Grimstrike goes berserk!

KTERA GO Post: Battleground Improvements

There are some new and some old things coming back soon for KTERA. It seems that they are really focusing on making it easier for new players to get into the game. This time their efforts will revolve around Battlegrounds.

Roughly 5 months ago there was a user experience feedback event of sorts that was hosted on Bluehole Studio’s Facebook page.
From there feedback was received that there really was nothing in-game for new players to get used to what Battlegrounds were. This causes the new players some unnecessary bad experiences of being thrown into Battlegrounds while also causing a rift between the new and old players.
So in order to address the issues in cases where new players were just being thrown into Battlegrounds they’ve put in some helpful markers and guides to get into the actual fun.

 

What the heck do you do in a Battleground?

Part of the problem when it comes to getting your first taste of Battlegrounds is that there are little to no information on what a player is supposed to do. You, as a player, is just thrown in and expected to know what the veterans know.
So, new indicators have been added to allow new players to see what the key items and points are within the field.

 

To some who are reading this it may not make much sense but due to TERA’s higher graphic quality there are actually some players who believe some of the key objectives and objects are just part of the scenery. Some thought that the tanks moved on their own. So to ensure each new player know which objects are actually something you need to use they’ve added visual markers.
Such changes have also been added to the mini map. Veterans may know what the pinging and blue dot may mean on the map while the new players… not so much. The added changes will make it much more obvious what is going on in the field.



Of course not everyone needs these added changes. These new additions can be turned off by going into the settings menu.




Furthermore, a new help menu has been added and will display when a new player enters the Battleground. This feature will turn off once the player has completed more than 10 matches.

 

Additional Battleground Modes at Lower Levels

The first Battleground that a new adventurer in Arborea experiences is the Corsair’s Stronghold. Unfortunately it may not be the most newbie friendly Battleground as it puts the bar a little too high. At the same time we wouldn’t want someone’s first PvP experience to be a thoroughly negative one.
One could change how Corsair’s Stronghold works but that would take away from those who are already enjoying it. So to allow for a more positive first time PvP experience they’ve decided to add the ever popular Winter Snowfield and a Team Deathmatch (Practice) for lower levels to enjoy.
First off, the Winter Snowfield will be available to those 25 and up. So level 65 players can also enjoy this popular Battleground mode. Second is the Team Deathmatch but it’s a practice mode for those between level 40 and 64.

 

Kick Vote and  Battleground Matching UI Update, Changes to Corsair’s Stronghold

Now, after reading all that there are probably players who are already enjoying the Battlegrounds. Some may be thinking…

What? Content only for newbies?? After retiring and coming back is when you do all this??

I know the feeling but let’s put that aside for now. There are some things that have been improved for veterans too.
One of the most prominent inconvenience was the vote kick feature and it’s common abuse.

1. A player will multi-client and simply idle at the spawn point
2. Players will join with friends to grief the match

The current system does not allow for players who really just want to enjoy the match to get rid of the thorn. As it is now if even one person votes against it that was the end of it and you had to sit through having a dead weight or a really annoying team that just wants to ruin your match.
The new system, however, will only require 80% of the votes for the kick to go through.



In the new UI it will also indicate the minimum number of votes to complete the kick vote. For example, in a party of 3 wanting to kick 1 person, not accounting for the player being kicked, 80% of 2 is 1.6 rounded up to 2. Therefore you need the vote of the two to kick the third.
Hopefully this will allow for an easier time combating the abusive players.
Another addition is the Battleground Matching UI. Your current reputation points and credits will be shown below.

 

And lastly a small change to Corsair’s Stronghold rules.
Currently, a match does not end even if the opposing team has already taken longer than the first team to get to the crystal. As unfortunate as it is there are players who take advantage of this and proceeds to prolong the match by adding time through objective captures.
Just been sore losers in the end.
In order to counteract this sort of griefing the match will now end if the opposite team takes longer than the initial team to break the crystal.
This was a change that probably should have been added at the start but better late than never I guess.

