AC2:Announcements - 2002/12 - Emergence

Episode 1: "Emergence"

Original Link (now dead) - microsoftgamesinsider.com/AC2/Guides/epguide_12-02_index.htm?nc=1

December 2002

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Our first episode, "Emergence," has arrived! Beginning today, new adventurers will find their training to be quite different, as Drudges have invaded the Shelters! Those who have moved on to the world above will find plenty of new challenges of their own, set in a world which has already begun to rebuild itself. For more information, check out the links below... and go explore Dereth!

Episode Quest Guide: A walk-through of the quests you'll find in "Emergence."

Episode 1 Teaser: A tale set during the tumultuous times of Episode 1: "Emergence."

Teaser Video (56k | 110k | 300k | 1024k): See what awaits you in our December episode...

Developers' Notes: A closer look at this month's enhancements.

Letter to the Players: Ken Troop writes about "Emergence" and future episodes of Asheron's Call 2.

Scenes from the field...

• Dhall of Frostfell is one tough-looking Lugian!
• Laguna plinks away at Drudges.
• Celox says, "I call it The Apocalypse."
• Kraxx the Juggernaut of Dawnsong views the wonders of the ancients.
• Sativan at dawn.
• Tad sends us this pic of his Lugian's gruesome handiwork.
• Heiachi Tekki playing the Punchan bass with fellows Demon-Hunter and Sinisun.
• Blavod of Morningthaw. "Look into my eyes and think about what could happen if you don't post this." OK, OK, put that blade down!
• Cadus & Tarquin, Obsidian Knights of Thistledown.
• Roadkill of Harvestgain engages the Secret Drudge Militia.
• Razak of Coldeve takes on a Lasher in the Warder's Hideout.
• Krystal of Frostfell battles a Drudge Outcast in the New Arwic Mines.
• Blace of Frostfell surveys his grim handiwork.
• Kuchulahn of Morningthaw speaks with the Miller of Kehan.
• Submit your screen shots to the Wandering Scribe! (You can hide the game interface by hitting "/" on the keypad.)

A Warning Regarding Training Halls

Our December episode introduces a significant number of changes to the starter experience in Asheron's Call 2, including revised training halls. These revised training halls quickly introduce new players to the game's concepts and story.

Please note that these revisions to the training halls will affect characters that were logged off inside them. Characters left in the old training halls will find themselves at the beginning of the new training halls after the December episode launches. To avoid this, players should bring any characters out of the training hall before the episode launches. Otherwise the characters will need to complete the revised training hall experience.

We hope this notice minimizes any confusion the change might cause, and we look forward to everyone enjoying our December episode!

 

Episode Quest Guide

Original Link (now dead) - microsoftgamesinsider.com/AC2/Articles/ep1_guide.htm?nc=1

Emergence Strategy Guide

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Our December episode, "Emergence," began with renewed attacks by the Drudge Nemesis. To help reclaim the land from these foul Drudges, players can undertake a linked sequence of quests. These quests take players across the entire first continent, introduce them to friendly allies, and pit their resolve against the Drudge army!

If you would like to complete the "Emergence" quests, but need a hint on where to begin and what needs to be done, we have composed the following strategy guide.

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Warning! The following contains spoiler information! If you DO NOT want specific location and quest information, DO NOT read ahead!

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Index:

• Rescue the Shelter Hold
• Find the Explorer, Obelisk Search
• Find the Arwic Mines Overseer, Arwic Mines and Crafting
• Find the Miller, Kehan Windmill
• Find the Esper Reaches Warder, Drudge Outcast Camp
• Find the Warder of Osteth, Old Cragstone Excavation
• Find the Warder Corporal, Isle of Tears Drudge Fort
• Find the Warder Scout, The Warder Scout's Notebook
• Seek the Warder Captain, Drudge Potion Raid
• Seek Dantry, The Illuminated Manuscript
• Seek the Drudge Heretics
• The Slavetaker's Head

Rescue the Shelter Hold
Danger begins as early as the Shelter Holds. Enter the game, and you'll be met with immediate challenge: Drudge Diggers have broken into the Shelters and must be repelled at all costs! First, talk to the Shelter Guard, who will direct you to the Teaching Stones. When you're ready, find the Shelter Sentry. He'll assign you your very first quest: Defeat a Drudge Digger, and bring its tools to the Shelter Scout.

