Change-Log "Patch 0"

New Online Features and Improvements

These features and adjustments impact all online players.

Player vs. Player Mode

• Players can Duel or elect to play Free-for-All PvP
• Players can initiate a duel by right-clicking the portrait of the group member they wish to duel and selecting the "Duel" option if they are both in an adventuring area. Players can also use the /duel [playername] command to initiate a duel.
• Players may also toggle their PvP mode through the /pvp command
• While PvP is activated, the player may be attacked and harmed outside of Stations by any other group members who are also flagged for PvP

Elite Mode

• The demons are tougher, deal out more damage, move faster, travel in larger groups, and have more champions at the ready. Numerous tweaks to the overall balance and progression of the game make this an extremely challenging mode
• Elite Mode is unlocked only to subscribers who have also beaten the game at least once. Once the mode is unlocked, new characters may be designated as Elite through a toggle in the character creation screen

Achievements

These are meant to be long-term goals for all players. Players start with a few new goals in their Achievement Log (default hotkey is "J") and can unlock more as they play

Guilds

• While only subscribers can start one, anyone may join a guild
• Guild members can communicate in their own private channel using /gchat
• Guild creation and management is covered in the Subscriber Features section of this document

NPC Tweaks
In general, the vocal responses given by NPCs have been tuned so that they tend more towards the serious and "normal" in nature

Gossip
We've added a large amount of additional details on the people and places in the game through gossip told by various NPCs in the world. NPCs with some gossip to tell will have a purple (" ") icon above their heads

Tuned Game Progression

• Level and monster progression is now much more thematic in nature. While this does not affect the overarching layout of the world map, it does make each act feel more defined and focused
• Bigger levels in Nightmare Mode increases the time players spend in each area, giving the game a more expansive feel at higher difficulty levels
• Several new level varieties have been added
• Players will now receive a completion message upon finishing an Act
• The experience required to level between levels 30 and 50 has been rebalanced

Interface Features
Many new UI improvements have been made

• Players can now right-click on their buddies within the Buddy List to perform actions (i.e. whisper, remove from Buddy List, etc.)
• There is now a "Hide Offline" button
• The Chat Window has been updated with 4 tabs for different channels: Global, Local, Party, and Guild
• There is now an assignable Hotkey for toggling the Chat window which is set to the tilde key ( ` ) by default
• Player names are now color-coded to represent different game modes and character status
• The /played command displays the player's total play time for the character
• The /screenshot command may now be used to take screenshots
• Several icon updates

Graphics

• Improved memory usage and long-term stability
• Improved multiplayer stability
• Improved station performance and stability
• Improved multi-monitor compatibility
• Texture Detail option now behaves more predictably
• Improved DX10 initial load time
• Improved performance in DX10
• Improved appearance of motion-blur in DX10
• DX10 smoke now scales better with multi-GPU
• More noticeable get-hit effect, prevents "always grey" when getting frequently damaged by small amounts
• Tweaked FOV limits to avoid excessive fish-eye
• Anti-aliasing now supported for ATI 2x00 series cards
• Initial settings detection is now more effective
• Fixed several loading screen bugs
• Fixed issues with "Low" Shadow Detail
• Fixed overly shiny characters when Shader Detail is set to "High"

Sound

• Sound Effects and Music: Volumes and roll-off levels have been changed for various guns and monsters
• Updated version of FMOD
• Sound initialization improvements
• Tweaked several sound effects volumes

Skills

Several skills and descriptions have been rebalanced and updated.

Templar

• Templar can no longer change targets mid-charge (Charge and Shield Charge) to hit a target that is out of range

Guardian

• Shield Wall can now be held indefinitely until cancelled
• Stampede's skill description has been updated to display that the skill moves the player forward 15 meters
• Anchor now has a 6-second cooldown
• The Guardian's Hamper skill now lists its duration.

Cabalists

• Drain Life now deals a significant amount of damage, but costs 100% more power per second and returns less health to the Cabalist
• Cabalist beam skills now properly stop casting when the Cabalist runs out of power

Evokers

• Flameshards no longer has a hidden limit of 10 shards. Each shard now has a small radius (1.0 meters), greatly improving the skill's effectiveness. To balance this change, Flameshards power cost has been increased by 46% and individual shard damage has been decreased by 24%
• Firestorm no longer provides an initial bonus to Ignite Attack Strength at rank 1
• Arcane Shield now displays the proper shield bonus
• Bone Shards is now instant cast and has had its radius increased to 10 meters
• Arc Legion damage has been increased by 25%, but costs 50% more power per second
• Drain Power now returns less power per second
• Spectral Lash damage has been decreased by 13%

