Usernames and character names

Trivia on naming: 

  A user name can be the same as a character name.

Test:

Created (by mistake) a character named after my account.

Question:

Can you have the same character name in two different servers?

 

 

Additional info for computer scientists (all others please don't read):

Accounts and characters are probably stored in different database tables. Do you think the character name is the primary key? Alternatively, there might be some kind of surrogate key, e.g. a sequence number. It is an MS SQL Server, isn't it? About a year ago Sofia deleted a character named oytis and she has now re-created a new one with the same name. Thus either the character name is not a primary key, or the characters are indeed deleted and not de-activated.

X-mas agathions

One of the possible Santa presents is this plush-looking agathion. It is the cutest little creature!





I do not know the actual chance of getting this present, but it seems very slim. Some people suggest that hitting an NPC overnight helps (force-attack, make sure you are outside a peace zone).

Lady Equistrius (who I do not know) was my model for the pictures, and a kind dark elf named Introspect demonstrated the agathion skill. Soooo cute (the agathion, not the dark elf)!

The description of this event, and the design of the agathion, make me think that there are new people in NC Soft's Lineage II team!


PS Chryssa had told me that the agathions (try to) sing x-mas carols, but I guess she was pulling my leg!

l2wh is free for x-mas

The well-known http://www.l2wh.com site has all functions freely available for Christmas!!! Go on, try it - if you havent already. Pasting their message:


For Christmas, Advanced features are enabled for everybody !!
Discover and enjoy all advanced features !

Merry Christmas !

Himred.

Disappearance of "walker" site for few days

During the past few days there were some problems concerning the company which sells the software program named walker.

Walker is a botting program for L2, probably the one with the largest number of users. It requires a monthly fee of 4-5 euros that you can pay online in order to receive a "walker code" which you use to unlock the software.

The site selling the codes went allegedly offline for few days - although inner pages of the site, and alternative urls, were still available to buy the necessary codes. Users who had already bought their codes, continued to play normally.

According to South Korea media, NC Soft asked the police to investigate the companies involved in botting for multiple NC games - walker being just one of them (chinease article, translated version).

A detailed discussion started at l2blah@guru - as expected :)

We will not publish the url of the walker site in our blog for obvious reasons.

However we tested it, and it seems to be fully functional.

screenshot about GMs

We were sent this screenshot link - someone was shouting at Giran about GMs not banning (him) for using walker.

Bug Rumors!

Recent rumors suggest that there was (is?) a bug with the cubics!

The players, who have found a way to exploit the bug, were able to re-use the cubic continuously, without having to wait the regular 24 hour interval, producing a plethora of enchant scrolls!

Results:

=> More enchant scrolls available in the market.

=> Lower prices for enchant scrolls.

=> Lots of overenchanting trials.

=> Lots of broken weapons/armors.

=> Lots of crystals available in the market.

=> Lower prices for crystals (especially S and A).

=> Lower prices for shots (especially S and A).


Time to go shopping :)

Rioting dragons

That's a Chris Riddell's (British illustrator of children's literature and a political cartoonist for The Observer) illustration, as a comment for the current events in Athens.

E.U.L.A Humor

It is also worth reading the Santa Event description in the latest L2 newsletter. I wish I knew who wrote it, he/she definitely has a sense of humor. Well done.

Comic from http://www.xkcd.com/ 
Excellent (geeky?) humor

Darkfall and theNoobComic

Have you heard of a MMORPG called Darkfall Online, currently in closed beta but announced a long time ago? We have waited and waited and waited, but it' s not ready yet.

The game is expected to feature unrestricted PvP with no peace zones, full (i mean *full*) looting, a huge, dynamic game world that evolves in response to player actions. The majority of player capabilities are determined by the possession of skills, which improve in response to in-game use. Cities can be built, sieged, captured and destroyed by players; all items are craftable; the weather (including directorion winds!) influences the play, and there are many more advanced features.

Gianna Masseti, the author of TheNoobComic.com, was invited to preview the beta. I guess writing one of the best web comics .. has its advantages after all :-) Gianna is an experienced RPG player with a witty pen, so her comments are interesting to read:

In 3rd person view the camera is pretty close to your character and it’s fixed, so you can’t mousewheel back until your character is tiny and you can see for twenty yards behind you. Your chance to spot other people is to actually turn and look. Period.

This is not all, though. If you happen to be a tall guy, like my ork, and you’re fighting someone shorter, like a goblin, you have to aim DOWN at the little fucker while he runs figure eights around you, which means that you have even less awareness of your surroundings.

