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Battlefield 3 PS3 Patch Deploys – Fixes Communication Issue

Garrett Hartman — Mon, 06 Feb 2012 16:00:13 +0000

DICE today has released a long anticipated Battlefield 3 patch for the PS3 version to fix the VOIP communication problems that have plagued gamers since launch. Other fixes include a balance of the USAS-12 Shotgun and the M-COM Defender ribbon has been made easier to obtain.

The update is a quick 11MB download that will make many BF3 PS3 gamers happy.

SWTOR: PvP Rewards Update and Crew Skills Changes to Come in Patch 1.1.2

Jensen Walker — Fri, 03 Feb 2012 00:30:56 +0000

Ah, Biochem. No crew skill has been more contentious. You were the little crew skill that could, and because you were so plucky, you were swiftly embraced by the raiding masses.

And then you were nerfed.

The masses cried out in thoughtful despair: “WTF BioWare, Rakata Medpacs are useless now!”

To these voices rose the clamor of others who had not experienced Biochem’s sweet embrace, but envied it nonetheless. “Needs to be nerfed even more,” said they.

And thus it was.

In the latest upcoming patch notes for Star Wars: The Old Republic, Biochem unique Rakata stims and adrenals have been reduced in power, now equivalent to their Energized counterparts. The offset is that Energized and Exotech stims and adrenals are no longer bound to Biochemists, meaning they can be transferred and most importantly sold to other players. While this change isn’t likely to please everyone, it does position enterprising Biochemists for a windfall of credits in the weeks following patch 1.1.2.

Principal Lead Combat Designer Georg Zoeller also confirmed that other crew skills would be tinkered with in the future to make them as attractive at end-game as Biochem has been. Zoeller has had a busy day on the forums, elaborating on the following patch note which caused some controversy:

The number of commendations in Champion and Battlemaster Bags has been greatly increased, and the direct item trade tokens appear less frequently in Champion Bags. This change allows players to obtain PvP gear at a steady and significantly more predictable rate with an occasional bonus.

The patch note left many wondering how this would be an improvement when it came to gearing up for PvP, as Champion bags currently only reward Centurion commendations which a chance at a random piece of Champion gear. The prospect of a reduced chance at the superior Champion gear left players up in arms. Fortunately, Zoeller stepped in to clarify.

It’s obvious from comments here that the patch note is not specific enough, so we’ll get it updated before the patch goes to the live servers. Here are some specifics:

Champion Bags now always contain 15 Centurion Commendations AND 7 Champion Commendations. Battlemaster Bags now always contain 15 Champion Commendations. So Centurion gearing up progression for new level 50s is increased significantly and Champion gearing up progression will be steady.

The cost of Champion and Centurion items are NOT changing.

This is a great change, as it will make gearing for PvP considerably less frustrating and time consuming. Further changes, including extractable base mods from purple items, ranked Warzones, critical crafting successes on orange outfits, more bind-on-equip schematic drops for artifice and other professions, increased relevance of augments and a better reverse engineering chance are currently planned for the next major content patch in Game Update 1.2.

For the full patch notes and other developer comments, visit the SWTOR forums.

Trion Introduces RIFT Lite – First 20 Levels Now Free-to-Play

Jensen Walker — Thu, 02 Feb 2012 01:30:21 +0000

Trion Worlds has launched patch 1.7 today, and the ‘Carnival of the Ascended‘ brings with it a a new trial version of the game called RIFT Lite.

RIFT Lite requires the registration of a Trion account, but comes with no monthly cost and allows you to level a character to 20 through the zones of erminus, Mathosia, Freemarch and Silverwood. Play time is unlimited, so there’s no rush to explore all the content within a certain period.

The new service is similar to the free trial Blizzard began to offer to World of Warcraft players last year, which also features unlimited play time and a level 20 cap.

“In the past ten months, Rift has evolved at a breakneck pace, through seven massive updates that set new expectations for live MMOs, in features, in content, and in service,” said Scott Hartsman, Executive Producer of Rift and CCO of Trion. “We think a Lite edition with no time limit is the best way for players to see what an amazing experience Rift continues to be.”

For further information on RIFT Lite, visit the official site.

Skyrim PC Patch 1.4 Releases on Steam, Bug Fixes Detailed

Ben Nanke — Wed, 01 Feb 2012 22:00:46 +0000

It’s the moment fans of The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim have been waiting for, or at least those fans that are playing on PC. As of today, Patch 1.4 is live on Steam, which means a huge quantity of bug and quest fixes for you, the PC gamer.

Better yet, Bethesda stated in their announcement that the Skyrim Workshop on Steam is now supported via the launcher. The Skyrim Workshop will give the community a fast and easy way to distribute and download mods, which can be created with the upcoming Creation Kit. That link also has a video showing some of the awesome new features included with the Creation Kit.

Bethesda also said that the Xbox360 and PS3 versions of the patch have been sent out for approval. Hopefully Microsoft and Sony have learned from the week-long debacle that was Patch 1.3, and will make reviewing Patch 1.4 a far shorter process.

If you’re curious whether the bug that’s been plaguing you has been addressed by the patch, the list of fixes is below.

BUG FIXES

General optimizations for memory and performance
Fixed occasional issue with armor and clothing not displaying properly when placed on mannequins in player’s house (PS3)
Long term play optimizations for memory and performance (PS3)
Improved compiler optimization settings (PC)
Memory optimizations related to scripting
Fixed issue with dangling scripts not properly clearing from memory
Fixed crashes related to pathing and AI
Fixed crash in “Haemar’s Shame” if player had already completed “A Daedra’s Best Friend”
Fixed rare crash with loading saved games
Fixed issue with accented characters not displaying properly at the end of a line
Fixed issue where dragon priest masks would not render correctly
Fixed issue where quests would incorrectly progress after reloading a save
Fixed issues with placing and removing books from bookshelves in the player’s home
Optimized bookshelf script in player-owned houses that would occasionally block other scripts from properly firing off
Fixed issue where weapon racks and plaques would not work correctly in player’s house if player immediately visits their house before purchasing any upgrades
Fixed issue where the player house in Windhelm would not clean up properly
Fixed crash related to giant attacks and absorb spells
Fixed issue with ash piles not cleaning up properly
Fixed occasional issue where overwriting an existing save would fail
Fixed memory crash with container menu
Fixed infinite loop with bookshelves
Fixed issue where transforming back to human from werewolf would occasionally fail
Bows and daggers will display properly when placed on weapon racks
Fixed occasional audio issue that would play sound effects louder than intended
Fixed bug related to hitching between cell boundaries
Master Criminal achievement/trophy unlocks properly in French, German, Spanish and Italian
Fixed issue where traps in Shalidor’s Maze would not work properly in French, German, Spanish and Italian versions

QUEST FIXES

The Unusual Gem that was inside the Thalmor Embassy is now accessible after finishing “Diplomatic Immunity”
In “Breaching Security”, the quest token is no longer required to receive a fortune reading from Olava the Feeble
Fixed issue where Galmar would not complete Joining the Stormcloaks properly if “Season Unending” was an active quest
Fixed issue where starting “Season Unending” after finishing “Joining the Stormcloaks” would prevent “The Jagged Crown” from starting properly
Fixed issue where progressing through “Message to Whiterun” while “Season Unending” was still open would block progression for both quests
In “Arniel’s Endeavor”, fixed issue where a quest journal would trigger multiple times
In “Forbidden Legend”, the amulet fragment can no longer disappear after player leaves a dungeon without taking it
Fixed rare issue in “Forbidden Legend” where killing Mikrul Gauldurson while sneaking would make his corpse unaccessible
In “The White Phial”, the phial can no longer disappear if player leaves dungeon without taking it
“The White Phial” will now start properly if player already has a briar heart in their inventory
Player can no longer get stuck in Misty Grove after completing “A Night to Remember”
Fixed issue where leaving Riften during “A Chance Arrangement” would prevent quest from progressing
In “Darkness Returns”, a door in Twilight Sepulcher will properly open if the player leaves the dungeon for an extended period of time before completing the quest
In “Revealing the Unseen”, if the player leaves the Oculory for an extended period of time after placing the focusing crystal and returns, the quest will proceed correctly
“Onmund’s Request” will now start properly if player has already found Enthir’s staff before receiving this quest
Fixed instance where Tonilia would stop buying stolen items and also would not give Guild Leader Armor
“Repairing the Phial” will start properly if player already has unmelting snow or mammoth tusk in their inventory
Finding Pantea’s Flute before speaking with Pantea no longer prevents her quest from updating
In “The Break of Dawn”, fixed rare instance where a quest object would spawn incorrectly on the Katariah during Hail Sithis
Fixed rare issue in “The Mind of Madness” where player is unable to equip the Wabbajack
Fixed issue in “Pieces of the Past” where Mehrunes Dagon’s Razor will not trigger properly if player leaves the cell for extended period of time before activating it
“Blood’s Honor” will start properly if you visited and completed Driftshade and an extended period of time passes before starting the quest.
Fixed rare issue where “Dampened Spirits” would not start properly
Fixed issue where player would be unable to become Thane of Riften if they purchased a home first
Fixed issue where killing guards in Cidhna Mine would block progression for “No One Escapes Cidhna Mine”
Fixed numerous issues with “Blood on the Ice” not triggering properly
In “Blood on the Ice”, Calixto can now be killed if player owns a house in Windhelm
In “The Cure for Madness”, killing Cicero then resurrecting him no longer impedes quest progress
Fixed rare issue in “To Kill an Empire” where an NPC would fail to die properly
Clearing Knifepoint Ridge before starting “Boethiah’s Champion” no longer prevents quest from starting.

Skyrim Patch 1.4 Anticipated for PC This Week

Ben Nanke — Tue, 31 Jan 2012 03:30:54 +0000

For many fans of The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim, the words “Patch 1.4″ have recently come to represent salvation. The patch’s list of bug fixes is large, and for PS3 gamers especially, many of whom have been stricken with debilitating lag, the promise of a permanent solution has them anxiously awaiting release. Bethesda Studios, the developer of the RPG, has been testing out a few beta releases of the patch via Steam, and the results seem promising.

Bethesda has announced that Patch 1.4 will be released in full sometime this week… at least for PC. It’s also being sent off to Microsoft and Sony for their approval on the consoles. Of course, recalling how long it took for the console manufacturers to approve Patch 1.3 (it took a week), Xbox 360 and PS3 gamers will likely be waiting until early February for the patch.

