Severe and shortsighted SK nerf with Feb. 8 Test server patch

This is beyond extreme and is wholly unacceptable; it's an all-out neutering of our abilities.
I seriously don't think you've put enough thought into what this will do to the SK class as a whole; both in the group game and in raids.

Yes, lets nerf something that has been a staple of the class since Omens of War. This is way overkill... our leeching already has limited use in swarming due to hit counters on all of our leech abilities save Leechcurse discipline.

If anything, maybe reduced the number of counters on Mortal Coil some... but making it totally ineffective against multiple enemies is flat out wrong and shortsighted.

That one is going to be painful. I had just gotten my SK up to 104 too. Used mortal coil a lot, though not for swarming.

RIP SK's

So is Drogba enemy no #1 now within the SK community?

I just got my SK to 94. I never even got to enjoy swarming outside of a few pulls in Paw.
Next change: Banished from zone if on aggro list of more than 3 mobs.

I wonder if this includes Epic and BP clicks?

Enchanters got Unity run nerfs too =/

How bout them merc upgrades tho?

edit: @Sancus: Yes, sad times

can someone link the patch notes?

Group content godmode was fun while it lasted!

Paladins - the new kings of swarm?

I guess this affects clerics Shining Health Crippling Glare defensive proc as well?

Also wondering if weapon procs that heal also will now only be triggered from primary target damage.

Definitely looks like another anti-swarming change. :/

So when can we expect Armor of the Inquisitor and Group Armor of the Inquisitor to have counters added and be limited in some manner then?

While these healing effects added some to the problem they were already drastically nerfed via counters. The real problem is how powerful all 3 tanks are vs content but nerf them pets and everything else before coming to that conclusion later on in the wake of destroying a bunch of other stuff first.

No. Shining does not return health as a percentage of damage- the heal is a flat proc-limited value and it deals no damage at all (merely procs a no-damage stun). Ripostes have zero effect on shining, and do not cause you to proc it more often.

Long overdue. No class should be able to solo half the zone in a month old expansion. Sucks though.

Where are the patch notes?

https://forums.daybreakgames.com/eq/index.php?threads/test-update-02-08-17-new-bugs-only.238294/
and
https://forums.daybreakgames.com/eq...2-08-2017-patch-notes-and-discussions.238293/
dont have anything listed

If you patch test you can find them in eqnews.txt.

Can anyone that has patched post them since the devs are asleep at the wheel? At work cant patch

Firstly, my main is a 105 SK. About 200k buffed so not overly great but a bit about average. I never looked at swarming as a legitimate form of gameplay...period. Sorry dudes...no good argument sustains that ability being a part of game mechanics.

Now...... being able to tank 2 to 4 mobs (EOK level tier 2) with our staple "get out of jail" abilities is a another thing. That needs to still be possible. Hopefully DB will find some decent level of middle ground on this issue.

February 8, 2017
_____________________


*** Items ***

- Several items with typos in the names no longer have typos.
- The charms Burnt Effigy of Tsaph Katta and King's Key will now include group currency in their calculations as intended.
- Fixed an issue with the Empires of Kunark progression based charms (Stone Feather, Star Plate Charm, White Dragon's Tooth, and Petrified Egg) where the Droga mission "The Summoning of Droga" was not counting. Additionally, petrified Petrified Egg will now give more weight to group content than raid content, though raid content is still require for maximum potential.


*** Quests And Events ***

- Queen Velazul DiZok (Raid) - The popup message for Queen Velazul DiZok's Doomlight ability will now take precedence over her Reflective Scales ability.
- Fixed issues with the Substance Delivery Device used for quests in Droga.
- Beetles and frost spheres should no longer hand around after successfully defeating the Kar'Zok raid in Kor-Sha. When the Kar'Zok event resets, the on-screen message will now be correct.
- Completing Kor-Sha raid 1 will activate raid 3 if there is already a lockout on raid 2.
- Fixed an issue that was causing the Unstable Potion in the first Kor-Sha raid to not work properly.
- The daily bonuses for completing Heroic Adventures offered by Guard Hamarn in Ethernere Tainted West Karana have been significantly improved:
- - Guard Hamarn has been relieved of his duties. These bonus tasks are now offered by Clayton Teek in the Plane of Knowledge. You will be able to find him next to his brother Franklin Teek near the door to the Guild Lobby.
- - Clayton Teek has the ability to directly teleport you to the quest giver of any Heroic Adventure for which you have the daily bonus task to complete.
- - The amount of experience rewarded by the bonus tasks has been increased by an average of 300%. (The bonus task now offers approximately the same amount of experience of just completing the Heroic Adventure.)
- - The bonus now additionally rewards 50% of the experience needed to complete a Mercenary AA ability point as well as approximately the same amount of matching currency of completing the Heroic Adventure.
- - Heroic Adventures from The Darkened Sea, The Broken Mirror, and Empires of Kunark are now included in the list of possible adventures that bonuses are granted for.
- - The bonuses for the tasks 'Into the Hills', 'Scouting Ahead', and 'Disrupting the Ritual' have been removed from the list of possible adventures that bonuses are granted for.
- - The number of daily bonus tasks offered per day has been reduced from 4 to 2.
- The three love letters collection items behind the locked door in the Halas courtyard no longer spawn.
- Rumors abound that brave adventurers are needed in Kunark! Long-forgotten heroes in Cabilis, Overthere, and Firiona Vie are offering long-forgotten quests.


