Bullroarer Update 24.3 - Preview #1

Bullroarer has been updated to build 2403.0061.8296.4454.

Bullroarer will be available until Friday (09/20) 5:00 PM EST. Time is subject to change!

News and Notes:

A new race, Stout-axe Dwarf, is available for preview. Meet the lost civilization of Stout-axe Dwarves, and live their story of reemergence.

Emotes

• The Elevenses Emote now works more consistently, and food items will disappear if the emote is interrupted.

Items

• Some stats have been updated on Isengard gear to be more in line with modern values.
• A new big bumblebee cosmetic pet has been added to the game and is available for Gúlmarks in the Vales of Anduin.
• A new pig cosmetic pet has been added to the game and is available for Vales - Elf Tokens.

Monsters

• Fixed a locomotion issue with Stone-Giants in the Vales of Anduin - Gladdenmere.

PvMP

• High Elves now drop Elf-ears.
• The Monster Play Character Selection screen has been updated with a more modern look.

Quests and Adventure Areas

• Corrected an issue that could cause travel vendor mounts to lose their established travel routes.

UI

• Class selection in the Character Creation screen now shows iconic class-specific armour appearances. The visual change is only for character generation, and does not affect the appearance of starting character armour.
• Capped Earning Virtue alerts will no longer display on login when all Virtues are capped, and clicking on the alert will open the Virtue Traits panel.
• When a player joins either a Quest or Instance Grouping Request, a new alert will show with a tooltip that shows a player is interested in grouping. Clicking on the alert will open either the Quest Grouping panel, or the Instance Finder, depending on the group that was joined. Unlike other alerts, this alert will auto-dismiss after 30 seconds.

Miscellaneous

• The OpenAL Soft DLL has been updated.

Quote:

---

Items
Some stats have been updated on Isengard gear to be more in line with modern values.

---

Could we get some clarification here?

I copied my Ithil lvl caps to BR but all the gear remains the same (ToO sets & jewellery, GR pieces, LIs, even quest rewards and loot from Isen instances).

Can we get pointed in the right direction??

On another note, Stout-axes look SO neat! Video was such a tease, can't wait to watch the finished one.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Laurelinarien

Could we get some clarification here?

I copied my Ithil lvl caps to BR but all the gear remains the same (ToO sets & jewellery, GR pieces, LIs, even quest rewards and loot from Isen instances).

Can we get pointed in the right direction??

On another note, Stout-axes look SO neat! Video was such a tease, can't wait to watch the finished one.

---

There hasn't been a database wipe since the previous rounds of BR - so any characters you copied over then can not be recopied over until the database has been cleared. If you notice in the email you got confirming the transfer it should have said your characters transfer/copy failed.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Hephburz-2

There hasn't been a database wipe since the previous rounds of BR - so any characters you copied over then can not be recopied over until the database has been cleared. If you notice in the email you got confirming the transfer it should have said your characters transfer/copy failed.

---

I had never copied these before. And the mail says the copy succeeded.

Greetings, ****!
Your World Transfer is complete! Below is the information for your transfer on 9/18/2019 6:04:41 PM:


FROM WORLD: Ithil
TO WORLD: Bullroarer

Other details:
Character copied: Laergwend
Character copied: Frostbyte

Also, I went to the NPCs that vendor the gear in Ox camp & Stangard, even checked quests rewards in Dunland. All of them look exactly the same.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Laurelinarien

I had never copied these before. And the mail says the copy succeeded.

Greetings, ****!
Your World Transfer is complete! Below is the information for your transfer on 9/18/2019 6:04:41 PM:


FROM WORLD: Ithil
TO WORLD: Bullroarer

Other details:
Character copied: Laergwend
Character copied: Frostbyte

Also, I went to the NPCs that vendor the gear in Ox camp & Stangard, even checked quests rewards in Dunland. All of them look exactly the same.

---

Sorry, I completely missed what you were asking in your first post. My mistake. In which case, this is probably a bug :P

Maybe it's one of those notes that didn't make it into the preview XD

Would've been nice to get a fix for the ToO Necklaces (i.e.: physical mastery in the purple one is higher than in the teal/gold ones)

Hello, The intro was pretty fun for the Stout-Axes but the boss towards the end, if you attack him, you are probably going to die, it was kind of unexpected but, i revived and let the NPCs finish him. About the only negative thing for the intro that i noticed. Some rats were up on top of things like the forge places but its not a major issue cause you probably wont be killing that one lol. When i got out the intro after checking the racial traits next thing i checked was the bare chest, it doesnt work. Will that be implemented for stouts to or stay just dwarfs? Im hoping it will be fixed and become a thing for Stouts. Also the females look the same as the males not sure if thats intended or not lol. The hair and facial stuff is pretty neat tho. Looking forward to see what else is going to be introduced, like the race* change jawn i heard about which guessing that will come later in next preview or 2.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by JoRDee

