Hey, everything else is Midwinter, I didn't want the Grab Bag to feel left out. Enjoy this last Grab Bag of 2007.

Q.   I was browsing through the list for styles in Missy's 1.92 Style Changes post. I noticed that the Heretic Crush styles were listed under Alb Crush. However, I could not find Heretic Flex styles listed anywhere. Will you be adding those to the Alb list?

A. We did all of the Heretic Flex Styles in 1.91, so they’re complete now, and so is the documentation for them. You can find them by following the links on the left side of the Herald: Documentation -> Style Library -> Heretic -> Flexible or by using this link: http://www.camelotherald.com/styles/line.php?c=40&line=10. I hope that helps, and happy hunting to you!

Q. My question is about last patch, 1.91. I have tested the "Supernova" Celtic Dual level 50 style with special haste debuff poisons and they did stack together. I was also told by many people who used the level 50 CD style long before that, that they did stack.  NOW after patch 1.91 when the CD style changes took place, I have learned that haste debuff poison and "supernova" no longer stack. Is this a bug?

A. According to the Balancinator: We made no changes to the effects themselves.  The effects are spells and we link them to the styles.  We have not changed the way those spells work. It is not a bug either.  The spells are designed to overwrite lower level versions, but not to stack.

Q. According to a popular fan site, the Dragonbane Recurve Bow gives 5% to melee damage. Since you can’t hit people in melee with your bow, I find this strange. Is this a bug which will be fixed soon, or is it the way it’s supposed to be? Another option would be that the fan site is wrong?

A. In this case, our apologies to the fan site, but its information doesn’t match our database. Here’s what the Bearded Wonder found out for us: The Dragonbane Recurve Bow has a bonus to magic damage, not melee damage.

Q. I was curious whether you aware of the "exploit" players can perform in water by backing up. By that I mean the move speed that is granted in doing so. There's quite a lot of players who willingly use this knowing it's an exploit. So my question is if this will ever be addressed?

A. Yes, we’re aware of the bug and we’re looking into a fix. Thanks for sending it in!

Q. Did Cearl Smith of Wearyall Village move?  He used to buy the Rotted Apple Gatherer flesh.  Now I cannot find him in Wearyall.

A. According to the Bearded Wonder, he is still in Wearyall Village.

Q. Can the strength and power relics still be carried though Passage of Conflict?

A. Yes.

Q. In regard to the New Frontiers RVR relics, how do they apply their effects to the Archery classes?  (Hunters, Rangers, Scouts)  In short, do Melee relics give their bonuses to melee damage, and the Power relics to archery?

If the answer to the above is yes, then does the power relic also give non-archery classes extra damage with their weapons?  (Examples: Throwing hammers, non-Scout Albion classes using bows)

A. I went to the Balancinator, who gladly clarified things:  Yes, owning your own strength relic and another realm's strength relic will give you a boost in melee damage.  If you own your own power relic and another realm's power relic, it will boost archery, healing, and damage spells. 

And, to answer the second part of your question: No, the power relic does not give bonuses to thrown weapons or bow types that are not in the 'Archery' specialization.  These projectiles have yet to be converted into an 'Archery' style system.

Q.  I have 2 primary buffers on Gaheris: Druid and Shaman. Ever since the patch, it seems that I can no longer pass out as many buffs as I used to be able to.  I can no longer put red spec DEX/QUI and STR/CON on 7 people (used to hit all 8 in group and also have bases on myself).  Has something changed the size of the concentration pools that wasn't in the patch notes?  It almost seems like neither of them have Greatness anymore. My Druid is ML6, my Shaman is ML5 and both can still use power font, however.

A. From the Master of the Bugs, who scrutinized and carefully tested this: I have not been able to find any bugs with concentration, and I have verified that the Greatness ML ability is still working correctly. I was able to cast 7 red STR/CON and DEX/QUI buffs, but you really have to max out your concentration pool.  If the player changed some of their gear this could be the problem.

ANNOUNCEMENTS

I promised I’d say hello to a merry old reindeer whose antlers I signed over on Guinevere Wednesday afternoon, while Joanne and I were handing out a prize for the Home for The Holidays contest. It was fun to pop in game for one of our first ever live contest appearances. The folks in Gloria Invicta were very accommodating! We still have two winners to visit, and then we’ll be posting some screenshots of the events. Maybe we’ll see you in game if you share a server with one of the contest’s winners.

We had a little difficulty with the Population Bonus page earlier this week. It was the first time we changed the bonuses since Killibury and Tintagel were clustered, and Tintagel was still showing the old bonuses. We were able to update the page since then, and the new bonuses are showing up exactly as they should. Sorry for the confusion!

Well, our winter break is fast approaching. Next week, things on the Herald will be rather quiet, as the Devs and the Community Team take some time off to spend with our families and relax a bit. A little R&R is always good to get the creative juices flowing, but no worries, we’ll be back to full-steam-ahead after New Year’s Day. While we're gone, why not get yourself one of those Medals of Honor everyone's talking about? As always, In-game Support will be here 24-7 to assist you with anything that might crop up, so don’t hesitate to send in that appeal if you need to, and remember to spread a little holiday cheer (and maybe a pretty gingerbread cookie) to the CS-Elf who helps you out!

Have a safe and happy holiday, everyone. See ya next year!