It’s Wednesday and that means it’s time for some new WildStar news. This week we get a look at the patch notes for the upcoming round beta testing. Invites for this round of testing should be going out this week, so if you have signed up to participate in the beta keep an eye on your inbox to see if you are one of the lucky few who get invited in.

During the last round of beta testing the patch notes were leaked almost immediately, hence the reason the developers went ahead and just gave the patch notes to everyone up front. Seems like they figured that if players are going to get a hold of the information anyway it might as well come from the source. Keep in mind that if you decide to look through the notes you may stumble across a spoiler or two, so read the notes at your own risk.

Continue reading to see the full patch notes.

PATCH HIGHLIGHTS

• Exiles have been hidden away for this round of beta, but give a warm welcome to the Dominion! That was not a request.
• The Ruins of Kel Voreth have opened up for testing. This dungeon is intended for level 20 players!
• Battleground: Smash & Grab is now available! This 10v10 Capture the Flag variant opens immediately at level 3, and is available all the way through the beta level cap of 30.
• The old Attribute names (Strength, Dexterity, Technology , Magic, Wisdom, Stamina) have been renamed for more WildStar-ian flair: Brutality, Finesse, Tech, Moxie, Insight, and Grit.
• Milestones and Attributes have had a major redesign. See the Class notes below for more details.

 

AVAILABLE CONTENT FOR M31 (CBT2)

• Classes
  • Esper
  • Stalker
  • Spellslinger
  • Warrior
• Races
  • Cassians (Human)
  • Draken
  • Mechari
• World Regions
  • Crimson Isle (Level 3-6)
  • Deradune (Level 6-14)
  • Auroria (Level 14-22)
  • Whitevale (Level 22-30)
• Dungeons
  • Stormtalon’s Lair (Unlocks at level 17, recommended for level 20)
  • The Ruins of Kel Voreth (Unlocks at level 17, recommended for level 20)
• PvP
  • 3v3 Arenas (Unlocks at level 30)
  • Battleground: Smash & Grab (Unlocks at level 3)
• Houston (Addon Creation Tool)

 

GENERAL

• For this round of beta, the level cap has been increased from 22 to 30.
• Removed the “/abv” and “/abilityvendor” slash commands. Players will need to find an Ability Vendor when they have new abilities to learn.
• In missions/quests/vehicles where the Limited Action Set bar is replaced with temporary abilities, players can no longer use their normal abilities via keybinds.
• “Account” keybinds are now properly set as the default keybinds when creating a new character.

• “Rez at nearest Holocrypt” now intelligently chooses the closest rez location based on your zone and subzone.

• Added an early version of target marking (with no art). If you wish to use the feature currently, type “/SetMarker <1-9>” for the different markers. These commands can also be keybound for easy target marking in the Keybind menu.

• The quest log should no longer display abandoned quests in the Available Quests list unless they’re available by Holocall.
• The “additional info” dialogues can now be continued after accepting a quest.

• By default, Holdouts no longer drop loot other than Settler resources. This may be changed on a per-Holdout basis in the future.

• Scientists can now also use their Scan Bots to unlock datacubes.

• Settler interactables (informally known as “minfrastructures”) now reward faction reputation, and have a more subtle callout.

• Challenges will now trigger their cooldowns regardless of the tier completed.

• Public Events: Defend objectives now succeed if any defendants are still alive when the time expires.
• New Feature: Mentoring!
  • This system allows a higher level player the chance to play together with lower level players without negatively affecting their progression.
  • While a Mentor, the higher level player loses no access to their unlocked or purchased skills. However, attribute-based milestones will be adjusted based on the Mentor’s stats at the Mentor Level.
  • Players will be specifically prompted to become a Mentor if they are six levels or higher above the lowest level player in the party, however any player can mentor a lower-level player (regardless of the level difference) by typing “/mentor” while grouped.
  • Players must be within group range of a lower level player to Mentor down to them.
• New Feature: Rallying!
  • This system will allow players to enter instanced content at the level of the instance, facing its challenges at the level they were intended.
  • PvP Rallying is mandatory. All players will have their level and gear scaled up to max level of the content.
  • PvE Rallying does not exist in this round of Closed Beta and will be added in a future update. Expect to face challenges at the level they were intended for special achievements, rewards, and loot!
• Fixed an issue where challenges would not always trigger or progress.
• Holdout creatures should now properly distribute aggro among nearby participants, rather than all enemies targeting a single player with all their hate.
• Fixed an issue where some challenges were granting credit for each creature in a cluster rather than the cluster itself.
• Fixed an issue where visuals could get stuck on a player if they interacted with interactable game elements (i.e. Rapid Tap, Timed Tap, etc.) too quickly.
• /stuck can now only be used once every 30 seconds.
• Fixed a bug that would cause players to get stuck in an invisible party when a server crash or reset occurred.

 

