The seasonal transition will be preceded by a pre-season period aimed to test the functionality of the seasonal adjustments. The pre-season world opens its doors for players today (October 23th) and remains accessible till early December. The team will use this time to fix the potential bugs and monitor players’ feedback on the experience.
Seasonal
- During the pre-season, the current Red Zone will remain unchanged. With the launch of the Season, it will be wiped and transformed into the “Green guild Arden” (aka the Orange Zone) with the adjustments to the PvP rules and a smaller map size. More on that will be revealed in our season release article.
Neither the territory nor the buildings in the Green Zone will be affected by the upcoming reorganization. - When choosing a world, apart from Newbie world and Arden players will see a new option – Seasonal Arden. Players can teleport to Seasonal Arden by using the teleportation totems at the trade posts in the Green Zone or via a guild monument in the Red Zone (new ability “Sail to another world”).
“Sail to another world” can also be used to teleport to the Green Zone. Players no longer need to kill their characters to return to the Green Zone. - When teleporting to the Seasonal world, a character will suffer the following skill reduction:
- Attributes (stats) capped at 20 (e.g., Intelligence 35 → 20)
- All general skills capped at 30
- Tier 1 combat skills capped at 45 (each personality)
- All Tier 2–3 combat skills reset to 0 (each personality)
- Tier 1 crafting skills capped at 45
- All Tier 2–4 crafting skills reset to 0
- All experience pools reset to 0
This rule will not apply to teleporting to either Green or Orange Zones. Once the Season commences, characters will suffer skill reduction when teleporting to "Green guild Arden" for the first time—this way, Green Zone players will keep their progress, while players coming to the Orange Zone will start on equal ground. - It is important to mention that guild leaders won’t be able to travel freely between Seasonal Arden and Orange/Green Arden due to code limitations. To do that, they would need to hand over the leadership or disband a guild.
- We have introduced a special seasonal UI which will tell which recipes unlock each age and which age bonuses are active.
- Each Age will have a unique modifier:
- Starting from Age 2, players will receive a seasonal modifier called Harvester’s Season, which will increase yields for both domestic and wild crops by 25%.
- Starting from Age 2, players will receive a seasonal modifier called Lumberjack’s Season, which will increase the amount of wood by 25%.
- Starting from Age 3, players will receive a seasonal modifier called Blacksmith’s bonus, which will speed up all blacksmith actions (10% by default).
- Starting from Age 3, players will receive a mining-focused seasonal bonus called Miner’s Bonus, which boosts ore logistics and encourages active mining during mid-to-late season. It also reduces carried weight of all mined ore types by 25%.
- Starting from Age 4, players will receive a breeder-focused seasonal bonus called Breeder’s Bonus, which will increase successful breeding rate by 50% during Season and off-season.
- Starting from Age 4, players will receive a hunters-focused seasonal bonus called Hunter’s Bonus, which will add custom loot to wild-spawned aggressive animals.
- Starting from Age 5, players will receive a +25% bonus to damage for all types of weapons (meele and ranged) including siege (trebuchet, sapper charge).
Character development
Currently, if a character has a full exp.pool, active leveling will stop—a character’s skill won’t increase despite performing the corresponding actions. Now active leveling will continue to work even with the full exp.pool.
Crafting
- Stamina usage for ability “To lower ground level” is reduced from 40 to 30.
This adjustment makes terraforming more manageable and less punishing, especially when performed while wearing crafting outfits. - Players often use objects to block terraforming, which leads to unfair advantages and prevents proper terrain modification during open-world PVP. These objects are not typically used for legitimate decorative purposes.
Therefore, we made a decision to enable players to damage and fully destroy objects that block terraforming anytime (out of JH/during JH/HJH).
The list of objects:
- Wooden fences
- Stone fences
- Wattle fences - Action time for ability “Break Reinforce” was reduced to 1s.
This change is part of the ongoing balance adjustments related to tunneling mechanics.
