Hello,

Today we're opening up a test server that will be in operation for a few weeks, in order to test some in-development features. Characters and houses have been copied to the test server from Finvarra's Fortress as of May 11th. There are no gameplay related changes between the servers. From the game launcher, if you select Finvarra's Fortress, you'll be able to select the test server at the server selection screen within the game.

New Feature

• Instanced dungeons now persist indefinitely if you log out while inside. After returning, everything should be exactly as you left it. Additionally, if the game server restarts or crashes while you're in a dungeon, it will be persisted and you will be put back inside where you left off, once you log back in.

 
There was a fair amount of server infrastructure code that needed to be cleaned up for this to work right, so we're hoping that you are all able to assist in testing this out before we push it to the live server.

Please let us know in the test server forum if you see any issues.

Thanks!
-Mike aka rdragon

We've reworked the way melee weapons work a bit, and fixed some bugs in the process.

• We've fixed an issue where permanent damage enchantments on weapons had the weapon doing less overall damage.
• Permanent damage enchantments on weapons no longer reduce the normal damage amount that the weapon does. Bonus damage from enchantments is calculated based on the number of damage enchantments on the weapon, and then that damage is divided evenly across the enchanted damage types.
• The spread between the min and max damage on all melee weapons have been dramatically reduced, but their effective power remains similar, leading to more predictable damage output.
• Weapons found in the world have a chance to have a higher min and max damage output.
• All classes now get a slight MDM and SDM bonus every 10 levels. This bonus does not go away when you prestige, instead it continues to compound.
• A bug was fixed where some characters could end up with nearly all of their hits being critical strikes. MDM bonus was adjusted up to compensate.
• A bug was fixed where the Cleave ability was compounding damage across nearby enemies rather than damaging them all evenly.
• The text describing poison damage now describes how much of the damage is applied instantly vs accumulated.
• Drop rates on Level 900 weapons have been increased

Today we implemented some changes targeting server stability. We're working diligently to keep the game server up 100% of the time!

In addition to system updates you'll notice that your characters prestige levels are displayed in the game chat.

We've also enabled passive damage buffs based on your characters prestige level:

• Wizards get a slight SDM increase per prestige level
• Warriors get a slight MDM increase per prestige level
• Thieves get a slight critical hit chance increase per prestige level
• Adventurers get a little bit of everything

Until next time,

Redbeard