Welcome to the April Letter to the Players! Don't worry, we know it's technically still March. We're still working out our communication timetable to take into account changes to our schedule.[/p]
Last month in Dereth, a strange temple was discovered deep in the Blackmire Swamp. Those adventurers who dared explore its depths found relics and artifacts from the Falatacot witches... and something more. An ancient ritual was completed. A portal was opened. Something came through.
Burun.
How will these new creatures impact the balance of power in Dereth? Will more come through? Are there more temples like this scattered throughout the landscape?
And where the heck is Ulgrim?
Now let's take a look at some of the changes coming in April and beyond.<div class="headlineMedium">Coming Soon</div>
(These are items that we plan to implement in the April event. Many of these items were mentioned in last month's In Development section.)<div class="headlineSmall">Darktide Recompense</div>
The Darktide Recompense will end as of the April event. The Town Criers will not give you a token after the April event and, more importantly, will not reward you if you give them your token. They'll just keep it, as Town Criers normally do.<div class="headlineSmall">New Armor</div>
In April, we will be introducing three new types of loot armor - Aluvian Lorica armor, Gharu'n Nariyid armor, and Sho Chiran armor. You'll see the first glimpses of these new armor suites in the April Teaser, and you can find more information on their appearance in loot in our in-depth Treasure article.<div class="headlineSmall">Treasure Changes, Phase 3</div>
The treasure changes are described in great detail in our in-depth Treasure article. Here's a quick summary of the changes that are coming in April:
- Creatures that were within 5 levels of a higher difficulty band will have the wealth level of their loot increased. Some creatures have had the "quality" property added to their loot, and some group-oriented creatures will drop more loot.
- In addition to the three new types of armor, the spread of all armor in loot will be adjusted.
- The wield requirements on Covenant armor will be in bands similar to the wield requirements on weapons, and Covenant armor with magic defense requirements may be found.
- Attack and Defense modifiers will appear more frequently on weapons.
- Mana Conversion modifiers will also appear more frequently on casters, and the average Mana Conversion modifier will be adjusted upwards.
- You will be able to find Melee Defense modifiers on casting items, and Missile Defense and Magic Defense modifiers on all weapons and casting items.
- Casting items will have the ability to generate with Defender due to the above change, and will also have the ability to generate with the Hermetic Link spell or cantrips for any of the spells that can be found on them.
In the past, some weapons within a weapon class were just plain undesirable. For example, if you were a Mace user and you wanted maximum damage, there was no reason to look at anything other than a Morningstar. You turned up your nose at a Kasrullah.
In April, we'll be making changes to bring the low-end damage weapons closer to par with the maximum damage weapons in each class. This is similar to the changes we made to bows and crossbows last year; however we are not necessarily giving all weapons within a class the same maximum damage. In many weapon classes there will still be weapons that have a lower maximum than others, but the difference will be much smaller.
No weapon class is having its maximum damage increased, and some classes are being changed more than others. For example, all three types of Unarmed Combat weapons had the same maximum damage, so they will not be touched. Weapons that are considered to be a "secondary damage type" - Rapiers, Spiked Clubs, Naginatas, and Warhammers - are not being changed, and we are taking into account the differences between hiltable and non-hiltable Swords and Daggers.<div class="headlineSmall">Buffing Improvements</div>
The Buffing Changes article provides information on all of our planned buffing improvements and how they fit together. The first of these, faster self-buffs, is planned for April.
In April, all Creature and Life Self buffs will cast at the same speed as a level I spell, no matter what their level. This should cut down on the amount of time spent preparing for battle for players who cast their own buffs. <div class="headlineSmall">Fellowship Spells</div>
As we have hinted in the past, we are introducing spells that can be cast on all members of a fellowship simultaneously. The first of these spells that can be cast by players are planned for April. We are taking it slow with these - they are only attribute buffs, and no more powerful than existing spells. <div class="headlineSmall">Vendor Buy-Sell Rates</div>
Ever since the creature spawn changes, there have been some disparities between the difficulty of hunting around certain towns and the buy-sell rates of the vendors inside those towns. In April, we will be adjusting the vendor buy-sell rates in several towns.
The new buy-sell rates will be based on the difficulty of the surrounding content. You can see the difficulty breakdown in our Creature Distribution Map. The three capital cities - Cragstone, Hebian-To, and Zaikhal - were given special consideration.
In addition, to give each town some unique flavor, each town will have at least one vendor who has better buy/sell rates than the rest of the town.
