With GU61 right around the corner (Tuesday, 23 Aug 2011), SmokeJumper has posted a note on the official forums warning players of some of the changes that will have an immediate impact on players. Read on to see what Smokejumper had to say and our commentary on ways to prepare.
Having used my adornment calculator for a while now, there have been a few times where having the short descriptions in the drop down lists instead of the name of the adornment has been frustrating. Usually, this is when I’m trying to put in what I currently have adorned, rather than starting from scratch. The descriptions work well when you’ve never adorned a particular slot, but there are times when you don’t need them and would rather see the adornment names. For example, if I wanted to send a link to someone that shows my current adornments, I would first need to enter all the ones I’m currently wearing. Sometimes that’s easier by using the short descriptions but a lot of times it’s easier to go by the name of the adornment. Now, you have a choice.
You can now choose which way you want the adornment calculator to show the drop down lists. And you can change it back and forth at any point without losing what you’ve already chosen. Just click the radio button for “Adornment Descriptions” or “Adornment Names” just above the list of adornments.
Enjoy!
After a growing silence about key parts of Game Update 61, specifically unexpected mechanics and itemization changes in high level gear, Salim “Silius” Grant, EQ2 Mechanics Lead, has stepped up and provided a detailed response to the issues as laid out so well by a determined player, Nevao in a thread entitled May we have a “State of the GU” post?
Responses from Silius are in red:
- Itemization Changes
Tier 3 to T8 revamp? Last time I checked there were still reports of items with insanely out of whack stats given the tier (mid-tier items with 40+ weapon skills for example) and items that were previously open to multiple classes now restricted to just a few (either directly or through stats). Where are we on this and are the devs happy with where it’s going?
- Stat values are being tweaked and fixed when we find the bugs.
- The goal of reitemize was to make items relevent to our current mechanics. This means that items will become polarized to the more archetypical setup we use now.
Moments ago, we spoke with Gninja on Test, who has been working hard on spot-checking and fixing any gaps in the Reitemization of level 20-80 items. He’s also been talking to players, examining linked items, and checking bug reports. He also linked some of the loot from Dynamic Dungeons and some higher level items which have gotten new effects.
From the EQ2 Forums:
If you have specific examples [of itemization issues] please PM them to us. We can take alook at them on a case by case basis. I should also be available on the test server looking for feedback/issues in the next day or two. Thanks for the work you guys have put into it thus far!
I also ask that you make sure they are still a valid issue before sending the info as we have caught a bunch of the issues and already pushed them to test server with the fixes applied.
It was easy to interpret SmokeJumper‘s suggestion that StationCash purchases could count as “time” towards Veteran Rewards and, taken to its logical conclusion, allow players on EQ2X or even Live to “buy” Veteran time. However this is not what he meant! Here’s a clarification:
Veteran subscribers that have been here forever have already received their rewards. That would be a “no” for [taking previous time into account]. We’d only give them “backlog” credits from the last vet reward time to now.
But for EQ2X’ers, you’ve never received credit, so you’d get credits as far back as August last year when we launched if you’ve been here that whole time.
There are many details to work out before we implement however, so I should stop throwing out details. We may want to change our minds about some things.
For those of you who don’t have 77 minutes to listen to this week’s SOE Podcast, we’ve listened for you and provide details of the “War of Zek-cast”. First, a few bullet points…
EQ2Wire Transcript
After the jump, we provide a loose transcript of Linda “Brasse” Carlson interviewing Dave “SmokeJumper” Georgeson (whom you all either love or loathe as the case may be) and Akil “Lyndro” Hooper (returning as EQ2 Lead Designer after an extended break).
SmokeJumper mentioned changes to the Veteran Rewards system at Fan Faire and touched on them further today on the EQ2 Forums:
I can’t get you a solid ETA yet, but yes, we’ll have a revamp coming. The design is outlined and we’re committed to the concept.
Basically, we’ll make a system by which you get a token or credit (or something) every day that you play (for subscribers, including Gold & Plat) and other metrics (for Silver & Bronze folks). Then we’ll create a category of things which are “veteran rewards” that all have costs associated with them. You can buy any of them after you accumulate enough credit.
There’s lots of fun stuff we can do with a system like this. That’s just the basics. It’s something we’ve needed to do for a while now and we’ll get to it as soon as we can after the big November release.
Naladini made a suggestion about spending StationCash on EQ2X:
Spend XX in SC, and it counts as an active month towards the point system.
SmokeJumper‘s response, along with mention of rewards for Testing content:
This is probable. We’ll probably also develop an incentive program for players that help us test features before release on Test-Copy. That would all tie into the same rewards system.