You don’t get a big ass name on your head, so it’s quite possible to hide behind trees and rocks (not like in other games where some poor sap is trying to ambush you from behind a tree and you can see the end bits of his tag sticking on the sides.

Darkfall seems interesting, it seemed interesting from the first moment Pavlos told me about it. Make sure to check the site, they have a wonderful dragon and lots of impressive artwork.

Note: Aventurine SA, the producing company, is norwegian/greek (!), situated in Athens (!!), with job openings (!!!).

In June, Aventurine confirmed they had signed with Greek company AudioVisual Enterprises to distribute Darkfall in Europe. On October 16th, 2008, Darkfall was publicly presented at Athens Digital Week (i still cannt believe I missed that) and it was mentioned on TV.

OK Aventurine guys, where are you? Please please please invite us for a short visit to your HQ!!

Article List

List of articles in this blog (lineageblueclan) and its greek sibling (lineagegreek). Will try keep it up to date!

Transformations
http://lineageblueclan.blogspot.com/2008/10/transformations.html
http://lineagegreek.blogspot.com/2008/10/blog-post.html (greek)

Elemental Stones s-FAQ
http://lineageblueclan.blogspot.com/2008/10/elemental-stones.html

IOP shards s-FAQ
http://lineageblueclan.blogspot.com/2008/10/iop-shards-faq.html

Crystal Production
http://lineageblueclan.blogspot.com/2008/09/crystal-production.html
http://lineagegreek.blogspot.com/2008/09/blog-post.html (greek)

Enchant scrolls from Freightman
(A Special Order quest guide)
http://lineageblueclan.blogspot.com/2008/08/enchant-scrolls-from-freightman.html
http://lineagegreek.blogspot.com/2008/08/special-order-quest-enchant-scrolls.html (greek)

Foundation items
http://lineageblueclan.blogspot.com/2008/08/foundation-items.html

Idiot's guide to Sillien Saint
(3rd class change quest)
http://lineageblueclan.blogspot.com/2008/07/idiots-guide-to-sillien-saint-3rd-class.html

NC firing ppl, Tabula Rasa stops

Can it be true? Tabula Rasa will shut down on February 28, 2009. Before it does, however, the game will become free starting on January 10th. Reason is the low player population. And it is true, I checked.

It is only recently, that in an open letter on the Tabula Rasa web site, the game creator Richard Garriott has announced his separation with NCSoft, the company he partnered with to develop and publish Tabula Rasa.

It will be interesting to see if the Austin branch of the Korean headquartered company will continue to exist considering it was opened to work specifically with Garriott.

NCSoft is going to lay off an undisclosed amount of their employees, too. Their spokesman, David Swofford said, "We're going to be scaling down. We currently don't know how many people will be affected by that."

How will this affect L2 players??

Some (few though) players are expected to migrate from Tabula Rasa, especially given the free time that NC will offer them as a retribution. More importantly though, less NCSoft stuff (especially in Austin), might mean less communication between the players and the (korean) game developers.

L2wh.com Upgraded

Our favorite site has new functionality added! Now you can limit the results of the market-price list. In this new field you can (optionally) enter part of the item name you are looking for.



During the past few months, the l2wh team has been working hard to implement a variety of tools for us. Some of them include:

Black Marketeer Helper:
Tools->Shop Tools->Black Marketeer Helper
Lists the prices of the Black Marketeer NPC (but he sells few items!)

Blacksmith Lahm Helper:
Tools->Shop Tools->Blacksmith Lahm Helper
Lahm is the NPC for the S80 sets/recipes (arktic.net has a list compiled too). This tool lists all the necessary items (shards mainly) you need for each of them.

Mammon Foundation Helper:
Tools->Mammon Tools->Mammon foundation helper
Lists what you need in order to start using a foundation item (usually some special varnish-enhancer). If you ever get a foundation item, that is.

Note: Make sure you re-load the initial page, in order to see all the new menu items (shift +pagereload helps).

Grats L2wh team!!

Aion beta

It has been a week already, that Aion has started its open beta in Korea. Just in case you don't know, Aion is a new game by NC Soft, scheduled to launch in Korea within the year and launches in China, North America, Europe and Japan planned for 2009.

According to NC, the number of players has reached an un-proceeded record

More than 11,000 people were logged into the game after only two minutes of open beta service. In less than an hour, that number had ballooned to 40,000. Currently the number of concurrent players has leapt up to more than 170,000.

According to pirate-ninjas (I like these guys more and more every day), it might be a mistake to implore only korean testers.

