When we opened up the game’s fifth region a couple of weeks back, access to the Borderlands was purposefully restricted. Happily, we can report that Warlords can now wage war and claim the lands at the heart of the Conqueror’s Blade world! 

As well as there being more fiefs to conquer, the income from them is potentially higher than across other regions. We look forward to seeing how expensive they’ll be to defend for those that venture forth. Are you brave enough to take up the challenge?

Available as a companion pack to our Beginner’s Guide, we’re very pleased to announce the availability of a brand new collection of Conqueror’s Blade conveniences and consumables. It’s called the Beginner's Bundle and not only is it stuffed with useful boosts and items for those starting out, the discount is such that availability is limited to one pack per account! 

Here’s what’s inside:

• Bronze Coins (45,000) - It could take a few days to earn this much through normal play!  
• 3-days Premium Account time - Enjoy a 30% boost to Warlord XP, Unit XP, Honor Point and Bronze Coin gain for all your characters server-wide 
• Vault Keys (x3) - Vault Keys are a great way to earn extra crafting resources, and boost your Silver income at the same time!
• 10-Battle Hero XP Cards (x3) - Use one of these and for the next 10 battles your warlord will earn 30% more XP!  
• 10-Battle Unit XP Cards (x3) - Give your favourite units a 50% XP boost for 10 battles - enough for 30 epic encounters! 
• Artillery Chests (x3) - Inside each is a powerful siege weapon eager to take down enemy fortifications!  
• Return Orders (x3) - If you need to get back to your camp in a hurry, one of these tickets will get you there!

The Beginner's Bundle is available now via the in-game Store (press F6). Make sure you are logged in with the character who needs it the most when purchasing!

• The Borderlands region has been opened and will be ready for conquest on Tuesday, July 30th.

• Auction House: In order to reduce the time spent searching for items, we’ve added a richer selection of filters to allow players to quickly and accurately find the items they need. In addition, we’ve increased the listing limitation of resources from 10 to 20.
• Team System: Previously, when adding players to your team, you would need to manually change the team settings to allow players of level 99 (and above) to enter. Players can now add any others to their team regardless of level, and without needing to change the team settings. In addition, Within the main cities and the open world, players who are in the same team as each other will be given preferential treatment and will be placed together in the same line. (Instance of the area.)
• Mastery Points Transfer: There is a new option to convert Mastery Points into Skill points (1:1). You need special books - Martial Arts Manuscripts - which can be obtained from in-game activities, or alternatively can be bought from the in-game shop for 50 Sovereigns.

All Warlords:

Sprint Attack: 

• Physical consumption has been increased from 150 to 250.
• Cooldown has been increased by 0.5 seconds.

Longsword and Shield:

• Mercy of Heaven I: Attack cooldown increased to 32 seconds. 
• Mercy of Heaven II: Attack cooldown increased to 28 seconds.
• Mercy of Heaven III: Attack cooldown increased to 24 seconds.
• With Valour I: Attack cooldown increased to 15 seconds.
• With Valour II: Attack cooldown increased to 12 seconds.
• With Valour III: Attack cooldown increased to 10 seconds.
• Martial Prowess: Damage reduction has been increased.
• Mercy of Heaven: Health returning to the caster is reduced to 2% per second, and health return to surrounding players is reduced to 1% per second.

Shortsword and Shield:

• Shield Bash I: Damage reduced to 40%.
• Shield Bash II: Damage reduced to 50%.
• Shield Bash III: Damage reduced to 60%.

Bow:

• The trajectory and speed of each shooting skill has been adjusted to be consistent with a normal attack at full charge.

Durability changes:

• Greatly reduced durability consumption rate for Glaive, Longbow, Musket, Shortbow, Nodachi, Poleaxe and Spear.
  
• Slightly reduced durability consumption rate for Shortsword & Shield and Dual Blades. (No change for Longsword & Shield.)
  
• Greatly reduced durability consumption rate for Light, Medium and Heavy Warlord armor. (No change for horse armor.)

