Runes of Magic developers Runewalker Entertainment participated in an IRC chat yesterday to answer questions from players. It looks like the next expansion may come out in spring 2010, and the team is hoping to speed up the cycle of releasing one chapter every five months with one month of testing by expanding its staff. You can read the full transcript after the jump.

Frogster also revealed some interesting statistics today regarding the actions of players in Runes of Magic since the launch of "Chapter II: The Elven Prophecy" in August. According to the publisher, "adventurers have already solved well over 15 million quests and have overcome more than 250,000 boss opponents in the second chapter. ... Over 16 million items were created by players through cooking, blacksmithing, tailoring, and other in-game crafting methods."

In addition, Frogster announced that a new German server will open tomorrow, Nov. 13, and the game has entered beta testing in Korea in preparation for the live launch.

[21:14] *** Topic is Runes of Magic House of Commons Chat at 6PM PST 11 November 2009: See you then!
[21:14] <SeanKauppinen> I'm Sean over at Frogster and I get to work with the community, so thanks for coming tonight
[21:15] <Zephenia> <Khelben> Was wondering what will be in the next big patch

[21:18] <Runewaker> Q1 - Next Big Patch - Every large patch will come with several new zones (tons of quests and so on...) I believe what players are interested is what else besides the PVE content... Currently the release date for the next expansion has not been finalized. BUt i am guessing it will be in spring 2010. Some of the non-PVE content that we are working on currently is : marriage system, guild castle wars, updated crafting...

[21:19] <Runewaker> Q2 - how to keep people entertained - We are expanding rapidly so we can turn out content at a faster pace... we R&D cycle currently can turn out 1 chapter every 5 month + 1 month of testing. We hope to speed this up even more by getting more employees!!
[21:19] <Zephenia> <reclaimer757> How do you plan to keep people entertained on a constant basis and compete with AAA titles such as wow etc. The main drawback in most RPG MMO's is a lack of content.
[21:21] <Zephenia> (answered above the question)
[21:23] <Zephenia> Sorting through questions, give us a moment.

[21:23] <Runewaker> Q4 - Difficulty of the PVE - The newer PVE content seems a bit too strong. We are looking into this with the help from Frogster.
[21:24] <Zephenia> <Suspect> WE have noticed only about 2 groups on Artemis are able to do any of the new content, Does Runewaker plan on nerfing any content, and more importantly, WHEN and how do we get into the Fire Demon dragon lair

[21:26] <Runewaker> Q4 - ONe one hand we can;t stop the current production progress, on the other hand we will need to go back and evaluate the exisiting content. so it will take some time. Players may also have noticed that we ahve increase the drop rate of runes... we are also in the midst of increasing yellow drops. with the increase in drops and adjustments in difficulty, we hope to reduce the difficulty of the newer PVE content
[21:27] <SeanKauppinen> This is always something we're looking at - balancing the game as a living thing is important because the dynamics are changed by game factors and player factors - the number of level 50+ characters also influences the ease of an encounter
[21:28] <SeanKauppinen> So what may be hard today, will naturally become more accessable over time

[21:28] <Runewaker> Q5 - Balancing - there is a balancing change coming very soon ( i belive within these 2 weeks??) Our current stance on balancing is that we will never stop balancing. But the progress will be slowed down so that players will have time to adjust. smaller balances here and there until we feel that most of the players can accept. I believe currently players feel that the mage is the most OP while Scout is the weakest...
[21:29] <Zephenia> <Polatrite> Is there any news on an upcoming patch that focuses on class
[21:29] <Zephenia> balance?

[21:29] <Runewaker> Q6 - dailys - the amount of exp and the difficulty of getting the item at matching levels is all calculated into where how and how get the quest and turn them in...
[21:29] <Zephenia> <xzanthar> Q: Why can't you get the daily quests from the people collecting the daily quest items?
[21:30] <Runewaker> Q6 - some of them are very close while others will take a player to the other side of the map to turn it in... so it is up to the players to see what is the most efficient way of doing dailies

[21:32] <Zephenia> <memememe> Will Frogster America consider merging Grimdal and Indigo due to the low population on both servers?
[21:33] <SeanKauppinen> Our goal is to fill all of the servers and we hope that the population does fill out on Grimdal and Indigo - Artemis is regularly full, so we know the load we can get on a server
[21:33] <SeanKauppinen> We'll be doing more promotions for PvP and PVE players, so I would expect to see more population on the PvP servers as well

[21:35] <Zephenia> <UnlovedOsha> If and when there will be evil classes (necromancer, etc) or races
[21:36] <Runewaker> Evil Classes - currently we do have have any evil classes that players can play. BUT... we hope to bring factions system into the game and allow players to choose sides! The reason behind avoiding too many races is the amount of work in skills... 6 classes each with their own skills and then the elite skills... its a balancing nightmare!!

