In this article I will explain some issues I have with DDO. This isn’t an attempt to slam the game as I enjoy it and play fairly often. I’m just a grumpy git so this is kind of my reverse-review.

I tend not to play in big groups and rarely play with a full party unless it’s a raid, epic or I’m just in a good mood.
I preffer to run alone or with the girlfriend and friend in America. I actually like the challenge of using hirelings to do the dirty work while I try my best to stop them running into traps and the like. So this review will focus on more fundamental aspects of DDO.

StormReach

Dungeons & Dragons Online takes place in Northern Xen’drik with the main game area being the city of StormReach. “The Marketplace” leads to the separate “houses” where you will find the majority of available quests.

While the communal areas look stunning they are very small compared to nearly all other noteworthy MMOs, even Trubines’ own LOTRO.

You can argue that DDO is an instanced MMORPG and not a persistent world or that including the quests maps would make up for the main map being small, but I think it would be nice to have more than one city to explore and interact with other players.

Making the main city much bigger or creating a whole new city or similar area would, in my opinion, reduce lag and add a huge amount of value to the game.

I hope the aquisition of Turbine by Warner Brothers will allow for faster expansion of the explorable world as it’s one of the least developed areas in the game.

The Map

The mini-map in DDO is generally fine and works very well, however, it is next to useless in quests that are split over several floors or levels.
The map is 2D in every sense. If you go up or down a floor the map doesn’t change in any way to show the new floors accessible and inaccessible areas.

The quests in Dungeons & Dragons Online are created in such a way that means each floor runs partly, or completely, over the lower and upper floors. This doesn’t sound too bad, but after crossing the map to find a corridor blocked by crates or come to a dead end because your on the wrong level can get frustrating!

It has to be said that quests like “The Pit” or “The Coalescence Chamber” are a great example of how annoying this can be.

A possible fix could be a layered fog of war which changes on different levels. The current map system leaves a lot to be desired, so I don’t see any simple fix that wouldn’t have large overheads.

This is a small annoyance for some people but a total nightmare for others and I know it would take a lot of work to fix…. But I still hold out hope

DDO Store

Without the DDO Store there wouldn’t be a free-2-play Dungeons & Dragons Online game at all. Fact.
You can buy nearly any in game item through the DDO store and many that can’t be found in game.

Everyone likes being able to get out of a tight spot if the need arises, but some gamers seem to use the store as a first resort.
It seems great at first glance; “Woow, I can buy some SP pots so we don’t wipe”. In my experience, this kind of attitude is applied way too much.

This is a fairly small complaint but can become annoying at high levels when the players have more invested in the game.
God mode, easy button, insta-win, pay-to-win… There are many terms associated with the DDO store and not many are positive.

The simple solution is to remove some of the crap. What idiot buys +1 items when the drop out of any quest over level 2 or spends 1995 TP Heart of Wood?

What’s next? In game adverts?…. Fuck… You mean, the’re actually thinking about it?

I know it’s Turbine’s main source of income, but it feels insulting to have it forced in such a way.

Epic Difficulty

Epic difficulty is for characters at level 20 only.
It is designed to be a real challenge for maximum level toons, and it is.
Enemies won’t die nearly as often from insta-kill spells like Phantasmal Killer and Destruction, they have a lot more hit points and deal a lot more damage with attacks and spells. Traps on epic difficulty are a lot tougher to disable and deal a lot more damage. So far so good.

But that’s where I have a problem. Everything is exactly the same but with more hit points while dealing more damage.
It would be nice to see a bit of variety. Instead of only being able to use a shrine once, why not remove all but one set of shrines? Perhaps two bosses instead of one. Mob spawns in different locations…

It feels like they turned the enemies up to 11 added a few tokens and yet more collectables and said: “It’s finished. Enjoy!”

It isn’t terrible, but it isn’t great. It’s just more of what was there.
You will only struggle if your character is gimped or if you get an elitist party (which is fairly common on epic difficulty).

The past few updates have added better loot and tweaked epic quests a bit, which seems to be a move in the right direction so fingers crossed.

PvP

Player Vs. Player in Dungeons & Dragons Online consists of bar brawls. These can be one on one or in groups, but is a very limited section of the game and feels very tacked on and under developed.

I don’t actually play PvP much at all in DDO.
I love DarkFall Online, which is PvP centric, so why doesn’t DDO’s player vs. player interest me at all? Simple:

• No risk or reward.
• Greatly unbalanced.
• There is no variety in fighting style.

Fairly major drawbacks, huh? I thought so too!

Collectables

The amount of collectables in DDO is insane and not worth the effort.
There are currently about 153 items which are called “Collectable Items”. These can be turned in to various NPCs to get a random reward or used in item crafting but the effort really doesn’t seem worth it.

So, 153 collectable items plus quest related items, spell components, ingredients and gems. Some of these items even create other items. It quickly fills your bags with, mostly, useless crap.

The only use I have found for the collectables, so far, is with my Pale Master Wizard.

There are rumours that the whole system may be replaced with a similar system used during the Mabar Endless Night Festival. I would welcome this, but don’t think it will be implemented soon if at all.

Crafting

“Crafting” in DDO is one of my top annoyances.
The current crafting system, to me, seems completely against D&D’s ethos.
It essentially means repeatedly running “The Shroud” raid to collect items (yes, more collectables) which can be turned into a usable item, weapon or piece of armour.

There are other uses of “crafting” in DDO but the term is used in the loosest possible sense.
I would like to see a more realistic approach taken but a complete overhaul of the system doesn’t appear to be on the horizon.

Maybe it’s just me but combining Lammanian Lily Petals, Green Brier Twig and Glistening Pebbles to make GreenSteel Goggles seems a bit retarded.

