A sneak peek at Update 24’s dungeons … and beyond

[Knockback]

Content designer Knockback here. I’ve worked on dungeons such as “Eyes of Stone,” “The Snitch,” “A Study In Sable” and the Thunderholme adventure area, and I’m here to update you folks on some of the things we’re currently building for DDO.

Upcoming dungeons in Update 24

Update 24 will be previewed on Lamannia starting this weekend, so now seems like a good time to unveil its dungeons. Get ready for some surprises!

First up in Update 24 is a new content pack, Heart of Madness. The plane of Xoriat is encroaching on Eberron once again and the result is three dungeons full of Xorian insanity. Both the Lord of Eyes and the Lord of Stone are back, as well as some other fan favorite characters. (Hint – one of the dungeons is named “Fashion Madness.”) The centerpiece of the pack is “Terminal Delirium,” the follow-up to two of our most popular dungeons. Once again you’ll be returning to the Sleeping Spell Inn, and once again you’ll be seeing—and be turned into—some very unusual things. Heart of Madness is CR 18 Heroic/26 Epic, and is a paid pack (450 Turbine Points; free to VIPs of course.)

Also coming in Update 24 is a Forgotten Realms dungeon themed to tie in with Wizards of the Coast’s Tyranny of Dragons storyline. You’ll infiltrate a Cult of the Dragon base while on the trail of the fabled White Dragon mask. “The Mask of Deception” is CR 16 Heroic/30 Epic, and is free to everyone.

Hey, what happened to Anauroch?

Earlier we had mentioned Anauroch as one of the places we wanted to go in 2014. Obviously that’s not happening.

Why the change? It’s tempting to blame it all on Xorian madness, but the truth is we’ve been listening to what excites you guys when it comes to D&D settings. We may still make it to Anauroch eventually, but don’t expect it any time soon. It’s a long, long walk from Cormyr. Instead of the blazing hot desert, we’re going someplace cooler instead.

Future plans and Update 25

So what kind of cool things led to the detour away from Anauroch? One of them will be coming in Update 25. Since The Haunted Halls of Eveningstar was received so well, we’ve decided to adapt another classic pen-and-paper module to DDO. Rather than blabbing on, I’ll skip right to the awesome part and give you five simple words:

The Temple of Elemental Evil.

Yep, we will be creating our own version of the original, classic Temple inside DDO. We’re very excited about adapting one of the most famous modules in Dungeons and Dragons history, and we hope you are too.

In the meantime, though, we have a date with insanity. Hope to see everyone this weekend on Lamannia for a preview of Update 24!

[LeoLionxxx]

Thank you for this! I was just recently wishing for more xoriat content!

I'm also glad Shadowfell stuff seems to be done and over with and the Cult of the Dragon brought into the spotlight - perhaps we can finally get some acknowledgment from the wizards for doing this.

I'll need to read up on this Temple of Elemental Evil - I've heard the name a couple of times. If it has both heroic and epic version, it could be used to draw in more of the tabletop community as they decide to explore it in 3D.


Overall, very excited to see this great stuff!

[DagazUlf]

I cannot even communicate my enthusiasm for ToEE. I've been running players through T1-4 for over 20 years now and this announcement just thrills me like no other Turbine announcement before.

[Blackheartox]

Temple of elemental evil?

Really?
I mean ty from the bottom of my heart for adding that amazing module to ddo.

Thank you, just simply thank you

[SirShen]

Thanks for the post.

Excited about The Mask of Deception quest and The Temple of Elemental Evil in U25.


Not into the madness quests only do the ones at level 17 because there is nothing else todo at that level. I dont even do the other set of quests at all, since they gimpped the reward rings to level 13 and you can get better rings from chests at a lower level. Will see what they are like on Lama but its doesnt excite me as much as the two above quests.

