Ancient Powers

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August 2008 - Announcements Page

File:Ancient Powers Splash Screen Mini.jpg
Click image to go right to the new stuff.

See also 100th Update Preview

Turbine Announcements

Teaser Images

Turbine Teaser Image
Turbine Teaser Image

August 25th Teaser Images

Special thanks to Frelorn for all his hard work!

Teaser

Rollout

Release Notes

Discoveries

Town Crier Rumors

UPDATE: The Viamontian Town Criers and Mainland Town Criers have merged together:
Town Crier tells you, "Due to the recent detente between King Varicci and Queen Elysa, all the realm's town criers share the same news. I applaud our ruler's wisdom for reaching across the Halaetan Straits to make peace with our neighbor, in this time of peril."

You Give Town Crier Pyreal.
Town Crier tells you, "The realm is united! The realm of town criers, that is. In light of improving relations between Queen Elysa and King Varicci, and with the realm riven by mysterious and powerful secret orders, the heraldic guilds have decided to merge, and deliver the news with one voice."


Town Crier tells you, "Town Crier tells you, "A great advancement! Scholars report that they have made a breakthrough and can now cast eighth-level spells! It may not be easy to learn how to cast them yourself, however..."

Town Crier tells you, "There's a newly discovered island to the south of Dereth. Rumors are that it's home to a bunch of Moarsmen, but very few people seem to know how to get there..."

Town Crier tells you, "There's a newly discovered island off the southeastern coast of Dereth, but as yet we don't seem to know how to get there or what lives there."

Town Crier tells you, "The Empyrean Graveyard of the Direlands seems to have... expanded, and the Societies are sending more and more of their scouts through the area. A troublesome development, don't you think?"

Town Crier tells you, "News! There's been a lot of new activity on the Dark Isle. It seems the three Societies are quite interested in that island."

Town Crier tells you, "You've heard of the three new secret societies of Dereth, yes? The Celestial Hand, the Eldrytch Web, and the Radiant Blood have started openly recruiting. They've each sent a recruiter to one of the mainland capital cities. I'd want to visit all three towns to speak to each recruiter and see what they're about."

Town Crier tells you, "It seems even richer loot than ever before is available, but opportunities to get at this inconceivable level of loot seem scarce. I wonder how to get a crack at some of that treasure?"

Town Crier tells you, "Adventurers have come across a new strong castle in the northernmost mountains of Dereth. It's called Northwatch keep, and apparently it is the site of some squabbling between the three new Societies."

Town Crier tells you, "News! A mysterious organization of smugglers and thieves has opened up a couple of black market trading posts. They claim no allegiance to any ruler or society, but they offer their business to whichever society is strong enough to control their local town."

You Give Town Crier Pyreal.
Town Crier tells you, "Heard about that new island of Moarsmen to the south, eh? I know it's south of the land bridge, but I think you have to be an advanced member of one of the Societies to get there."

You Give Town Crier Pyreal.
Town Crier tells you, "The three new clandestine Societies of Dereth have started recruiting! The Celestial Hand's recruiter is stationed in Hebian-To, the Eldrytch Web's recruiter is in Cragstone, and the Radiant Blood posted their recruiter to Zaikhal."

You Give Town Crier Pyreal.
Town Crier tells you, "Have you heard about Northwatch Castle? It's way up in the wild northern mountains, northeast of Mount Esper. Apparently the three Societies are fighting over who gets to keep it, because whoever owns it gets access to the black market trading post there."

You Give Town Crier Pyreal.
Town Crier tells you, "That newly discovered Freebooter Isle, so I've heard, is home to Moars, Moarsmen, and terrifying armored Sclavus, among other things. There's also some kind of fortress out there that the three Societies keep fighting over. Even more interesting, there's a black market trading post attached to the fortress. Too bad you have to be an advanced member of one of the Societies to get there."

You Give Town Crier Pyreal.
Town Crier tells you, "The Empyrean Graveyard of the Direlands is even busier than ever! The grounds seem to have mysteriously expanded somehow, and new creatures have turned up... But most interesting, the three Societies have their newest acolytes scouring the grounds there for various items."

You give Town Crier Pyreal.
Town Crier tells you, "The Dark Isle is alight with activity again! The three societies are sending some of their newer recruits on missions to the island to make them prove their worth."

