PTS Update for 30th July 2015

RIFT updated the Public Test Shard (‘PTS’) on 30th July with a 1.9GB update! TEST-303-1-A-1024988. The new recipes for Runecrafter, Apothecary, Survivalist and Dream Weaver slated for 3.4 are up on the PTS. There’s also new Planetouched Wilds achievements and new Artifact Types.

You can check out what was found in the data files (but not yet up on PTS) here. Includes more PTW assets, Great Hound mount and a ‘Bat’ wardrobe bundle.

Summary:

• Planetouched Wilds Updated. Updated Wall; New Planetouched Wilds Wardrobe; Primalist NPC Changes.
  
• New Achievements. Planetouched Wilds and Assault on Bronze Tomb achievements.
  
• New 3.4 Crafting Recipes. Apothecary seals + new tier for pots; Runecrafter new tier + craftable earrings; Dream Weaver dream orbs for Belt, Gloves and Earrings; Survivalist new feast and food.
  
• New Artifact Types. Burning, Poison and Nightmare artifact sets!
• More Color Blind Options.

As always, everything below is subject to change prior to hitting Live and some things included below may never make it to Live release.

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Planetouched Wilds Updated

The wall separating Droughtlands and the Planetouched Wilds has been updated with new art assets. There’s also a new PTW-related wardrobe and Primalist Trainers have had their models updated.

Updated Wall

There’s now gray ‘Stone Heads’ dotting the pathway beyond the wall separating Droughtlands and the Planetouched Wilds, instead of the rubble you see on Live. There’s also fireball vfx that fall around the area. Their trajectory is aimed towards the gate, so it’s not the cannons from the Empyreal Soldiers on the Droughtland-side of the wall.

Perhaps those on the floating islands are attacking the path you will be traveling on once the wall is taken down?

(And yes, you can now maneuver your way to the edge of the left building on the PTS).

There’s also now two large, red ‘Stone Heads’ right behind the 2nd wall.

Here’s a comparison with what you can see on Live:

I’m guessing that part of the large 1.9GB file size probably involves adding additional art assets, skins and textures to the zone.

If you’re interested in viewing it for yourself, the wall is at /setwaypoint 7926 5617 in Droughtlands on Live and PTS. You still can’t get past it.

New Planetouched Wilds Wardrobe

A new ‘Ovog Ceremonial’ wardrobe set is available from the ‘Leather’ armor slots under Wardrobe. There’s also a “Cloak of the Great Wheel” cape.

The outfits seem to be what the Bahmi within the Planetouched Wilds wear. Unknown at this stage how we’ll obtain this outfit.

Primalist NPC Changes

The Primalist Trainer NPCs have had their models changed.

Tempest Bay and Margle Palace trainers look the same.

I wouldn’t be surprised if part of the 1.9GB involves models and textures being updated from their original placeholders.

Not much is known about the Primalist, but Trion has hinted that we’ll probably get some kind of announcement about the 5th calling around Gamescom (Trion is holding a party during Gamescom on August 6th).

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New Achievements

The PTS was updated with 510pts worth of new achievements, bringing the new total to 37,412 from the PTS’ previous 36,902.

Planetouched Wilds

430pts comes from a new sub-category Zones -> RIFT -> Planetouched Wilds.

Pent Up Puzzle

‘Pent Up’ and the ‘repair the mosaic’ achievements are likely related to the Pentominos puzzle icons found in the most recent UI assets file.

Looks like there might be at least three or four puzzles in the Planetouched Wilds – given the mosaics are separate achievements – although I wouldn’t be surprised if these will take a bit of time to complete.

If the ‘Pentomino_Book’ icons are anything like the Storm Legion Puzzle books, then there’s probably artifact sets and puzzle pieces that need to be collected in order to obtain each book, that then unlocks access to the actual puzzles. The Planetouched Wilds’ puzzle/s might just take a lot more steps than it seems at first.

Rare Mobs

There’s quite a number of “defeat 8 [rare mob]” achieves. This gives some insight into some of the mobs in the zone:

• Baac, Baac Hunters, Baac Worshippers, Babaroo Monkeys, Boar Dinos, T-Rexs, Crystal Drakes, Death Elementals, Flying Serpents, Life Elementals, Moths, Naga, Ram Dinos, Rhino Dinos, Shalistiri, Sky Krill, Sky Orcas, Sky Whales, Spirit Kites, Wolves.

• It seems the speculation that there would be dinosaurs in the zone based on Trion’s ‘crystal rex‘ concept art teaser was correct. That “T-Rex”, “Ram Dinos” and “Rhino Dinos” seems to indicate that we’ll get to see some behemoths roaming the zone.

Teth, the Tenebrean

It seems the Tenebrean “Teth” will actually appear in multiple forms in-game. He was first discovered from an artifact set which described him as having multiple forms, all of which has the ‘Teth’ name. The new achievements on the PTS includes defeating a “Teth Telioas” and “Teth Yelishan”.

