Never content to rest on their laurels, Dungeons & Dragons Online is bringing in some unique content for their fifth anniversary! Follow along with Chris "Pwyff" Tom as he takes a look at the festivities.

When it comes to gauging the success of specific MMORPGs, while most tend to focus on opening week sales and subscription numbers, for me, the sign of a really great MMO lies in how the game evolves over the years. On that note, probably one of the best examples of an MMO that knows how to continue evolving is Turbine's Dungeons & Dragons Online, and this year seems like it will be no different. I met with DDO's Executive Producer, Fernando Paiz, and DDO's Producer, Eric Boyer, for an in-game tour, to check out DDO's big plans for their 5th anniversary celebrations.

It's rather surprising to hear that DDO is turning five years old, although it's only been about a year and a half since DDO rejuvenated its image and changed the face of the MMO industry with its shift from subscription to free-to-play. Before we got into the meat of the tour, I spoke briefly with Fernando about the game's evolution over the past five years, and he noted that he was "very happy with how the game has developed." Interestingly, while the revenue model change was largely responsible for the huge spike in DDO's player base, Fernando noted that he was most happy with DDO's evolution regarding "accessibility, creating a much richer set of content, systems and features, while also having a 'flavor' that is uniquely its own.

There really is no denying that DDO has a unique position within the industry, and DDO's 5th anniversary celebrations are a great example of its push to create more unique content. We started our journey at the Smuggler's Rest, the spot where new players are introduced to the game. Here, however, some new technology has been brought into the zone, as the new 5th anniversary quest, Euphonia's Treasure, requires DDO's server populations to hunt pirates for pieces of Euphonia's Treasure map. Utilizing the new zone-wide non-instanced technology that was originally introduced in their Halloween event, players will be able to roam the area with friends and acquaintances, just having a good time kicking some pirate butt.

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