The following video has footage from 2 scenarios, Dragon’s Bane and Howling Gorge, with my Swordmaster running a damage / mitigation spec.
I made the video to show tactics for surviving heavy focus-fire as a 2h tank. Played correctly, a 2h tank has very good durability and can bring the pain with a big 2h.
The combination of 700 Strength and 700 Toughness, with 3 offensive tactics slotted (Balanced Accuracy for the crit bonus, and the Damage-over-time tactics Potent Enchantments and Ensorcelled Agony), has been the most effective blend of DPS and survivability that I’ve found. I’ve experimented with many different spec, gear, and RR configurations with 1h and 2h swords, and this 700 / 700 2h build suits my playstyle perfectly.
As I discussed in Part 3 of the Swordmaster Class Mechanics Guide, a tank can stack avoidance, or mitigation, or both.
When using a 2h, I’ve tried stacking parry or disrupt to improve survivability. Parry provides avoidance only against melee attacks in the 180 degree arc in front of you. Disrupt provides avoidance only against spells. I’ve tried stacking avoidance and mitigation together, but that causes my DPS to suffer, because I have fewer tactic slots and RR points to spend on offensive tactics and stats.
For ORVR and scenarios, what I’ve found works best is simply stacking Toughness. The only avoidance stat that makes sense to stack in my opinion is block, because block provides avoidance against most attacks (except morale abilities). And obviously you can’t block with a 2h.
Toughness provides passive mitigation against most attacks (except morale abilities). It doesn’t matter whether you are facing your opponent, and it mitigates damage even if you are stunned or knocked down. Toughness scales with the numbers of attackers; the more you are being attacked, the more damage Toughness mitigates.
A few game mechanic changes have increased the value of Toughness:
1. before Patch 1.2, many damage proc and DoT abilities were not mitigatable. However, in Patch 1.2, proc and DoT abilities were changed to be mitigatable, and this increased the value of Toughness significantly
2. as of Patch 1.3, there is a pocket item that drops in Land of the Dead that can makes attacks undefendable. So that’s another factor in making mitigation more valuable relative to avoidance. This is not to say that a shield isn’t a valuable avoidance tool. Shields in WAR are powerful because they can block any attack. I’ve just found that I’m more effective in RVR with a 2h sword as opposed to a sword-and-board, in terms of applying pressure to healers and bursting down targets
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
Social Gaming May Kill Traditional MMORPGs
The majority of the subscribers I have on my YouTube channel subscribed because of my Warhammer Online (WAR) videos. People frequently ask if / when I will come back to WAR. The answer is never, because of reasons beyond WAR itself.
EA is shifting its focus in online gaming to the social gaming sector with its acquisition of Playfish in late 2009. Around the time of the acquisition, EA laid off 40% of the staff at Mythic Entertainment, the studio that created WAR. Those layoffs have obvious implications in terms of what Mythic can do with WAR moving forward. Fewer resources = less new game content and game improvements.
It’s a shame, because WAR has gradually improved as a game, and some players think that if it had launched in its current state, WAR would have been a success instead of a colossal failure. I shared that viewpoint when I played WAR’s excellent Patch 1.3b over the summer.
That being said, I don’t think that the EA/Mythic/Playfish case is an isolated incident that had its roots strictly in the failure of WAR as a game. Rather, it’s an indicator of the shift in the online gaming industry towards social gaming. Social gaming has been experiencing wildfire growth because of potent, synergistic drivers:
* the cost to launch , maintain, and evolve social games is (relatively) low
* social game developers leverage analytics to customize games very quickly based on what users are actually doing. It’s a very “Agile” approach to game development – instead of massive investment up-front, you start with something and evolve it based on user behavior and feedback
* social gaming has a huge and growing potential player base (thanks to Facebook), and the corresponding strong viral network effects
* social games have user-friendly (i.e. simple) game mechanics. Social games in the online gaming market is analogous to the Wii in the console market – anyone can play them, and that’s how they suck you in
Contrast that with MMORPGs, which have traditionally cost a lot of money (e.g. tens of millions of US dollars) to develop and launch and have a (relatively) steep learning curve for players.
A guy I know, who was the CEO of the company that launched a best-selling console game, told me he thinks the console gaming sector is in jeopardy. Social gaming is where it’s at, from a business perspective. And I think that the MMORPG sector, as we currently think of it (WoW, Aion, Eve Online, etc), may be in trouble for the same reason, over the medium- to long-term.
I’m a fan of traditional MMORPGs, because they provide the kind of rich and complex environment that I find challenging – especially in terms of PVP. So I hope that the market for traditional MMORPGs continues to grow, to sustain the economic drivers which enable game development and evolution. If MMORPGs become a niche market over time, there will be fewer options for us to choose from.
EA is shifting its focus in online gaming to the social gaming sector with its acquisition of Playfish in late 2009. Around the time of the acquisition, EA laid off 40% of the staff at Mythic Entertainment, the studio that created WAR. Those layoffs have obvious implications in terms of what Mythic can do with WAR moving forward. Fewer resources = less new game content and game improvements.
It’s a shame, because WAR has gradually improved as a game, and some players think that if it had launched in its current state, WAR would have been a success instead of a colossal failure. I shared that viewpoint when I played WAR’s excellent Patch 1.3b over the summer.
That being said, I don’t think that the EA/Mythic/Playfish case is an isolated incident that had its roots strictly in the failure of WAR as a game. Rather, it’s an indicator of the shift in the online gaming industry towards social gaming. Social gaming has been experiencing wildfire growth because of potent, synergistic drivers:
* the cost to launch , maintain, and evolve social games is (relatively) low
* social game developers leverage analytics to customize games very quickly based on what users are actually doing. It’s a very “Agile” approach to game development – instead of massive investment up-front, you start with something and evolve it based on user behavior and feedback
* social gaming has a huge and growing potential player base (thanks to Facebook), and the corresponding strong viral network effects
* social games have user-friendly (i.e. simple) game mechanics. Social games in the online gaming market is analogous to the Wii in the console market – anyone can play them, and that’s how they suck you in
Contrast that with MMORPGs, which have traditionally cost a lot of money (e.g. tens of millions of US dollars) to develop and launch and have a (relatively) steep learning curve for players.
A guy I know, who was the CEO of the company that launched a best-selling console game, told me he thinks the console gaming sector is in jeopardy. Social gaming is where it’s at, from a business perspective. And I think that the MMORPG sector, as we currently think of it (WoW, Aion, Eve Online, etc), may be in trouble for the same reason, over the medium- to long-term.
I’m a fan of traditional MMORPGs, because they provide the kind of rich and complex environment that I find challenging – especially in terms of PVP. So I hope that the market for traditional MMORPGs continues to grow, to sustain the economic drivers which enable game development and evolution. If MMORPGs become a niche market over time, there will be fewer options for us to choose from.
My Biggest Challenge as Balance Druid for 2v2 Arena
It’s not what you might think. E.g. the lack of survivability, the lack of counters that other caster classes have, etc.
The biggest challenge I’ve faced is simply the unwillingness from the playerbase to try 2v2′ing with a Balance Druid, aka Moonkin. Aside from my real life friend from high school (who plays a Mage) and his co-worker, I’ve only found 1 person (Kashmír, an Enhancement Shaman) willing to give it a legit shot. I’ll get to Kashmír in a bit.
To see what it’s like partnering with other classes, over the 6 weeks I’ve responded to individuals looking for a 2s partner on chat. Most people were not willing to give a 1.1k resilience-geared Moonkin a try, and even the few that did remained skeptical – even when we had a winning record together.
Let me give you an example. One of them was a Warlock with a team with a Team Rating (TR) of 1475. I checked on wowarmory and his team had been hovering in the 1400s for a couple weeks. He was asking for a Mage or Resto Druid on /2, so I sent him a whisper asking if he’d try a Moonkin. He agreed and invited me to his 2v2 team.
We had neither practice partnering with the other class nor with each other. We lost our first 3 matches (and to his credit he was patient), then went 11-6, so 11 wins and 9 losses overall. That showed me that we could hold our own around 1500 even though we were new team mates. At the time, I didn’t have any Wrathful gear with a TR requirement. My PR (Personal Rating) started at 1000 and finished at 1230, so I was not too far from getting the 1st Wrathful upgrade. I logged, and while I was offline the Lock replaced me on the team with a Mage. The Lock sent a very polite email, which I appreciate, saying that he wanted to try a more conventional partner. He found a Mage. I checked the next day and it turns out they had a losing record together, even though the Mage was better geared than me.
In the past the Lock’s highest TR had been around 1600, and IMO if we kept playing together and I got the Wrathful upgrades at 1300, 1400, etc, I’m quite confident we would have broken his highest TR. But, your partner has to believe that too.
Fortunately, about a week ago Kashmír the Enhancement Shaman was looking for a 2s partner on chat. He was very willing to give me a shot, as he had met a Wrathful-geared Enhancement Shaman in a battleground who had gotten to 1950 TR with a Moonkin.
As with the Lock, neither Kash nor I had played with each other’s class/spec. When I joined his 2v2 team (Beasteh), the TR was around 1380. We went 48-37 over our first 85 matches, and that was including 6 DCs on his part. If the DCs hadn’t happened, we would have gone 51-34. And on top of that he didn’t have a working mic so our communication was limited to me talking, him typing. Nevertheless, we got to 1551 TR in three days and Kash got his 1550 TR achievement. Our matches go incredibly fast and I’ve seen firsthand that an Enhancement Shaman packs a lot of burst, good survivability, and strong utility – contrary to the common perception that Enhancement Shaman is a weak 2v2 class.
This week Kash got a working mic and we’re now at 1617 TR. The competition has gotten steadily better in terms composition, gear, and skill, but we haven’t hit our wall quite yet. Neither Kash nor I have Wrathful set gear or a weapon, whereas our competitors often do, partly because it is late in the arena season and getting to 1800 now is harder than it was months ago. Both of us want to try getting to 1800 with our preferred spec instead of facerolling with a Resto spec. With 145 matches played together, we’re still learning and experimenting, especially against healer/DPS comps.
If we can crack 1700 or so TR, I’ll record some footage for a 2v2 narrated video.
The biggest challenge I’ve faced is simply the unwillingness from the playerbase to try 2v2′ing with a Balance Druid, aka Moonkin. Aside from my real life friend from high school (who plays a Mage) and his co-worker, I’ve only found 1 person (Kashmír, an Enhancement Shaman) willing to give it a legit shot. I’ll get to Kashmír in a bit.
To see what it’s like partnering with other classes, over the 6 weeks I’ve responded to individuals looking for a 2s partner on chat. Most people were not willing to give a 1.1k resilience-geared Moonkin a try, and even the few that did remained skeptical – even when we had a winning record together.
Let me give you an example. One of them was a Warlock with a team with a Team Rating (TR) of 1475. I checked on wowarmory and his team had been hovering in the 1400s for a couple weeks. He was asking for a Mage or Resto Druid on /2, so I sent him a whisper asking if he’d try a Moonkin. He agreed and invited me to his 2v2 team.
We had neither practice partnering with the other class nor with each other. We lost our first 3 matches (and to his credit he was patient), then went 11-6, so 11 wins and 9 losses overall. That showed me that we could hold our own around 1500 even though we were new team mates. At the time, I didn’t have any Wrathful gear with a TR requirement. My PR (Personal Rating) started at 1000 and finished at 1230, so I was not too far from getting the 1st Wrathful upgrade. I logged, and while I was offline the Lock replaced me on the team with a Mage. The Lock sent a very polite email, which I appreciate, saying that he wanted to try a more conventional partner. He found a Mage. I checked the next day and it turns out they had a losing record together, even though the Mage was better geared than me.
In the past the Lock’s highest TR had been around 1600, and IMO if we kept playing together and I got the Wrathful upgrades at 1300, 1400, etc, I’m quite confident we would have broken his highest TR. But, your partner has to believe that too.
Fortunately, about a week ago Kashmír the Enhancement Shaman was looking for a 2s partner on chat. He was very willing to give me a shot, as he had met a Wrathful-geared Enhancement Shaman in a battleground who had gotten to 1950 TR with a Moonkin.
As with the Lock, neither Kash nor I had played with each other’s class/spec. When I joined his 2v2 team (Beasteh), the TR was around 1380. We went 48-37 over our first 85 matches, and that was including 6 DCs on his part. If the DCs hadn’t happened, we would have gone 51-34. And on top of that he didn’t have a working mic so our communication was limited to me talking, him typing. Nevertheless, we got to 1551 TR in three days and Kash got his 1550 TR achievement. Our matches go incredibly fast and I’ve seen firsthand that an Enhancement Shaman packs a lot of burst, good survivability, and strong utility – contrary to the common perception that Enhancement Shaman is a weak 2v2 class.
This week Kash got a working mic and we’re now at 1617 TR. The competition has gotten steadily better in terms composition, gear, and skill, but we haven’t hit our wall quite yet. Neither Kash nor I have Wrathful set gear or a weapon, whereas our competitors often do, partly because it is late in the arena season and getting to 1800 now is harder than it was months ago. Both of us want to try getting to 1800 with our preferred spec instead of facerolling with a Resto spec. With 145 matches played together, we’re still learning and experimenting, especially against healer/DPS comps.
If we can crack 1700 or so TR, I’ll record some footage for a 2v2 narrated video.
Aion Advances the MMORPG Out-of-Game Experience
It’s been fascinating to watch the increasing level of real-time visibility of MMORPG content outside of the game.
One of the first advances made by game developers in this regard was to provide player and guild profiles on the web. Most of the major MMO’s (e.g. WoW, WAR, etc) provide profiles for each character, where you can see things such as their current gear.
Aion includes this; it’s “table stakes” in my opinion to have parity with competitors. E.g. here is a screenshot of my Chanter’s profile on aionline.com.
There are many reasons why this kind of information is very helpful, e.g.
* to figure out when forum posters can credibly back up their claims in terms of progression or gear
* to see how other experienced and skilled players enchant/socket their gear and which gear pieces they go after (crafted vs PVE)
* to share your character’s progression with your friends
* to find out how strong players of the other faction are
* etc
However, Aion has gone further than just player and guild profiles. When you login to aiononline.com, you can see the status of your current Auction House (AH) items and how many of your friends and guild mates are online:
Aion limits a character to 10 items on sale on the AH. However, I can tell at any time which, if any, of my AH items have sold with a web browser. Even when I don’t have much time to login and play, this visibility has enabled me to keep my AH “stocked.” I’ll login simply to post new sale items when I know some items have sold.
We’re in the nascent stages of increased MMORPG access across “channels.” The market is evolving, and the question becomes, where is it evolving to?
Let’s consider social games. For many popular social games, you have a flexibility of playing the same game on Facebook, on a game site, and on your handheld (e.g. iPhone app) or on your PC. Social games create a strong “pull” for players by enabling them to experience the game regardless of their location; you can play via a web browser at home, at the office, while traveling, etc. On top of this, social game developers have learned how to create a sense of urgency that makes players feel the need to login and play. We see this phenomenon with “time management” games, such as Mafia Wars, where players have energy that is expended on missions and regenerates even when a player is “offline.” So players have a sense of urgency to login and spend energy after they are full, so that they can maximize the progression of their character. I feel that same sense of urgency with Aion when my AH items have sold – I want to log in, collect the sale proceeds, and put more items up for action.
So how far will cross-channel integration affect MMORPGs? That is, what will the experience be when we are not logged in to the game client? That’s the big question.
Several years ago, the question was which platforms (PC, console, or Mac) a game would be supported on. But the rise of social media and social gaming, coupled with the evolution of mobile devices with high-speed wireless Internet access, is causing structural shifts in the gaming industry. The question is no longer which platforms a player can play on (PC, Mac, console), but rather how does a customer experience the game, regardless of their location. The MMORPG market must innovate, as it did earlier this decade when MMORPGs created new social meaning (playing games with other people in a rich environment), to remain relevant and attractive to consumers.
My hope is that MMORPG game developers will be creative and open-minded in terms of how they approach cross-channel integration. There are the obvious concerns for MMORPG players. E.g. increased out-of-game access (e.g. being able to buy/sell on the AH) could be vulnerable to exploitation by “gold farming” companies. However, at least in the short term, there are mechanics that companies can implement, as NCSoft has done, to allow players to still feel connected to and see what is happening with their characters, even with they are not logged in to the game client.
One of the first advances made by game developers in this regard was to provide player and guild profiles on the web. Most of the major MMO’s (e.g. WoW, WAR, etc) provide profiles for each character, where you can see things such as their current gear.
Aion includes this; it’s “table stakes” in my opinion to have parity with competitors. E.g. here is a screenshot of my Chanter’s profile on aionline.com.
There are many reasons why this kind of information is very helpful, e.g.
* to figure out when forum posters can credibly back up their claims in terms of progression or gear
* to see how other experienced and skilled players enchant/socket their gear and which gear pieces they go after (crafted vs PVE)
* to share your character’s progression with your friends
* to find out how strong players of the other faction are
* etc
However, Aion has gone further than just player and guild profiles. When you login to aiononline.com, you can see the status of your current Auction House (AH) items and how many of your friends and guild mates are online:
Aion limits a character to 10 items on sale on the AH. However, I can tell at any time which, if any, of my AH items have sold with a web browser. Even when I don’t have much time to login and play, this visibility has enabled me to keep my AH “stocked.” I’ll login simply to post new sale items when I know some items have sold.
We’re in the nascent stages of increased MMORPG access across “channels.” The market is evolving, and the question becomes, where is it evolving to?
Let’s consider social games. For many popular social games, you have a flexibility of playing the same game on Facebook, on a game site, and on your handheld (e.g. iPhone app) or on your PC. Social games create a strong “pull” for players by enabling them to experience the game regardless of their location; you can play via a web browser at home, at the office, while traveling, etc. On top of this, social game developers have learned how to create a sense of urgency that makes players feel the need to login and play. We see this phenomenon with “time management” games, such as Mafia Wars, where players have energy that is expended on missions and regenerates even when a player is “offline.” So players have a sense of urgency to login and spend energy after they are full, so that they can maximize the progression of their character. I feel that same sense of urgency with Aion when my AH items have sold – I want to log in, collect the sale proceeds, and put more items up for action.
So how far will cross-channel integration affect MMORPGs? That is, what will the experience be when we are not logged in to the game client? That’s the big question.
Several years ago, the question was which platforms (PC, console, or Mac) a game would be supported on. But the rise of social media and social gaming, coupled with the evolution of mobile devices with high-speed wireless Internet access, is causing structural shifts in the gaming industry. The question is no longer which platforms a player can play on (PC, Mac, console), but rather how does a customer experience the game, regardless of their location. The MMORPG market must innovate, as it did earlier this decade when MMORPGs created new social meaning (playing games with other people in a rich environment), to remain relevant and attractive to consumers.
My hope is that MMORPG game developers will be creative and open-minded in terms of how they approach cross-channel integration. There are the obvious concerns for MMORPG players. E.g. increased out-of-game access (e.g. being able to buy/sell on the AH) could be vulnerable to exploitation by “gold farming” companies. However, at least in the short term, there are mechanics that companies can implement, as NCSoft has done, to allow players to still feel connected to and see what is happening with their characters, even with they are not logged in to the game client.
Aion PVE Video: Comparing 33 Chanter vs 33 Sorceror
Here is footage of my 33 Chanter and 33 Sorceror in PVE, fighting against the same 34-35 Klaw mobs.
This is as close to an apples-to-apples comparison that I could get between different classes, in terms of having the same level, comparable gear, and fighting the same mobs.
