Dear Denizens of Issilith!

If you've played with Ascended during our testing, you have played with Mao Wei. This Avatar is a perfect example of who the Ascended are and what they represent.

Mao Wei was born blind. This circumstance of her birth made her attuned to her surroundings and she started to feel the presence of others around her. While growing up, Mao Wei showed tenacity and a strong sense of selflessness, which made her a perfect fit for the Amrit order. Her teachers recognized her unique gift and a good part of the training was specifically designed so that Mao Wei can hone it. To complete her training she had to walk down the Path, an arduous trial that every Ascended has to undergo to complete the final part of their training. No one knows what awaits them on their Path. And neither did Mao Wei. She set out to travel the Issilith in search of it. One day she stumbled upon a small village and took a respite in its tavern. She felt the unease of the villagers there, something was off. After a few rounds of drinks had passed, she overheard them talking about invisible demons stalking the village. Something in her told her that she should stay. And so she did. The next day, the settlement was indeed attacked. The villagers didn't even see the attackers, they were utterly defenseless against this unseen foe and the help, while on its way, was still distant. But for Mao Wei not seeing her opponents never made a difference. She set out on the field and she focused. She felt the presence of these raging spirits, moving fast, creating mayhem all around her, and she struck. With just one hit she redirected all of their attention to herself. And their dance began… Mao Wei managed to fend off the attackers singlehandedly until the cavalry arrived. Her Path was complete and she earned her title, the Wings of Salvation.



Mao Wei can target a local wounded unit with her skill, Shield, which will put 2 shield counters on it. Her traits are shield focused as well. If you choose her first trait, Radiant Grace, Mao Wei will, at the start of your every turn, put a shield counter on your Core. Talking about early game advantage, that can mitigate a nice chunk of Core damage at the start all while giving you an option to take a bit more aggressive approach. Her second trait, Shroud of Serenity, will put 2 shield counters on Mao Wei every time you use her skill, making her a more viable help in clearing out those low-health units. The third trait, Mao's Chosen, is something you may want to have if your deck consists of higher-cost cards. If you choose this trait, every time you play a unit that costs 7 essence or more, Mao Wei will put 2 shield counters on it. She is indeed the epitome of what an Amrit should be.

How did you like playing with Mao Wei? Comment below or join our Discord channel (Discord) and share your thoughts with us!

Yours truly,
Games Revolted

Dear Denizens of Issilith!

We're not on vacation, but we most certainly need a change of scenery from time to time as well. So today we'll talk a bit about the battlegrounds some you have had a chance to try out, Ancient Graveyard and Training Grounds. These battlegrounds portray some of the more interesting places on Issilith.
Welcome to this week's Battleground Showcase and make sure you check out them on our YouTube channel: YouTube!

ANCIENT GRAVEYARD
Located next to the Cursed Woods, Ancient Graveyard is a place no living soul wants to be unless they have a last wish. Some of the most powerful creatures that ever walked on Issilith have their resting place there. Although, for some of them, this place brings anything but eternal peace. Many spirits have their home here, from those benevolent who will do their best to help any strayed soul living or dead, to the malicious ones that pray upon the lost ones, feeding on their energy, blood, and flesh. Only fools enter The Graveyard of their own will...

TRAINING GROUNDS
While at first it may seem like any other training ground where monks learn how to fight, this one was blessed by the presence of the Ascended. There are more places like this throughout the universe, not just on Issilith, where the followers of Amrit and Shangrilla learn the techniques of their respective Masters. Shangrilla's fighting style is based around wearing down your opponents during longer fights, all while slowly building up the strength of your own attacks. Amrit, on the other hand, saw the space to improve the support of his fellow compatriots. How can you effectively help them if you can't be in the midst of the battle? Amrit and his students demonstrated great grace and skill, managing to help them all while staying away from harm's way.

What are your favourite parts of these battlegrounds? Feel free to comment below or join our Discord channel (Discord) and share your feedback with us!

Yours truly,
Games Revolted

Dear Denizens of Issilith!

Almost all of the Phageborn generals came back to Virenas. At least those who didn't take a detour on their way back. While waiting for the last of them to arrive, the ones that are here work tirelessly to prepare themselves in any way they can for what lies in front of them.

