We didn't have one in quite a while, but finally it's time for another developer live stream! Get a preview of The Crux Part II, learn about other upcoming new features, have a Q/A with the Otters, participate in some prize giveaways, and just hang out for some all around fun!

Where: https://www.twitch.tv/villagersandheroes
When: Friday, March 28th at 12pm PDT/3pm EDT/20:00 CET/19:00 UTC

See you there! 🙂

Happy St. Patricks Day!

If it's green, it's lean! Assorted green items 20 Percent off for the next 48h! (Sale ends: March 18, 11:59pm UTC).

• Relics at Heroic 50+ are now guaranteed to be rarity Epic or better.
  
• Removed the level 80 and 85 Elders from the main questline
  
• Note: If you currently have a quest objective to defeat the level 80 Elders, speak to Nadia in Dartrey Woods
  
• Note: If you currently have a quest objective to defeat the level 85 Elders, speak to Prince Zaan in Glendergan
  
• A character who goes by the name of Gladius has joined Arcra and Arcron in one of the rooms in Ardent Castle. He's a bounty hunter who has too many contracts to fill himself. He's looking for some help in tracking down some of the Venerable bosses. He offers rewards of xp, gold, and importantly, elder fragments. Note: we are hoping that his quest chain provides some of the gameplay that some players were missing when the elders were moved to Frontier Zones. The Venerables are not level-scaled, and not player-size-scaled, and provide a method for players to earn elder spells. In this way, higher level players can help lower level players when asked.
  
• Enabled mounts in Villar Summit, Shadow's Den, Shadowed Future
  
• Added vendor location to the description of Pyrrite medallions
  
• Increased stack size of "Fluffy Cotton Candy" from 500 to 9999.
  
• Removed Blasting from monster affix pool
  
• Villar Summit bridge should be easier to cross
  
• Increased odds of getting more Zorian Spores from Rift
  
• Increased Fabled Gear drop rate back up to 10%
  
• Added traveling vendor to Depths
  
• Frontier Balancing
  
• Reduced base damage and health of Frontier Elders and bounties
  
• Reduced the health of the Bandit Lord Elders
  
• Lady's Fate now randomly spawns between 1 and 3 Mirages. The Mirages have less health if multiple spawn at the same time.
  
• Fate's Mirages are now ranged archers
  
• Reduced health of Fate's Mirages
  
• Reduced maximum number of minions Mutagen can have active at a time from 15 to 10
  
• Increased cooldowns on Gutgor's abilities
  
• Removed Gutgor's final phase
  
• Increased duration that Graeme spends outside of his shielded mode
  
• Reduced speed and health of Fenella's spiders
  
• Reduced difficulty of Beathag encounter
  
• Removed pads mechanic from Elk's Shadow
  
• Elk's Shadow's spectral goop effect is easier to see
  
• Decreased spawn rate of Elk's Shadow shadowlings
  
• Reduced Elk's Shadow shadowling damage
  
• Decreased difficulty of Valuspa encounter
  
• Decreased health of Valax's weary souls
  
• Decreased monster density in Villar Summit
  
• Made Villarius's effects easier to see
  
• Villarius no longer has a final phase
  
• Villarius now spawns 4 different types of totems.
  
• Droktor's Test subject's explosions now deal damage instantly instead of over time
  
• Orog Doomslayer has more health
  
• Droktor's test subjects are now stunnable
  
• Droktor's test subjects now instantly heal Droktor rather rather than over time
  
• Reduced maximum number of healers Quibach can have active at once from 36 to 18
  
• Reduced healing power of Quibach's healers
  
• Reduced health of Quibach's healers
  
• Reduced healing cast rate of Quibach's healers
  
• Reduced spawn rate of Quibach healers
  
• Increased frequency of Quibach's Demon Burst but lowered its damage
  
• Quibach will now use an AoE attack throughout the fight that will clear immunity from all active healers

• Fixed typo in seal of the triumvirate description
  
• Fixed Lady's Fate mirage count was not resetting properly when she left combat
  
• Fixed malvolio dialog mentions obsidian medallions instead of pyrrite medallions
  
• Fixed text for Dartrey Woods on the world map.
  