For Chanters, there are a couple things to be aware of in terms of our CC:
1. you can’t knockdown a mob already on the ground, but you can knockdown the mob as it starts to get back up
2. if you stun a target and re-stun it while the previous stun effect was still in effect, the 2nd stun will overwrite the 1st stun. An example of this is getting a stun with Infernal Blaze, then stunning with Parrying Strike. Depending on the situation, you may want to allow the 1st stun effect to complete before trying another stun (e.g. so that you can interrupt your opponent when they start casting after the 1st stun wears off)
Here are a few Chanter tips that I didn’t mention in the video:
* In PVE, you can tell that I allow auto-attacks (AAs)to weave in during abilities for my Chanter. Even at level 31, I don’t have enough melee abilities to spam non-stop without having to wait for either Meteor Strike (MS) or Hallowed Strike (HS) to come off cooldown. So I basically time abilities with some AAs so that I can use MS and HS whenever they are up. I tend to favor opening with MS over HS, because I want to get as many Pentacle Shock procs as possible and MS-IB do better damage than HS-BS. One could argue though that it makes more sense to open with HS to use Infernal Blaze as early as possible. You say po-tay-toe, I say po-tah-toe. In PVP I would spam abilities, because you have to get as much damage in bursts as possible (and before you get CC’d)
* For PVE, do not use Booming Assault, the 4th skill in the HS chain. It is an evil MP hog and does not debuff the target or have any useful effects
* It’s important to get used to watching the chain / reactive icons to the right of your character in the middle of the screen, instead of looking down at the skill bar. You want to keep your eyes on the action as much as possible, and having to look down can be a distraction
Here are a few Sorceror tips that I didn’t mention in the video:
* The Curse of Roots stigma ain’t cheap, but it’s worth it’s weight in gold, for solo and group play. You will save yourself a lot of deaths by investing in it, so over the long haul, it will more than pay for itself. It’s always sad to see Sorcerors who haven’t purchased it yet; not having CoR severely affects a Sorc’s ability to CC, especially when pulls get messy
* Did I mention how great Wind Cut Down is? Oh, of course I did, but heck, it’s worth saying again. And the 16s cooldown is short enough that you’ll use the ability every pull. So go out and buy it, if you haven’t already
I forgot to record flying; I wanted to mention that the easiest method I’ve found for steering while flying is holding both mouse buttons down. This allows you to make very fast turns mid-flight, which can cause problems for keyboard turners trying to keep up with you.
I’ll be traveling for work and holiday for most of this month, so my leveling will slow down quite a bit in December. I’m hoping to get my Chanter to 42 in January.
This is as close to an apples-to-apples comparison that I could get between different classes, in terms of having the same level, comparable gear, and fighting the same mobs.
For Chanters, there are a couple things to be aware of in terms of our CC:
1. you can’t knockdown a mob already on the ground, but you can knockdown the mob as it starts to get back up
2. if you stun a target and re-stun it while the previous stun effect was still in effect, the 2nd stun will overwrite the 1st stun. An example of this is getting a stun with Infernal Blaze, then stunning with Parrying Strike. Depending on the situation, you may want to allow the 1st stun effect to complete before trying another stun (e.g. so that you can interrupt your opponent when they start casting after the 1st stun wears off)
Here are a few Chanter tips that I didn’t mention in the video:
* In PVE, you can tell that I allow auto-attacks (AAs)to weave in during abilities for my Chanter. Even at level 31, I don’t have enough melee abilities to spam non-stop without having to wait for either Meteor Strike (MS) or Hallowed Strike (HS) to come off cooldown. So I basically time abilities with some AAs so that I can use MS and HS whenever they are up. I tend to favor opening with MS over HS, because I want to get as many Pentacle Shock procs as possible and MS-IB do better damage than HS-BS. One could argue though that it makes more sense to open with HS to use Infernal Blaze as early as possible. You say po-tay-toe, I say po-tah-toe. In PVP I would spam abilities, because you have to get as much damage in bursts as possible (and before you get CC’d)
* For PVE, do not use Booming Assault, the 4th skill in the HS chain. It is an evil MP hog and does not debuff the target or have any useful effects
* It’s important to get used to watching the chain / reactive icons to the right of your character in the middle of the screen, instead of looking down at the skill bar. You want to keep your eyes on the action as much as possible, and having to look down can be a distraction
Here are a few Sorceror tips that I didn’t mention in the video:
* The Curse of Roots stigma ain’t cheap, but it’s worth it’s weight in gold, for solo and group play. You will save yourself a lot of deaths by investing in it, so over the long haul, it will more than pay for itself. It’s always sad to see Sorcerors who haven’t purchased it yet; not having CoR severely affects a Sorc’s ability to CC, especially when pulls get messy
* Did I mention how great Wind Cut Down is? Oh, of course I did, but heck, it’s worth saying again. And the 16s cooldown is short enough that you’ll use the ability every pull. So go out and buy it, if you haven’t already
I forgot to record flying; I wanted to mention that the easiest method I’ve found for steering while flying is holding both mouse buttons down. This allows you to make very fast turns mid-flight, which can cause problems for keyboard turners trying to keep up with you.
I’ll be traveling for work and holiday for most of this month, so my leveling will slow down quite a bit in December. I’m hoping to get my Chanter to 42 in January.
Aion PVE Video: Templar/Ranger/Chanter PUG vs Kromede
It can be fun and educational to run instances with non-standard class compositions. Players sometimes have rigid perceptions of what will and won’t work, and in my experience, those (narrow) perceptions are often inaccurate. I enjoy trying different specs and group compositions to see how they perform.
Thankfully this morning I PUG’d with two very skilled and open-minded players and learned a lot in the process.
I joined a Templar’s Recruit Group for Fire Temple on the LFG channel very early this morning, so there weren’t many players online. After a Ranger and Sorceror joined, the Temp said “OK let’s go” and I thought he was joking. He wasn’t. I wasn’t sure whether my 35 Chanter could handle solo healing duties but I was certainly willing to try.
The Sorceror went LD on a pull when we had a couple adds and didn’t come back. From a cynical point of view, I don’t think that was an accident. The Sorc gave up instead of even trying. Fortunately, that didn’t affect our ability to clear the instance twice and get some nice blue mat drops in the process.
Here is footage of the 1st time we downed Kromede.
I went ultra-conservative on this attempt…I
1. didn’t melee
2. spammed Healing Light non-stop
3. chain MP potted most of the fight
4. stacked the deck in our favor by using the awesome group DP buff Word of Wind
Turns out it was a very easy and smooth fight. As you can tell from the footage, the tank (Inlove) used great positioning. He and the Ranger Maddux were very skilled players and it was awesome grouping with them. We handled some multi-mob pulls that I’ve seen wipe full groups.
Thankfully this morning I PUG’d with two very skilled and open-minded players and learned a lot in the process.
I joined a Templar’s Recruit Group for Fire Temple on the LFG channel very early this morning, so there weren’t many players online. After a Ranger and Sorceror joined, the Temp said “OK let’s go” and I thought he was joking. He wasn’t. I wasn’t sure whether my 35 Chanter could handle solo healing duties but I was certainly willing to try.
The Sorceror went LD on a pull when we had a couple adds and didn’t come back. From a cynical point of view, I don’t think that was an accident. The Sorc gave up instead of even trying. Fortunately, that didn’t affect our ability to clear the instance twice and get some nice blue mat drops in the process.
Here is footage of the 1st time we downed Kromede.
I went ultra-conservative on this attempt…I
1. didn’t melee
2. spammed Healing Light non-stop
3. chain MP potted most of the fight
4. stacked the deck in our favor by using the awesome group DP buff Word of Wind
Turns out it was a very easy and smooth fight. As you can tell from the footage, the tank (Inlove) used great positioning. He and the Ranger Maddux were very skilled players and it was awesome grouping with them. We handled some multi-mob pulls that I’ve seen wipe full groups.
Aion PVE Video: Templar/Chanter Clearing Fire Temple
The 3-man clearing of FT, as shown in my previous video, was surprisingly easy, so I decided to try duoing the instance with a Templar named Chalen.
We had no problems clearing the instance, and I was able to help DPS Kromede in between heals. Granted, we were both level 38 against Kromede. But the tank was using a 2h (so more damage taken), and I’m pretty confident we could have done this successfully at level 34.
The footage of this Kromede fight is fun to watch from a Chanter’s perspective because I am moving and shifting roles the entire fight, which is what Chanters do best.
Templar tips from Chalen:
* Use IJ to interrupt Kromede’s AOE. You have to back up a bit from Kromede for the interrupt to work
* You can switch between 1h and 2h weapons during pulls to rotate cooldowns to maximize DPS
Chanter tips
* the L37 skill Word of Quickness is incredible for burst healing. I should have used it when the tank’s health dropped to 25%
* Word of Protection is one stigma you’ll use from mid-game to end-game (unless you go heavy MC/DPS spec). It is a tremendous bailout ability in tight situations, because the extra avoidance and mitigation can be the difference between people dying or just surviving
Thanks Chalen for not just being willing but being interested in doing stuff like this. It breaks up the monotony of leveling.
We had no problems clearing the instance, and I was able to help DPS Kromede in between heals. Granted, we were both level 38 against Kromede. But the tank was using a 2h (so more damage taken), and I’m pretty confident we could have done this successfully at level 34.
The footage of this Kromede fight is fun to watch from a Chanter’s perspective because I am moving and shifting roles the entire fight, which is what Chanters do best.
Templar tips from Chalen:
* Use IJ to interrupt Kromede’s AOE. You have to back up a bit from Kromede for the interrupt to work
* You can switch between 1h and 2h weapons during pulls to rotate cooldowns to maximize DPS
Chanter tips
* the L37 skill Word of Quickness is incredible for burst healing. I should have used it when the tank’s health dropped to 25%
* Word of Protection is one stigma you’ll use from mid-game to end-game (unless you go heavy MC/DPS spec). It is a tremendous bailout ability in tight situations, because the extra avoidance and mitigation can be the difference between people dying or just surviving
Thanks Chalen for not just being willing but being interested in doing stuff like this. It breaks up the monotony of leveling.
I’m Done with Aion
I finally got back from a 3-week business trip overseas. I played Aion very sparsely in January, and the sad thing is I didn’t really miss it.
So after only 4.5 months of playing Aion, I’ve de-subbed.
The reasons are pretty simple:
1. the leveling was boring and very time-consuming. Fundamentally Aion felt like work to play based on its design
2. the main PVP zone, the Abyss, was largely empty. This was nothing like WAR, WoW, or LOTRO, where it was easy to find opponents to fight
The funny thing is my Chanter is only just over a level away from 42, which was my original target level for making PVP videos – Chanters get a ranged stun at 42. But the main thing is I simply don’t believe in Aion. I would not recommend Aion to a new player who is used to “Western” MMOs (e.g. WoW/LOTRO/WAR). So I figured it didn’t make sense for me to invest the time to level up and make videos.
I think some of the good qualities of WAR really set me up for disappointment with Aion. WAR was fun from level 1 all the way to 40, aside from the game instability issues. Aion was incredibly stable but consistently boring.
A YouTube subscriber sent me a PM back in September 2009 about Aion, and he was right about the game:
Not a big fan of aion, knowing the principle is Korean mentality based, it’s going to get old fast.
I myself been hooked in so many same type mentality game design and they all ending up a disappointment.
I work in the gaming industry, and I know how Aion is build as. [Aion] makes it more efficient for people who has time to waste, then instead of people who actually has the skills to show off. Quite imbalance approach, but then again, that’s their mentality of designing video games. (The american version is based off the asian version, same set of rules will apply.)
Hope you won’t spend too much time on Aion, you might setup yourself for a disappointment in the long run.
So after only 4.5 months of playing Aion, I’ve de-subbed.
The reasons are pretty simple:
1. the leveling was boring and very time-consuming. Fundamentally Aion felt like work to play based on its design
2. the main PVP zone, the Abyss, was largely empty. This was nothing like WAR, WoW, or LOTRO, where it was easy to find opponents to fight
The funny thing is my Chanter is only just over a level away from 42, which was my original target level for making PVP videos – Chanters get a ranged stun at 42. But the main thing is I simply don’t believe in Aion. I would not recommend Aion to a new player who is used to “Western” MMOs (e.g. WoW/LOTRO/WAR). So I figured it didn’t make sense for me to invest the time to level up and make videos.
I think some of the good qualities of WAR really set me up for disappointment with Aion. WAR was fun from level 1 all the way to 40, aside from the game instability issues. Aion was incredibly stable but consistently boring.
A YouTube subscriber sent me a PM back in September 2009 about Aion, and he was right about the game:
Not a big fan of aion, knowing the principle is Korean mentality based, it’s going to get old fast.
I myself been hooked in so many same type mentality game design and they all ending up a disappointment.
I work in the gaming industry, and I know how Aion is build as. [Aion] makes it more efficient for people who has time to waste, then instead of people who actually has the skills to show off. Quite imbalance approach, but then again, that’s their mentality of designing video games. (The american version is based off the asian version, same set of rules will apply.)
Hope you won’t spend too much time on Aion, you might setup yourself for a disappointment in the long run.
Melee Healer PVE Video @ Level 18
This is my first Allods Online (AO) video. I dinged level 18 and wanted to show how effectively a Melee Healer (MH) can burn down mobs while maintaining high HP through HoTs and heal procs.
In the video my MH generated heals through 2 mechanisms:
* Perpetual Healing HoT (95 on a non-crit)
* AOE heal ticks (49 on a non-crit) generated by Brilliant Faith whenever the Fanaticism buff procs
Here are my thoughts on the mechanics of the spec:
* 2h is the way to go. 2h weapons in AO inflict excellent crit damage, e.g. the Verdict crit for 938 on the 2nd gargoyle. As you can see from the footage, there isn’t much point in wielding 1h + shield given how I am able to keep my HP consistently high
* Don’t over invest in Devoted Plea. So far I’ve been able to solo heal groups with just the 1st rank of Devoted Plea. Healing groups should be even easier now that I have Brilliant Faith and Perpetual Healing 1. At some point this spec may not be viable for solo healing groups but I haven’t run into that wall yet
* When Fanaticism procs you get 1 or 2 stacks of the buff, and each stack generates an AOE heal with Brilliant Faith. It’s important to note that even at max Fanaticism (10 stacks), you can still proc Fanaticism, which in turn generates the AOE heal
* As with all healing, the HoT ticks and AOE heal ticks are subject to the Faith and Luck mechanics: i.e. some of the healing can be resisted and they can crit or anti-crit (glancing blow)
* The Dodge buff from Divine Instincts is under-rated and the points are not a waste of rubies. I dodged about 5 of the elite mob’s attacks
Update (26 February 2010):
People have been asking about my stats in the video, so here they are:
* Luck 68: 22.7% crit, 7.99% glancing
* Intelligence 56: 8.96%
* Perception 73: 17.4% resist
* Faith 78: 13.4%
* Wisdom 54
In the video I have the Gibberling (level 16-17) blue rep gear pieces and the level 17 Darkwater blue quest staff (30-62 damage, Luck +10). This is a very different mix of stats compared to what I have been leveling with. Previously I had enough Perception to be well under 10% resist. With the gear in the video I had boosted my crit rate from 5% to over 22%, and it seemed worth the tradeoff of suffering an increased rate of resists to get ~4 times as many crits.
In the video my MH generated heals through 2 mechanisms:
* Perpetual Healing HoT (95 on a non-crit)
* AOE heal ticks (49 on a non-crit) generated by Brilliant Faith whenever the Fanaticism buff procs
Here are my thoughts on the mechanics of the spec:
* 2h is the way to go. 2h weapons in AO inflict excellent crit damage, e.g. the Verdict crit for 938 on the 2nd gargoyle. As you can see from the footage, there isn’t much point in wielding 1h + shield given how I am able to keep my HP consistently high
* Don’t over invest in Devoted Plea. So far I’ve been able to solo heal groups with just the 1st rank of Devoted Plea. Healing groups should be even easier now that I have Brilliant Faith and Perpetual Healing 1. At some point this spec may not be viable for solo healing groups but I haven’t run into that wall yet
* When Fanaticism procs you get 1 or 2 stacks of the buff, and each stack generates an AOE heal with Brilliant Faith. It’s important to note that even at max Fanaticism (10 stacks), you can still proc Fanaticism, which in turn generates the AOE heal
* As with all healing, the HoT ticks and AOE heal ticks are subject to the Faith and Luck mechanics: i.e. some of the healing can be resisted and they can crit or anti-crit (glancing blow)
* The Dodge buff from Divine Instincts is under-rated and the points are not a waste of rubies. I dodged about 5 of the elite mob’s attacks
Update (26 February 2010):
People have been asking about my stats in the video, so here they are:
* Luck 68: 22.7% crit, 7.99% glancing
* Intelligence 56: 8.96%
* Perception 73: 17.4% resist
* Faith 78: 13.4%
* Wisdom 54
In the video I have the Gibberling (level 16-17) blue rep gear pieces and the level 17 Darkwater blue quest staff (30-62 damage, Luck +10). This is a very different mix of stats compared to what I have been leveling with. Previously I had enough Perception to be well under 10% resist. With the gear in the video I had boosted my crit rate from 5% to over 22%, and it seemed worth the tradeoff of suffering an increased rate of resists to get ~4 times as many crits.
Melee Healer PVP Video @ Level 25
This is my first PVP video for Allods Online (AO). I dinged level 25 today and captured footage of League players attempting to gank me 1v1 and a dynamic 1v4.
This video includes the following fights:
* 26 Melee Healer vs 26 Mage
* 26 Melee Healer vs 27 Summoner
* 26 Melee Healer vs 4 opponents
Here is my current spec:
http://allodsbase.com/en/talents#_2oxv3mc1xyc718820nvy
* I’ve earned 2 World Quest rubies in addition to the rubies available when leveling, so ignore the calculator saying this is a level 27 build
* I picked up Divine Prayer 1 (DP) instead of Holy Rage. DP is an excellent instant-cast burst heal
* I have 2/3 Condemnation, and this reduces the cooldowns for Blind Faith (disorient/snare) and Banished Words (ruby silence ability) to 24 seconds. Both are superb abilities in PVP, and BF is highly valuable in PVE. At level 26 I will take the 3rd Condemnation ruby to reduce their cooldowns to 21 seconds
Overall, I’m really enjoying the playability of the Melee Healer spec. The PVP mechanics in practice have matched or exceeded what I was hoping for when I wrote the Melee Healer Guide.
Here are some comments not mentioned in the video:
* Always make sure to pre-cast Heavenly Smite. Having an instant-cast AOE knockdown rocks in PVP (and PVE)
* I didn’t call out when I used DP, but I used it in each of the fights, and you can hear and see the spell animation (it looks like the green shimmer like Devoted Plea)
* Don’t underestimate the power of the self-healing from 3/3 Brilliant Faith. I talked a lot about PH in the video but when you watch the footage you can see the Brilliant Faith heal procs as well
* If you use the Kanian racial bubble and Holy Shield, after Holy Shield wears off you’ll still have the racial bubble up – so you have unbroken damage absorption. You can see that in the fight against the Summoner
* My gear in the 1st fight was from Darkwater, which is two zones before Holy Lands (HL). Yes I know that’s pathetic. I skipped the Elf rep gear because I didn’t want to do the repeatable quest 18 times. That’s simply not my idea of fun. My gear sucked until I was able to acquire the green HL rep gear. In the last two fights I had the green HL rep gear. I haven’t been able to run the repeatable rep quest in HL due to the lack of level capping/balancing mechanics
The PVP action in Holy Lands has been fun at times. However, there is no mechanic to prevent or discourage higher level players from ganking lowbies. I have watched a single level high-level player wipe multiple groups of under-30 players with ease. A lot of players I’ve chatted with are very frustrated with getting 1 or 2-shotted and not having a fighting chance. AO will lose players if the game mechanics are not changed, because life in the Holy Lands in the mid 20s can be pretty rough. A simple level cap would suffice, e.g. Asee-Teph PVP is only for players level 30 and under. This design flaw exists in both Aion and Allods Online and I am surprised that game developers haven’t figured out that level capping/balancing mechanics make for a much more enjoyable and competitive PVP experience that will result in higher player retention.
I’m still playing AO because gPotato adjusted the Item Shop prices to reasonable levels and I wanted to experience the PVP system firsthand. I’m still waiting to see what gPotato does about the 1.0.07 patch, which contains a lot of negative changes and is rumored to have caused many Russian players to quit playing Russian AO. Hopefully gPotato can work with the game developer to not implement those changes in gPotato’s AO.
If you have any comments / feedback / questions please post ‘em.
This video includes the following fights:
* 26 Melee Healer vs 26 Mage
* 26 Melee Healer vs 27 Summoner
* 26 Melee Healer vs 4 opponents
Here is my current spec:
http://allodsbase.com/en/talents#_2oxv3mc1xyc718820nvy
* I’ve earned 2 World Quest rubies in addition to the rubies available when leveling, so ignore the calculator saying this is a level 27 build
* I picked up Divine Prayer 1 (DP) instead of Holy Rage. DP is an excellent instant-cast burst heal
* I have 2/3 Condemnation, and this reduces the cooldowns for Blind Faith (disorient/snare) and Banished Words (ruby silence ability) to 24 seconds. Both are superb abilities in PVP, and BF is highly valuable in PVE. At level 26 I will take the 3rd Condemnation ruby to reduce their cooldowns to 21 seconds
Overall, I’m really enjoying the playability of the Melee Healer spec. The PVP mechanics in practice have matched or exceeded what I was hoping for when I wrote the Melee Healer Guide.
