Realmers!
Easter and its events are coming to an end. We had a full month of Events and a community campaign and it's now time to move forward with the next update. You already tested some of the changes coming up to Realm of the Mad God, like the O3 changes and Moonlight Villages adjustments. Additionally, our newest STs for the Priest and Ninja now drop from specific dungeons. To celebrate this we are hosting events in them. The April Fool Skins will be removed with this update.

For a full overview of the changes, have a look at our blog post.

Realmers,

For years many of you have been requesting and anticipating a major reconstruction to the realms and we are glad to officially announce that 2023 is finally the year of the Realm Rework! Today will be the first time we share information about it as well as having our first PT to get some early feedback on some of the new systems that will be involved. Not everything mentioned within this post will be available for the first playtest but we would still like to hear your thoughts as they will be part of future sessions.

Tl;DR:

1. New mechanics such as Realm Score, Beacons, Combat Power, and Dungeon difficulties.
   
2. Improved sprite art for older enemies.
   
3. New maps with brand-new biomes, enemies, and rewards.
   
4. Only Realm Score, Beacons, and some of the upgraded enemy sprites will be available to players on this first playtest, the map that exists is just a prototype for this testing session.
   
5. Leave as much feedback as you can! We want to make sure we get this right.
   
6. Things are still very early (especially for this initial PT) so as always, things may still be subject to change.

This rework intends to correct several issues with the current realm:

1. The current maps are 90% wasted space to most players.
   
2. The current realm lacks variety within biome thematics
   
3. The current maps cannot be edited and new maps cannot be added to the pool.
   
4. Some of our easiest content is found in the same location as our hardest content both without any way for us or the player to differentiate.
   
5. Low-population realms are a painful experience for traveling around the map.
   
6. Lack of progression past the Godlands
   
7. Outdated and disconnected art style from most of the new aspects of the game.

With these core issues identified, we came up with the following goals for us to achieve so that the realm rework can be the best that it can be.

1. Create a more linear gameplay experience.
   
2. Allow space for expansion.
   
3. Create better theming and variety through game balance and biome placement.
   
4. More reasons to play in the realm!

Now with that out of the way, on to the new stuff. As part of the Realm Rework, we will be introducing brand new realm maps for the first time in 13 years. Additionally, we will be introducing new mechanics to streamline the realm experience.





Prototype and Map Key of New Realm #1

As you can see in the above example, we have removed the old structure of the map in order to make better use of the 2048x2048 space. Rather than the highest level area (godlands) being centralized on the map, we have created a new map with a more linearized progression scale. The 3 core regions of the new realm are the Rookie, Adept, and Veteran regions. Within each of these regions have their own unique biomes and milestones for the player to reach

Rookie Region: This area is basically what our current realm is condensed to about 1/4th of the size, primary goals for this area are to achieve level 20 and get a small introduction to stat potions

Adept Region: This area can be thought of as a revamped 'godlands', but rather than just have one biome it is made up of multiple with their own unique enemies, rewards, and encounters. Goals here are for maxing 4-6/8 of your stats

Veteran Region: This area is where players will commonly find things of epic dungeon difficulties and above. Additionally in this region is where players will find exaltation encounters and increased power level adept region dungeons. Essentially, this is a high level area meant for farming harder content.




As you traverse through the many biomes, players may come across a “biome beacon” . Activating these beacons serves as permanent progression for everyone that joins that Realm and will allow players to freely teleport to different areas of the realm without requiring another player to be in the location.




I'm sure many long time players have seen a newer player finally reaching level 20 just to get an Avatar of the Forgotten king quest and immediately die due to being undergeared. To assist with guiding players towards content that is more appropriate to their level we are introducing a new feature called “Combat Power”. Combat Power is a numerical value derived from both your stats as well as your gear. Based on your combat level you will be assigned quests that are most appropriate to your level, as well as other future use cases that we are not ready to share.
Dungeon Difficulties

Dungeon difficulties are a new feature we will be introducing to stretch the life time of dungeons in a player's journey. For example, you may find the Undead Lair you are used to in the Haunted Hallows biome, but additionally you may find an even higher level Undead Lair in the Sanguine Forest. These increased versions of dungeons can have high damage, defense, xp gain, loot %, as well as new and exclusive loot to dungeons depending on their difficulty levels.


