Chains of Eternity Advanced Solo Loot Changes

 Game Updates & Maintenance, Itemization  Comments Off
Mar 062013
 

One thing that made it into yesterday’s Update was a change to how loot drops in the Chains of Eternity Advanced Solo zones. Previously, after killing flattening laying to rest the boss of each zone, 1-3 Mystery Crates would be granted to the player, containing either Legendary jewelry, Fabled armor (very rare), or consumables like Research Reducers, temporary Adornments, or Food. Because the items were in a Mystery Crate, the items could not be traded to other players, even if you had done the zone with 2 players (rather than 1 player and a mercenary). Players reported a very high incidence of receiving items that they could not use for their class.

The bosses of all the Advanced Solo zones (except Wurmbone’s End HM) have these loot rules:

Wurmbone’s End (HM) has these loot rules:

Everything now drops in a standard chest, so items can be traded between group members present. With 50% smart loot, there should be a much better chance that players will get items that are class appropriate. Consumables such as Research Reducers, Temporary Adornments, and Food were removed from the loot table. Overall, it seems to be a big improvement in my opinion. The one bummer here is that Sleeper’s Tomb Advanced Solo was brought in line with the other zones above, rather than dropping 4 items if 2 players were present like before.

I should add that Smart Loot means a percent chance that you will get an item your character can equip. If you are a scout, that could mean a 1-handed item with Wisdom/Stamina. In order for Smart Loot to really work well, each item has to have its applicable classes restricted to just the ones that would benefit from it, and EQ2 loot is not set up like that these days.

Back By Popular Demand!

Kander responded to the discussion thread on this issue seeking player feedback and based on that, will be adding back some items that were lost:

Temp adorns and research reduces are going back in. By popular demand! They will be on a separate table so they will not take the place of loot. Soon.

New PvP Set Bonuses a Strikeout?

 Game Updates & Maintenance, PvP/Battlegrounds  Comments Off
Feb 282013
 

Some of the big features of this week’s Game Update 65.5 were a number of class tweaks in PvP combat, the expansion of PvP’s Blue Adornments to other items (cloaks, charms, etc.), and the addition of PvP Set Bonuses on certain items. While the first two have been well-received, it seems that the new PvP Set Bonuses were bugged on Test and Beta and are now bugged on Live such that they are not effective at all. But perhaps the bigger issue is, some of the PvP Set Bonuses grant stats which even the most poorly-geared player has already capped out on.

As far as PvP Set Bonuses not working at all, Omougi has acknowledged the issue and promises a fix soonish:

These setbonuses should work with duplicates of the same item. These have been working for a while on internal servers but unfortunately they were missed in our data push to test/live. This fix will be pushed out to you guys as soon as possible.

UPDATE from Omougi:

We’re aiming to have the set bonuses fixed and functional in next Tuesday’s hotfix (March 5th 2013). If plans change I’ll keep you updated!

However the issue of whether the PvP Set Bonuses are desirable continues to be discussed on the EQ2 Forums.

EQ2Wire Asks

Have you found any of the new PvP Set Bonuses to be useful or desirable for your PvP characters?

SOE Podcast #143 — Dexella Interviews Kander, Omougi, and Terrogaunt about Game Update 65.5

 game update 65.5, Game Updates & Maintenance, Itemization, podcast, PvP/Battlegrounds, Raiding  Comments Off
Feb 222013
 

On February 21st, SOE Podcast #143 was posted and it includes a brief interview between Colette “Dexella” Murphy, EQ2’s Community Manager, and Kyle “Kander” Vallee, EQ2 Lead Designer, Brian “Omougi” Ferguson, EQ2 Systems Design, and Kenneth “Terrogaunt” Roecks, EQ2 Programmer.

After the jump, we provide a transcript of the EQ2 part of the Podcast including:

  • Wurmbone Crag: Nox Incessit [x2 Normal and Challenge Raids]
  • Dreadcutter: The Pirate Kings [x4 Challenge Raid]
  • Bag Sorting — one-click sort bags by Level or Name into 14 categories
  • PvP Balance — continued tweaks
  • PvP Blue Adornments — new slots
  • PvP Guardian — buffed!
  • confirmation of Cobalt Scar in Game Update 66 at the end of April

Download SOE Podcast #143 [15:31 mp3]

Dexella: We’re going to talk about changes and updates coming to PvP and new Raid content. They’re doing some really interesting stuff with the two zones where they’re putting in new raid content. There’s also a new feature coming out on how to sort your inventory.

