DDO Store Sales: "Select Adventure Packs"

[C-Dog]

I bought Tethyamar when it was 35% off last winter because I didn't think they would put it again soon, and especially not on the next sale at 75% off. So it's kind of a bummer for everyone who bought it during the winter sale. I will probably skip on buying anything on 35% off from now on.

Then you're going to wait a looong time for some packs.

75% is a GREAT discount, but 35% is still very good. Some packs are worth full price, so F2P players have to balance what they need vs. a guaranteed long wait plus the uncertain possibility to save those extra points at some point in the (distant?) future.

If you don't have the points for both, get Tethyamar.

For anyone except the most casual player, I'd say the other way around - altho' the loot in Tethyamar is solid, the Voice of the Master is a "must have" item for anyone who is trying to level up. +5% XP adds up fast over time. But ymmv, natch.

Are they doing one last week of Summer Sails on July 26th?

The splash-screen from the game log-in says "Every Week in July!" - so I have to believe the answer is 100% yes. (I'd think, by now, they know what sort of riot they'd have on the forums if they didn't.)

[Arch-Necromancer]

For anyone except the most casual player, I'd say the other way around - altho' the loot in Tethyamar is solid, the Voice of the Master is a "must have" item for anyone who is trying to level up. +5% XP adds up fast over time. But ymmv, natch.

Voice is not the only item with that XP bonus. There are 3 more items with it from other content:

Experienced Evil (Temple of Elemental Evil)
Mantle of the Worldshaper (Ruins of Threnal)
Pale Green Ioun Stone (Shadowfell expansion, but ML 15)

So if you only want an item for level up, you have other options too.

I got super excited this week, but had gotten Tethyamar and Thunderholme mixed up in my mind. I was ready to plop down some coin on Thunderholme at 75% off, but alas. I bought Tethyamar last December.

Thunderholme or Dragonblood would have made more sense than repeating Tethyamar after the December sale...

[Dulcimerist]

Thunderholme or Dragonblood would have made more sense than repeating Tethyamar after the December sale...

I would buy both of those if they went on sale real cheap. I've been reluctant to buy more adventure packs, simply because there's so much I've bought but have never done. (I'm embarrassed to admit that I bought Shroud long ago, but have never flagged a character and run it before.) Big sales motivate me to buy more content, though.

[C-Dog]

The Summer Sails Sales event (i.e. "deep discounts") is over, but this week (now thru Fri, Aug 9) some more "select adventure packs" are on sale for 25% off, including some of the most popular ones. Which is better than 0% off, so if you aren't saving your points for the next big sale somewhere in the distant(!?) future, here we go...


... wow. Rather than give a list, (ALMOST) EVERY PACK IS ON SALE FOR 25% OFF - everything except the newer packs.

The only ones that are NOT are...

• Disciples of Rage
• Mists of Ravenloft
• White Plume Mountain
• Mines of Tethyamar
• Dragonblood Prophecy
• Against the Slave Lords

Everything else - 25% off all other quest packs. Go crazy.


I'll see if I can do a write up before this weekend, but no promises - that's a lot of packs to comment on. Some are the "core" listed earlier in this thread, and some are the "really nice to have" packs, for one reason or another, also mentioned above. In the 1st post is a link to a more in-depth review of most of these by EliisDee37 - refer to that for now.

[C-Dog]

(Last update for this post: Sept 2021

Note: For a variety of reasons, there has not been a Sale on quest packs for a looong time - currently well over a year. Even the last Summer Sails Sale (2021) had (iirc) only 1 (minor) offering - very sparse indeed. So any comments re: "Wait for a Sale!" should be taken with a grain of salt, and/or hopes for the upcoming Black Friday & mid-winter Sales. GL to all of us!)


No chance that I'm going to do a write-up of each and every pack*, sorry - just too many, and I'd largely simply be rehashing what's written in ED's review.

(* Edit: The ones I have reviewed are linked at the bottom of the first post in this thread.)

What I will do, given that (almost) "all" packs are currently on discount, is line out how you might want to make your choice. (I started to reply to another thread w/ much the same, expanding here...)


(And forgive the "Wall of Text" - it's not a question that deserves a quick and dirty answer imo. Though long, I hope it's still readable. :/ If you've spent dozens of hours for your hard-earned DDO Points, I'd think a 5-10 minute read is worth it.)


