Brannoc: We'll begin with a brief introduction from our guests and then proceed with the chat. Now would be a good time to send those questions to [QT]Sprite!
Sporkfire: Hi, all. I'm Victor Wachter, Community Relations Manager for DDO. Glad to see you all here!
Samera_DDO: Hi there. Samera here. Community Relations Specialist.
Nereid_DDO: Hello, I am Nereid, Producer on DDO
Solas_DDO: Greetings. I'm Solas, DDO Gamesystems.
Gubtug_DDO: Hi, I'm Gubtug, Art Director on DDO.
Graal_DDO: Howdy, I am a game mechanics designer
GelatinousCube_DDO: *jiggle*
Codog_DDO: Howdy. I'm Codog, a Senior Game Systems Engineer. Happy to be here.
Tuttle_DDO: Hola, Captain Tuttle here. Design Manager on DDO.
Denour_DDO: Evening, I'm Andy "Denour" Gillis, I am one of the Game Systems Engineer on DDO. *Wave*
Brannoc: *Guest23* What's the time frame for when module 2 will come out?
Nereid_DDO: Hello - Module 2 "The Twilight Forge" will be coming out in July. We are accepting applications for our preview of Module 2 content in the DDO.com Forums.
Brannoc: *Zaran* could you explain the solo option on the difficulty selection on the Quest Window.
Solas_DDO: The solo option has two main goals: To improve the new player experience, and for something to do while waiting for a party.
Solas_DDO: Only a single player can enter an adventure on solo. The monsters are scaled down, HP, AC, spells, etc. Most classes should be able to tackle a solo adventure appropriate for their level, although some classes are more powerful solo than others.
Solas_DDO: Currently, solo mode is only available in the Harbor
Brannoc: *Targonis* The level cap is expected to be raised in September/October. Can we expect that the level cap will be raised every 6 months or so?
Nereid_DDO: We are committed to raising the level cap on an on-going basis and will be releasing them when we are able to support with new monsters, adventures, spells, feats, etc.
Brannoc: *Ustiveh* What one thing would the moderators like to see in DDO that is not currently implemented (including things that never will be)?
GelatinousCube_DDO: Gelatinous Cubes
Brannoc: *Anon220* I read on the DDO forums that the ranged system isn't working quite as well as folks would like, so it's getting an overhaul. What's the latest on the ranged system overhaul?
Mysterious 5 minutes silence.
Codog_DDO: After module 2, players will see a number of improvements to both ranged and melee combat. Some of these improvements include increase of ranged attack speed as players level up, improvements to activatable melee feats, and a number of new action point benefits.
Brannoc: *Zaran* Why are you requiring players to do quests on Hard and Elite to get maximum favor from the Houses?
Solas_DDO: Hard and elite difficulty modes offer drastically increased challenges for a party. Defeating an adventure on elite is a truly heroic accomplishment. The House Patrons give us a unique opportunity to offer an interesting reward scheme to players who challenge not only the breadth of adventures in the game, but also the breadth of difficulty levels. As the game grows, expect to see the patron system expand with new ranks, new patrons, and new rewards as adventures are added to the game.
Brannoc:*Anon220* Are there any new animated emotes being worked on?
Gubtug_DDO: Emotes have been something that a lot of the dev team has wanted to see more of. There'll be new emotes coming to Stormreach soon. Done.
Brannoc: *Anon220* Do you think that DDO will eventually cross the level 20 threshold and go into epic levels?
Nereid_DDO: Yes, we are planning on adding more levels over time, and are looking into what the gameplay will be after level 20.
Brannoc: *Gill* Question: Are their any plans or ideas for GM-run events?
Sporkfire: We are currently developing some live events to hold in Stormreach, similar to the events that were very popular in Beta. We've got a lot of creative people here who are really excited to start holding them, and we're going to start holding them again in the future.
Brannoc: *Gill* Question: Has the issue of inability to find parties come up, and if so, how do you plan on addressing this?
Solas_DDO: We’ve done a revamp of the social panel which should make the “looking for group†tools a lot easier to use. DDO at its heart is a party-based game, and we’ll continue to improve our tools to help players adventure with one another. The solo mode should also help give players something to do while they’re waiting to find a party.
Brannoc: *locke* any change comming for holdong items such as scroll holders or bags of holding
Graal_DDO: We have no plans for specialized holding items, but there will be an increase in overall inventory and bank space coming with Module 2
Brannoc: *Namelessone* how and what is being looked at to work on Ranged Combat, and what is being looked at to improve the Ranger Class
Codog_DDO: Post Module 2, as a character's base attack bonus goes up, player's speed of bow, crossbow, and thrown weapons will increase. This inherently will improve ranger's combat or any class that is investing in ranged combat feats. A number of rangers abilities scale with level such as Ranger Bow Strength and Many Shot.
Brannoc: *ssprink* Will existing loot tables be reworked to match dungeon difficulty?
Tuttle_DDO: The content team is consistently evaluating the exp and loot balance for our existing dungeons. This is an ongoing process and we’ll continue to respond as the need arises.
Brannoc: *Maghantah* Question: any focus on creating more randomization in content?
Solas_DDO: We’ve had tremendously positive feedback on our random monster optional objectives. We are experimenting with randomizing traps in some of our upcoming content. We recognize that this is a very popular issue among our fans.
Brannoc: *ZeroTakenaka* How much will Module 2 cost?
Nereid_DDO: Module 2 "The Twilight Forge" is a free module for subscribers.
Brannoc: *ZeroTakenaka* When will patron system come out?
Solas_DDO: Module 2 "The Twilight Forge" will contain the patron system.
Brannoc: *Locke* hello, is there a plan to add new feats? or a mechanism for players to swap feats to update their character?
Nereid_DDO: We are looking into allowing players to swap out feats they have chosen, and will be adding new feats with the level cap increase.
Solas_DDO: Going back to an earlier question on LFG - I wanted to mention that a lot of specific improvements were taken directly from suggestions off the forums. For example, you will be able to see which area a player is in, and whether or not that player is already in a group.
Brannoc: *Targonis* Following up on the question about ranged weapons, will a distance limit be placed on items such as bows, thrown weapons, etc.?
Codog_DDO: Thanks for the question Targnonis. Limiting the range of bows, thrown weapons, and crossbows is certainly a topic that we are currently investigating.
Brannoc: *Khalathas* Will there be high-end non-static quest rewards in the future, as opposed to just the static reward system that's been implemented as of late?
Solas_DDO: Yes, we have specific plans to create new magical effects for high level loot. These will be available both in treasure chests and randomized quest rewards.
Brannoc: That's it for this one folks! Thanks for joining us here on Stratics IRC, the logs will be up on http://ddo.stratics.com shortly. Be sure to come by again next time!
Sporkfire: Thanks for coming out, everyone and for all the questions!
Samera_DDO: Goodbye everyone. Thanks for coming to chat with us!
Codog_DDO: Bye folks!
Tuttle_DDO: Goodnight everybody, thanks for chatting!
Solas_DDO: Goodnight all.
Denour_DDO: G'nite folks!
GelatinousCube_DDO: \engulf
Nereid_DDO: It was great talking to you - thanks for having us! Goodnight.
Hmm. I hope you found that more illuminating than I did. The prospect of live events coming out way is pretty neat though.