Dec 2, 2021

ArcheAge: Unchained - CM_Jeroen

1. Chronicle Quests

a. Sea Shanty / Pirate Chants

The Akasch have invaded. Their emergence is affecting the Ghost Ship and Delphinad Ghost Ship, which they created long ago.

The changes to the Ghost Ship have affected those who have a close bond to the sea.
They say the ones who encountered the ship began to claim that they experienced what was best explained as the 'curse of the Ghost Ship.'
Pirates Robiquet and Lavis, who have spent their entire lives at sea, were no strangers to this odd encounter.
Thus, the story unfolds about the strange phenomena the two experienced after their chance encounter with the treasures of the Ghost Ship.

The new chronicles about the cursed Ghost Ship are divided into either the Sea Shanty or the Pirate Chants. You can check out different perspectives depending on your faction. If you're in a regular faction, you'll go through the Sea Shanty chronicle. If you're in a Pirate Faction, you'll go through the Pirate Chants chronicle.

Trace the rumors of the cursed Ghost Ship!

How to begin the quest

Open the Chronicle Quests UI and then purchase "Sea Shanty" from the "Chronicles" tab.

Quest Conditions

Sea Shanty: All factions, excluding the Pirate Faction, can complete the quest.
Pirate Chants: Only the Pirate Faction can complete the quest.

b. Black Thorn Prison

A demon, possessed by the chaos and turmoil of the world, discovers Serpentis.
When the demon pulls out its pain from the wound inflicted by Serpentis, this pain had the shape of a "black thorn."
As the Black Thorn started searching for feed, the demon created powerful beings inside the thorn and spread a false rumor.
Captivated by this rumor, those who were dreaming of wealth and glory headed for the Black Thorn, unaware they would become the thorn's feed themselves.

Unravel the mysteries of the Black Thorn Prison by completing the Black Thorn Prison chronicle.

How to begin the quest

Open the Chronicle Quests UI and then purchase "Black Thorn Prison" from the "Chronicles" tab.

2. New Skillset

The new skillset, Spelldance, will be added to ArcheAge.

Spelldance is a skillset that represents Naima, one of the twelve members of the Expedition. The skillset is based on graceful dances which exude healing powers on the battlefield. Naima's moves make it obvious that she was a dancer from the Misac tribe.

The skillset uses unique skill stacks called Happy and Sorrow. Using skills that buff allies will increase your Happy stats, and using skills that are harmful to enemies will increase your Sorrow stats. The stacks you gain will affect the effectiveness of your skills.

Details about Spelldance

Channeled Skill Details

Spelldance Ancestral Skill Additional Details

3. Main Content

a. New Dungeon

A new dungeon, "Black Thorn Prison," has been added.

The Black Thorn Prison is the first growth dungeon presented by ArcheAge where you need to grow the dungeon up to level 12. The higher the level of the dungeon you complete, the more your rewards will be.

In order to level up the dungeon, you must use the "Black Thorn Enhancer" on the "Black Thorn Key" that can be acquired as a dungeon completion reward to synthesize and enhance the latter item. This will create a Black Thorn Lock on the dungeon entrance through which you can choose and challenge a dungeon level.

Dungeon Info

* Allowed Team Members: 5
* Min Entry Level: Lv55
* Allowed Daily Entry: Once (can enter up to 3 times by using Reset Entries)
* The Black Thorn dungeon's growth level resets every week on the maintenance day and all Black Thorn Keys and Black Thorn Enhancers in your Bag will disappear.

Dungeon Structure

* You will start from the "Thorn Lock Room," the protection area of the Black Thorn Prison where you can select and challenge a dungeon level. This room will be randomly connected to one of stage 1 rooms (x3) or stage 2 rooms (x3).
* The dungeon consists of 2 boss stages and each stage boss appears randomly.
* Upon defeating a stage 1 boss, you can return to the Thorn Lock Room and the entrance to the stage 2 boss room will open.
* Once you defeat a stage 2 boss, you can complete and exit the dungeon.

Available Rewards

The reward gradually increases depending on the level of the Black Thorn Prison completed. You can also acquire EXP rewards by completing related weekly quests.

