[syko de4d]

Awesome, how did you know that? If you don't mind me asking that is.

Some Alpha tester post this in the Forum.

"It has been on alpha for approx. 6 hrs" Posted at on 25. April 2012 11:39

And from a Forum Moderator:


"Alpha is about major issues. That includes client instabilities but it also covers general balance of new content. It's about getting as much feedback on the patch as possible while it's still in an unfinished state.

Also, there's a ton of new shit coming this patch. Some features (like totems and the prison necromancer) have already been confirmed but there's a bunch of other secret stuff as well. It's a big patch (~950mb and not everything has been included yet). As always, content may need to be removed at the last minute if it's not fit for general beta testing. These patches are exciting because you can feel the game getting closer to Open Beta."

[syko de4d]

sry for the double post, but big PoE News :)

"0.9.9 will be deployed on approximately May 8, NZ time.

I'm not going to attempt to list all the features here (I'll update with a lot more info next week), but a few specific things people have been waiting for are:

The big monster update. All monsters have had their skills and behaviour changed. The new AI system creates some absolutely brutal fights. I die every time I test the game now, often in scary ways.

New skills, supports and at least one new quest and monster type.

A rebalance of all weapon and damage values in the game so that the progression is a bit flatter. This fixes many problems in the game balance. No longer will your level 12 rare item be outdated by a level 17 normal item.

The option to put the minimap in the corner of the screen rather than as an overlay.
Meaningful act boss drops now that they're harder to abusively farm.

At least two things I can't talk about yet but might be of interest to some users.


0.9.9 is not the last patch before Open Beta. 0.9.10 is next :)"

http://www.pathofexile.com/forum/view-thread/29706

[KKRT00]

sry for the double post, but big PoE News :) "0.9.9 will be deployed on approximately May 8, NZ time. I'm not going to attempt to list all the features here (I'll update with a lot more info next week), but a few specific things people have been waiting for are: The big monster update. All monsters have had their skills and behaviour changed. The new AI system creates some absolutely brutal fights. I die every time I test the game now, often in scary ways. New skills, supports and at least one new quest and monster type. A rebalance of all weapon and damage values in the game so that the progression is a bit flatter. This fixes many problems in the game balance. No longer will your level 12 rare item be outdated by a level 17 normal item. The option to put the minimap in the corner of the screen rather than as an overlay. Meaningful act boss drops now that they're harder to abusively farm. At least two things I can't talk about yet but might be of interest to some users. 0.9.9 is not the last patch before Open Beta. 0.9.10 is next :)" http://www.pathofexile.com/forum/view-thread/29706

Very nice! I also count for Cutthroat league ;]

[Raxum]

sry for the double post, but big PoE News :) "0.9.9 will be deployed on approximately May 8, NZ time. I'm not going to attempt to list all the features here (I'll update with a lot more info next week), but a few specific things people have been waiting for are: The big monster update. All monsters have had their skills and behaviour changed. The new AI system creates some absolutely brutal fights. I die every time I test the game now, often in scary ways. New skills, supports and at least one new quest and monster type. A rebalance of all weapon and damage values in the game so that the progression is a bit flatter. This fixes many problems in the game balance. No longer will your level 12 rare item be outdated by a level 17 normal item. The option to put the minimap in the corner of the screen rather than as an overlay. Meaningful act boss drops now that they're harder to abusively farm. At least two things I can't talk about yet but might be of interest to some users. 0.9.9 is not the last patch before Open Beta. 0.9.10 is next :)" http://www.pathofexile.com/forum/view-thread/29706

Wow, sounds like a fair few changes coming our way, should be fun! Hopefully the balance changes don't make it too much harder or we'll lose a couple of viable builds.

[_tetsuo_]

Enjoying myself quite a bit with this game. Just got to Act 2 and it is starting to pick up a lot. I did get a broken weapon at theend of Act 1 though, lol. 2-handder that does +90% physical damage.

[eek5]

Enjoying myself quite a bit with this game. Just got to Act 2 and it is starting to pick up a lot. I did get a broken weapon at theend of Act 1 though, lol. 2-handder that does +90% physical damage.

Not really broken; you can get over 200%.

[FieryBalrog]

Played this some more. Not really feeling it at the moment. It feels like a great tech demo for a videogame.

