After Sram, Xelor, Enutrof and Cra, here's the next part of our presentation of the new character class appearences in DOFUS 2.0!

Yesterday, many of you were able to discover DOFUS 2 for yourselves thanks to Project «GateCrashers» on the test server. Don't hesistate to come give us your imnpressions - no matter what they are - on the forum!

Meanwhile, meet Enripsa, Iop, and Sacrier 2.0!

Eniripsa :

Iop :

Sacrier :

Come back next week for even more 2.0 classes!

For some time now we've been working on a new formula for the dodging and removal of AP/MP. Here are the main principles we'd like to respect with our new formula: - With equal wisdom, the probability of dodging a loss of AP/MP should be 1/2. - During a PvP fight, a character with equal wisdom to his adversary should not be able to take more than 50% of their AP. - The game's larger monsters (Bosses, mainly) shouldn't be able to have more than 50% of their AP removed (when faced with an adversary suited to the bosses level) without a specific tactic being used, based on a reduction in their dodging rate which happens over a number of turns. - Spells which reduce a small amount of AP/MP should still be effective. - Classes which have a limited capacity for AP/MP reduction shouldn't be penalized by a formula that's too restrictive. - Builds based completely on AP/MP reduction should still be effective in PvM and PvP. - investing in wisdom should remain profitable and attractive for both reduction and dodging [of AP/MP] - the formula should remain relatively simple to calculate in your head so that the viability of a loss of AP/MP can be quickly estimated without the need to spend 3 years studying for a degree in mathematics. In most cases, we feel that removing all of the AP/MP or even more than 75% of the AP/MP of an adversary isn't normal. Removing just one AP/MP from an adversary is sufficient to completely destabilize a tactic. The massive reduction of MP seems problematic to us, some classes can move using AP and all classes can attempt some defensive/offensive actions even when they're unable to move. However, a massive reduction of AP/MP remains a tactic that we feel brings diversity to the game. We don't want to make this tactic less effective, but we feel at the moment it's too easy to remove large amounts of AP/MP without constraint. After our preliminary tests, the following formula appears to meet our needs: Probability to make someone loose a AP/MP = Da / Dt * Pr / 2 With: * Da: dodge of the attacker * Dt: dodge of the target * Pr: percentage of AP/MP that the target still has The resulting probability is limited to a 10% minimum and a 90% maximum. %resistance to a loss of AP/MP is handled like bonuses from wisdom (a decrease of 50% corresponds to having 200 wisdom less) Each attempt at dodging a loss is calculated separately, if a spell causes 3 AP to be removed, three dodging attempts will be calculated. This formula means that each consecutive attempt to remove AP/MP from a target will be more difficult. It also gives characters that aren't able to dodge AP/MP loss a progressively better chance of doing so. It also means wisdom is still important in dodging. This progressively better chance of dodging AP/MP loss allows us to keep a formula that's very effective for the removal of a moderate amount of AP/MP but forces those players who wish to base their entire game on AP/MP loss to have a large amount of wisdom and to weaken as much as possible the base probability of their adversary dodging AP/MP loss. We're conscious of the fact that tactics based on removing AP are only effective on some monsters when a large amount of AP is removed. An important factor is that monsters don't have a large enough variety of spells (compared to players) for us to be able to change their behavior when faced with a moderate loss of AP/MP. Technical constraints relating to AI stop us from developing monsters with more than 4 spells (we make exceptions for certain larger monsters). We don't want to expand the range of spells of each monster. However, we will try to take into consideration this tactic as early as possible in the conception of future monsters, to allow us to provide you with challenges where AP reduction is less effective. Balancing of Xelor Spells Xelors are the most effective class at removing AP and we want to change this aspect of the game. We appreciate the diversity of specific builds (notably those builds exclusively designed for removing AP). We feel that at the present time, Xelors are far too effective at removing AP - equally well in PvM as they are in PvP The majority of classes have almost no viable alternative when faced with the massive AP loss caused by a Xelor in PvP. With the new formula that we're currently testing, this problem isn't entirely settled, since the formula remains very permissive, and places a large importance on the wisdom of the attacker and the target. We'd like Xelors to keep the possibility, in certain conditions, of taking a large amount of AP from their adversaries. We've decided to tackle this problem by offering an alternative to the other classes to allow them to protect themselves to a certain extent from the massive loss of AP caused by a Xelor. We plan to impose a minimum range of 3 squares on the majority of the AP reducing spells of Xelors (Time Theft, Slow Down, Hourglass and Frostbite) It is amongst other things this minimum range that will offer the Xelor's adversaries the opportunity of dodging some of the loss of AP. In concrete terms, at long range (more than 10), a Xelor will not be able to effectively use all of his AP reducing spells, which means the massive loss of AP from distance will be limited. At short range, the Xelor will be incapable of using the majority of its AP reducing spells without being forced to distance itself at least 3 squares from its adversary. At mid-range (3-8 squares) the Xelor will be able to use all of his AP reducing spells. For the time being we've chosen this approach because the Xelor has two teleportation spells, one of which (Flight) has a very small AP cost, which will allow the Xelor to get away from a target that's too close without too much difficulty, before being able to more easily reduce the AP of its target. By doing this, we're giving the other classes a chance to learn how to adapt to the range and positioning of a Xelor to give them an alternative tactic in PvP. Here are the changes we plan to test shortly: - Slow Down - minimum range of 3 squares - Frostbite - minimum range of 3 squares, maximum range of 6 squares -Time Theft - minimum range of 3 squares, range non-modifiable, maximum range of 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 or 8 squares depending on the level of the spell -Hourglass - minimum range of 3 squares, usage limited to once per target per turn (no longer once per turn, so it can now be used on multiple targets in the same turn) -Xelor's Dial: maximum range of the summon modifiable to 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6 squares according to the level of the spell. The dial's spell goes from 4 to 6 range. (Spell points will be given back.) After our internal testing, these changes are, for the moment, conclusive. Xelors can, with difficulty, remove large amounts of AP/MP over the first few turns, but can still remove massive amounts of AP thanks to their spells that remove resistance to AP loss, if they employ (over an average of 4 turns) a tactic based on removing the AP and resistance to loss of AP of their target. We know that these tests aren't enough to determine if these changes are correctly balanced and viable for the other classes. These changes will be available on the test server in the weeks to come. We will closely follow your thoughts before refining these changes.

