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DDO News for Week of 10/23 to 10/29
No DDOcast this week!
Episode 240 will be aired live on November 5th @ 3PM EST (Noon PST / GMT -4). Sig and I are off to enjoy our Anniversary! But don’t worry next week we’ll bring you more news on Update 12 on Lamannia.This Week in DDO News
Update 12: Vaults of the ARtificers Officially Announced
Info on Update 12 was released today and officially titled Vaults of the Artificers! Update 12 will be coming soon to DDO live servers, but you can now preview it on the Lamannia servers.
Update 12 Summary here >>
Offical DDO U12 Annoucement >>
Update 12 Events on Lamannia: Oct 29th @ 12PM EST
We’re looking for players brave enough to face Challenges on Lamannia tomorrow, Saturday Oct 29th! Those who play the Challenges can receive treats for Lamannia and for their live characters too! Join myself and 404Error (And maybe other Devs) from 12:00 PM Eastern to- 4:00 PM Eastern as they hand out treats for good little adventurers!
Read more details at the DDO Lamannia Forums >>
Offical DDO U12 Announcement >>
Turbine’s 2011 Annual Halloween Pumpkin Carving Contest!
It’s that time of year again: the weather turns colder, the leaves turn colorful, and spooky fun turns up everywhere. It also means it’s the perfect time for a pumpkin carving contest! Turbine is looking for the best pumpkins in the following categories:
- Asheron’s Call
- Dungeons & Dragons Online
- The Lord of the Rings Online
What you win for best DDO Pumpkin:
- 3000 Turbine Points for the DDO Store
- Custom Forum Title: “Dragonmark of Spooky (2010)
View Contest Details here >>
View Last Year’s Pumpkins here >>
DDO Dev Team describe Update 12′s Challenge quests!
DDO Design Director Ian “MadFloyd” Currie, Web Content Developer Kyle “FordyTwo” Horner, Associate Content Designer “FlimsyFirewood”, Content Designer Phil “The Rocking Dead” Speer, Senior Community Specialist Amanda “Tolero” Grow and (the heroically-named) Content Designer Steve “Steelstar” Rogers chat about time travelers, new Challenges, ogre bathroom breaks and much more in the latest Developer Q&A!
Read the Full Interview here >>
Mabar Festival Now thru Nov 2nd!
You’ll know the festival is active when the sky above House Jorasco’s Airship Tower turns blood-red, and the undead take advantage of the endless night to roam freely through Delera’s Graveyard. The festival takes place primarily in the graveyard, so get your undead-slaying gear and make your way there! Everyone, including free players, can visit the public Graveyard even if they don’t own the Delera’s adventure pack!
Read More on the Mabar Festival here >>
Mabar Lag!
Users reporting lag in the Mabar festival area and in the Spectral Dragon zone. MajMalphunktion responds: “My team does not create lag, and all I can do is report it.We are just one spoke in the wheel. The issue is more complex than ‘the dragon is out!!!’. We are working on it.”
Read & Comment on the Forums here >>
All U12 Challenge Quests now Open on Lamannia, including Epics!
- Lavacaves: Colossal Crystals – Huuuuuge Crystals have been discovered deep within the volcanic caverns. Kobolds love shiny crystals and the Union has decided that they MUST have one of them! Go Go Go!
- Lavacaves: Time is Money – The Time Foreman is short on Crystals but has plenty of time to trade!How long can you last?
- Lavacaves: Circles of Power – The Kobold Mining Union has found a large amount of crystals deep inside a volcanic cavern! Filled with dangerous enemies, the Union needs your help. Additionally, Mysterious circles of unknown energies can be found throughout the caves… Maybe it is possible to harness their power!
- Extraplanar Mining: The Dragon’s Horde – The Kobold Mining Union is in need of your help once again! This time, they’ve chosen a new location to gather Crystals from…an Extraplanar Palace that the dragon Auraxyllon has created to store his wealth.
- Extraplanar Mining: Labor Shortage – Back inside Auraxyllon’s Palace, a new Foreman has taken over the Union. Time is short and Crystals are still needed to meet the quota! Every second counts!
- Extraplanar Mining: Buying Time – A grizzled old Commander Foreman is working with his crew on the Extraplanar Palace. Unfortunately, He is down to his last few workers and needs your help to fill his quota.
Read more about the Epic versions here >>
U12 Shroud Update on Lamannia Make us Cry with Joy!
- When completing the Shroud, instead of a generic list of level-appropriate random gear, you will now get a selection of Shroud ingredients, which can include anything from small/medium/large ingredients to power cells, Shards of Power, and more!