I don't like the passives system. It needlessly combines lots of little mathy passives, where it's basically impossible to know which ones are best, with bigger more interesting passives that you want to define your playstyle. There is no way I can realistically play this game without copying someone's build online and they don't even have respecs. Right now I'm just haphazardly assigning points in a direction that looks vaguely interesting. There is a very good idea hiding behind this implementation. The big passives are cool and interesting.

There's a small delay after firing your spell animation before you can move again which takes away from the fluidity of the game. You are going to be move casting a shitload as a caster in an ARPG, and it should be super super fluid. It's one of the flaws of a left click to move system, that if you don't get it exactly right it builds up aggravation. I found myself running past crowds of those zombie dudes instead of engaging.

Because of the way spells and passives work, the character classes feel like tiny variations on a single metaclass.

Things I hate most of all- inventory tetris and having to give away most of my loot unidentified.

I like the graphics and setting, and I like the spell slot system.

[KKRT00]

There's a small delay after firing your spell animation before you can move again which takes away from the fluidity of the game. You are going to be move casting a shitload as a caster in an ARPG, and it should be super super fluid. It's one of the flaws of a left click to move system, that if you don't get it exactly right it builds up aggravation. I found myself running past crowds of those zombie dudes instead of engaging.

Its quite strange indeed, i noticed it when i was playing cutthroat event on new char that spell casting and moving is sluggish, but it definitely depends of skill animation, because on my higher level ranger, with much faster attack speed, i dont have delay. Probably because animation is so much faster.

[injurai]

Played this some more. Not really feeling it at the moment. It feels like a great tech demo for a videogame. I don't like the passives system. It needlessly combines lots of little mathy passives, where it's basically impossible to know which ones are best, with bigger more interesting passives that you want to define your playstyle. There is no way I can realistically play this game without copying someone's build online and they don't even have respecs. Right now I'm just haphazardly assigning points in a direction that looks vaguely interesting. There is a very good idea hiding behind this implementation. The big passives are cool and interesting. There's a small delay after firing your spell animation before you can move again which takes away from the fluidity of the game. You are going to be move casting a shitload as a caster in an ARPG, and it should be super super fluid. It's one of the flaws of a left click to move system, that if you don't get it exactly right it builds up aggravation. I found myself running past crowds of those zombie dudes instead of engaging. Because of the way spells and passives work, the character classes feel like tiny variations on a single metaclass. Things I hate most of all- inventory tetris and having to give away most of my loot unidentified. I like the graphics and setting, and I like the spell slot system.

This game kind of panders to the masochistic features of D2, as opposed to finding a way to improve upon them

[undu]

This game kind of panders to the masochistic features of D2, as opposed to finding a way to improve upon them

Yes, I'm sure Path of Exile didn't take care of the gold worthlessness of diablo 2 at all, among others.

Nice flamebait, by the way.

[FieryBalrog]

Yes, I'm sure Path of Exile didn't take care of the gold worthlessness of diablo 2 at all, among others. Nice flamebait, by the way.

It takes care of it by making me trash over half my items without knowing what they are? And having to not only memorize the vendoring system, but to look up the algorithm for optimal way to sell things (I'm fucked if I know what's more valuable, a scrap of transmutation or a scrap of alteration).

Why not have an enchanting gold sink like Torchlight, or a crafting gold sink like D3. At least from what I've played, the inventory management in this game is a tedious part-time job and the weakest bit of the game.

[KKRT00]

It takes care of it by making me trash over half my items without knowing what they are? And having to not only memorize the vendoring system, but to look up the algorithm for optimal way to sell things (I'm fucked if I know what's more valuable, a scrap of transmutation or a scrap of alteration). Why not have an enchanting gold sink like Torchlight, or a crafting gold sink like D3. At least from what I've played, the inventory management in this game is a tedious part-time job and the weakest bit of the game.

You just played it too little :) I dont care for almost any blue drop or white drop on higher levels, if they dont have 20% quality or 3 linked sockets of different colors.
I identify only rares and sell them to vendors if they arent at least decent.


And i dont really think that D3's crafting will be enough to avoid inflation.

This game kind of panders to the masochistic features of D2, as opposed to finding a way to improve upon them

Yep, because game doesnt improve on D2's builds stagnation, killing bosses to infinity as an end game feature, doesnt have meaningful currency or doesnt fix ladder limitations by introducing leagues.

[kyubajin]

Ever since I found about the amazing Mac OS X wrapper I finally got into the beta and have been playing non-stop since yesterday night.

