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Well the topic of this developer diary is a naughty word—the H word—H
****** - er… hacking. It’s something we at Mythic don’t often talk
about openly, but we do take very seriously. It’s a very interesting
subject that I’d love to talk in-depth about; it has many challenges
and curiosities that make for an interesting discussion. I get a sense
of joy when I know we’ve ruined a hacker’s day. Unfortunately,
“fighting the good fight” is very cloak-and-daggers stuff, going back
and forth, with the hackers and cheaters—so, to talk about it in great
detail also gives information to the very people we’re attempting to
thwart. Here’s my best shot at showing you a glimpse behind the
curtain about how we handle hacking and cheaters without giving away
too many of our secrets!
Greetings!
At 3:00PM EDT Dark Crag will be brought offline for immediate maintenance. We apologize for this inconvenience and will work to have the servers back online as quickly as possible.
Thank you!
The Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning team will be attending
the Baltimore Games Day on May 9, at the Baltimore Convention Center in
Baltimore, Maryland. The doors open at 10:00 AM EDT and close at 5:00 PM EDT. Come experience new Tomb Kings content before
anyone else, get exclusive in-game items, and possibly even score some
great prizes!Attendees will also have a chance to participate in a WAR dev team Q&A session, so come ready with your questions!
For more details, including what we’ll be giving away, check out the event info page here! And be sure to check out the Baltimore Games Day coverage at the sites below!
Greetings!
We have the following Hot Fixes for you going into this weekend:
General Changes & Bug Fixes
- Fixed an issue that could in some cases prevent players from interacting with the supply crates associated with the Beyond the Sands Live Event.
- Fixed an issue where players who had completed all 12 Live Event tasks for Beyond the Sands were only receiving credit for completing 10 tasks. Please speak to your Event Herald in The Inevitable City or Altdorf to correct this issue and receive credit for the two remaining tasks.
Content
Quests
- Beyond the Sands, Step 3: Fixed an issue that was preventing players from getting credit for the “Defend the Depot” condition.
- Beyond the Sands, Chapter 3: Players who have slain the Bone Giant will now be able to summon the Liche Priest by speaking to the Depot Master.
- Trail of Bones, Chapter 3: Tionas Frostwalker once again offers this quest on the Dark Crag server.
Items
- CORRECTION: Invader PQ loot bags include only one Invader Crest as a loot choice, and not two Invader crests, as was erroneously stated in the v1.2.1 patch notes.
- Obliterator Gloves: These items will now drop from enemy players in Tier 2 Realm vs. Realm combat.
- Devastator Gloves: These items will now drop from enemy players in Tier 3 Realm vs. Realm combat.
- Annihilator Gloves: These items will now drop from enemy players in Tier 4 Realm vs. Realm combat.
- Conqueror Gloves: These items will now drop from Renown Rank 35 or higher enemy players in all Realm vs. Realm areas.
- Invader Gloves: These items will now drop from Renown Rank 50 or higher enemy players in all Realm vs. Realm areas.
- Warlord Gloves: These items will now drop from Renown Rank 60 or higher enemy players in all Realm vs. Realm areas.
- Sovereign Accessories: These items will now drop from Renown Rank 70 or higher enemy players in all Realm vs. Realm areas.
- Decimator Boots: The drop rate of this item from Tier 1 enemy players has been increased.
- Obliterator Boots and Gloves: The drop rate of these items from Tier 2 enemy players has been increased.
- Devastator Boots and Gloves: The drop rate of these items from Tier 3 enemy players has been increased.
- Annihilator Boots and Gloves: The drop rate of these items from Tier 4 enemy players has been increased.
Greetings!
Here’s this afternoon’s batch of Hot Fixes:
General Changes & Bug Fixes
- Fixed an issue that was causing the Beyond the Sands Live Event not to be active in Avelorn on the Dark Crag server.
Capital Cities
- Fixed an issue that would sometimes cause the guild tavern doors to appear to be open.
Combat and Careers
General
- There will now only be a single confirmation box when multiple players attempt to resurrect you.
Content
General
- Lost Vale: The Circles of Pain and the Circle of Pleasure will only affect players standing within the visual effect during the N’kari, Keeper of Secrets encounter.
Quests
- Trail of Bones: Witch Hunters who did not receive their cloak reward for completing this quest can now speak to Garek Hammershield in the Altdorf War Quarters to receive their reward.