(Game Update 65.5 interview starts at 6:30)

Two New Raids

Dexella: The guys are here with me today to talk about the update which is coming on February 26th. There are a lot of new features so we’re going to break them out into categories. I wanted to start with the new Raid content that’s coming. We know that there’s a two-group Wurmbone’s End.

Kander: It’s basically going to be a nighttime version. The Ashlock are basically nocturnal so they’re a lot nastier at night. This is a x2 or two-group zone. There’s a regular version and challenge version. The challenge version is not geared to the top challenge raid people, it’s actually geared to people who are clearing Easy mode content that want progression. The (loot) in there won’t be as good as Hard mode raid stuff or even as good as Plane of War stuff. But it will be upgrades for people who are currently doing Normal mode raids.

Kander: The Normal version is going to be a little on the easy side. Hopefully a pickup group x2 style raid can participate in it.

Dexella: You’re also adding a raid version of Dreadcutter.

Kander: We have a new x4 raid which… everyone’s like What? On a pirate ship? But it’s actually only 3 bosses. It’s designed to be on the ship. The geometry in the rooms and everything is part of the fight. It’s actually a Challenge mode fight so it’s going to be pretty difficult. The first 2 bosses are for anyone who knows the Ancient Sentinel-like difficulty and then the last boss is probably geared to be the hardest encounter in-game and will reward thusly.

Dexella: Can you give us any sort of sneak preview of items or rewards people can expect?

Kander: It’s stuff that’s basically geared towards… there’s a lot of slots that are locked in from Plane of War that people can’t find upgrades for because they’re not willing to break set bonuses. So there’s a lot of stuff that’s geared to force them to break their Set Bonuses. That’s how good it is.

Bag Sorting

Dexella: In addition to the Raid content that we have coming out, one that players on Test server have already gotten to see and experience is the ability to Sort Bags. Can you give us a quick description?

Terrogaunt: I incorporated some things into Bag Options so there’s different filters for what different bags want to take different items. There’s basically two different sorting methods which are by Level and by Name. Using the button, it’s always defaulted to by Name. Click on that and it takes every item that you have in your primary inventory and then sorts through it all into basically which bags want what and groups them together into their own little types inside of each bag.

Dexella: How many options do we have right now for types? Is it just Armor, Spells, Other?

Terrogaunt: No there’s actually 14 types right now. They vary all the way down from Armor to Quest Items. I plan on adding more as people request them. Currently I’m thinking of adding Spell Scrolls because that’s one of the things you pick up most when you’re going through zones. Someone asked for a NO-VALUE category. I’m not sure if I’ll add that one, but I could add an actual sorting method of Sort by Value which would always put the highest priced items first. I’m not sure how much use there is in that.

Dexella: Very cool. Well folks if you guys think there is use in that, please let us know either on the Forums or send us an e-mail which will be in the Podcast notes. More on February 26th… we also have PvP Updates.

PvP in Game Update 65.5

Dexella: I hear there’s a new type of adornment or more adornments… What’s going on with that?

Omougi: We’re adding new Blue adornment slots. We’re adding new slots to 8 piece of gear. Charms, Cloaks, Belts, Necklaces, and Weapons. In these new slots are going to be new adornments. I think 14 new adornments that add Procs or Passive Effects to your character. For example a regenerating ward or a lifetap proc. What’s cool about these adornments is you can stack multiple of them in different slots and the effect will grow.

Omougi: If you want a really powerful lifetap, you can stack all 8 lifetaps. If you want a really powerful Toughness buffs so you don’t get messed up as much in PvP, you can stack all of that and have a really powerful buff. Or find a mix and match — whatever works for your character or build.

Dexella: Very cool. Is there anything else going on? I think you guys were working on some balancing?

Omougi: Yeah, it’s not quite as exciting as new stuff but it’s definitely stuff that needed to happen. We’re constantly improving PvP balance. One of the things we did that’s a little bit different is we looked at the viability of the Guardian class and gave it quite a buff to make it more in line with the other tanks. We’re looking forward to that.

Terrogaunt: In PvP. You have to end all of your sentences in PvP so that people know we’re not talking about PvE Guardians. That could be scary.

What About After February 26th?

Dexella: Alright so can you guys give us a head’s up or a sneak peek on anything that’s coming out after the February 26th update?