Along with this announcement comes a statement on the long-awaited Creation Kit, with Bethesda claiming that it “won’t be far behind” patch 1.4. It seems like things are finally falling into place, and soon all Skyrim gamers everywhere can enjoy the game as it was meant to be enjoyed.

SWTOR Ability Delay Issue Resolved in Latest Patch

Jensen Walker — Tue, 24 Jan 2012 22:50:18 +0000

Principal Lead Combat Designer Georg Zoeller took to the Star Wars: The Old Republic forums earlier today to confirm the first of a series of combat improvements was rolled out to live servers in last night’s patch.

Feedback from players seems to indicate that the changes BioWare made have had a dramatic and positive effect on combat responsiveness.

Georg mentioned that further improvements to combat are in the pipeline, including:

As mentioned in my blog a few days ago, there are some additional fixes currently on our public test server as part of patch 1.1.1, which will roll out as soon as we’re satisfied with that patch.

We’ve heard your mixed feedback regarding the new cooldown animation that was part of patch 1.1, and we have improvements to the readability of that UI coming down the pipe.

We’re looking into improving the accuracy of cast bars. Their behavior should already be significantly improved with today’s patch, but we believe there is still room to improve.

We’re also working on improvements to the responsiveness of individual ability animations, including faction specific timing differences and issues where shortening an ability activation time does not properly shorten it’s animation.

You can read the entire post here.

Additionally, several other minor fixed were rolled out in patch 1.1.0b, and you can find them all below.

General

Implemented optimizations to improve performance on Republic and Imperial Fleets.

Classes and Combat

Significantly improved the delay when activating player abilities, particularly when in lower framerate situations. This allows for improved ability responsiveness in hectic combat situations.

Operations
General

Operations will no longer allow more than 16 Operations Group members to enter concurrently.

Karagga’s Palace

G4-B3 Heavy Fabricator will no longer respawn more than once if players have not defeated Karagga.

Fixed an exploit that would allow players to repeatedly loot the chest after defeating Jarg and Sorno.

Miscellaneous Bug Fixes

Fixed an issue that could cause graphical inconsistencies, which most often manifested as random screen “flickering.”

Mod Tools Coming for Skyrim Next Week

Sam Naylor — Fri, 20 Jan 2012 23:15:07 +0000

The official mod tools for The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim will be released next week, as well as the 1.4 patch.

The patch notes, which can be found here, detail numerous bug and quest fixes, as well as “Skyrim launcher support for Steam Workshop.”

The interesting bit of course is the new mod tools- while modders have been hard at work already, the tools will allow proper creations to be built- new quests, new buildings and new landscapes. This is going to be good, guys. Really good.

NEW FEATURES

Skyrim launcher support for Steam Workshop (PC)

BUG FIXES

General optimizations for memory and performance
Fixed occasional issue with armor and clothing not displaying properly when placed on mannequin’s in player’s house. (PS3)
Improved compiler optimization settings (PC)
Long term play optimizations for memory and performance (PS3)
Memory optimizations related to scripting
Fixed crashes related to pathing and AI
Fixed crash in Haemar’s Shame if player had already completed “A Daedra’s Best Friend”
Fixed rare crash with loading saved games
Fixed issue with accented characters not displaying properly at the end of a line
Master Criminal achievement/trophy unlocks properly in French, German, Spanish and Italian
Fixed issue where dragon priest masks would not render correctly
Fixed issue where quests would incorrectly progress after reloading a save
Fixed issues with placing and removing books from bookshelves in the player’s home
Fixed issue where weapon racks and plaques would not work correctly in player’s house if player immediately visits their house before purchasing any furnishing.
Fixed issue where the player house in Windhelm would not clean up properly
Fixed crash related to giant attacks and absorb spells
Fixed issue with ash piles not cleaning up properly
Fixed occasional issue where overwriting an existing save would fail
Fixed memory crash with container menu
Fixed infinite loop with bookshelves
Fixed issue where traps in Shalidor’s Maze would not work properly in French, German, Spanish and Italian versions
Fixed issue where transforming back to human from werewolf would occasionally not fail
Bows and daggers will display properly when placed on weapon racks

QUEST FIXES

The Unusual Gem inside the Thalmor Embassy is now accessible after finishing “Diplomatic Immunity”
In “Breaching Security”, the quest token is no longer required to receive a fortune reading from Olava the Feeble
Fixed issue where Galmar would not complete Joining the Stormcloaks properly if “Season Unending” was an active quest
Fixed issue where starting “Season Unending” after finishing “Joining the Stormcloaks” would prevent “The Jagged Crown” from starting properly.
Fixed issue progressing through “Message to Whiterun” while “Season Unending” was still open would block progression for both quests.
In “Arniel’s Endeavor”, fixed issue where a quest journal would trigger multiple times
In “Forbidden Legend”, the amulet fragment can no longer disappear after player leaves a dungeon without taking it
Fixed rare issue in “Forbidden Legend” where killing Mikrul Gauldurson while sneaking would make his corpose unaccessible
In “The White Phial”, the phial can no longer disappear if player leaves dungeon without taking it
“The White Phial” will now start properly if player already has a briar heart in their inventory
Player can no longer get stuck in Misty Grove after completing “A Night to Remember”
Fixed issue where leaving Riften during “A Chance Arrangement” would prevent quest from progressing
In “Darkness Returns”, a door in Twilight Sepulcher will properly open if the player leaves the dungeon for an extended period of time before completing the quest
In “Under New Management”, if the player leaves the Oculory for an extended period of time after placing the focusing crystal and returns, the quest will proceed correctly
“Onmund’s Request” will now start properly if player has already found Enthir’s staff before receiving this quest
Fixed instance where Tonilia would stop buying stolen items and also would not give Guild Leader Armor
“Repairing the Phial” will start properly if player already has unmelting snow or mammoth tusk in their inventory
Finding Pantea’s Flute before speaking with Pantea no longer prevents her quest from updating
In “The Coming of the Dawn”, fixed rare instance where a quest object would spawn incorrectly on the Katariah during Hail Sithis
Fixed rare issue in “The Mind of Madness” where player is unable to equip the Wabbajack
Fixed issue in “Pieces of the Past” where Mehrunes Dagon’s Razor will not trigger properly if player leaves the cell for extended period of time before activating it
“Blood’s Honor” will start properly if you visited and completed Driftshade and an extended period of time passes before starting the quest.
Fixed rare issue where “Dampened Spirits” would not start properly
Fixed issue where player would be unable to become Thane of Riften if they purchased a home first
Fixed issue where killing guards in Cidhna Mine woud block progression for “No One Escapes Cidhna Mine”
Fixed numerous issues with “Blood on the Ice” not triggering properly
In “Blood on the Ice”, Calixto can now be killed if player owns a house in Windhelm
In “The Cure for Madness”, killing Cicero then resurrecting him no longer impedes quest progress
Fixed rare issue in “To Kill an Empire” where an NPC would fail to die properly
Clearing Knifepoint Ridge before starting “Boethiah’s Champion” no longer prevents quest from starting.

Skyrim Update 1.4 is Coming – This is What Will Change (PC, Xbox 360 and PS3)

Garrett Hartman — Thu, 19 Jan 2012 21:00:57 +0000

You should have acted, they’re already here. Well, almost. This is the list of changes Bethesda is bringing to The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim in version 1.4.

NEW FEATURES

Skyrim launcher support for Steam Workshop (PC)

BUG FIXES

General optimizations for memory and performance
Fixed occasional issue with armor and clothing not displaying properly when placed on mannequin’s in player’s house. (PS3)
Improved compiler optimization settings (PC)
Long term play optimizations for memory and performance (PS3)
Memory optimizations related to scripting
Fixed crashes related to pathing and AI
Fixed crash in Haemar’s Shame if player had already completed “A Daedra’s Best Friend”
Fixed rare crash with loading saved games
Fixed issue with accented characters not displaying properly at the end of a line
Master Criminal achievement/trophy unlocks properly in French, German, Spanish and Italian
Fixed issue where dragon priest masks would not render correctly
Fixed issue where quests would incorrectly progress after reloading a save
Fixed issues with placing and removing books from bookshelves in the player’s home
Fixed issue where weapon racks and plaques would not work correctly in player’s house if player immediately visits their house before purchasing any furnishing.
Fixed issue where the player house in Windhelm would not clean up properly
Fixed crash related to giant attacks and absorb spells
Fixed issue with ash piles not cleaning up properly
Fixed occasional issue where overwriting an existing save would fail
Fixed memory crash with container menu
Fixed infinite loop with bookshelves
Fixed issue where traps in Shalidor’s Maze would not work properly in French, German, Spanish and Italian versions
Fixed issue where transforming back to human from werewolf would occasionally not fail
Bows and daggers will display properly when placed on weapon racks

QUEST FIXES

The Unusual Gem inside the Thalmor Embassy is now accessible after finishing “Diplomatic Immunity”
In “Breaching Security”, the quest token is no longer required to receive a fortune reading from Olava the Feeble
Fixed issue where Galmar would not complete Joining the Stormcloaks properly if “Season Unending” was an active quest
Fixed issue where starting “Season Unending” after finishing “Joining the Stormcloaks” would prevent “The Jagged Crown” from starting properly.
Fixed issue progressing through “Message to Whiterun” while “Season Unending” was still open would block progression for both quests.
In “Arniel’s Endeavor”, fixed issue where a quest journal would trigger multiple times
In “Forbidden Legend”, the amulet fragment can no longer disappear after player leaves a dungeon without taking it
Fixed rare issue in “Forbidden Legend” where killing Mikrul Gauldurson while sneaking would make his corpose unaccessible
In “The White Phial”, the phial can no longer disappear if player leaves dungeon without taking it
“The White Phial” will now start properly if player already has a briar heart in their inventory
Player can no longer get stuck in Misty Grove after completing “A Night to Remember”
Fixed issue where leaving Riften during “A Chance Arrangement” would prevent quest from progressing
In “Darkness Returns”, a door in Twilight Sepulcher will properly open if the player leaves the dungeon for an extended period of time before completing the quest
In “Under New Management”, if the player leaves the Oculory for an extended period of time after placing the focusing crystal and returns, the quest will proceed correctly
“Onmund’s Request” will now start properly if player has already found Enthir’s staff before receiving this quest
Fixed instance where Tonilia would stop buying stolen items and also would not give Guild Leader Armor
“Repairing the Phial” will start properly if player already has unmelting snow or mammoth tusk in their inventory
Finding Pantea’s Flute before speaking with Pantea no longer prevents her quest from updating
In “The Coming of the Dawn”, fixed rare instance where a quest object would spawn incorrectly on the Katariah during Hail Sithis
Fixed rare issue in “The Mind of Madness” where player is unable to equip the Wabbajack
Fixed issue in “Pieces of the Past” where Mehrunes Dagon’s Razor will not trigger properly if player leaves the cell for extended period of time before activating it
“Blood’s Honor” will start properly if you visited and completed Driftshade and an extended period of time passes before starting the quest.
Fixed rare issue where “Dampened Spirits” would not start properly
Fixed issue where player would be unable to become Thane of Riften if they purchased a home first
Fixed issue where killing guards in Cidhna Mine woud block progression for “No One Escapes Cidhna Mine”
Fixed numerous issues with “Blood on the Ice” not triggering properly
In “Blood on the Ice”, Calixto can now be killed if player owns a house in Windhelm
In “The Cure for Madness”, killing Cicero then resurrecting him no longer impedes quest progress
Fixed rare issue in “To Kill an Empire” where an NPC would fail to die properly
Clearing Knifepoint Ridge before starting “Boethiah’s Champion” no longer prevents quest from starting.

