The Shadow Odyssey November / 18 / 2008
The Shadow Odyssey is now live!

You can visit EQ2Players.com to read news and articles about the latest EverQuest II expansion or you can dive right into game and visit the new airship near the Sinking Sands docks to visit the newly discovered Moors of Ykesha.

An all new map system has been added for all players.

GAMEPLAY

• You can now mitigate critical attacks done to you. Critical attacks work as before but the player can mitigate the amount done to them by having higher agility for melee classes or higher intelligence for priests and mages. In addition, you will now find certain creatures can critical against you. They will use their calculated damage times their critical multiplier to determine their damage. PvP based combat will now also follow this formula. Players against an npc will continue taking the higher of max damage plus one or damage times critical multiplier. There are also some items which now reduce the amount of critical damage you take while in combat.
• As a result of the critical mitigation addition, damage formulas have changed slightly. Damage is now calculated the following way:
  

  base damage calculation
  weapon attacks add in dps and weapon multipliers
  spell and weapon tier multipliers
  attribute modifiers
  base damage multipliers
  normalized damage ( +spell/ca/heal amounts )
  critical multiplier

• All of your characters will now receive a 10% experience bonus for each character at the maximum level. (Up to 50% max). You’ll also receive a tradeskill experience bonus for each character at the maximum tradeskill level. Your current experience bonus will be displayed on the character selection screen. This experience bonus can be disabled on a per-character basis by right-clicking on the experience bar.
• Shield Block chance is no longer an uncontested avoidance. It will now multiply your base chance to block with a shield rather than add.
• Pet buff icons will now tint when out of range. Examine data will now also list the range of the spell.
• Combat arts will now properly use the max damage + 1 as the minimum critical amount when attacking an npc. PvP combat arts will still use damage time the critical multiplier.
• Fish and water-only creatures should now stay underwater.
• Item purchases that require items other than gold in exchange now have a confirmation dialog.
• Characters will now continue to get Apprentice I versions of spells and combat arts placed in their spell book at appropriate levels above 50.
• /load_uisettings will no longer work while the crafting window is open.
• Glide/Slow fall can now be suspended by holding the jump key while falling.

SPELLS

Fighter

• The recast time on Rescue has been reduced.

Druid

• The Darklight Wood portal spell will no longer be removed while betraying.

Summoner

• Improved the hate amount of the pet’s defensive based stances.

Brawler

• Devastation Fist has changed slightly. It is now a high damage attack without a stifle penalty. Against higher end creatures it will be more potent.
• Brawler Defensive stances now grant additional agility and parry skill.
• The combination stances also grant additional parry skill.

Bruiser

• Brutality now improves the base damage of combat arts and increases the strength of the raid.
• Divide and Conquer now has a positional hate boost and is not interruptable. However, it now has a slightly longer reuse timer.

Berserker

• Screaming Rage line will now grant the raid additional dps instead of health regeneration.
• Reduced the casting time of area of effect abilities and increased their damage.
• Insolent Gibe will now inflict melee damage in addition to the taunt. This melee attack cannot be parried, riposted or dodged.
• The Rampage line will do slightly more damage.
• The Stifled Rage line will grant additional shield effectiveness.
• Blood Rage will give a small rush of adrenaline to the berserker now healing them for a small amount when hit.
• The penalties for Adrenaline have been reduced.

Coercer

• Possessed Essence should no longer be able to mesmerize targets.

Conjuror

• There are new appearances for the Inferno Golem pet. As a result the spell has been renamed to Fiery Magician.

Guardian

• Added agility and wisdom bonuses to the defensive stances. Also improved the Aggression bonus.
• Increased the hitpoints on the Battle Tactics Line.
• Increased the mitigation amount of the Rallying Cry line.

Monk

• The Wisdom of Zephyl line has had its casting speed bonus reduced slightly.

Paladin

• Castigate will now add in normalized spell damage effects.
• Vigor of Trust now improves the base healing of spells.
• Lay of hands has had its recast lowered but now consumes power.
• Lowered the casting time of heal spells slightly.
• Single target spells now cast at 0.5 seconds and their damage is increased slightly.
• Reduced the duration of the Incite line so the full taunt amount is gained faster and before the spell is reusable.
• Added intelligence to the defensive stance.
• Improved the spell Divine Favor so it scales more appropriately for level.

Shadowknight

• Contract from Below now improves the base damage of spells.
• Adjusted the damage and casting time on a number of spells. Many DoTs were also given more initial damage to go along with the pace of combat.
• Tainted Sacrament and its upgrades have changed to be an area of effect taunt and damage spell.
• The Harm Touch line is now a 5 minute recast.
• Mana Sieve now drains health and converts it to power.
• Draw Strength line now also reduces intelligence of the target and gives it to the shadowknight.
• The defensive stances now grant additional intelligence for the shadowknight.

ACHIEVEMENTS

Crusader

• Avenger’s Relentlessness now grants double attack.
• Improved the casting bonuses of Avenging Invigoration.
• Removed the mount restrictions from the Agility line.
• Aura of Leadership is now a small protective replenishing ward.
• Reduced the recast of Divine Aura to match similar skills of other classes.

Berserker

• Altered Perseverance to give a heal when the berserker drops to low health.
• Gut Roar will now riposte the next melee attack.

Brawler

• The Strength line has undergone a number of changes and has had the weapon restrictions removed. It will also grant a bonus to improve deflection chance.

Guardian

• Improved the riposte damage reduction of Cripple.

Paladin

• Changed Prayer of Resuscitation to modify Lay on Hands and its upgrades.

Shadowknight

• The Siphon Hate ability has changed and now protects the shadowknight from a large hit and then increases hatred for the shadowknight on termination.
• Reaver now adds additional spell damage.

Warrior

• Changed Gladiator’s Revenge to do additional riposte damage.
• The stamina line no longer requires a buckler but since you are no longer penalized for a lesser shield the double attack values have been reduced.

