THE HERALD

Welcome to the last Grab Bag of the year!  Don’t worry though, the Grab Bag will return in the New Year 🙂

Just a note to remind people about our official DAoC Twitch stream Saturday night! Join us for a bird’s eye view of the frontiers, good chat, and of course our giveaways 🙂 This Saturday’s stream is a special giveaway stream as we’ll be giving away the following (in no particular order):

• 30 Charge 50% RP Bonus Potion
• Max Character Boost
• Name Respec
• 3 Month Game Timecode
• Race Respec

Do not miss this!! It’s also the last stream before the holiday break 🙂
Prizes are limited to one win per person. The stream starts approx 9:45PM GMT / 4:45PM EST with the first giveaway starting at 10PM GMT/ 5PM EST!

Thanks, as always, to everyone for your questions! You can submit any questions relating to current development plans, to request clarification on basic game mechanic questions, or questions on community issues through the Grab Bag Submission form. For any other feedback or suggestions please use our feedback form.

Continue on to the questions! 

Can you provide more context and insight into the goal of the new Protection Obelisk? It doesn’t seem that effective in defending lord rooms.

Certainly and we’ve loved seeing the feedback roll in on it so far, please keep it coming!

First, the vision and goal of the Protection Obelisk is primarily to protect the inner keep’s roof and oil levels during a siege, prior to the inner keep doors going down. When the obelisk is up, it will be much harder for attackers to lock down those areas and prevent defenders from taking the fight to the courtyard (or at least, attacking the attackers in the courtyard).

Second, we realize that the obelisk’s placement means that once the inner door goes down, the keep’s lord room and roof areas are not likely to be protected for long. This is intended in part because the lord room having such a huge benefit for the actual lord room defense would swing the balance heavily in favor of defending realms. Additionally, we hope to see more focus around the first floor of the keep and surrounding balconies as attackers push inside and focus on the obelisk.

Last, future keep upgrades will look at other “problem” areas in keep sieges to make them more dynamic and strategic. Perhaps one or more of those will focus specifically on the lord room once the inner door is down!

Hello, I understand that a weapon’s condition affects melee damage, affects a staff’s power consumption, and affects an instrument’s songs/chants (as in chants may start dropping out randomly or may miss a tick). In what way does a weapon’s condition affect healing?

Weapon condition does not affect healing.

Can you clarify the difference in how keep bonus is awarded based on if you’re an attacker or defender, and what the cap is for each side? Also why is there a cap at all?

Defenders earn 2x contribution rewards over attackers, but only when successfully defending a keep. During keep captures, both attackers and defenders earn the same amount of rewards.

There is a cap on the rewards, but the cap only applies to the base amount of RPs earned, with bonuses allowing the cap to be exceeded. The cap is determined by how much realm points a character is worth. A character worth 4,000 realm points (when killed) has a base contribution reward cap of 40,000 realm points. If the character has 50% realm point bonus active, they could earn up to 60,000 total realm points.

For a full refresher and explanation on the system, please see below:

From the 1.121 Patch Notes:

• Bonus RPs will now be earned every time a player (or their group) earns RPs (through kills/rezzes only) within a keep or tower’s region that is currently under siege.
  • A keep or tower’s region is defined by the “you enter/leave <outpost name>” messages.
  • A keep or tower becomes under siege when it has the “flame” icon on the /realmwar map. Bonus RPs will not be earned until the keep goes under siege.
  • The bonus RPs will take into account kills made by the player’s group and will be placed into an individual contribution pool for that player as follows:
    • 50% of RPs earned through kills/rezzes at a keep will be added to a player’s individual contribution pool
    • 20% of RPs earned through kills/rezzes at a tower will be added to a player’s individual contribution pool
  • For example:
    • If Player A earns 1,000 RPs over the course of a keep siege (through kills/rezzes only) they will receive 500 RPs when that keep is taken or successfully defended.
    • If Player B earned 10,000 RPs over the course of the same keep siege, they will earn 5,000 RPs.
    • If Player C arrives just as the keep is taken or defended and earned 0 RPs within the keep’s immediate region prior to that, they will receive no bonus RPs.
    • If Player D earns 1,000 RPs over the course of a tower siege, they will receive 200 bonus RPs when that tower is taken or successfully defended.
  • So long as players are within 8,000 in–game units of the outpost when it is taken or defended, they will be rewarded.
    • Again, contribution is only earned within the immediate outpost region but awarded as long as the player is still within 8000 in–game units.
    • Players that leave the 8,000 in–game unit radius will have their contribution totals saved for 10 minutes before their accumulated bonus RPs are lost.
  • Players will be capped at earning 10x their individual character’s realm–point value.
    • This means a player worth 2000 RPs for a solo kill will be able to earn up to 20,000 RPs from this new reward system. In other words, if that player is able to earn more than 40,000 RPs at a keep siege, they will only get 20,000 bonus RPs instead of 50% of the amount over 40,000.
      • RP bonus items, spells, and zone/region bonuses will allow players to achieve values over this cap.
    • Ruined keeps and towers will not be part of this new reward system.
      • Ruined outposts will no longer grant any bonus RPs when taken or defended.

