My question for Mythic is whether "the only way these features could become available" means that Mythic is planning to hire new programmers specifically to add this stuff, and then use the revenue to pay for them.

If they'll hire new people for it (or get to keep people on DAoC that would otherwise be on another project)... that's a good change, so long as they don't slide down the slippery slope UO went down and start selling true in-game bonuses.

If they use current DAoC programmers for these features, it will negatively impact those who don't pay for them. There are a lot of things being held up by lack of programmer time, so if this takes away from any of those... shame, Mythic. Shame.

So, good idea or shameful money-grubbing slide into evil? We'll see.

Dance with the bones, that is:

Q: Bonedancers.

A: Let me start by making sure everyone knows that developing games is a lot like teaching a duck to swim. The gliding waterfowl is the patch note. Getting to the point where we have a patch note is a great deal of paddling, adjustment, experimentation, and occasional joint pain.

I went to the Redhead and said, listen, I know you did this and this and this, but why not do XYZ as well? I don’t understand how a couple seconds could hurt. Then he showed me all he’d done to arrive at his decision… and he convinced me with evidence and a lot of hard work that a couple of seconds made a heck of a difference. The other thing that I didn’t understand until I talked to the man was that these changes have to work with a bunch of things coming in the next patch.

After talking to me, the Redhead really wanted to explain his thought process and much more to you, so here he is:

"With this patch, we’ve rolled out a lot of changes to elements of game functionality – elements that have existed for a very long time. As is the case with any changes, there are rippling effects that change other aspects of the game. Some are intentional, some are unintentional. In most cases, we need to make adjustments to compensate for the ripple effects.

"In 1.87, we have gone through most summoned pets in the game and updated them to meet today’s standards. For some classes, this required little or no compensation. It was simply a needed boost. However, for the Bonedancer, the pet changes created some issues.

"Up until now, the vast majority (well above 90%) of Bonedancers were specced with a high amount of suppression. The reasons for this were twofold. One, Suppression was an incredibly powerful spec. Two, Bone Army and Darkness were incredibly weak specs. Our goal was to change the class to have at least two, and hopefully three wholly viable spec lines, instead of one overly dominant spec line. This thought process will eventually be applied to every class with a severely lacking spell line (I’m looking at YOU Mentalism Mentalists) For the Bonedancer, this process required two parts, spread over two patch cycles. Addressing pet issues, and addressing spell issues. As most people have seen, the pet issues were on the table for 1.87. As I said before, the goal of this was to bring pets up to the standards of today’s game. The next step is to address the failings in the spell lines with 1.88. However, in order to do this, we needed to make some adjustments to the 1.87 Bonedancer in order for them to remain relatively balanced until we can roll 1.88 out in the next couple months.

"In 1.87 we increased sub pet levels and removed the restrictions that prevented three top tier sub pets. On top of this, there’s the addition of a specialty commanders, the roughly 30% magic resistance increase and 10-15% melee resistance increase to the commander pets, the increase in healing value of the highest tier Bonemender, the introduction of a stacking health regen and power regen, and the increased regeneration rates introduced in 1.87. With all these things, using the 4 second instant lifetap, the suppression Bonedancer was completely unkillable in melee, and almost unkillable by anyone who did not have a form of AE CC.

"While we try not to balance around the small scale, this sort of thing sets of major red flags, and cannot be allowed to happen. Because of this, we investigated several methods of toning down the sheer amount of healing available to the suppression BD, without greatly hampering the viability that was introduced to the other two spell lines. After trying various iterations of changing the recast of the instant lifetap to 12 seconds, 6 seconds and 10 seconds, we felt that 8 seconds was the best compromise that could be achieved until the spells were fully addressed in 1.88.

"The changes made to the Bonedancer in 1.87 are meant to work hand in hand with the changes being made for 1.88. So, if you’re upset or don’t see where we’re going, the first few versions of 1.88 should help ease the sting and answer your questions. As always, we’ll be monitoring the performance of the class with the 1.87 changes, and make adjustments as necessary."

