Gnomework Redux -- prologue

Hey y'all!  Just wanted to make a quick run down of the free to play quests from latest expansion in DDO and give my first impressions. In the posts that follow this post I'd then like to detail more about the new free to play quests one-by-one.

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The first two are found in the Harbor and are given by these two cuties.

The first is Orben Romblemore who offers the quest Good Intentions:

The second is Callumnie who offers the quest Memoris of an Illusory Larcener:

Oh my goodness, gnomes! GNOMES!

Yup, as a follow on to the new gnome race, we got three brand new free to play quests that I've now played through a bunch of times.  Well, except for the Forgotten Realms one from this little lady:

This is Popkin "The Shiv" Shortshanks who offers the quest Search and Rescue.

I've only ran through that one, um once? Why? Well, I just simply don't get out to Forgotten Realms much yet (it's mostly content I never previously purchased).

But lemme tell ya! I love the quest Good Intentions. It features my now favorite mob in the entire game.

I call it the fruit ninja, but you can call it an "animated object."

Overall, I liked these quests very much and new content is always a welcome site. Thanks for the fun quests to the DDO team.

Happy Dueling

(p.s. I also dinged 18 finally! Bring on the Lich Form! But that's a story for another time.)

A tale of three bugs

Heya!  So I've been encountering a lot of "new to me" "old to everybody else" content in DDO lately. heh. Being out of the loop for a few years can do that to a returning player like myself.

I've only ever "stepped" foot into any content after Update 14, aka . . . Eveningstar. Now that I'm level 17, I've been seeing all kinds of new things.  Unfortunately I'm also encountering a few interesting bugs or strangeness.  It's probably stuff that's been talked about time and time again on forums and having resources from a DDO team spent on fixing them would probably be less than an ideal use of time.  I get that.

Regardless, I'm a blogger and reporting stuff I encounter is part of the gig. It probably won't get any bugs fixed, but at least I get it out there and can move on to whatever next random post I make, right? BLOGGER EXORCISM!

(It makes sense in a weird way . . . don't judge.)

Anyway.

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Bug 1.

"You do not currently have access to the Wheloon Content Pack. Buy it now in the DDO Store!"

I ran into this little bad boy the other day, and thought . . . you know what . . . I've got some Turbine points, let's do this!

Unfortunately when I click that "Buy Now!" button it opens up the DDO store and it's not available for me to buy.  

I figure it's incentive to purchase a VIP membership.  I should probably do that.

~~

Bug 2.

Aha!  The Ring of Fire mission! 

Wow!  A red dragon announcer calling the shots in a "survive this" arena full of lava and fire creatures that debuff your fire resists.  LOVE IT! I WENT DOWN DOWN DOWN into that burning ring of fire, ring of fire!

. . . and I survived the three rounds, downed a Fire Witch, and some other boss and lived to tell the tell.  It was epic!

At the end, the dragon roared out, "Congratulations, challengers! You have survive the Horde. Most entertaining. Claim your prizes and return again soon." I bolded that claim your prizes part because there were no prizes. I looked high and low for a chest and in my bags for a lockbox of some kind.

nothing.

. . . unless my prize was exp and Golden Lions coins . . . which is something at least, but unlike completing the Grove of the Great Tree mission (which was significantly easier btw) where I received two chests . . . I got nada. zip. zilch.

It was still cool, just . . . a little disappointing.

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Bug 3.

Mmmm . . . this one is kind of a false advertisement thing from Gerad Poplar.  He's the Challenge Trader in Eveningstar for level 16 peeps.  I was super excited by his proclamation of what I would get in exchange for all the hard work bashing through the Eveningstar missions.  Check it out.

On the left is what he said I'd get.  On the right is what I got.

Am I blind?

-An enchantment to deal harm directly to your enemies when you strike them.

I'm thinking, Hey! Like a 3d6 fire proc or something!  Unless that +4 enhancement bonus is considered an enchantment to deal harm . . . I'm not seeing it.

- An enchantment that can cause a powerful and spectacular effect which will only occur rarely when you strike.

SWEET!  I'm thinking like the fire shield proc on the Cloak of Flames from Cannith.  nope.

- An enchantment to hamper or impair your foes.

WOW!  LIKE A CHANCE AT SLOWING OR STUNNING! WOOT!  um . . . no.

