New Update 9/14/2014: New Blacksmith Filters!

[Nate]

Greetings Pit Masters!

The Great Realm has just received another update! After having a productive chat with the Blacksmith I persuaded him to change things up a bit and make finding equipment easier!

Below is a summary of what he has done:

- Pit Masters can now choose exactly the kind of equipment they are looking for by selecting the level range, location (main hand, off-hand, legs, etc), type (Blades, Pole Arms, Light, Heavy, etc) and the quality (Exceptional (Green), Epic (Purple), etc.)!

- The blacksmith now shows eight pieces of gear of the exact type of item you are looking for. Previously, it would have been rare to see even three of the same kind of item matching the precise requirements you were hoping for. This change offers you exactly what you want, in less time and much more of it even though the total items shown is less.

- The cost to refresh the blacksmith's items scales with the gladiator's level and increases each time it is used until it is reset back to zero at the end of the day (2am PST). The refresh cost caps at 99 trophies.

- The blacksmith remembers each gladiators choices and only modifies them if the selections are invalid for some reason (i.e. trying to find Exceptional (Green) items in the Chamber of Power).

- Thousands of new items have been created and introduced.

- Each gladiator still receives one free refresh per day.

Good luck in the Pit!

-Nate-

[ahroun]

blacksmit does not work now :(

[Nate]

Update isn't done yet. You shouldn't have been able to log in. Probably a bug with the recent persistent login feature from last week.

[ahroun]

hahah sorry im pressing F5 all time and i enter to see my taverns. i will be back tomorrow then :D

"We're doing some quick maintenance and will be back online soon. Sorry for the inconvenience."

[Nate]

Update is ready!

For you Chamber of Power Masters the first time you enter, it may still show you the Front Counter items. Just hit the New Items button and the Blacksmith will bring out the new items based on your filters.

Enjoy your shopping and Good luck in the Pit!

-Nate-

[ahroun]

i dont know if it just me but the images of the items does not fit (maybe is my browser? firefox in linux)

[Nate]

Have you tried clearing your browser's cache?

[Alba Kebab]

Had the same problem on first load, cleared browser cache and logged in again, now it all displays properly.

Question:
Is there a way to select armor simply by the category of light/medium/heavy without selecting specific locations?
looking for location specific armor is great for fully built gladiators, but for young guys in lower brackets, they only need assorted generic stuff and rarely need to look for location specific gear.

[Adoede]

I can't say enough about how fantastic this update is. Gets me really excited about the other changes that might be coming in this new direction!

[wuhugm]

wow, the new feature is great :D I can get the equipment I need most

also can you do something about not able to unlearn anything except ultimate skill after it reached lvl 10? I also made the thread in bug forum

[Nate]

Had the same problem on first load, cleared browser cache and logged in again, now it all displays properly.

Question:
Is there a way to select armor simply by the category of light/medium/heavy without selecting specific locations?
looking for location specific armor is great for fully built gladiators, but for young guys in lower brackets, they only need assorted generic stuff and rarely need to look for location specific gear.

I'll look into adding an "any" option for some of the filters.

Good luck in the Pit!

-Nate-

[Nate]

also can you do something about not able to unlearn anything except ultimate skill after it reached lvl 10? I also made the thread in bug forum


I'll reply in the other thread as to keep this one on topic.

Good luck in the Pit!

-Nate-

[riggen]

Liking the new change, although, aesthetically, it's a bit crooked. As in, all of the items are a bit out of their "slots".

As a side question: When do whips and nets start appearing at the blacksmith? Once gladiators start training their Entangle skill?

[Nate]

Liking the new change, although, aesthetically, it's a bit crooked. As in, all of the items are a bit out of their "slots".


Clear your browser's cache and restart your browser.

Good luck in the Pit!

-Nate-

[Nate]

As a side question: When do whips and nets start appearing at the blacksmith? Once gladiators start training their Entangle skill?


Nets and Whips are higher level items.

Good luck in the Pit!

-Nate-

[Sotc]

Great update. Nice work Nate!

