Dungeon Helper 5 release notes

Dungeon Helper 5 is a rebuild of Dungeon Helper 4, not an update to it. This page covers what changed in Dungeon Helper itself. Every plugin was rebuilt too, and each has its own release notes.

The short version

Dungeon Helper now loads with DDO. There’s no separate program to start before the game.
The toolbar and plugin windows are drawn inside the game, with one look, one font and one size setting.
A new desktop app handles installing, updating and plugins. You don’t need it open to play.
Plugins are toggled on per account, in game, and update only when you press Install.
Dungeon Helper has its own hotkeys, and a right-click menu on the toolbar.
Plugins can now draw in the game world, add chat commands and do more with the game than Dungeon Helper 4 allowed.
Dungeon Helper sends no usage data. The option is gone because there’s nothing to opt out of.
AI tools are new: a DDO knowledge server for assistants such as Claude Desktop and Cursor.
Dungeon Helper 4 plugins don’t load in Dungeon Helper 5, and Dungeon Helper’s own settings start fresh.

Dungeon Helper loads with the game

Dungeon Helper 4 was a program you ran alongside DDO. It worked best when it was started before the game, and if it was started late you sometimes had to log out and back in before plugins caught up.

Dungeon Helper 5 starts with DDO and is ready when the game is. That changes a few habits:

Nothing to launch. Start DDO as usual. A notice tells you Dungeon Helper is loaded, and the toolbar appears.
Nothing to keep running. The app is for setup, updates and plugins. Close it whenever you like. Start with Windows and Restart Dungeon Helper are gone because there’s nothing left for them to do.
No catching up. There’s no need to relog to get plugins back in step with the game.
Every client is on its own. Each DDO client loads its own Dungeon Helper, so multi-boxed clients don’t wait on each other or on one shared program.

It’s also a great deal faster, most of all with several clients open.

One new requirement comes with this: DDO must be set to DirectX 10 or DirectX 11. Under DirectX 9 or OpenGL, Dungeon Helper shows nothing in game. See What you need.

The desktop app

The Dungeon Helper 4 settings window is replaced by a desktop app with its own sections. Using Dungeon Helper describes each one.

Installs for your Windows account only, without administrator rights. Each Windows user on a PC has their own Dungeon Helper, plugins and settings.
Finds your DDO installs. The Installation section lists every DDO install it found, each with its own status and Deploy button, and you can add any it missed. Dungeon Helper 4’s installer knew about a main install and a Lamannia install.
Asks for administrator approval only when it has to. Deploying to a DDO install under C:\Program Files opens one Windows prompt. Nothing else does.
Test. The Test button in Basic Installation checks that Dungeon Helper will load in game, without starting DDO.
Keeps the in-game loader current. When an update brings a new loader, the app replaces it as it restarts. It never replaces a newer one with an older one.
Says so when versions don’t match. If the loader in a DDO install and your Dungeon Helper can’t work together, Dungeon Helper stays off for that session and tells you in game which one to update. DDO runs normally. See Troubleshooting.
Updates when you say. Maintenance → Check for Updates, then Apply Update & Restart with DDO closed.
Your settings survive updates and reinstalls. Plugins, settings and saved data are kept in %LocalAppData%\DungeonHelperData, apart from the program.
Log bundles. Get a ZIP of my logs is now Maintenance → Log Collection → Create Log Bundle. Dungeon Helper also deletes its own log files once they’re 30 days old.
A banner tells you what needs doing: a loader that needs deploying, DDO set to the wrong DirectX version, an update that’s waiting for DDO to close.

The toolbar is still the chalice followed by your plugins, but it’s now part of the game’s display. The toolbar has the details.

Drag the chalice to move it. It snaps to the nearest screen edge and turns vertical on the left and right edges. Dock to screen edges turns the snapping off.
Fade when idle dims the toolbar until you point at it.
Hover a plugin’s icon to see its name.
The cog on the chalice opens settings.
A green arrow on a plugin’s icon means an update is available. Clicking it opens the app.
Right-click the toolbar for a menu: hide or show all plugins, show, hide or reset each plugin’s windows, reset or hide the toolbar, and open settings. The menu works in any client, including ones in the background.
Drag plugins into the order you want on the Plugins tab of the settings window.
When there are more plugins than fit on screen, a » button lists the rest.

Windows

Dungeon Helper 4 drew its windows on top of the game. Dungeon Helper 5 draws them as part of the game, so they move, layer and resize like the game’s own interface, and they’re there in every display mode DDO offers under DirectX 10 or 11. Two things are deliberately still separate desktop windows, so you can put them on another monitor: Mapster’s map and the Trove Viewer.

One look. Dungeon Helper and every plugin share the same colours, the same controls and the same font. Windows fade in and out.
Font. Choose Exo 2, Lato or the built-in font. All windows change together, straight away.
Font Size and UI Size, each from 75% to 150%. Font Size changes text only. UI Size scales everything, the toolbar included.
Per-account layout. Each account keeps its own window positions and sizes, so multi-boxed clients no longer rearrange each other.
A way back for lost windows. Reset UI on the toolbar menu, or the Reset topmost plugin’s UI hotkey, puts a plugin’s windows back to their default place and size.
Ctrl+Tab and Ctrl+Shift+Tab cycle through Dungeon Helper and plugin windows. If you use those keys in DDO, turn off Ctrl+Tab switches between windows.

