Leading up to my L1 and afterwards, the idea of DD seemed daunting, and I wondered the usefulness given the complexity it added. I saw several DD rockets at my club fail on their first DD attempt. I strongly contemplated a motor ejection L2 so I could participate on research days (now a moot point) without having to take on DD headaches.
Not long afterwards, much smarter rocketeers like Crazy Jim and Tom Binford mentioned that I could easily modify my L1 rocket, a BSD 38 Special, for DD. I wasn't crazy about the idea. Then I launched my 38 Special on a Pro38 I205, using motor ejection and a Rocksim determined ejection delay, accurately adjusted with my Pro38 adjustment tool. The rocket barely landed on the field (read: epic walk to the edge of a swamp) and had a nasty zipper 4" down the BT. After that, I reconsidered the DD advice and bought a MAWD and LOC ebay. Several months later, I flew my first DD flight (successful) and completed my L2 the next month, a nearly out of sight flight that used DD & landed about 75 yards from the launch pad! And, no more zippers since then. Configuring an ebay isn't easy for me yet (doing one right now), but it's getting easier as time goes on and I see more examples from others (like on here).
It's another learning curve, and a lot to consider, but worth it and then some when you see it work for you. Ask lots of questions, talk to your club experts, look at as many examples as you can, and then take the most reliable, simple, and doable configuration you can for your first ebay. I found Newton's 3rd ejection canisters a big time saver and have yet to have one fail, and the MAWD was a perfect first alitmeter for me--YMMV. Good luck!