In our newest MatchUp we compare two free to play D&D themed MMORPGs: Neverwinter and Dungeons & Dragons Online, whilst very similar in nature these two games equally have as much separating them and we shall highlight some of the major differences between the two that you make up your own mind which you would prefer.
The key difference between the games that will initially divide players is simply the age, Dungeons & Dragons Online (DDO) was released in 2006 and so it’s fair to say that some of the systems aren’t quite as streamlined, the graphics are now becoming quite dated (though were pretty amazing back in the day) and the game has a wealth of content and by the very act of simply been around for longer. What of the key things that will divide D&D players are both the setting and the ruleset.
DDO made a bold choice when launching their game to have it set within the world of Eberron, whilst those playing D&D tabletop may be familiar with it, it is probably fair to say that most non-tabletop players will have never heard of the steam punk meets fantasy campaign. In comparison to the vastly more popular Forgotten Realms (Baldur’s Gate 1 + 2, Neverwinter Nights 1 + 2) that is the biggest campaign setting for D&D and has a much bigger following with a variety of video games set there; perhaps it was due to this that Turbine wanted to try and break away from these other titles and make their own world. Quite the opposite for Neverwinter, which not only went with the same Forgotten Realms campaign but also set the game in and around an area that has had a hell of a lot of attention given to it already (much to our disappointment).
The ruleset might not mean much to most people, but D&D as a tabletop game has different editions of the rules that are published every few years where the mechanics and systems are changed for various reasons and you will find that many D&D players stick with a favoured system. As DDO was published in 2006 its current/most popular system was 3.5 Edition of D&D, which focuses on higher levels of customisation with players able to tweak a wide variety of aspects for their character. In comparison 4e (4th Edition) which was released a year later was considerably more streamlined, focused on players customising within tighter class constraints and cut away much of the “fluff” (much to many players chagrin), and was ultimately the basis of the rule set for Neverwinter. The love and hate between editions is more than enough to put players off or lure them to the game, but even now D&D is in 5e/D&D Next and so the systems continue to change.
The way these systems have been incorporated into their respective games has actually been done relatively well; DDO has included a wide selection of towns and abilities in their various classes as well as introducing the Feat system where players pick up additional traits as they level up. More importantly is the Skills, something that have much more involvement in variety in 3.5 and the classes in the MMORPG even have similar skill point allocations depending on the class chosen, here players can similarly improve their skills in DDO with such skills as Hide to help solve past enemies, Disable Device to disarm various traps and chests, Haggle to negotiate better prices with vendors, Spot to sense nearby hidden doors, traps and stealthed enemies and more.
Neverwinter’s primary focus with the 4e ruleset is allocation and acquisition of spells/powers; in the system players have access to a handful of At-Will spells (can be used each turn), Encounter spells (used once per battle) and Daily powers (once per day/between extended rests). In the MMORPG At-Wills retain the same constant use for players, but Encounters are now longer cooldown abilities and Daily powers are charged up by acquiring “Action Points” (another 4e mechanic) by attacking enemies or healing. By gaining XP players will open up locked slots on their hotkey bar so that they can have access to more spells in a battle (always 2 At-Will max, 3 Encounter and 2 Daily powers), as well as this when levelling up players will learn completely new spells and so they can customize their arsenal of abilities prior to a fight from all the ones they have learned. The system does work very similar to the 4e system, unfortunately the 4e system is quite limited and restricted and so this has also been crossed over in comparison to DDO/3.5 where players have much more in the way of options and accessible spells/abilities.
Both games offer a decent selection of Classes and Races, DDO wins out with the classes with 13 to 8 against Neverwinter, however 4 of those DDO classes are Premium and must be purchased individually with Turbine Points (premium cash) or players must become a VIP subscriber to the game to get access to them. However, Neverwinter allows players to choose a Paragon Path at level 30 and opens up each class into one of two unique sub-classes, whereas DDO has a multiclass system allowing characters to dip into three different classes for maximum diversity at the expense of losing overall focus in a single class.
Similarly with the races, both games have an even 12 playable races, but once more 8 of the DDO races are Premium, including the “Iconic Characters” that are unique races that start out at level 15 of a specific class, so players are unable to pick up these races with their preferred class (but can still multiclass after level 15). In Neverwinter 3 of the classes can only be access by players who purchase the three different expansion packs, each one coming with a new race as an incentive to buy it, and one race that can only be acquired as a random in game reward from a Dragonforged Lockbox that requires a Zen (premium currency) purchased Enchanted Key to open it. If
The biggest pay wall difference between the two comes from the adventure/quest content. All of Neverwinter’s quests, zones and dungeons are free to access with no limitations, the “expansion packs” themselves are only for additional gear, items, races and mounts, with all content, systems and class updates put into the free to play game. Furthermore Neverwinter has the Foundry system where players create their own in depth instanced based quests for themselves and other community members making an infinite amount of content for free to play players and those that do spend a little cash on the game (there is no subscription). However, DDO really pushes players towards a subscription, which was their original business model before switching to a free to play option. In DDO players can get access to Adventure Packs, new areas with new quest chains, these can either be accessed when new Patch Updates come out, or through purchased expansions, those players who are VIP get access to all the Adventure Packs (but must still purchase expansions to get them), whereas F2P players must either subscribe or can purchase the Packs individually (and the amount really racks up, we worked it out that to pay for them instead of subscribing it would cost around $295.
Ultimately what gamers will prefer will come down to a wide variety of things; some might just not be able to get beyond DDO’s weaker graphics, however they may love it’s more challenging game content, an area where the much more casual/easy Neverwinter seriously falls down for us. Though whilst the content in DDO may be more difficult and deadly the combat is also a little lacklustre in comparison to the more action focused and dynamic combat of Neverwinter. If you’re a D&D fan you probably can’t go wrong with either, Neverwinter definitely goes down the route of being a more modern day MMORPG whilst DDO has retained some of its retro roots. That said, they’re both free to play so it never hurt trying them both out.
Neverwinter
Dungeons & Dragons Online
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