Reasons why we love DD2!!!!

We have so many posts that focus on the things we do not like, i thought it a good idea to spend some time spreading some love on the things we do like. So this is a thread of positivity. Please only post about things you do enjoy and why you like them, and keep the complaint lists and member bashing out. 

If you can't say something nice, please do it in another thread. Spread the love. 

So let me start with all the ways i feel that DD2 improved upon DD1. Keep in mind it has been quite a long time since i was able to play DD1 on the PS3, so please be nice if my memory is off and i get something wrong. We are all human. 

1. Each player having their own loot - this was a huge evolution, and one i absolutely love. While i do miss getting free drops form other players, i love not having to compete for anything. It takes much of the hostility out of drops, and the emergency need to run around and grab things before they are lost to someone else quicker. 
2. Auto-loot collection - another amazing feature. When i think of how much time i spent on maps running around to get loot, especially those long maps like Glitterhelm or the DLC Forest, where one far ff arm had boss spawns...so you had to chug all the way up there just to see if anything viable dropped. Not only do i no longer have to run around and get them, but the bag collection options take that even further. Brilliant. 
3. More Heroes - I know other platforms got more than just the 4 core heroes in DD1, but on PS3, we only ever got the 4. Now having so many Heroes and towers is just overwhelming and awesome. I love all the options on how to build, and the different tower styles. Maybe that is our beef with Chaos enemies, since we get new toys and then can't play with them. Either way, i am just happy to have the options. 
4. Wave bosses - while many of us do miss more epic End boss battles, the addition of the wave bosses added a lot of fun and gear for us. It mixes things up when a crazy bomb throwing elf comes running out, or some sprinting orc lady who has no fear. I enjoy having these enemies in rotation,and appreciate the fact that they help make gear drops happen more often. 
5. Synergies - in DD1 there were not many build options, and pretty much all builds became Squire builds, with Auras around them, and maybe the occasional Apprentice tower. It was very 1-dimensional, and often you did not vary builds once you got that sweet layout that worked. In DD2 you have so many more tower options, that not only do you get more choices and creativity in builds, but some parings of hero and tower or tower and tower create even more powerful combinations. Like a Proton Beam freezing a Zerk, and then your Cannon blasting it to pieces with crush damage. These cross-hero synergies is where the fun in layouts really starts to shine in DD2 IMO. 
6. Flying - since we have no top down view, it is hard to get a macro perspective of the map at times. I really like being able to jump up and fly around the map. It lets me see everything from a higher up perspective, and keep tabs on more than one lane at a time. plus i get quickly get anywhere on the map easily. This also lets me explore the map a tad more, and appreciate all the work that went into some incredibly small details. Every cruise around just to see what paintings are on the wall, or the fish that are swimming in a nearby river? Flying was a great addition. I wish we could next get something like a ghost that can phase through walls!!!! 
7. Initial DU amount - a very big difference between DD1 and DD2 is the amount of DU you get at the start of the map. In DD1, often you had to use substitute towers on wave 1 as you did not have enough DU o build your perfect defense right away. You had to do it in layers, and substitute stuff out as waves went on. Most common one was putting bumper tower down, and swapping it to a spinning blades later. In DD2, you can pretty much do 95% of your builds on almost every map, and even get a few upgrades in, all on wave 1. While you could argue that this does take some of the excitement out of the game, i am okay with that. A little less butt clenching can be a good thing. It is hard running around and doing builds in the build time, without enough DU to be done in one pass. It took 2-3 rounds in DD1 to get your perfect build up, let alone upgrade anything. In DD2, i can AFK from wave 1, and considering how many times i play some maps - that is a VERY good thing. 
8. Shards - while the stats are fun, it is the shards that apply passives to your defenses and completely change the nature of the tower that i really think are cool. It is almost like getting a completely new tower or hero in a way. Nothing in DD1 gave us that kind of flexibility in each tower. It did what it did...end of story. In DD2, you can really mess with the tower properties and create some new and different combos. I would like to see more emphasis on this in the DD2 versions yet to come, as the stat part is taking over, but i just love the potential here. 
9. DPS Heroes - in the PS3 DD1, we never got any of these, so having access to ones now is just fun and amazing. No towers to worry about and double the abilities to handle mobs. I would've loved to take the Gunwitch through a couple DD1 levels, ha ha ha. 
10. Repair and upgrade proximity - in DD1, you had to maintain a certain proximity to the thing you were repairing or upgrading, or it failed. One hit or jump, and it failed. It was hard to stay close and fight. You had to make choices - heal or fight. Now you can hit the button and run away. I love this change! 
11. Defender Packs/Cosmetics - while i am not a fan of how they are currently being handed out, the fact that Def packs exist at all is awesome. Nothing in DD1 got you any new outfits (on PS3 at least). The only cosmetic change you ever really saw was the weapon you carried and your pet. I really like having cool outfits for my heroes. It really adds since this is an OTS view, and you stare at them all the time. Some really great designs too. 
12. More game modes - while i may not be a fan of each new mode, i do very much like and appreciate the fact that the game makers took the time to make different ways to play it. In DD1 we basically had Campaign levels on any difficulty, some DLC later, and then the Incursion style maps. That was it. In DD2 we also got end-game content in Onslaught and Mastery as well. Hopefully this enables DD2 to be enjoyed by an even wider range of players. 
13. More Maps - not only do we get a whole slew of fresh new maps to play in DD2, but the fact that they brought back and remixed some DD1 maps is just pure nostalgic fun. Getting to apply new tower layouts on old maps is refreshing and fun. 

