Version 0.9.8

Version History
← 0.9.7d March 22, 2012	0.9.8 March 29, 2012	0.9.8b → March 29, 2012

Patch notes

These are the official patch notes for version 0.9.8 released by Grinding Gear Games.

Notes

• Your passive skill points have not been reset by this patch.
• The legacy migration has not occured at the same time as this patch. We expect to perform it sometime before the weekend. When this occurs, it will move all current Default and Hardcore characters to the Legacy and HC Legacy leagues respectively. Any stashed items will be added as extra “Remove only” tabs in your legacy stashes. Items cannot be placed in these new stash tabs.

Features

• We've added a Friends List to the Social panel. When you add someone to your friends list, it also sends them an invitation offering to add you to theirs.
• You can now set your Account Status at the top of the Social panel. This status is broadcast to people who have you on their friends list.
• Added a new player aura - ClarityClarityAura, Spell, AoE
  Level: (1-20)
  Reservation: (34-279) Mana
  Cooldown Time: 1.20 sec
  Can Store 1 Use(s)
  Cast Time: Instant
  Radius: 36Requires Level 10Casts an aura that grants mana regeneration to you and your allies.Per 1% Quality:1Superior2Anomalous3Divergent2% increased Area of EffectYou and nearby Allies have 0.25% increased Mana Recovery from FlasksYou and nearby Allies have 0.25% increased Damage while on Full ManaYou and nearby Allies Regenerate (2.9-33) Mana per second
  +(0-19) to radiusPlace into an item socket of the right colour to gain this skill. Right click to remove from a socket.: An aura that grants mana regeneration to you and your allies.
• Added a new support gem - Culling Strike SupportCulling Strike SupportSupport
  Icon: X
  Level: (1-20)
  Cost & Reservation Multiplier: 110%Requires Level 18Supports any skill that hits enemies. If enemies are left below 10% of maximum life after being hit by these skills, they will be killed.Per 1% Quality:1Superior2Anomalous3DivergentSupported Skills have 0-10% Increased DamageSupported Skills deal 3% increased Damage with Hits against Enemies that are on Low LifeRecover 0.1% of Life when Supported Skills Cull an EnemyKill Enemies that have 10% Life or lower when Hit by Supported Skills
  Supported Skills deal (0-38)% increased DamageThis is a Support Gem. It does not grant a bonus to your character, but to skills in sockets connected to it. Place into an item socket connected to a socket containing the Active Skill Gem you wish to augment. Right click to remove from a socket.: Skills supported by this gem kill enemies reduced to 10% or less life.
• Added a new support gem - Point Blank SupportPoint Blank SupportProjectile, Attack, Support
  Icon: b
  Level: (1-20)
  Cost & Reservation Multiplier: 110%Requires Level 18Supports projectile skills.Per 1% Quality:1Superior2Anomalous3DivergentSupported Skills deal 0.5% increased Projectile DamageSupported Skills have 2% chance to Knock Enemies Back with Hits at Close RangeProjectiles from Supported Skills Pierce all Targets within 1 unitsSupported Skills' Projectile Attack Hits deal up to 30% more Damage to targets at the start of their movement, dealing less Damage to targets as the projectile travels farther
  Supported Skills deal (0-38)% increased Projectile DamageThis is a Support Gem. It does not grant a bonus to your character, but to skills in sockets connected to it. Place into an item socket connected to a socket containing the Active Skill Gem you wish to augment. Right click to remove from a socket.: Ranged attack skills supported by this gem deal more damage to very close targets and less damage to farther away targets.
• Added a new support gem - Iron Grip SupportIron Grip SupportProjectile, Physical, Support
  Icon: i
  Level: (1-20)
  Cost & Reservation Multiplier: 110%Requires Level 18Supports attack skills that fire projectiles, making the increase to physical melee damage from strength also increase their physical projectile damage.Per 1% Quality:1Superior2Anomalous3DivergentSupported Skills deal 0.5% increased Projectile DamageSupported Skills have 0.5% reduced Attack Speed
  Supported Skills deal 2% increased DamageSupported Skills have 0.5% increased Projectile SpeedStrength's Damage bonus applies to Projectile Attack Damage as well for Supported Skills
  Supported Skills deal (0-38)% increased Projectile DamageThis is a Support Gem. It does not grant a bonus to your character, but to skills in sockets connected to it. Place into an item socket connected to a socket containing the Active Skill Gem you wish to augment. Right click to remove from a socket.: Ranged attack skills supported by this gem have the strength melee damage bonus applied to them.
• Added a new support gem - Iron Will SupportIron Will SupportSpell, Support
  Icon: w
  Level: (1-20)
  Cost & Reservation Multiplier: 110%Requires Level 18Supports spell skills, making the increase to physical melee damage from strength also increase their spell damage.Per 1% Quality:1Superior2Anomalous3DivergentSupported Skills deal 0.5% increased Spell DamageSupported Skills have 0.5% reduced Cast Speed
  Supported Skills deal 2% increased DamageSupported Skills have 0.5% increased Projectile SpeedStrength's Damage bonus applies to all Spell Damage as well for Supported Skills
  Supported Skills deal (0-38)% increased Spell DamageThis is a Support Gem. It does not grant a bonus to your character, but to skills in sockets connected to it. Place into an item socket connected to a socket containing the Active Skill Gem you wish to augment. Right click to remove from a socket.: Spells supported by this gem have the strength melee damage bonus applied to them.
• Added a new support gem - Damage on Full Life SupportDamage on Full Life SupportAttack, Support
  Icon: f
  Level: (1-20)
  Cost & Reservation Multiplier: 130%Requires Level 18Supports attack skills, providing a bonus to all damage dealt by those skills while your life is full.Per 1% Quality:1Superior2Anomalous3DivergentSupported Skills deal 0.5% increased DamageSupported Skills Leech 0.025% of Attack Damage Leeched as LifeSupported Skills deal 2% increased Damage with Hits and Ailments against Enemies that are on Full LifeSupported Attack Skills deal (20-34)% more Damage while on Full LifeThis is a Support Gem. It does not grant a bonus to your character, but to skills in sockets connected to it. Place into an item socket connected to a socket containing the Active Skill Gem you wish to augment. Right click to remove from a socket.: While you're on full life, melee skills supported by this gem deal increased physical damage.
• Added support for queues at the login server if there are too many players online.
• Empty game instances now close earlier if they have no side areas that would cause you to return to them. The values are roughly 8 minutes for areas that don't have side areas and 15 minutes for areas that do.
• Your starting weapon now spawns again in the first area if you're disconnected before picking it up.
• Continued to incrementally improve the art, effects, environments and sound.