The Scout will reward you with experience points and potions, and advance you against the stronger Drudge Sentinels. Defeat one of the Sentinels, and use its Menhir Glyph to enter the Menhir Shard Room.

Note: Glyphs generally provide access to Vault Campaign dungeons, and will be found through further quests. These Vaults are separate from the "Emergence" quests, but should be visited when you are ready. Vaults present unique challenges of their own, and relate valuable lore—including much on the Drudge Nemesis. They also provide experience to advance your character, which may be necessary to meet the level requirements of quests.

Talk to the Advance Shelter Scout to receive your next set of instructions. He'll direct you to the Menhir Shard, which will give you your first taste of lore: a brief review of the early history of the races. After viewing this lore, you'll leave the Shelters and enter the world itself!

"You are now ready to reclaim our ancestors' world from our enemies. Put the Shelters behind you and reclaim your rightful home."

Note: Each quest below generally has two parts. The first part requires you to find an NPC somewhere in the world. The NPC then gives you the second part: to perform some required action against the Drudge Nemesis.

Find the Explorer
Obelisk Search

The Advance Shelter Scout will advise you to meet one of three Explorers. These Explorers may be found for Humans at Arwic (45.6 N, 7.8 W), for Tumeroks at Lost Wish (43.9 N, 11.3E), and for Lugians at Esper (45.5 N, 14.6 W).

Each Explorer will impress upon you the need to learn the world you wish to reclaim. Follow their instructions to travel through the Ringway Portals and locate the hidden obelisks. When finished, return to the Explorer, who will reward you with beneficial spells and send you on to the Arwic Mines Overseer.

Find the Arwic Mines Overseer
Arwic Mines and Crafting

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Sidebar: Arwic
An ancient, prosperous town, Arwic has met with more than its fair share of disaster. The town was destroyed once before, in the war against the Shadows. What little remained, the Devastation wiped clean from the face of all maps. Miraculously, some structures have already been rebuilt, including a forge and hints of its former mines. Though it's anyone's guess how long this inception of the town will last in the face of the Nemesis armies…

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The time has come to take the fight to the Drudges! To receive your next quest, talk to the Arwic Mines Overseer (44.0 N, 6.1 W).

An important source of material to help rebuild the town, the New Arwic Mines have fallen to Drudge Outcasts. The Overseer will send you to the mines east of town (45.6 N, 2.6 W) to help win them back.

Kill the Drudges in the mines, and keep checking their bodies for loot. There is a random chance any Drudge will have one of the miners' fallen hammer. Keep slaying them until you find one, then return it to the Overseer. He'll reward you for your efforts with the hammer itself (useful in crafting), the recipe for a new short sword (which you'll need to craft and give to him to advance the quest), and a Glyph to the Arwic Vault (35.3 N, 4.3 E). The Overseer will also point your way to the next mission, in Kehan.

Find the Miller
Kehan Windmill

Find the Miller of Kehan (42.5 N, 11.2 E), and she'll tell you her woes: Drudges have broken her windmill. Repairing it will help the Miller and prove your commitment to the reclamation effort. So pitch in!

The Miller will first ask you to locate three raw materials from nearby sources: iron (41.1 N, 14.1 E), stone (38.3 N, 12.7 E), and wood (40.1 N, 13.7 E). Give these to the Miller, who will hand you a Massive Gear in return. Use it to repair the family Windmill north of town (47.0 N, 11.5 E). Once it's repaired, the Miller will give you her thanks and recommend you to the Warders—veteran heroes pitted against the Drudge Nemesis.

Find the Esper Reaches Warder
Drudge Outcast Camp

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Sidebar: Cragstone
Once located on the tip of a rocky peninsula, Cragstone continues its tradition as an active trading center. The town was named after Thorsten Cragstone, who freed his people from the bonds of slavery at the cost of his life.

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Think you're ready to face the Drudges in their own territory? Then talk to the Esper Reaches Warder (37.5 N, 19.9 W). He'll tell you how to lend a hand. First, you'll want to craft some better weapons. Fortunately, the Warder will teach you recipes for Cadre Slayer arms, which inflict additional damage against the Drudge Outcast Cadre.