The ability is frequently used not for resource extraction but for fortification and structural manipulation during combat scenarios.
Reducing the action time improves responsiveness while keeping its tactical use in line with intended gameplay balance. - Durability loss for sharpened/reinforced and perfect/masterwork weapons and armors is decreased.
This change aims to make higher-quality equipment feel more rewarding to use and maintain. Reducing durability loss ensures that advanced weapons and armor better reflect their superior craftsmanship and longevity. - T4 armors will also no longer require a blueprint to craft. However, they will still require regional resources.
This change further promotes the use and accessibility of Tier 4 armors by removing the blueprint requirement while maintaining the need for regional materials. It makes T4 gear more approachable for players and guilds, encouraging broader adoption of higher-tier equipment in both warfare and general progression. - Additionally, we reduced the weight of T4 armors to be only about 5% heavier than T3 gear.
This change is intended to promote the crafting and use of T4 equipment in wars by making it more accessible and practical for players to wear. - During the calendar season, the max quality of wild-found crop seeds (wheat, peas, cabbage, onion, carrot, flax, grape, potato, rye, barley, oat) can be as high as 50.
- In the Seasonal world, we have streamlined tree growth by removing existing bugs (trees matured too fast), and we have also finetuned tree growth by adding 2 growth ticks per in-game day (for all trees).
- In order to accelerate breeding progression, we will be increasing the min-max quality of wild animals by 10.
- "Prayer for Homecoming" ability will not teleport to houses with loose materials (soil, ore) in inventory.
After extensive discussions with the community, we decided to address what had effectively become a “feature-bug.” While convenient, the mechanic allowed unintended use of the teleport ability for quick material transport. This change ensures that “Prayer for Homecoming” functions as originally intended - a travel and recall ability, not a logistics shortcut. - Now “Stone stockpile” can also hold “Rocksalt”, “Brimstone”, “Limestone”, “Gypsum”.
- A long-awaited and highly requested feature from the community—players can now give their horses custom names! This small but meaningful addition enhances personalization and connection with your mounts, making each horse feel truly unique.
Map
- We have added the icons of traveling idols to the map layer with trade posts. This way, it will be easier to find a totem in the “green zone” among the player-built trade posts. This change is aimed at helping new players navigate the world more easily.
- With the general number of knoll camps for Seasonal Arden being lower, the spawn amount of roaming knolls in the open world was increased. Players will now come across more roaming Knolls, creating a livelier environment and offering additional opportunities for combat, hunting, and resource gathering.
Guild
- Max number of unique accounts in a guild can’t exceed 50 (100 characters).
- Fine Monument blueprint no longer requires “Shaped Rock”.
- Following a detailed review of how outpost count affects defensive capabilities during sieges, these adjustments aim to balance the strategic advantage gained from higher monument tiers.
The new scaling ensures that each monument level meaningfully improves a guild’s defensive potential without creating disproportionate power gaps between different tiers:
- T1 - All bordering fiefs + 0 extra outposts
- T2 - All bordering fiefs + 1 extra outposts (including 1 military outpost)
- T3 - All bordering fiefs + 3 extra outposts (including 3 military outpost)
- T4 - All bordering fiefs + 5 extra outposts (including 5 military outpost) - Recipe for trade post will be disabled for the players on Seasonal Arden.
In our view, trade posts on guild claims were too reliable of a source for feudals to make money for guild upkeep, and trade posts are not being used for actual trading at all. That is why we decided to remove a trade post from recipes available for players on Seasonal Arden. Now, similarly to knoll camps, trade posts will be scattered across the map, and they will serve as a point of potential conflict. To sell items and obtain coins, feudals will need to make a (potentially deadly) trip to the nearest trade post.
The location of trading posts can be altered in the future. We understand that it is a major change for the game, so we will closely monitor how this new mechanic affects the overall gameplay.
