Anarchy Online 18.7 Patch

Hello everyone!

On April 21, 2015, we are launching 18.7 - Patchnotes can be found here. This update brings with it a list of changes that will affect almost every aspect of the game, from the introduction of a brand new starting experience, to the vast assortment of changes to the Professions' toolsets. 18.7.0's release is a significant moment, and an important step of Anarchy Online's continued forward march, now that the initial deployment of 18.7 behind us. Future 18.7 versions will continue to deliver new and exciting content updates, to be detailed in future letters. Let's now dig more deeply into what 18.7.0 is bringing to Anarchy Online.

Spoiler: 1

A New Beginning - Arete Landing:

New colonists on Rubi-Ka will start their journey in Arete Landing, an unfamiliar shuttle port adjacent to the newly renovated Rubi-Ka headquarters of the Interstellar Confederation of Corporations (ICC). Within Arete Landing, players will be met with a number of quests designed to instruct them on various mechanics that will be present throughout the main game. As players progress through the quests presented within Arete landing, they will be armed with knowledge and equipment that will greatly aid them on their first steps on this distant desert planet.

In addition to the main questline within Arete Landing, keep an eye out for some additional quirky individuals who have some extra tricks and gifts to offer as payment for assistance; Arete Landing is still a new installation, and the local ICC Peacekeepers are too busy to tend to the needs of every civilian. Within the sandy wastes, not too far outside of Arete Landing, there have been reports of a crashed Kyr'Ozch lander, a small fortification of an upstart band of mercenaries, and collections of hostile, indigenous life. For those looking to vent their post-interstellar travel frustrations, there are even rumors of an arena of sorts.

Arete Landing has a lot to offer for new and old players, and is certainly worth exploring fully. It is important to make the time spent within Arete worth it, as once the decision to depart is made, there will be no returning, which will continue the journey into ICC's renovated headquarters!

Spoiler: 2

New ICC Headquarters:

ICC has completely renovated the location of their headquarters on Rubi-Ka. Transforming their operation from a fortified hole in the ground into a luxurious nexus of transportation and commerce. Once outside of Arete Landing, ICC will welcome any and all new civilians within their walls. With their renovations complete, this hub city has become home to many different kinds of characters and merchants. Shops backed by ICC have additionally been improved to offer a larger and more useful collection of wares.

The whom-pah network has been upgraded as well, now with a more elegant and space-efficient design. In addition to this, a few new terminals have been installed around the surface of Rubi-Ka. The ICC HQ has a 4-way whom-pah that easily connects faction cities with easy access to Jobe. ICC has also consolidated the travel options previously offered from within their previous headquarters on a single shuttle platform, located above the whom-pah stations; reaching the Unicorn's Outzone fortification from the luxurious Sunrise accommodations has never been easier!

Spoiler: 3

Profession Changes:

Arriving with 18.7.0 is a large amount of changes to each professions' nanos, perks, and research procs. The scope of the changes ranged from simply adjusting numbers, to complete overhauls. Some solutions required some new nanos/mechanics to be implemented, which are now all available. During the design and implementation of these changes, much inspiration was drawn from the community. Professionals, forum-based wish lists, patch feedback, random /tells or PMs, etc. have directly contributed to several changes that are a part of this patch - Thank you once again to everyone who contributed during the development process. As this patch belongs to all of you, as much, if not moreso, than us, it felt prudent to enact feedback and breathe life into some long-standing requests.

It is important to stress that some planned changes will continue to be implemented with future patches. Furthermore, few things are set in stone, and we will be looking to remedy remaining issues, or resolve any potential issues created by these changes.

Battlestation Updates:

Several changes will be affecting how Battlestations are fought over and won. Most noticeable, perhaps, is that players will choose which side of the conflict they will support, instead of being forced onto one based on their faction. This should allow for matches to occur more regularly, in addition to opening up the possibility for some match-ups that have been previously impossible. Queues to enter Battlestations should also now properly remove ineligible players, to make invalid matches less likely to occur.

Inside of the station, some of the glass barriers have been removed, to allow for more freedom when moving between wings of the station. Using the teleport terminals will come at a minor cost of locking Treatment for a few seconds.

The sign-up area for Battlestations has seen a number of changes and improvements. As the Veteran and Leet shop has moved into the Tower Shop, all of the OFAB/Victory Point-based shops have been moved into the "Duel Room" of the sign-up area; this space has also been expanded slightly. The sign-up terminals have been given a more space-efficient design, and all fit within the main room. An individual terminal has been added to grant access into the notum dig site SBC-Xpm Site Alpha Romeo.

Parry/Deflect Changes:

The skill known as Parry has been renamed to Deflect. Deflect skill grants the user to be able to partially evade attacks, making those attacks "Glancing" hits. A normal attack that glances will do 50% of the normal damage, while Special attacks have their own behaviors vs. glancing. For example, if a bullet during a Full Auto attack glances, all following bullets will hit for 50% damage, or if an Aimed Shot glances, it will count as a "Miss" and do no damage. The chance of a glancing hit scales from 0% to 10%, based on a Deflect skill of 0->3000.

Further details on Deflect, and everything else mentioned here, can be on the patch notes.

Phasefront Points & Item Shop:

For any previous owners of Phasefront Points, access the Item Shop and review the claimable rewards; based on the amount of Phasefront Points previously purchased, a set of free account-wide rewards will be available. New in the item shop, we will also be introducing a new high-end lotto ticket, as well as adding the ability to purchase some of the items that were previously unique to subscription offers.

Thank you once again to everyone who made 18.7 possible. It has been a fun journey that will serve as the starting point for many more!

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