Summoners

• The Carnagor's damage has been reduced by 45% and stun defense reduced by 33%
• The Carnagor now taunts slightly earlier and more frequently while Meat Shield is active
• Meat Shield has had its effective taunt radius reduced to 20 meters
• Additional levels of Meat Shield no longer increase its taunt radius
• The duration of Meat Shield's taunt effect has been reduced to 10 seconds
• The Dominate skill can no longer be used with pets other than the Witch Doctor
• Elemental Nova no longer destroys Elementals
• Fire Elemental health has been slightly increased
• Fire Elemental Ignite Attack Strength has been reduced by 75%
• Fire Elemental power cost has increased by 25%
• Spectral Elemental health has been slightly increased
• Spectral Elemental Phase Attack Strength has been decreased by 17%
• Spectral Elemental Phase Attack Duration has been reduced to 5 seconds
• Spectral Elemental power cost has been slightly increased and now correctly scales up with the Summoner's level
• Force Elemental health has been slightly increased
• Force Elemental Stun Attack Strength has been reduced by 25%
• Force Elemental power cost has increased by 30%
• Storm Elemental Shock Attack Strength has been increased by 100%
• Storm Elemental Shock Attack Duration has been increased to 4 seconds from 2 seconds
• Storm Elemental Shock Attack Damage has been increased to 100% from 25%
• Storm Elemental power cost has been decreased slightly
• Storm Elemental health has been decreased
• Storm Elemental damage has been decreased significantly

Hunters

• Beacon no longer charges the power cost and cooldown of the skill when the target is out of range
• The per-level effects of Phase Grenade have changed to an increasing Phase Attack Strength

Marksmen

• Sniper Stance now increases Weapon Energy Consumption by 300% while firing
• The per-level effects of Toxic and Flashcrasher Grenades have changed: they now gain increases to their Special Effect Attack Strengths

Engineers

• Tactical Mode and Advanced Tactical Mode have switched places with Armor Retrofit and Master Engineer in the Engineer Drone skills tree
• Bomber Bot damage has been increased significantly
• Bomber Bot Phase Attack Strength and Duration have been slightly decreased
• Concussive Crash power cost has been decreased to 5
• Concussive Crash has a decreased initial Stun Attack Strength but now properly scales up with the Engineer's level
• Molotov Assault power cost has been decreased to 10
• Concussive Crash and Molotov Assault now have 10 second but separate cooldowns
• Engineer Drones now properly save their attribute assignments and items upon death and zoning
• Inhibitor Bots now properly slow their targets

Combat
The Special Effect Attack and Interrupt Strengths of weapons which attack significantly faster or slower than once per second now scale properly. Faster weapons and attacks (including field and splash damage) now appropriately have a lesser chance to land successful special effects or interrupts. Slower weapons and attacks now appropriately have a greater chance to land successful special effects and interrupts.

Items

• Skill bonus affixes now only appear on weapons
• Power Regeneration boosts (i.e. Powerpacks) now function better
• All Swords have had their damage reduced by 10%; however, Shield Overload-modified damage now correctly deals damage to a target's health if the damage exceeded the amount of shields.
• Increased the range and accuracy of all Hunter machine guns (non-splash, non-beam)
• The Weapon Energy Consumption system for beam and streaming weapons has been somewhat rebalanced. At ¾ of a full bar, the weapon's damage will begin to decrease until the bar reaches 0, where the weapon will deal only 25% of its maximum damage.
• Rebalanced the ratio of Unique, Legendary, Rare, and Enhanced items within the subset of magical items. Players will still find the same ratio of magical to non-magical items.
• Rebalanced the ratio of Legendary and Rare Mods
• Rebalanced the benefit of Luck
• Decreased XM107 and XM237 Firefox Launcher damage by 10%
• Decreased XM107 and XM237 Firefox Launcher Interrupt Strength by 45%
• Decreased XM803 Zeus Rifle damage by 15%
• Decreased XM923 Zeus Rifle damage by 5%
• Decreased Nanodyne Venom Lance damage by 20%

Crafting

• Crafting machines are now equipped to hold larger items
• Items can only be upgraded a maximum of 5 times each
• Item upgrading now costs significantly more scrap

Monsters

• The Eyes of Oculis summoned by Oculis the All-Seeing have had their damage increased by 60%
• Fiend Master damage has been increased significantly
• Emperor Gulkar's damage has been increased significantly
• Defilers now perform their fade skill less often

Grouping

• Difficulty has been scaled up significantly, particularly when more than 2 players are in an instance
• All players in a group receive full experience from each kill
• Special Effect Attack and Interrupt Strengths now properly scale in multiplayer situations
• The Auto-party feature will now only group players playing the same mode

Quests

• Fixed a bug where some quests wouldn't show up at the right time
• "Tripping the Rift" - the radar will properly disappear after completing this quest
• "The Final Test" - all eligible players in the party can now speak to Murmur to complete this quest
• Truth portals no longer disappear in multiplayer when other players enter the portal
• Quest drops should now properly drop for all players in the group in the appropriate instance
• Players can now properly interact with Jessica Summerisle in the Necropolis
• Pratch no longer repeatedly issues the same quest

Assorted Fixes
Lots of little things, with some notable ones worth specific mention:

• Pets can now be released in town
• Pets now disappear from an instance when the owner leaves
• The mini-game has been somewhat adjusted
• Footsteps in 1st-person now play properly and respect the floor material
• Fixed a bug causing the camera to change positions upon zoning
• Fixed bugs preventing players from resurrecting after dying
• Fixed some town portal bugs
• Fixed some boss farming exploits
• Fixed some character saving issues
• Fixed several crash bugs
• The /stuck command has been re-enabled. Using this command will transport the player back to the beginning of the current adventure level after a short period of time.

