agon
Latest
Darkfall patches in relics
Darkfall Unholy Wars really requires PvP to function properly; it's one of the big elements of the game. That's why the new Relic system was introduced to help encourage inter-Clan warfare, provide more benefit to Clan holdings, and generally shake up the established order of things. Nine relics randomly spawn throughout the world, and players who find them can bring them back to their Clans' churches to receive a global buff as long as the church is standing. Relics can also be destroyed by taking out the structure that holds them or via a special altar, both of which will cause the item to respawn at another random location throughout the game world. The intent is obviously to encourage players to go to war over the relics, stealing them from foes or ensuring that no one can benefit from their presence. Time will tell how successful the system is; take a gander at all the details if you're considering jumping in to hunt some relics yourself. [Thanks to Jane for the tip!]
Darkfall axes tutorial, for now
Aventurine has decided to temporarily remove Darkfall's Vale of the Custodian, otherwise known as the game's tutorial. The move comes "after some deliberation," and for now players will spawn into the fantasy PvPbox and begin their gameplay immediately. Aventurine's announcement post says that the firm will "be looking into revamping and improving the Vale area to provide a better and smoother starting experience for new players." In the meantime, the devs have created a new seven-minute tutorial video that you can watch after the break.
Darkfall Unholy Wars hosts a free weekend
Have you always wanted to head back to Darkfall Unholy Wars but never quite had an excuse to do so? If so, you're getting one now. Aventurine is turning on open access to all of the game's servers this weekend, from Friday, October 3rd, until maintenance on Monday, October 6th. Everyone will be able to jump in and play for free as long as you have an account, whether you're an old-school lapsed player or just unsubscribed briefly as the school year started up. The weekend is in celebration of the game's latest patch, which introduces improved movement options and more combat balance. The developers are also laying siege to a city on the European server on Friday, so if you want to face off against the makers of the game, this will be your opportunity. Check out more details of the patch's movement in the video past the break, and get ready to jump in and lay siege for the weekend. [Thanks to Dengar for the tip!]
The road ahead for Darkfall Unholy Wars
Darkfall Unholy Wars has seen its ups and downs during its operation, but the latest post from the team is about moving forward. The development team's roadmap was shared with players over the weekend, providing a peek at what's coming in the future to make the game more interesting. No dates are included with the roadmap, as it's focused on concepts rather than specifics, but it still includes plenty of things for veteran players to be excited about. Among the large-scale changes planned for the game in the future are improvements to the AI and PvE combat in general, along with systems to help players more firmly align themselves within the game world. The developers would like to minimize instant travel while promoting fast travel where possible, creating a more localized economic model that emphasizes journeying between markets. There's also an ongoing commitment to keeping all combinations of skills and powers viable, supporting a wide variety of playstyles. Take a look at the full roadmap for more details on what's coming around the bend.
Darkfall gives players a day to log in and purchase D.U.E.L.
What is D.U.E.L.? It's Darkfall Unholy Wars' equivalent to EVE Online's PLEX, a way to extend your subscription to the game while allowing you to trade for in-game currency. And if that's what's kept you away from the game, your inability to pay for your subscription by earning more currency in the game? You're in luck, as the game is offering a special one-day reactivation on September 11th for lapsed subscribers to log in, purchase D.U.E.L., and possibly get back into the game. Players have expressed some consternation over this decision, arguing that a single day in the middle of the week is an odd time to reinstall, log back in, and try to purchase an item. Official statements by Aventurine staff have clarified that this is only a single flash promotion, and it does not rule out the possibility of other similar promotions in the future. [Thanks to Dengar for the tip!]
Darkfall quest system aims to provide an 'alternative PvE experience'
Aventurine has published a lengthy forum post detailing the logic behind its decision to add quests to Darkfall. As you're probably aware, Darkfall is a FFA full-loot PvP MMO, which on the surface makes the devs' decision to spend significant time and resources adding PvE-focused activities seem like a curious one. It makes sense, though, as Darkfall featured world bosses and plenty of opportunities for fun, group-centric PvE even prior to its Unholy Wars reboot. Aventurine says that its new questing system is borne of three distinct goals: to teach new players about the game in an interactive manner, to present Agon's extensive lore and allow players to explore it, and to offer an "alternative PvE experience" including goals and motivation that reaches beyond "for the loot (or for the prowess)." [Thanks Jane!]
