Great warriors know that skill isn’t determined by the power of your gear or by the potions you drink. Starting in Bloodsong, you’ll now be able to take it to your enemies on an even playing field through our brand new 3v3 Skirmish and 1v1 Sparring Arenas! Plus, more PvP changes are coming to our open world content and sieges, so read more to get the latest details!

Level out the competition in 3v3 Skirmish and 1v1 Sparring Arenas

Want to play on an even playing field with your opponent? Now’s your chance to shine! Our newest Arena modes, known as Skirmish and Sparring, will ignore the stats provided by your gear and disallow buffs provided by potions. Instead, you’ll be able to choose from one of eight different Gladiator Buffs that will determine your statistics while still allowing you to customize your style of play. You will need the appropriate weapons equipped for the buff you choose, otherwise there will be skills that you will not be able to trigger.

At the beginning of the fight, the buff choices will appear for about 10 seconds – it comes up fast, so pay attention! Choose the one that best applies to your character, or else the system will choose for you! The buffs are as follows:

War Mage (Staff)

Intellect: 704

704 Stamina: 470

470 Defense: 1024

1024 Magic Defense: 5123

5123 Melee Attack: 525

525 Ranged Attack: 425

425 Magic Attack: 600

600 Focus: 2145

2145 Toughness: 2526

2526 Resilience: 4036

4036 Post-Cast Mana Regen: 10

10 Magic Defense Penetration: 420

420 Miscellaneous: Apply Complete Cloth Set Effect, Apply Divine Cloth Armor Set Effect, Apply 2H Weapon Effect

Ranged Rogue (Bow & Arrow)

Agility : 1101

1101 Defense : 3073

3073 Magic Defense : 3073

3073 Melee Attack : 500

500 Ranged Attack : 425

425 Focus : 3475

3475 Toughness : 2526

2526 Resilience : 4036

4036 Post-Cast Mana Regen : 10

10 Miscellaneous: Apply Complete Leather Set Effect, Apply Divine Leather Armor Set Effect, Apply Dual Weapon Effect

Offensive Fighter (2-Handed Weapons)

Strength: 1,101

1,101 Defense: 5,435

5,435 Magic Defense : 0

0 Melee Attack : 600

600 Ranged Attack : 425

425 Focus : 3,475

3,475 Toughness : 2,526

2,526 Resilience : 4,036

4,036 Post-Cast Mana Regen : 10

10 Miscellaneous: Apply Complete Plate Set Effect, Apply Divine Plate Armor Set Effect, Apply 2H Weapon Effect

Defensive Fighter (Sword & Shield)

Strength: 470

470 Stamina: 704

704 Defense: 6,901

6,901 Magic Defense: 0

0 Melee Attack: 500

500 Ranged Attack: 425

425 Focus: 2,145

2,145 Toughness: 2,526

2,526 Resilience: 4,036

4,036 Post-Cast Mana Regen: 10

10 Increased Shield Block: 14%

14% Miscellaneous: Apply Complete Plate Set Effect, Apply Divine Plate Armor Set Effect, Apply Shield Effect

Melee Rogue (Dual Weapons)

Strength: 704

704 Stamina: 470

470 Defense: 3,073

3,073 Magic Defense: 3,073

3,073 Melee Attack: 500

500 Ranged Attack: 425

425 Focus: 2,145

2,145 Toughness: 2,526

2,526 Resilience: 4,036

4,036 Post-Cast Mana Regen: 10

10 Attack Speed: 4%

4% Miscellaneous: Apply Complete Leather Set Effect, Apply Divine Leather Armor Set Effect, Apply Dual Weapon Effect

War Priest (Greatclubs)

Spirit: 704

704 Stamina: 470

470 Defense: 1,024

1,024 Magic Defense: 5,123

5,123 Melee Attack: 525

525 Ranged Attack: 425

425 Healing Power: 600

600 Focus: 2145

2145 Toughness: 2,526

2,526 Resilience: 4,036

4,036 Post-Cast Mana Regen: 10

10 Increases Additional Healing after Critical Healing: 56%

56% Miscellaneous: Apply Complete Cloth Set Effect, Apply Divine Cloth Armor Set Effect, Apply 2H Weapon Effect

Shield Mage (Scepter & Shield)

