EQ2 Update Notes : 12/20/2005

[Martrae]

*** Headlines ***

- 'Tis the season for Frostfell time!
- Find quest givers easier with new quest indicators!
- Want to know the reward for completing a quest? No problem!
- New horses have been trained for Level 40 guilds--Mistrunners and
Nightmares!
- Subclass armor has a new look and class-tailored stats!
- Get ready to explore the new Fallen Gate!
- Summoned pets get more distinct looks!
- New enemy mastery choices at level 52!
- New EQII Expansions Reward: Receive bonus veteran reward time for owning Desert of Flames!


*** Frostfell ***

- It's Frostfell time in Norrath!
- Talk to Gardy Giftgiver in either Qeynos Harbor or West Freeport once a day for lots of fun presents! He has 15 to give you in all, including new music boxes that play your favorite EverQuest Live tunes.
- Those Gigglegibber goblins are up to no good again. Help the Frostfell Elves save Frostfell! Just talk to Pinchy Presentpeeler to start the quest.
- Celebrate the holidays by having snowball fights with all your friends.
- Buy decorations for your home from the Frostfell elves.
- The festivities commence in Qeynos Harbor and West Freeport. Look for the Frostfell tree!


*** Questing ***

- An NPC that will offer, update, or complete a quest now has an indicator above its head.
* A quill indicates that the NPC will offer you a quest.
* A book with a quill indicates that the NPC will update one of your quests.
* A book indicates that the NPC will complete one of your quests.
* NPCs that offer a quest 10 or more levels above or below your adventure level will not display these indicators.
* You can turn off these indicators in the Options menu (User Interface -> Name and Chat Bubble -> NPC Overhead Quest Icons).
- Zone maps now display a circle where there is a nearby NPC that offers, updates, or completes a quest.
* NPCs that give a quest are indicated by an open yellow circle.
* NPCs that update or complete quests are indicated by a filled yellow circle.
* Mousing over these icons will show you the name of the NPC.
* NPCs that offer a quest 10 or more levels above or below your adventure level will not be shown on the map.
* You can turn off the quest giver map icons in the Options menu (User Interface -> Game Features -> Show quest icons on map).
- The Quest Journal will now display quest rewards--no more guessing what you'll receive for performing a task. You will also be able to see quest rewards before accepting a new quest.
* Not all quests will show their rewards; some special rewards are meant to be a surprise.
* You can turn off the display of rewards in the Options menu (User Interface -> Game Features -> Show quest rewards).


*** New Guild Level 40 Mounts ***

- New mounts have been trained for use by level 40 guilds.
- The Mistrunner is available to Qeynosians with plain, blue, and purple saddles.
- The Nightmare is available to Freeportians with plain, black, and red saddles.


*** Subclass Armor Quests ***

- The armor rewards for the level 20 subclass armor quests now have a unique appearance per subclass.
- All of the armor now has unique stats appropriate for each subclass.
- If you have already completed your armor quests, speak with the assistant next to the NPC you originally did the quests for.


*** Dungeon Exploration ***

Fallen Gate
- The Fallen Gate has been invaded by Thexian explorers and Tseralith is stirring.
- The population within Fallen Gate has been improved, now with 50% more evil.
- Discover new treasures by exploring the Fallen Gate and vanquishing its denizens.


