Dungeons And Dragons Online: DDO News: Downtime in Game

In a discussion about downtime and server queues, Xundau brings up an interest point regarding the rest system:

As far as game-related downtime goes, we don't like it, and we're trying to minimize it in our game. This is why we won't have any wide-open, seemingly endless landscapes (we don't like running 15 minutes to get to where we're going), and why hitpoints and spellpoints don't regenerate over time (because if they do, you'll want to sit and rest after every couple of battles; if you want to rest in DDO, find a rest point).

Some people might consider a rest point an inconvenience, others may look at it as a nod to pen and paper, but I certainly hadn't considered it as a means of reducing downtime. Eliminating the expectation of sitting around and waiting could sure go a long way toward making a game a bit more fun. He also promises more details in the future about the variety of gameplay options that won't require a full group in his post here.