MMORPG Guides · Dungeons & Dragons Online
DDO Court of Strahd: dates, lanterns, Hardcore and rewards
The Court of Strahd is running in Dungeons & Dragons Online. The event began with Update 82 on 14 October 2026 and is scheduled to end at weekly maintenance on 17 February 2027. Here is how to begin, how lanterns and Hardcore work, and what the updates since launch have changed.
Checked on . The schedule comes from the official Update 82 notes. The end date is the developers’ plan; check their latest announcements before a final event session.
Where do you start The Court of Strahd?
Visit the Mists in Korthos, Delera’s Graveyard or the Eveningstar graveyard. Complete the introductory quest and speak to the nearby Order of the Guardians. In the story, the Order opposes Strahd and a being called The Caller as they extend the Mists beyond Barovia.
The old warning about access to the introductory quest is outdated: Update 82.0.1, released on 16 October, fixed entry through Escher at all three locations.
How do you equip and fill a lantern?
Equip a lantern in the cosmetic shield slot; only one can be equipped at a time. Mists and event enemies can appear while questing. Defeating them fills an equipped lantern if you are nearby. Turn a full lantern in to the Order for its reward.
If progress stops, check your equipment and the quest level. In Epic and Legendary quests, your character must be fewer than six levels above the quest’s base level — at most five levels higher. Update 82.0.1 confirms this threshold. The event guide explains the full progression restrictions.
Skull Lanterns: who can choose Hardcore?
A Skull Lantern requires a level 1 character with fewer than 1,500 XP and no Past Lives. Death ends the run and loses unclaimed rewards. Read the official guide’s Vow of Glory equipment restrictions before choosing this path.
Our advice: learn the encounters with a regular lantern on a separate character first. On a run with one life, claim earned rewards before taking on another risky quest.
What rewards can you earn?
Rewards are cosmetic: cloaks, horns, mist trails and teleport effects. Regular lanterns and Skull Lanterns have separate reward variants. The full list in DDO’s guide pairs each lantern with its reward.
Before committing to a long run, choose the effect you want and check the corresponding lantern’s name at the NPC. This makes it easier to keep track of the right goal.
What changed in Update 82.1?
The 4 November update fixed rare cases of lantern progress failing during degraded server performance. It also corrected some cosmetic teleport animations.
Skull Lanterns can no longer be placed in a bank. A lantern already stored there can be removed to your inventory. This newer rule matters because the older guide still describes lantern storage more generally.
Official sources and scope
- 23 September announcement — story, starting locations and the event’s basic loop.
- Update 82 — launch and planned end date.
- The Court of Strahd guide — requirements, lanterns and rewards.
- Update 82.0.1 and Update 82.1 — fixes since launch.
Sources checked on 14 November 2026. The original 4 October preview now includes the published event rules and the fixes from 16 October and 4 November.
D&D online: choose how to play
If Dungeons & Dragons brought you here, read our comparison of tabletop RPG sessions, virtual tabletops and browser games. We explain the differences to help you choose a format that fits your time and expectations. Bractwo Krain is a separate Polish MMORPG with its own adaptation of selected D&D rules.