For those of you who've been keeping an eye on the weekend updates that Dungeons and Dragons Online's been churning out, you might notice that there's a 12-day gap between this update and the one before it. Well, Raven over at DDO site noticed too, and while there's no explanation for this lag yet, they're apologizing for the unscheduled break. Now, on the to updates.

The Bestiary's been updated again among other things, and we'll be looking at new material for nasties like the Monarch Scorpion, Gargoyle,  and Ochre Jelly. Also included are updates to items like the Lodestone, Moonstone, and Stellar Orb, as well as updates on quests like Garl's Tomb.  For further details on the other updates, like spells, click on the read link below.

If you've just set foot in the world of Vana'diel, chances are you explore the lands aimlessly, overwhelmed by the grandiosity of Final Fantasy XI Online. Then you realize that you need help. The manuals and FAQs may be of little help at the start, so you try to interact with other players only to be more confused than when you first started off. That's where community sites come into the picture.

The official Final Fantasy XI website has listed six community sites that will help you get started with your adventure, whether you're a clueless newb or a veteran.

Beginners might find 1UP's Final Fantasy XI Traveler's Guide to be a good start off point to get acquainted with races and jobs. If you're out to destroy your enemies, you'd find the Vana'diel Bestiary site useful as it provides comprehensive info about monsters and foes.

Other sites that made the list are FFXIclopedia, Allakhazam Final Fantasy XI, and Dreams in Vana'diel. It doesn't matter whether  you've played the game countless times, there are still loads of info to be had when you visit the sites. And of course, if you want the latest info about Final Fantasy XI, keep it here at QJ. You'd be glad you did.

We have here for you some really cool updates and infos for Dungeons and Dragons Online, including the first details of the Demon Sands access quest 'Desert Caravan'. Okay, so here are the goodies. There's a new Bestiary up, that is the Avatar of Jubilex. Iosynne d'Phiarlan meanwhile joins the club of NPCs.

Apart from these there are also loads of new spells, as well as updated ones, new zones and new enhancements. Anyway, this should be more than enough to keep you really busy this weekend, and probably beyond. Check out the list below and enjoy! They're all yours for the taking, really.

New Spells: True Seeing - Banishment - Bear's Endurance, Mass - Blade Barrier - Bull's Strength, Mass - Cometfall - Create Undead - Cure Moderate Wounds, Mass - Eagle's Splendor, Mass - Greater Dispel Magic - Greater Glyph of Warding - Harm - Heroes Feast - Inflict Moderate Wounds, Mass - Owl's Wisdom, Mass - Summon Monster VI - Symbol of Fear - Symbol of Persuasion - Undeath to Death - Word of Recall

New Quests: Desert Caravan

Updated Quests: The Pit

New Zones: Zawabi’s Refuge - The Broken Highway

New Enhancements: Improved Spell Resistance IX - Axe Damage II - Dwarven Shield Mastery III - Dwarven Spell Resistance III - Dwarven Tactics IV - Elven Melee Damage II - Elven Ranged Damage II - Halfling Luck III - Halfling Thrown Weapon Damage III - Hero's Companion X - Improved Recovery III - Warforged Damage Reduction II

Updated Enhancements: Halfling Thrown Weapon Damage I - Improved Spell Resistance I - Dwarven Faith I - Dwarven Spell Resistance I - Dwarven Shield Mastery I - Halfling Luck I - Improved Spell Resistance II - Improved Spell Resistance III - Improved Spell Resistance IV - Dwarven Faith II - Improved Spell Resistance V - Dwarven Spell Resistance II - Dwarven Shield Mastery II - Halfling Luck II - Halfling Thrown Weapon Damage II - Improved Spell Resistance VI - Improved Spell Resistance VII - Dwarven Faith III - Improved Spell Resistance VIII

Getting an MMO to tell a story isn't easy. There are tons of MMOs out there that are supposed to provide their players rich fantasy worlds where they get to live out adventures and experience the "epic" first hand.

This is the reason why Turbine, the guys developing Lord of the Rings Online, have their work cut out for them. Lord of the Rings is arguably one of the greatest fantasy story and in fact, many fantasy conventions spawned from it.

If Turbine gets LOTR online wrong, it would be like saying that Gandalf is a rip-off of Obi-wan Kenobi.

In a rather lengthy interview over at Gamespy, several game-design and game-play related details were revealed. The details revolve around the innovations and game design decisions Turbine made regarding the game.

Get the juicy bits of the interview after the jump.

  

"Depths" quest series in House Deneith now gets an update, and for all Dungeons and Dragons Online fans, there's a whole lot of new stuff in store for you. The update includes a new list of bestiary, NPCs, Quests, and Zones.

An incomplete list of updated Bestiary includes Lesser Violet Slime, Skeleton, Lesser Gray Ooze, Argor Soulbane, Black Widow, Zombie,  Troglodyte, Gray Ooze, Hobgoblin Infiltrator, Wolf, Hobgoblin Slayer, Hobgoblin Witch Doctor, Troll and many more.  The update gives you more info about the Level, Type of monster, Classification, Habitat, Weak vs. (weapon), Feats and Spells effective against a particular monster, and its special abilities.

