The Final Closed Beta Test has come and almost gone without us having a proper chance to welcome it, but at least there’s an open weekend to look forward to!

In this week's round-up, we also have details on Guild Hub migration for House Founder’s Pack owners and an exhaustive look at consumables and currencies that will be available very soon.

https://youtu.be/rSq0kvdFFH4

Whether it’s a purse full of silver or a massive boost up to level 30, we’ve tended to be quite generous with boosting new characters during closed beta testing. This is because we want to create the conditions for certain things to happen, or for certain aspects of play to arise, which can’t always occur in a short space of time when everyone is fumbling about with barely any XP points or copper coins to their name.

The situation is no different for the Final CBT and subsequent open weekend, which is why when you create a new character, you’ll discover the following:

• All characters will start at level 1
• 36,000 skillpoint boost (enough to study all the skills for one weapon class)
• All achievements unlocked (so that no skills are locked)
• 100,000 bronze coins, 50,000 silver coins, 30,000 honor for your spending pleasure.

In addition, each new character will find in their inventory:

• 50x Extraction Tokens
• 120x Ultimate Scrolls for all weapon classes
• 20x common Artillery Chests
• 10x common level 30 weapons (one per class)
• Light/Medium/Heavy level 30 armor sets (boots, helmet, chest and gloves)
• 10x special XP books that can be used from level 21 (enough to boost characters to level 36) 

In addition to the above, a selection of Conqueror’s Pack items have been applied to inventories (so that those that have pre-ordered can see some of what they’re getting, and everyone else can see what they’ll be missing!)

Enjoy!

It’s the end of an era for Conqueror’s Blade, one in which the game is about to charge out from the shadows of closed beta testing and into the light of open play. Before then we have one final and very important CBT phase to complete.

Starting right now and ending 10:00 CEST (01:00 PDT) on Saturday 18th May, the Final CBT is just a short period of access. However, it remains a critical one as we stress test the servers and unleash new features to compliment those from last month’s Spring Mayhem.

If you want to take part in the Final CBT and be the first to check out what’s new and updated, you can either pick up a pre-order pack (which comes with imminent Early Access fitted as standard), or, you can simply hold off until the Final CBT ends - at which point the full, free and final Open Weekend will begin.

Whenever you choose to join us in the days ahead, we hope you enjoy these last few moments of relative peace, before the real and bloody business of medieval conquest begins!

Tutorials and guidance

• New artillery deployment tutorial mission has been added.
• Added more temporary units to tutorial missions.
• New resources gathering and crafting missions added at level 15.
• New appearance items added as tutorial rewards.
• Some enemies in tutorial battles have been made weaker.
• Quest icons (over NPC heads and on the minimap) have been adjusted.
• Added a corresponding tooltip to switch unit when an active unit is almost killed.
• Players must now finish at least one in the practice camp (vs. AI) before attempting PvP.

Houses and alliances

• The number of alliances (Kingdoms) that can be allied has been decreased from five to three.
• The number of alliances (Kingdoms) that can be deemed hostile has been increased from 10 to 15.
• Adjusted in-game description of house reputation.
• House search function allows you to prioritise the display of houses that are local to the region. 

Global Map and Territory War

• Collectable random objects added to Global Map. These objects are specific to each player (when you see or collect the object, it does not affect other players - they have their own). Examination of these objects will provide a player with random rewards of different value (silver, crafting resources, consumables). Note: After being examined it will take 1-7 days for a new random object to appear.
• A fief can’t be made to lose more than 100 prosperity points (equal to one city level) during a single Territory War.
• Retreat, warlord death or battle loss on the Global map will turn soldiers in all army units into wounded: 15% of soldiers for PvP battles and 5% of soldiers for PvE battles.
• Silver reward has been increased for owning cities and forts.
• Inns added to the Global Map, where forage can be restored and units healed (unless a Territory War is in progress).
• Rebel Suppression Orders are no longer required to raid Rebel Camps.
• Wax Seal removed from NPC shop.
• Fixed: horse model error in the big world.
• Fixed: oversized siege weapon model error in the big world.

Rewards

• After various game activities (Rebel Camps - high probability, Expeditions - average probability, Ironman - average probability, Standard battles - low probability), the player may encounter a bonus reward interface. By using a Skeleton Key players can earn extra silver and basic crafting materials and equipment. Players may open up to 20 vaults per week.
• 1, 2 and 3 Skeleton Keys added in respect of Squire’s, Knight’s and Marshal’s chests (weekly quests rewards). Note: additional keys can be obtained as weekly rewards by those with Premium Accounts.

