Beta 2.5.2

Fri Aug 21, 2026 3:59 am

-Mob Ability Balancing-

Goring Horns

Reflected goring damage now respects your armor and resistances, just like every other attack. Previously, it ignored them, causing massive 400- to 500-point hits.
Added a cap on how much damage a single gore can reflect, so one big swing can no longer spike into a huge retaliation.
• Lesser cap 40
• Substantial cap 53
• Greater cap 66
• Exceptional cap 80
On-screen messages now report the actual damage taken after resistances, not the raw pre-resist amount.

-Casino Poker System-

Getting Started

Find the Poker Dealer at the casino and double-click them to open the Poker Lobby.
From the lobby, you can see every open table, the blinds, how full each table is, and whether it is waiting or in play.
Use the Join button to take a seat, the Watch button to observe, or Create Table to host your own game.
If you ever lose track of your table window, a Re Open Table button appears in the lobby whenever you are seated at or observing a table.

Creating a Table

Anyone can create a table and set its rules.
• Table name
• Small blind and big blind
• Minimum bet and minimum raise step
• Minimum and maximum buy-in
• Maximum players, from 2 up to 22
• Optional password for a private table
When you create a table, you are taken straight to the buy-in so you can sit at your own game.

Buying In

Joining prompts you for a buy-in amount between the table minimum and maximum, taken from your bank box.
Password-protected tables ask for the password before you can sit.
Texas Hold 'em rules apply, with blinds and the dealer button rotating each hand.

Starting a Game

Once a table has two or more players, a 30-second countdown begins before the first hand.
Each player has a Ready button. If everyone clicks Ready, the game starts early; otherwise, it starts automatically when the countdown ends.
After the first hand, new hands are dealt automatically with no countdown.

The Action Timer

When it is your turn, you have 60 seconds to act. The live countdown is shown at the table for everyone.
At 10 seconds remaining, you hear an audio cue and receive a warning.
If the timer runs out, you automatically fold and take one Timeout.
Accumulating 5 Timeouts in a single match removes you from the table, just like leaving.
Your current timeout count is shown on your table window and under each player who has any.

Auto Actions

To speed things up, you can queue your next move before your turn using the Auto Action buttons in the table window.
• Auto Check, Auto Call, Auto Fold, Auto All In, Auto Bet, and Auto Raise
The queued action is applied the moment it becomes your turn, then cleared. If it is not a legal move that turn, you are asked to choose normally.

Running Out of Chips

If you bust and can no longer cover the big blind, you stay at the table, and a rebuy window opens.
You have 60 seconds to add more gold from your bank and keep playing.
If you do not add gold on time, you are automatically removed from the table.

Leaving a Table

You can leave at any time; no waiting or leave request is required.
If you leave in the middle of a hand, you fold and forfeit anything you already put in the pot.
Your remaining chips are returned to your bank box. The confirmation window spells this out before you commit.

Disconnects

If you log out or disconnect, you stay seated. You are only folded and removed once it is your turn and your action timer runs out.
Reconnecting automatically restores your table window.

Observer Mode

Use Watch in the lobby to observe a table without playing.
Observers cannot see any player's hole cards during the hand. A player's cards are revealed to observers only when that player folds, and all hands are shown in the game log at showdown.
Click Stop Observing at any time to leave the watch view.

Game Log and Sounds

Every table has a running game log showing each action, the showdown hands, who won, how much they won, and the casino rake taken for the jackpot.
Audio cues play for dealing, your turn, bets, checks, folds, community cards, and wins. These sounds are heard only by the players at that table and by anyone observing them.

The Casino Jackpot

A small rake from each completed pot feeds the casino-wide jackpot.
Every time you are paid in gold, whether by winning a hand or in other casino games, there is a super-rare chance to hit the entire jackpot.
If you hit the jackpot, it is delivered as a blessed check straight to your bank account, even if your bank is full, and a server-wide announcement celebrates the win.

Fair Play

Only one character per IP Address may sit at the same poker table.
If you are on a shared connection, such as multiple people playing from the same IP. Contact staff to discuss options.

-Anti AFK Checks-

What You Will See

While gathering resources, you may be served an AFK check. Staff can also send a hunting AFK check to anyone they suspect of fighting monsters while away from the keyboard.
The check shows a random 3-digit number drawn with gold coins. Read the number, type it into the answer box, and press the button to pass.

Countdown and Failed Attempts

A separate countdown window now floats just above the check. It updates every second and shows exactly how much time you have left to answer.
That same window shows how many attempts you have failed and the limit before the check fails.
A wrong answer, or letting the timer reach zero, each counts as one failed attempt.

