End of the week with Major Malphunktion 9.23.11

[FrancisP.Fancypants]

What bugged me about CC the last time (and Mabar as well) was that it was so **** grindy, even though the actual mission part was a load of fun. I tooled around in Mabar enough to get the handwraps, but I only got to run CC a dozen times or so.

What bugs me now is knowing I still don't have that kind of time in the middle of a semester to grind out a bunch of gear for my toons while at the same time being unable to find a decent group running anything else. At least the BTA items seemed like a justifiable reason for people to crawl all over the cove.

This thread would have me believe that when CC opens no one will care anymore, and the quest LFMs will flow like water. Experience says that I'll see another few weeks of 20 CC/Mabar groups and 2 groups looking in vain for a healer, since everyone will need to grind that much more.

I had a thought about making the rewards more consumable-based, but honestly I'm a little meh about the whole thing at the moment.

[killerzee25]

Is there any possible way that the crystal cove items can be made bound to account and bound to character on equip? I personally use them a lot on new toon's that have just hit cap and i feel that having the cc items bound on equip would allow for some flexibility in why you give them too and also limit reusing them.

~Sky

[Balkas]

This has probably been asked, but I was just wondering when we're going to be able to LR+/GR+ into Artificers.

Thanks for everything MM.

[Mellifera]

Is there any possible way that the crystal cove items can be made bound to account and bound to character on equip? I personally use them a lot on new toon's that have just hit cap and i feel that having the cc items bound on equip would allow for some flexibility in why you give them too and also limit reusing them.

~Sky

That's not a bad idea.

[bseamus]

Yarrrrrrrr! Steal the wind from my sails you did! There's time in plenty I won't be spending in CC now that the item binding is changing. What is the reasoning behind this decision? Fine, "as it was meant to be" but now that you tell us so, why was it meant to be in the first place? I understand some bta such as required quest lines but...

I guess there will be no more making items that might inspire the creation of new characters to use them. And to think I was going to take time off to play. I feel for the guy who took the first week off and got totally screwed. Now I'm pulling my vacation request for Halloween in case you have any other unexpected improvements in mind.

And another thing, how are my low-level Mabar wraps "OP"? You just increased point-blank range and doubled base damage and introduced a pay class that supplants an original and you're talking about "OP"?

Thanks for the updates even if they make me want to play less. At least I'm informed.

[bseamus]

I suppose I should be more clear as to how my displeasure affects your revenues. My interest in this game waxes and wanes. When it wanes I consider dropping my VIP status. But then some festival or event comes along and I craft and/or purchase and/or upgrade items. Those items rekindle my interest in the game as I have to try them out. And the more items I can create that are not btc (because in CC my 4th level character cannot create items in anticipation of his/her reaching 12th level but my 13th level character can), then the more characters I'll need to creat or play just to try them out. Thus my desire to maintain a VIP account.

[Therigar]

Another crazy week. People say coming up to launch is chaos, sometimes it is the weeks after one that is even busier. It basically adds another project to the list, patch gets added to the workload while Update 12 is already at full swing. We will have a hot fix ‘soon’ as in the next week to 10 days, and then a Patch another few weeks away.

Now,I have some good news and some bad news. Go ahead get your torches and pitchforks…I’ll wait.




OK you’re back?
First the bad: Crystal Cove items are going to become Bound to Character (BtC) when the items are updated. This is how it is supposed to be. We noticed this issue back during the event, and decided at the time to leave it alone, it was our birthday at the time and bigger prizes the better for the celebration.
But now this is ‘fixed’, and is like all the other places with this kind of loot in the game. Sorry. We should have had this in the release notes, but I will admit I did not cast my net far enough into the past to notice the fix. Sorry for the confusion. So, before Crystal Cove goes live, if you have items that you want to upgrade (which will make them Bound to Character), move your items to the characters that you want to own them! Note that this only affects items that will be upgraded when Crystal Cove returns, your current loot should not see its bind state change unless you try to upgrade it.
1. BTA cove items with Epic slots remained BTA when a crystal was slotted in the past. Will they remain BTA if a crystal is slotted right now? yes
2. Will old BTA Epic items remain BTA if you slot a crystal after the hotfix? yes
3. Will old BTA Epic items remain BTA if you clear the slot right now? yes
4. Will old BTA Epic items remain BTA if you clear the slot after the hotfix? yes
The only time it will become BTC is if you put it in the barter box and upgrade it.

