This has to deal with the changes to the learning rates of the cityties/bind path blackjack skill as well as the city ties acrobatic skill.

Since i've received blackjack i've been attempting to work the skill while ranking (about 60% of the times I go out i'd say, when I have a warrior tank to rescue me) as well as using it extensively in pk situations. The skill reached 84 by about level 33 and then hit a screeching halt. Over about 130 hours of playing time since i've learned the blackjack skill it's only reached 87%, grabbed a lucky 3% on a level gain.

Acrobatics has proved nearly immovable. In about the 90-100 hours i've had the skill it's gotten better twice, up to 79%. Part of my daily routine as a city ties thief is to steal from those high level shopkeepers and that's where the only two improvements have come. At one point I bribed a warrior with 50 gold and a nice sword to spend some time helping me work acrobatics. In about 30 minutes of practice, which was nearly continous due to a couple of black hammer pendants and high dexterity, I hadn't gotten one improvement up from 77%. I fight a lot of bashing mobs while ranking and fail stealing


I feel i've made a big attempt to specifically practice these two skills on a non-duergar thief, yet they continue to frustrate me. The very nature of the skills makes them more difficult to focus on when compared to some equally slow improving skills such as flurry or your defenses. At this rate I expect to possibly master blackjack by maybe 250-300 hours and don't forsee acrobatics ever hitting those last 5-10 percent. Is this the way things were intended or would you reconsider the rates on these changes. I might just be getting unlucky with blackjack but the acrobatics rate reminds me of when the shapeshift spell was first implemented...

Acrobatics is intentionally hard to learn.

Blackjack works better on similar leveled opponents.

So long, and thanks for all the fish!

>Acrobatics is intentionally hard to learn.

I've probably had around 75 bash/trip attempts from pc's since i've got it and a lot more than that from mobs. The thing that worries me is that the only time it's ever gone up was when I had just gotten it at level 35 and I was failing steals on level 61 bashing mobs. Now that i'm a hero i'll never see that sort of level differential for practice again. About 60 hours since I moved on from 35 and haven't seen an improvement.


>Blackjack works better on similar leveled opponents.

Figured that out when I went off to mist wraiths at level 25 trying to do it. Since then I tried to use it every time while ranking as well as tons in pks and it's gone up 9% not including one level gain on it. Mostly just frustrated with it cause I practiced it on similar leveled mobs for quite a while without any improvements. It also hasn't gone up naturally in 17 levels of ranking with it and about 80 hours of play time. It's not too bad as far as how often it works with the percentage I have it at. Mostly i'm just frustrated cause acrobatics is so unreliable despite a lot of intentional practice, i've had flurry and shapeshift improve up to 3 times faster soley through natural use and ranking. If that's what's intended with acrobatics then it's just a design problem I have, was just wondering if that's what was in mind when it was coded.

>>Acrobatics is intentionally hard to learn.
>
>I've probably had around 75 bash/trip attempts from pc's since
>i've got it and a lot more than that from mobs. The thing
>that worries me is that the only time it's ever gone up was
>when I had just gotten it at level 35 and I was failing steals
>on level 61 bashing mobs. Now that i'm a hero i'll never see
>that sort of level differential for practice again. About 60
>hours since I moved on from 35 and haven't seen an
>improvement.

Acrobatics don't improve better based on level differences.

>>Blackjack works better on similar leveled opponents.
>
>Figured that out when I went off to mist wraiths at level 25
>trying to do it. Since then I tried to use it every time
>while ranking as well as tons in pks and it's gone up 9% not
>including one level gain on it. Mostly just frustrated with
>it cause I practiced it on similar leveled mobs for quite a
>while without any improvements. It also hasn't gone up
>naturally in 17 levels of ranking with it and about 80 hours
>of play time. It's not too bad as far as how often it works
>with the percentage I have it at. Mostly i'm just frustrated
>cause acrobatics is so unreliable despite a lot of intentional
>practice, i've had flurry and shapeshift improve up to 3 times
>faster soley through natural use and ranking. If that's
>what's intended with acrobatics then it's just a design
>problem I have, was just wondering if that's what was in mind
>when it was coded.

I'll go back and re-visit the numbers, but I believe it is working as we intended.

So long, and thanks for all the fish!