The only reasons to buy packs are:

1) A source of XP. Some packs provide better XP than F2P quests, and F2P quests get kinda thin around Level 8-10 and then again after Level 14 or so for the final push to 20. So some packs are popular for filling those gaps. Gianthold and Vale of Twilight fall into these categories (as well as some of the ones below), and are on the "must have" list. Demon Sands is great Epic XP*, but on the "nice to have" list. Some of the Necros are also there, but on the "buy later" list, b/c there are other (F2P) sources that are almost as good at that level.

(* As of August '19 the amazing XP farming of WizKing is only good once/character TR. This is still a good pack, just no longer "the" Epic XP farm it once was.)

You may also want to consider whether packs offer Epic play (past Lvl 20) and/or Reaper play - not all do.

• Note - Also consider your character level vs. the level of the pack. That is, if you're far below the level of the pack, you might not get to it very soon (depending how fast you're leveling). Otoh, if you're far above it, you won't get much XP or challenge out of it this life. Otooh, "on sale" is On Sale, so you might want to save while you can. Just another personal variable that only you can answer for yourself.

2) Named Loot. Each pack is a "ymmv" thing, but some are clearly superior (Slavers, Thunderhome, Ravenloft, etc). Packs that have only 1 or a few items are lower on the priority list than ones that fill additional needs. For example, Delera's is higher on the list ("nice to have") b/c of the usefulness of the Voice of the Master, and the few other items tip the balance. As a soft rule, you may get better loot in the new(er) packs, but otoh that may be all you get.

Edit: As of 2020, some of the ~best~ named loot is coming from Ravenloft and Masterminds of Sharn, both for heroic and epic, especially the sets from those. As a general rule, newer packs have better loot. That doesn't mean other packs don't have some gems, nor that some of the older stuff isn't still strong, but... for "the best", those.

3) Fun and variety. It's a grind to run the same quest all the time, and, for whatever reasons, some quests are simply "better" designed than others, and so more popular to run (e.g. for many players (but not all), Tangleroot suffers here). Maybe your Guild has a favorite Raid to run, maybe the NPC's make you laugh, maybe you love to hate the bad guy - lots of different definitions of "fun" here.


4) Favor (Total and/or specific Patron) - if chasing 3,000 favor for Vet 2 status, F2P players may want high-favor packs. If you have a ranged alt, you may want some packs w/ House Deneith Favor (for returning ammo and larger quivers). You may want packs that give you Free Agent favor for the Falconry tree*, or Sharn City Council favor for Inquisitive (which means Masterminds of Sharn). And so on.

(* fyi, Falconry requires all of: Three-Barrel Cove, The Restless Isles, Demon Sands, and Harbinger of Madness)

See: DDOWiki article on Favor

5) Sagas - a guaranteed source of Guild Renown and +1-3 Skill Tomes. See http://ddowiki.com/page/Saga for full info on Sagas, on what packs you need, and what level range each Saga falls into.


6) "Timing" - I'll start by saying this is below everything else for a reason. Imo, it's always best to grab the packs that you are about to need - right at or a little above the current level of your character(s). Otoh, sometimes you know what you want, you just can't afford it now, for this sale, but you can afford something else. I'd say get what you need/want, or wait and save your points until you can afford it, but don't blow your Points and settle for something less just because it happens to fit your budget at this moment.

(If you're waiting for a deal, the big sales are the the June/July "Summer Sails Sales", and the late November "Black Friday/Black Monday" (post-Thanksgiving for those from the U.S.) sale, followed by a mid-winter holiday offering (which (now) tries to include at least one quest pack, and may include more - nothing is guaranteed here). Discounts of 35-50% are common on (some) packs during these sales, and sometimes more! And, occasionally, random sales throughout the year will also surprise us with deep discounts on one thing or another. Problem is... you never know "What packs?" (or other items) will go on sale. Good luck.)