These tables show each town's new values along with its old values.<div align="center">Newbie Towns (1 - 20)</div>
| <div>Town Name</div> | <div>Old Buy Rate</div> | <div>Old Sell Rate</div> | <div>Old Max Buy</div> | <div>New Buy Rate</div> | <div>New Sell Rate</div> | <div>New Max Buy</div> |
| <div>Al-Arqas</div> | <div>90%</div> | <div>135%</div> | <div>10,000</div> | <div>90%</div> | <div>135%</div> | <div>25,000</div> |
| <div>Bluespire</div> | <div>40%</div> | <div>200%</div> | <div>100,000</div> | <div>90%</div> | <div>135%</div> | <div>25,000</div> |
| <div>Greenspire</div> | <div>40%</div> | <div>200%</div> | <div>100,000</div> | <div>90%</div> | <div>135%</div> | <div>25,000</div> |
| <div>Holtburg</div> | <div>90%</div> | <div>135%</div> | <div>10,000</div> | <div>90%</div> | <div>135%</div> | <div>25,000</div> |
| <div>Lytelthorpe</div> | <div>90%</div> | <div>135%</div> | <div>10,000</div> | <div>90%</div> | <div>135%</div> | <div>25,000</div> |
| <div>Martine's Retreat</div> | <div>70%</div> | <div>190%</div> | <div>10,000</div> | <div>90%</div> | <div>135%</div> | <div>25,000</div> |
| <div>Nanto</div> | <div>90%</div> | <div>135%</div> | <div>10,000</div> | <div>90%</div> | <div>135%</div> | <div>25,000</div> |
| <div>Redspire</div> | <div>40%</div> | <div>200%</div> | <div>100,000</div> | <div>90%</div> | <div>135%</div> | <div>25,000</div> |
| <div>Rithwic</div> | <div>90%</div> | <div>135%</div> | <div>10,000</div> | <div>90%</div> | <div>135%</div> | <div>25,000</div> |
| <div>Samsur</div> | <div>90%</div> | <div>135%</div> | <div>10,000</div> | <div>90%</div> | <div>135%</div> | <div>25,000</div> |
| <div>Shoushi</div> | <div>90%</div> | <div>135%</div> | <div>10,000</div> | <div>90%</div> | <div>135%</div> | <div>25,000</div> |
| <div>Tufa</div> | <div>90%</div> | <div>155%</div> | <div>10,000</div> | <div>90%</div> | <div>135%</div> | <div>25,000</div> |
| <div>Underground City</div> | <div>90%</div> | <div>155%</div> | <div>100,000</div> | <div>90%</div> | <div>135%</div> | <div>25,000</div> |
| <div>Xarabydun</div> | <div>90%</div> | <div>155%</div> | <div>10,000</div> | <div>90%</div> | <div>135%</div> | <div>25,000</div> |
| <div>Yanshi</div> | <div>90%</div> | <div>135%</div> | <div>10,000</div> | <div>90%</div> | <div>135%</div> | <div>25,000</div> |
| <div>Yaraq</div> | <div>90%</div> | <div>135%</div> | <div>10,000</div> | <div>90%</div> | <div>135%</div> | <div>25,000</div> |
<div align="center">Capital Cities</div>
| <div>Town Name</div> | <div>Old Buy Rate</div> | <div>Old Sell Rate</div> | <div>Old Max Buy</div> | <div>New Buy Rate</div> | <div>New Sell Rate</div> | <div>New Max Buy</div> |
| <div>Cragstone</div> | <div>90%</div> | <div>155%</div> | <div>100,000</div> | <div>90%</div> | <div>145%</div> | <div>100,000</div> |
| <div>Hebian-To</div> | <div>90%</div> | <div>155%</div> | <div>100,000</div> | <div>90%</div> | <div>145%</div> | <div>100,000</div> |
| <div>Zaikhal</div> | <div>80%</div> | <div>170%</div> | <div>100,000</div> | <div>90%</div> | <div>145%</div> | <div>100,000</div> |
<div align="center">Low Towns (20 - 40)</div>
| <div>Town Name</div> | <div>Old Buy Rate</div> | <div>Old Sell Rate</div> | <div>Old Max Buy</div> | <div>New Buy Rate</div> | <div>New Sell Rate</div> | <div>New Max Buy</div> |
| <div>Al-Jalima</div> | <div>90%</div> | <div>155%</div> | <div>100,000</div> | <div>90%</div> | <div>155%</div> | <div>100,000</div> |
| <div>Ahurenga</div> | <div>40%</div> | <div>200%</div> | <div>100,000</div> | <div>90%</div> | <div>155%</div> | <div>100,000</div> |
| <div>Arwic</div> | <div>90%</div> | <div>155%</div> | <div>100,000</div> | <div>90%</div> | <div>155%</div> | <div>100,000</div> |
| <div>Baishi</div> | <div>80%</div> | <div>170%</div> | <div>100,000</div> | <div>90%</div> | <div>155%</div> | <div>100,000</div> |
| <div>Eastham</div> | <div>90%</div> | <div>155%</div> | <div>100,000</div> | <div>90%</div> | <div>155%</div> | <div>100,000</div> |