From the 1.124 Patch Notes:

• The keep contribution bonus multiplier has been doubled for defenders only. Attacking forces will still receive the normal reward.
  • Please note that this doubled version of the contribution bonus will only apply on successful keep defenses and not on keep captures. Both attackers and defenders will get normal realm points when a keep is captured still. This is something that we’ll be monitoring and adjusting down the road, if necessary.

Do melee absorption spells benefit from buff bonus?

No, no absorption spells benefit from buff bonus. Only stat-based buffs like Armor Factor, Strength, Dexterity, Constitution, etc. benefit from them.

Hello, Crocodile Tear Ring affects each realm’s main speed class (bard, skald, minstrel) and listed casters. Seems imbalanced that both of Hib and Alb’s speed classes are able to benefit from CTR’s aura, whereas Mid Healers can’t benefit from it. For casters that can use CTR, like Theurgist, does CTR affect other songs/chants like pulsing bladeturn?

The Crocodile Tear Ring’s Radiant Aura level 10 ability only works for Bards, Minstrels, and Skalds. List casters do not receive the benefit of the level 10 ability and so Theurgist or Sorcerer chants are group-only just like a Healer’s or Runemaster’s. No realm has access to area-of-effect pulsing bladeturn.

Don’t forget to get your feathery friend, snowman, and yule hat! 🙂

Enjoy the holidays and see you in the frontier! 
 

• Realm Point, experience, and crafting bonuses are now live!
• Bounty points are yours if you can once more assist the surly Festival Steward and the friendly Cargomaster!
• Celebrate Midwinter in style with our new cosmetic offerings!
• The Frozen Medal of Honor and Frozen Cloaks of Midwinter are once again available!
• Battleground Presents are there to be gathered and are now uncapped!
• The Frozen Cavern instance makes its return!
• The Traveling Merchants have set out their wares!
• The Twelve Days of Midwinter gifts are being wrapped!
• Enjoy a stroll through housing to see the wreath and candle-adorned doors and windows backlighting the lovely decorations and layouts of your fellow realm-mates!

The Midwinter celebrations will start today and run until January 12th, 2021.
The 12 days of Midwinter event will begin on Monday, December 21st!

Read on for more details!

Realm Bonuses

Please note: These bonuses only affect Veteran accounts.

• 50% bonus to RP gain from RvR kills
  • This bonus applies to all RvR zones, including battlegrounds.
• 50% bonus to normal XP gain in all classic and shrouded isles zones and dungeons

• 50% bonus to normal XP gain in all classic and shrouded isles zones and dungeons
• 50% bonus to normal RP gain in the capital cities

• 40% Bonus to Crafting Speed
• 20% Bonus to Crafting Skill Gain

• 20% Bonus to Crafting Speed
• 10% Bonus to Crafting Skill Gain
   

Mithril Shop Update

 

Our Event Shop is back for the season with cool items!
 

• Get into the spirit of the season with our Yule Hat!
• Check out Merlof, your new frosty waddling friend!
• Complete the Roaming with Friends quest for a feathery surprise!

Note: these items are seasonal and will no longer be purchasable once the Midwinter event ends (but will still be usable if you have them!)

Midwinter Festival Event

The days grow short, a chill is in the air, and warm fires glow in our homes. The Midwinter Festival has come once again to the Realms! Visit the festival grounds to take part in the festivities and challenges.

