In this first version of the ISK, we are focussing on the dynamic transfer of characters between the game’s servers and the ISK dedicated servers. The principle works like this: when a battle has been located, characters are transferred to a specific ISK server where they will compete. After the battle, the characters are transferred back to their home server once more. (Currently, once combat is over, returning to the home server entails a logging out phase then a logging in phase. This should no longer be the case in the final version.
 
The character transfer towards the ISK server is transparent to the player (no intermediate loading).
 
However, in this alpha version, it is not currently possible to access social features related to the origin server, e.g., no private messages, guild or alliance chat, Perceptor or prism attack notifications for example. It is, however, possible to communicate with team members who are in current battle. This aspect is in the process of being developed and should be ready for the final release of the ISK.

This is a fairly complex aspect of the ISK’s development that involves allowing the DOFUS client to maintain multiple, simultaneous connections to multiple servers (the origin game server and the ISK combat server).
We do not envisage deploying the ISK without allowing players to stay in touch with players from their server.
 
 
Unfortunately there is one feature that will not be included in the final release of the ISK, and that is spectator mode.

The current spectator mode was not designed to be able to follow several hundred simultaneous battles (grouping together Kolossium fights across fifty or more servers involves a potentially huge number of battles, which the current interface would not be able to sort and identify correctly). In order to include a spectator mode as it is currently along with the ISK, the entire interface would need to be rehauled and, in particular, it would require development of a means of transferring the details of every ISK battle in progress to each server, while allowing you to “log into” any ISK battle.

We realise that this functionality is important to you but the development resources required to integrate it into interserver mode would be too substantial and delay the project for a much longer time; therefore, we made the decision not to include it in the final ISK release in order to allow us to concentrate on the main functionalities of the ISK system. We will continue to look for solutions in order to integrate spectator mode, but for now, we can give you no guarantee this will happen.
 
The system which allows filtering of characters who register in teams and those who are matched up by random matchmaking hasn’t been integrated into this alpha version yet. We will continue to work on it and we intend to incorporate this into the final release of the ISK. Similarly, the dual rating system (random matching and fixed) is not available in the alpha release but should be available in the final version. Character ratings will be reset for the final release.
 
The rating and matchmaking system (which selects characters for teams) will not be revised. We feel the current system works, but the lack of characters entered in the Kolossium sometimes causes abnormally unbalanced fights. We want to try out the current system in an environment with large numbers of characters and available fights before undertaking significant changes.

However, for the final release of the ISK, we are planning to make several changes to the matchmaking system in order to encourage the creation of teams using characters from the same server or same community. But we do not want to focus on matching up two teams who come from the same server or from the same community.
 
We cannot announce a release date for the final version of the ISK yet. We are going to test the alpha version on the test server and, in parallel, we are going to finish off any missing functionalities in the months to come.

The ISK has been designed around software architecture and hardware that is scalable; fights can be dynamically distributed across several servers in order to support a substantial number of battles at times when there is a high volume of traffic.

When the system is ready, we will gradually activate the ISK across the various servers while assuring that performance and your game experience are optimised. During this transition period, some servers will use the classic Kolossium system and some will be using the ISK system. We will ensure that this transition is as short as possible.
 
We apologise once again for the major delays that have taken place during the development of this major functionality. The DOFUS game servers were not designed to communicate with one another and we have repeatedly underestimated the complexity of this project and the work needed to rethink and scale up our software architecture.

We are just as eager as you are to finally enable characters from different servers to battle each other and to make finding Kolossium battles much easier.

Happy testing!
 

Increased universal generation and upgrading of low- and medium-level items

Removal of Pa and Ra runes generated by breaking items

Rune recycling

Q & A

Why not allow runes to be converted into other runes?

Why don’t you change the generation formulas more often?

Haven Bags are finally coming to DOFUS with build 2.32, allowing you to customize the inside of a house while giving you extra storage space.

These ‘houses’ are shared between all characters on the same account and same server (like a bank). Haven Bags are available for every account, but some features will be reserved for subscription accounts only.
 

Furnishing

The inside of a Haven Bag can be furnished with different decorative items, furnishings or smaller items. In build 2.32, decorative items fill up just one cell each, but you can arrange some of these together in order to create sets that fill several cells. We’re looking into the possibility of giving you a more long-term method of using decorative items across several cells.

Decorative items are grouped into themes (a Kerub-style house or a typical Amakna house, for example). You can choose a theme for your Haven Bag, which will set the appearance of the walls and flooring. So it’s up to you how you want to furnish the inside of your Haven Bag. Any decorative items you own can still be used for the same Haven Bag, even if they come from different themes; for example, you can use an armchair from the Kerub theme and a table from the Amakna theme.

In build 2.32, we’ve come up with two themes that will be available to all players (a third theme will be available in the shop), but we intend to add others gradually. We’re planning some themes that will be available in future as subscription gifts, from the shop or via community events.
 

Storage space

Haven Bags will include a storage chest with a 1,000-pod capacity. We chose a pod-based rather than a slot-based restriction because we didn’t want these chests to be used for unlimited, mobile storage (Haven Bags ‘follow’ their owner and can be accessed almost anywhere).

The pod capacity for Haven Bags can be increased up to 11,000 pods via a service purchased with Ogrines (up to a maximum of 10 increases of 1,000 pods each). Edit: The pod capacity of a Haven Bags chest increases with the account's seniority, calculated according to the number of days that the account has had subscriber status, starting from the day the account was created.

