Blight Delta 177: Dragons get the hump (again)

While the majority of this patch will be welcomed with a shrug and a polite 'thank you' by the majority of players, one subject has ruffled a few feathers. To be more precise, I should say ruffled a few scales. Yup, the dragon fraternity has found some new things to moan about.

Firstly, there are items that drop from creatures such as ancient swords and antique vases that are much treasured by dragons. This is because they can be used to add to their hoard, which in turn gives them extra strength in battle.

But while these clearly valuable items are worth a mint to dragons, weirdly (especially from a reality/role playing perspective) they aren't worth diddly squat from the various vendors who litter Istaria. This is made even stranger by the fact that those same vendors' little eyes light up at even the most cruddy rubbish that you've dug out of the ground.

The only reason I can think of for making these items free of value (as they were) is balance, but then that doesn't stack up either. It's not as if dragons are lacking in power, and it's not as if dragons don't find just as many of these items as bipeds do anyway - it's just now they're worth something to everyone.

Some dragons have feared that this change will mean previous acts of generosity towards dragons (ie, giving over these items for free to passing dragons, or dragon friends) will dry up. However, I don't see this being a big issue. The fact is that while vendors didn't pay coin for them, you could still sell them to other players via a consigner. In fact, it will be interesting to see their value to vendors in comparison to what I could make via consigners - and if consigner values now rise due to the vendors taking them.

Another reason dragons have the hump about it is that dragons need a certain amount of hoard to continue on their rights of passage (RoP), which sees them grow in size and stature. This just smacks of being spoilt for too long, and has been clearly pointed out (not least by other dragons) there are plenty of hoard items to be gained simply by doing the killing you need to get to high enough level to do the RoP. The only way you wouldn't get them is by being levelled artificially, and if you're doing that your mentor will probably give you the hoard anyway.

The second point, though, seems more valid. Dragon 'evasion' is being taken down from 8 points per level to 6, meaning a loss of 200 evasion for a level 100 dragon - that's more than small change. It has been replaced by some degree with a dodge ability, but as many dragons have pointed out, they're the size of a house - dodging shouldn't really be an option. I can't see this change sticking, but we'll see.

That said, I like it when developers make a game harder - it shows rare balls in an industry that tends to pander to whiners and dumb their games down month by month until there's very little worth doing. So you may get hit more - get more friends to help you fight, or work out new tactics. See it as a challenge. Of course, I'll say this right up until they nerf my class...

Additions

• Greymane Wolves now have different trophies based on their level. Greymane Pups and Juvenile Wolves give tails, Seekers give teeth, and Alphas give Fangs. The trophy hunters in Kion and Sslanis are on the lookout for these trophies.
• Sorcerers now get Clarity II, a non-masterable ability, at level 84 that will give the target a brief immunity to stuns and mezzes (and will also remove any currently on the friendly target).
• Quest "Seeking the Path of the Fist" to Allanti the Initiate on New Trismus
• Dragon Adventurers now get the ability "Mighty Roar" which is a taunt and self-buff starting at level 14.
• Distillery Workshops are now available for construction on player plots