I have been sitting in this chair for five and a half years. Before that, I watched from the other side of the pasture for three years. I do not reprint comments like "severely lacking" lightly, because in my experience with multiple MMOs, comments like that have got to be followed up with actual action. And I tend not to believe that action will be taken until I see patch notes. So I’m taking a leap of faith, reprinting his remarks… but I believe that it is a risk worth taking.


Q: What happened to the battleground level changes?!

A: Yikes. I had so many of these in the last twenty four hours that I panicked. I thought for a minute that we had neglected to let you know we’d changed our minds based on a whole heck of a lot of commentary and letters from the community, but the live team assistant producer, Rolling Stone, pointed me to 1.87D, where we said:

"NEW FRONTIERS NOTES

"Battlegrounds

"- The level ranges for the battlegrounds have reverted back to their original values based on feedback."

This was one of those changes that we made because we thought people would find it helpful, and changed it back because... well, no, people didn't agree, and since we didn't make the decision originally out of anything to do with balance, the change back was no skin off our nose. I do apologize to anyone who missed the revert announcement.


Q: In the entrance of Darkness Falls, while stealthed up top, I received..

The ambient Maggot uncovers you!

Er... what? I’ve got 50 base stealth, (64) total.

A: This, along with similar situations in the Labyrinth, is a known issue and we’re investigating. No ETA on a fix, but it was definitely not on purpose and won’t stay that way. Please report any wackiness like that as a bug, please.


Q: When I got a new cloak, I went to put hood up and wouldn't go up. Old cloaks work fine...tried with one of my alts and same thing..old cloaks work, new cloaks don't.

What's up with that?

A: I’ve got a few item-related questions, but the trouble is, we need to know the exact name of the item before we can investigate. Please don’t forget to include the name of the item, and where you got that item, in any item-related bug appeals.

In terms of cloaks, specifically – be sure to check the cloak before appealing. Some cloaks have hoods hanging down, and those should be able to use /hood. But if you see no hood... there’s no hood to put up!


Q: Those MP charge items you offered to legendary crafters are pretty much the best thing DAOC has seen since purge. Is there any chance that you can add those as purchasable items from an NPC vendor? Your next slushy would be on me.

A: The slushy goes to the Design Goddess (originally known as the Bardic Goddess, for you reeeeeeally old school people), but leave the ice in the freezer for now: "I’ve seen a lot of positive feedback on them so far - but to be honest, I wasn't planning on making more of them in the short term. I'll stick it on my little crafting wishlist doc so I can revisit the suggestion as we continue on with the revamp :)"


Q: My LGM AC is working tailoring and is currently at 450. He's making 99% qua on tailor items that con orange to him. Is this a bug in the new system? Does the old LGM perk now extend to any craft the LGM is working? Or does the old LGM perk now apply to all crafters?

A: From the Goddess: "There was no perk for 99 and below qualities. There was (and still is) only the perk for MP - 1% chance if you are less than 1000 in your tradeskill, 2% if you are more than 1000 in your tradeskill.

"The chance for 96-99% qualities are for all con colors of recipes."


Q: Is there any benefit to players using MP crafted armor vs. using 96 qual player crafted armor?

A: The Goddess never hedges: "Quality modifies the damage you take with your armor piece - so yes. However, many astute players have found that wearing 99% armor and using most AF buffs provides nearly the same benefit."

If you’re the type that would kill your own grandmother to squeeze out every edge, and in my experience a huge percentage of you are in fact grandmother killers, then yes, it’s worth it.

But if you would let granny live, then you can get away with 99%. I expect most casual people would be fine with 96%. So the question to you becomes "what kind of player are you?"


Q: Now that Skalds can use medium shields can I trade in my Small Cyclops Eye Shield for a Medium one?

A: Sorry the patch note wasn’t clear. From the new Items Minion: "Yep. Just speak to Bjetsa in the Hall of Heroes and she'll set you up."


Q: I would like to know why salamanders in TOA are now uncharmable by minstrels. Also, while I’ve got you thinking about salamanders, salamanders in Volcanus require the lvl 42 mentalist charm now, whereas they only required the lvl 10 charm before the patch. Is this a bug?

A: From Boss Rob: "It looks like there is one monster version of the salamanders in Ashen Isles that can't be charmed. This will be fixed by time the Grab Bag is posted.

