Writing Exploring Eberron is always a bit of a challenge, because last year's free-to-play switch created a distinctly divided player base. On one hand, you've got the hardcore, longtime Dungeons and Dragons Online players. They've been around since well before F2P, are often DnD fans from way back, and have a thorough understanding of all the intricacies of the game. On the other hand, you have relatively new players who love the game just as much, but really only heard about the game and got involved within the past year.

This is not a bad thing, by the way. The DDO in-game community is easily one of the best I've ever come across. On any given day you'll see questions in the advice channel from players who installed the game about five minutes ago, and they are always answered in a friendly and helpful tone. It's a community that almost unfailingly welcomes new players with open arms.

The challenge comes in offering enough information that everyone can find something helpful or interesting. Veteran players don't need to be told why items in their inventory are different colors, but it's something that needs to be explained to a player who just downloaded the game last week and is trying to use a weapon with a red icon.

With that in mind, I decided to change the focus of this week's column -- and the ones to come -- a little bit. Follow along after the jump to find out more.

Continue reading Exploring Eberron: Winds of change

Exploring Eberron: Winds of change originally appeared on Massively on Fri, 18 Jun 2010 16:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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