Most of the achievements have placeholder additional text, although two seem to be complete that mention Teth. I wouldn’t be surprised if some of the other achievements will also have him in his other forms.

Interestingly, it seems ‘Teth’ takes both sides – as a Baac and a Baac Hunter. He/She seems like quite an interesting character.

Assault on Bronze Tomb

Not too surprising, there’s now also achievements for the upcoming Assault on Bronze Tomb warfront.

• 50pts in the main PvP category for Assault on Bronze Tomb Domination, which gives the title “Mercenary Captain”.
• 160pts in the new sub-category PvP -> Assault on Bronze Tomb with various achievements.

Interestingly, there’s achievements for failing or assisting the other team (dying to a fire trap, and activating the Ancient Defense Cannons as an Attacker). (Wonder if PvPers will start linking their incomplete “It Burns When I PvP!” achievement as a prerequisite for premades.)

Kind of reminds me of the old Yrlwalach fail achieves that were moved to Legacy.

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New 3.4 Crafting Recipes

Morticus stated a few weeks back that Apothecaries, Runecrafters, Dream Weavers and Survivalists would be getting new recipes with Patch 3.4. [r] These are now up on the PTS.

Briefly:

• Apothecary can make new seals and a new tier of pots.
• Runecrafter has a new tier of runes.
• Dream Weaver has new dream orbs for Belt, Gloves and Earrings. These use new dream orbs that are separate from the existing ones.
• Survivalist has a new feast and some new food items.

3.4 Apothecary Recipes

Apothecaries have a new tier of all their pots as well as new planar-crafted seals.

Apothecary Seals

The new planar crafted seals are available from the Artisan Store or RIFT Store -> Crafting -> Apothecary. They require maxed out Apothecary and each recipe costs 265 Grandmaster + 875 Master + 3,500 Artisan Craft Marks.

Here’s the initial upgrade with +205 main stat.

There’s also an upgrade to +245 main stat. (Thanks to Accol for the info!) That’s the same as the final upgrade for Nightmare Seals so players who aren’t maxed might find these new crafted recipes to be the faster option.

(Unfortunately I don’t have enough craft marks so wasn’t able to check the upgrade. I’ll update this section in a few days when I get enough marks).

Apothecary Pots

A whole new tier of pots are available for most of the existing consumables from the Apothecary trainer. I’m only showing the ones that players use most often, but it includes the full range of pots (including Serums).

Note: Endless Dust costs 4plat 20g from RIFT Store -> Crafting -> Reagents.

Stat Vials/Pots

• Illustrious Crit pots give 4,259 spell/phys crit compared to Phenomenal’s 3,872.
• Illustrious Vials give 238 Main+Secondary stat (or Endurance) compared to Phenomenal’s 216.

Regeneration Pots

• Illustrious Healing Philter heals for 20,247 hp compared to Phenomenal’s 18,407 hp.
• Illustrious Philter of Restoration heals for 21,877 hp over 30secs compared to Phenomenal’s 19,888 hp.
• Illustrious Healing Potion heals for 20,248 hp compared to Phenomenal’s 18,407 hp.
• Illustrious Healing Tonic heals for 28,924 hp over 12secs compared to Phenomenal’s 26,295 hp.
• Illustrious Mana Potion restores 7,700 mana compared to Phenomenal’s 7,000 mana.
• Illustrious Mana Tonic restores 1,980 mana every 3secs for 12secs compared to Phenomenal’s 1,800 mana.

3.4 Runecrafter Recipes

A new tier of runes are available from the Runecrafter trainer. There’s also craftable Earring runes from the Artisan Store or RIFT Store -> Crafting -> Runecrafter.

Each new recipe requires the current highest tier rune (Phenomenal/Exquisite) and 1x Dreaming Rune Amender (2x for 2-handers). [Update 09.05.15 – New runes now require (purple/epic) Opaque Rune Amenders instead of the (orange/relic) Dreaming Rune Amenders.]

• You can view all stats in the Rift 3.4 Rune Stat Sheet.

Craftable Earring Runes

There’s new craftable earring runes with recipes found under RIFT Store -> Crafting -> Runecrafter. Each recipe costs 265 Grandmaster + 875 Master + 3,500 Artisan Craft Marks.

There’s two tiers:

• 1st Tier = 128 Main Stat + 80 Endurance or 80 Endurance + 111 Guard.
• 2nd Tier = 141 Main Stat + 80 Endurance or 88 Endurance + 123 Guard.

1st Tier of the new planar crafted earring runes have the same stats as the current BiS Onir notoriety runes (except Onir has 112 Guard for tank rune compared to 111 Guard for the crafted rune).

The 2nd Tier will become BiS once it is introduced.

Recipe Cost

Recipes cost a variety of materials, including Imperishable [Element] crafting materials. The 2nd tier requires the 1st tier’s rune, so you’ll need both recipes to get the BiS rune.