So 13 is always a good number to stop on. Those are just a few of the things i really like and enjoy about DD2, especially in comparison to DD1. So don't get too bent out of shape when players talk about how great DD1 was (including myself) as DD2 improved upon a whole lot of things. Maybe what we are really looking for at time is a DD1/DD2 hybrid that has all the best things of both games. Ha ha ha. 

Thank you Trendy for making this franchise and continuing to support it and make more content for it, and most of all for taking any time at all to listen to your fan base. We might not always get what we want, or at the speed we wanted it in - but do not ever mistake that for a lack of gratitude. We love this franchise and i hope we are all playing DD7 10 years from now. 

Please feel free to comment or add to the list anything that you enjoy about DD2 in general, or specifically in comparison to DD1. Pile on the love!!!!! There is a reason you play this game, and why you stick around, and even feel compelled to come to a website and talk about it - so what is your reason? 

My favorite improvement from dd1 to dd2, and I'm surprised you did not include it, was the hero deck system. Being able to quickly swap to up to 4 different heroes with the press of a button (goodbye defender forge) compliments the diversity the game has with its heroes. In addition to this, all heroes gain xp in your deck. This hero deck system eliminated my biggest pet peeves with the first game. No longer do you have to level up each hero one at a time or have to stroll down to a defender forge to swap. 

This improvement is so massive that I simply cannot go back to dd1 because I miss its presence.

Finaly, an thread worth reading ... although i'll list some points later (this evening i'm just tired) ... everybody else is like ... oh, i don't like that ... let's come to the forum only when we complain ... 

So [[18530,users]]  on this thread. (i hope you can read emoji)

@Plasma quote:

My favorite improvement from dd1 to dd2, and I'm surprised you did not include it, was the hero deck system. Being able to quickly swap to up to 4 different heroes with the press of a button (goodbye defender forge) compliments the diversity the game has with its heroes. In addition to this, all heroes gain xp in your deck. This hero deck system eliminated my biggest pet peeves with the first game. No longer do you have to level up each hero one at a time or have to stroll down to a defender forge to swap. 

This improvement is so massive that I simply cannot go back to dd1 because I miss its presence.

Wow, you are so right and i agree. The hero deck is an incredible addition and a brilliant idea. I do not miss having to go to the forge a half dozen times to get a new builder out. It did not encourage (or at least make it easy to do so) multiple hero builds - which is why almost all def layouts were all Squire based mostly. The hero deck in DD2 makes it so much easier, not to mention the ability to change your deck on the fly from anywhere. 

I absolutely love that you can create a new hero at your current level. They instantly become viable, instead of being a weight you have to carry around your neck. 

Great additions!!!!!! 

