If you’ve been enjoying our Halloween event, the layout of this bleak outpost will be instantly familiar, as it’s been the site of many a last stand over recent days. However, the sun is rising on an equally bloody challenge: holding the centre of Desert Fortress - the latest map to join the Expedition (II & III) roster - its desperate villagers about to face an even more persistent invader.

HISTORY
With the local garrison abandoning its post, the left-behind citizens of Desert Fortress are unable to fend for themselves. Circulating rumours as a means of defence: that evil spirits were to blame for the town’s fortunes, they attracted only dark minds to explore the town’s empty shadows. Thanks to the ongoing efforts of Warlords, however, the streets are slowly becoming safe again, although as dawn breaks after the Halloween mists, a new enemy is poised to attack.

SCOUTING REPORTA raised platform dominates the centre of the map, upon which the town’s survivors hope to be protected by up to five Warlords and their chosen units. The enemy, meanwhile, is stationed outside the main courtyard, poised to advance uncontested through the city gates from north, south, east and west. Should its units slay the cowering townsfolk during the course of five sustained assaults, the battle will be lost.


WAVE 1To begin with, enemy attacks are light; pikemen entering via the western entrance, followed by swords from the east - with support from crude rocket artillery. Keeping both flanks protected won’t be difficult, but if you sally out to destroy the Hwacha, be wary of the final round of troops that will approach from the north gate.

WAVE 2Archers start to enter the fray - which can pick off the townsfolk if allowed to come within range - and the enemy attacks start to overlap. You will also be attacked from the south for the first time, and then from the north in quick succession.

WAVE 3Added to the familiar units - swords, pike and archers - heavily shielded troops are deployed from the east. These are not particularly strong but need to be eliminated quickly, as the longer you are left dealing with them, the less time you have to prepare for an assault from the west. After that, you can expect a cavalry charge from the south - easily countered by pike-wielding units - followed by the deployment of katana infantry from the north.

WAVE 4Before the attack begins it might be a good idea to reinforce your troops. Until this point, the enemy has been overlapping its attacks, but in this penultimate assault it will attack in large numbers from three directions simultaneously. Expect to meet equal numbers of pike, swordsmen and archers. Meet them with the same from the centre-ground and only break ranks to outflank or press an advantage and you should make it to the final wave. You’ll know one way or another fairly quickly.

WAVE 5For final assault, the enemy will bring out the big guns - literally, as musketeer units are deployed in quite large numbers from the north. This is an attack wave designed to shatter a defensive line, then to break through it as it falters, as the final round of attacks will be dominated by a desperate cavalry charge from both east and west. Arrange your units to counter each accordingly and, with some luck and persistence, the town will be saved!

Last week, during the spooky festivities, our Community Team began a terrifying transformation, putting their very souls on the line! The challenge was to hunt them down and take them on in open-world combat in a bid to save their souls Those that did (everyone that took part in a battle where one of the team perished) was entered into a raffle for a chance to win one of our limited edition Halloween skins.

Today, we’re pleased to announce the names of the 30 lucky Warlords from across the EU West and NA servers that have been selected as winners:

Congratulations to all those who were lucky enough to win. We ask that you now to reach out to one of our Community Managers on Discord to let them know if you want the hero or unit Halloween skin!

While we work to correct recent issues, we will be running today’s Territory Wars in “Drill Mode” (November 5th) across the EU West 1, EU West 2 and NA servers. This is to ensure that everything is working as intended ahead of a planned return to regular Territory Wars at the weekend.

We first put Territory wars into temporary Drill Mode back in June. It’s basically a training mode - all the fun of a full Territory War with none of the consequences. You can check out the battle and reward adjustments that will apply during Drill Mode in this article.

Please note: Any current declarations of war will be cancelled and Prestige refunded. Subsequent war declarations, in preparation for Saturday's Territory Wars, will be applied as usual.

Earlier this month, we tasked you to draw, paint, model, or otherwise create a crown fit for a king or queen. The competition was fierce, and there was a lot of fantastic creativity on show from our community. However, there can be only three winners, and the Conqueror’s Blade team has selected a trio of shining crown jewels!

