Sanya got the bag out even though X2 is what is really on her mind... Tonight's topics include:

Pentrating Arrow

/level

Video Cards

Quest Rewards

and more

You can read more on the Herald or click more, read and comment!

Don't you be rolling your eyes at me and my silly titles, you're going to see X2 tonight same as I am. Anyway, on to the Bag! Q: What's the purpose of +enhance or +rejuve on your gear - exactly what happens? A: Sayeth the Spell Overlord: "You get a penalty applied to your spells (actual value for buffs, or variance for heals) if your spec is below the spell's level. As your spec approaches the level of the spell you actually gain a bonus to your buffs or reduced variance on your heals." Q: About the new Penetrating Arrow – I know it will go through one sort of bladeturn. Will it take bladeturn down altogether? A: No. This new type of special attack (currently on Pendragon) will not "pop" bladeturn, it will just pass through it. You're still safe from other arrow damage. Q: (Insert question about level 50 and Pendragon players)? A: Once /level goes live, Pendragon 50s will not be excluded from the freebie program. You no longer need to be in the housing beta in order to test the /level command. Now, anyone with a level 50 on Pendragon can try it. BUT - only the people in the housing beta are likely to find the process bug-free. There are still some bugs in the system (which is why the system is on Pendragon and all), so, if you are not in the housing beta and cannot create your free level 20, please wait 24 hours and try again. (The problem is related to logging in and character saves, the solution will be in place on Monday.) Q: Can you change the /level reward to 19 and 24? For the battlegrounds! :) A: New people buy the game every day, and it wouldn't be fair to anyone to have the battlegrounds invaded by dozens of people at the top of the curve. We already considered this, and decided not to do it. I can't blame anyone for asking, though ;) If you're itching for some BG action with one of your alts, may I recommend Pendragon Battlegrounds? We could always use more RVR testing on the test server! Q: I have an ati 9700 video card. Inside cities my torch does not work properly with the SI addon. I thought it was just a bug you guys would get around to fixing, but then checked your site and found no known bug with it. My other pc has a gforce 4MX and does not have the problem. A: As with all other technical oddities, email support@darkageofcamelot.com - our tech support crew will more than likely be able to solve your problem. If they can't, they'll at least let you know whether there's anything we can do. And who knows – maybe your information will be the crucial piece of data we needed to make a fix or an improvement. Q: I just did a class-specific quest I got from my trainer, and the item reward doesn't do me and my chosen spec line any good. Is this item wrong, or is the quest broken? A: Neither. Not every single quest reward will be suited for every possible spec line. If you feel that your particular spec line does not have as many suitable items obtainable from quests, please send us a feedback form to that effect, and I will look into it. Q: Does mana song work during combat? I think it does, just by the way songs are designed. Every pulse it adds it's modifier to the groups mana pool, regardless of combat. Mana regens at 1/2 rate during combat, but it does regen, yes? A: This is correct. You regen the same amount of mana in combat as you do at rest, just at longer intervals. Mana song affects the regen amount regardless of interval. So, if you normally get five points a tick, and in combat you normally get five points every two ticks, then with a five point regen song, you would get ten points a tick at rest and ten points every two ticks in combat. (A tick = unit of time.) Q: Can you block special attacks? A: Yes. Q: Does QUI affect spell casting speed, or is that only affected by DEX? Most players think only DEX, but some lvl 50s are confident QUI matters. A: The programmer in charge of such matters looked, and he looked, and he looked again in multiple places in the code. According to all the data at his disposal, quickness does not affect casting speed for players. Q: Will a "+ skill" item have ANY affect when a player already has spec points beyond the level of the spell being used? In other words, if my wizard is specced in only ice at level 32 (32 ice spec), and is casting a level 32 or below spell (which of course is all he would have available), will having a +2 ice ring make ANY difference? A: This is a little complex, so I'll just quote the programmer and designer who answered the question for me: "Items which boost spec will help casting damage up to the point where the total spec level including bonuses meets the level of the target. This means that a 32nd level Wizard with 32 in Ice will not gain anything from a +2 item when casting on a 32nd level or lower target, but will on anything higher." ************* Announcements – goodness, but have I gotten an avalanche of "The One Thing" links and comments. It will take me awhile to sort through everything, but I thank you all for your thoughtful comments and detailed responses. I am going to use all this to make a huge list, which will go straight to the producers. Regular readers of our patch notes know that we make an effort every patch to include something fun or interesting. Quest contest, the final update – buried in 1.62A were the names of three new quests. Astute readers may have remembered those quest names from our contest! Indeed, the three realm winners are now in testing, and will be live for everyone's enjoyment in the very near future. A gentle reminder about account security – ever hear the old cliché about a secret not being a secret if more than one person knows it? The same is true of your password. If you have given your password to your best friend, or your wife, or your schnauzer, now might be a great time to do a little "spring cleaning" and change that not-secure password. Remember, a random mixture of letters and numbers, upper and lowercase, is the most secure. Most of us would forget such a secure password, of course, and a password written on a sticky note attached to your monitor is almost as bad as having "password" for a password. So do the best you can – and keep it to yourself. Have a terrific weekend!