Here are some comments not mentioned in the video:
* Always make sure to pre-cast Heavenly Smite. Having an instant-cast AOE knockdown rocks in PVP (and PVE)
* I didn’t call out when I used DP, but I used it in each of the fights, and you can hear and see the spell animation (it looks like the green shimmer like Devoted Plea)
* Don’t underestimate the power of the self-healing from 3/3 Brilliant Faith. I talked a lot about PH in the video but when you watch the footage you can see the Brilliant Faith heal procs as well
* If you use the Kanian racial bubble and Holy Shield, after Holy Shield wears off you’ll still have the racial bubble up – so you have unbroken damage absorption. You can see that in the fight against the Summoner
* My gear in the 1st fight was from Darkwater, which is two zones before Holy Lands (HL). Yes I know that’s pathetic. I skipped the Elf rep gear because I didn’t want to do the repeatable quest 18 times. That’s simply not my idea of fun. My gear sucked until I was able to acquire the green HL rep gear. In the last two fights I had the green HL rep gear. I haven’t been able to run the repeatable rep quest in HL due to the lack of level capping/balancing mechanics
The PVP action in Holy Lands has been fun at times. However, there is no mechanic to prevent or discourage higher level players from ganking lowbies. I have watched a single level high-level player wipe multiple groups of under-30 players with ease. A lot of players I’ve chatted with are very frustrated with getting 1 or 2-shotted and not having a fighting chance. AO will lose players if the game mechanics are not changed, because life in the Holy Lands in the mid 20s can be pretty rough. A simple level cap would suffice, e.g. Asee-Teph PVP is only for players level 30 and under. This design flaw exists in both Aion and Allods Online and I am surprised that game developers haven’t figured out that level capping/balancing mechanics make for a much more enjoyable and competitive PVP experience that will result in higher player retention.
I’m still playing AO because gPotato adjusted the Item Shop prices to reasonable levels and I wanted to experience the PVP system firsthand. I’m still waiting to see what gPotato does about the 1.0.07 patch, which contains a lot of negative changes and is rumored to have caused many Russian players to quit playing Russian AO. Hopefully gPotato can work with the game developer to not implement those changes in gPotato’s AO.
If you have any comments / feedback / questions please post ‘em.
Melee Healer PVP Video @ Level 26-27
This is my second PVP video for Allods Online (AO). This video includes the following fights:
* 26 Melee Healer vs 26 Warrior + 25 Healer
* 26 Melee Healer vs 26 Caster Healer
* 26 Melee Healer vs 26 Paladin
* 27 Melee Healer vs 27 Warrior
* 27 Melee Healer vs 27 Summoner
I’ve heard a lot of concern from players about fighting Paladins and Warriors, so I included several clips and talked about the matchup mechanics.
Level 26 Spec and Stats
http://allodsbase.com/en/talents#_2oxv3mc1xyc718a20nvy
My stats with green Asee-Teph rep gear
* 8691 HP
* Luck 89: 13.9% glancing
* Intelligence 94: 15%
* Perception 125: 16.5%
* Faith 114: 22.9%
* Wisdom 97
Level 27 Spec and Stats
http://allodsbase.com/en/talents#_2pxv3nc1xyc718a28nvy
My stats with blue Asee-Teph rep gear
* 10380 HP
* Luck 85: 17.8% glancing
* Intelligence 101: 16.2%
* Perception 153: 8.65%
* Faith 136: 15.4%
* Wisdom 122
Here are tips not mentioned in the video:
* When fighting ranged DPS classes, you don’t have to conserve mana as there will be times when you are out of melee range and therefore regenerating mana
Based on my experience so far in Holy Land PVP, I am going to continue filling out the Verdict ruby tree. Getting 3/3 Holy Avenger should provide an excellent boost to survivability – not only will I get crit less, but when I do get crit, I’ll get 3 Fanaticism stacks which equals burst healing to offset the damage taken.
Life in Asee-Teph has gotten much better since I hit level 26. I still get run over by ?? (high-level) players, but overall my survivability has gone up a lot compared to 25.
If you have any comments / feedback / questions please post ‘em.
* 26 Melee Healer vs 26 Warrior + 25 Healer
* 26 Melee Healer vs 26 Caster Healer
* 26 Melee Healer vs 26 Paladin
* 27 Melee Healer vs 27 Warrior
* 27 Melee Healer vs 27 Summoner
I’ve heard a lot of concern from players about fighting Paladins and Warriors, so I included several clips and talked about the matchup mechanics.
Level 26 Spec and Stats
http://allodsbase.com/en/talents#_2oxv3mc1xyc718a20nvy
My stats with green Asee-Teph rep gear
* 8691 HP
* Luck 89: 13.9% glancing
* Intelligence 94: 15%
* Perception 125: 16.5%
* Faith 114: 22.9%
* Wisdom 97
Level 27 Spec and Stats
http://allodsbase.com/en/talents#_2pxv3nc1xyc718a28nvy
My stats with blue Asee-Teph rep gear
* 10380 HP
* Luck 85: 17.8% glancing
* Intelligence 101: 16.2%
* Perception 153: 8.65%
* Faith 136: 15.4%
* Wisdom 122
Here are tips not mentioned in the video:
* When fighting ranged DPS classes, you don’t have to conserve mana as there will be times when you are out of melee range and therefore regenerating mana
Based on my experience so far in Holy Land PVP, I am going to continue filling out the Verdict ruby tree. Getting 3/3 Holy Avenger should provide an excellent boost to survivability – not only will I get crit less, but when I do get crit, I’ll get 3 Fanaticism stacks which equals burst healing to offset the damage taken.
Life in Asee-Teph has gotten much better since I hit level 26. I still get run over by ?? (high-level) players, but overall my survivability has gone up a lot compared to 25.
If you have any comments / feedback / questions please post ‘em.
Melee Healer PVP Video @ Level 31-33
This is my third PVP video for Allods Online (AO). This video includes the following fights:
* 31 Melee Healer vs 33 Warrior
* 31 Melee Healer vs 33 Healer
* three 33 Healers vs 36 Mage and 31 Healer
I turned up the volume on this video compared to previous ones so please let me know if the volume in this video is about right, too high, or still too low.
Many people have asked me how to avoid getting 3- or 4-shot by Warriors and Paladins – kite-healing and CC are the keys. Aside from Holy Shield, you can use your CCs Blind Faith and Heavenly Smite to create a gap and buy time to heal up with Perpetual Healing and Divine Prayer.
Here are tips not mentioned in the video:
* Cleansing Flame may not inflict periodic damage against Warriors with Stony Resilience (buff icon looks like crossed swords). Your best bet is using melee attacks and timing your use of Heavenly Smite
* While leveling you should try to keep Faith <= 20%, and try to keep your Wisdom stat as close to your Faith stat as possible. At level 31 I had too low Wisdom and I went OOM too quickly in PVE and PVP
Level 31 Spec and Stats
http://allodsbase.com/en/talents#_2oxv3ne2xye7hcb28nvy
My stats with green Coba Plateau Prospector rep gear:
* 21003 HP
* Agility 97: ~2% dodge
* Luck 106: 19.5% glancing
* Endurance 147: 7.25% to be crit
* Intelligence 160: 25.6%
* Perception 191: 10.9%
* Faith 158: 23%
* Wisdom 146
Endurance and Intelligence were high, whereas Faith, Luck, and Wisdom were low.
Level 33 Spec and Stats
http://allodsbase.com/en/talents#_2ox1u7es45xy8e7hcb28nvy4w3
My stats with green Coba Plateau Prospector rep gear:
* 18581 HP
* Agility 132: ~6.75% dodge
* Luck 104: 27.5% glancing
* Endurance 229: 5% to be crit, 22.7% to be glanced
* Intelligence 168: 26.9%
* Perception 221: 10%
* Faith 187: 20.2%
* Wisdom 177
These stats were much more balance compared to my level 31 stats, although Luck was still too low.
I also had the blue 2h mace quest reward from a Blackjack Bid chain. I highly recommend doing this quest at 33 or as soon as you can, but at 33 you’d need at least 1 more player to group with.
If you have any comments / feedback / questions please post ‘em.
* 31 Melee Healer vs 33 Warrior
* 31 Melee Healer vs 33 Healer
* three 33 Healers vs 36 Mage and 31 Healer
I turned up the volume on this video compared to previous ones so please let me know if the volume in this video is about right, too high, or still too low.
Many people have asked me how to avoid getting 3- or 4-shot by Warriors and Paladins – kite-healing and CC are the keys. Aside from Holy Shield, you can use your CCs Blind Faith and Heavenly Smite to create a gap and buy time to heal up with Perpetual Healing and Divine Prayer.
Here are tips not mentioned in the video:
* Cleansing Flame may not inflict periodic damage against Warriors with Stony Resilience (buff icon looks like crossed swords). Your best bet is using melee attacks and timing your use of Heavenly Smite
* While leveling you should try to keep Faith <= 20%, and try to keep your Wisdom stat as close to your Faith stat as possible. At level 31 I had too low Wisdom and I went OOM too quickly in PVE and PVP
Level 31 Spec and Stats
http://allodsbase.com/en/talents#_2oxv3ne2xye7hcb28nvy
My stats with green Coba Plateau Prospector rep gear:
* 21003 HP
* Agility 97: ~2% dodge
* Luck 106: 19.5% glancing
* Endurance 147: 7.25% to be crit
* Intelligence 160: 25.6%
* Perception 191: 10.9%
* Faith 158: 23%
* Wisdom 146
Endurance and Intelligence were high, whereas Faith, Luck, and Wisdom were low.
Level 33 Spec and Stats
http://allodsbase.com/en/talents#_2ox1u7es45xy8e7hcb28nvy4w3
My stats with green Coba Plateau Prospector rep gear:
* 18581 HP
* Agility 132: ~6.75% dodge
* Luck 104: 27.5% glancing
* Endurance 229: 5% to be crit, 22.7% to be glanced
* Intelligence 168: 26.9%
* Perception 221: 10%
* Faith 187: 20.2%
* Wisdom 177
These stats were much more balance compared to my level 31 stats, although Luck was still too low.
I also had the blue 2h mace quest reward from a Blackjack Bid chain. I highly recommend doing this quest at 33 or as soon as you can, but at 33 you’d need at least 1 more player to group with.
If you have any comments / feedback / questions please post ‘em.
Putting Allods Online on the Shelf Indefinitely
This isn’t yet another thread to complain about gPotato (the game operator) or Astrum Nival (the game developer). From what I’ve heard – firsthand at the Allods Online Launch Party hosted by gPotato during the Game Developer Conference a few weeks ago – gPotato is trying to sort out some of the future game patches (e.g. v 1.0.07 and on) with AN and for the time being, gPotato has wisely opted not to implement the 1.0.07 patches and on.
The reason I’ve stopped playing AO is simply because I was bored at endgame and the options for playing didn’t look like much fun.
I was hoping to find a lot of PVP action at level 40, but there are no high-level zones where players go to PVP. The level 35+ zones (Coldberg/Avilon/Dragon Ring/Yazes Shard) have a pretty high density of mobs, which affects PVP, and most players flag themselves off in those zones. Most of the fights I’ve had against other level 40 players was in Asee-Teph, the level 23-27 zone, which by definition doesn’t make much sense. What this game needs is a zone designed for PVP at 40.
On top of that, gear makes a big difference in AO, and at this stage of the server’s maturity there are two options for getting geared up:
* run the daily reputation repeatables to get level 36 blue gear, or
* join a guild, re-spec to Full Healer, and run heroic instances to get level 38 blue gear
I don’t want to grind PVE to be competitive gear-wise for PVP, especially when there isn’t that much PVP action in the first place.
I’m not the only person to reach this conclusion. Several people I’ve known since early Open Beta who reached level cap ahead of me have expressed the same feeling of boredom. So I’m done with Allods indefinitely. To those of you I met in-game on Tensess, please keep in touch :)
I do want to play a game where I can PVP most of the time at level cap and remain reasonably geared without having to spend more time in PVE than PVP.
From what I’ve heard, this is now doable in World of Warcraft (WoW), which I haven’t played since November 2007. So I am considering dusting off my level 70 Feral Druid and trying WoW PVP at 80 with Feral or Balance spec. The reason I quit WoW back in 2007 was the gear grind. PVP epic gear is now is accessible even to casual players. People have complained that WoW has become too easy mode in terms of gearing up, but for a player who is thinking about coming back, that makes the game much more attractive.
If you’ve played WoW at 80 I’d love to hear your thoughts about the PVP.
The reason I’ve stopped playing AO is simply because I was bored at endgame and the options for playing didn’t look like much fun.
I was hoping to find a lot of PVP action at level 40, but there are no high-level zones where players go to PVP. The level 35+ zones (Coldberg/Avilon/Dragon Ring/Yazes Shard) have a pretty high density of mobs, which affects PVP, and most players flag themselves off in those zones. Most of the fights I’ve had against other level 40 players was in Asee-Teph, the level 23-27 zone, which by definition doesn’t make much sense. What this game needs is a zone designed for PVP at 40.
On top of that, gear makes a big difference in AO, and at this stage of the server’s maturity there are two options for getting geared up:
* run the daily reputation repeatables to get level 36 blue gear, or
* join a guild, re-spec to Full Healer, and run heroic instances to get level 38 blue gear
I don’t want to grind PVE to be competitive gear-wise for PVP, especially when there isn’t that much PVP action in the first place.
I’m not the only person to reach this conclusion. Several people I’ve known since early Open Beta who reached level cap ahead of me have expressed the same feeling of boredom. So I’m done with Allods indefinitely. To those of you I met in-game on Tensess, please keep in touch :)
I do want to play a game where I can PVP most of the time at level cap and remain reasonably geared without having to spend more time in PVE than PVP.
From what I’ve heard, this is now doable in World of Warcraft (WoW), which I haven’t played since November 2007. So I am considering dusting off my level 70 Feral Druid and trying WoW PVP at 80 with Feral or Balance spec. The reason I quit WoW back in 2007 was the gear grind. PVP epic gear is now is accessible even to casual players. People have complained that WoW has become too easy mode in terms of gearing up, but for a player who is thinking about coming back, that makes the game much more attractive.
If you’ve played WoW at 80 I’d love to hear your thoughts about the PVP.
Guide to Allods Online’s Melee Healer Class Mechanics
This is a guide for the Melee spec for the Healer class in Allods Online.
Revision History
* 2010 March 28: because of the issue with Holy Avenger, dropped 3/3 Holy Avenger and 3/3 Bearer of Light to free up 6 rubies to take Divine Foresight. Updated ruby grid images and link to calculator
* 2010 March 19: added 3rd PVP video and updated the content for Holy Avenger and Condemnation. HA-generated Fanaticism buffs do not proc Brilliant Faith heals
* 2010 March 12: added links to my narrated PVP videos
* 2010 March 9: updated the ruby progression numbered chart, fixed some tooltip descriptions, and added section re: PVP
* 2010 March 3: updated the ruby progression numbered chart to get Banished Words at 23 for Holy Lands PVPVE
* 2010 February 27: added the ruby progression numbered chart and commented on Perpetual Healing
* 2010 February 23: added more content to the tips for beginners
* 2010 February 20: added tips for beginners
* 2010 February 19: clarified that all our damage is affected by the same set of stats. Updated names of abilities and rubies to match to the in-game tooltips
* 2010 February 17: updated names of talents and rubies and their descriptions per in-game tooltips and updates to allodsbase.com calculator. Also made 1 change to the filler ruby placement in the Cleansing Flame tree
* 2010 February 12: posted original version
1. Melee Healer Class Mechanics
In AO, Melee Healers (MH) are viable because of 4 synergistic mechanics:
1. Their two core melee abilities (Verdict and Holy Rage) have a chance to apply a stacking buff called Fanaticism, and each time the buff stacks it generates an AOE party heal and decreases the cast time of non-instant-cast spells by 0.5 sec
2. They can deliver excellent melee burst damage with 2h weapons
3. They have multiple ranged CC abilities (snare, knockdown, mez, and silence) which are great counters against kiters and runners
4. They have very good survivability – thanks to plate armor, self-heals, and a bubble
The closest analogy to an AO MH is a WAR Warrior Priest (melee-based healing) blended with a WoW Retribution Paladin (plate armor + bubble + burst).
To give you an idea what a MH is capable of, check out this video of a level 40 MH:
Video of 40 Melee Healer (Russian AO) – not Taugrim
It’s important to note that unlike games such as WAR and Aion, AO does not have a consistent auto-face opponent mechanic. So in AO a skilled meleer can circle-strafe an opponent, just as the player in the video did.
Here are the downsides to the MH spec:
1. The spec is incredibly mana-intensive
2. It lacks the burst healing and sustained healing of a healing-centric Healer spec (duh!)
3. It has limited nuke capability. Its damage mechanics require the MH to get up close and personal
The spec I’m going to describe below is a MH with strong DoT/HoT capability. Here is a link to the spec on a spec calculator:
http://allodsbase.com/en/talents#_2px1u3esulx0yc71cb28nvyc10838718f
2. Talents
In AO, there are two ways you spec your character: via talents (abilities) and rubies (buffs and procs for talent abilities, new abilities, passive defenses, etc). Here is my endgame talent tree:
Specific abilities:
* 1/3 Holy Blast: this is a caster DPS spell and you automatically have 1 point in it. No reason to invest more points in it
* 3/3 Verdict: the first of our two core melee abilities
* 3/3 Cleansing Flame: ranged (spammable) instant-cast DoT. I’ll go either 2/3 or 3/3. Some MH specs do not max this out
* 0/3 Spiritual Focus: grants immunity to spell casting interruption and buffs the next spell or heal
* 0/3 Devoted Plea: this is the bread-and-butter cast-time heal, but most of this spec’s healing will be generated from melee abilities and instant-cast heals. It is worth investing 1 point in this ability early in the game so that you have an on-demand heal as you level up to 40
* 3/3 Blind Faith: ranged 5 sec snare and disorient, 21 sec cooldown with 3 points and rubies (see next section). Surprisingly useful in PVE and incredible in PVP
* 1/3 Heavenly Smite: 1 point just to get this ability because it is a ranged AOE knockdown. It has a fixed 4.5 sec cast but with 9 stacks of Fanaticism buffs this becomes instant-cast
* 3/3 Holy Shield: 12 sec invulnerability bubble on a 3 min cooldown with 3 points
* 1/3 Calming Prayer: 1 point just to get this mana regen ability
* 3/3 Perpetual Healing: maxed out (spammable) instant-cast HoT
* 0/3 Resurrection: it’s not usable in combat. At endgame you can complete a World Mystery to get an AOE rez, at which point you don’t need this ability any more. I did end up putting 1/3 Resurrection to have a rez for grouping
* 3/3 Holy Rage (HR): the second of our two core melee abilities. What’s nasty about HR is that it creates a stacking buff which increases the ability’s damage by 10% and mana cost by 20%. This is what you see generating huge crits in MH videos. This ability requires a ton of mana to use so it’s best to spend talent points here last
* 3/3 Divine Prayer: maxed out emergency instant-cast heal. Very mana inefficient but it complements the mobile playstyle
* 1/3 Purification: removes a debuff
* 1/3 Holy Rejuvenation: 1 point to get the ability. This is a large burst heal with a fixed 6 sec cast time but remember that Fanaticism buffs reduce the cast time
* 1/3 Binding Light: this is a mez ability. 1 point just to get the ability, to complement our arsenal. Should be very valuable in small-scale PVP and gapping an opponent
3. Rubies (0/22/16)
As discussed above, rubies are used to obtain buffs and procs for talent abilities, new abilities, passive defenses, etc.
