Bullroarer Update 21 - Preview and Release Notes

[Tybur]

Welcome to our first open preview of Update 21: Mordor. These notes are for Bullroarer, released on Friday, June 23rd. Both the notes and the update are a work in progress, so you should expect things will change over time.


The Bullroarer database was wiped at the end of April in preparation for U21 open beta. Please feel free to copy your live character to Bullroarer using the LIVE transfer wizard.

• We do not currently have a Bullroarer client available for Windows XP / Vista users. We hope to have one for the next preview weekend.
• The High Elf race will remain locked for this first open beta weekend.
• New Epic Volume 4 Book 9 will not be available during the U21 open beta.
• New Black Book of Mordor story will not be available during this first open beta, but will be available in a limited fashion on future Bullroarer preview weekends.
• The Allegiance system panel is available (Reputation - Allegiances), but the items that allow you to progress your allegiance are for the most part not yet available in the game.
• Most higher level and endgame quest content is not yet available.
• Deeper levels of shadow have not yet been placed in most of Gorgoroth.
• The Human Male body type/size slider is currently disabled while we work on avatar improvements. The avatar updates are not yet visible on Bullroarer.
• There is currently a bug where some Beorning male faces are being duplicated and superimposed.

We would love your feedback on Mordor and would particularly appreciate any comments or bug reports you may have about:

1. The level cap increase: including the speed of levelling, the combat power change across levels, and the difficulty of level 106 - 115 mobs in Mordor (please visit Vastin in the Eyes & Guard tavern to pick up gear for your level).
2. The new Doomfold crafting tier (you can pick up resources and some recipes in the Eyes & Guard Crafting Hall).
3. The new barber shop UI with expanded options.
4. The Ash of Gorgoroth gear recycling system (please keep in mind that ash values for recycling and for bartering are placeholder).
5. The entrance to Mordor: Including the appearance of the Black Gate and Udun area and the quest flow through the area.

For preview purposes, the quest gating for the level 115 crafting resource instances has been removed. There are 5 new resource instances for solo players (you can also go in with 2 players): 2 wood (Bhol Rûdh & Kála-murg), 2 scholar (Barad-dûr & Durthang), 1 ore (The Burning Mountain). To get into the resource instances, go speak to Candur in the Udun Foothold.

For preview purposes, a special quest gating the visible destruction of the Black Gate has been created by MadeofLions. Go to the Battle of Morannon version of the Wastes (via teleport horse from the Slag-hills) and speak to test-server-only Boromir who will give you a bypass quest. Once you return to the regular version of the Wastes, the gate will appear destroyed.

Release Notes:
Explore Mordor

Explore Gorgoroth, including:

• Udun, the entryway that holds great forges, quarries, and parade grounds of Mordor.
  
• Dor Amarth, the rocky plain holding the broken bones of Barad-dur
  
• Talath Urui, located south of Mount Doom, home to key fortresses, prisons, and military establishments.
  
• Lhingris, west of the Morgai ridge, home to Cirith Ungol.
  
• Agarnaith, a valley southeast of Barad-dur with a dense, pestilent, and bloody swampland.

Level Cap Increase

• The level cap has been raised to 115.

Allegiance System

• This new end-game system allows players to pledge their allegiance to one faction at a time. Pledge yourself to the Dwarves, Elves, Hobbits, or Men, and unlock rewards through activities in Mordor, including a unique story arc! Currently you can access the system, but the items required to advance progress in an allegiance are not yet available in game.

Light of Eärendil/Shadow

• Areas of Shadow can be found in varying intensity throughout Mordor. These areas weaken visitors, but the Light of Eärendil can counteract this darkness. Your character will see a Shadow and Light Rating, which will help you understand the threat posed by the Shadow. Items that grant Light of Eärendil can be found in Mordor.

Classes

Beorning:

• Beorning skills no longer work through walls.
  
• Sacrifice bonus wrath generation now lasts 20 seconds, up from 12 seconds.
  
• Nature's Mend no longer behaves like a wrath consuming skill.
  