UI

• Quest Tracker Updates
  • New art, text coloration, spacing, and formatting of quest-abilities.
  • Added advanced tooltips to quest titles that provide the difficulty, more detailed objective information, and a prompt for hint arrows.
• The Quest Log has had a polishing pass. Changes include:
  • Art updates to all forms and icons.
  • Quest entry layout now puts episode info on the bottom.
  • Quest descriptions and titles now recolor based on whether or not the quest is complete.
  • Quest entries no longer cut off the names if they are too long.
  • New Quest Sharing UI has been implemented.
• The Settler “build” UI has been updated with a cleaner interface.
• The Taxi UI now always shows the entire continent at all times.
• Cleaned up combat floater text to be more noticeable.
• Combat Log Updates (Addon Creators, take note!):
  • Added shield healing, XP gains, rep gains, and path XP messages.
• Chat Updates
  • Updated Chat color defaults to separate Say and Loot channels.
  • Reworked Chat’s whisper-reply function so it processes the command after a space (allowing slash commands that start with “r” to work again).
• Character Selection/Creation
  • Names are now validated as they are typed, with helpful information as to why the name is not valid.
  • Added distinct faction icons to the character selection screen (this art is temporary).
• Added a tooltip delay when hovering over abilities so those who prefer to mouse-click abilities (weirdos) can see what they’re doing.
• Visual cues have been added to the UI to indicate when the player is queued for a match or has flagged themselves for PvP.
• Buffs and debuffs are now a little larger and prettier.
• Nameplates should no longer show other players as grey.
• Added a “Cannot Use” overlay to inventory items that can’t be equipped.
• Achievements Panel
  • Added better filter organization.
  • Added a “Show Only Achievements with Rewards” toggle.
  • Added a search clearing button and focus clearing for the search string
• Player should no longer see floater text saying they gained 0 reputation.
• Vendors now give proper feedback when a transaction has failed.
• Vendor items now correctly indicate “cannot afford” if any of the purchase requirements aren’t met.
• A first round of nameplate optimizations has been completed! Nameplates should cause less framerate loss when in their default state.
• Fixed an issue where dying no longer irreversibly hangs up the communicator. Now you can get that call from your mammy after you’ve rez’d (and why don’t you call her more?).
• Polished world maps have been added in-game for the new zones, including: Auroria, Deradune, Whitevale, Ruins of Kel Voreth, Smash and Grab, Illium, and Crimson Isle.
• Several cross-UI optimizations have been made to increase framerates across the board.
• Updated the Tradeskill Overview screen with a little bit of polish.
• Vendors now properly label known schematics.
• An early version of a “Show Guides” mode now exists in the Tradeskill UI that can be activated to explain the various aspects of the crafting window.
• In the Character Panel, right-clicking an item now unequips it while left-clicking will pick up the item.
• An early version of Raid Frames have been added. Party leaders can convert their groups to raids and utilize (prototype) features like Ready Checks. This will be in a much more polished state in future patches, but if you’d like an early look at the feature, feel free to mess around with it!
• Fixed an issue where players who had queued for two roles in Group Finder would always have the first role selected displayed on the UI.

HOUSTON

• Closing a single Form from an addon with a sprite or template added no longer causes a crash.
• Fixed a Windows crash which occurred when loading an addon with a SliderBar.
• Removing all text from tooltips in Houston should no longer draw a blank in-game tooltip.

• Line numbers have been added to the left side of the Lua editor.

• Fixed a crash when attempting to “view code” with only the xml file open.

 

TRADESKILLS

• Tier 1 nodes no longer give Tradeskill XP to players who have dropped the appropriate gathering skill.
• Architect
  • Provided variants for “Marauder Metal Grate” schematic.
  • Set item levels for crafted items to be appropriate with the crafting tier.
  • Fixed an overlapping discoverable area on the Marauder Television schematic.
  • Fixed an inaccessible Tier 2 Garden FABkit schematic.
  • Fixed some Tier 4 window schematics that had become inaccessible.
  • Put the first two Garden FABkits in the proper order in progression.
  • Added new housing items to Tier 5.
  • Added a proper tech tree.
  • The Large BBQ Pit schematic no longer requires unlocking the Large BBQ Pit Schematic before learning the Large BBQ Pit schematic. Recursive requirements are awesome!
• Weaponsmithing
  • Augments have been removed.
  • Weapon Systems have been added.
  • Removed a few outdated legacy items.
  • Weapon Attachments can now be crafted.
• Tradeskill vendors now sell more harvesting tools, including Laser Pickaxes, Laser Chainsaws, and Relic Blasters.
• Harvesting tools now come in 5 tiers (Novice, Apprentice, Journeyman, Artisan, and Expert).
• Harvesting tools have new visual effects.
• Changed the visual effects on rare farming mushrooms to make them more visible in the world.
• Fixed a timer-reset exploit in Mining caves.

• Tradeskill NPCs are now multi-tier stores appropriate to the Tradeskill.
• Tooltips for Technologist Consumables have been updated to match Stat updates.

ITEMS AND GEAR

• 3 new item slots now exist, along with a 4^th slot added as a placeholder.
  • Weapon Attachment – Always has 20/30/40% of power going to Assault Power.
  • Support Systems – Always has 20/30/40% of power going to Support Power.
  • Implant (Temporary name, may change).
  • Augment (Temporary name pending outcome of community design).
• Item Modification
  • Fixed an issue where slotting random chips would not display the actual result of the “randomness” in the UI.
  • Slightly reduced the amount of power granted to items with multiple sockets.
  • Fixed an issue which was causing a significant number of “special ability” chips to not work.
  • The bonus power an item gets for having extra sockets now goes directly to the base power of the item, rather than each individual socket increasing its own power according to percent contribution.
  • Added Fused (locked) secondary stat chips for equipment.
  • Designed and implemented new rules for secondary stats. Specific locked stats will come on specific slots (eg gloves will always have strikethrough, critical or crit severity).
  • Buying back items from vendors will no longer re-roll random chip stats.
  • Buying back modified items from vendors will no longer erase the modifications.
• Fixed an issue with incorrect item quality colors appearing in item tooltips.
• Removed outdated information from item tooltips (weapon speed and damage).
• Fixed inaccurate item gain messages when manipulating item stacks.
• Banks can no longer be used outside the range of the banker NPC.

• Validated and adjusted costs for mail, travel, resurrection, repair, training, and marketplace as part of the balance pass.
• Found and fixed all of the items that you could possibly sell back to a vendor for more than the purchase price.
• All bags should now vendor for the roughly the same price based upon slot count.
• World loot drops have been updated to include newer medishots and food.