Thanks to Jiri for the translation

For the release for the 1.25.0 version, we intend to introduce numerous modifications to the Osamodas class. We don't intend to make Osas much better at PVP in "one on one" mode. Summons will be less obsolete at higher levels, but above all it's an Osa's usefulness in groups that we want to improve. Making Osamodas more Versatile: We're well aware of the problems faced by Osas who wish to have a useful role at the heart of a team. As a result, we've decided to improve the support capabilities of this class by allowing Osas to cast their support spells on their allies as well as their summons. In concrete terms, each support spell (Animal Healing, Bear's Cry, Toad etc.) will be able to be used however you want, on a summon, or an ally. It goes without saying that the effects on allies will be less powerful than on summons. We want for Osas to be able to continue to use their summons in a group, which is why we're looking for a good balance between the benefits brought by using the support spells on summons or on allies. In addition, for a long time, a secondary healing class has been missing from Dofus. With the exception of enirpsas, none of the other classes are effective at healing their allies (apart from those classes who sacrifice close combat by using healing weapons) With this change, Osas will be able to effectively play the role of secondary healer, while keeping a great versatility. Osas' support spells will be less effective on their allies than the support spells of other classes. However, Osas will be the only class to have such a varied range of support spells at their disposal. Characteristics of Summons: We also wanted to review the role of each summon so that they all keep their interest over the course of an Osa's evolution. As a result, each summon will have a major elemental resistance and weakness. We are changing the Bwork Mage so that it is no longer in conflict with the Boar summon. The Bwork Mage will only push its enemies one square but will now also reduce the MP of its target by 1. The Tofu is generally considered a "temporary" creature that can only survive for a couple of turns at best. We want to encourage players to protect this fragile creature. The Tofu will therefore have the possibility of stealing a few points of agility from its adversary with each attack. The longer it stays in play, the better its damage will be over the next turns and the more agility it will take from its enemies. At a high level, the Gobball quickly becomes obsolete, and the role of tank or locker is given to the Crackler. We want for these two summons to complement each other. The Crackler will keep its AP reducing capabilities, its large vitality and its resistances, but it will lose some of its locking ability. The Gobball will be able to play the role of “locker" thanks to a considerably increased agility. Level 6 Summons: All the classes will have at their disposal level 6 summons. The level 6 summons will have more vitality, better resistance and cause better damage. These level 6 summons will counter the obsolete nature of some summons at high levels. Modifications to the Evolutions of Summons: Currently, each summon gains 1% damage and additional heals for each level of the caster. We're changing this so that summons gain 1% of their base stats for each level of the caster. In concrete terms, the evolution of the damage of each summon will stay the same, but the increase in their base characteristics will allow them to better lock their adversaries, to better avoid AP/MP loss and to better reduce the AP/MP of their enemies. This change to the evolution of summons will also render higher-levelled summons less obsolete. We've chosen a linear evolution as the appearance of level 6 summons will compensate for the non-linear evolution of the power of higher-levelled adversaries. We've also decided to review the distribution of the base stats of summons to ensure a better coherence with the change to the evolution of summons. As a result, the Intelligence of Osa's summons has been standardised, and the Toad spell changed so that each summon can benefit from the same level of protection when the spell is used. Changes to Osamodas spells: Some of the Osamodas' support spells will be reviewed, giving a better bonus to vitality, or giving greater damage. The standardisation of the majority of the base stats of summons will allow us to have damage bonuses that have the same effect whatever the targeted Osa's summon. Osamodas Special Class Spell: The Osa special class spell will be called "Spiritual Leash". It's a resurrection spell which only works on allies (and not on summons). For a significant AP cost, it will allow the Osa to resurrect a dead ally. This spell is only usable once per battle. The revived character will come back to life with a very small percentage of its HP, which makes it particularly vulnerable. As well, if the Osa dies, the revived character dies as well (as happens currently with summons. It's a very powerful spell that gives the Osa class a unique talent. In the future, it could be that certain monsters will be able to take advantage of this new talent as well. The AI of Creatures: With these changes, we're not planning to review the Artificial Intelligence (AI) of summons and other creatures in the game in general. The changes to AI and its improvements are more complex technically, and we prefer to keep them separate from the changes to the game's design and balancing. For AI, we eventually plan to separate the behaviour of monsters and the behaviour of summons. We hope to put in place simpler, more predictable behaviours for summons. For example, we'd like a summon that doesn't have a "fearful" nature to consistently attempt to attack its adversary without attempting to dodge it. This more simple behaviour will better allow the summoner to control which targets his summons attack. A person specialising in AI is joining our development team in a few days, the game design team will work with them to work out which are the generic behaviours that we need to review, and what bugs there are with the current AI that need fixing. We'll correct certain malfunctions with the existing AI over the months to come, but no major overhaul is expected until the start of 2009. The changes to Osas will be tested on test servers in the weeks to come. We'll keep you informed when the test server will be available.