Units

• Era requirements adjusted: Feudal Era now requires only two units to be unlocked from the Rustic Era. Chivalric Era - three units from the previous era. Silver Era - four units. Requirements for Heroic Era (five units) and Golden Era (six units) remain unchanged.
• New UI and unit parameters/career visualisation added.
• Fixed the following tier-6 unit bugs:
  • Iron Reapers were sometimes unable to attack 
  • Winged Hussars attack damage when not charging was incorrect
  • Fire Lance Cavalry were unable to shoot whilst attacking

Crafting

• Crafting duration for all operations reduced by a factor of ten.

Character

• Leadership removed as a Basic Attribute.
• Basic Leadership value for level 1 warlords now 100. Additional 100 Leadership obtained at levels 10, 20, 30, 40, 50 and 60.
• Some achievements required for studying character skills, were removed.

Matchmaking

• New matchmaking bracket added for levels 10-20.
• Matchmaking maps for “Standard Battles” are now randomly chosen when applying 
• Daily and weekly limits for “Ironman” and “Expedition” modes removed. 

Chat

• The chat function now has channels for each supported language (EN/FR/DE/ES/RU).
• Game client will default to language-specific channel based on client language settings. Note that chat channels will only accept characters respective to the host language.

The day has arrived, Warlords! Today we’re announcing not just the next stage of Conqueror’s Blade testing, but what will be the final phase of closed testing. If you want to get some practice in before the real thing, this is your last chance!

We’ll be kicking things off later today at 16:00 CEST (07:00 PDT) with the Final CBT, which, as in previous CBT rounds, will be limited to pre-order customers and those with valid access keys. This will be followed almost immediately by an Open Weekend, which will be accessible to everyone via My.com and through Steam. We want to give the servers a thorough shakedown before open beta, so be sure to invite your friends, enemies and anyone else you know!

At 10:00 CEST on Monday 20th May the closed beta test phase of Conqueror’s Blade will be over! The servers will be wiped for the final time and we will start making preparations to welcome in all those who’ve acquired Early Access as part of their pre-order packs. If you want to get a head start, it’s not too late to be among the first into battle!

FINAL CBT

WHEN

• 16:00 CEST (07:00 PDT) 16th May - 10:00 CEST (01:00 PDT) 18th May

HOW TO TAKE PART

• If you’ve pre-ordered Conqueror’s Blade or registered test key access either with My.com or through Steam, you will be able to download the game via their respective game launchers.

• Check out cb.my.com/cbt for details on final stage quests and rewards!

OPEN WEEKEND

WHEN

• 10:00 CEST (01:00 PDT) 18th May - 10:00 CEST (01:00 PDT) 20th May

HOW TO TAKE PART

• Download the game from cb.my.com or through Steam. You’ll need a valid My.com or Steam account.

COMING SOON: Patch Notes, Open Beta dates (yes, Open Beta dates!) and more!

When the history of Conqueror’s Blade is written, the house known as Chaos will probably be mentioned more than a few times. In what little that has been written so far, it already features prominently. Whether the Russian house continues to feature might come down to the efforts of its leader, Irreality.

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

Our community learned about Conqueror's Blade more than a year ago, before the first European test of the game. Then, together with TheRed, we fought against houses like Crimson Blades. Since then we have participated in all other test stages.

WHY DID YOU DECIDE TO SET UP A HOUSE IN CONQUEROR’S BLADE?

Because I lead a community, and when the community heads towards a new game, I create a guild there.

WHAT MAKES CHAOS DIFFERENT FROM OTHER HOUSES?

We have players with extensive MMO experience, and, as a result, a capacity to learn quickly and adapt. We have strong leadership, but members are not bound to the desires and whims of the leader. We offer fair progression and loot distribution based on an individual’s contribution to raids, diplomacy, community, tournaments and overall levels of combat.

WHAT DOES CHAOS WANT TO ACHIEVE AS A HOUSE?

Undoubtedly our main efforts will be to dominate in whatever region we choose. But for us it is not enough just to want to win the map. We have been engaged in all previous tests and are actively training new community members; raising the level of team coordination, strategy and developing common tactics, so we can achieve our aims.

Unlike many other houses that claim to be similar, my words are supported by our achievements, both during testing and in the tournament. I definitely regard our roster as one of the strongest in the game.

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

During testing I’ve played many classes. In the recent build of the game, my choice was Longsword and Shield. It’s a great support class and effective against all but Twin Blades.