• Fixed edge case where Gutgor could get stuck in shielded phase
  
• Fixed floating gathering nodes in Forgotten Quarry
  
• Fixed typo in Zheck's dialog
  
• Fixed Feeding Leafwads quest marker pointed to the wrong zone
  
• Fixed fishing nodes in Bandit's Retreat had wrong rotation
  
• Zorian Spores will now drop from Sugarsweet bounties. As a consequence of this change, "Scaling the Summit" bosses will now have an 8-second delay before teleporting players to the next boss, so that player have enough time to collect the dropped Zorian Spores.
  
• NOTE: Bonnie and Clyde do not drop Zorian Spores.
  
• Fixed rune rarity and level were not displaying correctly in the gnogmentation summary page
  
• Fixed portaling to Shadow Future could sometimes land you too close to the portal, causing you to go back to the Depths
  
• Fixed terrain issue in Shadow Future

• Updated Guild of Guides to recommend going to Blight Bay if the character is between levels 93-95.
  
• Styles which were previously limited to Elder armaments have been added to the dropped loot pool
  
• Clarified description of Soothing Anger talent to specify that it only applies to Fury damage over time effects
  
• Increased Elder fragment rewards from Sapphira's Boon quest from 4 to 5
  
• Increased Elder fragment rewards from level 95 elder chests from 1 to 5
  
• All Elder bosses will always reward exactly 5 elder fragments
  
• Increased odds of getting an Epic fabled item from the fabled armament from 19% to 28%
  
• Increased odds of getting a Legendary fabled item from the fabled armament from 1% to 2%
  
• Decreased health of Lady's Fate mirages
  
• Reduced health of medium and large spiders at Fenella
  
• Decreased maximum number of minions Gutgor could have active at once from 12 to 8
  
• Reduced health and damage of frontier monsters and bounties
  
• Reduced monster density in bandit's retreat
  
• Removed blasting affix from Lady's Fate
  
• Decreased frequency that Villarius spawns totems by 15 seconds

• Fixed Dijarra and Mutagen were not dropping their quest items
  
• Hopefully fixed Lord Pyrrus could get stuck in invincibility
  
• Hopefully fixed Gutgor could sometimes get stuck in shielded phase
  
• Hopefully fixed Valuspa could sometimes get stuck in invulnerability phase
  
• Hopefully fixed Artair fire runes were sometimes not appearing
  
• Fixed Headmaster Rotburga was still spawning adds
  
• Fixed the level 50 Oracles were still using their old Elder boss mechanics
  
• Fixed Scarticus should now offer players a replacement Keppel Cavern key upon having finished the quest Eyes on the Prize
  
• Fixed gear item names were sometimes incorrect
  
• Hopefully fixed spiderweb collision issues in Shadow's Den
  
• Fixed description text for the effect, "Blood Pact": "You have been joined in a blood-pact with a host. Damage from the host will be shared with you."
  
• Updated Rhythmic Thornskin Stitching Scroll to be level 97 (was listed as level 96).
  
• Fixed several daily quests were still rewarding Altruist Seals
  
• Fixed Rift quests were level locked to 75 instead of 70
  
• Hopefully fixed Spiritweaver's fabled set bonus Astral Forge
  
• Fixed incorrect quest icon for Pyrron Mastery quest
  
• Added shields back to Sugarized Fizzler and Sugarized Rocky Road during their invulnerability phases
  
• Fixed typo in Glittering Ingot description
  
• Fixed fabled armaments were tradeable
  
• Fixed forest was missing in Bandicott Woods
  
• Fixed description of level 95 elder chests were referencing the old Elder pieces
  
• Updated the position of the Unfermented Poppy Nectar Vial at "288 -527 27" in the NW Crux to be easier to interact with.
  
• Fixed Orog Doomslayer was labeled as a bounty
  
• Hopefully fixed crashes during Elk's Shadow encounter
  
• Fixed an issue that caused characters with accented letters in their name to not receive raid rewards or advance tiers.