Changes

• Lowered the spawn rate of the Bhal'kuk Chieftain
• Selling Tier 6 Technique Components to Pawnbrokers will go down in value after a number are sold.
• Defensive Style, Power Style and Evasive Style now count as styles, not stances.
• Dragon Hoard items now have coin values.
• New Warriors, Clerics, Scouts and Mages will receive additional refurbished equipment when they are starting out. This should help their survivability a bit more.
• The odds of getting good buffs from Tier 1 trinkets is now much greater.
• Tier 1 trinkets now have a hoard and coin value.
• Avariatus' Stone of Vitality is no longer tradeable.
• Kaasha's Sigil Ring is no longer tradeable.
• Ulaven's Experimental Gift of Wisdom is no longer tradeable.
• Stuns can no longer be dispelled/cleansed (Mezzes, however, can still be cleansed/dispelled).
• Minisa the Spellcraft Trainer in Dalimond is now known as Minisa Albrath
• Ruxus are no longer aggressive and have a slower wander frequency.
• Allanti in New Trismus no longer gives out monk quests, has a much cleaned up persistent dialog tree, and is wearing less armor now.
• Menacing Presence now uses the Wing Buffet animation and does mind damage instead of crush.
• Snarl will now do greater damage and of type mind instead of crush.
• Snarl debuff now lasts 20 seconds instead of 60 seconds, but reduces to-hit on the debuffed monster by an increasing percentage (instead of a static value) beginning at 15% and going up to 55%.
• Dragon Adventurers now get the Dodge passive ability, but their evasion per level has been reduced to 6.
• Post-Delay of Determination is now half of what it was previously.
• Cloak of Thorns abilities now share a keyword.
• Cloak of Thorns is now ablative and can be removed after a damage threshold has been reached.
• Demon Skin Ablative is now known as Demonskin Armor
• Ice Barrier and Demonskin Armor now count as Damage Shields for buff conflicts.
• Nature's Path will now overwrite Swift Feet.
• Frost Ogres are now known as Ish'kuk Warriors
• Frost Pygmies are now known as Ish'kuk Gatherers
• Quests calling for Frost Pygmies and Frost Ogres have been updated to reference Ish'kuk Warriors and Gatherers. They have also been updated to reference the proper locations for these monsters.
• Updated techniques referencing Frost Ogre tech components.
• Quest "Dragon's Reach II" now calls for Forest Gruok Younglings instead of Ferocious Gruoks.
• Due to revamps and changes in monster spawns, the Attunement to Aedan quest now requires you to be at least level 20, and only wolves of rating 21 or higher will advance the quest.
• Techniques that used the Fyakki Stinger Tip now call for a Forest Skulk Fin instead.
• Cleaned up the treasure tables of the Ish'kuk
• Tweaked the Ish'kuk spawns on both Abandoned Island and Scorpion Island
• Increased the base damage of Valkor's Blood Talon
• Trials of the Gifted quest is now a linear series of quests which starts with Steward Pratt. Players must have completed Steward Pratt's tour of New Trismus quest prior to being offered the Trials of the Gifted quest. All quests are also now offered through the NPC's quest book rather than persistent dialog.
• Updated the Small Flame Beetles and Giant Flame Beetles to spawn a level range and marked the others obsolete.
• Updated the Flame Beetle (all sizes) loot drop rates.
• Updated the drop rates of beetle tables on all sizes of Fire Beetle
• Town Marshall quests for tiers 1 and 2 have undergone a revamp. They now offer a consistent amount coin for all quests of the same level range. In addition, they now offer a bit of experience when you complete the quest (with decreased experience after the 10th completion). The intention is to give players repeatable quests targeted to their level range to both direct them to the appropriate areas to gain experience and give a bit of a boost to the leveling curve.
• Ice Gnawer now only spawns at the top of the mountain in the area called Glacier Canyons, rather than throughout the Frozen Wastes.
• All level 10 dragon crafter mastery quests now use Xarinnis in Parsinia rather than starting with various NPC's around the world.
• Invisible Dyes can now be applied to Helms and Masks.