The game is ace, I specially love the animation and care put behind almost everything. Currently have a Marauder lvl 15 and a Ranger lvl 7 and enjoying this way more than I thought I would. I even find myself studying the passive (tree) web and trying to come up with a decent build.

I'd love to party with other GAFers, is there a list of participants? :D

[Lactose_Intolerant]

Next patch they are taking out Avatar of Fire. That's a pretty big change since that was like a broken passive in how much damage you could do.

[Riggs]

Next patch they are taking out Avatar of Fire. That's a pretty big change since that was like a broken passive in how much damage you could do.

Completely? Thought it was just getting nerfed.

[syko de4d]

Next patch they are taking out Avatar of Fire. That's a pretty big change since that was like a broken passive in how much damage you could do.

really? I would have changed all the "+ XX% Eelemtal Damage on Weapons" passives, i think these are OP and not AoF.

But i think Diamond Flasks are more abusive, i hope this Flasks get nerfed too.

[docbon]

Next patch they are taking out Avatar of Fire. That's a pretty big change since that was like a broken passive in how much damage you could do.

rest in peace avatar of fire. we hardly knew ye'

[Lactose_Intolerant]

It will probably come back, just not as 100% fire damage.

[eek5]

Completely? Thought it was just getting nerfed.

It's being removed completely for the next patch. They were also considering wipes but I haven't been keeping up with that.

[Raxum]

Gotta admit, I haven't tried out AoF, but is it really THAT over-powered that they can't fix it?

[eek5]

Gotta admit, I haven't tried out AoF, but is it really THAT over-powered that they can't fix it?

AoF benefits from BOTH physical and elemental damage passives. On top of that there are +%dmg w/ elemental that you can get on a bunch of pieces of equipment.

Huge fire damage + diamond flasks/crit + burning damage.. yeah pretty OP

[syko de4d]

from a alpha tester

Working my way through normal difficulty of 0.9.9 on the alpha realm. A lot has changed. Normal white monsters cast curses and use skills and have other abilities. Status ailments are common. I like how getting hit with Puncture gives you the tactical choice of running away and taking massive damage or standing still and getting swarmed. I died eight times to Merveil before I crafted myself some cold resist gear and managed to beat her. Very interesting patch.

sounds hard ^^

[Nymerio]

Sounds awesome. I'm currently on the 3rd difficulty and I think the game needs to be harder. I think they can definitely get away with this because they're targeting a more hardcore audience than Diablo 3.

[syko de4d]

Sounds awesome. I'm currently on the 3rd difficulty and I think the game needs to be harder. I think they can definitely get away with this because they're targeting a more hardcore audience than Diablo 3.

yeahe but the first hours shouldn´be to hard. PoE already throws many complex things to the players at the beginning with the "no Gold", Skillgems, Talenttree etc., even more so for players who are used to Diablo 3.
If u die on the first Zombie it will only get frustrating for the new Players.

[TheExodu5]

I'm not entirely feeling the game. The skills fill kind of boring, and the way the talent tree is designed sets new players up for failure. Really, all the talent tree is doing at this point is forcing people to theorycraft or grab their builds off forums before they begin playing. It's a tedious effort that punishes experimentation.

[Lactose_Intolerant]

I'm not entirely feeling the game. The skills fill kind of boring, and the way the talent tree is designed sets new players up for failure. Really, all the talent tree is doing at this point is forcing people to theorycraft or grab their builds off forums before they begin playing. It's a tedious effort that punishes experimentation.

Lol what. Every game with a skill tree has the first point.

I experiment all the time with this game. That's how you make the game better. The skills and the skill tree change with each major release because the devs listen.

[Nymerio]

I don't have a problem with the first play through being easy but by the time you finished that I think you should have a solid grasp on the game.

The only problem I have with the skill tree is that the re-specs are too expensive. There should be some kind of training area were you can fool around with your skills and try stuff out before you commit yourself to that.

[spindoctor]

The only way to get into this beta at this point is by paying 10$ right? I am kind of intrigued by the game but with Diablo 3 only a few days away...

[Lactose_Intolerant]

The only way to get into this beta at this point is by paying 10$ right? I am kind of intrigued by the game but with Diablo 3 only a few days away...

They are still giving out invites every 5 minutes on the front page. Just sign up. Though that's a crap shoot. They have friend invites too, though I'm not sure if they are going to give more out to existing members.

