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PATCH Patch Notes for October 28, 2024: Rebalance Patch - Phase 1

Luthius

Developer
Staff Member
This patch is considered "Phase 1" of a two-phase Rebalancing initiative on the server

Phase 1 (this patch) primarily consists of nerfs/reductions to address currently overpowered mechanics and attempts to address the most common sources of "power creep" that are adversely affecting player balance and long-term economic health of the server

Phase 2 (next patch) will primarily consist of buffs/bonuses to address underperforming mechanics on the server, improve player build diversity, and introduce a large amount of QOL features. Some mechanics such as Swing Speed bonus that were reduced in existing mechanics will likely have new sources available for them, and some overly complicated gameplay systems will be overhauled to reduce tedious elements


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Creature DifficultyValue Rebalances
  • We have overhauled the algorithm that determines the "DifficultyValue" of creatures (based on their Stats/Skills/Abilities), which in turn dictates how much Gold (and Special/Rare loot) they drop as well as how much Experience they grant
  • The changes to DifficultyValue shouldn't impact "weak" creatures very much, and are more geared at reigning in our "strongers" creatures more dramatically in terms of loot/experience


Looting Rights
  • When determining the Looting Rights on a creature, the earliest player to have damaged the creature will be treated as having dealt an additional +15% Damage Dealt against it
  • Effectively, the earliest player to engage a creature will receive additional credit towards Looting Rights on that creature, to help mitigate the ability of other players to "kill steal" it
  • This mechanic will only apply against non-Boss creatures or creatures with 100,000 Hit Points or less
  • As a reminder, any player who has not damaged a creature (non-Boss) within the last 2 minutes will have their Damage History against that creature cleared (and is not considered a valid Looting Rights player for it)


Aspects

Air Aspect Armor

Now has the following effects:
  • Weapon Speed and Mana Regen Rate Bonus of (4% + (1.3% * Tier Level)) [Previously was 5% + (1.5% * Tier Level)]
  • Damage Resistance After Swing or Cast (5 Sec) of (5% + (1.5% * Tier Level)) [no change]
  • Chance to Avoid Movement Effects (5 Sec) of (20% + (5% * Tier Level)) [no change]


Madness Armor
Now has the following effects:
  • All Damage for the player is increased by (12% + (3.5% * Tier Level)) [Previously was 16% + (4% * Tier Level)]
  • Chance Per Sec to Lose 10 HP After Dealing Damage of (4.5% + (1.5% * Tier Level)) [Previously was 3% + (1% * Tier Level)]


Finishers

Weapon Finishers

  • Creatures (non-Boss) must now be at 25% Health or less in order for players to be able to land Weapon Finishers on them (previously was 33%)
  • The chance for a player to land a Weapon Finisher on a creature (non-Boss) will be reduced to 50% of normal if that player (and their followers) have dealt less than 25% of the total damage that creature has received so far from all sources

Archery Ricochet
  • Now has the following description: "Deals 300% of Damage towards target and up to 2 additional random enemies within 6 tiles of target"


Arcane Skill

Arcane Buildup

  • Players will now receive a Spell Damage bonus against creatures equal to their current (Arcane Buildup * 40%) [Previously was 50%]
  • Players will now receive a Damage Resistance bonus against creatures equal to their current (Arcane Buildup * 15%) [Previously was 25%]


Arcane Runes
  • Players with the Arcane Skill will now receive a (50% * (Arcane Skill / 100)) bonus to the effectiveness of nearby Arcane Runes [Previously was (100% * (Arcane Skill / 100))]


Stealth Backstab
  • The Damage Multiplier for Stealth Backstabs are now +800% to +1600% (scaled to weapon speed)


Slayer Weapon Bonuses
The Damage Bonuses provided from Slayer Weapons have been rebalanced as following:

Lesser: +15% (no change)
Regular: +20% (previously was 30%)
Greater: +25% (previously was 45%)



Mastery Chain Link Bonuses
The bonuses from the following Mastery Chain Links have been adjusted as follows:

