Update 18 Beta #3 Release Notes & Known Issues - PRELIMINARY AND NON-FINAL - BULLROARER ONLY

[Tybur]

Please join us this weekend for our third preview of Update 18. We welcome your feedback and would particularly appreciate feedback on the new performance options: Selection: Only show dispellable effects & Selection: Only show effects cast by you.


The following release notes are for the Bullroarer public test server only and may not reflect the final list of changes or updates included at release.

These notes are not final and should be viewed as a work in progress and subject to change.

Known Issues:
The Eyes and Guard Tavern is open!
The Blood of the Black Serpent instance is currently closed for repairs.
The Epic book quests for this update will not be available during this open beta session.
Instance rewards have not yet been hooked up to the Battle of the Pelennor Fields instances or the Featured Instance quest.
Pelennor Instance Gear appearances are incorrect in this build for everything except for human male.

Important Note: Please be aware that the build you are seeing here is a work in progress and is by no means the finished Update 18 product. There are items that are not yet complete. There may also be items missing from this initial list, this is not intentional and will be added as we progress.

Release Notes:

• There are two new checkboxes in the social options panel which allow you to suppress effects from showing up in the Opponent Vitals panel. These function the same as the ones that suppress effects in the group vitals, allowing you to suppress effects that are non-dispellable or effects that aren't cast by you. Checking these boxes may improve your performance in the thick of combat.
• Made changes lighting, npcs, and other objects in Minas Tirith to reduce client memory usage and improve performance.
• Burglars can no longer use bows.
• The Burglar's Daggery Mastery trait now improves dagger damage up to 5%.
• The Featured Instance and Pelennor class gear can now only be equipped by the appropriate class.
• The item level for some scaling gear has been adjusted above level 100.
• The Rune-keeper Featured Instance set bonus is now +5% Flurry of Words critical chance and -40% Induction length on Chill of Winter skills.
• The Rune-keeper Pelennor set bonus is now +30% bubble potency.
• New travel destinations: Ost Rimmon, Rohirric War-stead, and Crithost (in Old Anorien)
• Far Anórien landscape mobs should be just a little more challenging than during previous beta sessions.
• Fixed various instances of T-Posing throughout the game
• The Grand Stair - Deed: The Followers of Igash - slaying White Hand Arrow and White Hand Shield Uruks now counts towards the deed
• Thinned out some of the monsters in IV.1.12, 'The Shadow in Morthond,' since Rovalang was dying more often than a Swan-knight should.
• Skirmish camp barter now offers tier 10 crafting items and level 100 essences instead of level 95.
• Anfalas Star-lit crystals were added for barter to all festivals.
• Beacon Hills

- Glanhar is now old
- Glanhar's sons are now dressed in their armour
- Bargwen is now young
- several NPCs, including Sithgar, no longer have randomized appearances

[tigrjonok]

Please join us this weekend for our third preview of Update 18. We welcome your feedback and would particularly appreciate feedback on the new performance options: Selection: Only show dispellable effects & Selection: Only show effects cast by you.


The following release notes are for the Bullroarer public test server only and may not reflect the final list of changes or updates included at release.

These notes are not final and should be viewed as a work in progress and subject to change.

Known Issues:
The Eyes and Guard Tavern is open!
The Blood of the Black Serpent instance is currently closed for repairs.
The Epic book quests for this update will not be available during this open beta session.
Instance rewards have not yet been hooked up to the Battle of the Pelennor Fields instances or the Featured Instance quest.

Important Note: Please be aware that the build you are seeing here is a work in progress and is by no means the finished Update 18 product. There are items that are not yet complete. There may also be items missing from this initial list, this is not intentional and will be added as we progress.

