Patch Notes/2012-05-31

12.05.31 Build 2300.201205220319.1.0

Patch Notes for Build 2300.201205220319.1.0

'Issue 23: Where Shadows Lie - May 31, 2012 [Live]'

COMBINED

NIGHT WARD ZONE

Night Ward is a pseudo dimension created by a small portion of the Netherworld overlapping the world of the living in First Ward. As such, it closely mirrors Praetoria’s First Ward geographically, but that is where the similarities end. The zone is packed with the spirits of the dead who are trapped between worlds. Night Ward gives both the living and the dead an opportunity to view things from the other side of the veil.

• Combat new villain groups, including the Animus Arcana, the Black Knights, the Drudges and the Spirit Stalkers, as well as new additions to existing villain groups, including the Apparitions and Talons of Vengeance.

Night Ward Missions

Contacts

• Fireball of the Arcane Council is looking for someone to help with tasks that they need accomplished. You can find him deep within the Midnight Mansion. His missions will educate players on the life cycle of an Animus Arcana, the living spells of Night Ward.
• Trilogy is a sentient set of books who just want to tell a classic story of good vs. evil, and make you the protagonist. Unfortunately the books don't care in what order you read them. Trilogy can be found deep within the Midnight Mansion.
• Atherton Cromwell is a Drudge within Night Ward who will offer players repeatable missions to help the Drudges with some nefarious acts.
• Sir Lionel is a Black Knight within Night Ward who will offer players repeatable missions to help keep the peace within Night Ward.
• Mistress Maria of the Carnival of Light has been authorized by Vanessa DeVore to release Katie Douglas from the Seer Network. She would like you to be the first face Katie sees. Her story arc is the 1st arc of 5 for Night Ward.
• Montague Castanella of the Midnight Masters requires your aid in battling the mystical forces of Night Ward. His story arc is the 2nd arc of 5 for Night Ward.
• Ward is the Overspell of the Midnight Mansion and needs your help in protecting his spell children, the Animus Arcana. His story arc is the 3rd arc of 5 for Night Ward.
• Sir Bedwyr is an exiled Black Knight who seeks your aid in combating dark forces intent on destroying the Black Knights. His story arc is the 4th arc of 5 for Night Ward.
• The Magician is a mysterious arcanist who seeks your assistance in doing battle with an ancient adversary of his. His story arc is the final arc of 5 for Night Ward.

Incarnate Arc, "The Emperor's Sword"

• Players who have unlocked their Alpha Slot will be able to access Belladonna Vetrano as a contact for a new Incarnate arc. This arc takes place after the events of Dark Astoria and Night Ward.

NEW MICRO-TRANSACTIONS

Signature Stories, Volume 2: Pandora's Box; Episode 1

PLEASE NOTE: Signature Stories, Volume 2: Pandora's Box - Episode 1 will not be available immediately upon release of Issue 23: Where Shadows Lie. We apologize for the delay and thank you for your patience!

Heroes and Villains are being supercharged with new powers from an unknown source. Heroes team up with the Freedom Phalanx to investigate, while Villains lay the groundwork for an organization that can rival the power of Arachnos. These arcs are free to VIP subscribers.

Chainmail Armor and Leather Armor

PLEASE NOTE: These Costume Pieces will not be available for purchase on the Paragon Market immediately upon release of Issue 23: Where Shadows Lie. However, they are available for VIP Players.

This new costume set is free to VIP subscribers with the launch of Issue 23.

