EQ2 Patch Notes: August 24, 2010

SOE is pushing out another patch today for EQ2.  The only difference between the EQ2 Live and EQ2 Extended versions concerns the AA slider bar when a player upgrades to gold membership.  Also the changes to the Mastercrafted tags on items is designed so that Bronze and Silver members in EQ2 Extended do not have access to items labeled Mastercrafted that are really Legendary or Fabled in quality.  The version from EQ2 Extended is below.

MENTORING

• Increased mentoring xp bonus given when mentoring another player.
• The experience bonus for having players mentor you adds the percentage displayed in the tooltip rather than modifying the base experience from killing a monster.

USER INTERFACE

• Dynamic icons on the world navigation map will now continue to update after reloading the UI.
• Fixed an error in the maintained window causing an icon to become stretched.
• UI Modders can now disable the snapping behavior of the XP bar by setting the “EnableSnapping” property to false.
• When you upgrade to gold your AA slider will remain at 50 until changed and will not default to 0.

TRAVEL

• All bell travel should now have an option to enter Freeport or Qeynos directly depending on your alliance.

ITEMS

• Mastercrafted items that are actually better than Mastercrafted will now say so (such as MASTERCRAFTED LEGENDARY or MASTERCRAFTED FABLED).
• (Fan Faire request!) City Tokens are now also worth status.  Guildhall Commodities Exporters and Sanya the General Goods merchant at City Festivals will now pay 250 status points for them, if you don’t wish to use them to purchase festival goods.
• The five mounts that were missing from the mount merchants have been returned.
• The following mounts now move at +25% movement speed: Gorowyn Destrier, New Halasian Courser, Kelethin Courser, and Neriak Destrier.
• The Skyblade Skiff received by platinum fan faire attendees is now claimable one per character instead of one per account.

PVP ITEMS

• Kinetic Barrier, Elemental Barrier, Combat Expertise, Suppressed Rage, Free Movement and Reflection should no longer send error messages to the chat log during PVE Combat.

QUESTS

• New Halas Citizens with the quest "A Final Froglok Word" will now find they can continue conversing with Lady Erillis and complete the quest.
• Recipes for the new Steamfont tradeskill quest line now require the appropriate level of fuel.

PALACE OF ROEHN THEER

• Pets should no longer trigger retributive effects when fighting the sages Mandoril, Medorius and Mikla.
• Zone in should only zone the individual player instead of the entire raid.

GREATER FAYDARK

• All instances of "Amythest Pond" have now been corrected to "Amethyst Pond" in Greater Faydark

EQ2 Extended: Thoughts After The First Weekend

This post isn't intended to be a comprehensive review of EQ2 Extended.  In fact, some of what I list below is part of Sentinel's Fate and not limited to EQ2 Extended.  However, not having played SF I don't really know the difference.  And I'm not going to discuss one of my loves in EQ2, crafting, because I didn't make it to New Halas.  But I did get two characters up to level 10, so think of it more like notes I've taken as I start exploring the game instead of any kind of review.

First, I created a human berserker and a half-elf inquisitor.  Having never played a half-elf, I didn't realize they have tracking.  After doing a few quests, I realized the tank really should have tracking, so I re-rolled, creating a half-elf berserker named Rosemary and a human inquisitor named Noizy.  Back to level 1.

Two, a lot of people were playing (including a barbarian guardian named Vanhemlock).  I started playing and my inquisitor was in the 11th instance.  Pro tip: you can invite other characters across instances (/invite [character name]).  Then you can right-click on the character's name in the group to be transported to that instance.  I noticed that since I did that the first time that my characters have been logging into the same instance every time.

Appearance.  I noticed that when I look at my character that I am using the SOGA model but everyone else is using the original EQ2 character models.  I went ahead and set my appearance for both appearances at the character screen.  If you want to see all SOGA, all original models, or mix and match, a player has to go to Options and click on Alternate Appearance to select the types of models to view.  I'm selecting SOGA, not just because I think half-elves look better, but to make the game feel a bit different than EQ2 Live, since I always used the original models when I played the first time.

Another change is that I was able to use the appearance slots at level 7 instead of level 20.  I'm guessing there is no longer a level limitation, but I didn't check it until I hit level 7.  And in Sentinel's Fate I think the appearance of the gear got better.  Below is a picture of my two characters at level 10 over looking a camp in the Frostfang Sea zone.

Rosemary (left) and Noizy in Frostfang Sea

Okay, so the armor appearance doesn't distinguish between classes.  But I think it looks cool, especially with the SOGA models.  And the best thing is that I didn't have to buy it out of the cash shop.  You can bet that if I ever reactivate my EQ2 Live account that I'll be using the chronomage to get this armor on my ranger.

