In development

'''This page aims at listing dev words on future updates of the game (as a kind of a WDA replacement). Feel free to contribute by adding your own finds.'''


 * See In development/Enhancements for a list of future enhancements.

Module 9

 * End of May, early April, or even later?
 * "Mod 9 will not be out this week (end of February). I'm sure that is a huge surprise. Mod 9 will also not be released after the two weeks of bonus XP (March 2nd - 16th). Well it will, sometime after, but not immediately after. I know this isn't going to satisfy all of you, but it's the information that I can tell you at the moment. There are great things coming, and we ask that you all continue to be patient as we finish everything up over here. I wish that we could tell you more, and one day soon&trade; (I had to), we will!" - Turbine Community Team Tarrant, forums.ddo.com
 * Level cap raised to 20 - massively.com
 * "Players will take the fight to Shavarath to fight the Devils on their home turf. Players will make friends of old enemies once again as they make their way across the battle scared ruins of the Plane of Battle to once again deflect the expansionist tendencies of the Devils." - Kate Paiz, gamebanshee.com
 * "We’ve also talked a lot about taking the fight to save Xen’drik to the Devils on their home plane of Shavarath. The Plane of Battle hosts a large wilderness, several dungeons, and a multi-part raid that pits players against a new Pit Fiend, General Horoth, and his spectral shadows, fiends that are feared by devil and mortal alike. Here is a sneak peek into the people and places of Shavarath, the Plane of Battle." - Senior Producer Kate Paiz, A Letter to Players
 * Landscape preview - The Art of Shavarath Series on ddo.com

New Races and Classes

 * "Half Orcs are the next race that's currently planned, we expect the first half of '09. The Druid is on our list as the next class." - Eladrin, Stratics dev chat
 * "The Druid class will feature classic abilities, like shape-shifting, and we’re very excited about getting it out to players sometime mid next year. The Half Orc and Half Elf will be coming sooner, probably in Module 10, and will also echo their classic, D&D player handbook selves. Everyone is very excited about the Half-Orc’s +2 strength bonus as well as customizing their tusks. " - Kate Paiz, gamebanshee.com

UI & Control Improvements

 * Fist-person View
 * "First-person view is coming! You'll be able to mouse-wheel in on your character and see the world around you from the eyes of your avatar, rather than hovering behind/above them. Still love the traditional 3rd person view? That's ok, you will be able to control your camera view by mouse-wheeling in/out to change from third-person, to first-person, and back again as often as you want!" -Tolero, forums.ddo.com
 * Map improvements
 * "One of these changes is a quest/adventure area feature that shows shrines and chests on the map once you've discovered them!" - Tolero, forums.ddo.com
 * "The chest and shrine mapnotes will only appear when *you* find them. There are a couple other map improvements that you'll be hearing about soon. Something many of you have brought up, multi level maps, and indoor/outdoor maps are not in the works at this time. There are some technical issues we need to work out (we do know it would be great to have!)." - Phax forums.ddo.com followup
 * Loot All button
 * "You will be able to use the "Loot All" button to automatically have all the items in the chest that dropped for you placed right in your inventory with a single click! Items that bind will still ask for a confirmation prior to ending up in your inventory." - Tolero, forums.ddo.com
 * Wand/scrolls improvement
 * "When you equip a wand, you will be able to activate it by using single-attack! Casters rejoice - no more punching with candycanes! Using the same key you use to attack with a weapon (or your fists if you're a monk), your character will activate the wand instead of trying to smack things with it. Still fond of keeping wands on your hotbar? You will still be able to use a wand from your hotbar. This feature will work on both aggressive wands (such as a wand of magic missle) and beneficial wands (such as healing wands). You can also hold your attack key down to continually activate the wand. Auto-attack will also allow you to continue to use the wand repeatedly. "Wand whipping" will be easier than ever with attack-activated wands!" - Tolero, forums.ddo.com
 * Combat feedback improvements - Senior Producer Kate Paiz, A Letter to Players (discussion thread)
 * "We have updated the targeting system to help out newer players or those who are annoyed by the need to hit tab so often to keep monsters in their focus. When you are close to an object, like a monster, NPC, door, or lever, it will automatically show up in your focus orb as your soft target. In game, your soft target is marked with a light ring, its floating name, and a floating hit points bar, for monsters. As you walk around a space, your soft target changes as you get closer and farther from things. You can make any of the soft targets into a hard target by pressing the tab key or clicking on it, and you can use your old targeting reflexes anytime to achieve exactly the same results as before. If you don’t like the new targeting system, you can toggle it off and on anytime by pressing the G key. We’re very excited to see what you think about it, and look forward to your feedback when it comes out!"
 * "In addition to displaying the target’s hit points over their head, we’ve vastly improved the combat feedback system. Buffs (and debuffs) applied to your character will display over your head and damage you take will appear in red numerals (like -15 ) while healing will appear in green ( +25 ). To help identify monster weaknesses and strengths, the damage they take will show up over their head with symbols displaying the damage type (fire, cold, etc.) and a corresponding color that shows the monster’s resistance to that particular damage type. The color types are: purple (weakness), orange (normal), and yellow (resistant). Floating damage can be turned off in the options menu."

