Star Vault has detailed what goes into the first patch of the Era of Refinement for Mortal Online 2. The public test realm (PTR) opens Wednesday, October 14. Full patch notes are due when testing starts, and a feedback questionnaire is already open.

The studio announced the Era of Refinement on September 25: patches will come at least once a month, through at least the end of the year. Until then the game ran on big expansions such as Reckoning and Sarducaa, each taking months.

Combat: parrying, stamina, adrenaline

The stamina regeneration bonus from the Endurance skill goes from +1% to +5%.

Parrying stops asking for extra inputs. A parry used to work only if the block had been started within the last 2 seconds, so players re-pressed block over and over. Now holding block in a direction is enough, and any hit from that side is parried. The upfront stamina cost is gone; stamina drains steadily while the block is held. The studio leaves the numbers open to change after PTR testing.

Adrenaline from damage taken drops sharply, while a successful parry gives slightly more. The aim is to stop a large group from earning more adrenaline than the outnumbered fighters. Attacks that used to land with almost no force now charge to at least 40-45%.

A new skill, Mental Fortitude, adds magic defense: for now 0-3 flat plus 0-5% magic damage reduction. Eight debuffs, from Corrupt to Oiled, get visible effects, so a burning opponent is obvious at a glance.

Clade Gifts

The studio is reworking racial gifts that few players pick. The trigger is a skew: Alvarins show up far more often than other clades, so Humans, Thursar and Oghmir get gifts meant to help them stand out. The changes:

  • Thursar: Relentless lets you attack even at zero stamina, and Bloodlust adds up to +10% damage at 1% health;
  • Human: Persistence Hunter cuts sprint stamina drain by 10%, and Resourceful adds a +10% chance of double yield when gathering;
  • Oghmir: Defiance gives +1% defense per adrenaline point above the first, up to +9%, and Vital Surge lets you snap out of mercy mode once.

Daily life and the world

Bandages can be used back to back: the hidden cooldown is gone and two new types drop as loot. Resource nodes no longer thin out near the end, and the crafting menu gets a toggle that instantly deletes what you craft.

Guild heraldry on a castle. Image: Star Vault
Guild heraldry on a castle. Image: Star Vault

Guild heraldry becomes visible on Strongholds and Keeps. On Wednesdays and Sundays after the patch, Nave gets higher relic and event rates.

The studio warns that some of this may not reach even the PTR, let alone live servers. The game is in our catalog.