Grab Bag - November 30, 2007

Q. What happened to the 'Heel Clip' ability that was in the Pendragon notes for 1.91c?

A. After feedback and additional testing on Pendragon, Heel Clip was removed in 1.91d. Unfortunately, the note got lost in the shuffle. Some things that go up on Pendragon don't make the cut, usually we note them, but it got missed this time. Sorry about that.

Q. I've been told conflicting opinions on bleed styles and am lost, especially regarding whether any of them stack with each other. Take the following 2 Crit styles for example:

12 Hamstring: Damage per tick (every 4 seconds): 5 Damage type: Body Duration: 30 seconds

29 Leaper: Damage per tick (every 4 seconds): 7 Damage type: Body Duration: 40 seconds ABS Decrease of 2% to target.

1. Do those 2 styles' bleeds stack?

2. If I hit somebody with 2 Hamstrings, do I get a stacking bleed from each?

3. Are there any restrictions within the same spec line versus different lines? (E.g. Critical Strike vs Dual Wield.)

A. I sent these over to the Balancinator, who happily provided the following replies:

1. No, bleeds do not stack [with each other], but they do stack with damage over time spells or poisons.

2. It refreshes the bleed when you use the same style again. If you hit someone with a low level bleed and then follow it up with a higher valued bleed, the higher valued bleed would overwrite the previous bleed.

3. The placement of the bleeds in style lines does not matter. They will never stack and a lower level bleed will not overwrite a higher-level bleed.

Q. It used to be that although you could not receive the Cloak of Might or Magic anymore from running the 4 quests, you could still run the quests for coin and xp. Recently I went to run them and found that the stone, wood and supplies quests were not working (they were still offered but nothing happened when you clicked them), however the elementals quest was still working. Is this a bug? Are the quests supposed to be working or are they supposed to have been taken out of the game?

A. I took this one over to the Bearded Wonder, who refreshed my memory about a recent patch note: http://www.camelotherald.com/news/news_article.php?storyid=3266

- The Old Stone and Living Wood quests are no longer available.

These were turned off with the culmination of the campaign as they no longer were relevant based on the storyline of the campaign.

Q. Is there some sort of trigger for the named Stonecrushers in Dartmoor (such as Kez and Kaq)? Or, do they just have a really long respawn timer? I've been trying to get an item off each of them, but so far I've only found them up one time and it's getting frustrating. I'm wondering if there's something I should be doing to make them spawn, or how long I'll have to wait for a respawn.

A. The two monsters in question have a number of locations where they might spawn. There is no trick involved to their spawn and they have a decent spawn rate. You might want to widen the search a bit or see if other players in the area have seen them; it's quite possible you aren't the only one hunting them. Thanks, Bearded Wonder!

Q. When I type /gc who, what is it that determines the order in which names are displayed?

A. This one was a quick and easy reply. I like those! According to the Guy with the Code: It is essentially in a random order. We keep a list of connected characters, and as you enter the game it finds the first open slot and puts you there.

Q. The weapons Golden Spear and Moment of Zen when right clicked display as 16.5 dps and 4.2 speed weapons. However when these 2 weapons are delved into the chat box, such as in Battlegroup or group chat, they display as 16.5 dps and 4.3 speed. This is the case at least for Hibernia, though I'm not sure about Midgard or Albion. Which of the 2 weapon speeds is the correct one?

A. What would we do without the Bearded Wonder? Here's what he says: They are both technically correct. The issue is that the code rounds differently in each case. The speed of the weapon in the system is in milliseconds, so you only see the value rounded in seconds. In the right click display it rounds down regardless of the speed value. In the chat display it rounds up if over halfway and down if less. So in the case of the items noted, you see 4.3 in chat and 4.2 in delve based on how it rounds the speed. The true speed is between that and constant.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

Our Home for the Holidays contest has been extended. Rumor has it that some fun holiday fluff is coming your way, and we wanted to give everyone the opportunity to decorate their houses with the new fun stuff. We did get a lot of creative entries without the holiday goodies, though, and they'll get bonus points for imagination!

We're looking for a few good Team Leads. If you or anyone you know has a real love for Dark Age of Camelot, point them (or yourself) to the Available Positions page.

Do you have a friend who deserves to shine in the spotlight? Does your guild or alliance have something interesting to say? Don't forget about the Scroll of Valor and Guild News. The Scroll honors your friends and guildies for their accomplishments in game, and Guild News is great for getting the word out about recruiting and guild events and accomplishments. Send in your submissions today!

Live version 1.91 went off without a hitch - almost! There is an issue that's preventing any accounts that got to level 50 after the patch from using /level to reach level 20 with other characters on that account. Accounts that reached level 50 for the first time before 1.91 are working just fine. We have a fix ready and we're planning a version next week for that and a few other odds and ends, so keep an eye here for updates.

Speaking of the latest patch, the style changes that went live with 1.91 have now been properly updated in the Herald's Style Library. The documentation there now matches the delve information available in game. The changes introduced on Pendragon yesterday in 1.92 will not be updated on the Herald until they go up to live servers, as they are subject to change. As always, if you notice any errors please feel free to send them in to us. Just select Herald Issues on the Feedback form.

1.92a rolled onto Pendragon yesterday as part of our new patching process (more here). We've got lots more style changes ready for testing now, so head on over to Pendragon and check it out!

That's all for this week. Go on a rampage, destroy some keeps, crush lots of Albs, Middies, or Hibs (whoever suits your mood). Have fun, we'll see you on Monday!