Master of Arms

February 2012 - Announcements Page

Teaser Images
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Release Fiction
No Release Fiction this month.

Developer Comments
No Developer Comments this month.

Discoveries
Patch Date: 21st February, 2012 Patch Size: 10,637k (Client: 4,632k) Hot Fix: 276k (24th February)

Town Crier Rumors
Free Rumors:
 * Town Crier tells you, "There's been a lot of activity in Arwic lately."
 * Town Crier tells you, "News has come back that another section of Mhoire castle has opened up. I wonder what it could be."
 * Town Crier tells you, "I've seen people fighting with *TWO* weapons at the same time! How on Dereth are they doing that?!?"

Pyreal Rumors:
 * Town Crier tells you, "With the massive retraining the adventurers of Dereth have been doing, Asheron has sent several emissaries to aid with the transitions."
 * Town Crier tells you, "A new Oubliette has opened up deep within Mhoire Castle. Be ready for anything in there as it sounds dangerous."
 * Town Crier tells you, "News! Adventurers of Dereth have mastered several new styles of combat, including wielding a weapon in each hand!"

Ulgrim Rumors
Free Rumors:
 * Ulgrim the Unpleasant tells you, "Those Mana Forge Chests seem to be filled more than usual."
 * Ulgrim the Unpleasant tells you, "Of course a chest filled with more worthless stuff is still just as worthless."
 * Ulgrim the Unpleasant tells you, "I hear Asheron is giving out some free weapons."
 * Ulgrim the Unpleasant tells you, "I remember a time when you went out and earned things for yourself."
 * Ulgrim the Unpleasant tells you, "No wonder I drink so much."
 * Ulgrim the Unpleasant tells you, "I can't think of a reason I'd want to wield two weapons at once."
 * Ulgrim the Unpleasant tells you, "There is hardly a challenge with only one weapon."
 * Ulgrim the Unpleasant tells you, "Where did I leave my weapon?"

Stout Rumors:
 * Ulgrim the Unpleasant tells you, "There's been some talk about new styles of combat."
 * Ulgrim the Unpleasant tells you, "What I wonder is how can someone fight in both a finesse and reckless style at the same time."
 * Ulgrim the Unpleasant tells you, "I'll stick to drunken sword fighting."
 * Ulgrim the Unpleasant tells you, "I pulled some strings and got the casino to improve those Grand chests of theirs."
 * Ulgrim the Unpleasant tells you, "Better take advantage of it before they realize the odds aren't in their favor anymore."
 * Ulgrim the Unpleasant tells you, "I saw a cute little Ursuin Cub the other day. I tried to pat it on the head. Cute little teeth on that cub. See my cute little bite mark?"

New UI and Game Changes

 * First time login text:
 * Your trained Staff skill has been removed. All the experience and skill credits that you spent on this skill have been refunded to you.
 * Your specialized Item Tinkering skill has been removed. All the experience and skill credits that you spent on this skill have been refunded to you.
 * The Temples of Forgetfulness and Enlightenment have had the timer for their use reset due to skill changes.
 * Your opportunity to change your skills is renewed! Visit Fianhe to reset your skills.
 * Your opportunity to change your attributes is renewed! Visit Chafulumisa to reset your skills [sic attributes].
 * Asheron has gathered weapons to help the heroes of Dereth adapt to recent advances in combat training! Find Asheron's diamond golem in Arwic to claim your free weapon.
 * Your available skill credits have been adjusted.


 * Weapon Skills Update 2012
 * Weapon skills have been revamped. Learn more here: Weapon Skills
 * Increased maximum damage of loot two handed weapons to compensate for the one handed melee damage increase.
 * Multi-Strike weapons should now be tinkable (only the new ones).
 * Quest Weapons have been updated to use the new combat Skills. Many weapons were also rebalanced.
 * Weapon Mastery was introduced and all New characters will now start with a weapon that matches their skill and weapon mastery combination.


 * Upon logging in, existing players will be able to receive a free Quest Weapon from a selected list on a vendor and 6 tokens to purchase Foolproof Salvage and other special weapon tinkers, refer to Weapon Augmentation Stacking for further details.


 * Spells;
 * Buffs, Cantrips, and Rare combat spells have all been changed over to the new Skills. New spells have been added for the Shield, Recklessness, Dual Wield, Dirty Fighting, and Sneak Attack Skills.
 * Adjusted the Armor Sets bonuses to buff the new and changed combat Skills.
 * All Creatures have been updated to use the new Skills.


 * User Interface;
 * The Character Info Panel now displays which masteries your character has above Luminance.
 * There is a New +10 Skill Up Button that can be used to add 10 points to a Skill at a time.


 * Cloaks;
 * New skill spells can now be found on Cloaks.
 * Cloaks with the chance to reduce incoming damage by 200 have been reduced to 100 for PvP circumstances.


 * Gearcrafting;
 * All Gearcrafting interactions and spells have been migrated over to Item Tinkering.
 * All Players who had specialized Gearcrafting will receive a refund of the Experience spent.
 * The NPC Alex Brummel who supplies the Tristra's Essence augmentation was also removed.