[bbqzor]

a new content pack, Heart of Madness. The plane of Xoriat is encroaching on Eberron once again and the result is three dungeons full of Xorian insanity. Both the Lord of Eyes and the Lord of Stone are back, as well as some other fan favorite characters. (Hint – one of the dungeons is named “Fashion Madness.”) The centerpiece of the pack is “Terminal Delirium,” the follow-up to two of our most popular dungeons. Once again you’ll be returning to the Sleeping Spell Inn, and once again you’ll be seeing—and be turned into—some very unusual things. Heart of Madness is CR 18 Heroic/26 Epic

Sigh. Just sigh. I hope this one has learned well the lessons of the others, and is accordingly less annoying. But instead I bet we get beholder to the face.

a Forgotten Realms dungeon themed to tie in with Wizards of the Coast’s Tyranny of Dragons storyline. You’ll infiltrate a Cult of the Dragon base while on the trail of the fabled White Dragon mask. “The Mask of Deception” is CR 16 Heroic/30 Epic

Sounds intriguing. If done well, instead of just done to cash in on the hype, this could be really cool. Be fun to check out.

we had mentioned Anauroch as one of the places we wanted to go in 2014. Obviously that’s not happening. Why the change? It’s tempting to blame it all on Xorian madness, but the truth is we’ve been listening to what excites you guys when it comes to D&D settings. We may still make it to Anauroch eventually, but don’t expect it any time soon

Somewhat disappointing, if only because a new large FR area held some interest for end game possibilities. Honestly though, that role could be filled by any number of things, all of which could easily turn out better. Quality of content is more important than location to me, so as long as its good stuff its all good. Just keeping us appraised, as in this post, is appreciated. Thanks.

Since The Haunted Halls of Eveningstar was received so well, we’ve decided to adapt another classic pen-and-paper module to DDO. Rather than blabbing on, I’ll skip right to the awesome part and give you five simple words: The Temple of Elemental Evil. Yep, we will be creating our own version of the original, classic Temple inside DDO.

You have chosen... wisely /holygrail. Let me say right now, the more large, epic, and well itemized this is... the better. Do NOT cut any corners. We can wait. Deliver some gold. Deliver it!

[Trillea]

You have chosen... wisely /holygrail. Let me say right now, the more large, epic, and well itemized this is... the better. Do NOT cut any corners. We can wait. Deliver some gold. Deliver it!

This.

A thousand times this.

This module has the possibility of being something not just great but truly epic. Please please please take your time and get it right. I will be waiting on lamannia to see it when it is there.

This is the first time in a LONG time that I have been this excited this early for an update.

Don't let us down, and we won't let you down!

[UurlockYgmeov]

The Temple of Elemental Evil.

ToEE!!! YES!!!

[InsanityIsYourFriend]

Heart of Madness. The plane of Xoriat is encroaching on Eberron once again and the result is three dungeons full of Xorian insanity. Both the Lord of Eyes and the Lord of Stone are back, as well as some other fan favorite characters. (Hint – one of the dungeons is named “Fashion Madness.”) The centerpiece of the pack is “Terminal Delirium,” the follow-up to two of our most popular dungeons. Once again you’ll be returning to the Sleeping Spell Inn, and once again you’ll be seeing—and be turned into—some very unusual things. Heart of Madness is CR 18 Heroic/26 Epic, and is a paid pack (450 Turbine Points; free to VIPs of course.)

Ohhhhhh boy I can not WAIT! While you guys are at it I am hoping for epic versions of Harbringer of Madness and Reign of Madness, and maybe a saga that connects em all.

[FranOhmsford]

Well I for one absolutely LOATHE Delirium and Acute Delirium!

In the Flesh is also amongst my least favourite dungeons!

So this doesn't excite me one bit!


I'd also like to know who has been clamouring for these quests {yes we see the odd person going on about how great they are from time to time on these forums but get in-game and put up an LFM for Acute Delirium and absolutely no-one will join!
They'll happily join once you get to Sane Asylum however!!!
Put up an LFM for In the Flesh on anything other than Elite and you'll have to open it up to 19s cos no-one will break their Streaks!
Put up an LFM for Delirium and Crickets {Put up one for Acid Wit however and you'll have a full group in no time that might just stay for Delirium afterwards!}.



Also: Why yet another Lvl 18 Pack?
We already have more than enough Lvl 17-19 content that doesn't get run!