This set contains the following pieces within the following sections:

• HEAD:
  • Chainmail Coif Shiny/Dull: Hoods
• UPPER BODY:
  • Chest (Chainmail Shiny/Dull and Leather Armor): Tight, Shirts, Robes, Sleeveless Robes, Jackets, Sleeveless Jackets, Trench Coat, Robotic Arm 1, Robotic Arm 2, Robotic Arm 3, Unique Top, and Bolero for Fem
  • Gloves (Chainmail Shiny/Dull and Leather Armor): All categories and can be found under the smooth/bare glove sub category.
• LOWER BODY:
  • Pants (Chainmail Shiny/Dull and Leather Armor): Tight, Kilts/Skirts/Shorts
  • Boots (Chainmail Shiny/Dull and Leather Armor): All categories. Chainmail can be found under the smooth and flat sub categories. Leather Armor is on the main category (next to rubber boots)

PARAGON REWARDS

• Super Packs are now available in the Tier 9 VIP section.
• Removed the text in the PRP that states that the player must be Tier 2 to be able to join and chat in a super group as this functionality is now present in Tier 1.

Mecha Armor

Available within the Tier 9 VIP section of the Paragon Rewards Program the Mecha Armor set allows characters to create a new, hi-tech, armored look.

This set contains the following pieces available in the following sections:

• Box 1 Contains:
  • Chest Detail 1, Chest Detail 2
  • Chest (Armored)
  • Gloves (Armored, Tight, Sleeveless Robes, Sleeveless Jackets, Baggy, Robotic Arm 1-3)
  • Legs (Armored)
  • Belt (Armored, Tight, Robes/Sleeveless, Jackets/Sleeveless, Baggy, Robotic Arm 1-3)
  • Boots (Armored, Tight, Kilts, Skirts, Tucked)
  • Helmet (Full Helmet)
• Box 2 Contains:
  • Shoulder 1 (Armored, Tight, Robes/Sleeveless, Jackets/Sleeveless, Baggy, Robotic Arm 1-3)
  • Shoulder 2 (Armored, Tight, Robes/Sleeveless, Jackets/Sleeveless, Baggy, Robotic Arm 1-3)
  • Glove Variant 1 (Armored, Tight, Robes/Sleeveless, Jackets/Sleeveless, Baggy, Robotic Arm 1-3)
  • Glove Variant 2 (Armored, Tight, Robes/Sleeveless, Jackets/Sleeveless, Baggy, Robotic Arm 1-3)
  • Helmet Detail 1 (Full Helmet)
  • Helmet Detail 2 (Full Helmet)
  • Helmet Detail 3 (Full Helmet)
  • Helmet Detail 4 (Full Helmet)
  • Shield (Shield Defense)
• Box 3 Contains:
  • Backpack 1
  • Backpack 2
  • Backpack 3
  • Sword 1 (Titan Weapons, Katana, Dual Blades, Broadsword)
  • Sword 2 (Titan Weapons, Katana, Dual Blades, Broadsword)
  • Claws (Claws)
  • Rifle (Assault Rifle, Arachnos, Beam Rifle, Pulse Rifle)
  • Pistol (Dual Pistols, Thugs)

FREE PLAYER EXPERIENCE

General

• Free players may now be invited into SuperGroups. (Free players still cannot create SuperGroups.)
• The Looking for Group chat channel has been added to the game. You may use /lfg or /looking_for_group to type into the new channel. You may also use the button with an eye symbol on it to set the default chat channel to the Looking for Group channel. This button can be found right above the text entry field. It is the second-to-last button in the list.

USER INTERFACE

General

• Corrected a bug where salvage would appear twice in the Salvage Drops info tab.
• Player Search should now list all Praetorian zones properly in the zone menu.
• When traveling to a zone physically located in a particular city, the city map should show you that zone's location in the different city. This affects Bloody Bay, Dark Astoria, Rikti War Zone, Siren's Call, Warburg, and the Praetorian zones. Traveling to zones not in any of the cities will still show you the city map for your home city.
• The Looking for Group chat channel has been added to the game. You may use /lfg or /looking_for_group to type into the new channel. You may also use the L button right above the text entry field (the second-to-last button in the list) to set the default chat channel to the Looking for Group channel.
• The error messages from the Team-up Teleporter that were using the Looking for Group channel now use the server information channel instead.
• Fixed some issues with expanding and wrapping Power Trays when the UI scale is set above or below 100%

INCARNATE POWERS

• All temporary powers used in Incarnate Trials now appear in a special alternate powers bar for players who own them and can use them.

