Maze Engine Preview Patch Notes: NW.62.20160518a.1

terramak

Cyan: New since NW.62.20160427a.4 build.

Highlights

Guild Alliances
Guilds will now be able to band together into an alliance! This feature provides the opportunity for alliances of up to 13 guilds to contribute to each other's growth and band together for challenging tasks.

With this update, players will be able to visit allied guilds' Strongholds, take part in Alliance-wide chat, and gain benefits from their guild's spot in the alliance, based on the level of all guilds combined. Players may also shop at allied guilds' stores and contribute to allied guilds' coffers, if they so choose.

Known issues:

• Players are not properly kicked from ex-alllies map if their guild is booted from the alliance.
  
• The initial alliance leader is placed on probation when starting an alliance.
  
• Alliance chat channel displays debug text when joined, instead of its correct name.
  
• Alliance invitations can appear spontaneously when changing maps.
  
• “Invitations Sent” and “Invitations Received” buttons appear as active on the UI when they should be greyed out (for non-leaders).
  
• Sometimes the alliance chat channel does not appear as a selectable channel (if you can tell us exactly when, that would be helpful!).

View more info on this feature and give your feedback here: Official Feedback Thread: Guild Alliances

New to NW.62.20160518a.1

• When visiting an allied guild's map, the displayed information should be a bit more accurate.
  
• Guild Alliance probation periods have been reduced to 1 hour for improved preview capability. We'd love to know how our players feel about the probation functionality, and how proper Alliance functionality feels after the probation has passed!
  
• The top-most coordinating guild of an Alliance can no longer leave the alliance.

Sword Coast Chronicle and Campaigns Update
Two new campaigns are now available! The Sword Coast Chronicle campaign brings together all the other campaigns into a recommended order. This should make progression through post-70 content more guided, while leaving the option open to branch out for a more challenging experience.

The Benign Order of the Third Eye campaign provides a recommended flow through lower-level content, and gives the opportunity for new rewards. In addition, the Campaign UI has been updated to provide a recommended flow through all the available campaigns in the game.

Known issues:

• The Benign Order of the Third Eye repeatable task, Assemble Orb Quadrants, takes 10 seconds. The final version is expected to take 15 minutes.

View more info on this feature and give your feedback here: Official Feedback Thread: Sword Coast Chronicle

New to NW.62.20160518a.1

• Benign Order of the Third Eye campaign quests can no longer be shared.
  
• Campaigns can no longer be previewed. Now, information on how to unlock a campaign can be found as tooltips on their campaign front page entries.
  
• Deed achievements have been updated to support the reduced number of deeds.
  
• Orb Shards now drop more frequently.
  
• Players can no longer incorrectly be locked out of interacting with caches if they interact simultaneously with other players.
  
• The first campaign quest now properly takes the related quest items when turned in.
  
• The front page of the Campaigns UI has been updated with a new layout and new art.
  
• The Grey Horse mount now binds when picked up.
  
• The Home Page ("L" key by default) now shows information on Sword Coast Chronicle.
  
• Various typos in various quests and deeds have been addressed.

Release Notes

Content and Environment
Campaigns

• The Sharandar campaign and its related content now spans levels 64-68, reduced from 70.
  
• Sharandar Campaign: The "Reinforce Protective Wards" task no longer awards Power Points. They are instead given through the task, "Assist War Effort."
  • This task requires 10 of each area's currency, along with 150 Feywild Sparks, 15 Gold, and 15,000 Astral Diamonds.

Elemental Evil

• Assaulting Blackdagger Keep: This quest no longer incorrectly claims it gives Elemental Water as a reward.
  • The same is true of the quests for Hag's Hold and Goldseeker's Folly.
• Players are now properly able to acquire lore that was in the previous version of Elemental Evil.
  • Players who have already completed the new quests will retroactively receive the lore.

Events (Changes for future runs)

• Call to Arms: Garrundar the Vile: The terrain in this skirmish has been smoothed out to better display danger zones (a.k.a. "splat attacks").
  
• Celebration of Lliira: Professional Fireworks no longer open the Professions UI when double-clicked.
  