- We analyzed the data on the new mechanic when a guild receives a shorter JH time if it has control of the province that hosts the guild monument. General feedback was that 30 minutes is too short for a JH. Therefore, we decided to increase it to 60 minutes.
- The dashboard was updated to show the guild ratings according to the new formula approach. It is these rankings that will determine the season winners among the guilds in each of 3 categories: points, wealth, and provinces.
- We disabled “Ally” standing, reworked permissions to be only set inside guild ranks and members.
As previously announced with the launch of the Season Ranking system and its rewards for top guilds, this change is designed to encourage active territorial play and competition rather than the formation of large alliances.
By removing the “Ally” standing and consolidating permissions under guild management, we aim to strengthen individual guild identity, promote direct conflict, and ensure fairer progression in seasonal rankings. - It is no longer possible to assign custom permissions on:
- non-guild character
- guilds,
- standing type
- character from foreign guild - With this update, we introduce a new mechanic—“Protective Judgement Hour”.
Protective Judgement Hour can be launched from a non-military level 3 outpost. During PJH, the launching outpost and all bordering MOP become vulnerable. PHJ has a 24-hour cooldown. PHJ duration is 1 hour 30 minutes.
This addition expands the siege system by giving defending factions a way to respond proactively to attacks without having to wait for an HJH launch from the attackers’ Military Outpost or construct one themselves.
The new PJH mechanic allows defenders to initiate localized defensive sieges, improving strategic flexibility and encouraging more dynamic territorial warfare. - During HJH and PJH a counter-capture will downgrade outpost level from level 3 to level 1 instead of transferring ownership.
We’ve received consistent feedback that launching an HJH and losing a counter-attack was overly punishing for the initiating guild.
This change reduces the severity of the penalty - failed attempts will still have consequences but won’t result in a complete loss of control, encouraging more guilds to participate in siege without excessive risk.
Combat
- Combo trigger chains rework.
We adjusted combo trigger chains for weapons to make initiating combos easier and more consistent. If a combo is not executed, the timeout duration remains unchanged.
- Thousand Cuts! - right swing - left swing - right swing / left swing - right swing - left swing.
- Flurry of Blows! - right swing - left swing - thrust / left swing - right swing - thrust.
- Another Hole! - overhead - right swing - overhead / overhead - left swing - overhead.
- Power Overwhelming! - right swing - left swing - thrust / left swing - right swing - thrust.
- Dismember! - right swing - left swing - right swing / left swing - right swing - left swing.
- Execution! - right swing - left swing - overhead / left swing - right swing - overhead.
- Crunchy! - left swing - right swing - right swing / right swing - left swing - left swing.
- Kneel Before Me! - right swing - left swing - overhead / left swing - right swing - overhead. - The "bleeding" effect now consumes Hard HP instead of Soft HP. Previously, "bleeding" could be easily countered through soft HP preparations, which made the effect less threatening for one-handed weapon builds.
- We removed "Bind to Hit Direction" and "Alternative Hit Direction" settings. This adjustment aims to restore a more skill-based PvP combat, where advantage comes from training and player ability rather than keybinding shortcuts or macro-assisted attacks.
- We also updated attack logic for spear, boar spear, and awl pike so that all attack directions behave as a thrusting motion (downward input style) with and without an active shield. This change is directly connected to the removal of Bind to Hit Direction, as players previously relied on that feature for consistent spear attacks.
- Weapons with higher damage output have been moved to higher skill tiers, while shields offering greater coverage now also require higher skill levels to equip. Conversely, lower-damage weapons have had their skill requirements reduced to make them more accessible.