• Iron Reapers’ armour values have been greatly reduced.
• Royal Demesnes’ armour has been slightly improved to withstand slashing damage.
• Fire Lance Cavalries’ armour values have been reduced by 25%.
• The Winged Hussars’ armour values have been reduced by 25%.
• Knights’ armour values have been reduced by 35%, and their attack damage has been increased by 10%.
• Yeomans’ armour values have been reduced by 15%, and their piercing damage has been reduced by 54.
• Prefecture Pikemen’s maximum charge distance has been reduced. Only 60% of their damage is caused 1.5 seconds before their charge. 20% of the damage of the charge is increased by an additional 20%, and the damage of other formations has been reduced by 15%.

We have adjusted the gathering system in the open world. As well as a waiting reduction from 30 to 20 seconds, the list of resources from different cities has been modified, as follows:

• Ostaria: Refined Copper, Composite Wood
• Ungverija: Finished Leather, Composite Wood
• Maoyang: Wrought Iron, Varnished Wood
• Liangyun: Quality Fabric, Varnished Wood
• Borderlands: Refined Copper, Finished Leather, Wrought Iron, Quality Fabric

Decreased the fief level requirement for all resource crafting:

• Fief level requirement for medium-tier resource refinement reduced from 4 to 3
• Fief level requirement for high-tier resource refinement reduced from 6 to 5
• Fief level requirement for T1 unit equipment reduced from 2 to 1
• Fief level requirement for T2 unit equipment reduced from 3 to 3
• Fief level requirement for T3 unit equipment reduced from 4 to 4
• Fief level requirement for T4 unit equipment reduced from 6 to 5
• Fief level requirement for T5 unit equipment reduced from 8 to 6
• Fief level requirement for Uncommon Siege crafting reduced from 2-5 to 3
• Fief level requirement for Rare Siege crafting reduced from 4-9 to 5
• Fief level requirement for Epic Siege crafting reduced from 7-11 to 7

• Added an item that allows you to rename your character. You will be sent back to character selection upon using the item.
• Added a pack for new players in the in-game store.

• The temporary owner cannot change the setting of the Fief during a Territory War in Drill Mode.
• Entering highly secure areas near capitals will now completely cancel pursuits.
• When players are loading into the world, they are unable to be attacked by Rebels, NPCs, and other players. 
• Added a neutral NPC city in the Borderlands that allows food to be replenished and wounded soldiers to be treated. 
• You can also see the siege contribution of the current battlefield during preparation.
• Food at the Inn has been increased from 500,000 to 2,000,000.
• Marching speed within the open world has been increased:
• Heavy Melee Units speed has been increased from 1.7 to 1.9.
• Wagon basic speed has been increased from 1.4 to 1.8.
• Light Siege weaponry: Scorpio, Flaming Arrow Launcher, Canister Launcher speed has been increased from 2.1 to 2.2.
• Medium Siege weaponry: Grapeshot Cannon and Cannon speed increased from 1.6 to 2.
• Heavy Siege weaponry: Battering Ram, Catapult and the Trebuchet speed is increased from 0.8 to 1.4.
• Players waiting to enter a Fief can now see the contribution and battle statistics from the wait interface.
• Fief Tribute distribution has been optimised, see new distribution limits below:

• Fixed a bug where the ladder on a wall did not fall when the defender pressed F to kick it down.
• Fixed a bug where the 90% slowdown of the Dual Blade’s Dance of Death ability did not work correctly.
• Fixed melee hero damage decay when they hit multiple units.
• Fixed a bug where players would get stuck in the open world when leaving the Terleg Fief.
• Fixed a bug where players above level 60 could not plunder any resources from defeated Warlords.
• Fixed the infinite loading screen bug in some circumstances.
• Fixed a bug where some instances of open-world bandit attacks would not end, despite killing all of the bandits required.
• Fixed a bug with the Augolia map where there was a gate that was unable to detect players, meaning the gate could be closed despite players being around the gate.
• Adjusted the Battering Ram self-destruction timer on all maps from 30 to 60 seconds. 
• Adjusted the cooldown of operating gates on all maps from 30 to 45 seconds.
• Fixed a bug with Expedition III where players could not complete the objective, as the NPC was not correctly spawned.
• Fixed an issue with the map Desert City Defense PvE in which the final wave of enemies was not spawning correctly.