Name: Aniol Marín Atarés
Role: Unity Developer
If you happen to find yourself roaming the streets of Virenas you may come across a Taris unlike any other. With his long, lustrous hair flowing over his shiny armour, Aniol will surely stand out in the crowd. You can even see his incomparable life experience in his demeanour. Aniol travelled all of Solgard before he found his place among the esteemed generals of Phageborn. He spent his time gaining an understanding of other cultures and languages, from Catalan to Croatian and C#, all while lending a helping hand to anyone in need. Unlike other Taris, Aniol has a natural aptitude for brewing potions. His speciality is brewing little, almost magical potions which help his team to function, both in the mornings and in the afternoons. Sometimes you can hear the sound of him playing on his double bass. Those soothing yet sombre notes will make any passing creature stop and take a moment to feel the peace washing over them.

Name: Zlatka Subotičanec
Role: UI/UX Designer
What this Krorn general may miss in height, she most definitely makes up with her determination, agility, and strength. Well-versed in the art of combat, she uses her expertise of putting herself in the other creatures' shoes to bring advantage to her comrades. Knowledge is the starting point of any great victory, so Zlatka does her best to stay in the loop with all the new trends in strategic warfare and user experience. Making the strategy intuitive helps a lot, especially for the new members of the Phageborn army. Creating new things is something she really enjoys, so she will usually spend a lot of time either cooking or producing music. Her creative side may be one of the reasons Zlatka is a great friend of the Ubbu engineers, and as she shares their love for the things mechanic (and fast) she will oftentimes even help them with the testing of their newest inventions. So don't be surprised if you see her riding around Virenas on crazy mechanical vehicles, from simple two-wheels to open-wheel single-seater motorised vehicles.

What to expect from all these competent generals Phageborn has in his army? The best way to stay in the loop with all the news regarding Phageborn and its development is to join our Residents of Issilith on our Discord channel (Discord)!

Yours truly,
Games Revolted

Dear Denizens of Issilith!

Have you ever wondered what Phageborn devs like the most about Phageborn? What are their favourite factions, cards, and combinations? So, our dear players, you have to wonder that no more! It's time to share some of the favourite cards our Phageborn devs love to play. And what better way to start than with the two persons who should know the most about cards and have the most objective opinions, our Lead Game Designer and our resident QA!

Team member: Nikša Lučev (Lead Game Designer)
Favourite card: Combat Librarian
When speaking of Drakkoriths one of the first things that comes to mind is their superior military tactics, and oh lizard, do they take great pride in it. For them, every battle, every engagement is perceived as a well of knowledge. And not to learn from it would be a great strategic oversight. That is why even the Drakkorith's scholars are expert combatants. Nothing can help you learn the opponent's strategies and their weak spots as the firsthand experience.

Combat Librarian is a 4 essence cost Drakkorith unit. With its stats set at 3/3, its cost may seem just a bit too much. However, as long as you have Combat Librarian on the battleground, every time a local enemy unit is destroyed in combat during your turn you'll obtain a Combat Note. Combat Note is an ability card which allows you to draw a card in exchange for 2 energy, allowing you to have the card advantage over your opponent.


Why: For our Game Designer, one of the most important things is that the faction-specific cards reflect the essence of each faction. In Nikša's opinion, the card that does that best is the Combat Librarian. For him, Combat Librarian perfectly reflects Drakkorith's flavour, both through name and art but also through gameplay functionality.

Team member: Josip Strnad (QA)
Favourite card: Vracac
Have you ever wondered how it would feel if you'd have a gift of immortality? If every time you'd die you'd be able to just get back up and continue with your quest? Well, one of the first things Vracac would say about that is that immortality is a curse. At least his immortality. He has died and come back so many times that he even forgot his origins as well as the real reason for his curse. With time, his whole existence was reduced to dying and getting back again, just to fall back down and start the process yet again.

Vracac is a legendary neutral unit. Costing only 1 essence, his stats are 1/1, but his effect is what makes him legendary. When your Avatar destroys a unit, if Vracac is in your graveyard he will spawn in the random zone!