I guess the part that really sticks me on this is "their powers will always include . . ."  That really should be changed to "could possibly include" . . . unless it doesn't and Gerad is a straight up liar.  I guess I could role play that.

~~

And those are my three bugs I recently encountered.  I know . . . kinda dumb . . . but there you go.  Here's a picture of an owlbear eating my barbarian henchman to make things better.

Happy Dueling!

Ribbasket Reporting for Duty Sir!

Hello friends, it is I, the Friendly Necromancer, but not everything is necromantic as it may seem in paradise. In fact, you might say thing have become just a bit more barbaric.

• OH YOU WOULDN'T!
• OH YOU COULDN'T!
• NECRO, HOW COY!

Aye, tis the truth. I've rolled up a dwarven barbarian on Sarlona in the attempts of joining one Samius and Lessah from DDO Cocktail Hour as they crash through the game on Fridays.  They're starting all the way at level one and rocking through the game.  

I'm in . . . and what a glorious young chunk of ribs he is, friends.

Oh, Sarlona, it's a clean slate over here. I don't have any stinkin' shared banks to pull from and whatnot, but that won't stop me!

And, sure, I like hardly ever play melee classes, but I still know how to dance in the dark while wielding a great sword.

Good times be afoot!

I'm now level 4 and equipped with a couple of Cannith Mission pieces.

See you on Fridays.

Happy Dueling

Devil's Gambit, Part 4 -- Of Magewrights and Carbon Copies

Friends! Adventurers! Rakasha lovers! Lend me your ears.

For it is review time . . . First we cleared out the druid hostel in the harbor, Next we cleared out the Portable Hole Wizzy Tavern, then we had some good laughs with the Slaad, and today the ever wonderful Surna Garnok is porting us off to the magical zone of Cannith, which seems to continue to be my favorite chill spot in DDO. TAKE ME TO THE CHILL SPOT, SURNA!

. . . and that she does after letting you know, things ain't so chill in Cannith . . . and particularly in a "smaller workshop" belonging to a "Magewright." What kind of Magewright are we talking here? I'm assuming a Cannith Tinker, but if I'm going in a Wordsmith's Hall, these eff'ers better get ready for a write off! *cough cough* yeah, never mind about that last sentence.

Once arriving in Cannith we're greeted by a sexy bearded man known as Belmont D'Cannith. He's in a huff because the local Magewright Hall just got raided by a bunch of demons, humans, and pride of Rakshasa. He figures they're not after the horde of Cannith Crystals in there, but instead something known as a Planar Containment Generator. Let's review the final list:

- Planer Awl, check
- Transfinite Compass, check
- Eldritch Attractor, check
- Planar Containment Generator, check

Wait a second . . . he's going to make some kind of epic shroud raid out of all this isn't he? All too predictable, Harry.

ANYWAY, I'm good with doing my part to stop the hubbub in Cannith and who knows, there might be something amazing in that there Magewright Hall for an adventurer. I'm an adventurer, so LESDOTHIS!

~~

Step 1: As per normal, Arraetrikos has already found what he was looking for and we're just here to listen to him bark commands to his buddy . . . this time it's new Tiefling buddy named Carver.

Step 2: Admire the sneaky Tiefling as he uses the Codex page to create copies of himself so he can multitask better. Nice one, Carver!

Step 3: Kill the copies and any extra demon'y things that come along. It's like you're working at Kinko's in the 90's next to a college campus. (little known fact, I used to work at a Kinko's next to a college campus . . . I'm prepared for this . . . IT'S RECYCLING TIME, TIEFLING!)

Step 4: Again, admire the sneaky Teifling as he holds a quick hallway meeting with a Rakshasa. Apparently Carver hasn't learned that quick hallway meetings always end in disaster. This is an unspoken office rule that shall never be undone.

Step 5: Kill the Rakshasa and a gaggle of demons, and recycle more copies of Carver.

Step 6: Head downstairs. There's a locked door to your left and one of those freaking puzzle maze rooms to the right. I think you know what comes next.

Step 7: Clear out some baddies in an office next to the puzzle room. HA! I bet you thought Step 7 would be to solve the puzzle room . . . you were wrong. SO WRONG! HAHAHHAHAHAHAHAHAHA! IT'S ACTUALLY STEP 8! HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

Step 8: Solve the puzzle room.

