User:Melicat/For New Players of DDO

''This is a current reworking of the New Players to DDO guide. Please see discussion page for the philosophy behind this redevelopment before contributing''

DDO has a lot to learn at the start. The aim of this guide is to give you what you most need to know, when you need to know it.

If you're a brand new player please tell us what would be helpful in this guide |here.

What type character should I play?
A major strength of DDO over other games is character customisation based on the original pen and paper. However if you're the type of player who wants to just start playing and come back to detailed character customisation later there are ways to skip the detail.


 * Your character has a race and at least one  class.
 * Every class plays differently so your personal preferences will make a difference to your enjoyment.
 * You can have up to 3 classes but there are limits to do with alignment which ones can go together.
 * As you're starting out it is possible to just create and level a character using the pre-defined builds set up as paths which you can choose at the trainer which will automatically level you each time you gain sufficient experience points to get to the next level.
 * Pre-defined paths can be out of date and are of a single class only. At any stage you can take back control of your character build.
 * It is recommended that if you multi-class or do not wish to use a pre-defined path that you use one of the resources described below.
 * If you pay some money for you can instead start a character at level 4, or level 7 ( See here in the DDO store) or create an Iconic Hero which can start at level 15.

What type of player are you?

 * Are you new to MMOs and possibly new to playing computer games? This is a difficult but very rewarding and beautiful game, and the principles you can take into any other game. This guide will link to other material that will break it down to the simplest level and show you where to get more help.


 * Are you comfortable with playing MMOs and have played something similar? We'll try to compare and contrast so you can latch onto principles here faster.


 * Are you here because you love pen and paper Dungeons and Dragons? Have a look at PnP differences


 * Are you a PvPer? See PvP also the | PvP Forums


 * Are you an endgamer in MMOs and want to get to competitive raiding as fast as possible? See Help! Am I raid ready also note which guilds and players in the |Achievements forum


 * Are you hardcore player - if you die you delete? Check out the Permadeath guilds in the | Permadeath and static groups forums

What if I make a mistake in my character?
Depending on what you've done ...

How do I get experience?
sources of xp, xp levels, explain the xp chart

How do I level my character?
trainers, go through the parts of leveling up screens, point to the builders

Where else can I learn about how to build characters?
Character building is a huge part of DDO and there are many guides, and excellent resources.
 * Starting a class guides
 * I would like to create a Mage. Should I pick a Wizard or a Sorcerer%3F
 * Classes and races
 * How I Build My Toons
 * Guide to being a respected Rogue
 * Guide to being a revered ranger
 * Guide to being a effective cleric

Highly recommended is using a character planner

And the DDO community loves answering build questions on the official forums: start in either the | new player advice area or else go straight to detailed |class build questions

What happens at the end part of the game? What can I aim for?
Level cap for DDO is 20 for heroic characters, and then 30 when those characters do epic levels.

However DDO has a great deal of flexibly in how you can choose to play so just reaching cap is not the only thing.


 * Due to it's reincarnation mechanic - that is, you can start from level 1 (or level 15 as an Iconic) all over again as soon as you get to level 20 or level 30 (it has to be level 30 on Iconics). In reincarnating your character you get small bonuses which you can take into your future lives. You can also just reincarnate from level 30 back to level 20 for a different set of bonuses to your character if you have Epic Destinies. Some people just enjoy reincarnating and never stay at cap.


 * If you enjoy raiding ...


 * If you like hardcore DDO also has a permadeath commmunity - see the |official forums for groups.


 * If you enjoy PvP ...


 * If you enjoy challenges ...


 * If you enjoy crafting ...


 * If you enjoy collecting DDO comes with Monster Manuals ...


 * If you enjoy trying a bit of everything ...

Where do I start playing?
Korthos, map, basic movement, swimming, running, how to set up hotbars, some of the UI settings,

What's an overview of where I want to go after I've started ?
Typical targets people would hit listing

Should I buy any of the game?
DDO offers a lot of content for free. You start out in Korthos which is all free and then throughout the game there is free content : Guide to Free to Play In fact just by playing you can earn DDO Points with which you can buy content at the in game DDO Store. If you have sufficient time therefore you can buy all content just by playing.

You can get a Premium Account as soon as you use real money  for things like buying DDO Points or going VIP which gets you a number of advantages which you can compare here: Account comparisons

fold in shopping advice from below

How do I do crafting?
There are more than 16 crafting systems in DDO. For some of these systems ingredients are only found in certain quests. It is not necessary to do any crafting in DDO. It is possible to request or pay for some crafting ingredients or crafted items if they are not bound to account.

People tend to find Cannith Crafting, Green Steel ( Legendary or Heroic) crafting or Slave Lords Crafting crafting the most useful. As a new player with a low Cannith Crafting crafting score can make helpful items like a feather fall item, a deathblock item, petrify runestones or craft a good incorporeal weapon. The same effects and more will be available on randomly generated loot found in chests and dropped from monsters and breakables.