Hello, The intro was pretty fun for the Stout-Axes but the boss towards the end, if you attack him, you are probably going to die, it was kind of unexpected but, i revived and let the NPCs finish him. About the only negative thing for the intro that i noticed. Some rats were up on top of things like the forge places but its not a major issue cause you probably wont be killing that one lol. When i got out the intro after checking the racial traits next thing i checked was the bare chest, it doesnt work. Will that be implemented for stouts to or stay just dwarfs? Im hoping it will be fixed and become a thing for Stouts. Also the females look the same as the males not sure if thats intended or not lol. The hair and facial stuff is pretty neat tho. Looking forward to see what else is going to be introduced, like the class change jawn i heard about which guessing that will come later in next preview or 2.

---

Of course the looks should be the same, at least for non-Dwarves. Tolkien said so. Only Dwarf NPCs should have the ability to notice the differences. And yes, Dis was a stretch too far in my opinion.

Class traits for Stout-axe characters of all classes are unavailable from the NPC Bobo in the Eyes & Guard

For those wondering about passives and racials for Stout Axes:

Passives:

https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachmen...39/unknown.png

Racials:

https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachmen...98/unknown.png

Skill Tooltips:

https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachmen...82/unknown.pnghttps://cdn.discordapp.com/attachmen...56/unknown.png

Special Animation:

When jumping from a reasonable height the stout-axe lands with a "thump" sound and unsettles dust. Pretty cool animation.

Can someone post the new PVP UI pls

Hello :) could somebody please list what are the available classes for the new dorfs?
and - can they officially be female??
cheers

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by LordOfTheSquids

Bullroarer has been updated to build 2403.0061.8296.4454.

Items

• Some stats have been updated on Isengard gear to be more in line with modern values.

---

Where? What items have been changed?

Beorning armour still has exact same stats for all 3 setups. Including In-combat Power Regen and no vitality for the tank-spec.

The Wyrmscale capes have not been touched, with the Acrobat version having worse critical rating than the Blademaster or Wizard versions (despite all 3 having the same stat slices but for Might / Will / Agility).

None of the Vermillion, Alabaster or Burnt Scroll recipes got updated.

A brief look at the instance drops shows that none got changed either.

The epic drops are the same.

--

What 'Isengard' items got changed?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by cdq1958

Of course the looks should be the same, at least for non-Dwarves. Tolkien said so. Only Dwarf NPCs should have the ability to notice the differences. And yes, Dis was a stretch too far in my opinion.

---

Tolkien said they are very similar in appearance, however, no suggestion is ever made about them being very similar in personality, so I would expect some style differences with the way they let their hair/beards grow and the clothes that they wear. They probably should have the option to wear makeup as well.

Dear SSG,

I really love the hairstyles of this race, there are stunning. However, for facial details, I suggest we should add human branding on their faces due to their enslaved history such as carved mark or iron mark.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Caremellio

Hello :) could somebody please list what are the available classes for the new dorfs?
and - can they officially be female??
cheers

---

I started a post with picture of all classes and both genders in here.
https://www.lotro.com/forums/showthr...ves-First-look
Unfortunately, as we expected, female dwarves share same appearances with their male partners. SSG used the lore to cover their laziness in this case :).

Re: Stoutaxes,

I like the designs such as they are. However, I would like some long haired options and a couple of more fuller beard options. (I like hairy dwarfs) There were a few things I couldn't get in the tavern. Am I to assume that not all the work has been done on the Stoutaxes, so some options aren't available to test or at least max out the skill/deed etc to test out in world? This is about my third time into the server, so I could easily be getting confused.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Caremellio

Hello :) could somebody please list what are the available classes for the new dorfs?
and - can they officially be female??
cheers

---

Classes: Burglar, Champion, Guardian, Hunter, Minstrel, and Rune-Keeper.

And YES, they can be flagged as either male or female. However, as others have said in the thread, and as expected due to SSG's previous official statements, females use the exact same appearance options as the males.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Smapper

Can someone post the new PVP UI pls

---

https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachmen...een_Update.JPG

+1% tactical mitigation would fit better as +1% common mitigation as the race passive for the stouts.

Absotulety loves new look of Uruk Hai. Intro final boss looks so good, and that details on armor

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by JoRDee

Hello, The intro was pretty fun for the Stout-Axes but the boss towards the end, if you attack him, you are probably going to die, it was kind of unexpected but, i revived and let the NPCs finish him. About the only negative thing for the intro that i noticed. Some rats were up on top of things like the forge places but its not a major issue cause you probably wont be killing that one lol. When i got out the intro after checking the racial traits next thing i checked was the bare chest, it doesnt work. Will that be implemented for stouts to or stay just dwarfs? Im hoping it will be fixed and become a thing for Stouts. Also the females look the same as the males not sure if thats intended or not lol. The hair and facial stuff is pretty neat tho. Looking forward to see what else is going to be introduced, like the race* change jawn i heard about which guessing that will come later in next preview or 2.