*** Spells ***

- Buffs that allow you to regain health as a percentage of your melee damage will now only heal you for attacks made on your current target.
- - This change prevents ripostes made on creatures that aren't your current target from healing you while under the effects of abilities such as the Shadowknight AA ability Mortal Coil.
- Druid - Increased all DoT lines in power and efficiency. Removed the ability for the same caster to stack multiple spells within these DoT lines (where it was possible). The following lines were consolidated:
- - Sunscorch (Vengeance of the Wild to Sunflash)
- - Stinging Swarm (to Horde of Aculeids)
- - Flame Lick (to Consuming Sunray)
- - Nature's Blazing Wrath (to Nature's Fiery Wrath)
- - Gelid Moonbeam (to Argent Moonbeam)
- - Chill of the Natureward (to Chill of the Copsetender)
- Enchanter - Rune spells at and above level 86 now have a recast time of 2.5 seconds.
- Enchanter - Modified "Unity" rune spells (Spectral Unity, Arcane Unity, Phantasmal Unity, and Enticer's Unity) in the following ways:
- - All spells now cast the highest ranks you know of their component runes. For example, If you know Enticer's Rune Rk. III and Polyrefractive Rune Rk. II, those are the two ranks you get when using any rank of Enticer's Unity.
- - All Unity rune spells now have a base recast time of 30/29/28 seconds and share timer 15. Type 3 augments will still reduce this recast time.
- - All spells had the additional hate modifier removed.
- - All spells now have their own mana cost in addition to the base mana costs of the triggered spells.


*** AA ***

- Fixed a bug that caused the pet feign death command to stop working consistently with the release of Empires of Kunark.
- Beastlord - Fixed an issue with Feral Swipe that caused its accuracy bonus to function as an accuracy penalty.
- Enchanter - Chromatic Haze and the effect of Gift of Hazy Thoughts will now increase the base damage of direct-damage spells that have a damage-over-time component; either increasing the initial direct-damage of a spell cast or increasing the base damage of the next damage-over-time tick of a qualifying spell.


*** NPCs ***

- The Emissaries of Shadowrest are retiring now that Shadowrest is no longer a repository for forgotten bodies. With one exception... the Emissary in Plane of Knowledge is still available should adventurers wish to visit Shadowrest and reminisce about the olden days.
- A goblin in Nurga was spawning outside the world. He is now back at home.
- Tuned down some charmed NPC combat values that were unintentionally stronger than non-charm combat values.


*** Mercenaries ***

- Mercenary equipment has been simplified and improved:
- - All existing pieces of mercenary equipment (excluding the Vestments of the Forsaken) are now 'Faded' items that can be converted to newer equivalent level and archetype items.
- - Vendors that sell mercenary equipment now sell the newer items.
- - The stats for all levels of mercenary equipment have been improved significantly.
- - There are now four archetypes of mercenary equipment corresponding to each of the four mercenary types: Defender, Soother, Assassin, and Sorcerer.
- - Mercenary equipment slots have been changed from head, chest, primary, and secondary to ear, neck, shoulder, and waist in order to correct a bug that would cause melee DPS and tank mercenaries to become less effective when wielding primary/secondary equipment.
- - Two new sets of mercenary equipment have been created for Empires of Kunark. One set can be purchased for Sathir Trade Gems in Lceanium while the other set can be obtained as rare drops from basepop and rare creatures.
- Level 100+ mercenaries have had their base stats improved:
- - Increased the total HP and evasion of tank mercenaries
- - Increased the evasion of healer mercenaries
- - Increased the evasion, offense, and HP of melee damage mercenaries
- - Increased the evasion of spell damage mercenaries
- Identified and corrected an error with melee damage mercenaries that caused them to delete their innate haste item.
- Healer and damage caster mercenaries will now update their target when casting spells.
- - This corrects an issue where casting target-of-target type spells would not resolve correctly when targeting a mercenary.
- Added an innate defensive effect that reduces incoming melee damage to Journeyman mercenaries. This effect will increase in power with each tier.
- Additional ranks of Mercenary Alternate Advancement Abilities have been added for levels 101-105. Additionally, the following Mercenary Alternate Advancement Abilities have been improved:
- - Increased the effectiveness of Furious Wrath from 1% to 2% per rank
- - Increased the effectiveness of Subtle Magic from 2% to 3% per rank