Melee Swing Speed
Bronze:
0.8% (previously was 1.0%)
Silver: 1.0% (previously was 1.25%)
Gold: 1.2% (previously was 1.5%)
Corrupted: 1.3% (previously was 1.625%)



Damage to Barded Creatures
Bronze:
1.75% (previously was 2.0%)
Silver: 2.1875% (previously was 2.25%)
Gold: 2.625% (previously was 3.0%)
Corrupted: 2.84375% (previously was 3.25%)



Damage to Poisoned Creatures
Bronze:
1.75% (previously was 2.0%)
Silver: 2.1875% (previously was 2.25%)
Gold: 2.625% (previously was 3.0%)
Corrupted: 2.84375% (previously was 3.25%)



Damage to Diseased Creatures
Bronze:
2.0% (previously was 2.5%)
Silver: 2.5% (previously was 3.125%)
Gold: 3.0% (previously was 3.75%)
Corrupted: 3.25% (previously was 4.0625%)



Damage to Creatures Above 66% HP
Bronze:
2.0% (previously was 2.5%)
Silver: 2.5% (previously was 3.125%)
Gold: 3.0% (previously was 3.75%)
Corrupted: 3.25% (previously was 4.0625%)



Backstab Damage
Bronze:
4.5% (previously was 5.0%)
Silver: 5.625% (previously was 6.25%)
Gold: 6.75% (previously was 7.5%)
Corrupted: 7.3125% (previously was 8.125%)



Poison Damage/Resist Ignore
Bronze:
4.0% (previously was 4.5%)
Silver: 5.0% (previously was 5.625%)
Gold: 6.0% (previously was 6.75%)
Corrupted: 6.5% (previously was 7.3125%)



Melee Aspect Effect Chance
Bronze:
4.5% (previously was 5.0%)
Silver: 5.625% (previously was 6.25%)
Gold: 6.75% (previously was 7.5%)
Corrupted: 7.3125% (previously was 8.125%)



Spellbook Aspect Effect Chance
Bronze:
4.5% (previously was 5.0%)
Silver: 5.625% (previously was 6.25%)
Gold: 6.75% (previously was 7.5%)
Corrupted: 7.3125% (previously was 8.125%)



Dungeon Damage
Includes the following Links:
  • Aegis Keep Damage
  • Cavernam Damage
  • Darkmire Temple Damage
  • Inferno Damage
  • Kraul Hive Damage
  • Mausoleum Damage
  • Mount Petram Damage
  • Nusero Damage
  • Ossuary Damage
  • Pulma Damage
  • Shadowspire Cathedral Damage
  • Wilderness Damage
  • Time Dungeon Damage
  • Netherzone Damage

Bronze: 2.0% (previously was 2.5%)
Silver: 2.5% (previously was 3.125%)
Gold: 3.0% (previously was 3.75%)
Corrupted: 3.25% (previously was 4.0625%)



Guild Favors

Duration

  • All Guild Favors now have a Duration of 1 Day (previously varied by Rarity)


Guild Favor Bonuses
The Bonuses provided from Guild Favors have been rebalanced as following:

Damage Bonus
Common:
+10% (previously was 15%)
Uncommon: +12.5% (previously was 20%)
Rare: +15% (previously was 25%)



Slayer Group Bonus
Common:
+15% (no change)
Uncommon: +20% (previously was 30%)
Rare: +25% (previously was 45%)



Boss Damage
Common:
+12.5% (previously was 10%)
Uncommon: +15% (previously was 15%)
Rare: +17.5% (previously was 20%)



Boss Damage Prevention
Common:
12.5% (previously was 10%)
Uncommon: 15% (previously was 15%)
Rare: 17.5% (previously was 20%)



Damage Prevention
Common:
10% (previously was 15%)
Uncommon: 12.5% (previously was 20%)
Rare: 15% (previously was 25%)



Gold Bonus
Common:
+15% (no change)
Uncommon: +20% (previously was 25%)
Rare: +25% (previously was 35%)



Experience Bonus
Common:
+20% (no change)
Uncommon: +25% (previously was 30%)
Rare: +30% (previously was 40%)



