Weekly Development Activities (June 25, 2007)

[Freeman]

"Rogue Subtle Backstabber is now an active enhancement that has a toggled stance. While turned on, you will generate less hate on melee attacks."




Why? Will it have a cooldown time? Can I have it and Combat Expetise up at the same time? If I use a spell like ability like a clickie will it break the backstabber mode like it does combat expetise? I smell yet another nerf. You just made all cooldown times hooked together, so now if I want to activate a haste I have to wait for the cooldown before I hit my rage or my power clickies.... now it seems your trying to force me to do this with the backstabber ability....so now I have to hit my power clickie, then my haste, then my combat exp, then my backstabber...the whole time waiting for the cool down time on each...hell the fight will be over. STOP KILLING MY STYLE! If this is not the case then nevermind...but what is the logic otherwise behind this move if not another nerf.

Lots of discussion about this last week. No, it won't interfere with any of the other stances. You can turn it on and forget about it, basically. It isn't on a timer or anything else. Probably the only way it will get turned off is if you die, like any other stance. That might be slightly inconvenient for some people, but not a huge deal overall. Just one more "buff" to make sure you have on at the beginning of a quest.

[Gimpster]

Does Human Versatility stack with other bonuses to the same things? I would assume so. If so, is the cooldown timer shared?

It doesn't stack now, so why assume they have changed it without mentioning?

[binnsr]

Lots of discussion about this last week. No, it won't interfere with any of the other stances. You can turn it on and forget about it, basically. It isn't on a timer or anything else. Probably the only way it will get turned off is if you die, like any other stance. That might be slightly inconvenient for some people, but not a huge deal overall. Just one more "buff" to make sure you have on at the beginning of a quest.

Something that I just thought of, and may have been discussed in the 20,000 threads about this last week ..
Will it 'toggle' off when you use a spell, clicky, rage, etc. like Combat Expertise currently does? That could really be a problem for some folks..

Also, can I be in CE *AND* have Subtle Backstabbing active, or since it's a stance, do I have to choose which I will be using? If they can't be active at the same time, I'll be one unhappy rogue..

[Freeman]

Something that I just thought of, and may have been discussed in the 20,000 threads about this last week ..
Will it 'toggle' off when you use a spell, clicky, rage, etc. like Combat Expertise currently does? That could really be a problem for some folks..

Also, can I be in CE *AND* have Subtle Backstabbing active, or since it's a stance, do I have to choose which I will be using? If they can't be active at the same time, I'll be one unhappy rogue..

Um, I believe I addressed every question you had in the post you quoted. Yes, it can be used with CE, Power Attack, and any other stance.(Dev responded as such) Using other abilities will not turn it off, nor will clickies, spells, rages, etc.

[Azuremane]

Edited: Question asked and answered earlier in the thread.

[Emili]

Not to mention, you can boost AC, or Attack rolls (!) too - up to +5.

Human paladins, human battlebards, human battlemages, human battle* - they all will have attack/damage/AC boosts as good as a fighter, PLUS skill boosts as good as a rogue, PLUS saves boosts.

Combine that with the extra AP use enhancements so you get 6 (or 7?) ...

Humans are looking really nice now, really nice.

I do agree it is nice for the lower bab classes... but 20 sec boosts do not go very far, you learn to use them on just bosses and other nameds where the fight can last a little beyond your 20 sec boosts. In the regular mob it's a bit of a waste as the sheer number of them in an encounter far exceed the 20 sec... and chaining it is not something you'd want to do.

For 5 to 6 encounters between shrines anyway... total 120 - 140 second, average gameplay between shrines is much more than that. I can speed run something like von 3 in 10 minutes average with the right group by shrine skipping, this of course means HV would cover 1/5 of the time. To a melee it is more attractive than any of the action boosts - ie.) fighter's attack boost etc... but I know very few people at all anymore who even consider those enhancement lines anymore since they do just as well without them via feats, buffs or by being a dwarf with an axe, or a elf with a longsword. Prior to the enhancement change mob many people had the boosts just as a lack of having little choice elsewhere and to be frank I used to boost my fighters to-hit to +52 to-hit with this on end boss's for 20sec - which of course lasted 1/5 of the fight if that.