Via: BethBlog

SWTOR’s Game Update 1.1 Now Live

Jensen Walker — Wed, 18 Jan 2012 20:45:38 +0000

It may have materialized a day later than originally scheduled, but Star Wars: The Old Republic’s first content patch has now been deployed to live servers.

Game Update 1.1, otherwise known as Rise of the Rakghouls, contains a number of quality of life fixes as well as a new flashpoint, extended operation and changes to PvP.

First and foremost, anti-aliasing is now available via the options menu to improve the graphical quality of your game. While it’s a far cry from the high resolution textures many would prefer, it is at least a step in the right direction.

In terms of bug fixes, an issue which prevented players from continuing affection conversations with Kira Carsen has been resolved, and your character will no longer continue to glow bright green after being healed by companions (which is sad, because I liked being radioactive).

As far as crew skills go, both Biochem and Cybertech have been moderately beaten with the nerf bat. Cybertech’s unique grenades have had their damage output reduced, while high end Biochem medpacs now have a reduced healing output and require a skill level of 400 in Biochem to use.

A new flashpoint, ‘Kaon Under Siege,’ is available to level 50 characters in both normal and hard modes, continuing SWTOR’s ongoing story, while four new bosses can now be found in Karagga’s Palace, an end-game operation.

World PvP in Ilum has also been revamped, although it appears to have introduced new problems to the zone, so expect a further patch or hotfix in the near future.

All in all, it’s a decent first patch from BioWare, a precursor to the major additions coming up in Game Update 1.2 in March.

You can read the full patch notes below.

Game Update 1.1 – Rise of the Rakghouls

A mysterious outbreak of rakghouls threatens the worlds of the Tion Hegemony, a strategically important sector of the galaxy that has remained neutral to both Republic and Imperial advances. Now Republic and Imperial forces race to the besieged world of Kaon to eliminate the threat, desperate to secure the allegiance of the Tion Hegemony for themselves…

Welcome to Game Update 1.1 of Star Wars™: The Old Republic – Rise of the Rakghouls. In this episode your high-level characters will be introduced to the Tion Hegemony, journeying to the world of Kaon for the first time in Flashpoint: Kaon Under Siege. You can also expect to see new and dangerous foes inhabiting Operation: Karagga’s Palace, challenging you further in various difficulty modes.

Beyond these major content additions, changes have been made throughout the game, including a number of changes to Open World PvP on the planet of Ilum. Read on for the full patch notes, and we look forward to hearing your feedback about the new content on the Forums.

General

Anti-aliasing is now available and can be enabled in the preferences menu.

Classes and Combat

General

Healing caused by crowd control abilities no longer generates threat.

Tooltips for abilities modified by skill points now display correct damage values.

The cooldown indicator on hotbars no longer causes all ability icons to appear grayed out (unusable). Now, when an ability is on cooldown, it will not be grayed out if its activation conditions (like resource costs or range) are met.

Using character rotation keys no longer breaks a character out of cover.

Guard

This ability now transfers to a new friendly target without requiring deactivation on the previous target.

Activating this ability while targeting a guarded or invalid target will still toggle the Guard ability off.

A distinct visual effect is now present on characters using Guard on another character, and another effect is now present on the guarded character if they leave Guard’s range.

Taunt

A new visual effect has been added to the user and the target of the Taunt ability for the duration of its effect.

Jedi Knight

General

Force Leap: This ability no longer functions on Portable Holo Dancers.

Guardian

Enure: This ability’s cooldown has been reduced to 1.5 minutes.

Force Push: Now finishes the cooldown on Force Leap.

Bug Fixes

Force Stasis: This ability is now correctly an instant ability when both Stasis Mastery and the 2-piece PvP set bonus are present.

Plasma Brand: This ability’s tooltip now properly reflects the damage it does. Its damage has not been adjusted.

Sith Warrior

General

Intercede: This ability no longer functions on Portable Holo Dancers.

Shatter: This ability’s tooltip now correctly reflects its damage; damage from this ability has not been adjusted.

Juggernaut

Endure Pain: This ability’s cooldown has been reduced to 1.5 minutes.

Force Push: Now finishes the cooldown on Force Charge.

Bug Fixes

Force Choke: This ability is now correctly an instant ability when both Force Grip and the 2-piece PvP set bonus are present.

Jedi Consular

General

Project: This ability no longer shakes the screen of onlookers.

Shadow

Battle Readiness: Now allows Combat Technique to trigger once every 3 seconds.

Combat Technique: Healing received through Combat Technique has been increased, scales properly at higher levels, and can only be triggered once every 4.5 seconds.

Slow Time: This ability’s damage has been increased by 15% and it now slows the movement speed of all affected targets.

Sith Inquisitor

Assassin

Dark Charge: Healing received through Dark Charge has been increased, scales properly at higher levels, and can only be triggered once every 4.5 seconds.

Overcharge Saber: Now allows Dark Charge to trigger once every 3 seconds.

Wither: Damage has been increased by 15% and it now slows the movement speed of all affected targets.

Smuggler

General

Flash Grenade: This ability now has a 60-second cooldown.

Scoundrel

Sawbones

Accomplished Sawbones: The tooltip now reflects the actual healing bonus of 10/20/30%.

Scrapper

Underdog: The tooltip for this skill has been re-worded to clearly state which abilities are modified.

Dirty Fighting (Shared Tree)

Rough and Tumble: This skill now properly reduces the cooldown of Wounding Shots.

Imperial Agent

Bug Fixes

Corrected an issue where activating cover, using Explosive Probe, and then using Snipe could cause Snipe to be interrupted.

Bounty Hunter

General

Incendiary Missile: This ability is no longer misclassified as an Area of Effect ability.

Companion Characters

General

C2-N2 and 2V-R8 no longer vocalize crafting commentary during combat.

The Carbonized Stream companion ability no longer breaks prematurely.

Companions

Ashara Zavros

Ashara’s Force Blast ability has had its damage increased.

Ashara now animates correctly when using dual wield attacks.

Jaesa Willsaam

Fixed a bug that could block marriage dialogue options with this companion.

Kira Carsen

Fixed an issue that caused players to be unable to progress in Kira’s affection conversations. Players previously affected by this issue can now speak to Kira and progress normally.

Bug Fixes

Companions will now sell trash items when requested, regardless of group size.

Companion healing abilities no longer apply a permanent green effect on the character.

Fixed an issue that caused Companion Characters to sometimes have the incorrect appearance in cinematics.

Companion abilities that have been disabled by the player no longer toggle back on when the companion is re-summoned.

Corrected an issue that caused the indicator that a companion wants to talk to you to disappear.

Companions no longer need to be re-summoned after selling trash items if the player mounts a vehicle after dispatching them.

Traveling from a Contested Area to a Contested Region now causes companions to be unsummoned correctly.

Crew Skills

Crafting Skills

Below, you’ll notice some changes to high-end Biochem and Cybertech crafted items that reduce their output. We understand that these changes may cause concern for Biochemists and Cybertechs, but we’ve made them in order to prevent a situation where any specific crafting skill becomes the objective “best choice” for players challenging endgame content or PvP. We only make this type of change after very careful consideration, and only to ensure a level and fun playing field for all players.

Artifice

All mod type item modification schematics have been removed from the Artifice trainer. These schematics were invalid, and could not be used if purchased.

Biochem

Biochem medpacks that heal a player and their companion no longer revive defeated companions.

All Energized, Exotech, and Rakata adrenals and stims now require 400 Biochem for use.

The Exotech Medpac is now named “Exotech Med Unit.” Its overall healing has been reduced and is now in line with similar level medpacs, and it temporarily increases the maximum health of its targets. Use of this item now requires 400 Biochem.

The amount healed by Rakata Medpacs has been reduced. This item now additionally increases maximum health briefly. Use of this item now requires 400 Biochem.

Cybertech

Wynz-Tek grenades now require 400 Cybertech for use.

Wynz-Tek Grenades have had their damage reduced to bring them more in line with grenades of similar level.

The Wynz-Tek Firestorm grenade’s damage has been reduced to bring it in line with grenades of similar level. It now deals damage every 3 seconds over 12 seconds.

Bug Fixes

Corrected an issue that prevented recently completed Crew Skill missions from showing up in the next list of available missions.

Fixed a bug that could cause Crew Skills a character didn’t have to appear in the Crew Skills window.

Players can no longer loot harvesting nodes they do not have the appropriate Crew Skill for after a group member harvests (but does not loot) a node.

Flashpoints and Operations

General

A new level 50 Flashpoint, Kaon Under Siege, is now available for play in Normal and Hard Modes!

The Gav Daragon and the Ziost Shadow have been expanded to accommodate the Kaon Under Siege gateway.

The difficulty of some non-boss enemies in Flashpoints has been adjusted.

Enemies now drop credits more frequently in Flashpoints.

Flashpoints

The Battle of Ilum

Krel Thak’s Allied Weequay Pirates have had their toughness reduced in Hard Mode.

The Black Talon

Some enemies in this Flashpoint are no longer invisible.

Cademimu

General Ortol’s rocket fire damage no longer occurs when the rocket is not active.

Colicoid War Game

This Flashpoint’s mission now correctly leads the players into the Flashpoint.

Directive 7

Bulwark was dealing more damage than intended in Normal Mode. His damage output has been reduced.