A New UI.  The UI is different than what I was used to last October.  For instance, if you want to replace bags, go to your character screen (default is "C").  I had to ask in local how to do that.  I'm such a noob!

In-Game Map.  The map has undergone a change, with some of the functionality first introduced in Warhammer Online.  While not done as well as World of Warcraft, the map does show where to go to find quests.  Whether because the directions in the quests are easier to follow or because of the map, I haven't gone to an outside web site for information on quests.

Bag Space.  I have Silver accounts, which means I get 3 bag slots on my character plus 3 character bank slots and 2 shared bank slots.  And I received a 24 slot bag and 2 4 slot bags starting out.  And then fairly quickly I received a 12 slot harvesting bag.  Sure, it only holds harvested items, but 12 slots!  That is a lot more bag space than I received when starting characters a long time ago.  In fact, that's more bag space than I have on my 4 level 16-18 characters in World of Warcraft.

Alternate Achievement.  I had heard of the Alternate Achievement slider bar and was looking forward to using it.  Apparently the slider bar does not work for Bronze and Silver accounts.  For those looking to level lock, the /disable_combat_exp command still works to toggle combat xp gain on and off.  Also, experience gain can be toggled on and off by right-clicking on the experience bar and using the menus.

Macros.  If you are dual-boxing, you can make your life easier by creating macros. The first thing I did once I got both characters on the same instance was create macros to follow each other.  Then I became annoyed at having three bags I could not access always pop up in front of my face every time I hit the B key so I wrote a macro to only show my three usable bags.

Picking Up Shinies.  I find that I'm still addicted to picking up collectables (aka shinies) but since I can't put them on the broker I'm leaving ones I don't need for others.  I wonder if that will make collecting them easier for everyone in game.

Effects Nerf.  I've heard about the effects nerf.  I haven't really noticed anything except for transmuting.  No more major light show.  Of course, I'm playing a berserker and an inquisitor, two classes I have little to no experience with, so I really can't tell how much was toned down.

Character Copy.  Quite frankly, I wish that SOE had not allowed characters to transfer from the subscription servers to EQ2 Extended.  I realize that with the split in the game into subscription and F2P servers that SOE would have fired up the player base even more if the split had been complete.  Also, the fact that some players would pay $35 to copy a character over so that their EQ2 Live subscription would also cover their EQ2 Extended Gold membership was a way to not only make a quick buck but also hang onto subscribers a bit longer.  This was especially important with a lot of players believing that SOE was abandoning the subscription servers to whither away and that EQ2 Extended was the wave of the future.  But I really liked the idea of having a new server where everyone started over, especially with the new rules brought about by having the limited Bronze and Silver memberships.  Having level 90 characters running around this soon is kind of disappointing.

EQ2 Extended Macro: Opening Your Bags

Having two Silver accounts in EQ2 Extended means that I only get 3 of the 6 normal bag slots.  I'm okay with that.  What I don't like is that every time I open my bags, the three bag slots that I can't access show up.  I'm guessing that this is a subtle hint that if I upgrade my account that I can have all 6 slots.  Whatever the reason, I find it annoying.  So I pulled out some of my old knowledge of EQ2 and created a macro that would only open the three bag slots I paid for.

For those who have never created a macro, click on the EQII button in the lower left corner of your window.  Select Socials and then click on the Macros tab.  To begin editing, click where indicated.

The macro is a three command macro.  In the Macro Step drop down menu select Command and then click on the Add Step button three times.  In the text boxes that appear, type in the commands below.

/bag_open 1 0
/bag_open 1 1
/bag_open 1 2

Once that is done, click on the Test button to make sure the macro works.  Once that is done, click the OK button and then drag the icon for your new macro to one of your action bars.  If you put it on the first action bar, you can open your bags with one keystroke.

Very Quick First Thoughts On EQ2 Extended

I got into EQ2 Extended last night and made two station accounts which I quickly upgraded to Silver.  Right now I have two level 4 characters, a berserker and a inquisitor.  I started both in the New Halas starting area since I never played Sentinel's Fate.  Right now, my older computer is running on Balanced settings and my newer computer is running on the default settings with Shader 3.  That is beautiful.

A couple of things I noted.  First, the game is streamed onto my computer, which meant I got to play right away.  I liked that in Free Realms and I like it now, even if it is causing lag on my older computer.  But that just may be my anti-virus software.  You can see when data is downloaded because a cute little dragon appears and you get to see the rate at which the data is downloading.

The other real quick item of note is that the default character appearance are the SOGA models.  I'm going with the SOGA models just because I like those models for half-elves over the original models and my inquisitor is a half-elf.  Yes, I may not be playing the game right with that choice, but I'm not buying a racial pack this early in the beta.

I know this isn't much, but I've only run a couple of quests so far.

