Launching this Monday May 14th, we're proud to present the next set of content to further expand the world of OrbusVR, including a new zone, new story quests, PvP balance changes, and further Dragon Pet system enhancements. Read on for the details!

Highsteppe Zone Art Rework

The Highsteppe Zone has been completely re-worked with new modeling for the static assets in the world, as well as new sound design added. This is to bring it in-line with our new art style which we began implementing several months ago. We'll be bringing this new polish to the rest of the world as well piece by piece, and new content (such as the Necropolar, Waystation Crypt, and upcoming raids) will be done up to this standard from the get-go.

The Necropolar and the Completion of the Current Story

Journey to the Necropolar in the Frozen North and finish the quest that you embarked upon so long ago in Highsteppe. Confront the evil lurking in the Waystation Crypt and find out what's been going on up in the snowy reaches of the world.

Featuring around 2 hours of additional story quests, two new cinematic cutscenes, and a totally new zone, the Necropolar will be the setting of our 10-person raids as well when they launch on June 1st. This zone also features new artwork done by our in-house team and matches with our revised art style, so enjoy the sights!

PvP Balance Changes and the Trickster's Chest

With this patch we've changed around a few of the class abilities to respond better to PvP. In particular, we're giving the Warrior's Shield Slam a purpose, allowing them to take on a role akin to a "tackler", quickly getting to players and locking them down so they are vulnerable. We're also introducing the ability for players to Decurse enemy player's buffs, and for Poisons to reduce the amount of healing that enemy players receive. Overall, our goal with these changes is to add counter play options to the current powerful healing provided by player abilities in PvP.

In addition to that, we're adding the Trickster's Chest, a new rare chest in the Wilds which spawns on a set schedule and provides valuable loot to those who attempt to capture it. Of course, it's deep in the Wilds, so you have to make it out alive first to claim your bounty...

Finally, we are introducing a new Logout system to the game, which requires you to wait 30 seconds to logout if you are in combat, and as long as 5 minutes if you are currently a bandit. This is for both PvE content, to prevent people from trying to logout and quickly log back in to "reset" their character, and for PvP content, to prevent people from logging out immediately upon becoming a bandit, or to avoid dying during a fight. As of this patch, bandits will also no longer be able to engage in trades with other players (even those in the same party).

Dragon Pets System Expansion

We're also further expanding the newly-introduced Dragon Pets system with the new Happiness mechanic. Now your Dragon has a Happiness level which you can increase by feeding it treats and petting it. When the Dragon is equipped, its happiness level will slowly decrease. You'll want to keep your Dragon happy because it can now grant you one of 3 bonuses, including increased movement speed, increased inventory carrying weight, and decreased cooldown on your Home Teleportation Device.

When breeding a dragon, it will now have a small chance to gain one of the available bonuses at birth. For already-born dragons, or if you want to switch the bonus of your dragon, we're introducing a new Pet Treat which will cause your dragon to gain one of the 3 random bonuses.

Finally, we're introducing additional Pet Treats which can aid in the breeding of dragons, by helping to determine which parent's traits will be more likely to be passed on to the child.

A Quick Note

I wanted to make a quick note of the fact that much of this content, from the new Highsteppe re-design, to the PvP mechanics, to the Dragon Pets system, has been worked on and implemented by our new team members that have joined us over the past couple of months. The community's support of the game has enabled us to expand the team, and with that we've got increased bandwidth for getting things done. I'm really excited to see Kyle, Jon, Nate, and Jesse (as well as our long-term team members, Robert, Mathieu, Elijah, Brian, Aaron, and Nick) beginning to contribute to the game in a big way, and I know we're going to have even more capability to deliver content that's going to be amazing to play in the future.