class. There are 6 races to choose from, but only 5 can be chosen if it is a first time character. They are Human, Dwarf, Elf, Halfling, Warforged and then Drow Elf (Dark Elf). Drow can only be chosen once you have acquired 400 total favor on a character. Each race has its advantages and disadvantages, with points added and subtracted from your attributes, skills, and some behind-the-scene stats. There are 10 classes, all of which can be chosen from the beginning. They are Fighter, Paladin, Barbarian, Monk, Ranger, Rogue, Cleric, Bard, Sorcerer and Wizard. Each one plays a different role in groups.
Fighter-A warrior with extra feats - allowing him to specialize in melee. There are a lot of different ways to bend the fighter. So you should examine thoroughly what feats you would like to pick before you create a fighter, as you need different stats for different feats. For example if you specialize in dual weapons you need to have good reflexes (= high dexterity). But if you are going to specialize in 2-handed weapons, strength is the most important stat. Some tactical feats also require an above average [Intelligence]. Because you are a fighter and don't cast any spells you are free to put your stats where you like them, to maximize your choice of feats. Fighters gain strength enhancements as they level up.

Paladin-A warrior that trades some of his melee power for the ability to cast divine spells. He also has a higher ability to avoid getting hit, better saves against poison and he can do crowd control as his charisma rises. The Paladin has the best saving throws of any character, gains immunity to fear and disease, and may greatly heal someone once per rest. They also have passive auras that aid their party members when facing evil creatures. Paladins gain charisma enhancements as they level up.

Barbarian-A warrior that has special powers when angry and specializes in damage dealing. Wears less armor than a fighter, but has more hp, some damage resistance, and Uncanny Dodge allows the dexerity AC bonus to apply in all directions. Barbarians gain constitution enhancements as they level up.

Monk-Unarmed/Unarmored fighter. Uses Ki to enhance fighting capabilities and to perform attacks and feats.

Ranger-An archer and a dual-wielding melee (in exchange for removing animal companions, DDO gives all rangers both combat styles). He also has stealth options and can cast divine spells, and may pick three kinds of monsters to specialize in fighting. He may detect secret doors and traps (but not disable them).
The proverbial jack of all trades. Rangers gain dexerity enhancements as they level up.

Rogue-Has the most skills in the game. He can find and disarm traps. His ability to disarm trap is a key skill, preventing the party from being hit with nasty traps. Rogues can also open locks and find hidden doors. Rogues gain dexerity enhancements as they level up. Rogues can be considered an "unstackable class", since one rogue can be very useful to a party, but a second adds little further benefit.

Cleric-In DDO there is no evil Cleric so all Cleric will be great Undead killers (no one will be controlling Undeads). He is a strong divine spell caster that uses all armor without penalties. The cleric is the only good healer in DDO, and will be the class most invited to parties because of this. Clerics gain wisdom enhancements as they level up.

Bard-Has a lot of skills and is a weak arcane spell caster. The closest you come to a hybrid without multiclassing. He also has the ability to "sing", making his party stronger. His arcane spells focus on crowd control, healing, and buffs. He is also the best class at learning the Use Magic Device skill, to operate any kind of magic wand. Bards gain charisma enhancements as they level up. Bards can be considered an "unstackable class", since adding a second bard to a party is rarely more useful than having just one. Bards have been called the "best sixth man", because using a bard to fill the final slot in a party means that his powerful musical buffs will be boosting 5 other players.

Wizard and Sorcerer-Are powerful arcane spell casters. A Wizard is an adaptive caster. He/She can switch the spells he/she wishes to use at resting points or in taverns. A Sorcerer is a focused caster. He/She only knows a small subset of all available Wizard/Sorcerer spells. But he/she casts that subset faster, and has more spell points. Wizards/Sorcerer gain intelligence/charisma enhancements as they level up, allowing the casting of more and stronger spells.

As you can see there are plenty of choices for you to pick from. Though attributes, skills and feats are what make you different from all the other classes. A Human Cleric wearing Heavy armor may decide to get Point Blank Shot and Rapid Reload for expert use in a crossbow. While another may take up Two-Handed Weapon Fighting and Weapon Focus: Slashing for the extra accuracy and damage. Yet another may get Mental Toughness and Empower Healing Spell for more spells points and a temporary boost in healing spells. This may happen with any class so logn as you meet the attribute requirements for those feats.

As far as gameplay goes, not much could be better. I've never had more fun in a game before. The gameplay is not repetitive whatsoever to me and others. You won't be doing the same thing for too long. There are puzzles, traps and those big bad guys that are extremely powerful. Each quest is unique and most end with a nice reward of XP and a magical item. Though many quests take place in sewers, you will find yourself in many other instances the game has to offer. A questline may lead you deeper and deeper into catacombs fighting harder and harder enemies along the way. Though it is a good idea to repeat these quests on a harder difficulty setting once you've unlocked them. On various quests you choose from 4 difficulties. Solo, Normal (unlocks hard), Hard (unlocks elite) and finally Elite. But, don't get a crazy idea to decide to do a particular quest on Elite without the right party. A party adventuring into a new dungeon with no cleric may find themselves in trouble. Clerics are one of the most wanted for parties because they can heal. Though it wouldn't be wise to enter this dungeon without a Rogue who can sense traps that might be waiting for someone to get in its way. No matter what you decide, you will be useful to any group so long as you don't play stupid. A Bard straying form the pack may get taken hostage by an Ogre! We wouldn't want that.

Anyways, as you can see grouping is the most important feature about the game. But, no worries. There are plenty of people to play with that will get you throughout Stormreach. Whether it be that annoying 6 year old Ranger you keep letting die because you think its funny, or me, you are sure to have fun within the game at some point in time. Durallan and I have had quite a bit of fun wasting about an hour each day climbing on the roof of a tavern and hiding from that 6 year old I talked about...

So if this sounds interesting to you, definately have a look. Visit DUNGEONS & DRAGONS ONLINE™: Stormreach™ Trial Program and fill out the info. Make sure to choose the American region so you can play with us Vindicators. We're on the Thelanis server, but, more importantly we're on ventrilo. So look us up if you have questions about the game and so forth. We'll be happy to help.


American Region
Thelanis Server
Guild - The Vindicators