PLAYER VS PLAYER

• The recent kill list has been increased to 20 players but anyone on it is still removed after 30 minutes.

ITEMS

• Ayonic Axe, Lamentation of the Intrepid, Marrow’s Song, and Incandescent Blade have all been changed to a 4.0 delay.
• Removing an item which grants additional effects to a spell will cause that spell to cancel. Certain cases where the player is disarmed in combat will not cause the spell to drop though.
• Overloaded Heal and Empowered Heal have had their effect radius reduced to 25m. Pond Wash and Mind Wash have had their radius increased to 25m.
• Lesser Overloaded Heal, Overloaded Heal, Empowered Heal, Holy Water Sprinkler, Pond Wash, and Mind Wash can now only trigger once from Area of Effect heals. The trigger chance on some of these effects has been increased to compensate.

HOUSING & GUILD HALLS

• Three new amenities added to guild halls! Achievement Counselor, Collection Binder, and the Mariner’s Bell: Island of Mara.
• The choice of where to go with the Druid Portal hireling has been moved to the portal itself, instead of a list of dialog choices. The created Guild Hall portal now functions like a mariner’s bell.
• The “collect an item” window used to retrieve items in a house will now display the owner’s name for NO-TRADE items that you cannot pickup.
• The guild hall supply depot now contains sortable columns for item name and level.
• No-Trade house items can now be returned to their owners via email by anyone with Trustee access or higher.
• The Guild Hall Faction Market Broker will now properly appear as a purchasable amenity in Tier 2 Qeynos PvP guild halls.
• The Slayer Poster amenity will no longer sit buried into the ground when first purchased.
• Training Dummy Supply Chest will now properly enforce Use Access.
• The hitpoints of the placed Training Dummy has been doubled.

CLIENT

• The “Flora Displacement” option has been optimized and does not reduce framerate so much.
• Lowered memory usage in large zones.

USER INTERFACE

• All windows with a Help button have had the help button’s position swapped with the settings button to reduce accidental opening of the browser.
• Charge counts and stack sizes on icons will no longer become misaligned after using the /loadui command.
• The stats section of the Persona window has been expanded to include more information.

CHAT CHANNELS

• Many of the alignment-based chat channels have been replaced with non-alignment versions on PvE servers.
• Good_Help / Evil_Help is now Help
• Good_Newbie / Evil_Newbie is now Newbie
• Good_Crafting / Evil_Crafting is now Crafting
• Good_Traders / Evil_Traders is now Traders
• All race and class channels have been merged into non-alignment based channels.
• If you have joined any of these channels, you’ll need to leave them and join the new channels as the old channel names will still remain valid as custom channels.

TRADESKILLS

• Two new tradeskill collection quests can be found for those who wish to seek them out.
• The deity historian in Butcherblock Mountains is now selling a book of “Decorative Deity Shrines” recipes, for those who wish to display their deity’s influence in homes and guildhalls.
• Fixed an issue where recipe tooltips would display an incorrect number of components when components were separated into multiple stacks.
• Outfitters are now able to produce vest versions of cloth armor in the level 10-19 range.
• Tailors now have recipes for crafted canvas, ruckas, and broadcloth vests.
• Sackcloth and tranquil sackcloth shoulder armor now have appearances. The tranquil threadbare shoulders remain without specific appearances.
• The tailored tranquil dragon’s breath armor set now has a slightly different appearance from the regular dragon’s breath armor set. All tailormade armor with a robe graphic is now called a robe, and all tailormade armor with a vest graphic is now called a vest.
• The tranquil sackcloth vest is now a slightly different shade from the “dashing tunic” acquired in Sebilis.

ZONES

Veeshan’s Peak

• Phara Dar will no longer critically attack when Khalan is dead.

Game Update 49 October / 7 / 2008
SPECIAL EVENTS

During “Raising the Banner”: A team of dedicated excavators and researchers have begun to uncover a remarkable find in the dunes of Sinking Sands. They have numerous tasks for any recruits willing to help defend the site, excavate relics, maintain their assisting clockworks and provide crafted supplies for the team. They cannot fathom how important this project is and how it is fated to reshape the world of Norrath for years to come!

GUILD HALLS

Construction of the Guild Halls has been completed.  Guilds of qualifying levels can now purchase halls in a variety of locations.  Smaller halls can be found in North Qeynos, South Freeport, Kelethin, Neriak, and Gorowyn.  Medium halls are found in South Qeynos and North Freeport, and large halls are found off the shores of Antonica and Commonlands.  Click on the corresponding doors, or mariner bells on the docks, to access these new structures.

With the work completed on the coastal fortresses in Antonica and Commonlands the involved parties have retired to their cities and the guards have been recalled to the barracks.

MULTICORE SUPPORT

EQII now runs better with more than one CPU.
The game automatically detects if you have more than one CPU.
There is an option to control whether the game uses multicore mode in the Options Window under Display -> Performance.
If you’re running multiple clients on the same computer you may want to disable multicore mode.
Game clients prefer running on CPUs other than the first CPU.
Setting the multicore option has no effect on machines with one CPU.

HOUSING & HALLS

You can now pay upkeep on your house or guild hall up to 12 weeks in advance.

Wall-placed house items now use a different method to stick to the wall that should keep them from disappearing into the world geometry.

The payments tab has been renamed to “History” and will now display payments and credits to the escrow account.

The deposits tab will only display contributions to the escrow account from players.

GAMEPLAY

The experience requirements for levels have been significantly lowered primarily affecting the 20 thru 70 level range.  Along with the experience changes, the drop rate for Adept I spells has been increased slightly.

QUESTS

The Invasion of the Vale quest is now a more appropriate level for its difficulty.  The Shattered Vale in Antonica now has an escape point inside it.