Terrogaunt: Well I’m working on something pretty big and exciting with Player Studio. But that’s all I can say right now.

Kander: We’re working on new overland heroic and raid content for Cobalt Scar. There will be a rather large raid for Cobalt Scar with raid content for all raid levels.

Dexella: And that’s our Game Update 66?

Kander: Yeah. It’s at the end of April-ish.

What Are You Playing?

Kander: I’m playing a Beastlord.

Terrogaunt: I just betrayed my Paladin to a Shadowknight and I’m also playing a Mystic.

Omougi: I’ve actually been leveling a Shadowknight. In the time when I’m not playing that, I’m playing Dragon’s Dogma.

Download SOE Podcast #143 [15:31 mp3]

GU65.5 to Add Merchant For Some Dropped Adornments

 game update 65.5, Game Updates & Maintenance, Grouping, Itemization, Raiding  Comments Off
Feb 212013
 

Although we’ve already been advised that the era of “Pre-Adorned Items” isn’t coming to an end any time soon, we can look forward to a new vendor being added next week in Game Update 65.5 which will allow us to purchase some of the more run-of-the-mill Red and Yellow Adornments for [eq2u]Obol[/eq2u] and [eq2u]Greater Spirit[/eq2u].

Greater Spirits -> Obols

If you happen to have an abundance of [eq2u]Greater Spirit[/eq2u] but are running short on [eq2u]Obol[/eq2u], you’ll be able to trade them in. A [eq2u]Crate of Obols[/eq2u] will also cost 7p and 1 Greater Spirit in exchange for 18 Obols.

NOTE: Greater Spirits drop from heroic zones. Obols drop from any Chains of Eternity zone including overland trash.

Game Update 65.5 Red and Yellow Adornments Vendor

A new NPC named Dulgur Bindmagic is being added next to Drinal’s Steward in the village of Cardin Ward in Obol Plains.

YELLOW ADORNMENTS

10 [eq2u]Obol[/eq2u] & 7p

 RED ADORNMENTS

1 [eq2u]Greater Spirit[/eq2u] & 14p
[eq2u]Rune: Cognent II[/eq2u]
[eq2u]Rune: Lesser Accuracy II[/eq2u]
[eq2u]Rune: Lesser Ammo Conservation II[/eq2u]
[eq2u]Rune: Lesser Armor II[/eq2u]
[eq2u]Rune: Lesser Block Chance II[/eq2u]
[eq2u]Rune: Lesser Casting Speed II[/eq2u]
[eq2u]Rune: Lesser Crit Bonus II[/eq2u]
[eq2u]Rune: Lesser Critical Chance II[/eq2u]
[eq2u]Rune: Lesser Effectiveness II[/eq2u]
[eq2u]Rune: Lesser Efficiency II[/eq2u]
[eq2u]Rune: Lesser Flurry II[/eq2u]
[eq2u]Rune: Lesser Hate Gain II[/eq2u]
[eq2u]Rune: Lesser Health II[/eq2u]
[eq2u]Rune: Lesser Intimidation II[/eq2u]
[eq2u]Rune: Lesser Multi Attack II[/eq2u]
Rune: Potency II (yellow)
[eq2u]Rune: Lesser Power II[/eq2u]
[eq2u]Rune: Lesser Resilience II[/eq2u]
[eq2u]Rune: Lesser Reuse Speed II[/eq2u]
[eq2u]Rune: Lesser Riposte Damage II[/eq2u]
[eq2u]Rune: Lesser Riposte II[/eq2u]
[eq2u]Rune: Lesser Spell Double Attack II[/eq2u]
[eq2u]Rune: Lesser Strikethrough II[/eq2u]
[eq2u]Rune: Lesser Sweeping Swings II[/eq2u]
[eq2u]Rune: Lesser Vengeance II[/eq2u]
[eq2u]Rune: Oracle II[/eq2u]
[eq2u]Rune: Renewing Bulwark II[/eq2u]
[eq2u]Rune: Stout II[/eq2u]
[eq2u]Rune: Uncanny Insight II[/eq2u]*
[eq2u]Rune: Vengeance II[/eq2u]
* new adornment		 [eq2u]Rune: Accuracy II[/eq2u]
[eq2u]Rune: Ammo Conservation II[/eq2u]
[eq2u]Rune: Armor II[/eq2u]
[eq2u]Rune: Block Chance II[/eq2u]
[eq2u]Rune: Casting Speed II[/eq2u]
[eq2u]Rune: Crit Bonus II[/eq2u]
[eq2u]Rune: Critical Chance II[/eq2u]
[eq2u]Rune: Destruction II[/eq2u]
[eq2u]Rune: Effectiveness II[/eq2u]
[eq2u]Rune: Flurry II[/eq2u]
[eq2u]Rune: Greater Cogent II[/eq2u]
[eq2u]Rune: Greater Oracle II[/eq2u]
[eq2u]Rune: Greater Renewing Bulwark II[/eq2u]
[eq2u]Rune: Greater Stout II[/eq2u]
[eq2u]Rune: Greater Uncanny Insight II[/eq2u]
[eq2u]Rune: Hate Gain II[/eq2u]
[eq2u]Rune: Hate Reduction II[/eq2u]
[eq2u]Rune: Health II[/eq2u]
[eq2u]Rune: Intimidation II[/eq2u]
[eq2u]Rune: Multi Attack II[/eq2u]
Rune: Potency II (red)
[eq2u]Rune: Power II[/eq2u]
[eq2u]Rune: Resilience II[/eq2u]
[eq2u]Rune: Reuse Speed II[/eq2u]
[eq2u]Rune: Riposte Damage II[/eq2u]
[eq2u]Rune: Riposte II[/eq2u]
[eq2u]Rune: Spell Double Attack II[/eq2u]
[eq2u]Rune: Strikethrough II[/eq2u]
[eq2u]Rune: Sweeping Swings II[/eq2u]

