Editing Announcements - 2003/09 - Groundswell (section)

== Rollout Article ==
{{Microsoft Games Insider
 |  Link = <nowiki>http://microsoftgamesinsider.com/AC1/sept-rollout.htm</nowiki>
 | Title = Groundswell
 |  Text = The news had stymied her. She sat alone, looking over all the documents that had been given to her. The Tumeroks and Lugians still held their ground in Fort Tethana; though the fort had provided a reliable bulwark, the people who defended it were growing tired and the Renegade forces were beginning to take their toll. If Elysa could not find the Renegade leaders and defeat them, or find a diplomatic solution, it was only a matter of time before the fort fell.
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[[Image:Teaser 200309 A.jpg|right|300px]]
Do not speak to me of ruling.
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Aerbax had grown silent, but his machinations could be felt across the world. Drudges had become more intelligent. Regardless of proof, Elysa saw his hand in the new slaughter that broke out in city streets across Dereth. The marketplace was stained with the blood of the people, and though they saw it as a welcome distraction from the chaos around them, she could not help but think there was something more deleterious to this newfound "freedom".
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There are many direful plagues...
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And now the Olthoi had returned. A massive wave had started under the ground, and burst through the floors of canyons and the tops of mountainsuprooting trees, toppling stones, and finally producing a horde of olthoi larger than any she had ever seen. But much had happened in fifteen years. The people were stronger, they were prepared for this; they needed to be. She hoped beyond hope that the people were prepared for this.
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...That rot the heart of mankind.
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It was Nuhmudira who had first come to her with the news. Of course, Elysa was already all too aware what had transpired. The Olthoi were not subtle. But Nuhmudira came with the news and surprised Elysa. She offered to help. She offered to work with Asheron. Now, as Elysa stood looking out over her troops and their preparations for the coming battlesraising tents, practicing their war craft, sharpening bladesshe could not help but wonderwhy?
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Power is the greatest of all.
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Yasif ibn Salayyar "Why I will not be Malik."
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'''The Ongoing Saga'''
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Last month, the people of Dereth fought back fiercely against the forces that continue to press on all sides. The use of new alchemy gems and a new bastion in the Direlands accompanied the discovery of an updated Sword of Lost Light, and new Olthoi Armor.
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But in spite of these advancements, the threats to Derethian life continued to multiply. Renegade Gotrok Lugian and Tumerok champions joined the attacks on Fort Tethana and other settlements. Even the discovery of Olthoi Armor was tempered by the knowledge that new hives were being dug in the Olthoi North. And in Yanshi, Aerbax and Nuhmudira fought for control over the mighty Harbinger.
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[[Image:Teaser 200309 B.jpg|left|300px]]
As the threats have grown, the civilized races of Dereth have strengthened their alliances. The Linvak Lugians and Aun Tumeroks have sworn not to attack humans on sight. They will, of course, defend themselves and their fellows, but only if provoked. In addition, the Linvak Lugians have called for human assistance in reclaiming a number of their citadels and outposts, which have recently fallen to the Gotrok Renegades.
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Now the Olthoi hold the land in their pincers and clawscan anyone find a way to drive them from the surface of Dereth?
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'''PK Lite'''
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This month, we're excited to introduce a new dynamic for player-versus-player gameplayPlayer Killer Lite. PK Lite allows you to challenge other players in an informal fashion, without many of the risks commonly associated with PK combat. Here's a quick rundown of how PK Lite works:
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* To enter PK Lite, type @pklite. You will begin an emote sequence similar to the @house_recall and @lifestone commands, and there will be a local text broadcast: " is looking for a fight!" For those who wish to ignore these messages, the broadcast can be filtered with @filter recall.
* Only NPKs can enter PK Lite. PKs cannot enter PK Lite, not even during the brief period after death when they are not attackable.
* There are two ways to leave PK Lite: dying in a PKL fight and exiting the game. To avoid possible exploits, @pklite will not allow you to leave PK Lite. Likewise, exiting the game will always change you back to NPK status.
* Killing a player in a PKL fight does not earn any experience.
* When you die in a PKL fight, you do not drop any items or accrue any vitae. You do, however, leave an empty corpse. A PKL death will increase your death count.
* PKL players cannot share the same space as other PKL players, but are ethereal to NPKs and PKs.
* PKL players cannot help or harm PKs, nor can they help or be harmed by them. (By "help," we mean healing or beneficial enchantments.) PKL players cannot harm NPKs, but can help them. PKL players cannot be helped by NPKs.
* PKL players are affected by all of the timers and restrictions on PK players, such as the timers on recalling and the restrictions on moving while healing or casting a spell.
* To see a brief summary of these rules, type @help pklite.
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The decisions on the above rules were based on the feedback that we received on the Turbine ACDM forums. Over half of you were in favor of going into PK Lite status via a command. In addition, over half of you were in favor of the PK Lite rules that we initially proposed, with one exception: your feedback was strongly in favor of leaving a corpse. With this in mind, we re-examined the server load aspect of this and decided that we could implement corpses for PK Lite.
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'''Item ID Changes'''
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As a continuation of the ID changes that began in July, we have made two additional updates. The first is another pass at the ID panel. You will now see the properties of your items in a more organized format. One immediately noticeable change is that the protection levels of armor are listed numerically, with the base armor level taken into account.
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For example: If your breastplate is AL 100 with Unparalleled protection to Slashing damage, instead of seeing "Unparalleled (2.0)" you will see "Unparalleled: 200". This should make it much easier to determine the final protection levels of your armor.
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In addition, the icons used for many gems have changed to reflect the icons used in their salvage material. It should now be easier to tell at a glance which gems are which.
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'''Fellowship Changes'''
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We've made two changes to the way Fellowships can recruit:
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* When you recruit a new fellowship member, you will no longer walk over to them once they accept. You will still bow, but you will remain at your existing location.
* There is a new option in the Character Options panel: Automatically Accept Fellowship Requests. If this option and Accept Fellowship Requests are both checked, you will not be prompted to accept when you receive a fellowship requestinstead, you will automatically join the fellowship.
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'''Item Magic Targeting Changes'''
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In the past, if you wanted to cast a positive or negative enchantment on any weapon or shield that was being wielded by a player or creature, you needed to target it specifically. This could be challenging in the heat of combat.
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We have made a change to Item Magic to improve this. Characters and monsters are now acceptable targets for Item Magic spells, and the spells will affect a shield, weapon, or casting item wielded by the target. For example, casting Blood Drinker on a player will affect his or her weapon. Casting Hermetic Link will affect his or her orb, staff, or wand. Casting Brittlemail on a creature will affect its shield.
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Please note that this does not allow you to cast spells on the armor or clothing worn by a player or creature, nor does it change the existing NPK/PK/PKL rules for casting on wielded items.
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'''Olthoi Armor Coloration'''
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As many of you noticed last month, a new bug can cause the color of Olthoi Gauntlets or Olthoi Sollerets to override some of the color on whatever you are wearing on your chest. We had intended to fix that bug this month, but it proved to be trickier than we had expected. It should be resolved in the October event. We apologize for the delay.
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'''Lugians and Tumeroks'''
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Linvak Lugians (those that ID as type "Lugian") and Aun Tumeroks will no longer attack on sight, although they will defend themselves and others of their race. Hea Tumeroks, the Renegade Tumeroks on Dereth (those that ID as simply "Tumerok") and Gotrok Lugians will continue to attack as soon as they spot you.
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In addition, the Gotrok Lugians have raided and seized a number of outposts and citadels formerly held by the Linvak Lugians. The entrance portal restrictions for several of these dungeons have been changed to reflect the increased danger.
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