This is for everyone who doesn't keep track of the changelog in the forums.
Poisoning should be working now. Have fun. Please read the changelog before asking what changed or wondering why it's a little different.
You can now find the racial skill cap list
here.
If you want to discuss any balances about it, please go
here.
A quick overview of why it is the way it is.
Races were always supposed to have individual skillcaps in skills. That is what balanced them out against the humans. It is unfortunate that they were never put in until now. 95% of these skillcap selections were from the unfinished race skill system that was designed when the races were put in over 5 years ago by BroadBand and the other admins of the time. As such it may need some re-balancing for today's shard, so lets discuss it in the balance thread.
I know the first thing most people are going to glare at is vampires and archery. Let me explain, and this applies to a lot of the other skill combinations as well.
It was never the intention of staff to have races be an automatic decision. Every warrior should not be vampire, every crafter should not be a frost elf.
Races get their racial stone abilities, and they get 100 extra skill points. To balance this out, they cannot master everything, which restricts what they can do.
With these adjustments, whether you want to go vampire or human depends on how you want to play. It is no longer a clear cut of which one is superior. Some players will prefer vampire, some human.
If you want to be a warrior that can fight in range and melee and can cast spells, go human.
Now as for the actual reasoning behind a lot of the other skillcaps, lets look at what each race actually is.
Vampires - Undead nobility, having existed for centuries as undying. Due to their inherent death, animals avoid them like the plague, and they gain almost no benefit human food. However the strength and speed that they posses from death gives them an excellent edge in combat. As such they see no reason to waste time on ranged weapons, being as they can much more easily use their advantage in melee. Their noble upbringing also precludes them from lowering themselves to thievery and begging.
Warlocks - While not as steeped in death as the vampires, they still carry such a distaste for life that dealing with animals is hard for them. Due to their inherent magical abilities, arcane spellcasting such as the mages use is difficult to them, instead relying on their natural talents in necromancy. Energetic celebrations of life such as music are foreign to this race.
Wood Elf - The protectors of the forest. Their penchant for all things wood make them a force to be reckoned with out in nature, but this also precludes them from messing with the works of stone and iron, seeing it as irrepairable harm to the earth. This distaste of metals also lead most of them to avoid the weapons of humans, preferring more to stick with their bows.
Frost Elf - from the frozen tundra, these elves have spent their efforts improving their civilzation. At home in the cold mountains and great halls, they enjoy work in all manner of crafts, and while not the masters of all, they are the fools of none. But because of their secluded nature, they have not required much need for combat and malice, instead focusing on their crafts and healing.
