Editing Announcements - 2005/02 - Infiltration (section)

== Letter to the Players ==

{{Turbine 2003
 |  Link = <nowiki>http://ac.turbinegames.com/index.php?page_id=348</nowiki>
 | Title = Letter to the Players
 |  Text =
<p align=right><small>''posted on 08-Feb-2005''</small></p>
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Welcome to the February Letter to the Players! Last month in Dereth, unsolicited aid turned sinister. The Lugians who had aided Isparians by constructing Crafting Forges in Holtburg, Shoushi and Yaraq were seen leading monstrous assault troops in an attempt to steal an ancient magical relic. Who are these Lugians; why did they first aid us and then attack us? As Dereth begins to experience an unseasonable thaw, the scarecrows and snowmen no longer wander the landscape. In the new warmth, adventurers seek answers.
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By now you've probably seen Executive Producer Jessica Mulligan's most recent Letter. (If not, go read it. We'll be here when you get back.) As she stated, the Asheron's Call team is dedicating all of its resources to making sure that the Asheron's Call: Throne of Destiny expansion pack is as awesome as we know it can be. Unfortunately, this means that February's event will be the last Live Monthly Event until after Throne of Destiny's launch in the second quarter of this year.
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For this reason, there is no In-Development or In-Concept section in this Letter. All of our designers, artists and engineers are hard at work on Throne of Destiny. As the launch date approaches, we'll revisit our priorities and resources for the Live monthly events, and come back to you with our plans for the months ahead.
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For right now, let's take a look at what's coming next week in the February event!
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'''Coming Soon'''
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(These are items that we plan to implement in the February event. Many of these items were mentioned in prior articles. These changes are in addition to the new quests, dungeons and items that we'll be introducing in the January event.)
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'''Higher Wield-Req Weapons'''
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Coming closely on the heels of last month's new higher wield-req weapons are two new tiers of weapons found in loot! These will include:
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* Melee weapons with wield requirements of 370 and 400.
* Missile weapons with wield requirements of 335 and 360.
* Casters with wield requirements of 330 and 355.
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These weapons will be found in the highest tier of treasure; this is the treasure found on creatures found in the Valley of Death, Singularity Caul and Withered Atoll; as well as the most challenging creatures in the West Direlands and the Obsidian Plains. This treasure can also be found in other ways as well, including some new surprises we've got for you in this month's event!
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The missile weapons and casters will have elemental bonuses rather than increased base damage, similar to the weapons introduced in January.
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Each additional tier of weapons has an average damage-over-time increase of 5% when compared to the preceding tier. To clarify, this is a comparison of damage-over-time, not base damage. DOT calculations take into account multiple factors such as speed of attack and damage bonuses from base attributes and (in some cases) attack skill. In addition, the 5% is an average across all weapons – some weapon classes may have a greater or lesser improvement depending on their current DOT.
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'''Mausoleums of Hate'''
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As discussed in the In-Development section of the January Letter to the Players, in February we will be introducing a set of tiered dungeons specifically for the PvP world of Darktide. These dungeons will have multiple entrances scattered across Dereth, and deep within them one can find a means of very rapid character advancement. Those who want to quickly reach a more competitive level of PvP combat should seek out these Mausoleums; those who wish to prevent their foes from quickly advancing should also seek them out, if only to defend the Pillars and Effigies within from being used!
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The initial tiers of these dungeons span a range of levels from 20 to 109. Based on player use and feedback, we are working on plans for higher tiers after the launch of Throne of Destiny.
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As we have said in the past, these dungeons are intended to benefit the unique gameplay environment on Darktide. Those who seek to test their skills against other players are drawn to Darktide, and they want an opportunity to level the playing field so skill alone is the deciding factor in battle. The Mausoleums of Hate can assist those who can survive within.
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'''Withered Atoll Revisions'''
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Based on your feedback, we have made two changes to the Withered Atoll for February:
* We've decreased the number of creatures in some of the outlying spawns. This is intended to help those players who are on the very edge of being able to fight effectively in the Atoll and are trying to pull one or two creatures away from the pack. The large camps have not been changed.
* Tumeroks in the Atoll will no longer spawn with shields.
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These are not the only changes that we would like to make to the Atoll; however further changes will need to wait until Live Events start up again after Throne of Destiny's launch.
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'''Social Center Vendor Revisions'''
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As part of our ongoing work on the three Social Center towns – Holtburg, Shoushi and Yaraq – we will be increasing the buy cap on all vendors in these towns. The vendors will now purchase items up to 1,000,000 pyreals. So when you're done hunting, swing by a social center to sell off your excess loot. Who knows what someone else might've sold just before you.
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'''In-Concept'''
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As we've said in the past, all topics previously listed as In-Concept are still on the table for discussion unless otherwise noted in a previous Letter. We've got a lot of plans for improvements to the game even in addition to the fantastic stuff coming in Throne of Destiny!
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And there you have it, the changes coming in the February event. As I said, we'll be coming back to you with our plans for the next Live Event well in advance, and your feedback and suggestions are always valuable.
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While you're exploring the new February content, be sure to take part in one of the regular Live Events being run by our new Live Event Operators, or +LEOs! Whether you're tasked to chase down a prison escapee or cook a particular type of cake, you never know what you might get as a reward.
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See you in Dereth!
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-- Ibn
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