Do you have any CLASS?

Classes in all their glory, are your JOB. They are designed to be unique from each other and to give each player a unique flair to their party. Read some commonly asked questions below to get a better understanding. You can also read up on each class individually at DDOWIKI.

FAQ:

Question: Should I dual/triple/quadruple class?
Answer: Yes and No...
There are only 20 levels in the game and you can only choose another class at one of those levels. You gain the benefit of skills that are only open to that class such as casting spells or opening locks, but you lose your ability to specialize well. While one person may have a 10th level fighter, another may have an 8th level fighter/ 1st level rogue/ 1st level cleric. The pure fighter has invested more skill points into making him/herself a better fighter while the triple class has more options to skills but can't damage or tank as well. Some skills and feats are only available to classes that are pure and at high levels. If such a skill is intended for a 16th level fighter and you have 5 levels invested in other classes, you won't ever make it.

Question: What are the differences in a 32 point build and a 28 point build?
Answer: As you create your character, you automatically start with a 28 point build. That is how many points goes into your characters stats (STR, DEX, CON, etc). A 32 point build character can invest more points and start with higher than normal stats and therefore start with better bonuses. The 32 point build character HAS to use the customize class button to be made.

Question: Why are there 3 subclasses (class path) in each class?
Answer: Variety... plain and simple. When you go up in level, each subclass has a "path" or direction that they would go. This determines preset skills and assigned stat points. This is reserved for those who don't want to think about what kind of character they have and just play the game. Once you've played into a few characters, you will find that you will want a direct hand in choosing you're own skills, stats and spells.
Overall, subclasses are nothing more than a shortcut when going up in level. Often times, you will find you would have chosen something else for yourself. You can go to DDO.com to learn more about your specific path and what DDO thinks of each.

Question: Is choosing skills outside of my class a good thing?
Answer: YES!! Though they can't be raised as fast as class skills can, choosing extra skills outside your class are always a good thing. If a fighter "senses" a trap up ahead, he will know to stop and let the rogue disarm it before he goes any further. If a cleric/ favored soul has a high enough Use Magic Device, they can then use wizard/sorcerer wands and be of greater benefit to their party. A high intelligence can make a weak tank into a valuable assett due to these extra skills.

Question: Why is my rogue so weak on DDO compared to WoW?
Answer: In real life, not everyone is created equal. DDO was made as a skills based system. It is attempting to (successfully) create a system that NEEDS skilled characters in order to complete quests. Rogues are not designed to be able to take on a giant as they are in WoW. Rogues are your trap finders/ disablers. They also unlock chests and doors.

Question: Why can't my character just solo everything like WoW?
Answer: Each class in DDO is designed with a purpose and are not "balanced" to be able to fight each other. They are "balanced" to be able to work together and complete complicated and terminal quests. I've seen a fighter get wasted by a swinging blade trap that a rogue easily dodges and dances through. Alternately, the same rogue needs the fighter to fend off the mobs that are coming his way. It's a team thing. Without a cleric or favored soul, you will need a ton of potions or wands to keep your health up. Without a bard and their spells, fights last much longer. Wizards and sorcerers are masters at crowd control and mass damage. Everyone in the game has a place in the party.

And the RACE is on

Choosing a race means getting to say "Your as ugly as a Dwarf!!"

Each race has certain inherent bonuses and special feats. But just know that with each bonus means that there is a downside somewhere. Half-Orcs are VERY strong, but they lack intelligence and charisma. Drow are extremely smart, but lose constitution and don't get as many resistances as their Elven cousins.

Take a look on DDOWIKI to see more!

Spells and Schools

One of the biggest downside for spellcasters is trying to pick skills to specialize in!! The skills I am talking about increase your effectiveness in a specific SCHOOL of magic. This affects ALL spellcasters, from clerics to sorcerers and everything in between. On DDOWIKI, you can see a list of spells and categorize them by class, school, level and so on. Take a look!!

Favor and what it's used for

Favor is defined as how well liked you are by certain individuals or groups (called patrons) within the game. You earn favor by completing quests (big and small) that are assigned a specific number of Favor points for completing that are then applied to a specific patron(s). Favor is not based on level, so if you passed by a dungeon on your way up, you can always go back and do it for favor only later.