You'll need the extra muscle as the Warder then tests your resolve, sending you on a direct assault against the Drudge Outcast Camp (33.4 N, 18.6 W). Defeat a Drudge Outcast Cadre member, and return with its bone. The Esper Reaches Warder will then compensate you with a solid personal reference with the Warder of Osteth.

Find the Warder of Osteth
Old Cragstone Excavation

Find the Warder of Osteth in Cragstone (32.8 N, 12.8 W). She will send you on your most dangerous quest yet. The Drudges have hindered plans to excavate the town of Old Cragstone, going so far as to steal the blueprints. These must be recovered!

To begin, head east to Old Cragstone (32.2 N, 7.1 W). There, you'll need to find three trophy items held by three types of Drudges. Use these to reconstruct the Cragstone Library Seal, which will grant you access to this hallowed location. Inside, you'll discover the stolen blueprints. But be warned—the library has a powerful guardian.

Return the blueprints to the Warder, and she'll refer you on to the Warder Corporal.

Find the Warder Corporal
Isle of Tears Drudge Fort

The Warder Corporal has been in the field so long, you'll need to track him down before he gives you your orders (22.6 N, 1.4 E).

Once found, the Warder Corporal offers you a reconnaissance mission. Investigate the nearby Isle of Tears, and bring back whatever you learn. The Corporal also recommends you don't go this one alone. Form a Fellowship and investigate more safely as a group. Some nearby characters may be mustering a Fellowship for this quest, so ask around!

Once you cross to the Isle of Tears, you'll reach the Drudge Fort (26.6 N, 0.6 E). Make your way to the center, and you should find a document under the bleary gaze of a drunken sentry.

The document, a richly detailed battle map, reveals several key pieces of information. Sent to the Profound Drudge Mystics by the Illuminated Drudge, it hints at an assault on Cragstone. The map also reveals a previous unknown network of tunnels. To prevent this assault, you'll need to enter these tunnels and make your way to their end. There, defeat the Profound Drudge Mystics, and then return to the Warder Corporal.

Find the Warder Scout
The Warder Scout's Notebook

Now that the Drudges' war plans have been discovered, more information needs to be gathered. First, find the Warder Scout (25.0 N, 3.8 E). Unfortunately, the Warder Scout has lost his notebook, which tracks the Drudge presence in Osteth. You must recover it from the Drudge Slinker Bandit (28.0 N, 4.0 E). Return the notebook to the Warder Scout, and he'll reward you, naturally, with your next quest.

Seek the Warder Captain
Drudge Potion Raid

Helping the Warders, you're working your way up their chain of command. By now you're looking for the Warder Captain, who can be found in their secret hideout (20.6N, 14.0 E).

From what the Warder Captain knows, the Drudges have been receiving aid from an unknown source in the form of fortifying potions. (Who knows what one brews to give a Drudge strength…?) To help break this supply line, you'll need to raid the Drudge fort at 19.5 N, 21.0 E. Defeat the guards, take the key, and bring back a potion from inside the war coffers.

Return to the Warder Captain. She'll reward you with possession of the Drudge Potion. This is a foul but potent brew that increases your Health and Vigor. She'll also grant you access to the Warder Cache, which contains chests you can open if you've found the right keys along the way (an Emblem of Order or Asheron's Sigil). Finally, the Captain will bump you up to the highest-ranking Warder you'll meet: Dantry, the founder of the Warders.

Seek Dantry
The Illuminated Manuscript

At this point, your help in the reclamation effort is undisputable; but there's still more to be done. First, Dantry (7.4 N, 15.4 E) has a new quest for you: Gather intelligence on the Drudges' religious beliefs by visiting their cave at 4.0 N, 16.8 E. There, the Illuminated Drudge (mentioned in the Isle of Tears battle map) has compiled a manuscript detailing their religious beliefs. Defeat the Illuminated Drudge, and bring the manuscript back to Dantry.

Seek the Drudge Heretics

Following the religious trail, Dantry will send you to meet with the Drudge Heretics (0.6 N, 18.6 E). This is a diplomatic mission, not a combat raid. Just speak with the Heretics, and hear what they have to say.

Investigation of the Drudges' religion proves fruitful—it leads to their masters, the Burun Nemesis. As the Drudge Heretics confirm, "The Burun slime… They fooled our people into worshipping them as gods. But they aren't and we'll prove it! They can be killed just as anyone else!" Of course, it will be up to you to prove this point, and the heretics will send you on your next quest—this time, against the Burun!