---

NPC can tank him without much problems, if you attack and die, you just don't allow them hold agro.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by LordOfTheSquids

PvMP

• High Elves now drop Elf-ears.
• The Monster Play Character Selection screen has been updated with a more modern look.

---

Although it is nice that you at least patch something regarding PvMP, wouldn´t it be more important to finally make the captains healing mark work again on monster players?

Good intro :-)

* Could use a pop-up right at the start saying how to adjust gamma, for anyone who starts the game with this class
* It's very odd not being able to hand the quest to become Novice straight away; handing in to someone by you, who then vectors you to Dwalin would be helpful - it took me longer than it should have to work out why my riding skill wouldn't work :p and for newer players there's other closer quests they are likely to try first before finding Dwalin. Not having Novice can cause quite a few problems.
* I liked the way we got to speak to Nagli again, but it felt a bit abrupt. Maybe we'll see him later on?
* Dwarf Burg *grin* I always said they should be in game, given there is a Dwarf Burg npc.
* I was wondering how you'd get us to EL. Doing the "it's a long story, I must tell you sometime" worked for me.


On a separate note, what's the 3 blue boxes for on the Character page?

Can we please keep ICPR on at least one of the Orthanc set pieces? It is very much a relevant stat for the legendary servers, especially for hunters, whereas mastery is so easy to cap, adding even more does not make much sense.

And if you guys are looking at updating 75 gear, maybe have a crack at the Great River jewelry sets? The set bonuses are currently way too weak, especially compared to what we had in Lothlorien.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by icefriend

Can we please keep ICPR on at least one of the Orthanc set pieces? It is very much a relevant stat for the legendary servers, especially for hunters, whereas mastery is so easy to cap, adding even more does not make much sense.

And if you guys are looking at updating 75 gear, maybe have a crack at the Great River jewelry sets? The set bonuses are currently way too weak, especially compared to what we had in Lothlorien.

---

No one's against ICPR in those pieces, problem is ICPR for BEORNINGS :/ :/ Anyone who looked at those would've noticed it was as wrong as a stat can be. Ofc, as Hallandil noted, the other issue is no real tanking spec in the ToO sets because of the uniformed stats across the 3 (not to say "exactly the same"). It happens for all the classes tho.

Still, I don't think this supposed "Isengard items change" made it into the preview. Maybe next time.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Laurelinarien

Still, I don't think this supposed "Isengard items change" made it into the preview. Maybe next time.

---

They are in the preview, icpr is gone from the hunter pieces, which is why i made the post.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by icefriend

They are in the preview, icpr is gone from the hunter pieces, which is why i made the post.

---

Makes sense why I missed it then.. hunter wasn't a class I copied coz I don't play it. As far as mini & beorn are concerned, no changes that I could spot.

New race, one more alt :D

Nice!

I think they look pretty good myself, especially for their first beta. The new beards and hairstyles are cool, and the textures used for them look much better than some other hair textures in game. It was nice to see that they actually did a lot of new hairstyles and beards. I was curious as to if we would see new ones, or just recycled ones from the normal dwarf since the majority of the high elf's hair is recycled from men and elves with a couple exceptions. I didn't even notice any clipping issues or anything, and high elves have had a handful since launch. So it does seem like they put some time into polishing the new hair/beards, moreso than they did for high elves in any case. They also seem to have a different body shape than the normal dwarves. They don't seem to be quite as round, but are rather tapered. I like that better myself. The running and jumping animations are new, so that's nice. The intro is fitting and fun to play through as well I think, and transitions well into the main story a bit better than the high elf's does in my opinion.

They also get a unique set of armor, seems to be different depending on what armor type your class wears, along with a unique axe. Those are also nice touches that give the race some flavor.

The voice seems to be identical to normal dwarves, however that could change as the high elf didn't get their unique voices until a couple betas in or so if I remember correctly. So I'll stay tuned for that. Burglar also fits well for the background of these dwarves. A lot of people wanted captains, but I don't see how that makes sense for a slave race of dwarves. Neither would have the warden as that kind of military training would never have been something they had access to. Then obviously not LM because why would you spend time educating slaves with information that wouldn't advance your goals? So personally I'm fine with the classes they're given access to. They make the most sense in my opinion.

