A house of simple, singular aims, more than able to keep up with the big boys of Conqueror’s Blade, Unity had proven itself to be among the premier European houses, even before reaching the finals of the Spring Mayhem Tournament. In order to find out what its plans are for in-game world domination, we spoke to ID Zero, one of its leading Warlords, as well as - through one of his alter-egos - its founder.  

HOW DID YOU FIRST FIND OUT ABOUT CONQUEROR’S BLADE AND WHAT ATTRACTED YOU TO THE GAME?

I personally found out about Conqueror's Blade when I was looking through the Steam store. When I found about Territory Wars within a medieval setting I was instantly sold.

WHY DID YOU DECIDE SET UP UNITY?

Tranquillity is the official leader of House Unity, but I decided to spend the money on the house pack for my group. We set up the house because we wanted to try to do things a little differently from some of the larger houses.

WHAT DO YOU THINK MAKES UNITY DIFFERENT?

Our members have described Unity’s relaxed, calm but also competitive environment. Also, that we can look for improvements and are able to criticize ourselves and learn, without any drama from within.

However, we actually got stuck on this answer so decided to ask some of our members directly, ‘what makes Unity different?’ One of our members, who is actually physically mute, replied: "Having your voice heard, even when you don't have a voice." - That answer made Tranquillity speechless for the first time since I met him!

WHAT WAS THE SECRET OF YOUR SUCCESS IN THE SPRING MAYHEM TOURNAMENT?

Simply put, lots of practice playing together! As a smaller house, we’ve spent lots of time playing alongside each other. Many of our members have played together through hundreds of games and are at the point where they’re reacting on instinct and through experience rather than the need of being told what to do all the time.

Also, we trust each other's judgement and pull through together as a team, which was essential in helping us beat some of the larger house teams.

Now that I come to think of it, just before the tournament began Tranquillity forced our participating members to watch a movie clip - so maybe that had something to do with it!

https://youtu.be/uLUN7LumfH8

WHAT DOES UNITY HOPE TO ACHIEVE WHEN THE GAME GOES LIVE?

We want to settle in a place on the map that we can call home. We plan to gather our strength and recruit slowly the right sort of players with the right sort of mindset. We would like to forge alliances with likeminded houses that are not necessarily trying to become the largest in the game, but that also understand the value of 'quality over quantity'. Together we can perhaps prove that such an approach can succeed.

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

Whilst I have played Nodachi, Poleaxe, Glaive and Dual Blade in the past, my favourite class is the Spear. It’s very good at killing enemy units and I really like the ranged ability 'Procris's Gift', which is good against archer units or chasing down low HP generals while they are retreating to secure the kill. Because of its medium armour, it's also slightly faster on its feet compared to a Glaive or Poleaxe and therefore it suits my playstyle really well.

WHO ARE YOUR MOST TRUSTED AIDES AND WHAT ROLES DO THEY COMMAND WITHIN THE ORGANIZATION?

I think for this question we should provide a diplomatic answer: Every single member of our house, as we deem them all to be trustworthy and share the same values that we hold collectively as a house.

Currently, new members are given the role 'Recruit' and we trial them and see how well they integrate into our community. They are promoted up to 'Member' role if they fit in and show commitment to the game.

IF SOMEONE WANTED TO JOIN UNITY OR START A DIALOGUE TOWARDS ESTABLISHING A PACT, WHAT SHOULD THEY DO?

They should get into contact with myself, Tranquillity or HurgleFurgle and they will be given further instructions.

Collectively we have different members all pitching together to keep things running smoothly so that nobody feels like they have too much on their plate and gets burnt out.

Keeping things simple is our approach. We exclusively exist within Conqueror's Blade (not in other games) and we believe in only using Discord to keep all information in one place. Our Discord information can be found in the 'english_houses' section of the official CB discord within our recruitment post.

