Shipwrecked into another MMO.....Final

My first introduction to “instancing” in a game was Everquest, Lost Dungeons of Norrath. The LDoN quests were unique, challenging and a nice addition to the, then present content. Instancing has become an expected feature in may games these days including DDO. Clicking on the entrance to one of these instanced areas, a window will pop up that allows you to set the difficulty level. There is also an explanation for each setting to give you an idea just what you are getting yourself into. Casual, Normal, Hard, Elite and Epic, I chose normal because it's not casual and it makes me feel like I'm not taking the easiest route. I'm not casual, I'm normal.

My normal cleric finds out there is an abnormal sound coming from the Heyton Family Crypt. Get out the recipe for Spooky and see what is needed. The ingredients were here but it lacked the flavor I was hoping for. I understand that this is still “noob adventuring” at this level, and school was still in session as the tutorials continued with new content, but it still seemed bland.

Sarcophagus smashing skill is maxed, no there is no such skill but if there was I would have been maxed out. The Crypt, appropriately so, is lined with Sarcophagi along the walls, one right after another. I suppose in order to find out where the strange sound was coming from one would indeed smash them. Process of elimination, two steps “Wack”, two steps “Wack”. Sometimes you would yield coin and other times a ticked off dead family member. There was enough Sarcophagi to Sarcopha-gag-me.

One appealing aspect that was introduced in this dungeon was the puzzle. I personally like the puzzle as long as it's done well. This puzzle was not difficult, it was...normal. Certain artifacts found in the Crypt, not in any of the 275 Sarcophacrap along the walls, but found in rooms is what allowed you to advance. Finding a way to get past the magic doorway, which was locating the items to place in the Sockets, added that little bit of mystery. This is much better than just entering the room for your final encounter.




The puzzle and the ambiance of the final room was the best parts of the this dungeon. I guess after I had to destroy crates and boxes for money when I first entered the game, I should have expected that all my coin drops would be similar.

Pillaging the Crypt made sense by busting up the Sarcophagi but I think a few would suffice. This was the part that seemed to outplay or overwhelm the reason for the adventure. It sadly dwarfed the cool puzzle and became very mundane. Speaking of Dwarf, my Cleric will be off to other adventures when time permits and hopefully as we progress, so will the puzzles and I am sure plenty of random stuff to break, smash and crush. 

Trivial as it may sound, the ability to keymap movement is critical to me. A player should not be limited to how they can move their avatar. Having the left mouse button preset and unchangeable is unnecessary.  The Free to Play option doesn't make me feel obligated or committed and makes it worth the space on my hard drive.