Greetings from the Ettenmoors!
We have some pretty exciting changes coming to monster play in Book 14, so we wanted to take this opportunity to let you know what’s in store for you Creeps and Freeps when logging in after Book 14 goes live. First and foremost, we’ve made some changes to how crowd control and diminishing returns will work in PvMP. Please note that the changes below will *only* affect PvMP combat, crowd control rules for PvE have not been changed. We know that everyone likes details, so here they are:
Crowd Control
Root and daze effects will now share diminishing returns. This means that dazes and roots will be considered the same effect in terms of consecutive applications for diminishing returns. As an example: When a player dazes another player, then roots him, the root will be considered the second application in terms of diminishing returns.
The new root/daze diminishing return duration progression for each application of root/daze is as follows:
First application = 50% of the root/daze's duration
Second application = 25% of the root/daze's duration
Third and subsequent applications = 5% of the root/daze's duration
Diminishing return durations for stun effects have been reduced to address issues with crowd control in PvMP combat. The duration progression for each application of stun is as follows:
First application = 100% of the stun's duration
Second application = 50% of the stun's duration
Third application = 25% of the stun's duration
Fourth and subsequent applications = 1 second stun duration
Diminishing return durations for fear effects have been reduced to address issues with crowd control in PvMP combat. The duration progression for each application of fear is as follows:
First application = 100% of the fear's duration
Second application = 50% of the fear's duration
Third application = 25% of the fear's duration
Fourth and subsequent applications = 1 second fear duration
The diminishing returns grace period is 45 seconds.
Diminishing returns are applied on the individual being attacked with crowd control (not on the attacker). This means that multiple players attacking the target with the same type of crowd control will also have their crowd control affected by diminishing returns for that target. As an example:
1) Player A stuns Player B
2) Player A stuns Player B again.
3) The second stun from Player A has a diminished duration on Player B.
2) Player C stuns Player B after Player A’s second stun.
3) Player C’s stun will have diminished duration on Player B. It is counted as the third application of stun.
We want to make monster play as fun as possible for everyone and feel this is a big first step in improving that overall experience.
Weaver Love
The next set of changes came about because of player feedback. There was an enormous amount of player feedback about some of the recent changes we made to Weavers, and we want to thank you for taking the time to make your comments. This feedback prompted us to revisit our eight-legged friends. Here’s the list of upcoming changes to Weavers in Book 14:
Spider damage skills will now be properly affected by the increased damage corruptions.
The Spider Weaver's hatchlings should now behave more aggressively to targets near the Spider and to targets who have been attacked by the Spider. Please note that rooted targets will still be ignored by the hatchlings - this is a side effect of the aggressive pet stance used by all pet types.
The Spider Weaver's Snaring Web (and traited version) will now have a 30 second duration.
The Spider Weaver's Poison Spray skill has had its frontal arc increased from 90 degrees to 120 degrees.
The Warleader's Banner of Command aura will no longer overwrite the Spider Weaver's Born of Shadow aura.
We fixed an issue where the slow effect from Web the Earth was improperly removed after an affected character left the webbed area. This duration based slow will now be applied when a character enters the webbed area and will be removed after the duration of the effect expires.
The Lie in Wait skill for Spider Weavers has been updated. The skill will now apply an aura around the Spider that will root enemy players who trespass near the Spider's burrow. This root will continually apply (with diminishing returns) until the Spider comes out of the burrow.
The debuffs from Entangling Webs and Clinging Webs can now both be applied on the same target.
The trait for Piercing Attack will now properly increase the damage over time portion of the skill.
Overall, we think that those of you who play a Weaver should now find that you’re much more effective in battle.
Emotes
Last, but certainly not least, we have added emotes for monster players, and everyone loves emotes!
Spiders now have the following emotes: agree, bother, bow, calm, cheer, dance1, laugh, salute, no, yes, and talk.
Wargs now have the following emotes: agree, bother, bow, calm, dance1, laugh, rude, salute, scratch, no, yes, and talk.
Urukhai now have the following emotes: agree, bother, bow, calm, charge, cheer, dance1, flex, laugh, pose, rude, salute, shrug, no, yes, tantrum, and talk.
Orcs now have the following emotes: agree, bother, bow, calm, cheer, dance1, flex, laugh, pose, rude, salute, scratch, shrug, no, yes, tantrum, and talk.
So there you have it. We think you’ll find that these changes will make monster play more enjoyable for everyone!