 

CLASSES

GENERAL

• Attribute Milestone System Overhaul
  • Milestones are no longer slotted, instead they are automatically unlocked and applied by reaching certain Attribute Thresholds (as described within the Character Panel UI by clicking on a Primary Attribute)
    • Milestones are no longer tiered, instead they either scale with their associated Attribute or they are static
    • The vast majority of Milestones have been completely re-designed and each class has their own unique Milestones
  • The Milestone tab has been removed from the Limited Action Set UI. Milestone information is now found within the Character Panel by clicking on your attributes.
• Secondary Stats are now increased based off your Primary Attributes.
  • Attribute contributions to Secondary Stats can be seen by clicking on an Attribute in the character panel.
  • Mini Milestones also give large boosts to Secondary Stats and are unlocked by reaching certain Primary Attribute Thresholds.
• Attribute Spending has been removed. While we do want to retain the design of allowing players to customize their stats, we think having two systems (Attribute spending and gear modification) that accomplish the same end-result was redundant.

• Hitting an enemy that is Immune to a specific CC State will now still deduct Interrupt Armor if the applied CC State interacts with the Interrupt Armor system.
  • Ex: A boss that is immune to knockbacks will still lose Interrupt Armor when hit with a knockback, even though he won’t physically be knocked back.
• Crowd Control is now immediately applied to a target if their Interrupt Armor is broken (rather than when landing a CC after the Armor has been broken).
  • Reduced Interrupt Armor granted by most spells by 1 to account for this change.
  • This effectively keeps gameplay unchanged, we’ve just changed the visuals so that breaking Interrupt Armor has an immediate effect.
• The Stun, Knockdown, and Vulnerable CC States no longer restrict abilities which force movement on players.
• The ‘Dodge’ string that displays in the Combat Log and as a Combat Floater in response to avoiding an attack has been switched to read ‘Deflect’.
• Out of combat mana regeneration is now a flat amount (and has thus been removed from the Secondary Stat list).
• Shields now start to regenerate if you avoid taking damage for 10 seconds regardless of your in-combat/out of combat state.
• Charge/Release and Press/Hold ability mechanics have changed.
  • Charge and Release: On initial press, the ability will now charge up (without needing to be held), and on the second press of the same button will fire. If you wait until the ability has been fully charged, it will automatically fire after a few seconds.
  • Press and Hold: Press once to turn the ability on, press again to deactivate it.
  • Those who liked the old way these abilities worked can switch it back in the Combat Options menu.

 

 

ESPER

New Abilities

• Focused Relief
  • Heals the target and then increases their armor for 5 seconds. Consumes all Focus Points.
  • 1FP: [110% Support Power] Health, +2% Armor
  • 2FP: [110% Support Power] Health, +4% Armor
  • 3FP: [110% Support Power] Health, +6% Armor
  • 4FP: [110% Support Power] Health, +8% Armor
  • 5FP: [110% Support Power] Health, +10% Armor
• Haunt
  • Creates an 8m ground hazard, lasting for 5 seconds, which deals [33% Assault Power] damage every second to 3 enemies within its radius. Additionally, enemies hit by the hazard are debuffed and take 5% increased Magic damage from all sources for 10 seconds. Generates a Focus Point if used in combat.
• Mirage
  • Creates a Mirage, which lasts for 60 seconds, at the targeted location. Any injured ally that walks through the Mirage will have [400% Support Power] health restored. The Mirage generates a Focus Point for the caster if triggered during combat. This has two ability charges and each one has a 30 second cooldown.
• Projected Spirit
  • Darts the caster forward 25 meters, restoring [400% Support Power] to them and 3 of their allies along the way. Generates a Focus Point if used in combat.

 

Ability Changes

• The visual effects for Crush will now play even if the spell is deflected.
• Crush was accidentally knocking down 4 enemies, now properly knocks down a maximum of 3 enemies.
• Mental Boon

• Now targets the most-injured players rather than the closest allies.
• Changed the order in which certain abilities unlock:
  • Spectral Frenzy is now level 1 (Was level 22)
  • Mind Over Body is now level 6 (Was level 20)
  • Bolster is now level 10 (Was level 6)
  • Telekinetic Strike is now level 14 (Was level 1)
  • Blade Dance is now level 18 (Was level 14)
  • Soothe is now level 20 (Was level 10)
  • Restraint is now level 22 (Was level 18)

 