• Level 50 characters can complete the following quest for the duration of the event:
  • Visit your realm’s Cargomaster at the Caer Benowyc, Bledmeer Faste, or Dun Crauchon docks to obtain the repeatable ‘[Midwinter] Roll On’ quest!
• New vanity pets and a stylish new Yuletide hat are now available in the Event Shop in each realm’s capital city!
  • Celebrate Midwinter in style with the Yuletide hat!
  • Melt your heart with Merlof’s goofy gait!
  • Nothing can beat a trusty owl to guide you and none’s wiser than Athena!
    • Players who complete the [Daily] Roaming with Friends quest just once from now until the end of Midwinter Festival will earn this wise companion for free!

 

Olibar, the Midwinter Tomte, will be paying frequent visits to Castle Sauvage, Svasud Faste, and Druim Ligen seeking assistance. He seems to have lost some Midwinter presents throughout the battlegrounds. Speak to him if you wish to assist him. Players on Gaheris between the levels of 35 to 49 can speak to him to receive a special Frontier Gift Retrieval quest instead.

• Olibar’s Gift Retrieval quests can now be done an unlimited amount of times!

Santa Nicholas, Lucia of the Light, and Jack Frost will arrive with gifts for the people of the realms, but there’s been a bit of a crisis: their presents were hijacked and are now in the possession of dangerous enemies.  They will offer the Saving Midwinter quest to all adventurers level 48 and above. Save Midwinter and earn a Frozen Cloak of Midwinter and a Frozen Medal of Honor! Visit them at the Winter Villages outside of Ludlow, Ardee, and Vasudheim.

In Albion, Clara sets up a giant tree at the festival tents. Speak with her for information on obtaining an appropriately-sized one for your own home or yard. Nearby, Sister Samantha is collecting toys for the children of Albion. She offers some fine holiday greenery as a reward to those generous souls who answer her call.

In Midgard, Kevin somehow manages to decorate a tree all for himself. Ask him about it and he may give you a few pointers regarding your own arboreal home decorating. The Gythja of Frigg is taking donations of toys from passers-by and granting them wreaths and garlands in return.

In Hibernia, the rather small elf Noelle brings her tree to the festival grounds. She will help you start your own holiday tradition if you want one of your own. Matron Elleweh is looking for assistance in gathering gifts for the children of Hibernia, with a promise of some festive decorations in return.

The Trinkets for Tots quest is available for all levels.

The Midwinter Tree quests start at level 35, however rumor has it that there may be a more advanced challenge to follow for those of level 48 and up.

• Venture to the Frozen Cavern and test yourself against the chill… and its cunning inhabitant: Jack Frost!
• Visit Njord in the following locations to enter the instance of your choice:
  • Albion: near Merlin’s Tower in Camelot
  • Midgard: near the Burial Grounds in Jordheim
  • Hibernia: near the Chamber of Magic in Tir na Nog
• Two modes exist for this instance: Normal and Challenging
  • The Normal mode has a chance to drop 1 of the following rewards:
    • Frozen chestpieces
    • Frozen and other mythirians
    • Infernal sleeves
    • Darkness Falls jewelry
    • Supremacy, celerity, or omni-regen potions
  • The Challenging mode has a chance to drop 1 of the following rewards:
    • Frozen weapons
    • Frozen chestpieces
    • Frozen mythirians only
    • Darkness Falls jewelry
    • Supremacy, celerity, or omni-regen potions
    • In addition to having a chance at the weapons, the chance at the mythirians and darkness falls jewelry is much higher. The chest piece chance is the same in both modes.
• Loot no longer drops directly from Jack Frost, instead a loot chest is spawned when he is defeated.
  • Players can interact with the chest and receive 1 guaranteed reward per day but can still participate in the instance as many times as desired.
  • This chest will despawn after 20 seconds, so be sure to grab your loot quickly!

Traveling Merchants

 

Players can find the merchants at the below locations. Happy Shopping!

