The Shadow Odyssey is here! The Game Update 50 patch notes are live and the servers should be available for play shortly. Raring to go but don’t want to see the spoilers? Here’s the information you need to get started without giving away any endings. I’ll race you to the Moors!

Travel to the new zones

Head to Sinking Sands to the D.I.R.T.Y. Excavation Site where there is now an airship which will take you to the overland zone Moors of Ykesha.

Moors of Ykesha is an overland zone packed solid with quests aimed at 70+ so if you are on your own and want to dive straight in, this is the place to be.

While you are there, be sure to make future travel easier by harvesting the bush at the druid ring.

Heroics

Groups of adventurers will no doubt be rushing to take a look at the new dungeons spread out all over Norrath. These dungeons offer heroic missions as well as raid instances. [More...]

Posted by Taymar on http://proof.mmorpg-info.org.

Get the most out of harvesting by equipping yourself with the proper tools. You do not have to wield the tools to get the benefit. You do have to buff yourself up with the tool by right-clicking on it in your inventory. As the buff lasts for 10 days, this is only an intermittent issue. If you are not canceling the buffs, simply remember to click on the items each weekend to ensure that you constantly have the benefits of your tools in effect.

Harvesting tools can be made by woodworkers and tinkers.

Tools made by woodworkers require a minimum level to use but this can be either adventure or artisan level. There are separate tools for each harvesting skill:

• Pick: Mining
• Shovel: Gathering
• Saw: Foresting
• Fishing Pole: Fishing
• Trap: Trapping

Tinkered tools require a minimum artisan level to use. They have combined skills and thus there are only three different tools:

• Pickaxe: Mining
• Shears: Gathering and Foresting
• Watersafe Net: Fishing and Trapping

The following is a table of all of the tool types with the requirements and benefits of each: [More...]

Posted by Taymar on http://proof.mmorpg-info.org.

The launch date for The Shadow Odyssey is Tuesday, November 18th — not long now! It’s time to start getting prepared so that when those servers come up, I can hit the ground running. Here’s my list of things to do over the next two weeks:

Complete the D.I.R.T.Y. Collection

The purple shinies at the D.I.R.T.Y. site are now all in place for the Excavation Trinkets Collection. Although it has been confirmed that the shinies will remain in place for gathering after the live event has finished, it is unlikely that there will be any way to get the helmet in order to see them.

I’d like to complete this collection on all my characters as the reward is a house item which includes a port to the D.I.R.T.Y. site - which just happens to be the location of the airship to the Moors of Ykesha. Useful! [More...]

Posted by Taymar on http://proof.mmorpg-info.org.

Provisioner’s Mastery is a three volume set of recipe books for provisioners looking to expand their wares beyond the standard fare. The Grandmaster series of quests but be done in order but, whereas other crafters receive an advanced book of their choice, provisioners receive the slim volumes of fun recipes for all the family. You must collect the volumes in order and they are only available to provisioners. The required level for the quest is given with each volume. All of these recipes are fluff: they have no nutritional value whatsoever and can not take the place of standard provisions. However, they can add fun and excitement to your meals as a part of a balanced diet.
[More...]

Posted by Taymar on http://proof.mmorpg-info.org.

In addition to writs, each tradeskill faction has a set of quests given by the local grandmaster, which will reward you in faction, tradeskill experience, advanced recipe books and in some instances, additional fluff items such as clothing or furniture.

There are grandmasters in all the major tradeskill faction areas:

Name: Grandmaster Kawayzer
Residence: West Freeport
Location: 25,-12,8

Name: Grandmaster Jayak Lat’wasr
Residence: Gorowyn
Location: 2777,123,1183

Name: Grandmaster Feldmanus
Residence: Kelethin
Location: 462,91,363

Name: Grandmaster Zyrythius
Residence: Neriak
Location: -199,-4,246

Name: Grandmaster Kimbialis
Residence: North Qeynos
Location: 335,-20,-101

If you have the appropriate tradeskill level and speak to your local Grandmaster, he will press you to enter into his service and help out. Rewards vary by quest but in every case you will get the choice of a single advanced recipe book for your tradeskill in the appropriate tier. Provisioners, who do not have advanced recipe books, are given special recipe books for the initial quests but not for Senior Crafter Service (see details below).

[More...]

Posted by Taymar on http://proof.mmorpg-info.org.

There is a new collection in game! Trinkets: Excavation Trinkets Collection.

The purple shinies which give the excavation trinkets are not visible to the naked eye. In order to see the shinies you must be wearing an Excavation Helmet with the effect of Excavator’s Dedication. It is this which makes the question marks visible to you.

Note: This collection can not be completed at this time (directly after the launch of Game Update 49). Only the worn and broken trinkets are in game; stained and silvered trinkets are not yet available to be collected.

Jimbo McDaniel, the D.I.R.T.Y. Merchant at -1379,-168,-739 in Sinking Sands, has Excavation Helmets for sale but he will not deal with you until you have helped him deal with the curious monkeys. He has a series of four quests which scale to your level. Once completed, he will be happy to show you his wares for purchase.