Congratulations to:

• Murzich (AveMuru#9053) in 1st Place, winning 6,000 Sovereigns and a Dark Reaper Collector’s Pack
  
  
• Voru (Voru#3224) in 2nd Place, winning 2,300 Sovereigns and a Dark Reaper Collector’s Pack
  
  
• Ofal (ofal#4940) in 3rd Place, winning 1,100 Sovereigns and a Desert Master Collector’s Pack

The Conqueror’s Blade team will be in contact with the winners very soon, and you can have a look at the winning entries below! If you’re interested in taking part in another contest, the Halloween Writing Contest is accepting entries until November 3rd.

See you on the battlefield!

Halloween may be over for most people, but the citizens of Conqueror's Blade still have plenty of celebrating to be getting on with. This week saw a game update, a new event and limited edition attires to enjoy while the festive spirits are still with us. Check out all these and more in our latest video update.

Please be aware that from 07:00 CET on Tuesday, 5th November (10pm PST, November 4), the Conqueror’s Blade servers will be inaccessible. The downtime is expected to last for 4 hours. For Patch Notes please check out Season 1 is going into extra time!

Meanwhile, stay tuned to our Discord channel in case of any immediate server updates.

In order to ensure parity between seasons, we have decided to extend Season 1 to include our Halloween celebrations. Specifically, this is so we can assess a number of changes that will be applied as part of an update that’s being prepared.

Between the update and the added time, Season 1 challenges should be easier to complete and their rewards more attainable, especially with seasonal experience being paid out as part of the ongoing planned Halloween event. We will, of course, be issuing new challenges to cover the two-week extension, with Season 1 set to end on November 18th. 

For those of you who are still hanging onto your Conquest Tokens, be aware that at the end of the Season the Seasonal Store will no longer be active and the Conquest Tokens will expire from your inventory.

SEASONAL ADJUSTMENTS

The Season has been extended an additional 2 weeks to allow more time for Warlords to complete their seasonal challenges and obtain more seasonal rewards. The Season will now end on November 18th.

Seasonal Challenges:

• 
  We have added an additional 2 weeks of Seasonal Challenges (Week 6 and Week 7) which include challenges that require you to explore the open world, and equipment crafting.
• 
  We have introduced a Weekly Challenge refresh feature. Now Warlords can choose a weekly challenge and click “Refresh” to receive a new random challenge. Relevant rewards will remain unchanged and you will only receive 2 Refreshes per week.

Previously, the Halloween event, “The Vengeful Dead” would only drop rewards 2 times per day, we have added Bronze and Experience to additional playthroughs of the Halloween event.
The Archeologist Pack has been added back to the in-game store with a limit of 2 purchases per week.

NA server-based and billeted primarily in Ostaria, Tuatha and Gaiscioch are two separate houses, but to all intents and purposes they are one and the same. They are borne of the same long-standing game community, with the same shared history, structure, identity and goals - to help new players find their way. The group (which exists as part of the Westweg Alliance) was founded by Foghladha, who also speaks on its behalf… 

How did you first find out about Conqueror’s Blade and what attracted you to the game?

In 2018 the Gaisicoch were looking for a new title that contained Siege Warfare. I saw Conqueror's Blade mentioned, did some research and was provided with a handful of keys for the then-upcoming European X Test.

I fell in love with the game right out of the gate. It was the best parts of numerous games combined into an MMORPG. For more than a decade our community had been searching for a siege warfare game that both PvP and PvE players could enjoy, so I knew I had to bring our community here in some form or another.

Why did you decide to set up a house in Conqueror’s Blade?

We originally decided to form a house that the entire Tuatha Extended Alliance (that has travelled across five games with us) could use to try our Conqueror's Blade and see if it was something they could enjoy. House Tuatha was created and operated by Gaiscioch, which has a long history with siege-based MMORPGs and is a very dedicated part of any game community they are a part of.

House Tuatha was built to become a place where new players could learn about the game, enjoy some PvE and PvP experiences and get better at the overall game mechanics. Our focus is on keeping things light-hearted and fun. Siege warfare can be extremely fun in both a PvE and PvP setting if you’re playing with the right people.

What do you think makes your houses different?

Our houses are very different from most in Conqueror's Blade. While most focus on Territory Wars and maxing out their characters and troops, we focus on bringing in new players, moving them to Westweg - away from the toxicity you find in capital cities - and working with them to find the same passion we found in this game. We teach them about their skills through one-on-one instruction and duels in our weekly new player events. Our focus is entirely on getting the new players excited about the road ahead.