- Extra chests will appear at the end of phase 5 on higher difficulty settings
- One additional chest will appear on hard difficulty
- Two additional chests will appear on elite
- Arraetrikos went on a diet, and now has fewer hitpoints on hard and elite.
Read more about the Shroud updates and comment at the Lamannia Forums >>
Update 12 on Lamannia Highlights: Update to +3 Tome Drops
Unbound +1 and +2 tomes now drop at slightly lower levels. Unbound +3 tomes can now drop in regular (high level) treasure. (That release note means “You can get them in lower level dungeons than before”. We basically shifted everything down a bit.)
Read up on the status of +3 Tomes in game >>
DDO Store Sale Items now thru Nov 3rd
20% off Favored Soul, Anti-Mummy Elixirs, Mummy Rot Cures, and Lesser Anti Beholder Crystals and fast travel items. Also get a free sample of Draught of Midnight with cupon code T5VB8D
More on DDO Store Sales >>
DDO Community News
The Eberron Chronicle - Another week of community highlights for DDO
Crafting with Courtney – Howling Wearwolf – +1 Screaming Module of Bleeding
Ten Ton Hammer’s Update 12 – Vaults of the Artificers Hands-On Preview with Paiz & Glin
Massively’s Hands-on with Dungeons and Dragons Online’s Update 12: Vaults of the Artificers - Rubi Bayer goes over the highlights of Update 12
And of course…Happy Halloween!
Mabar Festival! Now Thru Nov 2nd!
You’ll know the festival is active when the sky above House Jorasco’s Airship Tower turns blood-red, and the undead take advantage of the endless night to roam freely through Delera’s Graveyard. The festival takes place primarily in the graveyard, so get your undead-slaying gear and make your way there! Everyone, including free players, can visit the public Graveyard even if they don’t own the Delera’s adventure pack!
Enjoy some tricks and treats!
Crafting with…Courtney! Episode 19
Courtney crafts an Iron Defender module that’s downright scary!
Update 12 Vaults of the Artificers
Info on Update 12 was released today and officially titled Vaults of the Artificers! Update 12 will be coming soon to DDO live servers, but you can now preview it on the Lamannia servers.
Vaults of the Artificers features new challenge system, where you earn some pretty awesome loot!
- VIPs get unlimited access to all Challenge quests at all times
- Free and Premium players can buy the Challenge Pack. And just like Adventure packs, its a one time purchase that gives you unlimited access.
- Free and Premium players can also buy Single Access tokens
- Try before you buy! Each day, players can get a Daily Challenge Token. You can use this token to try out a challenge at anytime.
- And much like Adventure Guest Passes you can buy Challenge Guest Passes for a friend.
Read more about Update 12 Here >>
And of course, what everyone has been waiting for, the ability to unlock the Artificer class with favor earned in the new U11 and U12 quests. There are also some new features available for purchase in the DDO Store:
- New Platinum Sharing for characters on the same account on the same server. VIPs get the first tier automatically.
- Four new Armor kits, two are for warforged
- Challenge Powerups: buffs that help you get an edge inside Challenge quests.
- Challenge power ups
- Purchase and use Gold Seal hirelings two levels above your character.
Read more about the new U12 features here >>
Also released today, a Dev Diary Q&A with Design Director Ian “MadFloyd” Currie, Web Content Developer Kyle “FordyTwo” Horner, Associate Content Designer“FlimsyFirewood”, Content Designer Phil “The Rocking Dead” Speer, Senior Community Specialist Amanda “Tolero” Grow and (the heroically-named) Content Designer Steve “Steelstar” Rogers.
Crafting with…Courtney! Episode 18
Courtney makes a great item for your Artificer’s Iron Defender!
DDO Lamannia U12 Release Notes
Posted today on the DDO Lamannia Forums!
Welcome to the Lamannia Update 12 Release Notes for Dungeons & Dragons Online! These release notes were posted on Wednesday, October 19th, 2011. These notes are subject to changes and additions.
Try Challenges on Lamannia!
Introducing Challenges, available for preview on Lamannia! These repeatable quests feature multiple objectives and mini-games with a broad range of choices!
- Complete the objectives to collect rewards you can barter with for better loot.
- Choose your specific level of difficulty – each Challenge supports a broad range of character levels.
- Try to best your high score each time you play.
- Multiple variants available with different strategies, time limits, and rewards.
Challenge Scores
Scoring is based on both a point value and a Star ranking.
Point scores determine how many reward items you will receive once the time runs out! Try to beat your personal best high scores, or compare your score with your friends’ scores!
Additionally, each Challenge has five specific star objectives. Each objective you complete rewards a blue star. For every star you earn, you earn favor points for House Cannith. Each Challenge variant has a different set of star objectives, and can offer different types of monsters, mechanics, powerups, goals and time limits.