• Grimbeorn's Spirit and Bond of Trust no longer override each other.
  
• Vicious Claws will only refresh one instance of Bash bleed, and no longer remove others.
  
• Claw Swipe and Slash bleeds no longer replace each other.
  
• Expose now affects all Beorning damage skills.
  
• Fate stat contributions have been improved.

Crafting

• Tier 11 crafting is now available for every profession. A full new crafting tier is now available for level 115 items. No new Craft Guild tier is required.
  
• Five new resource instances are now available to help crafters acquire the ingredients necessary for Tier 11 crafting.

Emotes

• The Smoking animation will no longer hitch when starting, and the character will immediately move when breaking out of the emote.

Items

• Landscape treasure containers can be found throughout Gorgoroth, and can be found in both common and uncommon versions.
  
• Item levels in Mordor now range up into the 300s.
  
• Ash of Gorgoroth system: This system allows players to break down unused or unwanted Mordor equipment into Ash of Gorgoroth, which can then be used to purchase new equipment from a vendor. Some items cannot be deconstructed. Each Crafting Profession also has a new recipe to create an item that can be deconstructed.

Legendary Items

• The Imbued Legendary Item level cap has been increased. There are now ten additional levels for Legacies, five of which can be unlocked, and five of which are granted for free.

Monsters

• Some monster AI behavior has been improved.

NPCs

• Fixed the pose for Heburga in East Rohan.

PvMP

• Monster players can now be level 115.

Quests and Adventure Areas

• Several typos have been corrected in the Anniversary Scavenger Hunt.
  
• In the Quest: Scouting the Wild, the white stone marker being searched for is no longer obscured by a large bush.
  
• The waypoint teleportation horse in the Dead Marshes is no longer hiding in tall reeds.
  
• The name "Instance: One Hope Remains" is now consistent when replayed from the Reflecting Pool.

UI

• A Frill Density slider has been added to the Advanced Graphics tab under "Scenery". This option adjusts the amount of frills loaded onto a scene as a percentage.
  
• The Advanced Graphics tab now has an added Particle Effects header with three options: Particle Rendering, Weather Effects, and Static Immobile Objects.
  
• Particle Rendering allows the player to choose which particle effects to render. The options are None, Me, Me + Targets, Targets, and All.
  
• Weather Effects will disable precipitation effects, such as rain and snow.
  
• Static Immobile Objects will select whether to draw particle effects on immobile objects.
  
• A second 10 Year VIP Portrait Frame is now available to qualified players.
  
• Settings that are saved in the userpreferences.ini file, such as graphics preferences, are now saved to disk when the character options panel is closed. This should reduce the risk of settings being unexpectedly lost.

Miscellaneous

• Fixed a floating chest in East Rohan.

[Laurelinarien]

Oh yay!! I'm so excited about this!!

Thanks guys

[Nehos]

I hope this will not be the final form of the beorning "rework" that was announced. Sure it's good to bebug some skills but there are many bugs left. Also the class still won't be as good as other classes, you need to up some skills or change trait trees for the class to be viable...

[Pfeifenkraut]

[*=1]Particle Rendering allows the player to choose which particle effects to render. The options are None, Me, Me + Targets, Targets, and All.

So, if I choose Me + Targets, and I was playing LM in a group: I'd see my giant fire effects on the ground, and I'd see the snare trap that some orc just laid down, but NOT the giant fire effects of the other LM I'm teamed with, or the pulsing green glow the healing RK just put on everyone?

If this is true, please tell me who to kiss: because somebody's getting kissed!

[peachy16]

If this is true, please tell me who to kiss: because somebody's getting kissed!

ROFL too funny. You could also send them bacon. HAHAHAHAHA

[Joedangod]

Classes

Beorning:

• Beorning skills no longer work through walls.
  
• Sacrifice bonus wrath generation now lasts 20 seconds, up from 12 seconds.
  
• Nature's Mend no longer behaves like a wrath consuming skill.
  
