In its early days you got online, found a group and explored the dungeons—which is exactly what the game promised. The problem was…what next? Many people got through all the content and maxed their characters very quickly. While the game provided good grouping tools and the dungeons a story with DM narration, you never knew what you were going to get in your group. If that fighter was on his 5th run of the dungeon and just grouping to try and get a better loot drop, he could tear through the place pointing out every obstacle and pretty much making you miss the game’s heart which was the atmosphere, storytelling and excitement of running the dungeon.

I told Kate all of these things, and told her while I felt the game was one of the most innovative I had played at the time, that it worked best for a group of friends who were going to get together once a week and play. Great if you have four or five buddies who can commit to that, not so great if you have, say, two. She just smiled, nodded and then proceeded to blow my complaints out of the water.

DDO’s newest update may be the one that brings me back. While many of the complaints above have been addressed in mods 1-7, the next update introduces hirelings. A player may go in and hire an NPC to quest with them. Need a thief for those pesky traps? Tired of kissing some clerics backside for healing? Just go hire what you need, more than just meat shields these hirelings will have personality and if you fall in a dungeon they won’t just disappear they will do something about it. Although each PC can only hire one, if you’ve only got one buddy you game with your group just became four. You and two friends can field a party of six. Without a doubt this addresses my biggest complaint with the game and that’s the power player of loot grinder ruining the experience.

Next up was helping new players get into the game. Someone who likes MMOs but may not know D&D could be overwhelmed by the rules and character creation. The new process, besides looking 100 times better, has templates. Want to play a fighter and have no idea what skills to choose, just find a template that matches your play style. It’s a great way to get people in the game fast without gimping themselves by bad choices.

So after we rolled up our new character it was off to the new starting quest. Gone are the runs in the lower docks of Stormreach and upon us is a new quest, surviving trouble at sea you find yourself in the middle of some unusual surroundings as the island you’re on is full of ice and frost. The new starting storyline was sorely needed but the graphical upgrade the game has made and continues to make with mod 8 is outstanding. The environments and shadows were stellar and the detail on some of the new creatures (no more kobolds!) was also sharp.

Also included in mod 8 will be new dungeons, the monk class, and the level cap being raised to 16 as well as new attributes. I came away very impressed with my look at DDO and I’ll certainly be checking it out when mod 8 releases this fall. Kate is definitely in touch with where the game has been and has a great plan on where it is going if mod 8 is any indication.