You give Town Crier Pyreal.
Town Crier tells you, "The Black Market offers some incredible items that only they know how to get at their outposts on Freebooter Isle and in Northwatch Castle. Unfortunately, your Society has to be in control of that location in order to gain access to the Black Market's amazing wares."

You give Town Crier Pyreal.
Town Crier tells you, "I've heard tell that there's treasure and loot out there bearing even more powerful enchantments than we've ever seen, but it's all locked up in chests... I think the Societies have the best line on getting at that loot, but there are opportunities for the unaligned to get keys as well..."

Ulgrim Rumors

Ulgrim the Unpleasant tells you, "Oh ho! So the town crier guilds of the mainland and of the Viamontian realm have decided to stop competing with each other, eh? I don't trust consolidation in the media, kid, and neither should you. This is the latest Virindi sneak attempt to turn our brains to applesauce."

Ulgrim the Unpleasant tells you, "You tell me there's even richer loot than we've ever seen, sitting around Dereth locked up in chests? Inconceivable!"

Ulgrim the Unpleasant tells you, "Those new spells that everyone's going on about? You can thank me for those. Yep, I decided to finally get off my duff and write out a new set of spells. I know, I know, I'm such a great guy... The kind of great guy who deserves a free mug of stout now and again, I dare say."

Ulgrim the Unpleasant tells you, "Oh yeah, I'm starting a secret society of my own. It's called the Ancient and Benevolent Knights of the Empty Mug. We quest to empty every mug in Dereth. The Celestial Hand, the Radiant Blood, the Eldrytch Web... those folks are all capable, I'm sure, but not a one of them can outdrink an Empty Mugger. You can curry favor with our society by bringing me a mug of stout to empty."

Ulgrim the Unpleasant tells you, "There's so much going on! I almost can't keep track of the new developments, what with the Societies recruiting, the black markets opening, the new islands sprouting up, new spells... My old mind is overheating. A cool mug of stout would sure cool me off. That was a hint, kid."

You give Ulgrim the Unpleasant Stout.
Ulgrim the Unpleasant tells you, "You know, right around the time the town crier guilds from the mainland and the Viamontian lands decided to merge, they invited me to join their new organization. I guess they think I'm one of them because I sit here and try to tell it like it is. But I'm not one of them. I speak higher truths. They're all so tediously absorbed in 'reality' and 'truth' and nonsense like that."

You give Ulgrim the Unpleasant Stout.
Ulgrim the Unpleasant tells you, "I hear there's even more going on at the Graveyard these days. I even heard that the Graveyard's borders have expanded. Pretty scary, isn't it? You wouldn't think that, in a land where everyone's kinda immortal, that mortuaries would be a growth industry."

You give Ulgrim the Unpleasant Stout.
Ulgrim the Unpleasant tells you, "Ah, you've proven yourself worthy to join the Ancient and Benevolent Knights of the Empty Mug. Feel free to go around and tell people that you're a Knight of the Empty Mug. I'd show you our secret handshake, but really it only works when you're blind, stumbling drunk."
Ulgrim the Unpleasant tells you, "Just kidding! Boy, how gullible are you? There's no such secret society! Really, the very idea."

You give Ulgrim the Unpleasant Stout..
Ulgrim the Unpleasant tells you, "Don't ask me how to get to Freebooter Isle. It actually used to be my vacation home, before I lost the deed in a poker game. I'm very bitter about it, and only the sweet sweet taste of stout makes me forget. So no, I'm not going to tell you how to get there. I'll tell you where to go, all right, but you won't like it."

You give Ulgrim the Unpleasant Stout.
Ulgrim the Unpleasant tells you, "I talked to one of those Society recruiters the other day. Asked him why he joined his Society. He said something about wanting to secure Dereth for the greater good, defending against outside threats. He babbled a lot. Finally I asked him what kind of beer they serve in the Society tavern, and he had the effrontery to call me a useless drunk! So I teleported him over Fort Tethana. I'd rather be a useless drunk than a flattened pile of gore in the middle of Teth."

You give Ulgrim the Unpleasant Stout.
Ulgrim the Unpleasant tells you, "Moarsman Island? Yeah, I know how to get there. You run west from here until you reach the coast, then take a left turn, follow the curve until it flattens out, then take a right and swim until you hit the shore of the new island. Watch for the ziggurats. Simple! Why is it so hard for people to figure out?"