Skill Gain Bonus
Common:
+20% (Previously was 25%)
Uncommon: +30% (previously was 50%)
Rare: +40% (previously was 75%)



Arcane Essence Usage
Common:
+25% (previously was 30%)
Uncommon: +30% (previously was 40%)
Rare: +35% (previously was 50%)



Vendor Rebate
Common:
10% (no change)
Uncommon: 15% (no change)
Rare: 20% (no change)



Harvest Yield Chance
Common:
25% (no change)
Uncommon: 35% (previously was 50%)
Rare: 45% (previously was 75%)



Exceptional Crafting Chance Bonus
Common:
+15% (no change)
Uncommon: +20% (previously was 25%)
Rare: +25% (previously was 35%)



Special Loot Chance
Common:
+15% (no change)
Uncommon: +20% (previously was 25%)
Rare: +25% (previously was 35%)



Rare Loot Chance
Common:
+15% (no change)
Uncommon: +20% (previously was 25%)
Rare: +25% (previously was 35%)



Poisoning

Melee Weapon Poison Sting

  • If a player delivers a Poison Sting on a Melee attack, there will now be a 5 second cooldown before that player can deliver another Poison Sting


Chivalry

Cleanse by Fire

  • If a player's Cleanse By Fire ability damages a target, there will be a 5 second cooldown before the ability can inflict damage again (Poison Curing will resolve as normal)


Houses
  • House Boats that enter the IDOC (In Danger of Collapse) stage will now always resolve as a Housing Ownership Lottery (i.e. they will not collapse)


Special Event Regions
The following event locations are now considered Netherzone Regions for determining Slayer/Regional bonuses:
  • Field of Souls
  • Graveyard Bash
  • Winterlands
  • Jawbreaker
  • Stalag Grotto


Pit Trials

Creature Gold Values

  • The Gold Value of Creatures in Pit Trials will now be reduced to 50% of their normal values (this will also impact their Special/Rare Loot chances)


Bonuses
Players participating in Pit Trials will no longer receive Bonuses from the following:
  • Guild Favor Bonuses
  • King's Faire Shady Fortune Teller Damage Bonus


Pit Trial Stats
  • When this patch goes live, we will be reseting the stats/ranks for Pit Trials (Weekly / Seasonal / Lifetime) to account for rules changes to Pit Trials
  • Players will not lose any earned progress on things earned from Pit Trials, however, such as Netherzone Achievements / Netherzone Redline XP / etc
 
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Has the bug affecting spell aspect proc chance been fixed? Seems punitive to hit spell proc chance when its already operating at 60% of its listed value.
 
Air nerf: witholding sky doom posting till we see what luth has cooking

Would be neat if ranger/archers shined for the weapon from more dex synergy than other hybrids
 
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Air nerf:

Hmm for mid tier air players thats a rough patch

Maybe the top end of t15 and “capstone” is the core issue and less so swing speed < 35% now 30%?. Archers dont get the swing speed boosts of fencers like we did beta testing expansion .

Hard to balance i suppose but not a fun patch for people who are not end game…

Hope qol2 patch helps or i probably be calling it a career here on outlands for an air archer doing 70-110 dps (no matter the build) since some of us do not have 20-30 links, t15 etc

Maybe the “never ending grind perk systems” is more of the balance issue than low/mid tier builds but that seems by design of last patch?

Maybe a bonus to x if swing speed is < 40% with archery “steady aim” type system when not stealthed

This will bring most archers back down to 50-80 dps that are not 10+ links and t13+ aspect

The change hitting 300% to targets within 6 tiles is cool.

Fowling being last target only instead of pinning down any target you hit in last 10s continues to be rough . Id be happy trading less speed for fowling to work on multiple targets you hit

I think you need to wait for part 2, to see the additional sources of swing speed he alluded to.
 
Ya. Will see how patch goes or decide to hang up my outlands career and give them a break from six more years of ranting
 
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Wow, some great changes here, good job team! There shouldn't be a lot left to buff/tinker with in phase 2. Most of what you listed here was seriously overtuned.

Great idea on the finishers and the bonus to looting rights for players doing early damage. This will help the low/mid-tier players termendously.
 
