Gracia Epilogue

Mail, skill enchanting from the interface and the Zaken instance

Gracia Epilogue is an update to The 2nd Throne chronicle, released on November 3, 2009. It added in-game mail, moved skill enchanting into the interface, introduced skill transfer for healers and party matching for command channels, added the Delusion Chamber, turned the epic boss Zaken into an instance zone and reworked many hunting grounds for level 80+ characters. It also brought the epic Seven Signs quest series, belts, new pets and buyback of sold items.

The data reflects the l2db.ru chronicle overview and its full description of Gracia Epilogue (information provided by Ferdinand (GrossAdmiral)).

Mail

In-game mail lets you send letters and items. It fully replaced the freight system: all items stored in freight were returned to the personal warehouse.

There are two types of letters:

Regular - a message with or without an attachment; the sender pays the standard postage. The recipient sees an envelope icon.
Payment request - a letter with an item that the recipient must pay for with the amount of adena set by the sender.

Sending:

Open the mail window with Alt+X (Mail) or the /mailbox command. The letter type is chosen in the mailbox menu.
Up to 8 items can be attached; postage depends on the total weight of the parcel.
Mail can only be sent and received in a peace zone; delivery takes 30 seconds.
Sending can be cancelled until the recipient opens the letter or takes the attachment.
The sender of a payment request letter receives the adena directly in their inventory as soon as the recipient presses Pay.

Receiving, returning and deleting:

A new letter is signaled by an envelope icon above the chat window; click it to open the letter.
An attachment cannot be taken if your inventory is full or the weight would exceed 100%. In a payment request letter, the item is handed over only after pressing Pay, and the required amount is taken from your inventory.
A regular letter without an attachment cannot be returned - only read or deleted (it must be opened before deleting). A letter with an attachment can be returned or received, but not deleted.
An unread letter is returned to the sender after 15 days: without an attachment it is simply deleted, and an attachment goes to the sender's personal warehouse.
Payment request letters are automatically cancelled 12 hours after sending.

Command channel

The member matching system for command channels was changed. The channel leader creates a matching room by opening the party matching window (/partymatching); the room closes with that window. The leader does not take part in matching since they are the organizer. The settings are the same as in the regular party matching system. Once you join a group in the channel, you automatically leave the queue; only party leaders can see the list of candidates.

Vitality

The rate at which Vitality levels are spent was changed in favor of experience gained.
For levels 75-85, the Vitality consumption rate was made the same as below level 75.

Skill enchanting

Skill enchanting moved into the interface: you no longer need to look for an NPC, and a button at the bottom of the skill window opens the enchant window anywhere.

Enchanting no longer consumes experience; it requires adena and SP instead, and in smaller amounts than before.
Drag a skill into the Current Skill slot on the left to see the possible routes, the cost and other details. Grayed-out skills cannot be enchanted.
All previous options remain: safe enchanting, changing the route, lowering the enchant level. Safe Skill Enchant was renamed Blessed Skill Enchant.
A help button explains the procedure in game.

New small Giant's Codices: Giant's Codex - Oblivion (lowers a skill's enchant level), Giant's Codex - Discipline (changes the enchant route), Giant's Codex - Mastery (safe enchanting). Giant's Codex now stacks.

Change	Skills
Newly enchantable skills (Time and Cost routes)	Song of Champion, Song of Wind Storm, Dance of Blade Storm, Fear, Bless the Blood
New routes	Soul Guard - Power; Deadly Blow - Duel; Double Shot - Duel; Count of Fire - Attack Fire; Diamond Dust, Throne of Ice - Attack Water; Throne of Wind - Attack Wind
Changed route effect descriptions	Backstab - Duel; Bleed, Fire Trap, Poison Trap, Slow Trap, Flash Trap, Blinding Trap, Decoy - Power

Skills

Skill transfer

To make healers more useful in a party, one healer class (Cardinal, Eva's Saint, Shillien Saint) can learn skills of the other two - for example, the Cardinal can get Party Recall and the Shillien Saint can get Mass Resurrection.

