servers down for lu18!!

[streetvillain]

remove those custom ui and cross ya paws they dont nerf anything good ;0

[Illusen]

Do they ever NOT nerf something?

[streetvillain]

ETA 10am PST
hehe ill. just hope its nothing too crucial

[streetvillain]

*** Headlines ***

- 'Tis the season for Frostfell time!
- Find quest givers easier with new quest indicators!
- Want to know the reward for completing a quest? No problem!
- New horses have been trained for Level 40 guilds--Mistrunners and
Nightmares!
- Subclass armor has a new look and class-tailored stats!
- Get ready to explore the new Fallen Gate!
- Summoned pets get more distinct looks!
- New enemy mastery choices at level 52!
- New EQII Expansions Reward: Receive bonus veteran reward time for owning Desert of Flames!


*** Frostfell ***

- It's Frostfell time in Norrath!
- Talk to Gardy Giftgiver in either Qeynos Harbor or West Freeport once a day for lots of fun presents! He has 15 to give you in all, including new music boxes that play your favorite EverQuest Live tunes.
- Those Gigglegibber goblins are up to no good again. Help the Frostfell Elves save Frostfell! Just talk to Pinchy Presentpeeler to start the quest.
- Celebrate the holidays by having snowball fights with all your friends.
- Buy decorations for your home from the Frostfell elves.
- The festivities commence in Qeynos Harbor and West Freeport. Look for the Frostfell tree!


*** Questing ***

- An NPC that will offer, update, or complete a quest now has an indicator above its head.
* A quill indicates that the NPC will offer you a quest.
* A book with a quill indicates that the NPC will update one of your quests.
* A book indicates that the NPC will complete one of your quests.
* NPCs that offer a quest 10 or more levels above or below your adventure level will not display these indicators.
* You can turn off these indicators in the Options menu (User Interface -> Name and Chat Bubble -> NPC Overhead Quest Icons).
- Zone maps now display a circle where there is a nearby NPC that offers, updates, or completes a quest.
* NPCs that give a quest are indicated by an open yellow circle.
* NPCs that update or complete quests are indicated by a filled yellow circle.
* Mousing over these icons will show you the name of the NPC.
* NPCs that offer a quest 10 or more levels above or below your adventure level will not be shown on the map.
* You can turn off the quest giver map icons in the Options menu (User Interface -> Game Features -> Show quest icons on map).
- The Quest Journal will now display quest rewards--no more guessing what you'll receive for performing a task. You will also be able to see quest rewards before accepting a new quest.
* Not all quests will show their rewards; some special rewards are meant to be a surprise.
* You can turn off the display of rewards in the Options menu (User Interface -> Game Features -> Show quest rewards).


*** New Guild Level 40 Mounts ***

- New mounts have been trained for use by level 40 guilds.
- The Mistrunner is available to Qeynosians with plain, blue, and purple saddles.
- The Nightmare is available to Freeportians with plain, black, and red saddles.


*** Subclass Armor Quests ***

- The armor rewards for the level 20 subclass armor quests now have a unique appearance per subclass.
- All of the armor now has unique stats appropriate for each subclass.
- If you have already completed your armor quests, speak with the assistant next to the NPC you originally did the quests for.


*** Dungeon Exploration ***

Fallen Gate
- The Fallen Gate has been invaded by Thexian explorers and Tseralith is stirring.
- The population within Fallen Gate has been improved, now with 50% more evil.
- Discover new treasures by exploring the Fallen Gate and vanquishing its denizens.