• Grimbeorn's Spirit and Bond of Trust no longer override each other.
  
• Vicious Claws will only refresh one instance of Bash bleed, and no longer remove others.
  
• Claw Swipe and Slash bleeds no longer replace each other.
  
• Expose now affects all Beorning damage skills.
  
• Fate stat contributions have been improved.

I can only hope there is a part 2 to this that actually makes it worth taking in instances.

[Kenomica.]

So, if I choose Me + Targets, and I was playing LM in a group: I'd see my giant fire effects on the ground, and I'd see the snare trap that some orc just laid down, but NOT the giant fire effects of the other LM I'm teamed with, or the pulsing green glow the healing RK just put on everyone?

If this is true, please tell me who to kiss: because somebody's getting kissed!

Oh I HOPE that's how it is - I'd love to disable green pulses etc - but still keep important effects like the wound eye, and enemy heal/induction ring.

[BotLike]

A second 10 Year VIP Portrait Frame is now available to qualified players.

A small thing , sure , but this one looks absolutely amazing , thanks ; )

[Silmelin]

Quests and Adventure Areas

• In the Quest: Scouting the Wild, the white stone marker being searched for is no longer obscured by a large bush.

Yay! Thank you for taking care of the bush so quickly!

UI

• Weather Effects will disable precipitation effects, such as rain and snow.

We'll be able to turn off rain? Awesome! I love the rain, but during big events it messes up the screenshots, and during huuuge events it probably adds to lag so it's great that we'll be able to turn it off Thank you!

[Pathagarus]

Why a 10 level cap increase? 5 would of been plenty. 0 would have been ideal.

[joec5701]

Firstly I appreciate that the developers are finally trying to fix the beorning class, but if this is the extent of the "fix".... I like most bears are walking away deeply disappointed.

[Joedangod]

Firstly I appreciate that the developers are finally trying to fix the beorning class, but if this is the extent of the "fix".... I like most bears are walking away deeply disappointed.

I'm still of the mind that "fixing" solves nothing when there are fundamental flaws with the design of the class in terms of avoidance and such.

[Kaeneth]

The High Elf race will remain locked for this first open beta weekend.

With this wording, does that mean that they will be unlocked on the next open beta weekend?

Glad we at least get to see them in character creation this week, though I kind of wish we would have been able to see their customization options.

[stefan1988]

no high-elves yet?what a shame,well will have at least look into the crafting tier.

[oneman]

Weather Effects will disable precipitation effects, such as rain and snow.

Thankyouthankyouthankyou! I have been wishing for this for years. Back in the day it was a neat feature, but the novelty has worn off. When it rains in dark regions (like Dawnless Day), esp. at night, it is hard to see very far. Thanks so much for the little things!

[Banaticus]

Why a 10 level cap increase? 5 would of been plenty. 0 would have been ideal.

No, 20 would be ideal. I'll agree to settle for 10, though. Besides, how else do we make our numbers get larger? Picking flowers? No, ignore that nonsense. Levels or bust.

[stefan1988]

Welcome to our first open preview of Update 21: Mordor. These notes are for Bullroarer, released on Friday, June 23rd. Both the notes and the update are a work in progress, so you should expect things will change over time.


The Bullroarer database was wiped at the end of April in preparation for U21 open beta. Please feel free to copy your live character to Bullroarer using the LIVE transfer wizard.

• We do not currently have a Bullroarer client available for Windows XP / Vista users. We hope to have one for the next preview weekend.
• The High Elf race will remain locked for this first open beta weekend.
• New Epic Volume 4 Book 9 will not be available during the U21 open beta.
• New Black Book of Mordor story will not be available during this first open beta, but will be available in a limited fashion on future Bullroarer preview weekends.
• The Allegiance system panel is available (Reputation - Allegiances), but the items that allow you to progress your allegiance are for the most part not yet available in the game.
• Most higher level and endgame quest content is not yet available.
• Deeper levels of shadow have not yet been placed in most of Gorgoroth.
• The Human Male body type/size slider is currently disabled while we work on avatar improvements. The avatar updates are not yet visible on Bullroarer.
• There is currently a bug where some Beorning male faces are being duplicated and superimposed.

