Update Notes: May 04, 2005

[Martrae]

*** Headlines ***

- Experience two new quest-based instanced adventure areas for soloers and small group players!
- Explore a new four-group level 50 epic raid adventure!
- Face danger when traveling on the high seas with new boat rides!
- Managing your guild is even easier with our new improved Guild window!
- Spirit shards absorb automatically when you get near them!
- Status upkeep reductions now visible when inspecting furniture!
- New treasures added to many epic boss fights!


*** New Quest Adventure Areas ***

Nektulos Forest – The Lair of the Necromancer
- An ancient power from before the Age of Cataclysms has been awakened in Nektulos Forest, and it's up to you to stop it!
- Sharhan, found near Behemoth Pond in Nektulos Forest, will give worthy adventurers a quest to explore a new instanced adventure area called the Lair of the Necromancer.
- This instance is best suited for soloers and small groups between levels 25 and 35.
- Once the quest is complete, adventurers can go back and battle within the lair whenever they like!

The Thundering Steppes - A Gnoll Cave
- Players who have completed the first series of quests on the new content path in Thundering Steppes can receive a quest from Tish Tickers that leads to a new instanced adventure area called A Gnoll Cave.
- Tish had some magical artifacts stolen by gnolls, and she needs you to retrieve them.
- This instance is best suited for soloers and small groups between levels 25 and 30.
- Once the quest is complete, players can return and fight the gnolls again whenever they like!


*** New Epic Adventure Area ***

- The Commune of K'Dal is a new instanced epic adventure area in Lavastorm for a full raid force of high-level characters.
- Adventurers will come upon a mining camp of dwarves under the control of a powerful Nightblood named K'Dal the Deceiver. Your conversation with the dwarves will determine how the fight with K'Dal progresses.
- This Nightblood has some powerful new abilities, and players will need to develop new strategies to defeat this fearsome foe. Those who do so will be rewarded with fabled treasures!


*** Adventure on the Seas ***

- Those seeking to make the journey to the Enchanted Lands, the Orcish Wastes, or the Feerrott now have another travel option available at a lower price.
- Gnomish entrepreneurs in Qeynos and Freeport are offering lower-priced boat travel to the destinations listed above, but adventurers will have to pitch in and keep their ship free of invaders.
- Speak to Gizrin Mimbles in East Freeport and Tocks Mimbles in Qeynos Harbor to learn the details of their new travel venture. Keep in mind that gnomes have been known to be unreliable navigators at times, so pay attention to what they say about the risks involved in booking passage aboard their ships.
- There are solo and group versions of these boat adventures, with multiple variations of each trip. Sometimes you may find your victory to be quite rewarding.
- Travelers booking passage must already have access to their destination.
- These tickets follow the same rules as the standard voyage tickets: they must be used before the purchaser zones or camps.
- Known issue: Group tickets are not currently transporting group members into the same boat zone. Please purchase individual tickets at this time. We will be fixing the group ticket issue in the next update.


*** Improved Guild Window ***

- The number of guild ranks has been expanded from 4 to 8, and guild ranks can now be given custom names. You can also see the number of members at each rank.
- Guild ranks now have flexible permissions. Guild leaders can customize the permissions at each rank to suit the needs of their guild structure. The order of ranks determines what actions can affect another player, i.e. you can't kick a player of equal or higher rank, even if you have kick permission. Guild leaders can still do anything to anyone, of course.
- Guilds now support shared notes. Each guild member can set a one line note about themselves that all their guildmates can see. There is a rank permission to allow modification of other players' notes.
- Guilds now support officer private notes. These are settable and viewable by those with the appropriate rank & permission.
- Guilds now have an event history. Events are generated for noteworthy actions such as leveling up, finding very good loot, and slaying epic monsters.
- You can now see the number of patrons in the guild on the main guild tab, and the tooltip for this control gives more information about the patron system.
- You can now see your guild rank, patron status, contributed status points, and guild join date on the main guild tab.
- You can now elect to be notified when guild members log in or out. You'll find this checkbox in the Main tab of the guild window.
- You can decide whether you want your member list to show tradeskill class, adventure class, or whichever is highest.
- Filters have been added to the guild member list. Instead of just a checkbox to show online members only, there is now a dropdown which lets you choose a filter such as: all members, online now, online today, online last 7 days, offline more than 30 days, etc.
- The tooltip on the guild XP bar has been fixed, and the bar has been enlarged to show progress more clearly.
- Known issues that will be addressed in the next update:
- The guild member count on the guild main page is currently affected by the filter setting on the guild member page.
- The guild log event for when a guild member gains a new adventure level is not being generated.