*** Summoned Pets ***

- Summoned pets now have consistent and distinct appearances at each spell level. For example, the level 52 Conjurer ability Tellurian Myrmidon is the only spell that will summon a rock elemental pet; the Necromancer ability Rotting Thrall is the only spell that will summon the previously overused zombie. Other levels will summon different creature types.
- Summoned pets in a given spell line have a distinct look at each quality tier. For example, the Necromancer's Diseased Servant spell summons a skeleton warrior. As the spell is increased in quality tier (Apprentice I, Adept I, etc.), the skeleton looks more impressive.
- Temporary pets also have new appearances. For example, the Shadowknight's Tainted Sacrament line will change in appearance with upgrades.
- Persistent summoned pets start out with a base number of abilities. An additional ability is granted to the pet at each spell level upgrade.
Pet spells in the level 52 to 60 spell range now have an additional ability that they did not have before.
- Temporary Pets (e.g. Conjurer's Roaring Flames and Necromancer's Ghastly Stench) will now cast their close-range AoE spell more often.
- Pets will no longer inherit abilities based on their creature type.
- Temporary Pets now display their owner's name.
- Fighter and Scout pets now use their combat arts more often.
- Fighter pets now taunt more often, and their taunts have a lower chance of being resisted. Their taunt effectiveness should now scale properly with level.
- Some Conjurer Fighter pets now have interrupt/knock-down effects, while some Necromancer Fighter pets now have root/stifle effects.
- Scout pets had their damage adjusted based on the reuse timer of the combat art. Slower combat arts now do increased damage, while faster combat arts now do less damage. Overall, Scout pets should deal about the same amount of damage they did before.
- Mage pets focus more on AoE spells than they used to. These spells have generally been made more effective.
- Mage pets are much more resistant to spell damage than they were before, and the size of their power pool has been increased. Casting times on their spells were generally decreased, and their single-target spells will land more often than they did before.
- The Illusionist pet spell list now also includes Stunning Array, Lock Mind, and a direct damage/mez spell. They no longer try to cast DoT spells on their target.
- Summoned pets now have the same base run speed as their owners.


*** Enemy Mastery ***

- Player characters can now choose from four new Enemy Mastery options at level 52: Cyclops, Djinn, Harpy, or Naga.
- You will automatically be granted the ability to choose your new Enemy Mastery option--just click the blinking character advancement icon.


*** Veteran Rewards ***

- If you own Desert of Flames, you will receive 90 days added to your Account Age, which is used to determine which Veteran Rewards you are eligible for.
- It's our way of saying thanks to those of you who are enjoying our expansion.


*** Desert of Flames ***

Zones and Population
- Be on your toes. The Hall of a Hundred Doors is now faster than before.
- The Black Queen in the Court of Al-Afaz is now more difficult to vanquish.
- Wandering Djinn and all named creatures within the Poet's Palace now see invisible players.
- A heroic giant encounter will no longer spawn after killing solo devils and falcons in the Pillars of Flame.
- Increased chances of Anaz'Mal diviners spawning in the Sinking Sands.
- Increased spawn rate on Anaz'Mal relics slightly in the Sinking Sands.
- Increased spawn rate of Sandscrawler Magus goblins and slightly reduced spawn rate of Sandscrawler grunts/menders in the Sinking Sands.
- Increased the spawn rate of the Sul'Dal skeletons in the Eye of Anuk in the Sinking Sands.
- Charra'zon, Uphian, Zathos, and King Vach should be more of an appropriate challenge now.
- Terrorantula can now be attacked from a greater distance.

Quests
- The quests for the treasure chest keys in the Clefts of Rujark are now repeatable.
- Shing Ho and Shu Fang Qi will now allow characters currently on "Disciples Edicts" and "Service to the Order" to complete those quests when the characters' faction is kindly or above.


*** The Splitpaw Saga ***

- The Vault in Acts of War and Brutal Acts of War should no longer be grey to lvl 60 players.
- Kitty can no longer be found in the Hidden Cache; it seems that a bucket of fish has taken up residence where she once was.


*** Gameplay ***

- Poisons and potions will no longer drop when you die.
- Heroic Opportunities will now only appear for nearby members of your group.
Group members who are not near each other can now initiate heroic opportunities with separate encounters.
- Pets will hide when riding the griffon or transport carpets, instead of having to dismiss them.
- Ungrouped players are now chosen first to be kicked out of an instance that has raid size limits.
- Coercers can now duel with a charmed pet.
- Poisons (as well as other applied effects that have a chance to proc on a successful attack) now only trigger upon successful attacks made with the weapon in the primary hand. Note: Weapons with an inherent damage proc (like all crafted imbued weapons) are unaffected and will continue to proc regardless of which hand they are equipped in.
- NPC movement speeds have been increased proportionate to Live Update #17's player run speed increase.


