Dungeons And Dragons Online: Danger Zones

Orion took some time out and cleared up some issues on the subject of Danger Zones today:

Hello all! Just wanted to drop in and give some insight into concepts behind 'Danger Zones'.

First off, Danger Zones will adhere closely to the ideology of DDO, meaning that the focus is squarely on the game play, creating fun experiences and focusing on the success of the group over that of the individual. One small caveat to the Danger Zone/Standard Content comparison of DDO is that Danger Zones are shared solo experiences; players will not be required to group within them, though optimally working in organized units will certainly meet with greater success.

The second goal of the Danger Zone is to provide an alternate experience within the game world. Oh, there will be dungeons, but Danger Zones will often allow for a bit of a departure from dungeon play.

The third goal of Danger Zones is to remain accessible to all manner of play styles, casual and otherwise. To that end, the Danger Zones are not the traditional 'raid' style content as with other games. In fact, we have bucked the traditional convention of being able to only enter this style of content at the 'end game' and have provided several of these experiences at each step of the character's life. Danger Zones, while designed to take more time than traditional styled quests, are not the epic raids of other games requiring upwards of four hours to complete. Rather, the focus is on providing a broader experience completed as quickly as a collection of players can achieve the goals put forth. Some may be extended session experiences, but all Danger Zone design calls for roughly one to three hours of playtime, again mitigated by how effective players are. I will say that a well-organized group will certainly fall on the early end of the spectrum while less organized groups will take longer.

Fourth goal of Danger Zones is to provide the solo player with an easy way to meet new people. Danger Zones should provide an excellent opportunity for players to meet others and find pick-up groups without damaging their play experience.

Mechanics that heighten the strategies employed or provide that feeling of deeper game play will not be lost. There will be steps that require some extra brainpower or cohesive planning and execution. We have taken the best aspects of 'raids' and put them into the context of DDO shaken them up and come out with some unique game-play and events that we think will please a broader spectrum of players, casual and otherwise. Ultimately, the intent of Danger Zones is to provide fun alternate game play that augments, enhances and utilizes much of the game play already present in the traditional content of DDO.

For the full thread and discussion leading up to Orion's response visit the official forums.