You give Ulgrim the Unpleasant Stout.
Ulgrim the Unpleasant tells you, "Oh yeah, I went up to Northwatch Castle once. Met that fella Oswald there. We played dice and drank a few rounds together, but ultimately I decided I didn't want to hang out there too long. All the factional violence was starting to get a little off-putting, especially when someone got blood on my nice new white pants."

You give Ulgrim the Unpleasant Stout.
Ulgrim the Unpleasant tells you, "So, did you see the Archmage in Candeth Keep? I hear her husband is out of the picture. She can buff me anytime! Hubba! Hubba!"

You give Ulgrim the Unpleasant Stout.
Ulgrim the Unpleasant tells you, "You know my cousin MacTavish runs one of the black market outposts, right? He's such a thief. If it weren't for my other cousins MacDugal and MacNiall, MacTavish would be the black sheep of the family. They're all black sheep too. So maybe I'm the white sheep. Or the grey sheep. Yeah, my nephew Ardry would be the white sheep, if he weren't spattered with blood and mud all the time."
Ulgrim the Unpleasant tells you, "Why are you so interested in sheep anyway?"

You give Ulgrim the Unpleasant Stout.
Ulgrim the Unpleasant tells you, "Ulgrim the Archmage, Master of Time and Space, Leader of the Virindi Resistance, Master Tinkerer, Seer of Truths, Lord of the Jewelry, Supreme Peppermint Cook, Celebrations Advisor to the Queen, Chess Grandmaster, the Shadow Tested, Virindi Regulator and Beer Lord. Yes, that fits nicely with my other titles."

You give Ulgrim the Unpleasant Stout.
Ulgrim the Unpleasant tells you, "Feels like I've been here a hundred years. The actual number is probably closer to 8 or 9 years, but yeah, it feels like a hundred years. I think I'll perk myself up by trying to drink a hundred mugs of stout today. A hundred stouts for a hundred years! Doesn't that sound grand?"
Ulgrim interrupts his quiet conversation and yells, "That's right! A hundred! Who else can say a hundred! No one's got the fortitude I do, to stand up to a hundred beers!"

You give Ulgrim the Unpleasant Stout.
Ulgrim the Unpleasant tells you, "Oh yeah, you'll need a Mana Scarab to cast those fancy new spells. Don't ask me how to get them. Once I invented those new spells, I thought it would be too showy if I went around using them all the time, so I don't even carry a Mana Scarab with me. I am the soul of moderation. Now get me another drink, kid!"

You give Ulgrim the Unpleasant Stout.
Grand Masterful Poobah Ulgrim has accepted <Player Name> into the Order of the Empty Mug and conferred the title Happy Hundredth upon the lucky supplicant!
Ulgrim the Unpleasant tells you, "Ooh, you're a lucky one, and you know why? You've given me my hundredth stout of the day! Or close enough, anyway. I stopped counting after about fifty. You actually get to join the Knights of the Empty Mug. Membership confers no bonuses other than a neat title."
Ulgrim the Unpleasant tells you, "Here's a toast to you, kid."

New Quests

Initiation Quests

Initiate Level Quests

Adept Level Quests

Knight Level Quests

Lord Level Quests

Master Level Quests

  • None

Updated Quests

  • Tainted Ley Line Nodes Updated - All six nodes completed and Node Golems in place for all servers.
  • Viamont Staging Area Updated - Upper level reqs removed, there are now individual NPCs in the house at 29.9N 27.3E in Glenden Wood for each of the three levels (80+, 100+, and 130+). Each stage has a unique title, allowing players to now gain all three.

New Locations

Updated Locations

  • Graveyard - Extended to the south valley with many more rat spawns.

New NPCs

Northwatch Castle Black Market NPCs
Freebooter Keep Black Market NPCs
Celestial Hand Stronghold NPCs
Eldrytch Web Stronghold NPCs
Radiant Blood Stronghold NPCs
Updated NPCs

New Items

Spell Components:

See Spell Research for a list of the new spell components and their usage.

