Although this interview at MMORPG.com is about more than just Dark Age of Camelot, the most interesting news is about that game. Other news is about WAR and MMOs in the future.

It is great when an Executive Producer says, what would you do with Dark Age of Camelot? Well I explained that maybe a sequel would be the way to go. Or perhaps revamp the game with an updated engine, new graphics and art, and keep the world in its old form with game play very close to the way people remember it. Jeff smiled, smirked is more like it, for a very long time. Jeff said that they are hiring right now on the Dark Age of Camelot team. We can only hope DAOC will see a rejuvenation back to its old awesome PvP self.

Mythic's Dark Age of Camelot has been patched to version 1.96. Go here for the full release notes:

The Camelot Team proudly presents version 1.96. Casting classes were the focus of this patch cycle with the Spiritmaster, Wizard, and Enchanter classes all receiving new spells. Several new trophies have been made available, and delves have been added to all remains to help make creating trophies easier for trophy hunters everywhere. This patch also brings a continuation of the Shrouded Isles armor updates which began in version 1.95.

Here's the latest Q&A Grab Bag from The Camelot Herald. The article ends with a few announcements from the developers:

ANNOUNCEMENTS

The house repossession countdown has begun. Some house lots could become available as soon as Monday evening, so if you are thinking of renewing your subscription, do not wait until the last minute. For those of you who want to see which house lots might become available, head on over to housing and click on houses which are marked as condemned to see how much time they have left.

This week we announced our new Mauler and Valkyrie Team Leads. We still have a couple of Team Lead Positions to fill, including those for Gaheris (PvE), Wizard, Valewalker and Bonedancer. If you think you have what it takes, Apply Today!

Load It Up! Today we announced an exciting and absolutely fun contest called Load It Up, where we want you to submit your ideas for new loading screen tips/hints/myths or anything you come up with. We've already received a couple of entries and they are keeping us smiling over here! Be creative, helpful and funny.

The Camelot Herald serves another "Grab Bag" Q&A session:

Q. I have a question about crafting. I recently heard that New Frontiers has a better crafting bonus then in capital cities and housing, could you shine some light on this for us, please? 

A. The Bearded Wonder shifted his head curiously and explains: Here is where we introduced crafting bonuses to the capital cities: http://www.camelotherald.com/more/2811.shtml
This was done to promote crafting in the cities as a hub of activity. There are no corresponding bonuses like that in New Frontiers. None of the NF zones have a bonus set for crafting like the cities do.

The Camelot Herald has word that the Pendragon test server will be undergoing some downtime to enable the removal of the Trials of Atlantis client.

Heads up! Pendragon is coming down tomorrow in order to disable the Trials of Atlantis client and for related code adjustments . This is in preparation for the removal of the client from Live servers when 1.91 goes live. If you currently use the Trials of Atlantis client and plan to log into Pendragon after tomorrow, then download the Catacombs client here for free. Enjoy!

EA Mythic is seeking fan written stories for its Dark Age of Camelot newsletter.  The Camelot Herald has the details.

We're looking for Fan Fiction stories to be featured in the newsletter. If you or a friend has written something you'd like to share based on the world of Dark Age of Camelot, we'd love to consider it!  

Head on over to the Camelot Herald for a guide to the new weapon style changes to hit the game with version 1.91.

We've come up with a comprehensive guide to all of the style changes that have gone in so far for 1.91. This guide is for your reference while testing the new adjustments.

Since there is a good chance things will be changing, we didn't want to update the official Herald documentation just yet, so please use the following links as your guide to what's on Pendragon right now.

It's Dark Age of Camelot's sixth anniversary and EA Mythic are celebrating with additional zone bonuses.  The Camelot Herald has the details. 

WarCry chats to Missy Hatch of the Dark Age of Camelot team about the current status of the game.

WarCry: What impact have you seen from the clustering of the Classic and SI areas? Any complaints from Mids about Modernagrav or Albs about Orc camps? Any thoughts of unclustering some of the more popular PvE spots?