• Challenge of the Gods: Blessed Gift of the Gods: When the Eye of Lathander is gained from this pack, it is now given as Bound to Account instead of Bind on Pickup.
  
• Summer Festival: The off-hand weapon of Sunite Dagger now properly shows up in the Petal Store and Collections.
  
• Wonders of Gond: The Wondrous Blueprint is now consumed for 4,000 Refinement Points, increased from 1,800.

General

• The Professions vendor summoned via VIP rewards now appears in the contact dialog cutscene when speaking to her.
  
• Various doors in Reclamation Rock and Upper Helm's Hold now properly have collision, preventing players from sneaking into buildings with one-way walls.

PvP

• Certain Player versus Player queues will now allow players to enter even if fewer than the full number of players accept. This is intended to increase the number of successful large-group PvP matches.
  • Gauntlgrym now allows entry at a minimum of 16 players, decreased from 20. The maximum team size difference at the beginning is 1 (e.g. 8v9 or 9v10, but not 8v10).
    
  • Stronghold PvP now allows entry at a minimum of 30 players, decreased from 40. The maximum team size difference at the beginning is 2 (e.g. 16v18, or 19v20, but not 15v18).
    
  • The game will continue to add players after the match begins until the maximum number of players is reached.

Combat and Powers
Classes and Balance

• To bring certain movement-based powers in line with others of that type, the following powers are now disabled when the player is rooted.
  • Threatening Rush
    
  • Shadowy Disappearance
    
  • Fox Shift
    
  • Boar Charge
    
  • Bull Charge
    
  • Radiant Strike

Companions

• Astral Deva: This companion's tooltip has been updated to clarify that its Active Companion Bonus triggers when the summoned companion deals damage, rather than when the player deals damage.
  
• Repentant Dragon Cultist: Acidic Stab now properly works as described.
  
• Repentant Dragon Cultist: Various text issues in this companion's powers have been cleaned up.
  
• Bonding Runestones now grant their combined effect in a single stack.
  • For example, if a summoned companion has two Bonding Runestones (Rank 12, 95% each) equipped, the related buff now gives the player 190% of the summoned companion's current stats.
    
  • This effect no longer stacks. This gives the effect a maximum of 285% of the summoned companion's current stats (with three R12s equipped).

Whoops, notes got too long. See part 2 a couple posts down.

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This content has been removed.

imperiousshini

Seems like there might be a nerf there. But I am more interested in the UI overhaul will the game get a new look? And my character panrl has a small blue line on her face.. Like marking the of the character panel will that change as well?

terramak

Items and Economy
General

• Demogorgon's Girdle of Might now shows the correct sigil in its Collection entry.
  
• Dusk Boots packs now properly show up in the Equipment section of the Auction House, rather than the Enchantment section.
  
• Mace of Elemental Fire no longer calls itself the Longsword of Elemental Fire in its flavor text.
  
• Players may no longer obtain two High Forest Bears on the same character, which could result in an inventory slot being permanently held by the mount.
  
• Several minor typos have been addressed.
  
• Several remaining cases of "Epic Demogorgon" have been updated to "Demogorgon (Master)" to reflect the queue's new name.
  
• The buff gained by Squash Soup is no longer called Corn Chowder.
  
• The Sword Coast Potion Pouch, from Sword Coast Adventures, now properly includes Superior Healing Potions.

Campaigns

• Gear from the Sharandar campaign and zone is now equippable starting at level 64, and scales with the player's level.
  
• Players may now purchase Gold Crescents directly from the Sharandar campaign vendor, rather than through campaign tasks.
  
• The Sharandar repeatable campaign task, Assist War Effort, has been changed to award one Power Point per completion.
  
• When opening the Gauntlgrym Bounty reward from the Maze Engine campaign, players may no longer choose a type of Seal if it would push them over the maximum number of that type.

Professions

• Leadership: The "Kill Rogue Elemental" task now gives 2500 Experience, up from 500.
  
• Masterwork Profession tools may no longer be sold to vendors.
  
• The "Worn Gauntlet" asset in Black Ice Shaping may no longer be sold or discarded.

Vendors

• Dusk Gloves and Dusk Boots are now available for purchase in the Trade Bar Store for 65 Trade Bars each.

