Dungeons & Dragons Online Update 24: The Heart of Madness Preview

Turbine’s Update 24: The Heart of Madness content patch is gearing up for release later this month, and that’s prompted MMORPG.com to put together a hands-on preview of the new adventures, character refinements, and more that will be included within. A sampling:

The first dungeon previewed was in the Sleeping Spell Inn, beginning with a quest titled Terminal Delirium. Here we find the Xorian forces awaiting us. This time you won’t be building a spaceship out of furniture, instead you’ll be doing the bidding of either the Lord of Eyes or the Lord of Stone. The choice of whom you wish to serve is yours, you have but to swear fealty. Each will have a different series of tasks for you to complete, for example fetch a balloon or complete a tile mirror puzzle. At the end you’ll compete in an amazing Xorian Dance Battle. By using spells and distracting your opponent you can overcome your foe, but be wary of attacking them, as it will lower your dance score!

After having completed your dance battle, the next stop is the Museum of Stone in the Palace of Stone. Down a large flight of stairs we find the Stone Lord sitting upon his throne. He’ll offer you a tour of his museum and the other wings of his Palace. One wing is filled with displays of seemingly boring stone and rocks. Angered by your lack of interest in his wing of stone, the Stone Lord decides to show you their true purpose, animating them and forcing you to fight your way through the wing, or be destroyed. There is also the Gallery of Motion, which features numerous rolling boulders, and the Halls of Reflections, where you find out the Lord of Stone has been creating Medusas. After all the wings have been completed you’re invited to take a tour to the Summit of Glory. This room has pictures on the wall glorifying the Lord of Stone. Avatars of the Lord will start spawning, the paintings coming to life and trying to sacrifice you in a ritual to make the palace grander.

The third new quest in the Xoriat story line is called Fashion Madness. A finely decorated runway is constructed in the middle of Lordsmarch plaza. Glamorous elves of all types are showing off this seasons’ hottest fashion, but unfortunately for these elves, The Mind Flayer Yualthoon isn’t too impressed with their couture. He unleashes a horde of Taken all over the plaza, slaying elves and guests. The main goal is to survive the large pack of Taken and Yualthoon’s onslaught.