Hybrid Incarnate Slot

The Hybrid Incarnate slot is now available! There are four new trees of powers available - Assault, Control, Melee, and Support. Each tree lends you some of the base power of the core Archetypes within City of Heroes, allowing you to broaden your character's role or further specialize with abilities that reinforce the strengths of your Archetype!

• The Assault tree gives you a chance to increase your own damage with every attack. As you climb the tree, Core abilities proc more often and increase your damage more, while Radial abilities give your damaging attacks a chance to proc extra damage.
• The Control tree gives you a chance to deal additional damage and control to controlled targets, or adds a chance to control to your damaging attacks. As you climb the tree, Core abilities improve the type of bonus damage you deal and the chance of dealing it, while Radial abilities increase the power and chance of adding control to your damaging attacks.
• The Melee tree gives you a defensive bonus for each enemy in melee combat. As you climb the tree, the types of defense provided expand, starting with a small regeneration bonus for each nearby foe and ending with a moderate regeneration, status protection, and either defense or resistance bonus for all nearby enemies. The Core tree gives you a large static amount of protection with a smaller scaling amount for each target nearby, while the Radial tree has no frontloaded component but offers defense and a taunt aura.
• The Support tree gives you and all nearby leaguemates a bonus to damage, accuracy, defense buffs and debuffs, and special effects. As you climb the tree, the strength of these bonuses increase. Core powers have double effectiveness on pets, while Radial powers have steady bonuses that are slightly higher than Core's but give pets the same values they give to players.

INCARNATE TRIALS

General

• Fixed some issues with pet aggression on Arch Villains in Incarnate Trials. Pets should no longer charge after AVs before being commanded to do so.

Magisterium Incarnate Trial

The Magisterium is an Incarnate Trial for a league of 12-24 level 50 players. Destiny and Lore slot unlocks are a prerequisite for entry. Players earn Hybrid Incarnate experience during this trial.

Praetoria’s offense has been thoroughly routed, and Emperor Cole’s regime has taken serious hits with the losses of Mother Mayhem, Antimatter, Maelstrom, and Dominatrix. Dream Doctor sends out a call to all Incarnates – the time has come to take the fight to the steps of Tyrant’s tower!

A conduit through space and time takes you to your target, but Tyrant has a final contingent of loyal followers to defend him. Praetor Sinclair has enacted a last-ditch gambit to gather an unlikely band of surprising protectors (See “The Emperor’s Sword”), while Black Swan lurks in the space between Praetoria and her pocket dimension of Shadow Earth. Fight your way through this gauntlet of opposition to reach the explosive conclusion: the final battle with Emperor Cole!

This Incarnate Trial is a knock-down drag-out final push to victory. Overcome Chimera’s motley crew, survive Black Swan’s assault, and figure out a way to sever Emperor Cole from the Well of the Furies – before he can become the Well’s one true champion!

• Fight to the Finish:
  • Defeat the last legion of Praetorian Imperial Defense Forces
  • Survive the coordinated assault of Chimera, a revived Shadowhunter, and a curse-bound Pendragon
  • Sever Tyrant’s connection to the Well of the Furies, permanently ending his threat to Primal Earth

Dilemma Diabolique

• The environmental effect within the Mot interior during the survival stage of Dilemma Diabolique will now count as a hit, interrupting Stealth powers.

TPN Campus

• The rocks thrown by protesters incited by Telepathists are now far less lethal. The damage and accuracy of this power have been significantly reduced.

INCARNATE LORE

• Prometheus features new text discussing the final assault on Tyrant and the ultimate fate of Praetoria.
• The requirements have been removed for getting Minds of Mayhem to appear as an option when telling Prometheus what the next target is.
• Completion of the Magisterium will unlock all text on Prometheus, save those sections which also require completion of the Underground.
• Prometheus will now advise players who do not qualify for any of his dialogue that they need to be level 50 VIPs with the Alpha Slot unlocked.