Balance

• All weapons have been revamped into new sequences that have better level progression and balance. These weapons are spread over three tiers that correspond to the three difficulty levels that will be available when the third act is released. Weapons in the third tier are balanced to not be strictly better than each other.
• Rebalanced many item mods. Some will have changed levels, rendering certain items unusable if you don't meet the new level requirements.
• Returned the defensive properties off armour pieces (that add Armour, Evasion or Energy Shield) to 0.9.6 values. We consider the 0.9.7 armour changes a failed experiment. Monster damage has been rebalanced slightly to accomodate this.
• Most Unique weapons have had new levels and base types assigned to them. Mods have been rebalanced on many of them to take into account their new levels. Existing Unique items will not have had their stats or base types changed.
• The default critical strike changes [sicSīc erat scriptum (Latin: “Thus it was written”) – This quote is reproduced faithfully from its source with the preceding errors.] on weapons have less variance now. The high end ones are slightly lower than they were before.
• The vendor recipe that used to yield 10 Jeweler's OrbsJeweller's OrbStack Size: 20Reforges the number of sockets on an itemRight click this item then left click a socketed item to apply it. The item's quality increases the chances of obtaining more sockets.
  Shift click to unstack. now only yields 7.
• Items for sale in the vendors can now go up to one level above the player's level.
• Reduced monster density in the Submerged Passage levels.
• Increased the damage of Hailrake's Ice SpearsIce SpearSpell, Projectile, Cold
  Level: (1-20)
  Cost: (8-23) Mana
  Soul Gain Prevention: 0 sec
  Cast Time: 0.70 sec
  Critical Strike Chance: 7.00%
  Effectiveness of Added Damage: 80%
  Projectile Speed: 1000Requires Level 12Launches shards of ice in rapid succession. After travelling a short distance they change to a second form, which moves much faster and pierces through enemies.Per 1% Quality:1Superior2Anomalous3Divergent4Phantasmal2% increased Projectile SpeedProjectiles Pierce 0.1 additional Targets1% increased Cold DamageTravels 1% reduced distance before changing formsDeals (22-383) to (33-575) Cold Damage
  Second form has 600% increased Critical Strike Chance
  Second form has 300% more Projectile Speed
  Second form has +(30-49)% to Critical Strike Multiplier
  Fires an additional ProjectilePlace into an item socket of the right colour to gain this skill. Right click to remove from a socket. on higher difficulties.
• Reduced values of Item Quantity and Item Rarity mods and support gems.
• Reduced the mana cost of Explosive ArrowExplosive ArrowAttack, Projectile, AoE, Duration, Fire, Bow
  Level: (1-20)
  Cost: (8-10) Mana
  Projectile Speed: 3260
  Radius: 15Requires Level 28Fires an arrow which will stick into an enemy or wall, and then explode, dealing area damage around it, either after a duration or when the maximum number of arrows stuck to that target is reached. If an enemy has multiple Explosive Arrows stuck in them, the first one to explode will consume the others, adding their damage to its explosion.Per 1% Quality:1Superior2Anomalous3Divergent1% chance to Ignite enemies
  1% increased Skill Effect Duration3% increased Critical Strike ChanceMaximum 0.2 Explosive Arrows stuck in an Enemy
  2% less Skill Effect DurationBase duration is 1 seconds
  +2 to Explosion Radius per Explosive Arrow on Target, up to +12
  Explosion will have (47-522) to (71-783) added Fire Damage
  Explosion deals 50% less Base Damage
  Explosion deals 5% more Damage with Hits and Ailments per Explosive Arrow on Target
  Maximum 20 Explosive Arrows stuck in an EnemyPlace into an item socket of the right colour to gain this skill. Right click to remove from a socket..

