Difference between revisions of "Expansions"

Revision as of 12:50, 8 June 2012

Since its initial release, along with 3 "Anniversary Collections", UO has known over 7 commercially released expansions with another one planned within the next year.

High Seas

Released in October 2010, Sosaria was beset with pirates, cannon, new ships and even a floating village. This was the first "booster", which costs roughly half the price and features new, but less, content than a "full" expansion. Boosters are supposed to be released roughly every 6 months. The Fishing skill was greatly expanded with new rewards and opportunities.

Stygian Abyss

Ultima Online: Stygian Abyss was released in September 2009 and features a new playable Gargoyle Race as well as the Stygian Abyss itself, a massive dungeon with several levels. Popular highlights include the Imbuing crafting skill, the Mysticism school of magic spells, the new landmass of Ter Mur and new champion spawns, artifacts, rare stealable and dungeon puzzles.

Kingdom Reborn

Released in 2007, Kingdom Reborn was a graphic and user interface upgrade, an attempt to offer a modern MMORPG client that could also run on lower-end computers. It was released through a free download, though for those who did not want to bother with the download a disk is available for purchase.

Its level of success and failure are unknown by players, and the wars over its merits or demerits are waged on message boards like Stratics with a fevered intensity.

KR was eventually replaced by the Enhanced Client that came out with the Stygian Abyss expansion. Most things in KR are now in the "Enhanced Client" or "EC".

Mondain's Legacy

Released on August 30, 2005, Mondain's Legacy was the developers attempted to get back to UO's roots by focusing on current content. NPC Quests were added throughout the land. New dungeons were integrated into the landscape and the elf race and their village of Heartwood appeared. The only new skill was Spellweaving.

Samurai Empire

Released on November 2, 2004, Samurai Empire was considered a modest expansion compared with its predecessor. It added the Tokuno Islands land mass. The skills of Bushido and Ninjitsu were added. Another feature of note is the addition of roofs to house customization.

Age of Shadows

Release on February 11, 2003, Age of Shadows is considered the most impactful expansion in UO history. It completely rewrote and changed many systems, including the introduction of Item Properties, Item Insurance, house customization, and more. The skills of Chivalry and Necromancy were also added. It is also the most criticized expansion due to many of its features. The new land of Malas was added with this expansion.

Lord Blackthorn's Revenge

Released on February 24, 2002, Lord Blackthorn's Revenge was the forth expansion and the first to come with no land/dungeon expansion. Many of its creatures were created by Todd McFarlane and used in Scenarios. The Ilshenar facet was also opened up to all 2D Client users.

Third Dawn

Released on March 27, 2001, Third Dawn changed the way player saw UO by adding the 3D client. It also introduced a new land mass (Ilshenar); several new dungeons; numerous new creatures; several new armors (e.g., samurai, ninja); as well as four new weapons.

Renaissance

Released on May 4, 2000, Renaissance (UOR) was UO's second expansion. It completely changed the way the game functioned with the introduction of Trammel. Player interaction and dependence were decreased significantly. Other major changes included the introduction of Factions and Combat Moves.

The Second Age

Released on October 24, 1998, The Second Age (T2A) was UO's first expansion. It was also the last project led by Richard Garriott, the original creator of UO and the Ultima series. T2A mostly added on to the existing game without changing any core systems or concepts. It introduced The Lost Lands to the world along with many dungeons.

See also

• Ultima Online -- for information about the alpha, beta, and initial release of the game.