Here is my endgame ruby spec (note I do not put any points in the Holy Blast tree):
Specific Verdict tree rubies:
* 3/3 Blessed Steel: +30% to physical damage. Our two core melee abilities are physical
* 2/3 Ray of Light: when health is < 50%, healing received is increased by 20%
* 1/1 Banished Words: 6 sec silence ability, with a 21 sec cooldown with 3/3 Condemnation (see below)
* 3/3 Power of Faith: reduces cooldown of our two core melee abilities by 20%
* 2/2 Devout Servant: increases the chance for Verdict and HR to proc a Fanaticism buff by 20%
* 3/3 Divine Instincts: increases Dodge by 100% with a 2h weapon
* 3/3 Condemnation: reduces cooldowns for Blind Faith, Binding Light, and Banished Words by 30%. This is one of our best rubies, don’t underestimate it1
* 3/3 Brilliant Faith: when Fanaticism buff procs, it generates a party heal
As you can see, Power of Faith and Devout Servant synergize to increase the number of party heal procs with Brilliant Faith. That combination of rubies is what makes this build tick.
Specific Cleansing Flame tree rubies:
* 3/3 Surge of Faith: +45% increase to output of HoT and DoT abilities
* 3/3 Illuminated Mind: +15% to Wisdom which reduces the target’s armor and increases our mana pool and regen
* 3/3 Enlightenment: +15% to Intelligence stat, which drives all our damage (both physical and light damage types) and healing
* 1/3 Ascension: 1 point to get the self-buff that increases our crit chance by 200% and reduces threat by 200%
* 2/4 Blaze of Faith: filler rubies. Note that Guardian of Faith only works against demons, so I don’t take it
* 3/4 Unshakeable Faith: +15% to Faith, which drives all our healing
* 1/1 Divine Foresight: creates an auto-heal on the target when their health drops to 35% or less. This can save the target in situations when damage taken would have dropped the target’s health to 0. Note that the mana is spent on casting the buff not when the heal procs, and each time the cooldown expires you can place the buff on an additional target
Some MH specs invest points in the Holy Smite tree to get the ability Entreaty, which is an excellent instant-cast self-heal on a 30 sec cooldown, instead of Divine Foresight. However, I don’t like like the 4 required rubies to get to Entreaty.
4. Melee Healer Stats
As a caster class, the following stats affect our damage:
* Intelligence increases our damage (and healing)
* Luck affects our % to crit and % to have a glancing blow (i.e. an anti-crit)
* Perception reduces our chance to miss and the target’s chance to dodge/block/parry
* Wisdom reduces the target’s armor (mitigation)
Another important stat for Healers is Faith, which affects how much “wound complexity” our heals ignore. There is an excellent thread on the Allods Online forum that describes the mechanics of the these 5 stats.
It’s important to note that regardless what abilities you use (melee or ranged, physical vs spell damage, etc), the stat mechanics are the same. E.g. Intelligence increases our damage for melee abilities and for spells. I think this was a great design choice by the developer as it simplifies the game.
The conventional wisdom among Closed Beta testers is to keep stats balanced, so you don’t want to go overboard on stacking any one stat (e.g. Intelligence).
dchipeev, a veteran poster on the AO forums, recommends the following stats (excluding Luck):
Perception = Wisdom > Faith = Intelligence
miwacho points out that Wisdom and Luck are rare stats on Healer gear.
okokomo recommends the following rules of thumb:
Perception: 10% chance for dodge/block/parry
Intelligence: 10% for damage bonus
Luck: 10% chance for glancing blow chance
I’m planning on spending my stat points 75% on Wisdom and 25% on Luck. Your mileage may vary!
5. Ability Rotations
I would cast the HoT and DoT abilities before engaging in melee and refresh them as needed. Melee attack spam would be mostly HR and Verdict.
Use of CCs would be dictated by the situation. We can use our snare (Blind Faith) and silence (Banished Words) frequently due to their relatively short cooldowns against casters and kiters. Our AOE knockdown (Heavenly Smite) has no cooldown – it just has a long cast time of 4.5 sec but with enough Fanaticism buffs stacked that won’t matter. Keep in mind that Heavenly Smite can be “pre-casted” without a target so that when you cast it with a target it’s instant-cast. Our mez (Binding Light) is a great oh-crap CC against humanoids.
In tight situations we can use our bubble (Holy Shield) and / or instant-cast self-heal (Divine Prayer).
6. Other Game Mechanic Considerations
As you probably know, AO is a F2P (free-to-play) game with a CS (cash shop) from which players can buy in-game items with real money.
One of the CS items is a consumable called incense, which increases the player’s max HP for 30 minutes. Many players are unhappy that this item exists because the HP buff is regarded as essential for some endgame PVE encounters and makes a huge difference in survivability in PVP.
For PVP, classes that can meaningfully heal themselves, such as MHs, will probably be less impacted by not using incense than classes that can’t heal themselves. In most games healers stack enough HP to survive a reasonable amount of burst, then they focus on other stats. So if you are concerned about incense and don’t plan to quest for it or buy it from the CS, a healing class may be a wise choice for you.
7. Class Tips for Leveling
Stat Points Allocation
I recommend putting 75% into Wisdom and 25% into Luck, because those stats are rare on gear relative to Intelligence, Perception, and Faith.
Talent Progression
I recommend the following talent point progression through level 12, which enables you to kill quickly while still being able to heal in groups:
* Verdict 2
* Devoted Plea 1 – it’s worth taking this heal for leveling because without it you have no healing whatsoever until the upper teens. Useful all the way to 40 because it’s a spammable heal and generates Fanaticism proc heals
* Verdict 3
* Cleansing Flame 2
* Cleansing Flame 3
After level 12, you have the option of taking Blind Faith, Heavenly Smite, or Holy Shield. I took Holy Shield 1 then Heavenly Smite 1. However BF has surprisingly strong utility in PVE so I would recommend getting BF 2 before obtaining either Holy Shield or Heavenly Smite. BF 2 has a 1 min cooldown but CC’s a mob for 10 or 15 seconds, which is a long time, and you can continue to DPS on that mob without breaking the effect. Definitely get BF3 by level 25 if you can for PVP in Holy Land.
Perpetual Healing is available as early as level 18 and it’s a very good HoT.
Ruby Progression
Here is the order of rubies I recommend taking:
* Divine Instincts 1-3: the Dodge bonus is good so this is not a useless talent by any means
* Power of Faith 1-3: the mana cost and cooldown reductions do work, even though the cooldown isn’t reflected in the tooltip; see my comment below to Kikiz
* Brilliant Faith 1-3
* Blessed Steel 1 in the upper-right hand corner
* Devout Servant 1
* Banished Words
* Devout Servant 2
* Blessed Steel 2
* Condemnation 1-3: these rubies are key for lowering the cooldowns of our CC. You could take these before Blessed Steel 2. Depends whether you want more CC or more damage first
* Ray of Hope 1-2
* Blessed Steel 3
At level 23, you will have Banished Words for the silence which is key for PVP. I managed to get two World Mystery rubies (I think via clearing Dark Citadel and all but the last boss of Castle Blight) which enabled me to get Condemnation 3 by level 26.
Once you fill out the Verdict tree, it’s up to you whether you pursue Divine Foresight or Ascension first in the Cleansing Flame tree.
Gear and Healing
It’s totally worth getting the blue reputation gear at level 10 and throughout the leveling process. What you can do is quest until you are close to hitting level 10, then do the rep repeatables (e.g. the flour quest on League side) to get to 25k rep. I had to run the flour quest 9 times to get to 25k rep and it took about 20 minutes – boring but well worth it. It’s easy to solo heal the first level 10 instance (e.g. Oreshek on League side) even as a Melee Healer so long as you have DP1 and the level 10 blue rep gear. With the level 10 blue rep gear you gain a massive improvement in your ability to heal, because the gear boosts your Faith into the upper 40s (or higher) which causes your heals to land more effectively.
For leveling 2h is the way to go. I tried alternating 1h and 2h on the same mobs and the difference in kill speed was very noticeable. Once you reach level 18 you can obtain the talent Perpetual Healing which tips the scales even more in favor of 2h as the HoT will keep your HP high.
8. PVP
Instead of writing out a detailed description of PVP, please watch the narrated PVP videos I have posted on this blog. If a picture is word a thousand words, a narrated video is worth a million :)
Revision History
* 2010 March 28: because of the issue with Holy Avenger, dropped 3/3 Holy Avenger and 3/3 Bearer of Light to free up 6 rubies to take Divine Foresight. Updated ruby grid images and link to calculator
* 2010 March 19: added 3rd PVP video and updated the content for Holy Avenger and Condemnation. HA-generated Fanaticism buffs do not proc Brilliant Faith heals
* 2010 March 12: added links to my narrated PVP videos
* 2010 March 9: updated the ruby progression numbered chart, fixed some tooltip descriptions, and added section re: PVP
* 2010 March 3: updated the ruby progression numbered chart to get Banished Words at 23 for Holy Lands PVPVE
* 2010 February 27: added the ruby progression numbered chart and commented on Perpetual Healing
* 2010 February 23: added more content to the tips for beginners
* 2010 February 20: added tips for beginners
* 2010 February 19: clarified that all our damage is affected by the same set of stats. Updated names of abilities and rubies to match to the in-game tooltips
* 2010 February 17: updated names of talents and rubies and their descriptions per in-game tooltips and updates to allodsbase.com calculator. Also made 1 change to the filler ruby placement in the Cleansing Flame tree
* 2010 February 12: posted original version
1. Melee Healer Class Mechanics
In AO, Melee Healers (MH) are viable because of 4 synergistic mechanics:
1. Their two core melee abilities (Verdict and Holy Rage) have a chance to apply a stacking buff called Fanaticism, and each time the buff stacks it generates an AOE party heal and decreases the cast time of non-instant-cast spells by 0.5 sec
2. They can deliver excellent melee burst damage with 2h weapons
3. They have multiple ranged CC abilities (snare, knockdown, mez, and silence) which are great counters against kiters and runners
4. They have very good survivability – thanks to plate armor, self-heals, and a bubble
The closest analogy to an AO MH is a WAR Warrior Priest (melee-based healing) blended with a WoW Retribution Paladin (plate armor + bubble + burst).
To give you an idea what a MH is capable of, check out this video of a level 40 MH:
Video of 40 Melee Healer (Russian AO) – not Taugrim
It’s important to note that unlike games such as WAR and Aion, AO does not have a consistent auto-face opponent mechanic. So in AO a skilled meleer can circle-strafe an opponent, just as the player in the video did.
Here are the downsides to the MH spec:
1. The spec is incredibly mana-intensive
2. It lacks the burst healing and sustained healing of a healing-centric Healer spec (duh!)
3. It has limited nuke capability. Its damage mechanics require the MH to get up close and personal
The spec I’m going to describe below is a MH with strong DoT/HoT capability. Here is a link to the spec on a spec calculator:
http://allodsbase.com/en/talents#_2px1u3esulx0yc71cb28nvyc10838718f
2. Talents
In AO, there are two ways you spec your character: via talents (abilities) and rubies (buffs and procs for talent abilities, new abilities, passive defenses, etc). Here is my endgame talent tree:
Specific abilities:
* 1/3 Holy Blast: this is a caster DPS spell and you automatically have 1 point in it. No reason to invest more points in it
* 3/3 Verdict: the first of our two core melee abilities
* 3/3 Cleansing Flame: ranged (spammable) instant-cast DoT. I’ll go either 2/3 or 3/3. Some MH specs do not max this out
* 0/3 Spiritual Focus: grants immunity to spell casting interruption and buffs the next spell or heal
* 0/3 Devoted Plea: this is the bread-and-butter cast-time heal, but most of this spec’s healing will be generated from melee abilities and instant-cast heals. It is worth investing 1 point in this ability early in the game so that you have an on-demand heal as you level up to 40
* 3/3 Blind Faith: ranged 5 sec snare and disorient, 21 sec cooldown with 3 points and rubies (see next section). Surprisingly useful in PVE and incredible in PVP
* 1/3 Heavenly Smite: 1 point just to get this ability because it is a ranged AOE knockdown. It has a fixed 4.5 sec cast but with 9 stacks of Fanaticism buffs this becomes instant-cast
* 3/3 Holy Shield: 12 sec invulnerability bubble on a 3 min cooldown with 3 points
* 1/3 Calming Prayer: 1 point just to get this mana regen ability
* 3/3 Perpetual Healing: maxed out (spammable) instant-cast HoT
* 0/3 Resurrection: it’s not usable in combat. At endgame you can complete a World Mystery to get an AOE rez, at which point you don’t need this ability any more. I did end up putting 1/3 Resurrection to have a rez for grouping
* 3/3 Holy Rage (HR): the second of our two core melee abilities. What’s nasty about HR is that it creates a stacking buff which increases the ability’s damage by 10% and mana cost by 20%. This is what you see generating huge crits in MH videos. This ability requires a ton of mana to use so it’s best to spend talent points here last
* 3/3 Divine Prayer: maxed out emergency instant-cast heal. Very mana inefficient but it complements the mobile playstyle
* 1/3 Purification: removes a debuff
* 1/3 Holy Rejuvenation: 1 point to get the ability. This is a large burst heal with a fixed 6 sec cast time but remember that Fanaticism buffs reduce the cast time
* 1/3 Binding Light: this is a mez ability. 1 point just to get the ability, to complement our arsenal. Should be very valuable in small-scale PVP and gapping an opponent
3. Rubies (0/22/16)
As discussed above, rubies are used to obtain buffs and procs for talent abilities, new abilities, passive defenses, etc.
Here is my endgame ruby spec (note I do not put any points in the Holy Blast tree):
Specific Verdict tree rubies:
* 3/3 Blessed Steel: +30% to physical damage. Our two core melee abilities are physical
* 2/3 Ray of Light: when health is < 50%, healing received is increased by 20%
* 1/1 Banished Words: 6 sec silence ability, with a 21 sec cooldown with 3/3 Condemnation (see below)
* 3/3 Power of Faith: reduces cooldown of our two core melee abilities by 20%
* 2/2 Devout Servant: increases the chance for Verdict and HR to proc a Fanaticism buff by 20%
* 3/3 Divine Instincts: increases Dodge by 100% with a 2h weapon
* 3/3 Condemnation: reduces cooldowns for Blind Faith, Binding Light, and Banished Words by 30%. This is one of our best rubies, don’t underestimate it1
* 3/3 Brilliant Faith: when Fanaticism buff procs, it generates a party heal
As you can see, Power of Faith and Devout Servant synergize to increase the number of party heal procs with Brilliant Faith. That combination of rubies is what makes this build tick.
Specific Cleansing Flame tree rubies:
* 3/3 Surge of Faith: +45% increase to output of HoT and DoT abilities
* 3/3 Illuminated Mind: +15% to Wisdom which reduces the target’s armor and increases our mana pool and regen
* 3/3 Enlightenment: +15% to Intelligence stat, which drives all our damage (both physical and light damage types) and healing
* 1/3 Ascension: 1 point to get the self-buff that increases our crit chance by 200% and reduces threat by 200%
* 2/4 Blaze of Faith: filler rubies. Note that Guardian of Faith only works against demons, so I don’t take it
* 3/4 Unshakeable Faith: +15% to Faith, which drives all our healing
* 1/1 Divine Foresight: creates an auto-heal on the target when their health drops to 35% or less. This can save the target in situations when damage taken would have dropped the target’s health to 0. Note that the mana is spent on casting the buff not when the heal procs, and each time the cooldown expires you can place the buff on an additional target
Some MH specs invest points in the Holy Smite tree to get the ability Entreaty, which is an excellent instant-cast self-heal on a 30 sec cooldown, instead of Divine Foresight. However, I don’t like like the 4 required rubies to get to Entreaty.
4. Melee Healer Stats
As a caster class, the following stats affect our damage:
* Intelligence increases our damage (and healing)
* Luck affects our % to crit and % to have a glancing blow (i.e. an anti-crit)
* Perception reduces our chance to miss and the target’s chance to dodge/block/parry
* Wisdom reduces the target’s armor (mitigation)
Another important stat for Healers is Faith, which affects how much “wound complexity” our heals ignore. There is an excellent thread on the Allods Online forum that describes the mechanics of the these 5 stats.
It’s important to note that regardless what abilities you use (melee or ranged, physical vs spell damage, etc), the stat mechanics are the same. E.g. Intelligence increases our damage for melee abilities and for spells. I think this was a great design choice by the developer as it simplifies the game.
The conventional wisdom among Closed Beta testers is to keep stats balanced, so you don’t want to go overboard on stacking any one stat (e.g. Intelligence).
dchipeev, a veteran poster on the AO forums, recommends the following stats (excluding Luck):
Perception = Wisdom > Faith = Intelligence
miwacho points out that Wisdom and Luck are rare stats on Healer gear.
okokomo recommends the following rules of thumb:
Perception: 10% chance for dodge/block/parry
Intelligence: 10% for damage bonus
Luck: 10% chance for glancing blow chance
I’m planning on spending my stat points 75% on Wisdom and 25% on Luck. Your mileage may vary!
5. Ability Rotations
I would cast the HoT and DoT abilities before engaging in melee and refresh them as needed. Melee attack spam would be mostly HR and Verdict.
Use of CCs would be dictated by the situation. We can use our snare (Blind Faith) and silence (Banished Words) frequently due to their relatively short cooldowns against casters and kiters. Our AOE knockdown (Heavenly Smite) has no cooldown – it just has a long cast time of 4.5 sec but with enough Fanaticism buffs stacked that won’t matter. Keep in mind that Heavenly Smite can be “pre-casted” without a target so that when you cast it with a target it’s instant-cast. Our mez (Binding Light) is a great oh-crap CC against humanoids.
In tight situations we can use our bubble (Holy Shield) and / or instant-cast self-heal (Divine Prayer).
6. Other Game Mechanic Considerations
As you probably know, AO is a F2P (free-to-play) game with a CS (cash shop) from which players can buy in-game items with real money.
One of the CS items is a consumable called incense, which increases the player’s max HP for 30 minutes. Many players are unhappy that this item exists because the HP buff is regarded as essential for some endgame PVE encounters and makes a huge difference in survivability in PVP.
For PVP, classes that can meaningfully heal themselves, such as MHs, will probably be less impacted by not using incense than classes that can’t heal themselves. In most games healers stack enough HP to survive a reasonable amount of burst, then they focus on other stats. So if you are concerned about incense and don’t plan to quest for it or buy it from the CS, a healing class may be a wise choice for you.
7. Class Tips for Leveling
Stat Points Allocation
I recommend putting 75% into Wisdom and 25% into Luck, because those stats are rare on gear relative to Intelligence, Perception, and Faith.
Talent Progression
I recommend the following talent point progression through level 12, which enables you to kill quickly while still being able to heal in groups:
* Verdict 2
* Devoted Plea 1 – it’s worth taking this heal for leveling because without it you have no healing whatsoever until the upper teens. Useful all the way to 40 because it’s a spammable heal and generates Fanaticism proc heals
* Verdict 3
* Cleansing Flame 2
* Cleansing Flame 3
After level 12, you have the option of taking Blind Faith, Heavenly Smite, or Holy Shield. I took Holy Shield 1 then Heavenly Smite 1. However BF has surprisingly strong utility in PVE so I would recommend getting BF 2 before obtaining either Holy Shield or Heavenly Smite. BF 2 has a 1 min cooldown but CC’s a mob for 10 or 15 seconds, which is a long time, and you can continue to DPS on that mob without breaking the effect. Definitely get BF3 by level 25 if you can for PVP in Holy Land.
Perpetual Healing is available as early as level 18 and it’s a very good HoT.
Ruby Progression
Here is the order of rubies I recommend taking:
* Divine Instincts 1-3: the Dodge bonus is good so this is not a useless talent by any means
* Power of Faith 1-3: the mana cost and cooldown reductions do work, even though the cooldown isn’t reflected in the tooltip; see my comment below to Kikiz
* Brilliant Faith 1-3
* Blessed Steel 1 in the upper-right hand corner
* Devout Servant 1
* Banished Words
* Devout Servant 2
* Blessed Steel 2
* Condemnation 1-3: these rubies are key for lowering the cooldowns of our CC. You could take these before Blessed Steel 2. Depends whether you want more CC or more damage first
* Ray of Hope 1-2
* Blessed Steel 3
At level 23, you will have Banished Words for the silence which is key for PVP. I managed to get two World Mystery rubies (I think via clearing Dark Citadel and all but the last boss of Castle Blight) which enabled me to get Condemnation 3 by level 26.
Once you fill out the Verdict tree, it’s up to you whether you pursue Divine Foresight or Ascension first in the Cleansing Flame tree.
