The Fourth Season of the DDO Hardcore League arrives March 31st!

[Cordovan]

UPDATE: The season is over and the After Party continues through July 20th! Find the Leaderboards on DDO.com.

Read more about the Hardcore League on DDO.com/Hardcore. We'll have more info about rewards and such as we get closer to the start of the season.

[Cranjis]

Will it be giving second chances again...

[Khimberlhyte]

All content was temporarily unlocked during HC3 when premium and F2P players were first allowed over. Everyone who was playing DDO last summer should have been able to use the free quests coupon and will have access to all quests plus any expansions they have purchased. However, I have seen a number of newer and returning players who missed out on the free quests coupon, some by just a few weeks.

Are there any plans to unlock content on hardcore again for HC4?

[Cordovan]

All content was temporarily unlocked during HC3 when premium and F2P players were first allowed over. Everyone who was playing DDO last summer should have been able to use the free quests coupon and will have access to all quests plus any expansions they have purchased. However, I have seen a number of newer and returning players who missed out on the free quests coupon, some by just a few weeks.

Are there any plans to unlock content on hardcore again for HC4?

No. People who are not VIP will be able to join the Hardcore server but will see the same restrictions on content that they have on the other worlds. As to whether we are doing extra lives, we will have more information on that in the future, but the current plan is to not have extra earnable lives for this season.

[Gratch]

Hopefully patch wise you prioritize your lag work to be done before this HC starts. I mean... ya know after the bow prioritization ofc.

https://www.ddo.com/forums/showthrea...=1#post6414127

[Yamani]

Hopefully patch wise you prioritize your lag work to be done before this HC starts. I mean... ya know after the bow prioritization ofc.

https://www.ddo.com/forums/showthrea...=1#post6414127

What ya talkin about, Hardcore going live will help other server performance. No one will be playing on them!

[C-Dog]

And so it begins...

... As to whether we are doing extra lives, we will have more information on that in the future...

Now that you've mentioned it, everyone will be itchin' - as much as you can share, as soon as you have it nailed down, PLEASE, thanks!
o7

... the current plan is to not have extra earnable lives for this season.

And the "Hard" in Hard Core returns... so be it.

[ahpook]

Read more about the Hardcore League on DDO.com/Hardcore. We'll have more info about rewards and such as we get closer to the start of the season.

Previously a goal of SSG was to not make system changes during hardcore season (I assume so as not to alter player builds in the HC server). You just mentioned in another thread about previewing bow changes on Lam. Does that mean that Bow changes won't be released until July? Or does it mean that bow changes are getting out in the next 2 weeks and you are just going to assume that everything will be perfect and no corrections will be required? If the latter then the timing seems rushed (not to mention its coming in 2weeks and you are still not ready to discuss prizes and rules).

[Memnir]

Any and all personal editorial thoughts aside - I will just wish the participants in HC4 the following:

[mikarddo]

If the lag fixes are good and the rewards include some variation of the bloody footsteps - I am looking forward to play.

If the lag remains - even more so without extra lives - I am much less interested. I tried that before and its simply too frustrating dying to a complete freeze after many hours of play.

If the rewards are just horses and regular cosmetics - I am not at all interested. I already have 4 different horses including the HCL3 horse for all characters and I dont care about cosmetics at all.

[Bolo_Grubb]

Hardcore for the sake of Hardcore holds no appeal to me.

Unique mount, maybe. A mount that is something other then a horse or unicorn, I am there. Cosmetics? Maybe I am there, but would have to be something that really appeals to me.

[fatherpirate]

No. People who are not VIP will be able to join the Hardcore server but will see the same restrictions on content that they have on the other worlds. As to whether we are doing extra lives, we will have more information on that in the future, but the current plan is to not have extra earnable lives for this season.

Hardcore goes back to being hardcore
Now that is what I am talking about.