New races are welcome in my book. Even just variants such as these guys and the high elves add flavor to the game and can really just *make* characters for some people, even if they aren't game changing from a gameplay perspective. So I like what we've seen so far and I look forward to how they progress over the course of the betas. I think they are giving more polishing than the high elf got which is a good sign, but it does make me wish they'd go back and give them the same level of love by fixing their clipping hairstyles and adding more new ones. Anyways, I don't have much bad to say about these dwarves so far based on what we've seen.

I liked the intro. Stout-axes seem fun so far, just wish there was a bit more to it, like a new class. I already have all classes leveled up quite a bit, so I'm not sure if I ever will bother with yet another one. But I will buy it for sure.

Why is it that Stout-axes can select female characters yet "regular" dwarves can't? I don't mind Dwarves getting a female option, but.. they're the same race, Stout-axe and "regular" Dwarf. They can't be treated differently. It's not like Sauron made female Dwarves in Mordor, twisted in form. Or did he...?

And another thing: Where are we story-wise? Cause the Stout-axes witnessed the fall of Barad-Dur.. yet we are in Ered Luin preparing for the fellowship to eventually set out to Rivendell! Feels backwards. Or am I getting something wrong...?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Knight.

For those wondering about passives and racials for Stout Axes:

Passives:

https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachmen...39/unknown.png

Racials:

https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachmen...98/unknown.png

Skill Tooltips:

https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachmen...82/unknown.pnghttps://cdn.discordapp.com/attachmen...56/unknown.png

Special Animation:

When jumping from a reasonable height the stout-axe lands with a "thump" sound and unsettles dust. Pretty cool animation.

---

Wait, so there's a passive that gives vitality, another passive that takes vitality away, & yet a racial that gives vitality, for a combined +23. A question for SSG: Does the right hand know what the left hand is doing?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by DiogoVP

Tolkien said they are very similar in appearance, however, no suggestion is ever made about them being very similar in personality, so I would expect some style differences with the way they let their hair/beards grow and the clothes that they wear. They probably should have the option to wear makeup as well.

---

No. He specifically said that the differences were so subtle that non-Dwarves could not tell them apart, especially when the females were forced from their homes and that they didn't adventure, like the males did. Personality differences that you mention can't, in my opinion, be that subtle. Humans, maybe, wouldn't have picked up on them, though Elves likely would have; given the time at their disposal. Again, my opinion based on the Professor's own words.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Brethwyn_EU

I liked the intro. Stout-axes seem fun so far, just wish there was a bit more to it, like a new class. I already have all classes leveled up quite a bit, so I'm not sure if I ever will bother with yet another one. But I will buy it for sure.

Why is it that Stout-axes can select female characters yet "regular" dwarves can't? I don't mind Dwarves getting a female option, but.. they're the same race, Stout-axe and "regular" Dwarf. They can't be treated differently. It's not like Sauron made female Dwarves in Mordor, twisted in form. Or did he...?

And another thing: Where are we story-wise? Cause the Stout-axes witnessed the fall of Barad-Dur.. yet we are in Ered Luin preparing for the fellowship to eventually set out to Rivendell! Feels backwards. Or am I getting something wrong...?

---

SPOILERS below:









Story-wise, we are in between Bilbo's Birthday party and Gandalf's return to the Shire to warn Frodo about the Ring- within that 17 year gap (a neat prelude to the fan-made short film, "The Hunt for Gollum," for example- its probably on youtube).

The story takes place directly at the end of Gollum's captivity in Barad-dur- so, this is -after- Gollum, drawn by his desire for the Ring, left the Misties and the Vales behind and made his way all the way down to Mordor (and I can't quite recall whether he meets Shelob on the way -into- Mordor or on the way -out- of Mordor; somewhere in there). Gollum was captured, tormented (by Sauron himself and presumably by the Mouth), and it was from this torment that Sauron learned of the Shire and of the name "Baggins."

Now, the Stout-Axes are currently enslaved laborers in Barad-dur, and that's where -our- tale begins. With news of the release of a prisoner (Gollum), the Stout-Axes decided to attempt some chaos to try to escape. After all, as Gandalf tells the Fellowship far later, "Those who enter the Dark Tower never return," meaning that, most of the time, Sauron never lets anyone go free. So, the release of Gollum is a "big deal" because it usually -never- happens; so, the Stout-Axes have their brief rebellion. It's clear that its not ALL of the Stout-Axes who take part in this, and I'd presume a bunch of them are still at Lughash (or we'd never meet any of them in Dor Amarth otherwise).

Player Character Stout-Axe must fight Gollum briefly, who gets in the way, and fight a tough Uruk and escape. Shagrat also has a lovely cameo; so does Zoreth, who is in charge of the Stout-Axes.

But then, when we "escape," the reason we end-up in Ered Luin is because, as it turns out, our Player Character Stout-Axe was -telling the story- of his escape to the Dourhands, pretty much glossing-over vast amounts of terrain and such; we at least know that Dwarves are hardy travelers and can endure long journeys, and since the Stout-Axes know hardship, that makes sense- except for my following constructive criticism's below-


So, we are in Barad-dur -before- its downfall. This is why there are such differences in the interior spaces.