However, know that recruitment into Unity is limited and selective: Applicants will be asked various questions before being accepted into the house, as we wish to keep our relaxed atmosphere intact as we grow.

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

We have played many, many games against members of Falcata and have huge respect for players like Aspis, Revan and Viruta. They seem to run their house in a very similar way to us, and therefore have become natural allies. We also fought within their alliance during Spring Mayhem and together with Les Boulettes Russes we managed to hold onto a fair bit of territory.

CONVERSELY, ARE THEY ARE ANY HOUSES THAT YOU’D CONSIDER TO BE DANGEROUS COMPETITORS?

I think we approach other houses with the mindset that you should not underestimate any potential ally or enemy. As fans of Game of Thrones know, even the smallest of houses can engineer schemes that can bring down the largest. We would like to see the map filled with hundreds of smaller houses on the map, all vying for smaller portions of land. Rather than just one or two large 'super alliances' controlling vast portions of it alone. We think things would be more interesting that way!

 

Many thanks to ID Zero 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.

It's Friday once again, which means another chance to catch up on what's been happening over the last seven days. With Spring Mayhem behind us, it's perhaps time to rest the horses before we charge ahead once more. 

https://youtu.be/BEjhH9-Kj1A

The Spring Mayhem access period is now over and we just wanted to thank you all for your interest and patience throughout the last week. Now begins the task of poring over all the data and personal feedback ahead of what will be the last closed beta test before the Conqueror’s Blade gates are left permanently ajar. We will, of course, update you as to when that will be.

In the meantime, we’d like to congratulate all the teams that took part in the Spring Mayhem Tournament, which was played out over the last weekend and came to a thrilling conclusion on Sunday. On the western side of the competition, Ming beat Unity to claim the EU / NA ceremonial goblets, while it was Chaos that eventually won out against Red Wing Orlandinos to take the RU title.

As expected, no quarter was given in the opening matches of the Grand Final, but in the end it was Ming that emerged victorious! We’ll have a full recap soon - until then, thanks to all those that helped make the Spring Mayhem Tournament a memorable competition - the first of many!

The teams have been selected, the matches have been scheduled and tactics are being delivered for the start of the Spring Mayhem Tournament, which kicks off tomorrow (Saturday 20 April) at 19:00 CEST (10:00 PST).

Four epic rounds will be played out over Saturday and Sunday, culminating with the winning NA / EU team squaring off against the champions of a similar tournament being run by our colleagues in Russia. It’s going to be a truly epic clash and we want as many people as possible enjoying the spectacle!

To tune into the action all you have to do is visit our YouTube or Twitch pages. For live text updates, the statisticians of our Discord channel will keep you informed of the latest scores as they happen. Make sure to subscribe to be ready to watch the action unfold:

In addition, the following special guests will be providing live broadcasts for select matches. If you want to follow the progress of a particular team, or hear the insights of a preferred commentator, here’s where you need to be:

Instantsmile (EN)

Ichininja (EN)

The Order of the Dragons (EN)

Samiel Grim (EN)

Yuopy (EN)

Exhibits (EN)

La Taverne des Casus (FR)

While the teams make their final preparations, we just want to wish them, the viewers and all of those working behind the scenes, the best of luck. If all goes to plan, the Spring Mayhem Tournament will be the first of many competitive sporting fixtures in the Conqueror’s Blade calendar. History is being made!

It’s been another hectic week of in-game action and out-of-game articles, resulting in another packed summary. For those that prefer the quiet life, things should settle down next week, as Spring Mayhem is brought to a close and we can look ahead to the Final CBT phase (TBC)!

https://youtu.be/aYPsn1dHm2o

Greetings, warlords!

A few days ago, we opened the gates to Conqueror’s Blade for the TwitchCon 2019 Open Weekend. Players around the world gathered to check out the latest changes to the game and to test their skill in bloody medieval warfare.

