| Text
| - The Future
- *****
- Minor Details
- Quintessence Sickle
- Miscellaneous Changes and Improvements
- Treasure Changes
- We have decided to do this for a number of reasons. The first reason is... well, because we like to give things to you, our fans, who have stayed with us and made our purchase of the franchise possible. Those who don’t have ACDM will now be able to access that content and adventure with their friends who have ACDM currently.
- We also fiddled with the spells that generate on items. Weapons and armor in general have more item enchantments, and the levels of all the spells they get occur in a narrower band. In other words, where you might have found an item with level 3, 4, 5, or 6 spells before, you'll now be finding items with level 5 and 6 spells.
- What effect is this going to have? Depends on the creature. A lot of creatures saw an increase in their loot level -- so we expect them to be dropping more valuable treasure than they did before. This is especially true at the lower levels. The bottommost and topmost loot droppers saw no change in loot level -- and therefore no change in value. And certain outliers -- creatures whose loot level was out of whack before -- are now more in line with their intended level, and the loot on those creatures is likely less valuable than it was before.
- In the meantime, try hunting in new areas, and checking out different monsters -- you may be pleasantly surprised.
- Starting this month, XP rewards from trophy turn-ins are no longer subject to the fellowship restrictions. Those rewards that are shared among your fellowship will be shared no matter where any individual member of that fellowship is standing. So when you hand in the Queen's head, you won't have to worry about everyone in your fellowship having to crowd into Aun Hareltah's tent in Timaru.
- There are many NPCs who will reward you for items that can be stacked. In the past, if you had a stack of these items, you had to split them up into individual items before you could hand them in.
- As referenced in this article, this month we will be providing all characters on Darktide with an award as an apology for the downtime and rollback a week and a half ago. Starting on the day of the February event, all existing characters on Darktide can talk to a town crier for the following one-time award:
* Two random pieces of high-level loot.
* Enough experience to gain three levels. Characters who are level 126 will receive three times the experience required to go from 125 to 126. This XP will not be shared in fellowships and will not be passed up through the allegiance system.
- Things have changed. That isn't neccesarily a bad thing, but it is something you need to be aware of if you are expecting things to be the same. We should have done a better job of preparing you for these changes. Honestly, with our knowledge of exactly what changed, we didn't expect such a negative reaction. We know exactly where things improved, after all. But you don't, and we should have better prepared you for that by sharing where things would be better, and where things would be different.
- We’re continuing our plans of retouching outdated content. In February, you’ll be seeing the return of one of Dereth’s most elusive citizens, as well as an update to one of its oldest and most legendary quests.
- I’ll cut right to the chase: Starting with the February event, all players will have access to Asheron’s Call: Dark Majesty content, whether or not they purchased the expansion pack. That means that all characters will be able to access Marae Lassel and all characters will have the ability to purchase in-game housing.
- As we mentioned in the Letter to the Players, we are in the process of rebalancing treasure in much the same way that we rebalanced creature difficulty and experience last year. Our goals are twofold: we want treasure to be 1) useful and 2) interesting.
- The special loot monsters were intended to stay special. Some of them did not -- an oversight we are fixing. Some of the monsters that players think of as being special loot monsters were just incorrectly stat'd before, however.
- (Posted on 02-Feb-2004)
Welcome to the February 2004 Letter to the Players! You may be a little surprised at how soon after the January event this letter arrived, and I don’t blame you. Several months ago we began planning to move our events to the second week of the month, starting in February. Combined with our need to delay the January event until the very end of the month, however, this means that there will only be about two weeks between the January event and the February event.
- You don't actually want loot from one loot level higher, especially not at low levels, because that's usually going to have wield reqs and activation reqs you can't meet. What you really want is the chance to find loot that's usable at your level, but better in the other ways that are associated with the next loot level up -- so it's still no-wield but has a higher defense mod, for instance. And that is indeed something we are working on.
Edit:
Whoops .. I wrote out an answer to Lenin and then forget to add it
- Remember that Neydisa Castle is in a mid level area, as you can see on the creature redistribution map.
- "Coming with you," he said.
- "What are you doin'?" asked Ye Te.
- "What is it?" he asked.