We would love your feedback on Mordor and would particularly appreciate any comments or bug reports you may have about:

1. The level cap increase: including the speed of levelling, the combat power change across levels, and the difficulty of level 106 - 115 mobs in Mordor (please visit Vastin in the Eyes & Guard tavern to pick up gear for your level).
2. The new Doomfold crafting tier (you can pick up resources and some recipes in the Eyes & Guard Crafting Hall).
3. The new barber shop UI with expanded options.
4. The Ash of Gorgoroth gear recycling system (please keep in mind that ash values for recycling and for bartering are placeholder).
5. The entrance to Mordor: Including the appearance of the Black Gate and Udun area and the quest flow through the area.

For preview purposes, the quest gating for the level 115 crafting resource instances has been removed. There are 5 new resource instances for solo players (you can also go in with 2 players): 2 wood (Bhol Rûdh & Kála-murg), 2 scholar (Barad-dûr & Durthang), 1 ore (The Burning Mountain). To get into the resource instances, go speak to Candur in the Udun Foothold.

For preview purposes, a special quest gating the visible destruction of the Black Gate has been created by MadeofLions. Go to the Battle of Morannon version of the Wastes (via teleport horse from the Slag-hills) and speak to test-server-only Boromir who will give you a bypass quest. Once you return to the regular version of the Wastes, the gate will appear destroyed.

Release Notes:
Explore Mordor

Explore Gorgoroth, including:

• Udun, the entryway that holds great forges, quarries, and parade grounds of Mordor.
  
• Dor Amarth, the rocky plain holding the broken bones of Barad-dur
  
• Talath Urui, located south of Mount Doom, home to key fortresses, prisons, and military establishments.
  
• Lhingris, west of the Morgai ridge, home to Cirith Ungol.
  
• Agarnaith, a valley southeast of Barad-dur with a dense, pestilent, and bloody swampland.

Level Cap Increase

• The level cap has been raised to 115.

Allegiance System

• This new end-game system allows players to pledge their allegiance to one faction at a time. Pledge yourself to the Dwarves, Elves, Hobbits, or Men, and unlock rewards through activities in Mordor, including a unique story arc! Currently you can access the system, but the items required to advance progress in an allegiance are not yet available in game.

Light of Eärendil/Shadow

• Areas of Shadow can be found in varying intensity throughout Mordor. These areas weaken visitors, but the Light of Eärendil can counteract this darkness. Your character will see a Shadow and Light Rating, which will help you understand the threat posed by the Shadow. Items that grant Light of Eärendil can be found in Mordor.

Classes

Beorning:

• Beorning skills no longer work through walls.
  
• Sacrifice bonus wrath generation now lasts 20 seconds, up from 12 seconds.
  
• Nature's Mend no longer behaves like a wrath consuming skill.
  
• Grimbeorn's Spirit and Bond of Trust no longer override each other.
  
• Vicious Claws will only refresh one instance of Bash bleed, and no longer remove others.
  
• Claw Swipe and Slash bleeds no longer replace each other.
  
• Expose now affects all Beorning damage skills.
  
• Fate stat contributions have been improved.

Crafting

• Tier 11 crafting is now available for every profession. A full new crafting tier is now available for level 115 items. No new Craft Guild tier is required.
  
• Five new resource instances are now available to help crafters acquire the ingredients necessary for Tier 11 crafting.

Emotes

• The Smoking animation will no longer hitch when starting, and the character will immediately move when breaking out of the emote.

Items

• Landscape treasure containers can be found throughout Gorgoroth, and can be found in both common and uncommon versions.
  
• Item levels in Mordor now range up into the 300s.
  
• Ash of Gorgoroth system: This system allows players to break down unused or unwanted Mordor equipment into Ash of Gorgoroth, which can then be used to purchase new equipment from a vendor. Some items cannot be deconstructed. Each Crafting Profession also has a new recipe to create an item that can be deconstructed.