This chest can only be accessed by the characters from your account, and you can’t share access to it with characters from other accounts (so you can’t use it as a communal chest shared with other players). When you access this chest with one character, you’ll be precluded from accessing it again for several minutes with another character from your account. This restriction limits the use of Haven Bags as a system for exchanging items between characters from the same account with no distance limitation. 
 

Accessibility

The Haven Bag is available from level 10 onwards and is accessed by clicking on a button in the interface. Your character is then automatically transported inside. Haven Bags are accessible from all maps allowing exit and entry teleportation (for example, they can’t be accessed from a Divine Dimension or a dungeon).

You are able to invite other characters into your Haven Bag. If they accept the invitation, they are teleported to the entrance. Characters can stay in the Haven Bag as long as its owner is logged in.

When characters leave a Haven Bag, or when its owner logs out, they return to the exact location they were in before entering the Haven Bag.

The Haven Bag contains a Zaap, which allows you to access the entirety of the game’s Zaap network. Just like any other Zaap, the cost of teleportation depends on the distance between the departure Zaap and the destination Zaap (therefore it’s no longer more cost-effective to use your Haven Bag’s Zaap than a simple Recall Potion).

Trade between players inside Haven Bags will not be permitted because we don’t want the use of Haven Bags to enable item trading between just any players regardless of their location in the world (characters invited into Haven Bags are teleported there from their point of origin).
 

Lottery

The Haven Bag will feature a Lottery machine, which can be used once a day per account. It will allow you to consistently receive a randomly selected reward (Fairyworks, consumables, experience scrolls, Mimisymbics, items from cosmetic sets, Incarnations, etc.) The rewards won’t all have the same drop rate and some will be very rare indeed (Mimisymbics, for example).

This lottery is only available to subscribed characters.
 

Q & A

What is the difference between a Haven Bag and a standard house?

Haven Bags are customizable but can’t be shared like a house, and you cannot access a player’s Haven Bag when they’re not logged in. The Haven Bag chest can only be accessed by its owner and has a pods restriction rather than a slot restriction.

Haven Bags can be accessed from any map where teleportation is allowed.
 

Will it be possible in future to furnish standard houses in game?

We’re not planning to currently, as houses work differently on a technical level and making their interiors customizable would involve a significant workload. But we wouldn’t definitively rule it out if Haven Bags turn out to be very successful.
 

How will Haven Bags work if people are playing on different servers?

In just the same way as a bank, your Haven Bags are specific to each server (while remaining common to all the characters on the same server). This means you can kit out different Haven Bags if you play across several servers. Themes and chest expansions are shared across your account, so you will find them enabled for every Haven Bag from a single account.

During character migration, the contents and settings of Haven Bags are not transferred to the target server.
 

Are you planning to create any guild or alliance Haven Bags?

Haven Bags are designed to stop existing when their owner isn’t logged in (in order to optimize the way they work), so there are no plans currently to create guild or alliance Haven Bags, as these would need to exist permanently (even when their owner isn’t logged in) so that other users would be able to access them.
 

In build 2.32 we are introducing a feature allowing you to perform text searches in the world map.
This feature allows you to locate the following:

• Monsters
• Harvestable resources
• Items and resources dropped from fighting monsters
• Areas
• Points of interest:
  • Class temples and statues
  • Ships, transporters, drills, etc.
  • Dungeons
  • Workshops
  • Markets
  • Places (Kolossium, Almanax building, Alliance Temple, etc.)

Using it is very simple. All you need to do is to enter characters into the interface’s search field. Choices then become dynamically available and you just have to select one for it to be highlighted on the map.

For example, if you want to find out where to harvest Hemp, you enter the word “hemp” in the search field, then you select the resource from the list, and the world map will then display the areas where you can find this resource with colour indicators showing the concentration of this resource in the highlighted areas:
 

Spell panel structure

1. The first is a spell that can be cast several times a turn, inflicting moderate damage for 3 AP.
2. The second can be cast once a turn, dealing substantial damage for 4 AP.
3. The third consists of a spell that can be cast once every second turn, and for 3 AP it deals substantial AoE and HP-draining damage.

Elemental states

Basic principles

Elemental combinations

• Air + Earth = Pushback
• Air + Water = Reduction of damage dealt
• Air + Fire = AP reduction
• Earth + Water = MP reduction
• Water + Fire = Attraction
• Earth + Fire = Increase in received damage

Using elements with utility spells

• The ‘Contribution’ spell cast on an ally gives them bonuses depending on the elemental states of enemies.
• The ‘Elemental Drain’ spell steals an enemy’s characteristics and deals damage in the same element as the enemy’s elemental state.
• The ‘Polarity’ spell causes enemy movement based on their elemental state. For example, an enemy in the Earth state gets knocked back, whereas if this spell is cast on an enemy in the Fire state, the latter swaps places with the Huppermage.

• The ‘Elemental Shield’ spell will protect an ally by giving them elemental resistance. When this ally is attacked, they lose part of the elemental resistance they’ve acquired, but their enemy enters the elemental state linked to their attack. An enemy who uses a Fire element attack on an ally protected by the effects of the Elemental Shield spell will enter the Fire state.
• The ‘Crossover’ spell allows a Huppermage to teleport over a fixed distance along a straight line, and all enemies in an elemental state along their path will be dealt damage.