From EverQuest2.com:
Join us for the Official SOE Podcast #115 – the “War of Zek-Cast!” Your host, Aimee “Ashlanne” Rekoske is joined by your co-host Tiffany “Amnerys” Spence. Listen in as they chat about the War of Zek update coming to EQII and reveal the latest Fan Spot Challenge Winner. We’ll also have two interviews for you this Podcast.
Linda “Brasse” Carlson chats with Akil “Lyndro” Hooper (returning EQ2 Lead Designer) and Dave “SmokeJumper” Georgeson (Executive Producer of the EverQuest franchise) first, and then with Kyle “Kander” Vallée and Paul “Cronyn” Molina. Both interviews will cover EverQuest II’s War of Zek update.
From the EQ2 Forums:
Your host Eric “Piestro” Cleaver will be joined by EQII Producer Dave “SmokeJumper” Georgeson and Lead Programmer Greg “Rothgar” Spence on Thursday, August 18, 2011, at 4:00 PM Pacific, for this week’s webcast on Stickam. They will be talking about EQII’s Game Update 61, The War of Zek, and the new feature that allows players to capture video in-game and upload it to YouTube!
Join us on Thursday, August 18, 2011, at 4:00 p.m. US Pacific Time*, as we live stream this webcast on the SOE channel on Stickam! You can also tune in through the Stickam tab on our Facebook page. The webcast is expected to last about 20 minutes.
Times:
Today’s update is all about taming the difficulty of Zek and other Velious group and raid zones (challenge and normal modes).
From the EQ2 Patch Notes:
POPULATION / ZONE PROGRESSION
Sullon’s Spire, Tallon’s Stronghold, and Vallon’s Tower x4 raid zones (NOT challenge mode)
- Several of the encounters in the zone have been made less powerful so that the challenge from these zones is more in line with the rewards. In particular boss npcs will tend to melee attack for less damage, and many of their aoe spells will also do less damage, as well as be more mitigateable.
As we reach August’s midway point, we are potentially in the “home stretch” on Game Update 61. If internal schedules hold true, we could see the next update pushed to live servers in 2 weeks. This is usually the point where player anxiety levels are highest, as what’s on Test seems incomplete and not ready for prime time. Although it’s a well-worn cycle, the question is always “Will it be ready?” Will 2 weeks of dev crunch time result in a solid Game Update 61?
Level 20-80 Reitemization
We’d caught hints, but Fan Faire brought confirmation that level 20-80 gear was being reitemized.
When I first heard this announcement, I hoped that this would be done with a light touch. Despite organic development over 6 years, through several different producers, the itemization in EverQuest II from level 1-80 has been one of its strengths. Only through several revamps has Mastercrafted armor managed to disturb this progression. A revamp of level 20-80 gear should provide an opportunity to the EQ2 team to put this right, all while re-aligning Mastercrafted armor where it belongs, behind Legendary and Fabled dungeon drops. With a few minor tweaks, mostly adding Agility to any item wearable by Scouts, Intelligence to Mage-equippable items, and so forth, itemization would, at least from level 1-80, work with the changed mechanics, without losing its uniqueness.
From the EQ2 Forums:
The Butcherblock server will be offline on Tuesday, August 16, starting at 12:00 AM PDT for an estimated downtime of 24 hours. This maintenance is being completed for server hardware upgrades.
For those who were excited about the Felwithe Manor prestige house teased at Fan Faire, and perhaps have taken a tour on Test, it looks like there’s a wait ahead before they can be purchased. From Amnerys and confirmed by SmokeJumper on the EQ2 Forums:
I’m pretty sure I heard that this will be available sometime within the month or so after GU61 goes live. So I’d say most likely by the end of September.
Meanwhile a new style of house has already appeared on Test — a replica of the Court of Blades in the Maj’dul. A thread has been created about it on the EQ2 Forums. No word on when it will be released.
Have you participated in a Plane of War group or raid zone on Test?
Care to share some comments/impressions about the zone for inclusion in a future EQ2Wire article?
Send us an e-mail or in-game message on Butcherblock.Feldon.
Bunji posted this on August 11th at 5:54pm PDT on the EQ2 Forums:
[Everyone having monk AAs] will be fixed tomorrow morning. We couldn’t get the fix in tonight for [because?] the next build includes the house rating system which requires us to update the server databases (needed more time to do the update than normal basically).
Massively’s Larry “Shaddoe” Everett is looking to trial some different MMOs and, perhaps, bring more attention to them. For the next six weeks he’ll be trying out MMOs based on a voting system. Included in his list are EverQuest II and another SOE property: FreeRealms.