There are no plans for any non-korean open beta. There are only a few short Preview-Events planed North America/Europe. So the real beta testing and playerbase influence gonna be again Korea. For NCSoft self proclaimed next big triple A IP (thats supposed to become an international success) this isn’t too promising. With that and the Lineage 2 failure in mind: Aion will be NCSofts next international failure, event tho it got a huge potential - just like Lineage 2 had.

I could be persuaded to give it a try.. Anyone else interested??

Some more Aion-related sites:
Official site: http://eu.aiononline.com/en/
Greek article: http://www.mmorpg.gr/features.php?read=1829
Pirate-ninja's article (and sneak view!): http://www.pirateninjas.net/aion/aion-korean-open-beta/
Aion Global: http://www.aionglobal.com/
Aion Source: http://www.aionsource.com/

Celebrate!

Best Wishes to Ubba, Aristotelis and Chryssa. It's birthday, birthday, and saint's day respectively.

Lolcatz @ Pailaka

Following Summoner's advice, I tried the second Pailaka named Devil's Legacy with an alt toon. As indicated in pirate-ninja guide, the NPC gave me an Ancient Legacy Sword which came with a special skill called Summon Tigress!

After killing each of the first two mini-RBs, I got the weapon enhanced, so finally I had both Ice Chill and Chill Strike. I so much wanted to keep the sword after finishing with the dungeon!! Maybe add some divine stones one day ;-)

On a more serious note, you can find an excellent guide at http://l2vault.ign.com/View.php?view=Guides.Detail&id=453

GMs have a sense of humor

System Announcement:

That's from http://img207.imageshack.us/img207/9115/spam2tt7.jpg , you can also check http://s1.ipicture.ru/uploads/081111/kM5g7c2vw1.jpg for another similar shot.

Many thanx to Archmage for digging these.

Gracia flying videos!

Links from the official forum about the future impressive flying features in Gracia:

Solo flight and combat

Flying ship

Grinding Comic

I need two of those for the endless solo grinding nights!

From the Adam@home comic series.

GM Spam

Check this out - it's wonderful! Click on the picture to load the larger version of the image and make sure you read GM Spam's words.

It is said that half an hour later, IT was empty :-D

Many thanx to a lovely Nercocerer for sending the shot.

Coffee and Cookies, November the 9th

On Sunday, November 9, there will be a meeting for coffee and cookies in Athens, Greece.

Time: 12 o'clock, somewhat sharp :)
Place: Flocafe at the Aleksandras & Eslin junction
How to get there: Metro station "Ampelokipi" plus various buses (like trolleys 3,7,13,14)

Any non-greeks are of course welcome if they happen to be in the area!

Rift SA crystal nerf

It has been reported by Teon's PP hero that after the patch the hero rift RB does not level SA crystals in the same way.

Before the patch the whole party had a chance to level a crystal (i.e. all 9 at once), now just a few of the members have the chance.

Transformations

This article is also available in greek. Το άρθρο αυτό έχει δημοσιευθεί και στα ελληνικά, στο ελληνικό blog.


Appearance
You look like the transformation mob, so no one can discern your real appearance, class, level grade and equipped items (armor,weapon).

Skills
You can use only the active skills of the transformation, no skills of your class, noble, weapon or event.

But.. all passive skills are working normally, including masteries, augments and SA.

Notes:

• You must complete the transformation quest ("More than meets the eye - Hardin's Academy) in order to be able to transform.
  
• Some transformations are general and some are class-specific.
• In order to learn a transformation, you need the specific sealbook.
  
• When carrying a flag during a siege, transformation is unwise, as you cannot use your transformation skills while carrying it, only the flag skills. At the same time, you cannot see the flag skills.

Onyx Beast

Sealbook: Do the transformation quest (More than meets the eye-Hardin's Academy) or buy at the Trader NPC in Ivory Tower.

General Transformation (same for all classes)
STR: 40 DEX: 28 CON: 45
INT: 24 WIT: 11 MEN: 25

Skills:
Power Claw: Attack with more power [like Power Strike]; Power: 1008
Fast Moving: Raises runspeed for some seconds [like Dash]

Comment:
Only good for running fast.


Death Blader

Sealbook: Can be bought from black marketeer mammon for 660.000 AA

General Transformation (same for all races)
STR: 40 DEX: 28 CON: 45
INT: 24 WIT: 11 MEN: 25

Skills:
Rolling Attack: AoE Melee damage [like Whirlwind]; Power 984
Curse of Darkness: DeBuff against enemy (have to check the effect)...
Dig Attack: Earth melee attack; Power 1406
Darkness Energy Drain: Drains HP from dead mobs [like Corpse Drain]

Comment:
Good for solo ΧΡ

Dragon Bomber

Dragon Bomber is weakest for Humans and best for Kamael.