And just for the sake of completeness, here’s a list of adornments that are still only possible to acquire through dropped loot and which must be broken off of items…

Chains of Eternity Pre-Adorned/Dropped Yellow Adornments

This list of adornments is courtesy the EQ2 French fansite EQ2Artisans.

[eq2u]Ascendancy I[/eq2u]
[eq2u]Ascendancy II[/eq2u]
[eq2u]Assay I[/eq2u]
[eq2u]Assay II[/eq2u]
[eq2u]Astral Aegis I[/eq2u]
[eq2u]Astral Aegis II[/eq2u]
[eq2u]Astral Dew I[/eq2u]
[eq2u]Astral Dew II[/eq2u]
[eq2u]Astral Illumination II[/eq2u]
[eq2u]Auspicious Illumination II[/eq2u]
[eq2u]Bastion I[/eq2u]
[eq2u]Bastion II[/eq2u]
[eq2u]Beguile I[/eq2u]
[eq2u]Beguile II[/eq2u]
[eq2u]Bloodthirst I[/eq2u]
[eq2u]Bloodthirst II[/eq2u]
[eq2u]Breach I[/eq2u]
[eq2u]Catharsis I[/eq2u]
[eq2u]Catharsis II[/eq2u]
[eq2u]Circling Souls[/eq2u]
[eq2u]Crack of Doom I[/eq2u]
[eq2u]Crack of Doom II[/eq2u]
[eq2u]Crazed Soul[/eq2u]
[eq2u]Crazed Spirit[/eq2u]
[eq2u]Cursed Reprisal[/eq2u]
[eq2u]Deathcall I[/eq2u]
[eq2u]Deathcall II[/eq2u]
[eq2u]Diffraction I[/eq2u]
[eq2u]Diffraction II[/eq2u]
[eq2u]Dragonheart I[/eq2u]
[eq2u]Dragonheart II[/eq2u]		 [eq2u]Dragonsoul I[/eq2u]
[eq2u]Dragonsoul II[/eq2u]
[eq2u]Dynabrume I[/eq2u]
[eq2u]Dynamist II[/eq2u]
[eq2u]Egothief I[/eq2u]
[eq2u]Egothief II[/eq2u]
[eq2u]Enflamed Soul[/eq2u]
[eq2u]Ether Aspiration I[/eq2u]
[eq2u]Ether Aspiration II[/eq2u]
[eq2u]Etherburst I[/eq2u]
[eq2u]Etherburst II[/eq2u]
[eq2u]Ethereal Temporality I[/eq2u]
[eq2u]Ethereal Temporality II[/eq2u]
[eq2u]Etherflare I[/eq2u]
[eq2u]Etherflare II[/eq2u]
[eq2u]Ether Protection[/eq2u]
[eq2u]Gnomish Distraction[/eq2u]
[eq2u]Guardian Souls I[/eq2u]
[eq2u]Harrowing Mine I[/eq2u]
[eq2u]Harrowing Mien II[/eq2u]
[eq2u]Hermitage I[/eq2u]
[eq2u]Hermitage II[/eq2u]
[eq2u]Illumination I[/eq2u]
[eq2u]Inexorable Momentum I[/eq2u]
[eq2u]Inexorable Momentum II[/eq2u]
[eq2u]Intense Emotions[/eq2u]
[eq2u]Mercurial Flux I[/eq2u]
[eq2u]Mercurial Flux II[/eq2u]
[eq2u]No Quarter I[/eq2u]
[eq2u]No Quarter II[/eq2u]
[eq2u]Overkill I[/eq2u]		 [eq2u]Phantom Wound I[/eq2u]
[eq2u]Phantom Wound II[/eq2u]
[eq2u]Precise Blame I[/eq2u]
[eq2u]Reprisal I[/eq2u]
[eq2u]Reprisal II[/eq2u]
[eq2u]Sealed by Oath[/eq2u]
[eq2u]Silver Boon I[/eq2u]
[eq2u]Silver Boon II[/eq2u]
[eq2u]Silver Conflagration I[/eq2u]
[eq2u]Silver Conflagration II[/eq2u]
[eq2u]Silver Rampart I[/eq2u]
[eq2u]Silver Rampart II[/eq2u]
[eq2u]Silver Ward I[/eq2u]
[eq2u]Silver Ward II[/eq2u]
[eq2u]Simulcast I[/eq2u]
[eq2u]Simulcast II[/eq2u]
[eq2u]Somatic Ascendancy II[/eq2u]
[eq2u]Soul Shielding[/eq2u]
[eq2u]Soulful Stand[/eq2u]
[eq2u]Symbolic Transfer I[/eq2u]
[eq2u]Symbolic Transfer II[/eq2u]
[eq2u]Temporal Rift I[/eq2u]
[eq2u]Temporal Rift II[/eq2u]
[eq2u]Temporal Exception I[/eq2u]
[eq2u]Temporal Exception II[/eq2u]
[eq2u]Uncontrollable Emotions[/eq2u]
[eq2u]Unending Sorrows I[/eq2u]
[eq2u]Vitriol I[/eq2u]
[eq2u]Vitriol II[/eq2u]
[eq2u]Vitriolic Animus I[/eq2u]
[eq2u]Vitriolic Animus II[/eq2u]