Now the good:

• Crystal Cove is back from repair(EDIT) and in QA.It will come back sometime around the hotfix. The flip the switch day is up to Marketing, not me.( I love it and would have it on all the time) Oddly it was the same exact bug that caused some crashing issues a while back, due to mushrooms in Red Fens. So, if you examined the door (actually the darkness behind the door) it would crash the instance. See, it was the mushrooms fault…sort of. Why a mushroom and a door work the same is one of those mysteries of life, and maybe only David Attenborough knows the connection.

• We fixed melee attacks. This will be in the hot fix. (cheers!)

• We are still looking at lag- it is a tricky one, but we have a band-aid that may help that is going out with the hot fix.



Then, in the next patch…yes, a sneak peek(Note: these are not set in stone, and due to issues found may be pulled from the patch at any time)

Handwraps! No really:

• Lawful/Chaotic/Evil Outsider Bane is now working on crafted or named handwraps.
• Byeshk Weapons artificer spell now works on handwraps
• Bodyfeeder on crafted handwraps now procs! Feed away.
• competence and an enhancement bonus to attack can now stack on crafted handwraps
• Crafting: Handwraps are now useable in recipes that require the target weapon to be bludgeoning. For example, you can now put the "Stunning" effects on handwraps.
• Mabar Handwraps will no longer be horribly OP.
• Crafting: Enhancement bonus effects can now be deconstructed from handwraps to produce Enhancement Spirit. Before this fix, the enhancement bonus deconstruction option just wouldn't appear at the crafting device for handwraps.
• Added the new handwrap enhancement bonus deconstruction recipes to the item deconstruction device.

Hirelings!
• Arcane hirelings have learned that ranged spells serve them best when they stay out of melee range, and will no longer charge into close-quarters combat.
• Display cool down timers for Pet and Hireling active abilities on the control shortcut bar
• Cleric hirelings have realized that they have weapons, and will now be a little more willing to use them - but only when they don't need to heal anyone
• Some improvements in the AI system to make your hirelings and pets more responsive to player command. Please note that the hireling or pet will not stop in midcast to listen to your order, but will perform the requested action once it is legal for him to do so.
• Players can now zone into raid enabled adventure areas with their hireling(s). Please note hirelings continue to be barred from raid dungeons.

And a bunch of other stuff!!
Back to the mines! Yark!

Go Pats!
Major Malphunktion

Maybe Major Malphunktion should be promoted to Colonel Competence if Turbine manages to pull it all off without creating new problems.

[sirgog]

(Sorry if elsewhere)

Any changes (or planned changes) to Master Artificer Crystals Phase so a good run isn't 10 fps and bad one is 0?

This. The 'Sentinels and Heavy Golems' phase too, although that's not nearly as bad.

Just make the floor of the room opaque on lower graphics settings (and keep the mesh effects on medium to high ones).


EDIT: Bug reported this too.

[crazycaren]

Could Crystal Cove please offer guild renown this time?

It sucks that our guild has to slide backward because people are grinding for loot. They are PLAYING after all!

thanks,

CC

[Produktion_Malphunktion]

Maybe Major Malphunktion should be promoted to Colonel Competence if Turbine manages to pull it all off without creating new problems.

Wait until you see my next madcap scheme....mwahahahah.

I keep telling you guys...'New Turbine'.

[Fixitosis]

Quite a few of my guild (myself included) as well as other friends have items that were crafted early on in the Cannith crafting which have large guild slots.