Maybe Today?

The launch of EQ2 Extended beta was pushed back to today.  Gee, maybe this is a real beta and not a marketing ploy.  Think so?

Listening to Podcasts

With EQ2 Extended delayed a day, I have time to write about some of the podcasts I've listened to over the last week.  I listened to The Instance #199, which was interesting because Scott and Randy talked a bit about playing Eve Online.  Randy plays Eve alone, but you can't say he doesn't understand that MMOs are supposed to be played with others since his guild, AIE, is the largest guild in World of Warcraft.  I can say from first-hand experience that flying around high-sec is relaxing.  Well, at least when you're flying cheap ships not carrying anything of value anyway.  I'm looking forward to show #200 which should come out around August 24th.

I also listened to WoW Insider #151 and their coverage of the Cataclysm beta.  I enjoy listening to them and am falling behind listening to the podcast.  I need to learn how to use iTunes better.

Speaking of falling behind, I listened to Van Hemlock #114 and their discussion about game reviews sparked by Blizzard not allowing reviewers to play Starcraft 2 before release.  With summer comes Jon taking a break from looking at gaming news so there will only be one Van Hemlock podcast every week.

With my crazy work and travel schedule I missed The Dellmon leaving EQ2s-day.  But he's back on a new podcast, EQ2 Talk.  The fifth podcast was released a couple of days ago, so I have some catching up to do.  The podcast will go very nicely with my jumping into EQ2 Extended.

And of course I'm listening to Eve Online podcasts as well.  I was going to listen to Kirith's latest Broadcasts from the Ninveah podcast but since he plugged the Not Alot of News Newshour's interview with CCP xHagen, I started to listen to that instead.  I'll have to finish listening soon, but I had to catch some sleep.  So many podcasts and so little time.

Patches and Upgrades and Delays, Oh My!

This just in: the launch of the beta for EQ2 Extended is delayed one day until tomorrow.  Which is too bad since my WoW server, Darrowmere, is one of the servers that will be down all day today in preparation for Cataclysm..  Also tomorrow is the deployment of patch 1.0.4 for Eve Online: Tyrannis.  TQ is scheduled to be down from 11:00 GMT to 13:30 GMT.  I better make sure I have some long skills queued up for training because the announcement post didn't say 13:30 GMT of what day.

In Eve, Friends Don't Let Friends ...

... do level 4 mining missions.  I started doing level 4 missions for Core Complexion last Tuesday and of course had to do a level 4 mining mission.  After all, how could I complain about something if I had never done it, right?

I actually did 3.  The first time I fumbled around and then developed a plan for the second mission I did.  I set up Wandering Rose in a Covetor and Rosewalker switching between a Scythe and a Mammoth.  The mission still took an hour to complete and I was pretty sure I would never do another level 4 mining mission.

Then the third mission presented itself.  Ice harvesting.  I'd never done that before.  So I flew to Rens, picked up ice harvesters for my Covetor, and set out to havest some worthless ice.  That took about an hour to complete also.

Ice Harvesting

Most of the time I've done courier missions and even two kill missions in a shield-tanked Hurricane.  The courier missions were fun and provided practice flying my Prowler.  I even ducked into two low-sec systems to make deliveries.  For this carebear, that was an adventure.

Fighting the Angel Cartel

The kill missions were an adventure.  In the first one, Smuggler Interception, I faced Angel Cartel Machariels, battleships that were very popular in Alliance Tournament VIII. 

In the second kill mission, Shipyard Theft, I just have to note the actions of the Core High Admiral in the first pocket.  I got really excited when I first saw the ship, because I had never seen an NPC with a bounty of 1 million outside the newbie Epic Arc before.  So I dispatched the support ships and gave chase to the battleship.  The High Admiral stopped short of a group of ships, allowing me to engage the High Admiral.  A bait ship?  You betcha.  A group came flying past the High Admiral and started pounding on me.  I quickly beat a hasty retreat, but in the span of about 30 seconds I lost a quarter of my shields before getting the situation under control again.  The High Admiral?  He stayed in place and started repping himself.

I still had to deal with the High Admiral.  So after dispatching the support ships in that group, I began a 1v1 with a regular Admiral in a battleship.  I started circling the Admiral and sure enough, the High Admiral slipped behind me, putting me in a cross-fire.  With the High Admiral having repped all of his shields and some of his armor, I made the decision to rush the Admiral in the hope I could outrun the damage from the High Admiral.  That plan worked, but by the time I could turn around, all the damage I had inflicted on the High Admiral had been repaired.  Aargh!  But at least I was able to finally kill the stubborn battleship before it could link up with the last three battleships in the pocket.

The important part of the last week's mission running is that Wandering Rose's faction with Core Complexion went up from 6.04 to 6.37 since last Tuesday.  Perfect refining is finally within sight.