New Attribute Milestones

• Brutality: Rank – 1 [Feast or Famine]
  • Spammers reduce enemy Magic Mitigation and increase ally Magic Mitigation by 30% for 4 seconds.
• Brutality: Rank – 2 [B-I-N-G-O]
  • On landing a Critical Hit, you have a 50% chance to generate a Focus Point. This can only occur every 5 seconds.
• Brutality: Rank – 3 [The Humanity]
  • Whenever you use a Finisher on an enemy OR ally below 30% health, you deal OR heal an additional [250% Brutality] damage. This can only occur every 8 seconds.
• Finesse: Rank – 1 [Bounce Back]
  • Before taking damage from a Critical Hit, you have a 15% chance to restore [200% Finesse] health.
• Finesse: Rank – 2 [Breakaway]
  • Whenever you earn a CC Break, gain a Dash token.
• Finesse: Rank – 3 [Rope-A-Dope]
  • After landing a Spammer on an enemy or an ally, you cannot be Dazed for 3 seconds.
• Finesse: Rank – 4 [Evasive Maneuvers]
  • After Dashing, your Damage Mitigation is increased by 25% for 5 seconds.
• Moxie: Rank – 1 [The Old One-Two]
  • After casting a Finisher, the healing or damage of your next Builder cast within 10 seconds will be increased by [100% Moxie].
• Moxie: Rank – 2 [Molasses]
  • Being Rooted, Snared, or Tethered grants an Absorption Effect that lasts for 5 seconds and absorbs [200% Moxie] damage. This can only occur every 10 seconds.
• Moxie: Rank – 3 [Figment]
  • While at full health, you have a 20% chance to summon a Figment on an enemy you damage. The Figment lasts for 8 seconds and deals [100% Moxie] damage per second. This can only occur every 8 seconds.
• Moxie: Rank – 4 [Whiff Insurance]
  • When an enemy Deflects a Finisher, gain a Combo Point. This can only occur every 5 seconds.
• Moxie: Rank – 5 [Rupture]
  • Killing an enemy spawns a Health Orb at their location, it can be picked up to restore [200% Moxie] health. This can only occur every 5 seconds.
• Tech: Rank – 1 [Not Snackworthy]
  • While you have Shields and take damage, you have a 25% chance to apply a DoT to your attacker which deals [25% Tech] damage every second for 5 seconds.
• Tech: Rank – 2 [Trip Wire]
  • When your Shields become depleted, you apply a 50% to Snare to 5 enemies within 8 meters for 5 seconds. This can only occur once every 10 seconds.
• Tech: Rank – 3 [Bio Shields]
  • Your heals also restore [150% Tech] Shields. This can only occur every 2.5 seconds.
• Insight: Rank – 1 [Build Up]
  • Healing an ally with a Builder also applies a stacking buff. When healing a target with 3 stacks, you restore an additional [150% Insight] health.
• Insight: Rank – 2 [Mental Overflow]
  • When you would gain a Focus Point while at full Focus Points, a Focus Point Orb spawns near your location and lasts for 5 seconds. This can only occur every second.
• Insight: Rank – 3 [Companion]
  • When healing yourself or an ally, you have a 20% chance to summon a Companion. The Companion lasts for 8 seconds and restores [100% Insight] health per second to your target. This can only occur every 8 seconds.
• Insight: Rank – 4 [Desperate Times]
  • While below 10% Mana, your Finisher Spells generate 50 bonus Mana. This can only occur every 5 seconds.
• Insight: Rank – 5 [Jackpot!]
  • Landing a Critical Heal reduces all of your cooldowns by 2 seconds. This can only occur every 10 seconds.
• Grit: Rank – 1 [No Pain No…]
  • Taking damage has a 25% chance to generate a Focus Point. This can only occur every 5 seconds.
• Grit: Rank – 2 [Me Worry?]
  • When you drop below 15% Health, you proc an AoE group buff that increases healing received by 25% lasting for 10 seconds. This can only occur every 60 seconds.
• Grit: Rank – 3 [Fisticuffs]
  • Taking damage from a target you are facing increases your armor by 25% for 3.5 seconds.

 

SPELLSLINGER

 

New Abilities

• Call the Void
  • Creates a 10 meter zone 15 meters in front of the caster that heals the 5 lowest health allies within the zone for 45% Support Power health each second for 12.0 seconds.  Additionally, allies receive a buff that increases all healing they receive by 5% for 15.0 seconds.
  • Surge Bonus: Heals 61% Support Power health per second.
• Dual Fire
  • Heals the 3 lowest health allies in a cone in front of the caster for120% Support Power health and deals 39% Support Power damage to the 3 closest enemies.
• Healing Torrent
  • Heals the 3 allies with the least health within a line ahead of the caster for 350% Support Power health. The Mana cost of this ability increases each time it is used within 8.0 seconds of its previous use, capping at 5 uses
  • 1x: 66 Mana | 2x: 72 Mana | 3x: 78 Mana | 4x: 84 Mana | 5x: 90 Mana
  • Surge Bonus: Healing increased to 525% health.
• Void Slip
  • Instantly transitions the caster into the Void for 4.0 seconds, removing all disables and debuffs. Upon return, the caster receives an absorption shield with 600% Support Power health for 15.0 seconds.

 

Ability Changes

• Spellslinger abilities can no longer hit when the target is not in line-of-sight.
• Arcane Infusion
  • Instant heal reduced from 700% Support Power to 550% Support Power.
  • HoT reduced from 50% Support Power each tick to 40% Support Power.
  • HoT duration decreased from 12.0s to 10.0s.
  • Now gives 1 Interrupt armor (down from 3).
• Assassinate
  • Now given to players at level 9 (down from 14).
• Cone of Frost
  • Now applies the Snare effect normally and the Root effect only when Surged.
• Distortion
  • Surge bonus has been decreased from 5 Support Power to 4.1 Support Power.
  • Distortion has been tweaked to hit the 3 lowest health targets in a line in front of the caster (including the caster).
• Focus Target
  • Cooldown reduced from 60s to 5s.
  • Can now only be applied to one ally at a time.
• Gate
  • Gate’s telegraph should now only appear when hovering over the tooltip and not while using the ability.
  • The Force Move has been increased from 15 meters to 20 meters.
  • Stun duration increased from 3.0s to 3.2s.
• Ignite
  • Instant damage reduced from 85% Assault Power to 65% Assault Power.
  • Unsurged total DoT damage increased from 1.715 to 1.855.
  • Surged total DoT damage increased from 2.57 to 2.783.
  • DoT damage no longer has a chance to break Roots.
• Power Torrent
  • Cooldown reduced from 60s to 30s.
  • Buff duration reduced from 12s to 4.5s.
• Precision Fire
  • Now given to players at level 1 (down from 9).
  • Tooltip updated to better communicate damage dealt.
  • Speed bonus now only given when an enemy is hit in the central cone.
• Purify
  • Renamed from Sigil: Purify.
• Rapid Fire
  • Now given to players at level 18 (up from 1).
• Spatial Shift
  • Now given to players at level 14 (down from 18).
  • Tooltip updated to clarify that the target is only immune to damage during the 1.5 second cast time, not during the Disorient.
  • Cooldown increased from 25 seconds to 30 seconds.
• Runic Healing
  • Mana cost increased from 2 per tick to 4 per tick.

