Publish Notes - October 31th, 2007

Welcome to Hellgate: London!

First and foremost, THANK YOU for playing! We’ve been working on the game for a long time, and then putting it through its online paces with our great beta-testing community. Our testers are going to see many of their suggestions and feedback represented in this patch – so, THANK YOU for the thousands of hours you’ve put into Hellgate: London. This patch represents a great deal of work that is directly tied to that feedback. We’ve been burning the midnight oil to make our day-one patch something that truly enhances the online experience.

Amongst the persistent changes and features introduced in this patch, our subscription members start out the Halloween holidays with some special quests, items, rewards, and even the chance to build your own pet – the freakishly frightening (and entertaining) Zombot!

Again, welcome to the game, to our community, and thank you for joining us.

See you online!

The Hellgate: London Team

New Online Features and Improvements

These features and adjustments impact all online players.

Player vs. Player Mode
Players can Duel or elect to play Free-for-All PvP
Players can initiate a duel by right-clicking the portrait of the group member they wish to duel and selecting the “Duel” option if they are both in an adventuring area. Players can also use the /duel [playername] command to initiate a duel.
Players may also toggle their PvP mode through the /pvp command
While PvP is activated, the player may be attacked and harmed outside of Stations by any other group members who are also flagged for PvP
Elite Mode
The demons are tougher, deal out more damage, move faster, travel in larger groups, and have more champions at the ready. Numerous tweaks to the overall balance and progression of the game make this an extremely challenging mode
Elite Mode is unlocked only to subscribers who have also beaten the game at least once. Once the mode is unlocked, new characters may be designated as Elite through a toggle in the character creation screen
Achievements

These are meant to be long-term goals for all players. Players start with a few new goals in their Achievement Log (default hotkey is “J”) and can unlock more as they play

Guilds
While only subscribers can start one, anyone may join a guild
Guild members can communicate in their own private channel using /gchat
Guild creation and management is covered in the Subscriber Features section of this document
NPC Tweaks
In general, the vocal responses given by NPCs have been tuned so that they tend more towards the serious and “normal” in nature

Gossip
We’ve added a large amount of additional details on the people and places in the game through gossip told by various NPCs in the world. NPCs with some gossip to tell will have a purple (“ ”) icon above their heads

Tuned Game Progression
Level and monster progression is now much more thematic in nature. While this does not affect the overarching layout of the world map, it does make each act feel more defined and focused
Bigger levels in Nightmare Mode increases the time players spend in each area, giving the game a more expansive feel at higher difficulty levels
Several new level varieties have been added
Players will now receive a completion message upon finishing an Act
The experience required to level between levels 30 and 50 has been rebalanced
Interface Features
Many new UI improvements have been made
Players can now right-click on their buddies within the Buddy List to perform actions (i.e. whisper, remove from Buddy List, etc.)
There is now a “Hide Offline” button
The Chat Window has been updated with 4 tabs for different channels: Global, Local, Party, and Guild
There is now an assignable Hotkey for toggling the Chat window which is set to the tilde key ( ` ) by default
Player names are now color-coded to represent different game modes and character status
The /played command displays the player’s total play time for the character
The /screenshot command may now be used to take screenshots
Several icon updates
Graphics
Improved memory usage and long-term stability
Improved multiplayer stability
Improved station performance and stability
Improved multi-monitor compatibility
Texture Detail option now behaves more predictably
Improved DX10 initial load time
Improved performance in DX10
Improved appearance of motion-blur in DX10
DX10 smoke now scales better with multi-GPU
More noticeable get-hit effect, prevents “always grey” when getting frequently damaged by small amounts
Tweaked FOV limits to avoid excessive fish-eye
Anti-aliasing now supported for ATI 2x00 series cards
Initial settings detection is now more effective
Fixed several loading screen bugs
Fixed issues with “Low” Shadow Detail
Fixed overly shiny characters when Shader Detail is set to “High”
Sound
Sound Effects and Music: Volumes and roll-off levels have been changed for various guns and monsters
Updated version of FMOD
Sound initialization improvements
Tweaked several sound effects volumes
Skills

