Update 13 Official

Release Notes: Update 13

Welcome to the Update 13 Release Notes for Dungeons & Dragons Online! These release notes were posted on Monday, February 27th, 2012.

News & Notes

Of Special Note

• Update 13: Web of Chaos serves as a prequel to DDO's upcoming expansion, Menace of the Underdark, and offers three free quests in addition to numerous other changes!
  • The Lords of Dust: The Silver Flame must now contend with an uprising cult! Controlled by the Rakshasas, the cult of the Lords of Dust have one priority, to free the ancient demons trapped in Khyber.
  • Servants of the Overlord: Venture deep down into Khyber and fight resistance as you attempt to thwart the Rakshasas from freeing the imprisoned “Spinner of Shadows”!
  • The Spinner of Shadows: Engage in an ambitious battle as you fight to hold off the release of the Spinner of Shadows! Though beware of thinking your task is over, for a menacing journey awaits…
• Adventurers will now see all available named items as an option in their quest arc end reward lists when completing a quest arc for the third time (and every three times thereafter!) See Quests, Challenges, and Adventure Areas for specific details.
• Introducing a new tutorial system for Korthos Island! New players who arrive in Korthos will have a helpful DM voice/text in the public spaces to guide them to points of interest on Korthos Island. Players can add or remove objectives from their tutorial window using the "x" button in the window, or with the "track" button in the Quest Journal.

Celebrating DDO's 6th Birthday!

• Each character created prior to the February 27th will have received a slice of birthday cake! This cake slice has the power to summon a cake loving Djinni, who will trade with you for “Nice Things”!
• In honor of DDO's 6th Birthday, all characters received a Blessing of the Traveler in their inventory, as well as tokens for participating in the upcoming hunt. The amount of tokens each character received was based on account type:
  • Free accounts received 5 tokens per character
  • Premium accounts received 10 tokens per character
  • VIP accounts received 15 tokens per character

These tickets were bestowed only to characters that had been created before the February birthday celebration. It is still possible to get tickets from the DDO Store once the festival has returned.

Veteran Status 7

• Players can now start their characters at level 7 with a new tier of Veteran Status! Veteran Status (7) can be earned by acquiring 3,000 total Favor or by purchasing the account option in the DDO Store.

Classes

• Monk melee attack ranges have been increased while moving forward or chasing a target.
• Monks and unarmed characters will no longer proc dual wield or double strike attacks when using Trip, Sunder, Stunning Blow, or other special attacks, making them consistent with other classes. Special "monk-only" abilities are unaffected by this change.
• Monks will now resume their attack sequence a little faster after performing a buff-style finishing move.
• The Disable Device skill is no longer automatically placed onto an Artificer's hotbar upon character creation.
• Wizards with class-specific end rewards turned on should now see improved rewards in extremely high-level quests.
• Many classes now gain the "Arcane Lore", "Religious Lore", or "Wilderness Lore" feats every level, which may modify certain dialog options or come up in other ways during quests.

Combat

• It is no longer possible in rare cases to be able to attack on ladders.
• Fixed a display issue that caused non-stacking damage effects to appear as if they were affecting the target. For example, if two Wall of Fire spells were in the same location, only one would be doing damage, but both would display in the examination panel.

Crafting

• The enchantment value of the "Returning" effect for thrown weapons will no longer contribute to an items Total Enchantment Level.
• Some of the client performance issues in the Crafting Halls have been addressed.
• It is no longer possible for players to mistakenly overwrite prefixes and suffixes when you apply a new crafting shard.
• Cannith Crafting device UI's are now properly cleared out when an item is crafted.
• Cannith Challenge items will no longer lose their minimum level when deconstructed.

DDO Store

• To see the latest additions to the DDO Store for Update 13, click here!

Favor

• Favor-granted Turbine Points will no longer expire after two years.
• The House Phiarlan patron will now properly reward characters a Phiarlan Pendant of Time when a character reaches 150 House Phiarlan favor.

Guilds and Guild Airships

• The House Phiarlan Retainer's buff for Enchantment Save DC's is now a Morale bonus instead of an Enhancement bonus, to allow it to better stack with items.

Hirelings and Homunculus

• Iron defenders will no longer be abandoned by their owners when they leave the game or disconnect.
• Rogue Hirelings no longer have a nonfunctional Sneak ability on their hotbar. They now have Search, Open Lock, Action Boost: Damage, and Action Boost: Haste.
• An Artificer's Iron Defender will now be healed in cities and taverns.
• An Iron Defender's fortification amount will now be displayed in its character sheet.
• Dead Iron Defenders will now be brought back to life when their owners enter a public area.
• Hirelings and Iron Defenders will no longer attack far away enemies after engaging in closer combat while in defensive mode.
• Tooltips for hirelings and pets will now describe them as "companions".
• The Zeal spell icon will now appear on hireling command bars when appropriate.