The Slavetaker's Head

This is the final quest in the Drudge Insurgence series. It ultimately leads to the next Nemesis race you'll encounter after the Drudge: the Burun. For the reclamation to succeed, they must be opposed, with even the rebellious Drudge Heretics lending aid.

For now, strike the first blow against the Drudges' masters: Go to the King Toad Idol (2.5 N, 17.9 E), and defeat a Burun Slavetaker. Return its head to the Heretics and they'll reward you with Toadfang Earrings crafted from the Slavetaker's own teeth!

"Aiie! Now our people will see the Burun are mortal!"

 

Teaser

Original Link (now dead) - microsoftgamesinsider.com/AC2/Guides/December+Teaser+Text.htm?nc=1

Episode 1: Emergence

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December 2002

The alarmed reports of hordes of Drudges boiling out of their lairs had spread quickly, and soon all corners of Osteth were rife with the Drudges' influence. Most alarming to Telkhe were reports that even the Shelter Holdings, those structures that link the Shelters to Dereth, were now infested with Drudges. Only weeks before, he and others from his Shelter had mustered up their courage and stepped through that portal to Osteth. The thought that his kinsmen left behind were in danger of being forever trapped within the Shelters enraged him. He immediately committed himself to discovering the Drudges' plans and stopping them.

He had been on the trail of the Drudges for a few days now, and it had led him through Arwic and Kehan, then to Millstone. Along the way, he had banded together with a human mage who been following that same trail. Now they found themselves carefully making their way through a blighted forest.

"Hard to believe the Warder sent us out here," Telkhe's companion said. "What a dreadful place."

Telkhe had to agree. "Wharu's influence is strong here. Great Sister Wind sings a mournful song."

"Wharu? Anima of decay, correct?"

Telkhe simply nodded.

The mage looked around. "Much longer here and you might have me believing in it too."

Telkhe left the comment unanswered and studied the terrain. They had crested a small hillock, and the blighted landscape lay stretched out before them. He could see the shadow forms of Drudges lurking, busying themselves with whatever their cadre had commanded of them. Suddenly, on a distant hillock he saw a Drudge unlike the others.

"There, he is the one we seek," Telkhe whispered to his companion, pointing to the Drudge in the distance.

The mage squinted, trying to see the Drudge Telkhe was pointing out. "Are you sure? How can you tell?"

Telkhe simply looked at his companion.

"Fine then," the mage said. "You've been right about everything else so far, what do we do now?"

In his dealings with humans, Telkhe had seen them prove to be a bit dense, and he thought that this was another of those times. "We attack and kill it," he said slowly. "Then we take what we need from its remains."

The mage looked stunned for a moment and blinked, then nodded and grinned. "I think that might work."

Telkhe nodded. Perhaps these humans weren't as dense as he thought.

 

Teaser Video

File:Asheron's Call 2 Fallen Kings - Episode 1

Developers' Notes

Original Link (now dead) - microsoftgamesinsider.com/AC2/Guides/epguide_12-02_devnotes.htm?nc=1

December 2002 Developers' Notes

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For the most current information about known issues, please see our State of the Code page.

The people emerged with trepidation, wondering if the evils that had driven their ancestors into the Shelters still haunted the land. The quiet that followed their first tentative steps back into Dereth was reassuring; however, those first few weeks of quiet were shattered by a violent resurgence of the same threats that had destroyed the Golden Age.

Uncommonly powerful creatures have been seen stalking the land, striking out at all those who dare cross their path. In addition, the Drudges have surged forth from their lairs and laid siege to many areas of Osteth, even threatening the Shelter Holdings. The mortal races, though, have not been idle in the face of these threats. Many have responded to the Warders' call, trying to uncover the Drudges' plans.

There are rewards for those who brave the threats now resurgent in Dereth. Those who challenge the creatures stalking the land tell of powerful treasures being found among their remains. Others speak of caches left behind by the Kingdoms for their followers. They say that these caches can only be opened with unique keys found scattered throughout the land. Many have devoted themselves to finding these keys and discovering the caches' contents, hoping to gain both riches and power.

Although their quiet has been shattered, the resolve of the races to reclaim Dereth remains…
During the December episode, you may notice some enhancements, modifications, and fixes to the game. AC2 just keeps getting better....