CHARACTER CREATION / TAILOR

• Selecting certain backpacks or auras should no longer result in the entire costume being reset.
• Fixed some clipping issues when selecting Strapped Heels with Tight Jeans
• There were two items that were both named Stocking Cap. These Stocking Caps have been renamed to Santa Cap and Knit Cap
• Folded Overguard Boots for Male characters can now choose a secondary texture.
• The female characters will no longer use the male jump animation when jumping vertically.
• The Imperial Dynasty Helmet for Male and Female characters will no longer appear to have floating feathers when viewed from behind.
• Saved Costumes with store parts can now be loaded from a file without errors.
• Fixed a bug where saved costumes could not be deleted.
• Power Customizations should now show the correct inf. costs.

SUPER GROUPS

• Fixed flickering when using Inspiration Collector in SG Bases.

POWERS

General

• Stalker Ablating Strike now properly triggers proc enhancements only on its main target.
• Kheldian Dwarf and Nova transformations now occur instantly, down from 2.07 seconds.
• Kheldian Dwarf and Nova transformations now have a 1 second recharge, up from 0 seconds.
• Fixed a bug that would cause the Lion Pet power to summon a Liger instead.
• Fixed a bug that would cause Vanity Pets to detoggle if the owner was affected by a Disorient, Hold or Sleep effect.
• Powers that decrease endurance cost of powers, like Perfection of Soul, will now have their combat attributes display Endurance Cost Discount instead of AttrEnduranceDiscount.

Team Transport Power

• Fixed a bug that would cause Vigilantes in the Rogue Isles to summon Longbow Chasers and Rogues in Paragon City to summon Arachnos Fliers. Using Team Transport in Paragon City should summon a Longbow Chaser and using it in the Rogue Isles should summon an Arachnos Flier.
• The Team Transport power's summon animation should give a better indicator of when it is actually done summoning.

Dark Miasma

• Corrected an issue with certain portions of Twilight Grasp and Howling Twilight effects did not show up in the Powers Customization UI.

Dark Assault

• The character should now properly face the targeted foe when using the Gloom Cast animation.

Darkness Control

• The eye glow effect for Possess should now properly display when used on a wisp target.

Kinetic Melee

• Fixed a large number of inconsistencies and irregularities in the short help information found in powers within this set.

Staff Fighting

Note: This change was not documented in the official Patch Notes!

• Sounds for Staff Fighting have been adjusted to be less "thunderous."

Mastermind

• Fixed an issue where Soldiers could get two copies of AR Heavy Burst if players used Equip Mercenary, then Tactical Upgrade, then Equip Mercenary.
• Fixed a bug where Mercenary Soldiers could sometimes be left with SMG Heavy Burst instead of AR Heavy Burst at high upgrade levels.
• Fixed an issue with Grave Knights where their Slash power's Defense Debuff would become less effective when Dark Empowerment was used on them.

Beast Mastery

• Howler Wolf/Feral Charge: Fixed a typo in this power's combat text that indicated that it reduced the caster's defense when it should have stated that it reduced the target's defense.
• Summon Lions/Lion's Roar: This buff should now be stackable.

Tanker

Fiery Aura/Fiery Embrace

• Fiery Melee/Scorch: Fixed a bug in Scorch that caused it to deal very slightly too much damage while Fiery Embrace is active.
• Fiery Melee/Combustion: Fixed a bug in Combustion that caused it to deal very slightly too much damage while Fiery Embrace is active.
• Martial Arts/Eagles Claw: Fixed a bug in this power that caused it to deal significantly too little damage while Fiery Embrace is active.
• Staff Fighting/Eye of the Storm: Fixed a bug in this power that caused it to deal significantly too little damage while Fiery Embrace is active.
• Staff Fighting/Sky Splitter: Fixed a bug in this power that caused it to deal significantly too little damage while Fiery Embrace is active.
• Titan Weapons/Crushing Blow: Fixed a bug that caused this power to cause too little damage while Fiery Embrace is active.