I do have three constructive criticism's for an otherwise amazing narrative, for SSG:

1. I really wish we could have had that conversation between the Mouth of Sauron / Dulgabeth, the Witch King, and Player that was teased and cut-off by the rebellion. I would have loved to have to escape from the Witch-King (like certain Dwarves fleeing the Balrog in a certain session play and also like the mammoths in Ost Dunhoth with some more... SUSPENSE!), THEN deal with Gollum and so on (the clamor from the brief revolt could interrupt the conversation). I get why Minas Morgul is saved for the expansion- that's fine. But gosh, what a tease!!!

2. I really don't like the instance ending where it does. I know it's an Intro- but still... this was our sole opportunity to see: Barad-dur with the fiery Eye on top (as the game represents it in other art)!!! I would at least have wanted to flee across the bridge over the Mordath lava flow and be able to catch a glimpse of pre-Fall Barad-dur from the outside!!! And also, MOUNT DOOM pre-Eruption!!! I know it would take some more graphics work, but... it would be TOTALLY WORTH IT!!! (caps always for emphasis here, not yelling).


3. This is extremely important, and lore-wise, I would say that it MUST be addressed. How, precisely, did our Stout-Axe characters -escape from Mordor itself-?


I think we need another sequence here- because there's NO lore reasonable way for it to work without actually playing it out. We have a Black Gate sealing Udun; so, did we sneak-through in disguise while an army went-through? If so, I'd like to see and do that, or at least let it be -said- later to the Dourhands in quest-text or something. But its a BIG DEAL to ESCAPE from MORDOR!!! Dare I revive the meme: "One does not simply walk into Mordor!"

Well, I'll invert the meme: "One does not simply walk out of Mordor!"

Of course, the other question is whether the Stout-Axe had to escape via the Tunnel and somehow make it past Cirith Ungol, which would be its own mess, never-mind the Stairs and the Morgul Vale and entering Gondor.



Now, if I had to -guess,- I'd say the Player Character Stout-Axe, in disguise as an Orc, made her/his way out through Udun. But think of all the check-point's and various encounters on the road our Stout-Axe would have to deal with. The Stout-Axe would have to make it past Lughash, for one, without being seen by other Stout-Axes (or Zoreth in pursuit), perhaps using some of those boulders for cover (I'll assume Dor Amarth wasn't yet broken by the lava flows since Orodruin is yet to erupt). Then our Stout-Axe could, in theory, sneak along the Mountains of Ash to by-pass those Uruk camps we encounter later (which are dailies areas at Orodruin's northwest). But the next main obstacle would be that fortress guarding the entrance to Dor Amarth from Udun (Carach Angren?). The Stout-Axe, probably, like Frodo and Sam, would have to keep-up that Orc disguise and march in line. But then, of course, there's all of Udun to get-through, presumably marching toward the Black Gate. Then, there's getting -through- the Black Gate and out into the Wastes. Then, our Stout-Axe would have to escape from marching-line without being noticed, get farther away, shed his Orc gear, and travel once more as a Dwarf- especially before getting spied by a ranger of Ithilien and shot-down with arrows.

I don't need the full story taking us -from- Mordor to Ered Luin, but I very much -need- something more, as a player, when it comes to escaping the most impregnable, Black Land in all of Middle-earth. I'd prefer if that's not left up to the imagination because, well, its a bit of a stretch unless its played-out specifically. There's just so many points in our Stout-Axe's journey where things could go horribly wrong, and even if its just taking snippets of fading into black and encountering some small things, its no small feat to escape from Mordor.

In short: please make us go -all the way-. Not directly through the landscape, but certainly phasing us through some key check-points and having to sneak past guards and what-not would be very helpful. Even if its just a sequence near the Black Gate, where we could assume we've been doing this sort of thing the whole time and getting away with it, it just would be crucially important to -show us how- we escaped from Mordor in this way. Yes, escaping Barad-dur itself is a near-impossible feat; but escaping Mordor itself beyond it is a whole other feat to achieve. It's a good opportunity to use the "eyes" like from that treasure quest in Evendim. It's also a good opportunity to show us really escaping and being able to then, with far less a stretch of the imagination, make our way to Eriador. It would also make the transition from Mordor to Ered Luin make far more sense; the mind's eye can fill-in the blanks once we've... well, reached grassy plains!


After all, once we've escaped from Mordor, it's not a stretch for our Stout-Axe to cross the Anduin (perhaps via one of the Undeep's), Rohan (that has plenty of empty spaces), go through the Gap, and head-up the Greenway to the East-West Road, and pass as a rough Dwarven trader going through the Shire to Ered Luin. Saruman hasn't declared his evil intentions yet- so that's far more believable to me for our Dwarf to do.

