NOTES: RIFT 1.9 In-Progress Set #2 - 5/29/12

[Amary]

The below notes are work-in-progress and are, as always, highly subject to change before reaching live shards. These notes are also in addition to/modifications of the previous 1.9-in-progress set posted here.
=

1.9 PTS In-Progress Set #2

* PTS NOTE: Conquest: Your mentor level will be cleared when entering a Conquest map. Characters cannot Mentor while in Conquest.
* PTS NOTE: Conquest: Fixed a bug where you couldn't loot player corpses.
* PTS NOTE: DPS of PvP Set 5 weapons increased to match PvE counterparts.
* PTS Note: Focus and Hit added to PvP Set weapons toned down compared to amounts of Focus and Hit on comparable tier PvE weapons.
* PTS NOTE: Increased minimum Bolstering to rank 36 for Warfronts.


GENERAL
* New overhead icons for NPCs help show what they do at a glance! These icons are optional and can be enabled/disabled via the Settings > Misc option: Show additional overhead NPC icons.


INSTANT ADVENTURE
* Instant Adventure is showing up for lower-level zones like Freemarch, Silverwood, and Gloamwood - with more on the way!
* The Instant Adventure UI has changed - it now allows you to queue for IAs in your current zone if your character meets the IA level requirement, or allows you to join 'random Instant Adventure' which uses Mentoring to set your character to the appropriate level to join IA groups throughout Telara.
* PTS NOTE: Instant Adventure for lower level zones is still WIP and some events may not be available or have all the kinks worked out yet!


SOULS

ROGUE

ASSASSIN
* Baneful Touch: Fixed a tooltip bug where tooltip indicated that this increased poison damage, when it shouldn't.

BARD
* Virtuoso: Fixed a tooltip bug where the tooltip did not indicate that the effect only works on Codas and not all Finishers.

RANGER
* Predatory Soulstone: The Attack Power buff from Predatory Soulstone should now be triggered when Shadow Fire is cast and not when Shadow Fire deals damage to the target.
* Diffuse: Fixed a bug where Diffuse was causing damage abilities with buffs (like Shadow Fire and Annihilate) to be redirected to your pet.

RIFTSTALKER
* Rift Disturbance: Fixed a tooltip bug where the tooltip indicated the ability would grant a Combo Point when it doesn't.
* Rift Barrier: Will no longer reflect damage after the absorption from Rift Guard has been consumed.


PVP/WARFRONTS
* Added Hit and Focus to PvP Set 2-5 weapons. The values should fall below comparable PvE weapons.


ZONES
* Bind-on-Pickup notoriety granting items that drop from some mobs in Gloamwood, Stonefield, Scarlet Gorge, and Droughtlands are now Common-quality items (used to be Uncommon).


DUNGEONS AND RAIDS

CADUCEUS RISE
* Rodiafel now goes underground only once at 50% health in both Master and Expert Caduceus Rise.


CRAFTING
* Apothecary: Reduced the Drakefoot Seed requirements in some Apothecary recipes. Slightly increased Drakefoot Seed drop rate.
* Fishing: Tacklebox and fishing treasure loot have been adjusted.
* Fishing: New Fishing and Survival recipes are now available!
* Turning in the Armorsmith and Weaponsmith 300-skill crafting dailies when you have both will no longer remove the Wondrous Flux needed for the second daily.


COMMANDS AND MACROS
* Ctrl-C and Ctrl-X now copy and cut text, respectively, from the chat input field.
* Chat channels now allow you to join channels on other shards within your wargroup (the shards you share Warfronts and random Expert Dungeons with). /join ChannelName@Shard to join channels across shards. Other related chat channel related commands work cross-shard as well.
* An away/AFK message entered via /afk or /dnd that is longer than 80 characters will now be shortened rather than causing your character to disconnect.


UI/SETTINGS
* Added all recurring World Event currencies to the Currency tab - Unique Snowflake, Prize Ticket, Glass Beads, Pyrite Doubloon, and 1.9 World Event currency.


CLIENT
* Improved game framerate when inventory and bank bags are opened.

[LockedOn666]

fffffirst. now to read how much nerfed mages get

EDIT: oh, untouched, weird.

[Xnon]

The below notes are work-in-progress and are, as always, highly subject to change before reaching live shards. These notes are also in addition to/modifications of the previous 1.9-in-progress set posted here.
=

1.8 PTS In-Progress Set #2

i think you meant 1.9 here

also why pvp wep hit/focus is lower?still need the same amount = pve wep are still better

[Amary]

I type 1.8 so much, BAD HABITS.

[bctrainers]

I type 1.8 so much, BAD HABITS.

Just wait when people on the forums call version 1.10, version 2.0. That's going to be quite the confusion.

[Sebb]

fffffirst. now to read how much nerfed mages get

EDIT: oh, untouched, weird.

Right after they buff VKs!

[Khelendross]

* PTS NOTE: Increased minimum Bolstering to rank 36 for Warfronts.

Yay! hopefully this will make PVP more competitive.

[Caution]

Still no decent mage changes even though mages have discussed these 6 main problems with the mage class especially in PVP for months and patch after patch...