. . . I'm not going to write a guide on actually solving this puzzle room . . . take a breath, you've got this . . . click the tiles . . . make the ends light up . . . there you go. See? It's super easy and doesn't need a guide anyway. But listen, make sure to kill any Golem Juggernaughts along the way if you want some bonus exp. I loves me some bonus exp!

Step 9: Open the door and listen as Carver does that "evil villain" thing and tells you exactly how he's going to destroy you . . . blah blah blah, I need Cannith Crystals to make copies of myself . . . blah blah blah . . . oh look, I'm in a warehouse full of Cannith Crystals *insert evil laugh*.

Step 10: Kill a bunch of Carver Copies. (You know, I think the name "Carbon" would have been a better name. I mean, Carver Copies is close but straight up Carbon Copies would be hilarious. Not that it always has to be about humor. Sheesh.)

Step 11: Kill a bunch of demons as you wander down the hallway and discover more locked doorways.

Step 12: Arrive in the weird acid jet trap room and admire its ridiculousness.

Ridiculous! Who would build this craziness except a Cannith Magewright trying to guard his precious lever? I mean, you'd think behind those big acid spraying pipes would be some kind of treasure chest (. . . hmmm, perhaps this is where the Planar Containment Generator was in the first place. That trap looks like nothing for Arraetrikos. I'll go with that theory.)

Step 13: Kill the mobs in the weird acid jet trap room.

Step 14: Walk along the pipes to hit a lever that stops the acid jets from spraying so you can once again hit a lever. Dude, it's lever after lever in this place.

Step 15: Go into the open air room and flip, you guessed it, another lever, which activates a floating platform that will glide you across to your next destination. Don't ask questions, this is Cannith architecture we're talking about here . . . .

Step 16: Kill more Carbon Copies and a few more demons and things.

Step 17: Search it! There's a secret door dead ahead with super secret-y loots!

Step 17a: There's a trap in here that you could probably disarm, but killing boxes is fun too.

Step 18: Solve another puzzle room and make sure to do the bonus credit puzzle moves so you can kill your last couple of Juggernauts for kicks, loot, and the XPs!

Step 19: Head back into the main hallway and pull that final lever to get into the last room. WHEW.

Step 20: Break all the boxes in the big room and just drag the agro if you want to get all your bonus xp.

Step 21: Kill both Carver and his Carver Copies.

Step 22: LOOT THAT FINAL CHEST AND DO THE KING OF THE WORLD THING ONTOP OF THE HOUSE!

. . . because it's pretty up there!

And there you go . . . well done adventurer.  You pretty much accomplished nothing but setting up the next story line. I know I know . . . that's not entirely true.  You stopped all the sub-plots and sub-villains.  You're amazing.

So how'd I like this quest?  I liked it, but then again I like everything.  It's in my nature.

All in all, I'm happy with my purchase of the Devil's Gambit. After running it a couple of times to make these guide posts, I leveled up and I'm ready for more fun.  I'll be back to do this again I'm sure.  This particular instance looks to have a fun pair of daggers, and if I was a rogue, I might be back a few times to get the Slice N' Dice set.  More info can be found from the wiki page.

Happy Dueling!

Devil's Gambit, Part 3 -- Arraetrikos Laughing Alone with Slaad

How ya'll doin'? Let's catch up on our Adventurers shall we?

First we cleared out the druid hostel in the harbor, Next we cleared out the Portable Hole Wizzy Tavern.Now we take three steps to the left and talk to Surna Garnok.

I wonder if Mogar Drim and Surna Garnok have ever dated, and do Half-Orc women take the last name of the Half-Orc man, or vice versa? I think I like the sound of Mogar Garnok better than Surna Drim (. . . sorry, I'm easily distracted by shipping Half-Orcs.)

Surna is just a hub of information for the  Devil's Gambit quest line, and she's a great spot to get exactly where you need to go next. For our next stop off, we're going to a fun little warehouse belonging to the Twelve.

Once we arrive, Genna Tesamarides gives you the scoop. Listen, they've tried to take care of things themselves, but the teams they send in to the storage area just never come back.  AWESOME, RIGHT?!  There's certain death in there!  This has all the makings of the best Storage Wars ever!