We’ve been working on changes to the perceptor system this week and have almost finished. Some settings still have to be adjusted and tests must be run, but all going well the changes will come on line sometime next week. This element of the game has been a source of many woes for a long time and we felt that it was finally time for an overhaul. We wanted to make perceptors more fun and more agreeable and took the following as our main aims: - Perceptors must not disturb players Perceptors must not be attacked because they take from players, but because of the resources that can potentially be gained from them Victories against perceptors must bring drops that merit the risk Guilds should not be able to have perceptors with fully developed characteristics (a choice to be made, then!) Guilds should be able to personalise their perceptors according to their style of play and their community. Perceptors will no longer steal the players’ loot. They’ll come in as an additional player who is last to draw (no matter its prospection) when the loot is handed out (they won’t come in the actual fight). Their prospection will not be added to the group’s total prospection. The preceptor’s prospection will only help him with his own probability to gain an item. Perceptors will no longer steal other players’ experience. They will win experience at the end of a fight just like any other player (the XP will be calculated according to the group’s level.) The experience gained by the perceptor won’t affect the one gained by other players. They will be able to increase their perceptors’ wisdom so as to increase the level of XP they gain in combat. The theft of Kamas during fights and their sale as well as the theft of resources collected will be cancelled definitively. Players will have an additional incentive to attack perceptors because the XP perceptors gain will be stocked on them. The owners of the perceptor will have to come and ‘harvest’ XP so as to distribute it within their guild. In this way, a guild that attacks a perceptor and wins will have XP to distribute among them also. On top of this, and to increase the likelihood that perceptors possess a good number of items, we have decided that once players have removed either items or XP, the perceptor will be automatically removed from the map. It will therefore be disadvantageous for guilds to come and collect from their perceptors too regularly, which will add further to the potential gains in attacking perceptors. The time constraints on the placement of perceptors and the maximum number that may be placed per zone will be retained. Players can now increase the following stats by spending the points their guild gains when it climbs in level: The maximum number of perceptors per guild - there will be one available at the outset but now guilds will have to spend points to increase this limit, it will not happen automatically when its level increases. Prospecting of perceptors (to help it bring in more items) Wisdom of the perceptor (so that it wins more XP in combat) Number of pods in the perceptor’s inventory - their inventory will be limited to 1,000 by default. Players can invest points to increase this limit. Perceptor spells (all levels of all spells will require no more than 5 points) With this new system, guilds with lower populations which have difficulty protecting their perceptors will now be able to increase the number of pods their perceptors have as well as their prospecting or their wisdom to the detriment of the number of perceptors they can place. All points won by a guild will be entirely redistributed when these changes come into effect on the game servers.

We’ve decided to create some new living items, some more of those famous Livitinems, especially for the release of DOFUS version 1.21. We wanted to reinvigorate the gifts players will get when they subscribe, but we also wanted to increase the range of items in the game and to bring more personality to them… Livitinems (and you’ll have to make an effort here, their name isn’t the easiest to pronounce) are living items who parasite other items. They graft themselves onto capes, hats, amulets and rings. Once they’ve found their parasitic way onto these inanimate items, they’ll change their appearance. So the Livitinems allow you to change the appearance of your items. That’s not all! These Livitinems have the ability to change their own appearance little by little as they digest whatever item it is that they’re feeding on… so your Livitinems can decide on the metamorphosis, and therefore the appearance, that suits them best. This feature allows players to regularly change their characters’ appearance without having to seek out new items, or to hide the items they have from other players, something which will no doubt prove very useful in combat. But these Livitinems wouldn’t really be living if they didn’t speak, now would they? Fortunately, they do… sometimes a little too much to be honest! The Livitinems won’t hesitate to pass remarks on what they see around them and to express their views on whatever might happen to your character. So even if you’re the kind of warrior who likes to get up before the rest and set off alone, you wont’ be short of a bit of company on those lonely adventures… In introducing this concept, we wished to play with new levels of interaction between items in the game. If the concept proves successful, we will do our best to improve it and to add new features as we see necessary. Whatever happens, we’ll keep you informed here on the devblog.