The updated NPCs includes Giggs Elorreathi, Scholes of Vedykar, Keane d'Deneith, and Neville Stormhammer. This gives you the Type, Zone, and Description of the Quest.

The updated Quests let you on new stuff for The Depths of Despair, The Depths of Darkness, The Depths of Discord and The Depths of Doom. Here, you get a chance to read more about the Rating, Start NPC, Starting Zone, Starting Level, Length, Temp Access to (the database), and Related Monsters. There's more about Objectives, Opt. Objectives, Factions Raised, Related Zones, Related Quests, Effective Feats, and Effective Spells as well. 

The updated Zones for all the updated Quests above give you hints about  the Level, Type (of gameplay/location), Bordering City Areas, Dungeons (in the particular Quest), Zone Information, Description, and the Map of the particular Quest.

  

A whole bunch of updates has just been added to the OGaming Database for Dungeon and Dragons Online. The updates are centered around Tempest's Spine, a high level group zone in House Jorasco. To enter the dungeon, players must be at least level 7.

The update includes new and updated items as well as updated enhancements. With this update, the Tempest's Spine bestiary is now complete. More info has also been added to the Tempest's Spine quest. The quest is targetted at players who are at level 10 and above, and is given out by Chamberlain Cyrese Embree in House Jorasco. Players who receive the quest are asked to head into the mountain fortress of Tempest's Spine to kill the giant mage Sor'jek Incanni.

OK, maybe his name kinda sounds like "sword-chuck in can" (something that would definitely give Fighter from 8-Bit Theater a stimulation), but players are caution not to take him lightly. Sor'jek possesses an artifact that gives him power over the drow tribes, and his powers as a summoner and sorcerer are fearsome.

If you're looking forward to tackling this quest, head on over to the database by clicking the 'read' link below first. Just like the G.I. Joes used to say, "Knowing is half the battle."

A "new" race is about to burst onto the scene on the World of Azeroth - well, maybe not so "new"...
 
The Eredar are described as "one of the oldest known races in the universe." They are the Commanders...the strategy makers...(the "decision-makers?"...) of the dreaded Burning Legion. Their skills in magic and the Dark Arts Arcane are known and feared throughout the worlds of the Great Dark Beyond.

Among the more infamous members of the Eredar race are a couple of characters that would make loathsome creatures like Beelzebub and Dick Cheney look positively urbane. Archimonde (known to his friends as "Archie") and Kil'jaeden (aka "Killer J") take pride and pleasure in cunning, sadistic acts of cruelty, and are now at the head of a hell-spawned legion of demons bent on total annihilation...

But don't take my word for it. Look at the guy - is this someone you would want to meet in a dark alley? Well, at least they fight their own wars.

World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade will include a whole new world and many new dungeons.  These unexplored lands of Azeroth are inhabited by numerous creatures, both strange and wondrous as well as horrifying. The Outland is home to everything from Thieves Arcane and "savage demigods" to nightmarish remnants of an ancient time, half-remembered, and beasts of great beauty and magnificence.

The very latest additions to the WoW Bestiary are the Fungal Giants and the Ogre Lords.

Fungal Giants are not mushrooms as you might expect, but like their mycological relatives, have been nurtured by the rich soil of Zangarmarsh. Despite their startling and terrifying appearance, these huge wetland beasts are  relatively non-aggressive. When threatened, however, they can be merciless killers. They feed on other native swamp creatures, as well as any Lost Ones who - through accident or design - trespass on their hideaways.

Ogres are thought to be descended from the overgrown, monocular abominations known as Gronn. If this is true, the Ogre Lords of Outland are the only creatures known to retain the physical traits of their gronn ancestors, such as the bony, calcified protrusions on their head and back - not to mention their physical stature and power. They are also highly intelligent and logical creatures, far more so than their ogre cousins. This is a combination worthy of both respect... and fear.

Check out the WoW Website for more on the strange and fearsome inhabitants of Azeroth.

World of Warcraft's The Burning Crusade is home to a vast array of strange, wondrous and terrifying creatures. Arcane thieves, savage demigods and other spine-tingling beasts are just some of the inhabitants you must watch out for in the untamed lands of Azeroth. Recent additions to the creatures that would eat you whole and spit you out are the Spore Bats and Spore Walkers.

Spore Walkers are believed to have evolved from a simple organism found in the depths of Zangarmarsh into the killing machine that it is now. They are able to derive toxins from the spores and fungi in the marsh that they use to stun or immobilize their unknowing prey.

A more highly evolved sub-species of the Spore Walkers, Spore Bats also draw virulent toxins that they use to catch their prey off guard. Their ability to fly packs an added punch to their already lethal arsenal. Adventurers are warned to steer clear of these highly accomplished predators.