"The salamanders in Typhon's Reach were all still able to be charmed."

He also let me know that the Volcanus salamanders were accidentally bugged, and that they are now back to normal.


Q: What was the stuff Missy posted, the Notes From The Realms?

A: That’s us having a little fun with something in the game, happening right now, that we’re leaving you to discover.

Please note: It has nothing to do with how you’d spec your character, or whether or not you would have an advantage over another person, so I won’t spoil it with notes and descriptions here. Believe me, if it had to do with character advancement or fighting ability, I would not tolerate the whole "it’s a voyage of discovery" thing. Fool me twice, shame on me. So trust me, I’m being secretive because it’s just something cool that I think people will really enjoy.

Keep your eyes on the skies!

***

The nice people at http://www.mmosite.com/ are running a contest for your favorite MMO. The English is phrased a little strangely at times, but it’s not at all garbled or incomprehensible. Go and vote: http://contest.mmosite.com/gameofyear/2006/ You will need to register before you can share your opinions.

Want to break into the fabulous world of video game reporting? A whole lot of quest writers and even a few community weenies got their start by writing cleverly, frequently, and amusingly on a gaming news website. And Warcry, one of the oldest sites around and under the tender mercies of a new editor, is looking for you. Check out http://camelot.warcry.com/#67498 (scroll until you see "Seeking a Site Manager").

That was a lot to cover; I think I need a little refreshing in the form of a slushy with a strawberry garnish. Y’all have a wonderful weekend.

The Mid and Hib reports:

Watch Minutes
8 January
Mularn Northern Outpost

Just after midnight, a howling unlike anything this regiment has heard before was carried on the winds from the south, rustling the surrounding great pines. Some men described it as the hiss of a snake melded with the cry of a bird. All agreed it was piercing and chilling, unlike any of the usual wildlife sounds surrounding the outpost.

A small party was sent to investigate, and returned to report nothing unusual aside from a long trench of melted snow on a mountainside to the north. The trench was as long as several men, and reportedly bore a scale-like pattern where the snow had melted into ice.

Daily Report
8 January
Guardian Andraste, Tir na mBeo

Last eve, the Dockmaster of the Dergan Lake accounted strange noises coming from far offshore to the north. He described this as a great splashing and whooshing noise, as if a large ship was skimming the water’s surface. Upon investigation, only a slight greenish glow could be seen in the distant darkness. Several villagers confirmed his account.

There have also been unconfirmed reports this evening of flashes of light darting through the distant woods. This light was also greenish in color. These accounts have been investigated and nothing has been found as of yet.

===================================

Dark Age of Camelot
Version 1.87e Release Notes
Zone bonus and class changes
January 9, 2007

===================================



NEW THINGS AND BUG FIXES


- The bonus to experience and coin gained that currently exist in all Shrouded Isles zones is being changed. The double coin bonus will remain the same and this bonus will also be added to all Classic zones. The experience bonus will be reduced to 150% and this bonus will also be added to all Classic zones. To summarize, all Classic and Shrouded Isles zones will have a 150% bonus to experience and a 200% bonus to coin for characters adventuring there.
Note: Double coin and experience will remain in all RvR areas.

- To complement the addition of the new border keep graphics, we have created an optimized version of the border keep that is used on the New Frontier side. This should help with the visual lag on the New Frontiers side of the border keeps.
Note: There is a known issue with zoning from the New Frontiers back to the realm-side of the border keep in Hibernia and Albion. Porters have been placed on the frontier side of both Hibernian and Albion border keeps temporarily to assist players in returning to their home realm.

- (Pendragon only) Fixed an issue with the new Warden Healing Over Time progression. The spells will now be awarded at the proper level.

- (Pendragon only) Wardens will now properly receive the level 32 endurance reduction buff Attack Unceasing.

- (Pendragon only) Pets can no longer cast through water.



CLASS CHANGES


Bonedancers

- The health condition in which the Fossil Healers begin healing is now set to 75 percent instead of 90 percent.

- The shield styles introduced earlier in 1.87 will now favor the lower spec styles instead of the higher ones such as Slam. With this change the styles, in general, are used slightly more.

