Hi Adventurers,

This hotfix prepares for the start of the Adventure Leaderboard and Arena test seasons. In preparation for the Arena season, we have made some minor class balance changes including the addition of shapeshift cooldowns for the Druid class. We’ve also updated the Arena MMR calculations to be a bit more predictable. We also introduced a new sash item that can be purchased from the Tailor in preparation for the upcoming opening of the religions.

After careful contemplation we have decided to reimplement the lowered gearscore bracket. In addition to concerns about the risk/reward balance affecting onboarding, a major influence in the decision to remove the brackets was a concern that the newly implemented Rookie system would split the population too much, leading to emptier lobbies. The data we’ve collected over the last week shows that usage rates are better than expected and suggests that we should be able to support lower GS lobbies with sufficient players, albeit with longer random matchmaking times.

The lower gearscore brackets weren’t so much about providing a great onboarding experience for new players, (our data suggested otherwise), but to give players of ALL experience levels a way to play the game with a lower entry barrier to combat. For onboarding new players, we are seeing promising results with the new Rookie system and have high hopes with the upcoming tutorial map. As for the low barrier to combat, we had originally seen this bloodthirst for combat as a deficiency of our risk/reward balance and detracting from our original vision. Although we still have some concerns regarding the risk/reward balance, we now understand that the lighter experience provided by the lower GS brackets offers big value to a large segment of our community, regardless of time played.

We now believe we can make the lowered GS brackets work in tandem with our Rookie system and will be testing their return with some fine tuning and balancing. We thank you for your patience and understanding as we strive to improve the experience for a wide array of players. We look forward to a great Adventure and Arena season and we’ll see you in the dungeons!

IRONMACE

• Fixed an issue where a projectile item would remain for an extended duration when a Wizard was hit by a projectile item when using Invisibility.
  
• Fixed an issue where a green effect could appear on the screen when attacking with a Warhammer while equipped with Cleric's Faithfulness.
  
• Fixed an issue where using the Sorcerer's Thorn of Earth underwater would cause effects other than thorns to appear above the water surface.
  
• Fixed an issue where Backstep would not work properly after Ranger broke out of the Warlord's prison.
  
• Fixed an issue where the Harpy could remain in the air after attacking.
  
• Fixed an issue where Demon Bat could hang in the air.
  
• Fixed an issue where the effect that appears in the center of the boss room after the Lich absorbs the soul of a dead player would not disappear.
  
• Fixed an issue where a party member who was disconnected during the loading screen and could not reconnect could be revived with the Soul Heart.
  
• Fixed an issue where the 'Looted' tag could be improperly applied when retrieving a teammate’s item.
  
• Fixed an issue where the Gold Coin Purse could not be sold to a Merchant.
  
• Fixed an issue where the Quest Random Reward could not be received.
  
• Fixed an issue where Audio Device Settings could be saved even without applying the change.
  
• Fixed an issue where Arena MMR could become abnormal when reconnecting during Arena play.
  
• Fixed an issue where the Dungeon Mode in the lobby might not be set to Arena when reconnecting during Arena play and finishing the match.

[h4]Ranger[/h4]

• Ranger's Spear Proficiency's additional physical power changed from 7 to 5.
  
• Ranger's Purge Shot now removes all magical buffs and deals an additional 15 true physical damage upon removing buffs.
  
• Ranger's Purge Shot cooldown time changed from 28s to 18s.

[h4]Warlock[/h4]

• Warlock's Spell Predation now deals 3 dark magic damage per buff gorged when feasting on a target's buffs.
  
• Warlock's Darkness Shard now provides a +1 all attribute effect.

[h4]Druid[/h4]

• Druid's Shapeshift now has 4 stacks and a 6 second cooldown on each recharge.
  
• Druid’s Shapeshift casting time has been changed from 1s to 0.5s.
  
• Druid's Thorn Barrier width changed from 150 to 200 units.

[h4]Sorcerer[/h4]

• Sorcerer's Manafold movement speed penalty has been removed.
  
• Sorcerers can now remove Combat.

• Commencement of EA Season #5 Arena Rank Leaderboards.
  
• Commencement of EA Season #5 High-Roller Leaderboards.
  
• Re-implementation of the lower Gearscore lobbies.
  
• Some background effects improved based on the selected Effect Quality setting.
  
• Frost Imp movement improved.
  
• The Crypt Center Tower (aka The Wheel) module now has much better rewards in the center area.
  
• The count limit for crafting utility and container has been removed. You no longer need to wait for the merchant timer to reset to craft a lot of these items.
  
• Crafted potion count changed from 1 -> 3 for some potions.
  
• Additional random layouts added to the Crypt Random Dungeons.
  
• Added new Sash item available from the Tailor.