*** Summoned Pets ***

- Summoned pets now have consistent and distinct appearances at each spell level. For example, the level 52 Conjurer ability Tellurian Myrmidon is the only spell that will summon a rock elemental pet; the Necromancer ability Rotting Thrall is the only spell that will summon the previously overused zombie. Other levels will summon different creature types.
- Summoned pets in a given spell line have a distinct look at each quality tier. For example, the Necromancer's Diseased Servant spell summons a skeleton warrior. As the spell is increased in quality tier (Apprentice I, Adept I, etc.), the skeleton looks more impressive.
- Temporary pets also have new appearances. For example, the Shadowknight's Tainted Sacrament line will change in appearance with upgrades.
- Persistent summoned pets start out with a base number of abilities. An additional ability is granted to the pet at each spell level upgrade.
Pet spells in the level 52 to 60 spell range now have an additional ability that they did not have before.
- Temporary Pets (e.g. Conjurer's Roaring Flames and Necromancer's Ghastly Stench) will now cast their close-range AoE spell more often.
- Pets will no longer inherit abilities based on their creature type.
- Temporary Pets now display their owner's name.
- Fighter and Scout pets now use their combat arts more often.
- Fighter pets now taunt more often, and their taunts have a lower chance of being resisted. Their taunt effectiveness should now scale properly with level.
- Some Conjurer Fighter pets now have interrupt/knock-down effects, while some Necromancer Fighter pets now have root/stifle effects.
- Scout pets had their damage adjusted based on the reuse timer of the combat art. Slower combat arts now do increased damage, while faster combat arts now do less damage. Overall, Scout pets should deal about the same amount of damage they did before.
- Mage pets focus more on AoE spells than they used to. These spells have generally been made more effective.
- Mage pets are much more resistant to spell damage than they were before, and the size of their power pool has been increased. Casting times on their spells were generally decreased, and their single-target spells will land more often than they did before.
- The Illusionist pet spell list now also includes Stunning Array, Lock Mind, and a direct damage/mez spell. They no longer try to cast DoT spells on their target.
- Summoned pets now have the same base run speed as their owners.


*** Enemy Mastery ***

- Player characters can now choose from four new Enemy Mastery options at level 52: Cyclops, Djinn, Harpy, or Naga.
- You will automatically be granted the ability to choose your new Enemy Mastery option--just click the blinking character advancement icon.


*** Veteran Rewards ***

- If you own Desert of Flames, you will receive 90 days added to your Account Age, which is used to determine which Veteran Rewards you are eligible for.
- It's our way of saying thanks to those of you who are enjoying our expansion.


*** Desert of Flames ***

Zones and Population
- Be on your toes. The Hall of a Hundred Doors is now faster than before.
- The Black Queen in the Court of Al-Afaz is now more difficult to vanquish.
- Wandering Djinn and all named creatures within the Poet's Palace now see invisible players.
- A heroic giant encounter will no longer spawn after killing solo devils and falcons in the Pillars of Flame.
- Increased chances of Anaz'Mal diviners spawning in the Sinking Sands.
- Increased spawn rate on Anaz'Mal relics slightly in the Sinking Sands.
- Increased spawn rate of Sandscrawler Magus goblins and slightly reduced spawn rate of Sandscrawler grunts/menders in the Sinking Sands.
- Increased the spawn rate of the Sul'Dal skeletons in the Eye of Anuk in the Sinking Sands.
- Charra'zon, Uphian, Zathos, and King Vach should be more of an appropriate challenge now.
- Terrorantula can now be attacked from a greater distance.

Quests
- The quests for the treasure chest keys in the Clefts of Rujark are now repeatable.
- Shing Ho and Shu Fang Qi will now allow characters currently on "Disciples Edicts" and "Service to the Order" to complete those quests when the characters' faction is kindly or above.


*** The Splitpaw Saga ***

- The Vault in Acts of War and Brutal Acts of War should no longer be grey to lvl 60 players.
- Kitty can no longer be found in the Hidden Cache; it seems that a bucket of fish has taken up residence where she once was.


*** Gameplay ***

- Poisons and potions will no longer drop when you die.
- Heroic Opportunities will now only appear for nearby members of your group.
Group members who are not near each other can now initiate heroic opportunities with separate encounters.
- Pets will hide when riding the griffon or transport carpets, instead of having to dismiss them.
- Ungrouped players are now chosen first to be kicked out of an instance that has raid size limits.
- Coercers can now duel with a charmed pet.
- Poisons (as well as other applied effects that have a chance to proc on a successful attack) now only trigger upon successful attacks made with the weapon in the primary hand. Note: Weapons with an inherent damage proc (like all crafted imbued weapons) are unaffected and will continue to proc regardless of which hand they are equipped in.
- NPC movement speeds have been increased proportionate to Live Update #17's player run speed increase.


