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Knightfall Content Patch (Beyond the Veil Patch 8 ) - Ver. 22.080.1 - May 8, 2023

Hotfix 8.1: [12. May 2023] Beyond the Veil Hotfix 8.1

The Mists: New Features and Improvements

This patch brings a number of new features to the Mists, increasing the gameplay opportunities available there.

Coffers
Treasure Chests within the Mists are a great way to bring players together to fight for loot. However, they fail to bring smaller groups together, they don’t encourage newer players to compete, and they don’t offer conflict-averse players a chance to swipe the loot before others arrive.
For this reason, we’ve created Coffers that can be found throughout the Mists:
  • Coffers work exactly like other Open World Treasures, with one exception: they only reveal their location to nearby players.
  • While these chests are worth less than Treasures that broadcast their location to the entire map, they spawn much more frequently than the larger chests.
Caches
While we’ve wanted to add more item loot to Mob Camps, traditional delivery methods don’t create the type of gameplay we’re looking for. If a chest spawns early, whoever gets there first wins. If it spawns late, we create a “King of the Hill” scenario until the chest spawns. While some may prefer this, Treasure Chests already serve this purpose, and this gets away from what Mob Camps are supposed to be: PvE objectives that can be completed at any time, versus demanding immediate attention.
To solve this, Caches can now be found in all Mob Camps:
  • After completing a Mob Camp, a Cache unlocks that is lootable only by the player that generated it. They are thus “instanced” treasure chests, with each player having their own reward pool. Rarity is also instanced, so a given Cache may be rare for one player but legendary for another.
  • As Mob Camps are completed relatively quickly, the loot is also distributed in a nontraditional fashion. The most common “Green” Caches contain nontradable Fame. This scales with the lethality, tier, and rarity of the Mists you’re in, but does not scale with the Cache’s rarity, to give as much Fame as possible to common Caches.
  • More importantly, however, this can significantly improve the item loot of blue, purple, and legendary Caches – all of which can potentially be found in any Mob Camp.
Funding Caches / Coffers
While we are happy with the average value players find within the Mists, this varies greatly from player to player as high-end rewards are incredibly competitive. Caches and Coffers offer more players opportunities for competitive rewards, but their introduction causes a value influx that requires adjustments elsewhere. As a result, much of their value has been migrated from Weakened Wisps, Small Treasures, and other minor sources. Weakened Wisps were too competitive with open-world objectives, so their Might and Favor was reduced by 40%. Small Treasures spawn about 20% less frequently than before. Additionally, Treasure Drones no longer spawn in the Mists and Favor is no longer awarded from Mob Camps. These values have not disappeared from the Mists, but rather moved to these new sources. Our intention is that overall rewards per hour remain unchanged, but value shifts from one source to another. This value may shift to a different type in some cases (e.g. where Favor is reduced but itemized loot is now available).

Knightfall Abbey
A new dungeon can now be found within the Mists. “Knightfall Abbey” was once a stronghold for Arthurian forces, but now holds the undead created with Excalibur’s destruction.

The entrance to Knightfall Abbey is elusive, as the treasure found there is more valuable than the Mists generally offer. The dungeon is thus not meant to be played indefinitely, but instead creates a new opportunity to discover while exploring the Mists.
  • This dungeon features an entirely new environment that allows you to explore Albion’s past, new music, and a new mechanic for unlocking rewards while clearing the dungeon.
  • Each room cleared gives either wealth through a chest, or a buff to aid in fighting enemies. This dungeon is still within the Mists, so you’ll have a limited time to clear rooms, gather wealth, and defeat enemies. Treasures and Coffers also spawn during the dungeon's lifetime, allowing for higher-risk opportunities as you work your way through.
  • Exits are also available throughout the dungeon, so you can attempt to find treasure and escape if engaged by another player. If you do leave through an exit, you’ll be back in the Mists, ready to resume exploration.
  • While these dungeons do not have rarities, they have the same tier distribution as other Mists areas. Higher-tier areas offer increased rewards for higher risk, as more players are allowed per tier.

  • Solo Max Players (Nonlethal and Lethal):
    • T5: 8
    • T6: 8
    • T7: 9
    • T8: 10
  • Duo Lethal Max Players:
    • T6 - T8: 12
New Items and Standing
Knightfall also brings brand-new items! New crafting components are available through in-game vendors to create these powerful new items.

