0.10.4 Teaser Image, 0.10.3 Update Patches and News on Shipped Goods

You may recognise the new skill demonstrated in the screenshot from monsters in Act Three. It was prepared as a player skill during Closed Beta, but due to balance concerns it was only used on monsters. We believe we've solved most of those balance problems now (though it's still scarily effective in certain situations).

The skill book shown in the inventory in the screenshot is the way that we're now handling passive skill points and respec points granted by quests. We always intended to give them in the form of consumable items, because the extra step not only feels more meaningful to the player but helps communicate to new players what they have received and why. There is no way to abuse these items to get more than the right number of points from each. They cannot be transferred to other characters.

We deployed the 0.10.3b patch yesterday, which fixed a bug with chest drops and adjusted map drop rates (upwards) based on feedback, testing and analysis. We're planning to deploy 0.10.3c later today. I'll discuss its changes in the patch notes thread for that patch once it's posted. UPDATE: Looks like it'll be Monday, NZ time. We ran into tiny problems and don't want to break the realm just before a weekend when we only have a few developers around to fix it!

Many people haven't yet received the physical goods from the supporter packs that they ordered towards the end of Closed Beta (or in the case of some of the more crazy signing requests, earlier in the Closed Beta). Our bulk signing of physical goods was delayed by the launch of the Open Beta, but we now have signing stations set up at the office again and a lot of shirts/posters/DVDs/CDs are getting signed each day. We have also replenished our stocks of the manufactured physical goods required for these packs and are packaging/shipping as many as we can per day. Thanks very much for your patience!

Quick question: How much interest is there in the return of physical goods supporter packs for Open Beta that have different contents than the Closed Beta ones? We've been holding off on pursuing this idea until we have fulfilled the orders that people have been patiently waiting for from Closed Beta. I get more and more mail about this per day from excited fans who want to purchase packs that include physical merchandise (and exclusive pets).

Thanks again for your feedback and support. We'll continue to work on 0.10.4 and are currently on track for deployment on Wednesday NZ time as usual. Have a great weekend!

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Chameleon wrote:

So about 10 Diamond Uniques down...only 350ish to go, right?! :-)

Approximately 30 of 250 are in. The others are in various states of design. Some of the Diamond supporters aren't interested in having theirs added yet or are slow to answer mails :)

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Castir wrote:

Ice Shield? Is that the actual name of the spell ? And when can we expect to see updated notes for its use. :) lovin the new content alwaysss

The name hasn't been announced yet. Information will probably come out early next week.

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exorzist wrote:

i have nothing against new supporter packs.

However, if those new packs include kiwis or the same supporter titles and logos as in closed beta than i will RAGE like youve never seen someone RAGE :)

you promised that kiwis will never be available again. and i like to show people i am a longtime supporter by letting my kiwi out in town.

same goes with my title.

the new packs MUST differ from those in closed beta. this is a MUST.

we closed beta supporters are special ... period :)

I completely agree. They would have new things to keep the old ones special like we promised.

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Jaknet wrote:

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The skill book...They cannot be transferred to other characters

Please tell me that these skill books can be left in the stash and not have to sit in the inventory taking up space.

You should just use them instantly to get the points!

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Zaanus wrote:

I bought the $100 pack in CB.

Review:

My CD jewel case was badly busted when my swag pack arrived. The CD was ok though. Jewel case in the trash, music digitized.
The DVD was kind of pointless since it's a digital download.
The map was kind of cool, but already out of date by the time OB released. Its in the trash already.

Really I gave money to support you guys. I'd have honestly preferred more digital perks and you guys used the money to better the game rather than blow it on useless physical merch that didn't survive shipping it across the world.

I'm really sorry that it got damaged. That's the first report that I've heard, but we're trying hard to package the packs securely. A lot of people really enjoyed their physical merch for collectability reasons :)

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Nicholas_Steel wrote:

Simple question: When is the 0.10.4 update? It says today... so far naught.

No, it says:

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We'll continue to work on 0.10.4 and are currently on track for deployment on Wednesday NZ time as usual.

It's currently Monday NZ time, not Wednesday. The weekly patches deploy each week on Wednesdays or Thursdays, barring unforeseen delays.