U51 Preview 3 (10/19 - 10/21)

[Lomizir]

Disclaimer
Everything seen on the preview server, Lamannia, is not final and is subject to change or removal before live release.

Hello, all! Preview 3* of Update 51 is open! Changes from Preview 1 appear in blue. It is expected to remain open until sometime in the afternoon (Eastern Time) of Thursday, October 21st. This will include a dev event on Wednesday, the 20th from 8pm-10pm, where designers will be on hand to discuss your feedback.

This preview contains the following features:
Epic Destiny Overhaul Overview
Feat and Level-Up Changes for Epics
Divine Crusader
Draconic Incarnation
Exalted Angel
Fatesinger
Fury of the Wild
Grandmaster of Flowers
Legendary Dreadnought
Magus of the Eclipse
Primal Avatar
Shadowdancer
Shiradi Champion
Unyielding Sentinel



In addition to these major features, the preview also contains the following miscellaneous changes and bugfixes:

Character

• There is a new Epic Past Life feat, to accompany the new Magus of the Eclipse Tree. Eclipse Power: Arcane Past Life Stance: +1 Spell Penetration per stack of this Past Life. Passive Bonus: +1% Absorption of Acid, Cold, Electric, and Fire damage per stack of this feat. Like other Epic Past Life feats, this can be acquired up to three times.
• Improved Zombie Form now properly penalizes your attack speed.
• Knight's Training now increases the threat range of Maces and Warhammers by an additional 1
• Swords to Plowshares now increases the threat range of Quarterstaves by an additional 1
• Warlock Enlightened Spirit's Eldritch Aura has been rebuilt to eliminate a number of bugs and assist in better future balance for Warlocks. It is no longer a toggle; instead, it is cast in a manner similar to Cleric Radiant Servant Aura. The aura lasts near-infinitely and through death, but must be recast on logging in. Casting it turns off other Eldritch Blast styles. Turning other Eldritch Blast styles on dispels the Aura spell. It still cannot be used while in Knight's Transformation or Epic Defensive Fighting, but the ability to use Aura at the same time as the Master of Knowledge feat has been restored. In almost all other working-as-intended respects, the Aura should work as it did before.

Spells

• Several changes and optimizations have been made to spells that can affect multiple targets. This should resolve several issues with AoE spells connecting while impacting with shallow water, as well as having a much better time making contact through uneven terrain.
• Alchemist's Sanctified Vial spell now requires 1 level of Cleric, Favored Soul, or Paladin OR any points spent in the new Divine Crusader, Exalted Angel, or Unyielding Sentinel Epic Destinies
• The Enervation spell now applies a Negative Damage Over Time effect
• The following spells are now in spell books:
  
  • Tsunami - 9 drd
  • Stormrage - 8 drd
  • Celestial Bombardment - 9 fvs/clr
  • Insidious Spores - 7 drd
  • Arcane Tempest - 9 wiz/sor, 6 art
  • Divine Wrath - 9 fvs/clr

Items

• You may now trade Tomes of Fate for Purified Eberron Dragonshards
• The values of Assassinate DC bonuses found on items has increased significantly.

Misc

• Toggles now remember their state better through logout and login
• The Fatespinner will now remind you when you haven't unlocked all the new ED trees
• The Gnome and Deep Gnome trees core 2 and 4s now have the correct icons.
• There is a new tab on the character sheet that contains your Epic Destiny abilities.
• All characters level 20 and higher at the time of this Update will not be able to change Feats with Fred until they perform a Lesser Reincarnation (or any other form of Reincarnation). This is to prevent invalid build scenarios and situations where certain feats simply cannot be swapped.
• All characters level 20 and higher at the time of this Update have been granted a Bound-to-Character +5 Lesser Heart of Wood.

Known Issues
n/a


* Our initial preview was before Update 50, so we're referring to that as our early preview and numbering these current previews accordingly.

[apocaladle]

Woo~

[Xugx_quetoxi]

When will we expect to see the final Legendary Sands gear? I'd like to complete my end game gear sets please.

[Lynnabel]

When will we expect to see the final Legendary Sands gear? I'd like to complete my end game gear sets please.

This update! They are in this preview in the Test Dojo shop and the Epic/Legendary Altar - the items themselves are not 100% done and still need a good polishing, so if you have feedback, please let me know

[amessi1]

Have the adjustments to monsters made it in this round?

[Baahb3]

Will there be full descriptions of the various ED trees like before so we can see if any changes have been made? Specifically for those just introduced in Preview 2?

[Weemadarthur]

Have the adjustments to monsters made it in this round?

Good question, one that really should have got a response :/

So can anyone confirm whether any of the re-balancing has made it into this update?

