Patch 3.0

Patch 3, The Secrets of Power, was added to the live servers on July 21st, 2004

Narrative

Sixty years have passed since the War of Talons ended, and now the Aracoix are on the move. Agents of the Empire, including dreaded Skydancer attack troops and Savant mindlords, have come in secret through the Runegates. From the shadows, these intruders have organized the Birdmen into new legions, the first Kh'ree to darken Aerynth's skies in decades. A few Aracoix agents have been captured, and the Conclave of Wizards has managed to wring from them more of the secrets of the Runegates, expanding the Traveler's arts. The other aims of the Aracoix Empire remain unseen, but it is clear the Birdmen are looking for something. In the deeps of the deserts, the Aracoix have found an ancient citadel of the Ardani, a ruined library filled with arcane texts unread by any in thousands of years. What secrets do the Aracoix seek there? The few ancient scrolls and tablets brought back by plunderers and adventurers hint at magical arts and theories unseen since the birth of the world. The Aracoix claim that their Empire shall soon take new Glory in the conquest of Aerynth!

Many among the Wise are worried by the new machinations of the Birdmen, but few of the Nations pay their warnings any heed, for the face of Aerynth is aflame with new strife. Working tirelessly, the Dwarves have managed to reopen the ancient Mines and Lodes of old! Gold, enough to maintain empires, lays waiting for those with the patience to exploit it. Greedy for the wealth these new resources offer, the warlords of all lands are scrambling to claim and hold these goldmines and every mine is now the scene of constant raids and daring struggles. How will this new gold rush reshape the face of Aerynth? Which Nations shall gain the most in the fight for Glory and Gold?

Changelog

GENERAL

• Adjusted the experience curve to make it easier for players to achieve level 45 (and therefore contribute to their guilds). Some players may gain a couple free levels as a result (especially those near the 40 level mark)
• Fear spells have been given a slight bump (and should now affect level 60 mobiles correctly, when appropriate)
• Silence powers should now dispel chant effects and keep the target from recasting them for a time
• Players should no longer get stuck in several buildings in the Amazon Wetlands
• Added improved disconnect message when you are disconnected from a server
• The Disease cast by creatures has been greatly reduced in length of time
• You will now be instantly grounded if you log out while in flight
• The daggersmiths on Maelstrom now carry a full selection of items
• Gold piles and some other small objects no longer have collision
• Added break conditions for bow and crossbow grounding powers
• Power buttons will verify their recycle times when you log in
• An issue with logging in with the Mac Client has been fixed
• Fixed a couple of typos in power names and descriptions
• Stamina usage has been reduced while hovering in flight
• Some bugs with Rods of Command have been fixed
• An Exploit with the Recast Timer has been fixed
• The Warlock trainer in Vorringard is now male
• Fixed some collision issues inside buildings
• Miscellaneous client crashes have been fixed
• Vranaxxas should now hold his axe correctly
• Added Centaur Charter called The Cohort
• Epic mobs now have more impressive loot
• Fixed an issue with corpses teleporting
• Removed 'yawn' sound from player idles
• Added a new front-end Loading Screen
• Pulsing powers check for power blocks
• Added Aracoix Charter called Kh'ree
• The Invorri Builder is now rank 7
• Increased channel spam thresholds
• Pet speed was slightly decreased
• Dead Elves now have pointy ears
• Added a new Login Screen
• "Spin" has been disabled

WORLD

• The Resource System
  • Shadowbane will be unveiling the first phase of its long awaited "Resource System". This system will be tied to each zone which will offer a resource type. Currently, the only resource in Phase One is gold but further phases may include additional resources such as wood, metals, and ores. It is designed to add smaller, auxiliary points of conflict for players to fight over.
  • These areas will become highly contested points of interest and will have the opportunity to change hands at least once a day. In Phase One, once conquered, gold mines will drop gold into warehouses in their cities on an hourly basis. This gold will, in turn, be used to automatically pay maintenance cost of those structures that were given access to the warehouse and are protected by the Runemaster. Additional resources and augmentations will be introduced as the system is fully implemented allowing players to upgrade existing and new assets with functions and abilities to be announced.
  • Furthermore after Phase One is completed, during a siege, the warehouse inventory can be recovered or stolen by anyone. This system will allow nations to focus efforts more on the political and combat faces of the scene and not the maintenance and upkeep of cities.
• Phase One of the Resource System has been implemented and most adventuring areas now contain a "mine"
• Added a new adventuring zone in the desert with the Epic Encounter containing Shuggroth M'ael