Legendary Items

• The Imbued Legendary Item level cap has been increased. There are now ten additional levels for Legacies, five of which can be unlocked, and five of which are granted for free.

Monsters

• Some monster AI behavior has been improved.

NPCs

• Fixed the pose for Heburga in East Rohan.

PvMP

• Monster players can now be level 115.

Quests and Adventure Areas

• Several typos have been corrected in the Anniversary Scavenger Hunt.
  
• In the Quest: Scouting the Wild, the white stone marker being searched for is no longer obscured by a large bush.
  
• The waypoint teleportation horse in the Dead Marshes is no longer hiding in tall reeds.
  
• The name "Instance: One Hope Remains" is now consistent when replayed from the Reflecting Pool.

UI

• A Frill Density slider has been added to the Advanced Graphics tab under "Scenery". This option adjusts the amount of frills loaded onto a scene as a percentage.
  
• The Advanced Graphics tab now has an added Particle Effects header with three options: Particle Rendering, Weather Effects, and Static Immobile Objects.
  
• Particle Rendering allows the player to choose which particle effects to render. The options are None, Me, Me + Targets, Targets, and All.
  
• Weather Effects will disable precipitation effects, such as rain and snow.
  
• Static Immobile Objects will select whether to draw particle effects on immobile objects.
  
• A second 10 Year VIP Portrait Frame is now available to qualified players.
  
• Settings that are saved in the userpreferences.ini file, such as graphics preferences, are now saved to disk when the character options panel is closed. This should reduce the risk of settings being unexpectedly lost.

Miscellaneous

• Fixed a floating chest in East Rohan.

well,idk from where you got into BR trait points cap of 87 yet its not clearly via leveling only as from atm live to bullroarers new cap we shall have 88 not 87 trait points max aka new 5,not 4, points for each new odd level (107,109,111,113,115)

[stefan1988]

no high-elves yet?what a shame,well will have at least look into the crafting tier.

crafting however will be harder to test out since the anorien boost isnt working,it will take proper amount of LP from me yet wont boost me

[Chris91]

crafting however will be harder to test out since the anorien boost isnt working,it will take proper amount of LP from me yet wont boost me

go to the crafting guy in E&G and boost yourself to Anorien and then fill up Anorien by processing using the rapid crafting boost from the store..takes 2 minutes

[Guhrasoh]

Light of Eärendil/Shadow

• Areas of Shadow can be found in varying intensity throughout Mordor. These areas weaken visitors, but the Light of Eärendil can counteract this darkness. Your character will see a Shadow and Light Rating, which will help you understand the threat posed by the Shadow. Items that grant Light of Eärendil can be found in Mordor.

Oh ####, a reintroduction of the radiance system. Talk about not learning from the past.

[fuzzyhead91]

Is bug reporting turned off? I'm unable to bring attention to the many bridges and grates that I'm falling through and getting stuck in.

[Laerien]

Light of Eärendil/Shadow

• Areas of Shadow can be found in varying intensity throughout Mordor. These areas weaken visitors, but the Light of Eärendil can counteract this darkness. Your character will see a Shadow and Light Rating, which will help you understand the threat posed by the Shadow. Items that grant Light of Eärendil can be found in Mordor.

Because we want all the gear and essences you grinded for +6 months be completely useless instead of "ready for Mordor"

[stefan1988]

go to the crafting guy in E&G and boost yourself to Anorien and then fill up Anorien by processing using the rapid crafting boost from the store..takes 2 minutes

ok but where to get the new tiers recipes?

[perrapunk]

Stats way higher but the % is lower with the new gear, is that right..? Only more morale and Light of eärendil
New lv115 gear.. 78k finesse = 17,4%
Old lv105 gear.. 22k finesse = 19%

[Camireth]

Beornings should be able to build wrath with levelling the same way other classes can build power. Seriously, I don't imagine Beorn suddenly ran out of energy and turned back into a man halfway through a fight.