Exclusive: Lucent Heart's Scaena zones and bosses
If you were looking for something a little more "traditional fantasy" after Lucent Heart's music-and-dance routine video last week, then today's dev diary will suit your tastes. In it, the folks at Gamania have delivered to us an exclusive preview of the upcoming Scaena update's zones and bosses. The world of Acadia is being enhanced with the Witch's Cliff on the continent of Cropolis; the level 65-69 Heart of Fire in the lands of Fostyre; the crafting hub Minotsize, City of Industry; and the continents of Edea and Aislan. The dev diary also highlights two of the opponents that players can expect to encounter: the formidable God's Advocate in Mount Destiny and the scorpion-riding Medea in the Witch's Cliff.
Hit the break for the full scoop, and check out screenshots of some of the bosses and zones in the gallery below.%Gallery-130977%
A closer look at new zones and bosses
Lucent Heart's newest expansion, Scaena 5.0, introduces a number of new zones to the world of Acadia. In the existing continent of Cropolis, adventurers can explore the Witch's Cliff, a new area accessible from the Water of Illusion. Heroes who explore deep in the lands of Fostyre through the Stormy Shores will find that The Heart of Fire has been opened for exploration, and players who travel beyond the Coast of Siren will gain access to the new continent of Aislan.
Players who choose to explore the Heart of Fire will find a familiar conflict raging between the Hammerstone and Turbine family. Despite uneasy treaties and agreements to ensure fair practices from both sides, the Hammerstone and Turbine families appear incapable of setting their differences aside to coexist. To make matters worse, the Outlaws from the Well of Silence have ventured into the Heart of Fire, and a slew of others are running illegal operations to make tensions worse. If that weren't enough, the indigenous monsters have no desire to share their territory with either family. The Heart of Fire is a great zone for players to continue to experience the rich and exciting story of Lucent Heart because it provides a fun challenge for players between the levels of 65 and 69.
One of the most notable features of the Heart of Fire is the entrance to Minotsize, The City of Industry, which will provide a temporary reprieve from the dangers of Heart of Fire, but not from the Hammerstone and Turbine family conflict. The city itself has been split down the middle with the Turbine Family setting up armor and weapon shops in the Northwest area of the city and the Hammerstone Family setting up theirs in the Southeast area. Despite this, the City of Industry houses some of the greatest technological advancements Acadia has seen. Travel between the city's different districts is made easy by means of teleporters that can get you in and out of the different areas in a blink of the eye. Minotsize provides the same luxuries as any other city, including a crafting workshop, decomposition furnace, bakeries, and two armor and weaponshops, and like the cities of Peace, Trade, and Magic, the City of Industry will serve as a central hub for players to meet, collect quest, increase their crafting skills, and plan for their endeavors.
Both the Hammerstone and Turbine families have their own sets of armors and weapons that they are willing to sell or trade that will help prepare you for journey deeper through Fostyre until you arrive upon the hellish continent of Edea.
Each new zone in Edea features new types of monsters for heroes to test their mettle against. These are also some of the harshest environments Acadia knows, featuring a new array of zone buffs and debuffs that make each encounter more fun and challenging. With new zones come new outdoor boss monsters, and Edea is no short supply of these. Each new area features a unique outdoor boss that ties into the area with its own unique attacks, spells, and loot including rare recipes.
One such boss is God's Advocate, who resides in Mount Destiny. Like most bosses in these new zones, he will not face adventures alone. He is supported by a small entourage of intimidating and formidable bodyguards called Seal Defenders. God's Advocate has a great deal of health, immunity to crowd control abilities, and a set of skills specifically designed for killing adventures, including powerful magical-based attacks called Phantasm Missiles and Hell Inferno. Anyone brave enough to engage him in combat and strong enough to defeat him will be rewarded with the loot he carries. With that said, do not expect him to go down without putting up a fight.
God's Advocate may have another purpose, but such a purpose will need to be discovered over the course of questing through Mount Destiny.
On the opposite corner of the world reside the frozen lands of Aislan, accessible from the Coast of Siren. This harsh wintery continent holds a stark contrast to the scorched lands of Edea... but do not be fooled.
An expedition has moved into the area to set up a base camp in the Misty Shores; it will provide heroes with a place to restock on weapons, armor, food, and magical supplies and also pick up quests to improve the conditions of the camp and its soliders, explore the surrounding areas, and make Aislan a more peaceful place.
Like Edea, Aislan has its own unique monsters and environments that are new with the expansion, and each new zone features a unique boss monster for players to challenge and defeat for loot. However, a key point on which they differ is the level ranges of the zones. Misty Shores provides adventurers with a challenge designed for players between the levels of 55 and 60. Players who have not yet reached level 60 can choose to quest in the Misty Shores as an alternative to questing in zones they may already be familiar with. The adjacent zone, the Frozen Imprisonment, continues to provide a challenge for players level 60 and upward.
It is easy to forget just how dangerous Aislan can be because of the natural frozen beauty the continent holds, but do not be fooled: The monsters and environments are just as unforgiving as their fiery cousins, and they will stop at nothing to ensure that Aislan becomes your permanent resting place.
The last zone we will be discussing is the Witch's Cliff, accessible from the Water of Illusion. Like the Frozen Imprisonment, this area is designed to provide a challenging quest experience for players who are level 60 through 65. The Witch's Cliff is a dangerous place where even the vegetation has been transformed into violent and dangerous monsters. The Northwestern part of the zone is filled with dark caverns littered with normal and mutated scorpions and their eggs, while the Northeastern portion of the zone houses the Altar of Rebirth. Is it possible this altar could be the key to awakening Medea?
Medea is still worshipped by her followers within the Altar of Rebirth, located in the Witch's Cliff zone. Players who find a way to challenge her will face an opponent unlike any other they've encountered before. Medea does not fight you alone; instead, she chooses to ride on the back of one of her largest and most deadliest scorpions, which will contribute to the battle by poisoning and attacking targets in melee range while Medea remains safely atop it, casting all types of spells designed to both increase her survivability and destroy any heroes foolish enough to battle her. Medea is a level 65 boss and requires a full party to be defeated. Anything less than perfect teamwork will result in failure. If you do manage to defeat her, to the victor go all the spoils, and Medea has plenty of loot to go around. Just make sure you are up to the task before engaging her.
Medea's home was once a beautiful place, but something occurred that changed it forever. As adventurers quest through the area, they will learn more about the zone's mysteries and hopefully be able to stop another catastrophe from occurring. The New Leaf Camp would be the perfect starting place for heroes who wish to lend a helping hand.