GUILD RECRUITMENT

Guilds will no longer appear in the guild recruiting list if they don’t have any recruiters online.

MENTORING

Mentoring other players now grants greater achievement reward for the mentor.
0-5 level difference: 0% bonus
6-10 level difference: 50% bonus
11-20 level difference: 100% bonus
21-30 level difference: 150% bonus
31-50 level difference: 200% bonus
51+ level difference: 300% bonus

This bonus is only applied to achievement experience gained through combat or loot items, not through quests or exploration.

Mentors will now receive experience when their apprentice has disabled combat experience.

ITEMS

Most house items can now be scaled in size, by using shift + mousewheel while moving or placing them.  Picking them up again will reset the size to default.  Shift and the + and - keys on the numpad also work.

You can no longer turn auto consume on while using a griffon or sokokar.

Bayle’s Amulet and the Trinket of the Venerated Fanatic can now be mounted and used as a house item.

SPELLS

Spells which do not expire have been made uninterruptable.  There are some exceptions which include spells which summon pets or have limited uses.

Bruiser
Divide and Conquer should now properly apply hate to the entire encounter.

Fury
Natural Mask should now gray out when casted.

Ranger
Thorny trap should now work properly for evil rangers on pvp servers.

ACHIEVEMENTS

Defiler
Enhance: Fuliginous Sphere will now work correctly.

Sorceror
Ward of Sages should now toggle properly.

Templar
Blessings is now toggleable and has a recast of 2 seconds.

SHADOWS

Shadows should no longer disappear unexpectedly.

TRADESKILLS

Merchants in the Maj’dul courts are now selling a wider range of ancient teachings recipes.

Alchemy
Rare cure potions have been removed and standard cure potions have been upgraded to cure the appropriate levels of effects.  This in turn should help reduce some of the demand for dusts.

Carpentry
With the advent of scalable furniture, carpenters no longer require recipes that make items of different sizes.  The following redundant recipes were removed:  comely teak table, small teak table, large light cedar table, vale briarwood guest bed, large vale briarwood corner bar, small redwood room divider, small tynnonium brazier, small purple lilies, small white lilies, embellished rug, eccentric alder chair.  Existing items will not be affected.

Carpenters studying the architecture of Unrest have designed a number of new recipes for furnishings in a similar style, to replace the redundant recipes that have been retired.

Tailoring
Artisans have designed some new recipes for threadbare and sackcloth vests, and will continue to work on more vest-type cloth armor appearances for the future.
 
Scholars
Merchants in the courts of Maj’dul are now stocking some additional “Ancient Teachings” recipe scrolls.

PVP

Illusionists on their epic quest should no longer take lose faction with Freeport when using the Lucan illusion and then removing it.

The additional experience multiplier for PvP kills has been reduced slightly.

USER INTERFACE

Status values on the housing window will now display separators so large numbers are easier to read.

There is now an option in the Persona window to block voice invites.

ZONES

Veeshans Peak
The gem drop rate of Veeshan’s Peak has been slightly increased to account for the more frequent patterns.

Each of the bosses in Veeshan’s Peak now drop an additional gem.

The Taskmaster in Veeshan’s Peak has made new use of his arcane knowledge! Raiders Beware!

Kelethin
A few of the fae in Kelethin react to a good aligned arasai now.

FAN FAIRE FEEDBACK

Tunare’s touch has reached the door step of the Teir’dal.  The druid ring in Darklight Wood has sprouted a Blessed Shrubbery.  Druids and adventurers alike should seek out the ring to extend their travel possibilities.

Better search filters for the Recipe window and Tracking window:
Instead of a direct match, each word must be present
Words preceded with ‘-’ (hyphen) must not be present to be matches
i.e. recipe filtering with “rigid bow” would show ‘rigid scale bow’
i.e. recipe filtering with “gno -therm” would show ‘gnomish level’ but not ‘gnomish thermometer’

If you find a Lore and Legend item for a Lore and Legend quest that you’re on, the tooltip will indicate whether you’ve already examined it or need to examine it.

Sir Valinayle in Stormhold now corrects himself after calling Stormhold Befallen.

Removed the option to go to Prize of Prexus and The Maid for the Mist on the mariner bells unless someone in the group is on that part of the quest.

Deleting a quest from your quest journal will now select the next quest in the list.

That’s pretty much all I can say regarding all of the new goodies that are coming to EQ2. I’ve spent the better part of this morning reading through a load of information on forums, only to sit here wiggling around in decorating anticipation.

So what’s got me so excited? 

First of all. Because furniture is going to be able to scale, there’s a few recipes carpenters currently have that will be removed - and replaced with furniture examples from Unrest. What exactly are those furniture examples? You can take a peek here, at eq2traders. Don’t they look amazing?

As if that were not enough there is this post here, that gives a little taste of what halloween goodies we’re going to be getting eventually. It was posted a little early by mistake, as the items should not have even been on test - but that’s not going to stop me from getting excited about them. 

Did you know there’s a server wide event going on right this very second? Well, Antonia Bayle is in the lead for it - I have a feeling that Najena doesn’t even know it’s going on. You know that bone chip quest? Well that’s a server wide event - and part two gets released shortly, and you’ll get some very cool items with that as well - if your server works towards it. Not sure that mine will. 

Ok so that’s some new furniture, scaling furniture, and the server quest - what more could there be? How about purple shinies. How about little helmets that look like miners would wear them to work on some big project. How about that battle robot type house item in the main picture? O.M.G.

If all that was not enough, how about that new 5 room house located in the Academy of Arcane Science, that you can’t purchase unless you own a Tax-Free Freeport Residency License? 

Want to see some new guildhall screen shots? Then take a peek here. 

There’s no doubt at all that this is going to be one heck of an amazing update.

Want to know what’s coming up next in GU49? Be sure to check out the official SOE forums for all of the details - in the mean time, here are the notes! Looks some some fantastic stuff is coming! REMEMBER that this is just the TEST NOTES so anything and everything can change before these go live. 