Sealbook: Adventure Guild NPCs in Aden (costs 4 Memento Mori, 4 Dragon Heart, 4 Earth Egg, 4 Nonliving Nucleus, 4 Angelic Essence, 600,000 adena)

Race related transformation
STR: 41 DEX: 31 CON: 33
INT: 29 WIT: 11 MEN: 25

Skills:
Death Blow Lv2
Active Skill
MP Cost : 70
Range : 40
Inflicts deadly blow. Lethal Strike is possible. (1/3 success, lethal is really really rare)

Scope Bleed Lv2
Active Skill
MP Cost : 70
Range : 40
A deadly frontal attack puts enemies in bleeding state. Power 984. Effect 6

Assimilation Lv2
Active Skill
MP Cost : 70
Blend in with enemies to avoid their notice. (Stealth Lv2)

Sand Cloud Lv2
Active Skill
MP Cost : 70
Uses blinding sand to decrease nearby enemies' accuracy.

Comment: Silent Step is extremely useful and worth it (unless you already have that, as a Dagger class). Especially good for healers/buffers, who wish to get someplace without aggroing.


Unicorn
Unicorn is best for LE, worst for DE

Sealbook: Adventure Guild NPCs in Oren (costs 4 Memento Mori, 4 Dragon Heart, 4 Earth Egg, 4 Nonliving Nucleus, 4 Angelic Essence, 600,000 adena)

Race related transformation
STR: 36 DEX: 33 CON: 38
INT: 23 WIT: 14 MEN: 26

Skills:
Horn of Doom: Melee attack with more power [like Power Strike]; Power 1406
Horn Assault: Ranged attack; Power 1055 Range 900
Light of Heal: Heal [like Major Heal]; Power 731 Range 600
Gravity Control: Aoe DeBuff which reduces enemies attack speed and speed [like the SWS aoe debuff]

Comment: Good for Healing as an alternative/extra healer.


Grail Apostle
Apostle Grail is best for Human, worst for Kameal

Sealbook: Adventure Guild NPCs in Gludin (costs 4 Memento Mori, 4 Dragon Heart, 4 Earth Egg, 4 Nonliving Nucleus, 4 Angelic Essence, 600,000 adena)

Race related transformation
STR: 40 DEX: 28 CON: 45
INT: 21 WIT: 11 MEN: 25

Skills:
Power Slash Lv3
Active Skill
MP Cost : 74
Range : 40
A Powerfull frontal attack that involves swinging a spear to assault enemies. Power 1568.

Blessing of Angel Lv3
Active Skill
MP Cost : 74
A divine blessing that increases the P.Atk. of all party members. (same as Dance of Warrior but doesn't stack)

Wind of Angel Lv3
Active Skill
MP cost : 74
A divine wind that increases the Evasion of all party members. (same as Song of Water but doesn't stack)

Spear Lv3
Active Skill
MP Cost : 74
Range : 40
A strong spear thrust that has a chance of causing bleeding. Power 1129. Effect 7.

Comment: If the party lacks a real BladeDancer, you can substitute for the above dances


Golem Guardian 
Golem Guardian is best for dwarf, worst for Orc

Sealbook: Adventure Guild NPCs in Schuttgart (costs 4 Memento Mori, 4 Dragon Heart, 4 Earth Egg, 4 Nonliving Nucleus, 4 Angelic Essence, 600,000 adena)

Race related transformation
STR: 39 DEX: 27 CON: 47
INT: 20 WIT: 10 MEN: 27

Skills:
Steel Cutter: Melee attack with more power (like Power Strike); Power 1568
Double Slash: Ranged attack; Power 1176 Range 600
Bomb Installation: Sets a trap which explodes after enemie passed it
Earthquake: AoE Attack with Stun effect; Power 784

Comment: the trap is good only as a firecracker, creating a lot of noice but not much damage.


LILIM KNIGHT 
Best for DE, worst for LE

Transform Sealbook – Lilim Knight: Guild Adventurer NPC in Oren (costs 4 Memento Mori, 4 Dragon Heart, 4 Earth Egg, 4 Nonliving Nucleus, 4 Angelic Essence, 600,000 adena)

Race related transformation

Attack Buster Lv3
Active Skill
MP Cost : 74
Range : 40
Detonates an Energy charge to attack the enemy. Level 2 Energy charge is required. Power 1568.

Attack Storm Lv3
MP Cost : 74
Range : 500
Unleash a magical attack on distant enemies. Level 3 Energy charge is required. Power 784.