[ironmaiden-br]

6414530[/URL]]No. People who are not VIP will be able to join the Hardcore server but will see the same restrictions on content that they have on the other worlds. As to whether we are doing extra lives, we will have more information on that in the future, but the current plan is to not have extra earnable lives for this season.

nice no extra lives! Real hardcore again!
And tks for the early advise this season

[slarden]

Build your characters accordingly. Several heroic spells are doing significantly more damage since U48.4. It may be hard to notice on your mains ,but you will notice it on hardcore

[Sexysysab]

After finally addressing things last HC season, you now plan (with lag worse than before) to go back to no earning safeguard life or two. Finally did a HC season last time and now you are making sure I wont bother this time. You were almost gleeful on your Wednesday talk about what you folks have done but ... sorry, the first two season people would talk about reaching level 17,18, and even 19 then being done in while frozen. No thanks for that nonsense. Forums will be filled with people talking about such deaths and then those who were lucky when the lag monster bit them will post about it "being real hardcore" and how those that wasted days should just "suck it up" manfully. One step forward ... two steps back, sigh I thought SSG was actually trying to make the game better. Also, since I actually work and have a life, I have to solo alot ... and with the soon to be emptied regular servers ... guess I should expect to only solo.
For the people who want to act as if this is the way HC should be and tell themselves how "real" it is .... its a game, not real life. You want to puff out your narrow chests, then here is what you can do. When you die ... just delete the character. Gratz, now you have what you want ... 1 life ... and those of us who dont have the time to go back all the way can enjoy HC as well. After all, you have to live to lvl 8 to get 1 lag save as it is. Dont worry though, they have already planned their season and wont make a single change based on our input ... we all know that by now.

[donblas]

As I've used all the allowable character slots, any character I level up on HCL will just be deleted.

In the past, I've done all the HCLs, and spent points of XP and slayer pots getting characters to lvl20 and 1750 favor.

It was fun in the past, but knowing I had a lvl20 character at the end was important too. Just getting a hat and a cloak doesn't seem worth it.

i can't see why I would want to spend on a character that will evaporate in a few months and be of no further use, sadly.

But let me buy a slot for them and I will be in!

[Dendrix]

The extra earnable lives were great, they meant that when the game system screwed you over you could still continue on.
It's a shame you have decided to ignore the omnipresent lag in the game and just shrug your shoulders and say "tough luck" to players.

[C-Dog]

It was fun in the past, but knowing I had a lvl20 character at the end was important too. Just getting a hat and a cloak doesn't seem worth it.

i can't see why I would want to spend on a character that will evaporate in a few months and be of no further use, sadly.

But let me buy a slot for them and I will be in!

While I don't share this view, I fully understand it.

@ SSG - It could be an idea to put Character Slots ON SALE in the next couple weeks. Yes, no, mebbe, eh?

The extra earnable lives were great, they meant that when the game system screwed you over you could still continue on.
It's a shame you have decided to ignore the omnipresent lag in the game and just shrug your shoulders and say "tough luck" to players.

There is a lot of truth in this. The premise of "1-Life HC" is that any mistake you make is your own fault - and that's just not true currently.

Now, it's also true* that there is no way to distinguish between operator error vs. game bug, but enforcing a random "you lose" factor (even if not as gloomy a one as some paint, ahem) is a disincentive to any/all who've been burned in the past, or witnessed such.

No idea what the thoughts are at the brain trust meetings, but maybe a compromise of "1 life at L10", an even half-way point? Just a thought, maybe not a great one, ymmv.

(* Is it? Is there no way to monitor serious lag spikes and code in some sort of standing "instant reset" of a world/instance that suffers one?)

[Uralte]

Remember folks, to wipe the gun oil from your head, it causes acne. At some point SSG will be knocking on your door, putting a gun to your head and forcing you to log into HC4. As miserable as a time you are going to have been forced to play it, the last thing you want to do is walk around in the real world with a monster zit shaped like the barrel of gun on your forehead.

I have been stocking up on ointments, salves and creams because last season they kicked in my door everyday forcing me to log into HC and the acne was sooooo bad people kept calling me John Merrick. So, for your own sense of well being, stock up on acne cream before they kick in your door and force you to log in.

PS
Cord, this season I will just leave the door unlocked, no more kicking in the door, that got expensive last year.

[fatherpirate]

Prob pointless to suggest rewards at this point but WHY NOT !

Bring back bloody footprints (different color or foot shape)
for this season. (monster tracks?)

Instead of earning free lives...... Do this !
Earn Perm. Gold Seal hirelings :-D (bind to account) (not an unlock, 1 per qualified character reaching that level)
so if you get 2 HCL characters to level 8 you would have 2 rogues but can only use one at a time.
(not a replacement for cosmetic awards, these are in addition to them)
Level 8 (rogue)
Level 16 (healer)
Level 20 (animal)
Level 24 (unusual) (figurine of wonderous power or like that)

Just a thought
PEACE