Several skills and descriptions have been rebalanced and updated.
Templar
Templar can no longer change targets mid-charge (Charge and Shield Charge) to hit a target that is out of range
Guardian
Shield Wall can now be held indefinitely until cancelled
Stampede’s skill description has been updated to display that the skill moves the player forward 15 meters
Anchor now has a 6-second cooldown
The Guardian’s Hamper skill now lists its duration.
Cabalists
Drain Life now deals a significant amount of damage, but costs 100% more power per second and returns less health to the Cabalist
Cabalist beam skills now properly stop casting when the Cabalist runs out of power
Evokers
Flameshards no longer has a hidden limit of 10 shards. Each shard now has a small radius (1.0 meters), greatly improving the skill’s effectiveness. To balance this change, Flameshards power cost has been increased by 46% and individual shard damage has been decreased by 24%
Firestorm no longer provides an initial bonus to Ignite Attack Strength at rank 1
Arcane Shield now displays the proper shield bonus
Bone Shards is now instant cast and has had its radius increased to 10 meters
Arc Legion damage has been increased by 25%, but costs 50% more power per second
Drain Power now returns less power per second
Spectral Lash damage has been decreased by 13%
Summoners
The Carnagor’s damage has been reduced by 45% and stun defense reduced by 33%
The Carnagor now taunts slightly earlier and more frequently while Meat Shield is active
Meat Shield has had its effective taunt radius reduced to 20 meters
Additional levels of Meat Shield no longer increase its taunt radius
The duration of Meat Shield’s taunt effect has been reduced to 10 seconds
The Dominate skill can no longer be used with pets other than the Witch Doctor
Elemental Nova no longer destroys Elementals
Fire Elemental health has been slightly increased
Fire Elemental Ignite Attack Strength has been reduced by 75%
Fire Elemental power cost has increased by 25%
Spectral Elemental health has been slightly increased
Spectral Elemental Phase Attack Strength has been decreased by 17%
Spectral Elemental Phase Attack Duration has been reduced to 5 seconds
Spectral Elemental power cost has been slightly increased and now correctly scales up with the Summoner’s level
Force Elemental health has been slightly increased
Force Elemental Stun Attack Strength has been reduced by 25%
Force Elemental power cost has increased by 30%
Storm Elemental Shock Attack Strength has been increased by 100%
Storm Elemental Shock Attack Duration has been increased to 4 seconds from 2 seconds
Storm Elemental Shock Attack Damage has been increased to 100% from 25%
Storm Elemental power cost has been decreased slightly
Storm Elemental health has been decreased
Storm Elemental damage has been decreased significantly
Hunters
Beacon no longer charges the power cost and cooldown of the skill when the target is out of range
The per-level effects of Phase Grenade have changed to an increasing Phase Attack Strength
Marksmen
Sniper Stance now increases Weapon Energy Consumption by 300% while firing
The per-level effects of Toxic and Flashcrasher Grenades have changed: they now gain increases to their Special Effect Attack Strengths
Engineers
Tactical Mode and Advanced Tactical Mode have switched places with Armor Retrofit and Master Engineer in the Engineer Drone skills tree
Bomber Bot damage has been increased significantly
Bomber Bot Phase Attack Strength and Duration have been slightly decreased
Concussive Crash power cost has been decreased to 5
Concussive Crash has a decreased initial Stun Attack Strength but now properly scales up with the Engineer’s level
Molotov Assault power cost has been decreased to 10
Concussive Crash and Molotov Assault now have 10 second but separate cooldowns
Engineer Drones now properly save their attribute assignments and items
Inhibitor Bots now properly slow their targets
Combat
The Special Effect Attack and Interrupt Strengths of weapons which attack significantly faster or slower than once per second now scale properly. Faster weapons and attacks (including field and splash damage) now appropriately have a lesser chance to land successful special effects or interrupts. Slower weapons and attacks now appropriately have a greater chance to land successful special effects and interrupts.