SPECIAL EVENTS

During “Raising the Banner” (GU49): A team of dedicated excavators and researchers have begun to uncover a remarkable find in the dunes of Sinking Sands. They have numerous tasks for any recruits willing to help defend the site, excavate relics, maintain their assisting clockworks and provide crafted supplies for the team. They cannot fathom how important this project is and how it is fated to reshape the world of Norrath for years to come!

GUILDHALLS

 Construction of the Guild Halls has been completed.  Guilds of qualifying levels can now purchase halls in a variety of locations.  Smaller halls can be found in North Qeynos, South Freeport, Kelethin, Neriak, and Gorowyn.  Medium halls are found in South Qeynos and North Freeport, and large halls are found off the shores of Antonica and Commonlands.  Click on the corresponding doors, or mariner bells on the docks, to access these new structures.

 With the work completed on the coastal fortresses in Antonica and Commonlands the involved parties have retired to their cities and the guards have been recalled to the barracks.

 GAMEPLAY 

• The experience requirements for levels have been significantly lowered primarily affecting the 20 thru 70 level range.  Along with the experience changes, the drop rate for Adept I spells has been increased slightly. 

 QUESTS 

• The Invasion of the Vale quest is now a more appropriate level for its difficulty.  The Shattered Vale in Antonica now has an escape point inside it. 

 GUILD RECRUITMENT 

• Guilds will no longer appear in the guild recruiting list if they don’t have any recruiters online. 

 MENTORING 

• Mentoring other players now grants greater achievement reward for the mentor.0-5 level difference: 0% bonus

  6-10 level difference: 50% bonus

  11-20 level difference: 100% bonus

  21-30 level difference: 150% bonus

  31-50 level difference: 200% bonus

  51+ level difference: 300% bonus 

   

•  This bonus is only applied to achievement experience gained through combat or loot items, not through quests or exploration. 

•  Mentors will now receive experience when their apprentice has disabled combat experience. 

ITEMS

• Player made house items can now be scaled using shift+mousewheel. 

•  You can no longer turn auto consume on while using a griffon or sokokar. 

• Bayle’s Amulet and the Trinket of the Venerated Fanatic can now be mounted and used as a house item. 

SPELLS 

• Spells which do not expire have been made uninterruptable.  There are some exceptions which include spells which summon pets or have limited uses. 

Bruiser

• Divide and Conquer should now properly apply hate to the entire encounter. 

Fury

• Natural Mask should now gray out when casted. 

Mystic

• The Auspice line should now toggle correctly. 

Templar

• The Redoubt line should now toggle correctly. 

Ranger

• Thorny trap should now work properly for evil rangers on pvp servers. 

ACHIEVEMENTS

 Defiler

• Enhance: Fuliginous Sphere will now work correctly. 

 Sorceror

• Ward of Sages should now toggle properly. 

 Templar

• Blessings is now toggleable and has a recast of 2 seconds. 

 SHADOWS

• Shadows should no longer disappear unexpectedly.

September / 03 / 2008
SPECIAL EVENTS

The Guild Hall building projects for Qeynos and Freeport have begun to run dangerously low on resources!  Director Jasmine at the Antonica docks and Director Hezreal at the Commonlands docks are eagerly seeking workers willing to help alleviate the situation.

During “Breaking Ground” (GU48): The Prophet of Healing, Seeress Ealaynya Ithis, has been murdered and Antonica appears to have been affected! Theories abound as to who performed the deed and towards what end. You may start your own investigation at the Temple of Life in North Qeynos. Meanwhile Evdokia, one of the Plaguebringer’s fervent followers in Gorowyn, has tasks for those willing to help the Disciples of Disease. Won’t she be delighted by the news of the Seeress’ demise!

VEKSAR

Once thought lost to the waters of the Lake of Ill Omen, the ancient iksar city of Veksar has once again been discovered by the adventurers of Norrath!  What has happened in the ancient theater of this once thriving resort city since it disappeared after the Age of Turmoil, and what secrets and treasures does it hold now?  Make your way to the outpost of Omen’s Call, and see if you can begin to unravel the mystery of this risen ancient monument to the pride and power of the Sathirian Empire.

GUILD MEMBER POINTS

Guilds can now assign and track points for guild members.  Points can be assigned in many different ways.  New guild permissions determine which members can manage points and which members can receive points.  For more information, check out the Guild Member Points help topic in-game by clicking on the help button (“?”) on top right of the the Guild Window (U).

GAMEPLAY

Fixed the camera position on Griffins and Sokokars in 3^rd person mode.

First person view as a winter wolf is no longer disrupted by winter steam effect.

The barrier holding the doors of the Godking’s temple have weakened with the onset of the void storms, allowing entry even without the sacred eyes!

ZONES

Everfrost
Everfrost has had a facelift! Adventurers will find dozens of additional quests, four new hubs, and a population friendlier to various playstyles.

South Freeport
The alchemy merchant in South Freeport has begun stocking kindling as a sideline.

Firemyst Gully
Wood in Firemyst Gully is now fully harvestable.

Veeshan’s Peak
Adventurers in Veeshan’s Peak will now find that defeating certain bosses will earn various respawn points in the zone.

Pattern drops in Veeshan’s Peak now use the Smartloot system.

Milyex Vioren has switched strategies against invaders in Veeshan’s Peak, and is now much more aggressive and much less defensive.

Xygoz, Nexona, Hoshkar, and Druushk will now drop two set pieces to match Silverwing, Phara Dar & Trakanon’s drop rates.

TRAVEL

Mariner bells have been added to the Thundering Steppes and Nektulos Forest docks to take players back to Antonica and Commonlands, respectively.

There is now a bell on the Nektulos Forest dock to take Neriak citizens to the docks in Neriak.