Transfer is done at regular skill trainer NPCs (priest, high priest, magister, etc.); each skill requires one Holy Pomander. This item is given for the third class quest; characters who got their third class before the update found it in their personal warehouse.
Holy Pomanders received: Cardinal - 1, Eva's Saint - 1, Shillien Saint - 4.
A transferred skill can be removed at a skill trainer for 10,000,000 adena; the Holy Pomander is returned for each cancelled skill.
Some transferred skills can be enchanted.
A healer subclass follows the same rules if it meets the transfer requirements.

Skill changes

The Dark Mystic gets Children of Shilen at level 14: Casting Spd. +13, MP recovery +2%.
The power of Blade Hurricane, Full Swing, Cleave and Double Attack was increased.
A critical hit chance was added to: Triple Slash, Soul Breaker, Force Blaster, Double Strike, Fatal Strike, Armor Crush, Demonic Blade Dance, Full Swing, Earthquake, Sword Symphony, Burning Chop, Blade of Hurricane, Crush of Doom, Sonic Buster, Hammer Crush, Tribunal, Force Burst, Spoil Crush, Judgment, Double Sonic Slash, Thunder Storm, Sonic Blaster, Force Storm, Burning Fist, Psycho Symphony, Triple Sonic Slash, Shock Blast, Power Crush, Hurricane Assault, Punch of Doom, Sonic Storm, Force of Destruction.
Restore Life can no longer be used on an enemy.
Burning Chop can be learned at levels 72 and 74.
Healers learn Major Heal up to level 75; the skill gains level 11.
MP recovery of Focus Mind, Vital Force and Espirit was increased.
Newbie support magic was extended to level 75.

Vanguard transformation

Vanguard was strengthened so tanks can play solo. New skills:

Boost Morale - with a sword, blunt weapon or duals: Accuracy +8, Critical Rate +150, critical damage +30% for 2 minutes.
Guillotine Attack - an attack with fixed power added to P. Atk.; requires a two-handed sword or two-handed blunt, ignores shields, 3x overhit.
Blade Slash - an attack with fixed power added to P. Atk.; requires duals, ignores shields, overhit.

Hunting grounds

Many zones were reworked, especially for kiting classes, and existing locations were redesigned for high-level characters to hunt freely.

Delusion Chamber

A new instance zone for level 80+ characters, designed for parties of 4 or more of any classes.

Built like the Dimensional Rift; entry via the Pathfinder Worker NPC in any town.
Each Seal of the Delusion Chamber requires a party of at least 2; the seal is chosen at the NPC Guardian.
Each seal has 6 rooms, and you spend 8-10 minutes in each.
There is a chance that in the last 5 minutes the party is moved to the final room with the raid boss Aenkinel.
The boss drops Guiding Tea Leaves, which buy Dynasty armor and accessories from the Guardian NPC.
After the boss dies, 4 Nihil Invader Treasure Chests appear. You must pick one: the right one gives a reward; with the wrong one you get nothing, and the other chests disappear.

Reworked zones

Zone	Player level	Type	Intended for	Changes
Den of Evil	80+	Open field	Solo melee	Monster level 35+ -> 80+
Stakato Nest	82+	Dungeon	Parties of 4+	Monster level 70+ -> 80+
Fields of Silence / Fields of Whispers	83+	Open field	Solo mages	Monster level 35+ -> 80+
Forge of the Gods	78+	Dungeon	Mage parties	Fixed monster respawn and post-death clone chance
Primeval Isle	83+	Open field	Solo mages	Lower monster HP and defense, changed social behavior, herb drops added
Mithril Mines	81+	Dungeon	Solo archers	Monster level 20+ -> 80+
Crypts of Disgrace	80+	Open field	Melee parties	Monster level 35+ -> 80+
Giant's Cave	83+	Dungeon	Melee parties	Monster level 65+ -> 80+

Zaken

The epic boss Zaken became an instance zone so that more players can take part in killing him. You can choose Day Zaken or Night Zaken.