Gear and Healing
It’s totally worth getting the blue reputation gear at level 10 and throughout the leveling process. What you can do is quest until you are close to hitting level 10, then do the rep repeatables (e.g. the flour quest on League side) to get to 25k rep. I had to run the flour quest 9 times to get to 25k rep and it took about 20 minutes – boring but well worth it. It’s easy to solo heal the first level 10 instance (e.g. Oreshek on League side) even as a Melee Healer so long as you have DP1 and the level 10 blue rep gear. With the level 10 blue rep gear you gain a massive improvement in your ability to heal, because the gear boosts your Faith into the upper 40s (or higher) which causes your heals to land more effectively.
For leveling 2h is the way to go. I tried alternating 1h and 2h on the same mobs and the difference in kill speed was very noticeable. Once you reach level 18 you can obtain the talent Perpetual Healing which tips the scales even more in favor of 2h as the HoT will keep your HP high.
8. PVP
Instead of writing out a detailed description of PVP, please watch the narrated PVP videos I have posted on this blog. If a picture is word a thousand words, a narrated video is worth a million :)
The Allods Online Fansite has a great guide up for disassembling, one of Allods more unique gathering skills.
Disassembler destroys leather and cloth armor and gets mats which can be used by Tailors and Leatherworkers. To start disassembling you should visit profession trainer and buy skillbook and tools (nothing new, just like in any other profession). The only difference is that you need two types of tools: one for cloth items and another for leather ones. Simple enough.
Disassembler destroys leather and cloth armor and gets mats which can be used by Tailors and Leatherworkers. To start disassembling you should visit profession trainer and buy skillbook and tools (nothing new, just like in any other profession). The only difference is that you need two types of tools: one for cloth items and another for leather ones. Simple enough.
Revelations of Gipat Features!
Revelations of Gipat – New Features!
Big changes are coming to Allods Online! We’ve already mentioned mounts, the increased level cap to 42, the 200+ new quests, and the entirely new zone, Gipat!
However, the Allods Team is pleased to announce that some of the most exciting changes that are being introduced are suggestions that originated directly from player feedback!
By popular demand, we are now implementing chat bubbles! This means that anything that a player says will now appear above the player’s head in the form of a bubble. Don’t worry – channels like whisper and guild are protected, and players will have the option to turn the bubbles off.
But that’s not all! Just to mention a few more key changes, we’ll also be introducing a target-of-target system, new animations, new and improved audio, more hotkey capabilities (we’re looking at you, summoners), and the option to invert the Y-axis on your mouse.
New end-game content to Patch 1.1 includes three new bosses to Gorluxor’s Tower! Players will now be able to test their strength against Zalmar the Twisted, the elusive Orcish necromancer Strina the Fierce, and the vampire that’s harder to kill than a cockroach, Armando de Doucer.
Perhaps one of our biggest changes to Patch 1.1 is the official support of add-ons in Allods Online! We are extremely excited to see what type of add-ons the Allods community will create to further improve players’ gaming experience!
We’re introducing major changes to Allods Online, and we look forward to experiencing Patch 1.1 with you this summer!
Of course the biggest news was mentioned last; the addition of add on support! I can't wait to see what the Allods Community turns up. I wish I had the time to play this game more!
Big changes are coming to Allods Online! We’ve already mentioned mounts, the increased level cap to 42, the 200+ new quests, and the entirely new zone, Gipat!
However, the Allods Team is pleased to announce that some of the most exciting changes that are being introduced are suggestions that originated directly from player feedback!
By popular demand, we are now implementing chat bubbles! This means that anything that a player says will now appear above the player’s head in the form of a bubble. Don’t worry – channels like whisper and guild are protected, and players will have the option to turn the bubbles off.
But that’s not all! Just to mention a few more key changes, we’ll also be introducing a target-of-target system, new animations, new and improved audio, more hotkey capabilities (we’re looking at you, summoners), and the option to invert the Y-axis on your mouse.
New end-game content to Patch 1.1 includes three new bosses to Gorluxor’s Tower! Players will now be able to test their strength against Zalmar the Twisted, the elusive Orcish necromancer Strina the Fierce, and the vampire that’s harder to kill than a cockroach, Armando de Doucer.
Perhaps one of our biggest changes to Patch 1.1 is the official support of add-ons in Allods Online! We are extremely excited to see what type of add-ons the Allods community will create to further improve players’ gaming experience!
We’re introducing major changes to Allods Online, and we look forward to experiencing Patch 1.1 with you this summer!
Of course the biggest news was mentioned last; the addition of add on support! I can't wait to see what the Allods Community turns up. I wish I had the time to play this game more!
Gipat Update: Allods Online removing Fear of Death debuff
I just received news that in Allods Online patch 1.1.0, the Fear of Death (FoD) debuff will be removed:
The upcoming Allods Online Patch 1.1.0: Revelations of Gipat introduces new content and gameplay mechanics. In fact, one of the most controversial aspects of the game, Fear of Death, is being eliminated!
Fear of Death is a debuff that players receive upon death which reduces all of their offensive stats by 25% for an amount of time proportional to their level. It can be removed by spending Drops of Myrrh that can be bought from vendors, using Incense that can be bought from the Item Shop, or just waiting it out. However, most users will rejoice in knowing that Fear of Death will no longer be a part of the game.
For those that have followed Allods Online's progress from beta to launch, FoD was the most controversial topic. It is the reason Keen, and I suspect many others, decided not to stick with the game. Personally, I disliked FoD, but came around to an agreement with myself that it wasn't that bad since I only played the game casually.
I didn't agree that it was a cash shop or micro-transaction issue. What I didn't like about FoD was the fact that it didn't make sense in terms of gameplay. Reading these upcoming changes, I feel somewhat vindicated in my prior stance. If FoD was a mechanic meant to create revenue, as many argued, it wouldn't be getting yanked from the game. This to me, is evidence enough that it was just a bad gameplay mechanic awaiting replacement. And now Allods is getting that replacement:
When a player dies in the upcoming patch, instead of receiving a debuff to all of their offensive stats, players will have a very small chance that a curse will be cast upon them. The curse will randomly land on one of a player’s item slots; however, if the curse lands on a slot that is empty or contains an item that is Uncommon or Common, the curse will be deflected, leaving the contents of the item slot unharmed. If the curse lands on an item slot that contains an item that is Rare, Epic, or Legendary, its stats will become inverted.
Bosses in dungeons and raids will now also drop Cursed Items in addition to the items that they usually drop. This means that means that players will have a chance to receive more loot, which can be used once the curse is removed.
In order to remove a curse from an item, players can purchase Scrolls of Purification from the Item Shop, or buy them from other players. Players can also avoid items becoming cursed with each death by wearing Holy Charms. Players may have up to 1000 Holy Charms equipped at a time and each time the player dies, one charm will be used to deflect any possible curse. Holy Charms are available for purchase in the Item Shop, and can also be bought from other players.
There are no hard numbers to substitute for the "chances" mentioned in the blurb above, but as FoD was in effect 100% of the time, this is already a better system. Also, it does a better job of defining the Cash Shop's role in the death penalty revenue scheme.
While I don't like the idea that any game penalizes players and then tells them to go into a Cash Shop to remove that penalty, the proposed system has a couple of tricks up it's sleeves.
First, the items are player trade-able, creating a currency system of sort for players that have real life cash and want to exchange it, legally, for in-game goods and services.
Secondly, it offers proactive and reactive items to be purchased allowing players to decide how they want to pay. Players can pay up front and carry Holy Charms to prevent the curses or they can pay on the back end after a curse has hit via the Scrolls of Purification.
Or, players don't have to pay at all by keeping stashes of spare equipment on hand to replace any cursed items. This may not be efficient or advisable, but it does allow players to continue their free rides.
Allods Online is still a great game and I am looking forward to getting back into at some point and the upcoming Patch 1.1: Revelations of Gipat will be live July 7th!
The upcoming Allods Online Patch 1.1.0: Revelations of Gipat introduces new content and gameplay mechanics. In fact, one of the most controversial aspects of the game, Fear of Death, is being eliminated!
Fear of Death is a debuff that players receive upon death which reduces all of their offensive stats by 25% for an amount of time proportional to their level. It can be removed by spending Drops of Myrrh that can be bought from vendors, using Incense that can be bought from the Item Shop, or just waiting it out. However, most users will rejoice in knowing that Fear of Death will no longer be a part of the game.
For those that have followed Allods Online's progress from beta to launch, FoD was the most controversial topic. It is the reason Keen, and I suspect many others, decided not to stick with the game. Personally, I disliked FoD, but came around to an agreement with myself that it wasn't that bad since I only played the game casually.
I didn't agree that it was a cash shop or micro-transaction issue. What I didn't like about FoD was the fact that it didn't make sense in terms of gameplay. Reading these upcoming changes, I feel somewhat vindicated in my prior stance. If FoD was a mechanic meant to create revenue, as many argued, it wouldn't be getting yanked from the game. This to me, is evidence enough that it was just a bad gameplay mechanic awaiting replacement. And now Allods is getting that replacement:
When a player dies in the upcoming patch, instead of receiving a debuff to all of their offensive stats, players will have a very small chance that a curse will be cast upon them. The curse will randomly land on one of a player’s item slots; however, if the curse lands on a slot that is empty or contains an item that is Uncommon or Common, the curse will be deflected, leaving the contents of the item slot unharmed. If the curse lands on an item slot that contains an item that is Rare, Epic, or Legendary, its stats will become inverted.
Bosses in dungeons and raids will now also drop Cursed Items in addition to the items that they usually drop. This means that means that players will have a chance to receive more loot, which can be used once the curse is removed.
In order to remove a curse from an item, players can purchase Scrolls of Purification from the Item Shop, or buy them from other players. Players can also avoid items becoming cursed with each death by wearing Holy Charms. Players may have up to 1000 Holy Charms equipped at a time and each time the player dies, one charm will be used to deflect any possible curse. Holy Charms are available for purchase in the Item Shop, and can also be bought from other players.
There are no hard numbers to substitute for the "chances" mentioned in the blurb above, but as FoD was in effect 100% of the time, this is already a better system. Also, it does a better job of defining the Cash Shop's role in the death penalty revenue scheme.
While I don't like the idea that any game penalizes players and then tells them to go into a Cash Shop to remove that penalty, the proposed system has a couple of tricks up it's sleeves.
First, the items are player trade-able, creating a currency system of sort for players that have real life cash and want to exchange it, legally, for in-game goods and services.
Secondly, it offers proactive and reactive items to be purchased allowing players to decide how they want to pay. Players can pay up front and carry Holy Charms to prevent the curses or they can pay on the back end after a curse has hit via the Scrolls of Purification.
Or, players don't have to pay at all by keeping stashes of spare equipment on hand to replace any cursed items. This may not be efficient or advisable, but it does allow players to continue their free rides.
Allods Online is still a great game and I am looking forward to getting back into at some point and the upcoming Patch 1.1: Revelations of Gipat will be live July 7th!
ALLODS 1.1.0: REVELATIONS OF GIPAT FULL PATCH NOTES
General
• Gipat, a new zone for high level players, has been introduced. All players that reach level 40 will be sent a mysterious letter through the postal service that contains a mystical stone that can teleport a player to Gipat. The zone will contain entirely new quests and monsters for players to discover. If a player loses their mystical stone they will be able to obtain a new one from a postal worker in their faction’s capital
• The level cap for players has been increased to 42
• Removed the Fear of Death effect
• Each player’s current level of patronage has been increased by 1
• There are now five levels of patronage and the quests to gain the first four levels of patronage cannot be accelerated by buying items from the Item Shop
• Players can now gain the first level of patronage at level 4. To gain the first level of patronage League players will be able to talk to Anastasia Yahontova on Evermeet Isle, and Imperial players will be able to talk to Igor Pisakin in Nezebgrad. Players that have left Evermeet Isle without gaining the first level of patronage can talk to Marianne de Ardeur in Novograd to gain the first level of patronage
• The first level of patronage will now increase a player’s damage dealt and healing done by 50%. At the second level of patronage they will increase by 100%, at the third level of patronage they will increase by 150%, at the fourth level of patronage they will increase by 200%, and at the fifth level of patronage they will increase by 250%
• Instead of activating a player’s blessing for 30 minutes, Incense now activates a player’s blessing for 1 day
• Instead of containing 20 pieces of Incense that activate a player’s blessing for 30 minutes each, a Large Incense Kit now activates a player’s blessing for 21 days
• Players that have used a Blessed Rune or a Holy Rune to gain a higher level of patronage in the past can have them refunded by completing a special quest offered by their faction’s Guild Master. The Holy Runes and Blessed Runes can then be exchanged for Sacred Runes by speaking with special NPCs in their faction’s port. The Sacred Runes can then be used to gain the fifth level of patronage. Blessed Runes and Holy Runes can now be sold to vendors as well
• At the first level of patronage players will now learn Martyr’s Salvation which restores the player’s health and mana over 15 seconds when out of combat or 30 seconds when in combat, cancels all Mental Overload effects, and restores a paladin’s Canons of Light
• At the second level of patronage players will now learn Martyr’s Gift which instantly heals the player
• At the third level of patronage players will now learn Martyr’s Guidance which instantly restores part of the player’s mana
• At the fourth level of patronage players will now learn Martyr’s Protection which cancels all control effects and movement impairing effects
• Patronage spells can now be found in a special tab of the Spellbook
• Added mounts to the game that can be obtained by buying a special item in the Item Shop. A special stable interface has been added where all of a player’s mounts are visible. This interface can be accessed through the Character Info window or by pressing “J”. Mounts can be used to increase a player’s movement speed. Mounts also have a small amount of health and they must be damaged before a player is dismounted. Mounts can also be fed Mount Feed, which will increase their maximum health and movement speed. Giving a mount some Mount Feed will also give them experience and allow them to gradually level up. With each level gained, mounts will gain an additional bonus to their maximum health and movement speed
• Players can no longer automatically view the equipment of friendly players. Players will be able to learn the Piercing Gaze ability that allows them to view the equipment of players of the same faction as well as players of the opposite faction. The ability has six ranks and at each new rank a player will be able to view the contents of more of another player’s slots
o Rank 1 can be learned at level 8. League players can learn the ability by completing a quest from Pavel Isaev in Novograd, and Imperial players can learn the ability by completing a quest from Rysk the Crafty in Nezebgrad. At rank 1 players will be able to view the items in the chest, waist, legs, feet, and weapon slots of players of the same faction
o Rank 2 can be learned at level 15. League players can learn the ability by completing a quest from Avery de Grandeur in Siveria, and Imperial players can learn the ability by completing a quest from Elizaveta Rysina in Nezebgrad. At rank 2 players will be able to view the items in the back, shirt, hands, wrists, finger, trinket, and off-hand slots of players of the same faction
o Rank 3 can be learned at level 23. League players can learn the ability by completing a quest from Marina Jidkova in Asee-Teph, and Imperial players can learn the ability by completing a quest from Zarida the Fierce in Asee-Teph. At rank 3 players will be able to view the items in the head, neck, ears, shoulder, bag, and mount slots of players of the same faction
o Rank 4 can be learned at level 25. Players from both factions can learn the ability by completing a quest from Nomarkh Taltal in Asee-Teph. At rank 4 players will be able to view the items in the chest, waist, legs, feet, and weapon slots of players of the opposite faction
o Rank 5 can be learned at level 27. Players from both factions can learn the ability by completing a quest from Charles de Pluie in Eljune. At rank 5 players will be able to view the items in the back, shirt, hands, wrists, finger, trinket, and off-hand slots of players of the opposite faction
o Rank 6 can be learned at level 29. Players from both factions can learn the ability by completing a quest from Yaver Qar in Coba Plateau. At rank 6 players will be able to view the items in the head, neck, ears, shoulder, bag, and mount slots of players of the opposite faction
• Tep has spread a curse across Sarnaut that has led to the corruption of many items, causing their stats to become inverted. The bodies of powerful bosses as well as treasure chests frequently carry these cursed items in addition to their typical amount of regular items. Items that are worn by players also have a small chance of being cursed upon the player’s death. Tep’s Curse only affects rare, epic, and legendary items, and can be removed with special Scrolls of Purification that can be obtained from the Item Shop. Players can also buy a special Holy Charm that protects their items from being cursed each time they die. For additional information about the cursed items, players should visit their faction’s Keeper of Secrets
• Portal Keepers now require players to complete a special quest before they are allowed to access a new portal for the first time. Players must help the Portal Keepers feed the local Portal Guardian with the power of various slain creatures before subduing the Portal Guardian themselves
• Members from all different factions have informally joined a group of scholars known as the Anthropologists. They’ve recently been spotted in Gipat, Yazes Shard, Dragon Ring, Avilon, Coldberg, Coba Plateau, Eljune, Asee-Teph, Tenebra, Darkwater, Frozen Frontier, Siveria, the Wild Isles, the Dead Sea, the ZIT Headquarters, and Igsh Military District. Their goal is to enlighten people about the nature of their surroundings by tasking them with a number of new quests
• Runes that are inserted into equipment that is bound to a player will also become bound to a player
• Runes that are bound to a player that are inserted into equipment will cause the equipment to also become bound to a player
• The level of runes that can be inserted into a piece of armor now depend on the size of the rune slot which can be increased with Engraving Kits
• Increased the chance that runes will be broken when being removed by the regular Rune Removal Pick
• Increased the bonuses that runes give to a player when inserted into their game, and runes that are inserted into shoulder armor or weapons now increase a player’s healing done as well as their damage dealt
• The cost of Drops of Myrrh has been increased by 1000%
• The cost of reviving early from Purgatory has been decreased by 500%
• Servants of the Light no longer sell Potions of Power and Potions of Might
• Many Servants of the Light have been moved closer to Stygian Passages
• Fixed a bug where it was possible to have the Battle Lust effect without being near a War Banner
• War Banners can now only be used in the zone they were found in and will fade 1 minute after leaving the zone
• Fixed a bug where using a quest item on NPCs would raise a player’s Flag of War
• Removed audio when a player selects or deselects a target