Note: The "big sales" usually hit packs that are not on sale during the weekly sales (or put those on much deeper discount). During the weekly sales, there are some that we see cycle through on some sort of regular basis, several times/year, 20-35% off (and if you scan back over this thread you can see those patterns). These are:

• Tangleroot (down from 550)
• Sorrowdusk (down from 450)
• Sharn Syndicate (down from 350)
• Phiarlan Carnival (down from 450)
• Three-barrel Cove (down from 695)

On the other side of that coin, the packs that do not go on sale are the newer ones and (for some reason) the Challenge packs, which (at the time of this edit, and still into late 2020) are:

• White Plume Mountain
• The Soul Splitter
• Masterminds of Sharn
• Mists of Ravenloft
• The Lost Gatekeepers
  ...and the 2 challenge packs...
• Eveningstar Challenges
• Vaults of the Artificers

Lastly) Just because. This is when you have DDO Points to spend and already own every pack you need/want, but, rarely, see LFM's for something else. Congrats.

If it's a toss up, buy the pack that you are about to use - i.e. the one that is at or just over your current level. Don't worry too much about lower level (unless you're chasing favor), as you won't see that until you Reincarnate and start over again. Unless it's just for the favor, probably better to buy something a few levels higher than a few levels too low.

How you prioritize your buys is up to you. Whether you want to gamble and pass on a 25% sale, waiting/hoping for a better one*, is also up to you. But if you're going to need/want a specific pack in a few levels, 25% now is better than 0% later, and buying that pack for 25% off is a LOT better than not having the pack you need/want at all.

(* A quick note on %'s...

Math is not for everyone.* Just know that if pack costs 500 DP, each +/-5% more/less is only a 25 DP difference, or the amount of DP you get from earning 100 favor. And less for cheaper packs, more for more expensive packs, and so on.

(* MATH WARNING: Here's the math: a +/-5% difference in a sale - and it doesn't matter if it's 20% vs. 25%, or 30% vs. 35% - every 5% difference is +/-5 DDO Points for every 100 DP that the pack costs.

So if a pack is 200 DP, each +/-5% is +/-10 DP difference; if it's 600 DP, each +/-5% is +/-30 DP. And so on.)
(Math Warning /off)

If you see a pack you want now, consider whether accepting that difference is preferable to waiting an unknown amount of time for a better price. And GL!)

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Recommended Adventure Packs

Now, given all the above and a grain of salt, these packs are the ones "Recommended", in some rough order...

(Note: Not updated since the release of Masterminds of Sharn. Recent packs have been (more or less) popular, but none are "must haves" afais.)

Below, I break down the game as having 4 basic tiers of packs, and while some players will disagree w/ some of the packs listed, this is some sort of rough consensus.

Note that the "general consensus" expects that you play at a comfortable pace with the main goal of getting to Level 20 (or, optionally/eventually, 30, which is "Epic" play). If that is not your (immediate) goal, if you are a "flower sniffer" who isn't so concerned with leveling, or are a "hard-core zerger" who's goal is speed and efficiency, or anything that might not fall in step with a "typical player", you may want to tweak these to suit.* Again, see "Reasons to Choose an Adventure Pack", the top half of this post.

(* Here's a good related thread with comments re Solo-friendly packs.)

o "Must Have" - These are seen as such by "the majority" because the majority of players are playing to level, and to find a good challenge. Also because there seem to be some "gaps" of F2P quests available at certain level ranges - if you don't have ~something~, you'll find a hard time getting through those levels without repeating the same Free-to-Play quests over and over and over. These 3 are the most popular because of overall high scores in most/all other categories. LFM's for all are common.

• Vault of Night, aka "VoN" (Lvl 8-9, Lvl 10 Raid(s), & Epic)
  Effectively 4 quests Level 8-9, plus a 2-part Level 10 Raid. While much of the loot is dated (with some notable exceptions), the quests are fun, the XP is great (inc. low-level Epic), and LFM's are common. A part of many vets' "reincarnation train". Also, it easily gets you to 150 House Kundarak Favor for your 3rd(!) Bank slot.
  
  See ED's full write-up here.
  
  
• Ruins of GiantHold (Lvl 13-14, & Epic)
  Gianthold is generally seen as THE go-to pack for XP in the early/mid-teen Level range (to get you to Level 15-16 Vale of Twilight, see next). Great XP, great variety, fun, lots of LFM's, fills in the F2P quest-level gap iof the mid-teens, and, all by itself, is one of the two lower-level Sagas in the game. LFM's are very common. Highly recommended.
  
  See ED's full write-up here.
  