Missy Hatch: So far, the reaction to the new zone clustering has been positive. Before the patch came out the community was generally skeptical, but the majority of players find it a welcome change. These areas seem more alive now. It’s common to see other players while out on a hunt, which was our goal, since that’s what playing an MMO is all about.

GamersInfo reports from the Dark Age of Camelot roundtable on the wealth of changes in progress and upcoming for EA Mythic's MMO.

What is coming in the rest of the year that had the players most excited, and made me think that it might just be time to return. They're currently working on a New Frontiers update that is going to revamp RvR in the game. In an effort to remove some of the frustrations and annoyances of RvR keep taking, they're removing ladders from all keeps and putting in ramps iinstead. Bridges, towers and keeps are all being redesigned with ramps rather than ladders, and will have climb points on them made more obvious, as well as more numerous, once the redesign. The prototypes are being looked at by the team leads, and soon the first redesigns will show up in the battlegrounds on Pendragon for testing.

They're also looking to help improve framerate and game performance overall in RvR by changing much of the technical "stuff" of how keeps are rendered. They're fixing line of site issues, improving pet pathing, normalizing the height and depth of keep walls, and generally spending time listening to team leads and players about what was most frustrating about keep taking in RvR.

EA Mythic has announced the launch of a new website to coincide with the new Dark Age of Camelot campaign, A Dragon's Revenge .

FAIRFAX, VA - MARCH 28, 2007 - EA Mythic today announced the launch of the website for the new Camelot Campaign, A Dragon's Revenge, as well as the release of the latest Dark Age of Camelot patch, version 1.88. The website contains stunning in-game screenshots, storyline background and insight on each realm's new breathtaking dragon. Patch version 1.88 features a complete revamp of the archery system, a sharp increase in the amount of bounty point rewards and more.

A Dragon's Revenge offers players a unique, action-packed six-month story arc with new content released every two weeks. Dormant for centuries, Camelot's dragons have grown restless and have descended upon peaceful villages throughout the Realms. Patch 1.88 marks the next stage in this exciting story - and tales of horror await those in the path of the dragons' wrath.

Influenced directly by players' actions, the Dragon's Revenge story arc offers high-level players many new opportunities to wield their high-caliber skills, while opening new mysteries that players of all levels can explore. To see screenshots of the fearsome dragons and learn more about the exciting new campaign, visit: www.darkageofcamelot.com/adragonsrevenge.

Ten Ton Hammer talks with Walt Yarborough, the Producer for Dark Age of Camelot, about the Dragon's Revenge campaign and how its episodic content ties into the game as a whole.

Is there an RvR tie-in with these new campaigns?

Walt Yarbrough, Producer, Dark Age of Camlot: There's nothing specified right now. We have to do our best not to change the player's RvR experience because that is the endgame they're playing every night. So we have to approach it delicately. We certainly have the potential to put in an RvR tie-in, but it would probably be along the lines of a dragon-specific Minotaur relic. It would be something that you bring from the dragon campaign out into RvR as opposed to pulling people out of RvR to go into the dragon campaign.

EA Mythic has announced a free upgrade to the Catacombs game client for all Dark Age of Camelot players.

EA Mythic today announced that "Catacombs^TM," the fifth expansion for the critically-acclaimed MMO "Dark Age of Camelot^®," is available to all current and retired players as a free download. All accounts have been granted access to the expansion content.

The "Catacombs" expansion introduces improved graphics, five new character classes, three massive underground cities, and instanced dungeons to the world of Camelot. Players can download the "Catacombs" files at http://catacombs.darkageofcamelot.com/downloads.php. Former players returning to the game can re-activate their account, regain their original characters and take advantage of the online availability of the expansion.

"Catacombs" requires the original "Dark Age of Camelot" and the "Shrouded Isle^TM" expansion to play. These games are available as a single, convenient 14-day free trial at www.darkageofcamelot.com/downloads.