• Added new audio to Dragon Ring, Avilon, Coldberg, Eljune, the Kingdom of Nature, Tenebra, Novograd, the ZIT Headquarters, the Dead Sea, Nezebgrad, and many of the Far Astral Allods
• Added new audio and animations to various monsters
• Improved the animations of various characters
• Improved the visualization of the Goblin Spirit
• Improved the visualization of the Servant of Tensess
• Added chat bubbles that appear over players’ heads when sending message
• Players can now invert their mouse’s Y-axis in the Settings menu
• The target of a target will now be displayed next to the target’s character portrait
• Added an additional action bar in the bottom right-hand side of the interface
• Added the ability to use player addons
• Fixed a bug where players could add players of the enemy faction to their friend list
• Fixed a bug where players were unable to leave Purgatory after logging out while in a heroic instance
• The loot window now closes automatically after all items have been distributed
• Falling into the Astral now sends a player immediately to Purgatory and does not ask for confirmation
• Decreased the amount of server lag that occurred when using certain abilities
• Fixed a bug where an effect’s duration could not be changed after relogging while the effect was active
• Improved the visualization of knock down effects
• Heroic instances are now unlocked depending on a player’s reputation levels with the Adventurers
• Fixed a bug where daily and repeatable quests would disappear after relogging
• Fixed a bug where players would receive twice as much damage as intended after falling
• Fixed a bug where not all quest rewards that could not be equipped by a player were highlighted in red
• Added additional daily and repeatable quests to various zones
• Increased the amount of experience needed to level from 20 to 40
• Fixed a bug where a player’s chance to increase their crafting level was not displayed properly in the crafting interface
• Fixed various bugs with the chat window and added additional notifications
• Fixed various bugs with the guild interface
• Improved the visualization of various maps
• Fixed a bug with the distribution of loot when a group member was offline
• Fixed a bug where players could not collect loot in a group after another player had left the group and did not roll on the item
• Improved the combat log to show who was the cause of effects that are applied to players and NPCs
• Runes that are placed in shoulder armor or weapons now increase healing done in addition to damage dealt
• Improved the visualization of the Nezebgrad Port
• Improved the terrain in various caves
• Improved the interior of Gibberling houses
• Improved the interior of Arisen houses
• Fixed the abilities of crocodiles
• Fixed the effects of various trinkets
• Fixed a bug where the effects of the trinkets that are sold by the Combat Glory Quartermasters were cancelled by a healer’s Holy Shield
• Changed the color of many of the June ruins from orange to blue
• Added helms to Elven templars on the character creation screen
• Fixed a bug with the effects of various food items
• Adjusted the amount of health or mana restored by all food and drink items
• Fixed a bug with the accumulation of Combat Glory when a player’s level increases
• Added quests to the archetype trainers in each faction’s capital that allow players to earn an additional ruby
• Repeatable reputation quests can no longer be completed in a group
• Fixed a bug where cloaks occasionally did not display properly
• Certain items have had their armor value decreased and their other stats increased
• Players in the starting instances can no longer be invited to a group
• Monsters can no longer remove most of their negative effects by using Charge
• Many elite creatures can now see players that are invisible
• Increased the maximum health and damage dealt by high level monsters
• Fixed a bug when some bosses were as powerful as regular elite monsters
• Fixed a bug where monsters were dealing twice as much damage as intended with
certain spells
• Loot that is dropped from bosses will now disappear after 30 minutes
• Fixed a bug where the character portraits around various monsters were misplaced
• Added floating crowns above silver elites
• Added descriptions to the different tabs in the Quest Log
• A player’s skill level for a profession is now correctly displayed in Professions tab of the Character Info window
• The Item Shop can now be accessed through a hot key. The default hot key is “Y”
• The cooldown durations for context actions are now displayed
• Removed many of the messages that appear in the combat log about Combat Glory
• A trade session between two players will now be automatically cancelled if one of the players tries to reduce the number of items in a stack of items that they are trying to trade
• A trade session between two players will now be automatically cancelled if one of the players tries to move an item that they are trying to trade from one slot in their inventory to another
• Increased the amount of gold dust that can be stacked in one slot
• Improved the visualization of the icons on the tool bars
• Improved the visualization of the character portraits
• Improved the visualization of Kanian females’ undergarments
• Improved the AFK animation of Kanian females
• Improved the jump animation of Elven females
Classes
General
• Reset the talent points and rubies for the spells and abilities that were changed for healers, mages, paladins, psionicists, summoners, and wardens
Healer
• Reset all talent points and rubies
• Removed Calming Prayer and replaced its spot on the talent tree with Resurrection, while replacing Resurrection’s spot on the talent tree with Ascension
• Holy Shield now can be used while under the Fear effect
• Fixed a bug with Spiritual Focus
• Fixed a bug with Divine Infusion
• Unshakeable Faith now increases a player’s Faith as well as Perception by 3/6/9/12%
• Enlightenment now increases a player’s Intelligence by 3/6/9%
• Illuminated Mind now increases a player’s Wisdom by 3/6/9%
• Saintly Reach now has 3 ranks and increases a player’s damage dealt and healing done each time a stack of the Fanaticism effect fades
• Veracity now causes Holy Rage to decrease the movement speed of the target by 50% for 2 seconds when using a two-handed weapon in addition to its previous effects
• Divine Instincts now decreases the duration of movement impairing effects by 16/32/50% in addition to its previous effects
• The effects of Binding Light are now removed when direct damage is dealt to the target
• Entreaty can no longer remove all of a player’s threat towards a target
• Vindictive Punishment no longer drains the target’s energy
Mage
• Clarity now increases a player’s mana regeneration rate by 10
• Prismatic Lightning no longer blinds the targe
• Invisibility will now remove the effects of Potion of Invisibility, and Potion of Invisibility will now remove the effects of Invisibility
• Sanctuary will now teleport League players to the Main Square in Novograd, and will teleport Imperial players to Victory Park in Nezebgrad
• Fixed a bug where Dispel could be used on targets that were not affected by a magical effect
• Fixed a bug where Silence effects would not affect Displacement
Paladin
• Reset all talent points and rubies
• Reparation no longer works on NPCs
• Solemn Prayer is now a passive ability that restores a player’s Canons of Light over time
• The range of Penance has been reduced to 5 yards
• Fixed a bug where Marks of the Pariah could be detonated by players that did not inflict them
Psionicist
• The effects of runes now affect Mental Twins
• Fixed a bug with Mental Twin
• Fixed a bug with Telepathic Gift
• Fixed a bug with Wall of Blades
• Rapid Metabolism now increases movement speed by 10%
• Increased the cooldown duration of Superficial Trance to 3.5 minutes
• Combative Focus now grants immunity to a larger amount of control effects
Scout
• Increased the cooldown duration of Sprint to 1 minute
Summoner
• The effects of runes now affect minions
• Hot keys can now be assigned to the actions of a summoner’s minion
• Increased the mana cost of Neurotoxin by 110%
• Withering Touch now grants Neurotoxin a higher chance to inflict Putrefy on the target
• Changed Plague of Mending so that it now inflicts the Antibodies effect for 1 minute, and increased the healing done by Plague of Mending
• Advanced Genetics now decreases the duration of the Antibodies effect in addition to its previous effects
• Dark Pact can now be learned in the talent tree
• Fixed a bug where minions would not attack targets that began to attack them
• Fixed a bug with the visualization of Demonic Curse
• Fixed a bug where the status of a summoner’s minion’s Flag of War did not always match the status of the summoner’s Flag of War
Warden
• The effects of runes now affect pets
• Improved the animations of shamans’ pets
• Improved the visualization of female Kanian wardens’ pets
• Hawk’s Strike no longer drains the target’s energy
• Lightning Strike no longer removes the Silence effect inflicted by Vortex
• Lethargy Potion now puts a target to sleep, making them unable to move or use abilities, and can only be used on targets that are at full health
• A warden’s potions can no longer be sold
• Decreased the duration of the Renew effect to 10 seconds, increased the cooldown duration of Renew to 1 minute, and increased the healing done by Renew
• Fixed a bug where Renew did not affect a player’s pet if the player was not in a group
• Fixed a bug where the Static Charge effect was not removed after the target receives Lightning damage
• Fixed a bug where the status of a warden’s pet’s Flag of War did not always match the status of the warden’s Flag of War
Warrior
• Fixed a bug with the way players could learn Stalwart Defense
World
Evermeet Isle
• Improved the mechanics for the quest “Following Lok’s Trail”
• Fixed a bug where Lok the Knife could not be targeted while in his cage
• Fixed a bug where the Nameless One’s ship could be accessed before completing the quest “The Access Crystal”
Novograd
• Lowered the level requirement for the quest “Treasure!”
• Fixed a bug where the task given by the Gloomy Family could not be completed to finish the quest “Help for the League Suppliers’ Guild”
• Fixed the map marker for the quest “Meeting with the Herbalist”
• Fixed a bug where players could give flowers to a Gibberling family more than once for the quest “It’s Nice to Give”
• Fixed a bug where all quest related effects were not removed after abandoning the quest “The Initiation Ritual”
• Fixed a bug with the size of a Gibberling citizen
• Fixed the quest “Becoming a Juggernaut!”
Lightwood
• Fixed the map marker for the quest “The Missing Gibberling”
• Fixed a bug where revealing rebels for the quest “The Key Tower” revealed dead rebels
Oreshek Fortress
• Decreased the damage dealt by Gudimir Belsky’s Thunderbolt
• Fixed a bug where Break Chains did not always remove the Entangling Chains effect
Siveria
• Improved the visualization of the mountains
• Fixed a bug where players could die while completing the quest “Drifting Down the Stream”
• Changed the mechanics for the quest “Sanctifying the Graves”
• Increased the number of Bear Tribe Firestarters, but reduced their respawn rate
• The quest “Rightie’s Book” now rewards players with League Crafters’ Guild reputation instead of an Artisan’s Certificate
Frozen Frontier
• Increased the level of the monsters that appear for the quest “The Pet Bird”
• Reduced the respawn rate of Frosty Werebears
• Fixed a bug where the quest “Dragon Hunting” was not marked as a group quest
Darkwater
• The crafting skill required to gather herbs in Darkwater has been decreased to 140
Castle Blight
• Improved the spells and abilities used by the Ghost of the White Knight
• Fixed a bug where Mor’Ghuun did not respawn after a group of players was defeated
• Fixed a bug where Svetlana Valir could die to the Skeletal Adepts’ attacks
Tenebra
• Changed the mechanics for the quest “The Breeding Grounds of Darkness” so that the House de Doucer Signet Ring cannot be thrown away and is removed when a player completes the quest “Important Evidence”
Nezebgrad
• Added a new portal to the Nezebgrad Port which can be unlocked by completing the quest “Only for Captains!”
• Added a Servant of the Light to the Nezebgrad Port
• Added icons above Yaver Krutch that inform players that they can turn in and receive quests from him
• Lowered the level requirements for the quests that send players to their archetype trainers
• Moved the vendors around Yasker’s Tower
• Fixed a bug with the transition into Yasker’s Tower
• Fixed a bug where the portal near Yasker’s Tower could not be accessed from other Imperial portals
• Fixed a bug where players that died at the Nezebgrad Port did not resurrect at the nearest Stygian Passage
• Fixed the quests “For the Glory of the Shamans!” and “For the Glory of the Warriors!”
• Fixed the quest “Becoming a Judge!”
XAES
• Improved the terrain in the XAES
• Increased the range of Grym the Gloomy’s Sticky Bomb
Igsh Military District
• Added a Stygian Passage to the Imperial Training Camp
• Players will now lose the Gibberling Illusion effect after completing the quest “Meeting with the Fanatic”
• Fixed a bug where Ignat Pichalin would talk to players that were not under the Gibberling Illusion effect for the quest “Meeting with the Fanatic”
• Fixed the route of the Psychotic Patient in the Imperial Hospital
• Fixed a bug where the Yasker Hawks near Termitka Prison killed all nearby creatures
• Players will now fail the quest “The Wounded Goblin” after dying or relogging
• Changed the mechanics for the quest “The Key to the Cell”
Severny Steppe
• The quest “The Military Competition” now rewards players with Imperial Crafters’ Guild reputation instead of an Artisan’s Certificate
ZIT Headquarters
• Fixed the quest “Freedom of Movement”
Laguna Boil
• Added a heroic version of Laguna Boil
• Players now need to activate levers around the perimeter of Laguna Boil to reach Viktor Korleone
• Fixed a bug where Semer Karpol would reset if moved too far from his spawn point
• Fixed a bug where Izot the Unyielding could be summoned more than once
Wild Isles
• Fixed the map marker for the quest “Blood for the Flag”
• Fixed a bug with the Astral passenger ship that arrived at Fierce Isle
Tensess Temple
• Improved the spells and abilities used by Voisvet Belov
• Fixed the respawn mechanics of monsters in the heroic version of the Heart of Tensess Temple
Asee-Teph
• Added additional guards to the Central Imperial Camp and the Central League Camp
• Players will now receive the White Flag effect while completing the quest “The Imperial Herald” or “The League Herald”
• Fixed a bug where the Ravenous Mite for the quest “The Path to Power” did not attack hostile creatures that approached
• Fixed the map marker for the quest “Tracking Down the Witness”
• Adjusted the locations of various NPCs to alleviate conflict between players of opposite factions
• Increased the drop rate of the items needed for the quest “Alternative Methods”
Eljune
• Elena Svetlova no longer attacks League NPCs
• Fixed the quest “Summoning the Leader”
• Fixed the quest “Like a Gibberling’s Sneeze”
• Players will now fail the quest “Daydreaming” and “Sleeping Behind Enemy Lines” if the Windflower Concoction is thrown away
• Increased the drop rate of the items needed for the quest “The Martyrs’ Battle”
Coba Plateau
• Removed the time limit for the quest “The Four Anomalies”
• Changed the mechanics for the quest “The Jade Brand”
• Fixed the quest “Bon Appétit!” so that it is now easier to complete in a group
• Fixed the quest “Prejudiced Countrymen”
• Fixed the quest “The Consequences of a Ship Wreck”
• Fixed a bug where the effects of certain artifacts worked on targets immune to control effects
• New rare items now drop from various bosses
• The artifacts from Coba Plateau that inflict control effects no longer affect targets that are immune to control effects
• Added a new quartermaster for the Prospectors to the Prospectors’ Inn
Coldberg
• The monsters for the quest “Battle for the Mine” are no longer elite
Avilon
• Decreased the experience gained from killing Wormface Scouts
• Fixed a bug with the Mossy June Golems that occurred when they were controlled by summoners
• Fixed the quests “A Golem’s Everyday Toils” and “The Potential Threat” so that all group members get credit when the quests are completed in a group
Dragon Ring
• Improved the visualization of Soliskar the Wise
• Fixed the quest “Firestones”
Yazes Shard
• Changed the items sold by the Imperial Sentinels’ and League Defenders’ quartermasters
• Ilya Muromov has arrived at the League Settlement to lead raids to fight the Empire, and Bors the Bloodthirsty has arrived at the Imperial Settlement to lead raids to fight the League. If either of these NPCs is killed inside the opposite faction’s camp, all players of the opposite faction that are within 100 yards, have their Flags of War raised, and are alive will receive 500 Combat Glory
• Increased the health of multiple NPCs in the Imperial Settlement
Gorluxor’s Tower
• Added the option to get another Blood-Etched Key from Yasker or Aidenus
• Increased the amount of loot that drops from bosses
• Fixed the quests in Gorluxor’s Tower so that their objectives are completed for all players in a raid after one player completes them in the raid
• Fixed a bug where Nogrom could attack players through objects while remaining invincible
• Decreased the damage dealt by Nogrom and War’kaz the Mindreaver
• Improved the visualization of various pieces of armor and weapons that drop in Gorluxor’s Tower
• Players can now fight the third boss in Gorluxor’s Tower
• Players can now fight the third, fourth, and fifth bosses in Gorluxor’s Tower
Astral
General
• Improved the audio in the Astral
• Improved the portals to the Astral hangars
• Improved the visualization of the League Astral ships
• Improved the visualization of Astral monsters’ spells
• Improved the visualization of various devices and textures on an Astral ship
• Astral storms now inflict damage to all sides of an Astral ship
• The geography of the Astral now changes weekly
• There is now a limit on the altitude an Astral ship can reach
• Fixed a bug where more than one allod would appear in a hub
• Fixed a bug where the Astral ship training quests were unavailable after building a ship with the use of a Shipbuilder’s License
• Fixed a bug where the training ship could not be properly unsummoned from the Astral hangar
• Fixed the quest “Accelerating Construction: Eight Shipbuilder’s Runes”
• Fixed a bug with the ownership of Astral ships
• Fixed a bug where the option to complete the construction of an Astral ship was available even after the construction of the ship had been completed
• Fixed a bug where the daily quests to accelerate the construction of an Astral ship were available to players that are not constructing an Astral ship
• Fixed a bug with the placement of League Astral ships after their construction was completed
• Fixed a bug where players could remove treasure chests from an Astral ship
• Fixed a bug where players could place more treasure chests in their ship’s treasure room than intended
• Fixed a bug where a player’s interface would occasionally disappear after dying in the Astral
Devices
• Improved the icons of several devices
• Improved the mechanics of the visor
• Fixed a bug where the visor was unable to detect allods
• Fixed a bug where the device for the forward shield could not be changed
• Fixed a bug where the devices for the artilleries could not be changed
• Fixed a bug where a ship could leave the Astral hangar while the reactor was shut down
• Fixed a bug where the devices for the shields could receive damage
• Fixed a bug where the chat window was not visible when using the visor
• Fixed a bug where the cannons could be used after they were destroyed
• Added a message that notifies players when the reactor shuts down
• The artilleries now consumes less energy
Allods
• Decreased the chance for monsters from the Far Astral Allods to drop items
• Increased the amount of Astral Emanations gained from defeating various Astral demons
• Fixed the maps of various Far Astral Allods
• Fixed a bug where ships could occasionally not depart from an allod
• Fixed the quest “The Path to Freedom” in the Forgotten Temple so that Blessed Runes no longer disappear when the quest is abandoned
• Fixed the monsters in the Zaleskaya Homeland
• Fixed a bug where some monsters were dealing more damage than intended
• Fixed a bug where the boss on Mogilny Isle could be summoned more than once
• Fixed a bug where players occasionally became stuck in the ground when landing on an allod
• When a ship departs from an allod, all players remaining on the allod will now be teleported to the Astral hangar
• When a player leaves the group of the owner of an Astral ship while on an allod, they will now be teleported to the Astral hangar
• When a player leaves the group of the owner of an Astral ship while carrying a treasure chest, they will now drop the chest automatically
Professions
General
• Changed the recipes for various high level items
• Added additional recipes to all professions for items that are level 41 and 42
• The training manuals used to learn professions are now used instantly
• Fixed a bug where the quests to learn a new profession were available to players that already knew a profession
Alchemy
• Improved the visualization of the icons for the alchemical agents
• Improved the alchemy interface
• Fixed a bug with the recipe for the Ordinary Gypsy’s Potion
Leatherworking, Tailoring, and Blacksmithing
• Improved the visualization of the icons for the blacksmithing reagents
• Improved the armor crafting interface
• Fixed a bug where certain items created by blacksmiths bound when picked up
• Fixed a bug where Adamantite Plating and Impure Iron Molds were not stored in the Reagents section of a bag
Item Shop
• Some consumables that can be bought from the Item Shop now have a limited duration. After the duration runs out the item will disappear. When two identical items with different durations are placed in the same slot, both of their durations will become the average of their previous durations
• Effects from potions and elixirs from the Item Shop will no longer be canceled after a player’s death regardless of whether their patron’s blessing has been activated or not
