Dungeons & Dragons Online: Menace of the Underdark Interview
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GB: We've established that the expansion will include five new epic levels, at least two new wildernesses, the druid, and new spells, but will there be at least one new raid against the Demon Queen of Spiders? You can't send us to the Underdark without letting us take on Lolth, right? Eric: Yeah, we do have a raid planned in the expansion pack.
Fernando: It's pretty safe to say that it's going to take twelve epic heroes to face off against a deity in her own domain. So, yeah, Lolth will be an epic encounter in every sense of the word and is fitting for our first epic raid.
GB: I would assume you'll be adding some iconic creatures with the introduction of the Underdark. Will you be adding Driders, Myconid, and other types of Underdark-specific enemies for us to face?
Fernando: That's right. There's a whole bevy of new monsters coming both for the overworld areas in the world surrounding Eveningstar and for the Underdark and a few other things here and there. So, yeah, there's a bunch of new monsters and that's one of the fun things for us. I haven't given you too many specifics, but we'll at least confirm that Driders are coming and they're a big part of the Drow faction and the Lolth worshippers there. Lolth is coming to prominence in our storyline, and in the world of the Forgotten Realms, and in all the events that are happening across various different storylines you'll see happening this year in different D&D properties. It's safe to say that her followers are going to rise to prominence and make their presence known.
GB: Can you give us an idea of just how big the Underdark and Eveningstar are going to be in comparison to the zones we've become accustomed to in DDO? Is the Underdark going to stretch across multiple zones, or will it be similar to the Menechtarun Desert and be presented as one large expanse?
Fernando: I don't want to put it into specific terms because, frankly, we're figuring out the specific plans as we go. That's not to say that we don't have plans, but it's probably better for me to play it safe. What I will say is that Eveningstar will be our major public area. Eveningstar will be the hub of the adventures that will take place within Menace of the Underdark. That's where our heroes will arrive first and that's where they will use as their home base for adventuring in the Forgotten Realms. It is very much going to feel like a large public area in DDO, as big as any we have probably. And then from there, the wilderness areas including the Underdark and the King's Forest, they're a good size DDO wilderness. It's not going to be like the mini wildernesses that are in the Reaver's Reach area for example, right? They're not going to be very small, tight areas and they're going to have plenty of adventures and things to discover.
The other thing I would add on that front is, just like we have plans to expand the content offering, one of the great things about the way we're building these wildernesses is that we have plans to expand them over time too. So, really, this is the beginnings of our adventures in this setting and part of the way we're going to expand it is by growing the world in a way where players will actually get to travel through it and expand in different corners of it over time as we grow the content offering.
GB: I know you've given us a "summer" release schedule already, but since that's a three-month period, can you give us a better idea of when we can expect Menace of the Underdark?
Adam: At this time we're saying summer, but I will say stay tuned. We'll be making some more announcements about that in the very near future.
GB: Alright, guys, thanks again for your time. See you in the Underdark!
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