- Trail of Bones: The reward for Warrior Priests has been renamed to Heavy Funerary Battlecloak
- Trail of Bones: The reward for Bright Wizards has been renamed to Heavy Funerary Keymantle
- Trail of Bones: The reward for Knights of the Blazing Sun has been renamed to Heavy Funerary Warmantle
- Ow t’ Steam Stunties: This quest will now correctly step for players planting the Greenskin Banner in the Mound of Dirt.
Public Quests
- Fallen Kings: The Liche Priest will now be hostile toward Order players after Destruction fails an attempt. Similarly, if Order won the first stage of the PQ in Thunder Mountain, the Liche Priest will become hostile toward Destruction players.
The race to the Land of the Dead has begun, as the forces of Order and
Destruction vie for the valuable resources to fuel their expeditions and build an airship.
Join the effort by speaking to Garek Hammershield in Altdorf’s War
Quarters or Nebesh Painson in The Inevitable City’s Fate’s Edge.The Beyond the Sands Live Event runs from April 20th through April
27th (at 9:00 AM EDT); don’t miss your chance to earn a special new Land of the
Dead-themed Title, Trophy, and exclusive item! Be sure to check out the Beyond the Sands Live Event page and last week’s Beyond the Sands Grab Bag for more details!
Status: Maintenance Complete!
Greetings!
We will be bringing all North American and Oceanic servers offline this morning for Game Update 1.2.1. North American servers will be brought offline at 7:00 AM EDT with Oceanic servers following shortly thereafter at 9:00 AM EDT. At this time we anticipate all North American Servers to be back online no later than 1:00 PM EDT, Oceanic by 3:00 PM EDT.
Be sure to check the Herald for the full Game Update 1.2.1 article, featuring the Update Highlights and a link to the full patch notes.
As always, thanks to our players for their continued support!
Update - 12:00 PM EDT: All Oceanic servers are now back online.
Update - 11:20 AM EDT: All North American servers are now back online.
Update - 11:10 AM EDT: The following servers are now back online: Badlands, Dark Crag, Gorfang, Iron Rock, Ironfist, Magnus, Monolith, Ostermark, Phoenix Throne, Praag, Skull Throne, Volkmar, and Vortex.Update - 9:05 AM EDT: All Oceanic servers are now offline for Game Update 1.2.1.
Update - 7:05 AM EDT: All North American servers are now offline for Game Update 1.2.1.
The Squig Herder is an often-overlooked career, which is not surprising considering their size! In greenskin society, authority and pecking order is largely proportional to one’s body weight. Lacking the strength of their Orc cousins and the brainz of their Shaman brethren, Squig Herders are forced to rely on their innate cunning and sneakiness to get by.
Greetings!
We have the following Hot Fix for you today:
Realm vs. Realm
- In an effort to improve client stability in Fortress sieges we have slightly lowered the population cap for these regions when the campaign has advanced to this stage.
Status: Maintenance Completed
Greetings!
At 8:30 AM EDT we will be bringing down Dark Crag for
server maintenance . We anticipate the server will be back online by
11:30 AM EDT. We apologize for the short notice. As always, we thank
you for your patience and understanding.
Keep checking back here for updates.Update: 9:30 AM EDT - Dark Crag is now back online.
Greetings!
The Public Test Server is now open for your testing enjoyment! We’re pleased to introduce game update 1.2.1 which include several new ORvR features, improved UI functionality, Career Balancing and as always, multiple bug fixes.
For information on how to transfer your characters over to the Public Test Server please read here.
Please be sure to check out the Public Test Forum for all of the latest news about the happenings on the PTS.
In addition to all of these exciting changes and new features, we will once again be hosting developer lead large scale Open Realm vs. Realm tests on the Public Test server, the first of which will be taking place, tomorrow, April 2nd starting at 8:00 PM EDT. Please keep your eyes on the Herald for more information regarding this test. We will also be hosting an event on April 7th starting at 8:00 PM EDT to test the new Keep Upgrade/Attacker Ordnance system. More information will be available on the Herald about this test in the coming days.For a full listing of the 1.2.1 Public Test Notes and Highlights, please follow the jump.
We’ll see you on the PTS!
Update 5:20 PM EDT - Added the following note under Warrior Priests:
Cleansing Power: This tactic has been changed. It will now cause Purify to remove a Curse or hex from everyone in the target’s group.