Corrected an issue that caused Interrogator to sometimes spawn far more cyborgs than intended. The fight is now more manageable.

Corrected an issue that allowed Replicator to become susceptible to crowd control in Hard Mode, making the encounter easier than intended.

The False Emperor

The Sith Entity’s affliction ability now properly deals damage in Hard Mode.

HK-47 now has the correct amount of health in Normal Mode.

Tregg no longer immediately initiates his whirlwind attack after leaping to a player target. Players now have more time to react and avoid whirlwind damage.

Corrected an issue that caused Jindo Krey to randomly target players with his blaster attack. He now focuses those attacks on his primary target, making him “tankable” as intended.

Players can now acquire special Pulse Grenades outside of Darth Malgus’ throne room. These grenades aid groups lacking knockback abilities in defeating him.

The Foundry

Corrected an issue that could cause the final boss to become stuck at 10% health.

The final boss now resets if he is pulled out of his chamber. This prevents an exploit allowing players to avoid the encounter’s mechanics.

The final boss was unintentionally dealing 70k damage with one of his attacks. This has been corrected.

Players can no longer cause the final boss to become stuck in an immune state by damaging him too quickly in his final phase.

Maelstrom Prison

X-37 Oppressor Droid’s grapple can no longer be resisted, ensuring the fight mechanic behaves as intended.

The Red Reaper

The Red Reaper mission now updates correctly for the entire group when the mission is obtained on the Imperial or Republic Fleets.

Operations

Eternity Vault

Players are now able to successfully loot the chest after defeating the Infernal Council.

Perimeter Defense Cannons have been re-tuned and have improved targeting behaviors.

Soa’s Mind Trap and Force Throw abilities no longer target the same player multiple times; they now target every player in the group once.

Ball lightning enemies summoned by Soa deal damage in a smaller radius.

The Annihilation Droid’s rocket burst attack no longer deals double damage in 16-player Operations.

Soa now summons fewer ball lightning enemies during the final round in 16-player Operations.

The Ancient Pylons now reset correctly if not solved within the allotted time.

Soa’s mind traps unintentionally had 200k health in Nightmare Mode. This amount has been reduced significantly.

The duration of the Penalty of Destiny effect in the Infernal Council encounter has been increased to 1 minute. Players are unable to assist other players in their fight for the duration of this effect.

Players are now released from Soa’s mind traps in the correct location after the encounter.

Karagga’s Palace

Four new bosses can now be battled by players in Karagga’s Palace!

Players no longer get stuck attempting to exit the Karagga’s Palace phase.

Reduced the damage of Bonethrasher’s Overhead Smash attack and reduced the distance players are knocked back by his Backhand attack in Hard Mode. This gives players more room to avoid being knocked into the pit.

Bonethrasher no longer attacks players immediately after they fall into his pit when re-entering after being defeated, allowing players to regroup before engaging.

Bug Fixes

Flashpoints

Corrected an issue that prevented some enemy NPCs from spawning in Flashpoints.

The correct error message now displays when a player attempts to enter a different Flashpoint than the rest of the group.

Flashpoint gateways no longer display as orange in incorrect circumstances.

Fixed an issue that prevented Flashpoint difficulty from being set properly.

Fixed an issue that caused mapnotes directing players to some Flashpoints to not appear correctly.

Corrected map issues that made locating mission objectives on the Gav Daragon difficult.

Fixed an issue preventing some players from opening a chest after a boss fight if the group was previously defeated by the boss.

Items

General

An Item Modification Table has been added to the Supplies areas of the Republic and Imperial Fleets.

Several tanking relics that had the incorrect stats have been corrected.

PvP

Battlemaster Gear Tokens have been converted into Battlemaster Commendations, which can be used to purchase any Battlemaster gear. This allows players to purchase any piece of gear instead of requiring them to purchase the piece indicated by the token.

Battlemaster Bags now contain Battlemaster Commendations instead of Battlemaster Gear Tokens. They still also contain Champion Commendations.

The PvP item “Heal Consumable” is now named “Warzone Medpac.” Its cooldown has been reduced from 5 minutes to 3 minutes and it now shares the 1.5-minute cooldown with other medpacs. This item can be used effectively over time, but now cannot be stacked beyond what is intended.

The PvP item “Overcharge Consumable” is now named “Warzone Expertise Adrenal.” Its cooldown has been reduced from 5 minutes to 3 minutes and it now shares a cooldown with other adrenals. It (and other adrenals) no longer stack with the PvP Power-Up that increases Expertise to prevent Expertise values from increasing beyond intended levels.

Warzone Medpacs and Warzone Expertise Adrenals no longer share a cooldown with each other.

A new line of high-end PvP relics with appropriate PvP stats have been added to PvP vendors.

Bug Fixes

Removing a modification from an item and then re-inserting it no longer causes that modification to be lost upon area transitions.

Missions and NPCs

General

All Bonus Series missions and their required missions can now be abandoned.

Certain Wampas on Hoth that were preying on lower-level characters have had their level reduced.

Missions

Imperial

In Cold Blood: Enemies that use Armor Piercing Cell during this mission no longer each stack a debuff on the player.

A Dangerous Auction: The step “Travel to Hutta” now updates if the player travels there via the Imperial Fleet.

Death Marks: This mission now advances in the Star Cluster Casino regardless of player decisions regarding Yjal on Balmorra.

Enclave Raid: This mission no longer becomes blocked if players complete the task “Defeat Tarisian Enclave Masters” before completing “Recover Tarisian Artifacts.”

Geroya be Haran: Objectives related to this mission now glow when selected.

Honor or Glory: Players can no longer repeat a conversation with Torian.

Hutt Hospitality: The conversation with Ambassador Rove now takes into account the outcome of a decision regarding Grub.

Legerdemain: The dialogue with Chaney Barrow can no longer be repeated.

The Mandalorian Killer: Kellian Jarro and Thendys Noori now correctly spawn during this mission.

Pressure Points: The Lerantha Lurker no longer engages players in combat before completing its spawn sequence.

The Sacred Flame: Blank dialogue options no longer display during this mission’s conversations.

Shadow Spawn: The Sith Spawn no longer knocks players down for longer than intended.

The Slave-Killers: Players can no longer repeat a conversation that belongs to this mission.

Spiking the Punch: Players can no longer repeat Vicebaron Heitor’s initial dialogue.

Thuggish Behavior: Corrected an issue that could cause the player to remain stuck in combat during this mission. The required kills to complete this mission have been reduced.

Republic

Back Alley: Players now receive credit for defending the point with the turret.

Climbing the Ladder: A conversation related to this mission no longer ends prematurely.

Droid Clean Up: Corrected an issue that caused the bonus mission to persist in the player’s mission log.

Lab Work: Choosing the dark side option in this mission no longer causes this mission to stop advancing.

Prison Breaking: Rist Slayers, Stalkers, Torturers, and Prison Guards now respawn correctly.

Rescue Operation: This mission now progresses normally if the player is defeated on the step “Use Your Personal Holocom” when fleeing the base.

Scorched Earth: The mission objective NPC in this mission no longer spawns as friendly and unattackable in some instances.

Shattering: Mission progression no longer becomes blocked if the player returns to the med center after being defeated in combat.

The Shadow Fist: Mission progression no longer becomes blocked if the player closes the loot window on the step “Recover the Stealth Field Generator.”

The Summit: The difficulty of the encounter with Sidone has been reduced.

Thwarting House Thul: Thul Mercenaries, Thul Sharpshooters, and Thul Colonels now respawn properly.

Vivicar Awaits: Lowered the amount of enemies that attack the player during the step “Find a Way Past the Force Field.”

NPCs

General

Redris Korin on Corellia now uses ranged Force abilities in combat.

Bug Fixes

Jilcoln Cadera’s abilities now correctly take into account whether a player is immune from knockbacks.

The “Primal Destroyer” World Boss on Belsavis is now “Overwhelming” as intended.

The World Boss “The First” on Dromund Kaas no longer inhibits Bounty Hunter’s Rapid Shots, and Imperial Agents will no longer be knocked out of cover during combat with it.

Fixed a bug that could cause specific NPCs to appear miniature-sized in conversations.

Players using the French and German clients can now obtain daily PvE missions.

PvP

General

The shuttle room in Dorn Base Command Center on Hoth is no longer considered contested territory.

Ka on Voss is now a PvP Sanctuary.

Players who are interacting with a Warzone objective and are then affected by an area of stealth effect will have the objective interaction interrupted. This ensures players cannot exploit area of stealth effects to secure Warzone objectives unaffected and unseen by defending players.

Warzones

General

Level 50 players now participate in their own Warzone bracket and will not be matched with lower-level players.

Huttball

Players can no longer respawn inside the Warzone with full health under certain conditions.

World PvP

Ilum

The daily and weekly mission objectives in Ilum now require defeating enemy players and/or collecting armaments from the center objective.

Players now gain increased Valor from player kills in Ilum.

Players now gain increased bonus Valor for kills based on the number of objectives controlled by their faction.

Increased bonus Valor is now granted for player kills when defending an objective your faction owns.

A notification is now displayed when a player gains Valor.

Three new respawn points have been added for each faction.

Companions are now restricted from the PvP objective area on Ilum.

Notifications are now displayed when enemy players are close to an objective.

Automated defense turrets have been added to Empire and Republic taxi spawn points.

Particle Cannons around the Empire and Republic bases now activate more reliably.

The Outlaws’ Den (Tatooine)

Chests containing Mercenary Commendations are now available again in the Outlaw’s Den.

Bug Fixes

General

The scoreboard value for “Highest Protection Per Single Life” now functions correctly.

Players who have left a Warzone can no longer receive an MVP vote from teammates.

Your PvP status will now be toggled automatically upon leaving a PvP region.

Additional feedback is now provided when a player attempts to toggle their PvP flag.

The Bolster tooltip now more accurately represents the buff’s effects.

Huttball

Corrected a rare issue that could cause the Frogdogs to be declared the winner in a 0-0 match even if the Rotworms held the ball last.

Ilum

Mountable turrets in Ilum no longer deal damage to targets behind them or outside their range.

Turrets no longer immediately dismount the player after use.

Fixed a bug that would not grant proper credit to the first player to interact with a mission loot chest.

Players will now receive proper Valor and mission credit when defeating another player.

Space Combat

Bug Fixes

Armor Upgrade 2 now has the correct armor value.

UI

General

Players now receive the appropriate message when they are unable to enter an area because they are in an Operation group.

Maps

Fixed a bug that prevented the minimap title from displaying when loading into the game or refreshing the UI.