- Overall, we expect these changes to be fairly subtle. So what is everyone talking about? Well, before this update a lot of people were in the habit of hunting those outliers I mentioned above for money. Since the value of loot on those creatures may well have gone down a bit, if you stick with those creatures you may see a change in how much money you can make.
- Roderick’s eyes locked onto hers. Now his demeanor changed—he stood tall and stopped shifting. No more laughter, no more smile, only ice-blue eyes staring through her. The room seemed to warp; sound and light bent in awkward directions as he began to speak.
- Wah Chon waved a hand at Ye Te to show her displeasure and stepped closer to the small statue. Her face became pale as she turned to her friend. Ye Te took a step towards Wah Chon, who turned and ran, slipping up the hill. Ye Te spied glowing red eyes and black wings through the snow. She grew pale as well as she retreated into her shop and slid the door closed.
- "The city of ice." She looked back at the bed, but he was no longer there. Across the room, he shouldered his armor. Elysa smiled, despite herself. "What are you doing?"
- After the eruption of darkness on the island to the southwest, many adventurers assailed the transformed Caul in an attempt to discern its secrets. New horrors were discovered, as were new trophies and rewards. As the reformed Council tries to respond to this new threat, additional dangers seem to be found daily, some much closer to home.
- - Ibn
- By the way, as we mentioned in the Rollout Article, we're not entirely satisfied with either wield requirements or spell levels at the highest levels of loot, and we'll be working on these more in the future. But even as they are right now, they are overall no worse and in several places a bit better than they were before these changes.
- In other words, if you can use a 325 weapon we expect that you can kill the creatures that drop them based on your attack skill, and ignoring any artificial shortcut names we've given them.
- When she woke, Antius placed his hands on her shoulders.
- The highest tier of loot changed very little, and in a generally positive way.
- "I want to know what it is." Wah Chon snapped, startled and nearly leaping into the air. "Stop yelling, you fool!"
- The updated Quintessence Sickle has an activation requirement of 325 Axe. This was intended to be a wield requirement, and this has been fixed for the February event.
- You might try hunting creatures in the high areas of the landscape. One thing that we may need to consider is lowering our mental cutoff line for 325 weapons so that you can start finding these on the highest level mid creatures instead of the lowest level high creatures. This is something I will take up with the team today.
- We mentioned in the Rollout Article that the level of scrolls that are dropping are badly out of whack. They have been for quite some time, but the changes to loot this update really exacerbated that. We tried hard to get the scrolls straightened out for February, but we ran out of time. They will be straightened out with the March update.
- Overall, we expect majors to be as common or more common as before, but spread more evenly over a greater variety of creatures.
- * We have made changes to reduce and/or prevent the severe server-side lag and black screen client bug that were experienced after the January event. Please see the Rollout Article for details.
* This month, we will be activating speed-enhancement auto-enforcement on the NPK worlds. Please see the Rollout Article for details.
* The opening splash screens now show the name of the monthly event.
* Snow has stopped falling in most of Dereth, although the accumulation on the ground has not yet melted.
* The Fellowship Experience changes made last month no longer applies to experience earned from trophy turn-ins. Please see the Rollout Article for details.
* @day is now an option on the Character Options panel, and it is persistent across logins. You can still toggle it via the @day command as well.
* All existing characters on Darktide are eligible for a one-time award of experience and items. Please see the Letter to the Players for details.
* You can now hand a stack of items to an NPC instead of having to split one item off the stack first. Please see the Rollout Article for details.
* One player closing the trade window should no longer automatically close the window for the other player. Please see the Rollout Article for details.
* Removing characters from your house guest list or squelch list is no longer case-sensitive.
* A bug that was preventing use of Vincadi's Harbinger portal has been fixed.
* The collector at the Yanshi refugee camp should now give the same rewards as the other collectors.
* The Listris Nefane should no longer drop its trophy 100% of the time.
* All Nefane were doing too little damage with their tentacles, this has been resolved.
* The Dolls on the Singularity Caul should no longer be casting level 1 debuffs.
* The run speed of Marguls has been increased.
* The highest level of Runed Chests should once again spawning on landscape.
* You can now recharge Ulgrim's Casting Stein if it is wielded by using a full mana stone or charge on your paperdoll.
* You can now use the Fish Stamp on stampable shields, if you meet the requirements.
