Game Update 52: Monument and Might

Whew. Game update 52 went live today with lots of fun content for pretty much every play style. As usual for a Tuesday I logged into Test server this evening to chat with the folks there and test out a new quest tool to be given to the volunteer Guides. I do like chatting with the folks on Test server and for the most part they are very good about not flooding me with TOO many questions that have nothing to do with anything I would know about. Folks from the live servers who hang out in the Test chat channels are not quite so restrained though, particularly on a Game Update day.

In the course of just over an hour this evening I was asked:

• where do Lava Crystals (a house item that I have in my room on Test) come from?
• when does the monthly live event that was on Test earlier get activated on Live?
• where is the new carpenter recipe in the Estate of Unrest?
• did the Tinkerfest live event go live?
• why aren't there a good version of the chocolate chip cookies of seething malice?
• how long will the monthly live event last normally?
• will it be on the same day on every server?
• when can Test server have the monthly live event again?
• where to go next for the new adventuring faction quests?
• why can't the live event zone be up all the time?
• can we get some of the new provisioner books spawned on Test server to test with?
• since we upgraded the tradeskilled charm items, can we also make it so players can swap charms during combat?
• are the lore books that were mentioned in the Zam.com preview live yet?
• why can't the Moors of Ykesha faction recipe books be flagged 'heirloom' like the ones in Kunark?
• why can't the quest journal hold more quests?
• can we get Frostfell gelatinous cubes for Christmas, with little Frostfell hats?
• can we get gelatinous cube mounts?
• did you read the suggestion about changing the mahogany rattle recipe to use a common wood? Why wasn't it done?
• have you heard there's a problem with the Estate of Unrest zone on live servers?
• how does the new adventuring faction work?
• why do some quest items not get removed at the end of the quest, and thus clutter up your bags and make you afraid to destroy them in case they're needed again?
• where is the new carpenter book in the Estate of Unrest?
• can the drop rate on Reflective Smoldering Shards be increased?
• can we get the new user created books to show up on a normal broker search instead of advanced options?
• can we get a music system and some method of sitting in chairs?
• can we get carpets with stone and/or wood textures for decorating use?
• can we get armor dyes?
• can we get more room divider textures?
• will I be at the upcoming Fan Faire?
• when is the monthly live event going live?
• can we get a beach towel that looks like the Cloak of the Harvester?
• why was the necromancer misty illusion spell changed?
• why weren't there any new recipes for weaponsmiths or jewelers this update?
  
• why are racial illusions randomizing now?
  

(And yes, there are some duplicates as some questions were asked multiple times.) Some of these are things I had the answers to, but some of them I didn't have the foggiest idea, which always makes it challenging to find a good answer, particularly when not in the office.

Tuesdays are always long days, since I get in to work around 8, leave around 5-6, then spend between 1-3 hours of my own time on Test server. But whew! Today was more tiring than usual, and I logged out of Test early. I understand people's excitement and it's good to see they are excited, but sometimes it does get rather exhausting being hit with a tidal wave of questions just for saying "good evening"! I was going to log in my regular play characters after leaving Test server, but I found that after a long day at work and then all the questions that I really didn't feel up to playing much. Time to take a breather and read a book or something else for a while, I think! =)

For the record, EQ2 Traders' preview of the Game Update 52 crafting content, and a post about why some classes got stuff and others didn't.