At 10 ap's it will be a nice enhancement for human rogues, pallys and fighters who hurt for enhancements to begin with, Clerics bards and others who have an array of very useful enhancements to balance their mana, spells and fasicates will have a more difficult time making room for these.

All in all it does add to your options as a human.

[riexau]

Thank you for fixing fire shield.

While it would have been nice to have max/emp work properly for it, at least I can use it now for those lava diving emergency escapes.

[Uska]

Love all of the other highlights except for this one. When are you going to stop "adjusting" POP?

Considering the loot pop way to easy needs adjusting.

[Uska]

Is it for when he comes in, or while he's being engaged? I just hate how they keep changing this quest every time a patch is released. Just because a few Uber super-planned-from-the-beginning-with-all-of-the-raid-loot builds can run it in 15 minutes doesn't mean everyone can.

At what point do you make a quest too hard for Joe Averagebuild to complete?

Can be done it a group with only so called avg build and avg gear if played smart with strategy

[KristovK]

reminder: PK (phantasmal killer) CAN do 3d6 damage also and maximize/empower are disabled, I WANT the same fix for FoD (Finger of Death) as long as there is no way to set spells with feats in advance.

PK is an Illusion spell, and only does damage if the target fails it's Will save but makes it's Fort save, and that doesn't allow the meta's to work with it, in PnP or in DDO. FoD is not an Illusion spell, has 1 save or you die, make the save and you STILL take damage, so the meta's ARE supposed to work with it. Working as designed.

It's either a bug or a stupid design.

Wizards who cast FOD want to kill the monster totally- they don't want to hurt it a little. Many wizards would be happier if they could turn off the damage portion of FOD completely so they don't pull aggro.

If DDO had a good system to control the use of meta-magic, so that you could turn it on and off instantly, or you could associate metamagics with a specific spell icon, then it would be OK to allow Maximized Empowered Finger of Death. In that case, it would be only the player's fault if he wastes 6x the mana on a FOD spell.

However, considering that DDO has no good way to toggle metamagics except push an icon and stand still waiting for a progress bar, Max/Emp should be disabled from FOD just like they are disabled for PK.

FoD does 3d6 +1/level(25 max) on a save, that's not a bug, that's not bad design, that's how the spell works in PnP and in DDO. In PnP by time you get the spell, that's not much damage, but when you emp and/or max that spell expecting a mob to save, it's commensurate with level on the damage. In DDO that damage is admittedly laughable by the time you get the spell, even when emp/max is added in, but that's due to the inflated hp's of the mobs and that's a discussion that's been had over and over and over.

As far as casters running around with emp/max on all the time and casting FoD...PEBKAC issue. Turning a meta off is instant, and it takes all of 2 seconds(it's been timed many times) to enable a meta and you can enable them on the move, so the only reason people are wasting sp's using emp/max with FoD is simple laziness on the part of the player. I have yet to use emp/max when I didn't specifically want them active on my capped Wizard who I've played for over a year now, but I also don't run around with them enabled at all times.

Yes, it would be nice if they allowed another method of using meta's, but there's other threads on this subject in this very section of the Forums, with a rather interesting proposal by Mystic Theurge on changing them(I disagree with implementing it due to how DDO does spell/day/level but I like the idea itself). The best suggestion so far is to simply remove the timer on activating meta's, since doing what many ask for, allowing spells to be placed in the toolbars AS a meta'd spell would require 2-4 times the toolbars we already use, and I personally have 10 for my Wizard already and STILL don't have everything I would like in those toolbars, not to mention the screen clutter 10 toolbars causes.

[Gimpster]

PK is an Illusion spell, and only does damage if the target fails it's Will save but makes it's Fort save, and that doesn't allow the meta's to work with it, in PnP or in DDO. FoD is not an Illusion spell, has 1 save or you die, make the save and you STILL take damage, so the meta's ARE supposed to work with it. Working as designed.

Every part of that is either wrong or irrelevant.

In PnP, if some idiot wants to maximize Phantasmal Killer so he can get a straight 18 damage on a save instead of 3d6, he's allowed to do it. The facts that a spell has one save or two, or is an illusion or not are irrelevant to the question of whether the designers intended it.