  
• Vale of Twilight (Lvl 15-16, Raids 17-18, some Epic)
  "Vale" is the go-to Heroic end-game pack (i.e. to get to Level 20). 7 quests plus 3 raids, with some (not all) Epic play. Some of the quests can be uniquely challenging (as appropriate for high-level), but the learning curve is quick. Vale also offers access to Green Steel Crafting, a way to make powerful, personalized items. LFM's are very common.
  
  See ED's full write-up here.

... plus, if you intend to do Epic content (reincarnating at 30), the real-cash* expansions of Shadowfell and Menace of the Underdark - which come w/ a number of "free" quest packs.

(* These go On Sale for deep discounts once or twice a year - don't think, just grab them when they do. They come w/ a number of "bonus" items - the DDO Points alone are worth the price.)

Note - as time goes on, Ravenloft expansion becomes more and more of a contender for this top tier. Likewise with Masterminds of Sharn if(!) you're worried about end-game Heroics and/or moving on to (early) Epic play. See comments in next section.

o "Nice to Have" - This is probably the most controversial category, for one personal reason or another (see "reasons", above). These fall below the above "core 3", but are clear stand-outs among the rest. Some will insist there's 1-2 more packs to add here, but these are the "core honorable mention" that ~95% agree on.

• Three-Barrel Cove (Lvl 5-7, & some Epic; half of a Saga)
  
  • The low-level 3BC sits just below the above category, popular for its high experience points, well-written quests, great loot, and overall high fun factor. Plus, along with the Sentinels_of_Stormreach pack, it's half of the lowest-level Saga in the game. LFGs are common. I'd say the main reason it is not "top tier" is that there are so many F2P quests in that level range that it's not seen as "necessary".
    
    See ED's full write-up here.
  
  
• Delera's (Lvl 5-8 (-11)
  This is a good pack covering a broad range of "low level" questing, and one of the universally recommended "get this next" packs, after the core group. Effectively 8 quests, 4 in the Level 5-8 story arc (plus an odd walk in/out flagging quest, for xp and favor), and 4 stand-alone quests at Levels 6, 9, and two at 11. Lots of undead, well written, with narration by THE Gary Gygax, and some good named loot, including Carnifex and the ML 7 +3 UMD item Golden Cartouche. Total Favor is not bad either, at 129. However, perhaps the best selling point is the guaranteed end-reward for the arc, the Voice of the Master, a "must have" for every serious character who wants to level up. Grouping is common enough.
  
  Note - this pack recently (early 2020) got a rework, and now includes Epic play. Loot got rewarked too, but now named items only drop in end-chests, not in the end-reward, which now only includes Voice of the Master and the new Epic Voice of the Master. This makes "farming" specific named items work differently.
  
  See ED's full write-up here.
  
  
• Necro 3 (Lvl 11-12)
  This is a great example of personal taste - I have rarely run this, and seldom enough to speak at length on it.
  
  I can say that I am quite possibly in a minority, as it's on this list for a reason. N3 has 5 challenging and novel quests, centered around (yes) undead. Great XP (and great XP/minute for zergers). This (by itself) allows completion of the necklace, which is a core piece of many vets' gear. This is not "top tier" for several reasons - some players do not love it, do not need the XP source, and that one piece of named gear - no matter how powerful - does not tilt the balance for them (since they can get finish it later in Necro 4).
  
  See ED's full write-up here.
  
  
• Ravenloft expansion
  This is a recent addition here, (Lvl 10-12, Epic 30+), for the loot, sentient weapons & filigrees, the ability to earn the Vistani knife-fighter tree via Favor, Epic end-game Raids (Lvl 31+), and general popularity. It's expensive - about the cost of Vault of Night, Gianthold and Vale of Twilight combined(!) - but consensus is that it's great. The reason it's not "must have" is the price - at 2,495 DP, you could buy almost all the "core" packs, above. So grab it if/when you can afford it. LFMs are common. Not "top tier" due to price(!) and the simple fact that there are many other sources of XP in this level range.

Update: Masterminds of Sharn can be added to this list, too. Again, you don't "need" it to get to 20 (and, again, certainly not for 2,495 DP), but it has some of the best late-heroic (ML 15) and end-epic gear in the game. And great XP, Heroic and Epic sagas, plus Inquisitive. A standard run for many vets on both Heroic and Epic levels. Nuff said.

