[MUD-Dev] D&D Online Level Limit Thoughts

[Greg B]

I just read the webpage for Dungeons & Dragons online and I had this
thought.  I wonder if the initial release level 20 cap is going to
hurt longevity for this release?

I am comparing this to the standard level 60 cap that people are
used to now.  Should/will they make level 20 very very tough to
achieve (as it is in the pen and paper game) or will they make it
similar to level 20 in the standard MMO or something in between?

In short, it seems to me that bringing this part of the traditional
pnp game system over into this market might hurt them when people
start to compare.

Will it take 3-4 months to get to level 15?  (I'm getting the 3-4
month number from my estimate of about the time it would take the
casual player to get 3/4 of the way to level max in a traditional
MMO.)  Will people wait that long for the incremental upgrades in
character ability when they are used to more immediate gratification
(i.e. faster upgrades) in more traditional MMOs?

In the alternative, if it takes less than 1 month to get to level
15, are people just going to keep remaking new character classes and
type every few months when they hit the max (unless the end game is
so fabulous that you don't mind just raiding with your level 20
character for better equipment).

I'm also going to add that the real changes in character classes in
D&D seem to come in the first 12-14 or so levels.  After that, the
later levels are nice to get, but they did not seem to add as much
for me.  This was especially true for the previous rule set which
was around when I was a kid, but I think it is still true now to an
extent.  (The possible exception to this broad statement is that
spell casters begin to get some ultra powerful spells in the higher
levels, but tankish characters seem to develop more slowly at the
higher end IMO).

Just to be clear, I'm not strongly advocating any of these
positions.  I just wanted to throw some things out there for us to
think about.

Greg
www.kenyon.com
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