The Harbinger of Madness quest pack in Update 9, brought us four more quests to buy and run with some more named loot, and another quest giver with end rewards composed of items all made from the quests in the chain. The quests are all base Level 15, and like the last few updates had focused on giving more content options for higher level players instead of adding to the glut of quests below Level 10. This one starts you out investigating mysterious disappearances, and while the Lordsmarch series felt more like taking on a role in stopping a war, the Madness series is definitely a horror vibe instead, many of the quest likening to survival horror in nature and feel. My wife and I love it.
Missing is the first in the line, sending you into another of those closed off districts we were introduced to in the Lordsmarch chain, this one being Saltire. You start off having to deal with people who are losing their minds, which considering the title of the chain shouldn’t be a surprise. What is surprising is that the missing people are turning back up, but are coming back as a new monster called the Taken, which are definitely not the people they used to be, and look like something out of a Lovecraft story. Fighting them off you have to find the man responsible for this part of the problem but the mystery only grows deeper.
The next quest in the chain, Sinister Storage takes place in a warehouse in the Harbor, and is basically an assault style quest, where you have to fend off ever-increasing mobs that are out to kill you. It’s pretty simple and straightforward and kind of uninspired as there are two quests in the Harbor already like this, just for lower levels. The loot and experience is much better in this one though.
Fear Factory (My wife and I love the title to this quest as we have a haunted house two doors down from us with this name we go to every Halloween.) puts you on the hunt of where the Taken are coming from as you navigate through a series of sewer tunnels that get increasingly nastier as you track the source. This of course wouldn’t be the end of it, there is one more quest in the chain.
In The Flesh puts you smack in the middle of the Mind-Flayer’s lair. Yeah, a Mind-Flayer, the Illithid for those familiar with the Forgotten Realms table-top setting, is the one working on creating the Taken, and this one is a bit touched in the head. He openly mocks you as you make your way through an army of Taken and beholders, and finally forces you to sit through a fashion show before invading your mind and making you fight him on his terms on the psychic plane.
Overall I love this chain, especially for the horror aspect. Even with a very uninspired quest, the chain itself is very solid and has a great story behind it. There’s great experience and the named items are really nice as well, and being bound to account makes it much easier to not only equip other toons you have, but also takes the pain out of getting an item no one else wants and you can’t yourself use on that character. This is a must for any DDO horror fan.
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