*** Quests ***

- Fethar Lothki and Ethri Vasou's group writs now point at Spiritbound apothecaries instead of mystics.
- You can again talk with Deputy Stoutgut to complete "I Hate Those Wimmin."
- Mooshga in the Commonlands will now allow adventurers who have already been working for her to complete "Mooshga's Good Eats."
- Blood vipers instead of fairy seekers are required to complete the "Outlying Freeport Creature Catalog" quest.
- The rock for the Robe of the Invoker no longer spawns on the ground, but will drop more frequently from creatures.


*** Zones and Population ***

- Players will be able to advance through Nektropos Castle after completing the Everling Lockets quest and killing Lord Everling without having to complete the event again. Those who have previously completed it before this change will have to complete it one last time.
- Some named creatures within the Feerrott and Cazic-Thule can no longer be charmed.
- Centipedes will no longer count as snakes when hunting for quests in the Thundering Steppes.


*** Items ***

- Many level 50+ tradeskilled bucklers now provide a wisdom benefit.
- Item Health and Power regen rates now all use the same regeneration standard and cap out at the following currently:
* In-combat HP regen cap is (3 x Level )
* In-combat Power regen cap is (1.5 x Level)
* In-combat item HP regen cap is (3 x Level x 0.5)
* In-combat item Power regen cap is (1.5 x Level x 0.5)
- Raid leaders who have set group loot options to leader-only will be able to distribute loot to any member of any group in the raid.
- A dog catcher has passed through the Thundering Steppes and the ankle biter population is once again under control.


*** Spells and Combat Arts ***

- Stone skin effects will now work regardless of the level of the attacker.

Assassin changes:
- Assassin's Blade had its damage reduced by 6%, but its reuse timer was lowered by 40%.
- Assassin's Mark had its reuse timer lowered to 30 seconds, and its proc rate was reduced to 5%. It now procs only once, and places a debuff that causes the target to take damage for every melee hit instead of damage over time.
- Friendly Shadows can now only be cast on another player character.

Berserker changes:
- Provoking Stance and its upgrades now place a heavy snare on the caster instead of a root.

Coercer changes:
- Damaged Psyche is now less likely to be resisted.

Enchanter changes:
- Daunting Gaze and its subclass upgrades now have a casting time of 2 seconds.

Guardian changes:
- Goading Defense and its upgrades now place a heavy snare on the caster instead of a root.
- Entrench now breaks less often, costs less power, has a reduced casting time, and has a shorter reuse timer. Its duration now increases with level.
- Tower of Stone reduced the amount of shield damage received.
- Sentry Watch now has a reduced casting time, a larger radius of effect, and a shorter reuse timer.

Illusionist changes:
- Disappointment is now less likely to be resisted.

Paladin changes:
- Amends now siphons slightly less hate.

Priest changes:
- Instant group heal spell lines had their radius increased from 10 meters to 20 meters.

Ranger changes:
- Dance of Trees had its icon changed to match the rest of the ability line.
- Stream of Arrows is no longer resisted as if it were a spell.

Shadowknight changes:
- Summon Squire can now be toggled, and will persist across zone lines.
- Pox Sword will now appear under Combat Arts.

Sorcerer changes:
- Concussive is a new level 15 spell that will reduce hate with the next spell that lands on the Sorcerer's target.

Summoner changes:
- Call Servant is a new level 15 spell that will teleport a summoned pet to the Summoner.
- Fighter pets should now use attack animations more often when they use combat arts.

Swashbuckler changes:
- Swarthy Distraction can now only be cast on another player character.
- Flamboyant Strike's examine info should now be correct.
- Hail of Steel is no longer resisted as if it were a spell.

Templar changes:
- Beams of Faith now has a shorter reuse timer.
- Reverence had its heal percentage increased.
- Unyielding Benediction is now a more appropriate upgrade to Vigilant Benediction.

