Treasure of Crystal Cove

Overview
The  is the DDO anniversary live event in 2011.

The allows characters to harvest collectables similar to the Mabar Endless Night Festival Event to buy and modify festival-specific unique weapons and items.

All weaponry and items unique to the Festival are currently Bound to Account; accessories and upgraded items are currently Bound to character. Collectibles also all Bind to Account, so you need to collect them all yourself.

Iterations

 * Special preview on February 22nd then, from February 24th through March 1st
 * Official announcement

Smugglers Rest
The birthday party patch modified the Smuggler's Rest that once was the training area of DDO. You can reach this area via the NPC Sailor Calatin from the Harbor, directly in front of the entrance to Arachnophobia. Note however that Sailor Calatin is only there as long as the event is up.

This island is now populated by many types of respawning pirates, according to the level of players in the area when they spawn. Each pirate killed has a chance to drop doubloons, treasure map pieces, named treasure maps and treasure compasses. Rare named captains and crew members can also drop different crystals. Killing a monster of CR more then 5 levels below the player character will not reward in doubloons.

When a treasure map is dropped, each member of the group will get an identical copy. Using the map will reveal a chest on the map.

As soon as enough treasure map pieces are collected (20,000 pieces?) and turned in at Euphonia's treasure box, the Crystal Cove will be open for access for 40 minutes and a global message will go out stating that (In practice it was actually available for about 50 minutes, allowing 2 runs as it's a timed 20 minute quest). Now each player in possession of a Treasure Compass can enter the Cove. There are difficulties going all the way up to 25. Max allowed people per instance is a regular 6 man group. Higher level instances will reward more shards, while entering an instance below player level will result in a penalty. If the character is more then 5 levels above the instance level no shards will be rewarded at all. Even if in a group the higher level player left the instance, the penalty on this instance will be kept.



Collectables
Following Items can be collected and turned in at Euphonia's Barter Box:


 * Map pieces (trade in for Doubloons, the basic "currency" to purchase special event items. Map pieces also count towards the 20,000 total turn-ins needed to open the Crystal Cove) - BTA
 * Treasure Map Piece (generate around 6 Copper Doubloons)
 * Collectables, the basic "currency" to purchase special event items. - BTA
 * Copper Doubloon (Randomly from killing monsters - higher chance then silver or gold)
 * Silver Doubloon (Randomly from killing monsters - higher chance then gold)
 * Gold Doubloon (Randomly from killing monsters - has the lowest chance to drop of the 3)
 * Green Dragon Shards (from completing the Crystal Cove with excess shards collected)
 * Stolen Emerald (from killing rare named monsters, or any monster in the cove)
 * Stolen Diamond (from killing rare named monsters, or any monster in the cove)
 * Stolen Sapphire (from killing rare named monsters, or any monster in the cove)
 * Stolen Ruby (from killing rare named monsters, or any monster in the cove)
 * Stolen Alabaster (from killing rare named monsters, or any monster in the cove)
 * Stolen Pyrite (from killing rare named monsters, or any monster in the cove)
 * Other - BTC
 * Named Treasure Map: When used, marks a point on the map with a chest that drops random loot, only for the player that used the map. However, when in a group, everyone in the group gets that map whenever one person from the group obtains one.
 * Treasure Compass: Needed to get access into the Crystal Cove

Exactly which gems you get depending on the CR level you select for the quest. Level 20+ versions will only drop Diamonds and Emeralds. Since the lower-level gems are required for the lower-level versions of the items, to create the lower-level versions of the items you need to either (A) run the Smugglers Rest on a lower-level character and kill the lower-level rares that spawn, or (B) run the Crystal Cove quest at a lower level. If you run Crystal Cove at a level 5 or more levels below your character level, you won't get any green Dragonshards, but will still get gems from any monster kill; just ignore the Kobolds and kill monsters for low-level gems if that is what you need. You won't consume your Treasure Compass because you won't complete the quest.

The fastest way to get doubloons is to kill monsters in the Crystal Cove and turn in the gems for doubloons.

All of the gems/doubloons/map pieces Bind to Account. The Named Treasure Maps and Treasure Compasses Bind to Character.

The crafting/upgrading uses the same Barter interface used in the Mabar Endless Night Festival and Cauldron of Sora Katra crafting, by placing the requested amount of Collectables (and base item to upgrade) into the Barter interface, picking the desired recipe from the list, and choose 'trade'.



Crystal Cove
Crystal Cove is a Dungeon that can be accessed from the Ship, as soon as enough Treasure Maps are turned in. The major goal in this dungeon is to guide and protect the Kobolds which in return follow specified path ways to collect crystals. In a fixed amount of time (20 minutes) a total of 100 crystals have to be collected. While collecting those crystals, equipment and more Kobolds can be bought, using-up some of the collected crystals. If the time runs out before those 100 crystals are collected the quota is failed and the instance will terminate without reward; if more than 100 crystals are collected, the extra crystals are given to the players. While being in this instance several mobs will spawn that hurt your Kobolds, so you have to defeat them. Killing monsters will net you additional gems needed for the upgrade process.

If you exceed the quota you earn green dragonshards that are needed for the higher item upgrades. Everything collected above the 100 crystal quota is optional, but get you more green dragonshards to keep. Quest completion also gives XP and a normal end-reward, based on the level of the chosen instance.