In addition to the full reports posted elsewhere, MMORPG.com and WarCry have reports from EA Mythic's recent press event that focus on Dark Age of Camelot.  Here's a snip from the first:

Moving into 2007, Dark Age of Camelot plans to concentrate on three new features to drive their game: Live Game Updates, Enhancing account services, and the biggest of the three Camelot Campaigns. Also, DAOC will make the Catacombs expansion free for players. With so much content already in the game, and players still fighting it out in RvR, the new features will focus on giving the players things to do without having new zones to adventure through.

In regards to live game updates, Camelot plans a large scale clean up of the way game play is working currently. Their hope is to optimize player performance and remove player frustrations. This began with the January 10th patch (1.87) and is expected to continue throughout the year. Without going into full specifics, Walt explained that DAOC will be cleaning up crafting, the UI, its class system, and will be adding some polish to the art and content. Also, players will be getting a twelve button hot bar on their UIs.

GOA and EA Mythic have announced the release date for the seventh Dark Age of Camelot expansion, Labyrinth of the Minotaur.

10th January 2007 – Paris, France: Today, GOA will announce the details for the European release of the seventh expansion of the massively multiplayer online role-playing game, Dark Age of Camelot: Labyrinth of the Minotaur. The expansion will be available on the 14th of February 2007, and will celebrate the fifth anniversary of the famous EA Mythic and GOA MMORPG in Europe.

"This expansion is a great way to celebrate the fifth anniversary of Dark Age of Camelot", says Producer Walt Yarbrough proudly. "Labyrinth of the Minotaur is rich with new content and adds exciting new features to the game that will challenge players. If you haven’t done so already, now is the time to lose yourself in Dark Age of Camelot!"

The patch notes for Test Version 1.87 have been published on Dark Age of Camelot's official site. Included are various tradeskill and class changes as well as a couple of aesthetic updates.

NEW THINGS AND BUG FIXES

- Each realm now has a unique bind animation. The animation being used currently is a placeholder which will be replaced later in the patch cycle.

NEW FRONTIERS NOTES

- The storms effect graphics have been optimized and the center part of the storm raised to prevent small races from hiding inside and becoming difficult to target.

Voodoo Extreme reviews Labyrinth of the Minotaur, the latest expansion for Mythic Entertainment's Dark Age of Camelot.

Mythic's latest expansion in the Dark Age of Camelot universe is called Labyrinth of the Minotaur. Included is the single largest dungeon ever constructed in a massively multiplayer game, a new unlockable player class, five new champion levels, a new inventory slot, mini-Minotaur relics, a treasure trove of new drops, and chaotic battlegrounds-inspired, realm-vs.-realm combat. The champion abilities are still capped at Level 5, so don't expect getting 20% resist buffs or anything crazy. You do gain a pretty nice bump up in hit points and power pool for every new champion level gained, plus a fancy new title as well.

Yahoo has word that Mythic Entertainment is celebrating five years of Dark Age of Camelot with the release of Labyrinth of the Minotaur and a Definitive Collection which includes the new expansion pack.

REDWOOD CITY, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Electronic Arts (NASDAQ:ERTS - News) announced today that two new Dark Age of Camelot® (DAoC) products are now available in North America. Labyrinth of the Minotaur(TM), the MMORPG's seventh expansion, is being released in conjunction with the epic fantasy game's fifth anniversary. The new expansion is available both as a stand alone product via digital distribution and as part of the new Dark Age of Camelot: 5th Anniversary Collection. Developed by EA Mythic (formerly Mythic Entertainment), the titles are available for the PC and require an internet connection to play.

More... 

VoodooExtreme has quizzed Dark Age of Camelot producer Walter Yarbrough about Labyrinth of the Minotaur:

How do you think the Labyrinth and Minotaur Relics will impact Dark Age of Camelot in general?