Font, Font Size, UI Size and the Ctrl+Tab setting are shared by every account on the PC, and a change made in one client reaches the others while they’re running.

Settings, in game

Press the backtick key (`), or click the cog on the chalice, to open Dungeon Helper’s settings in game. There are three tabs.

Plugins: every installed plugin with its toggle, version and author, and a Verified badge when its signatures check out. Reload Plugins picks up plugins added since the game started.
Settings: the toolbar options, the look of every window, the window title, the hotkeys, the log level, and a button that opens the plugins folder.
Performance: how long Dungeon Helper and each plugin take per frame, so you can see which plugin to toggle off if the game feels slower. It also shows each plugin’s share of in-world drawing and of game events.

Hotkeys

Dungeon Helper 4 had one switch, Enable HotKeys, for plugin hotkeys. Dungeon Helper 5 has six hotkeys of its own, all of which you can change or clear: open settings, hide the topmost plugin, hide or show all plugins, hide or show the toolbar, reset the toolbar, and reset the topmost plugin’s windows. They act on the client you’re playing in, and not while you’re typing in a Dungeon Helper window. The defaults are in Hotkeys.

Plugins still have their own hotkeys, set in each plugin’s window. There’s no longer a switch to turn them all off.

Window title

Dungeon Helper 4 renamed each DDO window to the character’s name and server. In Dungeon Helper 5 this is a setting, and it’s off by default. If you rely on window titles, for a window-switching tool or a multi-boxing setup, turn on Custom window title on the Settings tab.

The default format, {Name} - {Server}, gives the Dungeon Helper 4 title.
You can build your own from {Name}, {First}, {Last} and {Server}, with presets and a live preview.
Add process ID to the title is a separate toggle, and works with DDO’s own title too.
At character select the title shows what it can, the server, and gains the name once you’re in the world.
With both turned off, DDO’s original title comes back.

Chat commands

Dungeon Helper and its plugins can now add chat commands and print lines in your chat window. Type /dh help to list every command that’s registered.

Plugins

Dungeon Helper 4 plugins need their Dungeon Helper 5 versions

A plugin built for Dungeon Helper 4 won’t load in Dungeon Helper 5. Every plugin on the plugin list has been rebuilt, and four come with the installer: Awesome AutoFollow, Mapster, Scooper and Trove.

Turning plugins on

Plugins start out toggled off, including the four that come with the installer.
Toggles are per account and set in game, on the Plugins tab. Multi-boxers set them once for each account.
Default Plugin Selection, in the app’s Defaults & Settings section, chooses what’s on for accounts that haven’t chosen yet.
After a plugin updates, toggle it off and on to load the new version without restarting DDO.

Installing and updating

Nothing installs by itself. The app lists each available update with its own Install button, and nothing downloads until you press it. This replaces Dungeon Helper 4’s Automatically Check for Updates.
Install from zip replaces Add Plugin (zip file). Drag a plugin’s .zip onto the app’s Plugins section, or browse for it.
Remove deletes a plugin and its saved data, after warning you.
An update never touches the settings and saved data a plugin keeps in its folder.

Authorization

Dungeon Helper 5 only loads plugins it has authorized, and checks each one every time the game starts.

An authorized plugin shows a Verified badge in game, and its author and a tier in the app: official, community or personal.
A plugin that’s refused is listed as [NOT AUTHORIZED] with the reason underneath. It’s never dropped silently.
An update that can’t be verified is shown in red, with advice, and isn’t installed. Your installed version keeps working.

Why a plugin can be refused explains what’s checked.

What plugins can do now

Much of what’s new in each plugin is there because Dungeon Helper 5 lets plugins do things Dungeon Helper 4 couldn’t.

Draw in the game world. Mapster’s routes and trap outlines, Awesome AutoFollow’s ground rings and Scooper’s range circle are drawn in the world itself, behind walls and under the game’s interface where they should be.
Always-on pieces. A plugin can keep something on screen while its main window is closed, such as Awesome AutoFollow’s follower bars.
Chat. Plugins can add chat commands, print lines to your chat window and send party invites.
Icons that show state. A plugin’s toolbar icon can change while it runs. Awesome AutoFollow’s changes colour with how the follow is going, and Mapster’s shows a red dot while it records a route.
Acting without taking your target. Plugins can use an object without selecting it first, so Scooper and Awesome AutoFollow no longer move your selection to do their work.
NPC dialogs, all twelve options. Plugins can pick a dialog option directly. Awesome AutoFollow followers can now copy options 11 and 12, which Dungeon Helper 4 couldn’t reach.
Hotbars, all twenty. Plugins can fire a slot on any of a character’s hotbars, which is what Awesome AutoFollow’s triggers are built on, and can switch auto-attack on and off without a hotbar icon.
Chest loot. Plugins can pass chest loot to another party member directly, without clicking through the chest window. Awesome AutoFollow’s loot passing no longer has a row limit.
Gear in the exact slot. A plugin can put an item in a specific equipment slot, or take one off. Reload uses this to return a ring to the right finger and to empty a slot.
Item details without the Examine window. Trove identifies items in the background, with no Identify button and nothing selected.
Things as they happen. Plugins are told about bank deposits, withdrawals and moves, about level-ups, and about who leads the party. Trove follows your banking with these, Fred records your level-ups, and Mapster can trail the leader.
Keeping pace with the game. A plugin can act every frame, not every few seconds. Reload now checks continuously.
Per-account settings. A plugin can keep settings for each account, so a multi-boxed follower can be set up differently from your main.
Run without the game. A plugin can offer a program of its own that works with DDO closed, as Trove does with the Trove Viewer. It’s opened from the plugin’s entry on the Plugins tab.