 

New Attribute Milestones

 

• Brutality: Rank – 1 [Victory]
  • Landing a killing blow on an enemy regenerates 25 Mana and 35 Spell Surge. This can only occur 3 times every 30.0 seconds.
• Brutality: Rank – 2 [Opportunist]
  • When one of your spells hits a stunned, vulnerable, or disoriented target your Critical Severity is increased by 15% for 8.0 seconds.
• Brutality: Rank – 3 [Bullish]
  • When you are at full health, your Assault and Support Power are increased by 50% Brutality.
• Finesse: Rank – 1 [Duelist]
  • After a Dash, your Assault and Support Power is increased by 20% Finesse for 3.0 seconds.
• Finesse: Rank – 2 [Fundamental Mastery]
  • Your Spammer abilities now generate a small amount of Spell Surge on cast.
• Finesse: Rank – 3 [Surge Residue]
  • Spell Surged abilities increase or decrease, based on faction, the Physical and Magical Resistances of affected targets by 100% Finesse for 6.0 seconds.
• Finesse: Rank – 4 [Longshot]
  • Hitting an enemy or ally that is at least 25 meters away with a Consumer generates 35 Spell Surge. This can only occur every 6.0 seconds.
• Finesse: Rank – 5 [Counterstroke]
  • When you are struck in combat, all active cooldowns are reduced by 2.0 seconds.  This can only occur every 5.0 seconds.
• Moxie: Rank – 1 [Sprinter]
  • After standing still for 6.0 seconds, your maximum Endurance is increased by 200 for 8.0 seconds.
• Moxie: Rank – 2 [Refocus]
  • Performing a Dash while Dazed will instantly remove the effect.
• Moxie: Rank – 3 [Heightened Magic]
  • When an ability Critically Hits, your Spell Surge regeneration rate is increased by 2 per second for 9.0 seconds, stacks 3 times. This can only occur every 2.0 seconds.
• Moxie: Rank – 4 [Resolve]
  • The duration of all CC effects applied to you is reduced by 35% while health is above 80%.
• Technology: Rank – 1 [Emergency Protocol]
  • When your Health is reduced below 30%, your shield begins to regenerate. This can only occur every 10.0 seconds.
• Technology: Rank – 2 [Electrical Discharge]
  • Deflecting an attack reflects 300% Tech damage back at the attacker.  This can only occur every 2.0 seconds.
• Technology: Rank – 3 [Overshield]
  • After your shields have been at full for 10.0 seconds, their capacity is increased by 700% Tech until they are depleted.
• Insight: Rank – 1 [Stolen Breath]
  • Interrupting a target that is casting [currently any target], causes an additional 150% Insight damage.
• Insight: Rank – 2 [Power Builder]
  • Consuming a Spell Surge reduces the cooldown on Power Torrent by 3.0 seconds.
• Insight: Rank – 3 [Radiance]
  • While Power Torrent is active, you increase the Physical and Magical resistance of allies within 25 meters by 125% Insight.
• Insight: Rank – 4 [Smart Target]
  • Healing or dealing damage to a target below 30% Health generates 20 Spell Surge. This can only occur every 5.0 seconds.
• Insight: Rank – 5 [Revitalize]
  • If your Mana is below 100 for 10.0 seconds, you will regenerate 250 Mana over 8.0 seconds. This can only occur every 120.0 seconds.
• Grit: Rank – 1 [Acrobatic]
  • When Dashing, any damage you receive is reduced by 150% Grit.
• Grit: Rank – 2 [Rebound]
  • When taking damage, there is a 10% chance you will heal yourself 125% Grit health every second for 3.0 seconds.
• Grit: Rank – 3 [Toughness]
  • Performing a CC Break gives you 1 Interrupt Armor for 6.0 seconds. This can only occur every 30.0 seconds.
• Grit: Rank – 4 [Homeward Bound]
  • Damage that would be fatal instead sends you to the Void for 4.0 seconds. This can only occur every 120.0 seconds.

 

STALKER

 

New Abilities

• Frenzy
  • Deals 80% Support Power damage to the 5 closest enemies within a cone ahead of the caster every half second while holding down the button. Drains 5 Suit Power every half second.
  • Stealth Bonus: Gain 20% Support Power in Deflect Rating during the Channel Time.
• Phlebotomizing Missile
  • Fire missiles at up to 3 enemies within a line ahead of you dealing 70% Assault Power damage each second for 4 seconds. Each enemy hit by a missile has their incoming healing reduced by 40% for 10 seconds.
• Chakram Shot
  • Fires missiles up to 3 times at 3 enemies within a line ahead of you for 63% Assault Power damage. Each shot fires .5 seconds faster than the last. Restores 3 Suit Power with each hit.
• False Retreat
  • First Press: Leap backwards 20 meters leaving a beacon behind to mark your original position. This beacon lasts 5 seconds.
  • Second Press: Leap back to your beacon dealing 175% Support Power damage to the 5 closest enemies within 8 meters and knocking them down for 3 seconds.

 

Ability Changes

• Nano Field
  • The 2^nd press now ignores GCD.
• Overload
  • The DoT portion should no longer cost Suit Power when it ticks.
  • The DoT now has a chance to crit on each tick.
• Pounce
  • There is now a brief 500ms hold on the targets of Pounce to account for the flight time of the Stalker.
  • No longer shows a debuff on the caster when it is used.
• Razor Disk
  • This will now only hit 5 enemies (Down from 10).
• Stealth
  • Reduced the movement speed in stealth to 70% (down from 90%).
  • It should now be a bit easier to see a Stalker who is Stealthed when they are in your frontal view.
  • Environmental and Path buffs should no longer break Stealth.