(Edit - After some consideration, I've removed Demon Sands from this category. It used to include a massive XP farm, now is only an average good pack. Wizard King is still a HUGE XP bump, but now only once/life. Also necessary for Falconry tree. Which are some very good reasons to have it, but no longer on par with the others here, imo. ymmv.)

o "Good Reasons to Have" - Most packs fall in this category, perhaps all of them. One way or another, there are few packs that don't have something tempting to offer in one or another of the categories listed at the top of this post, and "personal preference" is the only thing preventing "all" from being here.


o Whatever's left - People never all agree, but it's a fact that some players love some obscure pack for one reason or another, and that some quests just don't speak to some players, for one reason or another. "Yuck, no thanks!" they said, and they meant it. As always... ymmv.

That's about it! Weigh your options based on your needs and preferences, and, as always - haff fun stohmin da cassul!
o/


(Late edit - For an entire thread on this topic, with a variety of opinions from different players, see here. Good thread, and it demonstrates that "ymmv" is a key element in pack selection!)

[peng]

My alt account already has vale, reaver's reach, and... maybe the first 2 expansions? So I'm not sure if they're on sale (not starting another account). Other than those, the following packs are 20% off through August 23:

devil assault
catacombs
trials of the archons
red fens
restless isles
attack on stormreach
dragonblood prophecy
mines of tethyamar

[Sunnie]

My alt account already has vale, reaver's reach, and... maybe the first 2 expansions? So I'm not sure if they're on sale (not starting another account). Other than those, the following packs are 20% off through August 23:

devil assault
catacombs
trials of the archons
red fens
restless isles
attack on stormreach
dragonblood prophecy
mines of tethyamar

Devil Assault - THE place to farm tokens of the twelve for reincarnating.
Catacombs - Add content at level 3, so if you feel like there's not enough to do there it's a good addition.
Trials - Can be played in both heroic and epic, has some nice items.
Red Fens - Heroic and Epic, the end rewards were updated not too long ago and are somewhat useful again, in my experience it doesn't get played as much nowadays so finding a group for it might be tricky.
Restless Isles - Has two quests and a raid in two parts. I think the raid is awesome and that the quests are good, but getting to the quests can be a struggle, and getting to the raid either involves dissolving and reforming the party if you have more than 6 people in it, or else using the Greater Teleport spell from the Subterrane/Tempest Spine. You can leave this one for last.
Attack on Stormreach - Level 13 heroic only, probably not needed for leveling anymore, but the quests are good and not too difficult.
Mines of Tethyamar - Heroic and Epic, pretty nice loot, and a pretty sweet plot.

And I've never played the Dragonblood Prophecy because I've been waiting for it to go on sale.

[C-Dog]

This week we have 20% off some lowbie packs. 20% is the lowest % sale we see, so I'd suggest you only buy these if either 1) you really need/want it (e.g. your character is going to hit that level soon and you want some of that loot/favor), or 2) you just have piles of DP burning a hole in your pocket.

The 5 quests on sale this week are...

• Tangleroot 440 (down from 550)
• Sorrowdusk 360 (down from 450)
• Sharn Syndicate 260 (down from 350)
• Phiarlan Carnival 360 (down from 450)
• Three-barrel Cove 596 (down from 695)

Talked about all these in this older post - nothing new to see. Enjoy!

[C-Dog]

First sale of October, we currently have... the identical Adventure Pack sale we saw last time, 5 weeks ago, and that we saw again 6 months ago.

(And I'll ask that we not get OT and speculate or comment further on that - start your own thread if you want to go there, thx. )

So just read the last post, above, and/or this earlier post/thread for more info/comments about those 5 packs.


And don't forget - some sort of Big Sale is expected end of November, around the Black Friday/Monday Sales. No guarantees what will be on sale, no use to speculate - might includes packs, might not - just throwing that out there if you want to save your points.

[C-Dog]

Once again, for the "Select Adventure Packs", almost every pack is On Sale for 25% off - except the most recent packs. (But wait, it's not like the last time!...)

25% is not bad - the lowest sale we see is 20%, and this current sweep includes a lot of stuff that rarely (if ever) has been seen to go on "deep discount". So pick up something that you've been thinking about - but remember! The end-of-November Sales are right around the corner. No one can tell (without getting fired?) what packs will be On Sale then, so gamble at your own risk.

The only packs that are NOT included in this 25% off sale are...