Darkfall quests 'coming soon'
Quests are coming soon to Darkfall, according to the latest blurb on the fantasy PvP sandbox's website. Aventurine says its quest system has allowed it "to craft some fairly open-ended journeys," and that players will find both readily available and "hidden and obscure" quests. Crafting tutorial quests are in the works as well, not to mention player-created quests drawn from a recent contest.
Darkfall adds siege engines, ladders, higher walls, and more
Yesterday's Darkfall patch began the process of adding siege engine functionality to the world of Agon. Players can now use catapults with massive boulders and fiery projectiles, and Aventurine has also added siege ladders for scaling enemy walls. New Engineering Mastery crafting recipes are available, too, as are new resources and reinforced clan city walls. [Thanks Jane!]
Darkfall rolls back Stamina changes after player protests
The development team behind Darkfall had a couple of issues. The first issue was that no one was using Primalist armor. The second was that stamina regeneration was disabled during sprinting. So it seemed like an obvious combination. Give Primalist robes the ability to boost stamina regeneration, let other armor types see stamina drop a bit faster, and everyone would have a bit more motivation to use robes. Elegant, no? As it turned out, the resultant regeneration and overall issues led to an immediate rollback and a 40% decrease in stamina consumption across the board, meaning that these issues are all back to the drawing board. An apology was issued for the unintended consequences of the patch, with the team promising to examine the issue in more depth whilst looking for a solution that doesn't lead to this level of fan outcry. [Thanks to Dengar for the tip!]
Darkfall introduces PLEX-like 'D.U.E.L.' subscription currency
Yesterday, Aventurine added what it called a "minor" new feature to PvP sandbox Darkfall: a payment system remarkably similar to those found in EVE Online, WildStar, ArcheAge, and most recently Anarchy Online. Says the official site, Several minor changes were included in the same update, also the addition of a shop item named D.U.E.L which, when purchased with selentine gold, will add 30 days of subscription time to your account if activated. The purpose of D.U.E.L is to give Darkfall players in-game options to renew their subscriptions. Redditor mmochallenge notes that the in-game D.U.E.L. items are currently selling for around 150,000 gold.
Darkfall creates a new customizable user interface
Today's patch for Darkfall brings a major revamp to the user interface that's long been in the making. "We started changing things with the revisions we did to windows like chat, feats, and roles, and as it was expected, the time had come to give some attention to what we call internally the 'Front of Darkfall,' aka the Action Mode HUD (Heads-Up Display)," Aventurine posted. The action HUD has several new components including crosshair, healthbar, and target information. This then can be customized in regard to location, opacity, icon selection, and size.
You could write the next Darkfall quest
Yes, Darkfall has quests, smart-aleck, it's not all-gank-all-the-time. In fact, Agonian group PvE is some of the most enjoyable I've experienced in 15-plus years of MMO playing. In any case, Aventurine kicked off a quest-writing contest this week, and you can enter it by sending your stories to the firm's submission email address. The devs ask that you limit your stories to 1500 words or less and that you make sure they're based on "anything Agonian." Aventurine notes that it is currently crafting "some fairly long and epic stories" of its own, so the winning submissions will be used for sidequests in the world of Darkfall. The best story will net its author a unique in-game item, and the contest runs through July 20th, so you better get cracking! [Thanks Dengar!]
Darkfall's action-mode HUD to get some lovin' in July patch
Aventurine has published a lengthy blog post previewing Darkfall's update schedule. Now that the game's custom roles are a thing, the devs are turning their attention to two July patches. The first is basically a fix and balance update to address bugaboos with the recent custom roles patch. The second update will the first of two designed to flesh out the game's action-mode HUD and will provide "a far more customizable experience with those GUI elements that are most used and most visible)," Aventurine says. After that, the devs are circling back to the planned economy rebalance as well as tweaks to quests, inventory management, alignment, and more.