User Interface
Character Sheet

• History tab: A wave of a very specific form of magical amnesia has been dispelled, allowing all adventurers to remember their original homelands and backgrounds, rather than thinking they're from the Dalelands.
  
• Stamina Regen rate now properly updates when the player gains the Underdark boon, Dwarven Stamina.

Inventory

• When the player has 0 Celestial Coins, the maximum no longer incorrectly displays as 0.

Rewards

• Strongboxes now have an appropriate background image.
  
• The visual treatment has been improved for receiving a title as a campaign reward.

Stores

• The Wondrous Bazaar now remembers the tab the player was on when they last browsed it in the same play session.

Graphics, Effects, and Animation
General

• Horses no longer pop slightly during their flourish animation.
  
• Interaction sparkles now show up again for certain interactive objects, such as the crates at the beginning of the tutorial.
  
• Support for Razer Chroma has been updated.
  • The list of supported features now includes temporary health and damage taken indicators, an action bar meter, lit keys for dailies and artifacts when usable, and a combat color shift.

Performance and Stability
General

• Another case that could lead to interrupted Queue service has been addressed.
  
• Minor optimizations have been made to tooltip generation.

terramak

imperiousshini said:

Seems like there might be a nerf there. But I am more interested in the UI overhaul will the game get a new look? And my character panrl has a small blue line on her face.. Like marking the of the character panel will that change as well?

I was a little unclear - I meant a UI overhaul specifically for Sword Coast Chronicle and the updated Campaigns UI.

As for the small blue line: do you have a screenshot available? Sounds like it might be a bug.

scathias

Previewing campaigns is a really useful thing. It allows players to see if something they want to start on or not. Locking it away just because is unreasonable I think.

And to echo, can we get some confirmation on if the 100% uptime of the bonding stack on preview is WAI or not please? This is very important

scathias

Wonders of Gond: The Wondrous Blueprint is now consumed for 4,000 Refinement Points, increased from 1,800

Would it be possible to boost the RP given by the grommets and such for this event as well? i know you made some changes for the last time the event ran, but if you are willing to make it easier to pay your way through an event it would make sense to be able to play through the event easier as well.

Guild Alliance probation periods have been reduced to 1 hour for improved preview capability. We'd love to know how our players feel about the probation functionality, and how proper Alliance functionality feels after the probation has passed!
The top-most coordinating guild of an Alliance can no longer leave the alliance.

Could we get some more information on what the probation period is intended for? why would I want a new alliance member guild on probation? if i invited a guild then i think they are a reasonable group of people, the same with how i only invite a player to my guild if i am willing to have them in the guild.

When combined with this new change of not allowing a "top-most coordinating guild" (i assume that means helm) to leave (in which case they would kick everyone?) i am assuming that probation is only in place to make it more difficult to rotate guilds in alliance ranks tp help spread better discounts around. Which leads into the question of where the devs are on considering our recommended changes to how the structure discount and other potential alliance bonuses should work. Because if the structure discount got changed/evened out/something that would remove a lot of need for moving guilds in alliance ranks, and then you could ditch this seemingly useless waste of time that probation is

beckylunatic

scathias said:

Could we get some more information on what the probation period is intended for? why would I want a new alliance member guild on probation? if i invited a guild then i think they are a reasonable group of people, the same with how i only invite a player to my guild if i am willing to have them in the guild.

I suspect it's actually to prevent temporary use of dummy guilds to circumvent various caps.

fdsakhfduewhfiuf

Bug: Somehow I'm now an ally of my own guild, which is not in any alliance. Therefore I can no longer upgrade any structures.

scathias

beckylunatic said:

scathias said:

Could we get some more information on what the probation period is intended for? why would I want a new alliance member guild on probation? if i invited a guild then i think they are a reasonable group of people, the same with how i only invite a player to my guild if i am willing to have them in the guild.

I suspect it's actually to prevent temporary use of dummy guilds to circumvent various caps.

and that would make sense, but you can donate so little to a lv 1 guild that it makes it almost pointless IMO. Most guilds would be far far better off advertising in PE or somewhere that they have stuff to donate, please come join our alliance briefly.