Avalonian Cape Crests can now be purchased from the Energy Manipulator, and the new Brecilien trader Eralia Wayfarer sells items that are unlocked through Brecilien standing. The maximum standing is also increased, with the highest rank unlocking the purchase of a vanity Avatar and Avatar Ring. While many of these ranks have been renamed, point values remain the same. Players that have already acquired standing with Brecilien will find they can already purchase many of these new items.

While some of these items are available through Brecilien Standing, we wanted to use this opportunity to improve the Favor economy with additional items to spend your earnings on. This significantly expands the amount of items that you’re able to purchase with Favor in both Brecilien and at the Energy Manipulator.
  • New Crafting Resource - Faerie Fire:
    • Similar to Faction Hearts, this can be used in different recipes and is required to craft all of the new items from the Brecilien trader
  • Avalonian Capes:
    • Crafted with Avalonian Energy and Avalonian Crests
    • Ability: Force Pulse
      • Activates when you perform a normal attack
      • Collect Energy and unleash it after 0.5s, dealing magical damage to enemies in a 6m radius
      • Reduces damage of enemies hit by 15% for 4s
  • Brecilien Capes:
    • Crafted with Faerie Fire and Brecilien Crests
    • Ability: Fey Barrier
      • Activates when you cast your head slot spell
      • Applies a shield that absorbs up to 200 damage (before resistances) during the next 3s
      • Removes Debuffs and grants immunity to Debuffs while the shield is active (except crowd control and damage over time effects)
  • New Owl Mounts:
    • Raised in Kennels from baby Owlets purchased in Brecilien
    • Saddled Mystic Owl
      • Very fast Tier 5 mount; provides excellent mobility but reduces player’s maximum load
    • Elite Mystic Owl
      • Tier 8 version of the Saddled Mystic Owl, with a unique active ability, "Glide"
  • “Wanderer in the Mists” Avatar / Avatar Ring:
    • New Avatar and Avatar Ring acquired by reaching maximum standing for Brecilien
Roads of Avalon Adjustments and Improvements
  • Elite Camp Changes
    • Elite Camps now respawn much more frequently
    • Significantly increased the Fame of all Elite Camp bosses
    • Elite Camps in Raid Regions are always Tier 8
    • Elite Camps in other Regions are always Tier 6
    • Difficulty and enemy abilities of many Elite Camps reduced
  • Headquarters in the Roads
    • Declaring a Headquarters in the Roads no longer requires a Booster
      • As a Booster is not used during this process, no energy is applied and the HQ is not invulnerable during Phase 3
      • The HQ’s construction can still be skipped via the "Accelerate Building" process to safely complete the HQ
    • Supporting acceleration of a Headquarters can now only be performed by guild members
  • Other Changes
    • Using Journey Back from the Roads to Brecilien costs 50% less Silver
    • To reinforce the link between the Roads and the new Avalonian Cape, some Roads enemies now have a chance to drop Avalonian Energy
    • New off-road paths added to all smaller Roads regions resulting in more paths to escape and more enemies roaming off-road areas
    • Larger Roads regions have overall increased mob density, resulting in roughly +25% more enemies
    • Increased variety of recruit and standard enemies found in the Roads, including new Archers and Mages
    • To further increase the importance of Raid regions, the majority of Power Cores are migrated to these areas to increase competition between Guilds that reside in temporarily connected Hideout regions
    • Some changes to Avalonian spells will affect Avalonians found in Avalonian Dungeons as well as the Roads as those spells are shared
Gender Change Option Added
  • Players can change character gender for Gold
  • Available via Character Customization section of Appearance UI
  • All active vanity and equipment items remain on character; character-bound unlocks remain intact
Region Map "Travel Mode" Added
  • Simplifies traveling through Albion by overlaying a transparent version of the local region map, centered on your character
  • Travel Mode can be opened using Hotkey Shift + N on desktop, or dragging minimap to center of screen on mobile
  • Once open, the map's transparency can be adjusted using the Travel Mode transparency slider
Item Repair via Marketplace
  • Items too damaged to sell can now be repaired directly via the Marketplace UI
Season Winner Statues Added

Statues in honor of Albion East Beta Season winners S I A M and runners-up SINAG and Kamikaze, and Albion West Season 18 winners Escalation, can now be viewed at the following locations:
  • S I A M (custom statue): Albion East, Redtree Enclave
  • SINAG (standard statue): Albion East, Drybasin Oasis
  • Kamikaze (standard statue): Albion East, Sunstrand Quicksand
  • Escalation: Albion West, Conquerors' Hall
Note: Albion East Conquerors' Hall remains empty in anticipation of the Season 1 winners' statue.