[21:37] <Zephenia> <Polatrite> Will we continue to see a strong advertising push in the American market? After the failure of AoC, Fury, Vanguard, and many other games in the American marketspace, players need reassurance that their favorite game won't disappear next week. =)
[21:39] <SeanKauppinen> I got out of our weekly marketing meeting about 2 1/2 hours ago and I can say we're still pushing hard to get people to know the game is here. We're going to be doing a lot of promotions this month and next and also will have some new items that people really have been asking for.
[21:39] <SeanKauppinen> So don't worry, we're not going to stop advertising or promoting the game

[21:39] <Zephenia> <BarGamer> Is it your intent to penalize dying to the point that for two otherwise identical characters, the player who dies more often has less TP for his level than someone who never dies? Should players be playing more conservatively, or trawl the wikis and such before doing anything?
[21:41] <Runewaker> Death Penalty - We wanted to create a gaming experience where players will have to becareful! Other games without death penalties doesn't give the same sense of danger. The issue with difference in TP gains due to the cause of death because we round the TP gained to the nearest 10th. so.. for every 123 exp you would get 12.3 tp.. and since death penalty takes 5% off.. then fractions are lost... and
[21:41] <Runewaker> with more death then the difference between a player that has died and another that has not will be noticible
[21:42] <Runewaker> we do hope players play with more caution.
[21:43] <SeanKauppinen> I tend to be one of those that use a lot of Phoenix's Redemption for that very reason

[21:43] <Zephenia> <xzanthar> Is there plans on adding the ability to dynamically create frames inside lua, instead of having to rely on xml for creation of frames and elements?
[21:44] <Zephenia> NOTICE: Please send your questions to [QT]Anubis and [QT]Stiv
[21:45] <Runewaker> LUA - currently we do not intent to make changes there, but once our engineers are finished with their work, they may come back and brush up on surrounding systems

[21:45] <Zephenia> <Claerwen> In Dragonfang Ridge, the quest "Unending Legends", if you didn't loot the crystals from the Gjudir in the previous quest, then you cannot continue with this quest. Will his be fixed? Thanks!
[21:47] <Runewaker> "Unending Legends" - I am sure there are several quest bugs like this one in game. we will fix this quest. i think i looted the crystals either..........

[21:48] <Zephenia> <memememe> Are the Party bugs being fixed? Such as multiple groups in instances together!!! Not being able to see party members on the map unless converted to raid, etc. All of these have appeared since last patch.
[21:50] <Runewaker> Group Bugs - yes, we have been working on these issues and hope to solve them as soon as possible. We belive they are caused by the recent additions of cross server functions. Sorry about this

[21:50] <Zephenia> <xzanthar> Did you adjust the drop rate of Life Crystals after increasing the demand for them?
[21:51] <Zephenia> NOTICE: Please send your questions to [QT]Anubis and [QT]Stiv
[21:52] <Runewaker> Drop rate of Crystals - thats something we didnt change... though... we are thinking about increasing.. since it can be such a pain to gather sometimes... ( i must have gather for that 7 to 8 times now.. in various country versions)

[21:52] <Zephenia> <Arcie> Any idea when 55 Elites will be out?
[21:55] <Runewaker> 55 elite skills - Currently we do not have plan for 55 elite skills ( that would be 40+ skills for all the combinations). all i can say is that we are working on a new "skill" advancement thingy.................... please understand that i cannot say much about it...

[21:55] <Zephenia> <enryu6473> will you be making the Runes Database character updates faster?
[21:56] <Runewaker> runesdb - if you are refering to the runesdb website, then that is something we cannot control since its a 3rd party webpage. they did a great job though!!