• Sugarsweet Summithas replaced Grinchta’s Lair
  
• New: Marrowfang Weapon Pack (Available in Item Shop and Event Zone)
  
• New Mounts: Raptors!
  
• Scarlet Raptor (Available in Item Shop and Event Zone)
  
• Evergreen Raptor (Item Shop)
  
• Cerulean Raptor (Item Shop)
  
• Lilac Raptor (Item Shop - Exclusives)

• Frontiers
  
• Blighted Bastille is now a Frontier Zone
  
• Shadow's Den is now a Frontier Zone
  
• Villar Summit is now a Frontier Zone
  
• The Shadowed Future is now a Frontier Zone
  
• Added new Bandit's Retreat Frontier zone
  
• Bounties within each Frontier zone will drop a specific currency which can be spent at faction vendor for cosmetics
  
• Updated world map with the new Frontier Zones
  
• All Frontier Zones now have zone maps
  
• Modified Forgotten Quarry map to reduce backtracking
  
• Rebalanced Frontier mobs
  
• Disabled mounts in Frontiers
  
• Added Watchful Eye debuff to Frontiers which reduces sneak power
  
• Elder Changes
  
• Lady's Fate, Gutgor, Elk's Shadow, Droktor, Villarius, Valupsa and the level 80 Bandit Lords have been scaled and moved to Frontier zones
  
• The level 75 Elders have been scaled
  
• The level 85 Elders have been scaled
  
• Elders who remain as standalone bosses have been converted to solo'able Venerable bounties
  
• The Hero's Journey questline has been refactored to introduce players to their first Frontier
  
• Existing Elder Crests, Insignias, Ethers and Essences have been converted into a new leveless Elder Fragment
  
• Turnapin Cache now rewards Elder Fragments instead of level 85 Crest, Insignia, Ether and Essence
  
• Saphira’s Boon quest now rewards Elder Fragments instead of level 90 Crest, Insignia, Ether and Essence
  
• Level 95 Elder Chests now reward Elder Fragments instead of level 95 Crest, Insignia, Ether and Essence
  
• Scaled Elders will drop elder fragments which can be restored by Arcron in Ardent Castle into Fabled Armaments
  
• Elder Restoration Achievements will now reward players based on the number of Restorations completed
  
• Fabled Gear
  
• Earthquake, Tidal Wave, Flaming Meteor, Bitter Chill, Mass Absorb Shield, Corrupting Plague, Ferocity of the Wolverine, Concussion Shot, Titanic Power and Dragon Strike have been moved to Fabled Weapons
  
• Note: These spells can still be gnogmented onto other weapons
  
• Note: Dropped fabled weapons will also have these spells attached
  
• Venom of the Serpent, Judgment, Unbreakable Will, Twister and Arcane Alacrity now drop from dropped weapons level 60 and above
  
• Reduced Fabled Gear drop rate from 10% to 5%
  
• Rune Updates
  
• Dropped spell runes and passive runes will now have a rarity bump matching the rarity of the equipment item they came attached to
  
• Updated the tooltip for runes to display their rarity as a subtitle. Note, not all existing runes will conform to the new tooltip!
  
• Pre-Crux Runes: Runes crafted prior to Crux will continue to display as they currently do - meaning, no change in their display
  
• Post-Crux Runes: Runes crafted post Crux should automatically adjust to the new display. Meaning, the rune's level should be equal to the original item level the rune came attached to, and a rarity subtitle should be present
  
• New Runes: Any newly crafted runes prior to the upcoming update should automatically use the new display as well.
  
• Gulch boss changes:
  
• Gulch boss damage will no longer scale with player count.
  
• Gulch boss health is increased by 2x.
  
• Gulch bosses now always have the affixes "Arcane Enchanted", and "Steeled".
  
• Myko Changes
  
• Spore Barrage damage is decreased by 40%.
  
• Reduced the damage scaling for Mycelium Network for Myko.
  