Why: As you would expect from QA, what Josip values the most is the cost efficiency of his cards. And Vracac offers exactly that. Cheap and at the same time extremely versatile for the player, while irritating to play against for the opponent.

Whose favourite cards would you like to know next? Feel free to comment below or join our Discord channel (Discord)!

Yours truly,
Games Revolted

Dear Denizens of Issilith!

After some time of unusual peace and quiet that crept into the vast city of Virenas, its streets are overflowing with life once again. It has been a while since the last time Phageborn's mighty generals strode through these roads. But now, after the victorious battle at G.Round and a little detour at the Good Game, they are here again even only to take a short respite. As the outlines of the first two Drakkoriths become clearer, the crowd's anticipation grows to the point where you can almost slice it with a knife.

Name: Jasmin Daniel Saračević
Role: 3D environment artist
First of the generals to put his foot on the streets of Virenas after being so far from home is Jasmin. A proud general from the ranks of the Cartographers Guild, Jasmin spends most of his time charting potential battlegrounds and revealing their secrets so his brothers-in-arms can use them to their advantage. Since he's well versed in the art of subterfuge as well, at least from the theoretical standpoint, his feedback on the potential strategies has been proved crucial more than once. Jasmin has gathered a lot of experience during his 86 years of age (that's almost 50 in human years), but the passion and enthusiasm he still has for his work could bring some less experienced Drakkoriths to shame. If he's not working you'll probably see him spending time with his two kids, and those moments when he's teaching them some of the more formidable skills every young Drakkorith should possess are by far his favourite. Genuine and benevolent with just the right amount of quirky, Jasmin is considered to be the team's favourite uncle.

Name: Matea Vujasinović
Role: Business Administrator
Adamantly swaying in the back, following the rhythm of the march, another Drakkorith will surely grab the attention of anyone who passes by. It is truly a rare sight to see a Drakkorith as graceful as Matea. And even that might be considered an understatement. But be careful, her looks can be quite deceiving. This member of the Fighters Guild has the tenacity of the hard-headed terrordactyl and the heart of a true warrior. She is willing to tackle any challenge and will not stop until she comes up to top. Most of her time Matea spends in the Market place though. There’s always a big chance you’ll find her rummaging through some trinkets or trying on a new pair of boots. Just because you can be deadly doesn't mean you can't look your best. And if she’s not there, well, you’ll most definitely find her next to the biggest piece of succulent meat you can find. Or sleeping next to its bones because it’s healthy to take a rest after a hearty meal. Matea takes great care of those she considers her family and is always ready to lend a helpful claw. But whatever you do, do NOT call her „Big Tough Sister“ or that Drakkorith spirit will resurface in the blink of an eye.

Feel free to join our Discord community and stay in loop with both the news about Phageborn and our new activities (Discord)!

Yours truly,
Games Revolted

Dear Denizens of Issilith!

It's been a week since we had the pleasure to participate in Good Game Zagreb 2022 both as a contestant and as an exhibitor. The main event of this 2-day convention was a CS:GO tournament, where 32 amateur teams fought heartily for a chance to win proceedings for a non-profit organization of their choice. While our team sadly didn't win, they bravely stood their ground during the tournament and we are extremely proud of them for leaving their hearts and souls on the field.


While the CS:GO tournament was the backbone of GG, for some of us, we also had a booth where we had a chance to present Phageborn to people attending the event, and after a long time, finally interact with some of you live. It was a pleasure to see you all, hear your feedback, and feel your support. And for that, we are very grateful!


As you may have heard, we even had a chance to organize a small-scale tournament on Saturday! Contestants played a round-robin format, we even had some prizes as some goodie bags were prepared. The tournament went smoothly, all up until the amazing finals! Big congratulations to our winner, Kegel, who managed to win in what can only be described as the nail-biting finals vs The_JPhantom, while Renato secured third place.
And a special shoutout to Toni that seemed to get the worse end of all the matches, but in the end improved so fast they got a win vs a worthy opponent! Congratulations to all of our contestants!


We would like to thank the organizers for the opportunity to support such an amazing event and also thank all of you who supported us both online and offline. We can't wait to see all of you again next year!

Yours truly,
Gams Revolted

Dear Denizens of Issilith!

