Dungeons & Dragons Online- Eberron Unlimited Free2play?

[Mistress Stowastiq]

I looked and found some old ass threads here about Dungeons and Dragons Online but could not find anything about the "new" free to play D&D EU.
Today (sept 9th) Zam announced a North American launch of this Eberron Unlimited so I am sort of confused about what is new vs old 2006 posted in threads here.

Has anyone heard of this or try it?
I played AD&D back when I was a whippersnapper and it has gotten me curious purely out of nostalgia.

WESTWOOD, MA – September 9, 2009 – Turbine, Inc. announced today the launch of Dungeons & Dragons Online®: Eberron Unlimited™ (DDO Unlimited), a free-to-play massively multiplayer online role playing game (MMORPG) which delivers heart-pounding game play featuring the industry’s best combat system, a massive world with state-of-the-art graphics and gameplay, and a rich set of features that until now could only be found in premium subscription-based MMOs.
DDO Unlimited introduces an innovative new pricing model that allows players to download and play for free, purchasing adventure packs, items, and account services a la carte from the new DDO Store, or to subscribe to get unlimited access to all of the game’s content. Starting today, players can download and play DDO Unlimited for free by visiting http://www.ddo.com.
“Today Turbine changes the way gamers experience their online entertainment by providing them with a choice in how they pay and play for a premium MMO,” said Jim Crowley, CEO of Turbine, Inc. “The DDO Unlimited Beta program has been a huge success and the initial response to the game from both press and players has been nothing short of phenomenal. In response, we have already more than doubled our capacity to handle the increased demand.”
“DDO Unlimited is the most innovative, exciting and feature rich MMO to ever hit the free to play market,” said Fernando Paiz, Executive Producer of DDO Unlimited. “We’ve come a long way since our launch and it has been very rewarding to see the positive response to the game from players and reporters alike. DDO Unlimited’s future is very bright and we’re already getting more adventures ready to introduce to the game later in the year.”
DDO Unlimited delivers the best combat of any MMO and the most heart-pounding action this side of a keyboard, plus a lot more!

1. DDO Unlimited’s New Content & Features – DDO Unlimited delivers a new class, increases the level cap to 96 ranks, introduces new adventure packs including a new 12-player raid, and features major combat improvements.
2. The Fiercest Combat of any MMO – DDO Unlimited features an extraordinary heart- pounding combat experience that requires players to fully engage in the battle by relying on their wits and reflexes in real time. No more clicking skills and watching the action from the sideline.
3. Mind-blowing Visuals – Explore a vast and dangerous online world that features the most advanced graphics in the industry and is stuffed with the legendary monsters, glorious treasures, devious traps, mind-bending puzzles and endless adventures from the world’s best known RPG.
4. Full-featured MMO – Experience sophisticated systems found only in the best games including auctions, NPC hirelings, arena death matches (Player versus Player), crafting, and powerful social tools for finding a group, forming a guild or planning an epic raid!
5. Easier Than Ever! – DDO Unlimited gets you playing in minutes instead of hours, using new proprietary Turbine technology. Creating a new character is incredibly simple with guides and templates that speed you through the process. Features an all-new new player experience that gives gamers their first taste of excitement quickly while teaching them how to play solo or with a group of fellow adventurers.

DDO Unlimited is based on the world-renowned DUNGEONS & DRAGONS® franchise of Wizards of the Coast LLC, a subsidiary of Hasbro, Inc.® (NYSE: HAS), under license to Infogrames Entertainment S.A.® Published by Atari, Inc.®, DDO has been enthusiastically received by many gaming critics, including The New York Times, PC Gamer, Game Informer and many more. For the latest information, please visit www.ddo.com.

[Gokulo]

I don't know too much about it, but I remember reading that the free content is VERY limited, more of a trial for people to see if they want to get the game (or for us cheapskates to just play something new when bored :3)

[Mistress Stowastiq]

Ah ok, limited as in likely to create incentives to buy things I bet. I would likely choose the cheapskates route if I did try it hehe.

[Eaglestrike]

While you are limited quite a bit by what is "free" in the game, you also earn the points necessary to buy things in-game by playing it. You earn 'favor' and the like through quest completion and can use that favor to unlock other things in the game. So it'd just be a little extra grinding to get most things unlocked by being free. I have a couple friends that are playing it. I have it myself, but DnD has never been big for me, so I haven't gotten into it much.

As an example: You can only get to level 4 originally and need a 'Sigil of leveling' to proceed past it (same with 8/12/16/etc.) but my 2nd quest after the patch that changed all this gave me the sigil of leveling to get to 8, so my level 2 rogue can already get to 8. Two of my friends also got it at level 2/3 and my one friend who was planning on paying for a subscription anyway...didn't get it until he was like level 4, lol.

[BRP]

No Sharn, No Ebberon.

[guartz]

game would have been 100000 times better with forgotten realms setting...

fucking useless eberron

[Eaglestrike]

game would have been 100000 times better with forgotten realms setting...

fucking useless eberron

Supposedly there's some lawsuit going on between Atari and whoever makes DDO (or some other company, I dunno) because they were supposed to fund the game and they never did and they say it's because they're trying to make a game based on DnD rules 4.0 or something. Maybe that'll bring in Forgotten realms since my buddy he's big on DnD was also against Eberron.

[Kimiko]

Anything 4e related died the moment they killed off Mystra and most of the history behind the realms.

[BRP]

game would have been 100000 times better with forgotten realms setting...

fucking useless eberron

LOL

no

[guartz]

LOL

no

I'll bite.

Listen, they chose some crappy setting they didn't even implement correctly. No artificers still. Eberron and no artificers?!

It's like a dragonball Z mmo without piccalo, kamahamaha and powerlevels.

It's like vodka and gin, but without vodka or gin. Just ice.

It kills me to know that a video game company had an opportunity to go with probably the most popular fictional setting in western rpgs and they choose crap instead.

[BRP]

If they dropped it in the Forgotten Realms, it would pretty much be the same. The few regions(and other qualities) that make FR unique would be ignored no doubt and it would be in the Dales.

[Grey Jorildyn]

Played the DDO beta. Probably one of the worst games I've ever played.