• Kaal Changes
  
• Whirlpool damage is decreased by 43%
  
• Permafrost health reduced by 50%.
  
• Reduced the number of fairies that Kaal spawns.
  
• Baun Changes
  
• Apocalypse damage is decreased by 30%
  
• The teleport effect in the Gulch will now have an 8 second delay before activating.
  
• Raid Playbalancing
  
• At Heroic 50 and above, all raid rewards will be of rarity "Epic" or better. We added a small increase of a Celestial reward in Heroic Raids.
  
• We fixed a bug in which dungeoneering was providing a little extra benefit. This fix will make raids slightly more challenging, however at the same time:
  
• We made Heroic Raids easier. Monster health and damage grow more slowly in Heroic raids.
  
• Dungeoneering growth was too fast, so we slowed it down a bit at the very high levels.Overall, we think that this Raid Playbalancing will make Bronze, Silver, Gold, and Platinum a bit more difficult, but it will make Heroic Raids easier. We think players will be able to climb to higher Heroic Tiers now.
  
• Auto-walking off the edge in Thames room in the Catacombs will be initially stopped unless WASD/joystick is used.
  
• Teleporting in the Catacomb will now give 4 seconds of invulnerability during the stage, "A Hero's Tomb".
  
• Traven Changes
  
• Medallions of Triumph, Medallions of Supremacy and Medallions of Conquest have all been converted to Medallions of Courage
  
• Medallions no longer drop from unscaled bounties in Traven
  
• Medallions of Courage can be obtained from Frontiers residing in the Traven Realm
  
• Courage, Triumph, Conquest and Supremacy vendors have been consolidated into a single vendor
  
• Traven zones no longer require keys to enter
  
• Traven keys and master keys have been removed from the game
  
• The Traven Master Keystone quest has been removed from the game
  
• Updated the icon of Medallion of Courage
  
• Pyrron Changes
  
• Obsidian, Malachite and Carnelian Medallions have all been converted to Pyrrite Medallions
  
• Medallions no longer drop from unscaled bounties in Pyrron
  
• Pyrrite Medallions can be obtained from Frontiers residing in the Pyrron Realm
  
• Pyrrite, Obsidian, Malachite and Carnelian vendors have been consolidated into a single vendor
  
• Pyrron zones that required vendor-bought keys no longer require keys to enter
  
• Note: Pyrron zones that required quest rewarded keys will still require those keys
  
• Vendor-bought Pyrron keys have been removed from the game
  
• Note: Pyrron Master key has not been removed
  
• Blighted Bastille no longer requires a key to enter
  
• Keppel Cavern Key is now obtained by completing Eyes on the Prize quest
  
• Pyrron master key is now acquired via the quest "Pyrron Mastery" in Sapphira's Lament
  
• Entering the Arcane Rift of Pyrron no longer requires a key
  
• Arcane Rift of Pyrron bosses will now give credit to players level 70 and above
  
• Pinbone now rewards players with Pyrrite medallions instead of Obsidian Medallions
  
• Malvolio now rewards players with Pyrrite Medallions instead of Carnelian Medallions
  
• Blighted Isles
  
• Reduced Lysander's Recovery from 3 days to 1 day
  
• Reduced Blighted Isles inner island key cost from 150 to 100
  
• Reduced Blighted Isles outer island key cost from 950 to 600
  
• Increased odds of 'Real' map piece in Assembling Theobald's Map quest in blighted isles
  
• Reduced wait time for The Making of a Key quest in Blighted Isles from 7 days to 3 days
  
• Increased drop rate for the Tale of Two Sisters chapters in Blighted Isles
  
• Reduced waiting time between checking on the Tree of Cinder in Ash White
  
• Reduced waiting time between checking on the Apple of Cinder in Cinder Strand
  
• Added new icons for Cadent and Rhythmic drams.
  
• Improved lighting in Maldwyn's tomb
  
• Reduced the number of Cruxian Centipedes required for the quest, "Bustling For Bridges" from 5 to 2.
  