Loot Chests:

Mana Forge Advanced Equipment Chest Mana Forge Armor Chest Mana Forge Magic Chest
Mana Forge Mixed Equipment Chest Mana Forge Weapon Chest Shard Mana Forge Equipment Chest
Researcher's Chest Weapon Quartermaster's Chest Equipment Quartermaster's Chest
Armor Quartermaster's Chest

Celestial Hand:

Celestial Hand Armor Writ Celestial Hand Banner Celestial Hand Initiate Armor Writ
Celestial Hand Initiate's Handbook Celestial Hand Sollerets Key Celestial Hand Stronghold Recall Gem
Writ of Authorization Celestial Hand Trade Token Celestial Hand Commendation Ribbon

Eldrytch Web:

Eldrytch Web Armor Writ Eldrytch Web Banner Eldrytch Web Initiate Armor Writ
Eldrytch Web Initiate's Handbook Eldrytch Web Gauntlets Key Eldrytch Web Stronghold Portal Gem
Writ of Authorization Eldrytch Web Trade Token Eldrytch Web Commendation Ribbon

Radiant Blood:

Radiant Blood Initiate Armor Writ Radiant Blood Armor Writ Writ of Authorization
Radiant Blood Initiate's Handbook Radiant Blood Stronghold Portal Gem Radiant Blood Banner
Radiant Blood Trade Token Radiant Blood Commendation Ribbon

Northwatch Castle:

Creeping Blight Banner of the Courtyard Creeping Blight Banner of the Spire Creeping Blight Banner of the Tower
Celestial Hand Banner of the Courtyard Celestial Hand Banner of the Spire Celestial Hand Banner of the Tower
Eldrytch Web Banner of the Courtyard Eldrytch Web Banner of the Spire Eldrytch Web Banner of the Tower
Radiant Blood Banner of the Courtyard Radiant Blood Banner of the Spire Radiant Blood Banner of the Tower

Northwatch Castle Black Market:

Raider Lightning Arrow Raider Lightning Bolt Raider Lightning Spike
Raider Lightning Atlatl Dart Wrapped Bundle of Raider Lightning Arrowheads Black Market Gem of Dispelling
Pursuit Orb Black Market Health Elixir Black Market Mana Elixir
Black Market Advancement Gem

Initiate Quests:

Slimy Key Corrupted Mana Shard Initiate's Treasure Key Altered Dark Remoran Fin
Pyre Skeleton Jaw Donnarion's Key Haroush's Key Joroshi's Key
Benedino's Letter Lens of Filinuvekta Adept's Treasure Key

Adept Quests:

Falatacot Battle Report Mhoire Carved Cenotaph Archaeologist's Tracing Paper Imprinted Archaeologist's Paper
Crystal of Perception Supplies for Massilor Black Coral Leatherbound Journal
Knight's Treasure Key Aged Falatacot Scroll Stained Falatacot Scroll Tattered Falatacot Scroll
Worn Falatacot Scroll Wrinkled Falatacot Scroll

Knight Quests:

Glowing Jungle Lily Glowing Moar Gland Mana-Infused Jungle Flower
Amulet of T'thuun Blood of T'thuun Dagger of T'thuun File:Brood Mother's Reckoning Icon.png Brood Mother's Reckoning

Lord Quests:

Blood Pearl Coral's Heart Eye of T'thuun Finger Bone of Mishfain
Hagrafash Tooth Necklace Sacred Deep Water Scroll of Prophecy Skull of Mishfain
Spear of Baalfroth, the Slayer Temple Horn
Ancient Falatacot Tome of Light Skith'Kirit's Severed Head Titanic Dericost Mnemosyne

Miscellaneous:

New Item Sets

New Spells

See Spell Research for scroll creation

Creature Magic

See VIII Creature Scrolls for a complete list of player castable spells.

Item Magic

See VIII Item Scrolls for a complete list of player castable spells.

Life Magic

See VIII Life Scrolls for a complete list of player castable spells.

War Magic

See VIII War Scrolls for a complete list of player castable spells.

New Scrolls

See Spell Research Scroll List

New Max Weapon/Caster Stats

See Loot#Weapons for the new max stats of tier 7 loot found in Mana Forge and Faction Stronghold chests.

New Loot Gallery

Examples of loot items from the new loot tier:

File:Tier 8 Loot - Ivory Jitte.jpg
File:Tier 8 Loot - Ruby Acid Dericost Blade.jpg
File:Tier 8 Loot - Ivory Knuckles.jpg
File:Tier 8 Loot - Silver Covenant Breastplate.jpg
File:Tier 8 Loot - Silk Shirt.jpg
File:Tier 8 Loot - Ivory Heavy Bracelet.jpg
File:Tier 8 Loot - Silver Olthoi Bracers.JPG
File:Tier 8 Loot - Copper Slashing Staff.jpg
File:Tier 8 Loot - Gold Tenassa Sleeves.JPG
File:Alduressa Olthoi Helm.JPG File:Koujia Olthoi Helm.JPG


New Titles

  • Ulgrim's Happy Hundredth - Grand Masterful Poobah Ulgrim has accepted <Your Name> into the Order of the Empty Mug and conferred the title Happy Hundredth upon the lucky supplicant!
    In commemoration of the 100th patch (may only be available this month).