Scrapper

Kinetic Melee

• Quick Strike: Fixed a bug that caused this power to deal too little damage in PvP.
• Body Blow: Fixed a bug that caused this power to deal too little damage in PvP.
• Smashing Blow: Fixed a bug that caused this power to deal too little damage in PvP.
• Repulsing Torrent: Fixed a bug that caused this power to deal too much damage in PvP.
• Burst: Fixed a bug that caused this power to deal too much damage in PvP.
• Focused Burst: Fixed a bug that caused this power to deal too little damage in PvP.
• Concentrated Strike: Fixed a bug that caused this power to deal too much damage in PvP.

Fiery Aura/Fiery Embrace

• Claws/Focus: Fixed a bug that would cause Fiery Embrace to cause too much damage.
• Dark Melee/Siphon Life: Fixed a bug that would cause Fiery Embrace to cause too much damage.
• Dark Melee/Dark Consumption: Fixed a bug that would cause Fiery Embrace to cause too much damage.
• Martial Arts/Eagle's Claw: Fixed a bug that would cause Fiery Embrace to cause too little damage.

Blaster

• Archery: Aim no longer accepts Blaster ATO sets, as it does not deal damage.

Inspirations

• The Ultimate Inspiration now has special FX when it is used.

TASKS

Praetorian Tutorial

• Fixed an issue where players were not granted Calvin Scott or Provost Marchand after completing the tutorial.
• Fixed an issue where Reese, from the tutorial, stayed in the player's contact screen afterwards.

Freedom Tutorial

• Players choosing the villain alignment in the tutorial will automatically switch to listening to the villain zone event channel.

Maria Jenkins

• Maria Jenkin's story arc once again awards a souvenir clue upon completion.
• Maria Jenkins will now offers A Hero's Epic Part Four instead of skipping from Part 3 to Part 5.

Apex Task Force

• Fixed an issue with mini-map icons appearing in the first mission of the Apex TF.

Black Scorpion

• Arc 1 - Fixed an issue where the Paragon Protector could be killed in the mission "Find Info on Quatrexin"

Ouroboros

• Fixed a bug where flashback story arcs were available at a lower level than intended.

First Ward

Nadia

• In Nadia's mission to "Settle affairs between the Monarch and Anna" the Monarch is appropriately turning hostile and can be attacked and defeated as intended. In addition, his guards now turn friendly at the appropriate time.

Dark Astoria

Dream Doctor

• Stop Mot from Devouring the World: The Runes of Mot are now clearly visible in low graphics mode.

Heather Townshend

• Fixed an issue where players could possibly receive two reward tables from Heather Townshend's arc.

MISSION ARCHITECT

• Numerous villain groups from Issues 19 through 22 have been added to Mission Architect. These villain groups include both normal difficulty and Incarnate difficulty villains and do not require tickets to unlock. Please note that Incarnate difficulty villains cannot be used to earn Incarnate threads or XP via Mission Architect, and all trial bosses from the Incarnate groups are excluded and will not be available:
  • Normal Difficulty: The Apparitions, The Awakened, Carnival of Light, Carnival of Vengeance, Carnival of War, Citizens of First Ward, Dregs, D.U.S.T., Forlorn, Midnight Masters, Rulu-Shin, The Shepherds, Talons of Vengeance
  • Incarnate Difficulty: 5th Column, Arachnos, Banished Pantheon, Circle of Thorns, Knives of Artemis, Knives of Vengeance, Malta, Paragon Police, Imperial Strike Force, Imperial Defense Force, Praetorian Devouring Earth, Praetorian Warworks, Talons of Vengeance, Tsoo
• The Runesoldier has been added to the Praetorian Resistance villain group, which still requires tickets to unlock.
• Fixed a bug that could cause monsters to spawn at unintended levels in Mission Architect.
• Mission Archtect UI scroll bars no longer cut off the bottom few critters.
• Granite Cave layouts have been added to Mission Architect.