Realm Score



The final major shift from the old realm to the new realm is a change in how players progress and close the realm. For this we are introducing a mechanic known as realm score. Everything you do in the realm will grant Realm Score and contribute to closing the realm. Killing encounters and heroes will still grant the most Realm Score overall but if someone just feels like vibing out in the Shipwreck Cove hunting for a new biome UT, they can do so while still contributing to the overall goals of the realm.

Conclusion

This is all we are able to share at this point, but we hope it starts giving you an idea of what we aim for the Realm Rework to be. This weekend we will be running a PT on just the Realm Score and Beacons (as well as some tests on the backend), and we would appreciate it if you could hop in the realm and try it out! Although only these two parts will be part of the first pt, please make sure to leave feedback on everything you’ve read here as well on the #testing-feedback channel of the Official RotMG discord so we can make sure this Realm Rework is as successful as can be.

Realm Community

Depending on where you live in the world Easter is right in front of you. That's the perfect time to have a look at upcoming O3 changes on our testing environment, right? Right!

In order to test these changes, you will be able to jump into Oryx Sanctuary via portals in the Nexus. New ones spawn every 90 seconds.

The Testing Servers will open its gates on the 7th of April. We announce it once it opens on discord.

Let's have a look at some Designer notes and the changes to O3:


The Oryx 3 fight has shown a lot of issues as time progressed, generally, as time goes on we expect bosses to get more optimized. Oryx 3 however has in some cases been optimized to the point where the boss is incapable of attacking for the majority of the fight. The primary culprit of this is the counter/stagger system, as it currently exists dealing enough damage quick enough will instantly cancel any attack Oryx is doing and force him into a reset. Coupled with many instances where O3 is vulnerable to damage while not doing anything and you can blow away most of the fight with Oryx barely shooting a single bullet. The following changes should keep the majority of the fight intact while still rewarding good gameplay and patching up a lot of the above issues.

The O3 counter/stagger system has been fully retooled, now instead of getting the counter or stagger at the end of an attack, O3 will fully complete all of the attacks in a combo chain. When you hit a certain threshold of damage in each phase, o3 will go invulnerable for the remainder of the attack and add to a tally of times the threshold was reached in the combo, at the end of the combo O3 will enter a stagger state with a duration depending on how many of these thresholds were reached over the course of the combo.

The thresholds have been normalized to 2.5% for all O3 attacks, this is not a final value but was chosen to hopefully allow well-played solos to still hit these thresholds on occasion. Additionally, if a stagger happens near the end of one of the O3 phases (roughly every 20% hp) it will allow you to cut into the next phase by up to 5% of O3 max health, thereby speeding up the subsequent phase and not wasting a stagger that happens too close to that hp threshold.

O3 also no longer can roll combos with only 2 attacks, the new chances are 50% 4 attacks 25% 3 attacks 25% 5 attacks. Additionally, the chances for further Celestial phases in the fight have been changed, previously the phase had a 4% chance to trigger instead of any attack except the first one in a combo, if this continued into the new system it would interrupt a currently going on combo and reset the stagger counter. Instead, it now has a 15% chance to occur when Oryx is picking a new combo, but it cannot trigger twice in a row, or as the first combo after heavens.

Counters have been entirely removed from the fight.

Invulnerability has been added to the windows at the start of attacks and between combos as O3 is resetting to the center. This should cut down on the “free” damage windows present in the fight as they had previously been contributing to the fight being steamrolled in higher dps groups.
As always, feel free to leave feedback on our social channels.

Realmers!

It has been a while since the last time I was able to speak to you about our Testing Team. Some of you might remember them as “Future Seekers”. Very recently we reworked some of our internal structure and part of this was the Future Seeker program.

Together with the current active Testers, the program was renamed back to its old name “Closed Testers”. We feel like the Future Seeker name was rather confusing for new players and not the best choice in general. It is now our main goal to make the program more streamlined and structured.

