Nexus Improvements: Accessibility, Hiding and Explosions

[Kandarin]

As the Nexus epically dukes it out in the Kaleidoscopia Showdown, we're also pleased to announce a new update to the game! This update heavily focuses on improving accessibility across user abilities (though it is far from the last thing we plan to do for this) and also broadly reforms attacks from hiding. Enchanters will find a special gift too, though they'd better stand way back when it goes off! The changes in this update are:

Skills and Mechanics
● Word of the Holy Light is now a 30 CP skill with no prerequisites. It was previously a 60 CP child skill of Intense Halo, but it's really worth 30. Since no one bought it because it cost more than it's worth, there's no need for refunds.
● Bonus attack from hiding damage for the Shadow Dirk has been increased from 7 to 8.
● Enchanted grenades now deal more AOE damage.
● Attacks from hiding have been modified thusly:
- Attacks from hiding without mortal Hide skills now have a +10% chance to hit, but no bonus damage. As you have the element of surprise, your chance of hitting should be better, not worse.
- Attacks from hiding with the Hide skill grant +10% chance to hit and +4 damage.
- Attacks from hiding with the Advanced Hide skill grant +15% chance to hit and +8 damage.
- Bonus damage from attacks from hiding is no longer negated by Enhanced Senses skills or status effects.
- Bonus damage and accuracy for attacks from hiding now apply to spells, which they previously did now.

Interface and Quality of Life
● Cardinal-direction (North, East, etc.) move buttons added in the last update now also apply to interior movement.
● Corrected an issue where character creation text remained when typing in character name creation.
● Character targeting dropdowns now say your faction relationship (ally, hostile, etc) to the target, if such a relationship exists. To prevent unneccessary clutter, if you are in your stronghold and your ward is up, the interface doesn't bother with telling you that your factionmates are your factionmates.
● The character planner has been updated to a more accessible version. + and - keyboard shortcuts level and delevel in the new planner version, after a starting skill has been chosen. "G" as a keyboard shortcut generates the skill list.
● Pet targeting dropdowns now tell you the master of the pet and whether you are friendly or hostile to them.
● If you have Spellcraft, spellgems in the safe Discard interface (and legacy safe Withdraw interface) are listed with the name of the spell first, followed by gem color. Their alphabetical order is still based on gem color.
● More keyboard shortcuts have been added to the game:
- X to heal the current dropdown target. Where multiple methods are available, the priorities run Surgery -> Healing Herbs -> Bone Leeches -> First Aid Kits.
- R to pick up (Retrieve) items on the ground.
- B to enter and exit a building. B will also open the door from outside if a closed (but not locked) door is a barrier to entry.
- J to sabotage or repair power. Inside a power plant, this applies to repairing or sabotaging generators.
- W to attack wards or doors
- L to retrieve or capture stronghold flags
- O to bash or build fortifications
- T to shoot targets

Minor Bugs
● Wyrm Masters may now see their own Tentacles on the map.
● Correct gender pronouns for alchemy deaths.

[Saint_Jimmy]

It's probably worth me adding here:

We're planning on buffing most/all the innates in some form or another, with a particular focus on trying to add bonus effects of some kind to the ones that don't have them already. If a class doesn't have innates (you'll notice Advocate doesn't) we'll try and buff something related to it. Shadowdirk was just the first one because it's a bit pathetic when you can't kill someone with 2 attacks with hellfire from hiding despite them having no soak.

Got suggestions for what they should do? Post them. There's a lot of innates to cover.

[Saxony]

Giving them unique effects would be really cool because as it stands right now, they are just normal weapons that don't break (well most of them). I do like the idea of making them more interesting compared to just moving the numbers up or down in order to buff innates.

For example, Seraph's clockwork blade is a standout example of an innate I think needs work. It costs 60CP, and it's numbers aren't that great for that cost. But aside from that, it's just a 7 damage electric sword in "good" condition that never breaks.

Perhaps it could do more damage with a smite, or the smite costs less or something. Maybe using the clockwork blade buffs the seraph's soak, or their damage aura. Maybe it even gains damage as it gets used, or bonus damage versus demons or something. That would tie in with the seraph's signature skills (smite, divine armor/other soaks, aura, infinite attack) and could be cool. If the numbers don't change, it's still probably not that great at 60CP. Any sort of enchanted weapon is much better.

[plscks]

How about once again making synergy between the Rev's Feeding Fangs and the Wolf's bite. As it stands my Rev just about never ever uses the Wolf's bite, which is sad kind of.
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