For a moment there, it looked as though the multi-day saga of LOTRO and DDO downtime was finally over. And then everything blew up.
You will recall that back on Wednesday, Standing Stone Games took both MMOs down for a 22-hour stretch in order to move a data center to a new location. Those 22 hours gradually extended into a three-day period while the studio attempted to get a handle on tricky tech issues.
Earlier this morning, the studio sent out a notice that all game worlds had returned. That welcome news was short-lived, as SSG had to take the games back offline in order to investigate a rather dire situation that had resulted in accounts reverting to old passwords, missing unlocks, and being unavailable.
SSG said that players should expect some measure of compensation for the unexpected downtime as well as an extension of subscriber time to make up for the missed days.
“The Skirmish Event has been extended until March 18th at 3:00 AM Eastern (-4 GMT). Legendary Story XP has been reduced from 60% of normal to 80% of normal through Wednesday, March 13th. Last week’s LOTRO Store sale has expired. This week’s planned LOTRO Store sale is now live, and will be extended to last for the regular sales duration. Meanwhile, next week’s sales will begin on Thursday as normal. […] Additionally, Bombur’s Bounty is now available through March 17th.
Finally, we wanted to let you know that we are working to put together a package of things to say thank you for being patient with us as we’ve worked through various data center-related issues in recent days. NOTE: None of the following Coupon Codes, LOTRO Points, or VIP time extensions have yet been granted or made. We will provide more information in the coming days, probably early next week.
All players will receive: A Coupon Code for a free Appreciation Box containing: 5 100% XP Boosts, 5 Enhanced XP Supply, 5 Tomes of Defence, 2000 Figments of Splendour, 3 Rapid Crafting Boosts, and an assortment of seasonal dyes. (1/Account). Expiration end of April. Additionally, VIP players will receive: A VIP subscription time extension. 250 LOTRO Points automatically granted to their account if they have logged in during the previous 30 days. Premium players who have logged in during the previous 30 days will receive: 250 LOTRO Points.”