____

Resource

KTERA GO Post: Battleground Improvements

There are some new and some old things coming back soon for KTERA. It seems that they are really focusing on making it easier for new players to get into the game. This time their efforts will revolve around Battlegrounds.
Roughly 5 months ago there was a user experience feedback event of sorts that was hosted on Bluehole Studio’s Facebook page.
From there feedback was received that there really was nothing in-game for new players to get used to what Battlegrounds were. This causes the new players some unnecessary bad experiences of being thrown into Battlegrounds while also causing a rift between the new and old players.
So in order to address the issues in cases where new players were just being thrown into Battlegrounds they’ve put in some helpful markers and guides to get into the actual fun.

 

What the heck do you do in a Battleground?

 

Part of the problem when it comes to getting your first taste of Battlegrounds is that there are little to no information on what a player is supposed to do. You, as a player, is just thrown in and expected to know what the veterans know.
So, new indicators have been added to allow new players to see what the key items and points are within the field.

 

To some who are reading this it may not make much sense but due to TERA’s higher graphic quality there are actually some players who believe some of the key objectives and objects are just part of the scenery. Some thought that the tanks moved on their own. So to ensure each new player know which objects are actually something you need to use they’ve added visual markers.
Such changes have also been added to the mini map. Veterans may know what the pinging and blue dot may mean on the map while the new players… not so much. The added changes will make it much more obvious what is going on in the field.


Of course not everyone needs these added changes. These new additions can be turned off by going into the settings menu.


Furthermore, a new help menu has been added and will display when a new player enters the Battleground. This feature will turn off once the player has completed more than 10 matches.

 

Additional Battleground Modes at Lower Levels

 

The first Battleground that a new adventurer in Arborea experiences is the Corsair’s Stronghold. Unfortunately it may not be the most newbie friendly Battleground as it puts the bar a little too high. At the same time we wouldn’t want someone’s first PvP experience to be a thoroughly negative one.
One could change how Corsair’s Stronghold works but that would take away from those who are already enjoying it. So to allow for a more positive first time PvP experience they’ve decided to add the ever popular Winter Snowfield and a Team Deathmatch (Practice) for lower levels to enjoy.
First off, the Winter Snowfield will be available to those 25 and up. So level 65 players can also enjoy this popular Battleground mode. Second is the Team Deathmatch but it’s a practice mode for those between level 40 and 64.

 

Kick Vote and  Battleground Matching UI Update, Changes to Corsair’s Stronghold

 

Now, after reading all that there are probably players who are already enjoying the Battlegrounds. Some may be thinking…

What? Content only for newbies?? After retiring and coming back is when you do all this??

I know the feeling but let’s put that aside for now. There are some things that have been improved for veterans too.
One of the most prominent inconvenience was the vote kick feature and it’s common abuse.

1. A player will multi-client and simply idle at the spawn point
2. Players will join with friends to grief the match

The current system does not allow for players who really just want to enjoy the match to get rid of the thorn. As it is now if even one person votes against it that was the end of it and you had to sit through having a dead weight or a really annoying team that just wants to ruin your match.
The new system, however, will only require 80% of the votes for the kick to go through.


In the new UI it will also indicate the minimum number of votes to complete the kick vote. For example, in a party of 3 wanting to kick 1 person, not accounting for the player being kicked, 80% of 2 is 1.6 rounded up to 2. Therefore you need the vote of the two to kick the third.
Hopefully this will allow for an easier time combating the abusive players.
Another addition is the Battleground Matching UI. Your current reputation points and credits will be shown below.

 

And lastly a small change to Corsair’s Stronghold rules.
Currently, a match does not end even if the opposing team has already taken longer than the first team to get to the crystal. As unfortunate as it is there are players who take advantage of this and proceeds to prolong the match by adding time through objective captures.
Just been sore losers in the end.
In order to counteract this sort of griefing the match will now end if the opposite team takes longer than the initial team to break the crystal.
This was a change that probably should have been added at the start but better late than never I guess.

 

Lastly…

This update is slated to go live on June 25.
They would also like to  thank the testers who made the feedback and suggestion a reality and that they would like to continue with the “update program” where they recruit testers for new builds.

There’s still more to come to stay tuned for the next GO post.