If You Fail

Failing a gathering check places an account-wide Gathering Ban, and repeat offenses escalate further.
Failing a hunting check sends you to jail. A repeat hunting offense results in an account ban.

-Gathering Guardian Update-
Guardian Strength Fixed

Guardians spawned from common resources like iron, plain wood, and plain leather were appearing with almost no health or combat skill and dying to a single hit. They now spawn at full strength.
Guardians scale up with the resource tier you are gathering, growing up to 45% stronger at the highest tiers. Expect a real fight, especially from Destroyers.
Guardians still drop a pile of the resource tier they spawned from when killed.

Spawn Cooldowns Now Visible

When a guardian spawns, you now receive a message telling you exactly how many minutes until another guardian can appear from that gathering skill.
Cooldowns by guardian tier
• Low tier 5 minutes
• Mid tier 10 minutes
• High tier 15 minutes
You can check your remaining cooldowns at any time with the [CheckGuardianCooldown] command.

Guardians Now Despawn

Guardians that are not killed now fade back into the land after 30 minutes. Previously, they lingered forever, which is why some mines and forests were crowded with leftover guardians while other spots had none.
Any old guardians still standing around from before this patch will clean themselves up shortly after the update.

Skinning Guardians Now Spawn

Leather guardians never actually spawned before this patch. Skinning corpses with a skinning knife can now summon them to defend their kin.
Guardian tiers unlock with the Forensic Evaluation skill
• Skitter Skavenger at 40 skill
• Skinwarden Beast at 85 skill
• Gore Horned Punisher at 100 skill
Skilled skinners with an 80 or higher Forensic Evaluation now have a chance to find 2 to 4 intestines while skinning. This bonus was not working before.

Lumberjacking Egg Bonus Fixed

Lumberjacks with 80 or higher skill now correctly have a chance to find 2 to 4 eggs while chopping wood. This bonus existed but never triggered before this patch.

-New Talisman: Vanguard's Talisman-
The Frontline Defender

A new Defense-focused Talisman is now available. The Vanguard is built to hold the line, mitigating, avoiding, and enduring damage, whereas the other Talismans deal it.
You can buy one from the Talisman vendor, and it is also available on the Test Center from the Talisman System Stone.
As it levels to 20, it grants three always-on buffs that grow with each level.
• Armor Bonus up to 13 percent
• Parry Chance up to 12 percent
• Bandage Healing up to 15 percent

Aegis (Signature Ability)

When you take damage, you have a chance to raise an Aegis, a protective ward that grants a burst of bonus Armor for 8 seconds.
The chance and the amount of Armor both increase as your Talisman levels.
Aegis currently protects you alone. (subject to change before launch)

-New Vanguard Legacy Gems-
Five New Defense Gems

Five new Legacy Gems can now drop from tougher monsters and are available on the Test Center. They socket into any Talisman, and their power grows with the gem's quality and level.
• Bloodguard (Defense / Attack): a chance on successful parry to heal you for a portion of the damage that the parry blocked.
• Guardian's Aegis (Defense / Pet): a chance when struck to shield you and your pets with bonus Armor.
• Last Stand (Defense / Magic): while below 30 percent health, a chance when struck to surge with heavy Armor and a large heal. Does not trigger in player-versus-player combat.
• Retribution (Defense / Attack): a chance when struck to raise a thorned ward that reflects damage at attackers.
• Sanctuary (Defense / Magic): a chance when you cast a spell to ward yourself with bonus Armor and increased Spell Healing.

-New Talisman: Survivalist's Talisman-
The Self-Sufficient Gatherer

A new Gathering-focused Talisman is now available. The Survivalist is built to live off the land, pulling more from every node, more often, with fewer wasted swings, whereas the other Talismans focus on combat.
You can buy one from the Talisman vendor, and it is also available on the Test Center from the Talisman System Stone.
As it levels to 20, it grants three always-on buffs that grow with each level.
• Yield Increase up to 25 percent
• Yield Increase Chance up to 13 percent
• Gather Success Chance up to 13 percent

Harvester's Momentum (Signature Ability)

Every successful harvest builds a stack of Momentum, up to 5 stacks, and each stack grants bonus Damage and Spell Damage for 90 seconds.
The bonus per stack increases as your Talisman levels, reaching 3 percent per stack at level 20 for up to 15 percent Damage and Spell Damage at full stacks.
The rhythm of the pick and axe carries into the swing and the spell. Keep working the land and you stay primed for the fight; stop gathering and Momentum decays stack by stack.