1. High point Chloromancers fixed in PVP so they can actually efficiently keep people alive and not do insignificant splash damage topping up cleric heals
2. Decent Spell coefficient for our shields - 700 damage shield is barely worth a GCD in 1.1 nevermind 1.9 and/or give us another form of some survivability
3. Some other alternative to pyro damage, we have by far the most broken/ ineffecient souls and this problem has only increased as other classes were getting fixes and buffs while we got nothing
4. Make dots useful in some way, they do no damage and are instantly cleansed off - we all see the sabs with their uncleasable tennis balls doing huge damage
5. Mages are supposed to rely heaviest on CC for survivibility but can't because of DR, they also have less gap closes than other classes so can't keep at range...this needs to be addressed as both are very vital to mage.
6. Skills like Storm burst and charge related skills with a long setup time should do a hell of alot of damage, especially in PVP were it's close to impossible to set it up yet they hit for nothing on decent players

[Ahov]

* PTS Note: Focus and Hit added to PvP Set weapons toned down compared to amounts of Focus and Hit on comparable tier PvE weapons.

This was completely unnecessary as gearing up for raids is already RIDICULOUSLY easy. What is the point of exclusive PvPers skipping the first tier(s) of content because they have the hit/focus? How would they have any clue how to raid, let alone play PvE roles?

GENERAL
* New overhead icons for NPCs help show what they do at a glance! These icons are optional and can be enabled/disabled via the Settings > Misc option: Show additional overhead NPC icons.

Uh, for what situations will this be available? Raids as well?

CADUCEUS RISE
* Rodiafel now goes underground only once at 50% health in both Master and Expert Caduceus Rise.

Yes, yes, because having your healer stand in the middle was way too hard and required far too much planning.

[Xnon]

This was completely unnecessary as gearing up for raids is already RIDICULOUSLY easy. What is the point of exclusive PvPers skipping the first tier(s) of content because they have the hit/focus? How would they have any clue how to raid, let alone play PvE roles?

they added those cuz in pvp people with avoidance builds are so damn hard to kill without a decent amount of hit/focus not because they want pvpers to skip raid tiers...also the new ranks gear stats are less than the current ID gear,unlike HK/R8 gear,for some weird reason.

they should at least buff the weps to ID level..because atm with less wep damage and less hit/focus why bother ?

[Yamanu]

Replies in quote.

This was completely unnecessary as gearing up for raids is already RIDICULOUSLY easy. What is the point of exclusive PvPers skipping the first tier(s) of content because they have the hit/focus? How would they have any clue how to raid, let alone play PvE roles?
- They would most likely play their PvE part very well. There are those people who purely do PvP and do not aim to go end-game raiding but like to do experts which has certain requirements.

Uh, for what situations will this be available? Raids as well?
- Log onto PTS and you will notice what function it has.

Yes, yes, because having your healer stand in the middle was way too hard and required far too much planning.
- A lot of people are tier 1 / tier 2 geared today. The whole instance is basically cleared within 15-20 minutes and you complain at an encounter to make it friendlier for new/casual players that a lot of end-game raiders seem to bully because they can't do their job because nobody told them what to do? Please..

[Zoam]

should remove plaques of achievement and drop marks of ascension in dungeons now

[Ajax1114]

This was completely unnecessary as gearing up for raids is already RIDICULOUSLY easy. What is the point of exclusive PvPers skipping the first tier(s) of content because they have the hit/focus? How would they have any clue how to raid, let alone play PvE roles?

Clearly you don't PvP.

Putting hit/focus on PvP items has absolutely nothing to do with PvE content.

[Accol]

This was completely unnecessary as gearing up for raids is already RIDICULOUSLY easy. What is the point of exclusive PvPers skipping the first tier(s) of content because they have the hit/focus? How would they have any clue how to raid, let alone play PvE roles?.

If exclusive PvPers used the weapons to raid they wouldn't be exclusive PvPers. It will still be far easier for a fresh 50 to get pve weapons than get rank 40+ weapons for ID. The reason they added this wasn't to gear PvPers to be able to raid but because hit/focus is needed in pvp against some builds.

[Violacea]

i think you meant 1.9 here

also why pvp wep hit/focus is lower?still need the same amount = pve wep are still better

I am not sure why those notes are there, as I went on test and say everything at 50 per item (or 150 from a weapon setup from pvp gear). The notes are 50/50 - they don't seem to be toned down as they were not lowered from 50. But they are toned down from their equivalents (I.D. gear)...but they already were. Or maybe I am missing something major. Anywho, they are still giving pvp'ers +!50 hit/focus for a full r50 weapon set - very good level for pvping.

Only bone I have to pick is I would really hope they consider raiding some of the other core stats of the new set armor. At this point, anything but completely lateral int/str/wis/dex on the upgraded items would be okay at this point. Even if the PvE upgrades were small. The fact the stats were obviously inferior to the high end pve gear from HK and those received, from what I hear, not the most major of stat upgrades. But that is compounded with the fact that the superior stat gear was upgraded and the gear that had lower stats is making a lateral stat transition. This could be understandable if previously the pvp r40 gear stats were equals to I.D. relic gear or closer. Such is not the case. This is what makes hybrid arrangements more alluring in the pvp gearing scheme. And I am assuming your ultimate goal would be to have the BiS for pvp'ing a favor obtained item or whatever. This update is closing the gap immensely. I just think the core stats of the pvp gear should be considered, in regards to comparing it with 1.8 released raid gear and player desire from a whole ~10 - 14 ranks worth of gear upgrade. If raid gear is under control to you guys at the moment, then pvp gear should have room for growth in 1.9 as it sits considerable notches below in pure stat due to some of the pvp exclusive stats and I think it is slightly off kilter in PTS right now.

I am also willing to assume I may not know every item yet. I honestly really hope 1.9 does not come out without also upgrading PvP essences, the PvP source engine itself and the trinkets (every pvp'er cries at night because of their pvp trinket fyi ). Those are ridiculously lackluster at this current time in the game. Exploring the idea of PvP greater essences actually worth equipping would be interesting too.