Payment

Turbine’s store accepts credit cards and Paypal, both of which have their problems.
Firstly, it seems stupid that only one DDO account can be funded by one Paypal account. If you want to buy points for more than one account you will need to use another Paypal account or a credit card. Many people have several accounts.

Secondly, I decided to use a credit card for my girlfriends account…. And what a mistake that turned out to be!
Turbine tried to charge my card three times for one purchase. My bank suspected the transactions as fraudulent activity and I removed my card details as a result.

I know Turbine aren’t against multiple accounts, so why turn down business in such a way? Maybe it’s yet more evidence of a badly coded system.

Rant Over

Well, that’s it… Inane ramblings over with.
Feel free to comment. I care, even if Turbine doesn’t

I will be giving away some great loot, listed below, to the best Dungeons and Dragons Online screenshot taken and posted here. A snap poll will take place, but I will ultimately decide the winner (excluding my own, awesome, contribution!).

The screen shot competition is limited to Abeon Elite Guild members but you can submit as many screenshots as you like.

How To Win

4 manned VON6, killing Velah?
Roll a natural 20 saving with -9 HP in lava?
Near party wip trying to kill R’zzix the beholder in Caverns Of Korromar?

Just take a great in-game screen shot by pressing CTRL+P of a memorable event and have a chance of winning some awesomely free loot

By default screen shots are stored in “My Documents/Dungeons and Dragons Online” for Windows XP, or equivalent folder for other OSs.

Please just post the link to pictures as it could make the page slow!
(tinypic.com is a good, free picture host)

What Will You Win

• 10,000 Plat
• Rod Of Teleport (50 uses)
• Collapsed Portable Hole
• 100 Cure Critical Wounds Potions
• Dusk Heart
• Belt of Greater False Life (+30 Max HP)
• Manual of Quickness in Action (Dexterity +1)
• +5 Icy Burst Greatsword of Tendon Slicing 8%
• MuckBane

Entries must be posted by the 31st of August.

This article has an up-to-date list of the known issues in Dungeons & Dragons Online.
It’s worth having a quick read through just so you know what to expect!

Current Known Issues (10-20-2010)

Of Special Note

• NEW - Some Intel users may find that when DirectX 10 is enabled, only their UI is visible and the rest of their screen is black. If this occurs, we recommend you disable DX10, enable DX9, and restart the game client.
• NEW - Clients may experience a persistent ‘grinding’ noise. Switching from the DDO client to another application and back, or logging in and out, will correct the issue for a time.
• NEW - You will not be able to trade motes to The Mote of Night Collector in the Endless Night live event for a Spectral Dragon Scale. The largest stack of motes that can be created is 9,999 motes, and the Dragonscale costs 10,000.
• NEW – The Chronoscope Raid: If a player speaks with Veheer after the Abishai boss is killed, but before the ending drama sequence is completed, the quest will not be completable. Please wait for the entire sequence to complete before proceeding to Veheer.
• NEW - Mabar Festival of Endless Night: Players may be booted from the Spectral Dragon encounter when they attempt to enter it, or shortly after entering it.
• Named items from the Menechtarun that are “exclusive” should NOT be placed in the stone of change for the cleansing rituals, as it will destroy the item. Additionally, please note that the Great Axe of the Chained Soldier is an exclusive item, but this is not mentioned in the item description. Do not perform cleansing rituals on the Great Axe of the Chained Soldier.
• If your quest fails to complete, logging out and back in can re-update your quest status to grant the completion. Make sure you have someone in the quest to keep the instance active for you while attempting this work-around. Solo players please note: logging out and back in may help, but only if your instance does not reset in the process. If the instance resets you will need to redo the quest.
• Players have reported that they sometimes have trouble climbing up long ladders due to hitching or becoming caught in the middle of the ladder. Many of these “sticky” ladders have been fixed, but there may be other locations. If you come across a sticky ladder, please submit a bug report from the location of the ladder.

Guilds & Airships

• The DDO Store version of the Small Guild Chest incorrectly only allows Officers or Leaders to access the chest.

Turbine Download Manager

• If you experience any problems with the Turbine Download Manager, please click here.

DDO Store

• “Continue shopping” store link takes you to the homepage
• If you meet the pre-requisites to see an item in the Store (such as having a character ability or purchasing a prerequisite item), you may need to reload the Store for the item to appear. Press the home button (the house shaped icon in the upper left of the Store window) to reload the Store.
• Returning players who are not receiving their favor reward Turbine Points may be able to correct the issue by logging out and back into the game to receive residual Points. Refreshing the Store using the home (the house icon) button may also correct the issue.
• NEW - Shared Bank Space will not filter out once purchased, allowing multiple purchases without granting multiple Shared Banks (there is no such thing as multiple Shared Banks).
• NEW - Resurrection Cakes do not work when in the Summoning Chamber.
• NEW - When multiple players using the hard/elite access potions attempt to open a quest at the same time, the difficulty first selected may not appear properly for the second person.
• NEW - A number of items have been changed so that their timer pauses in public spaces, but their in-game description does not reflect this.

In Game Vendors

• After attempting to post an item that is broken or has low durability, the auction will be rejected but the item will stay in the UI. You must close the auction house UI to add more items to the auction house.
• Agrimor, the Level 1 – 3 Arcane reagents vendor, has run out of supplies of Licorice (Level 3 Bard Component). Agrimor is expecting a fresh shipment of Licorice in the future.

UI

• Items listed in the auction house and placed in the shared bank do not display their properties. Relisting the auction house item and moving the item out of, and back into, the shared bank will resolve this display issue.
• NEW - When changing from a category with many items to one with fewer, the category may look empty.
• NEW - It is possible to end up with a category scrolled father down than the last item in the list so that no items are showing when switching between categories. Moving the scroll bar should show the correct list of items.
• NEW - On lower resolution screens, tooltips may not appear properly.
• NEW - When splitting stacks of items in the new inventory tabs, the value of the items will display improperly. The value is correct in the tooltips and will sell for the correct price.