Darkfall Unholy Wars custom roles raise balance concerns
After relaunching with set roles, Darkfall Unholy Wars recently introduced custom roles to the game, allowing players to take on any combination of abilities to build a truly unique character. If you guessed from that sentence that there are probably certain balance issues to be worked out, you'd be correct. The community team recently posted on Facebook to address concerns from players regarding balance, noting that it was inevitable that such a major patch would have some issues to be worked out. Rather than patching immediately, the team intends to wait for a few more days to see how matters develop before addressing balance issues. The posting also states that the game is based around large-scale combat, so duel performance is not necessarily indicative of the game's overall state of balance. A full update regarding balance adjustments and bug fixes should be available next week. [Thanks to Dengar for the tip!]
Darkfall Unholy Wars unveils custom role tutorial
The introduction of custom roles to Darkfall Unholy Wars is going to mean a major shakeup to the way that skills work overall. It's getting patched in today, and if you're not ready for the change yet, you're in luck; a tutorial video has just been released and is embedded just past the cut. If you want to be a master of magic with a two-handed weapon and leather armor? You can make that happen now. As previously revealed, players will be able to select eight role skills, one ultimate skill, and 16 total skills fr their custom arrangement. You can also choose your attribute boosts as well as the requirements of gear -- if you'd like heavy armor to be gated by your Dexterity instead of your Strength, that's a thing you can do. While the tutorial won't explain to you how to make a good built, it will give you the tools to make one properly.
Darkfall Unholy Wars answers questions on custom roles
In the original version of Darkfall, skill selection was a wide-open field. When the game relaunched as Darkfall Unholy Wars, the role system was introduced, narrowing the field of options significantly. Now custom roles are incoming, and that means that players have questions about how the new mechanics will work. Those questions are being answered in a three-part series of community Q&A sessions, with the first two parts available now. Some mechanics are being removed -- Wobble, for instance, was introduced solely to balance roles, but with the new system the developers no longer need balancing specifically between roles. There have been significant adjustments made to some skills, in part to avoid the situation wherein everyone has a ranged kill skill and super-powerful healing. Despite this, the answers also point out that most characters will actually see a net increase in power overall. If you want to know more, feel free to glance at the full rundown of answers for more details.
Darkfall demonstrates custom roles
Don't let your class define you; let you define your class. That's the message that Darkfall is trying to send with a new video showing off the "billions" of possible role combinations that are in the game. From melee magic users to high burst assassins, the options do seem intriguing. Give it a watch after the break and let us know what classes and roles you would mix-and-match!
This screenshot really makes me want to play Darkfall
Have you ever felt that way about a screenshot? It's kinda annoying, really. I don't have time for another game right now, and I don't have the energy to seek out a guild and make new friends (both of which are basically required in the sort of FFA PvP environment that Darkfall offers). So, yeah. I guess I'm just going to sit here and look longingly at that dude's spyglass and think about the good ol' Darkfall days. Oh, and Aventurine's put out its latest newsletter, if you want to give that a read-through. And there's a custom roles video after the break.
Darkfall market exploit leads to rollback
The bad news: Unscrupulous players found and abused an exploit of Darkfall's market this past week. The worse news: Because of this, Aventurine had to roll back inventories to last Thursday, May 22nd. "With the help of the community we have discovered that there was some exploiting of our market feature at the end of last week," Aventurine posted on Facebook today. "We immediately deactivated the market to fix this issue and we identified those who had been actively exploiting it. We are in the process of permanently banning these players for their actions, as their behavior is inconsistent with the values we've set for the Darkfall Unholy Wars community." The silver lining to all of this, apart from a hopefully fixed exploit, is that the studio is granting three days of additional game time to all accounts on June 1st.
Darkfall's economy patch is live, role-focused livestream at 1:00 p.m. EDT
Aventurine has released Darkfall's latest patch, and it introduces a number of tweaks to the fantasy PvP sandbox's economy. The devs have added high-yield harvesting nodes "in order to promote more active harvesting activities," according to the patch notes. Said nodes will always be full as long as only one player is harvesting, and they also drop new rares instead of essences, which allows players to skip the rare essence conversion step. New (and more expensive) rare tools are now available for crafting, and new basic materials have been added as well. Darkfall devs are also hosting a livestream today at 1:00 p.m. EDT to answer questions on the game's custom roles revamp. [Thanks Jane!]