Mariner bell appearances have been added to the Neriak dock to help those who play on lower settings and couldn’t see the portal glows.

There is now a carpet to Sinking Sands on the Neriak dock.

Neriak citizens can now use the carpet in Sinking Sands to fly to the docks in Neriak.

There is now a carpet to Sinking Sands in Kelethin near the Greater Faydark ramp.

A bell has been added to the left hand dock of Kylong Plains to take adventurers to Gorowyn.

A bell has been added to the Gorowyn dock to take adventurers to the Kylong Plains.

The level restriction on the Gorowyn portal to Kylong Plains has been removed.

QUESTS

You can now speak to Ulgofar Wisme in Mara and get another Geomancy book if you no longer have your first one.

Special Agent Froak in Kunzar Jungle now gives another copy of the item “Reet Marching Orders” to those that are on the quest “Save the Reets” but have lost their original orders.

Rotten Chestwraps of the Guilty will now give credit to the priest who triggered it.

Assassins working on their epic who are not on stage 11 will no longer get quest credit for killing Rhylinil.

The Dwarven Ringmail Plans is now removed from inventory upon the completion of “In Honor and Service”.

Captain Vrondell in West Freeport will now update “Bandit Sash Bounty” for non-Freeport citizens.

Those who have finished ‘Deception’ will now have access to Darathar’s island.

General goods merchants Ilmira T’Oziarn and Ilztaonar V’Setiate in Neriak, and Sage Navarius Orvalis in North Freeport now sell creature cataloging quest starter tomes previously unavailable to evil aligned players.

ITEMS

The artisan’s tunic reward for the tradeskill tutorial quest no longer has the adventuring stats.

In-home crafting stations are no longer flagged as Lore.

The Diamond Rod from Shard of Hate now says “In Combat Run Speed” instead of “Speed at all Times”.

The focus effect on the Robe of Nexus disruption has been changed from a 600 point hate reduction on Blip to a 20% chance to lower the caster’s hate position by 1 upon casting Blip.

The Crystal of Dark Energy should now stack to 100.

Illusionist Shimmering Hues 4 piece bonus should now function properly.

Troubador Magnetism 4 piece bonus should now function properly.

Fury Stormbringer 4 piece bonus should now function properly.

SPELLS

All non expiring class based spells should now gray out when cast and remain that way until cancelled.

Master Strikes should work correctly with implied targeting now.

Damage Over Time ticks, double attacks and flurry will no longer trigger damage shields and similar spells which trigger off of taking damage.

Sathirian Scroll of Benediction and Smoldering Pontiff’s Second Sight will now stack.

Certain spells like Rescue which are common to the classes will no longer be reset while betraying.

Moving players between groups in a raid should no longer cause non stacking group spells to cancel.

Assassin, Brigand, Ranger and Swashbuckler self buffs should now be toggleable.

Berserker
Juggernaut and Adrenaline have had their descriptions updated to match how they work while berserk.

Defiler
Yoppa’s Rodent Form should work correctly now.

Fury
The Savage Feast proc should now apply properly when a dumbfire pet gets the kill.

Warlock
Gas Cloud and its upgrades are now maintained.

ACHIEVEMENTS

An issue has been fixed which allowed players to use more than one achievement mirror.  If you were using more than one, the system will take the first one as your valid mirror and wipe the profiles from any extra mirrors.

Assassin
Obfuscation should no longer appear to work with Concealment.

Ranger
Conservation will now apply properly to power, heal and thorn potions.
Enhance: Snare will no longer reduce the effectiveness of the Wood Elf racial Light Footed.
Enhance: Fettering Poison will now increase the trigger chance of Fettering Poisons.

TRADESKILLS

Tradeskill writs now award 300 faction (for timed work orders) or 200 faction (for regular work orders) on completion.

Handcrafted and mastercrafted armor (levels 1-69) has received an upgrade.  Existing pristine items will automatically receive the improvement.

Outfitters are happy to announce there are no more incomplete armor sets craftable at any level — not all sets are available at all levels, but if a set is available, every piece can now be made.

All available crafted armor sets from level 10 up can now be imbued.

The appearances of cloth and leather crafted armors are now more consistent, more varied in shape and tint, and should provide a much-awaited wider range of appearance options for the fashion conscious.

A wider variety of crafting stations are now available in Qeynos Harbor.

STATION VOICE

Voice Channels with over 100 players are now considered “high-user channels” and will only display active speakers.

PLAYER VS PLAYER

You can now betray and play the good classes in the evil cities and the evil classes in the good cities.  In other words you can have a templar in Freeport or a brigand in Qeynos.

Hypnosis can no longer be canceled by the target of the spell.

It should now be possible to cure charm spells cast by hostile players.

Inquisitor
If you cast Inquisition on a player, the spell will only heal members of the inquisitor’s group.  Due to the nature of this spell, casting it on a hostile NPC will still cause it to heal nearby enemies.  This is due to the fact that the NPC is casting the area of effect heal not the Inquisitor.

USER INTERFACE

World chat channels such as the Level channels can now be properly turned off on the main chat tab and moved to other tabs.

FAN FAIRE FEEDBACK

Neither good nor evil players should spawn directly next to the docks in Kylong Plains anymore.

None of the PVP respawns in the Fens of Nathsar should be threatened by creatures wandering too close.

Several creatures in Veeshan’s Peak and Shard of Hate now drop fabled deity altars.

The “Clear All Hotkeys” option now displays a confirmation dialog before clearing your hotbar.”

You can of course read the notes in full here, and they’re subject to change! I’m looking forward to these going live!

LIVE EVENTS

The Guild Hall building projects for Qeynos and Freeport have begun to run dangerously low on resources! Director Jasmine at the Antonica docks and Director Hezreal at the Commonlands docks are eagerly seeking workers willing to help alleviate the situation.

