Level cap?

[Fyre]

was checking out the paid content before downloading and one of them says you have to buy it get to lvl 25. Is there any way to attain the max level cap without spending money or is this basically like the WoW free trial?

[Taebrythn]

30 and no ddo is free to a point. more then wow. you could literally buy all content without spending a single dime on ddo. its very slow though. there are free quests throughout the levels but it would require grinding.

[Running-Target]

It would be extremely hard work to reach level 20 on the Free quests only on DDO. Reaching level 32ish without buying the Expansion packs would be nigh impossible.

https://www.ddo.com/forums/showthread.php/201812-The-True-Price-of-DDO-Unlimited-Free-to-Play-amp-Getting-the-Most-Out-of-Free-to-Play

http://ddowiki.com/page/Guide_to_Free_to_Play

https://steamcommunity.com/app/206480/discussions/0/558754899307379180/

https://www.ddo.com/forums/showthread.php/200220-Gaining-Turbine-Points-the-Free-Way?s=8a771f0d4d5e6e2b60c07f78b1b893ea

[Doug]

Actually, you can probably hit 30 (the hard cap) these days F2P. Certainly it's less difficult than it used to be. Turbine recently added some F2P quests in the troublesome L12-18 range, which helps considerably. There'll still be a high level of repetition of a smallish number of quests at some level ranges, but I don't think it's impossible anymore.

That being said, if you plan to be F2P, there's a lot of advice in these forums about how to acquire and prioritize the spending of Turbine Points to minimize grind. Short version: Run 1 toon on every server to at least 100 Favor to acquire the bonus TP for the 1st toon/server to hit certain favor milestones. Then spend that TP on adventure packs in the aforementioned L12-18 range (I'd wait for a sale AND not bother to buy until I felt constrained by lack of available free content).

[Solarpower]

Current level cup is 30. But you really don't have to try and reach as fast as possible.

1st. DDO is not like WoW or any other WoW-type MMORPGs. There is no "the game starts at the cap lvl" here. It's all about replay, replay and replay all the content from the very begining and make your character stronger with the each repeat. There is not that much of a cap-content and there is no any garantee that the new patches will have any 30-lvl stuff at all.

2nd. You really really need to go through 2 TR and get the 34 point build before attend epic content. So don't pay attention to the addons for now - you have the other task to do. And it will involve a lot of grinding if you want go all the way full F2P.

And if you like the game, wait for the sales and get addons for something like 5$-7$ (down from 35$-50$).

[Moreus]

If you want unlock more content you will play on all servers for extra free Turbine Points and then is posible make 21 lvl with no problem, best way to make 20 lvls are by unlocking "Vaults of the Artificers", "The Vale of Twilight" from my experience, just wait for good discont for those challenge and adventure.

[Running-Target]

Read here for the list of Free quests in DDO: http://ddowiki.com/page/Guide_to_Free_to_Play#Quest_List

[Alessondria]

You will need to play DDO. And only DDO. Meaning every moment you have will be DDO. Playing every server on a different character. Its a dying game basically (little influx of new people) and all the old timers are kinda locked in their own guild with thier own routines. Most of the content you need to do will require you to be running with groups.

I mean sure its possible but instead of just paying cash for everything (which would be quite a bit if you buy all quest packs and character upgrades) you will have spent a very very very long time. Very long.

Most of the time people bring this kinda thing up for F2P games because they don't have an income. Well instead of playing the game for 16 hours a day you could get a job, play for 4 hours, buy all the content and lead a healthy lifestyle. Or become gollum and just play DDO free.

Now, I like the game but I am starting to see its going to demand a lot of cash from me. I own all the DLC from steam and the amount of content I am lacking is pretty staggering. Not to mention the fact the game isn't very popular anymore. I think I am going to uninstall it myself. BUT HEY! I like to play solo and the game is actually REALLY FUN! I would seriously encourage you to play it till you start to feel the pay wall looming down on you. Just enjoy it casually! And if you like it tons and wanna throw some cash at Turbine? Hey cool. That will help keep the game going for more people later on :)

Bottom line...

Doable? Yes.
Practical? No.
Realistic? If you are insane.

[Doug]

Not gonna quote Alessondria's post, just say it's a bit strongly stated. Do you have to obsess over DDO to cap as F2P? No. You play however much you enjoy it. You make progress based on how much you play. I myself have all the content, yet take much longer to level a toon to cap than is common. That's just my style.

And while the game may be dying, it's taking its time doing so. Still lots of new people on whichever server is the default for new accounts at any given time. Possible the retention is lower than it used to be; I can't tell. What I know is that I seldom solo and only PUG and while I may have trouble finding a group for a particular quest at the moment I want it, overall I don't have trouble finding groups.

[Taebrythn]

i wouldn't say its dying like on its last leg. we still do get people coming back and new accounts. sure the population isn't the strongest but just to start doing the gloom posts. ddo is what you make it out to be just like any other game. whether you play solo, social, guilds, rp whatever. its what you make it to be. i have over 6k hrs in ddo and no you can't see all of it because it was on steam when i first played in oct 09.

i play it because i enjoy it. the fact it is going on 10 years does prove something. how many other mmos can do that recently. some just come out but they suck so bad or just p2w. yet they are far worse then ddo with a much smaller fanbase then us. yet here we are. i bet people said that about ultima online, wow, and everquest. funny part all 3 of those are still going as well. 2 of them being the oldest mmos. i wonder how often they get this game is dying too. lol