Quickly becoming one of the most consistently updated MMORPGs in the industry, Turbine's DDO team is back with another ZAM tour in Update 3!

Either way, we made our way through the market to check out "Delerium," the new inn near the Tower of Twelve where, oddly enough, a gate has been opened to Xoriat, the plane of madness. Upon entering this innocuous looking inn, it quickly became apparent that we weren't in Kansas (well, Stormreach) anymore. In one bizarre room, there were four beholders having a drinking contest, so we ended up challenging them and drinking them under the table. Later, we had to defend a chef against legions of walking ham-zombies, and finally, we smashed the puzzle-obsessed final boss, who just needed to figure the thing out, even if there were pointy things being stuck inside of him.

Following this, the team whisked us away to the CR13 dungeon, "Mired in Kobolds." In this particular instance, we were tasked with destroying the giant red crystals that the Kobolds were worshipping. The interesting thing about these red crystals, however, is that they chain react with other red crystals nearby, and deal damage to everyone caught in the blast. Much of the instance  consists of more and more difficult puzzles and traps involving these red crystals. At the end of it all, we were treated to some awesome dragon action, as players got the chance to face off against a baby dragon, and then the big mother dragon, if you waited long enough.

At this point, we just didn't have the time to check out the other level 15 dungeon, "Acid Wit," and the level 18 dungeon, "In the Demon's Den," but instead, we had wicked fun playing around on the "Risia Ice Games" in-game event. During these ice games, players will be able to purchase "Ice Skates" from the DDO store, or rent these skates from in-game NPCs, and players will then be able to slide around on the half-pipe skate rink, or, if they're feeling particularly frisky, they can have incredible fun trying out the "ski jump," which involves sliding down a massive ice ramp, and then launching yourself across the water. Finally, players will be able to snag special "ice coins" while they goof off with their skating, and they can then use these coins to purchase some neat ice-themed rewards.

In the end, if there's one running theme that really stands out for Update 3, it's the clear dedication the team has toward all of its players, not just trying to grab more money from everyone. Almost all of the things coming in Update 3 (aside from the reincarnation respect system and the Epic "Vault of Night" adventure pack) are geared towards bringing in more players and allowing them to have the ability to play DDO however they want, even if that means they don't spend a single penny.

In this way, it's somewhat staggering to realize that DDO is a free-to-play MMORPG without that free-to-play stigma, given that it has an incredibly high-octane update schedule and an enthusiastic development team that would put any AAA subscription based MMORPG to shame. Things like their newly implemented night mode and the great fun of skating on a half pipe that come with their "Risia Ice Games" show just how much effort Turbine has put into every little detail.

So the next time you look at DDO and wonder why it's doing so well with such a risky business model, it really has nothing to do with being "in the right place at the right time," no, it's really just about how hard this team is working for its customers. Let's just hope that they can also keep up with their incredible promise of delivering six content updates throughout the year. If so, I guess we'll see you in two months for the next ZAM tour of Update 4!