Subscriber Features
These are new features available to our subscription members right away. PLEASE NOTE these represent just the tip of the iceberg as to what we're working on and what you'll be getting. Check the Hellgate: London website for announcements and details on upcoming patches and features.

Hardcore Mode
Characters have one life, and ONLY one life, to give for the cause. There is no resurrecting your downed hero in Hardcore mode, so different tactics, skills and items rule the day. For the gamer that wants the ultimate test, try playing an Elite Hardcore character.

Themed Events and Items
Special storylines, quests, NPCs and events designed to celebrate special seasons or provide different themed challenges. Some of these take place every so often, while others only happen at a specific time of year.

Halloween (October 31 - November 4)

• Zombot - A special pet just for the All Hallows' celebration. This amalgam of meat and metal is sure to frighten and delight those players that are willing to put in the time to find all the necessary pieces in order to construct him.
• All Hallows "Visage" A Unique Helm that has not only very special properties, but as well a fierce look unlike any other helm in the game.
• All Hallows "Treats" Delicious and devious, these different delights do everything from temporarily boosting stats to altering the appearance of the devourer.
• All Hallows "Quests" There are a pair of special quests available, including one that is repeatable for continuous fun.
• Nemo, Master of Festivities - This special NPC can first be found in Covent Garden Station.

Guild creation and Management

• While only subscribers can start one, anyone may join a guild
• Subscribers may create a guild by purchasing and using a Guild Herald, available from vendors
• Guild leaders can invite new members through the Guild panel (default hotkey is "G") or through the "invite to guild" button on the radial menu activated by right-clicking on a player in their buddy list or in-person
• Guild members can communicate in their own private channel using /gchat

Additional Character Slots
Hellgate: London Subscribers receive 24 character slots.

Expanded Stash
Each character gets an extra 6x8 section in their storage locker.

Set twenty-five years in the future, Hellgate: London introduces a world devastated by a demon invasion and a desolate city scorched by hellfire where mankind has gone underground to survive. Among them are the Templar, an archaic and secret society that foresaw this demonic apocalypse centuries ago. Followers of arcane rites, the Templar combine futuristic technology with ancient artifacts to forge powerful weapons and armor. The mystic sanctuary of the Underground system provides players safe conduct throughout the sprawling metropolis of London as they seek to preserve the bloodline of man and gain a foothold against the minions of darkness.

Hellgate: London combines the depth of role-playing games and action of first-person titles, while offering infinite playability with randomly created levels, items, and events. The player creates a heroic character, completes quests, and battles through innumerable hordes of demons to advance through experience levels and branching skill paths. A robust, flexible skill and spell system, highly customizable appearances, and a massive variety of randomly generated equipment allow players to create their own unique hero.

Features:

• Combining the depth and customizability of Role-Playing Games with the immersive experience of a first-person perspective, gameplay is fast-paced without requiring lightning-fast FPS reflexes, making it accessible to a broad audience of RPG fans.
• Experience the ominous setting of post-apocalyptic London. From ancient ruins buried beneath city streets to shattered cathedrals to the last remnants of humanity bunkered in the Underground, the boundary between fact and myth are blurred as a few glorious heroes fight for their very souls.
• Fight against the demons of the underworld as one of several unique character classes. Like the Templar, each class has a unique visual and game play style based on their particular history and heritage. Randomly generated and modifiable items ensure that heroes are distinct and individualized.
• Battle against a wide variety of demonic enemies, each with their own unique attributes, abilities, and vulnerabilities.
• With dynamically- generated levels, massive quantities of randomly- created items, chance events and story- driven quests, no two gaming experiences are ever the same.
• While Hellgate: London stands on its own as a single-player game, it also provides a compelling cooperative multiplayer experience through a dedicated online gaming destination. By creating unique and individualized game play “instances” within a vast online community, gamers get all the best parts of traditional massive multiplayer games without the common downsides.

For all players, Hellgate: London comes completely free-to-play out of the box and will offer a secure online experience with features including the ability to play cooperatively with thousands of other players, trade items, join guilds and enjoy a host of gameplay and community features including voice chat and buddy lists.

For players with Subscription accounts (€9.99 / £6.99 per month), Flagship Studios will deliver exciting new ongoing content including new character classes, areas, monsters, items and raid content, new game modes (including Hardcore, Role-Play and PvP mode), and additional character and stash slots. Subscribers can found guilds, select to nominate an officer and will have access to guild and player housing. Other features include in-game email for items, web access to characters and a place in future beta lotteries.

Hellgate: London will start hitting retail stores in North America on October 31, 2007 and in Europe on November 2, 2007 for the PC.