There are two possible designs that could be in play:
1. The PnP rules for what metamagics can apply should be used, meaning any spell which can inflict a variable amount of damage should allow Maximize and Empower.

2. As a convenience for the DDO players, metamagics which are 99% stupid to apply to a particular spell should not work on it.

Design 1 would mean both PK and FOD can be Empowered. Design 2 would mean neither PK nor FOD can be Empowered. Either of that would be self-consistent and could be claimed to be "Working As Intended". However, the current behavior where you can empower one but not the other is just nonsensical.

[Gimpster]

As far as casters running around with emp/max on all the time and casting FoD...PEBKAC issue. Turning a meta off is instant, and it takes all of 2 seconds(it's been timed many times) to enable a meta and you can enable them on the move

Newsflash: sometimes I need to cast a spell NOW, not two seconds from now.

The best suggestion so far is to simply remove the timer on activating meta's, since doing what many ask for, allowing spells to be placed in the toolbars AS a meta'd spell would require 2-4 times the toolbars we already use, and I personally have 10 for my Wizard already and STILL don't have everything I would like in those toolbars, not to mention the screen clutter 10 toolbars causes.

Flat wrong.

If you could place meta spells on the toolbar, it could use LESS icons total. You wouldn't need to be switching metas on and off all the time, because spells could be pre-metad according to what is the best way to use them.

[Elfvyra]

Just wondering how much farther you're going to deviate from 3.5 with regards to the Holy Sword spell? What I mean is, since you're not using the 3.5 duration and using Prot vs Evil instead of Magic Circle against Evil effect, will the Sword disappear when you switch weapons? Are you going to let Paladins give them away?

[Lowniss32]

Do you devs think you can finally make this game fair and equal for all players and subscribers so they have the same chance on the loot tables? Being in this game and a beta player and basically playing Clerics for over a year and a half on Riedra. I can pretty much say that the loot is not equal for chests or end rewards for all classes in this game.
I play this game hardcore style. I have not once opened up the Auction House in this game. Not ONCE! Not many can speak that. I rely on what I pull or my good friends giving me. I have looted just as much as the rest and to see shields and maces all the time is not cool.
Maybe this is why it is hard to find good clerics like myself since they all know they get nerfed loot what is there to look for? Your money going down hill because no one wants to fund the healer.
Please FIX the loot and make it the same chances across the board for everyone. This isnt a "just a case of bad luck" because I have time in this game and that tells all.
Take care of the clerics that take care of you

Fatty -14 Clr
Hefty- 14 Clr
Tailor -14 Clr
Fattys - 6 Clr

[Forceonature]

Can be done it a group with only so called avg build and avg gear if played smart with strategy

And what's wrong with that? I like the fact that it's an upper tier quest that only takes 30 min. to run. I can run it with a pug while waiting for guildies to log on. Not every quest has to be two hours long.

It just bugs me that the people who say it is too easy have a) run it a hundred times and b) ransack it every week. Then they complain that it is too easy and they're sick of running it so much. Well if it is too easy, then stop running it so much!

[Ozy]

Love all of the other highlights except for this one. When are you going to stop "adjusting" POP?

When it becomes as difficult as the rest of the level 13/14 quests like the Cauldron, etc.

[Ozy]

did this on normal with a pug full of 8-10's we almost wiped once and wiped at the end because myself and the other caster were out of mana, we came back in and he fell hard as we were abe to contain him and everyone had buffs. Most did not have uber equipment and 3 had never done the quest before. So this quest on normal is still easily within the reach of most non uber builds and regular players.

I thought you had to be level 10 before you could even GO to Gianthold?

[Mad_Bombardier]

I thought you had to be level 10 before you could even GO to Gianthold?

You have to be level 10 to get Wilderness Area XP. Any player can go to the GH quests for completion, favor, and loot.

[boricua_in_cali]

In QA
These items are in QA and are scheduled for Update 4.2: Searing Heights.


[*]NEW – Base cooldowns for Sorcerers reduced by 0.5 seconds for all spells (1.0 second for lingering effects.)
[*]You can now ctrl-click on an item in a shop to purchase the item in bulk. A pop-up dialog will prompt you to enter the number of items to purchase. Note: This dialog is only used when purchasing items. There is still no way to control the number of items you sell from a stack.
[*]The number of Turn Undead attempts per rest will now be calculated on the current displayed Charisma modifier. Previously only permanent changes to Charisma from level advancement and tomes were counted.