4. One more little thing to address: How our Dwarf knew where to go- and why our Dwarf went to Ered Luin rather than Erebor- especially if our Dwarf hadn't heard of either due to captivity in Mordor. It would really help if our Dwarf heard of the word "Shire" out of Gollum and decided to track it down out of curiosity- and then, perhaps, we can assume that our Dwarf would have then learned about Ered Luin once making her/his way to Eriador.

+Really nice hairstyle and beard options
+Awesome textures and lightings on new beards/hairstyles, they look so refreshing than the horrible hairstyles for men/elves.
+Good looking jump animations even though it need some polish
+Running animations look good, but please make it look less like the character is sliding on the ground while running. It's hard to describe, but maybe the animation isn't in sync with how fast the character is moving.
+Cloak animates really nice while running, not like the stiff cloak animation on high elves.
+Nice looking faces, it actually changes the face not only the nose!

-Missing sound and animations on some burglar skills.

With the new awesome graphical detail on the hairstyles and beards, please make it the same quality for all races!

It's funny what we always sure what Mordor don't have any dwarfs. And now Gollum seen them... but he never tells about it:)

I hope the translation of the new race name into German will be reconsidered. "Kühnaxt-Zwerg" is not as impressive as the Mordor translation "Stark-Axt Zwerg".


The purpose of the new additional weapon slots in the equipment and outfit is unclear.

https://i.ibb.co/qkNGLHX/Beta-U24-3-...9-203356-0.jpg

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Laurelinarien

Could we get some clarification here?

I copied my Ithil lvl caps to BR but all the gear remains the same (ToO sets & jewellery, GR pieces, LIs, even quest rewards and loot from Isen instances).

Can we get pointed in the right direction??

On another note, Stout-axes look SO neat! Video was such a tease, can't wait to watch the finished one.

---

The info I have is that weapons and shields were updated in the Bonevales, Carreglyn, and Dunbog regions.

I really wish you would reconsider giving stout axes a racial fire damage buff - even though it is small, it is going to drive most raiders to switch to stout axe for RKs, and I, for one, REALLY don't want to do that.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Cordovan

The info I have is that weapons and shields were updated in the Bonevales, Carreglyn, and Dunbog regions.

---

Okay, could you tell the devs to make T2 stuff better than some vendor stuff.. People need good stuff to run instances, why run a T2 instance and put effort into it when they can buy a better piece at a vendor for 2g..

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Cordovan

The info I have is that weapons and shields were updated in the Bonevales, Carreglyn, and Dunbog regions.

---

Thank you, Cord!

So, changes so far involve only a few quest rewards. Here's hoping the Fix-it Felix sweeps thru the whole expansion gear ;)

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Laurelinarien

Thank you, Cord!

So, changes so far involve only a few quest rewards. Here's hoping the Fix-it Felix sweeps thru the whole expansion gear ;)

---

Yeah, why are they even bothering with the quest gear? It's powerful as it is. The instance gear, however, most pieces are weaker than quest and vendor gear. Such a disappointment.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by LuckyShot

Wait, so there's a passive that gives vitality, another passive that takes vitality away, & yet a racial that gives vitality, for a combined +23. A question for SSG: Does the right hand know what the left hand is doing?

---

All races have a -Stat passive and a +Stat trait to make up for it. Hobbits have -Might inherently but a +Might slottable trait.

The only bug here IMO is that Unyielding Will gives +Vit. It should be just +Will and +Mit.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Phantion

SPOILERS below:

---

Thanks for the write-up.

The Fight Animations by the Stout-axe Dwarf as a Burglar does not work so good; flashing blade goes through without harm.
mercy shock works but the animation is not there.
On Bullroarer it would be good when we can buy Rimes of the Anvil, Artifacts of the Vales, Dwarf Shards and the Essences from Teir 1,2,3 and Teir 4.
The shirtless bodysuit works with the Stout-axe Dwarf not.
current can the Stout-axe Dwarf do not accept any quest from Kehleyr in the tavern and also other quests that are missing.

wow. The passives racials look very interesting,Crafting alts and rune keepers. On the flip side, the racial skills look very poor. Why have a 75% block chance when you can only have a Guardian? Warden or Cappy atleast need to be added for this racial to be in any way needed or useful, because unlike race of elf the skill provides 0 use to DPS classes, where elfs can press the oh s*t button, and Parry alot of attacks for 10seconds, the dwarves are sat there with their racial skill that dosent even help them.The 1% shadow mitigation is pretty poor, 1% really isnt worth it. Maybe if it was 5% TACTICAL mitigation, it might be worth some use, because atleast at 120 cap, there is no need for shadow mitigation, and definitely not 1% of it. Unless there is a use for shadow mitigation in the future, i dont see why you would roll a stout axe . Its pro rune keepers and crafting alts, but Really some useless racial skills. Compared to current dwarfs, they have no benefits to reroll other than rune keeper, because i think most guardians would rather the vitality buff and the -50% inc dmg for 10s than block chance :)
The animations etc seem good, but im not that fussed about how a skill animates so maybe other people would see differently to me. Would be cool to see bare chest working though
:edit: It says in the tooltip works for all without shield. has anyone tested that to see if its working?