I am unable to get on and check myself so an answer from those that can to verify would be appreciated.

[Kelledren]

This update! They are in this preview in the Test Dojo shop and the Epic/Legendary Altar - the items themselves are not 100% done and still need a good polishing, so if you have feedback, please let me know

Awesome- Thank you! Curious to see the perfected items so one day (when I’m 90) and pull a nebula frag I could do some crafting!

[Lynnabel]

Awesome- Thank you! Curious to see the perfected items so one day (when I’m 90) and pull a nebula frag I could do some crafting!

Just to be sure I'm setting expectations appropriately, the Perfected versions of these items are not completed nor visible within this preview. They are still slated to release with the rest of the Sands loot, though.

[apocaladle]

This update! They are in this preview in the Test Dojo shop and the Epic/Legendary Altar - the items themselves are not 100% done and still need a good polishing, so if you have feedback, please let me know

Any chance any of the items will have a hidden ability the community has to figure out?

Those hunts are always fun to try to work out on little more to go on than "there is a top sneaky thing yet to be solved"

[Arkat]

This update! They are in this preview in the Test Dojo shop and the Epic/Legendary Altar - the items themselves are not 100% done and still need a good polishing, so if you have feedback, please let me know

Could you please take a look at the Legendary Sirocco?

Here's a post I made addressing it.

https://www.ddo.com/forums/showthrea...=1#post6471132

[Targal]

Niac's biting cold/Eladar's cost 20 SP while Enervation costs 25 SP.
It will be not welcomed in a damage purpose. How about letting it does 1 neg level always instead and reducing SP costs by 5 in return? Or just reducing SP cost by 5 and keep the current version...

[rabidfox]

[*]Several changes and optimizations have been made to spells that can affect multiple targets. This should resolve several issues with AoE spells connecting while impacting with shallow water, as well as having a much better time making contact through uneven terrain.

FvS heal wall still isn't working right with this preview. Whomever the heal wall is targeted on doesn't get healed until they move out and back into the healing wall.

[K_9]

Removed post. Re-read re hearts of wood

[slarden]

Arcane Tempest - 9 wiz/sor, 6 art

Why would you not give this as a warlock spell?

[Cadveen]

Why would you not give this as a warlock spell?

Probably because Warlocks has Evards Black Tentacles which is clearly a wizard/sorc spell as well. Thats my guess.

[slarden]

Probably because Warlocks has Evards Black Tentacles which is clearly a wizard/sorc spell as well. Thats my guess.

There is a big difference. Arcane tempest was available to warlock prior to U51 and is now taken away.

I think there were many warlocks in magister using arcane tempest and I can't recall ever seeing an artificer in magister using arcane tempest - yet artificer gets it and warlock gets yet one more thing removed.

It's not unbalancing to give a spell to warlocks they already had access to. It is unbalancing to remove it especially when warlocks are getting hit harder than most classes by this update.

[Iriale]

There is a big difference. Arcane tempest was available to warlock prior to U51 and is now taken away.

I think there were many warlocks in magister using arcane tempest and I can't recall ever seeing an artificer in magister using arcane tempest - yet artificer gets it and warlock gets yet one more thing removed.

It's not unbalancing to give a spell to warlocks they already had access to. It is unbalancing to remove it especially when warlocks are getting hit harder than most classes by this update.

Warlock can only select two spells per level. What spell would you not select to take arcane tempest? Giving up Hold moster mass or wail is very hard.

The reality is that returning epic spells as regular spells only works with cleric and druid, and only because they don't have enough high-level spells in their spellbook.

But it is clear that the decision has been made. Another nerf, but I don't think there's going back anymore. In a short time, if not in this latest update, we will see a reduction in the efficiency of these spells to fit them into the preset mold that spells of the level have.

That's just a nerf.

[slarden]

We're also planning on adding Arcane Tempest to Warlock level 6, as per earlier in the thread

Thank you for that.

Warlock can only select two spells per level. What spell would you not select to take arcane tempest? Giving up Hold moster mass or wail is very hard.

Beggars can't be choosers and warlocks are CLEARLY in the begging category at this point.

I am either going to give up on warlock completely and re-roll as sorc or swap from SE/TS to ES/TS in draconic and go with more of an enchanting/blasting build with scion of the feywild, thus giving up wail for arcane tempest.

It's not a great solution, but if I am given a choice between wail or arcane tempest I am taking arcane tempest unless the damage is significantly reduced compared to live. Wail is situational while arcane tempest is my go-to aoe for pretty much every encounter.

[Lynnabel]

Why would you not give this as a warlock spell?

Hmm, that's a pretty good idea