There has been a considerable backlash from the DOFUS community in regards to the attention put on Wakfu. Many players have expressed their fears that DOFUS would be put on the side to leave way. That’s just about as far from the truth as one could get! DOFUS is in its golden age, and we aren’t leaving the ship. There have never been so many players on DOFUS as there are now and server populations are constantly on the rise, as is the number of subscriptions which has in fact never stopped increasing since the game’s launch. We are continuing to develop the game, to enrich it and to improve it. We will continue to do so when Wakfu comes on stream. Two distinct teams work on DOFUS and Wakfu, and the two projects evolve in parallel and separately. The two teams work together, sharing ideas, concepts and technology in order that each advance on a given project might benefit Ankama’s other activities. It is not our aim to entice all players from DOFUS to Wakfu; we don’t want to ‘sacrifice’ one project for another. We want to push DOFUS and Wakfu forward in parallel. They are two different games and they have two distinct communities. It is not in our interest to have players abandon DOFUS in favour of Wakfu. We want all players to have the opportunity to play whichever game they like for as long as they like. In any case, we don’t intent to ‘force’ players to change from one game to the other. We still have so many plans for DOFUS and we haven’t the least intention of letting it fall by the wayside. DOFUS will continue to grow, as will the services that accompany the game. Our Support team continues to grow, we are continuing to develop new tools to facilitate our assistance of the players, moderation of the game and the game’s performance. On top of all this, we’re preparing to bring the game’s entire physical architecture up to date by migrating to new servers, renewing our hardware and software etc. All these improvements will be carried out over several months since we wish to be able to welcome new players on board while continuing with our efforts to advance the gaming conditions and your gaming experience. We will use this devblog in future to leave you in no doubt that the Golden age of DOFUS is far from at a close.