- Heavy Heater Shield - relocated to Knight 60
- Lance - relocated to Lancer 60
- Battle axe - relocated to Footman 90
- Scimitar - relocated to Swordsman 30
- Light Saber - relocated to Swordsman 30
- Nordic Sword - relocated to Swordsman 60
- Falchion - relocated to Swordsman 90
- Heavy Kite Shield - relocated to Swordsman 90
- Heavy Targe Shield - relocated to Swordsman 90
- Heavy Iron Shield - relocated to Swordsman 90
- Morning Star - relocated to Huscarl 90
- Tower shield - relocated to Huscarl 90
- Flamberge - relocated to Assaulter 90
- Chieftain sword - relocated to Assaulter 90
- Broad axe - relocated to Vanguard 90
- Sledge hammer - relocated to Vanguard 60
- Short bow - relocated to Archer 30
- Heavy crossbow - relocated to Ranger 90
- Pavise - relocated to Ranger 90
- Throwing axe - relocated to Thrower 30
- Throwing knife - relocated to Thrower 0
- Siege torch - relocated to Demolition 0
- Boar spear - relocated to Spearman 60
We adjusted aim to make these weapons perform more reliably in specialized combat situations, enhancing precision and overall balance during engagements. - Weapon models hitboxes reworked:
- Bec de Corbin - increased swing range hitbox
- Flanged Mace - added hitbox in mid-range swing
- Partisan - added hitbox for close-range swing
- War Scythe - increased swing range, removed blunt hitbox for mid-range swing, increased close-range swing
- Nordic Axe - increased swing range, centralized swing hitbox in mid-range
- Battle Axe - increased swing range, centralized swing hitbox in mid-range
- War Axe - relocated hitbox for close-range swing - We rebalanced damage and animation times for the following weapons:
- War axe, Battle axe, Nordic axe - animation times reduced by ~5%
- Hunter axe - animation times reduced by ~10%
- Spear, Boar spear, Awl pike - animation times increased by ~8%
This change aims to promote the use of one-handed axes by making them feel faster and more responsive in combat.
At the same time, spears have received a slight animation slowdown to balance their overall performance, following the recent attack logic update that standardized their thrusting motion. - The following rebalance focuses on improving the feel of one-handed weapons.
Lower-damage swords now have a greater chance to apply wound and bleeding effects (which consume Hard HP instead of Soft HP), rewarding precision and sustained attacks.
Weapons with naturally higher base damage will have reduced chances to trigger these bonus effects, maintaining a fair balance between speed, impact, and status infliction.
- Hunter axe - chopping damage increased by 150%, increased wound, fracture, stun multiplier by 0.1
- Nordic sword - piercing damage increased by ~10%, reduced wound multiplier from 0.2 to 0.1
- Light saber - slashing damage increased by ~20%, increased wound multiplier from 0.1 to 0.5
- Scimitar - slashing damage increased by ~15%, increased wound multiplier from 0.2 to 0.4
- Falchion - slashing damage reduced by ~10%, reduced wound multiplier from 0.2 to 0
- Gross messer - slashing damage increased by ~10%, reduced wound multiplier from 0.3 to 0.2
- Witch sickle - piercing damage increased by ~20%
- Cudgel - blunt damage reduced by ~50% - According to feedback from one-handed swordsman players, shields were too heavy compared to their defensive coverage, resulting in excessive slowdown during combat. We reduced the weight of certain shields to improve mobility while keeping overall balance intact.
Weight reduced by 0.5kg for following shields:
- Targe shield
- Heater shield
- Small kite shield
- Heavy targe shield
- Heavy heater shield
- Heavy kite shield
Weight reduced by 1kg for following shield:
- Heavy iron shield - This change follows a full review of shield weight, hitbox coverage, and overall performance. Shields have been rebalanced by providing higher bonuses and now additionally benefit from class armor bonuses.
Heavy Targe Shield
- Increased effect magnitude "Infantry weapons mastery" from 1 10 to 1 15
- Added effect "Increased protection" 1 to 5
Heavy Heater shield
- Increased effect magnitude "Cavalry weapons mastery" from 1 10 to 1 15
- Added effect "Spurs" 1 to 5
Heavy Iron Shield
- Increased effect magnitude "Infantry weapons mastery" from 1 10 to 1 15
- Added effect "Increased protection" 1 to 5
Heavy Kite Shield
- Added effect "Increased protection" 1 to 5 - In ages 3-5, unarmored (naked) players will receive double damage when hit by the following damage types: “slashing,” “chopping,” “piercing,” and “blunt”.