CITY / SIEGE

• Fortress Assets will no longer go errant on a Guild Leadership transfer; old transfers have not been grandfathered in but transferring leadership once will fix any issues from previous transfers
• The 'Tears of Saedron' mouseover now points out that the Discipline rune you choose to remove with the Tears is lost forever
• A Nation is limited to holding no more Resource Mines at once than two time the Rank of the Nations' Tree of Life
• Added the new Warehouse structure which is available on a Rank 1 Builder (must be used to claim a Mine)
• A bug preventing Merchants from being slotted into Elven houses has been fixed
• Straight Wall Towers now accept Tower Guards (really, this time)
• Some NPCs that were missing 'Kill On Sight' dialog now have some
• Elven barracks can now slot the appropriate number of guards
• You can no longer delete your own buildings during a siege
• Nephilim Runemaster now sells Cult of the Scourge charters
• The Spiteful Spire is now debuffing attack speed
• Mysteriously, votaries have changed their shape
• Fixed the No Maintenance fees on Invorri Walls
• Magister Guards will no longer cast amnesia
• The War Temple can no longer slot guards

RACE

GENERAL

• Fixed the Sub-Race trait rune mouseovers, so they now correctly state what they do.

Aracoix

• Added a hood to the Aracoix's Medium Armor set
• New Aracoix light armor has been added
• A new Aracoix skin has been added

Minotaur

• New Minotaur only armor should now be available and only on Heavy armorers
• All Minotaurs now get 'Toughness'

CLASS

Healer

• Changed Elite Armor for the Healer Class, so it has a flat damage shield instead of a percentage one

Assassin

• Gave Assassins 10 additional points in Dagger weapon powers (Rogues are 25, Mages are 15)
• Rogue Assassins now get 20 free points in 'Poison Blade'

Barbarian

• A Barbarian's weapon powers will now cost more stamina while he is enraged

Bard

• Bard songs (and other chants) now overwriting intelligently meaning it will only overwrite the part of a power that it is greater than.

Confessor

• Confessor spell 'Steadfast Soul' now has a range of 50
• Confessors can now use the Burning Sword.

Crusader

• Removed the release timer from Crusader chants, making it easier to twist these chants

Druid

'Raptor Cloak' now has effect and power icons

Fury

• Reduced prereqs for Fury AEs 'Call the Blizzard' and 'Call Storm'
• The Fury's persistent AEs now hit 10 targets instead of 7

Huntress

• The weapon powers 'Naargal's Bite' and 'Naargal's Dart' now require a hit-roll on the deferred portion.
• The Huntress' high level pet has been renamed to avoid confusion
• 'Strength of the Stag' now has the correct effect icon

Priest

• Priest's recast timer for 'Summon' is now only 4 minutes

Scout

• Scout's 'Camouflage' only works on Group members now.

Templar

• The weapon power 'Sword of Saint Malorn' now requires a hit-roll on the deferred portion.

Warlock

• The power 'Needs of the One' is are now aggressive

Wizard

• Reduced the stamina conversion on 'Mystic Bolt'

DISCIPLINE

Archmage

• Elf Archmage robes now have a female version and are available on Elven tailors

Artillerist

• Artillerist power descriptions now correctly note they affect siege engines

Blademaster

• Lower percentage version of Blademaster weapons have been added.

Bladeweaver

• Lower percentage version of Blade Weaver weapons have been added

Blood Prophet

• Blood Prophet rune description has been updated to display it's skill granted.
• Added an initial tick to the Blood Prophet's River of Life.

Prospector

• Added the new Prospector Discipline

Savant

• Added the new Savant Discipline

Shroudborne

• Shroudborne rune description has been updated to display it's skill granted.
• Added an initial tick to the Shroudborne's Oblivion's Caress.

Skydancer

• Added the new Skydancer Discipline

Traveller

• Added new Powers to the Traveler that allows them to send another player or the caster's group to the nearest Runegate (Mage-base prerequisite).
• Added a new Power to Traveler that allows a Traveler to recall to the nearest Runegate

Undead Hunter

• Hunt the Dead can no longer be trained

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