Reincarnations

• The in-game reincarnation text incorrectly states that your normal bank inventory is not placed in the reincarnation cache. All bank inventory is placed in the reincarnation cache with your equipment and personal inventory. Items in the shared bank are not placed in the reincarnation cache.

Hirelings

• Many switches, levers, and other interactables have been scooted into Hireling reach. If you encounter one they still refuse to use, please submit a bug report but include specific information on the location of the interactable they’re having trouble with.
• Monsters that are set to not attack players will still attack hirelings.
• You may experience problems when hirelings are in your party for the quests Dreams of Insanity and Maze of Madness.
• NEW - Nedry Smallfoot (Level 14 Warforged Wizard) does not appear to remember that he can cast spells.

Monsters

• NEW - Monsters that are stunned and blind will continue to move around as though they were only blind.

Spells

• When casting Blade Barrier while standing in water, the spell effect will disappear immediately after it appears.
• When Good Hope is cast after players take advantage of Heroes’ Feast at a rest shrine, the immunity for Fear and Poison will be lost.
• During PVP, players with the Invisibility spell cast on them can still be seen by opponent players.
• When a spell caster casts a Ray spell (e.g. Niac’s Cold Ray, Ray of Enfeeblement, Scotching Ray, etc) at a target that is 2.5 meters away or closer, the spell misses.
• NEW - Ranger’s Summon Nature’s Ally does not offer multiple summon selections.
• NEW - Summon Monster III creatures have skin and visiblity problems.
• NEW - Summon Monster IV gives an incorrect skin to Greater Ice Mephits.
• NEW -Fear is casting as a single target spell, like Cause Fear.

Skills, Feats, & Abilities

• The Quick Draw feat does not have an effect on how quickly a player performs a ranged attack or switches their armor as the description indicates.
• When toggling Slow Fall ‘off’ it may not turn the effect off.
• NEW - Virtuoso’s Enthrallment does not work properly with the songs ‘Mass Suggestion’ or ‘Suggestion’.
• NEW - Abjuration V – Dismissal is using the wrong spell icon.
• NEW - Superior Defensive Stance does not generate the appropriate threat bonus.
• NEW - After using the ‘Cleave’ feat there is a visible pause in animation.

Enhancements

• Warforged Brute Fighting can not be used when a rage effect is applied to the character.
• Enhancement, Paladin, Divine Might: The charisma requirement for Divine Might is listed in the description but does not show in the requirements section.
• NEW - Conjuration V – Cloudkill does not have the proper requirements.
• NEW - Elven Arcane Fluidity – These enhancements should cost 1 point per tier.
• NEW - The Virtuoso’s Enthrallment does not work with the songs ‘Mass Suggestion’ or ‘Suggestion’.
• NEW - The cooldown on the Wizard Dimension Door enhancement says it is at 6 seconds. The actual cooldown is 15 seconds.
• NEW - Stalward Defender is not generating the appropriate amount of ‘hate’.
• NEW - The Wizard Archmage – Fireshield enhancement does not have an optional Cold version.
• NEW - The Wizard Pale Master enhancement Harm does not heal while in undead form.
• NEW - Wizard Pale Masters may have their Death Aura cast at the incorrect caster level when cast while attacking with a ranged weapon.

Races

• NEW - The half-elf -> Rogue -> Thief-Acrobat character path is not working.
• NEW - The 32 point half-elf -> Sorcerer paths are not currently working.
• NEW - Half-elf Dilettante sorcerer grants the use of all wands.
• NEW - Half-elf facial hair options should be on a different slider than facial detail options.
• NEW - Half-orcs are having a few hairstyle issues.
• NEW - In character creation, changing a half-orc’s skin color only changes the color of the face and not the body.
• NEW - Half-orcs do not tumble correctly.
• NEW - The bluff action bar for half-elves remains even after completion of the bluff.
• NEW - At level 20, players will need to spend skill points manually on the 32-point half-orc wizard ingenious sage path.
• NEW - At level 12, players will need to select a feat on the 32-point half-elf sorcerer dynamic hand.
• NEW - The half-elf dilettante feat can not be switched out using Fred in game.
• NEW - The half-elf fighter dilettante feat does not count as a pre-requisite for the Whirling Steel Strike feat, and also disallows players from taking the longsword weapon proficiency.

Items

• The Mysterious Bauble and Epic Ring of Spell Storing text descriptions are incorrect. Their actual effects have been unchanged from pre-Update 5 form.
• The Phiarlan Shield absorbs good spells as well as bad.
• Great Axe of the Chained Soldier is an exclusive item, but it does not specify this in its description text..
• The ‘Keen’ effect does not apply properly to thrown weapons.
• The following potions can not be used while raged. They will be updated in the future. Lesser Restoration, Neutralize Poison, Remove Curse, Remove Disease, Remove Fear.
• NEW - Superior spell potions are not applying the correct damage increase.
• NEW - Visual effects on the +1 Starter Scimitar do not disappear during emotes.
• NEW - When wearing the White Dragonscale Robe, dark-skinned female drow necks turn white.
• NEW - Mabar Gargoyles created from the festival potions will produce enemy shadows when they kill a monster for you.
• NEW - The Epic Red Dragon Scale Docent will appear green on warforged that used the first option for ‘base color’.
• NEW - Guild Augment Crystals that are designed for weapons do not work properly on handwraps.
• NEW - Repeating crossbows are out of sync and sometimes miss shots.