And I guess I have not tested this, but I know probation blocks the new guild from getting the alliance bonuses, does it also block other guilds from donating to the new guild and the new guild from donating to other guilds as well?

whitestarua

defiantone99 said:

Cooldown on Bondings? So many are confused, because on Preview Bondings have no cooldown and are more overpowered than they currently are on live because it is a constant buff.

All is ok ^_^

imperiousshini

terramak said:

imperiousshini said:

Seems like there might be a nerf there. But I am more interested in the UI overhaul will the game get a new look? And my character panrl has a small blue line on her face.. Like marking the of the character panel will that change as well?

I was a little unclear - I meant a UI overhaul specifically for Sword Coast Chronicle and the updated Campaigns UI.

As for the small blue line: do you have a screenshot available? Sounds like it might be a bug.

Seems it disappeared, thanks for the helping hand!

ghoulz66

The pvp change doesn't help anyone OTHER than premades. Ok, so we can more easily join pvp matches to get stomped on.

rayrdan

any update about the class balance promised months ago?

wildfirede

bondings as they are now on PTR are:
WAI,
not WAI,
WAI till you know how to make them cd

clarify please.

two30

terramak said:

• Players are now properly able to acquire lore that was in the previous version of Elemental Evil.
  • Players who have already completed the new quests will retroactively receive the lore.

I checked the character that I used while testing the Elemental Evil revamp. The character was retroactively awarded "Elemental Plane of Water" from Drowned Shore and "The Hold and the Rock, Part (2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9)" from Reclamation Rock. Thanks.

However, the character was not retroactively awarded "The Cult of the Black Earth". Is this lore entirely MIA or is it merely the retroactive award that's broken?

Proof that the lore was formerly available:

kalharan

As always, the XP for the Sharandar (and other so called High Level Campaign) are inconsistently low (1500-1900 xp). After more then 1 year ....come on....

bittynation

rayrdan said:

any update about the class balance promised months ago?

As I recall they said it would take 3 mod cycles to implement class balances... don't plan on any changes until at least December!!


PVP changes won't increase number of games because people don't play PVP because its so unbalanced.

kalharan

The quest :Searching for the Present cant be complete. No Order Documents are dropped or found in the Blackdagger highlighted area.
EDIT: My bad , I havent understood the use of the Orb, the quest can be completed normaly.

doublea2012

@strumslinger @terramak hey guys everytime try to create and alliance with another guild it give a error

[5/21 19:06] [Error] Alliance Error: Invited guild must be same allegiance.

please correct this it is keeping us from testing your alliance options please thank you..

beckylunatic

I can tell the campaign UI isn't done yet, but wanted to say that while it now remains open on the campaign you left it on, that campaign shows a blank screen on subsequent openings, so you currently have to go back to the main page and reopen it to view or interact with anything anyway.

azadi69

I would like to suggest an option to disable or enable possibility of players from alliance to enter your stronghold.
Make it for eg. so if a leader of guild A (top guild in alliance) locks the guild. the 3 guilds B and even lower in the alliance 9 guilds C can't enter the stronghold of guild A. It will work in a way, that if a lower level guild locks itself, the guilds higher in the alliance can still enter on their map (guild B locks the map, guild A can enter but not other guilds B or C)
If anyhting is unclear, let me know and i'll try to explain it further.

doublea2012

Tons of mounts are missing their graphics including tensors disk =( so nothing happens when hitting space bar while at stand still, also still not able to make alliance keep getting same error.....

sorce

azadi69 said:

I would like to suggest an option to disable or enable possibility of players from alliance to enter your stronghold.
Make it for eg. so if a leader of guild A (top guild in alliance) locks the guild. the 3 guilds B and even lower in the alliance 9 guilds C can't enter the stronghold of guild A. It will work in a way, that if a lower level guild locks itself, the guilds higher in the alliance can still enter on their map (guild B locks the map, guild A can enter but not other guilds B or C)
If anyhting is unclear, let me know and i'll try to explain it further.