Attack Rage Lv3
Active Skill
HP Cost : 50
MP Cost : 5
Range : 600
Gathers force while attacking an enemy. Critical hit is possible. Can be charged up to Level 3. (like Sonic Rage 78 skill from Duelist)

Poisoin Dust Lv3
Magic
MP Cost : 29
Spray a poisonous powder all over nearby enemies. Effect 7


Inferno Drake 
Best for Orc, worst for Dwarf

Sealbook Inferno Drake: Guild Adventurer NPC in Schuttgart (costs 4 Memento Mori, 4 Dragon Heart, 4 Earth Egg, 4 Nonliving Nucleus, 4 Angelic Essence, 600,000 adena)

Race related transformation

Paw Strike Lv3
Active Skill
MP Cost : 74
Range : 40
Inflict a powerful attack with your forefeet. Power 1568

Fire Breath Lv3
Active Skill
MP Cost : 74
Range : 100
Gushes out a fire attack that attacks enemies in front of you. Power 1098. (My favourite! Flamethrower like valakas skill)

Fire Armor Lv3
Active Skill
MP Cost : 74
An instense flame ignites and protects the body. Immobilized while in effect. (Highly Increase P.Def. and M.Def last 30sec reuse time 5min)

Blaze Quake Lv3
Active Skill
MP Cost : 74
Inflict a burning fire attack on nearby enemies. Power 784. Effect 7. (DoT)

Transformations full list and extra info: http://l2info.arktic.net/cgi-bin/transform.pl 
and http://l2nemesis.de/index3.php?id=transformguide

S-FAQ: Elemental stones

What kind of elemental stones are there?

Fire, Earth, Wind, Water, Dark, Holy.
They are also called "attribute stones".


Why are elemental stones useful?

Adding an elemental stone to a weapon adds elemental damage to the weapon's attack.

Adding an elemental stone to an armor piece adds elemental resistance to the armor's defense.

Ideally each armor piece should be enhanced with a different element, in order to have some resistance to all.

Caution: Only S and S80 grade items can have stones added.


Where do I find elemental stones?

1. Elemental stones drop from mobs. For example south Isle of Prayer mobs drop
fire stones and Hellbound mobs drop divine stones.

2. You can also exchange stones in the attribute-npc found in some towns (Aden etc.):
Fire <--> Water
Earth <--> Wind
Dark <--> Divine

3. Alternatively you can buy them from player shops. Note that fire/water
stones are about 10 times cheaper than Wind/Earth stones.

4. Lastly, there is an IoP quest (maybe more?) for contaminated crystals.


How do I apply an elemental stone to an item?

Double-click the stone, then select the item you want it applied.

Caution: the application process is not always successful! If it fails, the stone disappears but the item is unaffected for better or worse.

It is suggested that the success rate of the application process depends on your level (as is skill overenchanting).
The chance seems to be something like lv76 = 70%, Lv77 = 78% Lv78 =83% Lv79 =88% Lv80 = 95%.

If you are level 76-78, it is recommended to have a higher level friend (preferably 80+) do the application for a better success rate (that is before you augment the weapon ofc).


How many elemental stones can I add?

Enough to get the attribute value to 150 for weapons and 300 for armor.

After the Gracia final patch, the max attribute value increases with the use of "Element Crystals", which can be produced from certain items players collect during Air-Warfare.
Weapons: from 150 to 300
Armor: from 300 to 600


What is the difference between elemental and attribute stones?

No difference. Elemental stones are also called attribute stones.


Which elemental attribute should I choose for my weapon?

Pick the elemental attribute which is similar to your main attack skill, i.e.
Fire for Sorcerers, Water for Spellsingers, Wind for Spellhowlers, Dark for Necros etc.

Paladins or Swordsingers should consider a Divine attribute as it will add directly to holy weapon and related skills.

Each class has some sort of preferred elemental attribute which they will have in their arsenal. Thats the stone you should go for.


What if I already have an elemental attribute in my attack?

The attribute on the weapon "wins" over all other things which influence your attack attribute.

For example:
o If you are a SH and have 150 wind on your AM, you will attack with wind attribute, even if somebody buffs with Holy Weapon (would be pointless anyway). You could use Seed of Wind skill which adds 20 wind, so that you would attack with 170 Wind, because same attribute stacks.

o On the other hand, if you had a AM with 150 Fire, you could use Seed of Wind, but the extra 20 wind attribute would not do anything at all - your attack attribute would still be 150 Fire and you would receive no additional damage at all for your wind type nukes.


I am a buffer, should I buff holy weapon to my party mate?