*Localized Patch Notes will be added within 48 hours. Our apologies for the delay.

It’s a shorter update than planned this week due to a few last minutes additions that came too late to be included - all of which are linked to below.

https://youtu.be/yThYlC52UPA

Special Territory Wars Drill Mode planned for Monday 29th July

Full Borderlands functionality coming as part of next week’s update!

Global event: Fight together to earn Premium Time this weekend!

There’s plenty of content to look forward to next week, from an extension to the Borderlands activities to a new map, and a host of bug fixes. But don’t let your blades dull in the meantime, because there’s a huge global event running all weekend!

From Friday, July 26 at 16:00 CEST (7am PST) until Monday, July 29 at 08:00 CEST (July 28, 11pm PST), work together with every warlord across all servers to kill a total of 1,000,000 units. If all servers collectively achieve this goal by the end of the event, everyone who logs in and participates during this timeframe will get a tasty 3 days of Premium Account time after the event ends!

Nothing short of all-out war will help you accomplish your goal. If you’re up to the task, there’s nothing left to say except… see you on the battlefield, warlords!

Early next week an extensive new update will be deployed and leading the list of improvements will be the ability for houses and alliances to start claiming the fiefs of the Borderlands. This functionality will be activated from Tuesday, dependent upon “Drill Mode” being successfully implemented for Monday (see article). However, before then, you can expect to enjoy the following changes:

• Significant rebalancing of warlord and unit stats and abilities
• A reduction in the resource requirements for fief upgrades
• New Auction House filters
• New safety features for Territory Wars drills and open-world spawning
• Open-world movement rates increased 
• Numerous bug fixes

There’s much more to add to the list and we’ll have the full patch notes ready ahead of Monday’s deployment. Next week will also see the introduction of a pack aimed at new players as well as a new PvE map, on which we’ll have more soon.

As part of preparations for next week, don’t forget this weekend’s event, during which you could earn yourself 3 days of Premium Account time! 

It’s time to get busy! 

As part of the planned opening up of the Borderlands for conquest on Tuesday (July 30th), we will be running a special one-off “Drill Mode” of Territory Wars to ensure that everything is working as intended. This will be ahead of - and in addition to - the planned Territory Wars scheduled for Tuesday, for which, we hope, Drill Mode will be turned off and the full breadth of the Conqueror's Blade world will be ripe for the taking for the very first time.

If you are unfamiliar with Drill Mode, check out this article from July 11th, when it was last implemented.

“Drill Mode” Territory Wars: July 29

19:00 - 20:00 UTC+1 (Europe servers)
9:30pm - 10:30pm UTC-5 (NA server)

Regular Territory Wars: July 30

19:00 - 20:00 UTC+1 (Europe servers)
9:30pm - 10:30pm UTC-5 (NA server)

Please be aware that from 08:00 CEST on Friday, July 26 (11pm PST July 25) all European Conqueror’s Blade servers will be inaccessible (EU West 1, EU West 2 & EU East). The downtime is expected to last for 3 hours.

Stay tuned to our Discord channel for any immediate server updates.

Based on the NA server, Noctem Invicte aims to foster a reputation as one of the most honorable guilds in the game. According to founder Talious, the house is well on the way to achieving it’s aim, having helped to build a formidable coalition while keeping animosity to a minimum.    

HOW DID YOU FIRST FIND OUT ABOUT CONQUEROR’S BLADE

I found Conqueror’s Blade by chance on a Facebook game ad. I am happy that I checked it out! Can not get enough of this game! 

WHY DID YOU DECIDE TO SET UP A HOUSE?

It is funny how sometimes things happen that you do not anticipate. Noctem Invicte just kind of happened. There was another house and it fell apart and suddenly, I found myself in a leadership role and establishing a new house with a great group of people.

WHAT MAKES YOUR HOUSE DIFFERENT?