Sorceress Love, about time!!
Haggle monkey love, finally I can buy my spell components with 5 clicks, instead of 5 HUNDRED clicks!

a (GOOD) reason for Clerics to pump their CHARISMA some more, making them not so ugly, server-wide!! yay!

I'm pretty excited about this update.

[Cheg]

In QA
These items are in QA and are scheduled for Update 4.2: Searing Heights.

Combat

• NEW – Human Versatility has undergone some revisions, and now grants five subabilities. Instead of being restricted only to a skill boost, Humans may now display their versatility by gaining a short duration increase to skills, damage, attack rolls, saves, or armor class. These boosts draw from one common pool of 5.
  
  • Human Versatility I
    
    • Prereq: Human Level 1
    • Cost: 1 Action Point
    • Grants the ability to display your versatility as a +2 bonus to skills, damage, attack rolls, saves, or armor class for 20 seconds.
      
      • Human Versatility - Skills I. Activate this ability to receive a +2 bonus to skills for 20 seconds.
      • Human Versatility - Damage I. Activate this ability to receive a +2 bonus to damage for 20 seconds.
      • Human Versatility - Attack I.Activate this ability to receive a +2 bonus to attack rolls for 20 seconds.
        
      • Human Versatility - Saves I. Activate this ability to receive a +2 bonus to saves for 20 seconds.
      • Human Versatility - Armor Class I. Activate this ability to receive a +2 bonus to armor class for 20 seconds.
      
      
  • Human Versatility II
    
    • Prereq: Human Level 4, 10 Action Points Spent, Human Versatility I
    • Cost: 2 Action Points
    • Grants the ability to display your versatility as a +3 bonus to skills, damage, attack rolls, saves, or armor class for 20 seconds.
      
      • Human Versatility - Skills II. Activate this ability to receive a +3 bonus to skills for 20 seconds.
      • Human Versatility - Damage II. Activate this ability to receive a +3 bonus to damage for 20 seconds.
      • Human Versatility - Attack II. Activate this ability to receive a +3 bonus to attack rolls for 20 seconds.
      • Human Versatility - Saves II. Activate this ability to receive a +3 bonus to saves for 20 seconds.
      • Human Versatility - Armor Class II. Activate this ability to receive a +3 bonus to armor class for 20 seconds.
        
      
      
  • Human Versatility III
    
    • Prereq: Human Level 7, 21 Action Points Spent, Human Versatility II
    • Cost: 3 Action Points
    • Grants the ability to display your versatility as a +4 bonus to skills, damage, attack rolls, saves, or armor class for 20 seconds.
      
      • Human Versatility - Skills III. Activate this ability to receive a +4 bonus to skills for 20 seconds.
      • Human Versatility - Damage III. Activate this ability to receive a +4 bonus to damage for 20 seconds.
      • Human Versatility - Attack III. Activate this ability to receive a +4 bonus to attack rolls for 20 seconds.
      • Human Versatility - Saves III. Activate this ability to receive a +4 bonus to saves for 20 seconds.
      • Human Versatility - Armor Class III. Activate this ability to receive a +4 bonus to armor class for 20 seconds.
        
      
      
  • Human Versatility IV
    
    • Prereq: Human Level 10, 32 Action Points Spent, Human Versatility III
    • Cost: 4 Action Points
    • Grants the ability to display your versatility as a +5 bonus to skills, damage, attack rolls, saves, or armor class for 20 seconds.
      
      • Human Versatility - Skills IV. Activate this ability to receive a +5 bonus to skills for 20 seconds.
      • Human Versatility - Damage IV. Activate this ability to receive a +5 bonus to damage for 20 seconds.
      • Human Versatility - Attack IV. Activate this ability to receive a +5 bonus to attack rolls for 20 seconds.
      • Human Versatility - Saves IV. Activate this ability to receive a +5 bonus to saves for 20 seconds.
      • Human Versatility - Armor Class IV. Activate this ability to receive a +5 bonus to armor class for 20 seconds.
        
      
      

Will the Attack boost stack with Fighter Attack boost?