No, if your party mate has a weapon with earth/water/fire/dark stones.
Yes, if your party mate has a weapon without any stones.
Yes, if your party mate has a weapon enhanced with divine stones.
No need, if your party mate is a support class.


I am a destroyer, should I use the "Infernal form" self buff?

This buff adds fire to the attack, which stacks only with fire attribute you might have on your weapon. So
Yes, if you have firestones on your weapon.
Yes, if you have no stones on your weapon.
No, if you have earth/water/wind/dark/divine attribute on your weapon.
Therefore, get firestones for your weapon.


I have used fame points to enchant my weapon for PvP. Can I add stones now?

No, you cannot. Add stones first, enchant your weapon for PvP afterwards.


I have augmented my weapon with a Lifestone. Can I add stones now?

Yes, you can. These two are totally independent, so you can augment first and add stones later; or you can add stones and then augment; or you can add some stones, augment, then add some more stones - whatever suits you best.


How much extra damage will my weapon do, when I add these stones?

The added damage is determined by the difference between:

• the value of the attacker's attribute (= how many stones you have successfully applied) and
  

• the value of the defensive attribute of the target against this element (= how well is your target protected against such attacks, e.g. by adding opposite stones to his/her armor).
  

Analysis and test results can be found here.


Some examples please?

Success on 28 Firestone applications will wield a maximum fire attribute of 150, which provides a fire damage bonus of up to 70% extra fire damage.

A clean draconic bow with a fire attribute of 150 was equivalent to a +8 draconic bow.

The target's resistances (e.g. fire resistance) make a big difference. On most buffed high level players with decent jeweller, the result will be around 20-25% damage bonus.


-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Suggested link:

http://boards.lineage2.com/showflat.php?Cat=0&Board=questions&Number=1199211&page=2&fpart=all

What is a "Simple FAQ"?

Well you know what an FAQ is:

FAQ, or Frequently Asked Question(s), are listed questions and answers, all supposed to be frequently asked in some context, and pertaining to a particular topic.

An S-FAQ, or Simple FAQ, is an FAQ with just the basic material needed to understand the topic.

The Blue Clan tries to gather information on some issues (e.g. IoP shards, Elemental Stones) and post it in such a format, making it as clear as possible, for clan members and readers alike. Since we are noobs, we can only gather basic info :)

Stay tuned for more S-FAQs!

Waiting for the servers to start

Gracia Final: Patch Notes

The korean PTS server gets the last Gracia update soon, so the patch notes are already published. The PirateNinjas.net people have translated the notes in english.

Some interesting points:

• Gracia land added west of Gludin for 75+ chars.


• Air-ships added. Air warfare added!


• S82 and S84 grades added.
  


• Icarus Weapons are now classified as S82.
• Fewer materials required for Dynasty items.
  


• 3 vs 3 Olympiad matches added.


• Belts and capes added.
  


• Maximum element values for weapons and armors increased (new item needed for the extra amount).
  


• Drops will vanish after 10minutes not picked up.

Check the translated notes for full info.

Halloween event: second item revealed

On Tuesday 28th, together with the new upgrade, a Halloween event starts.

NC Soft has posted most of the details, indicating the first gift we all get is a pumpkin transformation item that will last for 30 (calendar) days.

It is only recently though, that the second gift was revealed: Five vitality-replenishing items with no expiration day.

Funny Tag

Try not to interfere in matters with a dragon..

..for you are crunchy and taste uber sweet in ketchup. 

from an asian l2 forum

IoP shards simple FAQ

- What do I need these shards for?
To craft S80 items.


- What kind of shards are there?
Yellow, green, blue, red, white, black.


- Where do I find them?
In IoP. That's "Isle of Prayer". One way to get there is: port from Heine to Alligator Island and then swim east to the island.


- What's so special about IoP?

1. In most IoP places you can only exp in duo. If there are three or more players in the party, and one of them attacks a mob, then some very aggressive mobs called Witch Warders spawn - and usually kill you. This is true even if the additional players are not on IoP, just in party.
2. Most IoP mobs have high-damage water attacks. Make sure you get some kind of protectional buff (e.g. the PP buff Resist Aqua)
3. IoP mobs have nice drops - e.g. firestones and orichalcum. Thus many people go there to bot and farm.
   

- Which mobs drop the shards?
Yellow and green are easy to find since they drop at the easier parts of the island and players (bots) usually do not pick them up. Blue and red are harder. Black and white drop from RBs - good luck.