During “Breaking Ground” ( GU48 ): The Prophet of Healing, Seeress Ealaynya Ithis, has been murdered and Antonica appears to have been affected! Theories abound as to who performed the deed and towards what end. You may start your own investigation at the Temple of Life in North Qeynos. Meanwhile Evdokia, one of the Plaguebringer’s fervent followers in Gorowyn, has tasks for those willing to help the Disciples of Disease. Won’t she be delighted by the news of the Seeress’ demise!

VEKSAR

Once thought lost to the waters of the Lake of Ill Omen, the ancient iksar city of Veksar has once again been discovered by the adventurers of Norrath! What has happened in the ancient theater of this once thriving resort city since it disappeared after the Age of Turmoil, and what secrets and treasures does it hold now? Make your way to the outpost of Omen’s Call, and see if you can begin to unravel the mystery of this risen ancient monument to the pride and power of the Sathirian Empire.

GUILD MEMBER POINTS

Guilds can now assign and track points for guild members. Points can be assigned in many different ways. New guild permissions determine which members can manage points and which members can receive points. For more information, check out the Guild Member Points help topic in-game by clicking on the help button (“?”) on top right of the the Guild Window (U).

GAMEPLAY

• Fixed the camera position on Griffins and Sokokars in 3rd person mode.
• Removing equipment which grants additional effects for a spell will cause that spell to cancel.
• First person view as a winter wolf is no longer disrupted by winter steam effect.

ZONES

• Everfrost
  • Everfrost has had a facelift! Adventurers will find dozens of additional quests, four new hubs, and a population friendlier to various playstyles.
• South Freeport
  • The alchemy merchant in South Freeport has begun stocking kindling as a sideline.
• Firemyst Gully
  • Wood in Firemyst Gully is now fully harvestable.
• Veeshan’s Peak
  • Adventurers in Veeshan’s Peak will now find that defeating certain bosses will earn various respawn points in the zone.
  • Pattern drops in Veeshan’s Peak now use the Smartloot system.
  • Milyex Vioren has switched strategies against invaders in Veeshan’s Peak, and is now much more aggressive and much less defensive.

TRAVEL

• Mariner bells have been added to the Thundering Steppes and Nektulos Forest docks to take players back to Antonica and Commonlands, respectively.
• There is now a bell on the Nektulos Forest dock to take Neriak citizens to the docks in Neriak.
• Mariner bell appearances have been added to the Neriak dock to help those who play on lower settings and couldn’t see the portal glows.
• There is now a carpet to Sinking Sands on the Neriak dock.
• Neriak citizens can now use the carpet in Sinking Sands to fly to the docks in Neriak.
• There is now a carpet to Sinking Sands in Kelethin near the Greater Faydark ramp.
• The carpet to Sinking Sands in Butcherblock has been removed.
• A bell has been added to the left hand dock of Kylong Plains to take adventurers to Gorowyn.
• A bell has been added to the Gorowyn dock to take adventurers to the Kylong Plains.
• The level restriction on the Gorowyn portal to Kylong Plains has been removed.

QUESTS

• You can now speak to Ulgofar Wisme in Mara and get another Geomancy book if you no longer have your first one.
• Special Agent Froak in Kunzar Jungle now gives another copy of the item “Reet Marching Orders” to those that are on the quest “Save the Reets” but have lost their original orders.
• Rotten Chestwraps of the Guilty will now give credit to the priest who triggered it.
• Assassins working on their epic who are not on stage 11 will no longer get quest credit for killing Rhylinil.
• The Dwarven Ringmail Plans is now removed from inventory upon the completion of “In Honor and Service”.
• Captain Vrondell in West Freeport will now update “Bandit Sash Bounty” for non-Freeport citizens.

ITEMS

• The artisan’s tunic reward for the tradeskill tutorial quest no longer has the adventuring stats.
• In-home crafting stations are no longer flagged as Lore.
• The Diamond Rod from Shard of Hate now says “In Combat Run Speed” instead of “Speed at all Times”.
• The focus effect on the Robe of Nexus disruption has been changed from a 600 point hate reduction on Blip to a 20% chance to lower the caster’s hate position by 1 upon casting Blip.
• The Crystal of Dark Energy should now stack to 100.
• Illusionist Shimmering Hues 4 piece bonus should now function properly.
• Troubador Magnetism 4 piece bonus should now function properly.
• Fury Stormbringer 4 piece bonus should now function properly.

SPELLS

• All non expiring class based spells should now gray out when cast and remain that way until cancelled.
• Master Strikes should work correctly with implied targeting now.
• Damage Over Time ticks, double attacks and flurry will no longer trigger damage shields and similar spells which trigger off of taking damage.
• Sathirian Scroll of Benediction and Smoldering Pontiff’s Second Sight will now stack.
• Certain spells like Rescue which are common to the classes will no longer be reset while betraying.
• Moving players between groups in a raid should no longer cause non stacking group spells to cancel.
• Assassin, Brigand, Ranger and Swashbuckler self buffs should now be toggleable.

• Berserker
  • Juggernaut and Adrenaline have had their descriptions updated to match how they work while berserk.
• Defiler
  • Yoppa’s Rodent Form should work correctly now.
• Fury
  • The Savage Feast proc should now apply properly when a dumbfire pet gets the kill.
• Warlock
  • Gas Cloud and its upgrades are now maintained.

ACHIEVEMENTS

An issue has been fixed which allowed players to use more than one achievement mirror. If you were using more than one, the system will take the first one as your valid mirror and wipe the profiles from any extra mirrors.

• Assassin
  • Obfuscation should no longer appear to work with Concealment.
• Ranger
  • Conservation will now apply properly to power, heal and thorn potions.
  • Enhance: Snare will no longer reduce the effectiveness of the Wood Elf racial Light Footed.
  • Enhance: Fettering Poison will now increase the trigger chance of Fettering Poisons.