Chains of Eternity Pre-Adorned/Dropped Red Adornments

This list of adornments is courtesy the EQ2 French fansite EQ2Artisans.

[eq2u]Adamant Defiance[/eq2u]
[eq2u]Adamant Resolve[/eq2u]
[eq2u]Astral Dominion[/eq2u]
[eq2u]Blinding Gleam[/eq2u]
[eq2u]Cataract of Incantations[/eq2u]
[eq2u]Cry Havoc[/eq2u]
[eq2u]Deceptive Discretion[/eq2u]
[eq2u]Descent of Drinal[/eq2u]
[eq2u]Draft of Tourbillion[/eq2u]
[eq2u]Elemental Eruption[/eq2u]
[eq2u]Empyrean Cipher[/eq2u]
[eq2u]Empyrean Lands[/eq2u]
[eq2u]Ethereal Strike[/eq2u]
[eq2u]Ethernean Will[/eq2u]
[eq2u]Evaded Reaper[/eq2u]
[eq2u]Eye of Drinal[/eq2u]
[eq2u]Field of War[/eq2u]
[eq2u]Foundations of Adamant[/eq2u]
[eq2u]Gossamer Deflection[/eq2u]		 [eq2u]Rune: Greater Aegis II[/eq2u]
[eq2u]Rune: Greater Armor Chink II[/eq2u]
[eq2u]Rune: Greater Cerebral Destruction II[/eq2u]
[eq2u]Rune: Greater Cyclical Battering II[/eq2u]
[eq2u]Rune: Greater Discombobulate II[/eq2u]
[eq2u]Rune: Greater Focused Destruction II[/eq2u]
[eq2u]Rune: Greater Magnitude II[/eq2u]
[eq2u]Rune: Greater Mending II[/eq2u]
[eq2u]Rune: Greater Overbearing Onslaught II[/eq2u]
[eq2u]Rune: Greater Panacea II[/eq2u]
[eq2u]Rune: Greater Perpetual Flow II[/eq2u]
[eq2u]Rune: Greater Phantasmal Siphon II[/eq2u]
[eq2u]Rune: Greater Repugnant Cloud II[/eq2u]
[eq2u]Rune: Greater Resolute Defense II[/eq2u]
[eq2u]Rune: Greater Restorative Counter II[/eq2u]
[eq2u]Rune: Greater Sorcerer’s Bore II[/eq2u]
[eq2u]Rune: Greater Velium Flames II[/eq2u]		 [eq2u]Harrowed Madness[/eq2u]
[eq2u]Tempest Harrowing[/eq2u]
[eq2u]Harrowing’s Bane[/eq2u]
[eq2u]Immaculate Scenario[/eq2u]
[eq2u]Manaburst[/eq2u]
[eq2u]Manasurge[/eq2u]
[eq2u]Obfuscation[/eq2u]
[eq2u]Opitulation[/eq2u]
[eq2u]Oracular Illumination[/eq2u]
[eq2u]Peace[/eq2u]
[eq2u]Prophetic Scourge[/eq2u]
[eq2u]Quenching Torrent[/eq2u]
[eq2u]Radical Anarchy[/eq2u]
[eq2u]Reification[/eq2u]
[eq2u]Relentless Conviction[/eq2u]
[eq2u]Smothering Defilement[/eq2u]
[eq2u]Split-Second Salvation[/eq2u]
[eq2u]Storm Animus[/eq2u]
[eq2u]Sublime Visciousness[/eq2u]
[eq2u]Supremacy Through Sacrifice[/eq2u]
[eq2u]Tactical Superiority[/eq2u]
[eq2u]Tenacity of War[/eq2u]
[eq2u]Torrent of Pestilence[/eq2u]
[eq2u]Torrent of the Horde[/eq2u]
[eq2u]Truespirit’s Legacy[/eq2u]
[eq2u]Undying Devotion[/eq2u]
[eq2u]Utter Annihilation[/eq2u]
[eq2u]Virulent Wrath[/eq2u]
[eq2u]Winds of Obol[/eq2u]

Game Update 65.5: PvP Changes Coming February 26th

 game update 65.5, Game Updates & Maintenance, PvP/Battlegrounds  Comments Off
Feb 202013
 

From EverQuest2.com:

A mini-game update is coming on Tuesday, February 26. Included in this update are a number of tweaks, changes, and updates coming to PvP! Colette “Dexella” Murphy chatted with Brian “Omougi” Ferguson about what players will see and experience after the update.

Colette “Dexella” Murphy: In her Producer’s Letter, Holly “Windstalker” Longdale mentioned new blue adornments. How will these blue adornments work? How will they differ from other adornments?

Brian “Omougi” Ferguson: We are adding blue adornment slots to Imperial PVP charms, necklaces, cloaks, belts, and weapons. New blue adornments to fill these slots will be available for purchase in Champion’s Respite.
These new blue adornments can add a passive effect, like a regenerating ward, or an active effect, like a lifetap proc, to your gear. Many of these blue adornments will increase in power if you equip multiples of them in different slots, so you’ll want to mix and match to find the sweet spot for your character’s build. These effects will only activate in PVP combat.

Dexella: What are some of the other key features of this PvP update?

Omougi: A large portion of this update has been spent working with our PVP community to further fine tune our class balance and continue to improve the overall PVP combat experience. Additionally, we are improving the open world PVP hotzone rotation to include some more interesting & relevant zones. We are also improving what our Toughness and Lethality stats can do for you at lower levels, so it’s easier than ever to get into PVP!

Read the whole interview at EverQuest2.com.

PvP Updates Coming February 26!

 News and Announcements  Comments Off
Feb 202013
 

A mini-game update is coming on Tuesday, February 26. Included in this update are a number of tweaks, changes, and updates coming to PvP! Colette "Dexella" Murphy chatted with Brian “Omougi” Ferguson about what players will see and experience after the update.

Colette “Dexella” Murphy: In her Producer’s Letter, Holly “Windstalker” Longdale mentioned new blue adornments. How will these blue adornments work? How will they differ from other adornments?

Brian “Omougi” Ferguson: We are adding blue adornment slots to Imperial PVP charms, necklaces, cloaks, belts, and weapons. New blue adornments to fill these slots will be available for purchase in Champion’s Respite.
These new blue adornments can add a passive effect, like a regenerating ward, or an active effect, like a lifetap proc, to your gear. Many of these blue adornments will increase in power if you equip multiples of them in different slots, so you’ll want to mix and match to find the sweet spot for your character’s build. These effects will only activate in PVP combat.