| <div>Glenden Wood</div> | <div>80%</div> | <div>170%</div> | <div>100,000</div> | <div>90%</div> | <div>155%</div> | <div>100,000</div> |
| <div>Khayyaban</div> | <div>90%</div> | <div>155%</div> | <div>100,000</div> | <div>90%</div> | <div>155%</div> | <div>100,000</div> |
| <div>Kryst</div> | <div>80%</div> | <div>170%</div> | <div>100,000</div> | <div>90%</div> | <div>155%</div> | <div>100,000</div> |
| <div>Lin</div> | <div>90%</div> | <div>155%</div> | <div>100,000</div> | <div>90%</div> | <div>155%</div> | <div>100,000</div> |
| <div>Mayoi</div> | <div>80%</div> | <div>170%</div> | <div>100,000</div> | <div>90%</div> | <div>155%</div> | <div>100,000</div> |
| <div>Oolutanga's Refuge</div> | <div>90%</div> | <div>155%</div> | <div>100,000</div> | <div>90%</div> | <div>155%</div> | <div>100,000</div> |
| <div>Sawato</div> | <div>90%</div> | <div>155%</div> | <div>100,000</div> | <div>90%</div> | <div>155%</div> | <div>100,000</div> |
| <div>Tou-Tou</div> | <div>90%</div> | <div>155%</div> | <div>100,000</div> | <div>90%</div> | <div>155%</div> | <div>100,000</div> |
| <div>Uziz</div> | <div>90%</div> | <div>170%</div> | <div>100,000</div> | <div>90%</div> | <div>155%</div> | <div>100,000</div> |
<div align="center">Mid Towns (40-60)</div>
| <div>Town Name</div> | <div>Old Buy Rate</div> | <div>Old Sell Rate</div> | <div>Old Max Buy</div> | <div>New Buy Rate</div> | <div>New Sell Rate</div> | <div>New Max Buy</div> |
| <div>Bandit Castle</div> | <div>80%</div> | <div>170%</div> | <div>100,000</div> | <div>80%</div> | <div>170%</div> | <div>100,000</div> |
| <div>Crater Lake</div> | <div>90%</div> | <div>155%</div> | <div>100,000</div> | <div>80%</div> | <div>170%</div> | <div>100,000</div> |
| <div>Dryreach</div> | <div>80%</div> | <div>170%</div> | <div>100,000</div> | <div>80%</div> | <div>170%</div> | <div>100,000</div> |
| <div>Danby's Outpost</div> | <div>80%</div> | <div>170%</div> | <div>100,000</div> | <div>80%</div> | <div>170%</div> | <div>100,000</div> |
| <div>Kara</div> | <div>80%</div> | <div>170%</div> | <div>100,000</div> | <div>80%</div> | <div>170%</div> | <div>100,000</div> |
| <div>Linvak Tukal</div> | <div>80%</div> | <div>170%</div> | <div>100,000</div> | <div>80%</div> | <div>170%</div> | <div>100,000</div> |
| <div>MacNiall's Freehold</div> | <div>90%</div> | <div>155%</div> | <div>100,000</div> | <div>80%</div> | <div>170%</div> | <div>100,000</div> |
| <div>Neydisa Castle</div> | <div>80%</div> | <div>170%</div> | <div>100,000</div> | <div>80%</div> | <div>170%</div> | <div>100,000</div> |
| <div>Plateau Village</div> | <div>80%</div> | <div>170%</div> | <div>100,000</div> | <div>80%</div> | <div>170%</div> | <div>100,000</div> |
| <div>Qalaba'r</div> | <div>90%</div> | <div>155%</div> | <div>100,000</div> | <div>80%</div> | <div>170%</div> | <div>100,000</div> |
| <div>Timaru</div> | <div>40%</div> | <div>200%</div> | <div>100,000</div> | <div>80%</div> | <div>170%</div> | <div>100,000</div> |
<div align="center">High Towns (60 - 80)</div>
| <div>Town Name</div> | <div>Old Buy Rate</div> | <div>Old Sell Rate</div> | <div>Old Max Buy</div> | <div>New Buy Rate</div> | <div>New Sell Rate</div> | <div>New Max Buy</div> |
| <div>Candeth Keep</div> | <div>80%</div> | <div>170%</div> | <div>100,000</div> | <div>80%</div> | <div>180%</div> | <div>100,000</div> |
| <div>Fort Tethana</div> | <div>90%</div> | <div>155%</div> | <div>100,000</div> | <div>80%</div> | <div>180%</div> | <div>100,000</div> |
| <div>Stonehold</div> | <div>80%</div> | <div>170%</div> | <div>100,000</div> | <div>80%</div> | <div>180%</div> | <div>100,000</div> |
<div align="center">Extreme Towns (80+)</div>
| <div>Town Name</div> | <div>Old Buy Rate</div> | <div>Old Sell Rate</div> | <div>Old Max Buy</div> | <div>New Buy Rate</div> | <div>New Sell Rate</div> | <div>New Max Buy</div> |
| <div>Ayan Baqur</div> | <div>70%</div> | <div>190%</div> | <div>1,000,000</div> | <div>70%</div> | <div>190%</div> | <div>1,000,000</div> |