On behalf of our team, we’d like to thank each and every one of you for your participation in this testing stage, as well as in the Spring Mayhem event that we’re holding right now. Your support and feedback truly inspire us to keep pushing forward to make Conqueror’s Blade as awesome as it can possibly be.

Our testing stages usually have two main goals: Firstly, to show you the latest version of the game and to hear and see your reactions, and so that we can use your feedback to further improve the localization, game balance, mechanics, and general experience.

Secondly, these tests are important to help us discover unforeseen technical problems with the game’s servers or client, and also prevent them from reoccurring in the future.

Unfortunately, some problems only become apparent when a truly massive number of warlords play together and ‘stress test’ the stability of the game world. Indeed, this time we’ve found some of those issues.

Fortunately, with your direct help and assistance and together with the development team at Booming Games, we were able to find, isolate, and fix most of the issues already. We’re hard at work on the rest of them right now.

Here are just a few of the issues we have fixed since last weekend:

-          Problem accessing certain regions on the world map

-          Error codes 1020 and 1025 appearing after login

-          Problem with servers not being able to create battle instances

-          Problem with client crashes after siege battles

-          Problem with some cities being unconquerable during Territory War

Right now, we’re still working on server stability and problems that occur when some players enter the world map.

We do understand that some of the problems might have adversely affected your in-game experience during the TwitchCon Open Weekend and Spring Mayhem. However, all of the fixes that have been implemented as a result will make the game much more technically stable and will lead to an overall better gameplay experience for everyone.

Very soon, we will launch the Final CBT stage. We can’t wait to get your feedback, but this will only happen after we can positively confirm that these problems are fixed, as we don’t want these issues to distract you from your exciting adventures in the vast and dangerous medieval world of Conqueror’s Blade.

Thank you for your support, we’ll see you on the battlefield!

- The Producer Team

Whether you plan to focus on combat or the campaign map, resources are going to be integral to success in Conqueror’s Blade. Without the likes of wood, leather and iron you won’t be able to arm your troops, build siege weapons or evolve your settlements towards raising new and larger armies.

Sure, if you’ve amassed a vast income, you may be able to acquire everything you need from the market, but for most that will be an option for when times are desperate. To win battles, you must also win at logistics, which means having access to the right resources at the right time and in the right amounts. Towards that, knowing what the various resources do, where they can be found and how to acquire them is essential.

It helps to know that there are broadly three types of resource, Basic, Exotic and Materials, although there are some subtypes within each that are worth distinguishing, which we’ll get to later

By and large, Basic and Exotic resources can be found in one of eight types of resource site found throughout the world. Simply visit a site that has what you need, hand over the requisite currency or Extraction Token, then, once extraction is complete, you can transfer your new resources to your wagon or caravan. Next, you simply escort your goods to market or store them for when you need to process them into Materials - which are the refined resources used in personal and unit items and equipment, siege weapons and construction and building upgrades.



Basic Resources

These resources are available across all parts of the world and are essential to the creation of all basic Materials. There are eight categories of basic resource: Food (from Farms), Horses (from Paddocks and Stables), Timber (from Logging Camps), Animal Hides (from Tanneries), Cotton (from Cotton Fields), Iron Ore (Iron Mines), Copper Ore (Copper Mines) and Stone (from Quarries).

Each resource category is further divided into four ranks or tiers (Common, Uncommon, Rare and Epic), with the fundamental difference between them that fewer quantities of an Epic resource (e.g. Cedar, from a Cedar Logging Camp) is required in the creation of a Material compared to a Common resource variety (such as Pine, from a Pine Logging Camp).

Exotic Resources

Exotic resources are required in small but significant quantities to improve the quality level of a refined Material. For example, only Basic resources are needed to fashion Common materials, while a single Exotic item - in addition to Basic resources - is needed for Uncommon materials (and two Exotics for a Rare material, etc).