• Increased the amount of chests from the Item Shop that can be stacked in one slot
• Permanently removed the Guiding Crystal, Blessed Rune, Holy Rune, Improved Rune Removal Pick, and Professional Rune Removal Pick from the Item Shop
• Various quests which rewarded players with items from the Item Shop have had their rewards replaced with items that can be acquired outside of the Item Shop
• Fixed a bug where the number of charges remaining on the Guiding Shard were not visible
• Fixed a bug where Astral Couriers would occasionally get stuck in a wall
• Gipat, a new zone for high level players, has been introduced. All players that reach level 40 will be sent a mysterious letter through the postal service that contains a mystical stone that can teleport a player to Gipat. The zone will contain entirely new quests and monsters for players to discover. If a player loses their mystical stone they will be able to obtain a new one from a postal worker in their faction’s capital
• The level cap for players has been increased to 42
• Removed the Fear of Death effect
• Each player’s current level of patronage has been increased by 1
• There are now five levels of patronage and the quests to gain the first four levels of patronage cannot be accelerated by buying items from the Item Shop
• Players can now gain the first level of patronage at level 4. To gain the first level of patronage League players will be able to talk to Anastasia Yahontova on Evermeet Isle, and Imperial players will be able to talk to Igor Pisakin in Nezebgrad. Players that have left Evermeet Isle without gaining the first level of patronage can talk to Marianne de Ardeur in Novograd to gain the first level of patronage
• The first level of patronage will now increase a player’s damage dealt and healing done by 50%. At the second level of patronage they will increase by 100%, at the third level of patronage they will increase by 150%, at the fourth level of patronage they will increase by 200%, and at the fifth level of patronage they will increase by 250%
• Instead of activating a player’s blessing for 30 minutes, Incense now activates a player’s blessing for 1 day
• Instead of containing 20 pieces of Incense that activate a player’s blessing for 30 minutes each, a Large Incense Kit now activates a player’s blessing for 21 days
• Players that have used a Blessed Rune or a Holy Rune to gain a higher level of patronage in the past can have them refunded by completing a special quest offered by their faction’s Guild Master. The Holy Runes and Blessed Runes can then be exchanged for Sacred Runes by speaking with special NPCs in their faction’s port. The Sacred Runes can then be used to gain the fifth level of patronage. Blessed Runes and Holy Runes can now be sold to vendors as well
• At the first level of patronage players will now learn Martyr’s Salvation which restores the player’s health and mana over 15 seconds when out of combat or 30 seconds when in combat, cancels all Mental Overload effects, and restores a paladin’s Canons of Light
• At the second level of patronage players will now learn Martyr’s Gift which instantly heals the player
• At the third level of patronage players will now learn Martyr’s Guidance which instantly restores part of the player’s mana
• At the fourth level of patronage players will now learn Martyr’s Protection which cancels all control effects and movement impairing effects
• Patronage spells can now be found in a special tab of the Spellbook
• Added mounts to the game that can be obtained by buying a special item in the Item Shop. A special stable interface has been added where all of a player’s mounts are visible. This interface can be accessed through the Character Info window or by pressing “J”. Mounts can be used to increase a player’s movement speed. Mounts also have a small amount of health and they must be damaged before a player is dismounted. Mounts can also be fed Mount Feed, which will increase their maximum health and movement speed. Giving a mount some Mount Feed will also give them experience and allow them to gradually level up. With each level gained, mounts will gain an additional bonus to their maximum health and movement speed
• Players can no longer automatically view the equipment of friendly players. Players will be able to learn the Piercing Gaze ability that allows them to view the equipment of players of the same faction as well as players of the opposite faction. The ability has six ranks and at each new rank a player will be able to view the contents of more of another player’s slots
o Rank 1 can be learned at level 8. League players can learn the ability by completing a quest from Pavel Isaev in Novograd, and Imperial players can learn the ability by completing a quest from Rysk the Crafty in Nezebgrad. At rank 1 players will be able to view the items in the chest, waist, legs, feet, and weapon slots of players of the same faction
o Rank 2 can be learned at level 15. League players can learn the ability by completing a quest from Avery de Grandeur in Siveria, and Imperial players can learn the ability by completing a quest from Elizaveta Rysina in Nezebgrad. At rank 2 players will be able to view the items in the back, shirt, hands, wrists, finger, trinket, and off-hand slots of players of the same faction
o Rank 3 can be learned at level 23. League players can learn the ability by completing a quest from Marina Jidkova in Asee-Teph, and Imperial players can learn the ability by completing a quest from Zarida the Fierce in Asee-Teph. At rank 3 players will be able to view the items in the head, neck, ears, shoulder, bag, and mount slots of players of the same faction
o Rank 4 can be learned at level 25. Players from both factions can learn the ability by completing a quest from Nomarkh Taltal in Asee-Teph. At rank 4 players will be able to view the items in the chest, waist, legs, feet, and weapon slots of players of the opposite faction
o Rank 5 can be learned at level 27. Players from both factions can learn the ability by completing a quest from Charles de Pluie in Eljune. At rank 5 players will be able to view the items in the back, shirt, hands, wrists, finger, trinket, and off-hand slots of players of the opposite faction
o Rank 6 can be learned at level 29. Players from both factions can learn the ability by completing a quest from Yaver Qar in Coba Plateau. At rank 6 players will be able to view the items in the head, neck, ears, shoulder, bag, and mount slots of players of the opposite faction
• Tep has spread a curse across Sarnaut that has led to the corruption of many items, causing their stats to become inverted. The bodies of powerful bosses as well as treasure chests frequently carry these cursed items in addition to their typical amount of regular items. Items that are worn by players also have a small chance of being cursed upon the player’s death. Tep’s Curse only affects rare, epic, and legendary items, and can be removed with special Scrolls of Purification that can be obtained from the Item Shop. Players can also buy a special Holy Charm that protects their items from being cursed each time they die. For additional information about the cursed items, players should visit their faction’s Keeper of Secrets
• Portal Keepers now require players to complete a special quest before they are allowed to access a new portal for the first time. Players must help the Portal Keepers feed the local Portal Guardian with the power of various slain creatures before subduing the Portal Guardian themselves
• Members from all different factions have informally joined a group of scholars known as the Anthropologists. They’ve recently been spotted in Gipat, Yazes Shard, Dragon Ring, Avilon, Coldberg, Coba Plateau, Eljune, Asee-Teph, Tenebra, Darkwater, Frozen Frontier, Siveria, the Wild Isles, the Dead Sea, the ZIT Headquarters, and Igsh Military District. Their goal is to enlighten people about the nature of their surroundings by tasking them with a number of new quests
• Runes that are inserted into equipment that is bound to a player will also become bound to a player
• Runes that are bound to a player that are inserted into equipment will cause the equipment to also become bound to a player
• The level of runes that can be inserted into a piece of armor now depend on the size of the rune slot which can be increased with Engraving Kits
• Increased the chance that runes will be broken when being removed by the regular Rune Removal Pick
• Increased the bonuses that runes give to a player when inserted into their game, and runes that are inserted into shoulder armor or weapons now increase a player’s healing done as well as their damage dealt
• The cost of Drops of Myrrh has been increased by 1000%
• The cost of reviving early from Purgatory has been decreased by 500%
• Servants of the Light no longer sell Potions of Power and Potions of Might
• Many Servants of the Light have been moved closer to Stygian Passages
• Fixed a bug where it was possible to have the Battle Lust effect without being near a War Banner
• War Banners can now only be used in the zone they were found in and will fade 1 minute after leaving the zone
• Fixed a bug where using a quest item on NPCs would raise a player’s Flag of War
• Removed audio when a player selects or deselects a target
• Added new audio to Dragon Ring, Avilon, Coldberg, Eljune, the Kingdom of Nature, Tenebra, Novograd, the ZIT Headquarters, the Dead Sea, Nezebgrad, and many of the Far Astral Allods
• Added new audio and animations to various monsters
• Improved the animations of various characters
• Improved the visualization of the Goblin Spirit
• Improved the visualization of the Servant of Tensess
• Added chat bubbles that appear over players’ heads when sending message
• Players can now invert their mouse’s Y-axis in the Settings menu
• The target of a target will now be displayed next to the target’s character portrait
• Added an additional action bar in the bottom right-hand side of the interface
• Added the ability to use player addons
• Fixed a bug where players could add players of the enemy faction to their friend list
• Fixed a bug where players were unable to leave Purgatory after logging out while in a heroic instance
• The loot window now closes automatically after all items have been distributed
• Falling into the Astral now sends a player immediately to Purgatory and does not ask for confirmation
• Decreased the amount of server lag that occurred when using certain abilities
• Fixed a bug where an effect’s duration could not be changed after relogging while the effect was active
• Improved the visualization of knock down effects
• Heroic instances are now unlocked depending on a player’s reputation levels with the Adventurers
• Fixed a bug where daily and repeatable quests would disappear after relogging
• Fixed a bug where players would receive twice as much damage as intended after falling
• Fixed a bug where not all quest rewards that could not be equipped by a player were highlighted in red
• Added additional daily and repeatable quests to various zones
• Increased the amount of experience needed to level from 20 to 40
• Fixed a bug where a player’s chance to increase their crafting level was not displayed properly in the crafting interface
• Fixed various bugs with the chat window and added additional notifications
• Fixed various bugs with the guild interface
• Improved the visualization of various maps
• Fixed a bug with the distribution of loot when a group member was offline
• Fixed a bug where players could not collect loot in a group after another player had left the group and did not roll on the item
• Improved the combat log to show who was the cause of effects that are applied to players and NPCs
• Runes that are placed in shoulder armor or weapons now increase healing done in addition to damage dealt
• Improved the visualization of the Nezebgrad Port
• Improved the terrain in various caves
• Improved the interior of Gibberling houses
• Improved the interior of Arisen houses
• Fixed the abilities of crocodiles
• Fixed the effects of various trinkets
• Fixed a bug where the effects of the trinkets that are sold by the Combat Glory Quartermasters were cancelled by a healer’s Holy Shield
• Changed the color of many of the June ruins from orange to blue
• Added helms to Elven templars on the character creation screen
• Fixed a bug with the effects of various food items
• Adjusted the amount of health or mana restored by all food and drink items
• Fixed a bug with the accumulation of Combat Glory when a player’s level increases
• Added quests to the archetype trainers in each faction’s capital that allow players to earn an additional ruby
• Repeatable reputation quests can no longer be completed in a group
• Fixed a bug where cloaks occasionally did not display properly
• Certain items have had their armor value decreased and their other stats increased
• Players in the starting instances can no longer be invited to a group
• Monsters can no longer remove most of their negative effects by using Charge
• Many elite creatures can now see players that are invisible
• Increased the maximum health and damage dealt by high level monsters
• Fixed a bug when some bosses were as powerful as regular elite monsters
• Fixed a bug where monsters were dealing twice as much damage as intended with
certain spells
• Loot that is dropped from bosses will now disappear after 30 minutes
• Fixed a bug where the character portraits around various monsters were misplaced
• Added floating crowns above silver elites
• Added descriptions to the different tabs in the Quest Log
• A player’s skill level for a profession is now correctly displayed in Professions tab of the Character Info window
• The Item Shop can now be accessed through a hot key. The default hot key is “Y”
• The cooldown durations for context actions are now displayed
• Removed many of the messages that appear in the combat log about Combat Glory
• A trade session between two players will now be automatically cancelled if one of the players tries to reduce the number of items in a stack of items that they are trying to trade
• A trade session between two players will now be automatically cancelled if one of the players tries to move an item that they are trying to trade from one slot in their inventory to another
• Increased the amount of gold dust that can be stacked in one slot
• Improved the visualization of the icons on the tool bars
• Improved the visualization of the character portraits
• Improved the visualization of Kanian females’ undergarments
• Improved the AFK animation of Kanian females
• Improved the jump animation of Elven females
Classes
General
• Reset the talent points and rubies for the spells and abilities that were changed for healers, mages, paladins, psionicists, summoners, and wardens
Healer
• Reset all talent points and rubies
• Removed Calming Prayer and replaced its spot on the talent tree with Resurrection, while replacing Resurrection’s spot on the talent tree with Ascension
• Holy Shield now can be used while under the Fear effect
• Fixed a bug with Spiritual Focus
• Fixed a bug with Divine Infusion
• Unshakeable Faith now increases a player’s Faith as well as Perception by 3/6/9/12%
• Enlightenment now increases a player’s Intelligence by 3/6/9%
• Illuminated Mind now increases a player’s Wisdom by 3/6/9%
• Saintly Reach now has 3 ranks and increases a player’s damage dealt and healing done each time a stack of the Fanaticism effect fades
• Veracity now causes Holy Rage to decrease the movement speed of the target by 50% for 2 seconds when using a two-handed weapon in addition to its previous effects
• Divine Instincts now decreases the duration of movement impairing effects by 16/32/50% in addition to its previous effects
• The effects of Binding Light are now removed when direct damage is dealt to the target
• Entreaty can no longer remove all of a player’s threat towards a target
• Vindictive Punishment no longer drains the target’s energy
Mage
• Clarity now increases a player’s mana regeneration rate by 10
• Prismatic Lightning no longer blinds the targe
• Invisibility will now remove the effects of Potion of Invisibility, and Potion of Invisibility will now remove the effects of Invisibility
• Sanctuary will now teleport League players to the Main Square in Novograd, and will teleport Imperial players to Victory Park in Nezebgrad
• Fixed a bug where Dispel could be used on targets that were not affected by a magical effect
• Fixed a bug where Silence effects would not affect Displacement
Paladin
• Reset all talent points and rubies
• Reparation no longer works on NPCs
• Solemn Prayer is now a passive ability that restores a player’s Canons of Light over time
• The range of Penance has been reduced to 5 yards
• Fixed a bug where Marks of the Pariah could be detonated by players that did not inflict them
Psionicist
• The effects of runes now affect Mental Twins
• Fixed a bug with Mental Twin
• Fixed a bug with Telepathic Gift
• Fixed a bug with Wall of Blades
• Rapid Metabolism now increases movement speed by 10%
• Increased the cooldown duration of Superficial Trance to 3.5 minutes
• Combative Focus now grants immunity to a larger amount of control effects
Scout
• Increased the cooldown duration of Sprint to 1 minute
Summoner
• The effects of runes now affect minions
• Hot keys can now be assigned to the actions of a summoner’s minion
• Increased the mana cost of Neurotoxin by 110%
• Withering Touch now grants Neurotoxin a higher chance to inflict Putrefy on the target
• Changed Plague of Mending so that it now inflicts the Antibodies effect for 1 minute, and increased the healing done by Plague of Mending
• Advanced Genetics now decreases the duration of the Antibodies effect in addition to its previous effects
• Dark Pact can now be learned in the talent tree
• Fixed a bug where minions would not attack targets that began to attack them
• Fixed a bug with the visualization of Demonic Curse
• Fixed a bug where the status of a summoner’s minion’s Flag of War did not always match the status of the summoner’s Flag of War
Warden
• The effects of runes now affect pets
• Improved the animations of shamans’ pets
• Improved the visualization of female Kanian wardens’ pets
• Hawk’s Strike no longer drains the target’s energy
• Lightning Strike no longer removes the Silence effect inflicted by Vortex
• Lethargy Potion now puts a target to sleep, making them unable to move or use abilities, and can only be used on targets that are at full health
• A warden’s potions can no longer be sold
• Decreased the duration of the Renew effect to 10 seconds, increased the cooldown duration of Renew to 1 minute, and increased the healing done by Renew
• Fixed a bug where Renew did not affect a player’s pet if the player was not in a group
• Fixed a bug where the Static Charge effect was not removed after the target receives Lightning damage
• Fixed a bug where the status of a warden’s pet’s Flag of War did not always match the status of the warden’s Flag of War
Warrior
• Fixed a bug with the way players could learn Stalwart Defense
World
Evermeet Isle
• Improved the mechanics for the quest “Following Lok’s Trail”
• Fixed a bug where Lok the Knife could not be targeted while in his cage
• Fixed a bug where the Nameless One’s ship could be accessed before completing the quest “The Access Crystal”
Novograd
• Lowered the level requirement for the quest “Treasure!”
• Fixed a bug where the task given by the Gloomy Family could not be completed to finish the quest “Help for the League Suppliers’ Guild”
• Fixed the map marker for the quest “Meeting with the Herbalist”
• Fixed a bug where players could give flowers to a Gibberling family more than once for the quest “It’s Nice to Give”
• Fixed a bug where all quest related effects were not removed after abandoning the quest “The Initiation Ritual”
• Fixed a bug with the size of a Gibberling citizen
• Fixed the quest “Becoming a Juggernaut!”
Lightwood
• Fixed the map marker for the quest “The Missing Gibberling”
• Fixed a bug where revealing rebels for the quest “The Key Tower” revealed dead rebels
Oreshek Fortress
• Decreased the damage dealt by Gudimir Belsky’s Thunderbolt
• Fixed a bug where Break Chains did not always remove the Entangling Chains effect
Siveria
• Improved the visualization of the mountains
• Fixed a bug where players could die while completing the quest “Drifting Down the Stream”
• Changed the mechanics for the quest “Sanctifying the Graves”
• Increased the number of Bear Tribe Firestarters, but reduced their respawn rate
• The quest “Rightie’s Book” now rewards players with League Crafters’ Guild reputation instead of an Artisan’s Certificate
Frozen Frontier
• Increased the level of the monsters that appear for the quest “The Pet Bird”
• Reduced the respawn rate of Frosty Werebears
• Fixed a bug where the quest “Dragon Hunting” was not marked as a group quest
Darkwater
• The crafting skill required to gather herbs in Darkwater has been decreased to 140
Castle Blight
• Improved the spells and abilities used by the Ghost of the White Knight
• Fixed a bug where Mor’Ghuun did not respawn after a group of players was defeated
• Fixed a bug where Svetlana Valir could die to the Skeletal Adepts’ attacks
Tenebra
• Changed the mechanics for the quest “The Breeding Grounds of Darkness” so that the House de Doucer Signet Ring cannot be thrown away and is removed when a player completes the quest “Important Evidence”
Nezebgrad
• Added a new portal to the Nezebgrad Port which can be unlocked by completing the quest “Only for Captains!”
• Added a Servant of the Light to the Nezebgrad Port
• Added icons above Yaver Krutch that inform players that they can turn in and receive quests from him
• Lowered the level requirements for the quests that send players to their archetype trainers
• Moved the vendors around Yasker’s Tower
• Fixed a bug with the transition into Yasker’s Tower
• Fixed a bug where the portal near Yasker’s Tower could not be accessed from other Imperial portals
• Fixed a bug where players that died at the Nezebgrad Port did not resurrect at the nearest Stygian Passage
• Fixed the quests “For the Glory of the Shamans!” and “For the Glory of the Warriors!”
• Fixed the quest “Becoming a Judge!”