• Whiplash
  • The telegraph now correctly shows on button down.
  • This will now only hit 5 enemies.

 

New Attribute Milestones

 

• Brutality: Rank –  1 [Killer Instinct]
  • All Non-Critical hits give you 1% increased Critical Hit chance 8 seconds. Your next Critical Hit resets your bonus Critical Hit chance.
• Brutality: Rank –  2 [Fatal Wounds]
  • Dealing a Critical Hit causes the enemy to bleed for 15% Brutality damage every 2 seconds for 8 seconds, this damage ignores armor and stacks up to 5 times.
• Brutality: Rank –  3 [Blood Rush]
  • When within 25 meters of an enemy that is below 50% health, your movement speed is increased by 25% and you can’t be dazed while sprinting for the next 5 seconds. This can only occur every 25 seconds.
• Brutality: Rank –  4 [Devastate]
  • Your Critical Hits deal 100% Brutality damage to enemies below 25% health, this damage ignores Armor. Additionally, your attacks have a 10% chance to instantly kill a Creature of even or lower con when their health is below 25%.
• Brutality: Rank –  5 [Gore for Glory]
  • When you kill an enemy, your cooldowns will be reduced by 3 seconds. This can only occur every 15 seconds.
• Tech: Rank –  1 [Survivalist]
  • When you are Crit you will restore 150% Tech in shields, this can only happen once every 6 seconds.
• Tech: Rank –  2 [Don’t Call it a Comeback]
  • When you die, you summon a clone that, while active, deals 15% Brutality damage every 1.25s and taunts nearby enemies. The clone lasts up to 10 seconds or until killed. This can only occur every 3 minutes.
• Tech: Rank –  3 [Make it Count]
  • When damaged below 30% health your shields are fully restored and your Assault and Support Power are increased 10% for 8 seconds. This can only occur every 2 minutes.
• Tech: Rank –  4 [My Turn]
  • When you take damage you gain a counter, at 16 counters, nearby enemies will be Stunned for 1.5  seconds. This can only occur every 60 seconds.
• Finesse: Rank –  1 [Assassin]
  • Consumer attacks used from Stealth no longer cost Suit Power.
• Finesse: Rank –  2 [Resilient]
  • When Partial Stealth is activated, the duration of CC’s used against you are decreased by 50% for 10 seconds. This can only occur every 2 minutes.
• Finesse: Rank –  3 [Blinding Powder]
  • When you break out of Stealth, you will Blind 5 enemies within 5 meters for 3 seconds.
• Finesse: Rank –  4 [Predator]
  • Taking damage no longer breaks you out of Stealth.
• Grit: Rank –  1 [Keep on Movin’]
  • Daze’s Movement Speed penalty is reduced by 50%
• Grit: Rank – 2 [That’s All You Got?]
  • When your health is above 80% damage dealt to you is reduced by 10% and resistances are increased by 10%.
• Grit: Rank –  3 [Can’t Stop This]
  • Your Dash has a 25% chance to consume no charge.
• Grit: Rank –  4 [Iron Man]
  • If you are hit by a CC you gain a counter for 15 seconds. If the counter reaches 4 you will receive 1 Interrupt Armor. This can only occur every 45 seconds.
• Moxie: Rank –  1  [Left in the Dust]
  • When Dashing you have a 50% chance to Root enemies within 3 meters for 3 seconds. This can only occur every 45 seconds.
• Moxie: Rank –  2 [Trail of Cinders]
  • Whenever you Sprint you leave behind a trail of cinders damaging enemies inside the field for 15% Moxie.
• Moxie: Rank –  3 [Escape Artist]
  • Increases maximum Dash Charge by 1.
• Insight: Rank –  1  [Journeyman]
  • When you exit combat you will be healed 200% Insight every 1 second for 6 seconds. This can only occur every 15 seconds.
• Insight: Rank –  2 [Make it Rain]
  • When you damage an enemy there is a 10% chance for a Suit Power Spark to shoot out which can be picked up to restore 15 Suit Power. These Sparks last for 15 seconds.
• Insight: Rank –  3 [Supercharged]
  • Suit Power is increased by 40% while Stealthed and for 5 seconds after it is broken.

WARRIOR

 

New Abilities

• Unrelenting Shout
  • Causes your next attack to have bonus effects.
  • C1: Applies a debuff that reduces healing received by 50% for 10 seconds.
  • C2: Applies the debuff and additionally deals [300% Assault Power] bonus damage.
• Bolstering Strike
  • Deals [200% Support Power] damage to the 3 closest enemies within a cone ahead of you and restores [210% Technology] Shield Capacity.
  • Restores an additional [70% Support Power] Shield Capacity per enemy struck.
• Defense Grid
  • Creates a Defensive Grid around you for 10 seconds. While the grid is active the caster takes 30% reduced damage.
  • Additionally up to 4 party members inside the grid take 15% reduced damage.
• Plasma Pulse
  • Taunt the 5 closest enemies within 15 meters while dealing [75% Support Power] damage plus an additional [10% Support Power] damage every second for 9 seconds.
  • Taunted enemies deal reduced damage to targets other than the caster.
  • Builds 50 Kinetic Energy if an enemy is struck.

 

Ability Changes

 

• Bum Rush and Leap can now be cast while jumping.
• Whirlwind: Now displays the correct range of 6 meters rather than 5.
• Kick: Now hits enemies in a cone rather than a line and no longer ignores GCD and triggers a short GCD of 750 ms.
• Plasma Saw: Now hits enemies in a cone rather than a line.
• Charged Strike: Widened the line by 1 meter.
• Atomic Spear: Widened the line by 1 meter.
• Leap: A minimum range has been added back to this ability. The min range is now 3 meters.