	Item	Obtain From
	Seed of Evil Shard - Yellow	Mobs on Isle of Prayer (but not on Chromatic Highlands area)
	Seed of Evil Shard - Green	Mobs on Isle of Prayer (but not on Chromatic Highlands area)
	Seed of Evil Shard - Blue	Mobs in Chromatic Highlands
	Seed of Evil Shard - Red	Mobs in Chromatic Highlands
	Seed of Evil Shard - White	End Bosses in Emerald, Steam, and Coral Cavern
	Seed of Evil Shard - Black	End Bosses in Emerald, Steam, and Coral Cavern

- Can I buy the shards? How much do they cost?
You can not buy them. And you can not sell them, trade them or freight them. That's nature's way of telling you to go exp on your own.


- How do I exchange shards for items?
You trade them at Blacksmith Ram, at the Crystal Caverns Emerald Square, for S80 parts and recipes.


- Is it worth it?
Some people say no, since
"Its easier, faster and in the end cheaper to enchant "normal" S-grade armor to +6, and your weapon to +7/+10". Most people though are going after the shards. There is some discussion about it on l2guru and l2nemesis.


- An example please? What should I gather?
1 try @ 60% for S80 heavy set (without shield) counting parts & recipes
Yellow: 12131
Green: 6078
Blue: 4065
Red: 2421
White: 42
Black: 33

Assuming you have a dwarf who has the recipes registered. And not even taking into account the strange craft mats and mountains of normal mats you need.


So how many shards, will I need?
Here is the list from arctik.net.

Item	# items	Yellow Shards	Green Shards	Blue Shards	Red Shards	White Shards	Black Shards
Recipe: Sealed Dynasty Boots	1	280	139	94	55	1	1
Recipe: Sealed Dynasty Breastplate	1	1120	561	373	224	2	1
Recipe: Sealed Dynasty Circlet	1	419	209	139	84	1	1
Recipe: Sealed Dynasty Earring	1	272	136	90	55	1	1
Recipe: Sealed Dynasty Gaiters	1	699	350	233	140	1	2
Recipe: Sealed Dynasty Gauntlets	1	280	139	94	55	1	1
Recipe: Sealed Dynasty Gloves	1	280	139	94	55	1	1
Recipe: Sealed Dynasty Helmet	1	419	209	139	84	1	1
Recipe: Sealed Dynasty Leather Armor	1	839	420	280	168	2	1
Recipe: Sealed Dynasty Leather Boots	1	280	139	94	55	1	1
Recipe: Sealed Dynasty Leather Gauntlets	1	280	139	94	55	1	1
Recipe: Sealed Dynasty Leather Helmet	1	419	209	139	84	1	1
Recipe: Sealed Dynasty Leather Leggings	1	524	262	174	105	1	2
Recipe: Sealed Dynasty Necklace	1	364	181	122	72	1	1
Recipe: Sealed Dynasty Ring	1	181	90	61	36	1	1
Recipe: Sealed Dynasty Shield	1	294	146	97	59	1	1
Recipe: Sealed Dynasty Shoes	1	280	139	94	55	1	1
Recipe: Sealed Dynasty Stockings	1	524	262	174	105	1	2
Recipe: Sealed Dynasty Tunic	1	839	420	280	168	2	1
Sealed Dynasty Boot Piece	2	120	60	40	24	1	0
Sealed Dynasty Breastplate Part	2	381	191	128	76	1	1
Sealed Dynasty Circlet Piece	2	160	81	53	32	1	0
Sealed Dynasty Earring Gemstone	2	126	64	42	25	1	0
Sealed Dynasty Gaiters Piece	2	256	129	86	51	1	1
Sealed Dynasty Gauntlet Piece	2	120	60	40	24	1	0
Sealed Dynasty Glove Piece	2	120	60	40	24	1	0
Sealed Dynasty Helmet Piece	2	160	80	54	32	1	0
Sealed Dynasty Leather Armor Piece	2	299	150	100	60	1	1
Sealed Dynasty Leather Boot Part	2	120	60	40	24	1	0
Sealed Dynasty Leather Gloves Part	2	120	60	40	24	1	0
Sealed Dynasty Leather Helmet Piece	2	160	81	53	32	1	0
Sealed Dynasty Leather Leggings Part	2	200	100	67	39	1	1
Sealed Dynasty Necklace Chain	2	165	82	56	32	1	0
Sealed Dynasty Ring Gemstone	2	89	44	30	18	1	0
Sealed Dynasty Shield Piece	2	120	60	39	24	1	0
Sealed Dynasty Shoes Piece	2	120	60	40	24	1	0
Sealed Dynasty Stockings Piece	2	200	100	67	39	1	1
Sealed Dynasty Tunic Piece	2	299	150	100	60	1	1

Please mail us any corrections and additions to this article.