*** Gameplay ***

- Spirit shards will now automatically absorb when you get near them. You no longer have to click the shard yourself to absorb it.
- NPCs that cannot be attacked should no longer be able to aggro players.


*** Zones and Population ***

- Owlbears and spiders in Nektulos Forest can now drop a wider variety of loot.
- More Sabertooth Trackers can be found in The Thundering Steppes.
- Sullon assasins in The Orcish Wastes have decided to refer to themselves as Sullon assassins. Apparently orcs are making an effort to improve their spelling.
- There are now more dryads in The Feerrott near Murdunk's Fall.
- You can now double-click the entrances to Edgewater Drains from the Serpents Sewer.
- Gurndundl's size has been reduced to more closely match that of other giants in Nektulos Forest.
- Adventurers will now be able to repair damaged centaur faction in the Thundering Steppes. Settlers in Thundermist Village have grown alarmed by this announcement.


*** Epic Encounters ***

- The raid encounter with T'Haen the Lost will no longer spawn an unlimited number of adds.
- The Vision of Vox has returned to her roost in Permafrost.
- The melee resistances of epic bosses are now better balanced. An opponent that is immune to one damage type (such as slashing) should no longer have high resistance to another damage type (such as piercing).
- In addition to their normal loot, many epic bosses now drop new types of rare items unique to each encounter. Please note that these new treasures will be very rare and will not drop every time an encounter is defeated.
- The Vault of the Fallen epic encounter inside Fallen Gate has been modified to be both more challenging and more rewarding. The access quest for the Vault has also been made more accessible. Search the ruins of Fallen Gate for clues.


*** Quests ***

- Ceremony of the Fanged Necklace - Quest should now update in any zone which can fulfill the requirements.
- Tarby Boulderboom's dire wolf event will now provide an appropriate challenge.
- The "A Bow for a Beauty" quest in Antonica can now be completed.
- The Far Seas Requisition Desk in the Thundering Steppes will now give out the correct quests. The desk will stop glowing after all requisitions have been completed.
- The "Kouryick the Traitor" quest in West Freeport can now be completed.
- The "Sea of Mist," "Sea of Crossed Swords," and "Blackwater Seas" boat adventures are now listed as Access quests. This will allow players to delete the quests if they choose to do so.
- Obsid Boulderboom can now be hailed to get another Cracked Stone Hand Axe to start the Polished Granite Tomahawk heritage quest.
- Tish Tickers in The Thundering Steppes now requires all five of the coins to pay off her loan during the "Scrying Shame" quest.
- The "Haunted Helm" quest in Stormhold can now be completed.
- "They Stole My Food" in The Feerrott can now be completed.
- The "Feeling of the Fauna" quest in The Feerrott can now be completed.
- Bouncer Hurd has taken the place of Bouncer Prud as the target for the "Test Subjects" and "Feerrott Who's Who" quests in The Feerrott.
- Far Seas Requisition Special Contract #NF112-A will now update after surviving Death's Maw.
- The monks fought during the FBSS heritage quest will no longer knock their opponents back with quite as much velocity.
- Caius Callidus in West Freeport no longer asks adventurers to help with his problem, nor will he acknowledge adventurers who already agreed to help. In the future, he will require adventurers' help again. (Note: It would be prudent to delete this quest from your journal if you're currently on it.)
- Taskmaster Deldrin has sorted out his problems with requisition orders in the Thundering Steppes.
- Players must now choose one reward from the "Stop the Elementals" quest instead of getting all rewards.