 * Luminance;
 * The Luminance cap has been increased from 1 million to 1.5 million.


 * Mana Forge;
 * Mana Forge Chests now drop 1 additional item (A Total of 7). The number of items in the MFK chests increased from 6 to 7 and the profiles changed slightly. Weapons were changed to Finesse, Light, Heavy and Missile. Also the Shard Mana Forge Equipment Chests were removed and replaced with additional Weapon chests.


 * Grand Casino Chest;
 * Grand Casino Chest loot quality has been adjusted to match Mana Forge chests.


 * Rares;
 * Updated existing rare gems to affect the changed combat Skills. Added rare gems for the new Shield, Recklessness, Dual Wield, Dirty Fighting, and Sneak Attack Skills.

Live Events

 * 02/25/12 & 02 26/12 - All Servers: Undead Attacks:
 * 02/26/12 - HG - Lady Tairla Mhoire Attacks
 * Lady Mhoire attacks near Dryreach. The Lady is dev controlled and assisted by Pyre Skeletons and Wights.
 * Rewards: Hero Tokens, a chest that gives you a Mana Forge Key and a Luminance Wisp that awards 5,000 Luminance.
 * 02/26/12 - Wintersebb - Corrupted Pyre Oak
 * A Corrupted Pyre Oak (Live Event) spawned near the town of Ayan Baqur together with many Pyre Skeletons, Pyre Champions and Pyre Minions.
 * During the attack and afterwards, a chest giving you Mana Forge Keys, a Luminance Wisp which awarded 5,000 Luminance were present. Also Mana Forge Keys kept spawning on the ground
 * Afterwards, Hero Tokens spawned on the ground, the chest and the Wisp stayed around for about 15 minutes total.

Updated Quests

 * The Legend of the Tusker Paw - New statues for the new skills, also statues added for Void Magic and Two Handed Combat.
 * Bandit Hilt Quest - Retired. Multi-Strike weapons are now found in Loot.
 * Silifi of Crimson Night Quest - Completed weapon now has Crushing Blow instead of Biting Strike.
 * Monthly Explorer Society Quests
 * WARNING: These quests are standalone quests, the xp bonuses are strictly handled by the NPCs in Kara, speak to them after finishing to get your bonus. Also your timer for the bonuses depend on when you completed last month's set of quests, speak to each NPC to find out if your timer hasn't expired yet. More details here.
 * Ansar El-Kerdany: (Monthly) - Frore - Return the Glowing Box to Mairisa bint Fuda in Plateau Village
 * Ansar El-Kerdany tells you, "Greetings Adventurer! We believe Mairisa bint Fuda would be interested in a glowing box long lost in Frore."
 * Ansar El-Kerdany tells you, "Find the box, deliver it to her, and I shall reward you."


 * Esmond Fielding: (Bi-Weekly) - Olthoi Chasm Quest
 * Esmond Fielding tells you, "Greetings Adventurer! The Explorer Society has decided it would help direct attention to citizens in need of help."
 * Esmond Fielding tells you, "This month we have decided that Xavier could use a hand in collect the Missives to the World Shaper."
 * Esmond Fielding tells you, "Collect the notes from the Olthoi Chasm, get them translated, and bring them to Xavier. Do this task and I shall reward you."


 * Niccolo De Luca: (Weekly) - Bleeargh's Gratitude (just need to deliver the Necklace of Leerargh)
 * Niccolo De Luca tells you, "Greetings Adventurer! The Explorer Society has decided it would help direct attention to citizens in need of help."
 * Niccolo De Luca tells you, "This month we have decided that Bleeargh needs help in retrieving the Necklace of Leerargh."
 * Niccolo De Luca tells you, "Find this necklace and I shall reward you for your efforts."

New NPCs

 * Emissary of Asheron (Free Weapons) - 33.6N, 56.9E (Arwic)
 * Emissary of Asheron gives you Quest Weapon Coin.
 * Free Weapon Vendor - 33.6N, 56.9E (Arwic)


 * Emissary of Asheron (Weapon Imbues) - 33.6N, 56.9E (Arwic 2nd Floor)
 * Emissary of Asheron gives you 6 Imbue Swap Coins.
 * Emissary of Asheron tells you, "Shop wisely."
 * Weapon Imbue Vendor - 33.6N, 56.9E (Arwic 2nd Floor)


 * Emissary of Asheron (Melee Rares) - 33.6N, 56.9E (Arwic 2nd Floor)
 * Emissary of Asheron tells you, "I am collecting those old rare weapons that adventurers used to stumble upon from time to time."
 * Emissary of Asheron tells you, "If you give me one I'll give you a token you can use to buy a fancy new one."
 * Melee Rare Vendor - 33.6N, 56.9E (Arwic 2nd Floor)

Updated NPCs

 * Changer of Innate Abilities - Racial skills retired and all NPCs removed from game.
 * The NPC Alex Brummel who supplies the Tristra's Essence augmentation was removed from game.

New Items

 * Weapon Mastery Statues are located at 33.5N, 56.8E (Arwic). Players can receive one free Melee Mastery and one free Missile Mastery change.


