The Underdark Campaign And Refining Artifacts Changes
The latest blog posts dealt with the Underdark campaign and refining Artifact changes and players finally get some support on the RP front as the devs allow us to refine Artifact Gear into other Artifact Gear at double the rate, even outside x2 weekends. This was a major request by the community as getting one piece of Artifact equipment to legendary is already quite a hassle, but losing most of the RP due to the gear being replaced in each and every Module was quite brutal and discouraging.
The new campaign has a pretty standard design. You’ll need to run the new content (Demogorgon Fight, Skirmishes and Heroic Encounters in the old zones), gather two different currencies and use them to progress. There are two different keys that open additional chests in the group content just like we’re used to from other dungeons, skirmishes and Tiamat and after you’ve completed the campaign, you can still spend currency, this time to buy rough ADs or Stronghold Supplies.
It’s pretty much the same layout as the one from Module 2: Shadowmantle except that the difference between boon four and five are four more days (35 total compared to 31 in Dread Ring). I remember Dread Ring as the most easy, fast and ALT-friendly campaign and this one looks like it could finally allow us to catch up a little bit after ALT play has been all but dead. There will probably also be campaign boost tokens available for Genie’s Gifts. The daily and weekly caps are annoying, but in the end every campaign has been artificially throttled and at least we are free to run the content we want this time.
The stat boons are the strongest we’ve seen so far and double those of previous campaigns. One thing of note regarding the fifth boon is that they make it Module specific as it only grants you bonuses against Demons. They said they’ll likely extend the Underdark and the story in coming releases, but it’s safe to assume that the effectiveness of the boon will decrease going forward. Giving players goods that will predictably expire might sound like a bad idea, but it’s working against the power creep because the achievements of modules don’t stack as much. This is also true in other areas of the progression, for example the new Drowcraft armor, which has set bonuses specifically designed for Underdark content and give boosts to Underdark Companions and Mounts. The post campaign tasks will probably not make it into players endgame rotation although you can technically earn an additional 4k RADs per day. But nobody likes to still run dailies after having completed campaigns. It is however finally a decent way to spend leftover currency.
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After looking at the campaign, the ‘big thing’ this Module seems to be the Salvatore quest line. Otherwise it’s pretty standard cost. You have that new zone where you get quests, have to grind out the new group content to get the new equipment and boons and that’s it. Between Strongholds and whatever major additions will come next, this one might be more of a gap closer and competes with Mod 4/5 for the least content addition. But as already mentioned slowing down the pace should be a welcomed sign by many that have left ALTs behind and most are still in the process of developing their Strongholds anyway. So it’s more than enough to keep us occupied.