• Added Cruxian Centipedes as a drop in the Northwest Crux.
  
• Updated the Ghost of Mallok model.
  
• Altruist Seals are no longer rewarded by daily quests
  
• Reduced the number Lavenmeer Thread required for the quest, "Operation Disaster Relief" from 50 to 5.
  
• Updated the text of "Trader's Idol" to inform that it can be removed from inventory by speaking to Plente.
  
• Moved Dunlap’s quest - Feeding Leafwads - from Shadow’s Den to Oak Valley
  
• Reduced duration of Ch'ithel's Nova Bomb freeze from 12s to 7s
  
• Villarian Pestle now drops from Dreadlocke in Shiverspine
  
• Reduced Dartrey Woods Deliver the Challenge kill requirement from 100 of each enemy to 25 of each enemy
  
• Removed Shiverspine Chill
  
• Restructured Jusuf's Shiverspine quest. He will now reward players with a Shivergear Wardrobe pack
  

• Fixed low level crafted belts had duplicate augmentation rune
  
• Hopefully fixed an issue that caused areas in Bandicott Woods to not progress correctly.
  
• Hopefully fixed an issue that would occasionally cause the Catacomb to not progress correctly.
  
• Fixed Nether Flair and Camero were not listed in the ducat vendor
  
• Starting a raid will now restore health and mana to full.
  
• Hopefully fixed an issue that caused Thames to fall into the ground in the Catacomb.
  
• Hopefully fixed an issue that caused raid lives to occasionally show as 0/0.
  
• Hopefully fixed an issue that caused daily/weekly rewards to not be given sometimes.
  
• Fixed incorrect Sphinx icon that was referencing the old Wyvern icon.
  
• Adjusted the position of Ramelia in Southwestern Crux, so that her name is seeable.
  
• Fixed Holy Resurgence was able to overwrite itself, resetting the timer
  
• Fixed an issue that prevented 50% of health and mana from being restored when using a raid life.
  
• Adjusted the position of some of the poppy nectar nodes, and some of the terrain, so that the likelihood of players getting stuck is lowered.
  
• Changed the Seamstress so she actually gives additional Crystal See Potions.
  
• Healers that do a drive-by healing will no longer be get locked into combat for a long time. Previously they were locked into combat until the player they healed finished combat. Apparently this was to keep healers from being able to stay on their mounts while doing healing. The assist list doesn't affect getting credit.
  
• Fixed Curse of the Derelict was not properly debuffing Savagery
  
• Fixed Fabled Gear sometimes had the incorrect name

• Fixed an issue that caused remaining live text to be slightly cut off in raids.

• Fixed text on mobile that showed, "You must revive since this was a hazardous death." instead of "Exit Raid" when no lives were remaining.
  
• Hopefully fixed a crash issue on Android
  
• Fixed a splash screen lockup on Android 15
  
• Fixed keyboard lockup issue on iOS 18 due to Apple's new AI features (basically turning off predictive text). A work around already exists for that, which is to turn off those features in settings, but having that done by the app is a better solution.

The latest issue of our VH newsletter is here! Get an in-depth look at some big changes coming to the game, see who your new Royal Guardians are, go behind the scenes with Otters, catch up with the Sneaky Scribbler, and much more! :)

You can find the new issue here: https://villagersandheroes.com/ardent-ledger/issue-33/

(Or just click ‘Newsletter’ on our VH website.)

Hi Everyone,

We wanted to take a moment to explain the recent changes to level 96-97 gameplay and assure you that this is not a nerf—it’s a recalibration to ensure long-term balance and fun for everyone. Here's what’s happening and why:

• Previously, there was an unusually large jump in power at level 96 compared to earlier levels. This wasn’t consistent with the smooth progression from levels 1-95.
  
• We’ve adjusted the scaling for levels 96 and 97 to match the progression curve that has worked well for the game at all other levels.
  
• As part of this, both players and monsters at levels 96-97 will have less health and do less damage. But the balance remains the same—monsters are still more powerful than at level 95, and your character’s power remains in proportion to theirs.