Warden changes:
- Hierophantic Genesis had its initial power cost reduced. It also grants a small amount of power recovery over time to the recipient.
- Winds of Frost had its power cost increased to be more appropriate for the amount of damage it deals.
- The healing effects of Protecting Grove will now match the range indicated on the spell.

Warlock changes:
- Boundless Fury is now correctly set as a level 56 spell instead of level 58. The recipe's level was also adjusted.
- Toxic Grasp and Virulent Grasp now have examine info that matches each spell's effect.
- Netherous Realm now also triggers procs from disease-based spells.

Warrior changes:
- Hold the Line now places a heavy snare on the caster instead of a root.

Wizard changes:
- Fiery Inferno is now correctly set as a level 56 spell instead of level 58. The recipe's level was also adjusted.


*** Tradeskills ***

- The following level 50+ food and drinks now have an increased duration:
* Artichoke Stew
* Beer Braised Camian
* Caiman Pasta
* Dried Pear
* Eel Soup
* Herring Sandwich
* Pear Muffins
* Coriander Grilled Caiman
* Coriander Grilled Herring
* Fiery Sabertooth Steak
* Macadamia Pie
* Shrimp Pasta
* Artichoke Kalish
* Chai
* Creamed Maj'Dul Coffee
* Dark Pear Ale
* Gingerbread Man
* Glogg
* Golden Eye
* Mulled Pear Wine
* Pear Fizzlepop
* Pear Sparkling Wine
* Pear Tea
* Starcrest Kiss
* Starcrest Coffee
* The Overlord
* Mental Core Breach (This is a six step recipe, so it additionally increases the user's power pool by 100).
- Many level 50+ Provisioner recipes are now "finish" recipes rather than "interim."
- Unhallowed Aura (Shadowknight) should now have the correct name in its corresponding Alchemy recipe books.


*** Art ***

- The following items now have an updated appearance: Gloves of the Dark Disciple, Sandals of the Dark Disciple, Gi of the Dark Disciple, Shoulder Pads of the Dark Disciple, Skullcap of the Dark Disciple, Rujarkian Woven Gi.


*** Commands, Controls, and User Interface ***

- The base resistibility of a hostile spell is now shown in the spell's examine info.
- The faction window will now automatically keep factions sorted as they change.
- Pet combat now shows under its own chat category (Combat -> Melee Combat -> Your Pet Hits, etc)
- Pet damage bubbles will appear colored to the owner:
* Pet hits something: yellow
* Pet gets hit: dark red
- Combat bubble colors can now be changed in the options (User Interface-> Combat Bubble Colors)
- The count of house items on your house window will now indicate how many actual items you have and how many count toward the max for your house type.
- The raid window will now correctly highlight group leaders.
- You can now search for food and drink by level range.
- You can now search for drinks separately from food.
- Group loot messages will now contain links to items.


*** UI Files Updated ***

eq2ui_inventory_store.xml
eq2ui_inventory_market.xml
eq2ui_journal_quest.xml
eq2ui_mainhud_map.xml
eq2ui_mainhud_persona.xml
eq2ui_newcharscene.xml
eq2ui_popup_rewardpack.xml
eq2ui_mainhud_lotto.xml
eq2ui_mainhud_society.xml
eq2ui_options.xml
eq2ui_inventory_inventory.xml

-The EverQuest II Team

[Martrae]

- An NPC that will offer, update, or complete a quest now has an indicator above its head.
* A quill indicates that the NPC will offer you a quest.
* A book with a quill indicates that the NPC will update one of your quests.
* A book indicates that the NPC will complete one of your quests.
* NPCs that offer a quest 10 or more levels above or below your adventure level will not display these indicators.
* You can turn off these indicators in the Options menu (User Interface -> Name and Chat Bubble -> NPC Overhead Quest Icons).


Ugh...at least you can turn it off.