*** Items ***

- Evol Machete is now lore.
- Bhorgeses Bracelet should now be more appropriate for players around level 27.
- Necklace of Fingers is now equippable in the neck slot.
- Glowing Fire Charred armor should now be attuneable.
- The Etheric Katar will now have a more appropriate appearance when equipped.
- Activatable items with multiple charges are no longer attuneable.
- A message in the chat window now indicates when poisons are applied or wear off.
- The buffs given by spirit totems had their duration increased from 3 minutes to 30 minutes.
- Goblin Rotgut now has the appropriate icon.
- The Bloody Claw of the Spirit Sucker now has an appropriate icon.
- "Rading" was changed to "Raiding" in the following items: Tallon Raiding Sword, Tallon Raiding Scimitar, and Tallon Raiding Dagger. Like we said before, the orcs are trying to improve.
- The following crafted poisons will now proc correctly:
- Anger of the Spirits
- Astonishing Visions
- Aura of Guardsmanship
- Aura of Salvation
- Aura of the Battlemaster
- Blessing of the Ages
- Bloodburst
- Bulwark of Shadow
- Circle of Sanctuary
- Disruptive Torment
- Enchanted Aura
- Influence of Hate
- Impenetrable Barrier
- Insufferable Anguish
- Irrepressible Vexation
- Malevolent Displacement
- Malignant Decay
- Noxious Regression
- Ravenous Incapacitation
- Retribution of the Sky
- Spirit of the Berserker
- Sting of the Beast
- Superior Protection
- Supernal Wave
- Untimely Concussion
- Ward of the Stalwart
- Wave of Protection


*** Spells and Combat Arts ***

- Spirit of the Wolf now lasts 30 minutes instead of 15, and can now be cast on those outside your group or raid.
- Enduring Breath can now be cast on those outside your group or raid.
- Feign death now works correctly against creatures that become aggro due to proximity without being locked.
- When charm wears off a creature, it can again be targeted with the "target nearest enemy" key.
- Hostile point-blank area of effect spells will no longer initiate a recast timer or consume resource pools or components when there are no hostile targets in the radius.

Brigand changes:
- Snarl will once again affect all members of an encounter.

Fury changes:
- Ferocity of the Eel's description now correctly indicates that it adds crushing damage over time rather than increasing the target's crushing skill.

Guardian changes:
- Iron Conviction will now improve as it is upgraded.
- Slate's Steely Resolve now lasts for 15 minutes.

Illusionist changes:
- Esida's Chromatic Deluge, Chromatic Storm, and Cerebral Tempest now provide a stifle effect.

Inquisitor changes:
- Conversion of the Soul will now heal more damage on a resurrected character than Reforming Soul.
- Dogmatic Healing and Intolerant Healing will now cast their haste effect on the target rather than the caster.
- Acts of Belief and Acts of Faith will now proc 5 times instead of 1.
- Unholy Fear should now have a more appropriate visual.

Monk changes:
- Goran's Slumbering Dragon can now be used in the same Heroic Opportunities as Swooping Dragon.
- Spider Stance will now provide a greater attack speed bonus as it is upgraded.

Mystic changes:
- Shadowy Attendants will no longer melee attack NPCs if they are hit with an AoE spell.

Paladin changes:
- Holy Sunder now requires a two-handed weapon to be cast, as described.

Predator changes:
- Blade Flurry will now only affect members of the targeted encounter.

Templar changes:
- Resurrect will now heal more damage on a resurrected character than Battle's Reprieve.
- Involuntary Healer and Involuntary Curate's healing effects should now work correctly.

Warden changes:
- Nature's Caress no longer has a fuel cost.


*** Tradeskills ***

- Wash, oil, resin, and tempers no longer share the same icon. Washes are now blue vials, oils are yellow oil cans, resins are green vials, and tempers are brownish-orange vials.
- Carpenter recipes for dowels, planed wood, and wood staves will now require sculpting/craftsmanship to produce instead of fletching/woodworking.
- The carpentry insight event will now return the technique buff properly, instead of consistently giving +150 progress and durability.
- The recipe for Ebon Vanguard Gantlets now properly requests fulginate studs instead of ebon.
- Harvestable objects used in trapping have been renamed to creature dens, critter dens, beast dens, and animal dens.
- Trapping dens within Nektulos Forest can now contain pig and lion meat.
- The following weapon imbue recipes have been added:
- Imbue Blackened Iron Crescent Axe - Advanced Weaponsmith Weapon Imbuing Volume 1
- Imbued Feyiron Spear - Weaponsmith Weapon Imbuing Volume 3
- Imbued Fulginate Short Spear - Weaponsmith Weapon Imbuing Volume 4
- Imbued Fulginate Claymore - Weaponsmith Weapon Imbuing Volume 4
- Imbued Fulginate Bastard Sword - Weaponsmith Weapon Imbuing Volume 4
- Imbued Ebon Sabre - Weaponsmith Weapon Imbuing Volume 4.
- Carpenters can now refine lumber using their own skills and reaction arts. These new carpentry recipes will appear in the following recipe books: Carpenter Essentials Volume 20, Advanced Carpenter Volume 20, Carpenter Essentials Volume 30, Advanced Carpenter Volume 30, and Carpenter Essentials Volume 40, and Advanced Carpenter Volume 40.
- The icon for bowstrings is now more appropriate.
- Credit will be given when harvesting Seafury Mackerels, Cauldron Blowfish, or Figs as part of a wholesaler task.
- Roasted Rye can now be created at level 20.
- Essence of Fury has been removed from Alchemist Essentials Volume 48 and Advanced Alchemist Volume 48, as the art no longer exists.
- Imbued Cedar Wands will now have greater intelligence bonuses as their quality is increased.
- Float Glass will now use 2 fuels instead of 10.