- The Health Regeneration spell cast by the Fossil Healers now has a 10 minute duration.

- (Pendragon only) The cast time for the Fossil Healer spell is now set to a 25 percent reduction instead of the 50 percent reduction introduced in 1.87d.

- Dread Commander changes: The Dread Commander now has several possible defensive procs that grant one of the following - blade turn, haste buff, evade buff and parry buff.

- There are now specialty commanders available at 40 spec for each line: Bone Army, Darkness and Suppression.

Bone Army

Dread Archer

- Has a high evade rate.
- Has access to sword and shield styles.
- Has a dexterity buff that it will cast on spawn and via keyword command.
- Has a defensive proc ability that grants an accuracy boost.
- Has an Armor Factor debuff proc.

Darkness

Dread Lich

- This commander can cast while in melee until successfully interrupted a few times.
- Has an archmagery buff which it will cast on spawn and via keyword command.
- Has access to a disease spell.
- Has access to a debuff/nuke spell.
- Has access to a snare spell.
- Has access to a direct damage spell.

- Through keyword commands, the Bonedancer can control which type of spells the Dread Lich casts. By default the lich will cast the disease and debuff/nuke spell. Keyword control grants access to debilitating, snare and damage spell options. The Dread Lich can only cast one set of these spells at a time.


Suppression

Dread Guardian

- This commander can cast while in melee until successfully interrupted a few times.
- Has an armor factor shield it will cast on spawn and via keyword command.
- Has an absorption shield that it will cast via keyword command.
- Has a defensive proc that will cast an Ablative Shield.
- Has a Health Regeneration spell that will stack with the Fossil Healers.
- Has a Power Regeneration spell.

- The recast timer of the Bonedancer's instant lifetap in the Suppression line has been increased to 8 seconds.

- The levels that Bonedancers receive their Commander pets have been adjusted. The new progression is as follows:

1 Summon Bone Boss
7 Summon Bone Overseer
12 Summon Bone Chieftain
20 Summon Bone Commander
32 Summon Bone Master


- In order to facilitate these changes, several spells were shifted by 1 level.

Level 40 Spell, Bone Knives (Damage Add) has been moved to level 41.
Level 5 Spell, Lesser Bones to Dirt (Damage Over Time) has been moved to level 4.
Level 6 Spell, Bones to Iron (Heal) has been moved to level 5.
Level 7 Spell, Bones to Dirt (Damage Over Time) has been moved to level 6.


Enchanters

- Underhill Friends now have a chance to evade.

- The heal spell cast by the Underhill Ally has had the cast time reduced by 50 percent.


Necromancers

- The following elixirs can now be used while in shade form: Elixir of Strength, Elixir of Dexterity, Elixir of Fortitude, Elixir of Enlightenment, Elixir of Deftness and Elixir of Might.

- All Necromancer pets are now one level higher when summoned. This means that they cap out now at level 45 instead of level 44.

The following changes have been made to the Lesser Zombie servant:

- Has a chance to double swing.
- Has a chance to proc a short duration stun that triggers immunity.
- Has had its defense and hit point values increased slightly.
- Is resistant to Root and Mesmerize spells.


The following changes have been made to the zombie servant:

- Has a chance to double swing.
- Has a chance to proc an absorption Debuff.
- Has had its defense and hit point values increased slightly.
- Is resistant to Root and Mesmerize spells.


The following changes have been made to the Reanimated Servant:

- It can now evade.
- It has had its defense value increased slightly.
- It can now use thrust styles.


The following changes have been made to the Necroservant:

- It has had its defense and offensive value increased slightly.
- It can now use slash styles.
- It can now use shield styles.


The following changes have been made to the Greater Necroservant:

- It has had its offensive and hit point value increased slightly.
- It can now use critical styles.
- It can now has a chance to double swing.
- With keyword commands the Greater Necroservant can now proc a melee range disease or poison Damage Over Time.
- On spawn and via keyword command it will cast a Dexterity Buff on itself.


Shaman

- A new group endurance regeneration chant has been added to the Augmentation spell line. It will follow the same level progression as the existing concentration based endurance regeneration in the Augmentation spell line.

