We're taking the next small step in changing combat, mainly related to
combining ("stacking") of multiple bonuses.

History, Past and Future (*1)
------------------------
What has been changed already:
- (mostly) offensive bonuses (*2) (READNEWS ANNOUNCE 2679)
- (mostly) defensive resistances (*3) (READNEWS ANNOUNCE 2681)

What hasn't been changed yet:
- worn armour effects
- skill resistances (avoidance, constitution, frost, etc)
- Kaido Numbness

What is about to be changed:
- str- and int-based effects on damage


Str/Int Effects on Damage
-------------------------
Strength and Intelligence affect many forms of damage, and they
currently do so in a relatively linear manner. That means every point up
or down pretty much modifies damage output in the same way - by around
7% of the damage you'd do if your relevant stat were the middle value,
which is 12.

The effects of str and int will be changed gradually in multiple steps
to produce what we are calling 'diminishing returns.' That means that
each point of str/int won't always make the exact same difference in
final damage. The first point up or down from 12 will still make a 7%
difference, but after that, each point will change things somewhat less.

In other words, much higher str/int stats will still produce more
damage, but not quite as much as they used to. Conversely, much LOWER
str/int stats will actually do better - more damage - than they used to.

Every additional point of str/int will still add something, and always
be better than going without. This just reduces the benefits of the much
higher values somewhat.


A Comparison of Now and Soon
----------------------------
Based on the given stat (str or int), here are some sample damages and
how they vary with lower or higher stats (12 = average stat; 1000 =
average dmg).

stat: 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23
Now: 1000 1069 1138 1208 1277 1346 1415 1485 1554 1623 1692 1762
Soon: 1000 1069 1138 1206 1273 1339 1404 1468 1531 1593 1654 1713

The largest change, at the high end, would be a reduction of about 4%
damage.

(This chart only shows 12-23 because there are only so many columns to
work with. Any stat value from 0-25 will be changed in accordance with
the same general progression.)


When Will This Happen?
----------------------
We'll make this change some time after this announcement has been
posted, probably within an hour or two.


What Should You Do To Prepare For The Change
--------------------------------------------
If your primary attack(s) rely on str or int stat values of 20 or more,
then you may experience a loss of damage output from 2-4%. This will
probably affect any longer combat you undertake. Perhaps you won't be
able to finish off certain enemies in the same amount of time as you had
become accustomed to.


WHERE WILL IT ALL END?
----------------------
At present we're planning 3 more adjustments like the current one. That
might change depending on what happens here. We could take fewer, or
more, steps, or make the steps have a greater effect.

The most precise answer is - "We don't know" or perhaps "When We Think
We're Done." Maybe it'd be "That depends on the level and nature of
complaints." Pick one you like the best as your personal answer.


Thanks
------
Many thanks to you all for your patience during these adjustments. We
know it's not easy to have things changing under your feet. We also know
it's not easy to be overwhelmed by heavily stacked offensive bonuses (or
to have your best attacks bounce off of heavily stacked defenses). This
should give the middle of the road a rather better chance to survive in
combat, which should be a good thing.

Also thanks to the intrepid Leaders and Combat Council members who have
worked hard to identify sore spots and propose resolutions. We salute
thee!

-------------


Notes
-----
(*1) We don't really think there is such a thing as future history,
though we know others that do. We also think calling history
"past history" is a redundancy, like "past experience", since
there really is no other time to have history, or experience.

(*2) (mostly) Offensive bonuses such as
- Sensitivity - Bagatelle - Collars for Magical Damage bonuses
- Fire Sensitivity - Vernalius - Body Blocks
- Icon Offensive Damage bonuses - Icon Defensive Damage bonuses
- Fire or Cold Damage under water - Chaos Entity Damage bonuses
- the Scimitar of Yen-Sorte
- Amplify/Clumsy/Halo/Confusion bonuses for denizens

(*3) (mostly) Defensive bonuses such as
- Stave resistance - Stoneskin - Diamondskin
- Barkskin - Viridian - Demon Armour
- Putrefaction - Kaido Toughness - Earth Shield
- Charge Shield - Frost Shield - Venom Elixir
- Algiz Rune - High/True Favours - Dazzling
- Ring resistances (fire, cold, electric, magic)
- Race resistances/weaknesses

Penned by my hand on the 5th of Ero, in the year 467 AF.