Chat-related

 * User list in user channel
 * "I just suggested to the design team yesterday that we should do this, and have word from the engine team that it would not be hard to get the list of characters, so you may be seeing this in the future!" - Phax, forums.ddo.com
 * General channel improvement
 * "In Mod9, all instances of a public area, like the Market, will be routed to the same general tab, and we’ve added an advice and trade channel to each of the public areas as well. You’ll even still be in the public general channel if you enter a dungeon in that area, like the Quickfoot Hideout in the Market. You can customize this in the Options Menu if you don’t want to still hear public chat in the private instance, but the option will now be open to you (and will default to include you in the larger community). This change should help players find groups, get advice and sell things during non-peak hours and just improve overall the general access to other people in the area." - Kate Paiz, A Letter to Players (discussion thread)

Spells

 * "Mass Charm is back in Mod 9." -Eladrin, ddo.forums.com

New Spells

 * "Players are going to enjoy some amazing spells from the 9th level list, including Mordenkainen's Disjunction, which will temporarily strip all the magical properties off equipped items. We’ve also got the instant death spells of Weird and Wail of the Banshee, and players will be pleased that they will be able to cast Meteor Swarm (the Pit Fiends can’t have all the fun!) Regretfully, Wish and Time Stop will not be introduced with Module 9, though, as the challenges in bringing them to life in an MMO still require more balance and tuning testing. We will also be filling in some lower level spells, such as the Prismatic spells, so that lower level players get some additional abilities as well." - Kate Paiz, gamebanshee.com
 * Here is a preview of some of the spells that are going to be added in Mod9. - Kate Paiz, A Letter to Players (discussion thread)
 * Acid Spray
 * Level: Sor/Wiz 1
 * A cone of burning acid shoots forth, damaging targets in the area of the spray for 1d4 damage per caster level (max 5d4). A successful Reflex save reduces the damage by half.
 * Chain Missiles
 * Level: Sor/Wiz 3
 * A missile of magical energy darts forth and unerringly strikes its target inflicting 1d4+1 force damage. For every 2 caster levels beyond first you gain an additional missile, up to 10 missiles. After striking your target, the missiles explode outwards, striking other creatures near the primary target.
 * Prismatic Spray
 * Level: Sor/Wiz 7
 * A brilliant cone of multicolored light projects from your finger, blinding weak targets and producing one or more random effects.
 * Repair Critical Damage, Mass
 * Level: Sor/Wiz 8
 * Transmutes the structure of living construct allies to repair 4d8 +1 per caster level damage.
 * Meteor Swarm
 * Level: Sor/Wiz 9
 * Causes four 2-foot-diameter spheres to spring forth and streak in straight lines toward a target, leaving fiery trails of sparks. The meteors explode on impact, dealing fire damage to targets in the area. Unlike most other projectile spells, the caster can arc these meteors if they have no target selected.
 * Mordenkainen’s Disjunction
 * Level: Sor/Wiz 9
 * A powerful force disrupts magical effects on the target, removing ongoing spells that have been cast on a target. You must make a caster level check of 1d20 + your caster level (no maximum) versus 11 + the spell's caster level to remove a spell effect, and your target must make a Will save for each equipped item or all magical properties on them are temporarily disabled.
 * Power Word: Kill
 * Level: Sor/Wiz 9
 * A single word of power is uttered, instantly killing a target creature with 300 or fewer hit points.
 * Wail of the Banshee
 * Level: Sor/Wiz 9
 * A terrible scream kills creatures who hear it. A successful Fortitude save negates this effect.
 * Summon Monster IX
 * Level: Clr 9, Sor/Wiz 9
 * Summons a hezrou to fight for you for a brief time. Casting this spell locks out casting any other Summon Monster spell for 5 minutes.
 * Energy Drain
 * Level: Clr 9, Sor/Wiz 9
 * A black ray of crackling negative energy suppresses the life force of any living creature it strikes, granting an enemy 2d4 negative levels. If the target has as many negative levels as its hit dice or levels, it dies. Each negative level gives a creature a -1 penalty on attack rolls, saves, skill checks, ability checks, and effective level. Negative levels stack.
 * True Resurrection
 * Level: Clr 9
 * Resurrects the target, restores all of the target's hit points, and preserves current spell points.
 * Heal, Mass
 * Level: Clr 9
 * Casts Heal on multiple targets. Channels powerful positive energy into allies to wipe away injury and afflictions, restore 10 hit points per caster level (max 250hp), and remove ability damage and the conditions blinded, confused, dazed, dazzled, deafened, diseased, exhausted, fatigued, feebleminded, insanity, nauseated, and poisoned. Against undead this spell acts as Harm. Undead who make a successful Will save reduce the damage by half.
 * Implosion
 * Level: Clr 9
 * You create a destructive resonance field around you, causing nearby corporeal enemies to collapse in upon themselves, killing them instantly. A successful Fortitude save negates this effect. Every few seconds, an enemy within your aura will be affected by this spell, but you are free to perform other actions while it is active.