* The Sleek Dress should look correct when dyed.
* The rings received from Darhy, Nuhmudira's assistant, are now ivoryable.
* The Mace of Dissonance is no longer attuned.
* The Quintessence Sickle now has a correct wield requirement. If you are wielding a Sickle when you log in, and do not meet the 325 base Axe wield requirement, you will unwield the Sickle. Please see the Letter to the Players for details..
- In addition to all of this, we’ve got some exciting new content lined up for February. See you in Dereth!
- "Roderick, where have you been, what did you see?" she asked in a quiet and steady voice, trying to calm him down.
- A note on majors:
- Flames burst up behind Roderick, and his crazed eyes bore through Elysa like knives. The wound in her back throbbed and the sound of blood roared in her ears.
- Allegiance XP Changes
- Elysa recognized him still through the grime and stench—Roderick Largent, once a member of her castle guard. He had been assigned to investigate the disappearances on Marae Lassel, went missing two months prior, and was found preaching in Zaikhal only a few hours ago. He stood before her now, flanked by two guards who watched him with wary eyes. She felt pity.
- Chat Improvements
- Content Revisions
- February will see the beginning of a rebalancing of the treasure system in Asheron’s Call, similar to the monster rebalancing that was done last year. Some of our goals for the treasure system include:
* Creatures in a particular level range should drop loot that is useful to characters in that level range.
* More creatures should drop items that have been modified in some way by the treasure system. There should always be a reason to check a creature’s corpse.
- Dark Majesty Unlocked For All
- Darktide Award
- I did want to make a few short comments. These are to some extent all in the "this is phase I" line of thought, which I know is not entirely satisfying to some players, but I hope I can share with you what we've got planned and why it's not done yet.
- Fellowship XP and Trophies
- Edit: I need to make one minor correction. Because hiltable daggers and shortswords cannot generate with wield requirements, you may still find no-wield versions of these weapons in high levels of loot. Sorry for that confusion.
- In addition, the bunching of loot levels at lower character levels, as well certain irregularities in creatures at lower levels, made lower level loot really hit or miss for actual newbies. With a downloadable client and an expansion pack in our future, we want to make sure that the AC experience is consistently fun, especially for true newbies. So this change made sense from that perspective as well.
- Just a quick comment on this:
- "What is it?" Wah Chon asked Ye Te. The two stood outside their shop doorways looking out across the town crossing. Snow fell, obscuring their vision.
- When the treasure changes are complete, this will likely happen again. There are a number of things that are VERY wonky in their current state, because the changes are incomplete.
- NPCs and Stacks
- The February event brings with it sweeping changes to the means in which the allegiance system creates and passes-up experience.
- Yes, this is good useful feedback, Falconoffury. Thank you. I'm glad Ibn pointed me at it.
- We are also very aware of the current problems with obtaining new copies of AC:DM and we are doing this to help those who only need it to upgrade existing accounts. We also know that our recent announcement has sparked a lot of interest in older players who are looking to return to the game, some who may have left before the expansion pack was released, and we want to give them more incentive to return.
- Over the course of this month, we have taken several steps to resolve these issues, such as temporarily removing all monsters from the most frequently affected dungeons and restarting the servers with increased logging.
- Secure Trade Window
- She smiled, "Always."
- Speedhack Auto-enforcement
- Starting this month, you can now hand a whole stack to any NPC that accepts an item that can be stacked. The NPC should take only one item off the stack, leaving the remainder in your pack, and then give you your reward.
- Tell me which dolls exactly and I'll take a look.
- The Ongoing Saga
- Treasure in February
- Tuskers and Physics
- Town Criers will still take whole stacks of items and dispose of them for you.
- There are several reasons why we decided to implement these changes now.
# Things were out of whack.
# Things would only get worse.
# The underlying work we did allows us to add some cool new features to treasure in the future.
- Please refer back to our article on these changes. We’ve also posted a follow-up article with some changes and clarifications.
- There were no explicit changes to the value of loot. Now, before you start arguing with me, read this: there were changes to the underlying system of loot levels to make them better match character level ranges. Since loot level is the primary indicator of value, that's going to have some effect on value in the field.
- We’ll be providing more information on many of these changes, especially PvP, long before they enter the game. We know you’ll have a great deal of feedback for us on these topics.