Corrected an issue that caused some mapnotes to disappear from the minimap when other mapnotes were updated.

Items

Item hyperlinks now display stats for crafted research items properly.

Item hyperlinks no longer display erroneous additional information relating to schematics when examined.

Attempting to place a non-mission item into the mission inventory now displays an error message.

Dragging equipment onto the character paper doll no longer prompts an item deletion notice. Items dragged to the paper doll are now equipped if possible.

Item set bonuses now appear on the tooltip when viewing an item on a vendor.

Items that can be modified now display with the correct loot color in the loot roll window.

Comparative tooltips now correctly display stat differences when mousing over items in the Crew Skills window.

Bug Fixes

Fixed the tooltip display for ability cooldowns over one hour in length.

The interface for splitting stacks of items now displays correctly.

Servers that are online now always display on top of servers that are offline in the Server Select screen.

Corrected a typographical error in the “Additional Commands” context menu option.

Players nearby a player who achieves a new Legacy level no longer receive the Legacy level-up notification.

Legacy name display preferences now persist when travelling between planets.

A new confirmation dialogue now appears when submitting spam reports in game.

Sorting now works correctly in the Guilds tab.

Opening the Inventory Panel with the button on the Menu Bar now always correctly displays the reverse engineering button.

Inviting a new player to a guild no longer causes the member list to display incorrectly.

Miscellaneous Bug Fixes

The owner of a holocall conversation is no longer shown in the last frame of the cinematic.

Players can no longer teleport to the location of a player whose conversation they are spectating.

Players can no longer prevent others from using a mission-related item in the world by refusing to close its loot window.

The spacebar button is now recognized when a player presses it to progress after a loading screen even if the spacebar button has been re-bound.

Additional issues that could impact performance on Taris have been addressed.

Vanity pets can no longer be considered targets for any abilities.

Players who spectated conversations no longer unleash an initial massive critical social roll in their next multiplayer conversation.

Corrected an issue that could cause some preferences to reset to defaults upon area transitions.

Respawnable chests are no longer present in some mission phases.

An Aim Datacron on Ilum is now accessible and no longer repeats its initial cinematic once used.

A Datacron on Coruscant is no longer blocked by unintentional collision.

Corrected an issue with older ATI cards that could cause the game to render as a black screen.

Falls on the Republic and Imperial Fleets that should lead to death now properly do so. Players who die on the Fleets now respawn at the appropriate med center.

Corrected an issue that could cause the game to crash during area transitions.

Fixed a bug that could cause players to fall through the world during or after a conversation or cinematic.

Carnival of the Ascended Arriving in Rift’s 1.7 Patch

Jensen Walker — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 00:44:38 +0000

The Carnival of the Ascended is coming to town in Rift’s next content patch. Trion has released details regarding what players can expect to see in the next update, and the list includes the following:

PvP like never before with smoother advancement and better rewards

Ascended weddings: Share eternity with your soulmate, Telara-style

River of Souls Chronicle: Undead adventure for two

New Master Mode dungeon

Expert dungeon overhaul: More options, better loot!

Improved loot for your endgame Ascended

While the improved loot, dungeons and PvP are sure to be appreciated, it’s the Ascended weddings which I expect to be the real hit in patch 1.7. Any feature which improves the social aspects of an MMO is sure to be appreciated by a large audience. While further details remain sparse at the moment, the community will undoubtedly embrace this feature, as well as the general PVE and PvP additions and changes.

Additionally, Trion is offering potential or lapsed players the ability to log in for free over the weekend of January 19th-22nd. This is a great chance to experience content you may have missed due to leaving the game, or to poke around in Rift for the first time.

For more information, head over to the official website.

PC Super Street Fighter IV Arcade Edition will be Updated Soon

Sam Naylor — Sat, 14 Jan 2012 18:02:47 +0000

The PC version of Super Street Fighter IV Arcade Edition will be getting a 2012 update at the end of February.

The patch itself will likely address concerns with character balance, as an update to this nature has already been released for the console versions. The Capcom blogger writes:

Our development team has been cracking the whip on this project, and are aiming to have the 2012 update ready for you all by the end of February. We will have additional updates in these upcoming weeks. so keep an eye on this space for more info.

Good to see continued support for the PC version, something we don’t often see with ports like this. Thanks, Capcom, you’re a peach.

Via RPS

Gran Turismo 5 to Get Two DLC Packs and Update 2.03 Next Week – Screens and Details

Garrett Hartman — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 19:52:56 +0000

Expect lots of new content for Gran Turismo 5 next week with two new DLC packs and update 2.03 announced by Sony today. The upcoming DLC includes the Car Pack 3 and the Speed Test Pack.

Car Pack 3 will feature six new cars: Lamborghini Aventador, Jaguar XJR9, Aston Martin V12 Vantage 2011, VW 1200 1966, Mini Countryman S 2011, and Nissan Leaf. The pack will be priced at $6.99 .

The Speed Test Pack features an all-new oval race track with a special performance measurement mode – perfect for trialing out your car collection and their stats. It should be priced at $5.99.

Update 2.03 will be released on January 18th and should feature the following changes:

New theme for my home in GT Mode.
An option to set up in the penumatici Pit Strategy (B-spec).
Simulated regenerative braking on electric cars.
Chaparral 2J Race Car ’70: Fan forced shutdown option.
Fixed an error unexpected pit stop on the last lap of a race B-spec.
12 new colors and 12 new wallpapers for the theme of Casa Mia.
Electric cars run slower without applying an acceleration.
A regenerative braking effect on the distance cruise.

Via Press Release and GT Planet

Bethesda Blog Promises Skyrim PS3 Lag Remedy In 1.4 Update

Chad Lakkis — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 16:33:46 +0000

If you are one of the many Skyrim PlayStation 3 gamers out there experiencing lag issues, it would seem that Bethesda is prepared to answer your cry for help.

In a recent response tweet by the official Bethesda Blog twitter account to a well phrased question asking “What about PS3 Lag ?????”, the company promptly replied letting the individual know that they are “addressing that in the 1.4 update planned for this month.”

The French Join the Battle in World of Tanks’ Latest Update

Jensen Walker — Sat, 07 Jan 2012 06:00:25 +0000

Wargaming.net’s patch 7.1 for free-to-play MMO World of Tanks has recently gone live, bringing with it the long-anticipated addition of French Tanks.

French vehicles will invade World of Tanks in two steps, with the initial offering featuring light, medium, and heavy tanks. Just as their historical prototypes, the in-game machines utilize unique features and modules, including automatic loading system and oscillating turrets that will enrich gameplay diversity and require different tactical approach from players. The second wave of the French vehicles will appear later in 2012 and will include tank destroyers and SPGs.

“Our players already know how to play with the “big three” tank nations, but the French are all-different,” said Mike Zhivets, Lead Game Designer for World of Tanks. “You’ll have to reconsider the way you think tanks behave before they let you tame them. And that’s what we love them for!”

For more information, head over the the official website.

SWTOR Devs Discuss the Future of PVP and Further Bug Fixes

Jensen Walker — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 19:30:36 +0000

Hot on the heels of yesterday’s 1.0.2 patch, Star Wars: The Old Republic developers James Ohlen and Gabe Amatangelo gave the community an update on what to expect over the coming months in regards to PVP and bug fixes.

For PVP aficionados, Gabe Amatangelo posted a lengthy blog in which he gave some insight into what PVPers can expect in the future. BioWare intends to add a level 50 PVP bracket to avoid instances of level 50 players easily defeating those of lower levels, and is open the possibility of further brackets down the track. Open World PVP on Ilum is going to be revamped in order to encourage competitive gameplay, including Valor points for player kills. A new same faction vs same faction warzone is in the works, and combat optimizations will be rolled out some time in January.

On the issue of bug fixes, James Ohlen explained why all bugs cannot be squashed swiftly, and why the process takes time. Having said that, BioWare pushed through a small update last name which contained the following fixes:

Fixed an issue that causes in-game chat channels to stop functioning for some players.

Prevented social emotes (like /getdown) from interfering with combat.

Obviously the latter was gamebreaking, and the former extremely annoying, as several of my guild members affected by it can attest. It’s great to see both these bugs dealt with.

For more SWTOR news, head over to the official site, and if you’re feeling particularly brave, the official forums.

Dance the Day Away: the SWTOR Dance Bug Will be Patched Tonight

Sam Naylor — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 18:34:06 +0000

Bioware has noted that the “/getdown” invincibility glitch we reported on yesterday will be patched tonight.

The glitch, which provides invincibility via the medium of dance, will be patched late tonight for North American users, or tomorrow for those of us in the proper and correct GMT timezone.

So dance, good men and women of Star Wars: The Old Republic. Dance all you can, while there’s still time. You may never experience such highs of existence again.

SWTOR’s Patch 1.0.2 Now Live – Changes and Fixes

Jensen Walker — Wed, 04 Jan 2012 18:41:01 +0000

I’ve spent the past three weeks in a galaxy far, far away and enjoyed every second of it. While the end of the holiday period brings me back down to earth, I come bearing news of BioWare’s latest update for the recently launched Star Wars: The Old Republic.

While 1.0.2 isn’t a huge patch by any means of the imagination, it does include a number of welcome bug fixes such as the cover mechanic now working correctly when behind hard cover, the ‘Sith Corruption’ toggle no longer turning itself back on every time you enter a new area, and a fix that was preventing Bounty Hunter’s from completing their class story under certain circumstances.

Unfortunately, there are still a lot of issues which need to be resolved, such as the current lack of high-res textures, various bugs in hard mode flashpoints and operations, and the mysterious case of party/guild chat randomly disappearing for certain players. Hopefully these issues will be resolved in short order.

The full list of changes can be found below.

General

Guilds that are currently leaderless will have an Officer chosen and promoted to Guild Leader.

Classes and Combat

Sith Inquisitor

The Darth title is now properly granted to Sith Inquisitors. Bug Fixes

Corrected an issue that could prevent players from taking cover when targeting large NPCs

Fixed a bug that caused some abilities with activation times to be interrupted when used from cover.

Crew Skills

Gathering

Removed some high-level harvesting nodes from Tatooine, Corellia, and Ilum.

Flashpoints and Operations

Flashpoints

Cademimu

General Ortol can no longer be pulled out of his room.

Maelstrom Prison

Corrected an issue that could cause Kilran to behave incorrectly when defeated in cover.

Taral V

General Edikar now has the correct loot in Hard Mode and no longer enrages in Normal Mode.