New Guild Logos Added

Added 5 new publicly available guild logos, designed in cooperation with the top 5 guilds of the Albion East Beta Season:
  • S I A M - War Elephant
  • SINAG - Eagle
  • Kamikaze - Mask
  • Cat Army - Cat
  • ICBC - Dragon
Mount Changes

Swiftclaw

Fixed issue where some values of Swiftclaws scaled to a higher Tier than intended:
  • Durability: 40500 → 27000
  • Health: 845 → 797
  • Health Regen: 8.45 → 7.97
  • Base Focus Cost: 3283 → 1876
  • Weight: 53.2 → 35.4
Husky

Huskies remembered they are wolves at heart, and their Health now matches that of Direwolves:
  • Health: 430 → 860
Direboar

Fixed inconsistency where T5 Direboars’ base speed was higher than other Direboars but gallop speed was lower than intended. The max speed of the mount has not changed, but is now slightly slower when not galloping:
  • Base Speed bonus: 0.7 → 0.6
  • Gallop Speed bonus: 0.4 → 0.5
Additional Changes and Improvements
  • Chat improvements:
    • Default chat settings now use more intuitive channels (players with already-customized channels will not be affected)
    • Stats of other players can be displayed using chat command /stats followed by player's name
    • Players using a desktop or mobile device set to an unsupported language will now default to Global rather than English chat
    • Chat rules now appear in chat when logging in and in 30-minute intervals
  • UI improvements:
    • Character Creation and Customization use preview tiles instead of dropdowns
    • Clicking on World Bosses opens dedicated UI window with further info
    • Search and Filter options in Bank now scroll automatically to found items
    • Crystal Arena Season UI now shows percentage of players reaching each rank
    • Minimap zoom levels can be set separately for cities and open world
    • All Faction-enlisted players now receive Bandit Assault notifications, even if not actively flagged
    • Streamlined zone transition tooltips of cities; updated exit tooltips for static dungeons and Caerleon Underway
    • Search bar and toggle added to Achievements list
    • "Ranged DPS" role added to Party UI
    • "Claim Rewards" interface now always available to view previous rewards, even when no unclaimed rewards remain
    • [DESKTOP] Added brightness slider similar to that in mobile UI
  • Undead mobs no longer apply the Undead Decay debuff within the Mists (including Knightfall Abbey)
  • Caged Wisps no longer spawn in the four regions directly outside of Brecilien
  • Characters now appear in the color corresponding to their hostility status to you, when rendered unskinned
  • Nametags of offscreen players can now be selected via mouse or touch
    • Selectable nametags have a highlight to distinguish them
    • This behavior can be disabled in the interface settings and only works when "Show Offscreen Nametags" is enabled
  • [Experimental] Added new hotkeys for character movement: "Walk Up", "Walk Down", "Walk Left", "Walk Right" (WASD)
    • These optional hotkeys are unbound by default
    • Keyboard movement was added due to popular demand - we're looking forward to your feedback on this initial phase of implementation
  • Stalker Jacket VFX updated for improved readability
  • Added new spell icons for Dagger weapon line:
    • Q Ability 1 - Sunder Armor
    • Q Ability 2 - Deadly Swipe
    • Q Ability 3 - Assassin Spirit
    • W Ability 1 - Throwing Blades
    • W Ability 2 - Dash
    • W Ability 3 - Forbidden Stab
    • W Ability 5 - Chain Slash
    • Claws E Ability - Disembowel
    • Bloodletter E Ability - Lunging Stabs
  • Added new spell icons for Quarterstaff weapon line:
    • Q Ability 3 - Cartwheel
    • W Ability 3 - Forceful Swing
    • Quarterstaff E Ability - Vault Leap
    • Iron-clad Staff E Ability - Hurricane
    • Soulscythe E Ability - Tornado
Mobile / Controller Improvements and Fixes