The design of the Minotaur relics is intended to add a new RvR game to the Frontiers - our goal is to have at least five of the new relics in the frontiers every night. We felt that our existing tower, keep and relic RvR games were already fun and challenging for our players, so the Minotaur relic game is designed to complement RvR.

MMORPG.com talks with Lori Hyrup, an Associate Producer on Dark Age of Camelot.

MMORPG.com: Tell us a little bit about your life growing up. Where did you live, what did you do, did you go to school?

Lori Hyrup: I am originally from the San Francisco Bay Area. In 1979, my grandparents, followed by my mother and the rest of my family, moved to rural Lake County of Northern California. There they settled in a small town called Clearlake Oaks. I was five years old at the time. Though many people (even Californians) are unfamiliar with this region, Clearlake is the largest natural freshwater lake completely within California. It is also believed to be the oldest lake in North America, formed around a series of dormant volcanoes, the largest being Konocti, a name given to it by the legends of local Pomo Indians.

More... 

Mythic Entertainment's Associate Producer Howard Marans stops by for a chat with MMORPG.com.

MMORPG.com: Take us through a typical day of work at Mythic, what is it like when you show up at the office?

Howard Marans: My job mainly focuses around the integration of the art and content for Camelot. The artists and world builders will give me their work, and I will get it integrated into the game clients. Sometimes, it's a bit slow, but other times the stuff comes in so quickly you never get a second to catch your breath.

I'm also in charge of making sure all the correct files are ready for the patches and are going to the correct clients.

The big news out of Las Vegas was the first in-depth details of Labyrinth of the Minotaur. The new features include one new race and class for all three realms, champion levels 6 through 10, mythical slots, a Minotaur relic system and the epic Labyrinth dungeon.

The new race - accessible to Albion, Midgard and Hibernia - is the Minotaur. According to the lore, this ancient race once inhabited the three realms and their capital was at the site of present day Agramon. Their city was both above and below ground and there they created relics of their own. Over time, they dispersed, the area fell into disrepair and now the race is separated, rather conveniently, into three clans.

The Minotaur race carries high strength and constitution, but lacks dexterity and quickness. They are also resistant to heat and cold. There are three classes open to Minotaurs in each realm, plus the Mauler.

The past five years have years have seen the world grow substantially, both in physical size and depth of content. During this period, two free add-ons, Foundations and New Frontiers have entered service, as have four commercial expansions. First, Shrouded Isles added new continents, races and classes. Trials of Atlantis took players into the depths to explore another fabled land while also adding one race per realm plus a Master Levels advancement system. Catacombs followed, taking the action below the ground while introducing more classes and instanced adventuring areas. Last year, Darkness Rising brought a variation on the subterranean theme accompanied by a supplemental Champion progression scheme and a form of sub-classing. Coming up next, likely within the fairly near future, is Labyrinth of the Minotaur, with highlights including the playable titular race and a hybrid class called the Mauler.

MMORPG.com: Obviously, the idea of a cross-realm class and a cross-realm race is a departure for a game that has always been quite strictly segregated. Why did you choose to go a route that seemingly brings the three realms closer together?

Sanya Thomas: In terms of storytelling, this gave us a lot of new avenues to explore. It's been five years since we launched the original game. There's only so many times you can tell the "and each realm discovered this new race at the exact same time" story without feeling silly. The minotaur race, and the unlockable class, is a new angle for us.

Q: The Labyrinth press release says the new race can use 2H weapons in one hand! Have you thought about XYZ?

A: Yes, we have, and we think we can do it in a good way for the game. This is where I mention that it's only a plan. Actual play testing may yet prove that we should not do this, in which case, we won't. It's a press release, not holy writ.

Q: If you pre-register for the Vegas roundtable, and later are unable to actually attend, will you still get the expansion and be able to participate in the beta?

A: Yes to both. But I sure hope you're able to come and party - the whole point of the event is to meet new and old friends, and for us to talk to you in person.