Items

• The Xachosian Eardweller is now easier to pick up when it appears.
• The recipe description for Cannith Forging Station items with an Awaken Set bonus now states that the item becomes Bound to Character when upgraded.
• One Minute of Time and Skeleton Key Crests now have cooldowns.
• The UI icon for Shattermantle and Improved Shattermantle no longer share the same icon as Chill Touch.
• Seals, Scrolls, and Shards for the Shaman's Brooch now have the correct name.
• The Runed Ogre Femur and Beholder Plate's Anti-Magic Runes and Antimagic Spike effects now have the correct durations and save DC's in their item descriptions.
• The Lesser Elixir of Experience and Minor Experience Elixir no longer incorrectly state that they bestow a +5% bonus instead of their actual +10% bonus.
• The Frozen Tunic's minimum level will no longer change.
• The Epic Docent of Grace now has "Epic" in its item name.
• The icons for Artificer Iron Defender modules have been improved.
• The Witching Hour staff can now be sold to vendors.
• The Tinker's Finesse set bonus now correctly grants True Seeing.
• Fixed a bug where some items with the Pure Good, True Law, and True Chaos effects were able to be equipped by characters of the wrong alignment.
• The Greater Gem of Freezing Tides and Greater Gem of Ocean's Winds now have the correct icons.
• Fixed an issue where the Boon of Undeath item effect would not work unless the item was equipped before a Pale Master assumed undead form.
• The Deneith Thin Quiver and Deneith Wide Quiver are now named the Large Thin Quiver and Large Wide Quiver.
• The word "Colorless" has been added to augment crystal names to make them easier to find at the Epic Trader vendor.
• Fixed a bug where some Artificer spell scrolls had incorrect icons.
• Fixed a bug where the scroll of Cure Moderate Wounds had an incorrect icon.
• The weapon property Improved Destruction now functions correctly.
• Inflict Wound potions now have the correct focus orb images.
• Shield Bashing and fortification reduction effects now stack correctly between feats and items. Shield Bashing grants a chance for secondary shield bash attacks while striking with a main-hand weapon, and Armor-Piercing will now bypass a percentage of enemy fortification when attacking.
• Challenge loot with the Craftable effect will no longer have a minimum level one lower than they should.
• Tier 1 and Tier 2 Challenge loot items will no longer become Craftable upon Disjunction.
• Fixed an issue where Exclusive or other items could disappear from the Buy Back tab if the items failed to place into a player's inventory.
• The Ring of the Stalker's Manslayer effect now works properly.
• The Minor Experience Elixir given from Challenges now displays the correct bonus amount.

Monsters

• Death Knights have been buffed, and are now considered Undead instead of Human for their monster Type.
• Fixed a bug that could cause zombies to get knocked down and be unable to get back up.
• Monsters with rogue levels and the Sneak Attack ability now have the ability to reduce fortification to personal attacks to some degree. For example, a CR 10 bugbear assassin with 4 Sneak Attack dice will now be able to critically-hit someone with heavy fortification approximately 10% of the time. That same bugbear will be unable to critically hit a character with 110% fortification.
• Some undead monsters that were incorrectly vulnerable to critical hits or sneak attacks are now immune.
• Some undead monsters that were healed instead of harmed by healing spells will now be harmed by the spells.
• Fixed a bug that caused undead enemies to always fail their saving throws against healing spells.
• Horrid Wilting will now damage players when cast by monsters.

NPC's

• Guild component vendors now sell components for bards, rangers and paladins.

Quests, Challenges, and Adventure Areas

• Text has been added to dungeons that use color-based puzzles or pressure plates to help color-blind players.
• Many adventures will now offer special end reward lists when players complete their quest arcs for the third time (and every three times thereafter!) Named items that can appear on a quest arc’s end reward list will have a 100% chance of appearing on every third completion of the story arc. Special third completion rewards are available for:
  • The Catacombs
  • The Ruins of Threnal
  • Sorrowdusk Isle
  • Delera’s Tomb
  • Tangleroot Gorge
  • Shan-to-Kor
  • The Phiarlan Carnival
  • The Sharn Syndicate
  • The Reign of Madness
  • Harbinger of Madness
  • Attack on Stormreach
  • The Waterworks
  • The Path of Inspiration
  • The Dreaming Dark
  • Reaver’s Reach
  • The Red Fens
    • Some quests offer specific rewards on third completion, see individual quest information below for further detail.
• Players will no longer be unable to open Epic chests when in a party with an Artificer's deceased Iron Defender.
• Helpful effects will now be removed after a player has been granted hit points, to prevent situations where a wizard can die when resting while in Lich form, for example. This also means that the amount of hit points recovered by resting can be influenced by buffs that would previously be removed before resting.
• Cannith Crafting Essences will now appear in chests on Epic difficulty.