Crafting

• Items fixed or modified using the Stone of Change or other Eldritch Devices will sometimes not display the updated effects. This is a display bug only. Removing, and then re-equipping, the item will show the updates to the item.

Quests

• NEW - Meridia
  • Valairea Satnerine’s tutorial quest for the Altar of Fecundity doesn’t check for items inside bags. As long as the items she wants are outside the bags, she will take them.
  • Valairea Satnerine sends players to Gustavine in the Twelve, when she should be sending them to Aaseamah in Meridia
• NEW - Eyes of Stone
  • Stoned Coin Lords and Palace Guards move.
  • Kobolds can get stuck on top of bookcases.
  • Certain pillars are not solid.
  • The mapnote for the exit waypoint reads “Lordsmarch Plaza”, but the gate actually leads to the Marketplace.
• NEW - Mabar Event
  • The altars in the summoning chamber may turn into kobolds.
  • Clients may experience a persistent ‘grinding’ noise while in Delera’s Graveyard while the event is running. Switching from the DDO client to another application and back, or logging in and out, will correct the issue for a time.
• NEW - The Chronoscope
  • Some of the cold effects applied in the end fight may not wear off as expected.
  • Walking through certain parts of the marketplace after completing the quest may cause players to be teleported out of the quest.
  • Using the entrance to House Kundarak may teleport players out of the quest.
• NEW - Framework
  • Some ballista are not working reliably.
• NEW - Diplomatic Impunity
  • Players cannot break branches with a longbow.
  • There’s a typo in Hrolk’s speech.
  • After the war boss calls off his troups a war priest may still attack.
• Black Anvil Mines
  • Galrias the Smith will offer to take your Adamantine Ore and give you another item, but he’s a liar, and will just take your ore without giving anything in return.
• Tear of Dhakaan
  • This quest is listed in the adventure compendium as being in Kundarak, but the quest will actually be found in Phiarlan!
• To reuse a Shrine or Ethereal Shrine, you may need to double-click your right mouse button rather than single clicking the left mouse button.

Other

• NEW - Veteran characters who decide to start on Shipwreck Shore at level 1 will ‘release’ to the Marketplace Airship tower unless they bind somewhere else first.
• Improvements have been made to the game’s launcher, in order to become more compatible to Windows Vista. However, some users may encounter errors if they have already adjusted Vista permissions to get the game to work. Click Here for information on how to fix this error.
• Computers operating with the following Video Cards may have performance or other difficulties:
  • Nvidia 7800 GTX
    • Floaty names may appear distorted. Turning off video post effects will correct the issue.
  • Nvidia Geforce FX 5950 Ultra
    • You may experience performance problems.
  • ATI Radeon 7500
    • You may experience performance texture problems in certain areas of the game.
  • Nvidia Geforce FX 5200
    • You may experience performance problems.
  • ATI Radeon HD 3650
    • You may experience performance problems at very high game settings.
  • ATI Radeon HD 2400
    • You may experience performance problems.

WORKING AS INTENDED Honest

Of Special Note

• After playing for extended amounts of time in the game, your DDO Store session may time out when you attempt to open the Store. To correct this, press the home button (the house shaped icon in the upper left of the Store window) to reload the Store.
• The DDO Unlimited key mapping will over-ride existing Stormreach key maps. Make a copy of your ‘ddo.keymap’ file before using DDO Unlimited to retain your old settings.
• If you are downgrading from a VIP account, any characters of a premium race and/or class that you have not purchased with Turbine Points or unlocked with favor must be purchased/unlocked before you will be able to access the character as a free or premium player. Example: If you downgrade and select a warforged monk, you will need to purchase monk and warforged before you’ll be able to play the character.
• Remember that if you take Jeets offer to skip the tutorial you will be advanced ahead in the storyline of Korthos. In order to group with friends who have not yet unlocked the ability to skip the tutorial, decline Jeets offer to skip ahead and complete the grotto tutorial instance. This will allow you to enter the snowy version of Korthos village to group with other players in that part of the story!

DDO Store

• Once Favored Soul or Drow is unlocked with favor points, it is still accessible in the DDO Store. This is by design, as purchase in the store will grant Favored Soul or Drow access to your account for all servers, while favor unlocking is per-server only.
• Viewing the Store before you login a character will only display account level character purchase items. To see a full list of items available to your character, log in the character.
• The DDO Store’s automatic filtering does not recognize feats or enhancements that allow you to overcome prerequisites for some items. This can result in the Store blocking some items from appearing in your catalog because the store doesn’t think you are able to use the items. To see and be able to purchase these items, turn off filtering.

In Game Vendors

• When selling to pawnbrokers, remember that unlike Tavern-keepers and general vendors, other players can purchase an item you’ve sold to the NPC. Additionally, it is intended that items sold to pawnbrokers will not appear in your buyback list. Instead the item will appear for purchase in the sell tab of the pawnbroker’s list.
• Tad Hardcastle spent so much on his new acrobats outfit that he has tried to cut some corners on his donation gifts. The Greater Tumble spell he casts will only allow players to tumble if they have more than 0 ranks in tumble.

Hirelings

• Hirelings will path to monsters across water if they think they can jump across. They aren’t very good swimmers though, and if they don’t make the jump, you will have to recall them to you.

Skills, Feats, & Abilities

• The minimum ranks in the Perform skill required to use Bard songs are based on the ‘ranks’ taken, not the modified skill total. This is by design.

Quests

• NEW - Dimplomatic Impunity
  • Root walls cannot be broken with bows.

Other

• When the mouse cursor is over a number of UI elements, including hot bars, the keyboard will not respond to commands.