• Monsters at levels 96 and 97 were rebalanced too, meaning fights will feel fair and fun.
  
• We also gave crafted gear at levels 96-97 a slight boost, so it’s now even better than before.
  
• By fixing some bugs in the old system, we’ve ensured a smoother, more consistent gameplay experience moving forward.
  
• What It Means for You:
  
• Your character is not weaker compared to the game world. The numbers on your gear may look lower, but the effectiveness of your character is exactly as strong—or stronger—against the challenges you face.
  
• Raids and level 95 elder runs will now be slightly easier for level 97 players.

We want to keep the game’s progression balanced and fair for everyone. The old jump at level 96 was fun in the short term but caused problems with balance that could have hurt the game in the long run. This is not just a subtle rebalancing-- it's fixing a design flaw. If we don't make this fix, then the system will remain broken and things will get more and more out of balance. This adjustment ensures everyone enjoys a smooth and rewarding experience, no matter where they are in the game, and provides the game with stability into the future.

We hope this clears up any confusion, but we’re always here to listen. If you have questions or concerns, feel free to share them—we’re committed to making Villagers & Heroes the best experience it can be.

Thank you for your understanding and support!

• We’ve adjusted the scaling for levels 96 and 97 to match the progression curve that has worked well for the game at all other levels.
  
• Harmonic Nectar can now be traded.
  
• Gulch now costs 100 Chits to enter (was 222). Rewards have also been adjusted:
  
• Myko chest now gives 16 Chits (was 29)
  
• Kaal chest now gives 32 Chits (was 78)
  
• Aene chest now gives 48 Chits (was 111). Additionally 1% bonus Chit amount is now 300 (was 666).
  
• Baun chest now gives 96 Chits (was 144). Additionally 1% bonus Chit amount is now 600 (was 888).
  
• Added blockers to the cliffsides in certain Gulch Elder warp points, so that players can't fall off and die.
  
• We changed the Ginny Gnogmentation Quest so that:
  
• It can be repeated with each Rebirth.
  
• It provides a reward of 2 free sockets.
  
• We gave level 96 crafted gear a power rating increase of +10. We gave level 97 crafted gear a power rating increase of +15. This is in addition to their natural boosts that come from being the highest level gear available.
  

• [Fixed] Enhancement sometimes makes the item worse.
  
• Fixed an issue that cause Socorro Guild Discount to not apply.
  
• The effect, "Gulch Stamp" now only lasts for 30 minutes (was 2 hours).
  
• Hopefully fixed an issue that caused players to sometimes get locked out of raids, and required a server reset to fix them.
  
• Fixed an issue that caused raid lives to be consumed while the raid wasn't ongoing.
  
• After death bosses in the Gulch will now create a portal that teleports players that stand within it to the next section. This portal lasts for 30 seconds.
  
• Reduced the bounty respawn timer on some Southwestern Crux bosses, so that if players defeat an early one faster than previously, they can still get all the rewards from the rest.
  

• Fixed an issue that would sometimes cause a normal revive to be used after using a Voltan's Resurrect if the "Resurrect" button was tapped extremely quickly.
  
• Hopefully fixed an issue that caused stages, and raid lives to not update on the client when joining a raid right as it starts.

On Dec 16th, we greatly reduced the amount of xp required for a crafter to progress from level 96 to level 97, in each of the four crafting lines: Smithing, Woodcrafting, Tailoring, and Cooking. We believe this was a good change that was for the good of the game since the amount of work was just too much. It's part of a larger pass we are making on the Crux to improve it by fixing bugs and making some things easier and/or more player friencly (some of these changes have already been done, and there are still a few more things we're working on within the Crux -- but we won't go into those now-- this post is about crafting compensation package).

However, reducing the amount of crafting xp required to reach level 97 was unfair to those players who had already made progress toward 97. They had to work much harder than the players who came after them. This compensation package is being provided to those hard working players in recognition of their effort, and to keep the game fair.