Two blog posts in as many days… I better check my temperature after I finish this
In my haste yesterday to write about the upcoming keep upgrade system I missed what is probably the best idea GOA have had yet… The Wildcard System
In a nutshell for us EU players (how weird is that for me to be able to write about something thats for us EU players) they have granted 3 wild cards to every account, these wild cards are the remedy to that age old mmo situation when you log into your forums and see the post entitled “Guys, I did something really stupid” they act as an instant remedy to a variety of calamities, like errors in transfering your character to another server… a guild master moving an entire guild to the wrong server, buying things you shouldnt have, or selecting influnce rewards that you didnt mean to, play one of your wild cards and GoA will fix it, no questions asked.
I think this policy is brilliant, although it could be expanded to cover a few more areas, such as mistakingly deleting things, like items or heaven forbid characters, Nice Job GOA!!!
Greetings!
Another round of our Free Character Transfers has started! Players of the following servers are now able to login to the Mythic Account Center and begin transfer of their characters. Please be sure to read all instructions carefully! There are cases where you may lose items if you do not properly prepare your character for transfer. This also applies to the Guild Transfer functionality.
Source Servers To Destination Servers
Phoenix Throne (RP)
Ostermark Vortex (Core)Server Population Bonuses - All Destination Servers
To help welcome players to their new homes and make the transfers easier for everyone, all players on the Destination servers above will receive an extra 20% experience and renown for limited time!
Players with a character conflict of having characters on opposing realms on Ostermark and Phoenix Throne need not worry. For a limited time, players with character conflicts will be able to transfer characters off of the Phoenix Throne (RP) server to the Vortex (Core) server. This will be available until Friday, April 3rd 6:00 PM EDT.
Enjoy your new homes…WAAAGH!!!
Free Character Transfer FAQ
Q: Why did my Character Transfer not go through when the website said my Character Transfer Request was complete?
A: Please check the Transfer Status and click on “More Info” for an explanation. This may be due to the following reasons:
- The character was logged on at the same time the service attempted a transfer.
- You already have a character of an opposing realm on the destination server. If this is the case, please take advantage of our free transfer to the Vortex server for character conflicts.
- Your character may have a duplicate name as another character on the destination server.
Q: I did not get prompted to fill in a new name for my character, but the website says it failed due to the name already in use.
A: Players must log in their character on the Destination server in order for the name to be updated, so it may be another player has moved a character with the same name over, but has not yet logged into that character on the new server.
Q: Some of my characters aren’t showing up as an option to Transfer but I know they are on the server.
A: This may be because the character has not been logged on for a very long time. Please physically log the character into the game, and then try your transfer again.
Q: How will I know when my character transfer is complete?
A: You can either view your Transfer Status on the Account Management website https://accounts.eamythic.com/ or you may wait for an email confirmation. An email will be sent to the address provided in your account center to provide the status of your transfer automatically.
So, you’ve got a recently claimed Keep and want to make sure it’s well
defended? The Keep Upgrade system is coming in 1.2.1 to make that a reality!
Upgrades come in several varieties, ranging from utility upgrades, such
as vault access, to upgrading your guards to champion level, and more!
Wait! Read Chapter Two first!
The orcs and goblins charged toward Halgrin, roaring and squealing, as
the powder cart trundled quickly away behind him. He braced for the
impact, bellowing his defiance, but just as the first orc swung its
rusty cleaver at him, something dropped down over his arm and head from
behind, then pulled tight and jerked him off his feet.
Halgrin squawked with surprise and outrage as he was dragged across the
rough ground on his back, shredding his naked skin. He looked down and
saw a rope pulled tight across his chest and under his right arm.
Status: Maintenance completed!
Greetings!
On 3/25/09 at 7:00AM EDT all North American servers will be brought offline for maintenance. Oceanic servers will follow at 9:00AM EDT. We anticipate all servers to be back online by 1:00PM EDT.
Please Note: After the servers are back online some guilds may need to reset their tax and tithe settings to their desired amounts.
As always be sure to keep an eye on the Herald for continued news and information during the update, thank you!
Update - 9:45AM EDT: All servers are now online, maintenance is completed. Welcome back!
Update - 9:30AM EDT: All North American servers are now back online, Oceanic servers are still undergoing maintenance.