The Twelve have all kinds of nasty magical items in there and you can bet Arraetrikos wants something in there. And sure enough as soon as you poke your head into the instance he starts rambling on about an Eldritch Attractor he found and how he's going to use it in a ritual.  Let's review that list again:

- Planer Awl, check

- Transfinite Compass, check

- Eldritch Attractor, check

What's an Eldritch Attractor?  I dunno . . . um . . . it attracts Eldritch thingy's? 

Yup, looks like something Harry would be into. (Image reused from The Other Side Blog.)

Anyway, all in all, this is sounding like a great opportunity to rifle through the crates and goodies of The Twelve . . . let's do this thing!

~~

Step 1: Arraetrikos Laughing Alone with Slaad. (If you don't get that joke, please click here)

Step 2: Throw four switches, unleashing four elementals who all need to STAHP THE MADNESS! STAHP!

Step 3: Run down the hall and throw the last switch at the entrance.

Step 4: Dehorn all Devils on your way up a ramp and off to the left.

Step 5: Moar Devil dehorning down a couple of alcoves.

Step 6: Throw a switch that's hiding between the bookcase and a planter in one of those alcoves . . . now that's some descriptive spot text.

Step 7: If your search is pretty solid (somewhere above true seeing -- and find secret doors spell ain't cutting it -- I had to get my search up to 33 before I could find it on normal), you'll be able to get into a secret room with a locked chest. Gotta get that open . . . USE THE FORCE, LOOT!

Step 8: Behold the magic box room! Run through invisible boxes and smash through the "for realsies" boxes and get two crests.

Step 9: Back down the ramp you came from and . . . the devils just keep-a-comin' to Georgia for a fiddle fight, don't they?! And a fiddle fight they shall get!

Step 10:  Put the crests in the slots and it's now time to behold all the magical stored treasures of the twelve . . . like this amazing giant sized 20-sided dice. 

(Please tell me that model is reused somehow as a ship amenity.)

Step 11: More fiddle fights . . . and a bit of circus-taming. HELLO LORDS OF DUST!

Step 12: Ok, things gonna get a bit complex here:

Substep 12a: Flip the switch past the broken bars in the First room to the left

Substep 12b: Flip the switch past the open gate near the end of the tunnel -- bash boxes and stuff to get to it.

Substep 12c: Flip the switch from back at the beginning of this storage area where a now open gate allows you to pass through -- there's another invisible box gag here. It's fun.

Step 13: Go past the gate at the end that used to be locked and hang a left into the alcove.

Step 14: Use the three valves and wheels here in this alcove. Two on the north wall, one on the south.

Step 15: Scoot across to the other alcove and give that other lever a pull.

Step 16: Scoot across back to the original alcove and go through that super secret door you just opened and follow it down. 

Step 17: *cough* fire resists.

Step 18: Kill the two back up singers for Earth, Wind, and Fire.

Step 19: GET THAT CHEST!

Step 20: Back on up, down the hallway you were originally heading down before being so rudely distracted with wheels, levers, and rest shrines . . . and kill more devils and occultists, would ya?

Step 21: See that big wall of crates there?

 yeah, that's actually a little mini-maze that eventually leads you to a switch. you drop back down, go across the way, flip three more switches and . . . WHOA! ROOM WITH FOUR CHESTS! 

Step 22: Realize there's only one real chest and three more bite-y chests.  Don't miss that opportunity to see bite-y chests in action.

Step 23:  Would you Designers just stop distracting me with all the loot and side quest stuff? 

Step 24: Head down to the very end of the hall where you Gur'noras is playing with his Codex and LAY THE SMACK DOWN.

Step 25: Note the amazing way that Slaad dance before you kill/banish/defeat/whatever you do to them.

Step 26: Get that last loot chest and get the heck out of there.

Step 27: Report back to Genna while hiding all the loot you stole from the magical storage shed and . . . we're done! YES!

~~

And now the question . . . how'd I like it? I liked it! It's a long instance, which means more xp . . . and if you skip the backup singers for Earth, Wind, and Fire encounter and the mimic chest gag, you can finish this up pretty quickly. I like options. I'm keeping my options open. I'm not opting out of options. I've got more options than an optometrist with bad eye sight. (I stopped making sense a long time ago, it's ok friends.)

There's more "Devil's Handiwork" loot in here, so if you're looking for the whole set of five, you'll be running this a lot.

Thanks for reading and until next time . . .

Happy Dueling