[21:57] <Zephenia> <Devilicious> are they planning to tweak the jewel failure rate for cash shop jewels soon because right now the ratio is really bad
[22:00] <Runewaker> Jewels - our system works off a large random table. We have seen players that get to +6 within 6 tries and we have seen players that try so many times... the Jewel system was created with the idea that not everyone will have the best. It is purely luck! so a noob can be as lucky as a hardcore player. therefore currently we do not plan on tweaking the rates...

[22:01] <Zephenia> <Reagen> ah great. Well then. My first question is. What is the direction you developers seem to be going or want to go with Runes of Magic?
[22:01] <Zephenia> <Reagen> oh i have another question. Is the reputation system that is was orginally portrayed on the home page of Runes of Magic be implemented? And if so, is there going to be some adjustments to make it more rewarding/penalizing depending on color vs color? As of blue doesnt seem to be of good balance versus a red opponent.
[22:06] <Runewaker> Directions and Reputation and PVP colors - Our direction has always been to make content that we feel players would like to play. So the latest content seemed to be a bit difficult then our next one will be adjusted with additions for other types of players. reputation system is something that we will ahve, though it may not be exactly the way most players understand it, but we will have a reputation system.
[22:07] <Runewaker> colors in pvp - a possible reason that blue doesnt seem to be as good as red could be because of the changes in the other gaming systems... we have read some excellent ideas about pvp rule changes.. its something we have to be extremely careful about since there are plenty of exiting players...

[22:08] <Zephenia> <Elarus> Is there any plan to increase guild rune drops? Or lowering the cost of buildings.
[22:12] <Runewaker> rune drops and cost of buildings - we do not intend to reduce the cost of buildings or increase rune drops. but elites and bosses do have higher drop rates. so as players advance in levels, they can obtain these faster...

[22:14] <Zephenia> <sergeantecho> are there any hopes of a persistent dungeon for high levels players as we were promised in closed beta?
[22:18] <Runewaker> Persistent dungeons - we really would like to have persistent dungeons in game! Just not enough time and manpower... we are expanding our team daily and with this we will be able to add more various content! currently new general PVE content and PVP battle content is still priority. It seems that we can never create enough content!  We do have several player submitted ideas on persistent dungeons that we are looking at

[22:20] <Zephenia> <Khelben> are you planning to do anything special for christmas? and if so can you give us any hints?
[22:20] <Runewaker> Christmas - This years event will have new elements added to it with some of the old ones from last year!! Somehow i feel I will see players all over the roofs again!

[22:23] <Zephenia> <Zanigav> is there a way to move a guild building without losing all the guild runes and mats ?
[22:25] <Runewaker> guild building - moving guild building... currently it is not possible... but a great idea! we will work on this to hopefully make it possible!!

[22:26] <Zephenia> <Silverddragn> Runelord (the guild) has noticed something called Guild Stones in the resources area? what is that?
[22:27] <Runewaker> guild stone - yes... its another resource... currently not useful unless your guild expands.. i think to lv 12?? though.. how it is droped and how it is used is currently not set in stone...

[22:28] <Zephenia> <AlmostNuts> Are there any plans to remove the Bound tag on mounts. I'd love to have a different mount, but since I can only ride one at a time, I refuse to spend real money when I can't resell my old one.
[22:30] <Runewaker> bound on mounts - we bound all cs items due to fraud... though we are working on a account based sharing system.. that is not exactly what players want but, its a bit in the right direction...

[22:31] <Zephenia> <IIshin> For the Devs: Are you considering implementing server transfers in the future?
[22:33] <SeanKauppinen> there have been a lot of requests to switch servers - especially from people that joined before friends and then they realized they aren't playing together. There are a few issues to iron out - character names on each server, and the system for doing it. It would be time intensive and require some manual labor as well. All that said, we are looking into the possibility of this, but likely not before 2010.

[22:35] <Zephenia> <Jink> Will it be possible to hit guild level 10 in the near future because 10,000 guild runes is very hard to get at this time.
[22:36] <Runewaker> Guild Lv 10 - 10,000 runes is only set that way so that it is not possible to get there, until... we have the lv 10 contents ready... so it will be lowered!