Release Notes:

• There are two new checkboxes in the social options panel which allow you to suppress effects from showing up in the Opponent Vitals panel. These function the same as the ones that suppress effects in the group vitals, allowing you to suppress effects that are non-dispellable or effects that aren't cast by you. Checking these boxes may improve your performance in the thick of combat.
• Made changes lighting, npcs, and other objects in Minas Tirith to reduce client memory usage and improve performance.
• Burglars can no longer use bows.
• The Burglar's Daggery Mastery trait now improves dagger damage up to 5%.
• The Featured Instance and Pelennor class gear can now only be equipped by the appropriate class.
• The item level for some scaling gear has been adjusted above level 100.
• The Rune-keeper Featured Instance set bonus is now +5% Flurry of Words critical chance and -40% Induction length on Chill of Winter skills.
• The Rune-keeper Pelennor set bonus is now +30% bubble potency.
• New travel destinations: Ost Rimmon, Rohirric War-stead, and Crithost (in Old Anorien)
• Far Anórien landscape mobs should be just a little more challenging than during previous beta sessions.
• Fixed various instances of T-Posing throughout the game
• The Grand Stair - Deed: The Followers of Igash - slaying White Hand Arrow and White Hand Shield Uruks now counts towards the deed
• Thinned out some of the monsters in IV.1.12, 'The Shadow in Morthond,' since Rovalang was dying more often than a Swan-knight should.
• Skirmish camp barter now offers tier 10 crafting items and level 100 essences instead of level 95.
• Anfalas Star-lit crystals were added for barter to all festivals.
• Beacon Hills

- Glanhar is now old
- Glanhar's sons are now dressed in their armour
- Bargwen is now young
- several NPCs, including Sithgar, no longer have randomized appearances

I noticed we are still missing the following things from U18 when we advance to level 105.

- Big Battles are still not scaled to 105, and presumable the loot in them drops level 100 essences (making them a bad instance to run from u18, as they provide unwanted rewards for scaled level capped players)
- crafing recipes for all class specific items (including MNS instruments, RK chisels, and many more)
- the 2nd boss in the Mounted Combat 3man - can the challenge be reset without making the instance unable to advance after wipe on boss?

Are any of the above going to be addressed for live U18?

[Dadislotroguides]

When I unequip my Pelennor armour all the icons are Breastplates.

[Oelle]

i see some runekeepers crying that those setbonusses are still bad.

some nice points there. still, whats up with crafting? whats with imbueing system? weapons growing with us means, that they change if we grow...
how do we get lvl105 essences? how do we upgrade lvl105 legendary items (crystals+scrolls for lvl105)?

as german and french no longer is in the known issues... is now everything perfectly translated? gonna do those 70 quests then this weekend and have a look at that
i'll still sub for a month if there is no reason to do any /bug for german questtexts when a big update gets released :P

[DiogoVP]

[*]There are two new checkboxes in the social options panel which allow you to suppress effects from showing up in the Opponent Vitals panel. These function the same as the ones that suppress effects in the group vitals, allowing you to suppress effects that are non-dispellable or effects that aren't cast by you. Checking these boxes may improve your performance in the thick of combat.

Thank you Vyvyanne for reading my PM )

[Hendambar]

still no Anorien guild recipes? and will the beautiful new dyes not be craftable?

[Celembar]

Please join us this weekend for our third preview of Update 18. We welcome your feedback and would particularly appreciate feedback on the new performance options: Selection: Only show dispellable effects & Selection: Only show effects cast by you.


The following release notes are for the Bullroarer public test server only and may not reflect the final list of changes or updates included at release.

These notes are not final and should be viewed as a work in progress and subject to change.

Known Issues:
The Eyes and Guard Tavern is open!
The Blood of the Black Serpent instance is currently closed for repairs.
The Epic book quests for this update will not be available during this open beta session.
Instance rewards have not yet been hooked up to the Battle of the Pelennor Fields instances or the Featured Instance quest.
Pelennor Instance Gear appearances are incorrect in this build for everything except for human male.

Important Note: Please be aware that the build you are seeing here is a work in progress and is by no means the finished Update 18 product. There are items that are not yet complete. There may also be items missing from this initial list, this is not intentional and will be added as we progress.

Release Notes:

• There are two new checkboxes in the social options panel which allow you to suppress effects from showing up in the Opponent Vitals panel. These function the same as the ones that suppress effects in the group vitals, allowing you to suppress effects that are non-dispellable or effects that aren't cast by you. Checking these boxes may improve your performance in the thick of combat.
• Made changes lighting, npcs, and other objects in Minas Tirith to reduce client memory usage and improve performance.
• Burglars can no longer use bows.
• The Burglar's Daggery Mastery trait now improves dagger damage up to 5%.
• The Featured Instance and Pelennor class gear can now only be equipped by the appropriate class.
• The item level for some scaling gear has been adjusted above level 100.
• The Rune-keeper Featured Instance set bonus is now +5% Flurry of Words critical chance and -40% Induction length on Chill of Winter skills.
• The Rune-keeper Pelennor set bonus is now +30% bubble potency.
• New travel destinations: Ost Rimmon, Rohirric War-stead, and Crithost (in Old Anorien)
• Far Anórien landscape mobs should be just a little more challenging than during previous beta sessions.
• Fixed various instances of T-Posing throughout the game
• The Grand Stair - Deed: The Followers of Igash - slaying White Hand Arrow and White Hand Shield Uruks now counts towards the deed
• Thinned out some of the monsters in IV.1.12, 'The Shadow in Morthond,' since Rovalang was dying more often than a Swan-knight should.
• Skirmish camp barter now offers tier 10 crafting items and level 100 essences instead of level 95.
• Anfalas Star-lit crystals were added for barter to all festivals.
• Beacon Hills

- Glanhar is now old
- Glanhar's sons are now dressed in their armour
- Bargwen is now young
- several NPCs, including Sithgar, no longer have randomized appearances

So no new way to acquire lvl 105 essences.
No change to minstrel/hunter/champion's pathetic set bonuses.
No Hunter buff.
No Spider nerf.
No PvMP Gear.

But, THERE IS HOPE : "- Glanhar is now old
- Glanhar's sons are now dressed in their armour
- Bargwen is now young"

Glad to see Turbine really cares about the little things in their game.

Oh wait, we can get lvl 100 essences finally at the skirm camp and now they are obsolete!

But on a serious note, well done for the change to buffs/debuffs, that will really help PvMP performance

[infinitewhimsy]

Bad sets are still bad, bugged sets are still bugged.

[PKCrichton]

still no Anorien guild recipes? and will the beautiful new dyes not be craftable?

The new dyes are from Festivals. Each will have different dyes so you have to stock up.

[BuuFuu]

Please join us this weekend for our third preview of Update 18. We welcome your feedback and would particularly appreciate feedback on the new performance options: Selection: Only show dispellable effects & Selection: Only show effects cast by you.


The following release notes are for the Bullroarer public test server only and may not reflect the final list of changes or updates included at release.

These notes are not final and should be viewed as a work in progress and subject to change.

Known Issues:
The Eyes and Guard Tavern is open!
The Blood of the Black Serpent instance is currently closed for repairs.
The Epic book quests for this update will not be available during this open beta session.
Instance rewards have not yet been hooked up to the Battle of the Pelennor Fields instances or the Featured Instance quest.
Pelennor Instance Gear appearances are incorrect in this build for everything except for human male.

Important Note: Please be aware that the build you are seeing here is a work in progress and is by no means the finished Update 18 product. There are items that are not yet complete. There may also be items missing from this initial list, this is not intentional and will be added as we progress.

Release Notes:

• There are two new checkboxes in the social options panel which allow you to suppress effects from showing up in the Opponent Vitals panel. These function the same as the ones that suppress effects in the group vitals, allowing you to suppress effects that are non-dispellable or effects that aren't cast by you. Checking these boxes may improve your performance in the thick of combat.
• Made changes lighting, npcs, and other objects in Minas Tirith to reduce client memory usage and improve performance.
• Burglars can no longer use bows.
• The Burglar's Daggery Mastery trait now improves dagger damage up to 5%.
• The Featured Instance and Pelennor class gear can now only be equipped by the appropriate class.
• The item level for some scaling gear has been adjusted above level 100.
• The Rune-keeper Featured Instance set bonus is now +5% Flurry of Words critical chance and -40% Induction length on Chill of Winter skills.
• The Rune-keeper Pelennor set bonus is now +30% bubble potency.
• New travel destinations: Ost Rimmon, Rohirric War-stead, and Crithost (in Old Anorien)
• Far Anórien landscape mobs should be just a little more challenging than during previous beta sessions.
• Fixed various instances of T-Posing throughout the game
• The Grand Stair - Deed: The Followers of Igash - slaying White Hand Arrow and White Hand Shield Uruks now counts towards the deed
• Thinned out some of the monsters in IV.1.12, 'The Shadow in Morthond,' since Rovalang was dying more often than a Swan-knight should.
• Skirmish camp barter now offers tier 10 crafting items and level 100 essences instead of level 95.
• Anfalas Star-lit crystals were added for barter to all festivals.
• Beacon Hills

- Glanhar is now old
- Glanhar's sons are now dressed in their armour
- Bargwen is now young
- several NPCs, including Sithgar, no longer have randomized appearances

That we can now See only our debuffs and effects is one of the Best change/Option now! Thats why are laggy hell in 12er RAIDs hope now is fixed with that Option.