2 Minor Earth Vivification
12 Lesser Earth Vivification
22 Earth Vivification
32 Greater Earth Vivification
42 Superior Earth Vivification


Skalds

- A new fatigue reduction chant has been added to the Battlesongs spell line. This chant will reduce the endurance cost of combat styles, similar to the Friar's Saint's Energy spell line.

12 Chant of Energy 10% Reduction
22 Chant of Stamina 15% Reduction
32 Chant of Persistence 20% Reduction
42 Chant of Tenacity 25% Reduction

- A new melee ablative chant has been added to the Battlesongs spell line. This chant will absorb 100% of each hit, up to the maximum amount listed.

30 Barrier of Sound 25 Health Points per tick
40 Shield of Melody 40 Health Points per tick
50 Wall of Song 70 Health Points per tick


Spiritmasters

- A new permanent charm spell has been added to the Spiritmaster's Darkness spell line. This will allow the Spiritmaster to charm monsters up to 100% of the caster's level, or to the highest level allowed by the spell.

12 Hel's Control Level 26 maximum
26 Hel's Possession Level 40 maximum
34 Hel's Dominion Level 50 maximum

- The shield styles introduced earlier in 1.87 will now favor the lower spec styles instead of the higher ones such as Slam. With this change the styles, in general, are used slightly more.



TRADESKILL NOTES


- The craftable costume potions have been changed so they delve correctly.

- Tinctured bows (and crossbows) now have appropriate sellback values that take into account the added cost to craft them. Note that this will only apply to those crafted after 1.87e.

- (Pendragon only) You no longer need to talk to an order-master to transition between 100 point thresholds. You no longer receive a "free" skill point, everything that used to happen when you talked to your order master, should now happen on the multiples of 100 skill points.

- (Pendragon only) /setwho should now work correctly when changing orders.

- (Pendragon only) Crafted items will now be created with max condition.

- The object being spell crafted will no longer be destroyed in a spell-crafting critical failure. Only the gems will be destroyed.

- There is now a 30% chance to skill up woodworking by repairing doors that are within 50 points of your skill level to repair. Example: You will gain skill points if you have between 200 and 249 points in woodworking on a wood5 door.

CAMELOT CLASSIC WORLD NOTES


General


- (Pendragon only) The portal pads for Sauvage and Druim Ligen have been put back into the revamped border keeps.

- (Pendragon only) Fixed the issue where characters traveling from the realm side of the Hibernian border keeps into the New Frontiers would arrive above the ground.

- (Pendragon only) Fixed the issue where characters were having difficulty returning to the realm side of the Hibernian border keeps from the New Frontiers side.


Quests - Albion


- Fragile Alliance (Epic 1) and Trouble at the Abbey (Epic 2) - Heretics, Necromancers, and Reavers will no longer be directed to Bishop Kustan to begin these quests, but will be correctly directed to the Arawnite Envoy.

- The Hobgoblin Job - The Recruit's Axe no longer uses a polearm model.


Quests - Midgard


- Helping the Svartalfar - Maulers may now successfully complete the quest.


Quests - Hibernia


- Freeing Osier - Graoch will no longer have troubles advancing past step 2.

- Xaxnxi's Quest - Maulers may now successfully complete the quest.

- Hunting the Highwayman - The text for step 1 now specifies that the Gurite must be slain in Lough Gur.



SHROUDED ISLES WORLD NOTES


General


- The map for Faraheim has been updated to correct the spelling of the connecting zone 'Modernagrav'.

- Pathing has been redone for the Avalon Isle zone. This fixes an issue where pets would fall through the ground in the entryway to Avalon City.



TRIALS OF ATLANTIS WORLD NOTES


General

- Level 50 versions of the salamanders have been added throughout Atlantis where other salamanders can be found.


Master Levels

- The value of the Convoker Master Level 9 ability, Summon Mastery has been reduced from a 20 level increase for a controlled pet to a 5 level increase in any RVR zone, such as New Frontiers, Labyrinth or Darkness Falls. The ability remains unchanged when used in all PVE zones and all of Gaheris.