• White Plume Mountain
• Mists of Ravenloft
• Disciples of Rage

By the way, for those keeping track... this means that, for the first time, Dragonblood Prophecy is On Sale! And Against the Slave Lords too (altho' I'm not sure if this is the first - but if not, it's close!)

I can't speak to Dragonblood Prophecy myself (about to scoop it up!), but maybe someone else can? Named loot, experience points, atmosphere, general review? 2 Heroic/Epic quests plus 2 enc- Epic (Lvl 32) Raids - anyone?

Against the Slave Lords has 3 (long) Level 8 quests and some great loot, and an internal craft system to create custom items in the ~ML 8+(?) range, that last well into mid-late Heroics.

[peng]

Both slave lords and dragonblood have been on sale at least once.

[C-Dog]

First Thursday in December brings us the first of the long-awaited December Deals!

Only 1 quest this week, but at a 75% discount!

• Against the Slave Lords 148 DP (down from 595)

While "Slavers" is not one of the 3 core packs (nor even one of the next Tier of "close seconds"), it does fall under almost every one of the very good reasons to buy a pack, and at only 148 DP it becomes a great deal.

Only 3 Level 8 (& Epic 31!) adventures based on the classic pen-n-paper module of the same name, but each one is well written and long enough to resist being repetitive. This chain boasts some of the better named loot in the game (including a great Trinket), but, more, offers its own powerful crafting system which can produce items superior to Cannith Crafted. A "Slavers gear set" is, for many veteran players, a big part of THE no-brainer gear for mid-end heroic leveling.

(NOTE: For some reason, this Level 8 pack is listed under "High Level" packs (as well as Epic). So in the Store, you'll find it under Accounts -> Adventure Packs -> High Level.)

[Bozone]

Once again, for the "Select Adventure Packs", almost every pack is On Sale for 25% off - except the most recent packs. (But wait, it's not like the last time!...)

25% is not bad - the lowest sale we see is 20%, and this current sweep includes a lot of stuff that rarely (if ever) has been seen to go on "deep discount". So pick up something that you've been thinking about - but remember! The end-of-November Sales are right around the corner. No one can tell (without getting fired?) what packs will be On Sale then, so gamble at your own risk.

The only packs that are NOT included in this 25% off sale are...

• White Plume Mountain
• Mists of Ravenloft
• Disciples of Rage

By the way, for those keeping track... this means that, for the first time, Dragonblood Prophecy is On Sale! And Against the Slave Lords too (altho' I'm not sure if this is the first - but if not, it's close!)

I can't speak to Dragonblood Prophecy myself (about to scoop it up!), but maybe someone else can? Named loot, experience points, atmosphere, general review? 2 Heroic/Epic quests plus 2 enc- Epic (Lvl 32) Raids - anyone?

Against the Slave Lords has 3 (long) Level 8 quests and some great loot, and an internal craft system to create custom items in the ~ML 8+(?) range, that last well into mid-late Heroics.

I lost that gamble. Bought Against the Slave Lords on this sale. Of course it goes up for 75% off in the December deals, less than a month later.

[C-Dog]

Have you enjoyed it since then? If so, then not a total loss. And if it didn't go on sale, would you still regret having bought it back then?

If I had to bet on the roll of 2d6, I'd bet on "7". Just because 7 doesn't show doesn't mean it wasn't the right bet.

[Bozone]

Have you enjoyed it since then? If so, then not a total loss. And if it didn't go on sale, would you still regret having bought it back then?

If I had to bet on the roll of 2d6, I'd bet on "7". Just because 7 doesn't show doesn't mean it wasn't the right bet.

Haven't set foot in it yet. But that's not uncommon for me. I buy the packs when they are on sale, and often I'm not at the right levels for the pack at that time.

Not really complaining about the sale, just my luck. Had a few to choose from and picked the wrong one. After an extended break, I didn't have enough DDO points for more than one pack during that sale (owned all the packs prior to the break). Knew there would likely be a bonus points deal around Thanksgiving (before or during the big sales), Ravenloft would probably go on sale for black Friday/cyber Monday and likely some adv packs would be on deep discount over the remainder of the year. Now I have points and Ravenloft, I just hope the 1 or 2 adv packs I don't have will be in the December deals over the next few weeks. If the last 1 or 2 are on the December Deals, I'll go into January with all of the packs again, and no regrets for not getting a better discount on one of them.