New Starter Experience: The entire experience for new players has been updated, providing new players with much more information about the game world and directing them in the process of rebuilding Dereth. Players should note that if they had an existing character logged off in one of the old training halls, their character will login at the beginning of the new training halls.

Dungeon Enhancements: Dungeons on all three continents have been tweaked and enhanced. These enhancements range from adding new sources of treasure, to refining the textures and feel of the dungeon, to balancing the difficulty of the dungeon.

Experience Rewards: Many mid-level solo creatures (level 25 through 40), have had their experience rewards boosted. With the exception of level 25 creatures found on Osteth, creatures level 25 and 40 have received a 15% boost in their experience reward. Creatures level 26 through 39 have been given a 30% boost in their experience reward.

Skill Dynamics Revised: Many non-harmful skills have had their Vigor cost reduced. These skills, which have short durations and cool-down periods between uses, now cost 1 Vigor point to use. (Note that the Vigor cost of Health and Vigor heals has not been reduced to 1.) In addition, unless a skill specifically uses a shield (such as a shield bash skill), the vigor cost on the shield is ignored. Finally, many class-specific skills have been updated for this episode. Full details on the affected skills can be found in Class Changes and Fixes below.

New Types of Monsters: Several new varieties of monsters are now scattered around the landscape. In addition to the existing solo and group monsters, the following types of monsters may be found:

Champions: These creatures hit harder and have more hit points, but provide considerably more experience and somewhat better treasure.

Uniques: These creatures are the heroes of their race and are as difficult to defeat as Champion creatures. While unique items may be found on these creatures, finding one of these creatures can be difficult.

Bosses: A boss is a leader of his race, and can be found in the most challenging areas of Dereth. While these creatures are difficult to overcome, they provide significantly better rewards, both in experience and treasure.

Quest Starters: These creatures have more normal stats and abilities, but their death triggers a quest for your character. The quest will direct you to kill a certain number of creatures in the area. Completing the quest will result in an experience reward for your character.

We hope to continue to enhance this dynamic in future episodes, so always be on the look out for new types of creatures.

New Fellowship Options: When creating a fellowship, players can now choose to make it loot-sharing. To enable this option, select the new "Share Loot Amongst Fellows" check box (located next to the existing "Share XP Amongst Fellows" check box) in the Fellowship Creation panel. With this option enabled, the members of the fellowship may loot the kills of another member. This option remains enabled until the fellowship is disbanded.

New Chat Options: The chat interface has been improved and now has a host of options for customizing the way messages are displayed. You can use the Options panel to change the color and size of the eight different types of messages that are displayed in your chat window. In a forthcoming episode, players can expect to see full control on chat window opacity, but for this episode, the opacity of the chat windows has been darkened slightly.

Examination Panel Changes: The examination panel has been revised to make important information easier to find and more distinct. In addition to revising the layout of information and changing the font, stats are now offset in bold. In addition, the names of monsters and items now display their own unique color in the panel, as follows:

Normal Creature: Off-White
Boss/Unique Creature: Yellow
Champion Creature: Blue
Quest Starter Creature: Green
Group Creature: Dark Orange

Normal Items: Off-White
Magical Items: Blue
Crafted Items: Orange

Finally, to make buffed or debuffed stats more noticeable, these stats are colored blue when examined.

Quest Panel Upgrades: The Quest button now flashes when you have received an update to your quests. When you bring it up, the Quest panel now highlights in green and expands the updated quest with the new information. Other quests that have been updated, but have not been viewed, are highlighted in green as well. Also, updated text of a quest is no longer sent to the chat window, since this information can be found in the Quest panel.

Map Panel Upgrades: The in-game map has been updated to provide even more information about the game world. In the default map view, each continent now has its name displayed near it. Clicking on the continent's name opens up a new window, displaying the names and difficulty levels of that continent's various sub-regions. Towns have also been given a new icon on the map. We've also corrected a variety of minor map note errors, such as missing or mis-positioned labels or erroneous information.

Transforming Items Into Gold Made Easier: You can now disable the "Are you sure you want to turn this item into gold?" dialog box from the Options panel. In addition, you will not get the confirmation dialog if you hold down the Shift button while dragging items to the gold sack in your inventory interface. Finally, to provide some indication that an equipped item cannot be melted down into gold, the gold sack will no longer highlight when equipped items are dragged over it.