BUT NOW i miss :

-The hunter buffs and the Set Bonus changed on the pelennor Set
-Hunter buffs
-Location to find 105 essences
-Hunter buffs
-Crafting items for 105
-Hunter buffs
-cloak for 105?!
-Hunter buffs
-No more level for our legendary weapons!?
-Hunter buffs
-Hunter buffs
-Hunter buffs
-Hunter buffs
-Hunter buffs

And the last not least: HUNTER BUFFS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Spilo]

Is it sad that the only thing I like out of this beta are what was reverted to what it was before beta (burglar bows)?

To be fair, it is nice to see a gesture towards managing the lag.

[JiiPee]

Still no tier 8 vitality essences. If that is same deal when U18 goes live, it makes morale essences cost even more.

[xenixe]

where can i barter my power essences?

[commdorvis]

[*]There are two new checkboxes in the social options panel which allow you to suppress effects from showing up in the Opponent Vitals panel. These function the same as the ones that suppress effects in the group vitals, allowing you to suppress effects that are non-dispellable or effects that aren't cast by you. Checking these boxes may improve your performance in the thick of combat.

I really hope this works in PVE, raids in particular. People may be able to react and use skills and such.

[*]The Burglar's Daggery Mastery trait now improves dagger damage up to 5%.

This is nice, providing an alternative for Men and Hobbits. The sheer absurdity... of stabbing someone with a CLUB.

[*]The item level for some scaling gear has been adjusted above level 100.

I wonder what some of this gear is and whether the scaling will be at all relevant compared to essence gear.

[*]The Rune-keeper Featured Instance set bonus is now +5% Flurry of Words critical chance and -40% Induction length on Chill of Winter skills.[*]The Rune-keeper Pelennor set bonus is now +30% bubble potency.

Everyone likes bubbles, no one likes Chill of Winter skills. This set bonus is acting as if RKs still have Writ of Cold.

[*]New travel destinations: Ost Rimmon, Rohirric War-stead, and Crithost (in Old Anorien)

Great.

Few changes that impact gameplay. No change to avoidance (unless partial avoidances were nerfed somewhat?), and many others I can't remember right now.

[Dadislotroguides]

So I noticed that in Streets T2 that the puddles (Deeping Gloom) now stack. Is this WAI?

Sure made it a LOT harder ... LOVE IT !!!

[Latanab]

Burglars still have the passive skill to use bows.

[dstini]

Hmm... launcher crashes on "patch dat files."

[Rufkin]

• Anfalas Star-lit crystals were added for barter to all festivals.

April Fools?!

[Ethrildar]

Waiting for:

Armour set bonuses that aren't extremely poor for almost all classes.

Buffs to Hunter.

Nerfs to Spider (or just Toxin and a a little bit of damage off the top). RIP Power Pool.

Buffs to Hunter for crying out loud! It's not even hard (the Hunter sub has THOUSANDS of awesome suggestions, or just heavy-hand it and make them absolute 1000000% godmode, either way is fine, it's about time).

105 Essences. (Supremes, not majors or greaters!!!!) How do we get them, and how are you making it easier for the players to acquire them, short of immense grind and/or immense money-spending?

[Lifthil]

Nerfs to Spider (or just Toxin and a a little bit of damage off the top). RIP Power Pool.

I second this. I have found exactly zero sustainable methods to fight a Weaver spamming Toxin. If I lose a PvP battle, I want it to be because my opponent won the DPS race, out-kited me, and played his/her class well, not because my opponent used a dirty trick that completely disabled me from playing my class at all.

[Gilean-EU]

Okay, since this is supposed to be the last beta before U18 goes live, I would very much like to know:

Is there no solo way to get lvl 105 armour or essences?