At-Will Spells

 * "We agree that at-will powers are valuable additions to the casting classes. In Module 9, eternal wands have been given some improvements - faster use times, and their charges recharge over time. When the Prestige Enhancements come out for the Cleric, Sorcerer, and Wizard, I expect many of them to have at-will powers. A Sorcerer Fire Savant III, for example, will likely have the ability to produce Burning Hands, Scorching Ray, and Fireball effects at-will. (These will likely be on a slightly longer cooldown than if they had cast the actual spells, but will be free.) The Wizard Archmage is currently planned to be able to reduce their spell point maximum to purchase a variety of low level spells as spell-like abilities. Pale Masters will have their own necromatic twist, and Wild Mages... Well, they'll do something when they push that "Nahal's" button.(These are very early plans. Details are subject to change.)" - Eladrin, forums.ddo.com

Skills, Feats, and Abilities

 * Combat Expertise
 * "It's not intended that Combat Expertise drop after using potions (or monk finishers). We're looking at various solutions including changing the basic nature of Combat Expertise." - Eladrin, Stratics dev chat
 * Tactical Feats
 * "Prestige enhancements are planned for fighters and paladins. Before that, however, the melee classes (especially fighters) will be glad to see an array of tactical feats made available to them." - Eladrin, Stratics dev chat
 * Monk-related Fixes
 * "Some Monk related tidbits on things I've been working on" - Eladrin, forums.ddo.com


 * The Monk enhancement "Way of the Tenacious Badger" now functions as expected.
 * The movement speed penalty on Mountain Stance has been reduced.
 * Higher levels of Mountain Stance now grant more Ki when critically hit, and have increased Damage Reduction.
 * Higher levels of Sun Stance now grant more Ki on critical hits.
 * The thrown weapon speed bonus from Ten Thousand Stars has been increased. (Note: The nature of Ten Thousand Stars may change in the future, but it will remain a "more thrown weapons" type of ability.)


 * Fixed errors in monk character generation advice.
 * Caster Related Feats
 * We'll also be granting this at first level to Bards, Sorcerers, and Wizards:
 * Dismiss Charm
 * Prereqs: Level 1 Bard, Sorcerer, or Wizard
 * Benefit: Activate this short-ranged ability while targeting a charmed,commanded, controlled, or dominated enemy that is under your control to dispel the controlling effect.

