Happy Tuesday!
I chose this week's project. It was originally suggested by Javac, who also provided guidance on implementation. Zadraes provided technical guidance as well as the QC.
We have rolled out a change to the formatting of the appraisal messaging for shield protection. (Only the formatting has changed; the underlying scale is identical, so it will not affect existing player documentation of shields.)
Previously, the messaging misleadingly described basic (minimum) and full (maximum) defense as a range:
You are certain that the shield offers moderate (10/26) to very impressive (21/26) protection when held and moderate (10/26) to great (16/26) protection when worn on the left arm.
However, these stats actually have distinct functions, so we have adjusted the appraisal messaging to better reflect what they do:
You are certain that the shield offers a moderate (10/26) chance to fortuitously block attacks. Additionally, the shield offers very impressive (21/26) protection when held and great (16/26) protection when worn on the left arm.
Minimum defense represents a chance of receiving a substantial bonus to your ability to block with a shield. This reflects the idea that sometimes the shield just happens to be in the right place to block an incoming attack, regardless of how skilled or unskilled you may be in using the shield. (Minimum defense is the same whether you are holding or wearing a shield, so it is only listed once in the new messaging.)
Maximum defense is an "always on" modifier for how well you can block with the shield, and the ability to take full advantage of this stat scales with skill. (Unlike minimum defense, maximum defense is penalized when you wear a shield on your arm instead of holding it.)
Additionally, we fixed the order of the held and worn appraisals so that the order is the same regardless of whether the shield is currently held or worn. (Previously, if you were wearing the shield when you appraised it, it showed you the worn appraisal first; otherwise, it showed the held appraisal first.) Having the stats consistently display in the same order should make it easier for you to parse and document this data.
GM Cordulia
This message was originally posted in Lore, Appraisal Skill. To discuss the above, follow the link below.
http://forums.play.net/forums/13/111/691/view/1143