Additionally, you can defeat a boss to acquire "Abyssal Crystals" and many other items, or defeat a specific boss to acquire the "Disciple's Equipment Chest."

b. Ghost Ship and Delphinad Ghost Ship Revamp

The ghost ship and the Delphinad lost their will as they were greatly affected by the Abyss's power.
They were blinded by lust and started to target ships in the waters closer to land than before.

The weakened ghost ship appears in the "Castaway Strait" only.

The Akasch, who made their appearance in Erenor, had a great impact on the Delphinad.
The Delphinad, dominated by the Abyss's power, became much stronger and it has been sighted in the waters close to land.
Losing their will to fight under the domination of the Abyss's power, the ghosts tried to find a way to survive and suggested the pirates to form an alliance.
To help the pirates, the ghost ship underlings open a Worldgate on the Growlgate Isle every time the Delphinad appears.

The Delphinad Ghost Ship appears on "Halcyona Gulf" at 9 PM, 4 times a week.

c. Halcyona Skirmish

A ruthless battle breaks out in Halcyona. Do whatever is necessary to survive and claim victory as the last person standing.

* All participants are competing against each other and you must defeat all other participants to win.
* Make sure to be close to a safe area when the wave of Greedy Shadows moves in.
* The arena lasts for 15 minutes, but the Greedy Shadows move fast and will reach you before that.
* All kinds of chats are prohibited in the arena.
* Keep in mind that once you enter, all active buffs and debuffs are canceled and won't be restored even after you leave. This is to make sure all participants enter the combat under the same conditions.
* You can't use the skillsets you have selected before entering the arena, but you can select a skillset depending on the weapons and stats you have selected in the skirmish.

d. Faction Honor Area

Halcyona War from Dungeon Faction War has been updated and renamed "Faction Honor Arena." In Faction Honor Arena, an arena is randomly chosen between Skyfin Nest and Halcyona. Victory requirements and rules remain unchanged. While Halcyona is an open arena, the newly added Skyfin Nest consists of valleys.

e. Guild Revamp

In ArcheAge, the factions are clearly differentiated and each of them has a strong bond. However, we felt the motivation that keeps the Guild together was not strong enough.

To amend this situation, we are planning to strengthen the Guild bond, therefore establishing a solid foothold for the factions.

Guild Buff Update

* Guild Buff was updated.
* The existing buff given by level has been removed, along with buffs from using certain contents.
* Guild Buff can be activated by the Guild Leader by spending Prestige.
* You can activate different Guild Buffs depending on the Guild Level.
* Some buffs require certain Guild buildings or consumption of certain items.
* Buffs requiring certain buildings will be deactivated if the building is removed.
* The buff will be reactivated once the building is built again.

Prestige Update and Shop Changes

* Prestige was updated to be Guild Prestige, instead of the previous individual Prestige.
* Guild Prestige can be obtained from Guild Missions and can be used by certain ranking members of the Guild.
* Prestige Shop items were reduced and each of the items can now be purchased/used by certain ranking members of the Guild.
* Purchased Guild-only items will be removed if you leave the Guild.
* Previous items have been removed, with some moved to the Honor Shop, and new items have been added.

Guild UI Update

Guild UI was updated.

* Guild Announcement will now be shown at the far left.
* You can check the activated Guild Buff.
* Press the Guild Buff Effect button to upgrade the buff.
* You can check the Guild Prestige and Daily Prestige Limit.

Recruit/Search of the Community UI was updated.

* You can check the buff of the Guild you wish to join.

Guild Member UI was updated.

* Guild rank was moved to the left. You can still click the rank icons to change them.
* Member location info is not shown anymore while they are online. Only their online status and offline duration are now shown.
* Cumulative Prestige and Weekly Prestige were added to the UI.

