Official: Adjustments Made to Black Swan Quest

[Fallen]

We are getting ready to open up the Return to Black Swan Castle Quest for private runs. Please be aware that due to issues with automation that arose during the runs in March and April, we have made several adjustments:
•Removed most combat, allowing grouping for different-level adventurers
•Replaced tiered success a flat success/not success and regrouped prizes accordingly
•Increased time limit to five hours so all can finish without feeling rushed
•Adjusted random factors for some of the puzzles
•Added a "quit early" option for claiming a prize

Private runs can be requested by emailing quests@simutronics.com. If you would prefer public runs set up, name a date and time and we'll see about getting it up on the website. Your time slot may not be available if there is another run scheduled, even if the participants do not need the full five hours to complete the quest.

Some of the prizes have been adjusted or removed. The two prize tiers are listed below. Please keep in mind that the script owners have the right to pull their items, so some may be removed or more may be added as runs progress.

Success:
Prize Purpose
Crimson kelyn dagger - Fully unlocked five-times enchanted Siolan dagger; Enhances Ambush and Combat Maneuver Bonuses
Troll-arm scabbard - Squishy troll-arm scabbard that can hold one weapon; Enhances Health Recovery
Troll-leg backsheath - Squishy troll-leg backsheath that can hold two weapons; Enhances Health Recovery
Thick leather blackjack - Four-times enchanted blackjack with knockout flares
Golden skull ring - Skull ring that attunes to a container to open and shut it; Enhances Perception
Onyx feather brooch - Gold-ring holder with feather messaging; Enhances Max Mana and Mana Recovery
Drakar short sword - Fully unlocked Thousand Cuts short sword; enchanted six times with fire flares
Vultite longsword - Four-times enchanted expander weapon -- switch between a dagger, a short sword, and a longsword!
Orange yarn mugwump - Disk Transformer with 500 charges; results in oil-coated disk
Marble prayerbeads - Unattuned prayerbeads; Enhances Religion Lore
Pouch-lined harness - Fully unlocked Cidolfhus bandolier with increased capacity
Black linen harness - Katana sash with special Black Swan Castle loresong; Enhances Edged Weapon Bonus
Spiked mace - Unlocked Iasha white ora weapon with five enchants
White ora maul - Unlocked Iasha white ora weapon with five enchants
Grey wolf fur satchel - Fully unlocked Cidolfhus bundling skins and fur bag; Enhances First Aid and Survival Bonuses
Orase quarterstaff - Six-times enchanted quarterstaff with a hidden four-times enchanted katana inside
Shimmering violet orb - One-use orb allows you to learn from your experiences faster!
White satin gown - Nalea gown with Black Swan Castle loresong
Black ruic longbow - Four-times enchanted somewhat-sighted longbow; Enhances Perception, Ranged Weapon, Dexterity, and Ambush Bonuses
Mykalin scale gloves - Five-times enchanted unarmed combat gloves with Unbalance flares
Carved wooden troll - Figurine that allows you to speak (but not understand) Trollish
Two-toned stone bead - Fully unlocked hair bauble; includes braid and ponytail options
Troll spine - Drop into your existing non-enhancive armor to add Health and Stamina Recoveries
Loose white robes - Five-times enchanted robes with fire flares and fur lining
Black leather backpack - Reduces encumbrance once per day; max light and deep
Troll flesh pin - Infuses health once per day; Enhances health recovery
Troll magus fetish - Infuses mana once per day; Enhances mana recovery