	Day Zaken	Night Zaken
Group	1-3 parties (9-27 players); a single party must have 9 members	A command channel of 8-50 parties (72-450 players)
Who talks to the Pathfinder Worker	The party leader (1 party) or the channel leader (2-3 parties)	The channel leader
Time limit	60 minutes	360 minutes
Reset	Every 3 days: Wednesday and Saturday, 6:30 AM	Every 7 days: Wednesday, 6:30 AM

How it works:

Every corridor of the ship has barrels with candles that must be lit within a time limit. The candles hint at Zaken's location: red means Zaken is not here, blue means he is near. Zaken's room is surrounded by 4 blue candles.
The more red candles are lit, the stronger Zaken becomes and the more monsters there are. The fewer red candles and the faster Zaken dies, the better the reward.
You can teleport to the entrance through the NPC Somulita in Giran Harbor. The Pathfinder Worker NPC stands on the deck of Zaken's ship, explains the raid and moves you inside; re-entry also goes through him.
Monsters tend to return to their previous positions; kill rewards were improved.

Seed of Infinity

The number of stages was cut from 6 to 5: attack on the Hall of Suffering and Hall of Erosion; attack on the Heart of Infinity; end of the attack phase; again attack on the Hall of Suffering and Hall of Erosion; attack on the Hall of Suffering and Heart of Infinity.
The level limit of the Hall of Erosion was changed to 75-85; the Hall of Erosion and Heart of Infinity take 18-27 players, and their difficulty was lowered.
The reward for Cohemenes was improved, and the chance to get Tears of Freed Soul was increased.
A holder of the level 2 Mark of Keucereus can buy from Soul Trader Asyatei: Skull Key of Suffering, Skull Key of Erosion and Skull Key of Heart (remove the entry limit for the Hall of Suffering, Hall of Erosion and Heart of Infinity), and the Soul Extraction Device for obtaining Tear of Freed Soul.

Other monster changes

The respawn time of Duke Devil and Ranku in Steel Citadel was shortened, and their rewards were adjusted.
The levels of some monsters in Hellbound, the Seed of Immortality and the Seed of Destruction were changed (no higher than 83); Beleth, Tiat, Ekimus and Scarlet van Halisha were lowered in level; raid boss drops were adjusted to their level. To get the maximum drop, your level should be close to the boss's.
If a player is 2 or more levels below a level 78+ monster, their damage to it is reduced (for servitors and pets, the owner's level counts). If a player is 3 or more levels below a monster, the monster's chance to resist magic grows; that chance depends only on level, not equipment. Neither rule applies in PvP.
The Ancient Herb - Slayer has no effect if the player is 6 or more levels below the monster.
After logging in, monsters do not attack the character for 10 minutes until they take any action (except Scroll of Escape).

Quests

A new type of quest was added: daily quests. All new quests:

Quest	Level	Area	Description
Seven Signs - Series of Doubt	79	Oren	Croop, Warehouse Chief of the Town of Oren, is worried by a series of strange deaths of Dwarven Contractors linked to the Merchants of Mammon
Seven Signs - Dying Message	79	Oren	Croop asks you to arrange Jacob's funeral with Priest Hollint at the Einhasad Temple
Seven Signs - Contract of Mammon	79	-	Sir Gustav Athebaldt tells of Mammon's contract from the Elmore-Aden era, now controlled by the Lords of Dawn
Seven Signs - Secret Ritual of the Priests	79	-	Lady Claudia tells of the secret altar deep inside the Oracle of Dawn
Seven Signs - Seal of the Emperor	79	-	The secret of the contract between Emperor Shunaiman and Mammon with Iason Heine; a journey to the Elmore-Aden era in the Disciple's Necropolis
Seven Signs - Sacred Book of Seal	79	-	Meet High Priest Orven to find Franz; Orven does not trust adventurers
Seven Signs - Embryo	79	-	Meet Franz in a secret hideout in Aden Castle and fight a strange monster
Control Device of the Giants	79+	Giant's Cave	Kill 3 different raid bosses for a chance to fight the main boss, Hekaton Prime
Winds of Change	82+	Fields of Whispers / Silence	Gatekeeper Flauen is worried about the feud between Dr. Helvetica and Priestess Athenia - you must pick a side
Won't You Join Us?	82+	Fields of Whispers / Silence	Athenia's supporters destroy the machines ruining nature
For a Good Cause	82+	Fields of Whispers / Silence	Hunt Mucrokians on the fields of Innadril; reward - a Dynasty accessory recipe
Success/Failure of Business	82+	Fields of Whispers / Silence	Earn the trust of Dr. Helvetica
Reed Field Maintenance	82+	Fields of Whispers / Silence	Dwarf Katensa of the research center is building an industrial complex and asks you to destroy Mucrokians
Take Advantage of the Crisis!	80+	Mithril Mines	Gray Pillar Member Filaur in the Dwarven Village; reward - an S80 Dynasty armor recipe or Giant's Codex
Grave Robber Member Rescue	80+	Mithril Mines	Kanemika, the Grave Robber Leader, asks you to rescue his team; daily, reward - adena
Lucien's Altar	80+	Dwarven Village	Priest of the Earth Daichir of Maphyr's Temple asks you to find out why the barrier of Lucien's Altar weakened; daily, reward - adena
I'm the Only One You Can Trust	81+	Stakato Nest	Bounty Hunter Kintaijin seeks the criminals who ruined his village; reward - exclusive teleport options
Only What Remains	81+	Stakato Nest	Kintaijin asks you to kill monsters; reward - an item that summons a raid boss with a good reward
Expulsion of Evil Spirits	80+	Den of Evil	Sergeant Chairen needs someone to deal with the Ragna Orcs; reward - an S80 Dynasty armor recipe, Giant's Codex and a chance to summon a raid boss

The seven Seven Signs quests form an epic series revealing the secrets of the Seven Seals. It starts at the NPC Croop in Oren; the reward is a large amount of experience and SP, Ancient Adena and an exclusive Seven Signs item.

Changes to existing quests

Exploration of Giant's Cave - Part 1 and Part 2, The Zero Hour, Ghosts of Batur and Signs of Revolt can no longer be completed the old way because of the zone changes; their rewards are given by the News Informer in towns.
The Succubus Queen from Trial of the Challenger spawns in the Abandoned Coal Mines instead of the Mithril Mines.
Audience with the Land Dragon: Kranrot and Hamrut are now in the Forsaken Plains.
An Arrogant Search: Titan's Powerstone was replaced with Shell of Monsters, dropped by Yintzu and Paliote in the Forsaken Plains.
Pursuit of Clan Ambition!: Titan's Powerstone and Nebulite Crystals were replaced with Spiteful Soul Energy from the Spiteful Soul Leader in the Fields of Massacre.
A Clan's Reputation: Hekaton Prime (now higher level) was replaced with Shilen's Priest Hisilrome. In The Clan's Prestige, Stakato Queen Shyeed can no longer be chosen.
Shadow Fox II, Method to Raise the Dead and Black Swan: the monsters moved to Alligator Beach; Help Rood Raise A New Pet! and Wedding March - to the area near Heine.
The level of In Search of the Nest was raised from 66 to 81.
Sweet Fluid for Quest for Fishing Shot no longer drops in the updated zones.
S80 Dynasty armor and weapon recipes were added to the rewards of A Powerful Primeval Creature and Rise and Fall of the Elroki Tribe.
Gather the Flames: torches drop from more monsters and with a much higher chance.
The level of Defend the Hall of Erosion and Conquer the Hall of Erosion was lowered to 75.