Misc.

  • The Temples of Forgetfulness and Enlightenment have had the timer for their use reset due to gameplay changes made in the August 2008 update.
  • When a character is ID'd in game the faction will be displayed and if the same faction as yourself it will be green text, if an opposing faction, red text.
  • Society Channel added for chat amongst other members of your faction. Make sure you have both the Society Channel checked on the Chat panel for the Main Window Chat (or the window you follow chat in) and Listen to Society Chat checked in the Character Options panel (at the bottom).
    • /leave society - Leave the Society chat channel.
    • /join society - Enter the Society chat channel.
    • /society - Sends a message to your Society chat channel. Also: /soc or @soc
  • A global goes out when a land control location is captured.
The Society of the Radiant Blood has claimed Freebooter Keep! Those members of the Society of the Radiant Blood may now use the resources contained within the castle!
  • After 72 hours (3 days) the flags revert. There are global warnings given at 60, 30 and 10 minutes before:
Northwatch Castle will fall to the Creeping Blight in 30 minutes!
Northwatch Castle will fall to the Creeping Blight in 10 minutes!
  • During the battle, there are regular local updates:

<Player> has destroyed the Eldrytch Web Banner of the Tower! Control of this location has been lost to the Creeping Blight, for now.

The Eldrytch Web Banner of the Spire will become claimed in two minutes!
The Eldrytch Web Banner of the Courtyard will become claimed in two minutes!
<Player> has claimed the Creeping Blight Banner of the Tower for the Society of the Eldrytch Web!
The Eldrytch Web Banner of the Tower will remain in a contested state for 5 minutes. After that time, the Eldrytch Web Banner of the Tower will become claimed and begin repairing any damage done to itself! If at any point the Eldrytch Web Banner of the Tower is destroyed, the location will revert to the control of the Creeping Blight.
The Eldrytch Web Banner of the Courtyard will become claimed in one minute!
The Eldrytch Web Banner of the Spire has been successfully claimed! At this point, the Eldrytch Web Banner of the Spire may still be destroyed, but it will regularly repair some of the damage done to it!
The Eldrytch Web Banner of the Tower will become claimed in two minutes!
The Eldrytch Web Banner of the Tower has been successfully claimed! At this point, the Eldrytch Web Banner of the Tower may still be destroyed, but it will regularly repair some of the damage done to it!

The Society of the Eldrytch Web has claimed Freebooter Keep! Those members of the Society of the Eldrytch Web may now use the resources contained within the castle!

New Creatures

Blighted Moarsman

Human

Moar

Moarsman


Niffis

Phyntos Wasp

Sclavus

Shallows Shark

Undead

No Class

Live Events

  • August 30th - A small horde of Blighted Moarsmen are attacking Shoushi! Help is requested!
  • September 1st - Leafcull - A small horde of Blighted Moarsmen are attacking Qalaba’r! Help is requested!

Developer Comments

Link

Okay, you seem to have a lot of commentary on the two capturable keeps, and a lot of questions. Let's see what I can do to address them. This will be long, so I'll break it into sections.

Keep Timers and Black Market Rewards:

First off, the now evidently infamous timers. The three day timer was put in place so that we could add quests, temp items, etc. to the Black Markets that would give a notable but temporary advantage to the Society that controlled one of the Black Markets. Unfortunately, many of the things we wanted to get in to the Markets for the 100th Update didn't make it in before we ran out of time. Some of them will make it in for September; some will make it in after that. Rest assured, however, that the value of holding a Keep will increase, so, to the Black Markets not yet being vital to own, my apologies. They will be getting better.
If I were to go in and change the mechanic so that a Keep could change hands at will, with the reward mechanics staying in as implemented or planned, the likeliest scenario you would see is the Societies trading the Keeps so that everyone had the items and rewards, thus eliminating the value of holding a keep at all.
At this point, we will discuss the possibility of changing the timers, but do realize, we will also then need to address the rewards going into the Black Markets, to make it worthwhile to hold a keep without creating a situation where the markets are simply traded back and forth with no need for conflict. This is not something we would create a hotfix to change quickly.
To address some of the suggestions where a Society gets dynamic benefits for the time they actually hold the Fort, and which fade as soon as the fort is lost. Such benefits are not supported by AC's existing tech, and will probably require an immense amount of Severlin's time to get working. We've debated such things, and they are still being investigated, but they are not simple to get in, and you sadly won't see them in the near future.