I love the minor things, not having to go around the whole map chasing mana chests like DD1 and the very unnoticed DU change. In DD1 defenses didnt use the same amount of DU that they used of mana but in DD2 if you spend 30 mana you also spend 30 DU. Town is also a neat change as you didnt have to go around public games looking for people to play with during a game but you could just sit and town and meet new people (even though I dont meet new people as much as I just get invites from random people and meet them later :P)

I never played DD1. I love DD2 though.

I like the art style and just the feel of the maps and places we visit. I like the many selection of heroes as well as defences.

Quick hero switching is easier for sure but in Dd1 you had to grind special skins to get speed buffs, you had to ruthlessly plan your builds to get back to the forge in time, oh yeah there was a timer in DD1.

I'll stop there as you all know DD1 in my eyes is superior and DD2 should be way better than it is.

I'm not sure if this thread is for improvements over DD1 or things we love but I'll do both.

While I can't say that I love the current Co-op experience, I did love DD2's past Co-op experience:

• The ability to join a match up to the last wave.
• Using the server browser to show all available games in one list.
• Having friends rejoin games they disconnected from.
• Joining friends anytime they wanted or needed a friend to join.

The following are ways I feel this game improved over the first that haven't been mentioned:

• The ability to freely move around while placing/repairing/upgrading/selling defenses.
• Increased mana carrying capacity and pickup radius - Particularly useful for larger maps and getting mana stuck behind spawners.
• Ascension system - Progression beyond the level cap.
• Weather system - Changes the town and some maps to reflect the season outside.
• Defender Medals - The ability to buy heroes and other cool things just by playing.

i like warframe because it has some nice characters in it and i like the volt he's fast too i love the volt a lot

also u all lie because the only thing dd2 has that's really amazing is the apprentice, if you say otherwise you a a stinky salad main and should go eat pant

@Succ the Fabled quote:

also u all lie because the only thing dd2 has that's really amazing is the apprentice, if you say otherwise you a a stinky salad main and should go eat pant

way to keep it positive...

i don't like how my pants taste....

Thanks for the positive post Jaws. However...

@Jaws_420 quote:

 We are all human. 

I thought you were a shark.... ;)

Back on track, I agree with all that is said of things that re great about DD2. Something things not mentioned that I like are:

The catapults in town - Jump from place to place all day long. :)

The inventory system - less clutter & more fleshed out IMO. Being able o name each bag & give them icons are really useful. Someone mentioned the auto collect options, which ties in to this (obviously).

Incursion Weapons - Makes your weapons more than just a stat increase. My favorite inc weapon is the Stormy Polearm. It isn't as great as it was when it 1st came out, but it is still fun & still adds perma stun, until the invisible timers runs out anyway. Still super fun.

Multiple NPC's - Fun to talk to more peeps. Although, I do miss the mushroom people that said "Fishy fishy fishy" in the Spider Queen Lost Eternia Crystal Map.

The new version s of EV2 - She was great before, now she is even better.

The New version Of Barbarian - He was fantastic before, but now is even more fantastic.

Yeah, this is good or now.

TCPOP (Take Care Peace Out Peeps)

Agree with everything in your post! As much as we all critique, it's because we love the game. And the good has always far outweighed the bad. Both in the base game and the changes made.

I noticed in your post, when talking about changes from DD1 to DD2, you spoke from a console perspective. In that case the jump must be huge, as the console ports were mostly stuck on Vanilla DD1 (aside from the four Lost Shards maps, not that Sky City actually ran properly.) Whereas on the Steam version of DD1, it was a whole 'nother world. Such a long and varied evolution, and in fact it continues to evolve today thanks to the CDT. But in any case, when you see people griping about what they miss from DD1, it's generally PC players.

Anyway, in DD2, thankfully the console ports are receiving parity with the Steam one. Nobody misses out on content. Thanks to the ability to freely and properly update games on the current console generation (PS4/XB1.) This was not the case with the last gen consoles, and many devs learned this the hard way (Trendy included.) I was so glad when the console makers started the new generation right with regards to developer freedom.

"As much as we all critique, it's because we love the game." - ShinUkyo

I think that a lot of us feel that this game would be a top five classic if all of our critiques were met. Fair enough, I have no idea what anyone else but myself is thinking. Afterall, every one of you could be cybergenetic entities programmed to post here because DD2 has been an interest for quite some time. Are we male, female? Who knows.