-New Survivalist Legacy Gems-
Six New Gathering Gems

Six new Legacy Gems can now drop from tougher monsters and are available on the Test Center. They socket into any Talisman, and their power grows with the gem's quality and level. Each one has a chance to trigger on a successful harvest.
• Barkhide Ward (Gathering / Defense): a chance on harvest to sheathe yourself in bark, granting bonus Armor and a chance to reflect damage at attackers.
• Elemental Reaping (Gathering / Summoner): a chance on harvest to empower your active summons with bonus Damage and Spell Damage.
• Refiner's Instinct (Gathering / Crafting): a chance on harvest to enter a refiner's focus, increasing the chance your following gathers pull a higher grade of material.
• Tender of Beasts (Gathering / Pet): a chance on harvest to heal your nearby pets and increase your Veterinary Healing.
• Verdant Attunement (Gathering / Magic): a chance on harvest to restore mana and increase your Spell Damage.
• Whetstone Rhythm (Gathering / Attack): a chance on harvest to gain Attack Speed and Hit Chance.

-Legacy Gem Balancing-
Proc Buff Accuracy

Temporary buffs granted by Legacy Gem abilities now apply their exact value. Previously, they were rounded to the nearest 10 percent, which often shrank small buffs to nothing or rounded them up unevenly.
This affects every proc gem, not just the new ones. Existing gems such as Barbaric Rage now deliver their true rolled values, and every gem's per-level growth is felt smoothly rather than in large jumps.

-Buff System Overhaul and Bug Fixes-
Defensive Buffs Now Work

A full audit of the buff system revealed that nearly every defensive buff was silently doing nothing. That is fixed. All of the following now work everywhere they appear, whether from Talismans, Legacy Gems, Nexus Crystals, buff foods, or bard songs.
• Armor Bonus now absorbs a percentage of incoming monster damage
• Damage Reflection and Damage Reflection Chance now reflect monster hits back at the attacker
• Pet Armor and Pet Damage Reflection now protect your pets
• Summon Armor and Summon Damage Reflection now protect your summons
This means abilities like Mana Shield, Guardian Bond, and the entire Vanguard Talisman kit now deliver their full effect.

Parry Rework

Parrying a monster now fully blocks the hit, turning the entire swing aside with a visible flash.
The Parry Chance buff now correctly increases your chance to parry, and it now benefits weapon wielders as well as shield users.
A hidden math error that made shield parry behave wildly for characters under 80 dexterity has been corrected.
Shields still provide their normal partial absorption on hits that are not parried.

Mana and Casting Fixes

Mana Cost Reduction now actually lowers the mana cost of your spells. Previously, it only gave a small bonus when a mana refund was triggered. Arcanist Talisman users will feel this immediately.
Pet and Summon mana cost reduction now works the same way for your companions' spellcasting.
Mana refunds are now calculated from the reduced cost, and the refund messages have been cleaned up.

Beastmaster Cooldown Reduction Now Works

Pet Ability Cooldown Reduction and Summon Ability Cooldown Reduction were never connected to anything. They now shorten your pet's cooldowns and summon special abilities.
This makes the Beastmaster Talisman's third buff work for the first time, along with every food and crystal that grants these stats.

More Buffs Brought to Life

Bandage Healing Increase now adds a true percentage to your bandage heals. Previously, it added a fraction of a single hit point.
Arrow Refund Chance now works. Archers with the buff will keep their ammo on a successful roll.
Durability Refund Chance now protects your shield and all armor pieces in addition to weapons, and it now correctly reads your own buff instead of your attacker's.
Regional Damage Reduction now applies to melee hits as well as spells, and now also protects your pets and summons.
Critical hits now announce themselves on screen. They were landing silently before.

Fair Play for Pets and Monsters

Pets and summons that cast spells can now be interrupted by damage, like everyone else. A quirk made them immune to interruption.
Pets no longer automatically pierce monster magic resistance, and monsters no longer automatically pierce pet resistance. Both now follow the same rules as players.

-Crafting Buffs Now Live-
Seven Crafting Buffs Hooked In

The entire crafting buff line existed in name only. All seven now function at the crafting table.
• Crafting Success Chance raises your chance to craft successfully and shows in the craft menu percentages
• Exceptional Chance Increase raises your chance for exceptional quality
• Resource Refund Chance gives a chance to have the materials used in a craft returned
• Durability Increase and Durability Increase Chance give crafted armor, weapons, and shields a bonus maximum durability
• Tool Use Increase and Tool Use Increase Chance give crafted tools and instruments bonus uses
Rare crafting materials such as Mystical Blueprints and other rare loot ingredients are never refunded by Resource Refund Chance.
The crafting buff foods you may already own now actually do something.