Ya. Will see how patch goes or decide to hang up my outlands career and give them a break from six more years of ranting
Can I have your stuff? :p

It's definitely a welcome change, despite getting most of my active templates nerfed. I just saw my first 10k hit on my backstabber today so there's room to climb again. lol
Really wish the Guild Favor revamp removed the Vendor Rebate favors. Is there any tangible benefit to those other than scripted reagent buying? Is that even still a thing being done?
 
hmm not sure why were nerfing the dexxers again... idk if you guys realize how OP mages are now compared to dexxers. Madness aspect was the only aspect a dexxer could use to possibly get anywhere near mage damage and compete.
 
The air aspect build was impacted maybe too much. My husband and I just came back to Outlands a little over a month ago after nearly a 2 year hiatus, and he blew through just about all of his wealth in the game upgrading his air aspect from tier 9 to tier 13 and getting the swing speed chain links since we came back. Those air cores got so expensive and I'm sure they'll tank in price now. I don't know if this info was released earlier. But ooof... we didn't get the memo. This is pretty rough.

Edit: He says the positive is he didn't know how he was going to get those 40 cores for tier 14 and it should be a lot cheaper by the time he needs them haha.
 
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The air aspect build was impacted maybe too much. My husband and I just came back to Outlands a little over a month ago after nearly a 2 year hiatus, and he blew through just about all of his wealth in the game upgrading his air aspect from tier 9 to tier 13 and getting the swing speed chain links since we came back. Those air cores got so expensive and I'm sure they'll tank in price now. I don't know if this info was released earlier. But ooof... we didn't get the memo. This is pretty rough.

Edit: He says the positive is he didn't know how he was going to get those 40 cores for tier 14 and it should be a lot cheaper by the time he needs them haha.

We don't pre-release information like this for a reason.
 
People need to chill, it's obvious they have to adress power creep, and certain build. When 80% of you play the exact same thing, you should realise a nerf is coming. Sure, could be a buff to underwhelming aspects / weapons, but seeing how fast the content gets cleared these days, I'm not surprised they went that route.
You also need to give it time to see if some nerfs are too much or not enough.
I like this patch !
 
I hope with the air nerf i can get back to over 80dps again on air archer just got to see what is in store for patch 2

I wouldnt mind a feature like “steady aim” that does more damage on slower speeds if not stealthed for archers

Or something to make dexxer archers better than bard/tamer/mage archers like a unique elven bow or aspect or skill synergy for 7x dexxers

Something that isnt based on chivalry/poison/bard builds

Would also love if fowling worked against any target in last 10s so it functions more like a pin down to spread defense boosts against 2-3 mobs instead of running for your life

I need to test new richochet

Wait and see!
 
First of all spot on changes. I play both poison dex and arcane mage, and despite being under-levelled, they both outperform my tamer.

A few comments which I hope are constructive:
- Aspect effect proc chance nerf is a direct nerf to tamers as well, since all you do is proc fishing with command. Maybe this is intended, just a reminder.
- Arcane damage reduction nerf might squeeze already squishy mage builds a bit too much. For example damage-vise eldritch is probably comparable to void/arcane etc. but is squishier. This might also hurt templates which don't use parry but rely on alchy or no codex. In general though, making tankiness necessary is a very good direction I think, because it makes group play more rewarding. It makes tank templates more rewarding.
- Poison dex is op, well nerfed. Poison sting cooldown nerf perhaps could be changed with a damage nerf? I don't like the gamr feel of chance based things being limited with cooldowns (not a strong argument I know).
 
Air Aspect Armor
Now has the following effects:
  • Weapon Speed and Mana Regen Rate Bonus of (4% + (1.3% * Tier Level)) [Previously was 5% + (1.5% * Tier Level)]
I kind of feel like this is a bit extreme. You nurf the one good element of Air which is pretty significant without compensating anywhere else. Air Dexxers were by FAR lower on the totem pole in terms of being overpowered. Madness, Arcane, Poison were far ahead of Air. Heck, summoners often times out DPS Air and they dont even have to get hit.