Nerd Alert!  So yes…as my roommate will attest, I have recently reinvigorated my inner nerd.  I’ve never been a WoW fan, so I can’t really criticize it other than what other people have already written.  I’m more of a DnD player, who still has a character from when the game first came out.  Thus from a Dungeons and Dragons Online (DDO) perspective, I can say something about how the game has evolved.  Some good….but lots of bad.  First however, for those who care about a post such as this, a little character analysis.

There are various theories about character development in a game.  Some people see it as a way to project their wishes.  You can be whatever you want to be within the rules of the game.  Feel like you want to be a medical student?  Well, you can be the ultimate heal bot, with impeccable heals just when a party member thinks he or she has bitten the dust, and with those long lasting buffs, you are the ultimate support character (minus rogue skills that is).  Other people however, play true to their real lives.  Perhaps he or she is the health conscious gym persona who given a task, relentlessly pursues it.  Sounds kinda like a straight up fighter to me.  Chances are though that the kind of character one builds is a bit of both theories.  This isn’t to say that a character is a true reflection of a real person.  Rather, elements of character, as well as play, factor into the overall BUIDLING of a character.  It’s about character development….at least it should be. 

Most of my characters are support class characters.  Of the twelve characters that I have, 3 are clerics, 4 are rogues, 1 is a paladin, 3 are fighters, and 1 is a monk.  Five are male and seven are female.  Even though a good number are supposed to be damage dealers, they are not DPS (damage per second) builds but specialist classes, sometimes even to the point of being “flavor” characters.  These characters are derisively known to have no viability in the game.  I guess the point here is that I prefer NOT to be the DPS guy because I want the game to more than a Diablo hack and slash type game.

Over the last few years however, DDO has changed, perhaps for the worse.  This isn’t some kind of nostalgic, “Oh I wish the game was like when it first came out.”  No, it’s the observation that DDO has made the game much more individualistic.  It used to be that clerics/healers were essential to a party makeup….and they still are.  No hireling will be able to suffice for higher level healing, but the fact remains that you can still buy hirelings to help you with the quest….by yourself if you so choose.  No party needed. 

The game has thus shifted to a soloist mentality, or self-sufficiency to the extreme.  Characters are now built that can deal the damage, heal themselves, and disable all the traps….well, maybe not the traps.  Nevertheless, these characters can start and finish a quest by themselves, killing a dragon if need be.  Sure they might put up an LFM (Looking for Members), but they qualify it with BYOH (Bring your own Heals).  I am simply amazed that a game that is supposed to be about parties is increasingly about individual accomplishment.  Yeah…I suppose it’s cool that you can solo a dragon, and true enough if they made chaotic evil characters then sure, all they care about is themselves.  But it’s incredibly frustrating when these people rage quit in the middle of the quest. 

So we have the death of the PUG (Pick up Group).  Early on, pick up groups were the only way to form parties.  You made friends and found times to play together.  Then came the guild.  Essentially it’s the same as PUGs, but you know everyone.  In fact, some of these memories, even though I have never met a single guild member, permeate time.   For instance there was a time, when our guild only had 3 clerics and I was one of them.  Among the other two was one that I haven’t played with in over a year, yet he shows up one day, and it was just like the old times.  And that’s the great thing about guilds.  On a guild run, we do things together where PUGs foster more of” an everyone for themselves” attitude.  The drawback, is that no one runs in PUGs anymore.   They hate them because some “noob” causes a party wipe.  Or…some knowitall zergs on ahead.  Gone are the days when party wiping was something that brought people together.  Now it’s a nuisance that drives people apart. 

You would think that with so much negativity, I would just stop playing.  But no.  All PUGS aren’t bad, and I still have fun with my guildmates.  There are always new things to try, characters to build, even if the quests are the same.  DDO does a nice job giving updated content and for the most part, I’m a happy gamer.  One day I’m a Halfling female fighter, with red hair tied back in pig tails, defiant with handaxes in each hand ready for a close encounter with an ogre.  Another day, I’m a male warforged paladin undead hunter, smiting evil (and there is plenty of evil in DDO) vampires wherever they may be.  See, while gaming does have its cliquishness, it is a journey….especially for those that are patient enough to let the story of the characters to be told…..and have people along the way who are equally patient enough to listen.