[IMG]



Dexella: There are also armor set bonuses coming. Can you explain those?

Omougi: We’ve added set bonuses to Imperial armor, earrings, rings, and bracelets. The armor set bonus will further improve your toughness and PVP critical mitigation. The jewelry set will make your character more powerful in several ways, mainly by improving the ability power of your character.

[IMG]



Dexella: What are some of the other key features of this PvP update?

Omougi: A large portion of this update has been spent working with our PVP community to further fine tune our class balance and continue to improve the overall PVP combat experience. Additionally, we are improving the open world PVP hotzone rotation to include some more interesting & relevant zones. We are also improving what our Toughness and Lethality stats can do for you at lower levels, so it’s easier than ever to get into PVP!

Dexella: Will these updates be in Battlegrounds, Open World PvP, or both?

Omougi: The PVP hotzone improvements will be for Open World PVP only. However, the rest of this update will improve the PVP experience in both Battlegrounds and Open World PVP!

Thanks, Omougi, for sharing this sneak peek about the PvP updates! Stay tuned for more information about other features and content coming on February 26 to EverQuest II!

Update Notes: Wednesday, February 20, 2013 — HE Zone Crashes

 Game Updates & Maintenance, Grouping, Raiding  Comments Off
Feb 202013
 

UPDATE from Gninja on February 21, 2013:

Yes the crash is still happening though it seems to happen a bit less often we will check the logs in the morning and see what we can find.

From the EQ2 Forums:

POPULATION / ZONE PROGRESSION
Wurmbone Crag [Advanced Solo]

  • Using the portal on the final boss platform should no longer teleport players under the world.

Harrow’s End [Heoric]

  • Players should no longer become gated if they kill FItzpitzle extremely fast.

Harrow’s End [Raid] and Sleeper’s Tomb [Raid]

  • Fixed some issues that could cause these zones to crash.

ABILITIES / ALTERNATE ADVANCEMENT
Warden

  • Winds of Growth should apply more reliably to raid members.

Coercer

  • Coercive Presence now properly adds hate positions to Coercive Shout.

Monk

  • Enhance: Will of the Heavens should more reliably cure trauma effects at Rank 3.

Bruiser

  • Enhance: Indomitable Will should more reliably cure elemental effects at Rank 5.

Summoner

  • Teamwork should no longer generate threat.

Beastlord

  • Rock Crawlers are now a valid insect warder appearance.

ITEMS

  • Red adornments dropped on rare drop items from CoE heroic zones should no longer pop off of newly dropped items.
  • [eq2u]Armored Pinto[/eq2u] now properly explains the experience bonus is applied to the mentor target and only works when the caster is mentoring. The actual effect has not been changed.

Update Notes: Wednesday, February 20, 2013

Feb 202013
 

POPULATION / ZONE PROGRESSION
Wurmbone Crag [Advanced Solo]
Using the portal on the final boss platform should no longer teleport players under the world.

Harrow‘s End [Heoric]
Players should no longer become gated if they kill FItzpitzle extremely fast.

Harrow’s End [Raid] and Sleeper’s Tomb [Raid]
Fixed some issues that could cause these zones to crash.

ABILITIES / ALTERNATE ADVANCEMENT
Warden
Winds of Growth should apply more reliably to raid members.

Coercer
Coercive Presence now properly adds hate positions to Coercive Shout.

Monk
Enhance: Will of the Heavens should more reliably cure trauma effects at Rank 3.

Bruiser
Enhance: Indomitable Will should more reliably cure elemental effects at Rank 5.

Summoner
Teamwork should no longer generate threat.

Beastlord
Rock Crawlers are now a valid insect warder appearance.

ITEMS
Red adornments dropped on rare drop items from CoE heroic zones should no longer pop off of newly dropped items.
Armored Pinto now properly explains the experience bonus is applied to the mentor target and only works when the caster is mentoring. The actual effect has not been changed.

Update Notes: Thursday, January 24, 2013

 Game Updates & Maintenance, Itemization, Tradeskill  Comments Off
Jan 242013
 

From the EQ2 Forums:

GENERAL

  • Target casting bars will now clear the spell when they fail to successfully cast.

POPULATION / ZONE PROGRESSION
Chardok

  • Queen Velazul will no longer reset if attempted without a group.