Even a Legend can hit 20 with ease off Gianthold and Vale these days {Maybe taking in IQ but even that's not seeing the multiple daily LFMs it used to!}.
Once at 20 no-one wants to run Lvl 17-19 quests on Elite as they give less than HALF the XP of an Epic Normal VoN 3/4, Spies or Wiz King!

Another Lvl 16 quest isn't needed either - Lvl 10-12 is where we need new quests!



You're shooting yourselves in the feet by making every new pack both Heroic and Epic with High Level Heroic Versions.

Why would anyone run EE when they can get the Favour from HE? {This is also a problem with low level Heroic versions of Epic Quests but at least they don't come so close together and you might get a few people running both Heroic and Epic versions!}.

What's the point of running HE after that first Favour run when you can get 3 x or more the XP from Epic Normal {which we can now enter at Lvl 20!}.
What's the point of running HN or HH at all?
At least with a low level quest you've got the Newbies who might make use of the HH or HN difficulties.


Finally: You're looking at this Heroic/Epic Dual-Pack system the wrong way round - You're making Epic versions first and reducing for High Level Heroic versions.
This means that NONE of the Heroic quests added since Beyond the Rift has felt {lore and role-play wise} like a High Level Quest!
NOT ONE!

Eveningstar, The High Road, Wheloon, The Stormhorns - Every single one of these could easily have been placed between Lvl 7 and Lvl 12!

As for your Epic only Quests:
Study in Sable - Great Quest though it is could easily have been placed at Lvl 9 {Same as Shadow Crypt!}.
Schindylrynn - Lvl 10-12
The Demonweb - Lvl 17-19 {This is the closest but even then the quests are so short that it doesn't quite work.}

These don't FEEL Epic!

I haven't yet run Brothers of the Forge.


And for E-GH, E-3BC and E-Orchard:

E-GH - Standard upgrade for the quests {pity about Tor} and a Raid that was almost universally acclaimed - The Epic Explorer Zone though is terrible!
E-3BC was done pretty well {though I'm not enamoured with the Airships}
E-Orchard is a Mess!

[Krelar]

I like the idea of ToEE. I hope you do it a bit different from Haunted Halls though.

No one ever goes in and does the entire thing after the first time through, they take the shortest route to get to the end bosses.

I'd like to see each level of ToEE, or at least group of related levels, be it's own dungeon as apposed to one massive dungeon.

[FranOhmsford]

I like the idea of ToEE. I hope you do it a bit different from Haunted Halls though.

No one ever goes in and does the entire thing after the first time through, they take the shortest route to get to the end bosses.

I'd like to see each level of ToEE, or at least group of related levels, be it's own dungeon as apposed to one massive dungeon.

Yes please.

Haunted Halls was amazing soloing EN the first time through on the standard version BUT the extended version is just a Zerg run!

[Vasax]

The Temple of Elemental Evil.

Do not mess this up, this module should not be easy nor quick ( let's not forget the prequel (The Village of Hommlet) and sequel (Return to the Temple of Elemental Evil) ). So I'm not sure how much of those modules will find its way into the overall story. There are a multitude of dungeon levels and even things going on outside the actual temple before getting really into the mix. I can only hope for something a party can spend a few hours over all in and not get bored and solo'd on EE in less then 45mins.

The treasure! Did I just squeal?

While The Haunted Halls of Eveningtar is great, it's personally one of my favorites in DDO and very well done; but it's not perfect.

As for Anauroch, well, I really want Turbine to finish out the Netherese story arch, with Tiamat finally making a long awaited debut.

[Trillea]

I like the idea of ToEE. I hope you do it a bit different from Haunted Halls though.

No one ever goes in and does the entire thing after the first time through, they take the shortest route to get to the end bosses.

I'd like to see each level of ToEE, or at least group of related levels, be it's own dungeon as apposed to one massive dungeon.

This would be just fine with me as long as there is an in-quest continuation exit a-la the House D Depths Quests or the entrance to Spinner of Shadows after the Overlord quest in the E-star connection chain. I would be happiest though if you could not access the highest levels before running the lowest ones working your way up.

[phillymiket]

Awesome.