Operations

Eternity Vault

Gharj can no longer be pulled out of his encounter room. Bug Fixes

Fixed an issue that could cause choosing Nightmare Mode to not set enemies to Nightmare difficulty.

Items

General

PvP lockboxes now cost 70 commendations, contain more consumables, and always contain an item. Bug Fixes

Corrected several PvP items that were Bind on Equip. They are now Bind on Pickup.

PvP vendors on Capital Planets now offer the correct PvP items.

Commendations received via in-game mail are now correctly added to the Currency tab.

Missions and NPCs

Missions

Imperial

Number One with a Bullet: Players who choose dark side options now correctly receive the mission First Strike after completing this mission.

First Strike: Players who did not receive this mission will now receive it upon entering their personal starships. Republic

Death Cloud: Players can now complete the “Toxic Waste” bonus objective regardless of how quickly they complete this mission.

Bug Fixes

Corrected mission steps on several planets that could cause client instability.

Fixed issues with some missions that could prevent pending rewards from being accepted.

Space Combat

Bug Fixes

Fixed an issue that caused a client crash if a space station was destroyed in Space Combat.

UI

Maps

Group members no longer appear on all planets on the Galaxy Map. Corrected an issue that could cause map notes to disappear after logging out and back into the game.

Corrected some map notes that referenced the incorrect map. Updated map notes for “travel to planet” steps in class missions on Nar Shaddaa, Hoth, and Belsavis to indicate the planet’s space station.

Bug Fixes

Group members outside of a player’s phase are no longer prompted to roll on items.

The In-Game Customer Service Portal no longer appears to hang while the “updating” message is displayed.

The Guild interface now properly displays the guild member list when it is sorted.

The “Show Sith Corruption” option no longer toggles off when transitioning between areas.

Miscellaneous Bug Fixes

Taxi rides are no longer occasionally interrupted, causing the player to be dropped from the taxi.

Using the /dismiss command now correctly dismisses a vanity pet.

Corrected some issues that could cause players to become stuck on the loading screen when logging into a character.

Players can now use emotes while riding a vehicle.

Fixed a bug that prevented some text-only mail messages from being received.

Graphics preferences in settings files are now consistent with actual settings in use.

Being in Do Not Disturb mode no longer prevents characters from being logged out for being away.

Corrected an issue that caused poor performance on some machines in indoor areas with shadows enabled.

Fixed an issue that could prevent players from being logged out for inactivity.

Watch Serious Sam Blow Up Your Christmas

Dave Oshry — Fri, 23 Dec 2011 03:00:15 +0000

It’s no secret that Serious Sam likes to blow shit up. Well, Christmas time is no exception. With the latest update to Serious Sam 3, you can dress up as a sexy santa and wreak havoc all over Bum Fuck Egypt.

Oh yeah:

Want some? Serious Sam 3 is on Sale on Steam for $29.99 til January 2nd!

Be sure to check out the RipTen Review!

LoTRO’s Armies of Isengard Update Now Live

Jensen Walker — Mon, 12 Dec 2011 23:15:43 +0000

Today’s the day for the deployment of the latest patch for The Lord of The Rings Online, which introduces a bucket load of new content including five new end-game dungeons.

These dungeons come in different types: 1 three man, 1 six man and 1 twelve man, meaning there’s plenty of variety and something to suit everyone’s tastes.

The Update also furthers The Prince of Rohan’s storyline and adds a much requested instance finder to make finding groups a breeze.

You can read the full patch notes from Turbine below.

Update 5, Armies of Isengard Release Notes – Official

Of Special Note

Isengard Instances are here!

Five new instances have been added, rounding out the challenges of the Rise of Isengard Expansion. These instances are free to all players who purchased the Rise of Isengard Expansion. If you have not purchased the expansion pack, these instances will also be available a la carte in the LOTRO Store. Learn more about these instances in the Developer Diary.

The Epic Story Continues

The time has come for you to part ways with the Grey Company. Update Five will see the Rangers continue with their mission while steering clear of the coming war for as long as possible. You, however, will be taking on the tasks set forth in, Volume III, Book 5: ‘The Prince of Rohan.’.

Instance Finder

Instance Finder is a new tool that will help players form and fill Fellowships to tackle the various instances, raids and skirmishes found throughout Middle-earth. With Update 5 the first phase of the Instance finder will be available to players. This initial implementation does have some limitations and restrictions. We’ll be improving the system in future updates and look forward to hearing your feedback and input on ways to make Instance Finder better. Currently, Instance Finder allows you to set the following options:

Content: Skirmishes, Isengard Instances, and/or Scaled Instances

Scale: Solo, 2-man, 3-man, and/or 6-man

Difficulty: Tier I, II, and/or III difficulty

Role: Defence, DPS, Healer, Support

Once a player or partial group places themselves in queue, the system will intelligently match them with other players for a random instance within their selected parameters. Once a match is found, the system will notify the player who can then accept the match and travel immediately to the instance. In addition, while using the Instance Finder, players can take advantage of additional bonuses and rewards! Full details of this new tool and some of our plans for improving it in the future can be found in the developer diary.

Track Nearby Quests

A new option has been added to the Quest Tracker and the Radar called “Track Nearby Quests.” Track Nearby Quests works by finding up to five quests in your quest log with nearby objectives, and attempting to add them to the Quest Tracker. Only unlocked quests in the quest tracker will be replaced in this way. If all the quests in the tracker are locked, you will receive an error message.

Additional notes:

Track Nearby Quests doesn’t work when you are within an interior location (a dungeon) or an encounter. The options are hidden in this case. If you trigger Track Nearby Quests via an input action while in a dungeon, you’ll get an error message.

Track Nearby Quests only looks for nearby quests, not for deeds.

Unified Currency – Skirmish, Classic and Instance reward systems

All the various marks and tokens that appear in Skirmishes and Classic Instances are being collapsed into three new currencies; Marks, Medallions and Seals. These three currencies will also be used in the new Isengard instance cluster, as well as future instances. A complete explanation can be found in the Developer Diary, but here’s a quick look at what’s changing:

Wait, what? In practice, this should change little about how Skirmishes, Classic Instances and Instance Clusters are played. Enter an instance, collect currency for beating bosses and taking control points, than spend it at barter vendors. The big change is that now all instances share three main currencies, instead of a wide variety of special marks. This will greatly simplify things and draw a strong line between the gameplay styles.

What about all my stuff? When Update 5 launches, all of the various marks will be converted into Marks, Medallions or Seals automatically. Skirmish Marks will become Marks, though acquired Skirmish traits will be unchanged. To be specific, the following items will disappear from the game and be replaced with some amount of the new currencies: • Eruilan Campaign Mark • Adlan Campaign Mark • Naillan Campaign Mark • Cannuilan Campaign Mark • Lefnuilan Campaign Mark • Enguilan Campaign Mark • Odothuilan Campaign Mark

• Annúminas Mark • Eregion Mark • Helegrod Mark • Great Barrow Mark • Inn of the Forsaken Mark • Halls of Night Mark

• Superior Fourth Mark • Veteran’s Fourth Mark • Fourth Mark • Superior Third Mark • Veteran’s Third Mark • Third Mark • Veteran’s Second Mark • Second Mark • Veteran’s First Mark • First Mark

Reputation System Revamp

The reputation system has been changed to be more player and inventory friendly. Be sure to read the developer diary for all the details.

Lua Plugin Manager

At long last, a manager UI has been added to support all of your Lua plugins!

During character selection, you can open the manager via the “Manage Plugins” button. There you can define which plugins you would like to load automatically each time you log in with the characters selected via a drop-down menu present for each plugin entry. Please note: the character selection list includes both normal characters and monster play characters linked to your account on the given server.

You can also access the manager when in game (logged in) via a start menu entry under the system sub-menu for both normal characters and monster play characters. Here, you will not only be able to change the auto-loading status of your plugins, but you can also immediately load/unload plugins.

The in game plugin manager also introduces support for plugin-defined option panels that can be accessed by hitting the “Options” tab when a plugin is selected. What these options do for a given plugin is completely defined by the plugin authors. If a given plugin has not defined an options panel, then the tab will be disabled.

It’s the little things that count

Coffee is here! After much lobbying by players and quoting of various passages in Tolkien’s works, coffee is now available! Westfold Famers will have new recipes to grow the aromatic beans for Westfold Cooks who wish to concoct this stimulating beverage!

Release Notes

General

We have re-balanced a few of the ratings granted by some items to increase their impact. This primarily affects avoidance ratings (block, parry and evade) but some critical ratings and incoming healing ratings are also affected.

All items that currently have Melee Offence, Ranged Offence, Tactical Offence or Outgoing Healing ratings have been changed to have either Physical Mastery (Melee Offence and Ranged Offence) or Tactical Mastery (Tactical Offence and Outgoing Healing). These Mastery ratings function in all ways like the replaced ratings only the Mastery works for both at the same time.

Players can now revive properly in Mirkwood Landing

The Butcher in the Warg caves should now spawn properly.

Multiple barter item currencies have been consolidated down into 3 new currency types. There is now a tutorial hint which describes the conversion process and only appears if the conversion has affected you.

When earning the new item currencies that are placed in your Barter Wallet, you will receive overhead text showing you how much you just earned.

All containers now have particle effects to help distinguish them from the landscape.

After much consideration the mystery meat inside the cafeteria burritos shall remain a mystery. Trust us, it’s better that way.

Fishing: All types of fish now have a max stack size of 100.

Trollshaws: Elder Stonehoof boars found in South Trollshaws now drop Sturdy Hides occasionally.

Fixed an issue that could prevent a new character who skipped the tutorial from receiving the Basic Training passive skill.

The Ale Association quest “Inn League Disaster” unfortunately had to be removed from the game… Some changes were made to world event scheduling, and this quest did not get along well with the changes!

Mounts – Both variants of the Galadhrim War-horse now have unique icons.

Classes

Burglar

With the Opportunist trait slotted, the Trick from Counter Defence can now once again be overwritten by any other Trick from the Burglar.

Fixed an issue in which item links in loot messages generated by the Burgle skill would show incorrect tooltip information.

Captain

The Captain’s tactic skills are now usable while riding.

Captain trait Alert Guard now displays the bonus to Parry Rating granted by Defensive Strike

Tactic: Relentless Attack will now display its buff on the character panel instead of in the critical rating tooltip.

In Defense Middle-earth Duration Legacy scroll descriptions are now fixed.

The Captain skill Tactics: Focus will now scale its effects after level 65.

