Fans of Dungeons and Dragons Online will be very happy to hear that Turbine has announced the release date for the game’s first expansion, Menace of the Underdark, as June 25th. The announcement came hand-in-hand with their next content update: Web of Chaos, but that’s not all. Turbine also announced the details for pre-orders which unlock  in-game items and account bonuses, some which players will receive now and others when the expansion arrives. We also have some screenshots of some of the items that are available with the pre-order and a screenshot of the new class, Druid (to the right).

Now let me get into a little bit more detail about the pre-orders that unlock items and bonuses. There are three different forms of pre-purchasing, each with their own benefits, the more expensive you go the more benefits you get. Pretty logical right? Well I have seen the items/specials you get and I am pretty happy with them, however many of the items are already available in the game and the specials are definitely available in the DDO store for purchase. There is but just one (two actually) items that I am not so sure about, which are the masks you get. At first glance I thought the masks provide only a different helmet appearance, but it turns out they also give a stat bonus to character skills and better resistance to poison. Now I don’t like that fact that players who pre-order the game will receive stated items, however if they’ll also be available via the DDO store then I’m fine with it since everyone can access it. Besides that point the pre-order items are good.

Continue below to read the full press release for the Menace of the Underdark expansion. Continue Reading