The game is two years old and I've never seen anyone play it. Some say it's too shallow. Others say it's just right. I'm half thinking of just plunking down the cash for it to see. Any opinions on this game? Is anyone still playing it? Anyone got a buddy code laying around I could use?

Here's a question - how small of a group could you get away with later on? 2? 3? 6?

D&D has been aimed at the small group (4 people) section, as that covers all the bases (Pally/Fighter, Rogue, Wizard/Sorc, Cleric). Will you need much more than that in order to keep going at higher levels? Yeah, I realize you won't be able to tackle some of the end-game 'raid' stuff (unless it starts to scale with how many you have in your group), but how far can you go with a small group?

This is just like D&D in that respect. The missions are aimed at a party of 4, though you can have as many as six people. So when a mission is rated CR3, they mean it's balanced for four level 3 characters.

As far as getting a good group, I rarely had to wait more than 5 minutes. All I did was type "Adults please." into the comments session of the group matchmaker UI, push "Looking for a party" and I usually couldn't even make it to the shopping tent before I was in a (usually good) group. This is with a multitude of character classes, not just the stereotypically 'desirable' ones. Also, I really came away with the impression that no oarticular class is needed. Clerics didn't seem overpowered to me at all.

Odd. I thought this was one of the singularly most impressive MMOs I'd played to date.

It's not about grinding, or levels, or loot. It's about hanging onto a dungeon by your fingernails. I played in a 7 day stress test, a 10 day beta, and a 3 day preview so far. I've found that the game is really wonderful as long as you group with adults and don't race your way to level 10. It's Turbine, so I expect the new quests will come at a fairly rapid pace like they did with AC.

The other issue is that unlike most MMOs, nothing regens in this game. Standing around will not help you gain back spell points or hit points. This means there's no downtime and that you survive based on what you have, not how long you're willing to stand around. As far as repeating a quest goes, I had little problems with this. I always played in terrific groups, and we always played dungeons at difficulties beyond what we should've been doing. Sometimes we failed, but the times we succeeded... wow. We felt pretty cool.

I think I've bene in beta since June. Auto Assault has come a long way, but I really think it's an awful yawn of a game. It's also the first MMO I've ever seen where nobody ever groups at all. Every single mission is doable alone. You can solo missions up to 3 levels higher than you... alone. And in general, if you can't do it alone, you also can't do it with help. This might be a plus in your book, but since the game is so boring, this merely insured the monotony. YMMV, though.

So, after getting out of the D&D Online stress test, I was so impressed that I found myself wanting to pre-order the game. EBGames has a deal where pre-order customers get a number of goodies that include, among other things, the chance to start playing the game a few days earlier than everyone else.

What is EBGame's reputation? I can't believe I actually care about playing the game first (I want my character names, darn it), but do I typically need to wait for the game to ship in a situation like this, or might they mail out a key and a URL first? Will they ship it very late (nullifying the head start completely)? Do I need first day air for something like this? I'm already paying tax in addition to shipping.

I'm just looking for word of mouth, been-there/done-that sort of advice.

I realize this thread is older than old, but have you looked into a game called "The End"? It's a "post-biblical" game about the meek who inherit the Earth after the end of the world... those not good enough for heaven, or bad enough for hell. Great stuff.

I emailed Bill Harris, and he hasn't heard anything, either. He's got no idea why GG would be gone, since the ads were creating revenue and the place basically ran itself.

One thing he did suggest was that Rich might be joining a network as an affiliate, but I think that was a shot in the dark.

Curiouser and Curiouser.