I checked Minas Tirith and Far Anorien barterers quickly and I did not find anything new. Then again, both Rohirrim War-camp barterer or one of the two new Minas Tirith barterers did not have anything to offer still.
But if that is the case, it's the first time in LOTRO's history that when level cap is raised, soloers have to wear gear from old cap. It also means that once we have done with quests, which are not many by the way - 56 quests, the same as in Beta 1 - we are fiddling our thumbs until... U18.1? U18.2? U19? Well, there are new Epics as well...

All in all, there is not much to test what was not already here in Beta round 1. Beta 2 didn't brought us anything (except burglar bows), now the bows are grabbed away but at least we get three new stablemasters (finally). Although one in Rohirrim War-camp is miles off the actual camp.

Sorry if I sound mildly annoyed, but I am, or at least concerned, given that this is supposed to be the last Beta before U18 goes live, AND we haven't got any developer diaries etc explaining us pretty much anything yet, except why burglars are not getting bows (thanks for that communication at least).

[Dadislotroguides]

Okay, since this is supposed to be the last beta before U18 goes live, I would very much like to know:

Is there no solo way to get lvl 105 armour or essences?

I checked Minas Tirith and Far Anorien barterers quickly and I did not find anything new. Then again, both Rohirrim War-camp barterer or one of the two new Minas Tirith barterers did not have anything to offer still.
But if that is the case, it's the first time in LOTRO's history that when level cap is raised, soloers have to wear gear from old cap. It also means that once we have done with quests, which are not many by the way - 56 quests, the same as in Beta 1 - we are fiddling our thumbs until... U18.1? U18.2? U19? Well, there are new Epics as well...

All in all, there is not much to test what was not already here in Beta round 1. Beta 2 didn't brought us anything (except burglar bows), now the bows are grabbed away but at least we get three new stablemasters (finally). Although one in Rohirrim War-camp is miles off the actual camp.

Sorry if I sound mildly annoyed, but I am, or at least concerned, given that this is supposed to be the last Beta before U18 goes live, AND we haven't got any developer diaries etc explaining us pretty much anything yet, except why burglars are not getting bows (thanks for that communication at least).

Why would there not be a Beta build 4 next weekend? April 11th is a Monday.

However, I echo yours (and many others' concerns). There has been very little change in terms of what has been released from Beta 1 to Beta 3. The Silent Street still has many bugs and Blood of the Black Serpent is not in this build; so two of the instances are not ready.

If the 105 essences are drops, where from and how will it work. It has not been tested. If they are crafted (maybe with the shard that has no use) how will that work?

The loot for the new instances and the feature instance has been turned off, so how do we know if that is working correctly.

The partial mit change still has things that need ironed out.

And much, much , more in 10 days with potentially 4 more of those on Bullroarer.

I am hoping they push this back a few weeks and get builds 4,5, and 6 under their belts.

[Aarodir]

Please do some rebalancing of the classes, wardens soloing the new instances already on T2 is just ridiculous.

[Gilean-EU]

Why would there not be a Beta build 4 next weekend? April 11th is a Monday.

However, I echo yours (and many others' concerns). There has been very little change in terms of what has been released from Beta 1 to Beta 3. The Silent Street still has many bugs and Blood of the Black Serpent is not in this build; so two of the instances are not ready.

If the 105 essences are drops, where from and how will it work. It has not been tested. If they are crafted (maybe with the shard that has no use) how will that work?

The loot for the new instances and the feature instance has been turned off, so how do we know if that is working correctly.

The partial mit change still has things that need ironed out.

And much, much , more in 10 days with potentially 4 more of those on Bullroarer.

I am hoping they push this back a few weeks and get builds 4,5, and 6 under their belts.

I read somewhere (can't find the source now) where Frelorn had said that this is the last beta round and April 11th would be the release date. But yes, since April 11th is Monday, there would be time for one more beta round still. And since there is not much new to test here now, beta round 4 would be needed.

[Thurallor]

There are two new checkboxes in the social options panel which allow you to suppress effects from showing up in the Opponent Vitals panel. These function the same as the ones that suppress effects in the group vitals, allowing you to suppress effects that are non-dispellable or effects that aren't cast by you. Checking these boxes may improve your performance in the thick of combat.

I really hope this works in PVE, raids in particular. People may be able to react and use skills and such.

I can't see myself using this feature in PvE. There are too many effects (such as damage reflections) that I need to know about, which are neither dispellable nor cast by me.