Lamannia Release Notes: Update 21

Welcome to the Lamannia Release Notes for Dungeons & Dragons Online! These release notes were posted on Thursday, January 30th, 2014. These notes are subject to changes and additions... lots and lots of changes and additions.

News & Notes
The Haunted Halls and Thunderholme Adventure Area are returning to Dev-land and will be unavailable while we focus on the new Divine Epic Destiny: Divine Crusader.

Recent Changes to Epic Destinies:

    NEW: Divine Crusader
        This new Epic Destiny appears in the Divine Destiny Sphere and provides a strong mix of viable options for melees as well as caster hybrids.
        Please note that there is currently a bug for those that previously leveled both Unyielding Sentinel and Exalted Angel. If you have previously leveled the other Divine Epic Destinies, you may not be able to activate Divine Crusader without using a Key of Destiny (which is available on the Lamannia DDO Store or from Devs who may be online).
        Please note that not all abilities are fully implemented. Abilities that are not implemented at this time should be marked with: “NOT YET IMPLEMENTED.”
        Please note that the icons are placeholders.
    Unyielding Sentinel
        NEW: Text clarified in some cases to make the benefits for each rank of Epic Destiny Abilities more clear.
        NEW: Undying Vanguard no longer requires charging up, can be used once per rest, and has a two minute cooldown.
        NEW: Ward Against Evil's 20% chance to trigger has been raised to 100%.
        NEW: Intolerant Blows has been reworked: "Expend one use of Smite Evil: For 60 seconds you gain +200% Sacred bonus to threat generation and deal +1[W] damage."
        NEW: Purify Weapon no longer has a stance requirement.
    NEW: Epic Moment Counters should no longer be reset when you go through a portal within a quest.



U21 Quests and Adventure Area:

    The Haunted Halls of Eveningstar:
        Speak with Alyn Farrago sitting near the entrance to the Lonesome Tankard in Eveningstar to claim the quest. Then travel across the Eveningstar Bridge and up the river a bit to reach the entrance. (It is to the left of the Storm Horns entrance.)
    The Ruins of Thunderholme Adventure Area:
        Beyond the Eveningstar Bridge lies the Thunder Peaks public area. (Northeast corner of Eveningstar)
            The Thunder Peaks public area is available to Free to Play, Premium, and VIP players.
        The entrance to the Ruins of Thunderholme is up the hill at the northern edge of the Thunder Peaks public area.
        The entrance to the Storm Horns is now to the left of the Thunder Peaks entrance in Eveningstar.



Reincarnation:

    NEW: The XP bonus found on Experience Elixirs, VIP bonuses, Guild Airship amenities and items now also increases the Commendation of Valor return found in End Reward lists.
    Epic Completionist is now available:
        You gain another Twist of Fate slot once you have 3 Epic Past Lives in each Epic Destiny Sphere (12 Epic Past Lives total).
            Like all other Twist of Fate slots, you must pay Fate Points to unlock and upgrade it.
            Note that the 3 Epic Past Lives in an Epic Destiny Sphere can be 3 stacks of a single Epic Past Life, 1 stack each of three different Epic Past Lives, or 1 stack of one Epic Past Live and 2 stacks of another.
        If you have already attained Epic Completionist, you should automatically gain the additional Twist of Fate slot.



Quest Experience Changes:

    The second set of Quest Experience Changes is in! (Details may see further adjustment in the future.)
    Experience for 1 quest has been decreased:
        The Jungle of Khyber
            Previous Base XP on Epic Normal: 42,693
            New Base XP on Epic Normal: 23,299
    Experience for 17 quests has been increased:
        Chains of Flame
            Previous Base XP on Epic Normal: 18,661
            New Base XP on Epic Normal: 28,459
        In The Belly of the Beast
            Previous Base XP on Epic Normal: 18,661
            New Base XP on Epic Normal: 21,375
        The House of Death Undone
            Previous Base XP on Epic Normal: 13,243
            New Base XP on Epic Normal: 14,500
        Trial By Fury
            Previous Base XP on Epic Normal: 16,336
            New Base XP on Epic Normal: 25,692
        Outbreak
            Previous Base XP on Epic Normal: 10,151
            New Base XP on Epic Normal: 13,085
        Thorn and Paw
            Previous Base XP on Epic Normal: 14,762
            New Base XP on Epic Normal: 19,868
        The Druid's Curse
            Previous Base XP on Epic Normal: 17,005
            New Base XP on Epic Normal: 21,206
        Friends in Low Places
            Previous Base XP on Heroic Normal: 5,733
            New Base XP on Heroic Normal: 6,050
            Previous Base XP on Epic Normal: 22,762
            New Base XP on Epic Normal: 26,804
        A Lesson in Deception
            Previous Base XP on Heroic Normal: 4,433
            New Base XP on Heroic Normal: 4,685
            Previous Base XP on Epic Normal: 17,575
            New Base XP on Epic Normal: 18,774
        The Thrill of the Hunt
            Previous Base XP on Heroic Normal: 2,850
            New Base XP on Heroic Normal: 4,283
            Previous Base XP on Epic Normal: 11,257
            New Base XP on Epic Normal: 17,611
        Army of Shadow
            Previous Base XP on Heroic Normal: 4,173
            New Base XP on Heroic Normal: 5,303
            Previous Base XP on Epic Normal: 16,537
            New Base XP on Epic Normal: 22,490
        Through a Mirror Darkly
            Previous Base XP on Heroic Normal: 6,166
            New Base XP on Heroic Normal: 8,855
            Previous Base XP on Epic Normal: 24,491
            New Base XP on Epic Normal: 42,314
        The Tracker's Trap
            Previous Base XP on Heroic Normal: 4,113
            New Base XP on Heroic Normal: 7,771
            Previous Base XP on Epic Normal: 14,990
            New Base XP on Epic Normal: 29,851
        Lines of Supply
            Previous Base XP on Heroic Normal: 4,206
            New Base XP on Heroic Normal: 4,734
            Previous Base XP on Epic Normal: 15,333
            New Base XP on Epic Normal: 16,388
        Breaking the Ranks
            Previous Base XP on Heroic Normal: 3,553
            New Base XP on Heroic Normal: 4,478
            Previous Base XP on Epic Normal: 12,939
            New Base XP on Epic Normal: 14,807
        A Break in the Ice
            Previous Base XP on Heroic Normal: 6,700
            New Base XP on Heroic Normal: 6,864
            Previous Base XP on Epic Normal: 24,471
            New Base XP on Epic Normal: 26,203
        What Goes Up
            Previous Base XP on Heroic Normal: 8,462
            New Base XP on Heroic Normal: 15,854
            Previous Base XP on Epic Normal: 30,928
            New Base XP on Epic Normal: 61,110



Recent Changes to Enhancements:

    Cleric Radiant Servant
        Positive Energy Aura should now work properly, even when you don't have anything targeted.
    Druid Nature’s Warrior
        NEW: Fixed several druid enhancements in the Nature's Warrior tree to properly give 1 HP per action point spent.
        NEW: Natural Adept now refreshes properly even when you don't change animal form.
    Druid Season’s Herald
        Time and Tide should now properly add to max caster level and caster level
    Fighter Kensei
        Deadly shot should now function properly.
    Paladin Knight of the Chalice
        The increased healing from the Vigor of Life enhancements is no longer sometimes removed upon dying.
    Ranger Arcane Archer
        NEW: Soul Magic has been changed to have a 15% chance of giving 10 temp spell points on every successful bow attack rather than a 100% chance to give 1 additional temp sp (stacking up to 10 max) because the stacking effect didn't work properly and ended up granting a lot of additional temp sp when it shouldn't have been.
        The Arcane Archer tree's core abilities now properly add the correct enhancement bonus to the bow you are wielding in all circumstances.
    Rogue Assassin
        Venomed Blades will no longer prevent Rogue Assassinate from working.