EA Expands Dark Age of Camelot(R) With Labyrinth of the Minotaur(TM)

Wednesday August 16, 8:00 am ET
Grab the Bull by the Horns in the Seventh Expansion to the Epic Fantasy MMORPG

REDWOOD CITY, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug. 16, 2006--Electronic Arts (NASDAQ:ERTS - News) announced today Labyrinth of the Minotaur, the seventh expansion to the epic fantasy MMORPG Dark Age of Camelot. Currently in development at EA Mythic (formerly Mythic Entertainment), the expansion is scheduled to ship in the US in late 2006 for the PC.

"I can't think of any better way to celebrate the 5th anniversary of Dark Age of Camelot than with the release of a new expansion for the players," said Walt Yarbrough, Producer of Dark Age of Camelot. "This exciting, story-driven content will bring new thrills to an already vibrant and thriving game world. There is no better time to be playing Camelot than right now!"

The ancient race of Minotaur has returned to Camelot, and they seek the help of the mightiest warriors from the three warring Realms. Powerful Minotaur Relics, long hidden and sealed away, have been unearthed, and their corrupting influence now threatens the world of Camelot.

Q: Why can't we sell potions to NPCs on Pendragon?

A: Because we're still working on the patch. Right now, when you sell a potion with multiple charges, the system doesn't check to see how many charges are actually on the item, and gives you money as if the item were fully charged.

In other words, yes, we catch exploits before things even get to Pendragon all the time. ;) As soon as it's fixed we'll turn potion selling back on.

Q: Hey, I play on Classic, and I was wondering, do you think we can get Legendary weapons now?

A: We're definitely discussing it, since the departing bonuses were the reason you didn't get them in the first place. But I don't think we'll have an answer in time to make a decision for this until after the fall expansion is launched.

Q: In 1.84, you made a change to allow players to spellcraft their legendary weapons. I tried to SC a legendary weapon made before the 1.84 patch, and when I zone or log out the SC bonuses disappear. WTH?

A: Any legendary weapon made after 1.84 has the SC ability built in. We tried to set the old weapons to allow spellcrafting, and almost succeeded - we just made a mistake with the original legendary weapons. There are actually three different "generations" of legendary weapons that exist in the game today. The very oldest generation is making a code check whenever you zone or log out, and erasing the bonuses. There aren't many of these old weapons still in use, but if you've got one that was made around the time that we launched TOA, you are most likely affected by this bug. We will fix it Monday, so just hang on to your old legendary weapon until you see the patch note indicating it's safe to spellcraft it. I'm sorry for the annoyance.

FAIRFAX, VA - July 6, 2006 - Mythic Entertainment, developer and publisher of the critically-acclaimed massively-multiplayer online role-playing game, Dark Age of Camelot, today announced details for the 2006 Dark Age of Camelot Roundtable Fan Gathering in Las Vegas, Nevada. Players from around the world are invited to join Mythic at the Rio Hotel and Casino on September 29th and 30th to celebrate five years of Dark Age of Camelot.

Attendees will have a chance to meet fellow players and the developers, as well as get the inside track on future developments for the game. The Roundtable will feature Dark Age of Camelot -themed activities including LAN play (sponsored by NVIDIA and NEC Display Solutions of America, Inc.), open discussion forums with the development team, guest speakers, and contests.

Players who register before August 25, 2006 will receive a beta account for the next Dark Age of Camelot expansion, a free copy of the expansion and an exclusive in-game item. Attendees will also have the opportunity to win prizes from the event's sponsors: NVIDIA, Creative Labs, NEC Display Solutions of America, Razer USA Ltd., Prima Games, and Crucial Technology, with more to be announced.

"I can't think of a better way to celebrate five years of Camelot and discuss the game's exciting future than with the players who helped make it all possible," said Walter Yarbrough, Producer of Dark Age of Camelot. "Our plans for the seventh major expansion demonstrate our continuing commitment to Dark Age of Camelot. Those in attendance will be amongst the first to experience this exciting new content and see for themselves why Camelot has never been better."