Resource: https://espeitr.wordpress.com/2015/06/11/ktera-go-post-battleground-improvements/

TERA: Forgotten Continent Update GEAR Stats

Weapons

Armor

Gloves

Boots

Belt

Patch 27.02

New Dungeons and Boss System

• Ghillieglade (Solo)
• Lakan’s Prison (5-person)
• Abscess (Normal mode, 7-person)
• Abscess (Hard mode, 5-person)
• Rift’s Edge (Normal mode, 10-person)
• Rift’s Edge (Hard mode, 10-person)
• Guide quests are automatically obtained at level 60.
• Boss gauge system for new dungeons:
  • Boss’s HP displays as a bigger gauge bar in the top center of the screen.
  • The gauge displays after the player is within 75m of the boss.
  • When there are two bosses, the gauge of the boss that was hit last by the players is displayed.
  • Boss HP now has multiple layers displayed at the end of the bar as "X##."
    • ×10: 10 layers—1-person dungeon boss
    • ×20: 20 layers—dungeons under 10 players
    • ×30: 30 layers—10-person and above dungeons

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New Gear

• Jax Trust and Unified Theory Institute Gear:
  • New tier 13 gears added (requires Favored)
  • New jewelry added (requires Favored)
  • New tier 15 fodders added (requires Friendly)
• Patron Set, Tier 14
  • Token exchanges (right-click on the tokens to bring up the store):
    • Rubra tokens can be obtained by trading in 12 Molten tokens.
    • Arcta token can be obtained by trading in 4 Cyasma tokens
    • Argon freezing agent added to turn Argon Essence into Arcta token (22-hour cooldown)
    • Can be retool from Bloodhoned set (Retool designs are sold by crafting merchants)
  • Enigmatic Patron set and rings can be exchanged using Rubra tokens.
  • Sealed box version and earrings can be exchanged using Arcta tokens.
  • Set bonus for having 2–5 pieces
• Devastator Set:
  • Dropped in Rift’s Edge (Hard)
  • Crafted from crafted Patron gear
  • Set bonus for having 2–5 pieces
• Archetype Set:
  • Crafted from Nightforge set.
  • Obtain “Muhrak’s Cryptic Document” (Rift’s Edge Normal or Hard) or “Muhrak’s Curious Letter” (Rift’s Edge Normal) to get “Muhrak’s Message,” which starts the Archesmith quest.
  • Set bonus for having 2–5 pieces
• Opportune Set
  • PVP set
  • Obtained from battleground quests to Kumas Island or Corsairs' Stronghold.
• Favored Set:
  • Retooled from Opportune set (crafted PVP set)
  • Design obtained from battleground quests to Kumas Island or Corsairs' Stronghold.
• Advantaged Set
  • Best PVP set
  • Design obtained from Killing Spree merchant.
  • Retooled from Nightforge or Favored set
• New Accessories: Brooch and Belt
  • Obtained from Agnitor merchant
  • Can be obtained as Wounded World dungeon drops
  • Can be created via Armorcrafting

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Crafting and Extraction

• Crafting
  • Master rank crafting has been added:
    • Unlock the Artisan rank of a craft to unlock the Master rank of that craft.
    • Master’s Additive has been added to increase the critical rating for Master crafting designs.
  • Designs for crafting Patron set from Bloodhoned gear have been added to weaponcrafting and armorcrafting design merchants.
  • Critical success rate for weapon, armor, and etching have be increased.
  • Materials required for some weapon, armor, and etching craft have been reduced.
  • Crafted Bloodhoned items have been improved. Critting a Bloodhoned item now produces two of that item.
• Extraction—Fortnight sledgehammer and Forge Stoke
  • The Fortnight sledgehammer converts tier 14 gear to Forge Stoke.
  • You can trade Forge Stoke with merchants for tier 15 fodder gear.
    • Forge stokes are tradeable, bankable, stack up to 1,000 per stack, and cannot be sold to a merchant.
  • Right-click Fortnight sledgehammers to extract Forge Stoke from Superior and Rare tier 14 items:

    Tier 14 Item:	Yields:
    Superior weapon	8 Forge Stoke
    Superior chest armor	6 Forge Stoke
    Superior gloves	4 Forge Stoke
    Superior boots	4 Forge Stoke
    Rare weapon	4 Forge Stoke
    Rare chest armor	3 Forge Stoke
    Rare gloves	2 Forge Stoke
    Rare boots	2 Forge Stoke

