Editorials

Inside DDO: Eberron Unlimited

I recently had the chance for an in-game tour of Dungeons & Dragons Online: Eberron Unlimited, Turbine's redesigned free-to-play game. My tour guides were Director of Communications Adam Mersky, as well as Executive Producers Kate and Fernando Paiz. This was their chance to show off DDO and to highlight some of the newest features being tested out during the beta test. They did it in grand style, handing me a level 20 "tricked out" spell caster. Admittedly, I am more of a warrior type but I expanded my horizons in the interest of professionalism. *g*

Our tour basically covered two themes: The new content areas for low level players and for players looking to move their characters to the natural D&D level cap of 20; and I got a great chance to try out the new in-game store.

The Premium Store

NOTE: In fairness to my hosts, they did not call the DDOU store a "premium store". That is simply my terminology for ease of understanding.

The DDOU premium store is set up to be instantly familiar to anyone who uses the internet and has visited sites like Amazon or any other shopping site. The design is intentional, adding a 'comfort zone' for users. There are featured items, popular items, recent buys, a shopping cart, etc. In short, everything that players are used to seeing, are part of the DDOU store interface.

Several other small but amazingly cool things have been added to the store. For instance, if players think they may need a certain potion or that they may not have enough of it to last through an entire dungeon, extras can be placed in the shopping cart without actually purchasing them. If the need arises, players simply hit control + s, click shopping cart, then purchase, and, VOILA, potions in inventory! There is no need to navigate the entire store. The cart 'remembers' the items placed within and they will stay there until either purchased or removed. This can be particularly handy in a tight spot.

Another terrific feature is the intuitive nature of the store. If players are purchasing normal in-game healing draughts, for instance, but they want that REALLY huge one from the premium store, there is a button on the merchant's interface that can be clicked to take them straight to the matching item(s). Again, it's a small thing but one that makes the claim that the store is a convenience all the more true.

Those despairing that they will never be able to buy things from the DDOU store have nothing to worry about. Turbine points can be earned, that's right, EARNED, by playing. The tutorial area will immediately yield a significant number of Turbine points to a player's first character. Awards are also made as players progress through the game. Turbine points are also awarded for every hundred faction earned in game.

The store is definitely everything it's been built up to be. It is straightforward, intuitive and packed with the sort of things that enhance the game but that do not give a huge advantage to those who choose to purchase items. Are the things inside required to have a great time playing DDOU? Absolutely not but some of the stuff is just wicked fun:

LOOK FOR THE BELL OF OPENING! That's all I'm going to say about that. *g*

Click page 2 to find out about new areas and party dynamics.