VAHNORA 1.5 - MAJOR UPDATE
Two new heroes answer the call. Deep beneath the Golden Plains, the first dungeon throws open its doors. And every class, every piece of gear, has been rebuilt to fight its own way.
NEW CLASS: THE BARD
Lute in hand, the Bard turns every fight into a song. He doesn't win alone: he makes the whole group better.
- War Chord sets your allies on fire, and they attack faster while nearby enemies slow down.
- Broken Note wraps your friends in a shield and silences enemies: no skills for them.
- Play both songs back to back and Soft Melody takes the stage: your group heals and your enemies take more damage.
- His ultimate, Forced Dance, makes every enemy around him dance. No walking, no attacking, no skills. Just dancing.
- His Mythic ring, Songsworn, changes how you play: Battle Hymn, Warding Refrain or Perfect Tempo.
Every group wants a Bard.
NEW CLASS: THE NECROMANCER
A war scythe, a pact with the dead, and an army that never stops rising.
- Raise the Dead tears random skeletons out of the ground: the Shackled Thrall, the Thrall Archer and the Thrall Brute. They march with you, pin your enemies down and slow them.
- Drain Life rips the life out of your target and pours it into you.
- His ultimate, Crypt Army, raises a ring of Crypt Wardens that crush everything around you.
- Every enemy that falls nearby leaves a soul behind. Gather souls to heal and make your army stronger.
- His Mythic ring, Gravecall, grows the legion, deepens the thirst, or turns you into a reaper of souls.
Fragile alone, unstoppable with the dead. Raise your army.
NEW DUNGEON: THE SUNKEN VEIN
A gold mine swallowed by the earth. Something still lives down there.
- The entrance lies in the Golden Plains quarry.
- Fight your way through flooded tunnels and blazing furnaces, past three mini-bosses.
- A final boss waits at the bottom. When it screams, run or die.
- The bosses crush the tank with heavy blows. The tank has to hold, the healer has to keep up, and everyone has to watch the ground.
- Potions won't save anyone here!
- Defeat the boss and discover your rewards!
Gather your group. Go down.
TIER 11 AND THE AWAKENING
A new top tier, born in the dungeon.
- New T11 gear!
- Bring Essences and Core Fragments to the Awakening Altar in Eldora and awaken your pieces. Every Awakening makes the piece stronger.
EVERY CLASS, ITS OWN IDENTITY
We measured every class again, in PvE and PvP, and rebuilt whatever didn't fit.
- Gear made for your class. Tank armor gives more health and defense; damage dealer armor gives more damage. Attributes favor your class, and Legendary powers only drop for the class that uses them.
- Fair duels. Fights between equals last longer, and every class has a real shot. Better gear still wins, but two well-geared players can take down one in perfect gear.
- Real tanks. The Paladin's Divine Aegis locks the chosen monster onto him, and the Warrior's Rupture holds monsters as a second tank.
- Monsters with a role. The hunting grounds now have brutes, swarms, hunters, archers, mages and controllers, each fighting its own way.
A NEW MORTIS PASS
Two citadels, one gate each, and a relic worth fighting for. The Reliquary Guardians are much tougher now: steal with your group or don't even try.
And whoever carries the relic needs protection!
A NEW ELDORA
Eldora has been rebuilt as a compact walled city around the Waystone. Every merchant, the forge and the new Awakening Altar are just steps away. The castle watches from the hill to the north, with a new siege crystal that cracks and crumbles as it's attacked.
GUILD WAR
Declare a rivalry, then go to war. Rival guild members carry a red name over their heads, and every guild fight shows up as GvG on the Killboard.
PLAY TOGETHER
- Friends list (O key): add friends, see when they come online, and block whoever you want.
- Emote wheel, emojis and stickers in chat, and a brand-new speech bubble.
- Report a player: right-click them or their name in chat.
- Names tell you who's who: red for anyone you can attack, blue for your party and guild.
THE BESTIARY PAYS OFF
Hunt a creature long enough and you master it. Levels 15, 25 and 50 on a creature now mean more damage against it, less damage from it, more drops from it and a trophy frame on your title. Epic and Legendary monster kills count more. And Shift+click any monster to see what it can drop.
MORE TO DISCOVER
- New painted faces for every class, and portraits that match your character, male or female.
- Crafting materials stack up to 1000.
- Hold a skill key to recast it the moment it's ready.
- A range ring shows how far a skill reaches when you hover over it.
- Compare gear at a glance: the item card shows what you're wearing next to what you're hovering over (items for your class).
- Runes can now be shared as links in chat.
- The game's own cursor, with a size option.
- New sounds and music: Archer shots, Forest music and more.
- The Hall of Fame on the website now shows the live ranking.
BALANCE & FIXES
Balance
- Attributes reworked: every point shows what it grants, and the window displays every cap.
- Armor follows a smoother curve.
- PvP: crowd control lasts longer; Block and armor penetration work against players; repeated healing and life steal are weaker between players.
- Life steal works on every hit and skill. Guaranteed crits use your Crit Damage.
- Paladin and Cleric tuned for PvP.
- Druid in Tiger form: DEX adds basic attack damage instead of attack speed.
- Attack speed from gear has a cap; buffs can push past it. Cooldown reduction has one cap in the world and a higher one in the Tower.
- Blood Rage, Zeal and Frost Nova adjusted.
- Bulwark, Crusader, Bloodlust and Legendary powers are weaker against players. Nightwhisper leaves a Shadow Mark instead of executing.
- Reborn: the Oracle seal no longer gives a gear bonus.
- Weapon enchants boost the weapon's own attack. Druid pieces no longer roll Skill Q Damage.
- Epic and Legendary monsters no longer drop Common pieces.
- Full XP on monsters up to 3 levels apart. Basic attacks can now miss.
- Wild Hunt XP scales with your rebirth. Kirana's trades now count per account. The guild's Cold Trail lasts longer.
- Infinity Tower: blessings don't repeat and monsters dodge less.
- Waystone: travel is cheaper.
Fixes
- Your character slides along walls instead of getting stuck.
- A weaker heal over time no longer replaces a stronger one.
- Ultimates and Legendary powers show on the buff bar with their real duration.
- Your pet no longer switches during combat.
- Reduce Animations now turns off screen flashes.
- Your party can now see an allied Rogue in stealth.
- Ping is measured more accurately.
- Security improvements.
- Lots of small fixes.
A whole world just changed. Over the next few days we'll be watching every fight, every class and every drop, ready to fine-tune whatever needs it. Tell us what you think.
See you in Vahnora.