Honestly, what makes our house so great is the diverse member base. We have a spectrum of player types, personalities, and backgrounds, despite any differences we really do feel like a family. We also have structure and something we will be implementing when we go live, a sort of command structure that ensures no player is neglected or forgotten and it will show each member is important. Honor, Virtus, Victoria!

WHAT HAS BEEN THE SECRET OF YOUR SUCCESS SO FAR? 

We have been in two CBTs and we have ended up with territory in both: the first one we had six and in the second we had ten, thanks to our organization, clear goals and decisive attack strategies. We make sure every member knows the basic plan and received clear communication. We have many military-minded folks, and it shows. Shoot, Move, Communicate. 

WHAT WILL BE NOCTEM INVICTE’S LEGACY IN YEARS TO COME?

We want to be a house with a good reputation, we want every member of the house and the alliance (Veni Vidi Vici) to love logging on and playing. Personally, I would love to have a reputation for keeping our word and being honorable. We would also like to be one of the best houses in the game, but then again, who doesn’t. With our strategy and support of each other, I am confident that we can do it.

WHAT’S YOUR FAVOURITE CLASS TO PLAY AS AND WHY?

My first love - I know it’s cheese - is the Musket. From the very first time, I loved playing it. It suits my playstyle and is easy to understand and play. My second favorite is the spear. I like to be the one clearing out the support troops and giving clear shots to generals on the battlefield. 

WHAT ACTIVITIES DOES THE HOUSE REGULARLY ENGAGE IN?

The house does everything, we hunt and farm together, we raid, and every aspect of the game is something we want to explore and master. 

WHO ARE YOUR MOST TRUSTED WARLORDS?

I have several that I rely on, every member that has a lord or above tag has earned that position and titles come with responsibilities and demands that I and every house member expect to be achieved. We have a system in which lords and above are responsible for several knights within the house, this gives us the ability to focus on a small number of members to make sure every member has the support they need.

Though special thanks to TopsyCretts, WorldClass, Sol, Svvadlin, Paladin, Warhalo, Ethan, and Ajora, without whom we would have never survived the first CBT, let alone the second. In the open beta I have relied heavily on my officer corps and my second-in-commands, Jona the Orange, Weak and Hiddenblade

IF SOMEONE WANTED TO JOIN NOCTEM INVICTE OR START A DIALOGUE, WHAT SHOULD THEY DO?

The easiest way is the direct one - simply reach out to us! If you would like to join, you can, but we do strive for a certain level of discipline and organization. If you want to trade, we are happy to help facilitate. 

ARE THERE OTHER HOUSES THAT YOU ADMIRE OR THAT YOU CONSIDER TO BE NATURAL ALLIES?

Relationships have grown and several houses have proven themselves to be made up of awesome people. We are currently in an alliance with UndeadLords and LordsofDeath, but have positive dealings with many more houses.

Also, I have had great interactions with Homegrown, Varangian Guard, Order of Ash, and the Grand Order - all of which are trustworthy and friendly. 

CONVERSELY, ARE THEY ARE ANY HOUSES THAT YOU'D CONSIDER MORTAL ENEMIES?

There are houses that dislike us, for sure. Mortal enemies though…? I would have to say, none. There will always be the gamer drama and the backtalking, but overall I think we have decent realtionships with most houses that we've come into contact with. 

 

Many thanks to Talious for answering our questions. If you know of a house that is deserving of similar recognition that we should profile in the future article, please make your nomination via our Discord channel.

Summer means different things to different people, but for most it’s about having cool drinks on long days and having as much fun as possible while the sun is shining. Sadly, we can’t do much about the weather or provide refreshments, but we can guarantee enjoyment for those taking part in our summer-long season of events.

Starting this week, we’re hosting a number of contests, competition and events via our various social media channels, meaning that all you have to do to take part is like, follow or subscribe in order to be ready when a challenge is issued! You’ll have to fire up the game soon afterwards, and, should you meet the challenge, provide evidence of your achievement, but those that do could be in line for some exciting prizes to make the summer months even more worthwhile.

Remember, forewarned is forearmed! You need to keep tabs on our Discord channel and Facebook page and be ready to charge into action when the time is right. Good luck!