Patch Notes Build 23 (Dec 20, 2014)

Build 23 (v0.3.1.2) is an update that was released on December 20, 2014.

This update included the first segment of Act 3, with levels from Smuggler's Pass to Deadman's Gulch, and the path through the Mountain Deeps to the gates of Homestead. Securing the riftgate outside Homestead marks the end of the new content. An extra side region is present, with areas including the Pine Barrens, Jagged Waste, and Tyrant's Hold. With these new areas, the level cap for players has been raised to 40.

Build 23 also includes additional item art, improvements, fixes and balancing changes.

Major new features

 * The first chapter of Act 3 is now available! Players can cross beyond Voldrak's lair in Smuggler's Pass and venture beyond into the lands leading up to Homestead.
 * With this release, the level cap has been increased to 40.

Art

 * Updated art on Sparkbolt Arbalest and Maw of the Beast.

Tech

 * Fixed lost casts at fast cast speeds while holding down the mouse button.
 * Added off-hand DPS comparisons when dual-wielding weapons.
 * Fixed instances where DPS comparisons were not accurate when calculating item skill auras.
 * Pet attack command now works for all players in multiplayer.
 * Dropping a stack of items onto the secondary inventory sack buttons now correctly transfers stacks.
 * Selecting a blueprint in the Crafting UI will now highlight the relevant reagents in your inventory.
 * Linking items from the Crafting UI to chat is now possible. (Shift-click item with chat window open)

Game

 * Rift Scourges are now easier to hit with ranged skills.
 * New lore has been added to Act 2.

Itemization

 * A new item type has been introduced: Augments. Augments come in the form of powders, meticulously crafted enchantments, tinctures and poisons used to empower your weapons, rings and necklaces with additional stats. You can earn an augment during an Act 3 quest, but otherwise they are acquired from faction vendors (coming soon).
 * Elementium has been redesigned into two epic quality shields. The design of Elementium and its visual appearance told conflicting stories and we felt they were better served as separate items.
 * Elementium has been renamed to Spiriteater Bulwark. The Vitality resistance was reduced as it was very high for normal difficulty, but the shield now features additional appealing stats.
 * A new epic shield named Elementium, appropriate for hybrid elemental fighters, has been added.
 * Reduced the bonus physical damage on Golemfist Gavel.
 * Increased the 3-piece set bonus on Maiven's Sanctuary to 22% elemental damage, up from 15%.
 * Caster weapons can no longer generate affixes (Magic and Rare) that provide bonuses for Physical, Pierce, Trauma and Bleed damage types.
 * 4 new Rare prefixes and 4 new Rare suffixes have been added for shields to support hybrid caster play styles.
 * Slightly increased the drop rate of blueprints from bosses and heroes. The boss chests in Alkamos' treasure room now have an additional chance to drop blueprints. In addition, some side-bosses now have a bonus chance to drop blueprints for equipment.
 * Increased the drop rate of blueprints for set items.
 * The following relics now require a Manticore Eye instead of an Ancient Heart or Tainted Brain Matter: Deathchill, Savage and Slaughter
 * Increased the energy regeneration on the component Ectoplasm to 1.0. This component can now also be applied to helms.
 * The Ranger's Badge blueprint now requires a Bristly Fur in addition to a Frozen Heart.
 * Consumables that grant resistances (e. g. Flamedrinker Ointment) now give 20% resistance + 5% to maximum resist, instead of 10% resistance + 20% increased resistance.
 * Reduced the scaling cost of Dismantling (down to 650 from 825 for a level 35 item).
 * Increased the drop rate of Blood of Ch'thon from Ch'thonic Hero monsters.

Classes and skills

 * Transmuters no longer benefit from +Skill items, allowing you to carefully control what level you want to invest in for the transmuters that have multiple levels.

Demolitionist

 * Stun Jacks: Reduced the projectile spread on the bonus projectiles added by the modifier Full Spread.

Nightblade

 * Fixed an issue with the Blade Spirit not scaling with pet bonuses.

Arcanist

 * Increased damage scaling on Trozan's Sky Shard and its modifier Frozen Core.

v0.3.1.2 (b23 Hotfix 1) changes
A hotfix for Build 23 was released.

Tech

 * Resolved crashes associated with player aura skills in multiplayer, such as when transitioning to new areas.
 * Resolved a crash associated with inspecting other players in multiplayer.
 * Resolved a crash associated with trading with other players in multiplayer.

Game

 * Updated the dialogues for several NPCs involved with Kill Target quests (e. g. The Gloomweaver) so that you can no longer accept the quest if you killed the target before. Instead, you will now only see the option to turn the quest in retroactively.
 * The one-shot chest in the Jagged Waste/Pine Barrens/etc area now spawns in one permanent location instead of 3 possible locations.
 * Increased the drop rate of Manticore Poison Glands.

v0.3.1.2 (b23 Localization Update) changes
Following the hotfix, Build 23 got a further localization update for non-English players.
 * Added Portuguese and Bulgarian character sets.
 * Added alternative word wrapping mode for Chinese localization.

v0.3.1.3 (b23 Hotfix 2) changes
Following the previous hotfixes and updates, Build 23 got a second hotfix.
 * Fixed some resolution/monitor issues new players were having the first time launching the game.
 * Fixed a bug where fullscreen windowed mode was too large when dynamic super resolution settings were available.
 * Fixed a bug where old Steam cloud characters could not be deleted.
 * Fixed a bug where quest window fonts would not appear correctly with certain UI scaling settings.
 * Added Japanese font set.
 * Other minor bug/crash fixes.