After numerous modifications to the DOFUS PvP system, we still have not arrived at a system which perfectly responds to all of our expectations. The new PvP system (with the addition of territorial prisms) has allowed us to correct numerous flaws in the previous PvP system, but is still a long way from pleasing everyone. Here are the main objectives which we hope to realize in the coming additions to the current system: • Encouraging combat in teams, of which the size and composition must be varied: In order to encourage players to fight in teams, we are increasing honor points to players who play… well, in teams. Specifically, combat which involves small numbers of players will bring meager honor points as compared to team combat. The diversity of classes within PvP fights can only be ensured through efforts on our part to reinforce the weakest classes in PvP and make them more useful in that aspect. We also intend to bring to the fore the diversity of character classes within the same combat, awarding higher honor point gains and lower losses for teams whose composition is varied. • Allowing players to use a maximum of game space for PvP battles: We want PvP combat to be as diversified and immersive as possible and the majority of zones in the game to be conquerable. At the same time, we hope to improve the way in which current zones are divided, in order to make things clearer and so that the management of neighboring zones will be more logical and intuitive. • Allowing players to take part in PvP alone, quickly and without the need to create a team: We intend to reintroduce honor point gains for ‘classic’ aggressions. These will be subject to far lower honor point gains than the defense or attack of prisms, but will allow skilled players to carry out spontaneous aggressions and to revisit what they enjoyed in the previous system, as well injecting a pervasive danger throughout the game in all zones where aggression is possible. • Bringing team PvP activity to the fore: Honor point gains will simply be proportionate to the number of characters taking part in fights, in order to bring team combat to the fore. We are also considering several modifications to some conquest villages which will require a high level of cohesion and organization from players, whatever their levels may be, in order to be conquered. • Rewarding PvP players who work hard for their alignments: Honor point gains will be greater during the attack or defense of conquest villages and prisms. • Opening PvP up to players of all levels: Correcting this is by far our main priority in the DOFUS PvP system. We do not want to entirely segment PvP combats by level; we want to allow players of different levels to compete together. We are looking into ways to encourage players of different levels to form teams so that each player can assume a role in PvP confrontations. • Bringing an epic dimension to PvP confrontations: For a long time now, we have dreamt of real wars and raids between the rival cities of Bonta and Brakmar. Although we aren’t considering introducing this element into the game in the medium- or long- term, we are always imagining the possibility of having players attack enemy cities, of giving them objectives to attack each others’ cities • Emphasizing cohesion, tactics and strategy during territorial conquests: We want to retain the principal of numeric superiority between alignments when prisms are being attacked or placed. In this way, all players, whatever their level, can play a role in territorial conquests. • No longer encouraging attempts at participation, but giving all players the opportunity to take part: We are removing the passive honor points feature (won without participation in prism combat), but restoring honor point gains in balanced aggression, and we are attempting to make more zones open to being conquered, therefore increasing the number of prisms to be defended or attacked. In our search for ways to encourage the formation of groups according to levels, we plan to considerably diminish the number of players excluded from prism combat due to their low level. • Limiting unbalanced attacks: We plan to take the level of players into account when determining honor point gains during PvP combat. We want to avoid the possibility that characters gain honor points by attacking much weaker players than themselves, even if the possibility of attacking players of any level remains. • Offering an intuitive and easily-accessed system: The