Customizable Targeting Options Added
  • Target Lock Mode: Configure stickiness of current auto target or always lock it
    • None: Unless locked manually, always picks the best target you are facing in range
    • Sticky: Unless locked manually, the current target sticks while valid and in range
    • Lock: Targets are always locked and must be switched manually
  • Target Priority: Prioritize players (default), Mobs, or no targets
  • Target State Priority: Prioritize lowest health percentage, or nearest (default) targets
  • Beneficial Spell Priority: Prioritize yourself, lowest health percentage, or nearest (default) allies
  • Beneficial spells can now always be cast on self if no allies are nearby
Mobile and Controller
  • Target selection:
    • To make auto-target feel more intuitive, player direction, range, and selected target now play a larger role
    • Targets are no longer always locked by default; your target may change if the currently-selected target is not locked and a better one is found
    • Locked targets will be marked by an arrow above them; you may lock your current target via manual selection
    • Lock behavior and targeting priorities can be configured via Settings
  • Attack and Spell ranges (and targets) are previewed while their button is pressed
  • Players now automatically dismount when attempting to auto-attack mobs
  • Self-cast damage spells can now use auto-targeting instead of being cast instantly (Heroic Cleave, Rending Spin, Force Field)
Mobile only
  • Added "Cast On Press" option (certain spells and actions that require no targeting are triggered immediately on button press)
  • Current target is now cleared when canceling an attack target drag
  • Weapons Attack range now shown when pressing attack button and during attack-target drag
Controller only
  • Added controller binding to open match scoreboards
  • Added hold-to-suicide option when knocked down
  • "Place, then aim" spells like “Phoenix” can now be targeted in all control schemes
  • Implemented context action to add/remove Loadout items
  • Select, Delete and Enter World quick actions now available in Character Selection
  • Simplified canceling of spell casting with controller (stick presses)
  • Added ability to quickly apply actions to multiple items in inventory (move, equip, unequip, delete) by keeping the respective button pressed
  • Customizable deadzone settings added for each analog stick
  • Improved responsiveness and feedback when navigating menus and tooltips
  • Attack button can now be held to repeatedly attack and kite enemies
  • When using controller cursor and hovering over an element, it not only selects that element, but also switches the window context to that element's window
Combat Balance Changes

Cursed Staffs

The damage output of Vile Curse is reduced to make it weaker in 1v1 brawling, because these fights don’t offer either side many interactions or counterplay options against Q damage. Additionally, we want to make other Q-Slot options more attractive and enable a wider range of Cursed Staff playstyles.

The forward speed of the Cursed Sickle projectile is increased to make it more reliable at hitting an enemy once, but the projectile is slower on the return to keep it possible to dodge the second hit. Cursed Tar's radius and cast range are increased to make it more effective at hitting enemies multiple times from the backline.

Demonic Staff was hit too hard by recent nerfs, so it now consumes no more than two stacks. In other words, damage is still reduced when hitting with your E, but not to the same degree as before. Furthermore, to help it in the role of DPS / support in group fights, the scaling of Fear duration with stacks is changed, so it has a longer guaranteed Fear when hitting multiple enemies with no stacks.
  • Vile Curse (all Cursed Staffs)
    • Cooldown: 2s → 2.4s
  • Cursed Sickle (all Cursed Staffs)
    • Projectile Speed flying in cast direction: 10.4m/s → 15.3m/s
    • Projectile Speed flying back to the caster: 10.4m/s → 7.9m/s
    • The total up-time of the projectile stays unchanged
  • Cursed Tar (all Cursed Staffs)
    • Radius: 2.5m → 3m
    • Cast Time: 0.3s → 0.2s
    • Cast Range: 13m → 15m
  • Anguished Soul (Demonic Staff)
    • 0 Stack Fear Duration: 0.4s → 1s
    • 1 Stack Fear Duration: 0.8s → 1.25s
    • 2 Stacks Fear Duration: 1.2s → 1.5s
    • 3 Stacks Fear Duration: 1.6s → 1.75s
    • 4 Stacks Fear Duration: 2s (unchanged)
    • Now consumes max. 2 Vile Curse Charges from enemy (instead of all charges)
Daggers