*** Quests ***

- Fethar Lothki and Ethri Vasou's group writs now point at Spiritbound apothecaries instead of mystics.
- You can again talk with Deputy Stoutgut to complete "I Hate Those Wimmin."
- Mooshga in the Commonlands will now allow adventurers who have already been working for her to complete "Mooshga's Good Eats."
- Blood vipers instead of fairy seekers are required to complete the "Outlying Freeport Creature Catalog" quest.
- The rock for the Robe of the Invoker no longer spawns on the ground, but will drop more frequently from creatures.


*** Zones and Population ***

- Players will be able to advance through Nektropos Castle after completing the Everling Lockets quest and killing Lord Everling without having to complete the event again. Those who have previously completed it before this change will have to complete it one last time.
- Some named creatures within the Feerrott and Cazic-Thule can no longer be charmed.
- Centipedes will no longer count as snakes when hunting for quests in the Thundering Steppes.


*** Items ***

- Many level 50+ tradeskilled bucklers now provide a wisdom benefit.
- Item Health and Power regen rates now all use the same regeneration standard and cap out at the following currently:
* In-combat HP regen cap is (3 x Level )
* In-combat Power regen cap is (1.5 x Level)
* In-combat item HP regen cap is (3 x Level x 0.5)
* In-combat item Power regen cap is (1.5 x Level x 0.5)
- Raid leaders who have set group loot options to leader-only will be able to distribute loot to any member of any group in the raid.
- A dog catcher has passed through the Thundering Steppes and the ankle biter population is once again under control.


*** Spells and Combat Arts ***

- Stone skin effects will now work regardless of the level of the attacker.

Assassin changes:
- Assassin's Blade had its damage reduced by 6%, but its reuse timer was lowered by 40%.
- Assassin's Mark had its reuse timer lowered to 30 seconds, and its proc rate was reduced to 5%. It now procs only once, and places a debuff that causes the target to take damage for every melee hit instead of damage over time.
- Friendly Shadows can now only be cast on another player character.

Berserker changes:
- Provoking Stance and its upgrades now place a heavy snare on the caster instead of a root.

Coercer changes:
- Damaged Psyche is now less likely to be resisted.

Enchanter changes:
- Daunting Gaze and its subclass upgrades now have a casting time of 2 seconds.

Guardian changes:
- Goading Defense and its upgrades now place a heavy snare on the caster instead of a root.
- Entrench now breaks less often, costs less power, has a reduced casting time, and has a shorter reuse timer. Its duration now increases with level.
- Tower of Stone reduced the amount of shield damage received.
- Sentry Watch now has a reduced casting time, a larger radius of effect, and a shorter reuse timer.

Illusionist changes:
- Disappointment is now less likely to be resisted.

Paladin changes:
- Amends now siphons slightly less hate.

Priest changes:
- Instant group heal spell lines had their radius increased from 10 meters to 20 meters.

Ranger changes:
- Dance of Trees had its icon changed to match the rest of the ability line.
- Stream of Arrows is no longer resisted as if it were a spell.

Shadowknight changes:
- Summon Squire can now be toggled, and will persist across zone lines.
- Pox Sword will now appear under Combat Arts.

Sorcerer changes:
- Concussive is a new level 15 spell that will reduce hate with the next spell that lands on the Sorcerer's target.

Summoner changes:
- Call Servant is a new level 15 spell that will teleport a summoned pet to the Summoner.
- Fighter pets should now use attack animations more often when they use combat arts.

Swashbuckler changes:
- Swarthy Distraction can now only be cast on another player character.
- Flamboyant Strike's examine info should now be correct.
- Hail of Steel is no longer resisted as if it were a spell.

Templar changes:
- Beams of Faith now has a shorter reuse timer.
- Reverence had its heal percentage increased.
- Unyielding Benediction is now a more appropriate upgrade to Vigilant Benediction.

Warden changes:
- Hierophantic Genesis had its initial power cost reduced. It also grants a small amount of power recovery over time to the recipient.
- Winds of Frost had its power cost increased to be more appropriate for the amount of damage it deals.
- The healing effects of Protecting Grove will now match the range indicated on the spell.

Warlock changes:
- Boundless Fury is now correctly set as a level 56 spell instead of level 58. The recipe's level was also adjusted.
- Toxic Grasp and Virulent Grasp now have examine info that matches each spell's effect.
- Netherous Realm now also triggers procs from disease-based spells.