While many Exotic resources can be found across all regions, some are only available in one or two regions. Also, unlike Basic resources, which are harvested in specific amounts, there is no guarantee that any Exotic resources will be found during an extraction cycle. However, Exotic resources are not limited to specific extraction sites. For example, while Cedar lumber can only be harvested from a Cedar Logging Camp, Exotic lumbers such as Larch can potentially be found at any of the four varieties of logging site. (Though also in the case of Larch, so long as they’re located in Maoyang or Liangyun.)



Materials

Materials are essentially production resources. They are refined from Basic and Exotic resources, to be used in the creation of personal and unit equipment, siege weaponry and construction.

As with their namesake Basic resource groups, each Material is classified by its rank (Common, Uncommon, Rare and Epic), which is generally determined by the ratio of Basic to Exotic resources required to create it. For example, “common” Seasoned Wood requires only Basic resources (Pine, Cedar, etc), while “rare” and “epic” Wood will require some additional Exotic wood resources, such as Larch lumber.

It’s worth noting that Materials produced purely from Basic resources (which is to say Common Materials) cannot be used in the production of personal (Warlord) items. In order to craft high-grade hero items, it will be necessary to have access to what are called “Player Resources”, which are created from the dismantling of personal items. Treasure, a type of Exotic resource that includes Amber (from Logging Camps), Garnet (from Iron Mines), Moonstone (Quarries), Silk (Cotton Fields), Musk (Tanneries) and Moonstone (Quarries), though primarily a sale resource, may factor into personal item production at a later date.

Salvage

Classified as a Player resource to distinguish it from resources from the various resource sites, this is a small group of production resources that are created when an inventory item is no longer required and is broken down rather than sold. Player resources can them be taken to NPC crafters and used in the creation of new Warlord and personal mount items and equipment. As with other resource types, “salvage” comes in Common, Uncommon, Rare and Epic variants.

To be continued…

Because the resource system was still being adapted at time of writing, we’ll be following up this guide closer to release with a detailed look at the all the resource types, where they can be found and in what quantities they are needed to create specific Materials. We’ll also be detailing all the NPC types and how they facilitate the refining and production process.

In spite of the limited access guilds have had during testing so far, a select few have achieved a great deal. Among them is CSM (aka Caelestium Project) a house that played on the RU server during the Guild CBT and was able to secure more territories than any of its competitors. We spoke with Sevatar, CSM’s founder and leader, about its early success and how it plans to go on as it has started.

HOW DID YOU FIRST FIND OUT ABOUT CONQUEROR’S BLADE?

We (a gaming clan of more than a hundred players) were searching for a suitable game, one that could accommodate our numbers and had the right kind of spirit. We were used to dark techno-worlds and we needed something with hardcore game mechanics and a non-vanilla setting, in which we could deploy the full power of a large experienced community and which wouldn’t be too small for us. Naturally, when we found out about Conqueror’s Blade it seemed to offer what we were looking for.

WHY DID YOU SET UP A HOUSE?

So that in death our enemies could know of those that killed them. More seriously, it was just to unite a number of in-game clans, so we can act as one cohesive unit.

WHAT DO YOU THINK MAKES CSM DISTINCT?

We know our aims and objectives and we do not deviate from them. We are not interested in roleplaying, or what happens in other guilds or between other players. We simply approach the game exclusively as a competitive discipline. We are serious about competence: We have training sessions lead by the most experienced players so that the least experienced can learn from the best

Inside the House, we maintain a warm and friendly atmosphere, which is appreciated by both the old-timers and the newcomers. This means a lot to everybody in the group and makes the effort worthwhile.

CSM WAS A CHAMPION OF THE GUILD CBT STAGE. CAN YOU EXPLAIN HOW CAME TO DOMINATE THE OPPOSITION?

In terms of leadership, we simply responded in a timely manner to rapidly changing conditions on the global map. We did this by reassigning and deploying our forces on priority fronts of conflict. We played the game as it’s meant to be played and we all concentrated on very specific tasks. In addition, we were able to implement our strengths while entrusting our allies to cover up our weaknesses.