Deadly Swipe's low energy cost added unconditional constant mobility to all Daggers. To reduce the impact of Deadly Swipe’s mobility, its Energy cost is increased. Alongside this, the Energy refund when hitting an enemy is also increased so as not to impact the ability when attacking.
  • Deadly Swipe (all Daggers)
    • Energy Cost: 7 → 9
    • Energy gain on hit: 4 → 6
Fire Staffs

Pyroblast’s aiming mechanic is removed, since it was often unreliable under high ping. Instead, it is automatically aimed towards a targeted enemy. The projectile can still be body-blocked or dodged with a dash.

Infernal Staff’s Flame Trail is reworked: rather than silencing enemies who remain still, it applies Fear to each enemy it touches.
  • Pyroblast (One-handed Fire Staff)
    • Removed the aim rotation mechanic
    • Is now a targeted ability that always shoots projectile towards targeted enemy (projectile can still be body-blocked or dodged with a dash)
    • Targeting Range: 15m
    • Cast Time / Damage
      • 0.4s / 240 → 0s / 200
      • 0.8s / 300 → 0.6s / 280
      • 1.2s / 360 (unchanged)
    • Increased Projectile Speed and hitbox
  • Combustion (Infernal Staff)
    • After cast, the targeted enemy is Feared for 0.75s (but is immune to Fear after the first)
    • Removed silence effect of Flame Trail
    • Flame Trail instead Fears enemies for 0.75s
    • Improved hit detection of Flame Trail on the ground
Frost Staffs

Frost Lance is a versatile damage ability that was underused. To make this fun playstyle more attractive, its cast time is removed, making it more reliable at hitting enemies and therefore more suited to a kiting playstyle.
  • Frost Lance (all Frost Staffs)
    • Cast Time: 0.35s → 0s
Hammers

Forge Hammers had been quite oppressive in 5v5 content with the combination of strong defense and repeated Giant Smash casts. This patch reduces their Slow effect, making them more clearly tanky frontline bruisers.
  • Giant Steps (Forge Hammers)
    • Slow Effect: 50% → 20%
Maces

Sacred Ground’s uptime made Maces particularly difficult for opponents to counter, as it allowed Maces to excel at area denial while making their long, constant CC very frustrating to fight. Therefore its area duration is reduced.

Defensive Slam now has increased range and is more responsive. Furthermore, it now grants a Crowd Control Resistance boost to allies as well, providing another way to support allies against Crowd Control effects in group fights.
  • Defensive Slam (all Maces)
    • Now also increases Crowd Control Resistance by 0.2 (for reference, Displacement Immunity currently increases CC Resistance by 0.3)
    • Range: 3m → 3.5m
    • Hit Delay: 0.3s → 0.2s
    • Standtime: 0.5s → 0.2s
  • Sacred Ground (all Maces)
    • Area Duration: 6s → 5s
Helmets

The head slot selection in solo and small-scale fights was a bit stale. Hunter Hood is heavily used, so its reflect damage is toned down. To resolve the stalemate in a Hunter Hood vs Cultist Cowl fight, Inner Corruption’s damage is no longer reflectable.

Underused helmets like Cowl of Purity and Hellion Hood are also buffed, and the new Brecilien Cape should encourage players to try new helmet combinations.

Knight Helmet was particularly effective in large-scale fights, as it provided immunity to forced movement while increasing Crowd Control Resistance. This CC Resistance boost is therefore removed, increasing the value of tanks with classic CC effects like stuns, roots and silences against Knight Helmets.
  • Inner Corruption (Cultist Cowl)
    • Damage can no longer be reflected
    • Damage vs Players: 67 → 63
  • Avalonian Beam (Cowl of Purity)
    • Beam now expands much faster
    • Increased hitbox size
    • Standtime: 0.8s → 0.4s
  • Retaliate (Hunter Hood)
    • Reflected Damage: 100% → 85%
  • Smokebomb (Hellion Hood)
    • Cooldown: 60s → 40s
  • Displacement Immunity (Knight Helmet)
    • No longer increases Crowd Control Resistance
Armors

Mist Cloud’s long-lasting invulnerability allows players to react to an enemy’s burst or DoT damage. However, there were almost no downsides to this very strong defensive effect. Therefore the caster is now slowed while in Mist Cloud form, to prevent using it as a free chase or disengage.