-Gathering Buffs Now Live-
Five Gathering Buffs Hooked In

The gathering buff line is now fully functional for mining, lumberjacking, and fishing.
• Gather Success Chance gives a failed gathering attempt a second chance to succeed
• Resource Upgrade Chance can transmute your harvest into the next resource grade up
• Yield Increase and Yield Increase Chance grant bonus resources on top of your harvest without draining the resource node
• Tool Use Refund Chance gives a chance not to wear down your tool
The gathering buff foods you may already own now actually do something.

Skinning Included

Skinning corpses also benefits from the gathering buffs.
• Yield Increase can grant bonus feathers, wool, meat, and hides from a single corpse
• Resource Upgrade Chance can transmute your hides into the next leather grade up
• Tool Use Refund Chance can spare your skinning knife from wear

-Nexus Crystals and Region Buffs-
Crystals Can Now Roll Every Buff

Nexus Crystals can now roll Crafting and Gathering buffs. Every buff in the game is now both obtainable and functional.
Crafter and gatherer characters can finally build a Talisman loadout dedicated to their trade.

Region Buffs Cover Whole Dungeons

Dungeon damage, spell damage, and damage reduction buffs now work throughout the entire dungeon, including entrances, passages, and connected side areas.
Previously, they worked only in the main chamber of each dungeon and silently switched off elsewhere.

-Murder, Bounty Heads and the Judge-

Whose Head Can Be Taken

Murderers who die in a dungeon, or out in the open wilderness, can have their head cut from their corpse and used against them.
All of the following must be true for a corpse to be eligible.
• The victim is a murderer, at 5 or more long term counts
• They died in an eligible dungeon or in open wilderness
• They had an active PvP flag at the moment of death
• At least 40 percent of the damage that killed them came from players or player pets
FFA Zones and guard zones are all excluded. Dying to a monster does nothing.
The murderer is told when their corpse becomes eligible, so they know the clock has started.

Phase 1, Cutting the Head

An eligible corpse gives off a small red sparkle, pulsing every few seconds for as long as the cut window is open. Everyone standing nearby can see it, so you never have to swing a blade at every body on the floor to work out which one is worth taking.
Any player may cut the head from an eligible corpse with a bladed weapon for the next 5 minutes.
The sparkle stops the instant the head is cut, the 5 minute window runs out, or the corpse is gone.
If nobody cuts it, the murderer walks away with no penalty at all.
Only one head per murderer can exist at a time. While a head is in play, that murderer's later corpses cannot be cut.
Each corpse yields exactly one head.

Phase 2, Head Hunter

Once cut, a 40 minute clock begins. For the first 30 minutes, whoever carries the head is the Head Holder.
The Head Holder deals 5 percent more damage to that murderer, carries a temporary Head Holder title, and shows up in a different colour to that murderer alone.
Double click the head to set a ransom. The murderer is notified immediately and can pay from anywhere in the world.
The murderer has three ways to end this with no penalty.
• Pay the ransom
• Hunt down the holder and physically take the head back
• Wait out the full 40 minutes without it reaching a Judge
You can hold several heads at once, from different murderers.

Setting a Ransom

The lowest price you may ask is calculated from the murderer's long term and short term counts at the time they died. Killing more before you die makes your own head more expensive to buy back.
Four one click prices are offered, so you can set a price mid fight without typing.
• Floor, plus 10 percent, plus 30 percent, plus 50 percent
You may also type any figure between the floor and the cap.
All gold moves bank to bank. If the murderer is short, the gold can be pulled from other characters on their own account.
The murderer can open their ransom window anywhere at any time, and it shows a rough last seen location for whoever is carrying their head.
• Using command [MyHead

Phase 3, The Judge

For the final 10 minutes, the head can be handed in to a Judge. The ransom is still payable right up until the moment it is turned in.
Judges stand at the banks and in Buccaneer's Den. Buccaneer's Den matters, because a murderer cannot walk into a guard zone.
If the 40 minutes run out with no ransom paid and no turn in, the head rots away. No penalty, and no counts are reset.

Phase 4, The Sentence

Turning a head in costs the murderer 20 percent of their stats and locks every character on their account out of criminal and harmful actions.
The length is set by their short term counts at the moment the head is handed over, so murders committed while the head was in play count against them.
• 5 to 10 counts, 30 minutes
• 11 to 50 counts, 60 minutes
• 51 to 100 counts, 90 minutes
• 101 or more counts, 120 minutes
The timer only runs while someone on that account is actually online. Logging out delays release, it does not avoid it.
Under sentence you may still fight monsters, gather, craft and play normally. What you cannot do is start a fight, steal, snoop, or loot a corpse you have no right to.
If another player attacks you first, you may fight back against that attacker and that attacker only.