Critiquing the game has been more prevelant because complimenting a game that has been loaded with time-consuming, non-progressive errors is just hard. However, this game, with minimal glitches, would have had a very large demand for future and progressive content, due to the sheer number of people that would not have left.

As far as PS4 is concerned, a minimal-glitch DD2 is top 5 easy, maybe even top 3. Personal opinion. I'd put a Blizzard game, an Ubisoft game...etc. up there. But for it's genre, I felt that DD2 is the best tower-defense game out.

As for all of the glitches, continually, I'd say that Trendy needs to learn a very thorough lesson before attempting a release on DD3. If you release, or even make, DD3 on one system, thoroughly test it on that system. If you release DD3 on 5 systems, thoroughly test DD3 on 5 systems. Don't give your consumers the short end of the stick, ever. Your consumers before yourself, if you're in the industry of making and releasing games.

I realize that games that are free -to -play, and are very easy to look at, with a game rating of "T" or lesser, are very marketable. If you bring in an audience you need to honor that audience. All of the mess could have been greatly reduced if thorough testing on each platform would have been accomplished. Don't release a game just because you "feel" it's time, but because you know it's ready. Take after Worlds of Warcraft. When players call out issues the team addresses them "usually" with an emergency patch. But their roll-outs are thoroughly tested as to reduce the amount of people who would look a Blizzard and go, "eh, whatever."

DD2 took a lot of my time because of its creativity and friendly, colorful nature. But, you all got lost in something. Things kept going wrong. A coding issue, deeply-imbedded that was overlooked?

I've never been one to invest into free -to -play games due to some of the audience maturity that is drawn to play free games. However, when I tell you, Trendy, that I feel like you have absolutely disrespected your player-base by not having a model present to compensate players for the thousands of hours lost due to your errors, well, you need to make it right.

All of this comes from a gaming prodigy that has over 30 worldwide tournament wins, Xbox, helped engage a compatible cross-breed betwixed Half-life and Counterstrike, currently holds two world records in a major game that may never be beaten, as several you-tubers have video'd what they thought would be the win (six years standing), and have proven my continual vigilance by smoking out the PS4 players to the top of these leaderboards by doing all of this SOLO. This was my second free-to-play game and it is definitely not about competition. Why leaderboards with all of the glitches Trendy? I wanted to chase after BerryJelly and ALLEyezONMe but I couldn't because you, Trendy, stopped me. Oh and I did put on the effort. I had to settle for floor 200 on OnSlaught when I would have been more than willing to chase floor 300 without having an Ancient Power point.

The people that feel I'm bragging, I have been batting for you, not only myself. The people that have used these boards to bash other players, notice that I have not attacked anyone whilst many have attacked others often. Not attacking others' character or desires is a quality of a gaming-champion. I did so well, so fast with my first free-to-play that I am now a Board Moderator for that game. I quit that game after a year-and-a-half. Why? Glitches and bugs. What is it with Free-to-play games and glitches on the PS4? Chase quality and the money will come. Chase the money and you will be.....you fill it in.

ArchaicLotus - record-setter, world record holder, soon to be you-tuber and RPG game-creator, and a person who acknowledges that humans are incredibly ambiguous behind a key-board/console. I, myself, have intentionally remained ambiguous due to my accomplishments. I don't care what a person thinks when I don't even know what they look like, when it comes to games, I only care about the quality of the game, and the solid-progression thereof. 

Here are some faces that represent the love i feel for DD2:

乂❤‿❤乂

(✿ ♥‿♥)

(◍•ᴗ•◍)❤

(｡♥‿♥｡)

Those are amazing faces, and apparently, filled with love

@Big_D_N_Lil_J quote:

@Jaws_420 quote:

 We are all human. 

I thought you were a shark.... ;)

LOL, touche! I cannot begin to describe how hard it is to use a keyboard to type with fins, or to hold this blunt. 

"Alexa, order me sticky blunt wraps". there, that should solve one issue... 

I think i am only half shark though. Maybe me and Dad need to have a little talk about what he does when all liquored up...STAY OUT OF THE OCEAN PERV! 

