A quick update on some of the adjustments and improvements that are currently in progress.
Buff Improvements
We are currently working on further adjustments to buff stacking logic which will address issues related to heal over time, buff renewal, unintended buff stacking, and more. One of the priorities of this effort is to restore previous functionality of healing tools with over-time effects.
The current plan is to refine and test these improvements over the next 10-14 days and implement them in a patch soon thereafter.
Success Rate / Volatility Improvements
Starting within the next couple of days, and planned to last for 7-14 days, our balancing team will be testing adjustments to the manufacturing and mining systems.
Manufacturing
Overall volatility will be reduced during the testing period, while the overall chance of success will be increased slightly. In addition, Near Success outcomes will return more of the initial input.
Mining
Overall volatility will be reduced during the testing period, by increasing the size of the smallest possible claims.
***NOTE*** Please keep in mind that these tests will incorporate macro-level changes to the manufacturing and mining systems and thus the results or experiences for individual avatars and/or for small sample sizes may not differ significantly from current settings. Also note that the overall (macro-level) expected return for these systems will be unaffected.
Team / Shared Hunting Loot Distribution
Our team is also investigating the distribution of hunting loot for teams and shared loot scenarios, with an eye toward implementing a more equitable, balanced, and engaging distribution of both stackable and non-stackable loot. We expect the improvements from this investigation to be implemented within the next 1-2 months, after a full review and testing phase are completed.
Looter Professions
Continuing with the improvements implemented in Loot 2.0, our design team is finalizing the details of an exciting new group of professions focused on specialized hunting loot acquisition. Three new professions will be added: Animal Looter, Mutant Looter and Robot Looter, along with several associated new skills (including unique unlockable skills for each profession). We expect the new professions to be implemented during the spring.