Buying Your Way Out

A murderer under sentence can visit any Judge and bribe their way out early.
The price is set by their counts at the time the head was turned in, and drops as time is served, but never below half.
Whoever turned the head in receives between 40 and 60 percent of that bribe, straight to their bank.
Serving the sentence or paying the bribe drops long term counts to 5 and short term counts to 0. That is the best moment to begin working your way back to blue.

Where a Head Can Go

A head can only be carried in your backpack, dropped on the ground, or destroyed in a trash barrel. Banks, chests, sub bags and pack animals all refuse it.
Drop a head and the next player to pick it up becomes the new Head Holder.
Destroy a head in a trash barrel and the hunt ends with no penalty to the murderer.
If you log out or crash while carrying a head, it drops to the ground where you stood. You cannot park a head offline to run out the clock.
If the Head Holder dies, the head goes into their corpse and can be looted like anything else.

Fair Play

You cannot cut, carry, ransom or turn in a head taken from your own account.
The same applies to anyone sharing your connection, so you cannot hop to a second account to rescue your own head.
Every head is tracked by a single record. Duplicated heads do nothing at all.
Two players cutting the same corpse at the same instant will only ever produce one head.

Learning the System

Every window in the system has a How This Works button that explains the four phases in game.
You can also read it at any time with the [MurderInfo command, and check on your own head with [MyHead.

-Casino Jackpot-

Odd Chips Now Feed the Jackpot

When a poker pot splits unevenly between tied winners, the leftover gold used to be destroyed. A three way split of 100 gold paid 33 each and quietly deleted the last coin.
Those odd chips now go into the casino wide jackpot instead, exactly as a real house handles them. The gold stays in the casino and finds its way back to a player.

-Connection and Interface-

Disconnects From Too Many Windows

Opening and closing certain windows over and over could quietly stack them up in the background until the server disconnected you for having too many open. Browsing long lists made it worse.
Thirty seven windows across the shard have been corrected so that reopening one replaces the old copy instead of adding to the pile.

Full Text Tooltips

Long names and descriptions have always been cut short to fit their column, with no way to read the rest.
Hovering over any shortened text now shows the full version in a tooltip. This has been applied to seventy six places across the shard.
Text that already fits shows no tooltip, so nothing pops up where it is not needed.

-Sosoria News Fixes-

Reading the News

Clicking an announcement no longer throws the list back to the first page. You keep your place, and the scroll bar stays where you left it.
The last line of any announcement longer than one page was being cut off and could never be read. Long announcements now display in full.
The newest announcement was being skipped when the menu first opened. It now appears at the top of the list.
If the shard only has a single announcement posted, the list now shows it instead of appearing empty.
Unread markers no longer flip back to unread after you have read something, and a newly posted announcement can no longer arrive already marked as read.
Paging through the headline ticker no longer jumps backwards after you open an announcement.

Announcement Links

Announcements posted without a link were displaying the word null underneath, along with a browser button that opened nothing.
The link and its button now only appear when there is a real link to open.

-Foundation Messages-

Duplicate and Misleading Messages

Every Foundation experience gain and every level up was being announced to you twice, with the level up sound played twice. You now receive one of each.
Foundation names were being printed as raw code, so Hearthfire Guild appeared as HearthfireGuild. They now read properly.
Experience messages have been tidied into a single line that names the Foundation, the amount, and what earned it.
Level up messages now name your new rank alongside the level.

-The Jail-

Checking Your Own Record

You can open your own jail record at any time with [MyJail, [JailStatus or [MyRecord.
If you are serving time, the window names the charge, explains what it means, counts down the time you have left, and gives the exact moment you go free in both shard time and your own local time.
It also lists every sentence you have already served, when it started, what the charge was, how long it ran, and whether you were let out early.
If you have never been jailed, it says so and nothing else.

-Prize Packs-

Redemption Codes

Prize packs can now be handed out by code. When staff post one, type [ClaimPack followed by the code to claim yours.
A code can be limited to one claim per account or per character, put on a cooldown, or capped shard wide, so it pays to be quick.
The pack lands straight in your backpack, or in your Discord reward queue if you have an account linked.

-Death Gates-

Death Would Not Leave

After being resurrected, Death and his gate stayed painted on your screen until you walked out of range and back again.
Both are now cleared the moment you are raised, and the gate window closes with them.