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by Knight.

For those wondering about passives and racials for Stout Axes:


Racials:

https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachmen...98/unknown.png

Skill Tooltips:

https://cdn.discordapp.com/attachmen...82/unknown.pnghttps://cdn.discordapp.com/attachmen...56/unknown.png

Special Animation:

When jumping from a reasonable height the stout-axe lands with a "thump" sound and unsettles dust. Pretty cool animation.

---

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by mmdur1

I really wish you would reconsider giving stout axes a racial fire damage buff - even though it is small, it is going to drive most raiders to switch to stout axe for RKs, and I, for one, REALLY don't want to do that.

---

This bonuses are ignorable. the difference between an human and a elf hunter isn´t this big that only elfhunters would be taken So it won´t matter for rks unless you´re a minmaxer.
Then the same would count for burgs omg they would mix 1% dggerdmg if they aren´t a stout.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by mmdur1

I really wish you would reconsider giving stout axes a racial fire damage buff - even though it is small, it is going to drive most raiders to switch to stout axe for RKs, and I, for one, REALLY don't want to do that.

---

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by pinlu

wow. The passives racials look very interesting,Crafting alts and rune keepers. On the flip side, the racial skills look very poor. Why have a 75% block chance when you can only have a Guardian? Warden or Cappy atleast need to be added for this racial to be in any way needed or useful, because unlike race of elf the skill provides 0 use to DPS classes, where elfs can press the oh s*t button, and Parry alot of attacks for 10seconds, the dwarves are sat there with their racial skill that dosent even help them.The 1% shadow mitigation is pretty poor, 1% really isnt worth it. Maybe if it was 5% TACTICAL mitigation, it might be worth some use, because atleast at 120 cap, there is no need for shadow mitigation, and definitely not 1% of it. Unless there is a use for shadow mitigation in the future, i dont see why you would roll a stout axe . Its pro rune keepers and crafting alts, but Really some useless racial skills. Compared to current dwarfs, they have no benefits to reroll other than rune keeper, because i think most guardians would rather the vitality buff and the -50% inc dmg for 10s than block chance :)
The animations etc seem good, but im not that fussed about how a skill animates so maybe other people would see differently to me. Would be cool to see bare chest working though
:edit: It says in the tooltip works for all without shield. has anyone tested that to see if its working?

---

Read the skill all stouts can block using this panic theay don´t have to wear a shield.
More important is the question if non shield wearer only have 75% blockchance using this skill or 75% + x from might.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by JoRDee

Hello, The intro was pretty fun for the Stout-Axes but the boss towards the end, if you attack him, you are probably going to die, it was kind of unexpected but, i revived and let the NPCs finish him. About the only negative thing for the intro that i noticed. Some rats were up on top of things like the forge places but its not a major issue cause you probably wont be killing that one lol. When i got out the intro after checking the racial traits next thing i checked was the bare chest, it doesnt work. Will that be implemented for stouts to or stay just dwarfs? Im hoping it will be fixed and become a thing for Stouts. Also the females look the same as the males not sure if thats intended or not lol. The hair and facial stuff is pretty neat tho. Looking forward to see what else is going to be introduced, like the race* change jawn i heard about which guessing that will come later in next preview or 2.

---

I truly liked the way Dis looked as a female dwarf, not everyone agrees I know. Yet she wasn't totally female in look. the long hair wrapped around her neck and the less facial hair were the biggest difference I liked.
The female does not have to have boobs like females of other races.
Yet I would ask for a little more differences in the females and males of the Stout Axes.
I say no to bare chested Stout Axes, since they will be females in that races!

I'm loving how smoothly the Stout axes movements are, very well done.
also loved the intro, yes I survived :D

Again I reiterate Not everyone agrees that the female dwarf should look different, but I see not even subtle difference in the male and female Stout Axes!

Great Job so far Developers!

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by LordOfTheSquids

PvMP

• High Elves now drop Elf-ears.
• The Monster Play Character Selection screen has been updated with a more modern look.

---

Good to see PvmP development is alive and well.... LOL

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by LordOfTheSquids

PvMP

• High Elves now drop Elf-ears.
• The Monster Play Character Selection screen has been updated with a more modern look.