The various Song-brother skills will now affect the Herald’s healing skills

Captain’s First Age Legendary Emblems will no longer have -Healing Threat inherently.

Champion

The 4-set trait bonus of Ardour no longer references Deathstorm, it now references Improved Great Cleave

The Martial Champion set trait line now correctly states that the morale bonus is only obtained while in Glory.

Improved Great Cleave will now reset AoE skills when it is activated.

True Heroics should now apply all of the beneficial effects when it is activated regardless of an enemy being affected or not.

The (Glory) Hedge Armour Rating legacy no long references the outdated sudden defence legacy.

Fight On! will now drain power from nearby enemies when activated.

Hedge will now correctly enable parrying in Fervour stance.

The Bersker trait line will now apply the damage bonus to merciful strike while in fervour. (Ultimately, this was a display issue and not a functional issue.)

Corrected a tooltip issue that existed with the trait Time of Need. The trait was referenced instead of the skill.

Cleaned up the tooltip on Adamant and Invincible to include the bonus values added by each fervour point.

Cleaned up the description of Vigour of Champions to show that there is a benefit to the trait.

Fixed an issue with the Trait Controlled Fury where the skill Controlled Burn was not named as the skill modified.

The Swift to Anger Trait now correctly identifies that it will alter the Swift Strike skill to become a frontal AoE skill with 3 targets called Swift Blade.

The amount of fervour generated by the traited version of Exchange of Blows while in Glory has been reduced slightly. This is to ensure that the fervour generation while in Glory is not too great.

Champions can no longer use Merciful Strike without a cooldown when four deep in The Berserker Trait line and not in Fervour stance.

PvMP- The 6-set bonus “+30% Brutal Strikes chance to remove the fervour cost of Ferocious Strikes” will no longer trigger from Improved Feral Strikes.

The Hedge skill will now properly allow parrying while in Fervour stance.

Guardian

Challenge the Darkness now grants Tactical Mitigation as Guardian’s Ward Tactics at all levels.

The display of the Guardian legacy Reactive Block damage has been corrected.

Guardian skill Take to Heart can no longer be resisted.

Guardian’s Threat will no longer trigger a visual effect when other effects are applied to the guardian.

The Guardian trait Heart of Fire will now improve the unified Critical Defence stat displayed on the character panel not each individual Melee/Ranged/Tactical Critical Defence shown on the tooltip.

Hunter

Improved Strength of the Earth Legacy is now a flat percentage increase to morale amount, maxes at 40%.

Lore-master

The Lore-master’s Spirit of Nature companion has been upgraded. Its Flashing Flank skill now has a 45 second cooldown. Its Nature’s Gift healing skill no longer requires the Spirit’s sacrifice. The Spirit of Nature will no longer accumulate threat for any action that it takes nor from any threat transferred to it. The Physical and Tactical mitigations of the Spirit have been much increased. Finally, and most importantly, the Spirit is now a Creature of Nature.

The Spirit of Nature also has an Aura effect that reduces an enemy’s chance to hit by 5%.

Sign of Power: Vigilance will now affect the pet’s ability to see through stealth.

Fixed an issue where the wrong icon was appearing for the debuff of Improved Sign of Power: Command

The trait Dúnadan-learning will no longer allow for the Lore-master to stack buffs meant to be handled by the Master of Beasts trait.

Sign of Battle: Wizard’s Fire should now benefit from the legacy that enhances the damage done by the skill.

The Deed, Magic Adept, was moved to a level 60 only skill as part of the Rise of Isengard launch. This has been fixed. Burning Embers will now increase this deed starting at level 30 in addition to Sticky Gourd. All improved versions of these skills will advance the deed as well.

Display for the health gain portion of the legacy Morale – Sign of the Wild: Protection now displays correctly.

A typo in the description of agility for Lore-masters has been fixed.

A typo in the skill Knowledge of the Lore-master has been fixed.

Outgoing healing will now affect the healing from the Sign of Battle: Wizard’s Fire.

Lore-master skill Sign of Battle: Wizard’s Fire initial pulse will now be equivalent to all subsequent pulses.

Minstrel

Anthem of the Third Age, now works on critical regardless of spec depth in Power of Song.

Sheet music should once again stop induction interruptions

Improved Story of Courage now only applies the beneficial buff once to targets

We have made the delay between codas and the action of other skills a little more tolerable.

Enhanced duration and removal of the buff now work correctly on Anthem of War applied to fellows. The buff is removed from all members of the fellowship when the coda is activated.

Anthems that are overridden by more potent minstrels will not quash the ability of the minstrel to activate the bonuses to the coda – anthems will still be overridden.

Call to Greatness reduced to 5 minutes, the bonus trait from Power of Song 2 deep increased to 60

Anthem of Sympathy now affects Coda by producing negative threat when the coda is used.

Melody of Battle now uses a sound scheme that is more appropriate

Fixed a typo in tooltip for Enduring Morale

Fixed a typo in tooltip for Absolute Pitch

Fixed a typo in tooltip for Call to Fate

Fixed the text for Improved Cry of the Chorus (War-speech)

Bolster courage is once again affected by the Song of the Hammerhand bubble.

Song of Distraction and Improved Song of Distraction no longer generate threat. If the skill is resisted by a target that target will not become immediately aggressive to the player.

The benefit of the Anthem of Compassion has been changed to: Places an effect on you that reduces threat generation by 5% for 30 seconds.

Clarified the bonus on some instrument bonuses from a display of 0.XX to XX%

Removed errant wording from the Song of the Hammerhand effects and skill tooltips.

Outgoing healing will now affect the heal-over-time portion of the Improved Chord of Salvation.

Monster players will no longer receive an error stating that they cannot use the Sturdy Steel Lockboxes, instead they will be told that they are missing the required key.

Dirge-singer armour now has finesse at the cost of a little will. Hands and Chest pieces now have finesse

Warden

Shield tactics now properly increases tactical mitigation.

Aggression now properly uses aggression in potent and non-potent states. It also provides the correct information in its tooltip.

Never Surrender and the associated debuff version now have the correct icons.

Way of the Warden now includes a bonus to Critical Defence equivalent to the benefit gained with Determination.

Never Surrender has been changed: The ability is activated by the Warden and will last for five minutes. During those five minutes the Warden cannot be defeated unless their health drops below 10%. At this point, they are healed for 50% of the Morale and Power (Both based off of maximum power) and they can now be defeated as normal. Cool down on the skill is 15 minutes.

Shield Tactics will now apply the stun immunity buff when the skill is activated.

Improved Javelin toss now gains the javelin being used.

Iconography for Never Surrender has been updated.

Deflection now benefits from the trait A Keen response

Deflection now has the correct FX when used against a target.

FX and animations have been adjusted for all the new double builders, Deflection, Aggression and Shield Tactics.

Aggression now has the correct animation playing when used.

Sound added to Shield Tactics.

Animation for Shield tactics now uses the shield.

Warden heals have been adjusted to scale with elevated monster damage added with RoI.

The new effect that provides wardens with a boost in their partial defensives has had it’s duration increased to 20 seconds.

Monster Play

General

Creep Resistance potions have been converted to the new Resistance Rating stat. Since this now makes one set of the potions redundant, Phial of Mazuak’s Saliva/Blood have been removed from barter and loot. The existing potions will remain accessible to players that had acquired them before this change, but they provide the same benefit as Phial of Gorgoris’ Bile/Blood and do not stack.

Monster players can now open their Traits panel with the same hotkey (default: ‘J’) as Free Peoples.

Existing monster player characters logging in for the first time in Rise of Isengard will now see trainable traits on the Monster Player Trainers without having to relog.

New Creep Skill “March!” A new skill has been added to each Creep’s starting skill set: “March!”. This skill increases Creep out of combat movement speed by 32%- enabling them to traverse the map more efficiently. This skill toggles off the moment the Creep enters combat.

The existing Root Duration modifier on items has been replaced with a new (functional, I swear) property that reduces the duration of roots applied to the target by a percent.

Hotspot effects (Traps, Blight, Banners, etc) now work on the Troll and Ranger

Troll & Ranger auto-attack damage significantly increased

Ranger quest is now removed on log-out.

Delving of Fror: Boss monsters now have a chance to drop Creep consumables.

Chieftain Fimfash: Chieftain Fimfash’s health has been increased to match that of his Freep counterpart.

Battlefield Promotions: Icons now match the rank they unlock at.

Lainedhal’s Insignias and Akulhun’s Brands have had their usage cooldowns reduced. These now range from 120 minutes for the Rank 1 version of the insignia/brand to 5 minutes for the Rank 15 version of the insignia/brand.

Burglar PvMP Armour -Boots, Legs, and Helm have had their stats revised to include Agility.

Containers now have particle effects to help distinguish them from the landscape.

Auto-attack Super Critical Damage multiplier increased by 30% (Both Freeps & Creeps)

Pet Ranged skills can no longer be Parried (Both Freeps & Creeps)

Creep Delving potions are no longer removed on death.

Outnumbered Buffs “Akúlhun’s Challenge” & “Lainedhal’s Call to Arms” now increase Infamy/Glory Gains by 20%

Freep Scaling Cloaks: Amount of finesse given on the the cloaks has been significantly increased.

Brands and Insignias now provide Immunity and/or Dispels for Silences, Disarms, and Slows in addition to other Crowd Control effects.

Mobilize speed buff reduced to 35%

March! speed buff reduced to 25%

Delving of Fror Movement Speed potions have been removed from barter and loot. Potions currently in player inventory will not be removed, but the effect will not stack with Mobilize and March and their potency has been reduced to 5/7/10% from 10/15/20%

Creeps

The cost to slot traits has been normalized

1 Silver 60 Copper per Corruption

22 Silver 50 Copper per Class and Appearance

45 Silver per Racial & Appearance

Uruk Racial Skills

Imposing Presence now increases the targets Health and Power pools by 10%

Warleader

Mobilize speed buff increased to 50%, power cost increased by 100%, shares the same recovery channel as “March!”

Weaver

Hatchling attack damage type changed to Acid.

Strong Brood: Mandible Strike’s Devastating Critical Multiplier increased from 1.7 to 2.5

Scytode Brood: Auto-attack cooldown reduced from 3s to 1s.

Toxin tooltip no longer says it’s uncurable.

Clinging and Entangling Webs no longer share the same cooldown.