territorial conquest interface will be more intuitive. The territorial conquest messages will be more clear and readable. We will aid players in getting to the zones which must be attacked or defended more quickly. • Rendering honor point losses more coherent: At present, players lose honor points when they lose territory, even if they ‘cannot’ help to defend it. We intend to modify this system so that honor point losses will occur only in confrontations between players. Take note, however… all these thoughts and targets are still little more than concepts, we cannot guarantee that all these changes will be implemented in the game. And now, some answers to a few of the frequently asked questions on the coming developments in the PvP system: - Why aren’t there PvP arenas in DOFUS? Are you planning to add some? For the moment, we aren’t considering adding PvP arenas to the game. This idea might be viable, but it doesn’t really correspond to our vision of PvP and territorial conquest game play. Arenas allow players of similar power and experience to meet one another but they have little or no impact on the game universe. We do not wish to dissociate the PvP system from the rest of the game, we believe it is interesting and conducive to game play to allow players to control certain zones in the game and to participate in an immersive PvP experience which is integral to the heart of the game. We have not completely rejected the idea of PvP arenas in DOFUS, but this is not a priority at present. - Why does PvP have an influence over PvM (Player versus Monster)? We do not want to dissociate the PvP system from the rest of the game (and on this point I insist, it is very important.) The PvM system can lead to increases in experience which affect PvP, so we felt it was necessary to conserve the interaction between the two systems. For a universe to remain immersive, it must remain coherent. If we dissociated the PvP system from the rest of the game (by instancing it entirely and negating the impact it can have on the rest of the game), we would be removing one of the foundation stones of the DOFUS universe. This does not, however, mean that a PvP system which is isolated from other game functions is a bad idea, it’s just that we have chosen the system that best suits the game as it is right now. - Will PvP grades be based on a character’s power? This is not what we were hoping to offer as a game system. PvP grades in the current and in future systems provide for the compensation of players who sacrifice themselves in PvP battles. We want players of moderate power (low level players, for example) to be able to reach high PvP levels. If a player’s level represents their power, their PvP grade should be used to represent something else. In addition, we like the idea of offering features in the game which are not directly linked to the power of characters. - What are you planning to do to counter repeat-aggressions by the same player if gaining honor points from aggression is going to be reintroduced? When the PvP system allowed honor points to be gained from aggression, a system was already in place to reduce the number of honor points won from the same target within an interval of several hours. We are modifying this system to make it even more difficult to gain honor points from repeat attacks on the same character. - What steps will you take to counter the use of several accounts in PvP? We are considering several solutions which we have already began experimenting with in the prism system. The use of several accounts on opposite sides of the same combat has already been forbidden. We are investigating the possibility of a total interdiction of using several accounts within the same PvP combat, but for the moment, nothing is fixed. - How are you going to resolve the problems of balance between alignments? We are considering several solutions to permit a better balance of players between the games two alignments, although without seeking to establish a perfect balance. Chaos and unbalance can give rise to many interesting situations for players. This issue will certainly form part of a future article in this devblog. - That’s all very well, but when will it happen? We have no date to announce as of yet, as all these modifications will not be tested, validated and brought on line at the same time. Some minor modifications may be available in the coming months, but no major modifications are planned before the first few quarter of 2008.