Miscellaneous Changes:

    NEW: Many Bard songs that previously shared cooldowns no longer do. In addition, some single-target Songs had their cooldown timers reduced.
    NEW: Balance changes to the boss fight in What Goes Up:
        Halved the number of orcs added in the final stage
        These orcs now appear in normal mode, as well
        Only one pillarless Shadovar will wander from her post at a time (note: kiting them can still result in pile-ons!)
        Orc summons have replaced the Shadar-kai in the first phase
        Half the Shadar-kai are now hammer-wielding Blackguards
    The Monk's Quivering Palm ability is getting some revisions related to its DC, as part of investigation into balancing Death effects. Quivering Palm no longer benefits from Sundering bonuses. However, whenever an enemy saves vs. Quivering Palm, you get a stacking +4 bonus to your Quivering Palm DC. This stack is dispelled when you successfully kill someone with Quivering Palm. We are keeping an eye on these numbers and they may be changed in the future.
        NEW: Restored general Tactical combat boosts to Quivering Palm (but not Sundering effects specifically).
        This is the full text of Quivering Palm:
        “Melee Attack: Deliver a fatal attack by sending waves of vibrations through your target. A successful Fortitude save negates this effect. (DC = 10 + 1/2 Monk Level + Wisdom Modifier + Tactics Bonus) When an enemy saves vs. Quivering Palm, you gain a stacking +4 Perseverance bonus to your DC until you kill an enemy with Quivering Palm (or 3 minutes pass).”
    All crafting XP boosting potions have been buffed to grant a much larger boost to earned crafting XP and now last twice as long (30 minutes instead of 15 minutes). The percentage boosts used to range from 5% to 25% and now range from 10% to 100%.
    Crafting recipe success boosters (special ingredients) have been boosted as well. These special consumable ingredients boost your success chance for a given recipe run. The percentage boosts used to range from 3% to 20% and now range from 10% to 35%.
    A new command: "/raid completions" will list raids and the number of times you have completed them.
    Fred is now smarter about toughness feats and other feats that stack. Additionally, you can now differentiate between a feat taken at different levels. For example: If you took toughness at level 1, 12 and 18. You can choose to swap out the level 1 version.
    Epic Otto's Irresistible Box now additionally contains 1300 Commendations of Valor. This includes those previously purchased.
    Ice Games and Festivult coins now have their own header for organization in the Collectibles Bag.
    The +1 and +2 Spell Focus augments (Topaz of <spell school> and Topaz of Greater <spell school>) stack with Spell Focus bonuses on regular equipment. (They do not stack with each other.)
    There is a new loading screen tip: "You can purchase a stack of multiple items all at once. To do so, control + left click on the item in the shop window, then type in the desired quantity."
    DM Text now shows for longer if it's a bigger phrase.
    Epic Feats: First Blood - The damage dealt by First Blood has been increased from 5-100 to 50-300.
    You can now re-roll a chest up to three times.



Bug Fixes:

    NEW: The Primal Avatar Summer Smoke ability should no longer remove additional damage (ie: Entropic) from Handwraps.
    NEW: The following spells should no longer trigger offensive effects on the caster (such as Colors of the Queen, Rainbow, or Stormrage): Divine Wrath, Energy Burst, Energy Vortex, and Go Out with a Bang.
    NEW: Throwing weapons should no longer float next to shapeshifted Druids.
    Fixed several more issues where the Monster Manual would not credit you with a kill of a given creature. The following enemies from Gianthold should properly appear in the Monster Manual:
        Duncan the Wayfarer
        Gold Concord Cleric
        Gold Concord Fighter
        Gold Concord Wizard
        Silver Concord Ranger
        Halfling Captive
        Copper Concord Rogue
        Human Paladin
        Copper Concord Bard
        Prisoner
        Silver Concord Fighter
    Fixed a bug in Through a Mirror Darkly, which would create an increasingly harsh bright lighting effect the more players you had huddled in close proximity to each other. Consequently, this blew out the Shadowfell Effect and made it seem particularly unbearable.
    Fixed an instance where the Shadowfell Overlay effect would sometimes run after resurrecting from death. This would sometimes result in a double Shadowfell overlay effect in certain quests, such as Through a Mirror Darkly.
    Augment Summoning has had its description updated to specify that it does work on pets.
    The spells Banishment and Dismissal no longer cost additional Spell Points while Heighten Metamagic is active, as Heighten does not affect those spells.
    Characters who are currently undead are now immune to the Fatigued effect from exiting the Barbarian Rage state.
    The Rugged Woodsman in Poaching for the Poacher now specifies how many Gamey Venison or Fox Tails he needs.
    All potions should now be able to be used while enraged.
    In the Auction House, the item "Snow Elemental Gem" will now be listed under "Gems" instead of "Tomes".
    Items which grant "Weaken Construct" or "Weaken Undead" while equipped now function with unarmed and ranged attacks, not just melee weapons.
    The Quiver of Poison is now Bind on Acquire, instead of claiming it was Bind on Equip, as this type of item is unable to function properly as Bind on Equip.
    The challenge ingredient costs for Crafting Satchels have been adjusted.
    Targets stunned by Soundburst are now considered helpless.
    Artificer pets now bark less frequently.
    Epic Destinies: Grandmaster of Flowers - Light as a Feather now properly negates falling damage under all circumstances.
    Teleport Spell: The "Teleport to Crafting Hall" selection now takes you to the House Cannith crafting hall, instead of House Kundarak.
    Greater Dragonmark of Passage: Now allows teleportation to the Harbor, The Twelve, and the House Cannith Crafting Hall.
    Grasp the Earth Dragon no longer sometimes triggers enemy-targeted effects on allies.
    Pets using alignment gear such as good, evil, chaotic and lawful, will now retain it upon summing.
    Quest Completion timers should be behave better now. For clarity, the timer starts when you enter the dungeon. Quest Completion timers now output seconds as well.
    The exit out of Brothers of the Forge now works properly.
    Heroic Sagas now properly count quests that you complete on Heroic Casual.
    Human and Half-elf males will no longer jump to the side when using a sword and shield or jump back when using a two-handed weapon.
    The Epic Past Life "Block Energy" now always stacks with Unyielding Sentinel ability Block Energy (multiplicatively). A single Block Energy past life now correctly gives 10% reduction, as per the text.
    Morninglords now have most traits of Elves, including proficiency with Longbows, Shortbows, Rapiers, Longswords, immunity to sleep effects, inherent saving throws vs. enchantments, and bonuses to Listen, Search, and Spot.
    Great Cleave's animation for many races is now the same as Cleave, which was already true for other races.
    Fixed some cases where offhand doublestrike would only trigger if the mainhand also had Doublestrike.
    An Offering of Blood: The Heroic Aspect of Cunning will no longer try to muscle in on the Epic Hard and Epic Elite runs of the quest.
    Typing more than 250 characters will no longer delete the first characters typed. Instead, you will be prevented from typing more.
    Shiradi Champion abilities should no longer cause self-harm when casting certain spells.
    Epic Chimera's Crown now works with the Greater Dragonmark of Passage.
    The Birthday Cake of Wishes and the Six Year Old Cake once again function properly when used.

NEW: Soul Magic has been changed to have a 15% chance of giving 10 temp spell points on every successful bow attack rather than a 100% chance to give 1 additional temp sp (stacking up to 10 max) because the stacking effect didn't work properly and ended up granting a lot of additional temp sp when it shouldn't have been

NEW: The XP bonus found on Experience Elixirs, VIP bonuses, Guild Airship amenities and items now also increases the Commendation of Valor return found in End Reward lists.

Agape, even