*** Housing ***

- All three-room houses located on Freedom Road in South Freeport now have appropriate costs and upkeep.
- All interior decoration options (walls, floors, trim, and ceiling) for each city are now available for purchase in all sizes of apartments and houses.
- The prices of Qeynosian interior decoration options now match those charged in Freeport.
- The cost of changing between decoration options that you already own has been reduced to 10 silver.


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

- The amount of Status upkeep defrayed by furnishings can now be seen when examining house items.
- Item tooltips now show in the quest reward, merchant, broker, and player store windows.
- There is now a confirmation box that appears when using the /lastname command.
- You will now see a message in the chat window if an enemy is immune to your melee attacks. These messages have been moved to the "Melee Warning" chat channel.
- There are now chat channels for harvesting messages so they can be filtered separately.
- You can now examine harvestable objects through their right-click context menu. This will indicate information such as what skill level an object requires to harvest, and when a harvest is trivial to you.
- You will no longer receive the "You gain experience" announcement at the top of the screen each time you receive experience.
- The shaped product of a recipe can again be examined in the recipe window.
- You can now examine the recipe byproduct in the recipe window.
- You can now examine the recipe products for levels you have previously created in the recipe window.
- If you change the orientation of your camera while riding a flying mount, the camera will remain in that position until you either move the camera or arrive at your destination
- There is now an option called "Free Look Controls" that determine how your character turns when holding down the left mouse button. "View Relative" is the new default, while selecting "Avatar Relative" will return the controls to their previous setting.
- Procs no longer clear the casting progress bar.
- The Enter and ESC keys should work correctly in the Delete Character confirmation window.
- Results from the /who command should work for characters that have not yet chosen an archetype from Garvin.


*** Art ***

- Changing your appearance while on a mount will no longer result in your character standing on top of the mount until you move.
- Erudites should no longer have disappearing waists when wearing certain outfits.
- Fixed an issue on the beach in the Enchanted Lands that made parts of the world seem to disappear.


*** Audio ***

The following sound hooks have been added:
ui_guild_logon
ui_guild_logoff


*** UI Files Updated ***

The following UI Files have been changed:
eq2ui_CheckboxStyles.xml
eq2ui_dropdown_template.xml
eq2ui_gamedata.xml
eq2ui_GridStyles.xml
eq2ui_ImageStyles.xml
eq2ui_ListboxStyles.xml
eq2ui_mainhud_guild.xml
eq2ui_RectStyles.xml
eq2ui_Templates.xml
eq2ui_newcharscene.xml
eq2ui_tradeskill.xml

The following UI Files have been added:
eq2ui_event_template_compact.xml
eq2ui_event_template.xml
eq2ui_eventfilter_template.xml
eq2ui_listrank_template.xml

[Donnel]

What cracks me up is the Blizzard people's insistance that their few new zones they are getting soon *cross fingers* are setting blizzard apart from SOE. Because SOE never gives anythign for free.

Every patch it seems has a new instance somewhere to explore, and usually more then one.

[Martrae]

Froglok quest was added with this patch too.

[Zanathar]

I cancelled both my WoW accounts a couple days ago. My 4 year old will be upset for a couple days but the game was beginning to suck some major ballz. Their PvP rewards system blows some serious chunks, their lag is attrocious, game play is good, leveling is a little too easy, items too easy to come by, melee and caster dps gap is starting to widen in favor of the melee (by a large margin), dishonesty from blizzard employees (seen the new scandal?), constant gank fests since the pvp reward system went into play, constant nerfing of caster classes (in general), tradeskills being totally worthless except for making bags, and the list goes on...

I am disappointed that I was able to "win" the game after only 3 months as well.

Right now, I am back to EQ.... has EQ2 gotten much better in the last few months where it is a viable game to play now?

[Martrae]

It really depends on what made you quit.