Warrior changes:
- Hold the Line now places a heavy snare on the caster instead of a root.

Wizard changes:
- Fiery Inferno is now correctly set as a level 56 spell instead of level 58. The recipe's level was also adjusted.


*** Tradeskills ***

- The following level 50+ food and drinks now have an increased duration:
* Artichoke Stew
* Beer Braised Camian
* Caiman Pasta
* Dried Pear
* Eel Soup
* Herring Sandwich
* Pear Muffins
* Coriander Grilled Caiman
* Coriander Grilled Herring
* Fiery Sabertooth Steak
* Macadamia Pie
* Shrimp Pasta
* Artichoke Kalish
* Chai
* Creamed Maj'Dul Coffee
* Dark Pear Ale
* Gingerbread Man
* Glogg
* Golden Eye
* Mulled Pear Wine
* Pear Fizzlepop
* Pear Sparkling Wine
* Pear Tea
* Starcrest Kiss
* Starcrest Coffee
* The Overlord
* Mental Core Breach (This is a six step recipe, so it additionally increases the user's power pool by 100).
- Many level 50+ Provisioner recipes are now "finish" recipes rather than "interim."
- Unhallowed Aura (Shadowknight) should now have the correct name in its corresponding Alchemy recipe books.


*** Art ***

- The following items now have an updated appearance: Gloves of the Dark Disciple, Sandals of the Dark Disciple, Gi of the Dark Disciple, Shoulder Pads of the Dark Disciple, Skullcap of the Dark Disciple, Rujarkian Woven Gi.


*** Commands, Controls, and User Interface ***

- The base resistibility of a hostile spell is now shown in the spell's examine info.
- The faction window will now automatically keep factions sorted as they change.
- Pet combat now shows under its own chat category (Combat -> Melee Combat -> Your Pet Hits, etc)
- Pet damage bubbles will appear colored to the owner:
* Pet hits something: yellow
* Pet gets hit: dark red
- Combat bubble colors can now be changed in the options (User Interface-> Combat Bubble Colors)
- The count of house items on your house window will now indicate how many actual items you have and how many count toward the max for your house type.
- The raid window will now correctly highlight group leaders.
- You can now search for food and drink by level range.
- You can now search for drinks separately from food.
- Group loot messages will now contain links to items.

[Illusen]

Ooooo how exciting!

[Abbrah Kadabrah]

Yeppers.. Cant wait!


Wait....


Wait...


Wait...

[Lady Shylah]

Sweet!!! I can't wait

[Lady Shylah]

The snowball fights rock! haha

Also, if anyone is doing the Christmas quests... note that the quest with the "drums" is broken. (unless they recently fixed it)

Quest spoilers:

DO NOT READ PAST THIS POINT UNLESS YOU WANNA SPOIL THE QUEST!








NOTE: Prior to beginning this quest, you can save some time by purchasing 5 stacks of the cheapest coal you can find (4c), collect/purchase 5 carbonite clusters and 5 gold clusters.

1. after talking to the quest giver, you run to north qeynos and speak with the gambler there...

2. after speaking with the gambler, you run to the Enchanted Lands. There is a man hole cover directly under the docks.. enter that zone.

3. speak to the King found at the top of the tunnels and on some scaffolding to the right and get a key

4. head back down the tunnel, unlock the door there, and speak with the kidnapped elf found in a cage to the right

5. head back to the king and update your quest. at this point, you'll need 4 keys in order to release the elf

6. speak to snosniffer found on the scaffolding to the left. he will give you details of the 4 individuals you'll need to talk to in order to get the keys


The blacksmith
1. Travel back down the tunnel to where the elf is being kept. You'll see a goblin by an avil. Speak with him. You'll basically have to talk him through / convince him on how to make fake coins. He'll ask you to bring him back 5 carbonite clusters and 5 gold clusters.

2. Return with the collected items (these can be collected or purchased) and speak with the blacksmith. The quest will update and you'll get a key.



The Inventor
1. Speak with the gnome inventor. He is the only gnome in the zone and is located in the same area as the King (top of the tunnels). He's standing near a machine. Agree to bring him coal. Note, if you leave and buy only one stack of coal, he'll send you out 3 more times. So... it's best to have 4-5 stacks of coal.