Other Updates

* Guild Flare was changed to Powerless Guild Flare. (Use to obtain 1500 Honor Points)
* Peace Treaty was changed to Old Peace Treaty. (Use to obtain 540 Honor Points)
* Individual Prestige points were transferred to Honor Points after the update.
* The transfer ratio is 1 Prestige:30 Honor Points.
* As some Guild Buffs were removed with the update, a certain amount of Prestige will be distributed.
* Only certain ranking members can use Prestige after the update.
* To prevent abuse, all Guild member ranks will be changed to Apprentice, excluding the Guild Leader.
* To maintain and manage the Guild, a new Guild Leader will be appointed if the Guild Leader goes offline for a long period.
* When the Guild Leader is offline for more than 30 days, the search for a new Guild Leader will begin.
* Candidates are members with more than 1000 Cumulative Prestige and were online within 7 days.
* If there is more than 1 person who fits the above criteria, a higher-ranking member or the one with more Cumulative Prestige will be appointed Guild Leader.
* A mail will be sent to notify you when you are either appointed or relieved from the rank of Guild Leader.

f. Guild Residence and Exclusive Furniture

* Guilds can purchase a Guild Residence at Guild Level 5 as a Full Kit from the Prestige Shop.
* Guild Residence can be built in all housing provinces and uses Prestige to pay taxes.
* They are not subject to heavy/territory taxes but are affected by hostile land tax rates.
* Merchants are stationed within the residence to provide help to Guild Members.
* The Guild Leader can purchase Guild Residence exclusive furniture from the Prestige Merchant.
* (Cannot place ordinary furniture in the Guild Residence)
* You can apply UCC to this furniture, excluding 3 lights, so feel free to express the identity of your guild.
* The residence also has the Guild Base function.
* Use the Space-Time Ink sold at the Prestige Shop at the location you wish to save as a base to create a Guild Base location. Once you set a Guild Base, you can use the Base Teleportation Device to go to the base at any time.
* The Base Teleportation Device can be activated for a week by using a Space-Time Core.
* The number of bases you can activate increases with the level of the newly added Guild Buff Effect.

g. Purifying Auroria

Auroria Polluted Water Purification was added.

How to begin

Faction Hero of the faction having territory ownership can consume a Prosperous Pack at the flag to activate.

Details

* When the Polluted Water Purification is activated, the flag loses power for 7 days, unable to do anything during that time.
* When successfully activated, the faction’s Purifier and Purifier Repairman will appear.
* 25 Purifiers will appear for a maximum of 1 hour upon activation.
* When you are near a Purifier, you can activate them with 150 Labor. The player who activates the Purifier receives 50 Contribution.
* Successful Purifier activation will put you in a Grimy Body state, which prevents you from activating any other Purifiers within its duration.
* The activated Purifier will begin to purify the polluted water.
* The purification process lasts up to 1 hour. Once it reaches an hour, it automatically increases Territory Income by 600.
* Activated Purifiers receive the Polluted Water Purification effect every 10 minutes, with stacks adding to its effect.
* If the Purifier is destroyed before the Purification process is complete, you will not receive any Territory Income.
* Regeneration skills do not apply to damaged Purifiers.
* You can receive 1 Purifier Repair Tool per hour from the Purifier Repairman.
* The repair tool can recover up to 600k HP of the Purifier.
* Repairs can be done by multiple players at a time, but destroyed Purifiers cannot be recovered.
* Hostile Factions can attack and destroy the Purifiers, from which they can receive Trade Packs depending on their stacks.
* Obtained Trade Packs can be sold to Relic Merchants or delivered to the Territory Workshop of the purifying faction.
* Trade Packs disappear after 30 minutes and can only be picked up by the Hostile Faction.
* The faction that activated Purifiers cannot pick up the Trade Packs, but can prevent the Hostile Faction from taking them by destroying the packs.
* Obtained Trade Packs can be sold to Relic Merchants or delivered to the Territory Workshop of the purifying faction for Gold.
* Delivering the packs to the Territory will reward you with Territory Income and Gold.
* Selling the packs to Relic Merchants will not give you Territory Income, but receive more Gold instead.
* Rewards by Survival Time of the Purifiers can be found in the below table.

h. Rotten Specialty Merchant

* The name of the NPCs were changed and are now permanently at their location.
* They can now be found near the Community Center of each of their spawn regions.
* The name of the NPC was changed to Specialty Preservation Bag Collector.
* Their spawn locations are the same as before, and you can find their locations in the below table.

