Hai 2u!
The development team has been working hard to finish a bug fix patch for the Closed Beta server this month, so a whole bunch of newly invited players get new bugs to find.
In the 18.7 branch, things are progressing nicely and we have spent some time making a few systems changes. The largest change we have made to the systems so far is removing Swimming and Map Navigation. Everyone will get all Rubi-Ka maps and all map upgrades, which will make navigation a lot easier for new players. Swim speed will be determined by the Run Speed skill that we plan to rename to Movement Speed.
I have moved all init debuffs into the same nanoline and ensured there is an actual difference between breakable and unbreakable init debuffs for Doctors. The init debuff change will allow us to create more difficult and engaging content in the future without giving npcs 100% resistance to init debuffs.
Meta-Physicist pet nanos will now cast higher level pets as your nanoskills improve, which reduces the amount of pet nanos needed. As a general rule in regards to the Systems Changes, we are trying to get the amount of nano programs down to a manageable number. The scale with nanoskill change will be the new design direction in future nano updates. So you can expect other pet nanos, nukes, heals and the like to get similar updates.
Keepers will get a new resurrection sickness removal nano and their health and nano regain aura will scale with the Bio. Metam. skill.
We have also reworked a few general perk lines to prevent players from leaving the NPE area prematurely.
The Cartographer perk line will enable Shadowlands maps and the amount of perk actions from this line has been reduced to one. This perk action will scale down the recharge timer as you add more perks to this line.
The Explorer perk line has gotten the Adventuring from the Cartographer perk line and most of the perk actions in this line have also been removed leaving one action that also scales. The Explorer perk line will add 100 points in the Regain XP Percentage stat.
The Training Seminar perk line will get all the XP Modifier from the Explorer perk line ending up at a total of 22 % at max perk level.
Adventurer morphs will no longer be possible to cast on other players and Adventurers have gotten a few special nano programs to enhance each morph, making them more situational and engaging to play.
Shades will get a Spirit Siphon Nano program that they can steal monster spirits with on both Rubi-Ka and in the Shadowlands.
All of these changes are already on the beta server or will be patched out the with the next beta patch. We will certainly make more systems changes before the 18.7 patch hits the live dimension. If you want access to the closed beta to test the Systems Changes, NPE or the New Engine, dont forget to sign up in your account pages.
I also want to inform you that we will enable the Valentines content from the 10th to the 24th of February. The content will be the same as last year, and you will be able to purchase exclusive valentines items from the Funcom Shop.
Thats it from me this month. Have fun!
- Genele