Q: (insert question about double xp)

EDITED 11/13/06

A: We are talking about a bunch of things regarding this bonus. As many players have pointed out, just leaving it would eventually make the thrill wear off and the cookies become stale. As MORE players have pointed out, hunting in the old zones is actually more fun than hunting alone in TDs all day, and the double exp makes them feel good about their choice to have fun. So! While it's unlikely that we'll make DOUBLE exp a permanent thing, we are discussing making some form of bonus exp a feature of the game - and, according to Walt, the Moderately Evil Overlord, "While we continue our discussions, we will move the double xp. bonus to Shrouded Isles."

EDIT: I don't know WHEN this happy day will come. Soon (TM).

Q: With the Mauler class unlocking quest: Is it per realm, or per cluster where all three realms get trainers whenever *any* realm unlocks the mauler on that cluster?

A: As per the Moderately Evil Overlord, Walt: “Per realm per cluster. In other words, Hib Palo can unlock it for all Hibernians on the entire cluster.”

Q: I currently own all the expansions for DAOC...you're welcome. :)  My question is my computer is, shall we say, lacking and has trouble running the Darkness Rising client.  I'd love to be able to play in good ole TOA client but still be able to go everywhere I can in DR since I have it activated.  I wasn't sure if there was some patch that I can download that will allow me to stay in TOA client and access DR areas or will I have to continue logging off TOA and into DR in order to go and see the King in the throne room?  Thanks!

A: There’s no patch, per se – but I STRONGLY suggest you pop on to Pendragon and try the DR client. We’ve really made a lot of changes to the newer clients, making them leaner, meaner, and better all around.

You may still have to turn off some options, but I think you will find an improvement – certainly making these improvements has been on top of our list for awhile now, and the fruits of the new coders on board are beginning to blossom. Ripen. Something like that.

Q: What is the Mauler’s RR5 ability?

A: The Gift of Perizor – which is defined as “Reduces damage on all players in the user's group by 25% for 60 seconds. Damage reduced by this ability is returned to the user in power.” It’s got a ten minute reuse timer.

Missy is frantically typing away to get the Mauler documentation ready for Tuesday’s launch. Stay tuned!

Q: I downloaded LOTM last night and am wondering if i can just copy those files to second account.  I understand that I will owe the 19.95 for each account for activation.  Sometimes large downloads are an issue.  I just got lucky last night.

A: I’ve been using the same battered installation disks for months. What you’re paying for is the activation flag on your account. Go right ahead.

Q: What time on Tuesday can I use my LotM desktop shortcut?

A: When there’s a post on the Herald. My guess is 3:00 PM EST. That is what my dad, a SFC in the US Army, used to call a “WAG.” I’ll give you a more informed update on Tuesday morning.

Q: Why does my Valewalker AF buff not get applied correctly to the character?

Example: Normal VW AF buff is 250 AF.  With 25% buff bonus, the VW AF buff (Grove's Aegis) goes up to 312. However, my character will not update the AF's increase.

The character sheet says 520 AF without the 25% buffbonus AF up, and 520 af with the 25% buffbonus up.

A: I always panic when I see these, and the Redheaded Stepchild always hits me for overreacting. He looked into it, and in the absence of any bug, believes that in this case the player is hitting his AF cap.

But I’m too wily to be put off by that answer, and responded “Yeah, so what’s the AF cap for a Valewalker?” I should have known I wasn’t getting a nice simple number back.

RHSC: “Cap depends on:

the armor you're wearing,

if you're RR5,

if you have a spec AF buff, and

if you've got +AF from TOA items.

“AF cap for cloth is 250. With his baseline AF buff it is 500. At RR5 it is 505, plus he's probably wearing shades of mist with a +10 AF bonus as well as another item with +5 to put him at 520.”

Q: Now, with both CoaTS and Animist petspam limited to 15 attackers (CoaTS through the overall bonus it can add, and Animists by the number of shrooms they can have up [not including bombers]), it seems very strange that Theurgists have the ability to surpass the other available options by 250%.  Is this intentional, or just a byproduct that has never really been reviewed since no one has mentioned it?

Also, just to confirm - if a Valkyrie/Thane activates CoaTS, then switches targets - does the effect transfer to the new target?

A: First, I must apologize – for space reasons, this question has been drastically edited. There was a huge preamble and then a ton of math. (There was also another question, one on which I’m still waiting on an answer.) I passed the full feedback form to the Redheaded Stepchild so that he could answer intelligently. However, it is possible that my decision to truncate the email for this column has lessened the impact of the original poster’s comments for Herald readers. So, Mr. John of Gaheris, please rest assured that the full email was read.

From the RHSC: “The mechanics of animist turrets and theurgist pets are vastly different, thus the differences in what we allow. Theurgist pets have a shorter lifespan, travel time and must be cast on the target they attack, they do not switch targets. Turrets can be placed in a spot, and will find its own target. The animist does not have to actively target a player. As well, turrets can switch targets. Because of this, theurgist pets are similar to animist bombers, which have no limit. We understand there are benefits and downfalls to each the theurgist pet and animist turret, so we treat them as wholly separate entities.

“Call of a Thousand Storms switches targets with the player, as it’s a buff to the player, not a debuff to the monster.”

Q: The 5th bonus on the new player crafted gear is not affecting me, why is this?

A: This is a known issue that we’re working on, just FYI. Right now, items must be fully spellcrafted (i.e., all four slots filled) before the fifth slot bonus will affect characters, according to our Item Wonder Man. Watch the patch notes for the fix.

 ***

Torrent client users! The last we checked, there were 67 fantastic people with bit torrent seeds for Labyrinth of the Minotaur. We love you all. A lot. If anyone else out there knows how to set up a seed, you could make life a million times more pleasant for everyone: http://www.darkageofcamelot.com/lotm/files/images/LOTM_Setup.exe.torrent Remember, the more people who play the BT game, the faster it is for everyone. I only wish we’d been able to do this years ago.

Walt the MEO’s got an interview up with Apache at Voodoo Extreme, regarding LOTM: http://ve3d.ign.com/articles/745/745158p1.html Check it out, some good stuff in there.

Beta users: As old school testers remember, every expansion we post a work-around to help beta players convert their files into the live version, complete with shortcut, to minimize the horrors of patch day. Those instructions will come next Monday. However, as with all work-arounds, the possibility of doing something dreadful exists. If you’re the type who doesn’t revel in messing around with your game folders, just get the files over the weekend: http://darkageofcamelot.com/lotm/files

Someone wrote in, asking what "UO" meant from last week’s Grab Bag. It stands for Ultima Online, one of the first graphical MMOs ever. It launched in 1997, and it just celebrated its 9th Anniversary. UO, DAOC, and WAR are siblings, now. There are entirely different teams – even the community minions are different. This week I’ve been breaking the new UO minion on the wheel of pain, bless her. It’s been interesting seeing what the different communities are like, and what expectations they have.

Go, download Labyrinth. Please. Tuesday is going to be as good as we can make it, but there's only so wide the bandwidth pipe goes. And try the new client!