Cannith Crafting ingredients are found everywhere though DDO and even if you don't craft are worth collecting as they sell easily. You find essences in chests throughout quests. Monsters will drop treasure bags which can contain a collectable. And all through the game are objects with a slight sparkle that you can interact with which will give you a collectable.

augments

How do I get into groups, find out about things and find others to play with?
trick with 'who' in order to get social panel to work correctly.

https://www.ddo.com/en/custom-chat-channels

glossary

how to get to quests

forums, discord, guilds, tells/replies, default channels

What equipment and weapons should I have? What is good or bad about this item I just found?
trapping

How can I not die so much?
hp, buffs, gear, prr/mrr/AC, managing aggro, understanding monsters, saves, getting past traps 

How can I not run out of spell points (mana) so much? And how do I get my charges back?
Spell points (mana) in DDO do not regenerate in time unlike in other games. Instead you are expected to manage your spell points carefully in between using shrines. Shrines are spaced out in set locations throughout quests. This follows the pen and paper version of resting per day and renews not only your entire spell point pool, but recharges any ability, skill or item that only has a fixed number of uses between rests. Resting also removes a number of negative effects.

You can increase the amount of spell points you have by your equipment having wizardry type effects.

Depending on your class you can increase the amount of spell points you have by the amount of ability points you have or by specific enhancements.

There are also lots of ways to cast spells at lower cost, or get back spell points : spell points.

How can I change my appearance and are there pets and mounts?
LR to change appearance, TR gender, cosmetics, pets, hirelings, summons incl clickies, class summons, no mounts.

Who can answer all my other questions?
This can be a frustrating to learn game - but it's worth getting over the learning curve to enjoy this beautiful game. Here are some of the fastest ways to get answers when you're frustrated: using google, updated FAQ questions, how to use general chat, how to go through who list, forums, guilds, discord

EVERYTHING BELOW THIS POINT IS THE ORIGINAL PAGE Welcome to the game!
Now that you've built your character and logged in, you'll want to know everything about the game. This page is a great starting point! The first thing you may want to do is find out how everything you've performed during character creation appears in DDO on your character - head over to the Character sheet page to find a central point of information about all your character's attributes.

The Character sheet will always be your primary source of information about all of your character's abilities, attributes, statistics and detailed build information. It's your go to place as you progress through acquiring everything in DDO, from Ability tomes through how your saves are calculated. All players visit it constantly, study it and seek to always improve everything they can on it. This guide looks to support you on exactly where to find all detailed information in one central place, help improve your game-play, and lessen the time spent researching.

Essential & helpful information

 * Need help to start your character? In addition to the class and race newbie guide and the specific page for each class and race, there are starting guides for each class.
 * Create a build for your class: Builds for new players.
 * No clue what you are supposed to do next in the starter area? Take a look at The Salvation of Korthos flagging guide and quest section.
 * You want to understand in game currencies? See DDO Point, Currency (Platinum), Favor, Astral Shard, Daily Dice, Experience, Renown, Action Point, Tome, and Guide to Free to Play.
 * Even in Korthos, it helps to find and join a party. To find and join the right party effortlessly, use the Social panel.
 * No idea what they are saying in party chat or on the social panel? Try the Glossary for Acronyms and Slang Terminology.
 * If you know about the Pen-and-Paper version of D&D, you may want to check this list of differences between DDO and PnP. Also, the d20 System Reference Document can be very helpful.
 * Looking for a list of tips displayed on the game's loading screen? Check out loading screen tips.
 * What are gems, collectables, and ingredients? And where do you find the bags to store them?

Shopping advice

 * If you have the patience to wait a bit, always try to take advantage of DDO sales! You can often save from 10-25%, and even up to 35% or (rarely) 50% off the listed price!
 * Expansion packs
 * 1) * Shadowfell Conspiracy Expansion (Standard)
 * 2) * Menace of the Underdark Expansion (Standard)
 * Adventure packs
 * 1) * The Vale of Twilight (995 DP)
 * 2) * Ruins of Gianthold (950 DP)
 * 3) * Vault of Night (750 DP)
 * 4) * Litany of the Dead Part 2 (350 DP)
 * 5) * Litany of the Dead Part 4 (850 DP)
 * 6) * Delera's Tomb (850 DP)
 * 7) * Demon Sands (950 DP)
 * 8) * Red Fens (450 DP)
 * 9) * The Devils of Shavarath (550 DP)
 * 10) * Tangleroot Gorge (550 DP)
 * 11) * Shadow Under Thunderholme (550 DP)
 * 12) * Against the Slave Lords (595 DP)
 * 13) Shared Bank (1495 DP) — Great for multiple toons on a server.

DDO official game guide

 * Although this may not be 100% up-to-date, a PDF format game manual is available.

DDO official forums
Make sure to visit the official newbie forum. There are plenty of helpful players and lots of advice on hand - be sure to check the stickied threads at the top of the forum!
 * New Player Advice & Guidance

DDO Compendium
As of May 2013 the DDO Compendium was discontinued. Its official guides were migrated to the Game Guides. 

Here is some more information about the DDO Compendium.

DDOwiki newbie guides category
Here are some other less crunchy articles created or archived by DDOwiki contributors. Newbie guides