Enhancements

 * See In development/Enhancements

Items

 * Module 9 raid loot
 * "Module 9 will definitely include a fantastic raid (hope you like a whole lot of Pit Fiends and Horned Devils) and we’ve got some great raid loot to go with it. These raid items will not leverage the crafting system -- that is something for M8, but in M9 we are focusing on more traditional named raid items that instead combine to greater heights. Some of the high-level Enhancements players can get at level 20 will also stack with the raid set bonuses to give even greater benefits." - Kate Paiz, gamebanshee.com
 * +4 tomes in module 9 - DDOcast Ask the Devs 6
 * Host: Really, did we just get a confirmation of +4 tomes in Mod 9?
 * One of devs: Yup.
 * Holy Avenger
 * "Oh, and Tharagrim's working on the Holy Avenger." - Eladrin, forums.ddo.com
 * "A Holy Avenger's a special thing. You can't just hand them out to everyone. ;) I expect that a certain level of dedication will be required, and perhaps a task or two to prove your worth. Not the pirate quest." - Eladrin, Stratics dev chat
 * Vicious prefix
 * "The Vicious weapon enchantment now deals 2d6 damage to opponents struck by the weapon and 1d3 damage back to the wielder instead of 1d6." - Eladrin, forums.ddo.com
 * Handwraps
 * "Bound to Account" items
 * "Some items in M9 will be Bound to Account. No existing items will become bound to account. More information regarding bound to account items will be forthcoming in future announcements. These items will only be transferable to your other characters through the shared bank. You can also put any non-bound items in the shared bank." - Phax,
 * "Some items in M9 will be Bound to Account. No existing items will become bound to account. More information regarding bound to account items will be forthcoming in future announcements. These items will only be transferable to your other characters through the shared bank. You can also put any non-bound items in the shared bank." - Phax,

Crafting

 * Full Crafting System
 * "Implementation of a full crafting system is underway. We don't have a release date yet, but we are working hard on it." "High level powerful items will certainly be one of the material goals of crafting, but characters will also be able to make all sorts of items that can be used by characters of all levels." "To begin with, the crafting system will focus on the making of equippable items like weapons, shields, armor, and accessories. Magic arrows and potions certainly may come later." - Piloto, Stratics dev chat
 * Armor Dyeing
 * "... we will continue to monitor the demand. Once the crafting system goes live, you will be able to dye parts of your armor and monk outfits pink to your heart's content." - Piloto, Stratics dev chat

Hirelings

 * Better interactions with objects - thread by developer Thoon

Monsters

 * Succubus in Mod9 - Kate Paiz, Massively Podcast (20:18 of the cast)

Quests

 * Major changes to Ascension Chamber (The Black Abbot) raid - by Eladrin, forums.ddo.com (thread)
 * Significant changes are being planned for the Abbot module nine. These happen to include several of the bullet points from the original post, including Fix the holes in the story line (why does he send us to do puzzles, etc.).
 * Many of the issues that may come up in this thread may be obsolete - I rescripted and updated most of the encounter during my pass. Very little went untouched.
 * There are still three areas where the Abbot has his defenses (guarding objects of critical importance to him), that the Silver Flame / Emerald Claw force access to when you create a moment of weakness.
 * Bounty system is going to be removed from the game in module 9.
 * Restless Isles to be revamped as wilderness adventure area
 * "... in Module 9 the Restless Isles area is getting a slight bit of an update with the addition of the slayer tech that is used in other landscape areas (Slayer / Rares / Explorer). Every kill will now bring you closer to getting more XP." - Thoon forums.ddo.com
 * Threnal East 3 (Hold for Reinforcements)
 * "In Mod 9 the devs have made a change to East 3 that allows you a bit more ... control ... over Coyle's actions. After testing the change out, I think that it will make the quest a bit easier to handle when playing it with characters of the appropriate level." - Thoon

Other Changes

 * Shared bank tab
 * "All subscribers will be able to open their bank, click on the new tab, and place items from your inventory that are bound to account inside this bank tab (bound to character items, mostly raid items, will not be transferable to this tab). Then any other characters on the account can login and pull any of those items into their inventory (note: each bank tab is shard specific -- only characters on Argonnessen can reach the Argonnessen shared bank)." - Kate Paiz, A Letter to Players (discussion thread)
 * "You cannot place plat in the shared bank, sorry. The shared bank shows up as an additional tab when you access your normal bank. The UI will look more like the Buy Back tab that shop keepers have than the existing bank, and will have twenty item slots available." - Phax, discussion thread


 * Guild Housing
 * "I'm sorry to say that we won't have any guild housing features for mod 8." - Zyrca, forums.ddo.com