 * Note: no Shield Mastery Crystal


 * See Training and Academy Weapons for an overview when to receive which weapon
 * All characters with Shield trained start with a Round Shield
 * All characters with Dual Wield trained start with two weapons (though only one Oil of Rendering)


 * Note: for the sub-level VII Scrolls, see the different Scriveners for Creature Magic

Updated Items

 * - Now gives the axe Crushing Blow instead of Biting Strike.
 * Ammunition:
 * All requirements changed to Missile Weapons
 * Base damage of Quarrels significantly increased (see for example Deadly Prismatic Quarrel), base damage of Arrows unchanged
 * Loot-generated Thrown Weapons (such as Dinner Plates) no longer mention the Strength attribute

New Titles

 * On a side note, with the new weapons skills in, the Bestowers' Guild of Dereth has not updated it skill puzzle pieces.

Portal.dat

 * [[File:Portaldat 201202.png]]

Images
Click image for full size.

Known Issues

 * If a player has full inventory upon logging in after patch and were wielding a weapon and/or ammo with high wield req, they will likely drop their weapon and/or ammo onto the ground.
 * The +10 green triangle button doesn't gray out appropriately for Health, Stamina and Mana when there isn't enough xp to raise them 10 points.
 * Weapon glyphs that were converted to Glyph of Light Weapons or Glyph of Missile Weapons do not stack with each other (that is a stack of staff and a stack mace would both be the same new glyph but the two stacks won't combine together). The Component Exchanger also returns different varieties of these glyphs as well (it's as if there are versions for each of the old weapons and you get a random version and while they stack with the same version they don't with other versions (even though they are the same glyph)).
 * The same goes up for Rares, the crossbow and bow Rares which were converted to the Missile Weapon rare (Elysa's Crystal) do not stack, neither do the now Light Weapon skill Rares (Thorsten's Crystal or the Gear Mastery Rare (Tristra's Gem) which is now converted to the Item Tinkering Rare (Tinker's Crystal) (not hotfixed)
 * Some missile weapons have broken wield reqs which make them unusable. - hotfix
 * Alchemy Phials buff Thrown Weapons instead of Missile Weapons. - hotfix
 * There are two different Glyphs of Item Tinkering in game with different icons that don't stack with each other (new gear icon, and old hammer, both have come up in chest loot/exchanger).
 * Some quest items have spells which buff another melee skill as the one it is converted to:
 * Demon Swarm Sword - Skill = Light Weapons, spells changed to Heavy (not hotfixed)
 * Sharpened Virindi Scalpel - Skill = Light Weapons, spells changed to Finesse (not hotfixed)
 * Shadowfire Weapons display the wrong weapon mastery or weapon skill:
 * Shadowfire Isparian Bow displays Thrown instead of Bow as Weapon Mastery (fixed with Feb 23th Hotfix)
 * Red Rune Silveran Staff and Royal Runed Bastone are Light not Heavy as posted by Turbine. (not hotfixed)
 * Spell description on Mitts of the Hunter, Doppelganger Robe and Periapt of Endless Sight indicates that they still buff Bow, Thrown Weapon and Crossbow, and not Missile. (not hotfixed)
 * Mace of Winter Flame has a Level Wield requirement of 350. (not hotfixed)
 * Training Knuckles and Training Handwraps (Starter Weapons for Sho & Shadow characters with Light Weapons/Finesse Weapons trained) states as Mastery "Sword" and not Unarmed. (not hotfixed)
 * Weeping Weapons and Elemental Weeping Weapons do not show any Mastery, only the Skill. (not hotfixed)
 * The new Brawler's Crystal, Knight's Crystal and Rogue's Crystal are all Rare # 7, Rare no. 7 is also the Alchemist's Crystal.
 * When trying to hand the Rogue's Crystal to a Rare Exchanger, this might break the Exchanger, he will be stuck in the "too busy" mode:
 * Rare Exchanger is too busy to accept gifts right now.


 * When switching from Dual Wield to using one-handed throwing items (Darts/Dishes/Throwing Axes), a player still has their off-hand (Shield slot) weapon equipped.
 * Tests have been done with a high Melee D Off-hand but showed no bonus to Melee D.
 * Simi swords still have the Ivoryable property even though they can no longer be Bandit Hilted.

Typos

 * When first logging in after patch:
 * Your opportunity to change your attributes is renewed! Visit Chafulumisa to reset your skills [attributes].


 * Finesse Weapons Gem of Forgetfulness : This gem will return four skill credits when used to unspecialize or untrain the dagger (sic!) skill.
 * Academy Knuckles : An enhanced cestus [sic] crafted in the Training Academy.
 * Swashbuckler ("Stock Template"): SWASHBUCKLERS are specialists in the art of swordfighting [sic].
 * Wayfarer :The Wayfarer gets the Dirty Fighting, Dual Wield, Finesse Weapons, Healing, Item Enchantment, Lockpick, Melee Defense, Healing [sic] and Missile Weapons skills.
 * Not sure if it's a typo or meant to be: When infusing a Perfect Diamond Infused Pyreal Ingot, it will refer to the Weapon Type more than the Skill
 * You infuse the ingot with a superb impression of your unarmed combat skill.