[Nate]

http://forum.pitofwar.com/images/styles/blackstealth/misc/quote_icon.png Originally Posted by Alba Kebab http://forum.pitofwar.com/images/styles/blackstealth/buttons/viewpost-right.png (http://forum.pitofwar.com/showthread.php?p=16296#post16296)

Had the same problem on first load, cleared browser cache and logged in again, now it all displays properly.

Question:
Is there a way to select armor simply by the category of light/medium/heavy without selecting specific locations?
looking for location specific armor is great for fully built gladiators, but for young guys in lower brackets, they only need assorted generic stuff and rarely need to look for location specific gear.



I'll look into adding an "any" option for some of the filters.

Good luck in the Pit!

-Nate-

I took a look into adding an "any" option and I found that is starts to introduce unnecessary complexity. For example we could have an "any armour location" option which would mean head, torso, arms and legs, but it probably wouldn't make much sense to have an "any weapon location" because who would want main, off-hand and both hands weapons to show at the same time, so "any" would really mean main and off-hand in most cases. If we then add an any option to the Types drop down, does anyone really want to see Blades and Exotic? Or Pole Arms and 2H at the same time? Not really. My guess is in most cases your gladiator is going to already have at least one location taken care of and you won't want to see items for that location, so an "any" option won't be too useful and now someone might request an "arm and legs" option, or every permutation, etc. The reason for this new feature was many expressed their frustration about the randomness of the blacksmith (Wars gladiators in particular had a rough time with the old way), so re-introducing randomness seems counter productive to that end. I'd like to keeps things as minimal and simple as possible while still providing enough functionality to do everything one needs to gear their gladiator. For now I'm going to leave it as is. My suggestion if you don't really care about the armour location that you will be shown, just select any of the armour locations since it isn't important to you. Later if enough people want more options we can revisit this at a later date.

Good luck in the Pit!

-Nate-

[FrosteeFyre]

*Hugs Nate* Yes! Running 3 war gladiators currently, I had the roughest time gearing them and I can't wait to use this new feature. Thank you for the update to that cruel, cruel Blacksmith!

[FrosteeFyre]

Hullo Nate, would I be able to request that low-level glads, like level 20 and under get 5 free refreshes a day (or more than the single refresh awarded to the higher level glads), as opposed to the one, or just a more generalistic search for them, as gearing them 1 piece a day (whilst their other slots have grey pieces) puts them at a large disadvantage of other low level glads who got to buy up to 8 pieces of gear for their glads a day on a single refresh. This way we can at least put some blues/purples in the slots while at higher levels then we can look into more specifics, running a DW War I just bought it'll take me 8 days (or 400 trophies if you count refreshes, I'm not rich, I can't afford 400 trophies to buy a set that'll get replaced so quickly) to buy all the equipment for each slot, whilst he'll have grey placeholders until then. Thanks for reading!

**Edit** I now realize that you greatly reduced the refresh costs for lower-level glads, thank you kindly Nate, that solves my only issue with this new update, I can now say that I love all aspects of this update!

[Nate]

Hullo Nate, would I be able to request that low-level glads, like level 20 and under get 5 free refreshes a day (or more than the single refresh awarded to the higher level glads), as opposed to the one, or just a more generalistic search for them, as gearing them 1 piece a day (whilst their other slots have grey pieces) puts them at a large disadvantage of other low level glads who got to buy up to 8 pieces of gear for their glads a day on a single refresh. This way we can at least put some blues/purples in the slots while at higher levels then we can look into more specifics, running a DW War I just bought it'll take me 8 days (or 400 trophies if you count refreshes, I'm not rich, I can't afford 400 trophies to buy a set that'll get replaced so quickly) to buy all the equipment for each slot, whilst he'll have grey placeholders until then. Thanks for reading!