Items

Belts and cloaks

Cloaks now form a single category and are no longer divided by type.
A- and S-grade belts with new options were added:

Belt	Options
Magic Rune Clip Belt	HP Recovery - faster HP recovery, especially while sitting; MP Recovery - the same for MP
Magic Ornament Belt	PvP normal attack - normal attack damage in PvP; PvP skill attack - skill damage in PvP; PvP defense - less damage taken in PvP

Territory Wars

Unlike clan-based castle sieges, Territory Wars can be joined as a mercenary. Participants can buy special items from the Territory Manager in any town: S80 jewelry, head accessories, small Giant's Codices, talismans (Blue Cancel, Buff Steal, Territory Guard, Lord's Divine Protection, All Resistance), the PvP potions Territory Health/Mana/CP Recovery Potion, and the Rune Clip Belt and Magic Ornament Belt were added. The number of Territory Badges needed for a strider was lowered from 60 to 50. See Territory Wars for details.

Item changes

The Necklace, Ring and Earring of Blessing can be augmented.
Bows and crossbows with the Cheap Shot SA reduce the MP cost of all skills. On the Vesper Sheutjeh, Cheap Shot was fixed: the MP cost of all skills is reduced by 12% (previously there was a 12% chance for a skill to cost 1 MP).
Shield descriptions show correct P. Def. and Def. Rate; Apella armor descriptions were updated to match its purpose.
Faster casting for the talismans Red Talisman - Recovery, Blue Talisman - Divine Protection, Black Talisman - Mending, Black Talisman of Physical Freedom, Black Talisman of Arcane Freedom, Black Talisman - Escape, Black Talisman of Rescue, Black Talisman of Vocalization, Black Talisman of Free Speech.
Dynasty Phantom - Wisdom was renamed Dynasty Phantom - Nature.
Icons of similar items were changed: Red/Blue/Green Soul Crystal, Fine Cube Piece, Red Gem, Olympiad Warrior's Ring/Necklace/Earring, Entrance Pass to the Sepulcher.
Soulshots are consumed only when you hit the target.
Masterwork Helmets can be sealed at the Blacksmith of Mammon.
The Bottle of Souls holds 5 souls instead of 6.
Fixed: missing hit effect of bare hands or melee weapons for Elves, the Vesper Dagger Dual Sword craft, the passive skill of the Masterwork Dark Crystal Helm, the Guidance SA description on the Vesper Stormer, the PvP bonus of the Vesper Noble Tunic, the description of The Saint Spear PvP weapon.
The foundation items window at Mammon was changed.
A fireworks effect was added when enchanting weapons to +6...+7 and +14...+15 and armor to +5...+6.

Pets

New pets: the Deinonychus (obtained on Primeval Isle; cannot wear armor but can wear jewelry) and the Guardian's Strider - an improved strider sold by the Territory Mercenary Captain for 80 badges that can use any strider items.
New food: Enriched Pet Feed for Wolves - for the Great Wolf and Fenrir.
The pet inventory changed: previously, when a pet was dismissed its items went to the owner or fell to the ground; now they stay with the pet and are passed to the owner (or dropped) when it is summoned. The pet's summon item cannot be sold while the pet's inventory holds items.

Other changes

Buyback of sold items was added: you can buy back the last 12 items sold. Items sold right before a disconnect or logout cannot be returned. The buy and sell buttons were merged into a Buy/Sell/Refunds menu.
A temporary News Informer NPC appeared in every town to explain the changed zones and help complete changed quests.
Manor seeds and crops in the Aden, Innadril and Schuttgart territories were changed.
Some NPCs got voice-overs and a new look.
The /target command selects the nearest target, and you no longer need to type the full name.

Technical changes

Optimized performance on GeForce 6 and newer video cards, and an updated shader system.
The Bending Shader works correctly with skill effects; Soft Particle softens some world effects (part of the Improved Shader option).
Fewer resources are used to create interface windows, so slow interface loading no longer affects the game.
Map: the icon changes while flying; loading time when logging into Giran, other towns and popular hunting grounds was reduced; fixed fog that prevented terrain from rendering.
The Realistic Water option and related settings became much faster.