Each plugin’s release notes say what it does with these.

Privacy

Dungeon Helper 4 had a Collect Usage Data option. Dungeon Helper 5 has no such option because it collects nothing: no usage data, and nothing about your game. It goes online to keep itself and your plugins up to date, and to download the game-data set if you use the AI tools.

Contributing to the community map data is now a choice. Dungeon Helper 4 had a collector built in and switched on by default. In Dungeon Helper 5 it’s Collector, a separate plugin that isn’t included in the installer, so nothing is contributed unless you install it and toggle it on. See the Collector release notes and the privacy policy.

AI tools

New in Dungeon Helper 5: a DDO knowledge server that connects to Claude Desktop, Cursor, VS Code Copilot or Codex, so an assistant can answer from real game data about items, quests, crafting recipes and set bonuses, and work out gear loadouts. It can’t see your character, your inventory or your game. AI tools has the details.

Not in Dungeon Helper 5

Start with Windows and Restart Dungeon Helper: not needed, since Dungeon Helper loads with DDO.
Enable Dungeon Helper: there’s no on/off switch. Toggle off the plugins you don’t want, or see how to uninstall.
Enable HotKeys: gone. Plugin hotkeys are set, and cleared, in each plugin’s window.
Collect Usage Data: gone, along with the collection.
Automatic plugin updates: updates are listed for you and installed when you press Install.
The automatic window title: now a setting, off by default.
DirectX 9 and OpenGL: Dungeon Helper 5 needs DirectX 10 or DirectX 11.
A stable channel: Dungeon Helper 5 is in beta, and beta is the only channel for now.

Two more things to know. Dungeon Helper shows nothing in game while MSI Afterburner is running. And Steam installs of DDO aren’t tested.

Switching from Dungeon Helper 4

Dungeon Helper 4 and 5 can’t run side by side, and only one of them can be in a DDO install at a time.

Close DDO and Dungeon Helper 4.
Download and install Dungeon Helper 5.
In the app’s Installation section, press Deploy for each DDO install.
Start DDO, press the backtick key (`) and toggle on the plugins you want, once for each account.
Install the Dungeon Helper 5 version of any plugin that isn’t bundled, from its page on the plugin list.

What to expect afterwards:

Dungeon Helper’s own settings start fresh. Dungeon Helper 4 and 5 keep separate settings and save files, and a change made in one doesn’t appear in the other.
Plugin settings depend on the plugin. Some carry your Dungeon Helper 4 settings and data over and some start again. Each plugin’s release notes say which.
You can go back. Deploy the Companion DLL from Dungeon Helper 4 again to return to it. Your Dungeon Helper 4 settings are untouched. See the FAQ.

Plugin release notes

What changed in each plugin, and what carries over from its Dungeon Helper 4 version.

Awesome AutoFollow

Awesome AutoFollow 4.0 is a full rewrite: follower bars and ground rings drawn in the game, triggers, Dimension Doors, direct loot passing, and NPC dialog options 11 and 12.

Mapster

Mapster 3.0 keeps the fog-free map window and adds community map pins, recorded routes, party trails and trap outlines, several of them drawn in the game world.

Scooper

Scooper 2.0 replaces the category checkboxes with a table of pickup rules and conditions, draws its reach on the ground in game, and confirms every pickup.

Trove

Trove 4.0 moves searching into the Trove Viewer, follows your banking as you do it, and identifies items without opening the Examine window.

Aligner

Aligner 2.0 checks each client's own window, restores layouts it used to refuse, and tells you what Save and Restore did.

Fred

New in Dungeon Helper 5. There was no Dungeon Helper 4 version, so there's nothing to compare and nothing to migrate.

Reload

Reload 1.0 checks continuously instead of every few seconds, equips gear to the exact slot, can empty a slot, and adds settings profiles.

End Reward

End Reward 1.0 brings the Dungeon Helper 4 plugin to Dungeon Helper 5 with the same lists, defaults and beeps, and your old settings carry over.

Collector

Contributing to the community map data was built in and on by default in Dungeon Helper 4. Now it's an optional plugin that shows you everything it sends.

LGS

The Legendary Green Steel planner is available for Dungeon Helper 5.

Windshield

Windshield, which keeps follower screens clear of pop-up windows, is available for Dungeon Helper 5.