Secrets of the Artificers

• The hit points of non-boss enemies in this adventure pack have been adjusted down slightly.

Cannith Manufactury

• There is now an increased chance for rare creatures to spawn.

Blown to Bits

• A Bladehound that was not becoming active will now properly engage its enemies.

The Lord of Blades

• The Lord of Blades will no longer sometimes go "invisible" and become stuck for a period of time after his jump attack.

Schemes of the Enemy

• A floor section no longer does electrical damage.
• The overall number of monsters in this dungeon has been lowered.

The Catacombs

The Crypt of Gerard Dryden

• Changed the dungeon description to state that this is an "extremely challenging" dungeon for its level.

Endgame: Marguerite

• Removed the description that this was an "extremely challenging" dungeon for its level.

The Cerulean Hills

Where There's Smoke...

• Killing certain Orc Ambushers in this quest will no longer complete the objective to slay Armnok the Warband Leader.

Challenges

• Gold Star ratings will now be properly reported on Challenge Leaderboards.
• Players who do not take part in Challenges, but are in a party doing a Challenge, will no longer be marked as having taken part in the Challenge in the Challenge Leaderboards.
• Completing an objective after a Challenge has ended will no longer display a "Success" message.
• Disconnecting will no longer cause kobolds to experience pathing issues.
• Epic Challenge dungeon entrances now have purple map icons.
• The Lich has been removed from Extraplanar challenges, and the Marilith has been returned to these challenges.
• The Cloud Giant in the Lava Caves challenges has had its CR reduced.

Dr. Rushmore's Mansion: Moving Targets

• The minimum level of this challenge has been reduced to 8.

Extraplanar Mining: Dragon's Hoard

• The minimum level of this challenge has been reduced to 8.

Kobold Island: The Disruptor

• The minimum level of this challenge has been reduced to 8.

Kobold Island: The Disruptor Epic

• Players will now be correctly awarded a star if no extractors have been destroyed, and letting an extractor get destroyed will no longer give conflicting feedback.

Lava Caves: Colossal Crystals

• The minimum level of this challenge has been reduced to 8.

The Dreaming Dark

• Completing the final quest in this series three times (and every third time thereafter) will offer players a single random Ioun Stone, crafting items, and random loot from its end reward list.

Euphonia's Challenge: Treasure of Crystal Cove

• Disconnecting will no longer disrupt kobold pathing.
• The crystal collection objective now states the correct number of crystals required for completion.
• Hide +5 through +13 upgrades are now available in Euphonia's hat box.

Gwylan's Stand

• Phiarlan Cylinders now weigh 20 pounds instead of 100 pounds.

Korthos Island

Misery's Peak

• The mini-map has returned.

The Inspired Quarter

• Inspired Quarter residents have convinced the Coin Lords to place a Teleporter in the enclave.
• Characters level 4 and higher can now enter the Inspired Quarter.
• Completing the final quest in this series three times (and every third time thereafter) will offer characters the option to select several shards or disks, and offer the chance for named items that normally appear in the Mindsunder chest, in its end reward list.

Orchard of the Macabre

• All chests in the Orchard of the Macabre that had a chance to drop Sigil pieces, Tattered Tapestries, Tome of Untold Legends pages, or Shield of Legend fragments now have a chance to drop any of the above. If a chest previously had a specific Sigil piece, Tome page, or Shield fragment associated with it, that chest will remain the best source for that particular item. However, these items can now drop from any of the above chests.

The Reaver's Reach

• The third completion end reward list will offer players 50 Dragontouched runes, plus a random Eldritch, Sovereign, or Tempest Rune.

Monastery of the Scorpion

• Fixed a stuck spot.

The Red Fens

• Each dungeon in this chain will offer its own third completion reward list that includes named items associated with the adventure pack.

Into the Deep

• Soul stones will no longer get stuck in a pit.

Reign of Madness

• The rings offered as end rewards now have a minimum level.

The Sane Asylum

• This quest now has a working exit.

Sentinels of Stormreach

• The quest arc bestowed by Taggart Deneith can now be repeated, and Taggart will offer an end reward every time the arc is completed.
• The quest chain end reward will no longer be lost if the quests are done without talking to the quest arc NPC.