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

I try to ensure that every member of the community adequately understands their task. When they do, I’m not required to interfere as much when issues arise. Nevertheless, of course in my team there are a number of officers and assistants who help me in managing raid composition and tactics.

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

We are open to suggestions. You can contact us via in our Discord or TeamSpeak.

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

During previous testing we actively cooperated with two houses, Holy Cross and Red Wing Orlandinos. In general, the policy of our community and myself does not strongly encourage alliances, but if necessary we are ready to act together against a common adversary.

ARE THERE ANY HOUSES THAT POSE A MORTAL THREAT TO CHAOS?

I can not say that we have any deadly enemies. We are at war with everyone we need to be at war with and therefore many other houses are building alliances against us, trying together to attack our territories and so on. But all this is also part of the policy of our community - a war against the whole world. We will never give up on glorious PvP - this is the goal of our game!

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

Game experience and competent tactics. Two of our team hadn’t played the game before the Spring Mayhem test, but this didn’t stop them preparing. Our attitude was very serious. I would advise other teams in future to assemble a team with which it will be comfortable to play, train and even lose together. After all, there is no progress without errors.



Many thanks to Irreality 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.

New profiles and guides and a reminder that we recently expanded our upgrade page. Also, the chance to expand yours by helping us expand our Discord channel - it’s all in this week’s round-up!

https://youtu.be/vNK89sY3630

With so much of our focus on the very near horizon, it’s very difficult to pull back the curtain on what lies beyond it. Hence for this latest Sneak Peek we look at Trade Colonies.

Previously known as Black Markets, Trade Colonies debuted in last month’s Spring Mayhem test and will, of course, be returning in the next (and final) closed beta phase. We suspect as a feature they’ll be getting a bit more attention, as players become settled in the world and the resource system evolves to meet their needs.

https://youtu.be/vc0Xx41aPAk

A small matter of disqualification aside, Red Wing Orlandinos was second only to Chaos in the recent Spring Mayhem Tournament. It’s a Russian house that’s poised to deploy its full strength once the gates of Conqueror’s Blade are fully open. We sat down with its founder and leader, to see what everyone might well be up against.

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

I got acquainted with the game at a time when it had a different name and very few people knew about it. This was 1.5-2 years ago.

WHY DID YOU DECIDE TO SET UP A HOUSE IN CONQUEROR’S BLADE?

For us, Conqueror`s Blade is the only game where we’ll be in the near future. It has its advantages and disadvantages, so why not?

WHAT DO YOU THINK MAKES RED WING ORLANDINOS DIFFERENT?

We have no equal in power. Someone else might call it a uniqueness.

WHAT DO YOU HOPE TO ACHIEVE WHEN THE GAME GOES LIVE?

We will most likely to start in Ungverija, because, in my opinion, it is the location that is the most diverse and resource-rich. What to achieve? It would not be bad to create a legacy. So that in the future people will talk about us and how we influenced the history of the game.

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

I’ve played the musket before, but on the last test I tried Poleaxe. I have no preferences on whom to play. There are metas where certain classes show themselves well, but I play meta because I want to win. I have no reason to play a weak class to prove something to someone.

YOU DID PRETTY WELL IN THE SPRING MAYHEM TOURNAMENT. WHAT WAS THE SECRET OF YOUR SUCCESS?

Experience and personal skill. The whole tournament was quite predictable for us, even the finals.

WHO ARE YOUR MOST TRUSTED PLAYER AND WHAT ROLES DO THEY COMMAND?

The backbone of the house consists of 10-15 people and each of them is important to me. I can approach each of them and ask for opinions on various issues. I rarely need advice on what to do, but I often like to have a different perspective.

IF SOMEONE WANTED TO JOIN YOUR HOUSE OR START A PACT, WHAT SHOULD THEY DO?

Write me a PM with your proposal. If someone wants to join us, then you can keep your identity and home, but we will assume global leadership. Loyal houses will be rewarded.

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

We have very good relations with the Chaos, Ocean and Dark Triad. With some, it’s because we respect each other as rivals, while others we have known them a long time. And their leaders are great guys who are a pleasure to deal with.

DO YOU CONSIDER ANY HOUSES AS MORTAL ENEMIES OR DANGEROUS COMPETITORS?

I’d rather not call them enemies, rather those against who you fight - LEGION, Exiles. Others like CSM, Holy Cross, RedFaction and others are quite small in number, but they add strength to the game.



Many thanks to OrlRequiem 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, which means the end of another week and a look back at some of the stuff that's been going on. Mostly we've been catching up on the last days of Spring Mayhem, before the madness of summer takes hold!

https://youtu.be/BmUK1ZQdZSY