BADGES

General

• Revised the description of the Level 30 and Level 40 Praetorian badges to reflect the possibility that a Praetorian may not have left Praetoria to earn these levels.
• Statesman's Pal will now only be rewarded through the flashback, "A Hero's Hero"
• Positron's Pal will be awarded through running the current Maria Jenkin's arc, or the arc, "A Hero's Epic"
• Sister Psyche's Comrade will now only be rewarded by running Sister Psyche's arc through flashback
• The Task Force Commander accolade can be achieved by having either Sister Psyche's Comrade or Penelope Yin's Friend
• The version of Adamastor encountered in the Portal Corp. missions will now award the Keeper of Secrets badge.

SIGNATURE STORIES

• Statesman and Sister Psyche have been removed from the game, except for in the tutorial and in flashback missions.
• Statesman's task force is now given out by Miss Liberty.
• Sister Psyche's task force has been replaced with the new Penelope Yin Task Force in Independence Port.
  • Note that the Sister Psyche Taskforce can still be selected in the LFG queue but it will not start.
• Players can still access Sister Psyche's task force through Ouroboros.

ZONES

Inter-Dimensional Tunnel System - TUNNEL

• The Carnival of Light has opened a complex network of interdimensional portals that intertwine betewen Primal Earth and Praetoria in order to help with the evacuation of Praetoria. Concerned that this network of tunnels might grow out of control, be abused or become unstable, Arachnos and Portal Corp have stepped in to stabilize their connections in Primal Earth as well as to oversee their usage. Members of either Arachnos, Carnival of Light or Portal Corp are on hand at all access points in order to give directions to a would-be interdimensional traveller. The TUNNEL system is now open for ALL Heros and Villains (Including Rogues and Vigilantes) travelling to:
  • Heroes: Atlas Park, Imperial City, Underground Imperial, Talos Island, First Ward, Night Ward, Founder's Falls, Peregrine Island, Firebase Zulu and Dark Astoria.
  • Villains: Mercy Island, Imperial City, Underground Imperial, Cap Au Diable, First Ward, Nerva Archipelago, Night Ward, Grandville and Dark Astoria.

First Ward / Night Ward

• Archmage Hellewise is now looking for superpowered beings who have achieved Security Level 29 to explore dimensional weaknesses in First Ward's Shadowed Paths! Find her in First Ward's Survivor Compound - or explore the Shadowed Paths for yourself, and figure out how to shunt between dimensions!

Paragon City

• Adjusted PTA marquee to remove Galaxy City stop

TEAM-UP TELEPORTER

• The team-up teleporter no longer removes players from their team when they decline an event and cause the event to not start due to not having enough players. Instead, all players remain on the team, but only the players that accepted the event are placed back into the queue for events. The team leader may then requeue the entire group to get the declining players back into the event.
• Fixed a bug that would cause promoting a non-team-leader to league leader to only promote that player to team leader but not also promote that player to league leader.

NEW MAPSETS

• Talons Caves - The Talons of Vengeance have been busily converting these caverns into their lairs. But the candle-lit caverns have a darker purpose that being home to these monstrous women, they are dedicated places of worship to the All-Mother.

REWARDS

General

• All First Ward story arcs now award 7 reward merits for completion.
• Reward Merits have been added to the Spring Fling story arcs
• The Issue 22 mid-level story arcs have had their merit reward amounts increased to account for their average run-times.

LIVE EVENTS

• Halloween and Valentine tips are no longer removed from the player when they change alignments.

ENEMIES

General

• Monsters are now allowed to taunt players. Taunts from monsters will affect players in the same ways that taunts from players do.
• Critters should no longer try to revive defeated critters in separate groups.
• Fixed a bug that caused incorrect shape shifting with doppelgangers.

Kings Row

• The Paladin in Kings Row now has a limit to the number of sprockets he can summon, preventing him from completely overwhelming the zone's population if left untouched for extended periods of time.

Freedom Phalanx

• Updated Penelope Yin's pet to use a new entity with colors more consistent with her other powers