Three patches, quality and skill buffs, large chests, new race league prizes and hardcore event

The 0.9.12u patch will hopefully be deployed tonight, fixing two issues that we introduced in 0.9.12t. We're sorry for those small problems getting through our quality assurance process and will make sure to test future Beta patches more carefully before deploying them.

Many players noticed that we removed the special large chest from the Flooded Depths in 0.9.12qq. This was removed because it was right next to the boss and we forgot to remove it when we removed the other boss chests in the patch that improved boss drops. Large chests are very fun, though, so we're intending to add more to the game (probably in 0.9.13) so that players encounter them more often while playing. I can't reveal where they'll be yet, but there's a random element to it.

We've changed the prize structure for the three-hour league events that we run on the weekend. We used to give out currency items randomly but with equal weighting. This used to inject disproportionate amounts of the higher currency (like Gemcutter's Prisms or Exalted Orbs) into the economy, drowning out the actual drop rates that the game uses. We have now expanded the list of currency items that are awarded, changed their weighting to be more similar to the in-game drop rates (albiet still quite generous - you'll get Exalted Orbs every now and then if you do enough races), and have tripled the number of currency items you receive at different prize points.

We're running a three-hour hardcore (partying allowed) non-turbo race this weekend as usual. It has the new prizes in effect. I hope to see you there!

Both the large chest and quality "nerfs" were prerequisites for fixing those systems up in ways that give more of these to players than they had before.