This update will include :

• Guild housing (well… airships, but close enough), Guild Renown and Guild Trophies!
• Carnival of Shadows adventure pack.
• New Bard & Favored Soul Hireling classes to help you fight for greater glory and treasure! Available in the DDO Store.
• New Monk & Cleric Enhancements grant you more power than ever before!
• New spells give Sorcerer’s & Wizards an edge over the competition!
• New Feats allow Fighters & Rogues to take it to the next level!
• New trap parts allow Rogues to create their own deadly landmines and explosive grenades!

This is an exciting update for me, personally.
I think it’s a sign that DDO is growing with it’s new found member base where so many other MMOs have stagnated.

This will mean Abeon Elite has a Guild house and all the junk that comes with it and may mean I play DDO a hell of a lot more than I have been recently!

More information is available below:
DDO Update 5 Release Notes
DDO Update 5 Lamannia Release Notes

Healbot 101 (Human Cleric Build)

Level 20 Cleric
True Neutral – Human Male

Hit Points: 264
Spell Points: 1757

BAB: 1515202525

Fortitude: 14
Reflex: 6
Will: 20

Abilities at level 1
Strength: 10
Dexterity: 10
Constitution: 14
Intelligence: 12
Wisdom: 18
Charisma: 10

Abilities at level 20
Strength: 10
Dexterity: 10
Constitution: 14
Intelligence: 12
Wisdom: 27
Charisma: 10

Skills at level 20
Balance: 11
Concentration: 25
Diplomacy: 23
Heal: 8
Jump: 11
Listen: 8
Spot: 8

Feats
Extra Turning
Mental Toughness
Extend Spell
Empower Healing Spell
Improved Mental Toughness
Toughness
Quicken Spell
Conbat Casting

Enhancements
Human Improved Recovery I
Human Adaptability Wisdom I
Cleric Prayer of Incredible Life II
Cleric Extra Turning III
Cleric Divine Healing II
Cleric Divine Cleansing II
Cleric Divine Vitality III
Cleric Energy of the Zealot IV
Cleric Life Magic IV
Cleric Prayer of Life III
Cleric Improved Empower Healing III
Cleric Wisdom III
Cleric Wand and Scroll Mastery II
Cleric Divine Intervention (Capstone)

Note:
Take “Greater Human Adaptability: Wisdom” when you can… I made a mistake and missed it!

Created using the DDO Character Planner

The Vault of Night is a level 10 raid designed for a 12 person party, but can be completed with 6 people or less.
The raid is part 5 and 6 of the quest chain, so I will assume you have already completed those.
It’s nice to have a mixed group for this raid, so 2 healers, 4 fighters, 2 rogues, 2 casters a bard and a space to mix and match.

Vault Of Night part 5 Guide

[ Requirements ]
25 Strength x 2 people
20 Wisdom x 2 people

[ Creatures ]
Warforged, rust monster, iron golem, zombies, dwarves, and adamantine defenders.

[ Walkthrough ]
Gather the party just inside the entrance and pass out general buffs, making sure to include electric resist and protects.

There are 4 people in the first room that give out items :

1. Haywire gives his ‘Voice’ which will allow this party member to speak to the speaking stones. Only one person must have this item, usually the rogue, as a rogue is needed to unlock a door near a part where the voice is necessary.

2. Mistress Orphne gives a wand ‘Orphnes Blessing’ 20 charges, removes an instance specific disease that can rapidly drop con and isn’t curable by normal remove disease. recommend all clerics take this.

3. Dirge gives a shield +1 heavy improved lightning resist. recommend all else who can use a shield pick this up. almost all the warforged enemies are casters who use lighning bolt, not to mention the lightning trap hall.

4. Veil gives +2 dwarf bane arrows. there are a few dwarven enemies in the instance, but they are not that tough. Any pure build archers, I guess, but not really necessary.

The whole party should head west to a narrow corridor with a blade trap. The trap box is on the right side at the end. After the trap is disabled, the rogue and a healer should head back to the main room to deal with the traps north from there.

The norther hallway (from the main room) has 8 blade traps and 4 electric traps. The trap boxes are next to the yellow barrier on each piller. The cleric should heal / rez when needed.

The west hallway leads to a circular corridor with several chambers behind locked doors that Otto hides in. Use either a rogue or knock spell to get to Ottos, and defeat, Otto to pick up his ring. (The same person should have the ring and voice).

The whole party should meet back at the main room, then head north.
There should be a team on each side: 1 person with 25 Str, 1 person with 20 Wis and a ranged on the right. The rest of the party on the left, including the person with the voice and ring.

All of the switches need to be hit at the same time, so it’s best to have someone with a mic count down from 5. Run in the door as soon as the switches have been pulled because they shut fairly fast.

The main team, on the left, should continue to the bridge and have some one climb up the supprt with feather fall and jump to the platform with a lever. Pull the lever to open the bridge gate. Repeat this for the second barrier. Pulling both levers at the same time will allow the team on the right to advance past the barrier below (they should have reached there by now).

The main party can continue until the wheel puzzle. The person with the voice can approach the wheels and set them to the following:
Green – Upsidedown U (the Elephant)
Orange – F
Purple – Cactus on a hill
Or you can just spin each wheel 4 times, which is a lot easier to remember!
You can now use the voice to talk to the head on the platform above, making sure to activate both options.

You should now head to the western area you cleared earlier, dropping down the spiral stairs to talk to the head down there (with the voice). The barriers will be down, so the voice can retrieve the coffer.

(Be sure to pull the Str levers on your way and drop down in the room with bridges to collect a chest. The teams will need to swap round to do this.)

Head east and put the coffer in the head next to the locked gate. It will open the northern gate, but have the whole party head south to the main puzzle room.

Everyone should stand around the edge of the puzzle to attack the Warforged that drop down to the sides. Using command stops them respawning and saves time chasing them around. The person with the voice will need to talk to the head at the end.