The actual Mechanic of the PK Keeps:

Right now, partly due to the tech limitations I had to design around, the keeps work basically thus:
1) The Keep starts in a neutral state.
2) A PK Member of one of the Societies 'claims' the neutral flags, turning them into flags for their Society.
2a) These 'Contested' banners are killable by PKs only.
3) Once all three Banner Locations have been set to the same Society for at least 5 minutes, that Society gains control of the town for the next 72 hours.
4) At the end of the 72 hours, the Keep reverts to neutral, and the process starts over.
Now, to some of the specifics, there are world broadcasts when a keep is taken, and several, at intervals, when a keep is about to fall to the Creeping Blight (The Moarsmen and Sclavus 'Society'). The Broadcast you saw when Northwatch Castle, which actually referred to both locations by name, was because the second keep, Freebooter Keep, was still held by the Creeping Blight.
A Society may only hold one Keep, so, once you figure out how to get access the second keep's location, 2 Societies can hold a keep, and one is out, at any given point. This was done because if one society could hold both Keeps, then everyone would indeed just join one Society, removing the entire point of adding the towns at all.


Something Dynamic to fight over:

There are actually plans to put in a place where control is held by ownership of a number of control points, and those points can be disrupted at any time. This, sadly, didn't make it in for the 100th update, but we are still planning on getting it in.
For those familiar with it, the mechanic will work in a similar fashion to LotRO's Delving of F'ror (Frore?), where the group owning the majority of the points will have access to a central area where you will find quest, rewards, and general advantages over everyone else. For those unfamiliar with LotRO, the basic mechanic is thus: There are a number of points, in their case, Keeps, filled with guards. Killing the boss of the Keep places the Keep under your side’s control. No timers, etc. Just kill the boss, claim the Keep. Whichever side holds the most Keeps gets access to the dungeon. The big differences being that there will be three sides fighting for the place, not two, and the control points and the central area you control may or may not have anything in common with LotRO's design. We're using the concept, not the place.
This will likely take a while to get working fully, now that we know most of the tech we need to get it up and running, so no definite timeline on when this is going in, but I'll tell Frelorn, so he can tell all of you, once we have a better idea.


Your Suggestions:

All of the above being said, we will look into the timers and possibly changing them, but we will weigh that against the rewards planned for the Black Markets, so they will not likely drop into the really short-term range, like many have proposed.
I'll see if I can make it so that a single person can't claim all three Banners, so at least 3 people in the same Society need to get organized to claim a Keep.
Do you all think I should lengthen the time a banner needs to be claimed before a Keep is claimed? I set it to 5 minutes for all three Banners, figuring it would take about 30 minutes to successfully hold a town against people just gunning down your Banners before they gun down the competition, assuming even sides arriving for the fight. I can lengthen that timer to 10-15 minutes with all three held, but would that create a situation where the town sat in conflict for hours, until one side or more got bored and left?
Assuming we can't get in any rewards that are dynamic to the actual time the keep is held, and no benefits that effect the Society in an overarching way (Both of those would need a large amount of new tech to get in, so we won't be able to pull anything like that off for September/October), what rewards/things would you like to see in the Black Markets? What would make them more valuable to you? We have stuff planned for them, but more stuff never hurts.
To the suggestion of putting in an Allegiance-based version of Land Control, AC's tech doesn't support that, and it would take a great deal of additional tech to even get it to a basic state, so not any time soon, sorry.
Kintani
AC Content Designer
Turbine, Inc.


Link


The design of the Keeps and the fights therein is "fewer battles that are more epic." If the timer were short then the Black Market would change hands every hour or few hours as people got what they needed. The basic issue is the it is difficult to constantly defend something in an MMO simply because no one can be on all the time. Organizing when you strike will always have the advantage for that reason. So we want players to be able to predict when the Black Markets will become available and we want them to actually be infrequent enough that a whole bunch of players log in for that battle. Think of it as a auto-live event. If it happens more often it's not as epic.