• As for the ‘Propagation’ spell, this allows Huppermages to transmit an enemy’s elemental state to their nearby allies.

Elemental runes

Rune placement

Rune usage

• The Fire rune swaps places with the attacker.
• The Water rune attracts targets surrounding it.
• The Earth rune knocks back targets surrounding it.
• The Air rune teleports the attacker symmetrically in relation to itself.

Q & A

What will happen when there are several Huppermages in the same fight?

How can you recognise the targets’ elemental states?

How will we get this new class?

Non-exhaustive list of states that will be visually indicated:

• The four elemental states of Huppermages
• Telefrag
• Portal
• Infected
• Unmovable, Rooted
• Invulnerable
• Pacifist
• Weakened
• Unhealable

In the April update, we are adding a new messaging system for players in combat: instant messages.
 

These are pre-set messages that can be automatically sent to your team (via the “Team” channel). This will make team communication easier during a fight and let you send important, pertinent information quickly. For example, this might be information about how much time is left before a spell can be used again, or how long a status will last.
To send an instant message all you have to do is click on a particular element while holding down the “Alt” key.
 
Below are a few examples of how to use this new function. Just hold down the “Alt” key and click on one of the following:

• Any cell on the map: The cell is highlighted as usual with an arrow indicating a particular cell.
• Health, AP, or MP in the central medallion: This will show the number of health points, AP and MP you have at the moment.
• A spell in the shortcuts bar: This shows if a spell can be cast or not. If the spell cannot be cast, it will tell you why (e.g. recasting delay, blocked or required status, summoning limit reached or not enough AP).
• A status in the Timeline: This will show the duration of the status, the character affected (if there is one) and the length of time the status will remain active (e.g. for the Rekop spell)

• After choosing a spell in the shortcuts bar and aiming at a cell you can also tell the rest of the team about its limits before you cast it: Potentially, this could show that an enemy is out of range or that there is an obstacle blocking your line of sight.

Communication is often the key to victory during team combat and we will keep working on similar functions to make communication between players more efficient.
 
We hope that this small improvement will help you to get out of some really tricky situations!
 

How it works in the guild interface

 
The Guild Notice is displayed in the main guild interface tab and can be edited by any member of the guild (no special user rights are required); the date and name of the author will systematically appear above the notice.
 
A Guild Notice is a permanent message (it is not deleted after a certain amount of time). The message can be changed at any time. The length of a notice is limited to 256 characters. Members will see the Guild Notice at start of the game. This size limit is meant to encourage players to use clear and concise information. The size limit is the same as for the chat interface.
 
Guild notices can contain URL (clickable) links. Clicking these will open the same virus prevention and verification message that is displayed when clicking a link in the chat interface. 
 

Example of a standard, well-written, Guild Notice.

Example of a Guild Notice by a guild member who does not read Devblogs and does not fully understand the idea of Guild Notices.

The main tab in the guild interface. Some information has been moved to the bottom of the interface to leave more room for the Guild Notice.

How it works in the chat interface

Potential iterations

Q & A

Do we have to write a Guild Notice?

Why not have special user privileges so that only some people can modify a Guild Notice?

Can we disable Guild Notices at the start of the game?

We do not plan to include this option in the Version 2.34 release, but we do want to add a disable Guild Notices option in later iterations.
 

Eniripsa class spells have evolved very little over the years. This is the class in which the attacking panel, made up of just 3 spells, was the weakest. Its main role as healer could justify this operation in part, but we want each class to have interesting and sufficiently diversified offensive capacities. What’s more, certain healing spells were redundant and the Word of Thorn spell has, amongst other things, always had a problem finding its place with the Eniripsa.

So we have reviewed all the spells in the class so as not to impair it: the Eniripsa keeps its healing role and the majority of its spells have kept the same role. However, we wanted to offer more varied healing capacities, in particular thanks to the new spells in the Air and Water route, more interesting support capacities and minor improvements in utility spells.

Attack to heal

One of the main changes is the modification of the attacking panel. The spells continue to be in 3 elementary routes: Air, Water and Fire. However, each elementary route now has 3 spells which can inflict damage, including a spell with an area of effect.

What’s more, each elementary route will allow healing in its own way:

• For the Fire route, the spells heal when used on an ally, but inflict damage when used on an enemy. The healing received depends on the Intelligence and the healing bonuses of the spell caster.

• For the Air route, the spells inflict damage on enemies, and heal depending on the damage inflicted in an area of 2 squares around the spell caster. 

• For the Water route, the spells inflict damage on enemies, and heal depending on the damage inflicted in an area of 2 squares around the target.

• In other words, the more damage the Air and Water spells inflict on enemies, the more they heal your allies (a bit like a life steal, but against several targets at the same time). An important detail concerning these spells: the healing is based on basic damage, before reduction. So, even if the attacked enemy reduces all the damage he is supposed to suffer, it will heal your allies all the same.

With these new Air and Water spells, the placement of allies and enemies takes on extra importance: if you want to optimize the healing and the damage (thanks, in particular, to the spells with an area of effect) you will have to pay close attention to the way allies and enemies are positioned.

Here is the list of the new attacking spells. Note that the detail of the modifications to these spells is not exhaustive; if you want an exhaustive list, you will have to refer to the final changelog 2.34:

Fire Spells

• Word of Healing becomes Alternative Word and now costs 3 AP.