In the early stages of the game, most players lack proper armor, causing unbalanced combat outcomes when double damage was applied too soon. Disabling the double-damage effect in the first two Ages creates a fairer early-game experience. Reintroducing it later, starting from Age 3, reinforces the importance of armor progression and discourages naked or unarmored builds in mid-to-late gameplay. - It is now possible to place movable objects on top of each other to climb over walls and overcome fortifications (aka “barboxing”).
This mechanic is available during Judgment Hour and Holy Judgment Hour/Protective Judgment Hour on guild and outpost fiefs. Players can pick up and place various furniture objects and similar movable props:
1. Chair, Decorated Chair, Throne, Table, Decorated Table, Bench, Simple Bed, Large Decorated Bed, Decorated Bench, Primitive Bed
2. Weapon Rack, Armor Stand, Chest, Wardrobe, Crate, Urn, Barrel, Bark Box, Bottle Rack, Decorated Chest, Decorated Wardrobe
3. Wine Press, Spinning Wheel, Loom
4. Wheelbarrow, Cart, Trader Cart
Objects that are enclosed inside buildings (for example, houses, warehouses) cannot be picked up or moved. - “Simple siege ladder” and “Simple siege platform” will now behave as siege objects (possible to damage with siege damage type). We have also added an owner timeout of 5min.
Previously, some deployable structures couldn’t be destroyed after placement and could even be picked up by defenders, leading to unintended defensive advantages.
By making them destructible and adding an ownership timeout, siege equipment now functions more consistently with the rest of the siege mechanics, promoting fairer and more strategic battles during assaults. - “Manage Combat Styles” cooldown increased to 120min
Based on player feedback, the previous cooldown allowed players to swap builds too freely between Instanced Battles and open-world PvP, reducing the importance of preparation and strategic planning.
Extending the cooldown encourages players to commit to their chosen build for longer periods, reinforcing class identity and tactical decision-making in both large-scale and open-world encounters.
After discussions with the community, we wanted to make the healing role more personalized and open up opportunities for support-style gameplay.
- “Treat patient” ability was relocated to "Battle Survival" skill, magnitude of healing will now depend on "Battle Survival" skill.
- Added “Bed Rest (healing)” effect to “Treat patient” ability. This effect will now regenerate Hard HP over time (live)
- 0.1 HP per second at 0 skill level
- 0.5 HP per second at 100 skill level
- Luck trigger increase healing per second by 20% - New effect will be canceled when:
- Player receives damage (as with normal Bed Rest)
- Player mounts a rideable mount - We have several fixes to the IB mechanic. The conflicting terrains were synchronized, so they will no longer cause an IB to crash. We also addressed the situation when an IB could get stuck in a “pending” status.
Technical
- We have made several fixes to the dashboard to increase stability and improve functionality
- Some players encountered a problem when they could not use certain items in the account inventory due to the Consume button being unresponsive. This issue has been fixed.
- Newbie island quests received several fixes to make the experience smoother.
- Often players found themselves in a situation when they were forcibly dismounted on admin lands without an option to “Hide” their horses or moose. Eventually an animal expired and disappeared. We addressed this issue by enabling the use of “Hide” ability on admin lands. Players will be able to collect their mounts and use them again once they leave the blue zone.
UX/UI
- Some players have complained about nights being too dark. The maximum brightness limit has been increased in the settings.
- We have reduced the brightness of the influence area visual effect for the “Unit” and “Formation” skill at level 100 for it to be more comfortable. Players reported that the previous effect was overly bright and distracting, especially during nighttime battles.