Asherons Call: Rollout Article and Dev Notes are up!

Rollout Article
posted on 12-Jan-2005
There was no warning. Daryam was on the way to his shop when the huge, bulbous thing floated overhead. The creatures on board pelted him with a barrage of feline screams, jolting the man out of his morning reverie. He fell to the ground, dropping his bag of precious gems. Covering his head, he cowered in fear of the death which would surely rain down upon him.

But after several moments of waiting, that death did not come. Daryam dared a peek. The flesh-covered thing floated above the desert and disappeared over the sea. Daryam had seen many strange things in his time, but this was something new entirely.

Many of this month's changes have already been described in detail in the Letter to the Players. Here is an additional topic that we'd like to discuss in detail:

Vendor Services
As part of our ongoing work to transform Holtburg, Shoushi and Yaraq into social centers, we've taught the Healers in these three towns to cast more useful spells. You can now pay to have them cast any attribute-increasing spell from levels 1 to 4. These are intended for low-level players who can't cast these spells on their own and may be uncomfortable using a player-run buff bot.

We are looking at expanding the range and power of the spells that Healers have for sale, but it is dependent on player reaction to these new abilities as well as resource scheduling issues.

Developer's Notes
posted on 12-Jan-2005
New Content and Functionality
[li]New weapons with higher wield requirements have been added to the treasure system.
[li]A new hunting area has been created specifically for high-level characters that do not use offensive Life Magic.
[li]Snowmen have begun appearing on landscape again, despite a sudden warm snap that has melted snow in some areas.

Miscellaneous Changes and Improvements
[li]Arcanum agents will award level 126 characters a one-time experience award in exchange for a Western Forge Essence. This must be done before the February event.
[li]Mansions can now have up to 7 portal devices hooked and 2 miscellaneous mansion-only hookable items.
Healers in Holtburg, Shoushi and Yaraq can now cast attribute buffs up to level 4 on characters.
[li]Rather than spamming you with text, Arcanum agents will now hand you a note listing the items that they will accept in return for writs.
[li]If you turn in an Iasparailaun and have less than two open slots in your main pack, you will still receive the experience award and the appropriate quest flag.
[li]Arenura now provides the correct reward for Tidal Siraluun feathers.
[li]The Blind Snowman can now be found in a less hazardous part of Dereth.
[li]Greater Hieromancer's Ward has been removed from all worn pieces of Noble Armor.
[li]The Noble Weapon enhancement gems now correctly indicate that the resulting weapon has a crafter-only wield requirement.
[li]The Noble Armor enhancement gems and enhancement craft interactions no longer incorrectly indicate that the resulting armor will have a crafter-only wield requirement.
[li]A bug causing the Phantom Atlatl to do much more damage than intended has been fixed.
[li]Anniversary dolls are now set to never rot when left on the ground, so long as the landblock stays occupied.
[li]New language has been added to the Holiday Lights description stating that they will rot quickly when inside into a backpack that is placed on the ground.
[li]A Modified Left Peg Leg will now disappear after being used on a Right Peg Leg to create Peg Legs.
[li]The upper level limits have been removed from the Northern and Southern Power Forge dungeons.
[li]Some spawns that were too close to housing settlements have been removed.

Minor Details
[li]The Burun Kukurr Floatee now faces outward when hooked.
[li]The guises and body parts introduced last month are now hookable.
[li]A typo in the description of the Black Spawn Den Portal Device has been corrected.
[li]All Noble Armor and Noble Robes now state that they are dyeable when identified.
[li]The description of the Scarecrow Guise now explains why it does not provide head protection despite appearing to cover your head.
[li]The Armored Skeleton Torso with Leg now has a correct name.