In case you haven’t got a chance yet to try out some of our battlegrounds during the testing, feel free to check out a showcase of our beloved Jungle Temple and Derelict Cave battlegrounds on our YouTube channel: YouTube.

Jungle Temple
Once a place of worship, today anyone who enters does so on their own responsibility. After the constant confrontations have driven the peaceful natives from these lands, some of the Tikiri saw the opportunity to make this place their new home. Structures such as this, enveloped in lush vegetation and full of animal life, make for both the perfect hideout and hunting grounds for these weak, rat-like creatures. Just watch your step! You never know what booby trap might be waiting just a few steps away.

Derelict Cave
A long time ago this place was full of life. The remnants of that time are still visible if you look more closely. Stones on the floor are worn out but still form the unnatural path throughout this network of caves. This cave was used as the heart of Zyxl's smuggling operation. Hundreds of them used to run along this path carrying crates of expensive goods and heavy chests filled with gold. Lots and lots of gold.
But now, no steps echo through these caves only the sound of dripping water and creaking old wood can be heard. For some reason, Zyxls left this place. There are still some stories about how they’ve left an ancient artefact stored somewhere deep in one of the grottos. Many creatures tried to find it. But not many lived to tell the tale.

What was your favourite part of these battlegrounds? Feel free to comment below or join our Discord channel (Discord) and share your favourite things with us!

Yours truly,
Games Revolted

Dear Denizens of Issilith!

This week we have finished with our test! While we are sad because that part is behind us, we are looking forward to going through all your feedback and suggestions so we can make needed tweaks and changes to create the best experience possible for all of us. We are very grateful for the time you spent with us during the last month. And what is the better way of showing all your effort than with some fun, quick stats and to see if Saffron is really as broken as it seems at first.

But let's start with some general numbers first. With a total number of 1349 matches you have managed to play more than 185 hours, and that is just time spent in matches! However, an average turn time was just a little over 32 seconds while the match was usually over around the 15th turn.

When talking about factions, it didn't come as a big shock that the most played faction are the newly added Ascended. With their 57% win rate, they are standing proud in the first place while the Drakkoriths are just behind them with a 55% win rate. Although if Drakkoriths knew that Ascended players are also most likely to surrender when things are not going their way, they just may come on top.

In favour of that may be that the mighty warrior king Tyberiuth is the most played Avatar and Basson really showed himself as an unstoppable force since he's the Avatar who ended the testing on the biggest win streak. Although, don't write off other factions just yet! Somehow, Theodora managed to weasel herself into the top place of Avatar's win rate without a lost game. Looks like that after finding your way back on top of Vestige politics from exile everything else is nothing more than a little thorn in your side. And Saffron, well, that smashing creature may have a skill that seems a bit overpowered, however, its win rate is no more than 23%. But we'll keep a close eye on it in the future. And speaking off eyes, with a low 20% win rate Yggron really feels a bit underpowered. We'll have to look a little more closely at him and see where his true potential lies.

We know that some of these statistics surprised us, but what about you? Feel free to comment below or join our Discord channel (Discord) to discuss your insights from the testing!

Yours truly,
Games Revolted

Dear Denizens of Issilith!

The last days of our testing are closing in. So to make sure you had a chance to fully experience this build of Phageborn we will go over some of the smaller features you might have missed up until now.

Flag icon on cards represent the Leadership threshold
There still seems to be some misunderstanding regarding what the Flag icon on some cards represents. While we will better explain it in-game in our next build, to ease potential confusion for the new players who are currently testing Phageborn we decided to touch upon that here as well. The Flag icon on the cards represents the Leadership threshold. That means that your Leadership (one of the three attributes you can level at the start of your turn) has to be leveled at least to the amount said on the card to activate that effect. If you have enough Leadership to activate the accompanying effect, the text next to the Flag will be blue. If you don't have enough Leadership the text will be white. One of the best examples where you can easily see that is Ascended's very own Spirit Matron. That card has two effects which can be activated if you have enough Leadership. If you have enough Leadership for both effects, both effects will activate.
In the case shown below, you can see that the player has only enough Leadership to activate the first effect (as it is written in blue), while the second effect is written in white indicating that the required Leadership threshold has not been met.