4. Convenience Update

a. Global Chat System

* A global chat channel, where you can chat with players from all servers and factions, was added. (not available between EU and NA servers)
* Use the /unite command to enter global chat. (input dependent on Language Proficiency still applies)
* You can recruit Raid members and share Url links on the global chat channel.
* Now you can block characters from other servers.
* Use the /block charactername@servername to block players from other servers.
* Check out the Social Info tab in the Community (Shift+V) menu to view your Block List.

b. Folio Favorites function

* ArcheAge provides a variety of materials and crafting items you can collect. To lessen the hassle of finding frequently used materials for crafting, we’ve added the Favorites function to Designs.
* You can register up to 30 Favorites and they are easily accessible via the Favorites button.

c. Heterochromia Customization Expansion

Heterochromia customization is now also available for Nuians, Elves, and Harani.

d. Bag Sort and Search Update

Bag Sorting Revamp

Previously, using the sort function from your Bag or Storage and then restarting the game or playing on another PC did not maintain the sort you did prior. We’ve updated the sort to be maintained in such situations.

Search Function Added

* You can store hundreds of items in your Bag, Storage, and Warehouse, which makes it very difficult to find what you are looking for. We hope the newly added search function helps you easily find the items you seek.
* You can search by not only the name of items, but also by their Category, Grade, and equip location if they can be equipped.
* All other items except for the ones you searched for will be greyed out.

e. Guide Rest Area

* Many new and returning players gave feedback that there are not enough guides on in-game content. As such, we’ve added the Guide Rest Area at the gallery of Mirage Isle.
* At the Rest Area, NPCs and ArchePaper are readily available to provide you with various information and experiences.
* You can rent out various ArchePaper from the bookshelf behind Librarian Lutino.
* Whether you are a long-awaited returning player or new to ArcheAge, the Guide Rest Area of Mirage Isle is worth a visit.

f. Dungeon Quick Enter Feature

* Now you can enter instances faster than before.
* The quick enter feature allows you to enter instances with your current party instead of looking for applicants.

5. Item Changes

a. Labor Recharger Revamp

The charge efficiency of Labor Recharger was changed as below.

6. 2022 Update Directions

a. New Growth Goals - New Equipment and Proficiency System Expansion

We’ve recently added new growth methods, such as new Skillsets (Madness, Spelldance), a new Weapon (Rifles), and Equipment Slot Enhancement (Ipnysh Artifacts). However, apart from a few Raid equipment, we haven’t added any new equipment for the last 2 years. New and better equipment could serve as a great goal to achieve, but this could become a burden to new and returning players.

That said, we do feel there needs to be a new goal for growth, so we will tune the overall growth balance so it is enjoyable for new and returning adventurers, and add new, more powerful equipment in 2022.

We would also like to revamp/expand the Proficiency system of Harvesting and link it to the Resident system to create new growth goals.

We hope these new goals become meaningful for all players.

b. Additional Guild Co-op Contents

ArcheAge has a distinct faction conflict system, which in turn strengthens the bond between faction members.

Guilds, on the other hand, had relatively less of a bond between members compared to factions.

We believe this is because, while there are numerous contents specifically for factions, there are fewer for Guilds to do together.

To amend this situation, we’ve been updating the Guild system and plan to add more updates similar to that of the Guild Revamp and Guild Residence next year.

We plan to reveal a Guild Dungeon (PvE) where you compete against other guilds and a Guild Arena (PvP) where you can test your skills against guilds from other servers.

c. Sea Revamp and the Great Plains

We plan to do an overhaul of the contents related to the sea (Pirates, Sea Raids, Salvage, Fishing).

We hope to satisfy both the combat craving players and those who love Vocation contents at sea.

And lastly, the new region, the Great Plains. The Great Plains has an exclusive activity to conquer the Guardian of Celestia, so please look forward to its reveal.

7. Additional Patch Notes

Update: we received extra patch notes for the upcoming build, they are listed below. We are aware that a request for Balance Changes has been made. We are working on that as well.