Here is the puzzle solution:
http://i47.tinypic.com/21mht2t.jpg

Now head to the recently unlocked gate and clear the area, defeating the Rust Emperor and retrieve the crystal key.

Now re-assemle the entire party at the main room / starting location.
Head south to a room with a vent in the middle. 4 people will need fire resist / protect and then go down to the levers near the bottom. When the levers are pulled at the same time, someone standing on the vent will get shot up to a level higher up. That person can now pull a switch to lower a ladder for the rest of the party to climb up.

Keep heading up, clearing the Warforged and dropping the final ladder, until you come to the bridge. Have 2 people shoot at the levers on the other side at the same time to make the bridge come down. (a bug here can make you fall through the bridge, so jump onto and off of it!!!)

You will come to another trapped door, with a door behind it. Everyone should run back and shrine if needed as this is the last battle of VON part 5.

Gather the party at the door, after the traps have been disarmed, and cast buffs.
Be sure to include sonic resists / protects for melee.
As soon as you talk to the dwarf in the room the boss will spawn on the raised, yellow, platform.

You use to be able to circle the platform to prevent the boss escaping, but this was changed in update 3. Concentrate all attacks on the boss as his dogs will disappear after he dies.
Don’t use elemental attacks as some heal him (I know hire does at least).

After he dies a portal will open in the middle of the room, so don’t recall!!!
Now is the perfect time to talk about strategy to use on the dragon, Velah, as a 45 minute timer will start as soon as you enter.

Vault Of Night part 6 Guide (Plane of Night)

This raid is situated on a platform floating WAY above the marketplace. So it’s a long way down if you fall off.
Most party members will just need to stand around until the pillars have been dropped, but can buff up and avoid fireball damage.

Buff with everything you have, casting at the very start while trying to avoid fireball damage. There are two safe spots behind rocks near the starting locations bridge… Just walk forward and to the side a few steps.

The map is laid out like a baseball pitch with the entrance just south of last base.
Each base has a pillar that needs to be destroyed before you can access the dragon.

Bridges run between each base which can be destroyed by the dragon’s fireballs. Too many people on any given bridge will attrach Velah (the dragon)’s attention. The bridge will collapse if it takes too many hits, so it’s best to only have one person on each bridge at once.

Needless to say, each base also has monsters (Flensers, Mephits, and Elementals) that will defend the pillars so they will either need taking out or avoiding. Some groups prefer to use rangers to snipe the pillars while others like to send a person to clear the mobs while another weakens the pillar.

The three pillars need to be destroyed at the same time, so communication and timing is a must. Most groups get each pillar down to about 10% before all attacking at once.

After destroying all three pillars at once the barrier guarding the dragon will lower and everyone can safely make their way to the central platform. Be carefull here as anyone going to far forward will drop the barrier again, locking people out!

Gather the entire party just behind the barriers archway and rebuff.
There are several methods for taking out the dragon but the party is what counts.

1 – Hero method
Have a few, fully buffed, fighters attack the dragon while everyone else heals them and kills any spawning mobs.
This method was made a LOT harder in Update 5 after Turbine fixed Velah’s AI.

2 – All In
An all out melee attack with everyone standing right under the dragon and the clerics standing back to group heal and kill any mobs that spawn. This method is easiest if your over level or have good gear / toons. Not recommended for newcomers.

3 – Scatter
Have a high reflex save person (usually rogue) lead a charge. Keep everyone spaced out around the dragon to minimise damage but avoid hiding behind the rocks as it will spawn more mobs. Again, clerics should stand back and heal.

Chests will appear after Velah is defeated.
Some people give up on VON 5, some may fall off the bridge….
If you get this far, well done!

This post will change as I add more to it. But for now, let’s start with Favour rewards!

DDO Favour Rewards

General favour rewards

• Drow (400 favour or 795 TP)
• Veteran Status (1000 favour or 1395 TP)
• 32 Point Builds (1750 favour or 1495 TP)
• +2 Tome (1 at 1750 favour or 595 TP)
• Favored Soul (2500 favour or 795 TP)

The Coin Lords

• Extra inventory tab (75 favour)
• Fifth inventory tab (150 favour + a portable hole and 10,000gp)

House Kundarak

• Extra bank tab (75 favour)
• Extra bank tab (150 favour)

House Phiarlan

• 30 min buffs (75 favour : Jump, Mage armour, etc)
• Pendant Of Time (150 favour)

House Deneith

• +3 Missle Weapons (75 favour)
• +3 Missle Weapons with 75% returning chance (150 favour)

House Jorasco

• 30 min buffs (75 favour : Bless, Shield of faith, Remove fear)
• 30 min buffs (150 favour : Aid, Bears endurance, etc)

The Free Agents

• +2 Thieve’s Tools, Heal and Repair Kits (75 favour)
• +4 Thieve’s Tools, Heal and Repair Kits (150 favour)

The Silver Flame

• Reduced spell prices from healers inside taverns (75 favour)
• Blessing of the Silver Flame – Increased regen rate in town (150 favour)

Eberron Dragonshard Fragment Rewards

3 x Small Eberron Dragonshard Fragments:

• Cure Serious Wound Trinket (20 charges from Giles Goodman)
• Rest of the Eladrin statue (1 charge from Peta Flashpin)
• Medium Experience Elixir -(1 charge from Xovun Chalk)

3 x Medium Eberron Dragonshard Fragments:

• Major Experience Elixir (from Tara Wightraven)
• Shard Trinket (from Chirugeon Lag’mal)
• Trinket (from Flintchip Fireson)
• Trinket of Mnemonic Enhancement (from Davyd Turner)
• Trinket of Mass Protection from Elements (from Kipling Vranch)
• Trinket of Mass Hold Person (from Loura Jotun)
• Trinket of Greater Restoration (from Clarice Roden)
• Trinket of Summon Monster VII (from Yannick Drumdoom)

3 x Large Eberron Dragonshard Fragments:

• Etheral Rest Shrine (from Seld the Gray Sister)
• Medium Jewel of Fortune (from Bowdlin)
• Kohl’s Gem (from Kayla Skywhisper)

Completionist

The DDO Completionist feat requires level 20 in every playable class (Barbarian, Bard, Cleric, Favoured Soul, Fighter, Monk, Paladin, Rogue, Ranger, Sorcerer, and Wizard!)
This feat will provide a +2 bonus to all ability scores and skills. So while it’s a very long haul, it is a great feat for any class to be able to pick.