Wurmbone Crag

  • Greatly reduced the HP on Errlik the Bludgeoner’s gnorgers. His gnorger that casts the Doom Tooth fear is now labeled as “a dooming gnorger” for priority killing.

ABILITIES / ALTERNATE ADVANCEMENT
Sorcerer

  • Sanguine Sacrifice should now apply reliably.

GUILD HALL AMENITIES
Transport

  • The Magic Carpet to Norrath now includes the Great Divide and Jarsath Wastes destinations.

TRADESKILLS

  • Level 91, 93, and 95 tradeskill writs are now available!

ITEMS

  • End line Chains of Eternity collection quest rewards have had their quality improved to match the effort of attaining them. They are now Ethereal.
  • Fixed stats on [eq2u]Empowered Chestwrap of the Silver Reaper[/eq2u] to be in line with other rare drop breastplates from Drinal. Adornments will pop off of this breastplate, and reforges will be reset with reforge tokens.

Note: The stats on the Empowered Chestwrap of the Silver Reaper will be updated on EQ2U the first time someone views the item details page after 7:45am tomorrow morning. :)

Update Notes: Thursday, January 17, 2013 — New Rare Heroic Loot, More Adornment Removers

 Game Updates & Maintenance, Grouping, Itemization, PvP/Battlegrounds, Raiding  Comments Off
Jan 172013
 

Today’s update is all about Itemization, specifically Group and Raid zones in Chains of Eternity.

Heroic Itemization

Players have been clamoring for Chains of Eternity Heroic zones to drop items even as good as some of the powerful items found in Advanced Solo zones, and it looks like those sentiments have been heard. (Don’t worry Soloers, the solo zones still drop a ton of loot).

Sleeper’s Tomb (Contested) has had a bigger problem as players quickly abandoned it when they found that the loot was hardly better than that from the much easier instanced heroic zones.

Pre-Adorned Items

After 3 expansions with Yellow and Red Adornments being sold by vendors, Chains of Eternity tried something new with Pre-Adorned items. The most desirable adornments are now found in dungeons and raid zones already attached to items (often of a different class/spec to the adornment). While this is an intriguing concept, and it has the potential to extend gameplay, it has also led to player confusion and frustration.

But one slice of the EQ2 playerbase who have yet to see the silver lining in this concept of Pre-Adorned loot are Raid Leaders who have been given the unenviable task of deciding whether Pre-Adorned items will go to someone who needs the gear upgrade, or someone who needs the adornment.

While Kander isn’t yet ready to throw in the towel on pre-adorned loot by slapping all the adornments on a vendor, it seems he’s recognized the inherent difficulties and is now providing an alternative to dividing the child:

There will not be a merchant for CoE adornments. We are adding green adornment removers that will remove green adornments without destroying the item, they will be available for plat from a merchant. We are also adding adornment removers that will remove any one adornment without destroying the item. These will be very costly, plat wise from a merchant, but will be rare drops in all CoE heroic and raid zones.

After the jump, the full Update Notes, including the pricey new Adornment Dislodgers which don’t destroy the items…

From the EQ2 Forums:

POPULATION / ZONE PROGRESSION
Chains of Eternity

  • Heroic zone bosses have been given new and improved rare dropped items. They will continue to drop everything that they previously dropped.
  • Heroic zone bosses now have a better chance to drop Ethereal items.
  • Heroic zone bosses and all raid bosses now have a chance to drop [eq2u]Superb Prismatic Adornment Dislodger[/eq2u]s. These will remove adornments without destroying the item they are attached to.

Obol Plains

  • [eq2u]Superb Green Adornment Dislodger[/eq2u] and Superb Prismatic Adornment Dislodger are now available for purchase from Mattrim Axios in the Cardin Ward.

Sleeper’s Tomb [Contested]

  • Sleeper’s Contested named now have new rare drop tables and also have a chance to drop Superb Prismatic Adornment Dislodger.

Wurmbone Crag [Advanced Solo]

  • Gaping Wounds no longer does fatal damage when it results in Bleeding Out when it goes uncured.

GUILD HALL AMENITIES
Guild Depots

  • The depot windows on the default UI can now be stretched and sized in game.

ITEMS

  • Beastlords can now use the [eq2u]Dragon Sinew Strung Bow[/eq2u].

BATTLEGROUNDS

  • The health bonus given to players level 90 to 94 in battlegrounds has been reduced.

NOTE: The EQ2U popups will work once a player has discovered each of the two adornment types.

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