With tomorrow, our Legends of Aria server will be back online – running on a new physical machine, in cooperation with the latest version of the game client 1.3.0.
Today, we encourage you to explore WarCry: Aria – by selecting our shard on the list of social servers (after logging in to the game world selection screen), or by entering the address of our server in the address window (server selection screen) – cluster2.shardsonline .com: 5032 and pressing the “connect” button.
The server made available to you includes support for all current game updates, including the new land – Frozen Tundra. It also contains pre-technical reconfiguration world backup.
In addition – today – I present to you some attractions planned to be implemented that will permanently appear in the world of WarCry: Aria, along with the implementation of another new land – Outlands.
New game area – Outlands
Over the past months, Citadel and other administrators have worked to shape the treacherous and rocky terrain of the Outlands and the depths of the Necrothium mine. In the field of design, a number of aspects to be implemented were taken into account, including in the field of rare items / ingredients that will allow players to reach heroic skill levels.
Long ago, Celador miners came to the Outlands, lured by the promise of rich cobalt veins that could be mined and used to make powerful armor and weapons. Digging deeper and deeper, they stumbled upon a strange new mineral. Huge amounts of blue glowing, iridescent, crystalline material that could potentially be malleable enough to create powerful equipment with it. The miners quickly saw its potential, which contributed to even greater interest in the Outlands. The searchers eagerly burst into the caves to obtain – before others – as much of the recently discovered raw material as possible. Over time, as its terrifying potential was noticed, the mineral was given the name “Necrothium”.
One of goals for the Outlands will be to offer Players a living environmental story as they adventure through this new territory. From the outset, Citadel sought to make every location in the Outlands relevant to their history. In one of the last entries, we looked at the general biome of the Outlands. A vast barren wasteland full of long-forgotten evil. From now on, we will successively delve into some of the specific interesting places in this area.
Above is a quick screen on one of the long abandoned Necrothium mines. As the miners dug deeper and deeper, they began to encounter the mineral later called Necrothium. It was also noticed that this mineral influences the air density and pressure in the corridors where the ore was extracted. The more superstitious miners felt as if Necrothium was summoning them by revealing the location of its decks. As if he was begging them to mine.
We will have a lot more to show in the weeks leading up to PR11. This is just the beginning of what awaits players in the Outlands.
Game Design: Heirloom Items Overview
With the release of the Outlands, players will have access to unique quest lines and encounters which will allow them to acquire Heirlooms. These items will allow players to increase their power in specific skills. Each Heirloom will have a designated skill that can be gained, and depending on the skill, players will have access to new abilities, spells, craftables, or increased combat effectiveness.
Below you can find a list of skills which we plan to have Heirloom items for. Please note that this list is not finalized, and may change as development progresses.
Heirloom Skills
- Combat
- Healing
- Martial Prowess
- Magery
- Crafting
- Blacksmithing
- Carpentry
- Fabrication
- Gathering
- Mining
- Lumberjacking
- Fishing
- Misc.
- Taming
- Barding
Each Player will only be able to have one Heirloom equipped at a given time, so choosing which skill you wish to boost will allow you to tune your character to suit your playstyle.
Heirloom Properties and Durability
Heirloom items will require the Player to invest a good deal of time and effort into leveling them up to their maximum skill, and these items will be cursed. Cursed items still take durability loss when used but will not drop as loot when/if a player is killed.
Each Heirloom will also have properties that increase their potency as they are leveled. Heirlooms will only provide skill bonuses to players at 5 skill level increments. For example, bonuses will be awarded when an Heirloom skill level reaches 5, 10, 15, and 20.
As the Heirloom reaches each of these skill point tiers, it will also have its properties adjusted and its durability reset. Once an heirloom reaches level 20, no further bonuses will be applied and all durability loss will be permanent. This progression system will allow players to utilize Heirlooms as they level them without fear of losing the item due to durability.
Heirloom Leveling and Restrictions
Heirloom skill bonuses can be utilized by a Player at any level skill. For example, if a Player has 60 Martial Prowess and equips an Heirloom that provides a 15 point bonus to Martial Prowess, then they will have an effective skill level of 75. However, Heirloom items can only gain skill if the wielder is a Grandmaster in the skill that the Heirloom is made for.
Additionally, Heirlooms utilize our existing skill gain system and will have their gains governed by our anti-macro and difficulty based formulas. In a nutshell, you will have to fight progressively stronger enemies or craft higher quality items to get your Heirlooms to level 20.
Looking Toward the Future
We are looking forward to the possibilities that Heirlooms will open up for Players. The ability to specialize in a specific skill should not only allow players to customize their playstyle to their needs but also allow for greater flexibility in both PVE and PVP builds. Additionally, Heirlooms provide us with a means to incorporate new craftables, abilities, and enemies that challenge players beyond the Grandmaster level.
What’s Next for Outlands
The Outlands are becoming one of the most immersive environments the Citadel team has ever created. Not only in terms of visual appeal, but also in how players will discover and engage with the history and secrets of the region. As we go further, we will continue to work together to improve the interesting places and information about Outlands. In addition, the design team will soon delve into the lost art of necromancy and reveal the dark power that has lurked in the Outlands all along.
The launch of Outlands is currently scheduled for November 2020. Stay tuned for future development updates in the coming weeks and keep an eye on our website to stay up to date with the work progress.