Toggle Item Names: The "Show Names" key ("V" by default), which causes names to float above items and creatures, is now a toggled option. The option default is OFF, but can be toggled ON (and OFF again) by pressing the key to which you've bound this option.

Enhancements

There's a chill in the air…

The treasure found on a monster's corpse is now personalized to the first person who opens the corpse, not who killed the monster.

The swimming penalty has been reduced.

When examined, Lifestones and portals will tell you if you can recall or summon to them.

All avatar-shaped NPCs have floating question marks above their heads to make them easier to find.

Starter weapons can now be crafted for free. Note that there is a 24-hour reset period on using these recipes.

Vitae shouldn't be as hard to work off at higher levels of play.

Southpaws rejoice! Left-handed mice are now supported.

The game now fully supports many foreign keyboards.

Miscellaneous UI Enhancements

Coordinates are now displayed by default below the radar.

You can now save yourself some typing by using the commands "/t", "/r", and "/rt" instead of "/tell", "/reply", and "/retell", respectively. (The longer commands still work too.)

There are now new, revamped level-up and quest advancement particle effects.

A new vulnerability effect has been added. Now it is easier to see when to use skills that do additional damage when a target is vulnerable.

Issues that prevented many particles from being drawn in game have been addressed.

Particles should now be drawn correctly.

Various creatures have had the proper color assigned to their compass dot.

Previously, changing your screen's resolution could potentially interfere with your ability to select items in-game. This has been corrected.

Unless you are currently scrolling in the chat window, chat windows will now automatically scroll down to the end of any new text added to them.

The timers displayed in the Quest panel are now properly synced with the timers on the server.

Fire arrows now cast light.

Fixes

If you are disconnected from the chat server, the client will attempt to reconnect and reauthenticate your connection to the server. Note that if you were in a fellowship when you lost your connection, you will need to rejoin the fellowship after you reconnect to receive fellowship chat again.

Allegiance channels are now more specific to your allegiance, preventing the accidental creation of cross server allegiance channels.

A bug that caused the animated effect for many missile attacks to veer off in a direction away from the target has been corrected. (It should be noted that this bug did not cause missile attacks to actually miss their targets; it only affected the animated effect.)

We have fixed a bug that caused the server to be unsure of your avatar's location and resulted in your character "blipping" about to different locations.

Players should no longer receive the "Item In Use" error from many objects in the game.

Various terrain problems, such as those involving misplaced bridges or trees, have been corrected.

A few Lifestones that were placed below ground have been dug out.

Several portals and Lifestones that had the wrong summon/recall flags assigned to them have been corrected.

The level restriction on the Tou Tou Vault has been corrected.

Many Vault entrances, and the Lifestones near them, have been cleared of landscape monsters. In addition, the coordinates displayed for many Vaults on Vault Glyphs have been corrected.

The pit in the middle of the Yokketh Bell Tower has been filled in.

The Broth of Tanacha cauldron no longer floats a few feet above the ground.

The Burun Despoilment quest has received a sizeable increase to its experience reward.

The Vermin Smuggler King and Cursed Rea-bal are now dropping treasure.

The Browerk Burun Chief should be a bit easier to find.

Toadfang Earrings can no longer be equipped in a secondary ring slot.

As originally intended, only Humans and Lugians can use the Golden Age, Ancient, and Sunblaze Spiritseekers.

Although it always had an effect, the special effect found on the Drudgebane sword is now visible to players.

Gurog Warlords no longer drop Behemorn Oil as treasure.

Sclavus Faisi Seeker is now dropping the Amulet of Seeking.

If their master is attacking a target at range, pets are less likely to return home to their master. Instead, they will continue to attack their master's target.

Pets that are caught on landscape objects are more likely to recognize this and teleport to their master.

Monsters are now more likely to attack whomever has most recently done the most damage to them, whether that be a pet or a player.

Those fortunate enough to own a pet Tyrant should find them a bit more intelligent now.

Tyrant flame effects are a bit snazzier. Get burned by one today!

The chance of a drum being generated for a Tumerok character has been increased.

Platemail Boots are now displaying the traits they always had.

Various "Fickle Fate" recipes now actually have an effect.

A few recipes have been corrected that were referencing the wrong product type.

Crafted robes now display the proper name for the item, based upon the race for which the robe is intended.