Some people like making a Sorcerer character with max charisma to buy or pass items to for sale. This method just seems a little long winded for me, so I usually just buff as much as possible before any highish transaction.

My level 11 wizard “Abeon” is by no means a good trader so needs all the help he can get whilst trading.
The Charisma stat and the Haggle skill are relevant to trading, so here are Abeons’:

Base
Charisma = 8 (Base)
Haggle = 5 (Base)

Boosted
Charisma = 8 (Base)
+4 Wand of Eagles Splendor
= 12 Total

Haggle = 5 (Base)
+1 Voice of the master
+5 Necklace of Haggling
+4 Greater heroism spell
+2 Human versatility skill
= 17 Total

So let’s compare some loot to see how much more we could earn or save.

Base Loot Sale Value = 5,018 gold
Boosted Loot sale Value = 6,204 gold!

Thats 1,186 gold, essentially, for free

Notes
Keeping a few spare items and scrolls / potions handy to swap before a transaction can make trading a lot more profitable.
Some stat and item boosts will stack for trading purposes (Human versatility and Greater heroism, for example), so experiment a little.
It’s faster to click a few hotbar icons instead of logging in with another character just to trade.

I know it’s not a monumental amount, but the examples used were just general trader trash and wizards have very low trading skills and not the best haggle / charisma boosting items.
Using a charisma based character or by later levels the profits will increase a huge amount, if you get use to using the method.

This topic aims at the slightly more experienced DDO player.
I want to keep this spoiler free, so no quest specific tips are included.

Below is a list of little tips and tricks to help you get the most out of the DDO game.

Carry a spare set of items to use around town.
These should include: Charisma / Haggle / Speed boost items.
———-
Running and jumping while using potions or activating abilities is often better than standing still taking a beating!
———-
If you have a spare party slot or want to solo a quest, summon a hireling when entering a dungeon and make them stay there.
If you die, use the come command to have them teleport to your location and pick up your soul stone. Then just find a shrine and rez!
———-
Stat boost skills like Human Versatility and Rogue Skill Boost will also increase your haggling skill, so hit it just before you buy or sell items.
———-
Attacking an Ooze with either slashing or piercing weapons will split it into two. They will also wear down weapons very fast, so use Muckbane, Muckdoom, a cheap weapon or your fists!
———-
Casters should carry a high SP item (+100 / +200). Make sure it’s equipped before you enter a quest and before you shrine.
If the item doesn’t have other properties you could swap it to a more effective weapon after the SP boost has been used!

If you have any tips to add, and I’m sure you do, please post them below!

For that reason, I have posted a list of all the F2P quests available in DDO.

The DDO F2P Quest list follows the ordering as below:
Quest name – zone (sub-zone if applicable), quest giver, favor

LEVEL 1
The Store House’s Secret – Korthos Village, Linus Weir, 6
Stopping the Sahuagin – Korthos Village, Gunnar Bauerson, 9
Sacrifices – Korthos Village, Viggie Stor, 9
Redemption – Korthos Village, Ursa Jernsvard, 9
Necromancer’s Doom – Korthos Village, Handsome Wilm, 6
Heyton’s Rest – Korthos Village, Kaja Bauerdatter, 6
The Collaborator – Korthos Village (Wavecrest Tavern), Sigmund Bauerson, 12
The Cannith Crystal – Korthos Village, Balder the Bold, 6
  –   Total Favor: 63

LEVEL 2
Walk the Butcher’s Path – Harbor, Mistress Ahura, 12
The Sunken Sewer – Marketplace, Aurla Courson, 9
Stop Hazadill’s Shipment – Harbor (Wayward Lobster), Baudry Catamon, 6
Stealthy Repossession – Harbor (Wayward Lobster), Lesto Half-Price, 9
The Smuggler’s Warehouse – Harbor (Wayward Lobster), Fistpat the Fence, 9
Retrieve the Stolen Goods – Harbor (Wayward Lobster), Baudry Cartamon, 9
Recovering the Lost Tome – Harbor, Dalsamira Courdry, 9
Protect Baudry’s Interests – Harbor (Wayward Lobster), Baudry Cartamon, 6
Missing in Action – Marketplace, Ulcana Braddock, 9
Misery’s Peak – Korthos Village (Korthos Island), Amalgam, 12
The Miller’s Debt (Solo Only) – Harbor, Berrigan Enge, 2
The Kobold’s New Ringleader – Harbor, Guard Jung, 12
Information is Key – Harbor (Wayward Lobster), Shir Clowenks d’Phiarlan, 12
Garrison’s Missing Pack – Harbor, Garrison Felmar, 12
Durk’s Got a Secret – Harbor, Durk the Deranged, 12
Defend Haverdasher (Solo Only) – Harbor, Kalimnal d’Kundarak, 6
Bringing the Light – Harbor (Wayward Lobster), Brother Augustus, 6
Arachnophobia (Solo Only) – Harbor, Berne Jorn, 2
  –   Total Favor: 150 (213)