[spindoctor]

I did register a while back. I guess I'll just wait for the lottery to throw up my number.

[syko de4d]

I did register a while back. I guess I'll just wait for the lottery to throw up my number.

many people who asks for a beta key on the PoE Forum get one because many people have 3 extra keys from the Support Packs.

And if u pay 10$ u get the same amount of Microtransaction Points u will get when u pay 10$ after the Open Beta starts. U don´t only pay 10$ for a key.

[Nymerio]

The game is absolutely worth the 10$.

[syko de4d]

The game is absolutely worth the 10$.

really? I only played about 300-500 hours PoE (number 5 most played online game right now for me). Is this really Worth 10$? :D

[spindoctor]

The game is absolutely worth the 10$.

Yep, it certainly looks like it. I was hovering on the buy button for a while earlier today but like I said... Diablo 3 which I already have pre-ordered is only days away now. I can wait for a chance at a normal invite otherwise I'll probably get it at some point down the line.

[Durante]

Really, all the talent tree is doing at this point is forcing people to theorycraft or grab their builds off forums before they begin playing.

But I love theorycrafting. I'll greatly miss it in Diablo 3.

[TheExodu5]

Lol what. Every game with a skill tree has the first point. I experiment all the time with this game. That's how you make the game better. The skills and the skill tree change with each major release because the devs listen.

The problem is that if you don't understand how important it is to plan your skill tree perfectly, you're going to hit a brick wall when you reach the second or third difficulty. Respecing is simply too expensive to be a viable option...it's easier to just reroll a new character at that point.

But I love theorycrafting. I'll greatly miss it in Diablo 3.

That's fair. Different strokes and all.

[syko de4d]

Yep, it certainly looks like it. I was hovering on the buy button for a while earlier today but like I said... Diablo 3 which I already have pre-ordered is only days away now. I can wait for a chance at a normal invite otherwise I'll probably get it at some point down the line.

My Tip: Play D3 for a Month and then the PoE Open Beta will start and u can test it 4 free :)
But if u want to play a good game for the next 2 weeks, the 10$ really worth it and u can buy items in the Cash Shop (u can´t buy power)

[syko de4d]

The problem is that if you don't understand how important it is to plan your skill tree perfectly, you're going to hit a brick wall when you reach the second or third difficulty. Respecing is simply too expensive to be a viable option...it's easier to just reroll a new character at that point. That's fair. Different strokes and all.

Thats is what many people love about this game, this is what i love about Diablo2.
I think the respeccing system is really good in PoE. U get 8 respecc points 4 free if u finish the 4 difficulties and if u want u can buy some Orb of Regrets. I think this is enough to respecc the most mistakes u have made till then. But if u skill Two Handed Melee damage and u use a Bow then reroll the char ^^

edit: Ah stupid double post... no way do delete that in this Forum? ^^

[shrapnelmagnet]

When I first saw the Passive Skill Tree, I could hardly believe that it was real (seemed too over-the-top). I thought it was pretty cool, but when I started playing, I liked it a lot less. I don't like making avoidable mistakes in games (missing some one-off pickup or what have you) and the Passive Tree made me hold on to points until I was level 12 or so.

Over time (Stockholm syndrome?), I've come to appreciate it, but what I don't like is that the WEBSITE has more functionality than the GAME and there's no way to have the two speak to each other. I have the benefit of two monitors, which I don't think is common, allowing me to rock out with both up, but still.

The game levels you pretty quickly, so creating new builds isn't that big of an issue... though, I feel a lot less inclined to start new characters than I did in D2 (making pre-LOD throwing barbs, etc.) - and that's probably just because I'm nearly twice as old compared to back then, haha.

It's definitely a polarizing system / feature. It requires the player to do a bunch of "homework", essentially, if they want to get the most (power-wise) out if it. I'd love to see the tool / breakdown of it - there has to be a method or pattern to the numbers and how far certain skills are away from each other / starting points.

[FieryBalrog]

I tried playing Torchlight again and it is fun from level 1. I guess I will stick with TL2 and D3. They both "grok" the ARPG in a way that I suspect GGG doesn't- it's in the dozens of small details that give the game it's "feel" (pacing, environmental design, loot/gold drops, monster AI and abilities, even the font).