In Albion: Just outside of gates of Castle Sauvage in Camelot Hills
In Midgard: Just outside of Svasud Faste in the Vale of Mularn
In Hibernia: Just outside of Druim Ligen in Connacht

Twelve Days of Midwinter

 

On the first day of Midwinter, Broadsword gave to me…
 

• Login to the game and visit the following NPCs to receive a special reward each day!
  • Albion: Santa Nicholas in Castle Sauvage
  • Midgard: Kris Kringle in Svasud Faste
  • Hibernia: Daidi na Nollag in Druim Ligen
• Speak with the above NPCs to reveal your reward for each day.
  • Each day’s reward will be revealed around 5:30 AM EST / 10:30 AM GMT and last the remainder of that day.
  • If you miss a day, you will be able to catch up and receive the missed rewards by visiting the NPC on subsequent days.
    • This means if you simply login on the twelfth day, you’ll receive all 12 rewards!
      • Make sure you have room in your inventory!
• These rewards are limited to level 50, Veteran (subscribed) account characters and can only be obtained once per character.
• This event will run from Monday, December 21st, 2020 for the next twelve days, with the last day being January 1st, 2021!

Midwinter celebrations will start today and run until January 12th, 2021.
The 12 days of Midwinter event will begin on Monday, December 21st!

A Happy Midwinter to all from the Dark Age of Camelot team, and we’ll see you in the Frontiers!

Welcome to the penultimate Grab Bag of the year!

Our November newsletter went out recently and included a peak at what changes and updates we’re working on! If you’re not signed up to get the newsletter every month in your inbox, sign up here now! 

Speaking of coming to the end of the year (and what a year!), our last Saturday Dev Giveaway stream of the year will be a giveaway extravaganza, with many prizes up for grabs! Make sure you tune in to our official DAoC Twitch channel on December 19th for that, and throw a follow to the channel so you can get notifications on when we’re live 🙂 More details on that will follow in our final Grab Bag of the year on December 18th.

Thanks, as always, to everyone for your questions! You can submit any questions relating to current development plans, to request clarification on basic game mechanic questions, or questions on community issues through the Grab Bag Submission form. For any other feedback or suggestions please use our feedback form.

Onwards to the questions! 

Odd question but im getting diff stories…the towers/keeps in the bg’s…do they count toward DF ownership?

No, only keeps and towers in the Frontier count towards Darkness Falls ownership.

Bonedancer set gear, what does it actually do now?  My Suppressive Buffer delves for 19% ABS, the set gear says it goes from 10% to 17% with the gear.  Does this 7% buff translate over to the new ABS buff or is it effectively broken right now?  Thanks.

After double-checking our previous changes and patch notes, this looks like an oversight. The level 41 version of the Suppressive Buffer baseline ability should still be 10% not 19%. The level 30 version of the spell is 5% and all other similar absorption buffs on other classes remain set to 5% and 10%. This fix is now live and the set’s effect should once again increase it from 10% to 17%.

Do different mezzes from different levels or classes have different immunities? Can you get mezzed by one type/class and then mezzed by another type of mez seconds later?

All mesmerization effects are identical. If you are immune to one type of mez, you are immune to all of them.

Hi, I would like to know exactly how say “Mythical Physical Defense 2” work.
Is it
(2% Crush + 2% Slash + 2% Thrust)
or
(2% Crush + 2% Slash + 2% Thrust + 2% Crush cap increase + 2% Slash cap increase  + 2% Thrust cap increase)?

Mythical Physical Defense grants the resists and resist cap. Please note that the character attribute page does not correctly show the resist cap increase but the extra resists do correctly affect damage dealt to the character.

Since Endless Conquest was released, the EC FAQ was produced but doesn’t mention scripting or multiboxing. The last Producers Letter concerning scripting/multiboxing was https://darkageofcamelot.com/article/producers-letter-all-about-cheating in 2016. Can we get an update that specifically clarifies the Broadsword policy on scripting/multiboxing with Endless Conquest accounts? Thanks

As mentioned in the Producer’s letter, free accounts (previously referred to as ‘trial’) are not permitted to run “macro-groups” anywhere, including PvE zones. Everything else remains the same as stated in that Producer’s Letter.

Why is the Thane axe and sword weaponskill lower then hammer skill is?

Thanes follow in the footsteps of the god of lightning, Thor, whose favored weapon is a hammer. It’s also why a Thane’s iconic area-of-effect damage spell heavily features hammers!

Don’t forget! Midwinter Event starts December 17th, with Midwinter gifts due December 21st! 🙂
Enjoy the weekend, all 🙂