 

New Attribute Milestones

• Brutality: Rank –  1 [Armor Shred]
  • Striking an enemy in combat will decrease their Armor by 15% for 15 seconds. This can only occur every 45 seconds.
• Brutality: Rank –  2 [Kinetic Absorption]
  • When you are struck by an enemy you have a 50% chance to instantly build 10 Kinetic Energy. This can only occur every second.
• Brutality: Rank –  3 [Liquidate]
  • Striking an enemy below 30% health will deal an additional [50% Brutality] damage. This can only occur every 2.5 seconds.
• Brutality: Rank –  4 [Rampage]
  • Your attacks have a 25% chance to increase your Crit Severity by 100% for 10 seconds. This can only occur every 20 seconds.
• Brutality: Rank –  5 [Behemoth]
  • Dealing a Critical Hit increases your Assault Power by [15% Brutality] for 10 seconds. Stacks up to 3 times.
• Finesse: Rank –  1 [Focused]
  • When an enemy Deflects an attack your next attack within 10 seconds cannot be Deflected. This can only occur every 5 seconds.
• Finesse: Rank –  2 [Stonewall]
  • After Dashing, the next attack you take within 5 seconds deals 20% less damage.
• Finesse: Rank –  3 [Unyielding]
  • While below 30% health you cannot be Dazed.
• Moxie: Rank –  1 [Fury]
  • When your Shields are penetrated, your Assault Power is increased by [300% Moxie] for 10 seconds. This can only occur every 30 seconds.
• Moxie: Rank –  2 [Stand Tall]
  • After standing still for 3 seconds the next attack you take will deal 20% reduced damage. This effect is canceled by moving.
• Moxie: Rank –  3 [No Fear]
  • While your Shields are depleted, the duration of all CC effects on you are reduced by 30%.
• Moxie: Rank –  4 [Power Hitter]
  • Your Critical Hits deal [150% Moxie] bonus damage that ignores Armor.
• Tech: Rank –  1 [Kinetic Drive]
  • While you are sprinting you will generate 5 Kinetic Energy every 0.25 seconds.
• Tech: Rank –  2 [Countermeasures]
  • While your Shields are active all Disarm, Blind, and Disorient effects will be automatically removed after 2 seconds.
• Tech: Rank –  3 [Hyperdrive]
  • While under the effects of Overdrive you will deal [75% Tech] damage to nearby enemies and restore [75% Tech] Shields to you and nearby allies every second.
• Tech: Rank –  4 [Fortify]
  • When you Shields are above 50% your Armor is increased by 20%.
• Tech: Rank –  5 [Reserve Power]
  • When your Shields are depleted, you will instantly regenerate [600% Tech] Shield Capacity. This can only occur every 2 minutes.
• Insight: Rank –  1 [Kinetic Surge]
  • Consuming a Kinetic Cell causes your next Kinetic Builder to build 35 additional Kinetic Energy. This can only occur every 5 seconds.
• Insight: Rank –  2 [Unfair Advantage]
  • Your attacks deal [300% Insight] bonus damage against, Disarmed, Blind, Tethered, and Knocked Down enemies [Currently any CC].
• Insight: Rank –  3 [Cellular Regeneration]
  • When you reach 3 full Kinetic Cells, you regenerate [300% Insight] health every 2 seconds as long as all 3 Cells remain full.
• Grit: Rank –  2 [Reflexive Shields]
  • When you are Knocked down or Stunned you will instantly regenerate [300% Grit] Shield Capacity. [Currently any CC]
• Grit: Rank –  3 [Health Sponge]
  • When you are below 30% Health you will receive an additional 20% healing.
• Grit: Rank –  4 [Bring It]
  • Whenever you are Hit you gain a stacking  buff, Critical Hits add two stacks. When you reach 10 stacks you will restore [1000% Grit] Health.

PVP

 

ARENA

• Voiceovers have been added to Arenas.
• Arenas are now accessible at the new beta level cap (30), rather than the old cap of 22.
• Teams now start with a rating of 100. Wins and losses in Arena matches will increase or decrease your team’s rating accordingly. This is the first iteration of the PvP rating system, so your feedback is crucial to helping us improve this feature.
• Scoreboards now properly appear at the end of an Arena match.
• Group Finder now uses the individual ratings of arena team participants to find appropriate arena matches. Note that only team ratings are currently visible in the UI. Visible individual ratings will be added in a future patch.
• The “glowy-hands” effect showing your team’s colors has been replaced with flags and blue/red auras.
• For those Stalkers who enjoy hiding in permanent stealth during matches… Now after two minutes of remaining stealthed in Arenas, Stalkers get hit with a beer can which will force them out of stealth, and prevents them from stealthing for 15 seconds.
• New Arena Achievements!
  • 3v3: Play to Crush – Your team won a 3v3 Arena match without losing team members. You’ve got style!
  • 3v3: Match Wins – Earned for 1/25/50/100 wins.

 

BATTLEGROUND: SMASH AND GRAB

The Smash and Grab Battleground is now available for play! This 10v10 Battleground, a variant of Capture the Flag, is accessible via Group Finder starting at level 3.

