User talk:Melicat/For New Players of DDO

Updated: 2017/05/07 Currently at 11% finished. Please do not start editing until I am at least 50% finished. This includes my horrible formatting. Let me fix it myself please. My primary focus now is content. Am about to start rearranging skeleton overview trying for better flow - there is already repeated information flow points to be consolidated in type of player/material in game.

Philosophy about layout for a different version of the New Starters guide: This is a layout designed to:

• Be used to test on New Players to check for usability - it is subject to change based on what is found out from new player feedback by those tests
• Be used to control information flow in a helpful way - there is a steep learning curve for DDO where too much information is given at once such that key knowledge is missed or not given sufficient weight when it would be most helpful. The aim is to rearrange information so that what is needed most by a new player is presented first. And then links off this to further information within logical reach as an extension of this should the new player have the time/energy/interest to do so.
• Be used by New Players - this is a guide only for new players - it is expected it will be abandoned and just the normal wiki be used when the player is comfortable.

Welcome any new players commenting on this revision of a new players guide :) Hit that 'Edit' link just below here, type in your forum name so we can contact you directly if we need to understand your suggestion better, and tell us what we need to know. We very much welcome your fresh eyes.

For New Players of DDO - page feedback

Give me your feedback here! To start, click this New Feedback link, type your forum name in the Subject/headline: box, type whatever you think is helpful in the big box below signing the post with ~~~~, hit the Save page button below the big edit box. Thanks!

EllisDee37

Great project, and great work. I clearly remember being a new player, starting in Feb 2011 as a premium (non-VIP), and I'd say my new player experience lasted around 6 months. Back then, the one thing I cared about above all others was favor. What the rewards were (inventory/bank space), favor runs on other servers for first-time TP, how to farm TP on my main server, which packs offered good favor:TP ratio, what packs I needed to reach 20, how many packs I needed to reach 1750 favor for the "free" +2 tomes, and also (not favor) what epic packs I needed for easy token farming for TR. This consumed most of my interest in those first six months. The second-most thing I cared about was cannith crafting, by a huge amount. I saw crafting as a reliable way to acquire gear without being dependent on others to carry my through raids I wasn't familiar with. Min2 falchion? Never gonna happen. (And never did.) But a +4 Holy Silver falchion of Evil Outsider Bane, all for crafter level 50 or less? Oh yes, sign me up! Back in 2011, I was all about favor and crafting. EllisDee37 (Contribs • Message • Email) 01:11, April 30, 2017 (EDT)

• ty - enjoying it... so much good stuff here. and chatting to new players this is desperately needed... your first interests is good information for player types because so many have different focuses in what they enjoy :) — previous unsignedPlease sign posts using ~~~~ comment by Melicat ^{( c | e | d | r | b )} at 12:51, May 3, 2017 (UTC)

Saekee

thanks for the hard and thoughtful effort thus far I would simplify each section--less text with links that say: for advanced information on x (like hit points), click here. — previous unsignedPlease sign posts using ~~~~ comment by Saekee ^{( c | e | d | r | b )} at 18:25, May 2, 2017 (UTC)

• yup yup ty!... trying... I write a sentence, I delete half of it ... going that way... I'm only like 10% done so far. There is so much good stuff people have done I'm trying to fold all their efforts into this... it will take quite a few revisions. Enjoying it a lot. Keen to have just enough words that new people can understand the signficance of what they are about to click through to - spell points is a good example so far ... I could just dump them into spell points, but I wanted to answer a couple of major trip up points for new players. In some cases I am editing the pages I link to instead (carefully and discretely) to make them more complete (just a sentence). I'll ask before I do anything to pages I link to that is more than that. — previous unsignedPlease sign posts using ~~~~ comment by Melicat ^{( c | e | d | r | b )} at 12:49, May 3, 2017 (UTC)
  • how about even more simple? Start with your first section, and then, basic movement and combat/defense mechanics, then leading from 'experience,' Questing and Wilderness. I would not worry about 'type of player you are,' 'endgame,' and any of the more complex stuff. Then the next section after questing and wilderness could be about equipment/loot (since they will then have gained some), then, finally, grouping with other players. More advanced stuff would be crafting etc. What do you think? — previous unsignedPlease sign posts using ~~~~ comment by 67.172.45.189 ^{(d | r | b )} at 01:03, May 7, 2017 (UTC)