---

In case anyone wants to see the changes side-by-side.

https://i.imgur.com/8XHv4LB.jpg

I'm going to be honest, I'd still prefer the old UI over the new one. It was fine and looked somewhat unique. If anything, I'd rather have had a new background since that hasn't ever changed and portrays a very old version of gramsfoot. Another heavily requested thing is having equipped skins show up on the character selection instead of the plain default skin.
But since this is most likely going to go live any ways, I'm going to give some feedback on it since some things stand out to me.

Character selection panel (left side):
The individual class buttons seem rather cramped. There's so much space between the defiler and the delete button that can be used. (And before anyone starts speculating, no, it doesn't seem like another button will fit in between) Maybe slightly space the buttons out a bit more? Or decrease the height of the background panel so that the delete button will be closer to the defiler button?
Overall I think the new class icons are an improvement, other than them very much resembling a screenshot of the head taken from the character selection window.

Options and other stuff panel (right side):
What instantly stands out to me is the Free People button. It doesn't really fit in being a different style. If we compare this how the Monster Play button is done on the freepside character selection we can see that it follows the same style, just the colour differs. It would probably look a lot better if the button followed the style of the other monster player buttons, but only the colour being different, blue in this case.

https://i.imgur.com/J6QWsX8.png

Another thing is the Enter Monster Play button. On freepside, when you put your mouse over the button, the ring will light up and do this little animation. On creepside nothing happens. I'm not sure if this is intended or not, but it makes the ring look like a static image just layered on top.

Honestly, this whole change leaves a bit of a sour taste in the mouth. I understand that art is an entirely different department and has nothing to do with PvP development. But PvP hasn't seen updates in many many years. Freeps are now more OP than ever before and warleader and reaver are still a hot mess. The new UI could be considered an update related to PvP and it's something no one ever asked for. PvP doesn't need much, but it's been systematically ignored for a very long time. And if we do get changes it's something that wasn't needed and no one asked for either e.g. the bird and squirrel at orc camp, more rocks at glc, the nerf to creeps' battlefield promotions and finesse becoming a trait, and so on.

No Crossbow damage bonus:mad:

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by gildhur

All races have a -Stat passive and a +Stat trait to make up for it. Hobbits have -Might inherently but a +Might slottable trait.

The only bug here IMO is that Unyielding Will gives +Vit. It should be just +Will and +Mit.

---

Yea, I get that. And it made sense at level 50, but with it 120, going to 130, & the current stat bloat, it makes no sense. They had an opportunity to get creative with the passives & instead kicked the can down the street. It's just more of the same, rushed product with questionable QA.

Quote:

---

Originally Posted by LuckyShot

Yea, I get that. And it made sense at level 50, but with it 120, going to 130, & the current stat bloat, it makes no sense. They had an opportunity to get creative with the passives & instead kicked the can down the street. It's just more of the same, rushed product with questionable QA.

---

They're mostly just lore nuggets with a low-level stat effect, and that's for the best. I would rather not have my endgame raiding significantly affected by characterization choices I make at creation.

I really like the general idea. Which is game world is growing and new pieces are coming into view.

So, all of the aspects of the game should continue following that great direction.

Racial passives and earned / slottable traits should be all seriously looked into and adjusted to be fitting throughout.

---

Several examples:

Weak constitution as passive and -7 vitality
Strong constitution as earned slottable +10 to vitality.

-These numbers do not make sense. They should be made into %. Even if it is 1% it would just be off the radar as a stat that moves with the times. But +10 and or -7 that's relevant when? At level 5? It's a seriously half baked implementation. And all racial traits for all races should be adjusted taking this into account.

Stout Axes are special in an interesting way, they can run as a Burglar class. And are able to use axes as a passive racial. However there is no burglar legendary axe in the game. So unlike men who can go with swords or daggers or Hobbits who can go with clubs or daggers. Stout Axes can only use daggers.

-Please put legendary weapon: Burglar one handed axe.

---

Virtues:
All races get some sort of "Virtuous such and such" And it adds +1 virtue to their virtue levels.
Now, we all know that virtues were reworked a lot and they are no longer really run as "Levels" but rather as units of virtue experience.
This earned / slottable trait needs to change to something current.
For example it could bestow 8K in virtue experience to be spent.

---

There are many other examples of racial traits that are useless:
Hobbit stealth on a Burglar Hobbit does not get to be used.
-Make Hobbits if they are Burglars more stealthy then other races. Replace Hobbit Stealth with +4 Stealth when slotted, on a burglar. And leave it as it is on other classes.

Stoop for the stone, is another one that most likely not really ever used as all classes have a regular attack that does damage.
Make stone throw / Stoop for the stone have high % of application of stun / daze.

There are ways to make racial Traits useful and not really OP.

But most of them do require work.