The size of the compensation package is based on how much progress each character made from crafting level 96 toward 97, within each of the four crafting skills. The items being compensated are specific to the relevant crafting skill. For example, Smithers will receive many Koldcore Ingots, Woodcrafters will receive many Teak Timbers, etc.

Crafters who reached level 97 will receive the full compensation package. Those who got part of the way will get partial compensation. For example, a character who progressed 50% of the way from 96 to 97 will get 50% of the full compensation package. This is so that the amount of the compensation corresponds to the amount of effort.

The crafting skill level that was used to determine these amounts is the character's crafting skill level when the build on Dec 16 was pushed. Therefore, players will not be compensated for crafting skill level progress that occurred AFTER the crafting xp was reduced--it's only for the work that these players put in when the requirements were much harder.

In addition to the per crafting skill compensation, we will also be providing some compensation on a per character basis of various experience boosting potions.

Players who had multiple characters with progress toward crafting level 97 will receive compensation for each and every one of their characters with progress toward 97.

(Also, the way our system is set up, we cannot dispense gold via these commands -- so we have include gems as part of the compensation package, which can be sold for gold.)

We will be distributing the packages, server by server. Since we've not done rewards this way before, we want to make sure everything goes smoothly before we do all the servers.

• Changed the jump in power level for gear, mobs, players when they reach level 96+. There is still a jump in power (damage, health, etc.) at level 96, however it's using a different formula than before.
  
• Reduced maximum stack count of Curse of the Reaper and Curse of the Specter from 15 to 10
  
• Revamped Curse of the Amnesiac
  
• Added a new Heroic Curse: Curse of the Derelict
  
• Added Raid Season 4 legacy rewards to the raid ducat vendor
  
• Further fixes to Rocko dialog during the quest, "Crystal Fish Catcher". A conditional goal will become visible if player loses the required Cruxian Bluegills and direct them to recollect.
  
• Raids have been playbalanced for better harmony between character growth due to dungeoneering and raid difficulty based on the tier of the Raid.
  
• Added Dungeoneering XP bonus as a perk of being an Ardent Society member.
  
• Made size of quest arrows slightly larger.
  
• Added new boolean field "AlwaysBlockCamera" to tsStatic. This was needed for cases like when the curtains in the theatre no long block player's movement. Camera still needs to be blocked by curtain even though player isn't.
  
• Modified the navigation selection code to be more correct and efficient.
  
• Added method "computeNodeDistances(...)" which precomputes the total distance from each to all possible destination nodes.
  
• Added new method "getRPGBestNode(...)" which chooses a more efficient path than the previous method.
  
• Quest arrows now smoothly rotate to direction instead of snapping to direction.
  
• Removed side quest that was required to get a horse from Chauncey.
  
• Inserted a "go see Chauncey" quest just the "go see Priam" quest. Chauncey will give player horse and then player can go on to Priam.
  
• Added more Nav Nodes in Summer's Hollow to keep quest arrows from pointing at walls.
  
• Added LOSBlocker to shapes in Summer's Hollow to again keep quest arrows from pointing at walls that player can't go through.
  
• Removed collisions on theatre curtains and the fences around Chauncey's stables.
  
• When checking paths using nav nodes, adjusted z loc of destination markers slightly upwards because they can be rounded down (ghosting artifact?) which can cause collisions with the terrain block in the navigation code.
  
• Added a Navigation Net to Dagmar Strand. There are now Nav Nodes that will lead the player to all the early main quest locations.
  
• Added a Navigation Net to Marigold Harbor to cover the quest locations there. Also added some LOSBLockers to keep arrow from pointing at walls.
  
• Added a Navigation Net to Gandymead Grove and LOSBLockers need for some cliff areas.
  
• Added Nav Net and LOS blockers to Cronk Island. This is for the first quests there -- more Nav Nodes may be needed for later quests.
  
• Added Nav Net to Briney Caverns
  
• Non-combat zones ("hubs") where players congregate will now show all effects when a player has show all effects turned on, even when the world is filled with a lot of effects. Other zones (ie, combat zones) will still remove these effects when necessary in order to preserve a good frame rate and reduce lag. Hub zones like this currently include: Ardent Hub, Summer's Hollow, Marigold Marina, Darrig Fair, and all Villages.
  