- You must complete the first star objective to receive items and XP for the Challenge.
- If you complete all 5 star objectives in one run of a Challenge at its maximum available CR level, all of your blue stars will turn to gold – you’ll earn bonus favor and bonus experience!
- Players over level (5 or more) will not be rewarded items or XP, but may still earn favor from star accomplishments.
Accessing Challenges
Visit House Cannith to participate in Challenges! Look for the challenge boards to accept your desired Challenge variant. There are multiple ways to gain entry to a Challenge:
Challenge Packs
- The Adventure Pack grants full access all the time, any time! Free to VIPs!
- Guest passes can be purchased to grant your friends access to challenges for a limited amount of time.
Challenge Tokens
Challenge Tokens are used to access individual Challenges one time
- Free Daily Challenge Token
- Visit Kariya ir’Vannis in House Cannith, near the Cannith Gorgon statue, to receive access tokens into that day’s free Challenge!
- The available Challenge will change every day, so check back daily to see which Challenge Kariya has to offer!
- Premium users will receive bonus Challenge tokens from Kariya!
- Challenge tokens can be used for entry into a Challenge, or spent on one-use bonus items using the “Cannith Supply Vault” located inside the Challenge at the beginning.
- Universal Access Token
- Purchase a universal token for single-use access to one Challenge of your choice.
Available CR Levels
Supported level ranges for each Challenge differ; as you enter a Challenge, you may use the level selection drop down menu to chose the Challenge level you wish to play. The majority of Challenge variants are also available (separately) in Epic CR levels. Note that selecting a Challenge below your character level can result in XP and reward penalties for your party, though it will not impact your ability to earn favor.
Rename Tokens
It is now possible to change your character’s name, surname, and your pet’s name – visit the DDO Store to purchase a Rename Token! Visit the Character -> Name Changes category and select which name you’d like to change. A one-use Parchment will be delivered to your inventory. (Note that names must still comply with the Code of Conduct)
- To change your first name, activate the Name Change Parchment (First Name) from your inventory and type in your new name. Special characters and spaces are unavailable in first names.
- To change your surname, activate the Name Change Parchment (Surname) from your inventory and type in your new name. You may use spaces and apostrophes in your surname, but other special characters and numbers are unavailable.
- To change your pet’s name, activate the Pet Name Certificate from your inventory. Open your pet’s character sheet by right clicking on their health bar. Click the “rename pet” button. Special characters and spaces are unavailable for pet names.
Update 12, Open for Business on Lamannia!
KookieKobold, DDO Lamannia CoordinatorLamannia is back online with the first portion of our U12 preview! Come take a look at a few of our new Challenges. Release notes and Known Issues will be posted shortly. (As soon as Tolero finishes sorting them out!)
DDO Forums Still Down!
Turbine SupportAs an additional precaution we recommend that all players change their passwords by visiting https://myaccount.turbine.com. Please remember to use unique, hard-to guess passwords that are not associated with other online services or sites, and always look for and report unusual activity in your account to Turbine customer support.
Update 10/18/2011: DDO forums are fixed and are now up and running!
Hey gang, its been nearly 4 days since the forums went down. Still no word on when they’ll be up or why they went down (only some speculation). But Turbine has updated their Forum Status page and suggested that you change your passwords at https://myaccount.turbine.com/
IMPORTANT: We’ve gotten reports from players getting a Phishing emails asking for your account information! DO NOT click on links from these emails! DO NOT give them your account information! Turbine or any sound company would ask for your account and private information over email!
Never fear! DDO team is active on the Facebook with small news bits. They’re also on Twitter posting riddle games. If you’re looking for a place to post your DDO bugs visit the DDOQABlog on the MyDDO site.
If you’re looking for something to do, you can listen to our latest episode, DDOcast 237, or tune in this Saturday for DDOcast 238 LIVE on Ustream.
Crafting with…Courtney! Episode 17
Courtney makes a necklace that to keep anyone healthy!
DDO Forums Down for over 12 Hours!
TurbineWe have identified a potential issue in the forum system. As a precautionary measure we have disabled our forums while we investigate. We will bring the forums back online when we complete our work. We thank you for your patience.
This from Ten Ton Hammer, LOTRO today:
Earlier today we received an unconfirmed tip that Turbine’s database for The Lord of the Rings Online had been breached. The tip pointed us to tech site Tweaker, which claims that the database for Turbine’s The Lord of the Rings Online had been compromised and was open to anonymous users. The forums for Turbine’s Dungeons & Dragons Online, Asheron’s Call and The Lord of the Rings Online have are currently down for maintenance. Whether or not this rumor has substance and or if it’s just coincidence is unknown at the moment.