Trying A Tale In The Desert

I first heard of A Tale in The Desert on The Van Hemlock podcast.  From listening to Tim and Jon I gathered that if I wanted to play the game, I would need to start playing at the beginning of a telling.  The new telling, #5, began on 7 August.  Tobold has jumped into the game and I heard on Van Hemlock #115 that Jon is playing again.  But here is the passage from Tobold's latest post that had me actually downloading the game.

"Don't be fooled by the lack of combat in A Tale in the Desert. The possibilities to harm your fellow players in ATitD are huge, and make EVE look like a game for wussies [emphasis mine]. Have you ever noticed that all the big stories you hear about EVE aren't actually about PvP in the form of ship combat, but involve things like infiltrating guilds, betrayal, and bank scams? A Tale in the Desert eliminates the combat part and goes directly for the throat, forcing players to interact with each other socially, with the stakes being higher than in any other game. In A Tale in the Desert players can even be voted out of the game, being banned by the demi-pharaoh, a player elected by the other players. And it is exactly *because* players have such huge potential to harm each other that A Tale in the Desert often plays so much more civilized than other games. If being a jerk can have serious negative consequences for a player, then he might be thinking twice about it."

With 24 hours of game play free before being asked to pay a subscription, I have to at least try the game, if only to say I play all the good crafting games.  I completed the tutorial this morning and here are my initial impressions.

Movement - Movement is point and click on the spot you want to go to.  It takes some getting used to if you are used to the WASD movement of most Western MMOs.  I've found that I actually adjust my camera view a lot to make travel easier.

Harvesting - Unlike all the other MMOs I've played, resource nodes are not always visible on the ground.  Going through the tutorial I needed to harvest slate, which was only visible to harvest when an icon appeared in the upper-left hand corner of my screen.  I have the feeling this is only true for resources found in the ground; I had no problems finding wood.  In other words, the harvesting system is a bit more realistic.

Learning skills - At least in the beginning, skills are learned two ways.  Initially, the skill is learned from a university.  After that, skills are improved upon by actually doing the task.  And you can fail at doing a task and lose your harvested materials if your skill level is low enough.

Zoning - No, I'm not referring to instancing.  ATitD looks like it has zoning laws.  At least I couldn't build a work bench (okay, I forget the actual name) within 300 feet of a university.  I'll be interested to see more about zoning in the game.


Those are just some quick impressions after about one hour of play.  A Tale in the Desert is an intriguing game and if the EverQuest 2 Extended beta were not coming out this week, I might actually commit myself to making it my #2 MMO.  As it is, I'll have to wait and see.

Runes of Magic Rolls Back Mana Changes

Wow!  Just thought I would post this update to the 3.0.3 patch notes I posted for Runes of Magic this morning.  Apparently players were not happy and the mana changes were rolled back without giving players in the U.S. advanced notice.  Here is a copy of the explanation.

Hello Runes of Magic Community.

In regard to our latest Patch 3.0.3 and the change of spell casting cost I want to give you an explanation about the reason behind all of this.

As many of you are aware, the spell cost has been changed with Patch 3.0.3 from a standard single value cost to a new formula. The new cost is a combination of a base cost plus a percentage of your total mana pool. The percentage can vary between 1% to 6% depending on the spell. This is not a class specific change as it does affect all spells (it does however affect magic users more).

Our reason behind this change was that as the game lost a lot of it’s previous challenge with a mana pool outgrowing eventually the cost of spells, therefore causing no small amount of our players having “infinite” mana pools. Once you no longer have to be afraid of running out of mana by not drinking a potion or waiting for the cooldown from drinking a potion, an important part of strategy in the game is being removed.

That would just result in spamming spells without the need to decide when to take that special potion and basic strategies of deciding which spells to use on which targets first would no longer matter. For example: some healers were able to spam group heal constantly without the need to watch their mana anymore at any level of difficulty.

The next problem caused by this old system is to decide how to design new content and still being able to offer you a worthy challenge. Do we design for the average players who will have to watch their mana or do we design for the super strong player base who does not need to worry?

After carefully evaluating all possible new methods our final solution was to introduce a percentage cost into the spells. This would ensure that players would have to watch their mana supplies and cast with some strategy in their mind. Players that have a larger mana pool can still cast more times than those who have less.

Thanks to the feedback of the Runes of Magic Community and Frogster we have been able to shape the game in the past and hope to continue this way for the future.

We are convinced about the logic and need behind the new way how to manage mana cost, but we have decided to take back the changes for further evaluation. So until we have finished improving the scaling system of how mana will be reduced we will restore it to the old ways.

Sincerely,
Tony Tang
Runewaker Entertainment
VP Business Developement