A big problem with multiplayer rpg: your not really leveling the same speed as your friends. despite the fact that you only play together and never alone.
itsuno said it in an interview, with DD you are not dependent on your buddies schedule.
i really appreciate that way of thinking. i played Monster Hunter with a buddy who was far more experienced than me. sure, i learned a lot from him, but there was never a real challenge beating the quests until i reached the level cap myself...
in phantasy star universe it was the same. every day i hadn't time to play, my buddies gained level after level and finally i lost the interest in playing the game. i couldn't join their quests anymore, alone it wasn't fun, random people i played with were 90% morons ...
i think i spent most of my time then searching for nice people to play with.
same with my girlfriend. she likes to play games like this, but i play a little bit more per week. so i am outleveling her in a matter of days ... sure, i can play two chars, but these kind of games (DD or MH) have a fair amount of grinding. doing this multiple times is also really boring.
i understand, that people miss multiplayer in DD, but i don't understand how this could be a deal breaker. but well... 24 days for me left til all discussion is obsolete