• Revitalizing Word becomes Selective Word, its area is reduced to a size 3 cross (like the Sword of lop spell) and its cost in AP becomes 3.

• Word of Sacrifice becomes Disconcerting Word, reduces the Power of the target if it is an enemy, and increases the Power of the target if it is an ally.

Air Spells

• Wounding Word remains similar: Air damage for 3 AP at good range.

• Draining Word becomes Turbulent Word, inflicts Air damage, advances one square and costs 2 AP.

• Word of Thorn becomes Whirling Word and inflicts Air damage in a squared area of effect (similar to Feca's Burning Glyph, but smaller).

Water Spells

Forbidden Word remains similar: Water damage for 3 AP at good range.

• Curative Word becomes Deafening Word, inflicts Water damage, removes APs and costs 5 AP.

• Vampire Word becomes Dazzling Word, inflicts Water damage and has a boomerang area of effect (like Rogues’ Boomerang Dagger).

New state: Stimulated

Another significant change is the modification of the Stimulating Word spell. 
The AP donation effect is very powerful and we don’t want it to be too easy to implement it for a whole team. However, it is not removed: from now on, Stimulating Word only affects one target for a duration of 4 turns and can be re-cast every turn for 2 AP. It confers the Stimulated state, which increases the healing received by the target and gives it 2 AP. The Stimulated state can be unblocked by classic unblocking spells or consumed via certain Eniripsa spells to generate additional effects.

The Stimulated state can be unblocked by classic unblocking spells or consumed via certain Eniripsa spells to generate additional effects. The effects of the Stimulating Word become a resource which Eniripsa can consume at any time to improve its allies’ survival at a particular time, or generate additional effects.

The Eniripsa cannot be targeted with the Stimulating Word spell. It is, however, applied to whoever casts the Coney and remains present for as long as the Coney is alive.

Note: the erosion applied to the caster is removed from all Eniripsa spells, including Stimulating Word. This is a mechanism which has not really borne any fruit: the values were not high enough to lead to a choice (casting the spell at the price of erosion or not) and it was difficult to review them upwards without making the Eniripsa too vulnerable.

Reshuffling of Utility spells

The majority of the Eniripsa’s utility spells have also been reviewed; on the whole, they keep a similar role to the preceding version, except for those which have been replaced by damage spells (Draining Word and Word of Thorn).

• Friendship Word: the Coney’s operation is reviewed. From now on it applies the Stimulating Word spell to the summoner, and it is only withdrawn when the Coney dies. The Coney’s survival is increased, it continues to heal its allies for as long as it is alive, and it generates a healing glyph if it is killed: entities ending their turn on the glyph win back life points. A same Eniripsa can only summon one Coney at a time, and when the Coney dies, the time for re-casting the Friendship Word spell becomes 2 turns.

• Frightening Word: is practically unmodified: its number of casts per target becomes 2.

• Paralyzing Word: from now on lasts for only one turn, and can be recast every turn. It still removes MPs, but from now on the affected target heals the caster’s nearby allies at the end of its turn.

• Word of Silence: remains almost identical: its cost in AP is, however, increased and it no longer affects either stimulated allies or the caster.

• Lifting Word: is completely reviewed. From now on, it allows the caster to change places with an ally who is not an invocation. The ally in question becomes Unhealable for 2 turns unless it is Stimulated, in which case it merely loses its Stimulated state. It can still be cast on the Coney, but will lose its life as a result.

• Preventing Word: from now on gives Shield Points, and even more so if the targeted ally is Stimulated. However, it still removes the Stimulated state.

• Word of Youth: sees its unlocking value reduced: it becomes 1 turn. However, the spell also allows an ally to be healed once per turn

• Word of Altruism: from now on heals all the allies in the Stimulated state, but removes this state from them. The Coney is always killed when the spell is cast.

• Word of Recovery: always heals 100% of the target’s life and makes it unhealable for 3 turns. If the target is Stimulated, it inflicts further damage on nearby enemies depending on its unhealable life: the more unhealable life it has, the higher the damage inflicted. The stimulated state is consumed.

• Regenerating Word: always heals with a delay, but from now on at the start of the caster’s turn (and not the target’s turn), 2 consecutive turns.

• Mot Olov: always increases the power of the caster for 3 turns, but from now on it divides the effectiveness of the healing generated by its class spells by 2. The damage increase and Power values have been reviewed slightly downwards.

These modifications will be available in the beta 2.34 version. Don’t hesitate to try them out and give us your feedback.

In version 2.34, we are introducing a new feature to the game called Community Challenges. This is a system that allows you to offer challenges to other players and to win kamas by betting on their success or failure. This feature is a "tool". The players are the ones who determine what type of challenges they would like to offer to the community.

Currently, we can already offer challenges via the Achievement system, but there is a finite number of them (even if we add more during major updates) and we impose a number of design rules to ensure that these challenges are not overly difficult for the majority of players. These restrictions prevent us from offering certain original challenges that would only target a minority of players. By allowing players to create their own, we are letting you offer much more specific content that may only target a minority of players (without frustrating those who don't want to take part).

Objectives

Here is the list of objectives we have set for ourselves:

• Allow players to offer varied objectives that could potentially be aimed at a very specific audience.
• Continuously renew the game experience by offering a wide variety of challenge settings.
• Allow players to select the audience for their challenges (friends, guild, alliance, the whole community, etc.).
• Introduce an "indirect PVP mechanism" that allows players to bet against one another.
• Increase the value and potential difficulty of content considered  mundane by some players.