As you already know, we are currently hiring new Artists at DECA with a focus on the Realm Rework. The Rework requires a lot of work and part of this work is testing prototypes and the first iterations of new features. Therefore we are going to open up the Closed Tester Recruitment today.

Please note that we will close the Form on the 7th of April. After that, we will choose new Testers. When we open the Form again in the future, all previous entries will be reset to give everyone a fair chance again.

Please carefully read the new Recruitment Form: Click here

You must be at least 18 years old. With the new changes to the system, active testing is now mandatory. Those tests usually run over the weekend. If you generally have no time during the weekend, this program might not be for you.

In case you have further questions, feel free to reach out to me via Discord at DECA_Acalos#8049

Realmers!

We are finally here, Easter is upon us! Biff went to the gym and trained hard to make sure he can show his new skills. Be careful though, as he is now full of surprises. Additionally, let’s welcome the newest dungeon to RotMG! Moonlight Village by Mizumi is now in the game. You don't want to miss out on our Easter event, free campaign and more.

To find out more about this update, follow this link to our blog.

Greetings Realmers!

Today we have some news to share with you. As you are all aware, we are currently working hard on the Realm Rework update. While this is still far away on the horizon, in order to finish the art required for this update, we are in need of more Artists!

Some of you might be aware that over the years we have hired Artists from the community and now we are looking to increase this team. This is a paid position on a freelance basis, meaning the payment you would receive depends on the amount of art you produce. The whole process will be explained to you in more detail should we reach out to you.

To clarify, this position does not have any fixed work hours. It is fully up to the Artist to decide how much time they are able and willing to spend per day/week/month.

In order to have a better understanding of the Art required, we have created a new form that you can fill out. Please make sure all the information you provide is correct. Once again, this is a paid position and we need to ensure the information you provide is accurate.

Click to get to the form.
Since the question of “why do you want to hire someone from the community?” came up before, here is a quick explanation: You, the players, have provided us with amazing art of the game over the years. From skins to item sprites to full dungeons. We want to give you an opportunity to take your (possibly) first steps into the gaming industry. To share your talent and knowledge in creating art for RotMG.

If you have any questions about the process in general, please reach out to Community Manager Acalos on Discord: DECA_Acalos#8049 or via Email: deca_acalos@decagames.com

Realmers!

It's time for the final testing session before easter! Let's have a final look at the upcoming Dungeon from Mizumi, Moonlight Village! You will find portals in the Nexus directly to the dungeon and the UTs are in the Shop! Additionally, we will be having a look at Biff who went into the Gym to get even more buffed than he already is.

Follow the Link to read all about it on our Blog.

Realmers!

We are getting closer and closer to Easter but before that, it is time to celebrate Saint Patrick's Day! Go and hunt the Leprechaun, collect tokens, and turn them in for some nice rewards. Talking about rewards, now is the perfect time for our seasonal characters to go hunt for some tasty shiny items! You can find a list of the first batch of items down below.

You were able to check out the balance and QoL changes on testing 2 weeks ago, now it's time to implement them in the game. We still did some changes based on your feedback on some of the items, so go and have a look.

The changes are very long and you will be able to find out about all of them on our Blog.

Realmers!

This week's testing is all about quality of life changes and adjustments to a lot of different items. You will find nerfs and buffs for several different items. Feel free to leave feedback in the appropriate channels. Additionally, you can have a look at the first draft of the Battle Pass Season 5 and Missions! We also bring some changes to the Seasonal Item Forge.

You will be able to purchase the reworked Items in our Shop on Testing. Please keep in mind that both the Battle Pass and Missions have placeholders in them.

We will change the seasons during the weekend in order to test the Seasonal Vault Expansion and Forge changes.

This testing session contains tons of changes to several systems and items. You will be able to read all about it on our blog.

Realmers!

Time for another update. Introducing first our new ST Sets. The Onmyoji Ninja and the Plague Doctor Priest find their way into Realm of the Mad God. You will also be able to join our next campaign Horror STory III and jump into the Event Dungeons during Mardi Gras! The Discord voted and decided which Skin everyone will be able to receive for free in the Shop.

In the end, you will find more information regarding changes to dungeon modifiers and new dungeon mods.

As always you will find all of that information on our blog.