Bug Fixes

• Fixed a bug where Goatmen using Leap SlamLeap SlamAttack, AoE, Movement, Travel, Slam, Melee
  Level: (1-20)
  Cost: 10 Mana
  Radius: 15Requires Level 10Jump into the air, damaging and knocking back enemies with your weapon where you land. Enemies you would land on are pushed out of the way. Requires an Axe, Mace, Sceptre, Sword or Staff. Cannot be supported by Multistrike.Per 1% Quality:1Superior2Anomalous3Divergent4Phantasmal1% increased Stun Duration on enemies1% increased Area of Effect1% increased Damage0.5% increased Attack SpeedDeals (100-150)% of Base Attack Damage
  +0.55 seconds to Attack Time
  (20-39)% increased Stun Duration against Enemies that are on Full Life
  Damaging Hits always Stun Enemies that are on Full LifePlace into an item socket of the right colour to gain this skill. Right click to remove from a socket. would slide at the end of their jump.
• Fixed a bug where hovers of items were displaced if the game had been resized.
• Fixed a bug where the melee damage bonus from strength didn't affect certain physical damage mods properly.
• The Faster CastingFaster Casting SupportSupport, Spell
  Icon: f
  Level: (1-20)
  Cost & Reservation Multiplier: 110%Requires Level 18Supports non-instant spell skills.Per 1% Quality:1Superior2Anomalous3DivergentSupported Skills have 0.5% increased Cast SpeedSupported Skills have 0.5% increased Cooldown Recovery RateIgnites from Supported Skills deal Damage 0.5% fasterSupported Skills have (20-39)% increased Cast SpeedThis is a Support Gem. It does not grant a bonus to your character, but to skills in sockets connected to it. Place into an item socket connected to a socket containing the Active Skill Gem you wish to augment. Right click to remove from a socket. support gem doesn't speed up the HasteHasteAura, Spell, AoE
  Level: (1-20)
  Reservation: 50% Mana
  Cooldown Time: 1.20 sec
  Can Store 1 Use(s)
  Cast Time: Instant
  Radius: 36Requires Level 24Casts an aura that increases the movement speed, attack speed and cast speed of you and your allies.Per 1% Quality:1Superior2Anomalous3Divergent4Phantasmal2% increased Area of EffectYou and nearby Allies have 0.5% increased Totem Placement speedYou and nearby Allies have 0.2% increased Projectile SpeedBuffs on You and nearby Allies expire 0.25% fasterYou and nearby allies gain (9-16)% increased Attack Speed
  You and nearby allies gain (9-16)% increased Cast Speed
  You and nearby allies gain (4-9)% increased Movement Speed
  +(0-19) to radiusPlace into an item socket of the right colour to gain this skill. Right click to remove from a socket. aura any more.
• Hidden monsters can no longer be targeted, attacked or damaged until they un-hide.
• Fixed character creation errors so that they're not hard to read any more.
• Fixed a problem where screenshots taken with the F8 key would look wrong.
• Fixed a bug that could cause area transitions to fail rarely.