  • Right-click Forge Stoke to open the shop UI:

    Tier 15 Item:	Costs:
    Superior weapon	48 Forge Stoke
    Superior chest armor	36 Forge Stoke
    Superior gloves	24 Forge Stoke
    Superior boots	24 Forge Stoke
    Rare weapon	24 Forge Stoke
    Rare chest armor	18 Forge Stoke
    Rare gloves	12 Forge Stoke
    Rare boots	12 Forge Stoke

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UI Refinement

• Player name plate now displays eight types of information about the player:
  • Player’s name (server name is added for battleground and dungeon matching)
  • Player’s title
• Normal titles are colored white
• Premium titles, such as exarch titles, are colored gold
  • Player’s guild name
  • Guild emblem
  • Alliance flag
  • Position in the alliance
  • Crafting master emblem
  • Battleground leader emblem (displayed while in BG)
• System Notification, quest- and reward-related messages display have been improved:
  • Weapons and armor looted will be displayed in the rewards UI.
  • System messages for looting a weapon or armor have been removed.
• Party matching UI for dungeons updated:
  • Party matching UI now displays the gear sets can be obtained from the dungeon.
  • Party matching UI only displays dungeons that meet player’s level and item level requirement.
• Voice select UI at the character creation screen has been updated.
• Belt category has been added to trade brokerunder Armor by location > Belts.
• Searching brokerage without any key words or category will display an error message.
• Brooches category has been added to trade broker under Jewelry > Brooches

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Enchanting Update

• Enchanted item now displays its enchantment level. (Items with no enchantment level do not display an enchantment number.)
• On player’s profile window, the enchant icon will activate when the following enchantment conditions are met in the player’s inventory:
  • Have at least one item of the same tier gear as the equipped gear.
  • Have the necessary number and type of alkahests to enchant the equipped gear.
  • Enchantment button will not activate if the gear is not enchantable or is already enchanted to maximum level.
• Enchantment UI
  • Item available to be used are listed in the enchantment UI:
    • Left side lists the fodder item according to its quality.
    • Right side lists the alkahests that will be used.
  • Enchanting UI now can suggest the items to be used for the enchant:
    • Clicking the "suggest" button will auto-add the item to be used for the next enchant attempt.
    • If you don’t want to use the suggested items, right-click on the items in your inventory that you want to use. (Right-click on the recommended item slot also removes the item.)
  • Auto-Enchant has been added to the UI:
    • Auto-enchant can be used to ease the enchanting process when multiple enchanting attempts can be performed.
    • An enchanting result message is displayed after auto-enchant is completed, listing how many successful/failed enchants were performed and the final enchanting level of the item.
    • Auto-enchant does not use items that have been enchanted already.

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Nexus Update

• Nexus Traverse cooldown time has been increased from 1 hour to 2 hours.
• Nexus duration has been reduced from 1 hour to 30 minutes.
• Maximum Agnitor reputation point limit has been increased from 24,000 to 30,000.
• Reputation and credits have been doubled:
  • Obtained by completing the "Investigating Nexus Traverse" quest.
  • Reputation credits increased from 1,400 to 2,800
  • Reputation increased from 4,600 to 9,200
• Agnitor merchant updated:
  • Tier 15 fodder items added.
  • Brooch and belt added:
    • Player needs to buy a token from the Agnitor merchant with Agnitor credit first
    • Exchange the token required for a brooch or belt.
• Nexus buff condition changed:
  • Before: Buff can be acquired without the quest, as long as the player is in monster’s aggro list.
  • Now: Quest must be obtained first, then complete stage 1, 2, or 3 before receiving the buff.
• Thirteen nexus portal locations now open at the same time.
• Nexus opening condition by population has been turned off. (Additional nexuses no longer open when player population in an area reaches 100.)
  • Nexus Traverse Update
  • All small monsters will despawn after the main boss is killed.
  • Additional teleport to the major cities and alliance halls are added to the exit teleportal of Nexus Traverse after the main boss is killed.
  • Nexus quest completion reward has been reduced:
    • Stage 1 is reduced from 50 Agnitor credits to 20.
    • Stage 2 is reduced from 100 Agnitor credits to 30.
    • Stage 3 is reduced from 150 Agnitor credits to 50.
  • Nexus Traverse entrance spawn changed so the entrance will spawn at all nexus positions that were in the zone.
  • Quest for Nexus Travese is now picked up after entering Nexus Traverse instead of picking up the quest from an NPC in town.
    • Quest completion NPC will spawn after the main boss is killed.
    • The completed quest is now turned in within the dungeon instead of the town.
  • Nexus Traverse Drop updated:
    • Tier 15 fodders have been added.
    • Alkahests and crafting materials have been removed.
• New nexus time added for Wednesday at 12pm and 7pm