Mercenary Jacket’s healing is also reduced somewhat.
  • Bloodlust (Mercenary Jacket)
    • Heal per Tick: 54 → 50
  • Mist Cloud (Mistwalker Jacket)
    • Caster is now slowed by 20% during Mist Cloud
    • Energy Cost: 9 → 16%
Capes

Bridgewatch Capes now create a sandstorm aura that moves with the caster, making it useful for melees to stick with the target. Crowd Control resistances are also reduced within the Sandstorm aura, making it useful for tank engagements.

Morgana Capes’ ability is now activated at the start of casting, so the E-slot spell is now sped up by activation, helping abilities with long cast times such as Meteor and Snipe Shot.
  • Sandstorm (Bridgewatch Cape)
    • Now activates when you cast an E-slot Ability
    • Creates a 5m sandstorm around the caster for 6s
    • Slows unmounted enemies by 20%
    • Reduces Crowd Control resistances by 0.2
  • Mark of the Raven (Morgana Cape)
    • Now activates at cast start of E-slot abilities (i.e. when casting Meteor, the cape now activates at cast start and reduces remaining cast time)
Mounts
  • Mounting up is no longer allowed during 5v5 Arena, Crystal Arena, and Crystal League matches (still allowed for 20v20 Crystal League matches)
Fixes
  • Spell / buff fixes:
    • Food buffs from Seaweed Salad and Grilled Fish persist after knockdown
    • Deadly Shot armor reduction can be purged
    • Breakthrough (Daybreaker) Purges before dealing damage
    • Fixed rare issue where instant casts could be interrupted
    • Giant Steps aura now removed when mounting up
    • Fixed issue with Charge (Claymore) invulnerability phase ending too early
    • Pierce Through (Siege Ballista) no longer moves towards enemy targets after channel finishes
  • Mob fixes:
    • Mobs no longer alert their groups while they are retreating - corrects an unintended effect where partial group pulls were too easy
    • Splitting Strike (Undead Knight attack) is more accurate and should only hit at indicated position
    • Undead Archers no longer move away while affected by stuns, roots, or similar CC effects
    • The stun from an Undead Archer's shot is now considered Crowd Control and can be removed by anti-CC spells
    • Fixed issue where Heretic Lumberjack boss sometimes teleported during spin attack
    • Fixed issue where Great Mystic Owl had Tier 6 stats - it is now easier but rewards less Fame
    • Misthide Maulers now have intended values (approx. 50% more Health and Fame) and drop Direbear babies
    • Grand Foglands Hart drops Giant Stag babies
    • Ferocious Misthide Mauler drops Direbear babies instead of Direboar babies
    • Regal Dragonhawk no longer drops Direbear babies
  • UI fixes:
    • Tier filter now works in Marketplace UI
    • Fixed issue where "Buy Journey" in Travel Planner UI was unusable
    • Fixed issues where Non-Lethal Crystal League "deaths" still updated Lost Equipment Loadouts and Loadout hint showed during Expeditions
    • Fixed issue where placing items to be enchanted in Artifact Foundry UI and walking away would make them grayed out
    • Fixed issue where quest markers in player's current zone displayed in all zones selected via world map
    • Fixed issue where crafting recipes moved down screen while crafting
  • Fixed issue where players could be kicked from parties in Hellgates, Expeditions, and Arena matches
  • Mobile / Controller:
    • Fixed issue where Holy Orb auto-targeted enemies instead of allies
    • Fixed issue where character twitched when attack button was pressed while moving
    • Fixed issue where knocked out and dead players could still be auto-targeted
  • Controller:
    • Fixed issue where window animations could delay user inputs
    • Spell casting now ends attack targeting mode
    • Fixed issue where right stick continued to scroll with controller turned off in Settings
    • Fixed issue where elements in various UI menus were not selectable
    • Fixed Issue where casting of Armor and Head Spells was switched while using self-cast modifier
  • [MOBILE] Fixed issue where invisible mobs were targetable in Expeditions
  • Additional graphical, animation, terrain, UI, localization, and audio fixes