Runes of Magic US / AU

Hello everyone

During the last few weeks we’ve been giving you the first glimpses of the balancing patch in Chapter IV.

As previously stated Frogster & Runewaker are working together to improve the way classes and skills are functioning in Runes of Magic, aiming to bring DPS classes closer to each other. Only in certain situations some classes might be more effective than others.
Skills that have been unattractive for a while are also being addressed for both PvE & PvP reasons. While it’s a long and difficult way the right path has been stepped onto and we’re walking it together carefully yet with determination.

Please bear in mind that even though these changes have been confirmed, it’s still only a preview and that balancing still is an every ongoing process. As long as Runes of Magic will exist there will be fine tuning and adjusting coming along time and time again. It’s a necessary task in every MMO that feature multiple classes, skills, growth of equipment & encounters to find the right balance to face challenges and feeling rewarded when overcoming them instead of being frustrated due to them being either too easy or too hard.

With Chapter IV we aimed for getting two classes adjusted first: that of the Scout and the Mage. We’ve already disclosed some confirmed changes for the upcoming patch and today we want to give you a little bit more. And by more we do NOT mean the Scout or Mage but instead other classes that will get a few skills overhauled with the release on the 16. June 2011 as well. Here are some examples:

Warrior

• 1-H Weapon Master
  

[INDENT]

1. Before (Lvl 1-50): Increases damage with one-handed swords, axes, or hammers by 5 - 45%.
   
2. Now (Lvl 1-50): Increases damage with one-handed swords, axes, or hammers by 5 - 80%.[/INDENT]
   

• 2-H Weapon Master
  

[INDENT]

1. Before (Lvl 1-50): Increases damage with two-handed swords, axes, or hammers by 5 - 40%.
   
2. Now (Lvl 1-50): Increases damage with two-handed swords, axes, or hammers by 5 - 75%.
   

[/INDENT]

• Defensive Formation
  
• The defense bonus has been aligned with the penalty to attack power. The buff now only applies to the caster and the duration has been reduced. This strengthens the warriors possibilities to temporary act as an off-tank.
  

[INDENT]

1. Before (Lvl 1-50): Cooldown 2 minutes. Increases Physical Defense of all party members by 500 - 6300 points, but decreases Physical Attack Power by 5 – 63% and Magical Attack Power by 5 - 63% for 60 seconds.
   
2. Now (Lvl 1-50): Cooldown 2 minutes. Increases your Physical Defense by 5 - 50%, but decreases Physical Attack Power by 5 - 50% and Magical Attack Power by 5 - 50% for 30 seconds.
   

[/INDENT]

Rogue

• Shadowstab
  Dexterity now adds additional damage. This should further emphasize the main attribute of the class.
  

[INDENT]

1. Before (Lvl 1-65): Causes 60.0% - 333.0% main hand weapon DPS with an additional Bleed effect. For 8 seconds Bleed causes 5.0 - 167.5 damage every 2 seconds. (Extra effect is produced only if the main hand is wielding a dagger.)
   
2. Now (Lvl 1-65): Causes 70.0% - 388.5% + 0.20 x AGI main hand weapon DPS with an additional Bleed effect. For 8 seconds Bleed causes 5.0 - 167.5 damage every 2 seconds. (Extra effect is produced only if the main hand is wielding a dagger.)
   

[/INDENT]

• Crippling Poison (Rogue/Druid)
  The effect has been changed to strengthen the combinations supportive abilities. The damage dealt by the target can now be seriously reduced.
  

[INDENT]

1. Before: 30 seconds cooldown. Strikes your target with Crippling Poison decreasing its Magical Defense by 30% for 10 seconds.
   
2. Now: Passive. Your Poisonous Effect will lower attack speed and spell casting speed of your target by 5%. Effect can be stacked up to four times.
   

[/INDENT]

• Trap Skills (Rogue/Mage)
  The trap damage and DoT effectiveness have been increased to bring the damage of this combination in line with other rogue combinations.
  

Priest

• Holy Candle Shield (Set-Skill)
  The skill now only grants immunity to the caster. Other party members will now only be affected by a damage reduction.
  

[INDENT]

1. Before: Allows all team members within a range of 80 to resist all damage.
   
2. Now: Damage taken by party members within a range of 80 is reduced by 60%. Players who leave this area do not benefit from this ability.
   

[/INDENT]

• Group Heal It is no longer possible to continuously use Group Heal only, because it will exhaust you. Exhaustion is a stackable debuff which will temporarily increase your mana requirements.
  

[INDENT]

1. Before (Lvl 1-65): Restores 65.0 – 910.0 HP to all party members within range of 120.
   
2. Now (Lvl 1-65): Restores 65.0 – 910.0 HP to all party members within range of 120. You will enter a state of Exhaustion, increasing the mana requirement for group healing skills.
   

[/INDENT]
Druid

• Unity with Mother Earth
  The effect has been changed. The druid can now use this skill in emergency situations to increase his Healing. Also, due to the guaranteed critical hits this skill also enhances druids which focus on dealing damage. However, the druid is unable to move for the duration of the effect.
  

[INDENT]

1. Before: For 20 seconds no spell will consume Nature’s Power.
   
2. Now: Enables every spell you cast to land a critical attack, and increases Healing by 10% for 15 seconds, but you will be unable to move during this time.[/INDENT]
   

• Mother Earth’s Fountain The limitation to 4 targets has been removed (the spell will now affect up to 12 targets) and the cooldown has been slightly reduced. Also it is now possible to cast this spell even without Nature’s Power, but the effect will be weaker.
  

[INDENT]

1. Before (Lvl 1-65): 5 seconds cooldown. Consumes 2 points of Nature’s Power restoring 70 - 980 HP (including your own) to up to 4 friendly targets in a range of 100. Also regain 1 point of Nature’s Power.
   
2. Now (Lvl 1-65): 4 seconds cooldown. Restores 56 - 784 HP to your friendly targets within a range of 100. If you possess Nature’s Power, it will consume 1 point of Nature’s Power to enhance the power and restore 70 - 980 HP.[/INDENT]
   

• Shield of Light (Druid/Mage)
  The effect is now based on the HP of the targets instead of a fixed amount to keep it matched to other similar skills like “Electrostatic Charge”.
  

[INDENT]

1. Before (Lvl 1-65): 60 seconds cooldown. Requires 3 points of Nature's Power, bathing 3 friendly targets within a range of 60 in a shield of light that can absorb 50 – 1512.5 points of damage for 60 seconds. (Effect cannot be used in conjunction with Wave Armor)
   
2. Now (Lvl 1-65): 60 seconds cooldown. Baths 3 friendly targets within range of 60 in a shield of light that can absorb 5 – 11.5% HP damage for 60 seconds. (Effect cannot be used in conjunction with Wave Armor)[/INDENT]
   

Only a couple more days, less than 2 weeks and we’ll be turning the next pages, opening Chapter IV – Lands of Despair. It will be up to you to counter Sismond’s plans wherever you can to help in restoring the peace to the land. Only then King Callaway might stand a chance to reunite the old races and stand together.

Stay tuned!