Classic Challenge: TBC beta underway

 There was no D&D Saturday this weekend as my zoom 3.5 campaign got cancelled for the second week in a row. Sadly, this meant my 4th level Barbarian had to remain in the inn and did not see any action. Too bad, RL gets in the way of gaming again as our DM was busy with some class related assignments and our other players were unavailable to take part in our virtual game session.

This was a bit disappointing also because I upgraded my stats to match our new 4th level status. According to the 3.5 rules set, after 6,000 xp, characters have progressed 4 levels and they gain some nifty perks over starting level characters including an improved base attack bonus of +4, Barbarians specifically gain the ability to rage twice per day, four additional skill points per level and at third level 

 a barbarian gains a +1 bonus on Reflex saves made to avoid traps and a +1 dodge bonus to AC against attacks made by traps. These bonuses rise by +1 every three barbarian levels thereafter.

Just for fun I thought I would compare the 3.5 Barbarian to its 4e counterpart since I have barely started to play the former but played the latter quite a bit a few years back during my 4e campaign in Spring, Texas.

Of course, this is like comparing apples and oranges since level progression is different in 4e with encounter powers added and being one at first level but two at level 4 for all characters. However, a character with over 6,000 xp would have been closer to 6th level than 4 in 4e. At 6,500 in 5e by comparison, that character would have been level 5 with a big jump to level six upcoming. 

Not counting any racial bonuses (according to the 5th edition PHB), a half orc, which is my race in the 3.5 zoom campaign would have their strength score increased by 2 and Con by 1just by virtue of the race, a 4th level Barbarian would get a proficiency bonus of +2, its rage would increase to 3 and rage damage would incur a +2 bonus, but that is not too much different than at level 1 with the exception of ability score improvements,

The Wow Classic TBC beta has arrived 

On the MMO front, barely five days ago Blizzard announced that the Burning Crusade beta is underway and access will be rolling out over the next few weeks. 

https://twitter.com/Warcraft/status/1362891146633043969?s=20

In an effort to enjoy the classic content before the new (old?) expansion drops, I left my wow classic sub open so that I can try a new challenge I have made up for myself. The retail game offers 20 free levels to try out the game before they lock down all the other game features. I have tried a few classes that way but currently I am trying to roll a character to try out every class and doing my best to level them up to at least 20 levels each. I would love to max them all, but that seems a bit ambitious to a casual gamer like myself.

Flintforge the Dwarf battles a Rockjaw Raider on his classic quest to 60

Taking a break from the grind in wow classic.

Happy 15th birthday DDO

Hanging out in the Harbor where all the Trainers are in Stormreach in good old DDO

 Dungeons and Dragons Online, originally from Turbine and now owned and operated by Standing Stone Games has turned 15 years old this year and that blows my mind seeing as how I have been playing it on and off for the better part of all those years.

This is the game I usually turn to when I need a break from all the others, specifically the sometimes torturous grind of Classic wow. I figured this was a good time to return to the game because of the anniversary but also because I am in the middle of a 3.5 zoom D&D session with a few friends and this mmorpg is the closest I can find to playing D&D outside of maybe Neverwinter, but DDO is a better game in my opinion than Neverwinter starting with its setting and its ties to the 3.5 rules set.

The Barbarian class from the D&D PHB 3.5 circa 2003.

I am playing a half orc barbarian in the zoom session so it seems appropriate that I am playing one in this mmo as well and it is a ton of fun. You can solo a lot of the dungeons with only a hireling (which technically is not really soloing, especially if you have a healer like a cleric along so that you can replenish hp and believe me, that makes a world of difference at higher levels.)

For those of you who have never played this great game but who are fans of high quality and stunning graphics, a word to the wise: You aren't going to like DDO if that is what you are looking for, I mean it's not realistic to do so when we are talking about a 15 year old game, but what you will find is a lot of atmosphere with the incredibly fun dungeons which are voice acted and very diverse depending what part of Stormreach you are exploring.

It was a bold (some would say even perhaps controversial) move for Turbine to have chosen the Eberron Campaign setting instead of the more well known D&D settings for the online game when the game released back in 2006, but I for one am glad they did because had they not, I would not have been as familiar with the steampunk and magic aesthetic associated with this setting. Expansions of the game over the years have brought with it the other settings, so you can always port out to The Forgotten Realms and even Ravenloft if you are high enough level to do so. Personally, I have not dabbled in DDO consistently so I have not really done the other settings, but that is also something to look forward to in the weeks and moths to come.

During the anniversary players can redeem items from the DDO store including a 15th anniversary cosmetic cloak and also partake of the anniversary event. Every year for the game's anniversary, players get the chance to fight with a member of the dev team in House Phiarlan. The anniversary event runs through March 31st. 

Players have reported on the game's official forums that this year's items are of higher quality than in previous years, which makes sense given the fact this is a landmark for DDO. Confessions of  Geek mom has a really great personal anecdote from a dedicated player detailing her experiences with a game and it made me so happy to read it because that is one of the best parts of playing mmos imo, the social and community aspect of sharing a virtual experience. 2020 was a terrible year for obvious reasons but at least people were able to share some love through their online and mmo communities. DDO is no different in this respect. 

So happy birthday DDO. I am glad this game is still around today. 

 

DDO is turning 15 and they give the players the gifts!