Update - 9:00AM EDT: All Oceanic servers are now offline at this time.Update - 7:00AM EDT: All North American servers are now offline as we begin the maintenance.
It was on the last day of our scouting mission that we found the Ogre band. The scene that we stout and hardy rangers witnessed made our worst nightmares seem the mere stuff of a drunken beardling’s campfire stories—men of the Empire slaughtered indiscriminately, their mounts torn apart in scattered mounds of gore, and at the center of this grim circle, the Ogres feasted on the armored Knights.
At first we thought they were using the thick armor to better serve up the flesh of the fallen, cracking it open like shells to suck out the meat, but no . . . they were devouring the very steel itself! I saw their leader, his hunger not sated by the feast, set upon one of his wounded fellows. He seemed to consider the monstrous screams of the other Ogre as an added flavor to complete his meal.
It was then, as we witnessed this gruesome scene that we were discovered and added to the Ogre menu. I would never have escaped were it not for the fact that the beasts were slowed by the high alcohol levels in my fellow rangers’ blood. Thank Grungi for the Dwarf ale in our battle rations. Beware the relentless gluttony of the Ogre!
- Bandur Stoneshot, Ranger
Greetings!
We’re currently working to correct an issue that can cause Trial account players to be incorrectly notified that they must upgrade their account when attempting to login to the game during server downtime. If you receive this message but your 10 day trial has not yet expired this is most likely the case.
We realize this message can be confusing and apologize for any inconvenience it has caused, we will have it resolved as soon as possible. If you receive this message and the servers are not offline please check the status of your account in the Mythic Account Center to check the status of your trial and contact Billing/Technical support if you require further assistance.
As always the Herald is your source for news and information during downtimes or anytime. Thank you!
Greetings!
Update: 6:05 PM EDT - Added two additional hot fixes under General Changes.
We have the following hot fixes for you implemented during the 3/21/2009 downtime:
General Changes & Bug Fixes
- The following crafting potions have been re-enabled:
- Curator Tonic
- Green Thumb Tonic
- Reclaimer Tonic
- An issue was fixed that caused many dungeon encounter AoE abilities to have much a larger radii than intended. The area of these abilities has been reduced and will provide players with an overall better gaming experience in dungeons. This fix only affects creature and object AoE abilities.
- Fixed an issue that could cause sound and visual effects to drop out after playing for a long period of time.
Capital Cities
- Altdorf: Fixed an issue that was causing some female NPCs to appear unclothed and without hair.
Combat and Careers
General
Archmage
- Cleansing Light: Fixed an issue that was preventing this ability from working properly.
Choppa
- Lotsa Choppin’: This ability will no longer ignore Line of Sight.
Disciple
- Patch Wounds: Fixed an issue that was preventing this ability from working properly.
Rune Priest
- Rune of Cleansing: Fixed an issue that was preventing this ability from working properly.
Shaman
- Greener ‘n Cleaner: Fixed an issue that was preventing this ability from working properly.
Slayer
- Flurry: This ability will no longer ignore Line of Sight.
Sorcerer
- Infernal Gift: This Tactic will now provide the correct bonus to groupmates.
Warrior Priest
- Purify: Fixed an issue that was preventing this ability from working properly.
Witch Elf
- Enveloping Shadows: This Tactic will now correctly give players a damage absorb when leaving stealth.
Zealot
- Glimpse of Chaos: Fixed an issue that was preventing this ability from working properly.
Content
- Festering Maggots and Whitefire Parasite in Lost Vale no longer grant experience.
Realm vs. Realm
- Fixed an issue that could sometimes cause Fortress and Keep Lords to display erratic behavior, abandoning their guards and fighting alone on the ground floor of the Keep or Fortress. Lords will now remain on the appropriate floor with their guards during the entire battle.
- Destruction NPCs will no longer spawn in the Maw Fortress after the Lord has been defeated.
- Fixed an issue that could, in rare cases, cause a Scenario with imbalanced sides not to shut down.
User Interface
- Fixed an issue relating to guild permissions that was causing low-level guilds to not display the guild vault properly. The guild vault will now be available at guild rank 3, and will no longer be accessible prior to the reward being unlocked.
- Guild taxes and tithes are now available at guild rank 4.
Greetings!
The Realm War character profile pages are currently down. We are working to resolve this issue as quickly as possible. Thank you for your patience!