been away for a bit - points of confusion?

[Sirrocco]

Hey, everybody. Just recently got a new computer, and now that I have the latest Mac OS, I can play the game again without the major frustration (to me, anyway) that trying to compile for older macs wound up being. I've been surprised by a few of the things I've seen (and haven't seen) and thought I'd ask for a few tips/insight bits.

- I'm level 8, I've spent a bunch of time wandering the fields around Derth, and I can't seem to trigger the thieves quest. Is there some new requirement for it? Has it moved? Is it still here at all?

- I tend to grind as much as I can. What things do I need to do before I level too far? What things actually get comparatively harder as you level?
- I assume that adventurer packs are still doing the "starkly lethal and even worse as you get higher in level" thing, and I suppose orc packs as well?
- I know you have to hit the Shady Cornac before the storm starts, and that you need to quell the storm before a certain point if you want to keep Derth standing.
- what am I missing?

[Soron]

The Hidden Tunnels moved, yes. I don't think I've encountered them between Elvala and Derth for a while. Try autoexploring (press 'z'), that'll usually do it. Or wander a bit further afield.

Adventurer packs are indeed still starkly lethal, for most classes. Even for classes that can handle them, they're still pretty scary.

Other new things (last few betas you may not have noticed include:

• Non-artifact use-activated items behave differently now (and wands are no longer depleteable, nor spammable)
• Ammo mechanics changed
• Mindstars are new (mindpower version of staves, dual-wieldable - good for mindslayer, summoner and doomed)
• Antimagic is more viable
• Probably a bunch of other things I'm forgetting