TRADESKILLS

• Tradeskill writs now award 300 faction (for timed work orders) or 200 faction (for regular work orders) on completion.
• Handcrafted and mastercrafted armor (levels 1-69) has received an upgrade. Existing pristine items will automatically receive the improvement.
• Outfitters are happy to announce there are no more incomplete armor sets craftable at any level — not all sets are available at all levels, but if a set is available, every piece can now be made.
• All available crafted armor sets from level 10 up can now be imbued.
• The appearances of cloth and leather crafted armors are now more consistent, more varied in shape and tint, and should provide a much-awaited wider range of appearance options for the fashion conscious.
• A wider variety of crafting stations are now available in Qeynos Harbor.

STATION VOICE

Voice Channels with over 100 players are now considered “high-user channels” and will only display active speakers.

PLAYER VS PLAYER

• You can now betray and play the good classes in the evil cities and the evil classes in the good cities. In other words you can have a templar in Freeport or a brigand in Qeynos.
• Hypnosis can no longer be canceled by the target of the spell.
• It should now be possible to cure charm spells cast by hostile players.

• Inquisitor

If you cast Inquisition on a player, the spell will only heal members of the inquisitor’s group. Due to the nature of this spell, casting it on a hostile NPC will still cause it to heal nearby enemies. This is due to the fact that the NPC is casting the area of effect heal not the Inquisitor.

HIGHLIGHTS

• Station Voice is now available!
• Equipment changes have been introduced to improve item progression from levels 1 – 59 worldwide.
• Check out the sections below for details on these highlights and other details of “Storm Break” (GU47).

LIVE EVENTS

• “Storm Break” (GU47): Librarian Feldarn of Freeport’s Academy of Arcane Science and Librarian Dungil of Qeynos’ Concordium are looking for volunteers to help battle the onslaught of darkness from beyond.
• Qeynos and Freeport have broken ground on major construction projects just off of the coast of Antonica and Commonlands respectively.  Visit the docks to see the new activity!

STATION VOICE

• A new Voice Bar will appear that provides options and indicates who is currently speaking and when you’re talking.  It can be docked with any chat windows.
• A new Voice Users window will show all users in the current channel.  This window can be changed to be transparent and show only active speakers if you’d like.
• Group and Raid windows have speaking indicators to show who is currently speaking.
• Voice options are available in the Options Menu under the “Voice Chat” tab.
• If you’re not currently in a voice channel, you will be placed in the first channel that becomes available.  Subsequent channels that become available can be selected through a dropdown on the Voice Users window, a button on the Voice Bar, or a link that appears in text chat.
• Left Control is the default push-to-talk key.  You can change the key in the “Voice Chat” tab of the Options Menu.
• If you need more info, do “/help vchat” in game.

Also, you can see a mini-feature on the EQII forums.

HELP

The help system has received an overhaul.  Many game windows now have a help button in the upper-right corner that will open the appropriate help topic.

ENCOUNTERS

• The Tangrin and Avatar of Growth encounters now warn players three seconds before it’s time for them to start moving.
• The Tangrin will no longer spawn a new beehive if any raid member already possesses one.
• All Named and Boss NPCs in Kunark now drop Adept I and Master I scrolls equal to or lesser than their level.
• Many of the named creatures in Sebilis, Chardok and Karnor’s Castle no longer have place holders, have a longer respawn time, and will now always drop legendary rewards.
• The random Adept I and Master I spells you get while killing creatures in the level 1-20 range will now only drop spells you or your group members need.

QUESTS

• Adventure writs now award 500 faction points per completion.
• Adventurers working for the city of Neriak will now gain faction with the Agents of Neriak, Queen Cristanos’ eyes and ears in the outside world of Norrath. Gaining faction will lead to new city rewards!
• Adventurers working for the city of Gorowyn will now gain faction with The Watchers of Timorous, a group of sarnak which stand vigilant in the defense of their homeland.  Gaining faction will lead to new city rewards!
• A new shade of formal wear is now also available to those who are ranked as ally with any city writ faction.
• Page 5 of “A History of the Vah Shir, Vol. I” is now tradeable.
• The quests that awarded potions/elixirs from the Hand of Marr and Brethren of Night camps now award more.
• The quest “Vision of Fear” should no longer continue to offer the quest when a player walks through the entrance tunnel in Feerrott. It has been moved to a nearby curious totem that can be clicked to obtain the quest.
• The quest “A Calling in the Forest” should no longer continue to offer the quest each time a player walks over the Commonlands bridge in Nektulos Forest. It has been moved to a nearby skeleton laying on the bridge that can be clicked to obtain the quest.

RACIAL TRAITS

• Dark Elves
  • Innoruuk’s Gift now grants the full 2% spell critical amount.

ITEMS

RoK Legendary Armor Sets:

• The Wayward Moon set has been removed from the drop tables and replaced with the Sylvan Moon set which is only equipable by Furies and Wardens.  Those wishing to replace their Wayward Moon pieces for the new Sylvan Moon pieces should speak to Joonius Khristus in Teren’s Grasp.
• The Enigmatic Sacrifice set has been removed from the drop tables and replaced with the Cabalistic Sacrifice set which is only equipable by Defilers and Mystics.  Those wishing to replace their Enigmatic Sacrifice pieces for the new Cabalistic Sacrifice pieces should speak to Joonius Khristus in Teren’s Grasp.
• Adornments attached to Wayward Moon or Enigmatic Sacrifice set pieces will be lost in the process.

