Star Vault has shared what it is building for the second Era of Refinement patch for Mortal Online 2, a week after the first one went live. Players can test it on the PTR from November 18. CEO Henrik Nyström will show some of the features on Twitch on November 11. The studio warns that some items may not make the PTR or the final release.
Aggressive Flag and PvP changes
The biggest change is the Aggressive Flag, first floated back in March. It replaces the Criminal Actions toggle and uses the same keybind. To attack Blue players or commit crimes, you first have to flag yourself. While flagged, you appear as local grey with a new nameplate icon, and anyone can legally attack and loot you. Turning the flag on takes 3 seconds. Turning it off takes 30 seconds, and that timer resets whenever you get hit. Star Vault stresses that this isn’t a PvP opt-in. Unflagged players can still be attacked, but the flag lets potential victims spot hostile intent and act first. It should also mean fewer murder counts in situations that don’t deserve them.
A new mechanic aimed at coordinated burst damage is also being tested. For one second after taking damage, you gain resistance equal to the share of health you just lost, so simultaneous hits from several players do less damage. It doesn’t address larger groups wearing down smaller ones over time, and it could change a lot or be cut entirely.
Concentration is changing too. Taking hits over 10 damage while channeling will no longer risk cancelling the spell. Instead, each hit lowers its Spell Power, down to a floor of 40%. At 100 Concentration, the penalty per hit drops to 15%.
Housing, spells and quality of life
Houses, Strongholds, Keeps and keep walls can now be customized piece by piece. You can swap outer and inner walls, beams, floors, ceilings, roofs and front doors. Basic components are sold by town vendors, while rarer ones drop as loot. Some use existing styles such as Morin Khur or Tindrem, and others bring new materials and colours.
New Ecumenical utility spells include:
- Breath of Efficiency for faster mining and woodcutting
- Amplified Attunement for better Trinket rolls, from a rare scroll with an expensive reagent
- Levity for higher jumps and slower falls
- Aquatic Attraction and Beast of Burden for fishing bites and carry weight
- Flare, a small light that follows you
On the combat side, Necromancers get Blood Sacrifice, which lets them cast with Health when out of Mana. Mana Shield, Repelling Ward and Relinquish Undead are coming as well.
Other planned changes:
- You can always walk slowly while encumbered, however much you carry.
- Potions and bandages are no longer slower to use with a weapon drawn.
- Intelligence no longer affects book reading speed.
- Hitching Posts arrive in busy town areas, and guilds get wearable Heraldry banners.
- Melee weapon skills now raise only minimum damage, so higher skill means more consistent hits.
- Zoology Lore no longer affects combat. Its 20% bonus against creatures moves to a new Action skill, Hunting Prowess.
- Sitting by a campfire grants Lasting Respite, which slows reserve loss for up to 30 minutes.
- Several Clade Gifts are reworked, including Northerner, Scholastic, Staunch, Stalker and Devour.
- Town Criers will warn of nearby criminals.
- An emote radial menu is planned, and rare loot tables expand across Myrland and Sarducaa.
- Tagmaton Invasions are set to return.
Star Vault is collecting opinions on these changes through a feedback questionnaire ahead of the PTR.
Source: Mortal Online 2 official news.