WHAT ARE YOUR AMBITIONS FOR CSM WHEN THE GAME GOES LIVE?

We know how to unlock the potential in all our members and we’ll sculpt them into a formidable fighting force. Meanwhile, each individual will be able to specialise in their chosen areas of expertise

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

I’ve enjoyed playing all the classes and they can all be effective once you’ve gotten used to them. Our members have mastered them all quite successfully so far, although we don’t know how much the classes will change before launch.
Nodachi is perhaps my least favourite, while my personal favourite is Longsword and Shield. It’s very versatile and multifaceted; it can assist allies while they heal, it tanks well and is useful in pushing assaults. Although it’s not an all-out PvP class, it suits my playstyle well.

WHO ARE YOUR MOST TRUSTED AIDES?

God alone helps me in governing the House. We needn’t suffer with such support!

IF SOMEONE WANTED TO JOIN YOUR HOUSE OR START A DIALOG WHAT SHOULD THEY DO?
They can join the CSM Discord channel, or, failing that, contact the admins of our Steam group.

ARE THERE OTHER HOUSES THAT YOU’D CONSIDER MORTAL ENEMIES OR DANGEROUS COMPETITORS?
Other Houses will know what we think of them after we’ve met them!



Many thanks to Sevatar 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.

We’re happy to announce the release of the Account Inventory system. This is the web-based interface used to transfer items that you’ll have bought, earned or been given to your character inventories. An example might be a cannon you received from completing a task in an earlier closed beta test, or a pre-ordered Explorer’s Pack. Essentially, the stuff you haven’t acquired in-game goes into your Account Inventory, for you to distribute to your in-game personas as you see fit.

Note: You can currently only view your inventory. Item transfers will remain disabled until open beta testing.

If there’s not a lot in yours right now, that’s because there’s not been a lot to amass as yet. Pre-order packs currently aren’t visible, but rest assured that any pre-order packs you’ve acquired or upgraded will be in your Account Inventory when the time is right. If you’re curious about the status of your pre-order, you can check it out the pre-order page.

As well as being a way to assign your premium items in-game, the Account Inventory is a way to track all of your rewards for completing tasks, gifts for winning competitions and, of course, purchased premium items. As you progress in the game, you will collect quite a lot of stuff, all of which needs to be accounted for and tracked - for obvious reasons,   

Visible and yet-to-be incorporated items are listed below. If there are any from the first list that you think should be visible on your account, let us know and we’ll check it out.

The following are available to view in player Account Inventories  

• Gift for registered users
• Land page gifts
• CBT and Guild CBT Test Goal rewards (February 7-25)

The following are yet to be added to Account Inventories:

• Pre-order pack items
• House Founder’s Pack items
• Winter Mayhem participation and mission rewards
• Social subscription rewards
• Gifts from the referral program

Thank you to those who joined us over this last weekend. Whether you came to TwitchCon Europe or joined the Conqueror’s Blade Open Weekend, it was a pleasure to have you with us - even if the servers didn't always keep up with demand.

Even though TwitchCon Europe is over and the Open Weekend servers are cooling off, it doesn’t have to be the end of your Conqueror’s Blade experience. Later today, at 16:00 CEST (07:00 PST), the servers will be back up as we start our Spring Mayhem event. If you want to continue your adventures there, all you need to is one of our pre-order packs - one of which has recently gotten considerably bigger!

If any extra incentive were needed, we’ve decided to extend the length of Spring Mayhem until 10:00 CEST (01:00 PST) on Tuesday 23rd April, on account of the the Spring Mayhem Tournament that will be starting up very soon (and for which entries are now, sadly, closed).   

We look forward to seeing you on the battlements again soon!

Important link: What’s changed since the Guild CBT (patch notes)

https://youtu.be/EI_Mdqgam6w