First off you can find the download at the official forum thread at ddo.com. The IDDOGG has a few useful features that will mainly appeal to higher-end DDO players like a customizable raid timer, an character item tracker and a (very) detailed planner for crafting epic items. It also has some sweet visual walkthroughs for raids and high-level instances.

That said, I also plan on changing the format somewhat. On my other guides/sites such as LOTRO Guides and The Best WoW Leveling Guide I use a blog format though I do not approach them as blogs strictly speaking. Each post is it’s own mini-guide on a particular topic and that is also the format I had planned to use with DDO Guides.

However, as you may notice, merely writing strategies and helpful tips has not been quite enough to keep me posting regularly. So from now on with DDO Guides I plan on simply writing about topics that not only will help you play DDO more effectively but also important news from Turbine and my own personal playing experiences as well. Also look out in the coming month for a graphic redesign of the site.

And if you are interested in being a DDO “journalist” for this site which receives thousands of page-views a week,  please contact me with some examples (i.e. forum posts, blog entries, character builds, etc.).

Character Planner

Have you ever had an idea for a great Dungeons and Dragons Online character build but you’re not sure how to go about testing it without sinking hours into the actual game? While splashing one level of monk into your level 16 fighter may seem like a good idea, it may ruin it and then you would either have to be forever content with having that one useless level in monk or delete the fighter and start again!

Ron over at R&J Cyberware created a special application that allows you to plan out all the stats, feats and whatnot of your DDO character before you even hit the create button in the game. He calls it simply the Dungeons and Dragons Online Character Planner and has made it available as freeware.

This is Windows software, but I imagine if you are playing DDO on Linux or a Mac you will already have the knowledge to run a simple EXE on your computer. This piece of software has also become legendary amongst seasoned DDO vets, as it provides a way to fully plan and optimize your character without going through the painful process where one misstep can destroy hours of time invested in your character.

Currently I am using it to help me fine-tune my Drow Exploiter Ranger. I’ll be writing more about this particular build in coming posts, as it is what I am playing right now.