Devs: Verite & Valorite elementals are still destroying equipment.

[Basara]

These elementals had the ability, pre-AoS, to destroy equipment, and this feature was supposed to have been removed.

However, over the last 6 months, I've lost 2 pair of +5 mining gloves, 2 pairs of sleeves, 1 gorget, and (last night) a leather cap while fighting them. All of the leather items were crafted by me, and had at least half their durability left when destroyed.

There was no message of it occurring - the items simply disappeared (usually not noticed during combat, unless the item caused damage to signifcantly rise from lowering of resists). In most of the cases, I didn't die, so there was no way the items were looted, either. (I mine with gargoyle pickaxes only in the Non-Fel facets, so that eliminates thieves as well).

Could this be related to some other creatures exhibiting powers they are supposed to no longer have (on rare occasions, Skeletal wyrms still spawn that can cause pets to go wild, for example - right in the middle of a string of them, before and after, that function as the current version of the creature)? Since many things, such as Human Brigands, spawn in 2-4 varieties (2 strength levels, and 2 sexes, for example, resulting in at least 1 out of a group of 4 brigands not being in the "Enemy of One" effect), is it possible that there are variants of these monsters also popping, that still have the old powers?

 

[Jeremy]

So we checked into this, and... the ability was not turned off, as far as we can see. Non-blessed, non-insured, non-artifact items have a chance to be damaged or destroyed by verite, valorite, and blackrock elementals.

 

[MYUO]

So we checked into this, and... the ability was not turned off, as far as we can see. Non-blessed, non-insured, non-artifact items have a chance to be damaged or destroyed by verite, valorite, and blackrock elementals.

That is nice to know. Thanks Jeremy.
Does that mean insuring the item can prevent items from being destoryed? I guess insuring won't prevent them from being damaged (losing duability).

How about jewlry, talisman and clothings? Can those elementals destroy non-insured jewlries/talisman/clothing?

 

[Jeremy]

If it doesn't have durability, it won't be damaged or destroyed. Insured items shouldn't be damaged, either. (Being destroyed is a function of being damaged - if the durability goes to zero when this ability triggers, the item is destroyed.)

 

[MYUO]

If it doesn't have durability, it won't be damaged or destroyed. Insured items shouldn't be damaged, either. (Being destroyed is a function of being damaged - if the durability goes to zero when this ability triggers, the item is destroyed.)

Insured items are damaged all the time - their hp drops during battle. Their durability doesn't drop until their hp reaches zero (in my previous post, I meant losing hp instead of "losing durability"). When their durability reaches zero, the item is destroyed.

If I understand correctly, those specific elementals can inflict huge amount of damage to the armor/weapon so that both the hp and durability can be lowered to zero in one or more hits thus destroy the item. Am I correct?

 

[Jeremy]

It's just this specific ability that has the no-insured-items limitation, not armor damage in general. Let me get the actual script in from of me and I'll see if I can clarify further.

 

[Tycolby]

Since the Devs decide it would help out the Scriptors, Blackrock Elemantals do not spawn anymore.

 

[Silverbird]

Strange ... I always thought, the ability of verite elementals to damage armour/weapons was the same as the old macing-bonus. (Valorites getting that ability too, course they summ up every special of the lower elementals.)
If it would have worked like the macers weapons it should work like:
- first damaging the actually durability
- after the durability went to zero, the max durability gets lowered
- when the max dura hits zero, the item gets destroyed
Only that the macing speciality could also hit items without shown durability and really seldom destroy them. (Blessed black sandals anyone? )

 

[MYUO]

Strange ... I always thought, the ability of verite elementals to damage armour/weapons was the same as the old macing-bonus. (Valorites getting that ability too, course they summ up every special of the lower elementals.)
If it would have worked like the macers weapons it should work like:
- first damaging the actually durability
- after the durability went to zero, the max durability gets lowered
- when the max dura hits zero, the item gets destroyed
Only that the macing speciality could also hit items without shown durability and really seldom destroy them. (Blessed black sandals anyone? )

That is what I thought too. Btw, pre-aos, every wear-able / wield-able items (armors/weapons/clothing/footware, etc.) have durability but they were just not shown. After AOS, I guess the durability was completely removed from clothing and footware.

 

[Basara]

Note that all of the items, when destroyed, had between 35-70 maximum durability, and their durability points were all in the 30-80% of their maximum. (in the case of the spined leather armor pieces, I'd only made them in the last couple months, and been in harm's way enough for the rest of the suit to be down an average of 20 points per piece)

How much damage is being done, that it wipes out their entire durability "hit points", AND their existing maximum durability points? Is it simply a check to destroy? Or, will reducing something to 0 / XXX, where XXX is any positive number, also result in the item being destroyed, despite its maximum durability still remaining?

I did notice, the next day, that one of my armor pieces, with Self repair 3, was STILL 15 points below its maximum - that is something I've never seen before.

And, I could have swore that one of the pairs of gloves I lost this year, and another I lost 4 years ago, were insured (they were a lot harder to get before the 2005 BOD turn-in changes).

 

[Maplestone]

I still feel giggly over the first time I set out to hunt a valorite elemental, after long research and planning, my prideful miner armed with a great fancy slayer crossbow, waving around a gargoyle pickaxe. The elemental rumbled up out of the ground, giving me a passing blow as it came. I withdrew, readied my crossbow and ... discovered my quiver with all my bolts was gone leaving me without any offensive ability.

I almost died laughing.

 

[athos_uo]

So we checked into this, and... the ability was not turned off, as far as we can see. Non-blessed, non-insured, non-artifact items have a chance to be damaged or destroyed by verite, valorite, and blackrock elementals.

I think this is as intended:

Publish 43:
Verite and Valorite Elementals will no longer do extra damage to certain types of artifacts that were being destroyed too quickly before

Publish 28:
Verite and valorite elementals will no longer destroy insured items that are equipped

That these specific issues were fixed means that the specific abilities of some ore elementals were not removed. I think that they fixed these issues because players hated that blessed or insured items are destroyed, but the abilitiy of some ore elementals itself was not removed.

 

[athos_uo]

Strange ... I always thought, the ability of verite elementals to damage armour/weapons was the same as the old macing-bonus. (Valorites getting that ability too, course they summ up every special of the lower elementals.)
If it would have worked like the macers weapons it should work like:
- first damaging the actually durability
- after the durability went to zero, the max durability gets lowered
- when the max dura hits zero, the item gets destroyed
Only that the macing speciality could also hit items without shown durability and really seldom destroy them. (Blessed black sandals anyone? )

Macing bonus is not removed, although it is not so efficient as before.

 

[pavel.vesely]

I did notice, the next day, that one of my armor pieces, with Self repair 3, was STILL 15 points below its maximum - that is something I've never seen before.

Yesterday, I have had to repair my self repair 5 shield, it was at 9/75 durability. Grrr :gun:

 

[Basara]

Pavel, by any chance had you recently done the Grizzle peerless in Bedlam? That sucker can knock all your armor down to single digits with its acid.

One thing I wish the devs would do something about is where your armor takes durability hits from BLEEDING and POISON damage - even if the poison was you drinking it out of a poison bottle, or having the spell cast on you?

 

[Maplestone]

One thing I wish the devs would do something about is where your armor takes durability hits from BLEEDING and POISON damage - even if the poison was you drinking it out of a poison bottle, or having the spell cast on you?

People apparently thrash around a lot when they're poisoned