Items
Skill bonus affixes now only appear on weapons
Power Regeneration boosts (i.e. Powerpacks) now function better
All Swords have had their damage reduced by 10%; however, Shield Overload-modified damage now correctly deals damage to a target’s health if the damage exceeded the amount of shields.
Increased the range and accuracy of all Hunter machine guns (non-splash, non-beam)
The Weapon Energy Consumption system for beam and streaming weapons has been somewhat rebalanced. At ¾ of a full bar, the weapon’s damage will begin to decrease until the bar reaches 0, where the weapon will deal only 25% of its maximum damage.
Rebalanced the ratio of Unique, Legendary, Rare, and Enhanced items within the subset of magical items. Players will still find the same ratio of magical to non-magical items.
Rebalanced the ratio of Legendary and Rare Mods
Rebalanced the benefit of Luck
Decreased XM107 and XM237 Firefox Launcher damage by 10%
Decreased XM107 and XM237 Firefox Launcher Interrupt Strength by 45%
Decreased XM803 Zeus Rifle damage by 15%
Decreased XM923 Zeus Rifle damage by 5%
Decreased Nanodyne Venom Lance damage by 20%
Crafting
Crafting machines are now equipped to hold larger items
Items can only be upgraded a maximum of 5 times each
Item upgrading now costs significantly more scrap
Monsters
The Eyes of Oculis summoned by Oculis the All-Seeing have had their damage increased by 60%
Fiend Master damage has been increased significantly
Emperor Gulkar’s damage has been increased significantly
Defilers now perform their fade skill less often
Grouping
Difficulty has been scaled up significantly, particularly when more than 2 players are in an instance
All players in a group receive full experience from each kill
Special Effect Attack and Interrupt Strengths now properly scale in multiplayer situations
The Auto-party feature will now only group players playing the same mode
Quests
Fixed a bug where some quests wouldn’t show up at the right time
“Tripping the Rift” – the radar will properly disappear after completing this quest
“The Final Test” – all eligible players in the party can now speak to Murmur to complete this quest
Truth portals no longer disappear in multiplayer when other players enter the portal
Quest drops should now properly drop for all players in the group in the appropriate instance
Players can now properly interact with Jessica Summerisle in the Necropolis
Pratch no longer repeatedly issues the same quest
Assorted Fixes
Lots of little things, with some notable ones worth specific mention:
Pets can now be released in town
Pets now disappear from an instance when the owner leaves
The mini-game has been somewhat adjusted
Footsteps in 1st-person now play properly and respect the floor material
Fixed a bug causing the camera to change positions upon zoning
Fixed bugs preventing players from resurrecting after dying
Fixed some town portal bugs
Fixed some boss farming exploits
Fixed some character saving issues
Fixed several crash bugs
The /stuck command has been re-enabled. Using this command will transport the player back to the beginning of the current adventure level after a short period of time.
Subscriber Features
These are new features available to our subscription members right away. PLEASE NOTE these represent just the tip of the iceberg as to what we’re working on and what you’ll be getting. Check the Hellgate: London website for announcements and details on upcoming patches and features.

Hardcore Mode
Characters have one life, and ONLY one life, to give for the cause. There is no resurrecting your downed hero in Hardcore mode, so different tactics, skills and items rule the day. For the gamer that wants the ultimate test, try playing an Elite Hardcore character.

Themed Events and Items

Special storylines, quests, NPCs and events designed to celebrate special seasons or provide different themed challenges. Some of these take place every so often, while others only happen at a specific time of year.
Halloween (October 31 – November 4)
Zombot - A special pet just for the All Hallows’ celebration. This amalgam of meat and metal is sure to frighten and delight those players that are willing to put in the time to find all the necessary pieces in order to construct him.
All Hallows’ Visage – A Unique Helm that has not only very special properties, but as well a fierce look unlike any other helm in the game.
All Hallows’ Treats – Delicious and devious, these different delights do everything from temporarily boosting stats to altering the appearance of the devourer.
All Hallows’ Quests – There are a pair of special quests available, including one that is repeatable for continuous fun.
Nemo, Master of Festivities – This special NPC can first be found in Covent Garden Station.
Guild creation and Management
While only subscribers can start one, anyone may join a guild
Subscribers may create a guild by purchasing and using a Guild Herald, available from vendors
Guild leaders can invite new members through the Guild panel (default hotkey is “G ”) or through the “invite to guild” button on the radial menu activated by right-clicking on a player in their buddy list or in-person
Guild members can communicate in their own private channel using /gchat
Additional Character Slots
Hellgate: London Subscribers receive 24 character slots.

Expanded Stash
Each character gets an extra 6x8 section in their storage locker.
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~Do not meddle in the affairs of dragons for thou art crunchy and go well with ketchup!!~

Last edited by Tiggs : Today at 01:22 AM.