With the Keeps the idea is that you *know* when you have to be on next so you can plan to defend and retake the Keep. We can't make it random unless all players can easily check the next battle time. (Players in other time zones having problems participating is a good point. Perhaps we could change the timer to an odd number so the battle rotates through various time zones?) If the timer was shorter I would worry that the Keep would become available too often for people to really be able to plan for it or care.

If you want constant battles for control on red worlds then fighting at the Foundaries is probably closer to your thing. Not only do you deny your opponent use of the chests but the mana shards and key are droppable and relatively high value so you can loot valuable shards/keys off your opponent. This was designed to give an actual reward for ganking people at the Foundaries and make that area very dangerous on red worlds. We envisioned fighting in the major cities to be more the constant skirmishes you are looking for. The PvPers know where people will be coming to, and they know they will be likely to be carrying valuable and droppable loot keys.

As for rewards, the Black Market will (as Kintani said) be upgraded with rewards on a three day timer. Each time your faction holds a Black Market you can access the cycle of rewards. We thought of a design where the Black Market would have some kind of dynamic buff that turned on and off as it switched hands but those types of buffs don't tend to be as valuable and it can be frustrating.

Picture this; you want to do Aerbax and want your society to gain the Keep buffs for that. In a situation where the Keeps have a high turn over I believe it would be frustrating to fight to grab the Keeps for this dynamic buff and have the Keep turn to another faction just as you are finished organizing and ready to fight him. In a short timer scenario like that we risk it soon becoming too annoying to bother taking the Black Market. If the Black Market has a short timer we also risk players not really having anything to lose by losing it. "Meh, let them take it, we'll grab it in two hours." We want each fight to feel more epic and have more to win or lose. We want it worth organizing over.

If by losing the Black Market you now lose an entire cycle of XP and treasure pull quests which themselves are on a 3 day timer then its worth fighting for and you can enjoy it for a little bit before you start organizing the next attack.

Sev~

Severlin
Senior Game Engineer
Turbine, Inc.

Known Issues

Commendations Officer tells you, "Please speak with <Rank 2 Gateway Quest NPC>, here in this Stronghold."
  • Globals for taking a PK land control area seem to be jumbled. For example taking the Northwatch fort gives a global for Freebooter Isle.
  • Impen 8 spell appears to increase armor value by 220, which is the same as Impen 7.
  • NPC Shopkeeper Polly of the Celestial Hand Stronghold uses the dialog from the shopkeeper of Sanamar:
Shopkeeper Polly tells you, "Feel free to peruse my wares. But know this; one day the King will crush your weeping Queen. And you Bloodless will take your rightful place in the pits of the Eaters."
Farnor the Archmage tells you, "You have traveled far...How can I serve thee?"
  • Burden does not drop with a full pack and usting. Link
  • You can not turn in society gaunts or soles for coins as stated in Society Handbook.
  • Currently all NPCs beyond sollerets and gauntlets say you must be a Lord, contrary to the information contained in the Initiate's Handbook. This appears to just be a dialog typo as a player was able to get the greaves after advancing to Adept.
  • The edge effects appear to be bugged with the spell component quill icons, they do not change when adding a mana scarab to infuse. It appears as if it was intended that they change (the Quill of Extraction has the standard black edge which I suspect was meant to be for all four quills as you find them, while the other three quills have a magic white edge effect which I suspect was intended for when they have been infused.)
  • The Society armor chests seem to be weighted to generate armor with a certain racial requirement. Blood seems to generate more Gharu'ndim reqs, Web generate Aluvian, and Hand generate Sho.

Link
We need to do a little more internal observation here, but it looks like this may be happening. If so, it was not intentional and has to do with how the armor profiles are specified in the chests, which is going to make it especially tricksy to fix.

Lupus Argenteus
  • The dungeon by the Mage Academy is referred to as the Rogue Delvings by the keys inside it, but the portal is called the Corrupted Catacombs.
  • The new intro music/splash plays even if sound is turned off.
  • The attribute beer (+50) are overrided by the attribute buff 8 (+45). I.E : Ivory Heavy Bracelet cast Incantation of Endurance Self on you, surpassing Hunter's Hardiness
  • When attempting to solve the riddle in the Lord Test, if the answer results in 78, the quest is currently bugged.

Link
If you get this riddle go over to where the other statue spawns and use the hollow numbered 150.

It will reference the correct hollow in the upcoming patch.

NoWorries

Typos

Splash Screen

File:200808 AC Splash.jpg

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