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Alliance Update

• Three types of new accessory sets have been added to Alliance Vaults.
• Crafting materials from Bellicarium and Killing Spree have been added to Noctenium Society reputation merchants.
• Crafting materials for tier 15 gears have been added to the Noctenium Society reputation merchants.
• To prevent the Alliance notice message overlapping with Alliance conflict UI, the default location has been relocated from center to right.
  • Salvaliths count UI moved to the right side of the screen.
• Alliance vaults and Vault of Allies now drops new accessories with set bonuses.

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Battleground Updates

• The maximum credit cap for Bellicarium and Killing Spree has been increased to 40,000.
• New gear, designs, and materials have replaced the old items in the Bellicarium and Killing Spree reputation merchants:
  • Victory’s Trophy has been added to Bellicarium Quartermaster.
  • Sturdy forge pitch, Flexible forge pitch, and retool designs have been added to Killing Spree Quartermaster.
  • Flexible forge pitch purchase required changed from Champion’s Skyring personal rating 1,800 to Killing Spree Neutral.
• Kumasylum
  • Kumas nanny:
    • HP increased from 1,800,000 to 2,000,000.
    • Back jump attack skill added.
    • Purify Kumas skill removed.
    • Critical Energy Burst skill’s cooldown reduced from 40 to 30 seconds.
  • Kumas babies:
    • P increased from 1,500,000 to 1,800,000.
    • urify Kumas skill removed.
    • nergy Burst skill’s cooldown reduced from 15 to 12 seconds.
  • Kumases’ resistances have been slightly increased.
  • Movement speed for human player carrying the candy has been increased from 50% to 60%.
• Fraywind Canyon
  • Cry of Retaliation buff trigger condition changed:
    • The buff does not trigger for the first 2,000 points. It’ll trigger when there’s a difference of 1,500 points or more, and cancels when the difference is reduced to 500 or less.
    • Depending on the kill count difference, different stages of the buff is triggered:
      • Stage I triggers when kill count difference is 20, cancels when kill count is 10 or less.
      • Stage II triggers when kill count difference is 40, cancels when kill count is 30 or less.
      • Stage III triggers when kill count difference is 60, cancels when kill count is 50 or less.
    • Both point difference and kill count difference condition must be met for the buff to trigger, and the buff is canceled when either of the cancel conditions is met.
  • Powerful Morale and Cry of Retaliation stages effects decreased:
    • Powerful Morale increases power by 20, endurance by 10, attack speed by 20%, and movement by 10.
    • Cry Retaliation I increases max HP by 10%, power by 10, endurance by 10, and movement by 10.
    • Cry Retaliation II increases max HP by 30%, power by 15, endurance by 15, and movement by 20.
    • Cry Retaliation III increases max HP by 50%, power by 20, endurance by 20, and movement by 30.
  • Points
    • Capturing a pyre decreased from 200 to 100 points.
    • Player kill increased from 8 to 10 points.
    • Pyre holding points:
      • 1 Pyre increased from 3 points to 4 points per second
      • 2 Pyre: increased from 5 points to 6 points per second
      • 3 Pyres increased from 7 points to 8 points per second
• Battleground reward credits have been updated.
  • Kumasylum
    • Win:
      • 300 Bellicarium credits
      • 150 Killing Spree credits
    • Lose:
      • 180 Bellicarium credits
      • 75 Killing Spree credits
    • Joining a game in progress bonus:
      • 50 Bellicarium credits
      • 50 Killing Spree credits
  • Corsair’s Stronghold
    • Win:
      • Up to 100 Bellicarium credits by contribution
      • 270 Bellicarium credits (Captain bonus: 100 credits)
      • Up to 50 Killing Spree credits by contribution
      • 120 Killing Spree credits (Captain bonus: 30 credits)
    • Lose:
      • 150 Bellicarium credits
      • 45 Killing Spree credits
    • Joining a game in progress bonus:
      • 50 Bellicarium credits
      • 50 Killing Spree credits
  • Fraywind Canyon (Solo)
    • Win:
      • Up to 100 Bellicarium credits by contribution
      • 300 Bellicarium credits (Captain bonus: 100 credits)
      • Up to 100 Killing Spree credits by contribution
      • 300 Killing Spree credits (Captain bonus: 100 credits)
    • Lose:
      • 120 Bellicarium credits
      • 120 Killing Spree credits
    • Joining a game in progress bonus:
      • 50 Bellicarium credits
      • 50 Killing Spree credits
  • Fraywind Canyon (Raid)
    • Win:
      • Up to 60 Bellicarium credits by contribution
      • 85 Bellicarium credits (Captain bonus: 50 credits)
      • Up to 60 Killing Spree credits by contribution
      • 85 Killing Spree credits
    • Lose:
      • 65 Bellicarium credits
      • 65 Killing Spree credits
    • Joining a game in progress bonus:
      • 50 Bellicarium credits
      • 50 Killing Spree credits
  • Champion’s Skyring (Team)
    • Win:
      • 60 Bellicarium credits
      • 280 Killing Spree credits
    • Lose:
      • 20 Bellicarium credits
      • 20 Killing Spree credits
  • Champion’s Skyring (Solo with equalized gear)
    • Win:
      • 60 Bellicarium credits
      • 280 Killing Spree credits
    • Lose:
      • 20 Bellicarium credits
      • 20 Killing Spree credits

