Exploring Eberron: We need a little Festivult, right this very minute
There's been a lot of chat and interest regarding the approach of Update 8 in Dungeons and Dragons Online. What is the new adventure pack going to be like? How will all the tweaks affect gameplay? Will the Half-Elf updates improve the new race? Here at Massively, we're looking forward to it as well -- in fact, we've got an exclusive tour of the new adventure pack coming up later today. It's exciting, but there's another event to look forward to as well.
It's that time of year again: Festivult is approaching in DDO. While the big event hasn't arrived yet, Turbine has been keeping plenty busy with preparations.
While you wait for the Jester of the Festivult to arrive later this month, check out some of the other December events in DDO. There are sales and a great contest, and the community members are working together to plan ahead for the events. Follow along after the break to see what is happening in December in DDO!
There's a sale!
It might be a little cliché, but I love all the sales around the holiday season. Festivult is no exception, as the DDO crew is running some great sales as part of the Festivult celebration. Each day this month, a different item is 50% off in the DDO Store. Turbine reveals the sale items one week at a time to allow you to plan ahead a bit, and I love the variety offered. Races, classes, storage items, potions, and much more -- there really should be something for everyone.
You can watch the Festivult Daily Deals Page every week to see what the upcoming sales are.
But I'm out of Turbine Points!
Never fear. Turbine has a fun contest coming up, and it couldn't be easier to win! If you're not a current player, simply create an account and you'll be entered. Current DDO players need to check out the contest page link. Everyone is entered in a random drawing for some extremely generous prizes. One person will win the first prize of 100,000 Turbine Points. Two second-place winners will receive a lifetime VIP membership to the game, and five third-place winners will get 1,000 Turbine Points each.
Even better, Lord of the Rings Online is having an identical contest, so you can enter for both! Make sure you read through the rules, and best of luck!
So how can I make the most of Festivult?
If this is your first Festivult in DDO, you're in for a good time! The guides online can be a little confusing for a newbie, so let's look at a few of the basics. Sometime very soon (hopefully by the time you are reading this column), chests in DDO will begin offering a little extra loot: Festivult coins. You don't have to do anything special; just keep playing and opening chests like you usually do and you'll begin accumulating copper, silver, and gold coins.
So what do you do with them? There's a quirky fellow called the Jester of the Festivult roaming Stormreach during the celebration, complete with a bag full of treats that he's ready to trade for those coins. He can be reached via some jumping challenges, but if your platforming and jumping skills are as dismal as mine he can be found in the harbor in an easier location (check your map).
The Jester will offer all sorts of sweet and not-so-sweet treats, each providing a different benefit. It's hard to say exactly what those benefits are. As the DDO site explains, "Each year the Festivult gifts are imbued with a different magical power depending on what planes are in alignment. So if you have some left-over goodies from Festivults past, beware, friends - those treats may not bring the same affects as before!" The items are varied, some offering buffs to you or your allies and some causing harm to foes. In any case, it's worth your while to stock up on them -- particularly since we're going to have cookie jars very soon to help with storage.
Finally, the DDO community has been pitching in to prepare for the event by planning out which quests offer the most in the way of chests. Check out the forum thread to offer suggestions, ask questions, or just study up and prepare. Festivult is one of the most fun events of the year, and it's beneficial to your character too, so you certainly don't want to miss out.
Get ready to start farming those coins, and I'll see you next week!
Exploring Eberron is a novice's guide to the world of Dungeons and Dragons Online, found here on Massively every Friday. It's also a series of short summaries of lower-level DDO content, cleverly disguised as a diary of the adventures of OnedAwesome, Massively's DDO guild.