Characters are drinking from the right end of potion vials now. In addition, the potion vials have been scaled down a bit.

Class Changes and Fixes

Lugian Melee:
Lure and Battle Cry can no longer be used empty-handed.

Lugian Raider:
Shattered Soul now removes a large portion of the target's Vigor.

Lugian Tactician:
Turrets and Walls now have no defensive skills. How can a wall dodge anyway?

Turrets should no longer be born "brain dead."

Lugian Magic:
Previously, the range for the Earthquake skill was set incorrectly, causing targets that appeared to be in range of the skill to actually be out of its effective range. This has been corrected, and the skill now has a larger effective area.

Lugian Sage:
Saving Graces now affects the caster's fellows.

The particle effect for Hypnosis has been fixed.

Tumerok Melee:
Renewal's description now correctly says it affects the target instead of the caster.

Resuscitate now correctly says it affects the target and not the caster.
If not evaded, the Growl skill will now successfully taunt creatures and draw them.

Tumerok Claw Bearer:
Thunderous Motion now has a 5-minute cool-down timer.

Tumerok Feral Intendant:
Lumbering Might's description now correctly says the caster can summon a Shreth, not a Reedshark.

Reap can now be used while wielding a shield.

Tumerok Magic:
Interlope now lasts 2 minutes with a 5-minute cool-down period between uses.

Tumerok Invoker:
Intervention now lasts between 2 to 10 minutes, depending on the skill of the caster.

Human Enchanter:
The Blade of Frost and Blade of Fire skills have had their durations reduced to 5 minutes.

Human Melee:
Hail of Blows now strikes the target three times.

Human Defender:
Righteous Fury now strikes the target three times.

All Flails now generated by the treasure system will have their base damage increased to be the same as other specialized weapons. Note that previously generated Flails will not be affected by this revision.

Human Alchemist:
Dark Side now lasts 5 minutes and has no cool-down period.

Human Magic:
Characters can now train Fireball at level 18, the same as other skills on its tier.

The description for Tenaciousness now correctly says that it affects the Vigor regeneration of the target, not the caster.

Enclosure now lasts between 2 to 10 minutes, depending on the skill of the caster.

Human Sorcerer:
Turnblade's description now correctly says it only affects the caster, not the target.

Turnblade now lasts 2 minutes with a 5-minute cool-down period.

 

Letter to the Players

Original Link (now dead) - microsoftgamesinsider.com/AC2/Guides/epguide_12-02_lttp.htm?nc=1

"Emergence"
December 2002 Letter to the Players

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Welcome to the Asheron's Call 2: Fallen Kings first Episode: "Emergence." Whether you're new to the world of Dereth or have been playing AC1 for the last three years, welcome. Every month, Turbine and Microsoft will present you with a new Episode meant to deepen and enrich your world and gameplay. These Monthly Episodes will introduce new quests, new items, and new features, along with bug fixes and tweaks to existing systems and content. We'll post a Letter each month such as this one to highlight the most notable new features and content, as well as to address any major issues in the community.

Our first Episode is full of great additions! There's new content for Osteth, new NPCs, new maps, new chat options, new unique creature dynamics, and a lot more. And the name of our Episode, "Emergence," is symbolic on two levels (as many of our Episode names are). It refers literally, of course, to the process of the Humans, Tumeroks, and Lugians emerging from the Shelters after centuries of exile to find themselves in a now strange and dangerous land. Moreover, it also carries the implication of the AC2 Live team emerging to take over the reins of Asheron's Call 2. The development team has done a fantastic job, and they've given us a beautiful and fun game, along with some great tools and hooks to work with. It's our turn now, and we think you will like what you see over the next several months.

In some of the Letters to the Players that I wrote while Producer for AC1, I would spend pages and pages talking about what we had done for that month (you can ask some of your fellow players who have come from AC1). But for our AC2 letters, I want to keep this short and sweet. You can find more detailed information about this Episode in the December Developer's Notes.

We on the AC2 Live team are privileged to have this opportunity to expand the world of Dereth for you, our players and subscribers. There are many stories to tell, dungeons to craft, features to create. Our highest achievement will be to spend as much time and passion working on Dereth as you spend playing in it. The December Episode is just the beginning of that work. Thank you for playing AC2!

Ken Troop
Producer, Turbine, AC2