Additional Ghost Ship and Delphinad Ghost Ship Revamp Notes

Changed parts of the collection and exchange method of Delphinad Ghost Ship Stone Slabs.

* Only Nuia and Haranya Factions can obtain stone slabs when they successfully defeat the Delphinad Ghost Ship.
* These slabs can be exchanged with the Shadow Merchant or can be reverted to Onyx Archeum Essence.

Only the Pirate Faction can obtain stone slabs when they successfully defend the Delphinad Ghost Ship.

* These slabs cannot be exchanged with the Shadow Merchant but can be reverted to Onyx Archeum Essence.

* Added Shadow Merchants to Two Crowns and Solis Headlands.
* Added quests to reflect the changes to Ghost Ship and Delphinad Ghost Ship.

Design

Added a Design recipe that allows you to change a higher stage Hiram Awakening Scroll into a lower stage scroll.

Additional Purifying Auroria Notes

Purification does not require a Purification Pack. And if you are a member of the Territory, you can purify even if you are not the hero.

Faction & Hero

Changed the method to activate the Faction Support Task Board.

* Instead of requiring a hero to activate a Task Board, they are now automatically activated after 2 seconds.

Changed the Faction Statue to not reset after initial build completion.

Changed buff effect of the Faction Statue.

* Requires 5 Stone Bricks to obtain the buff effect.
* You can choose between 2 buffs from the Faction Statue, which do not stack.

Changed the buff effect from the Commendation Collector due to the Faction Statue buff effect changes.

* The added buffs are the same.

Removed the area buff from Hero Cloaks.

Region

Added Mirage Isle NPC to the Wayfarer's Island Housing Region.

Dungeons

Changed the Serpentis dungeon as below.

* Removed the stage with long idle and play time.
* Changed the activation of the portal to the last room to not consume Labor.

Quest

Resolved the quest queue issue during the race quest at the beginning of the Southern Continent.

Building

Tweaked the number of obtainable items at the Miner's Farmhouse.

Tweaked the chance to discover a Jackpot Vein at the Miner's Farmhouse.

Changed the icon of the door open/close skill of buildings.

Vocation Badges

Lowered the Vocation Badges earned from some Resident and Family quests.

Added Gilda Stars as rewards for some Family missions.

Vocation Badges earned from Harvesting now start at a minimum of 1 and up to a maximum of 50.

Title

Removed achievements and titles related to the Blue Salt Brotherhood quests.

* You can no longer obtain the [–Hunter] titles from Cinderstone Moor, Halcyona, Sanddeep, Hellswamp, Karkasse Ridgelands, Ynystere, Rookborne Basin, Windscour Savannah, Perinoor Ruins, and Hasla.

Quality of Life

Changed the character deletion waiting time by level.

* Level 1–29: 1 minute
* Level 30–55: 1 hour
* Ancestral Level 1 and above: 3 days

Misc.

Added design to the input box of the Mail - Compose window.

Improved the Crime Details window design.

Improved the Verdict Details window design.

Improved the Skills - [Basic] tab window design.

Removed Territory Income info from the map.

Changed all drop-down menus to close when the menu is closed.

Changed the Report Inappropriate Language system.

* There is now a daily report limit and you cannot place the same report within 1 minute.

Event

Added a guild growth event.

* Individual guild mission XP and Prestige rewards are doubled during the event period. (excludes repeatable missions)
* Daily XP and Prestige limits will be increased during the event period.

Server Transfer

Changed the Character Server Transfer and Character Name change service cooldown to 15 days. (previously 30 days)

Bug fixes

Fixed the required number of achievements error for Rookborne Festival.

Fixed the equip location of the Magithopter Image: Backpack.

Fixed the issue where some hairs showed a headband when equipped with Image Item: Summer Racer's Swimwear.

Fixed the issue where alternate equipping the Image Item: Summer Racer's Swimwear showed the Dwarf female headband.

Fixed the issue where equipping the Image Item: Sus Worker Mask changed the appearance of male characters.