Choose My Adventure is a chance for Massively readers to guide one member of the writing staff on an adventure in a game of the readers’ choosing. For the next six weeks, I want you to choose my adventure for me. I have tried nearly every major title in the last decade, but I haven’t necessarily spent a lot of time in all of them. After the break, I will describe some of the games that I believe will be great for this task, and you can choose one for me via poll. Then, as a special bonus, on Friday at 6 p.m. EDT I will introduce you to each of the games on Massively’s Livestream channel.
Amnerys, EQ2’s Community Manager, posted a thread on the EQ2 Forums, encouraging players to head to Massively and vote for EQ2.
Peleş Castle, Sinaia courtesy Harvard.edu
From Amnerys on the EQ2 Forums:
Are you ready to show off your best house?
When the house ratings system launches with Game Update 61, we’d like to have a few outstanding house examples ready to show off in the Hall of Fame, so we’re asking you for some suggestions!
image courtesy fangshendo.com
Does your Bard bear a secret admiration for the martial arts? Does your barbarian Shadowknight aspire to move with the deftness of a butterfly? Maybe you’ve just been feeling a little punchy?
Silliness aside, the latest patch to the Test servers seems to have had an unintended consequence: Every class has now inherited the Class and Subclass trees of a Monk. While this could normally be chalked up to “expect the unexpected on Test”, what makes it interesting is that everyone’s Class and Subclass tabs have been relabeled Animalist and Beastlord. This led to early morning speculation that Beastlord AAs were about to be revealed.
EQ2Wire‘s Morgan “Feldon” was invited to sit down (virtually at least) with Dellmon and Aliscious for their 29th episode of the EQ2Talk podcast. It was a great pleasure to talk about the present and future of EQ2, Fan Faire, and what goes into running EQ2Wire.
From EQ2Talk.com:
In this episode, Dellmon and Aliscious are joined by Feldon of EQ2Wire! He talks about how Wire got started and what’s involved in keeping it going. He also gives us his take on some of the things going on in EQ2. And, because we have such an insightful guest, we have our very first Feldon Angle!
Click here to listen to Episode 29.
From the EQ2 Forums:
The Butcherblock server will be offline on Tuesday, August 16, starting at 12:00 AM PDT* for an estimated downtime of 24 hours. This maintenance is being completed for server hardware upgrades.
Time Zone Report:
From Xelgad in a thread about the lack of Troubador tweaks in Game Update 61:
Between the massive item revamp, the addition of spell auto-attack as well as the over cap conversions and the AA revamp, we haven’t had much time for class tweaks this GU. I look forward to working on the Troubador class as soon as we get some time to spare, and hopefully we’ll be able to come up with something cooler than an overpowered mythical effect.
Some pertinent observations on this from EQ2Flames:
From Slippery:
If you are a dirge and don’t think a change to the myth is coming at some point you are pretty stupid.
From Banditman:
That should probably make some Dirges nervous in fact.
From Gninja on the EQ2 Forums:
We will be allowing these events to continue after GU61 goes live.
We had originally planned to take them down with GU61 but in order for some of the less populated servers to complete the event we have decided to keep the event running. The merchant will remain for all servers regardless of completion or not but the ground spawns will stop spawning once the event is completed on each server respectfully (After GU61) The ground spawns will remain for servers that have not completed the event until the event is completed.
From Rothgar on the EQ2 Forums:
Hey guys, we understand that many of you feel strongly against this change. This is why we put things on test, right? We still have a couple of weeks before GU61 hits live. We’re busy finishing up GU61 and fixing bugs, so don’t expect daily responses from us on these issues, but that doesn’t mean we aren’t discussing them internally.
UPDATE: We have added an additional quote from Rothgar.
From the EQ2 Forums:
GENERAL
- Fixed a crash that could occur when taking screenshots.
POPULATION / ZONE PROGRESSIONVallon’s Tower Raid Zones
- All players may now enter the normal, non-challenge Vallon’s Tower x4 raid zone. Players can enter the challenge mode of Vallon’s Tower raid only after someone on the server has defeated Tallon Zek in Challenge mode.
Temple of Rallos Zek: Foundation of Stone [Challenge Mode]
- The greater warboars that spawn during the statue fight now have less health. Their combat madness taunt spell no longer persists through death.
Strategist’s Stronghold
- When Shini-Zon Livia summons the Winds of Zek, you now have more time to move away from them. The damage of Winds of Zek has been reduced.
Here’s our final video from SOE Fan Faire 2011 “EverQuest II: Content and Zone Design”.
If you’d like to view the transcript from this panel, check out our EQ2 Panel #6 – Content and Zone Design writeup.