2. return with the stacks of coal and speak with the gnome

3. he will ask you to 'crank' the invention.... you have to do this quickly. The best way to do this is to hover your pointer above the crank to where it highlights... once it's highlighted press the "F" key repeatedly until the quest updates and the crank explodes.



The Ballot Collector -- I think that's his name... haha
1. Speak to the ballot collector found to the right of the inventor. Agree to count the ballots.

2. On the table next to him, you'll have a highlightable box. Continue opening this box until the quest updates. You'll click it about 10+ times. Very easy quest.



The musician -- the only named goblin in the place
1. This quest is bugged and highly irritating.

2. speak to the named musician found at the base of the scaffolding on which the King stands. He will be surrounded by 3 goblin musicians.

3. Agree to join his band by playing the drums

4. The drums, or rather the pots, are to the right of the named goblin

5. Pick up a sthingy from the table and equip it

6. Stand near the table and you "should" receive a message that says "Match this Pattern." After seeing that message, the pots will make a noise in a specific order. When the pots make a noise, it also glows a specific color so you can follow the pattern easier. Then a message will say, "prepare for trial 1" .... "START!" after the "start" message, you click over the pots in the same pattern shown before.

7. There are 6 trials (as rumor has it)

8. If you fail at the patter, stay still and the "match this pattern" message should appear again. Wash. Rinse. Repeat. Note: this is the buggy part. You can leave the table and you'll get a blue error message.... however, you can return to the table to play again. Sometimes this helps if you're not getting the auto messages.

9. After completing all the trials, you'll get the key.



-------------

That's all I know I didn't complete the 'pots' quest... so I'm not sure what happens afterwards.

If anyone has any other pointers, let us know!

[Saine]

*****SPOILER CONTINUED***** DO NOT READ UNLESS YOU WANT TO KNOW THE REST OF THE XMAS QUEST


The drums aren't broken for everyone, but some people are having problems with them. I was actually able to finish the quest yesterday.

Some of the sequences are broken, and you do it right, and it says you do it wrong, which is annoying...and sometimes the drums just don't light up at all. That happened to me, I just deleted the spoon, grabbed another one, and it seemed to work ok after that.


After you finish these quests, you have to take your keys and unlock the vaults where the little dude is locked in the cage. Once that's done you get him out of the cage and he sends you back to QH to talk to the elves.

When you talk to the elves, they send you to Elf Wonderland (or something like that) to collect potions and to confront the Grump.

The potions are scattered around, you are blocked in the zone, so just keep running around and go down the tunnels etc and eventually you will find them all. There is a large ice chunk wall in the zone. When you have all the vials, the elves will appear at this wall. When you hail them, they make a rainbow so you can get over the wall to confront the Grump.

Once that's done, the quest ends and you get a really lame helm (mine had 30+ cold resist and that was it) and a choice between a Freeport or Qeynos snowglobe.

I took the Qeynos snowglobe and I have to say it's pretty lame It's about half as tall as me and just has a building in it (I assume the building is Qeynos) I was disappointed with it, I thought it would look better. It's in my room if anyone wants to see what it looks like.

[streetvillain]

We should have a tairise snowball fight =]

[Alkanos]

Ooh, I love snowball fights! Wait til I get back!

Lots of patchy goodness in LU18, including good stuff for Guards!! Yay! Well, good stuff for 50+ guards mostly, but it's a start! Gonna set the patch to DL overnight, cause I'll need it.

Gotta go, it sounds like one of the little demons is up in the attic (how the hell did he get up there??) I'll explain when I'm back! ;D

[streetvillain]

haha hurry on back alk! =]

[Lady Shylah]

A Tairise Snowball fight is definitely in order! Illusen and I were running around like crazy and hitting each other with snowballs!


Saine: do you have a screenshot of the snowglobe? That's what I was really excited about... I thought it was gonna be cute like the griffin tower...

[Saine]

No, no screenshot, I am far too lazy for that lol...it would also require turning up my graphics a bit, which would make me crash

It's just sitting on the counter in my room if you want to take a look, or if someone else wants to, they can take the screenshot