[Nymerio]

huh, that's exactly the reverse of what my brother said about Diablo 3. He had more fun with PoE from level 1 than with Diablo 3.

I think that PoE is a better Diablo 2 than Diablo 3.

[Lactose_Intolerant]

When I first saw the Passive Skill Tree, I could hardly believe that it was real (seemed too over-the-top). I thought it was pretty cool, but when I started playing, I liked it a lot less. I don't like making avoidable mistakes in games (missing some one-off pickup or what have you) and the Passive Tree made me hold on to points until I was level 12 or so. Over time (Stockholm syndrome?), I've come to appreciate it, but what I don't like is that the WEBSITE has more functionality than the GAME and there's no way to have the two speak to each other. I have the benefit of two monitors, which I don't think is common, allowing me to rock out with both up, but still.

I would actually like them to make it so you can plan out your passive skill tree ingame.

[Scythian]

So I really enjoyed the Open Beta weekend, and I'm wondering if I buy the Early Access Pack now and I want to upgrade to the Kiwi Pack later do I get the pet, soundtrack, etc.?

[KKRT00]

So I really enjoyed the Open Beta weekend, and I'm wondering if I buy the Early Access Pack now and I want to upgrade to the Kiwi Pack later do I get the pet, soundtrack, etc.?

Yes.

[syko de4d]

So I really enjoyed the Open Beta weekend, and I'm wondering if I buy the Early Access Pack now and I want to upgrade to the Kiwi Pack later do I get the pet, soundtrack, etc.?

yes, is really really easy to upgrade ur pack and it is done in seconds.
I think many will upgrade they Packs shortly before the Open Beta Starts and the kiwi´s are gone forever :D

[syko de4d]

a Screenshot from the 0.9.9 Alpha

A Unique Totem Boss ^^

and from Twitter:
Large announcements are coming within 24 hours!

[KKRT00]

BIG UPDATE

New patch will introduce new class! Preview here!
http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2012...path-of-exile/



It will available in Wednesday, so in two days!

Also there will be Public Stress Test this weekend, so everyone will be able to test new class, new skills and new enemies behaviors.


Also, GGG made update about their 'Kickstarter' funding, its over 350k$ already

[Tambini]

Nice!

[Lactose_Intolerant]

Finally we have Wolverine's Tornado Claw. Glad we are getting some more multihit abilities for melee.

[syko de4d]

