Grab Bag - August 17, 2007

It's Friday, and that can only mean one thing. It's Grab Bag Time!


Q. I have a question about bridge mechanics. A number of us have been in a debate on whether or not it is ok to jump on the beams that go under the bridge. A few say it's an exploit, and a few say it's not.

A. The Bearded Wonder explains: I'm assuming they mean the Midgard bridges in current NF on live. If they are, then yes, definitely not a place to hang out. The new bridges don't have beams, so the point will be moot soon, but until then, you should probably stay away from the beams (and don't cross the streams, either).

Q. When the game comes up originally, clicking on the icon on desktop.......it brings up my browser with the Herald on it. Is this new? Why?

A. Says the Inzane Coder: This is an intended feature which only occurs when there's a new patch. We decided to do this so that the players are taken to the patch notes page and can read up while they wait for the patch to download. I've been getting a lot of feedback regarding the Internet Explorer window. For an explanation as to why it's IE and can't be changed, please check this Grab Bag archive.

Q. I have a question about the housing repossession "spam" I've been getting since I closed my accounts. Does the 120 days start from when the account was closed? From the day I received the first 120-day notice? Or the most recent 120-day notice? Thanks!

A. From Redbeard: It is from the date of the most recent notification. Moving forward, these notices should be sent out within about 24 hours of an account being closed.

Q. The charge on Medal of Honor, once used, prevents the use of ANY charge for 12 minutes. Is this a bug? I am not aware of any other charge that has a similar effect.

A. This is a bug that has been fixed on Pendragon. The fix will go live with 1.90. Note: There was another bug in which the Medal of Honor acted differently in Midgard than it did in Hibernia and Albion. This bug has also been fixed.

Q. My question is about a shield proc. I have a Potentate Rekan's Tiny Buckler. It has a magical ability:

Function: shield debuff
Lowers the target's Armor Factor (AF), resulting in worse protection against some forms of attack.
Value 40
Target: Targetted
Range: 1500
Duration: 30 sec
Casting time: 2.0 sec
Damage: Spirit

-Spell has a chance of casting when this armor is hit by an enemy.

My question is...
Does this shield have the same chance to proc when used offensively as well as defensively?

A. The Lady of the Jewels offers this extensive and informative reply: The shield debuff proc on the Potentate Rekan's Tiny Buckler will only have a chance fire when it blocks an enemy's attack. The description at the end that reads "- Spell has a chance of casting when hit by an enemy" gives away that it will only work when it is hit by someone and not when you hit someone with it.

If you see a description instead that reads "- Spell has a chance of casting when this weapon strikes an enemy" that means it will only work when using the item offensively.

Some shields may have the same proc listed twice for this reason. The first listing of the proc may have the offensive description, for example, and the second listing will have the defensive description. Those shields do have a chance to proc when used either way. I hope this helps!

Q. I know that thrust damage is 50/50 dex/str based. Someone had told me that Midgard spears are all dex/str even the slash damage spears. Is this true, a slash damage spear is based half on dex and half on str, or is it full str?

A. Says the Redhead: All Midgard spears are Str/Dex, even the slash spears.

Q. I've been playing this game for a number of years now, and I KNOW that black dye does NOT give you a bonus to stealth, yet all these new players are determined that it does! Can you clear it up that black dye does NOT give a bonus to stealth?

A. The Keeper of the Devs says: Dyes are only cosmetic. They do not give bonuses, stealth or otherwise.

Q. I was wondering what drops the warshadow bracer now. I have old copies of some of the updated items, but can't find what drops them now. I farmed warshades, glimmer strikers (caster bracer) and knights/geuists/deathwatchers and haven't seen any of these items drop. Are they even on the loot tables anymore or are they dragon/mini dragon only drops?

A. Time to get your Dragon farming boots out and round up an angry mob complete with pitchforks and torches. The Bearded Wonder has informed me that this item is now a Dragons-only drop. This includes the smaller dragons, as well.

Q. One of the valk dragon shields (impervious night ward) has the same effect on both slots. Why is this?

A. The Lady of the Jewels explains: These shields intentionally have the same proc twice, the first slot one is set as a weapon proc, that has a 20% chance to go off when they use a shield style like Slam on an enemy. The second slot is the same effect but it is a 10% chance reactive/armor proc. This is so the proc has a chance to go off either when a player attacks with their shield or blocks with it. Sorry for the confusion, all.

Q. [Insert clarification/question/argument regarding Dragon attacks and player attacks mentioned in the previous two Grab Bags here]

A. Guys. Seriously. Nothing you do to the dragon will cause him to generate certain attacks. The attacks are verifiably, certifiably, completely random. I did receive one argument regarding procs causing sharks to add in ML 1.8. Here's what the Lord of the Flies says to that: The sharks are responding to the damage type (which makes sense because the bleed effect puts blood in the shark-infested waters), but not to a proc. We currently don't have the functionality for monsters to react to a proc in and of itself, and we didn't hook up any damage-type triggers on the dragon encounters.

This Week's News

Earlier this week, we put some files up on the patcher to prepatch 1.90. In the announcement, we said that 1.90 would be going live next week. That was my bad. I posted before the timeline had been finalized, and extenuating circumstances have pushed us back to early September. As always, that date is also tentative, but it's what we're shooting for right now. There were some last minute changes that needed addressing, and we wanted to polish some of the New Frontiers upgrades before releasing them live.

Okay, now you're probably wondering how to kick boredom in the bud this Saturday. The solution is obvious. Go to Joanne's New Frontiers Battle event! Test out all of the shiny new siege content, and you might even win a t-shirt in the process. Go. Have fun.

Our Role Playing Team Lead and our Mordred Team Lead are planning a Play on Tintagel day Sunday, September 9, which promises to be more fun than a barrel full of badgers. WAY more fun. No role playing necessary, just head over and meet some new folks. Here's more info.

How can I get in on even more entertainment and amusement? How can I delve deeper into the mysteries of development and game play? How can I make a difference in this vast DAOC world? If you find yourself asking these questions of yourself, then you are probably an ideal candidate for the Team Lead Program. We need you! Apply today.

If this weekend's excitement has you wondering if you'll ever be able to top the memories made, don't despair. Next week is the Seattle Roundtable. They're going to have munchies, which may or may not include a veggie tray and some delicious cheese. And you get to talk to devs, too.

As for me, I'm outta here. Gonna sharpen up my sword, throw on my cloak, and head out to check out those siege towers. See ya on the battlefield!