The cost to refresh the blacksmith is relatively inexpensive for lower level glads, in some cases much lower than before and far lower than a month ago. If you are wanting to buy something for a particular gladiator be sure to have him be the first to walk into the blacksmith after the server reset and you'll see new items based on his filter options from before. You can then use your free refresh as well and effectively get two refreshes for free for that gladiator. If more gear in less time is what you are after, be sure to run the Gauntlet and Underbelly as much as possible. TrialPay also offers free surveys as I'm sure you are aware of where you can get more trophies in addition to all the free trophies won each day. Also be sure to use the refer-a-friend program. Getting as many people under you can reap a huge amount of trophies.

EDIT: Essentially you are also asking for an "any" option like Alba mentioned earlier. Please see my reply to him. I'll give it some more thought and perhaps see if there is an easy way to add it and still keep things simple.

Good luck in the Pit!

-Nate-

[Abbatoir]

To be honest its a double edged feature improvement in my opinion. The way it was before I could go through without necessarily having to refresh and get what I needed. Sometimes the things on offer weren't what i wanted so i'd spend some trophies.

Now I can only shop for one item a day OR i have to start buying trophies or i'll never get a barracks upgrade.

Is it intended to draw more purchase of trophies in the way its designed or is this just something that was overlooked?

I probably will invest in the future but not everyone can or will and it might widen the pay vs free gear advantage

[Dainoji]

Lol, it's sad that an update like this is still plagued with complaints. You'll never win Nate! It's great that you keep trying but you'll never make everyone happy. For what it's worth I love the new update, it's awesome. For those saying they can only shop for one thing per day that isn't true. Every glad gets a free cycle, so each glad can buy something each day if you wanted, two if you are looking for arms or legs. If your glads are close in level even more. If you want more gear, there are other places in the game you can win it all day every day for free.

[Adoede]

Have to agree with Dainoji here. No reason for anyone to complain about this update, period.

For the newer managers, you will kiss Nate's feet when you get to the higher levels of the game and realize how much time and how many trophies Nate is saving you with this update. I've spent a large majority of my trophies on refreshing the blacksmith in an attempt to find the gear I wanted. This update allows me to re-direct those trophies towards the arena game - and that's rightfully where the focus should be.

I say we give credit where credit is due - Nate this was a very generous and unexpected update and all us blood gods managers recognize the sacrifice you're making for the sake of a better gaming experience for us all. So here's a cheer for you - HIP HIP HOORAY! Now go have a drink and bask in the genuine appreciation of your veteran player base.

[Abbatoir]

Have to agree with Dainoji here. No reason for anyone to complain about this update, period.

For the newer managers, you will kiss Nate's feet when you get to the higher levels of the game and realize how much time and how many trophies Nate is saving you with this update. I've spent a large majority of my trophies on refreshing the blacksmith in an attempt to find the gear I wanted. This update allows me to re-direct those trophies towards the arena game - and that's rightfully where the focus should be.


The way it was before I could browse all the available categories without refreshing at all and if I felt like what was on show wasn't for me, THEN i could refresh, free or otherwise.

Now I have to limit myself to one category or pay trophies. How is that foot kissing worthy? :P

And just for the record, it doesn't mean Nate is (insert negativity), I'm just offering feedback.

[weaw]

The best ways to obtain a good gear for low-level gladiators are The Gauntlet and The Conquest. But not The Blacksmith... Low-level gladiators uses The Blacksmith for selling, not for buying...

On the other hand, a high-level gladiators will get some trophies using Arena Challenges and/or as a reward for TOP 10 brackets fights (a high-level gladiator must be sold If he can't do that IMHO).

That works for brackets below Primus.

[crow]

Love the update. Great job Nate.

[Thor]

This update was awesome, great job, Nate.

And yes, why exactly are you so generous? The scaling with the level to refresh it won't even balance it out in terms of trophies with the high-level-glads^^

[Apoca1ypse]

Loving the update. This is probably one of the longest requested updates to PoW.

I understand that some people are sad that they cant get a full kit of gear from the one refresh, but i think being able to get much better quality per refresh is totally worth it, even for newer gladiators.