Intellect: 407

407 Stamina: 704

704 Defense: 2,490

2,490 Magic Defense: 5,123

5,123 Melee Attack: 450

450 Ranged Attack: 425

425 Magic Attack: 525

525 Focus: 2,145

2,145 Toughness: 2,526

2,526 Resilience: 4,036

4,036 Post-Cast Mana Regen: 10

10 Magic Defense Penetration: 210

210 Increases Shield Block: 7%

7% Miscellaneous: Apply Complete Cloth Set Effect, Apply Divine Cloth Armor Set Effect, Apply Shield Effect

Shield Priest (Club & Shield)

Intellect: 470

470 Stamina: 704

704 Defense: 2,490

2,490 Magic Defense: 5,123

5,123 Melee Attack: 450

450 Ranged Attack: 425

425 Healing Power: 525

525 Focus: 2,145

2,145 Toughness: 2,526

2,526 Resilience: 4,036

4,036 Post-Cast Mana Regen: 10

10 Increases Additional Healing after Critical Healing: 28%

28% Increases Shield Block: 7%

7% Miscellaneous: Apply Complete Cloth Set Effect, Apply Divine Cloth Armor Set Effect, Apply Shield Effect

Both of these new arenas operate on a best-of-three series that lasts for 10 minutes per round. If neither side is able to kill the opposing side, the winner will be determined by the number of points gained during the round.

Additionally, players will be able to participate in these arenas 5 times per day. Afterwards, if you wish to keep fighting, you can purchase Bruiser’s Badges with gold in order to keep up the fight!

New improvements to conducting sieges

For those of you looking to take control of Auroria by force, Bloodsong also includes a variety of improvements and changes to our castle siege mechanics.

Off the bat, sieges are no longer limited to 70 players on each side. Now sieges will be 100 vs. 100, allowing you to bring the full weight of your guild to bear in the battle. But, instead of placing the stakes simply on kills like a Guild Dominion, these massive battles will offer Auroran land and the ability to build a castle to the victors.

Bloodsong also brings some changes to the way defenders will organize their forces. Defenders will now begin the battle with 60 members on the field, and they’ll gain 40 extra players after 40 minutes have elapsed. Attackers, on the other hand, will have full access to their 100-man army at the start of the conflict, creating more of an initial disparity between attack and defense.

Players will also now be able to attack other buildings within the siege area, no longer causing them to act as obstacles. Once a building goes below 50% health, it will become a remnant that won’t block movement. The building’s health will recover once the siege is complete. In contrast, the Archeum Lodestone that serves as the core of the castle will no longer auto-recover health after a siege. Players will have to take steps to repair their lodestone after the fight.

Sieges will now also award honor as a personal reward to those who participated in the siege and are in the siege area when it completes. Winners, of course, will receive more honor than the losers of the siege.

Changes to Open-World PvP Events and Zones

If you’d rather watch the blood of your enemies drip into the open fields of Erenor, there are also some changes in Bloodsong for you.

Off the bat, the team at XLGAMES has reduced the number of kills required to change a zone from Conflict to War. This means you’ll see the game’s zones cycle through their different War, Conflict, and Peace modes more frequently. You’ll also get more chances to earn honor through zone wars!

For those zones that depend on timers to change between War, Conflict, and Peace, some of those timers have been adjusted. Mistmerrow will now stay in peace for 2 hours after the Mistmerrow battle ends, and Mistmerrow will take place three times per day versus the prior two. The new schedule for Mistmerrow will be 2:00 AM, 2:00 PM, and 8:00 PM GMT (+8 PST) daily.

The Karkasse Ridgelands have also been adjusted when it comes to War and Conflict. The war in Karkasse will take place at 8:55 PM GMT daily, and will last for 12 hours. Once that period is complete, the zone will move back into conflict for the next 12 hours, skipping peace entirely. For those of you who are vying for the Red Dragon, you’ll find he’ll enter the zone at 9:00 PM GMT on Wednesdays and Saturdays. If no guild takes him down, he’ll reside in the zone for 12 hours before flying back to his lair.

These are just a few changes you can look forward to in Update 2.5: Bloodsong! For more information, drop by the PTS server next week and try the game out in person, or check out the patch notes on the day before Bloodsong’s release.



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