How it works

The way in which the community challenges work can be summed up in the following way:

• The players can set challenges and submit them to other players.
• Rewards are provided by the players to avoid any problems with cheating and agreements.
• Those who accept challenges can win kamas if they complete them successfully.
• Those who create challenges can win kamas if the players who try them can't complete them in time.

Making a Community Challenge: content and successful completion criteria

To create a challenge, all you have to do is open the challenge system interface and begin by selecting the content: a monster or a Boss from amongst all those available in game. Archmonsters, wanted posters and quest monsters cannot be used for challenges because their availability in game is not guaranteed so it may not allow for an acceptable gaming experience.

Once you have chosen the monster, you can select the criteria for successful completion of the challenge that will increase its difficulty level. It is possible to choose up to 5 additional criteria (this value could change) from the following list:

• Challenge 1: it is possible to choose the majority of existing challenges for most monsters. Challenges that are incompatible with certain monsters will be filtered out if needed. Accepting a community challenge with a combat challenge requirement will not necessarily cause that challenge to become available as a bonus in a battle. You simply have to end the battle by respecting the rules of the imposed challenged regardless of the active combat challenges in the battle (much like completing challenge Achievements).
• Idols: it is possible to set up to 6 different idols (incompatibilities with some monsters are taken into account).
• Idols Score: you can only set a minimum score to reach if no specific idol is required (this is currently a technical restriction, we would like to find a solution to allow the use of these two criteria in the same challenge).
• Maximum level: allows for the creation of specific challenges for characters with less experience.
• Maximum number of turns
• Maximum/minimum number of characters: the difficulty of some battles may vary depending on the size of the teams. For example, this setting will allow you create Community Challenges with Bosses that must be confronted by a team of 8 or define battles to be fought single-handed!
• Required/forbidden classes: this criteria can insist on the presence or absence of certain classes. It is possible to select between 0 and 3 classes. Not all compositions are equally effective against all content (especially when it's a smaller team). This criteria is used to offer challenges for specific classes and, in doing so, set the difficulty of a challenge very precisely.
• Minimum size of a group of monsters: this criteria is useful for challenges with monsters that can be fought outside of dungeons. You can select a minimum number of monsters that the participants will have to fight.

Contrary to what we had initially imagined, a challenge may be offered without having first been completed by its creator. The players will not, therefore, have any guarantee that the challenge can be completed (the technical validity is checked, but not the theoretical difficulty of the challenge). They will have to decide for themselves whether or not they will be able to complete it. We have made this decision for several reasons:

• To make the creation and publication of challenges significantly easier.
• To allow players to create challenges (and therefore content for others) without necessarily having to be very experienced players, capable of overcoming difficult challenges themselves.
• To increase the potential winnings for those who create the challenges (they take the largest share of the risk by investing the prize fund) by allowing them to create technically viable challenges that, so far, have not been successfully completed.

Risks versus rewards

When creating a challenge, its creator will be able to set the potential costs and rewards:

• Participation cost: this is the amount in kamas that the players who accept the challenge will have to pay to take part (this value can be zero, creating a challenge that can be accepted for no cost).
• Total amount of the prize: this is the amount in kamas that the characters who successfully complete the challenge will be able to share. This sum is paid by the challenge's creator (it can be zero).
• Maximum number of times the challenge can be successfully completed: this setting is used, for example, to create a challenge with a very large pot but only the first X players to successfully complete it will be able to share the winnings. This setting is optional.
• Challenge duration: once a challenge has expired, it is removed from the list of challenges available to players and those who have accepted but not completed it are considered to have failed.

When a challenge expires, the following transactions are carried out:

• Those who successfully completed it share the prize.
• Those who failed do not get anything.
• The winners are refunded their participation costs.
• Participation costs are not refunded to the losers and are paid to the character that created the challenge.

If the maximum number of successes set for the challenge has been reached, it can no longer be accepted and those who have not yet completed it have two options:

• Challenge not successfully completed in the given time: participation costs are not refunded (and are paid to the character who created the challenge).
• Successfully complete the challenge within the given time: participation fees refunded.

The prize is shared as follows:

• If there is no maximum number of successful completions for the challenge, the prize is simply split in equal parts between those who successfully completed it.
• When the number of winners exceeds the number of successful completions remaining, the remaining winners share any remaining rewards between them.
• Example: the challenge is limited to 2 successful completions. 1 character successfully completes the challenge, there is 1 possible successful completion remaining. A group of 4 then successfully completes the challenge. They divide the final share between them (by 4).

This means that players who create the challenges can make money with this system if they manage to offer very attractive challenges that are difficult enough that some of the players who accept them do not manage to complete them in time.

Those who accept the challenges can also make money if they can successfully complete enough of the challenges in which they decide to take part.

Accessibility, visibility and sharing restrictions

The creator of a challenge may decide to which audience they would like to address with their challenge:

• No restriction (default): the challenge will be accessible to all of the server's characters.
• Guild: only members of the creator's guild can take part in the challenge.
• Alliance: only members of the creator's alliance can take part in the challenge.

If the challenge's creator changes guild or alliance once the challenge has been created, it is not modified and has the same access restrictions (guild or alliance). 