The patchnotes: http://www.pathofexile.com/forum/view-thread/30667

It has been a long month of development, but it was worth it. Here are the patch notes (3000 words!) for tomorrow's 0.9.9 update. It should be deployed during the New Zealand Wednesday workday. I'll post a more accurate time once we know. Yes, there is a legacy migration because of major changes to item balance. You're encouraged to continue playing in the legacy league if you don't want to start new characters, but be aware that balance related feedback from that league is not as useful. Thanks very much for your feedback, support and patience! We are really looking forward to you enjoying this patch. Version 0.9.9 Notes: A legacy migration has occured at the same time as this patch. All Default and Hardcore characters have been moved to the Legacy and HC Legacy leagues respectively. Any stashed items have been added in extra “Remove only” tabs in your legacy stashes. Items cannot be placed in these new stash tabs. We've wiped all the passive skills again. Please take care reallocating your passives so that you can use your equipment and gems. All damage values in the game have been rebalanced. Don't worry if high level weapons and skills do less damage than you're used to seeing. Features: We've added a corner map. You can turn it on in the UI Options. You can now rearrange the order of your stash tabs by dragging them around. Added support for Totems. These are entities that you summon which either grant auras or cast spells. There are a variety of new totem skills and a related support gem. All totems count towards the same limit. Added support for Traps. These are entities that you can throw into combat which will deal their payload when enemies move near them. There's a very short arming period before they activate. Enemy players and monsters cannot see your traps. Traps can be destroyed by area-of-effect damage and will expire after a while. Added support for Remote Mines. These are entities that can be placed on the battlefield at specific locations. When you have active Mines, a Detonate skill is available which will cause all of your mines to detonate at once. Like traps, Mines are also invisible to enemies and can be destroyed with area-of-effect damage. We've dramatically improved the behaviour of monsters with a new AI system. They'll now use skills in appropriate situations. Much more detail is listed in the Monster Changes section below. Added support for cooldowns and multi-cooldowns on skills. Currently the only skills with cooldowns are traps. Cooldowns reset when socketing gems or changing areas. Quest items spawned from chests now spawn for new players entering the instance up to five minutes after the chest was opened. You can now scroll left and right through stash tabs if you have too many to fit on one page. Added sounds for quest status change and quest completion. Added support for colour manipulation in the post-processing step. This can currently be seen in the Fetid Pool area but will eventually be used in many more areas. Added support for ground fire and other environmental hazards. The world now fades out and in again when you use an internal area transition in a level. Changed how monster packs are spawned so that their sizes can vary more. Added support for monsters to switch between run and walk stances. Changed the passive skill screen so that it defaults to looking at an area slightly to the side of your character's start position, to better indicate the direction to allocate initial points. The social screen will now automatically show the party screen when opened if you have a new party invitation. Content: Added the Shadow, the Dexterity/Intelligence Hybrid character class. It's currently disabled for a few days but will be turned on this weekend. Added a new Intelligence skill - Righteous Fire: Ignites you with magical fire that rapidly burns you and nearby enemies. Your spell damage is substantially increased while under this effect. The effect ends when you have 1 life remaining. Resistances do affect this damage. This effect can also be cancelled with a Flask of Dousing. Added a new Strength skill - Decoy Totem: Summons a totem that taunts nearby monsters to attack it. Added a new Strength skill - Rejuvenation Totem: Summons a totem that has an aura which regenerates life for you and your nearby allies. Added a new Strength skill - Shockwave Totem: Summons a totem that shakes the earth around it, knocking back and damaging nearby enemies Added a new Dexterity skill - Whirling Blades: Dive through enemies, dealing weapon damage. Only works with daggers, claws and one handed swords. Added a new Dexterity skill - Ethereal Knives: Fires an arc of knives in front of the caster which deal physical damage. Added a new Dexterity skill - Bear Trap: Throws a trap that damages and immobilises a single enemy. Added a new Dexterity skill - Fire Trap: Throws a trap that explodes when triggered, leaving an area of burning ground that damages enemies who walk through it. Added a new Intelligence skill - Conversion Trap: Throws a trap that, when triggered by an enemy, converts that enemy to your side for a short duration. Added a new Dexterity skill - Freeze Mine: Lays a remote mine that you can detonate to freeze all enemies in the area. Added a new Dexterity support gem - Trap: Attached skills can be thrown as traps that use the skill when monsters move near them. Added a new Intelligence support gem - Remote Mine: Lays a Remote Mine that can be detonated to use the attached skill. Added a new Strength support gem - Totem: Summons a totem that can cast the attached skill. Added a new Dexterity support gem - Chance to Flee: Monsters affected by the attached skill have a chance to run in terror. Added a new monster type - the Necromancer, which raises nearby slain undead. These