Gracia Part 2 on PTS + Helloween event

Gracia Part 2 will go live on October 28th! All CT 2.2 expected changes are published, including:

• Instace "Kamaloka - Labyrinth of the Abyss" added, 45 min duration, 2-9 members party.
• Instance "Pailaka" added, need quest to enter, covers lvls 36-73 , 60 or 90 mins duration depending on lvl range.
• PvP instance "Kratei's Cube" added, for characters above lvl 70. Each holds a max of 25 characters at a time with various nice rewards. 
• When armor over-enchanted to +4 or higher, bonus to HP given. 
• Vitality Replenishing Herb added.
• A bot reporting button has been added to the Actions window.

Gracia Part 2 is already released on PTS.

• Characters start at lvl 40 with 100M.
• A boost will be made on the 23rd of October. 
• Experience is set to times four (x4).
• Drop rates are set to times six (x6).
  

 
A Helloween event will start on October 28th too. Helloween is one of the american things I love! 

• Each char gets pumpkin-ghost transformation stick. Can be used for 30 days, then it disappears, at the same time for everyone. Cannot be exchanged, dropped or destroyed. 
• Various (still secret) gifts.

 

The Helloween event is already available on PTS. 

• A GM, Omega, will be setting up buy shop in Giran on PTS, looking for random items. 
• Selling him items is not mandatory but it helps in getting better event awards.
  

News Flash

• No comments on the Gracia 2 preview site (CT2.2), there's no much info anyway.

• I really enjoy our new alliance. People there are kind and nice. I have already met Darkscreen (still confused about his rl name), Lefteris (Lefteris), Errikos (Lefteris or Errikos?), pipifakidomiti (clan leader), FyrmasterGR (Nikos), also Ioanna and Marios (whose char name I dont remember) and some more. It's also good that they have the same attitude we have, regarding botting and ebaying.
  

• A guide for Phantom Summoners (in greek) was posted in the greek blog. An excellent article from an experienced summoner (actually the most experienced summoner of the clan) - LAXTARAS.
  

• Skype teleconferencing is fun! We talk daily, usually after 10pm. RuneBlade and HyperhealerGR and Ubba and more friends. All welcomed.
  

• There will soon be an item clearance, with items given free to clan/ally members/friends; and discounted to blog readers. So be sure to check this space often.
  

• SofiaGR WTB dragonic bow clean. Or not-so-clean-but-cheap :) Please pm her, I am bored of listening to her.

Archmage has a Noblesse Tiara

We are proud to announce that as of today

Fyonar is Noblesse

Fyonar, a.k.a. Archmage on the blogsphere/fora, one of the blog's writers, a clan friend and an expert game - mechanics consultant, has completed his quest! He now has the distinguished tiara, numerous teleports and lots of respect.


Grats Fyo!!!!

It's hard being a girl

Can you imagine being a PP with a majestic mini-robe?? You love it or hate it - mainly depending on your gender.

Change of Server Downtime

Reminder:

This week's maintenance is moved from Tuesday to Wednesday.

Corollary: This week's coffee / going out / staying late at work is moved from Tuesday to Wednesday.

New ally - New friends

As of now (just few minutes ago), the Blue clan is part of the

STRANGERS Alliance

together with the

Europe Clan

October Heroes

Duelist - Aurelija
Pheonix Knight - TheHaunted
Saggitarious - Mitskablos
Archmage - Localhost
Arcana Lord- Kamil
Hierophant - Nyae
Sword Muse - PureSoul
Moonlight Sentinel - Fierra
Elementar Master- Meleneara
Shiellen Templar - Lowbyyhn
Ghost Hunter - lianviks
Stormscreamer - Mirael
Shiellen Saint - Malda
Grand Khavatari - Aantaria
Doomcryer - Oner
Maestro - ayperos
Soul Hound - burgis
Dreadnought - GabrielKnight
Hell Knight - Jabari
Adventurer - FlamedAnger
Soultaker - exDiegito
Cardinal - Oblivi0n
? Evas Templar - CountChocula
Wind Rider - MadPamers
Mystic Muse - Nestia
Eva Saint - Petibras
Spectral Dancer - Jolinar
Ghost Sentinel - Sovenok
Spectral Master - Wilgoth
Titan - C0ren
Dominator - Pendraig
Fortune Seeker - Tzonakos
Doombringer - z1ob
Trickster - Chiika

Gratz Tzonakoooooooooo!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Congratulations to all heroes.

List of heroes from L2Blah