Thanksgiving? Pff. Broadsword’s already gearing up to launch Christmas in Ultima Online. Publish 103 with the winter festivities hit the test server last week and should roll out for everyone on December 4th.
“Publish 103 is full of exciting new features including new rewards for the Artisan Festival, Holiday Gifts, new Classic Client functionality and the new Krampus encounter,” the game’s latest newsletter says. Britannia’s version of the classic Krampus basically looks like a Christmas demon, complete with sack of loot. “With all the gifts moving on trade routes between cities during the Holiday Season there have been sightings of strange creatures ambushing those routes – including the vile Krampus! The true nature of this beast is unknown and reports vary wildly, yet great treasures can be had by those who are brave enough to best him!”
What treasures? It looks like new hats, boots, talons, earrings, titles, trinkets, and a brand-new-to-UO weapon type, whips. The patch notes indicate there are three different types, one apiece for swordsmen, fencers, and armsmen (macers).
There’s quite a bit more in the patch that ought to get classic UO players excited, including new hair options for all genders, a Discordance rework in PvP (as in, it actually does something in PvP now), the Artisan festival, and of course, holiday gifts for everyone.
Incidentally, UO’s been on a bit of a banwave of late: 48 people banned for primarily macroing and multiboxing, though there are a couple of exploiters in the mix, and two booted for… solicitations. Wow. Need that mental image gone in a flash? Check out the thread of all the player-designed keeps submitted in Broadsword’s latest contest.