Card Styles
Perhaps you saw that some of your opponents have animated cards and you just can't find where you can get one yourself. During the testing you can try out our current Card Styles. Every card has one! You can activate and equip them in the Collection through a few simple steps.
After you right-click on the card you'll see two dots above it. The second dot represents the alternate card style. When you click on the second dot it will show you how it will look in its animated version (see the D’Dall Reaver below). Underneath the card you'll see the Purchase button. During the testing everything is FREE, including the card styles! So don't be afraid to click on the Purchase button as it will unlock the skin and the button will say Set Style instead of Purchase, giving you the option to instantly equip your new card skin.



How to see full art
Whether you're in a match or just browsing through the Collection, it is quite likely that some of the card art may catch your eye and you'd really like to see it better. This has been a request made in the past from our players so the build you are currently testing on has that feature already implemented. You just have to right-click on the card you wish to see better and click on the Eye icon in the upper right corner (you can see it in the picture above), right next to the card you're viewing. That will show you the art in its full size plus you'll be able to read a little bit of the fluff.

Avatar's voice lines
Did you know that every Avatar has its own unique voice lines you can activate at any time during the match? You just have to hold right-click on your Avatar while in the match and choose one of the six unique voice lines. It may help you or your opponent to recalibrate your nerves.

Camera Angles
Have you tried out different camera angles while in the match? With a simple press of your up and down arrow keys you can change the viewing perspective in your game. This may help you have a better overview of the battleground or simply to check out how does that new skin for your Avatar looks like up close. Camera angles are a work in progress so please keep that in mind when interacting with it.

If you haven’t already, you have until the 17th of May to join the test and try out Phageborn! For more information on testing and updates regarding Phageborn, feel free to join Residents of Issilith over at our Discord channel (Discord) and leave your feedback!

Yours truly,
Games Revolted

Dear Denizens of Issilith!

Thanks to the plethora of your feedback and reviews we had the pleasure to read over this last two weeks, we managed to get a better understanding of things we can improve in Phageborn. So today, we will have a little run down on some updates and changes we are doing.

TUTORIAL
Phageborn brings some innovations as to how a card game can be played. We understand that the current Tutorial may not be the most optimal way to start the learning curve of the Phageborn mechanics. With that in mind, we will improve the basic tutorial to be more comprehensive and immersive for new players but also add an Advanced Tutorial to introduce you to some more advanced mechanics and strategies. It is important for us that you feel battle ready once you complete the tutorial.

2v2
If you had the chance to play Phageborn on some of the tests we did before, there is a big chance you managed to try out the 2v2 game mode. While 2v2 was disabled for testing on G.Round (at least for this time), we just wish to update you that we haven't forgotten about our beloved game mode and are working on making the 2v2 co-op experience much better by removing some of the limitations that existed.

LOBBY IMPROVEMENTS
Whether you decide to play single-player or multiplayer game modes, it's important that the lobby screen is not just functional but also intuitive and visually appealing. With your feedback in mind, we will continue to polish lobbies, especially for the custom games, so that they are more intuitive and aesthetically pleasing. We are also working on improving the stability so that you won't have to worry about potential bugs and delays.

GRAPHIC IMPROVEMENTS
Often it's the little things that make the biggest difference, especially when talking about visual appeal. To make the game more immersive and aesthetically satisfying, we will continue to work on upgrading existing card VFX (especially for Legendary cards) and improving Avatars and their visuals. But we do not plan to stop on that! You can expect things like adding weight to the cards, which will impact the way cards fall down on the battleground. It just doesn't seem fair that only Unchained Megadon makes a big stomp when it falls. We have bigger creatures in Issilith than that.

POST-GAME REWARDS
After an exciting match of Phageborn, it's time for the well-deserved rewards!
Our current post-game screen doesn't leave that much room for the player to see clearly all they acquired after the match is over. So our post-game screen is going to get a revamp! We are planning to add more sounds and visual upgrades so that post-game rewards stand out more. Also, as a part of that rehaul, progress made in your active quests will be easier to see.

We will be testing until the 18th of May so it's still not too late to join if you haven't already! For more information on the testing and things that are happening with Phageborn feel free to join our Discord channel (Discord)!

Yours truly,
Games Revolted