"FPS Fix, Supporter Titles & AFK Status"
Ether Online — Patch Notes
Fixed: FPS Drops on the 64-bit Client
Since the move to the 64-bit client, some of you were hitting frame rate drops — especially during combat and other busy moments. This update fixes it.
What was going on: every time a sound effect played, the client re-decoded the entire sound file from scratch and tore down and rebuilt its audio channel. In a fight that's many times a second, all on the main game thread. Sounds are now decoded once and reused, and audio channels are recycled instead of rebuilt.
Who this affects: it hit hardest on laptops and lower-end CPUs, which is why some players saw it badly and others never noticed a thing. If you were affected, you should feel the difference immediately. If you weren't, nothing gets worse.
What you need to do: nothing — just launch through the launcher and let it update.
Big thanks to everyone who reported this with their specs. That detail is what made it findable.
New: Supporter Titles & Auras
A full set of Supporter titles is now live in your Achievements window. Every one is permanent once earned, and granted automatically on your next login — nothing to claim, nothing to redeem. Each block of titles also unlocks its own aura.
The Supporter Ladder
Earned progressively as your total lifetime support grows. Every rung you pass is yours to keep, and you can wear whichever title you like:
Bronze Aura
Ember Bearer
Emberkeeper
Ether Kindler
Silver Aura
4. Lanternward
5. Flamewarden
6. Soulbinder
Gold Aura
7. Wellspring Warden
8. Aetherflame Sentinel
9. Herald of Yggdrasil
Platinum Aura
10. Bearer of Seven Ethers
11. Dawnforged
12. Scion of Liberius
Diamond Aura
13. Pillar of Asgard
14. Eternal Flamekeeper
15. Worldheart Eternal
Package Exclusives
Two titles can't be reached by the ladder at all — each is tied to its own Supporter Package, and each carries an aura available no other way:
Argent Patron — Platinum Supporter Package
Adamant Sovereign — Diamond Supporter Package
Where to Find Them
Open Achievements and select the Supporter category. Set your active title from the Title dropdown in Character Details, and your aura from the Aura dropdown right beside it — every aura you've unlocked stays selectable, including None.
New: AFK / Busy Status
You can now tell the world you've stepped away — or that you'd rather not be bothered.
How to Set It
Open Character Details and look under Guild. There's a new Status dropdown next to Title and Aura, with three options:
None — the default, no icon
AFK — you've stepped away from the keyboard
Busy — you're around, but don't want to be disturbed
Above Your Head
Pick AFK or Busy and a small marker appears over your character, in the same spot your emote icons show up. Everyone nearby can see it, so party members and passers-by know at a glance whether you're actually there.
In Your Friend List and Guild List
Your status also shows on the condition lamp in the Messenger friend list and the Guild member list — yellow for Online, orange for AFK, red for Busy, grey for Offline. Hover the lamp to see the status in words. Both lists update the moment someone changes their status — no need to close and reopen them.
Set your status back to None at any time to clear it everywhere at once.
Good to Know
Your status is purely cosmetic — it grants no stats, blocks nothing, and has no effect on combat, trading, parties, or PvP.
It clears when you log out. If you're logging back in, you're back at the keyboard.
The lamp only changes for characters who are actually online — offline friends and guildmates keep their usual grey lamp.
If you've hidden yourself from a friend in your Messenger options, they won't see your status either.
Enchant Protection Stones: More Ways to Find Them
Elite monsters in Hard and Master dungeons now drop them too. Previously it was Daily Dungeon only.
Master pays better than Hard — but both are a slow trickle, not a farm. It's bonus loot, rolled on top of normal drops, so nothing you already hunt is reduced.
The Daily Dungeon is still the best source by a wide margin, and stacks with this — an elite in a Hard-difficulty Daily Dungeon rolls both chances. Normal difficulty and the open world are unchanged.
Protection Stones cancel the penalty when an enchant fails — no downgrade, reset or destruction. Load the full amount asked for to be fully covered; fewer only gives partial cover.