Nice items. Hard to come by items.

They have lost the ability to be used as in the large slots cannot be utilized, thier craftable levels cannot be increased and they cannot be returned to thier base item to restart the crafting process.

The "craftable +X" text is missing on these items. They were crafted higher than thier level before the ability to increase the craftable level was increased.

Is there any way these items can be fixed? Any patch/hot fix to look forward to in regards to this problem?


We thank you in advance for looking into this matter.

Fixer and friends.

Hey now.... I believe I wrote this query rather well.

It seems to have been over looked?

There is no information on this problem? You are looking into it? Toss me a bone here.

Still, thanks for any info reguarding this.

F

[Produktion_Malphunktion]

Hey now.... I believe I wrote this query rather well.

It seems to have been over looked?

There is no information on this problem? You are looking into it? Toss me a bone here.

Still, thanks for any info reguarding this.

F

PM me with more detail. Need actual items and such.

[Psiandron]

Wait until you see my next madcap scheme....mwahahahah.

I keep telling you guys...'New Turbine'.

"New Turbine"??

Is that going to be like "New Coke"? Big, highly marketed change followed by widespread consumer dissatisfaction and dropping sales. Then, six months later admission of failure and return of old product which, somehow, has never quite tasted the same.

[Produktion_Malphunktion]

"New Turbine"??

Is that going to be like "New Coke"? Big, highly marketed change followed by widespread consumer dissatisfaction and dropping sales. Then, six months later admission of failure and return of old product which, somehow, has never quite tasted the same.

Witty.
More like we are a company in transition, personally I think it is something wonderful. People are going to love it, or hate it.
Grumble grumble.

[Xaxx]

Witty.
More like we are a company in transition, personally I think it is something wonderful. People are going to love it, or hate it.
Grumble grumble.

If the transition is brining wow style bosses (see lord of blades) to ddo, its a bad transition. DDO is not equiped with an agro mechanic like taunting or vengance for people to be able to somewhat easily maintain agro and switch control/agro as needed. LOB is something that I would expect in wow or eq or eq2 or rift, or something along those lines with the phase shifts, adds, attack flags, attack gives, jousting, etc......

Thats not how ddo's been built, unless your willing to shut the game down for a few months while you go back and rework the base code and the base calculations of the game along with a complete revamp of the combat system and spell system to a less frantic and more controlled system, its not gonna work.... sorry.

[Bronko]

Wait until you see my next madcap scheme....mwahahahah.

I keep telling you guys...'New Turbine'.

You know the rules: screenshot or we don't believe you.

[Dark_Helmet]

Witty.
More like we are a company in transition, personally I think it is something wonderful. People are going to love it, or hate it.
Grumble grumble.

I am going to guess I am glad I don't pay for the game anymore.

Last time there was something "spectacular" (vast and mysterioustm), it wasn't for the current player base and drained a lot of resources away from dungeon and character development.

[Coldin]

Witty.
More like we are a company in transition, personally I think it is something wonderful. People are going to love it, or hate it.
Grumble grumble.

I love it so far. More communication is good.

I would like to hear some more info on how soon we'll see Update 12, but that's probably underwraps until we get a lot closer to release.

I'd also like to hear if Eladrin is getting his chance to work on more Ranged combat improvements.

[Fixitosis]

PM me with more detail. Need actual items and such.

PM sent. Let me know if you require more information.

[Calebro]

PM me with more detail. Need actual items and such.

All the details you needed were in the post.

"crafted early on in the Cannith crafting"
"thier craftable levels cannot be increased and they cannot be returned to thier base item to restart the crafting process."
"They were crafted higher than thier level before the ability to increase the craftable level was increased."

They crafted items prior to the base +5 enchantment levels were introduced.
This was a major whinefest when it first happened and people want some sort of compensation because the system changed, even though there was a HUGE warning telling them that it was beta and it might change and that they were crafting at their own risk.
No changes to those early crafted items will be forthcoming.
Mystery solved.