The Excavation Helmet is available at a cost of 10 [D.I.R.T.Y. Money]. You gain [D.I.R.T.Y. Money] by doing the quests in the Encampment and Excavation sites.

The Live Event is split into two parts and only half of the collection items are currently available. The stained and silvered trinkets can not be harvested until the second half of the event. [More...]

Posted by Taymar on http://proof.mmorpg-info.org.

You can get the full details from the Game Update 49 patchnotes but here’s a quick start guide so you can jump right in and get D.I.R.T.Y.!

Live Event

The live event for Raising the Banner takes place is Sinking Sands and is full of quests and new items for you to purchase with the rewards. The D.I.R.T.Y. Encampment is visible from the Sinking Sands dock, up on the ridge.

Once there speak to Jimbo McDaniel, the D.I.R.T.Y. Merchant at -1379,-168,-739. You’ll have to do his set of four quests in order to spend the D.I.R.T.Y. money given as a reward by the quest givers. [More...]

Posted by Taymar on http://proof.mmorpg-info.org.

Any time you go harvesting, whether for skill updates or quests or status, you should pop by Thundering Steppes docks and have a word with Duggin the hungry dockworker. He offers a range of repeatable harvesting quests spanning across a varied choice of zones which you can complete at the same time as other quests. The glow of a well-fed halfling should be reward enough but Duggin will also offer you a small amount of tradeskill experience up to level 50 and each quest rewards with a selection of crockery for the ultimate in dining room designs. The pieces are all fully tradeable, so you can also sell them in sets for a frankly embarrassing amount of profit, if you are so inclined.

For the initial quests, gathering and/or trapping are required. Desserts from the Desert also requires foresting. The minimum level for the quest is based on the harvesting skill required to complete the quest. Either adventuring or tradeskill level applies: you simply must have one of the two high enough in order to be able to harvest in the appropriate zone.

Minimum level is based on the lowest level (tradeskill or adventurer) that will allow you to have that skill level.

Tiffin for Duggin
Skill level: 90
Min level: 18
Thundering Steppes or Nektulos Forest: 100 foodstuffs from the shrubs and dens
Reward: A coffee cup or an ornate knife

Home Cooking
Skill level: 140
Min level: 28
Enchanted Lands: 100 foodstuffs from the shrubs and dens
Reward: A coffee cup and saucer or a Teir’dal cup and saucer

Filling the Bottomless Belly
Skill level: 140
Min level: 28
Zek: 100 foodstuffs from the shrubs and dens
Reward: An ornate dining plate or an ornate fork

Frozen Foods
Skill level: 190
Min level: 38
Everfrost: 100 foodstuffs from the shrubs
Reward: Teir’dal shot glass or a dining plate

Hungry, Hungry Halflings
Skill level: 190
Min level: 38
Feerrott: 100 foodstuffs from the shrubs and dens
Reward: Tier’dal Cocktail glass or an ornate stein or an ornate spoon

Desserts from the Desert
Skill Level: 240
Min level: 48
Sinking Sands: 100 foodstuffs from the shrubs and dens as well as 100 firewood to cook the food
Reward: A small wooden bowl or a wooden table setting

Posted by Taymar on http://proof.mmorpg-info.org.

We have a great harvesting reference table on the site which breaks all the harvests by type and tier but it doesn’t tell you where to go to get the goods! Often I know exactly what I need but I have to think about where to get it, especially in the middle zones. Much simpler now with this handy-dandy list of the various zones listed by the tier of their harvest nodes, especially for those zones with multiple tiers!

[More...]

Posted by Taymar on http://proof.mmorpg-info.org.

Wailing Caves has four full collections:

Plain beetles
Spotted beetles
Striped beetles
Iridescent beetles

In addition, you can collect shattered, weathered and cracked orc bones there.

I sat in the dungeons and collected until I received the full set of all beetles.

Here are the stats:

129 ?’s harvested in total
57 of them were bones
72 of them were beetles

Of the 57 bones I found:
9 cracked orc bone
20 shattered orc bone
28 weathered orc bone

Of the 72 beetles:
11 were striped
18 were spotted
32 were plain

Singles at the end of the run:
20 were green of which one was striped
18 were spotted of which one was purple and one was yellow
10 were black of which one was striped

I had duplicates of all beetles except those above (green striped, purple spotted, yellow spotted, black striped).

The black striped beetle was the last one of the set I collected.

Analysis

Ulija, full-time templar and occasional mathmo, did some number crunching and to our bemusement, she found that the expected number of “?” you need to pick up to get a full set is 72. Perfect!

However, she warns:

These give an unusual distribution and it’s essentially because of this: your chances of getting the last missing beetle per ? doesn’t get any better no matter how many you have already. This means the distribution has a LONG tail. If they all drop equally then to be 99% sure you’ve got the lot, you’d need to collect 149. It gets much much worse if there’s a rare.

After collating the data, I remained in the zone and harvested half a dozen more sparklies … and got another black striped. I was almost tempted to try to get a second set but then sanity kicked in.

Conclusion

I really don’t think this collection is worth it. I completed the set so that Paxmar would have it as she really can’t afford to skip any. In general I don’t think I would bother.

Posted by Taymar on http://proof.mmorpg-info.org.