A famous patron group is the Coin Lords. By increasing in favor with them, you are given your 4th bag, then 5th bag and so on.

See DDOWIKI for a comprehensive list of  patrons and their rewards.

WARNING!!

Favor is not stackable!! What does that mean? I've seen a lot of questers out there who run for Favor and will rerun the same quest many times. This doesn't help. Favor is allotted from the highest level of completion from that dungeon. So if you go and complete the dungeon on Normal, then complete it on Elite, your Elite favor points will override your Normal favor points for that dungeon and you won't get any more. Favor increases with each difficulty level. (Casual x0.5, Normal x1, Hard x2, Elite x3)
TenTonHammer has a great article explaining this in depth.



You also gain certain advantages from combined favor. See Nyx Durandimion in the harbor to get these.

0 Favor : No Rewards

400 Favor : Unlocks the Drow race on that particular server.

1,000 Favor : Future characters created on the server on which you gained 1000 can start at level 4. A list of the automatic starter items you receive when creating a Veteran Status character can be found at Veteran Award Starter Items

1,750 Favor : Receive a +2 Attribute Tome of your choice (Bound to Character) and unlocks 32-Points build for new non-Drow characters on that particular server.

2,500 Favor : Unlocks the Favored Soul class on that particular server.

Collectors and Collectables

In town, you will come across "Collectors". They collect everything from prayer beads to documents to skulls. Each collector is looking for specific items and will give you a specific item in trade. See DDOWIKI for a list of collectors and what they offer in trade. Please keep in mind though, that some of these collectables are used in enchantments as well.

Cosmetic Armor Kits

This is kinda for the hard core players as it can change the look of your armor in many ways. The change depends on the type of armor you have, your gender and race. An elf, female, fighter with plate armor will look slightly different from a human, female, fighter with plate armor while both using the same cosmetic kit.

As at lower levels, you can change your armor often, try to hold off until you start making your Green Steel items. You can also buy a preview kit for 1 coin in the DDO Store and go to an armor shop in town to try it on. This way you are not spending alot before you buy the end one. If you don't have time to go to an armor shop to try on the armor preview kit, then pass on it for now so it won't take up a slot.

Crafting made easy... Starter Edition

Any item or weapon that can be equipped can be crafted and/or upgraded.

These are the rules set forth for crafting low level items until you are able to create Green Steel items.

Making Bigger Shards

There is a graph at DDOWIKI that shows how many shards you need to create a bigger shard or fragment.
This will come in useful in higher level enchantments or to be sold for a lot of money on the Auction House.

Attunement
If it is not bound to you, you will need to "ATTUNE" it to you through the Stone of Change. You will need the item + item level ^2 in Kyber Dragonshard Fragments (KDF)  (exp: if item is level 6 then you will need 36 KDF for the attunement that will bind it to you. Level 8 item is 64 KDF. Level 12 item is 144 KDF)
This is the first step in being able to upgrade your item. This makes it so that when repaired, it will not take permanent damage. BUT you also can never sell it.

Upgrade and Add bonuses to items and weapons
This is where it gets fun. Once the item is ATTUNED, you can do an upgrade and add more bonuses to your item or weapon. These are minor spells that use COLLECTABLES like vials of water or prayer beads dropped by mobs or found in chests. Go to DDOWIKI to see basic recipes. You can only add one enchantment per item. New enchantments will erase the previous one and they are not stackable. So if you have Power II (+20 SP) and Power I (+10 SP), you will only get the bonus from the higher one.



Summary
In short, at early levels, up to 12 or higher, keep everything dropped as it may be used in enchanting your items and weapons or creating traps and bombs.

Crafting in DDO

Much of this information has been gathered from DDOwiki.com and fansites. I found them primarily confusing and slightly disturbing when it came trying to understand the techno babble of the educated.

So here we are, the laymen and laywomen who love the game but want the rules of crafting and experience and other such info sprawled out in an easy to understand format.