Greetings Everyone!

Today I wanted to tell you about some of our plans for the year in Dungeons & Dragons Online. I hope you all had a fantastic 2023, and that you’re ready for even more adventures. I’m having a bit of adventure myself at the moment due to a winter storm, writing a draft of this Producer’s Letter in the dark by candlelight, with one of those old timey writing things ... a pen and some paper.

In a way it’s kind of thematically appropriate; it has me thinking about when I used to write D&D adventures by hand for my friends. It’s been nice to pause and reflect on those endearing D&D moments, because it is the 50th anniversary of Dungeons & Dragons! That’s half a century of people lovingly making their character builds, their campaigns, and playing with their friends. And yeah, sure, a lot of tools and technologies have changed in 50 years, but what hasn’t changed is the passion and creativity of everybody who loves D&D. That’s a huge reason why it has endured. As luck would have it, the 50th anniversary happens to fall on the lunar year of the Dragon! How fantastic is that? So that means we’re going to celebrate big. Dragon big!

I am pleased to announce that starting at DDO’s Anniversary in February we will be rolling out a yearlong celebration in honor of D&D’s 50th Anniversary!  From free gifts to new features, each month during our Year of the Dragon celebration there will be something exciting for our players. Be sure to check in with us on February 7th when we will reveal what each month’s Year of the Dragon surprise will be! The fun starts during DDO's 18th anniversary on February 28th. As a hint to how this starts, the first surprise will be a dragon themed archetype. The “Year of the Dragon” celebration will last all the way until next year’s anniversary.

In addition, we have lots of other excitement planned in 2024. Here’s an early sense of what those updates will entail:

By popular demand, our next major Expansion in the summer will take place in a fan favorite D&D location: Myth Drannor! It is among the more infamous places in the Forgotten Realms and we’re very excited to bring it to life! The level cap will increase to 34, and I’m looking forward to one of Myth Drannor’s hallmarks: Wild Magic areas. Myth Drannor is a place where opening yourself to chaos can allow you to tap into greater power.  It’s that power that has attracted the Red Wizards of Thay. Players will need to explore both the ruins of Myth Drannor, and interfere with the plans of the Red Wizards.  It’s the quintessential D&D and dungeon delving environment. Presale for the Expansion will start in June.

In addition to two quest packs this year and our Expansion, there will also be a Dynamic Event with quests to unlock. Dynamic Events differ from our seasonal festivals in that while they are limited time activities, they are focused heavily on serious story narrative and DDO canon, and some aspects of them don’t repeat once the DDO community has advanced the story. They’re also meant to have elements that let players experience the event together, with collaboration and peer information sharing. After reviewing feedback on the Illithid Invasion, this Dynamic Event will be inclusive of all character levels since the Illithid Invasion was fairly end game focused. It will take the place of our Hardcore season so that all players can participate. We're anticipating that the event will be some time in the fall, though Dynamic Events may not always be during fall going forward.

With the necessary Store infrastructure upgrades completed last year, we’ll also be looking to roll out the updates to the VIP program in the spring this year. We’ve made changes to the proposed rewards based on player feedback, and we’ll bring more information on the VIP program soon. 

We’ll update Crystal Cove and Night Revels to support the higher-level cap, and Night Revels will also get a new dungeon this year.

The coupon code grants the following quest packs:

    Against the Slave Lords
    Attack On Stormreach
    Delera's Tomb
    Devil Assault
    Disciples of Rage
    Dragonblood Prophecy
    Harbinger of Madness
    Haunted Halls of Eveningstar
    Heart of Madness
    Hunter and Hunted
    Keep on the Borderlands
    Peril of the Planar Eyes
    Phiarlan Carnival
    Reign of Madness
    Secrets of the Artificers
    Sentinels of Stormreach
    Shadow Under Thunderholme
    Shan-to-Kor
    Sorrowdusk Isle
    Tangleroot Gorge
    The Catacombs
    The Demon Sands
    The Devil's Gambit
    The Devils of Shavarath
    The Dreaming Dark
    The Druid's Deep
    The High Road of Shadows
    The Lost Gatekeepers
    The Mines of Tethyamar
    The Necropolis, Part 1
    The Necropolis, Part 2
    The Necropolis, Part 3
    The Necropolis, Part 4
    The Path of Inspiration
    The Reaver's Reach
    The Red Fens
    The Restless Isles
    The Ruins of Gianthold
    The Ruins of Threnal
    The Sharn Syndicate
    The Soul Splitter
    The Temple of Elemental Evil
    The Vale of Twilight
    The Vault of Night
    Three-Barrel Cove
    Trials of the Archons
    White Plume Mountain and Other Tales

Additionally, enjoy a limited time sale on select Expansion quests in the DDO Store where you will be able to pick up the following items for only 99 points through 11:59pm Eastern (-4 GMT) Sunday, February 11th 2024:

    Masterminds of Sharn
    Menace of the Underdark
    Mists of Ravenloft
    The Shadowfell Conspiracy

If they deliver on even half of that it'll be better than 2023. But still not good enough to re-open my wallet.

If only you closed your mouth along with your wallet.

ED pass

Nerf epic destinies and then introduce (sell) legendary destinies.