Not Success:
Bloodjewel ring - Enhances Harness Power, Mana Recovery, and Spiritual, Mental, and Elemental Mana Controls Bonuses (*)
Chicken foot - Enhances Stalking & Hiding and Ambush (*)
Troll finger pendant - Enhances Dodging, Agility, and Intuition bonuses (*)
White leather gloves - Enhances Spell Aiming Bonus and Elemental Air Lore Ranks (*)
Black swan charm - Enhances Mana Recovery (*)
White swan charm - Enhances Max Spirit and Spirit Recovery (*)
Horned pegasus charm - Enhances Stamina Recovery and Constitution Bonus (*)
Wolverine fur scarf - Enhances Stamina Recovery and Survival Bonus (*)
Green alligator bag - Self-closing large capacity belt-worn container
Kitten satchel - Self-closing large capacity belt-worn container
Troll hide bag - Large capacity belt-worn container; Enhances health regeneration
Shimmering green orb - One-use orb allows you to learn from your experiences faster!
Imflass close helmet - Heavy critical padded helm with locking faceplate; Enhances Multi Opponent Combat Ranks, Combat Maneuver Bonus, and Strength Bonuses (*)
Black felt hat - Enhances Dexterity and Perception Bonuses (*)
Orc hide hip-satchel - Large capacity belt-worn container; has a skull clasp
Black leather gloves - Trick gloves; Enhances Disarming Traps, Picking Locks, and Pickpocketing Bonuses (*)
Brown silk gloves - Ensigiled gloves; Enhances Spell Aiming Bonus and Mana Recovery (*)
Silvery imflass lance - Five-enchant weapon that telescopes between a cudgel and a lance; Enhances Multi Opponent Combat Ranks & Strength and Agility Bonus (*)
Gold and ruby bracelet - Enhances Logic bonus
Cloth-of-vaalin gown - Fully unlocked metallic gown

*Prizes marked with (*) will attune to the winner and have enhancives that will burn out quickly

~Vanah


http://forums.play.net/forums/GemStone%20IV/Quests%60Sagas%60Events/Black%20Swan%20Castle/view/408

[Fallen]

Will be cleaning this up a bit. Looks like they nerfed the crap out of the prizes. I don't see that armor anywhere. Someone correct me if i'm wrong.

[Androidpk]

No more padded fusion armor?

[msconstrew]

Oh but there is a GOWN. Everyone loves GOWNS.

[thefarmer]

Other than the armor missing, is there anything else useful gone?

The ones I wanted, but didn't win, seem to still be there.

[Zaigh]

The armors are gone. The ice ring is gone. Forehead gem is gone. runestaff w/ rank 6 acuity flares is gone. runestaff w/ rank 5 mana flares is gone. Gambling kit is gone. chrism holder is gone. Hedgehog is gone.

Those are the ones I see.

[thefarmer]

Yeah. None of those was something I was interested in, except the armor. And only slightly. Probably why I didn't see anything different at first glance.

Sucks those for people who were interested in those things.

[milesalpha]

Yup they nerfed everything I was looking at. Ah well, nothing more than I generally expect from Simu.

[Vrairdrick]

it is a massive nerve.

Makes ya wonder if once the quest was solved; and the danger of high tiered success becoming common place they brought out the nerve hammer.

Glad me and my daughter got our win; she does love that hedgehog.

[Zaigh]

I don't think it was just the quest being solved that caused it. I think it mainly dealt with the fact that a lot of people kept complaining about the capped trolls that popped out all too often - It seemed to occur more in those last runs than it had in the previous ones.

[thefarmer]

I think it had more to do with if it's fully automated, you can run it 32984720482049820492842094238390 times, flooding the game with fancy items, more than solving it.

[Zaigh]

I think it had more to do with if it's fully automated, you can run it 32984720482049820492842094238390 times, flooding the game with fancy items, more than solving it.

That would have been brought up during the planning phases of this thing. From what I understand DragonRealms has this type of automated quest structure set up on a fairly permanent basis so Simu knew what to expect. If they were worried about those prizes going out in bulk the quest could have been limited to once per account or once every few months per account.

As is, the changes that were required to automate the quest probably dropped the difficulty of completing it to a level that the powers that be felt was not adequate for those higher level prizes. Thus they were stricken from the offering. Hopefully they are able to add this stuff back into the quest at a later time & release the nicer prizes again, though i don't hold much hope.

[Manamethis]

Beta testers got paid with fusion armor.

Now that they know what's wrong with it everyone else gets junky prizes. (In comparison.)

[Archigeek]

4x hcp fusion armor was too big a prize for 15 bucks. Now that it's been beat, the success rate will go up, and with that prize out there, some folks would churn them out for profit. It's only surprising that the armor was in there as a prize to begin with.

[Manamethis]

Why was it in there to begin with?

Why was the original armor 5x and exceptionally crit padded armor?

Who is running this show?

[Archigeek]

Based on this and the RtCF pricing chart? Someone who doesn't understand what is rare and valuable to the player base. Let's just hope they don't re-sync their PP pricing chart to fall in line with the RtCF one.