This week we released a great number of improvements for PlaneShift. All changes were server side, so you do not need a new client.
Tutorial- All quests have been rewritten to include more information about the setting, and make the area In Character.
- The tutorial area has been updated including new items to improve the area for a nicer setting.
- "Information" sections at the end of dialog to explain OOC things.
- "A Letter of a Friend" has been redone and is now called "Welcome Letter". It has been altered to better represent the current in game skills and to better point you to key association members and their chain starting quests, especially the "intro" quests.
- There is now a billboard near Xenak with various books explaining important settings.
- You can enter or re-enter the tutorial area at any time - the location is the doors by the windowless tower next to the north gate. You have to complete one of the two quests with xenak which will unlock the tutorial doors so you can use them to leave the tutorial the next time you enter. Though not recommended for new players, you can do Xenak's Quick Exit quest then later come back to do the other quests anyway.
Quest chains- "Introduction" quests redone to have a better transition from the tutorial to quest chains. In particular, Harnquist now has an extensive Q&A section to answer many questions about crafting.
- Quest chains already reorganised: crafting, science, and artists. The order of the quests has been reorganized and dialogs added to provide direction to the next quest in the chain.
Other settings updates- Two player planned and written books which were submitted have now been released. Hopefully this might prompt many more players to make similar books.
- More NPC Knowledge Areas (KAs) added. In particular, all trainers now know what they train and will tell you who the previous and next trainer is (mostly, some will not for IC reasons).
- Many fixes to quests from bug reports and from player reports.
Credits to Venalan and Taya for their hard work with the tutorial project.
NPCs- New behaviour for Rogues: beware the Rogues when you travel by the Ojaveda's streets, unless you are one of them.
- New behaviour for Arangmas: some of them will be aggressive during daylight hours, some during the night.
- New behaviour for Onyx Daggers, Dark Rogues and Undead (Grendols and Flayed Velnishy)
- Arena gladiators: the arena gladiators will avoid chasing you outside their arena pits and will only challenge you inside them (unless you make them really crazy
). - 3 new mages NPCs (Guile, Serana and Relliom), will you be able to fight them off?
Character creation and advancement- the character's creation quick path options have been improved: now choosing one of them you will be able to enjoy a character ready to start a career in the chosen path.
- all practice points rules and experience rules have been revised and many updated: as of now almost all skill in game will be trainable at about the same speed. Also crafting and repair skills will now be assigned enough experience point to raise a level trough practice. Choose to be a crafter, a miner, an hunter, fighter or a mage: either way you'll be able to make a living and gain enough experience to make a living in your chosen profession.
Combat- the stamina drain in combat have been revised, many factors have been considered: the weapon weight, the combat stance and the armor type your character wears. A suggestion: if you run out of stamina while fighting try to switch to a more defensive stance for sometime to regain some stamina.
- Training Dummies: for all of you that don't like killing while training you will now find three training dummies in one of the Arena pit.
Crafting- The Fair winner's recipe has been added to the meet and Stew recipe book: enjoy the new Baked Kikiri with Gravy dish made by a player.
- all herbal transformations time have been raised, this will make it easier to train herbal skill as more practice will be assigned for each tea you will craft.
Potions- healing and mana potions' effects have been revised and a delay time between healing potions consume has been added (see bug PS#2389);
- disease and antidote potions now add some disease or poison resistance for certain amount of time;
