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The Turbine billing system has attained sentience (not really)
We hope you've got a little extra money squirreled away in your bank account because the Turbine billing system is hungry. It seems that some players were charged a bit more than usual for their Dungeons and Dragons Online accounts this week, some of them as many as 100 times their normal VIP fee. TurbineTolero took to the forums to clarify the issue: This impacted a limited number of players after the maintenance work, and we have a list of the affected users. We're working with our partners to make sure that over charges are reversed. You do not need to contact us to receive help, but if you have any questions you are welcome to call or send a ticket (phone is 1-855-WBGAMES and tickets contact can be done via http://support.turbine.com). Our sympathies extend to those affected more than passingly by the bug. [Thanks to Marc for the tip!]
Massively's look at DDO's new crafting system
Dungeons and Dragons Online Update 9 has been anticipated for quite a while among its fanbase. It's bringing a creepy new adventure pack, a huge skill update that Wizards and Sorcerers are paying close attention to, and possibly best of all, a brand-new crafting system. We've had a look at some of the new content of Update 9, and we've pored over the skill changes, but our recent discussion with the Turbine crew was the icing on the cake. We sat down recently with Fernando Paiz and a few other members of the DDO team and jumped into the new crafting system with both feet. So what does this much-hyped system look like? We loved it, but follow along after the jump to see for yourself! %Gallery-121829%
Turbine posts DDO Update 9 patch notes
It's update time in the world of Eberron, and Turbine's Tolero has posted the substantial patch notes on the official Dungeons and Dragons Online forums. Update 9 is currently strutting its stuff on the Lamannia test server, and among the new features are updated combat animations, a Saltire District adventure pack, and a host of tweaks to a lengthy list of spells and abilities. The list is so long, in fact, that we couldn't reproduce it here, so head to the boards and see for yourself. Update 9 also boasts a couple of class changes, notably additional early level spell points for Rangers and Paladins as well as a new Echoes of Power effect. When a player with the magical training feat is low on spell points, Echoes of Power will automatically come to the rescue with a regeneration effect.
Turbine point cards coming to a Gamestop near you
Microtransactions and cash shops are common in many games these days, but the downside of a lot of them is that you're out in the cold if you don't have a credit card. Many developers are finding ways around this problem, and Turbine's the newest member of that list; Gamestop will soon be selling Turbine Point Cards. Turbine Senior Community Specialist Tolero posted a photo of a couple of the cards in $10 and $25 increments, with the promise that we'll be seeing them in stores "very soon." It's not entirely out of the question that we'll see them in stores by the end of July. It will be interesting to see if there will be cards for both games once Lord of the Rings Online goes free-to-play -- we'll keep an eye out!
Turbine announces DDO lotteries
Turbine has just one question to ask you: do you feel lucky? Well, do ya, role-player? Oh, you do? Swell! Then you're going to want to break out your four-leaf clovers and purple horseshoes for the new my.DDO.com lotteries. For a while now, Turbine players on the DDO side of the fence have looked with envy at LotRO's awesome (and frequent) lottos -- but no more! These lotteries are a quick -- and free -- way to earn extra items in-game, which you can do just by entering as often as they pop up on the website. Some of the lottos are based around in-game events, and some are just for fun (like the first one, a "Tasty Lotto" that nets winners free ham). It's really just a nice bonus on the side, and one that never fails to give you a thrill when your winnings pop up in your game mailbox. In the forum announcement, Tolero explains that while the lottery system is still in beta, it's certainly active for North American players (sorry Europe!). North American DDO players can enter by logging into their my.DDO.com page, then clicking on the lotto button on the left-hand side. The cool thing is that lotteries are by character, meaning that you can enter all your characters in the same lotto with a better chance of winning! Head over to the DDO forums for the full details.
The DDO community at a glance
Each week, the Dungeon and Dragons Online forums play host to the Stormreach Chronicle: a lomg-running look at the best and brightest in the DDO community. There's a player and guild spotlight, a featured build, the Turbine Town Crier and a light-hearted Q&A called the Curious Cube.In this week's Curious Cube, players describe their worst party wipe situation they've ever had. Three answers were chosen for the Chronicle, as well as a answer from the Cube itself. The Town Crier gives us some tidbits on the Valentine's event and the scheduled maintenance for the forums this week. If you want to stay up on all your DDO news, check out the Stormreach Chronicle, posted every week by Tolero in the forums.