[22:37] <Zephenia> <IIshin> For the Devs: Currently the warden seems to be overpowered early game and underpowered at the later levels, and useless in endgame. Are there any plans to remedy this?
[22:38] <Runewaker> Elf Class Balancing - these are still 2 new classes with yet tobe release elite skills... so balancing will be more of an issue. We are working on the balancing of the elven classes along with the elven elite skills

[22:39] <Zephenia> <IIshin> For the Devs: Despite your claims to keep the cash shop appealing to casual gamers, most of the CS items seem to be aimed towards the more hardcore audience. Are there any plans to revamp this system?
[22:40] <SeanKauppinen> We've made some changes - mostly looking at bundles that are helpful to casual gamers. that said, there is always more we can do. If you have suggestions on this, please send over your comments on the cash shop to frogster@ide-agency.com
[22:40] <SeanKauppinen> We'll compile the feedback and discuss it in our next planning meeting

[22:41] <Zephenia> <IIShin> Recently, there has been a large increase in server population in Artemis. There are many activities in RoM that could be considered "AFK activities". Are there any plans to remedy this system so that the population isn't so full?
[22:43] <Runewaker> AFK activity - this one is a bit difficult to prevent... though we are building a system that would kick players offline with inputs from other players... though details are still being worked out.... dont want a guild of 60 kicking other players offline for fun...

[22:45] <Zephenia> <IIshin> Are there any plans on changing the current crafting/gathering system?
[22:47] <Runewaker> Craft/gather system - I believe an update to the crafting system is coming up within this month... gathering will also be changed... so that it is not so painful (so many clicks...)

[22:47] <Zephenia> <SirFinnDeNett> Will be possible to allow the stacking of recipe scrolls (Blacksmithing, Alchemy, etc.) similar to how it is possible with runes and quest items?
[22:49] <Runewaker> Recipes - currently they cannot stack and i believe we wont make a change there, but we are evauating if we should allow players to learn recipes with higher levels.

[22:51] <Zephenia> <Tuggwenn> do you think at some point you could add guild runes to the in game store, they are too hard to come by and selling at too high a price
[22:52] <SeanKauppinen> How many guild Runes do you want? We're considering this option right now and might have a decision by early next week.

[22:53] <Zephenia> <IIshin> The warrior's rage mechanic was originally made to work when the warrior is the one recieving hits. However, since the warrior is not the main tank, how is the rage mechanic meant to work? What are the roles of a warrior?
[22:57] <Runewaker> Warriors rage - I believe hitting the mob also gives a bit of rage... i believe there is also a rage potion. Every class has their basic role but that char.'s role can be changed depending on equipment. Warriors mainly should supply the physical dps and as a second tank if the main tank is affected by debuffs

[22:58] <Zephenia> <Challenger> question: is anything going to be added to arena prizes, i like arena but there is hardly any incentive to play it,( i consider a gift shop like phirous tokens where you can buy item with arena points)
[23:00] <Runewaker> Arena Prizes - new prizes for the arena is currently in production. the pve content is moving so fast that arena prizes became less vaulable...
[23:01] <SeanKauppinen> We only have time for a couple more questions - we will ask the mods to send the rest over and maybe we can get them posted up next week

[23:03] <Zephenia> <Silacrevon> Cash Shop Question - Why is the United State and the EU server treated differently in pricing and rewards, weekly specials - seems EU gets the goods and US doesnt get nothing as near appreciative as they do
[23:05] <SeanKauppinen> Well they're actually different companies operating the game so the cash shops are different. Our goal is to do as many promotions as we can that Europe also does, but there is often the need to not match them completely.
[23:06] <SeanKauppinen> They had a boxed product with certain items included and we haven't released a boxed version yet and that also means different things haven't been see there. We also celebrate different holidays - so we get Thanksgiving
[23:06] <SeanKauppinen> Hopefully we can get closer to offering what they already do, but we won't be able to match everything

[23:11] <Zephenia> <Ludwigvonmises> when will bop unbinders be implemented again?
[23:11] <SeanKauppinen> Thanks for bringing that up - we'll be discussing that in our meeting next tuesday as well - hopefully we'll have an answer that we can announce next week
[23:13] <Zephenia> Thank you all for coming tonight. ALL unanswered questions and suggestions are going to the Devs as we speak. We hope you have enjoyed the chat and logs will be posted at http://chat.stratics.com in the near future.
[23:13] <[QT]Stiv> Thanks everyone
[23:13] <Runewaker> Thanks!