LEVEL 3
Where There’s Smoke… – Harbor (Cerulean Hills), Nash Braza, 9
The Swiped Signet – Marketplace (Phoenix Tavern), Grinwhite, 12
Redfang The Unruled – Marketplace, Basil Tallbarrow, 9
The Kobold’s Den: Clan Gnashtooth – Harbor (Waterworks), Guard Tember, 12
The Kobold’s Den: Rescuing Arlos – Harbor (Waterworks), Guard Tember, 12
Kobold Assault (Challenging) – Harbor, Guard Crichton, 9
Home Sweet Sewer (Solo Only) – Harbor, Scrag, 2
The Captives – Harbor, Pearl Drummling, 9
An Explosive Situation (Solo Only) – Harbor, Philver Sharpwood, 2
Ven’s Trail: Ven’s Fate – Harbor (Waterworks), , 9
Ven’s Trail: Clan Tunnelworm – Harbor (Waterworks), Guard Tember, 12
  –   Total Favor: 97 (310)

LEVEL 4
Rest for the Restless – House Phiarlan (Bogwater Tavern), Lady Nepenthe, 9
Proof is in the Poison – Marketplace, Ruat Acalay, 15
Irestone Inlet – Harbor, Niles Cage, 12
Freshen the Air – Marketplace, Harven Gralak, 9
The Depths of Despair – House Deneith (Hammersmith Inn), Neville Stormhammer, 9
The Depths of Darkness – House Deneith (Hammersmith Inn), Giggs Elorreathi, 9
  –   Total Favor: 72 (382)

LEVEL 5
The Lair of Summoning – House Kundarak (EverFull Flagon), Lorridan Silvermantle, 9
The Depths of Doom – House Deneith (Hammersmith Inn), Keane d’Deneith, 9
The Depths of Discord – House Deneith (Hammersmith Inn), Scholes of Vedykar, 9
The Chamber of Insanity – House Kundarak (Ever Full Flagon), Kranig Stoneshield, 9
Archer Point Defense – Marketplace, Jasper Cruikshank, 9
  –   Total Favor: 36 (418)

LEVEL 6
Taming the Flames – House Kundarak (Ever Full Flagon), Master Thorpe, 15
Ruined Halls – House Kundarak (Ever Full Flagon), Edvag Goodgold, 12
Redwillow’s Ruins – House Jorasco, Jandul d’Jorasco, 15
Purge the Heretics – House Phiarlan (Bogwater Tavern), Inquisitor Gnomon, 12
Mirra’s Sleepless Nights – House Jorasco, Mirra Parthilcar, 12
Gladewatch Outpost Defense – Marketplace, Loghan d’Deneith, 12
The Forgotten Caverns – House Kundarak (Ever Full Flagon), Thurd Steelhand, 12
Dead Predators – House Jorasco (Open Palm Inn), Acolyte Hestair, 12
Caged Trolls – House Phiarlan (Bogwater Tavern), Aratrix d’Phiarlan, 12
The Bounty Hunter – House Deneith (Anvilfire Inn), Kirstana of Fairhaven, 15
  –   Total Favor: 129 (547)

LEVEL 7
The Tear of Dhakaan – House Phiarlan, Kamat Thaar, 21
The Pit – House Deneith, Vargus d’Deneith, 27
Gwylan’s Stand – House Phiarlan, Coraly d’Phiarlan, 18
The Graverobber – House Jorasco, Thaddeus d’Jorasco, 15
  –   Total Favor: 81 (628)

LEVEL 8
The Xorian Cipher – House Jorasco, Gatekeeper Chullash, 21
Stromvauld’s Mine – House Deneith (Anvilfire Inn), Laird Stromvauld, 15
Stormcleave Outpost – House Deneith (Anvilfire Inn), Alciana d’Deneith, 18
The Paths of Madness – House Jorasco, Gatekeeper Chullash, 9
Haunted Library – House Jorasco (Drowning Sorrows Tavern), Menos Xuekaine, 15
Faithful Departed – House Phiarlan (Golden Wing Inn), Avanti Moonwillow, 12
Caverns of Korromar – House Kundarak, Ulfgar d’Kundarak, 15
  –   Total Favor: 105 (733)

LEVEL 9
The Church and the Cult – House Phiarlan, Inquisitor Lightbringer, 15
  –   Total Favor: 15 (748)

LEVEL 10
Tempest’s Spine (Raid) – House Jorasco, The Chamberlain Cyrese Embree, 18
Sykros’ Jewel – Ataraxia’s Haven (reached via various Port Agents), Sykros, 15
Reclamation – Ataraxia’s Haven (reached via various Port Agents), Leros Levithas, 15
  –   Total Favor: 48 (796)

LEVEL 11
The Spawn of Whisperdoom – House Phiarlan, Eriephaus d’Phiarlan, 18
Made to Order – House Kundarak, Hazra d’Kundarak, 18
The Enemy Within – House Jorasco, Anabele d’Jorasco, 24
Dreams of Insanity – House Jorasco, Gatekeeper Trakash, 18
  –   Total Favor: 78 (874)

LEVEL 12
Invaders! – Harbor, Guard Branson, 21
A Relic of Sovereign Past – House Kundarak (Temple of the Sovereign Host), Sir Kinze MacDunnam, 21
  –   Total Favor: 42 (920 )

LEVEL 13
Mired in Kobold (The Twelve), Smiley Smythe, 15
  –   Total Favor: 15 (935)

LEVEL 15
Acid Writ (The Twelve), Magus Littleton, 18
Delirium (The Twelve), Merla Bauerdatter, 15
  –   Total Favor: 33 (968)

LEVEL 18
In the Demons Den (The Inspired Quarter), Uriel, 18
  –   Total Favor: 18 (986)

Total DDO F2P Quests: 83