The Sharn Syndicate

• The quest arc bestowed by Yorrick Amanatu can now be repeated, and Yorrick will offer an end reward every time the arc is completed.

The Vale of Twilight

Rainbow in the Dark

• Fixed a door which could close and trap players, or prevent them from accessing a section of the quest.

Meridia

The Shroud

• Shavarath Blades will no longer strike as rapidly, do less damage on all difficulties, and display a warning when they first enter the game.

Races

• Fixed a bug that could cause Half orc characters to have an unusual pose when engaging in unarmed combat after using a quarterstaff.
• Half-Elf Artificer Intelligence now requires the Feat Half-Elf Dilettante: Artificer instead of Wizard.
• Fixed a graphical issue on Half-elf male characters wearing Renard's Elegant Hat.

Reincarnation

• Ability Tome benefits are now preserved after True Reincarnation.
• Bravery Streaks will now be preserved through Lesser and Greater Reincarnations.

Skills, Feats, and Enhancements

• The Improved Repair enhancement line now uses the Repair icon instead of the Spot icon.
• Fixed a bug where the "Silent Moves" and "Greater Shadow" item effects were giving the incorrect skill bonuses.
• The Lightning Icon for the Monk stance has been given a new look.
• Metamagic feat context menus now indicate when no metamagics are available to place onto a spell, rather than present a menu with no options.
• The benefits of Zen Archery and Brutal Throw now apply to characters that have the feat.

Spells

• Conjure Bolts now creates more powerful bolts when cast by a more powerful caster. At 4th level, and every four levels after, the bolts gain +1 to their enhancement bonus, to a maximum of +6 at level 20.
• Acid Spray, Burning Hands, Cone of Cold, Shout, Great Shout, and the Mind Flayer's Mind Blast no longer shoot twice.
• Artificer item buffs no longer persist through death.
• Fixed a typo in the description of the Hypotic Pattern spell.
• Animations will now match the appropriate metamagic state for the spell shortcut.
• The debuff icons for Otto's Resistable Dance and Otto's Irresistable Dance are no longer switched.
• The buff icon for Angelskin is now correct.
• The Lantern Archon's Focus Orb is no longer an Eladrin Ghaele.
• Fixed a bug where the icon for the Paladin spell "Zeal" would not always appear.
• Item enchantment spells like Elemental Weapons and Lucky Cape now display a buff icon in the upper-right corner of the screen while an enchanted item is equipped.
• Hold Animal now affects Magical Beasts and Vermin. If cast on a mindless creature, the creature receives no saving throw, but the spell has a reduced duration.
• The tooltip for Aid, Mass now describes the spell instead of saying it acts like the Aid spell.
• Necrotic Ray is no longer subject to Spell Resistance
• Deep Slumber's description has been updated to reflect the actual duration of the spell. The spell lasts for 20 seconds +2 seconds per caster level (instead of its previous description of 20 seconds +1 second per caster level.)
• Several typos have been fixed in the spell descriptions for Elemental prod and Aid.
• Fixed the icon for Ram's Might in the buff bar.
• The Toughen Construct buff now has the correct icon.
• Fixed some typos in the description for Niac's Cold Ray.
• Horrid Wilting will now hit a hard-targeted enemy in addition to the enemy's neighbors.
• Deadly Weapons has been temporarily changed to address balance and other issues. The spell now adds +1d8 force damage to a target's main hand weapon. This spell will undergo further changes in the future. Additionally, scrolls of Deadly Weapons have been added to the treasure tables, and now have a chance of appearing in chests like other scrolls in the game.

UI

• A UI tab has been created for Creature Companions. The tab appears when the first Creature Companion has been acquired. Click here to find out how to get them!
• Ingredients and other bags will no longer incorrectly display the final item taken out of the bag.
• Fixed an issue that could cause the Quest Completions counter to decrease instead of increase.
• The map will no longer block the vitals bar for the first person in a party.
• The description of Adamantine Ritual II now correctly states that it increases the Durability of an item by +15.
• Helmets will now be shown for players whose characters had /showhelmet off set prior to the release of Update 10.
• The show helmet state will now be properly preserved following a Lesser or Greater Reincarnation.
• Fixed a text error that could display when a character's guild achieved a new level.
• UI skinning should now work properly again.
• A new “effects” log has been added to chat to help new players recognize when they have item or spell effects that don’t stack. This option can be turned off in the “incoming chat” options list.
• The Auction House UI will now display remaining times more precisely.

Other Changes

• Improved the behavior of Alt+Tab when running DX10 or DX11.
• Warforged characters will now get the same equipment as non-warforged, except for armor.