Fixed the issue where a certain grade of Erenor Equipment did not allow multiple Enhancers to be used during improvement.

Fixed the incorrect obtain method of Lunadrop in the Item Encyclopedia.

Fixed the typo in the Savage Greaves of Lasso Equip effect text.

Fixed the incorrect time consumption display for the Farmhand’s Trade.

Fixed the typo in Lieutenant Desmond’s speech.

Fixed the graphic issue with Radiant Dawnsdrop Cap when equipped with certain hairstyles.

Fixed the issue where the quest A Deadly Meeting could not be progressed when abandoned.

* To resolve the progression issue with A Deadly Meeting, the new You Lost It?! quest was added.

Fixed the issue where the range of Drop Trade Pack was different with race.

Fixed the issue where untradeable items were shown in the Auction House auto search.

Fixed the issue where raid equipment skills of Termisia, Resolute Hermit, and Nefarious Dread Necromancer equipment could only be reactivated when the equipment was taken off and then equipped again.

Fixed the issue where Necromantic Flame and Anthalon's Necromantic Flame were immune to the vacuum explosion immunity.

Fixed the issue where certain item categories were shown as different categories with Edit Tab.

Fixed the issue where completed Guild Group Missions were sometimes displayed as being in progress.

Fixed the issue where untrackable quests were added to the Quest Tracker.

Fixed the incorrect tooltip of the Use Recovery Items Guild Group Missions.

Fixed the issue where equipment would occasionally disappear from the Bag.

Fixed the issue where the Gunslinger skillset's Ceaseless Fire skill damage would apply abnormally to pets/mounts.

Fixed the issue where the Rooted effect for the Songcraft skillset's Basic Startling Strain skill would apply abnormally.

Fixed the issue where you would consume pet healing costs abnormally in certain situations.

Fixed the issue where the Shadowplay skillset's Leech skill was able to steal certain Powerstone Pet skill effects.

Fixed the issue where certain monsters would attack immediately after respawning at Western Hiram Mountains.

Fixed the issue where the appearance for Rampage GT would change in certain situations.

Fixed the issue where the Glide skill for mounts would activate near The Goddess Nui.

Fixed the issue where sound effects for Dragon Raising would play even when it's not in progress.

Fixed the issue where the bulls summoned at Arbiter's Plaza in Silent Plateau would not be able to remove Healing Flowers.

Fixed the issue where the debuff cancellation skill effect for Insidious Whisper: Stone would not apply.

Fixed the issue where the debuff cancellation skill effect for Bubble Trap: Stone would not apply.

Fixed the issue where the effective range for Insidious Whisper: Stone was incorrectly applied to 14m.

Fixed the issue where the effective range for Bubble Trap: Stone was incorrectly applied to 14m.

Fixed an issue where Provoked targets would remain Provoked even after the character who inflicted it died.

Fixed the issue where characters would get stuck in certain areas of Hereafter Rebellion when using movement skills.

Fixed the Snowlion mount's skill description for the Anabolica skill.

Fixed the issue where a combo effect would be activated when using the Spelldance Dancer's Touch to a target when connected via Communication with someone.

Fixed the issue where the entrance would occasionally disappear when fighting Black Thorn Prison's Orien.

Fixed the issue where the space between character levels or names would be too narrow.

Fixed the issue where the values for skills that provide protective shields were higher than the actual values applied.

Fixed the error where it would appear as if the recovery amount looked higher on the descriptions for health regen items than the actual recovery amount.

Fixed the issue where the duration of Thwart and Warding Light for Auramancy was not applied when equipped with Glorious Sunglow Lunagem: Warding Light.

Fixed the issue where certain animations would appear abnormal when using the Hot Air Balloon.

Fixed the issue where the Fence you obtain from the Grass Fence Crate could not be traded once you have installed it and then retrieved it.

Fixed the issue where the Gunslinger skillset's Corrosive Barrage and Corrosive Barrage: Stone debuff would only apply to a single target when used while equipped with a Rifle.

Fixed the issue where UI and Chat settings would reset when running multiple clients.

* The UI and Chat settings for all characters will reset after the update on Dec 3.