The Dark Age of Camelot Roundtable Fan Gathering will be held at the Rio Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada on September 29th - 30th. For more information on the event and to purchase tickets, please go to www.darkageofcamelot.com/roundtable.

Q: Is there an official site or web page good for artifact information and research?

A: As it happens, Missy is working on such a thing for the Herald RIGHT NOW. We think it will be done by the end of July. We didn't do it sooner because there was a brilliant fan-made version that was better than what we were planning - but there have been many changes since that one was created. We're going to take care of getting the best, most recent information posted.

Camelot Vault: Has Mythic discussed the future of the game with EA, or what they see as a vision for the game? Do they expect something more out of it than it has given over the past year or are they satisfied with its current standing? Any chance DAoC will get more staff to address issues that have had to be tabled due to manpower / resources?

Walt Yarbrough: The future of Camelot is set in stone, at least for this year. We'll launch our Fall expansion pack, and continue working on the live game through our normal patch cycle. Honestly, this statement is exactly the same, with or without EA's involvement.

As to the satisfaction with Camelot and plans to grow the game? That's what Mark is discussing with EA right now, and it is really not my place to comment. My role is to serve as a tireless advocate for Camelot, which is what the team works on improving every day.

We're hiring additional staff for the Camelot project right now, so there's not a "chance" of additional staff, that's a reality. It is too soon to say whether or not we will see a significant increase in the Camelot staff.

Straight from the Moderately Evil Overlord: "We have a known issue with melee combat, where in some situations attacking while moving results in an increased miss rate. This is a bug, and we will take down the servers on Friday to fix it. I apologize very much for any annoyance this is causing."

I add my own apology to that, guys. The Friday downtime is scheduled for 8:00 AM to 1:00 PM, but as always... watch this space for more information. Warning: The whole community team will be coming home from the party in Ohio on Friday morning, so if the servers come back early, it may not be posted with our usual speed.

Q: Did you change your mind about EA? I thought I saw someone from Mythic saying that there was no EA deal.

A: You did see something like that. That was last February/March, right? At the time, a very early set of discussion had just ended with us saying, basically, no thanks. Since the entire Camelot player base is no doubt sick of hearing from me on the topic, this is a quote sent over to Warcry when they asked Mark Jacobs this question:

"In terms of changing our mind, it was a matter of EA and Mythic reaching a place where both sides felt comfortable about the deal and both sides understood how we would be able to work together in the present and the future. At no time did either Mythic or EA say to each other "Get out and don't come back!" but rather, both companies never had a "meeting of the minds" as it were. So after lots of discussions, conversations, tough but fair negotiations, we all agreed on how we were going to build a great future together and closed the deal."

In the patch notes, we mistakenly placed into only the Albion item notes a note stating that Artifact repair costs have been reduced by 50%. This should have been placed in the general notes section for Trials of Atlantis, as it applies to all artifacts in the game, for all three realms. The new note reads:

- The repair costs of all Artifacts in all three realms have been reduced by 50%.

The fixes are HOT and live, just for you.

- Tinderboxes and other various items that are supposed to be restricted from RvR and BG use will no longer work in Cathal Valley.

- Vermin swarmers in the Demonic Prison will no longer have epic monster level abilities.

Just got an instant message from the Producer o' Camelot, Moderately Evil Overlord Walt: "Some players are experiencing display problems with their master levels. This is related to the work we did with the third ML lines. If we can get that fixed (and get the fix tested), we will take the servers down this afternoon and put this change up."

We don't think the problem is big enough that we should disrupt prime time, so if we can't get it fixed within the next few hours, we will hold off on the server downtime until tomorrow. Keep your eyes here for updates, and I apologize for the inconvenience to those affected.