I can't wait :-D

[Qhualor]

interesting that Xoriat is a fan favorite and not Anauroch. I think you guys are confused with xp/min Sane Asylum as the actual reason why its run. never have I been in a group doing it the "long" way or fighting Left Eye/Right Eye. good luck trying to get a group together to run the whole chain. it was easier before the xp curve change, but not now. personally not a fan of any of the Madness and Xoriat quests, but I do still run them. to be honest, not looking forward to more of them, but I will check them out of course since they would be new quests and who knows, maybe I would like them.

definitely looking forward to Tyranny of Dragons. that whole thing is just cool. personally think they should be level 15 quests because we have plenty of 16s. level 15 is the last heroic level range that needs a few more quests. when I IR, I end up farming Litany and Missing because lack of level 15 content. either way, its exciting to get Tyranny at any level range.

kudos on learning from the actual fan favorite Haunted Halls and continuing on with that idea.

ill be on Lamma for sure if 202 error is fixed this time.

edit: put in right quest name

[FranOhmsford]

interesting that Xoriat is a fan favorite and not Anauroch. I think you guys are confused with xp/min Lord of Eyes as the actual reason why its run. never have I been in a group doing it the "long" way or fighting Left Eye/Right Eye. good luck trying to get a group together to run the whole chain. it was easier before the xp curve change, but not now. personally not a fan of any of the Madness and Xoriat quests, but I do still run them. to be honest, not looking forward to more of them, but I will check them out of course since they would be new quests and who knows, maybe I would like them.

Sane Asylum not Lord of Eyes {LoE is the End Quest - Sane Asylum is the XP Quest}.

Yeah - I'll run them {I need the Favour} but there's no way I'll ever step into the Epic Versions!


Losing Anauroch however is a kick in the teeth!

[vengfarga]

Comrade Ohmsford has long and WELL represented the views of many brothers and sister of this commisariat.
However, we are concerned that the following intercepted exchange:

"Well I for one absolutely LOATHE Delirium and Acute Delirium!

In the Flesh is also amongst my least favourite dungeons!

So this doesn't excite me one bit!"

is failing to take into account the fact that we're getting THE TEMPLE OF ELEMENTAL EVIL!!!!1!!!!!
and as such a failing has occurred, it should require at least 10 seconds per minute of frowning, muttering and shaking of heads before resuming grinning like a loon and cheering based on the outside chance that this much beloved module might actually translate in a way we don't whinge about TOO much!

[FranOhmsford]

Comrade Ohmsford has long and WELL represented the views of many brothers and sister of this commisariat.
However, we are concerned that the following intercepted exchange:

"Well I for one absolutely LOATHE Delirium and Acute Delirium!

In the Flesh is also amongst my least favourite dungeons!

So this doesn't excite me one bit!"

is failing to take into account the fact that we're getting THE TEMPLE OF ELEMENTAL EVIL!!!!1!!!!!
and as such a failing has occurred, it should require at least 10 seconds per minute of frowning, muttering and shaking of heads before resuming grinning like a loon and cheering based on the outside chance that this much beloved module might actually translate in a way we don't whinge about TOO much!

Oh I'm all for Temple but it it's anything like Haunted Halls i.e. a Zerg Fest then No!

Again: Haunted Halls doesn't feel {Lore or Roleplay wise} like an Epic Dungeon!

If the Devs had put it at Lvl 6 it would be just as good if not better on the standard version {extended could have been placed at say Lvl 12.}.

Temple needs to be as good {if not better than} as Haunted Halls on the first exploration BUT it also needs to FEEL like an Epic Dungeon AND be much much better on subsequent runs!
I.E. NO ZERGING ALLOWED!!!

[Claver]

Heart of Madness.

The Temple of Elemental Evil.

Awesome News!!!

More Beholder Drunkeness!!!! For me, the Madness quests are some of the must fun and original quests in the game. I still make it a point to take my time in those quests and soak it all in.


And Temple of Elemental Evil was possibly the first D&D module I ever experienced. I hope you guys have giant halfling swallowing Frogs and a Cleric boss with black armor and slit helm with an eyeball emblem on his chest. 30some years later I want to payback that cleric for smacking me upside the head, repeatedly, with his mace.