Game Update FAQ

A developer mentioned that something was fixed internally, but I don't see the change yet.

The team doesn't work directly on the Live servers. We implement on Beta or on a personal server. Fixed internally means that a change was made, but that change is not yet Live. An update that pushes out the code, data, and/or assets is necessary for that change to take effect on Live.

When do monthly updates happen?

The monthly update is generally on the third Wednesday of each month. There are exceptions to this. For example, December's update tends to be scheduled a week or two early so that there's some buffer room between the update and the holidays.

As of mid-2018, the in game calendar shows when the monthly update is likely to occur. This will be correct the vast majority of the time, but please keep in mind that the date and time can change for a variety of reasons. If no update event shows for the month, that means the expected date is not firm enough for us to estimate.

The monthly update goes out to the Test server roughly a week before it goes Live. There are often additional and sometimes substantial changes between what goes out to Test and what goes Live in the monthly update. As above, Test is not a development environment. Changes made internally are not on Test until there is a Test update. Live may have a more recent version of the game's data and code than Test.

When do hotfixes and non-monthly updates happen?

It depends. We sometimes have one or more mid-cycle updates to address issues. Whether and when a mid-cycle update occurs depends on the severity of the issue, the length of time until the next scheduled update, the risk of pushing out a change, whether the changes require taking the servers down, and staff availability.

When can a design change be hotfixed versus requiring a server down?

As a general rule, systems often can't be hotfixed and content often can, but it's much more complicated than that. Generally, a change to something like strings, global scripts, items, spells, AAs, tradeskills, global NPCs, or tasks requires a server down. A change to texts, local scripts, dialogues, old style quests, merchant lists, spawns, encounters, or NPCs can be hotfixed.