The challenge's creator may also choose from two visibility modes:

• Public: the challenge is visible from the challenges interface. This is the default option to give a challenge maximum visibility.
• Private: the challenge is only accessible from the challenges interface via a unique URL and ID generated during the creation of the challenge.

When a challenge is created, a unique URL and ID are created and can be used to distribute the challenge (via guild forums, for example).
Via the unique URL, you can see statistics for the challenge (all the settings chosen by the person who created it) in a browser.
The unique ID cannot be used in a browser, but has the advantage of being much shorter and can easily be given out in game via discussion channels, for example.

Good and bad challenges

In the challenges interface, you can easily see all available challenges, those you have created and those you have accepted.

There could be a very large number of challenges created by the community and you will have several tools available to find those that correspond with what you're looking for:

• A list of challenges with columns that can be filtered by:
  • Current success rate
  • Time remaining
  • Participation costs
  • Prize
• A search system allowing you to enter different types of information (monster, Boss, class names, etc.).
• A filter to only show challenges compatible with your current character.

FAQ

Can the system be used to organise events?

The system can be used to organise events at server level and it is possible to create community challenges with no prize fund or participation costs. The possibility of managing the distribution and visibility of community challenges makes it easier, in our opinion, to use this system to create events.

Is it possible to make inter-server community challenges?

We have looked into this possibility, but such a system would allow kamas to transfer between game servers too easily (via the prize). This is something we're not currently looking to make overly easy due to problems with the illegal purchase and sale of kamas.

Why does the challenge creator have to provide the prize?

This is a very open system in which the person creating the challenge can target a very specific audience. It is possible to create small community challenges limited only to your own characters, for example. It is therefore necessary not to generate rewards that could be all-too easily exploited. We preferred to offer a system in which the players will have as much freedom as possible to create their own challenges, but which will also require them to provide their own rewards.

Is it possible to accept a challenge only after having trained to complete it successfully?

It is possible to identify those challenges that interest you, to train to successfully complete them and then to accept them and complete them for real without running the risk of not being able to succeed. However, this approach takes much longer and is much more laborious (in the best case scenario, you'd still have to succeed at the challenge twice).

You must keep in mind that, during the same time frame, it may be possible to complete twice as many challenges.

You will also have the option of taking virtually no risk and only accepting challenges you have already tried and succeeded at in the past, but this is not necessarily the most profitable approach.

Why are community challenges limited to monsters?

Monsters are some of our richest and most universal content, so we have naturally chosen to give them priority.

We have looked into the possibility of creating community challenges based on forgemaging, but as the players could craft the requested item and only accept the challenge after having crafted it, there would be no chance of failure for these challenges.

We have looked into the possibility of creating community challenges based on PVP combat (offering a map, its composition and specifying possible restrictions for the opposing team, etc.), but the workload was too great for this update. Our efforts concerning PVP are concentrated on the inter-server Kolosseum, but once this is available and the community challenges system is working as it should be, we might reconsider this option.

Are there Achievements for the community challenges?

There will not be Achievements for this system because it is possible to create trivial challenges (very simple to complete) without any specific restrictions. The system can purposefully be manipulated too easily for any pertinent Achievements to be created.

Can you create and carry out an unlimited number of challenges at the same time?

A single account can create up to X* challenges and may accept Y* active challenges. Completed challenges are, of course, not counted.

To create a challenge, you will have to pay the modest sum of 1000 kamas.

The total number of active challenges on a server will be limited to Z* for performance reasons. If this limit has been reached, it will no longer be possible to create other community challenges.

*: The values of X, Y, and Z are currently being decided and will be determined during our tests on the Beta Server.

How can I be notified of the success or end of a challenge?

The notification system will alert the creator and those who have accepted the challenge when the challenge has been successfully completed. These notifications can be deactivated.
 

Is it possible to validate Community Challenges by defeating the required monster in the Arena?

It is not possible to validate Community Challenges by defeating the required monster in the Arena because we feel that Arena fights are often much easier than the fights one must face in the appropriate Dungeons.

• A character in level 199 with 30% experience in 2.34 will find they have 60% experience in 2.35.
• A character in level 199 with 50% experience in 2.34 will automatically reach level 200 in 2.35.
• A character in level 199 with 75% experience in 2.34 will automatically reach level 200 in 2.35.

After Update 2.35

Overall balance in the experience curve

Level 200+

• Special achievements for reaching certain 200+ levels.
• Ornaments
• Titles
• Auras for reaching certain 200+ levels
• Ceremonial items
• Extra pods
• Market sites and extra merchant modes

Edit: After years of gradually increasing in power, we can understand how the prospect of characters that have different levels put the same power with only customizable differences to distinguish them may leave some of you feeling a little disillusioned.

We are still exploring possibilities and we will soon share our ideas with you in order to discuss the final direction this new leveling system could go and get your feedback on our ideas.

For now, we are not leaning in the direction of increasing the power of characters who reach 200+, but we would prefer to propose new character skins to push customization options or new spells to give players more tactical choices.

The team is boiling over with ideas. For example, I personally would like to add a Light and Dark element that could only be used after level 200. These hypothetical elements would not work the same way as Air, Water, Fire, and Earth; they could offer new game mechanics other than direct damage, and offer characters new looks while in combat.

We are also considering other utility-type benefits, like additional pods, or extra spaces in game markets.

We’ll tell you more in the future!

Q & A

Why are you focusing on cosmetic and utility bonuses?