- Oddly enough, this is exactly what we have done. And the ranges you recommend for wield requirements are also exactly on target with our changes. Of course, there may be some disagreement between us as to what constitutes a creature aimed at a level 60 player, but we agree with you on the underlying level to wield req correspondence.
- Well, I'd be upset too if that were true. But it's not -- the highest level of loot occurs on different creatures than before in some cases, but it still occurs. And we're making some adjustments in March -- adjustments directly prompted by your feedback that will bring a number of the qualities associated with the highest level of loot back into the reach of lower level characters.
- * All players now have access to Asheron's Call: Dark Majesty content, regardless of whether or not they had purchased the expansion pack in the past. Please see the Letter to the Players for details.
* The Allegiance Experience system has been changed. For details, please see the following articles: Allegiance Experience and Allegiance Experience Follow-Up.
* Two existing quests Frore and the Bunny Master have been updated.
* The first phase of creature and chest treasure revisions has been implemented. Please see the Letter to the Players and the Rollout Article for details.
* Several improvements to allegiance and general chat. Please see the Rollout Article for details.
- "You ask me what I have seen? I have seen the folly of sending the Lightbringer away. Now the darkness shall grow, unchecked, unabated. You are the architect of this world’s demise! Damned is your name!" The laughter began again and Elysa screamed in defiance.
- The chance for a particular item to get a major cantrip has decreased very slightly .
- After the January event, we began seeing a number of unusual server-side lag spikes, generally occurring alongside strange reports of invisible monsters and players who suddenly found themselves in total darkness, unable to move.
- Since that time, we have made some improvements to the auto-detection and auto-enforcement system, and we are now prepared to activate auto-enforcement on the seven NPK worlds. The same rules will be used as on Darktide.
* On your first, second, and third detection, you will be automatically booted from the game.
* On your fourth detection, you will be booted from the game and given a one-day ban.
* On your fifth detection as well as any further detections, you will be booted from the game and given a three-day ban.
- Those golems drop less weapon and armor than some creatures, but they still have a decent chance to drop weapons and armor.
- (Posted on 23-Feb-2004)
Four days without feeding, four days without wash and four days without any sign of his quarry. He drew a hand through his greasy hair and looked at the shreth beneath his boot. Hardly worth killing, true, but at the moment he would settle for a drudge. He spied the note on a corpse nearby, likely some poor sod who had wandered too near the pack of shreth. Kneeling, he caught the scent of crisp cold air. Snow was coming soon. The letter was odd, but it made him think of the witch. He smiled in spite of the aching pain within his soul and headed north.
- A high level creature also has a chance to drop a 325 with multiple level 6 spells and minors. There needs to be a variation in each range -- you can't always find the best stuff. Having said that, however, I will also reiterate that, as I mentioned above, the spells on items in the middle and higher levels of loot are not where we want them, and we will be adjusting them somewhat.
- February is only the first stage of our rebalancing, and although some changes you will notice are obvious steps towards our goals, the value of other changes will only become clear as the process continues. In particular, here are some areas in which things are not yet perfect:
* Spell scrolls: The level of scrolls that you find on creatures is badly out of whack right now. Truthfully, it has been for awhile, but our other changes in February really emphasize this issue. We plan to have spell scrolls of appropriate levels dropping with the March update.
* Wield Req. Weapons: The distribution of weapons with wield requirements at extreme levels is not satisfactory. We will be working on this aspect of treasure over the next several months.
* Spells on Items: The distribution of item and creature spells on items at extreme levels is not satisfactory. We will be working on this aspect of treasure over the next several months.
* Chests: February concentrated on creature loot; March will concentrate more heavily on chest loot. So during the February update you may run across some chests that are not yet properly adjusted for the area in which they appear.
* Armor in general, and Covenant Armor in particular: We have some interesting plans for loot armor, but it is likely going to be many months before you see these plans come to full fruition.
- If you are wielding a Quintessence Sickle when the worlds come down for the February event, and you do not have a base Axe skill of 325, the Sickle will be moved to your backpack when you enter the world after the event. If your backpack is full, it will drop on the ground.
|
![[RDF Data]](/fct/images/sw-rdf-blue.png)