[kaharthemad]

- An NPC that will offer, update, or complete a quest now has an indicator above its head.
* A quill indicates that the NPC will offer you a quest.
* A book with a quill indicates that the NPC will update one of your quests.
* A book indicates that the NPC will complete one of your quests.
* NPCs that offer a quest 10 or more levels above or below your adventure level will not display these indicators.
* You can turn off these indicators in the Options menu (User Interface -> Name and Chat Bubble -> NPC Overhead Quest Icons).


Ugh...at least you can turn it off.

well for starting out it is nice...that way I can look at a guy and find a quest. I have leveled so many damn alts I would just like to look at a NPC and see he can give me a level oriented quest.

After a bit nope...doubt Ill use it at all

[Darcler]

Weren't some of the EQ2 kids ragging on WoW for having indicators above quests NPC's heads?

[Kaemon]

This reminds me of WoW too... Although keeping pve and pvp skills seperate sounds cool. So does the Exile, if you decide to betray, you'll be fucked for a while

PvP has been a topic we've been discussing quite a bit on the team for the past few months, and it's time we start talking about it openly.

While it's true that we wanted to focus purely on PvE for the launch of EverQuest II, PvP has always been a direction that we've wanted to expand into when the time was right.

We've had a number of ideas for ways we could introduce PvP. Some weeks ago, we ran a poll on the boards asking what kind of action would interest people the most. The majority indicated they'd first want to see us bring PvP to separate servers containing a distinct ruleset.

One of the potential plans that we were fond of fit well with that sentiment, and we've been expanding on it for the past few weeks.

We think it's the best choice for EverQuest II, and we're glad to see that most everyone agreed. After all, EverQuest II has the perfect setting for it. A post-cataclysmic world with factions bitterly divided. Qeynos vs Freeport. Good vs Evil. We couldn't ask for a better setting for this kind of gameplay.

Expect more details to surface soon in the EverQuest 2 Forums For now, here are some of the concepts we've been developing:

There will be two new, separate PvP Ruleset servers to begin with. One will most likely be Exchange-Enabled, the other will not. We will have the ability to add more of either kind when the need arises.
One huge concern is that no one wants PvP balance to ever impact PvE balance. There will not be PvE combat nerfs because of PvP. We have separate controls for what goes on in PvP. Since this is a piece that we knew we'd need no matter which direction we went, this is something we've already implemented.
This is strict good vs. evil. You're only grouping with others of your alignment, and opposing aligned PCs highlight to you the same way that NPC encounters would. If you're betraying or don't have a city to call home, you're an Exile, and a target for everyone.
PvP will not be restricted to specific zones. It will take place all across the world of EverQuest II. Fight in dungeons, fight out in the wilds, defend your town, or attack the opposing side.
EQII will be introducing the concept of Honorable, Neutral, and Dishonorable victories. Honorable victories are where the rewards lie.
The first of the rewards for defeating your city's enemies include: Status and Standing with your PvP faction.
Additionally, we would like to include adventure experience rewards. While exceptionally difficult, it would be theoretically possible to level up purely by defeating other players in combat. This is a concept that we are working hard to be able to include, and hope that we are able to prevent friend-farming enough to where it is a concept that can see the light of day.
Once you earn PvP standing, you can buy valuable and useful items from your faction's merchants. This is real, desirable equipment, not just tokens, trophies, and trinkets, though we will be trying to include these as well for flavor. You wouldn't be able to dress yourself head to toe in them, though, as Adventuring and Crafting still play an important role in this ruleset.
Stay tuned to the forums in the coming weeks for more information on both the ruleset and how you can help playtest it on the PvP beta server.

It's time to heat up the cold war.

http://newsletters.station.sony.com/newsletter.vm?lang=en&purpose=longnews&topic=eq2_dof&date=121905&skin=1#0

[mofish]

Love the diversified pet appearances, finally. My current pet looks gimpier, but thats ok. The Nightshade (60 necro pet) Master 1 is a dual katana wielding vampiress. Sweet