| <div>Wai Jhou</div> | <div>90%</div> | <div>120%</div> | <div>1,000,000</div> | <div>70%</div> | <div>190%</div> | <div>1,000,000</div> |
At the moment, there are no 90+ or 100+ towns.<div class="headlineSmall">Applesauce and Potion Changes</div>
In response to player issues regarding money macros, we will be adjusting the value of some items to decrease the effectiveness of these macros. These changes will also make it cheaper for players to purchase Mana Draughts, Mana Potions, Health Draughts, and Health Potions.<div class="headlineSmall">Dispel Spells</div>
For information on the Dispel changes in April, please see the full-length Dispel Spells article.
The feedback on the suggested dispel timer for PK/L was very mixed. There was no clear majority either for or against. With that in mind, we've gone ahead with the changes that we feel best improve majority of PK/L combat: we've decided to implement the PK/L timer on dispels. If you have been in a PK/L action within the last 20 seconds, you will not be able to:
- Use a dispel gem.
- Use a dispel potion.
- Use the Awakener or Attenuated Awakener on someone else.
- Cast any dispel spell on yourself.
- Cast any dispel spell on someone else.
Once these changes are in place we will be monitoring them and their impact on PvP play.<div class="headlineSmall">House Purchase Timer</div>
An issue that has resulted in a great deal of feedback is that of players camping houses solely for the purpose of resale and a profit. We've discussed two possible solutions in feedback threads within the last few weeks, and chosen to implement this one.
In April we will be introducing a one month timer on purchasing cottages, villas, and mansions. Residential Quarters will be exempt from this timer. This timer is per account, not per character. The timer does not extend across worlds. After reading through your feedback and discussing the engineering and social aspects of all of your suggestions, we've decided that this is the best solution currently available to us.
What does this mean? Once you purchase a house, you must wait 30 days before you can purchase a new one. If you own a house, your housing panel will tell you when you purchased it and when you can purchase a new one. If you do not own a house, your housing panel will tell you when you can purchase a new one.
It is important to note that this has nothing to do with when you lose a house, either through @house abandon or failure to pay maintenance. If you have owned a house for several months and abandon it, you will be able to purchase another house immediately. What you cannot do is purchase a house, abandon it less than 30 days later, and then purchase another house immediately.
Apartments in the Residential Quarters are completely unaffected by this timer. Buying an apartment neither checks the timer nor sets it. <div class="headlineSmall">Live Lore Events</div>
Recently Morningthaw saw a live lore event, in which Antius sought out several players who had completed the Blackmire Temple quest. This was the first of a new type of live event. While we will rotate through the worlds for these events, each individual event will take place on only one world. These events will be described in lore articles on our website.<div class="headlineSmall">Content Revisions</div>
We are revising two towns and two quests in April. Holtburg will be revised in the same way that Shoushi and Yaraq were previously. The portal drops and Lifestone locations will be made more convenient, and the surrounding content will be adjusted for balance.
The second town that we are revising is the Lugian fortress of Linvak Tukal. It will be getting a Lifestone and direct portal access, without the need to fight through the entryway.
Along with Linvak Tukal, we are revising the Arm, Heart, Mind quest. Confusing aspects of the quest timing will be fixed, and the quest rewards will be adjusted.
