Greetings, and welcome to the June
2003 edition of the Asheron's Call Letter to the
Players. Spring is warming into summer, creatures are getting
their summer plumage, the fish are biting… and so are the
bugs. There are just a few issues we wanted to discuss in this
month's Letter, so let's get to it!
Shadowclaim
Twice in the past two months we have called on players to help
us gather data, and twice players have answered our call with
enthusiasm. Back at the beginning of May, we tested new hardware
on the test world of Shadowclaim. The data from that test showed
us several weaknesses in that configuration. Then at the end of
May, we tested an improved configuration. As we write this we
are still analyzing the data, but we can say at the very least
that we are getting closer to launching a stable hardware
upgrade. None of this would be possible without the energetic
assistance of the players, and so we want to thank everyone who
helped for the donation of their time and attention.
Isparian Arms
The June update includes some changes to the Isparian Arms quest
and to the Isparian weapons themselves. We'll leave you to
discover most of the details, but we do want to tell you about
the most significant changes.
First, we streamlined the quest
to obtain the necessary ingredients. These changes should not
interrupt anyone who is already midway though the quest, except
that you may be able to skip some of the old steps. If you were
stuck in this quest due to the state of your quest flags, you
will now be able to pick the quest up more or less where you
left off. If you have any confusion or questions about this
quest, just visit the Arcanum agents in Xarabydun—they will
steer you right.
Second, the process of crafting
the Isparian weapons has become simpler. We lowered several of
the skill checks in order to make the quest more accessible for
lower level characters, and in addition we modified the process
that determines the quality of the weapon you create.
Previously, the quality of the weapon you received depended on
two things: the quality of the infused ingot and your weapon
skill. Now, however, only the quality of the infused ingot
determines the quality of the weapon. This means that you can no
longer accidentally create a weapon with a wield requirement
higher than you can wield—although you can still do so
deliberately if you really want to.
Last, come July, putting a stone
into an Isparian weapon no longer destroys the stone. And all
existing variants of the Isparian weapons can be transferred
between players. Note that this does not necessarily apply to
any new Isparian weapon variants that we may add in the future.
Allegiance Recall
In order to better support our smaller allegiances, we are
extending the ability for characters to recall to their
monarch's house. Previously the @house mansion_recall command
only worked to recall a character to a mansion, but now it will
also work to recall a character to a villa (assuming that the
monarch owns a villa, of course).
Command-Line Recalls and
PK
In June, player killers who have been recently engaged in a PK
battle will no longer be able to issue any of the command-line
recalls, such as the house recalls, @lifestone, and
@marketplace, until they have been out of battle for at least
twenty seconds. This is similar to the restriction on using
portals during a player-killer battle.
Drains
With the June update, characters will benefit from natural drain
resistance against stamina and mana drain spells, as well as
against health drain spells. In short, the drain resistance
listed on your character information panel (also known as the
burden panel) will work on all types of drains. Remember that
you can use the command @endurance in game to find out more
about your natural resistances.
In addition, the stamina and
mana drain spells will now work just like health drains in terms
of percent drained and the received multiplier. The following
chart details these changes.
Mana and Stamina
Transfer Spell Changes
Spell Level |
Old %
Drained |
New %
Drained |
Old Max Damage |
New Max Damage |
Old Received Multiplier |
New Received Multiplier |
1 |
10% |
25% |
100 |
30 |
1.0 |
2.0 |
2 |
15% |
25% |
100 |
50 |
1.0 |
1.6 |
3 |
20% |
25% |
100 |
75 |
1.0 |
1.33 |
4 |
25% |
25% |
100 |
100 |
1.0 |
1.0 |
5 |
30% |
30% |
100 |
120 |
1.0 |
1.0 |
6 |
40% |
40% |
100 |
150 |
1.0 |
0.75 |
7 |
50% |
50% |
100 |
180 |
1.0 |
0.5 |
A Groundbreaking
Opportunity
In June, players will have an opportunity to participate in the
building of Dereth in a new and exciting fashion. Watch the Asheron's
Call: Dark Majesty site (link to http://acdm.turbinegames.com/)
after the update for more details!
The Peril Beneath
Last month, Asheron returned to his old school at Knorr to
survey the damage and recover certain volumes of forgotten lore.
Against his will, some Isparians followed him there and
discovered a great deal of information about the Empyrean—and
about their downfall via one angry Olthoi Queen. The Isparians
also discovered evidence that the Queen had abandoned Knorr at
some point, although she'd left part of her copious brood
behind. While Asheron puzzles over who opened the way to Knorr,
Elysa worries about signs of increased intelligence among the
Olthoi of Dereth. And we are all left with one large question:
Where is the Knorr Queen now?
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