can be found in the Prison and some areas of Act Two. They currently cannot raise magic or boss monsters. Added a new quest in the Fetid Pool. Full-clearing this area will reward you with two more Passive Skill Respec Points. The areas that Brutus and Merveil occupy have been incorporated into the previous areas (with an internal teleporter to access them) so that players aren't able to abusively farm them with instance management. The large chests have been removed from these areas. Rethought the progression of armour pieces so that the names and art are correct for the long term. The new base items have new levels. Renamed the Cathedral of Bones to the Vaal Ruins. Revamped character icons that are displayed in the user interface. Increased the size of many game areas to improve pacing and level progression. Updated the character selection screen with new text about the characters. Continued to incrementally improve the art, effects, environments and sound. Monster Changes: Rhoas have had their Charge attack restored. There are now skeletal Rhoas in the Fetid Pool. Brutus now moves faster and signals his ground slam in advance. Avoid being hit by it! Many snakes now change between their melee and ranged stances at will. They are substantially more defensive in their melee stance. Other snakes are melee-only or ranged-only. In addition to using a variety of curses, Merveil's Daughters can now summon Spawn to attack you. These Spawn don't yield experience or drop items. Some Merveil's Daughters summon Exploding Spawn which run into you and detonate themselves. Zombies in the Mud Flats now emerge from the ground when encountered. Scavengers have improved behaviour so that they'll chose to use melee attacks or to throw rocks depending on the distance. If you run close to them, they'll stop throwing and start using melee attacks. Sand Spitters now have behaviour that makes them prefer to clump together when shooting at you. This will make them a little easier to attack with area-of-effect attacks. Various types of Sand Spitters now perform elemental attacks. Keep your resistances up! Water Elementals (which now deal mostly cold damage) have been added to the Tidal Island. Water Elementals in other areas have a variety of skills available such as Cold Snap, Ice Nova and some Curses, which they use in correct situations. The unique Rhoa in the Mud Flats, Oozeback Bloom, now has a life degeneration aura and can charge at you again. A unique Necromancer boss, Kadavrus the Defiler, has been added to the Fetid Pool. He raises the zombies and skeletal Rhoas to interfere with your quest to cleanse the area. The Scavengers who live in camps on the Ledge now worship an angry god. Environmental totems can use auras (such as Slow Player, Haste, Allies Cannot Die, Vitality, Monster Damage), or active skills. Hellions on the Rocky Climb, Skeleton Archers in the Prison, Ghost Archers in the Cavern of Woe, some Melee Bandits in Act Two and Snakes in the Ancient Pyramid can now use the Puncture skill. Don't run away after they've hit you with this. Skeletal Archers in the Rocky Climb and Bandit Archers in the Crossroads can now fire Burning Arrows. Goatmen are now more likely to Leap Slam from above. If you stay on high ground, they're less likely to use this skill. The same applies to Ironpoint the Forsaken's Rain of Arrows attack. Added a unique Skeleton Boss to the Lower Prison called Chatters. He uses Glacial Hammer and the Hatred aura. Skeletal Archers in the Lower Prison and Chamber of Sins can now fire Lightning Arrows. Sawbones, a Necromancer boss in the Upper Prison, can summon skeletons in addition to raising undead. Necromancers cast a variety of curses such as Enfeeble, Critical Weakness and Elemental Weakness. The Burning Menace now deals entirely fire damage and ignites with every hit. Goatmen in the Prisoner's gate deal lightning damage. Their shamans cast Spark and Shock Nova. Stranglecharm is a new Water Elemental Boss in the Ship Graveyard Cave. She has a Slow Player aura in addition to her Ice Nova. Ghosts in the Ship Graveyard Cave and some Spiders in the Weaver's Chambers use Flicker Strike to get close to you. Be careful if you're taking a group of them on. Note that running away from them could cause them to Flicker Strike to catch up to you! Shield Crabs in the Coves and some Beasts in the Waterfall Cave now inflict the Vulnerability Curse every time they hit you. Scavengers in the Coves and Monkeys in the Dread Thicket gain Frenzy charges when other monsters of their kind are killed nearby. Merveil has two daughters, Ambrosia and Amarissa, who inhabit her caves. They are fire and lightning themed, respectively. The Merveil fight has been made harder. She now uses her skills more intelligently and deals a lot of cold damage. A pair of boss Monkey twins live in the Old Fields Cave. Their two auras go together to make it a challenging fight. Most of the spiders in Act Two (and several bosses such as Plague Retch in the Chamber of Sins) use Viper Strike and prioritise targets that are already poisoned. If you get hit by one Viper Strike, the spiders may break away from their current targets to try to stack more copies of poison on you. Skeletal Archers in the Chamber of Sins can fire Poison Arrows. The Hideous Abomination is now known as "Fidelitas, the Mourning", and uses Lighting Strike on every hit. Skeletal Casters in the Chamber of Sins can cast Spark. Skeletal Archers in the Church Dungeon can fire Split Arrows or use Frenzy. Archbishop Geofri the Abashed is a Skeleton Boss in the Church Dungeon who casts a variety of curses and is immune to curses himself. Bandit Archers in the Broken Bridge area can use Explosive Arrow. Beasts in the Broken Bridge or Pools and Streams areas can cast Enduring Cry to gain Endurance charges. Kraityn now uses Phase Run and Flicker