[0ldschool]

First Thursday in December brings us the first of the long-awaited December Deals!

Only 1 quest this week, but at a 75% discount!

• Against the Slave Lords 148 DP (down from 595)

While "Slavers" is not one of the 3 core packs (nor even one of the next Tier of "close seconds"), it does fall under almost every one of the very good reasons to buy a pack, and at only 148 DP it becomes a great deal.

Only 3 Level 8 (& Epic 31!) adventures based on the classic pen-n-paper module of the same name, but each one is well written and long enough to resist being repetitive. This chain boasts some of the better named loot in the game (including a great Trinket), but, more, offers its own powerful crafting system which can produce items superior to Cannith Crafted. A "Slavers gear set" is, for many veteran players, a big part of THE no-brainer gear for mid-end heroic leveling.

(NOTE: For some reason, this Level 8 pack is listed under "High Level" packs (as well as Epic). So in the Store, you'll find it under Accounts -> Adventure Packs -> High Level.)

Hi C-Dog. I bought it the moment I saw the sale. Now I can find out what this Slavers gear is all about! I'm going the Premium wait-til-on-sale route, and have been patiently waiting for pack sales since I bought Gianthold and Vale on their last sale. Oh, and I bought Ravenloft when the 50% off deal hit last week. I could see how waiting for months could be annoying those who want to level quickly, but for someone like me who is a 10-15 hour a week player at best, and a newb flower-sniffer to boot, it is working out well. I totally missed Ravenloft XP for my first character by waiting, but it was worth the savings. I eagerly await some more great pack sales this month, and hopeful for a MoTU sale too. I bought a pile of DDO points on Double bonus, I really like the way this is working out for me... as long as good sales keep coming.

[Arch-Necromancer]

I lost that gamble. Bought Against the Slave Lords on this sale. Of course it goes up for 75% off in the December deals, less than a month later.

I lost the one for Tethyamar pack and Deep Gnome. It wasn't a month later, but still too soon.

That's why I won't buy Aasimar now. It will probably be on a 75% off on some of the following sales…


Slavers pack is a great deal. Kinda expected since ToEE was on sale last December.

I also expect High Road of Shadows to be on a sale since that is the last older pack that costs 750+ points and has not been on a sale yet.

Some other older pack could also come, repeated from the last few sales. And a newer pack (unless Black Friday Dragonblood sale was the only one they planned for this part).

[btolson]

That's why I won't buy Aasimar now. It will probably be on a 75% off on some of the following sales…

Have the quest-only expansion packs ever gone on sale in the DDO store for any expansion? If not, then buying Aasimar at any discount is a bad idea, unless you're committed to either
1) never buying Ravenloft (Aasimar is included in every Market bundle)
or
2) buying the RL quests at full DP cost (2495)

[C-Dog]

Have the quest-only expansion packs ever gone on sale in the DDO store for any expansion?

Not sure which you're referring to by "quest-only expansion packs"...

MotU and SC have both gone on sale, several times (and at least once with deep cuts) if that's what you mean, all versions of them (except the pre-release specials).

If not, then buying Aasimar at any discount is a bad idea, unless...

Unless you just want it now, and are going to worry about RL later. That too.

[btolson]

Not sure which you're referring to by "quest-only expansion packs"...

MotU and Shadowfell don't exist in the store anymore, but Ravenloft still currently exists in Adventure Pack form. It's the quests alone for 2495 DP. You can't buy that through the Market, only the in-game store. All the Market bundles include Aasimar and the shard bundle at a minimum. I'm sure Ravenloft has never gone on sale in the store, though it has in the Market.

MotU and Shadowfell were formerly available in the TP/DP store as well, also as "just the quests" adventure packs (sans destinies, etc). I just can't remember if they ever went on sale in the store, or not.

I'm just saying that anyone who really wants to get the maximum deal (which, at this point, having skipped Ravenloft bundles at 50% off, they probably do) may want to avoid ever purchasing Aasimar separately, as that may end up being "wasted points" depending on whether there's any chance at all of Ravenloft ever going on sale for points. Getting RL and Aasimar bundled for the eventual 75% off ($10) is certainly a better deal than Aasimar for ~700 DP and RL quests for 2495 DP.