Epic Weapon Changes:

• Wrath of Nature (Fury)
  • Now gives out damage and heal amount bonuses.
  • The mythical version now improves healing and damage spells based upon a percentage of your wisdom and intelligence respectively.
• The Impact of the Sacrosanct (Templar)
  • The proc effect now lasts slightly longer.
  • Added a bonus to reactives based on the templar’s wisdom.
• Cudgel of Obviation (Mystic)
  • The mythical version’s Spirit Tap will only be triggered by the mystic’s group members.  Also the heal and power bonuses have been reduced.
• Dream Scorcher (Defiler)
  • This now gives heal crit instead of spell crit.
  • Now grants bonuses to both spells and heals.
  • Proc no longer drops when damage is taken.
• Penitent’s Absolution (Inquisitor)
  • Improved the healing power of aftershock. In the vicinity of 75% of the heal.  Also added casting and reuse bonus of 15% and reduced the time from 2 seconds to 0.5 seconds.
  • The mythical version’s intervene effect has been replaced by a powerful group cure which will cure arcane, elemental, noxious and trauma effects.  In addition, when it cures an effect it will also heal the player for each effect it removes.
• Dragon’s Temper (Berserker)
  • Adds an additional hate position boost to Insolence.
  • Changed the double attack bonus to melee critical chance.
• The Truth of Marr (Paladin)
  • The delay is now 6 seconds.
  • Added a damage proc to the weapon.
  • Now gives both spell and combat art damage bonuses.
• Sedition (Shadowknight)
  • The delay is now 6 seconds.
  • Added a damage proc to the weapon.
  • Now gives both spell and combat art damage bonuses.
• Death’s Grip (Warlock)
  • The dumbfire pet bonus has changed to improve the warlock’s critical damage by 10%.
• Eye of the Siren (Coercer)
  • Now gives a subjugation bonus.
  • The mythical version now removes the concentration cost of Possess Essence.
• Mirage Star (Illusionist)
  • Now gives a subjugation bonus.
• Havoc, Blade of Treachery (Brigand)
  • Proc now gives a bonus to double attack instead of haste.
• Gorynn’s Fist (Bruiser)
  • The proc will now give the bruiser an additional chance to critical melee attacks.
• Revitalized Vel`Arek (Guardian)
  • The mythical version’s proc will now only do 5% damage reduction.

In Other Item News:

• Worldwide equipment, ranging from level 1-59 (including heritage quest rewards), have been increased to create a better progression from Timorous Deep to level 80 Rise of Kunark zones. This increase includes accessories, armor, and weapons, as well as many tradeskill items. Shields, items with special effects, and tradeskilled armor have not yet been changed.
• House items now observe the ‘Lore’ flag, allowing only one of a lore item to be placed in a home.  The ‘lore’ flag has been removed from house items and pets that are primarily decorative in nature.
• Non-ubiquitous adornments used to add damage to symbols (arcane ornament, viral ornament, noxious ornament etc) now affect combat arts as well as spells.
• Crusaders can now wear the Mark of the Ankexfen.
• The Jungle Bow should now properly equip when double-clicked.
• The Supple Dogwood Staff now procs on melee attacks rather than ranged.
• Bruisers and Monks can no longer equip Edgewalker Chainmail Leggings.
• The mounted claw and fist of pestilence should now mount on a wall with the hand facing outwards.  The ornate spoon, fork, and knife should place more accurately on flat surfaces.
• Protection values have been adjusted on Guard of Drelikus, Vioren’s Forcefield, and Brace of Corporeal Darklight.
• Protection on the Shield of the Green Dragon was lowered.

POTIONS

• The potions and elixirs from the Hand of Marr and Brethren of Night heal a more appropriate amount of health/power.

TRADESKILLS

• The city tradeskill societies are dealing with a bulk order for some new formal clothing, and require some assistance.  Tradeskillers of the 60th rank or higher who have previously assisted their societies may speak to the Grandmaster for more details.
• Tradeskillers who are skilled enough to see the tradeskill collection quests may find more rewards available in their travels.
• Armorers now have a recipe for imbued devout ebon greaves.
• The fuel requirement for imbued rosewood shields has been corrected.
• The fuel requirement for ashen hearths has been corrected.
• Imbued fulginate devout greaves can now be created.
• Sparkling Cranberry Wine has been converted to Cranberry Cream Liqueur to avoid confusion with the existing Cranberry Sparkling Wine.

ZONES

Bloodline Chronicles

• Adventurers may now zone into any of the Tombs of Night and the Crypt of T’Haen zones that a member of the group has access too. Previously, these zones were only accessible if everyone in the group were on the same stage of the quest.
• Players can now zone into any of the Tombs of Night zones if anyone in their group is on the appropriate quest.

Sebilis/Chardok

• New mid-zone respawn locations have been added to Chardok and Sebilis.

SPELLS

Faction merchants in Maj’dul courts are now selling a number of tier 5 Adept III recipe scrolls they were previously missing.

A stacking issue with stealth and group invisibility has been fixed to allow attacking from stealth.

• Shaman/Druid
  • Spirit of the Wolf will now apply to the entire group within a 50m radius instead of being single target.
• Shaman
  • Shaman’s wolves should now have slightly more health to help their survivability.
• Fighter
  • Master’s Rage will now do a melee attack and debuff the target’s defensive skills.  It will also give an error if it is not useable on the target like the other archetype’s mastery skills.  The recast was also lowered to 30 seconds.
• Berserker
  • The Blood Rage line will not expire until the berserker dies instead of having a 15 minute duration.
• Scout
  • Sinister Strike should no longer debuff the target if it misses
• Assassin
  • Fatal Followup should no longer be useable after Sinister Strike.
  • The Hidden Assault line of skills should no longer apply the Damage over Time portion of the attack if the primary melee attack misses.
• Brigand
  • Safehouse now has a short cast time and can be interrupted.
  • Melee attacks which had secondary effects will no longer apply on a miss.
  • The Dispatch and Rake lines will now hit slightly more often.
• Enchanter
  • Sever Hate can no longer be used to pull through a crowded area.

PVP

• Assassin
  • Fatal Followup should now work properly in PvP based combat.
• Swashbuckler
  • Reach will now suspend while in PvP combat.