Strike in deadly combination to get in and out of combat with you. Alira's Guards either deal chaos damage, fire Poison Arrows or run up to you and detonate themselves. Skeletal Knights in the Vaal Ruins can inflict random elemental status ailments on hit. Oak now uses Enduring Cry and Immortal Call much more intelligently. He can Leap Slam to close distance with the player and will Sweep when there are multiple targets nearby. Maul bandits in the Pools and Streams area cast Warlord's Mark on the player so that they can leech back life when they hit them. Some beasts in the Waterfall Cave have a degeneration aura that makes enemies lose life over time. Spawn in the Waterfall Cave use either Phase Run or Viper Strike. Wand wielding Ghosts in the Waterfall Cave use an attack that grants them a Power charge on hit. Various Skeletal Casters and Chaos Fragments in the Ancient Pyramid fire multiple projectiles and are protected by environmental Totems. General Balance Changes: Magic items now drop less frequently. Rare and unique items drop the same as before. Increased the sell value of unidentified magic and rare items and of the mods on identified items. Diminishing returns now applies to the rate that Increased Item Rarity affects magic, rare and unique items (it affects the less common ones more). Increased Item Quantity stats now also have diminishing returns. This allows us to have higher initial values and lets us balance the extreme cases so that their rate of item gain is high but not abusive. Bonuses to item rarity and quantity from bosses or from additional players in the game now stack multiplicatively with the player's bonuses (rather than additively). Diminishing returns only apply to the player's bonuses. The experience formula for multiplayer games has changed. There is now a 30% experience bonus for being in an area with a party member, and additional players in an area beyond the first add 50% more experience rather than 75%. This is a little better for two-person parties and a little worse for six-person parties. Reduced the level of resistance rings to 10 so that Sapphire Rings are available before Merveil. You may need them. Reduced the level requirements of the first resistance mods. Increased the amount of life that monsters leech at high levels. Increased the number of charges needed for a Diamond Flask to refill. The Shocked state is now no longer removed on death so that it interacts with the Elemental Proliferation support gem in a more sensible way. Dexterity/Intelligence shields now reflect damage to attackers. Added damage reflection mods to the pool for items. Added a set of Increased Item Rarity and Increased Item Quantity prefix mods. Biased elemental damage mods towards the appropriate types of weapons and made their values substantially more impactful at higher levels. Added new gems as quest rewards. Adjusted many higher level quest rewards to be less repetitive. Halved the life lost by use of a Caustic Flask. Active/Support Skill Changes: Shock Nova: Increased cast speed. Discharge: Slight buff to damage. Sweep: Reduced mana cost. Clarity Aura: Increased progression at higher levels. Chance to Ignite: Increased mana cost multiplier from 100% to 110%. Burning Arrow: Increased mana cost at higher levels. Hatred Aura: Increased damage. Lightning Strike: Reduced damage penalty on projectiles from -50% to -20%. Elemental Proliferation: Increased mana cost multiplier from 140% to 180%. Freezing Pulse: Increased cast speed, reduced mana cost, slightly reduced damage. Passive Skill Changes: Pain Attunement: Increased damage bonus from 25% to 30%. Avatar of Fire: Removed. It will return in a later patch in a form that doesn't cause problems for so many other game systems. Elemental Equilibrium: Now provides -25% resistance (was -20%) to the element not used and 25% resistance (was 30%) to the element used. Substantially rearranged passives in the Dexterity/Intelligence part of the tree. Added Totem and Trap passive skills. Removed Item Quantity and Item Rarity passives. Burn damage passives have been reduced in effectiveness. Elemental weapon passives have been increased in effectiveness. Aded additional elemental weapon passives on the Ranger side of the tree. Corrected various small balance values. Bug Fixes: Fixed a bug that would cause monsters or players to slide around occasionally. Fixed a bug where monsters would stop performing actions entirely. Fixed a bug where the Shock status spread by the Elemental Proliferation support gem would ignore the Shock limit. The size of the Poison Arrow clouds now scale with their area of effect radius properly. Culling Strike is now correctly affected by the Increased Item Rarity and Increased Item Quantity support gems. Added the missing town icon to the map legend. The character panel now displays mana and life per kill. Fixed a bug where the Baleful gem could not be obtained under some situations. Fixed a display bug with the quiver slot. Fixed the skill icons on the character screen and pop-up skill selector to properly display the letters that show what support gems affect them. Sand Spitter projectiles are no longer erroneously subject to melee damage reflection. Fixed a bug in the damage calculation of skills augmented with the Multiple Projectiles support gems. Portals now open visually when cast rather than starting open. Fixed a problem where "Increased Melee Damage on Full Life" stat checked the wrong weapon if you were dual wielding. Blood Chieftains will now only summon monkeys from trees if there are trees with monkeys in them nearby. Fixed a bug where rare monsters would receive epithets on their names every time rather than occasionally. Fixed a bug where Power Siphon could not break barrels. Fixed a bug where the damage from Firestorm would not display on the client at the right time.