Editing Announcements - 2002/08 - Atonement (section)

== Release Notes ==

{{Microsoft Zone
 |  Link = <nowiki>http://www.zone.com/asheronscall/news/asheeventbuild0802.asp</nowiki>
 |  Date = August 15, 2002
 | Title = Developer's Notes
 |  Text =
[[Image:img painting.jpg|left]]
<br><br><br><br>Here are just some of the additions made in the August 15 game update, Atonement. The following list is comprised of detailed notes straight from the developers themselves. For a summary of things of interest, be sure to consult the official event article, [[Announcements - 2002/08 - Atonement#Rollout Article | <font color=#FFFFCC>Atonement</font>]].
<br><br>
We appreciate your feedback and bug reports in helping to ensure that the world of Dereth is a stable and fun place to be. Please submit any such bug reports to <font color=#FFFFCC><nowiki>http://bugs.zone.com</nowiki></font>.
<br><br><br><br>
<font color=#FFFFFF>'''New Functionality and Content'''</font>

:* Gaerlan's elemental magic has changed the face of Osteth.
:* War Magic spells now benefit from a skill-based damage bonus. The amount of the bonus to the damage inflicted by the spell is based upon the level of the spell and the buffed skill of the spell caster. Please see this month's [[Announcements - 2002/08 - Atonement#Letter to the Players| <font color=#FFFFCC>Letter to the Players</font>]] for the full details on this new system.
:* In addition to the new damage bonus for War Magic, all mages have a chance of causing additional damage through a "critical strike." In some respects, a critical strike is similar to melee critical hits, although the dynamic is very different. Our [[Announcements - 2002/08 - Atonement#Letter to the Players| <font color=#FFFFCC>Letter to the Players</font>]] explains this new system.
:* A new class of war spells, called arcs, has been added. These spells arc similar to arrows and do not "track" like other spells. This means the spell will land where the target was standing when the spell was launched, not an estimation of where the target should be if the target was moving.
:* The Slayer quality has been added to the Isparian wands. This quality will increase the damage of all projectile spells cast on the creature type for which the wand is a "slayer." For example, spells that are cast while wielding a Smoldering Isparian Wand will inflict additional damage to Frost Elementals. This quality will not increase the effect of any spell that is not a projectile, ring, wall, or arc.
:* A new style of armor is now appearing as loot.
:* Both Hollow and Deadly Hollow weapons have been modified to do more damage. In addition, Deadly Hollow versions of Daggers, Nabuts and Katars can now be created. Players will also now be able to craft "Phantom" weapons.
:* Player Killers will find that recalling and logging out takes a bit longer. A Player Killer character now takes an additional twenty seconds to log out, while Portal Sending spells, such as those cast by the Shendolain Gem or the Aerlinthe Recall spell, delay for two seconds before taking effect. This does not affect characters that are not Player Killers.
:* Magic Item Tinkering effects make their appearance this month! There are three new effects that Magic Item Tinkers can add. For a full explanation, see August's [[Announcements - 2002/08 - Atonement#Letter to the Players| <font color=#FFFFCC>Letter to the Players</font>]].
:* We have a new piece of armor to complement greaves. You should be finding tassets, armor that covers the upper leg, as loot on creatures.
:* There are 500 new Residential Quarters available for purchase.
<br>
<font color=#FFFFFF>'''Miscellaneous Improvements and Changes'''</font>

:* A new wield requirement level has been added for melee weapons to provide an intermediate goal between the two existing requirement levels. We've also modified the wield requirements on the higher damage missile weapons to bring them more in line with melee weapons. These changes are fully explained in the [[Announcements - 2002/08 - Atonement#Letter to the Players| <font color=#FFFFCC>Letter to the Players</font>]].
:* The individual protection multipliers provided by armor are now capped at 2.0. Previously, these protection multipliers could be raised above 2.0 through Item Magic Bane spells.
:* The descriptions of clothing and armor have been changed to reflect what areas they protect, not what areas they appear to cover. The [[Announcements - 2002/08 - Atonement#Letter to the Players| <font color=#FFFFCC>Letter to the Players</font>]] has more details on this change.
:* Due to the way vendors handled salvaged materials, selling salvaged materials was not working as we had intended. Only materials without an effect associated with them could be sold. This has been changed so that now, all blacksmiths, weaponsmiths, armorers, shopkeepers, and provisioners should purchase all types of salvaged materials.
:* The drop rates for some materials from higher-level loot sources have been slightly altered. Gold shouldn't be as prevalent as it once was, while Mahogany, Oak and Pine should be slightly more prevalent than they were before.
:* If a character's quest timer has not expired and they are prevented from picking up an item, they will receive a message explaining how long it is before they can pick up that item again.
:* The changes made to the sort order of items sold by vendors inadvertently changed the order in which creatures would wield their weapons. This caused creatures such as Lugians to wield melee weapons over missile weapons. This has been corrected and you should now be dodging rocks once again.
:* The quest spells from the [[Gredaline Consulate|<font color=#FFFFCC>Gredaline Consulate</font>]] and those cast by the Lugian gems have had their duration increased to match the level of the spell they most closely represent.
:* Spell book filters now persist between logins and are specific to each character.
<br><br>
<font color=#FFFFFF>'''Minor Details'''</font>

:* The mana cost for levels 1 through 5 Life Magic Drains has been reduced.
:* Due to a long-outstanding bug, translucent objects, such as some creatures or quest items, occasionally lost their transparency. This has been corrected and these objects should no longer loose their translucent quality.
:* The number of Eviscerators and Legionaries dropping the quest pincers has been increased. You will now find three Eviscerators that drop pincers in the "Lair of the Eviscerators" and two Legionaries dropping pincers in the "Ancient Empyrean Grotto."
:* The difficulty level for creating Perfect Infused Pyreal Ingots has been lowered.
:* In adding the new armor for this patch, we discovered that Koujia Sleeves, Amuli Leggings and Steel-Toed Boots were infrequently appearing in higher quality loot sources. They have been modified so that they should now be appearing more frequently in higher-level loot sources.
:* We fixed a bug that would crash your client when you tried to set your client's font to one with a name longer than thirty-two characters and that did not exist on your system.
:* The examination panel has been slightly tweaked. Special properties on items, such as the Slayer quality, now display in a specific area. Also, since the Attack Bonus modifier provides no benefit to missile weapons, this information will no longer display when missile weapons are examined.
:* Kira Sojini and Guard Tsaya have had their gender issues resolved.
:* Wedding Planners are now wearing dresses. Previously they had been wearing a shirt and boots, but lacking pants. (Resisting the temptation to make a snide comment. . .)

__________
}}