NEW THINGS AND BUG FIXES

- Fixed an issue which caused players to be unable to zone into and out of certain areas - specifically Trials of Atlantis regions. This also fixes problems associated with item drops from monsters and the use of djinn stones and other teleporter NPCs.

Hey, y'all. Important note: If your class got a respec in this patch, it was not forced upon you. There is a special new kind of respec that is enabled on your character if you have one coming to you.

We've had more than a few people out there wondering how they can get in touch with their Team Leads to send in feedback and suggestions. Just as a reminder, the Team Lead Feedback form can be found here. Choose your category from the dropdown menu and your message will go directly to the Team Lead you selected. A list of active Team Leads can be found here. Just like all feedback that comes through the Herald, you may not receive a reply, but each message is read. Thanks for your input!

NEW THINGS AND BUG FIXES

- Bolts have been changed so that they will no longer fail to hit a target in combat unless the target is being melee attacked by an enemy who is within a range of 200 units. In such cases, there is a 20% chance of failure for each attacker within a range of 200 units.

Hey, y'all, just a heads up. We're changing Pendragon to the Gaheris ruleset at 3:00 PM EDT this Friday to test the new Gaheris Relic Encounters. We'll be leaving it that way for the entire weekend, and change it back on Monday morning. If anyone wants to help us test out the new toys, look for Charon - he's a Mythic dev that will be online periodically during the weekend "playing taxi and rez bot."

EDIT TO ADD: The patch notes tomorrow will explain what Gaheris Relic Encounters are. Sorry, thought we'd hinted at it already.

NEW THINGS AND BUG FIXES

- Due to the extensive amount of feedback we have received from both our team leads and the player community, we have reverted the changes made on Pendragon yesterday to Banelord, and we instead have opted to do the following to this Master Level line:

All spells and Abilities in Banelord, except for Demoralization and Zone of Unmana, have been made to interrupt other players who are casting.

The radius on the following abilities has been reduced to 750: Primal Agony, Oppression, Inexorable Defeat, Tactical Insight, Chaotic Power, Agony Transmission and Demoralization.

Here is a proposed list of "third" ML lines. All you have to do is read this week's posts on the Herald to know this isn't final, but bear in mind that no list casters got Sojourner, and we gave pure tanks Banelord because no other line made sense. Please check out the 1.84E notes and this list, and log in to the game to take the poll. We'll decide what our next step is after seeing the results of that poll. Thanks in advance for your participation!

That was my sad attempt at "the funny." Please note before reading: These changes need to be tried before you comment, on both sides of the fence. The reason FOR these changes is that we are likely giving Banelord to more classes in this patch, but to do so while Banelord is so powerful would be stupid and bad for the game. Finally, please note that there will be a poll in the near future about the potential "third ML line" options. Before we do that, I'll be posting a list of the options (meaning I'll post the proposed additional line for each class). Here's the proposed changes to Banelord, and we do welcome feedback from those with detailed information from their Pendragon testing.

All clients will find 7 MB of files awaiting them the next time you log in to play. Most of these files are redone art files. Not redone visually, but performance... ly. The point was to make small improvements to your framerate in Shrouded Isles zones. Any improvement should be seen immediately after patching.

Sorry, guys, I had the wrong date on my desk calendar, and mindlessly repeated the error in the grab bag. The correct date for the Ohio Roundtable Roadtrip is Thursday, June 29. We're going to be in town for Origins, and Thursday was the only night we could swing it. Yvonne the Content Queen and Missy the Herald Princess will be there to rock Columbus... or Hilliard, as the case may be.

Q: Is anything being done for toons who are not allowed in Leirvik due to their Master Level?

A: Not at this time, unless you count our adding a new BG this coming patch. Certainly there are a number of you who have made this request, and I've passed it on.

Q: My guild recently moved to a different server, and we could not find a housing area with enough lots to create the village we had on our old server. Will you be adding new ones?

A: No. Setting up new zones requires a certain amount of hardware, and we can't justify that when the housing zones are not full.