I was lucky that being an all rage stable, I didnt have to faff about with medium and heavy armor clogging my daily refreshes, but hoo boy, I'm sure there are a lot of managers out there that are happy to be able to see just heavy or medium armor when searching for new pieces.

[Thor]

Definitely! You have no idea how shitty it feels if you get 0 heavy pieces for your warriors 3 days in a row ...

The update has not even a disadvantage. The only time where you want to purchase a full set is at level 1 and maybe again at level 10 or so. Given that a refresh now costs as much as the level of the glad is, this should not be a problem for anyone!

[Kreegan]

One of the best updates lately. It's even better than what I hoped for.

[Abbatoir]

Having paid more heed of tavern, conquest, and gauntlet rewards since reading some replies yesterday, i now see what you mean. i have been mostly paying attention to arena and underground fights and so didn't really notice how some nice pieces can be got in those places.

Also, can understand the impact for bigger ranks. bigger picture and all that

[Nate]

And yes, why exactly are you so generous? The scaling with the level to refresh it won't even balance it out in terms of trophies with the high-level-glads^^


The idea is if I'm generous, you'll be generous. Now it's your turn. ;)

Good luck in the Pit!

-Nate-

[Nate]

Is it intended to draw more purchase of trophies in the way its designed or is this just something that was overlooked?


It was intended to addresses the numerous suggestions and feedback over the years.

Good luck in the Pit!

-Nate-

[Nate]

Glad to hear many of you are enjoying the new update. I don't want to spoil you too much (it makes you weak and the Great Realm punishes weakness!), so I'll try and give you all something to complain about in the next update. :p

Good luck in the Pit!

-Nate-

[Thor]

THIS is the strategy, Nate. The one game I've paid the most for so far is Path Of Exile, simply because I didn't have to and they offer everythign for free. I have not spent any for pit of war yet, simply because I don't need it, I get so many trophies, I just bought the important undertaker yesterday. However, I am pretty sure I will return your generosity in the future, keep up the attitude!

[Apoca1ypse]

Glad to hear many of you are enjoying the new update. I don't want to spoil you too much (it makes you weak and the Great Realm punishes weakness!), so I'll try and give you all something to complain about in the next update. :p

Hahahhaha. Isnt someone complaining a given for any update? :p


Must say, I feel pretty spoiled by the blacksmith and auto login updates. Maybe that's why my guys are having a hard time in the pits. Time to break out the whips and make them train some more.

[Thor]

Dude, you are not really telling us you try to whip Ahhnold, do you? He might as well facefist you as a reaction.

And well, with this small community we got here, I actually think this update was as close to perfect as possible so far. Only a really few peopel complained and after 2 posts or so, they also stopped with it and I assume they saw what impact it really had on the game.

BTW: Found a 993 glad today, immediately bought her and outfitted her in full epic lvl-1-gear. Which felt insanely amazing too! And she now has better gear (armour-wise) than my glads would normally have at level 10. The costs of one piece are about 10k at level 1, which is really not a problem just to imagine the faces of someone training a new glad and seeing someone in full epic on level 2. However, I am aware of the fact that I might be a bit of a damper to some new players and I would like to excuse myself beforehand to you, Nate, for this :D

Edit: Oh, and Nate, could you tell me if all the new "thousands of gear-pieces" you added are just the level 1-9 epics or if there were additional pieces of gear. (Not really specified to Nate, if someone could tell me what kind of gear he newly discovered, I'd be glad for it)

[Apoca1ypse]

Dude, you are not really telling us you try to whip Ahhnold, do you? He might as well facefist you as a reaction.

All it takes is inviting over Lou Ferrigno over for some beers, and then pointing out that Lou is still bigger :P Lou was the Hulk, after all :P

Also, that glad sounds like good fun :]

[Kreegan]

BTW: Found a 993 glad today, immediately bought her and outfitted her in full epic lvl-1-gear.That's interesting. Epic items should be unavailable prior to lvl 10.

[Thor]

I think that's what he meant with the introduction of some new items, Kreegan. That's why I asked :D