The path the Kobolds are following is marked via a chain of torches. Torches can be picked up by clicking on them, and placed by using them from your inventory or hotbar. A red or purple line shows between each correctly-linked torch. Purple lines are from Kobold Healing torches, red lines are normal torches. The torches need to be placed close enough to link them together and wide enough to not slow the Kobolds down, as Kobolds usually stop at each torch to look around to see if there is something to pickup in the area. Workers will pickup the crystals and put them in the barrel(s) on their back and then walk back to the entrance. Kobold teleporters can be purchased and placed near the crystals, so that Kobolds can quickly teleport back to home base to turn in crystals. Kobolds still need a torch path to walk from home base back to the crystals.

Be careful with buying more torches, extra carrying drums and workers to assist you as you may not be able to collect enough crystals to finish the mission. Also beware to never let the Foreman die or you won't be able to buy new resources.

Dead Kobolds can be replaced if you bring the Kobold Soulstones to the Foreman.

There are only two shrines in the Crystal Cove. The first shrine is fixed, always spawning near the quest entrance, while the second shrine can spawn at any of 5 places (the NE, SE, SW or NW corner or in the southern part of the map).

Before entering the Quest you will be handed out the Kobold Minion Union Rulebook

Requisition forms increase the maximum amount you can buy of something

Upgrade of Items
There are a vast majority of items that can be purchased via doubloons and upgraded in several steps. The higher levels of the initial version need more doubloons and gems, and the tier upgrades require green dragonshards and finally the highest tier needs a trinket as well. The minimum level of the item increases by steps, 4-8-12-16-20.

For example the initial level 20 version of the Brigand's Cutlass requires:
 * 1200 copper doubloons
 * 600 silver doubloons
 * 35 emeralds

Each item (Weapon, Armor, ...) then has additional tiers to upgrade. Each of these tier upgrades adds additional abilities while staying at the same level. For example, the second tier of the Level 20 Brigand's Cutlass adds +1 damage (and attack?), the third tier adds absolute chaos and a red augment slot.

While it is not possible to go directly to Tier III of a weapon, it is however possible to directly buy the initial version of a specific level, which is in the end cheaper then upgrading the level afterward.

Below the full upgrade matrix show the requirements to upgrade a Brigand's Cutlass. From left to right are the costs to upgrade the tier of an element, while the different levels are listed from top to bottom. The initial item can be upgraded to Tier II via Upgrade I and to Tier III via Upgrade II. As one can see it is even possible to upgrade a level 4 weapon to a level 8 weapon and further. However the level upgrade will probably only result in the base version of the item. Also visible in this matrix is that for Tier II of the weapon a fully upgraded Trinket is needed as well, which is the reason to put the requirements for the trinket in the matrix as well. Note that the requirements for the other weapons nearly look the same. The only difference is that another Trinket is used and that for example the Dagger has different Gem types for the initial buy, but the cost and structure reside the same.

Upgrade requirement matrix for Brigand's Cutlass

Pirate Hat
Additional to the items crafted from the collectibles, each player is given a Pirate Hat. Any characters created prior to the 5th Birthday patch will receive a voucher for a free pirate hat while the in-game event is running. The voucher can be redeemed in Smugglers Rest for a fancy hat. Hat colors will vary but can be bartered for a different color.

Character gift list, based on the amount of time a character has played DDO:
 * Tier 1: Swabby’s Kerchief - a simple Bandana
 * Tier 2: Freebooter’s Bandana - a Striped Bandana
 * Tier 3: Corsair’s Skullcap - a Striped Bandana with Skull Brooch
 * Tier 4: Captain’s Chapeau - a Feathered Hat
 * Tier 5: Admiral’s Tricorne - an Admiral’s Hat
 * Tier 6: Dread Admiral’s Tricorne - an Admiral’s Hat with Skull Brooch

Each Character's gift will be elevated one “tier” for each of the following conditions:
 * Active VIP Subscription: +1 Tier
 * Founder Account: +1 Tier
 * Character has True Reincarnated one or more times: +1 Tier

The looks of the hats vary by tier, and the base Scallawag's Luck bonus varies by tier (for example, the Tier 6 Dread Admiral's Tricorne comes with "Scallawag's Luck VI: While in Smuggler's Rest, you gain 35% additional doubloons when fighting pirates.") Besides looks and the level of doubloon luck bonus, the hats are all upgradable in the same way, and to the same values.

All the hats can also be bought in the event if you didn't like your free one. Each hat can have three different upgrades installed at once (in addition to the inherent doubloon luck bonus). The doubloon bonus can be upgraded too if you like a certain look and don't want to upgrade the hat. Each upgrade belongs to a certain category. The ones listed below are the final tiers of each upgrade:


 * General: seeker 6, superior potency 6, Archmagi, heavy fortification, +6 stats, ...
 * Skills: +15 skill bonus, for any skill but UMD
 * Kobold buffs: These are buffs that only work for the Smugglers Rest Event

To get to these final stats requires starting with lower-level stats. For instance, to get to 'Heavy Fortification' you first need to add 'Light Fortification' then upgrade to 'Moderate Fortification' then upgrade to 'Heavy Fortification'. All those upgrades are again bought with doubloons, green dragonshards, and jewels.

Example of a fully-upgraded pirate hat: Heavy Fortification, Intimidate +15, and haste aura IV (Kobolds around you move 35% faster).