Tier 2 Revamp Fixes

• Tainted Spirits, Enraged Revenants, and Restless Shades (all dragon ghosts) now have heads and wings.
• Fixed a chat link in quest "Plundered Tombs: Locate the Tomb of Borannis"
• Fixed a broken chat link in Trienna's persistent dialog
• Quest "Hardened Scales II: Kill 20 Brighter Spider Hatchlings" is now "Hardened Scales II: Kill Dark Crawler Hatchlings"
• Fixed dependency in quest "Plundered Tombs: The Tomb of Borannis" which would make it disappear after killing the Risen Necromancer
• Fixed dependency in quest "Vandus Confederation: The Besieged Outpost III" which would make it appear to have no current journal entries
• Elm Baskets (all types) now call for materials made of Elm not Cedar
• Abietis Tor was setup to speak using the animation action instead of the talk action in the persistent dialog.
• Fixed quest "Relic Preserver: Recover Additional Artifacts" so that Khalatorin greets you instead of Jorce Amis
• Fixed quest "Central Valley: Forest Skulk Menace" to properly refer to all Forest Skulk in the Central Valley
• Fixed Forest Skulk in the Central Valley to have the proper keywords
• Quest "Anthas" will now properly delete the "Letter for Julie"
• Quest "Relic Preserver: Research the Dragon Ruins" will now work properly and refer to the proper individuals
• Chat link in quest "Relic Preserver: Learn about the Dragon Settlement"
• Chat link in quest "Relic Preserver: Recover a Memory Stone"
• Fixed the title in the Knowledge Seeker Emblem
• Warped Automatons now have the proper keywords.
• Fixed the visibility of the quest step in "The Forest Skulk Threat III"
• Fixed the visibility of the quest step in "The Forest Skulk Artifact I"
• Armor of the Watcher no longer requires a gift slot
• Tainted Spirits no longer get Gold Rage and have a much lower hoard value (15% of original value).
• Annarvis the Foul now has boosted health, damage and XP and can cast "Improved Theft of Life II"
• Enraged Revenants no longer get Gold Rage and have a much lower hoard value (25% of original value)
• Restless Shades no longer get Gold Rage and have a much lower hoard value (15% of original value)
• Tomb Scarabs have far less health now
• Quest "South March: The Essence of Research I" and "South March: The Essence of Research II" now give crafting as well as adventure XP.
• Destination pad in Sable Shores will now show up in teleport destinations as "Peninsula: Sable Shores"
• Fixed broken link in quest "The Plundered Tombs"
• Fixed broken link in both dragon and biped versions of quest "Corruption on the Battlefield II"
• Lowered the respawn time of Risen Adepts on the Chiconis Battlefield
• Quests "Relic Hunter: Recover a Memory Stone" and "Relic Preserver: Recover a Memory Stone" now use an Extra Loot trigger to ensure the Ancient Memory Stone drops as loot.
• Dragon Stone of Knowledge and the Ancient Memory Crystal can now be equipped in Armor Sockets
• Quests "South March: Essence of Research I" and "South March: Essence of Research II" can no longer be obtained by Dragons
• Lowered the respawn on Sarcophagi so they will spawn a little more often.
• Quest "Corruption of the Spirit II" now gives XP and coin reward.
• Weaker Blight Spectres are now known as Corrupted Spectres
• Quest "Earn Title: Exterminator" will no longer refer to Barvos Tan as a "her" when Barvos is clearly male.
• Spelling mistakes in quest "Earn Title: Forest Skulk Avenger" and "Earn Title: Forest Skulk Slayer"

Other Fixes

• Quest "ARoP - Ritual of Journey: Prelude" no longer refers to Narsi Tiradoc as a member of the Protectorate.
• T1 Town Marshall quests now have the proper constraints on them so they will only be offered at appropriate levels.
• Blood of the Myloc Queen now has a 10 minute recycle.
• Blighted Baubles now properly give Tier 3 instead of Tier 2 buffs.
• Sigrun's Letter parts are now stackable and sortable
• Myloc Queen Cannot Be Damaged" augmentation is no longer dispellable
• Safety II is now properly received by Sorcerers at level 40.
• Quest "Earn Title: Spider Slayer" so that it will proceed properly
• Fixed the recycle/delay modifier on The Primal Rage crystal
• Confectioners who visit the Formulatrons will not receive post-revamp formulas, not the "old" formulas.
• Applied proper constraints to quests "Healing Adept" given by Lomak the Dragon.
• Fixed the step dependencies in quest "Tooth and Claw VI"
• Priscilla the Shoulder Parrot quest now properly refers to Archbishop Tomas Agua.
• Glacier Canyon is now spelled correctly.
• All level 75 Trophy Rewards have been adjusted so that they all provide the same amount of experience.
• Fixed the Attunement: Valley of the Moon quest so that the dialog should appear without having to "re-greet" the quest giver.
• Fixed the kill counter on quest "Primal Mastery I: An Extension Of Primal Knowledge"
• Fixed the step dependencies in quest "Spiked Scales III: Kill 20 Frost Beetles"