• [improved] We removed the very large jump in XP between level 95 and 96. Some characters had a bunch of saved up Quests, Bounties, and crafting materials, so to address this, XP reward for players at or above level 95 when doing Quests or Bounty Quests at or below level 95 have been reduced. Other XP rewards were not affected- from raids, killing mobs, etc.
  
• The item, "Auto Reviver" now grants 3 seconds of the effect "Blessing of Aegis", which gives invulnerability after dying.
  
• Replaced the Shadowy Apparition model in Summer's Hollow with a better looking one.
  
• Added buttons on PC so when clicking on a character the mods/devs can mute someone for 20 minutes or kick someone for 2 hours.
  
• Blocked players won't be able to send emotes to the person that blocked them.
  
• Added new models for NPC male and female
  
• Added double backward arrow for challenge tier, and resized fast forward button to make all UI elements fit.
  
• Increased the drop rate of Socorium from mobs and bounties in the Crux. Also increased the drop rate of Harmonic Nectar in the Crux.
  
• Entry into the Gulch is free for 2hrs entry or until death.
  
• The main quest arrows will point to NPC with the quest if a player exits a discussion before getting the next main quest.

• Added a new item, "Dungeoneering Wisdom Elixir", which bestows an effect, "Dungeoneer Wisdom" that increases Dungeoneering XP rate by 100%.
  
• Each player in a raid will now have lives:
  
• Bronze: 5 lives
  
• Silver: 4 lives
  
• Gold: 3 lives
  
• Platinum: 2 lives
  
• Heroic: 1 lives
  
• When a player dies, then they can consume one of their remaining lives to respawn at their current location with 50% of health and mana upon use. If the player has no more lives remaining, then they have the option to use an Instance Resurrect. If the player has no Instant Resurrects, then they can either instantly leave the raid, or they are auto-kicked after 60 seconds.
  
• NOTE: Lives are not shared between players.

• Hopefully fixed an issue that caused Telemachus to not fight in his second phase.
  
• Myko's lair in the Gulch no longer saves the position of the player when they log out.
  
• Players will now be teleported after 15 seconds once they defeat Undadar. This should give players enough time to collect Zorian Spores that Undadar drops.
  
• Made sure tutorial arrow goes away when player equips the weapon Adriel gives in Elden Forest.
  
• Hopefully fixed an exploitable area into the Gulch near Vexor.
  
• Sign outside the Gulch will now say, "Open for business!"
  
• Made it so Cruxite Ore can drop in the Ore nodes in Southwest Crux.
  
• Removed collision for a lot of bushes in Ardent Tutorial Cavern, so players won't get stuck in odd places.
  
• Moved some sentry mobs in Northwest Crux away from the teleport pads and entrance portals, so players hopefully won't be attacked while loading in.
  
• Hopefully fixed an issue that caused Kaal Permafrost to last even after he had died.
  
• Hopefully fixed an issue that caused certain players (like healers) to not teleport when a Gulch boss was defeated.
  
• Allowed the Pox Mushroom Tumor drop to be gotten from Southwest Crux Fuzzy Sandozi mushrooms.
  
• Fixed swapped recipe book names for "Gulchplate Veteran Helm" and "Gulchplate Veteran Armor".
  
• Fixed an issue that caused players to get underneath the lake in the Southwest Crux at "-195 317 18" (near top of D4).
  
• Fixed Chauncey so that players are not blocked from getting a horse from him.

• Mobile quest rewards will now immediately redeem any XP rewards. Existing chests will keep their XP rewards, and can be redeemed as normal.

And that brings us to our fifth contest of the 12 Days of Christmas: The VH New Year's Resolutions Writing Contest!

As always, you can find all further information and rules in our forum: https://villagersandheroes.com/forums/threads/the-vh-new-year%E2%80%99s-resolutions-writing-contest-12-days-of-xmas-2024.10128/