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Dungeon Update

• Labyrinth of Terror (Normal and Hard modes) now drops tier 14 gears.
• Balder’s Temple (1-person and 5-person) no longer drops Molten tokens.
• The guide quests for Channelworks, Shattered Fleet, and Wonderholme have been removed.
• Removed master enigmatic scrolls as drops from some dungeons. Master enigmatic scrolls now drop from the following dungeons:
  • Gillieglade
  • Lakan’s Prison
  • Absecess
  • Rift’s Edge
  • Nexus Traverse

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Avatar Weapon Update

• New avatar weapon Dagon added for level 58, requiring 20 relic pieces. Relic piece drops display a winged snake image.
• Karas weapon update:
  • Equip level reduced from level 56 to 55.
  • Weapon performance increased from comparable to level 54 to 55.
  • Relic collection now starts at level 54 and ends at level 58.
• Gidd weapon now requires 38 relic pieces.
• Godly Alkahest and refined godly alkahest can now enchant up to Tier 12 items.

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Fashion Coupon

• “Fantasic Fashion Coupon” has been converted to “Fashion Coupon”.
• Fashion Coupons can be obtained multiple ways:
  • Open world monster drop (amount varies depending on the monster’s level).
  • Completing any dungeons through Instance Matching.
  • Completing Fraywind Canyon or Champion’s Skyring battlegrounds.
• Right click on the Fashion Coupon to open the fashion shop to purchase costumes using the coupons.
• All fashion costumes are permanent and go into the Costuming tab of character profile.
• Content of the Fashion Coupon store has been changed.

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Misc.

• Complete crystalbind cooldown time reduced to 3 minutes.
• Added Leveling boosts to supply crates and removed weapons.
• Shandra’s Quill is now tradeable.
• Molten token, Cyasma token, Bandersnatch’s Cube can now be stored in personal bank and no longer soulbinds.
• Added Dungeon images to dungeon teleportals.
• “Jelena’s Letter” can be destroyed now.
• Dye merchants now only sell materials to make dyes.
• Vendor prices for some gear sets have been changed.
• Master’s Additives have been added to all locked strongboxes.
• One hour dyes have been added to Tikat store.

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Bug Fixes

• Crafting additives can now be searched in the broker under Crafting > Reagent.
• Some Popori NPCs are no longer missing their tails.

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Known Issue

• Brooches and belts sold by Agnitor Truss token merchant Hanslet costs Cortoid tokens instead of Truss tokens.