*** Progression Servers ***

- Pride of the Legion - A lower level version of Stone Seer Kaigek spawns in pre-revamp Droga and drops the Broken Medal.
- Demi Lich Skullcap - Lowered the restrictions on the spawns needed for this quest so that it can be completed in Kunark era.
- Small Bricks of Titanium are now available on progression servers when Velious unlocks.
- Bite of the Shissar items have been restricted to the unlocking of Underfoot.
- Plane of Time NPCs will now use the Mitigation of the Mighty buff.
- Tome of Deflection Discipline is restricted to the unlocking of Seeds of Destruction on all merchants.
- Corrected some Progression-server-only requirements for Planes of Power zones. When Planes of Power launches they will require full flagging. Once Lost Dungeons of Norrath launches they will behave as they did from the first time zone access was increased (in 2003) until we again lowered their requirements during the Dragons of Norrath era. The 85/15 rule remains unchanged for these zones.
- The Plane of Valor can now be entered at level 55 without other flags when Lost Dungeons of Norrath is open. This requirement lowers to level 46 when Dragons of Norrath opens.
- The Halls of Honor can be entered at level 63 when Lost Dungeons of Norrath is open. This will now lower to 57 when Dragons of Norrath opens. Previously neither exception would work on Progression servers.
- The Temple of Marr can now be entered at level 62 without other flags when Lost Dungeons of Norrath is open. This requirement now lowers to 57 when Dragons of Norrath opens. Previously there had not been an alternate level requirement for this zone on Progression servers until DoN unlocked it.
- Drunder, the Fortress of Zek can now be entered at level 62 without other flags when Lost Dungeons of Norrath is open. This requirement will lower to 57 when Dragons of Norrath opens.
- The Bastion of Thunder can now be entered at level 62 without other flags when Lost Dungeons of Norrath is open. This requirement will lower to 57 when Dragons of Norrath opens. Previously neither exception would ever take effect on Progression servers.
- The Tower of Solusek Ro can now be entered at level 57 when Dragons of Norrath opens. Previously there was no alternate level requirement available at any time on Progression servers.
- The Elemental planes (Air, Fire, Water, EarthA and EarthB) can only be entered via flag until Dragons of Norrath opens. At that point any level 60 will be able to enter these zones.
- The shady merchant and shady smuggler in Nadox are on vacation until Dragons of Norrath unlocks.
- Hateplane 2.0's Agent of Change instance will not become available until LDoN unlocks on the server.


*** Miscellaneous ***

- Guild Looking for Player and Player Looking for Guild should now again persist across world restarts.
- Load balanced (/pick) zones will now 'lock' if any two versions of a load balanced zone have a player count less than or equal to 1/3 of the zone's threshold. A locked zone will:
- - Transfer all player corpses to the base zone and any new corpses will get moved to the base zone immediately.
- - Block entry to the zone and will be removed the from the /pick options.
- - Start despawning mercenaries is there are any in the zone.
- You will now see the mount and illusion key ring features as active immediately after purchasing without the need to zone/relog.
- Invalid reward sets should no longer display in your list of pending rewards.
- Corrected some default text that contained duplicated punctuation.
- Corrected an issue that could cause a player to get stuck in an instance if entering from a pickzone.
- The Plane of Tranquility now has load balancing enabled.
- When there is a world XP modifier in effect, the experience message when killing NPCs will now state that 'You gain experience (with a bonus)!' instead of the standard XP gain message.


*** UI ***

- Adjusted the label positions in the Mercenary tab of the inventory window to be more consistent with the Stats tab.
- - Additionally, Mercenary Armor Class and Attack will now display their component parts and a mercenary's heroic stats are now displayed.
- Completing certain achievements will no longer automatically generate messages if you have enabled social sharing.
- - Enabling the ability to post a message with a screenshot to your Twitter or Facebook account will no longer result in automatically generated achievement messages.
- - A button to quickly access the social sharing window has been added to the EQ button command list.
- When logging on, /announce will no longer state if announce is turned on or off. It will state the status if you run the command.


- Changed -
EQUI_Inventory.xml


*** Previously Updated ***

- The first step of Drogan Toes will no longer suggest that you should get Drogan Toes from the quest giver, Vasyryx Teken`tlar.
- Plane of Time NPCs will now use the Mitigation of the Mighty buff.
- Bite of the Shissar items have been restricted to the unlocking of Underfoot.
- Tome of Deflection Discipline is restricted to the unlocking of Seeds of Destruction on all merchants.
- The shady merchant and shady smuggler in Nadox are on vacation until Dragons of Norrath unlocks.


- The EverQuest Team

Not to me. I think it should only work on the one you have targeted. Yes, I play a 105 SK. My play style isn't affected.

After that video of Drogba swarming in current expansion, you had to know something was going to be done about it.

Who's next? We already know mage pets are gonna get something nerfed because, Magicians.