XAES
• Improved the terrain in the XAES
• Increased the range of Grym the Gloomy’s Sticky Bomb
Igsh Military District
• Added a Stygian Passage to the Imperial Training Camp
• Players will now lose the Gibberling Illusion effect after completing the quest “Meeting with the Fanatic”
• Fixed a bug where Ignat Pichalin would talk to players that were not under the Gibberling Illusion effect for the quest “Meeting with the Fanatic”
• Fixed the route of the Psychotic Patient in the Imperial Hospital
• Fixed a bug where the Yasker Hawks near Termitka Prison killed all nearby creatures
• Players will now fail the quest “The Wounded Goblin” after dying or relogging
• Changed the mechanics for the quest “The Key to the Cell”
Severny Steppe
• The quest “The Military Competition” now rewards players with Imperial Crafters’ Guild reputation instead of an Artisan’s Certificate
ZIT Headquarters
• Fixed the quest “Freedom of Movement”
Laguna Boil
• Added a heroic version of Laguna Boil
• Players now need to activate levers around the perimeter of Laguna Boil to reach Viktor Korleone
• Fixed a bug where Semer Karpol would reset if moved too far from his spawn point
• Fixed a bug where Izot the Unyielding could be summoned more than once
Wild Isles
• Fixed the map marker for the quest “Blood for the Flag”
• Fixed a bug with the Astral passenger ship that arrived at Fierce Isle
Tensess Temple
• Improved the spells and abilities used by Voisvet Belov
• Fixed the respawn mechanics of monsters in the heroic version of the Heart of Tensess Temple
Asee-Teph
• Added additional guards to the Central Imperial Camp and the Central League Camp
• Players will now receive the White Flag effect while completing the quest “The Imperial Herald” or “The League Herald”
• Fixed a bug where the Ravenous Mite for the quest “The Path to Power” did not attack hostile creatures that approached
• Fixed the map marker for the quest “Tracking Down the Witness”
• Adjusted the locations of various NPCs to alleviate conflict between players of opposite factions
• Increased the drop rate of the items needed for the quest “Alternative Methods”
Eljune
• Elena Svetlova no longer attacks League NPCs
• Fixed the quest “Summoning the Leader”
• Fixed the quest “Like a Gibberling’s Sneeze”
• Players will now fail the quest “Daydreaming” and “Sleeping Behind Enemy Lines” if the Windflower Concoction is thrown away
• Increased the drop rate of the items needed for the quest “The Martyrs’ Battle”
Coba Plateau
• Removed the time limit for the quest “The Four Anomalies”
• Changed the mechanics for the quest “The Jade Brand”
• Fixed the quest “Bon Appétit!” so that it is now easier to complete in a group
• Fixed the quest “Prejudiced Countrymen”
• Fixed the quest “The Consequences of a Ship Wreck”
• Fixed a bug where the effects of certain artifacts worked on targets immune to control effects
• New rare items now drop from various bosses
• The artifacts from Coba Plateau that inflict control effects no longer affect targets that are immune to control effects
• Added a new quartermaster for the Prospectors to the Prospectors’ Inn
Coldberg
• The monsters for the quest “Battle for the Mine” are no longer elite
Avilon
• Decreased the experience gained from killing Wormface Scouts
• Fixed a bug with the Mossy June Golems that occurred when they were controlled by summoners
• Fixed the quests “A Golem’s Everyday Toils” and “The Potential Threat” so that all group members get credit when the quests are completed in a group
Dragon Ring
• Improved the visualization of Soliskar the Wise
• Fixed the quest “Firestones”
Yazes Shard
• Changed the items sold by the Imperial Sentinels’ and League Defenders’ quartermasters
• Ilya Muromov has arrived at the League Settlement to lead raids to fight the Empire, and Bors the Bloodthirsty has arrived at the Imperial Settlement to lead raids to fight the League. If either of these NPCs is killed inside the opposite faction’s camp, all players of the opposite faction that are within 100 yards, have their Flags of War raised, and are alive will receive 500 Combat Glory
• Increased the health of multiple NPCs in the Imperial Settlement
Gorluxor’s Tower
• Added the option to get another Blood-Etched Key from Yasker or Aidenus
• Increased the amount of loot that drops from bosses
• Fixed the quests in Gorluxor’s Tower so that their objectives are completed for all players in a raid after one player completes them in the raid
• Fixed a bug where Nogrom could attack players through objects while remaining invincible
• Decreased the damage dealt by Nogrom and War’kaz the Mindreaver
• Improved the visualization of various pieces of armor and weapons that drop in Gorluxor’s Tower
• Players can now fight the third boss in Gorluxor’s Tower
• Players can now fight the third, fourth, and fifth bosses in Gorluxor’s Tower
Astral
General
• Improved the audio in the Astral
• Improved the portals to the Astral hangars
• Improved the visualization of the League Astral ships
• Improved the visualization of Astral monsters’ spells
• Improved the visualization of various devices and textures on an Astral ship
• Astral storms now inflict damage to all sides of an Astral ship
• The geography of the Astral now changes weekly
• There is now a limit on the altitude an Astral ship can reach
• Fixed a bug where more than one allod would appear in a hub
• Fixed a bug where the Astral ship training quests were unavailable after building a ship with the use of a Shipbuilder’s License
• Fixed a bug where the training ship could not be properly unsummoned from the Astral hangar
• Fixed the quest “Accelerating Construction: Eight Shipbuilder’s Runes”
• Fixed a bug with the ownership of Astral ships
• Fixed a bug where the option to complete the construction of an Astral ship was available even after the construction of the ship had been completed
• Fixed a bug where the daily quests to accelerate the construction of an Astral ship were available to players that are not constructing an Astral ship
• Fixed a bug with the placement of League Astral ships after their construction was completed
• Fixed a bug where players could remove treasure chests from an Astral ship
• Fixed a bug where players could place more treasure chests in their ship’s treasure room than intended
• Fixed a bug where a player’s interface would occasionally disappear after dying in the Astral
Devices
• Improved the icons of several devices
• Improved the mechanics of the visor
• Fixed a bug where the visor was unable to detect allods
• Fixed a bug where the device for the forward shield could not be changed
• Fixed a bug where the devices for the artilleries could not be changed
• Fixed a bug where a ship could leave the Astral hangar while the reactor was shut down
• Fixed a bug where the devices for the shields could receive damage
• Fixed a bug where the chat window was not visible when using the visor
• Fixed a bug where the cannons could be used after they were destroyed
• Added a message that notifies players when the reactor shuts down
• The artilleries now consumes less energy
Allods
• Decreased the chance for monsters from the Far Astral Allods to drop items
• Increased the amount of Astral Emanations gained from defeating various Astral demons
• Fixed the maps of various Far Astral Allods
• Fixed a bug where ships could occasionally not depart from an allod
• Fixed the quest “The Path to Freedom” in the Forgotten Temple so that Blessed Runes no longer disappear when the quest is abandoned
• Fixed the monsters in the Zaleskaya Homeland
• Fixed a bug where some monsters were dealing more damage than intended
• Fixed a bug where the boss on Mogilny Isle could be summoned more than once
• Fixed a bug where players occasionally became stuck in the ground when landing on an allod
• When a ship departs from an allod, all players remaining on the allod will now be teleported to the Astral hangar
• When a player leaves the group of the owner of an Astral ship while on an allod, they will now be teleported to the Astral hangar
• When a player leaves the group of the owner of an Astral ship while carrying a treasure chest, they will now drop the chest automatically
Professions
General
• Changed the recipes for various high level items
• Added additional recipes to all professions for items that are level 41 and 42
• The training manuals used to learn professions are now used instantly
• Fixed a bug where the quests to learn a new profession were available to players that already knew a profession
Alchemy
• Improved the visualization of the icons for the alchemical agents
• Improved the alchemy interface
• Fixed a bug with the recipe for the Ordinary Gypsy’s Potion
Leatherworking, Tailoring, and Blacksmithing
• Improved the visualization of the icons for the blacksmithing reagents
• Improved the armor crafting interface
• Fixed a bug where certain items created by blacksmiths bound when picked up
• Fixed a bug where Adamantite Plating and Impure Iron Molds were not stored in the Reagents section of a bag
Item Shop
• Some consumables that can be bought from the Item Shop now have a limited duration. After the duration runs out the item will disappear. When two identical items with different durations are placed in the same slot, both of their durations will become the average of their previous durations
• Effects from potions and elixirs from the Item Shop will no longer be canceled after a player’s death regardless of whether their patron’s blessing has been activated or not
• Increased the amount of chests from the Item Shop that can be stacked in one slot
• Permanently removed the Guiding Crystal, Blessed Rune, Holy Rune, Improved Rune Removal Pick, and Professional Rune Removal Pick from the Item Shop
• Various quests which rewarded players with items from the Item Shop have had their rewards replaced with items that can be acquired outside of the Item Shop
• Fixed a bug where the number of charges remaining on the Guiding Shard were not visible
• Fixed a bug where Astral Couriers would occasionally get stuck in a wall
WoW Addons Guide - Best Addons for World of Warcraft
Most players aren't too familiar with the thousands of addons that you can download to enhance your World of Warcraft play. To fully customize your World of Warcraft experience, you can download different addons that will enhance specific areas of your game play, such as map coordinates, auctioneer addons, enchanter addons, and much more.
Before you start downloading addons though, you need to think about what you really need to customize your World of Warcraft experience. Are you looking for a guild banker addon that will help you know who needs what?
Or are you looking for an addon that will combine all your bags into one so you can see everything at once?
How about a map addon that will give you coordinates to each instance or city? Or, maybe you want one of those fun game addons that will allow you and your guildies to play chess, checkers, or even Tetris? There are literally thousands of different addons out there, and you need to make sure that you know which ones you want before you start downloading. Keep in mind that addons do take up space on your computer and can make your World of Warcraft game time lag behind.
Ok, you've made a small list of the addons that you'd like to find. You know what you need and you're ready to search the web for the perfect addons. But, where and how do you get these great addons? Have no fear, my friend, here are some of the best places to grab what you need!
World of Warcraft main site – You can find a long list of great addons that Blizzard approves of here on the main site. You can search by type and see a list of the addons and a description of what they do to help your toons out. You will find auction house addons, map coordinates, guild bank addons, and more here. This is a great way to find addons that you don't have to worry about Blizzard banning.
Curse Gaming – One of the most comprehensive addons lists on the web is on Curse Gaming. Everything that you could possibly want for your toons, including chess and other games that you can play with other WoWers is here. Broken down by category, and then listed by name, you will find ratings for each addon from players who have downloaded it and used it.
Curse Gaming is the best place to find addons for everything you can possibly think of, from auction house addons to enchanter's helpers to in WoW games to addons that will combine all your bags into one. There are so many addons here that it might actually be hard to figure out which ones you truly want.
WorldOfWar.net – Yet another great place to find wonderful addons that will help you improve everything about your toon, guild, and quests. You can find the latest addons here, and the site does a great job of ensuring that all the addons are the latest editions and will work with new patches that Blizzard has put out for the game. You'll find a complete breakdown of all the great things that each addon does for your toons, as well as how to set it up and instructions on using the addon. You can't go wrong with this site as they provide so much information that your brain will be on overload.
There are hundreds of addon sites on the web today and if you don't find what you are looking for with these sites, you can continue to search out some of the other addon sites. Remember that there are both new and old versions of most addons, and you want to make sure that you have the most up-to-date versions to ensure that they work properly with World of Warcraft's patches that are put out each week.
There are also some addons that Blizzard doesn't like, as they consider some of them cheating, and they will ban your account for these. Most of the addon sites will tell you up front if Blizzard doesn't like these, since it doesn't do them or their site any good to get your account banned. So, if a site tells you that an addon isn't liked by Blizzard, it's best not to download it.
Also, last but not least you must pay attention to the site where you are downloading your addons from since some players make addons or implement code into an existing addon that is used to steal your account. It is recommended that you always do a virus scan with any file you download not just WoW addons. Better safe than sorry! With that said you will be fine downloading from the above sites since these sites are authority sites but it never hurts to scan a file just in case.
If you have a guide that you have written and you would like to see it on this website please feel free to drop me an e-mail at webmaster (at) freewarcraftguides.com to get it listed on this site.
Before you start downloading addons though, you need to think about what you really need to customize your World of Warcraft experience. Are you looking for a guild banker addon that will help you know who needs what?
Or are you looking for an addon that will combine all your bags into one so you can see everything at once?
How about a map addon that will give you coordinates to each instance or city? Or, maybe you want one of those fun game addons that will allow you and your guildies to play chess, checkers, or even Tetris? There are literally thousands of different addons out there, and you need to make sure that you know which ones you want before you start downloading. Keep in mind that addons do take up space on your computer and can make your World of Warcraft game time lag behind.
Ok, you've made a small list of the addons that you'd like to find. You know what you need and you're ready to search the web for the perfect addons. But, where and how do you get these great addons? Have no fear, my friend, here are some of the best places to grab what you need!
World of Warcraft main site – You can find a long list of great addons that Blizzard approves of here on the main site. You can search by type and see a list of the addons and a description of what they do to help your toons out. You will find auction house addons, map coordinates, guild bank addons, and more here. This is a great way to find addons that you don't have to worry about Blizzard banning.
Curse Gaming – One of the most comprehensive addons lists on the web is on Curse Gaming. Everything that you could possibly want for your toons, including chess and other games that you can play with other WoWers is here. Broken down by category, and then listed by name, you will find ratings for each addon from players who have downloaded it and used it.
Curse Gaming is the best place to find addons for everything you can possibly think of, from auction house addons to enchanter's helpers to in WoW games to addons that will combine all your bags into one. There are so many addons here that it might actually be hard to figure out which ones you truly want.
WorldOfWar.net – Yet another great place to find wonderful addons that will help you improve everything about your toon, guild, and quests. You can find the latest addons here, and the site does a great job of ensuring that all the addons are the latest editions and will work with new patches that Blizzard has put out for the game. You'll find a complete breakdown of all the great things that each addon does for your toons, as well as how to set it up and instructions on using the addon. You can't go wrong with this site as they provide so much information that your brain will be on overload.
There are hundreds of addon sites on the web today and if you don't find what you are looking for with these sites, you can continue to search out some of the other addon sites. Remember that there are both new and old versions of most addons, and you want to make sure that you have the most up-to-date versions to ensure that they work properly with World of Warcraft's patches that are put out each week.
There are also some addons that Blizzard doesn't like, as they consider some of them cheating, and they will ban your account for these. Most of the addon sites will tell you up front if Blizzard doesn't like these, since it doesn't do them or their site any good to get your account banned. So, if a site tells you that an addon isn't liked by Blizzard, it's best not to download it.
Also, last but not least you must pay attention to the site where you are downloading your addons from since some players make addons or implement code into an existing addon that is used to steal your account. It is recommended that you always do a virus scan with any file you download not just WoW addons. Better safe than sorry! With that said you will be fine downloading from the above sites since these sites are authority sites but it never hurts to scan a file just in case.
If you have a guide that you have written and you would like to see it on this website please feel free to drop me an e-mail at webmaster (at) freewarcraftguides.com to get it listed on this site.
World of Warcraft Private Server Guide
This guide is very helpful if you have ever wondered how people get to play World of Warcraft on a private server. Doing this will can also let you play as a GM if you know the person hosting the private server. I just found this on the internet and I have not tried it. Also, I am not responsible for the information contained in this guide and use at your own risk. With that said...here is the guide!
Have you ever wondered how you could solo MC or BWL? How about have a godly character that nothing can defeat? So... Now that I've caught your attention, I will explain how to connect to one of many WoW private servers!
1. Rename your World of Warcraft folder to anything else, for example wowow, something you won't forget is your World of Warcraft folder. For Windows users you'll find the folder "World of Warcraft" in C:\Program Files.
2. Install the World of Warcraft (again). The installer will ask you where you want to place World of Warcraft. The default is installed into C:\Program Files\World of Warcraft, but instead rename it to C:\Program Files\PrivateServerWoW (or anything else). Also, don't have it send an icon to the desktop.
3. Once you've installed World of Warcraft, DO NOT connect to the server!!! If you do this, WoW will update your game version to 1.9.0, and we don't want this! Instead, download the 1.8.0 full patch. you can download it here: FileFront
4. Run the 1.8.0 installation files and have it be installed to the Wow Private Server folder. (If it doesn't let you choose where to install it, it will automatically install in your private server folder).
5. This part is semi-optional. Just depends on if you want to have the Ahn-Qiraj stuff available in the Private Server. If you want to connect to a 1.9.0 hack server, you can download the 1.9.0 EMU patch (this is NOT the same as Blizzard's and using Blizzard's 1.9.0 will result in not being able to connect to the private server.) You can download the 1.9.0 emu patch HERE. Install the patch into your Private WoW server folder.
6. If you installed the 1.9.0 emu hack, go to your WoW private server folder and then inside the folder go to DATA, then to DBFilesClient. in the DBFilesClient folder DELETE the item "Spell.dbc." If you don't delete this, WoW will NOT work. However if you didn't install the 1.9.0 emu hack, you won't have to delete anything.
7. Now on to finding a private server to connect to. I find most of my servers at http://wowstatus.net/serverlist.php but you can find them elsewhere by doing a search. There, you'll find a list of private servers. If you want to play on a server with high XP rates and gold/item rates, choose a funserver (under the XP rate column). Click on the server's name to go to the info page. You can only play on servers that have 1.8.0, 1.8.1, 1.8.2, or 1.9.0 hack (which is really almost all servers).
8. To play on the server, you must make an account. Now click on the Account Signup page to register for that particular server. Most register sites will look like a login screen. Just type your desired username and password to sign up!
9. Once you're signed up for that particular server, you'll need to find the server's address. Go back to the server's info page, and you'll find the server's address In the row labeled "Server Address" (duh ).
10. Once you've found the server address, go back to your WoW Private Server Folder, and find a file called "Realmlist.wtf" It's in the regular WoW private server folder, NOT in the WTF folder. Click on the Realmlist.wtf to open it. For most, it will ask you what program you want to open it with. For window's users, choose notepad. Once opened you'll see, [ set realmlist us.logon.worldofwarcraft.com ] or [ set realmlist eu.logon.worldofwarcraft.com ] depending on which version you play. Now change the address to the private server you chose. (for example [ set realmlist xxx.xxx.xxx ]) Once you've done that, SAVE the file!
11. Now in the private server folder, click on the WoW icon (or WoW190 if you installed the 1.9.0 hack) and you're on! Login as usual! (you can play on 1.9.0 hack servers with just 1.8.0... but you wont be able to access the new stuff).
Things you should know before playing...
1. You CAN'T connect to any private servers by simply just altering your usual WoW realmlist.wtf file.
2. A lot of servers will have high latency! Heck, they're just FREE servers set up by regular people.
3. When you login to the server and you get connected...or even to the select character page, and you then you automatically get disconnected...it means the SERVER IS FULL. Just keep trying to reconnect until you get through.
4. Every 10-60 min, the server will do a "World Save." When that happens, you will lag for about 10 sec. Nothing to worry about, though!
Cool Stuff
1. A lot of good servers will have a level cap of 255! Yes...lvl 255!
2. Most servers have high MP and HP regen!
3. Some servers, any class/race can wield any weapon/armor!
4. If you're nice to a GM, they may transport you to the famous, GM Island .
5. Some servers have custom mounts! For example you can ride a hyppogrif, gryphon, wyvern, or even a dragon! (Normally requires being nice to GMs to get the dragon ).
6. Some servers have custom armors/weapons. On one server I play, I duel wield 2 swords that do 9,999 dps....EACH. (major MC pwnage).
7. Most servers have NPC venders for epic quality items for less than 10g each.
8. For those who aren't interested in pwning high lvl mobs that'd take an entire raid in normal WoW, try out classes you've always wanted to mess around with. On high xp servers, you can get to 60 within 30 min - an hour.
9. Most of the time, gold is plentiful! Or if gold isn't... mobs will always drop SEVERAL uncommon/common/epic depending on mob level.
10. If you notice you're not getting a TON of xp from killing mobs... do quests... some servers have uber high quest reward xp.
Have you ever wondered how you could solo MC or BWL? How about have a godly character that nothing can defeat? So... Now that I've caught your attention, I will explain how to connect to one of many WoW private servers!
1. Rename your World of Warcraft folder to anything else, for example wowow, something you won't forget is your World of Warcraft folder. For Windows users you'll find the folder "World of Warcraft" in C:\Program Files.
2. Install the World of Warcraft (again). The installer will ask you where you want to place World of Warcraft. The default is installed into C:\Program Files\World of Warcraft, but instead rename it to C:\Program Files\PrivateServerWoW (or anything else). Also, don't have it send an icon to the desktop.
3. Once you've installed World of Warcraft, DO NOT connect to the server!!! If you do this, WoW will update your game version to 1.9.0, and we don't want this! Instead, download the 1.8.0 full patch. you can download it here: FileFront
4. Run the 1.8.0 installation files and have it be installed to the Wow Private Server folder. (If it doesn't let you choose where to install it, it will automatically install in your private server folder).
5. This part is semi-optional. Just depends on if you want to have the Ahn-Qiraj stuff available in the Private Server. If you want to connect to a 1.9.0 hack server, you can download the 1.9.0 EMU patch (this is NOT the same as Blizzard's and using Blizzard's 1.9.0 will result in not being able to connect to the private server.) You can download the 1.9.0 emu patch HERE. Install the patch into your Private WoW server folder.
6. If you installed the 1.9.0 emu hack, go to your WoW private server folder and then inside the folder go to DATA, then to DBFilesClient. in the DBFilesClient folder DELETE the item "Spell.dbc." If you don't delete this, WoW will NOT work. However if you didn't install the 1.9.0 emu hack, you won't have to delete anything.
7. Now on to finding a private server to connect to. I find most of my servers at http://wowstatus.net/serverlist.php but you can find them elsewhere by doing a search. There, you'll find a list of private servers. If you want to play on a server with high XP rates and gold/item rates, choose a funserver (under the XP rate column). Click on the server's name to go to the info page. You can only play on servers that have 1.8.0, 1.8.1, 1.8.2, or 1.9.0 hack (which is really almost all servers).
8. To play on the server, you must make an account. Now click on the Account Signup page to register for that particular server. Most register sites will look like a login screen. Just type your desired username and password to sign up!
9. Once you're signed up for that particular server, you'll need to find the server's address. Go back to the server's info page, and you'll find the server's address In the row labeled "Server Address" (duh ).
10. Once you've found the server address, go back to your WoW Private Server Folder, and find a file called "Realmlist.wtf" It's in the regular WoW private server folder, NOT in the WTF folder. Click on the Realmlist.wtf to open it. For most, it will ask you what program you want to open it with. For window's users, choose notepad. Once opened you'll see, [ set realmlist us.logon.worldofwarcraft.com ] or [ set realmlist eu.logon.worldofwarcraft.com ] depending on which version you play. Now change the address to the private server you chose. (for example [ set realmlist xxx.xxx.xxx ]) Once you've done that, SAVE the file!
11. Now in the private server folder, click on the WoW icon (or WoW190 if you installed the 1.9.0 hack) and you're on! Login as usual! (you can play on 1.9.0 hack servers with just 1.8.0... but you wont be able to access the new stuff).
Things you should know before playing...
1. You CAN'T connect to any private servers by simply just altering your usual WoW realmlist.wtf file.
2. A lot of servers will have high latency! Heck, they're just FREE servers set up by regular people.
3. When you login to the server and you get connected...or even to the select character page, and you then you automatically get disconnected...it means the SERVER IS FULL. Just keep trying to reconnect until you get through.
4. Every 10-60 min, the server will do a "World Save." When that happens, you will lag for about 10 sec. Nothing to worry about, though!
Cool Stuff
1. A lot of good servers will have a level cap of 255! Yes...lvl 255!
2. Most servers have high MP and HP regen!
3. Some servers, any class/race can wield any weapon/armor!
4. If you're nice to a GM, they may transport you to the famous, GM Island .
5. Some servers have custom mounts! For example you can ride a hyppogrif, gryphon, wyvern, or even a dragon! (Normally requires being nice to GMs to get the dragon ).
6. Some servers have custom armors/weapons. On one server I play, I duel wield 2 swords that do 9,999 dps....EACH. (major MC pwnage).
7. Most servers have NPC venders for epic quality items for less than 10g each.
8. For those who aren't interested in pwning high lvl mobs that'd take an entire raid in normal WoW, try out classes you've always wanted to mess around with. On high xp servers, you can get to 60 within 30 min - an hour.
9. Most of the time, gold is plentiful! Or if gold isn't... mobs will always drop SEVERAL uncommon/common/epic depending on mob level.
10. If you notice you're not getting a TON of xp from killing mobs... do quests... some servers have uber high quest reward xp.