What is the point of offering 200+ levels if the power of characters does not increase?

What will the new maximum level be?

What will the progress speed be for these levels?

Do you plan to have a common experience gauge for all characters in the same account that have reached level 200+?

Will the game become "easier" or less meritorious because of these changes?

Will the experience we have already gained after level 200 be kept in the transition to 200+ levels?

• Converting the experience (partially or totally) already gained after level 200 would let some people make the most of their existing experience points, but it could also penalize those who have invested their experience in other ways (mount and guild for example).
• Not conserving experience gained after level 200 would mean all characters have to start again on an equal basis in a balanced and fair race to the 200+ levels.

16 classes in the Tournament

No more pillar classes

A supervised class change

A more server-centric tournament

• In the first round, the pairing system will randomly select the two servers that will do battle against each other. At the end of the 4 fights, there will be 3 possible results: 4-0, 3-1, 2-2. In the first two instances, the winning server will get 3 Swiss points and the losing one 0. In the third case, the points will be shared, up to 1 per server. 
• For the 5 following rounds, the system will pair servers depending on their numbers of Swiss points and their OVP (exactly like it was last year with teams).
  It will then choose the precise pairings for the 4 fights, based on the team rankings.
• At the end of the 6 rounds, the servers will be ranked based on the following criteria (by order of importance):
  • Swiss points
  • OVP,
  • Sum of the Swiss points per team
  • Sum of the Goultarminator points per team

A rebalanced Test of Speed

A more precise way to elect the captain

A modified drafting system

1. Server A bans a class.
2. Server B bans a class.
3. Server A selects a class.
4. Server B selects a class.
5. Server B selects a class.
6. Server A selects a class.
7. Server B bans a class.
8. Server A bans a class.
9. Server B selects a class.
10. Server A selects a class.
11. Server A selects a class.
12. Server B selects a class.

Schedule

• Round #1: August 1st
• Round #2: August 3rd
• Round #3: August 5th
• Round #4: August 8th
• Round #5: August 10th
• Round #6: August 12th
• Round of 8: August 18th
• Quarter-finals: August 21st
• Semi-finals: August 24th
• Little Finals: August 27th
• Finals: August 28th

New fighting maps

What are DoS attacks?

How can I protect my connection?

✔ Favor using more secure communication mediums

✔ Activate and carefully configure your Firewall

✔ Don't use the same username everywhere

► Modify a dynamic IP address

► Modify a fixed IP address

How can I combat DoS attacks?

• Securing your connection, which will in any case include an IP address modification.
• Legal proceedings against X.

✔ Step 1: Confirm the attack

✔ Step 2: Trace the origin

✔ Step 3: Assemble a file

✔ Step 4: Lodge a complaint

So why do it, then?

• To improve the general ergonomics, so that interacting with the game is more intuitive and practical for both new players and our long-term fans.
• To recreate a consistent style guide, which means that, in addition to simply giving it a fresh look, we have also taken advantage of the revamp to improve consistency between interfaces.
• To give the players more freedom, with movable elements and a few surprises that you’ll soon discover!

How did it go?

So what is happening exactly?

• A newly designed interface
• A new fullscreen map
• The possibility of moving around and resizing the elements of the main interface however you like
• New tooltips for spells and items that are more reactive and better structured
• The option of adding additional spell bars

Ok. What comes next?

• Summons were only of limited use in group situations. They didn’t survive long enough to be useful.
• The Osamodas’ offensive panel was very weak, in particular for Earth and Water (1 spell each).
• The Boost-spell-based offensive panel was very repetitive.
• The summons’ artificial intelligence sometimes made their actions unpredictable.

More predictable summons

• Gobballs are represented by the Gobball and Black Gobball.
  • The Gobball hasn’t changed very much. It still applies the Gravity state every other turn and tries to block its enemies.
  • The Black Gobball behaves the same way but it removes Dodge.
• Tofus are represented by the Black Tofu and Podgy Tofu.
  • The Black Tofu operates in the same way as the “classic” Tofu, but it deducts Lock and gains Agility with each attack.
  • The Podgy Tofu pushes away enemies.
• The Wyrmlings are represented by the Red Wyrmling and the Black Wyrmling.
  • The Red Wyrmling now removes one turn of enchantment with each attack and no longer has the “Terrifying Cry” spell.
  • The Black Wyrmling heals allies near targeted enemies.

The army is complete!

Fusion

• Tofu: gains Mobility, linked to the Air element
  • All Tofus gain a part of the caster’s Agility and Air damages.
  • Both the caster and their summons gain MP.
  • Additionally, the caster gains Dodge but loses Vitality.
• Gobball: Resistance gains, linked to the Earth element
  • All Gobballs gain part of the caster’s Strength, Earth damages and Neutral damages.
  • Both the caster and their summons reduce damages suffered.
  • The caster gains more Lock but loses 1 MP.
• Wyrmling: Heal and AP bonus, linked to the Fire element
  • All Wyrmlings gain a part of the caster’s Intelligence, Fire damages and Heals.
  • Both the caster and their summons gain AP.
  • Furthermore, the caster gains a heal bonus but loses Power.

New ways of interacting with their summons

• One of them, and probably the most important one, is the “Symbiosa” spell which can be used to take control of a summons for 1 turn. It can be cast on any allied summons, and, at the start of its turn, you will play in its place. You can then move it wherever you want it to go and use whichever spells you like! What’s more, if the spell is cast on a Gobball, a Wyrmling or a Tofu, they gain an additional spell while this spell is active:
  • The Gobball can attract a target.
  • The Tofu can change places with an ally.
  • The Wyrmling can heal an ally.