I'd much rather it be a lock all, or a lock where you can choose which guilds you are allowing in.

mrvincent1959

Anything that will improve Stronghold Siege is welcome news. This is what pvp SHOULD be. You have a hidden jewel in this type of competition because of the strategy required etc. I hope issues like lag etc will be addressed as well.

wildfirede

but c's biggest peofit from a is exactly access to a' s stronghold...

doublea2012

Honestly I don't see what all the bark is about access to a Stronghold when all you should be worried about is access to your guild bank, other then that I say let everyone in your alliance come to your SH at any given time for stronghold dragons, other then that permission controls should be installed not to allow other guilds access to the stores or guild bank so leaders can turn those on/off if wanted to make them feel safer, other then that why would you even be allied with some1 you don't trust, lol must be a new thing or something cause you act like your going to be in control of the alliance but when in fact if you don't have other guilds that want you or want anything to do with you then you wont have an alliance then you wont have to worry about people being up in your stronghold. Guild leaders need to realize they wouldn't have a guild without their members and they wont have an alliance without other guilds willing to take them on if they act like that!!!!

urabask

doublea2012 said:

Honestly I don't see what all the bark is about access to a Stronghold when all you should be worried about is access to your guild bank, other then that I say let everyone in your alliance come to your SH at any given time for stronghold dragons, other then that permission controls should be installed not to allow other guilds access to the stores or guild bank so leaders can turn those on/off if wanted to make them feel safer, other then that why would you even be allied with some1 you don't trust, lol must be a new thing or something cause you act like your going to be in control of the alliance but when in fact if you don't have other guilds that want you or want anything to do with you then you wont have an alliance then you wont have to worry about people being up in your stronghold. Guild leaders need to realize they wouldn't have a guild without their members and they wont have an alliance without other guilds willing to take them on if they act like that!!!!

There's a 40 character cap for Stronghold instances and they start lagging balls around 30. There needs to be a way to restrict things so that guild members don't get excluded from their own guild's DF because alliance members are crowding another guild's stronghold.

valwryn

doublea2012 said:

Honestly I don't see what all the bark is about access to a Stronghold when all you should be worried about is access to your guild bank, other then that I say let everyone in your alliance come to your SH at any given time for stronghold dragons, other then that permission controls should be installed not to allow other guilds access to the stores or guild bank so leaders can turn those on/off if wanted to make them feel safer, other then that why would you even be allied with some1 you don't trust, lol must be a new thing or something cause you act like your going to be in control of the alliance but when in fact if you don't have other guilds that want you or want anything to do with you then you wont have an alliance then you wont have to worry about people being up in your stronghold. Guild leaders need to realize they wouldn't have a guild without their members and they wont have an alliance without other guilds willing to take them on if they act like that!!!!

We already tested the banks. Accessing the Guild bank in another's SH only brings up your own bank.

doublea2012

valwryn said:

doublea2012 said:

Honestly I don't see what all the bark is about access to a Stronghold when all you should be worried about is access to your guild bank, other then that I say let everyone in your alliance come to your SH at any given time for stronghold dragons, other then that permission controls should be installed not to allow other guilds access to the stores or guild bank so leaders can turn those on/off if wanted to make them feel safer, other then that why would you even be allied with some1 you don't trust, lol must be a new thing or something cause you act like your going to be in control of the alliance but when in fact if you don't have other guilds that want you or want anything to do with you then you wont have an alliance then you wont have to worry about people being up in your stronghold. Guild leaders need to realize they wouldn't have a guild without their members and they wont have an alliance without other guilds willing to take them on if they act like that!!!!

We already tested the banks. Accessing the Guild bank in another's SH only brings up your own bank.

well don't even see how your testing it when cant even get the system to form a alliance because keep getting same error that the invite guild must be same allegiance, iv tried with many other guilds and keep getting same error that the other guild has to be same allegiance, so is there something special I have to do to create a allegiance????

mamalion1234

SOME things about bondings after testing comparing also to live:
On live bonding didnt grand imidiately a gift on companion attack. PREVIEW: IS 100% TO GIVE a gift i used every companion and seems is no chance to fail.
THE above has the result to reset the gift to 20 seconds with no chance to lose the buff.

IF this is intetional then change the tooltip has 90% chance to grand gift with no cooldown.