Mephitic Kiss DoT now named “Mephitic Kiss” and icon matches the skill (all other functionality remains the same)

Enhanced Trapdoor Sanctuary now restores 5% of Max Morale every 2s for the duration of the skill

BlackArrow

Steadfast Barrage now does fire damage when “Feel the Burn!” is traited

Steadfast Barrage combat log revised to state “Steadfast Barrage” instead of “Deadly Common Damage”.

Revenge’s critical chance and critical damage multipliers have been reduced.

Warleader

Mobilize now dispels and blocks stealth for all fellowship members, while active.

Fracture now interrupts and dismounts Freeps.

Purge now usable while under the effects of “Knocked Out” crowd control

“Get A Grip!” no longer applies the heal to pets.

Purge now useable while in the “Knocked Out” state.

Warg

“Rend Flesh” now properly consumes the Critical Response when used.

“Rend Flesh” and “Sudden Pounce” base damage increased by 50%.

“Rend Flesh” power cost reduced

“Bloody Maul” base damage increased by 60%

Skills that do bonus positional damage are now called out in tooltips.

“Bestial Claws”, “Sudden Pounce”, and “Bloody Maul” damage increased

“Sudden Pounce” & “Bloody Maul” power costs increased

“Claws” power cost reduced

“Flea Bitten” fixed a bug that caused the effect to be applied to the Warg instead of enemies.

Long Strides now provides +5% Stealth Movement Speed

Four-legged Foe now provides +5% Stealth Movement Speed

Enhanced Stealth- Stealth Movement Speed buff increased by 10%

Reaver

“Enhanced Skill: Upper Hand” tooltip corrected to state that it reduces Block and Parry ratings, not Evade.

Defiler

“Blessing of Darkness” no longer usable while moving.

Raid, Skirmishes, Instances

Draigoch’s body and limb health has been reduced

All raid skirmishes will wait 10 minutes before sending you out after completion

The Skirmish Soldier trait Ultimate Banner of Protection will now affect the unified Resistance stat displayed on the character panel instead of individual resistances.

Skirmish Camp

Reduced the prices of various crafting materials.

Added tier 7 optional ingredients to crafting vendors. [Clump of Peat, Pinch of Westfold Herbs, Drop of Birch-tar, Bit of Pure Calenard, Inspired Note]

Added tier 6 Craft XP recipes and ingredients.

Added level 70 and 75 scrollcasses.

Added Cracked Rhi Helvarch Sigil.

Draigoch

Tweaked some logic and timing that should decrease the likelihood of him going braindead.

The School at Tham Mirdan

Challenge quest now requires you to defeat Commander T?rsh in addition to saving the burning books

Inn of the Forsaken

Skeletons will no longer spawn in the wall causing players to be unable to attack them

/stare will once again solve Riddle #17

Dol Guldur – Sammath Gul

The firespout effect will occasionally spout our of the grates even when the player isn’t in combat with the boss following a wipe.

Items

Items – Hunter – Draigoch Set – The 5-set Hunter bonus “Intent Concentration recovers all Archer’s Art skills” will now reset Split Shot.

The following items have been re-named

Dirge-singer’s Gloves is now Dirge-singer’s Bracers.

Dirge-singer’s Robe is now Dirge-singer’s Jacket.

Dirge-singer’s Shoes is now Dirge-singer’s Boots.

Hood of the Riddle Teller is now Helm of the Riddle Teller.

Hood of the Impossible Shot is now Helm of the Impossible Shot.

Spellweaver’s Gloves is now Spellweaver’s Bracers.

Spellweaver’s Hood is now Spellweaver’s Helm.

Spellweaver’s Robe is now Spellweaver’s Jacket.

Spellweaver’s Shoes is now Spellweaver’s Boots.

Gloves of the Clever Counselor is now Bracers of the Clever Counselor.

Hood of the Clever Counselor is now Helm of the Clever Counselor.

Robe of the Clever Counselor is now Jacket of the Clever Counselor.

Thadur’s Shield of Old – The size of Thadur’s Shield of Old is more in-line with other Warden’s Shields.

Legendary items, Relics, Legacies

Relics: All non-unique Settings (tiers 1-7) now increase both Tactical Mastery and Physical Mastery, instead of either offence or healing, depending on relic.

The following item advancement titles have had the melee defense and tactical defense changed to Physical Mitigation and Tactical Mitigation:

Stout Defender

Steadfast Protector

Stalwart Guardian

Firm Resolve

Iron Will

Resolute Heart

Legacy replacement scrolls that say they were In Defense of Middle-earth Duration legacies were lying. They now correctly identify themselves as Words of Courage Pulses legacies.

Several legacies with higher than expected values have been normalized.

Burglar

Pulse Modifier for Glee

Stealth Level

Trick Range

Riddle Range

Captain

Pressing Attack Max Targets

Words of Courage Pulses

Champion

Ardour/Glory Pip Interval

Rend Pulses

Hamstring Range

Minstrel

Soliloquy of Spirit Pulses

Story of Courage Range

Call of the Second Age Targets

Lore-master

Cracked Earth Range

Burning Embers Range

Ancient Craft Targets

Fire-lore Targets

Bane Flare Targets

Wizard’s Fire Pulses

Burning Embers Pulses

Hunter

Endurung Quick Shot Threat Down

Stealth Detection

Maximum Targets for AoE Skills

Guardian

Shield Wall Range

Targeted Melee Skill Range

Guardian Area Effect Melee Targets

Guardian Bleed Pulses

Challenge Targets

Warden

Dark Before Dawn Power Restored

Exultation of Battle Threat Up

Javelin Skills Max Range

Rune-keeper

Pulses Prelude to Hope

Vivid Imagery Targets

Crafting

General

Corrected text for all Supreme proficiency craft profession tutorial hints.

An issue where greater crafted relic recipe scrolls became unusable after obtaining Westfold mastery has been fixed.

Cook

All crafted campfires now provide additional out-of-combat morale and power regeneration boosts while the campfire is active.

Woodworker

Corrected the plural name of Westfold Nestad Infused Parchment.

Slightly reduced the physical and tactical mitigations found on all “Steadfast Protector” / “Iron Will” Spear, Shield, and Fist Warden Carvings.

Corrected crafting panel categories for the following Woodworker recipes: Westfold Bow, Westfold Club.

We have removed the rare component as a necessary portion of crafting the baseline tier 7 pibgorn.

Tailor

Corrected the icon and description for the following recipe: Wyrmscale Cloak.

Metalsmith

Renamed the Master Metalsmith Ancient Steel Scale recipe/item: “Elf-steel Scale”

Prospector

Renamed the Master Prospector Elven-steel Ingot recipe/item: “Elf-steel Ingot”

Scholar

New Lore-master parable recipes are now available for the Scholar profession. Novice Scholar trainers sell the Journeyman recipe while higher tier versions can be found in treasure.

UI

Quest reward items with very long names now get more space to show the name in. If they have to be truncated with a “…” anyway, the tooltip will now be the correct item examination tooltip instead of just the name.

Items

Scaling items from instances are no longer marked as Unique, allowing multiple versions of them to exist in your vault or pack.

Housing Decorations – The firework launchers for exterior housing decorations have been updated with bigger and more impressive firework fx.

Quests & Deeds

Carreglyn — Punishing the Wicked: Previously, if someone spawned the boss fight, but a second player actually tagged and killed the boss, the first player could not complete the quest. The boss now can be respawned.

Carreglyn — Munfaeril’s Warning: There was a bugged that caused a player to not be able to get their quest rewards upon completion. If two players used the same copy of Munfaeril to complete the wrapper, the second player’s events got switched so that they spoke to Munfaeril first and used the shrine second, which broke the rewards screen. Now multiple players can complete their quest off the same copy of Munfaeril (if she is not present, the shrine must still be used to summon her, but completion will happen correctly.)

There was a further complication with Punishing the Wicked, which caused the boss to remain stuck in NPC mode. This is being resolved by causing the entire encounter to despawn immediately if combat ends (due to player death, Hide in Plain Sight or other combat-ending skill). The detection hotspot also now has a cooldown of three minutes before it resets the encounter.

The two hostile mobs in Lower Barnavon that were put there due to overwhelming player feedback have been removed due to overwhelming player feedback.

Starkmoor Quest Completion deed quest count has been brought down a little bit more since the patch to match other Dunland/Gap/Isengard zones better.

Quests: Book 14, Chapter 6: Laerdan now holds his bow properly.

Forochel – Quest: “Cold as Death” – Frost-rimmed Braziers can only be used to summon Delucheleg when you have the quest.

Moria – The Forgotten Treasury – Deeds can now be started by players of level 50 and above (down from 55).

The three level 75 repeatable quests in Galtrev, “The Defense of Galtrev”, “Glinting in Forgotten Pools” & “The Forges of Isengard”, now give Legendary Item titles, relics and runes as rewards. Also, the quest “The Forges of Isengard” now gives reputation with Theodred’s Riders.

The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim Update v1.2 – What It Changed

Dave Oshry — Mon, 28 Nov 2011 20:42:51 +0000

Now that Skyrim has had an uber successful launch and is being played by gamers worldwide, and now that we’ve all filled up on Horker Meat and Mashed Nirnroot, it’s time to start updating Skyrim.

The latest update is now live on PS3 and is coming later this week to Xbox 360 and PC.

Here’s what it changed:

UPDATE 1.2 NOTES (all platforms unless specified)

Improved occasional performance issues resulting from long term play (PlayStation 3)

Fixed issue where textures would not properly upgrade when installed to drive (Xbox 360)

Fixed crash on startup when audio is set to sample rate other than 44100Hz (PC)

Fixed issue where projectiles did not properly fade away

Fixed occasional issue where a guest would arrive to the player’s wedding dead

Dragon corpses now clean up properly

Fixed rare issue where dragons would not attack

Fixed rare NPC sleeping animation bug

Fixed rare issue with dead corpses being cleared up prematurely

Skeleton Key will now work properly if player has no lockpicks in their inventory

Fixed rare issue with renaming enchanted weapons and armor

Fixed rare issue with dragons not properly giving souls after death

ESC button can now be used to exit menus (PC)

Fixed occasional mouse sensitivity issues (PC)

General functionality fixes related to remapping buttons and controls (PC)

After releasing the 1.2 update, we will continue to monitor forums, blogs, etc. for issues you are reporting, and we will keep you updated on further updates to improve your gameplay experience.

Our current ETA for Xbox 360 and PC players is this Wednesday, November 30th.

Stay tuned to RipTen for continued coverage of upcoming Skyrim fixes and for more on Skyrim be sure to check out the RipTen Review!