The second quest to be revised is the Little Green Seeds quest. Terese's interactions and the Swamp Garden will be revised, and new types of seeds for higher-level creatures will be introduced. This doesn't mean new colors of dye, however.<div class="headlineSmall">Envoy Policy Changes</div>
The Inscription and Name Change policy changes will go into effect immediately. The Marketplace policy change will go into effect as of the April event.
- Inscriptions. The Envoys will continue to remove inscriptions which violate the Code of Conduct. Please use the Urgent Assistance button in your options panel to report these inscriptions. These requests will be low priority, so please be patient. Urgent Assistance should not be used to report inscriptions that do not violate Code of Conduct - requests reported in this way will be refused.
Removal of other inscriptions will be done by Envoys when they are visiting a world. You will know that an Envoy is "visiting" if the Envoy is not wearing a helm and has a particle effect around him or her. If you see an Envoy visiting, feel free to ask him or her to uninscribe any of your items. In addition, the Envoys may schedule "Uninscription Parties" to be held in town Meeting Halls. These parties will be announced in advance on the Asheron's Call forums.
At these times, any inscription will be erased on request - the inscriptions will not be reviewed for content. We have read your concerns regarding this process but in the end have decided that the good outweighs the potential harm.
In all cases, uninscribing items will be a lower priority than other Envoy tasks.
- Name Changes. Players of any level who feel that their name is in violation of the Code of Conduct can request a one-time name change at our Customer Service site. Only names that violate Code of Conduct will be changed. This program will last until June 1, 2004.
After June 1, characters with offensive names will be investigated. Characters that are level 20 or greater will be referred to the Customer Service link above. Characters that are level 19 or below may be required to be deleted.
- Marketplace. Starting with the April event, we ask that all players move to a vendor stall in one of the outlying rooms. Players offering buffs or tinkers should move to a vendor stall or to the second floor of one of the outlying rooms. This is intended to improve Marketplace visual performance for all players. Envoys will have the authority to move players that do not follow these guidelines. This can include moving them out of the Marketplace into special rooms where they cannot interact with others.
It is important to remember that the speech of all characters must abide by the Code of Conduct. This includes any text messages displayed by any unattended characters - Tradebots, Buffbots, and the like.
(These are the game changes that we are working on for the May event. None of these items are guaranteed to be added for May, as scheduling and priorities can change. Your feedback on these topics is particularly valuable.)<div class="headlineSmall">Content Focus</div>
In recent months we have made a number of game systems and game balance changes. Now that we've finished many of these changes, May will see an increased focus on new game content - dungeons, quests, and items!<div class="headlineSmall">Allegiance Improvements</div>
We're investigating a number of improvements to Allegiances in general. Some of these include better controls on who can and cannot enter an allegiance (such as account bans) and allegiance officers with ban, boot, and message of the day abilities. Expect to see more information on this after the April event.<div class="headlineSmall">Treasure Changes, Phase 4</div>
Very little of phase 4 will be visible to players - it is primarily back-end work in preparation for higher wield-req weapons. Please see the Treasure article for details.<div class="headlineSmall">Content Revisions</div>
In May we plan to revise town portal drop and Lifestone locations across Dereth. These changes will be similar to the changes you've seen in Yaraq and Shoushi so far.
We also plan to revise the Palenqual's Living Weapons quest. This quest will be revised for balance and fun.<div class="headlineMedium">In Concept</div>
(These are the game changes that we are thinking about for June and beyond. We cannot guarantee when - or even if - any of these changes will be added to the game, as scheduling and priorities can change. Your feedback on these topics is particularly valuable.
If not mentioned elsewhere in this Letter, topics listed as In Concept in the March Letter to the Players Follow-Up have not changed status.)<div class="headlineSmall">Spell Stacking and Dispels</div>
The feedback that we've received on our previous articles about Dispel changes has convinced us that we should look at changing the way multiple instances of the same spell "stack" on players. Should we and can we change this system?
If this system is changed, we may revisit the Dispel changes implemented in April.<div class="headlineSmall">Settlement Portals</div>
After discussing several proposed changes, we have decided not to make any change to the Settlement Portals in May. We will still consider changes for the future, but will ask for your feedback before any implementation.<div class="headlineSmall">Content Revisions</div>
In addition to the content revisions mentioned in the March Follow-Up, we have added the Gaerlan quest to our list of quests that we would like to revise. We added this to our list primarily due to player feedback and questions regarding various aspects of this quest.
There you have it - details on our plans for April and beyond. As always, we value your feedback on these topics.
Give use your feedback on this article.[p]April 2004: A New Threat