3.4 Dream Weaver Recipes

Dream Weavers are getting four new “Planar” Dream Orbs that can only be applied to Belt, Gloves and Earrings. The four tiers are ‘Faint’, ‘Glowing’, ‘Radiant’ and ‘Blinding’. Like with all the other new recipes, the recipes cost 265 Grandmaster + 875 Master + 3,500 Artisan Craft Marks each to purchase.

• Lower tiers give lower stats. Highest tier ‘Blinding’ removes the Main Stat + Endurance combinations (similar to Savant vs Greater Dream Orbs).
• Each Batch gives 4x dream orbs.

There’s still RNG with what stats you get as they act the same as the current Dream Orbs, except these only apply to Belt, Gloves and Earrings.

GenjuroK on the RIFT forums went through some of the new dream orbs and has found the following dream orb stats when applied to a Tier 2 Earring:

Best Relic Dream Orb = 60 STR / 25 AP
Best Green Dream Orb = 39 STR / 16 AP

(Thanks to GenjuroK for the info!)

Increased RNG Same RNG

[Update]: Morticus has announced they are changing the rng on the new Planar Crafted Dream Orbs so that they will have the same % chance of getting BiS stats as existing dream orbs. In other words 1 in 15 instead of their current 1 in 51 on the PTS. [r]

Planar Dream Orb Recipe Costs

Mats are quite considerable, requiring up to 10x Imperishable Motes for a batch, amongst other requirements. That said, on the PTS is always subject to change.

It’s quite a considerable cost unless Trion significantly increases the drop rate of Imperishable Motes.

Also, even the lowest green-tier ‘Faint Planar Dream Orb’ can only be applied to Level 65 gear. This might be placeholder. If Trion decides to parallel the current dream orbs, the green should be 38-60, blue 48-60, purple 58-65 and relic 61+.

3.4 Survivalist Recipes

Survivalists are getting a new ‘Feast of the Rhenke’ under RIFT Store -> Crafting -> Survivalist, as well as a whole bunch of new food from the trainer.

Feast of the Rhenke

The new ‘Feast of the Rhenke’ requires a bunch of Nightmare Tide fish/meat.

• The Feast of the Rhenke increases AP/SP by 82, CP by 49 and Max HP by 1,650.
• The existing Feast of the Ghar increases AP/SP by 75, CP by 45 and Max HP by 1,500.

The increase in cost of the recipe compared to the Feast of the Ghar is significant compared to the relatively small amount of stat increase. That said, every bit counts, right?

Survivalist Food Recipes

The new food isn’t all that interesting since the feast offers better stats. Only use for the new food would be if you want to kill an invasion in 5 hits with 2k overkill compared to 5 hits with 1.8k overkill. Or you want that extra boost when soloing hard-mode chronicles.

They require a few Nightmare Tide fish/meat. Really not worth the trouble/cost in most circumstances.

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New Artifact Types

There’s three new artifact types discovered via various means on the PTS.

First up, these 6 icons were found in the UI files:

Notice the ‘Burning’, ‘Nightmare’ and ‘Poison’ artifacts.

With today’s PTS Update, these three new artifact types are now all but confirmed, as shown in the Auction House listing:

A quick search also brings up a whole bunch of Level 65 “Poison:” artifact sets related to the Planetouched Wilds. There’s no “Burning:” or “Nightmare:” artifact sets yet.

There’s a decent amount of “Poison:” artifact sets on the PTS. Some of their flavor text seems to be placeholder for now because it repeats for several artifacts.

Rewards are all “An Ice Chest”, which might just be placeholder.

It sounds as though we might be getting at least the Poison artifact sets with 3.4 (or whenever the Planetouched Wilds zone is opened up). As for the others, ‘Nightmare’ might end up appearing when the Lord Arak Raid opens up whilst Burning sounds like something related to the Bloodfire Army, or perhaps the Lord of Fire.

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More Color Blind Options

As Trion has mentioned previously, there’s two new additions to the growing Color Blind Options under Settings in the game.

• The color on Crafting Warnings (that displays no. of mats missing in the recipe list) as well as general Alert Messages can now be changed.
• As expected, ‘Ascended’ rarity is default Pink. Currently the only items that uses this rarity color are the Ascended Mantle capes from the Power Pack found under RIFT Store -> Services.
• Primalist default color is Blue. This has been known before, although the text was “Unknown” rather than “Primalist”.

Gingers has stated that these color blind options will be coming with the “next milestone update”. Have any other suggestions for Color Blind options? Post them here!

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Quite a bit in the latest update. It seems all the new recipes are slated for 3.4. As for the Planetouched Wilds…3.4 is a ‘possible’ launch date, but there’s been no concrete confirmation from Trion – just teasers that point in that direction.

Have any feedback on the new crafting recipes on the PTS? Post them up in the PTS Sub-forum!

You can check out what was found in the data files (but not yet up on PTS) here. Includes more PTW assets, Great Hound mount and a ‘Bat’ wardrobe bundle.

For past PTS Updates, click here. You can also find past datamining here.