We got a surprise producers letter today from Executive Producer Severlin.
Let’s take a look at the letter, and some of my thoughts.
We’ve made some excellent strides to reduce lag and improve stability, and we are continuing to work towards these goals. One of the larger projects that we are working on is a transfer of our game servers and other hardware to a new data center. The new facility will provide both Dungeons and Dragons Online and our friends over at The Lord of the Rings Online with more stability, greater CPU power, and a better networking capability. This will complement our ongoing efforts to reduce lag. It’s a big project and as the year progresses we will be working toward a date where we will migrate to the new datacenter.
This is a great news! I was wondering when, this was going to be announced, as to my knowledge this is the first time they have spoken of it. I know they have known about it in LOTRO fro awhile now. As I’m in IT, I know how much of an undertaking this could be. But I think overall this will be a vast improvement for the game!
Update 26 is coming in June, and it will focus mainly on a new class; the Warlock! Warlocks make pacts with powerful otherworldly patrons and channel that eldritch power into powerful blasts and arcane spells. The Warlock can choose a pact with Fiends, Archfey, or even a Great Old One. The Warlock will also have three enhancement trees; the Tainted Scholar, the Souleater, and the Enlightened Spirit.
From what we have seen so far of the Warlock, it looks like it’s going to be a “blast” to play.. (Yes, that pun was indeed intended)
Update 27 will follow in July. It includes an all-new adventure pack that returns to Shavarath, showcasing the Archons’ side of its endless war. With your help the Gatekeepers have gathered enough Mysterious Remnants to continue their research. They’ve tracked the Remnants back to Shavarath, the Plane of Battle. You need to travel there to recruit the help of the Archons in unravelling this mystery. The Archons, however, will only aid those who are worthy, and you find yourself embroiled not only in their tests, but in their eternal struggle with the Devils and the Demons. This adventure pack will include three new dungeons and a new raid, and as usual will be free to VIPs.
This makes sense, as the new story line from Dungeons And Dragons is The Rage Of Demons. So I can see why they are going back to the Devils And Demons storyline in game.
We’ve also been hearing your feedback that you’d like an improved experience when using the DDO Store, and we’re happy to say that we’ll be introducing a new store in the near future! We expect the updated DDO Store to offer a streamlined experience when making purchases and many other improvements. We’re planning to start rolling out the new DDO Store to players later this summer. You will still be able to purchase Turbine Points with a credit/debit card, PayPal, and a wide selection of alternate payment methods. We’ll have more to say about the DDO Store as we get closer to its launch.
Again, this is some welcome news as well, as I’ll admit that I don’t use the store a lot, but I have had problems with it, and it’s does not a serious facelift.
We’ll have more updates this year as well, of course. Players will be able to increase their character level to 30. We’ll have more adventure packs for you. We’ll have an Epic and extended version of our popular Shroud raid and a new adventure pack that relates to the Vale of Twilight. Players will be able to use an updated and epic version of Greensteel to craft more powerful gear. We are excited to bring this content to you!
Level 30 and more adventures packs! That’s good news! Though, I only have 2 level 13’s so I’m a LONG way from hititng that 30 cap! good to know there will be lots of adventure waiting for me when I get there!
You can read the full letter and see what others players are saying about it here.
What are your thoughts on today’s letter?
I hope that the new servers and data center host will end most of the lag, which would bring back many lapsed DDO players.