Dark Age Of Camelot: Windy Grab Bag!

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Mmm... grab bag...

Q: Lately it seems like my server can be a place that players are using all kinds of swearing and rude and lewdness. When I've asked them politely to stop, they have become worse telling me to use my /filter option.

A: There's an old saying that goes "His right to swing his fist ends just where my nose begins." This applies to swearing - which to some people is like an assault on the ears (or eyes as the case may be).

My mastery of the profane could shock a dockworker. Many are the times that the air around me takes on a blue tint. But I don't swear on the open channels of a massively multiplayer game, because unlike a website or a private conversation, random customers do not have a choice when it comes to "hearing" me.

With that said, people do need to take some responsibility for their own sensitivity. If you know you just can't stand certain words, and even a single instance will upset you to the point of ruining your playtime, turn on the filter. People are people. They mess up.

So, Mythic doesn't get involved with single instances of swearing. We don't care about swearing in guild channels - how much swearing is tolerated in a guild channel is completely up to the guild.

But if someone is *repeatedly* using inappropriate language in a public channel, we do want to know, filter or no filter. If you are receiving repeated /sends and /tells in language you have specifically told the speaker you don't want to hear, it's harassment and we want to put a stop to it. We can pull logs, so please don't worry if the person has stopped by the time a CSR arrives.

Short version - use your own judgment, use /ignore and /filter without hesitating, and use the appeal system if you have to.

Q: I'm contemplating getting Dodger 3 on my Blademaster, but I can't find any documentation to tell me whether or not this affects my "advanced evade" rather than just the "frontal arc" of my character. I'd like to purchase this RA to enchance my rear evade (as other tanks hit me in the back when I'm killing their casters), but don't want to spend the points if it won't help me.

A: Dodger affects all your evades.

Q: This "Gold" version - what's it have included?

A: All the original content, as many of the patches as are complete by the time we ship out the master copy, Shrouded Isles, the Shrouded Isles engine (not the original engine - the system specs printed on the Gold Edition box reflect that), the housing zones, a really nifty "newbie guide" that actually helps newbies, and more.

Q: I remember reading that it was decided that crafters with the same skill level were to be ordered in the crafter listing based by /play time, instead of Alphabetically. (Insert example here conclusively proving that they are not listed correctly.) Did this change?

A: I remember counting all the votes by hand to see what crafters preferred (this was before our poll system was installed). It darn well should be play time. So I asked a programmer - "The individual skill pages were displaying correctly, the massive list of crafters for each realm was displaying alphabetically... but that [was a bug, and] has been now fixed." Thanks for bringing that to my attention!

Q: Is the guild autopromote function working?

A: It's not at the moment - we hope we'll have it working properly in the near future.

Q: My guildmate told me that +power items don't increase the power pool of hybrid classes.

A: Your guildmate is yanking your chain. If you have a power pool, +power items affect it.

Q: What is the benefit to having items granting bonuses to soulrending and to battlesongs?

A: They affect damage on shouts.

Q: Is there any way to get the patches other than through the game? I've got a new computer, and I do NOT want to download a year and a half of patches!

A: Yikes. I wouldn't want to, either. You can burn a CD with all your Camelot files from your old computer and copy it that way. You can network the machines and copy the files over. If you don't have a CD burner, and you don't want to network the machines permanently, there's a nifty software package you can buy for about fifty dollars (and a rebate to get some of that back) that comes with a cable to connect the machines, and the program then moves all your old files to the new machine. I took this option, myself - I cannot for the life of me remember what the program is called, though, so check your local retailer.

Q: Will we be able to use the /level command in realms that we do not have a level 50 character in when this goes live? (ie: I have a level 50 in Midgard but not in Hibernia, can I still make a character with the /level command in Hibernia?)

A: Yes. Having any 50, anywhere, unlocks access to the new feature.

Q: I'm just wondering when the new patch comes out when we get our /level command does our character have to be on level 5? Or can they start at level 1 and do it? I was just wondering so I can be prepared to do so.

A: From the fellow who designed the new feature:

"Any character who has less experience than /level will give them can use the command.

"So, if your server realm gives you level 20.5 - if you are between 1 and 20.5 - you can use /level to get to 20.5.

"So, if your server realm gives you level 30.5 - if you are between 1 and 30.5 - you can use /level to get to 30.5."

Q: I remember seeing in, I think, one or two grab bags that it doesn't matter if a crafter repairs your items or a smith, the durability goes down at the same rate. The only difference being that the crafter may or may not charge you for the repair, but the smith certainly will. I have heard other players saying that crafter repairs take away less durability than smith repairs do. They don't believe me when I say that it was posted to The Herald that the repairs are the same.

A: I couldn't find the answer with the search feature either, although I could have sworn I answered. Anyway, you are correct, the durability costs are equal, no matter who makes the repair.

Q: When 1.62 goes live, could you please be more specific about how the hunters stealth spec will effect see hidden, and also if bonuses to stealth affect See Hidden, or if it is just based off of base stealth. (ie: Will 35+15 stealth be as effective as 50+0 stealth against See Hidden?)

A: From the programmer in charge of such things: "A 35+15 will be as effective as a 50+0, but a 50+15 would be even better."

Q: This question is in regards to the realm ability, Wild Healing. The description says, "Grants 5% chance to critical with direct heal spells per level of this ability." I expected it to relate to heals that need you to target, but it only appears to work for those you don't target someone (i.e group heals). Could you clarify this?

A: From the spell king: "It should work on single target heals." So, if it does not, please appeal it as a bug so that a product quality person can run some tests.

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All hail the graduating class of 2003! (Thanks for the reminder =)) Be safe, and try not to celebrate too much. And if you do celebrate too much, stay the heck off the road.

Do you have a family that plays Dark Age of Camelot together? Write to me at sanya@mythicentertainment.com and let me know how many generations and family members are logging in and making connections. If there are enough of you out there to make an interesting column, I'll print the best responses. You'll need to include your server(s) and all character names in your email to be eligible to be featured, but I won't print any of your identities without your specific permission to do so.

Thanks for playing, and have a wonderful weekend!

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