"Maybe me and Dad need to have a little talk about what he does when all liquored up.." - Jaws_420

That's information due to a Psychiatrist Jaws.

With all the negativity recently (and pretty much always) in the forums, I wanted to make a thread focusing on the positive aspects of the game, since Jaws started it, it is as good.

I am currently enjoying DD2 as my foremost and primary game.

I simply can't get enough of it's grindy aspect.

I believe for me, the Ancient Powering and reseting was the best part of bringing new players and old players together, constantly doing something.

Yes there are many flaws, not everything is fine in the land of plenty

For example I could name, there could be a mechanic keeping your best drops throughout resets, by evolving them again, or having a universal game browser of all games from all regions, but to me those things are not things to gripe about but cherry on tops

I believe the game is on a very good path.

Yes it had a rough start, yes it is still evolving, and it is not at the place where most of its players would want to, but you cannot deny it's gone a long place and is still going.

So GG to Trendy Team and I hope you bring us more epic and addictive moments.

To  be serious, one thing I love about DD2 is it's visual design, I REALLY, REALLY love the artstyle they went with and it fits the game perfectly! The character design is also amazing and some of the costumes are super, ultra, creative.

I love the apprentice too, he's my favorite character of them all, plus there's goofy pics of him, have I told you all about goofy apprentice pics? They're the best!

@Succ the Fabled quote:

To  be serious, one thing I love about DD2 is it's visual design, I REALLY, REALLY love the artstyle they went with and it fits the game perfectly! The character design is also amazing and some of the costumes are super, ultra, creative.

I love the apprentice too, he's my favorite character of them all, plus there's goofy pics of him, have I told you all about goofy apprentice pics? They're the best!

Yeah, the overall artwork, let alone the flair designs, are just awesome and fit the mood of the game very well. It is pleasant to look at, considering how many hours we all spend starring at it. So much detail in every stage. I just walk around the map sometimes taking it all in. There is some crazy level of detail on the maps, from portraits on the walls, to waterfalls, to fish in rivers under the stage that no one (but me) would ever see. 

You know, i totally thought that when DD2 came out, our 4 heroes would all get upgraded to their adult versions. I thought for sure instead of the Apprentice, we would have the Wizard, and Knight for the Squire. Not sure what the best next name for Monk and Huntress would be. Apprentice totally reminds me of a cross between Mickey from Fantasia and Beetle Bailey. Love it. 

The hero deck is by far one  of my favorite improvements from DD1 to DD2. I love not having to drop my gems, swap heroes, pick up gems, and then do more building - then rinse and repeat if i wanted to switch again

i don't know how many of you noticed but after Sky Bank update the NPS that was selling Shard Packs swiched ... and this guy is filling in :

It's the Easter Eggs that matters too ... i noticed this guy imediately after the update was out... so one reason why i like DD2 is that Design Team in doing all the details well :)

Edit: I'll give you a hint ... go talk to this guy (Press F) there is a Huge Easter Egg hidden there, i am not in the Testing Group and i didn't talk with anyone, but i think i know what heroes are coming in this "Next BIG Update" that LawIta is talking about.

@emilian quote:

i don't know how many of you noticed but after Sky Bank update the NPS that was selling Shard Packs swiched ... and this guy is filling in :

It's the Easter Eggs that matters too ... i noticed this guy imediately after the update was out... so one reason why i like DD2 is that Design Team in doing all the details well :)

Holy! Nice catch! Now does this mean that the next update will be heavily based on Sky City? Very interesting!

@emilian quote:

Edit: I'll give you a hint ... go talk to this guy (Press F) there is a Huge Easter Egg hidden there, i am not in the Testing Group and i didn't talk with anyone, but i think i know what heroes are coming in this "Next BIG Update" that LawIta is talking about.

Yep, checked that out! And "oohaahhoooaahoohaahhoohaah" is probably all I can say.

Sweet, nice find. I will have to go check that out later today. 

I would be very surprised if any hero before M&M comes next. His silhouette is on the WANTED hero board in town, which used to be next to the Barb silhouette , until we got him. No other hints on that board to any other hero but M&M. Now, that is not to say that plans change, but i feel they have been preparing for M&M for a while now.