• In addition to this spell, the Osamodas now has the option of making a summons under their control invulnerable for 1 turn, but the latter will die at the start of their next game turn. Used in combination with a Locker Gobball, for example, this can be used to block an opponent for 1 extra turn.
• The Osamodas has the option of considerably (but temporarily) improving the summons’s AP, MP, Vitality and damages. This turns it into a kind of super-summons, simply by casting a single spell. This will, however, be a costly spell to cast and it has a high recasting time.
• They also have 3 spells that they can use to sacrifice a summons:
  • One switches place with the summons (that is then killed), dealing Air damages around the caster, as well as around the target. This therefore allows them to escape from dangerous situations for the cost of one summons and a few AP.
  • Another heals in the area around the sacrificed summons.
  • And the last one allows them to recover part of the AP cost of the targeted summons.

Richer elementary paths

• The Air path is linked to Tofus, this is the path that concerns mobility and Dodge.
  • For one of the spells, the more Tofus there are on the map, the more damages will be inflicted.
• The Earth path is linked to Gobballs. This path concerns Vitality and Lock.
  • This is the path the includes the “Crackler Punch”, which has been modified to reduce the enemies’ power in its area of affect.
• The Fire path is linked to the Wyrmlings. This path is heals-based.
  • It notably includes a spell that generates heals each time a Wyrmling attacks the target.

The Technical Aspects

The Graphic Aspects

A redefined design

Interfaces you can adjust and customize

Tooltips: hover over an item to get all of its information

• Group and prioritize information for easier reading: at a glance, you can see the effects, conditions, and characteristics of an item without having to change tabs.
• See an item's theoretical rolls at all times (press ctrl while hovering over an item).
• Pin several tooltips at the same time – practical for comparing different pieces of equipment (press shift while hovering over an item).
• Quickly compare an item currently equipped with an item in your inventory by hovering over it.

A completely redesigned world map

Easier accessibility for 15-inch and smaller screens

FAQ

• Will other themes be offered in the future?

• Have the keyboard shortcuts changed?

• Why is a frame left empty where items used to be displayed in the inventory?

• Is it possible to increase the size of the spell bar?

• Can the minimap be closed?

Rating, Matchmaking and Match Quality

Waiting Time

Spectator Mode

• Allow players to watch Kolossium fights from their friend list or list of guild members.
• Watch all ISK fights from the associated building.

Bots

Rewards

• Reaching higher ratings values would be encouraged, because you would need them to get more valuable Kolossium rewards.
• With regards to the decorrelation between the value of the rewards and their cost in Kolossokens, currently all rewards that you get via Kolossokens are directly and solely dependent on the value of the Kolossokens. By adding another variable (their accessibility), the Kolossium rewards market could become even richer and more interesting because not all players operating on the ISK will have access to the same Kolossoken transformation capabilities.
• This would prevent fraudulent accounts from generating valuable rewards from the ISK in very short periods of time and with very low efficiency in the Kolossium (low rating).

Surrenders

Getting around Solo Mode Restrictions

Disconnection and Global Stability Problems

Frequently Made Requests

Management of Class Pillars

Ratings Management by Team, Rather Than by Character

Availability of Statistics

Registration of Two Characters in the Kolossium

Alternative Formats for the Kolossium

Registration of a Team with Characters from Other Servers

Displaying the Server of Origin

Prioritize the Creation of Teams with Members from the Same Server and Keep the Group in Solo Mode

Kolossium Achievements

Rewards for Losers

Seasonal System

League Systems

Web Ranking

Encourage the Production of Specific Runes

Focus System

• In the interface to shatter items it is possible to choose a rune generation effect (Strength, Intelligence, etc.) that is naturally present (so not using exotic smithmagic) in all the items being shattered.
• By selecting a focus effect, only runes that match that effect will be generated, but in larger quantities. The "weight" of all the other effects generating runes is converted into a "weight" of the effect selected for the focus, plus a 50% penalty.
• By default, no effect is selected for the focus (current functioning).
• If a player adds an item that does not possess the effect matching the focus they previously selected, that focus will be deactivated (return to default setting).
• The list of effects to select for the focus is filtered dynamically in accordance with the "common" effects that are present in the various items to shatter (e.g. if items to shatter only have the Strength effect in common, then only a focus for Strength will be possible).

• Player wants to shatter:
  • 1 hat with 50 Strength + 50 Intelligence + 100 Vitality
  • 1 cape with 50 Strength + 50 Agility + 100 Vitality
• The focus system will only offer common effects existing in the two items: Strength and Vitality.
• If Strength is selected, it will only generate Strength runes for a "weight" equivalent to: 50 + 50 + ((70 + 70) / 2) = 170, since Vitality has a "weight" of 0.20 and we apply a 50% penalty to the "weight" of effects other than Strength.

Removal of the Rune Conversion Penalty

Longterm Changes

Q & A

When is it worth using the focus system?

Is it essential to use the focus system to generate value?

Why is there a 50% penalty for using the focus system?

Why can't effects added using "exotic" smithmagic be selected as the focus?

The Ohwymi Desert

Cult films and major themes

Race for spices and follow the goldrush