• The objective of the Battleground is to capture 5 Moodie Masks at your faction’s base camp. At the start of the match, a Moodie Mask will spawn in a random location at the center of the map. You must take the mask to your camp’s totem to capture it. Once captured, another mask will spawn in the center after a short delay. Protect your captured masks! The enemy team can steal a mask from your camp.
  • A total of 3 masks can be in play at any one time (a neutral mask, a stolen Exile mask, and a stolen Dominion mask).
  • If a mask is dropped, players have 30 seconds to pick it up before it is either recovered (if it is a stolen mask, see the below note) or despawned (neutral mask). If a neutral mask is despawned due to a drop, it will respawn in the center (after a short delay).
  • Once a stolen mask is dropped, the recovering team only needs to protect the mask from being picked up. After the drop timer has expired, the mask is teleported back to the camp totem.
• All players will be rallied up to the max level of the Battleground’s bracket (currently set to level 30). Please note that for this stage of beta, we only have one Battleground bracket – we expect to have more for launch, but that will depend on your feedback!
• Experience can be earned for the following:
  • Killing players and completing objectives while in this battleground.
  • Mask carriers will earn experience for taking the mask to the camp totem (capture).
  • Players assisting the mask carrier (within 20m) will earn a small amount of experience when the mask is captured.
• Rewards beyond XP (including money, item rewards, PvP currency) are not yet available. For this beta phase, you may need to supplement some PvP play with PvE.
• Achievements are available for carrying Masks, capturing Masks, stealing Masks, and winning the Battleground. There are no rewards in place for these achievements, yet.
• Battleground progress and messaging is delivered via screen alerts and datachron UI updates.
• A Battleground scoreboard will pop up at the end of the match, detailing custom match statistics for both teams. Please note that some match statistics are not currently hooked up (assists, saves).
• VO is now in place to alert players for battleground start, exile win/dominion win, and Mask positions.
• While Battleground matches are intended to be faction vs. faction, Smash and Grab has been temporarily set up to work for Dominion vs. Dominion matches.
  • Please note that one Dominion team will be referred to as “Exiles” and will have Exile team voiceovers.

DUNGEONS

 

General

• Fixed an issue causing almost all optional objectives to be always active instead of only the random ones selected by our event system.

 

The Ruins of Kel Voreth

• The barbaric Osun tribes of Auroria have occupied the ancient city of Kel Voreth in order to rediscover the technological secrets of their past.  After unearthing an ancient scientific facility containing long-lost Eldan schematics, the Osun have fired up the forges of Kel Voreth to create advanced weapons and armor for the bloodthirsty hordes amassing at the gates of the city. The adventure will conclude with an epic battle against the powerful Forgemaster Trogun, who wields an advanced weapon designed by the Eldan themselves!
• This dungeon unlocks at level 17 in the Group Finder, and is intended for level 20 players.
• Rallying will be added in a future update, allowing you to scale down to level 20 to play Kel Voreth long after you’ve outleveled it.
  • Due to the way PvE Rallying in Dungeons will eventually work, we ask that you only provide combat balance feedback for this dungeon when you play it at level 20.

 

Stormtalon’s Lair

• Changed the visual appearances of Aethros’ adds.
• Optional objectives now are randomly selected every time you begin a new Stormtalon’s Lair run (previously the dungeon would give you ALL optional objectives).
• Leaving Stormtalon’s Lair now properly places you at the last location you were at in the world.
• Aethros’ room now has an entrance door which closes during the encounter.
• Once the instance is complete, an exit portal will now appear in the final room.
• Added more health to all bosses.
• Rallying will be added in a future update, allowing you to scale down to level 20 to play Stormtalon’s Lair long after you’ve outleveled it.
  • Due to the way PvE Rallying in Dungeons will eventually work, we ask that you only provide combat balance feedback for this dungeon when you play it at level 20.
• Added new ambience for Stormtalon’s Lair.
• Added Mining and Relic Hunter harvesting nodes to Stormtalon’s Lair.
• Item drops in Stormtalon’s Lair have been updated to include random stats, new power amps, and secondary stats.

HOUSING

• Renamed “Type” housing items back to “Tier” housing items.
• Added Loot to Housing Festival Plugs
• Distributed many housing items throughout the world loot.
• Added some housing items as rewards for challenges.
• Reduced small house cost to 25 silver.

• The “Landscaping” tab on your housing plot now only shows plugs which exist in-game and are functional.
• Housing plugs now have appropriate descriptions.
• Seeds now properly remember that they’ve been planted should server resets or crashes occur.
• A new 1×2 socket has been added to the Housing map! The other sockets have been adjusted to make room for the newcomer.
• The starter tent has been replaced with new art (obtained after completing your initial Housing Quests).
• Items in your Crate can now be deleted.
• The Advanced Editing tool for your housing interior can be accessed by clicking the Gear icon once you’ve right-clicked an existing prop.
  • This tool has been updated to make things easier to move around.
• An “Exit House” button has been added to the Datachron in case you get stuck due to prop issues.
• Houses can now be renamed through the “House” section of the Datachron.
• Housing Vendor items are now previewed in the Vendor UI.
• Over 400 new décor items are now available for purchase in your house.
• Mailboxes on housing plots now properly function as mailboxes.

• Editing Gizmos are now always visible while editing a prop. This should prevent props from getting “stuck” inside other props with no way to move them.

• The Editing Gizmo now properly appears on a prop while editing the exterior of your house.

• Editing Gizmos will no longer stick around permanently when an item is deleted or crated.

• Houses are no longer considered an active prop. This effectively makes it so the “Buy/Sell” interactable is longer be permanently visible while wandering around your house.

• Players can no longer jump into their house right before construction begins (thereby getting them stuck and/or killed). Instead, players are immediately teleported to the entrance of their plot when beginning construction.

• Resurrecting while on your housing plot will no longer place you on another player’s housing plot.

• Using a housing item while not on your housing plot now properly places it in your crate (rather than just deleting it outright).

• Protostar representatives were slipping all kinds of hidden costs into Housing plugs. All plugs now properly list their actual costs rather than some fake number that sometimes lied to you.

• Fixed an issue where server crashes would cause houses to revert to a tent.

• Fixed an issue where housing purchases were not actually taking money from players.