When they begin wanting to take part in Territory Wars or playing on a larger scale, we pair them up with other houses that we have come to know as reputable, honorable people. Our goal is not to take over the world, but to build a world worth taking over. A place where warriors enjoy the battlefield and rise from defeat to finally find their success. We don't care what house people are a part of, we train dozens every week and want to work with anyone who needs a bit of advice.
 
What about the alliance?

We created the Westweg Alliance so unaffiliated players can request to join our alliance and we can work with them through alliance chats. Both House Gaiscioch and Tuatha operate as one house, focused on teaching new players about the game.

We are not focused on taking territory and work towards making allies with all of our neighbors. We do not attack cities unannounced and always open a dialog when we want to organize a skirmish with another house or alliance. We have the respect of most of our neighbors and have remained untouched at Westweg for nearly three months - for which we are eternally grateful. Westweg was originally a gift to us from the CATS and Spartans as a place where we could help teach new players. While our neighbors have changed many times, we continue to remain peaceful to all.

What will be your legacy?

We hope that in the years to come just about every house in Conqueror's Blade has someone trained by us: players who ignited their passion in Westweg and continued on for years to come. We want to be a positive influence in the world and help make this game fun for all.

What’s your favorite class to play as and why?

Personally I love the Dual Blades most, with a close second being Spear. I have spent a great deal of time with the Short Bow, Long Bow, Musket, Long Sword, and Short Sword as well and find each of them enjoyable, but I have always enjoyed being up close and personal. Assassins have always been an archetype I frequent. Dual Blade offers a lot of risk/reward gameplay where you get that adrenaline rush knowing at any moment you could be pummeled if you don't act quickly and precisely.

What activities does the house regularly engage in and enjoy?

Our houses frequent Rebel Camps, Expeditions, Siege Battles, and spend a lot of time helping each other learn the game. From testing out troops and formations on random wandering rebels to completing dailies and weeklies together. Everything we do is about learning the game and getting better.

Traditionally on Territory Wars nights, we pair up with one of our friends for some friendly skirmishes to help the new players see how Territory Wars function. We have several houses and alliances that we are "At War" with that we are actually allies and help each other train new players about the ways of Territory Wars in set locations each week.

Who are your most trusted warlords and what roles do they command within the group?

In our houses we have several who help coach the new players. Dorda is our resident expert on crafting, resource gathering, and rebel camps. I handle weapon training, battlefield tactics and answer general gameplay questions. Todaki, Abrakay, and JaakDaniels lead a lot of fief questing and rebel activities.


If someone wanted to join your house or start a dialogue towards trade or establishing a pact, what should they do?

There are several ways you can get involved:

• Join the Westweg Alliance as a Free Agent - Simply open the alliance pane, search for “Westweg” and click Request
• Join House Gaiscioch or Tuatha
• Join us on Discord at https://discord.gg/gWGyMG5
• Visit us in Westweg
• Contact “Dorda” or “Foghladha”

If you would like to contact us regarding alliances between our house and yours, be sure to contact Foghladha in-game or Foghladha#6138 in Discord.

Are there other houses that you admire or that you consider to be natural allies?

We consider all houses allies until they give us a reason not to. We are always looking for new small budding houses that need guidance to help them get their footing. We have a vast contact list that helps many get in contact with each other and we overall look for others like ourselves that are trying to better the community and livelihood of Conqueror's Blade.

Conversely, are there any houses that you'd consider mortal enemies?

Historically, we stand again toxic communities that seek to tear others down.

Many thanks to Foghladha 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.

The wider Gaiscioch community will be taking part in a charity livestreaming event from 1-3 November. You can find out more here.

Greetings, everyone. I'm the second lead planner for the Territory War system. Today I would like to talk to you about our Battle Line system.


The Battle Line system is one that existed early on during Territory War's development. In the early stages of design, the Battle Line system was used to add multiple ways of attacking a fief. It helped to resolve the issues of individual battles having a single objective and a hard player limit.



When a large fief is attacked, it will feature multiple lines upon which players can do battle. The attacking team can launch offensives on any battle line. When the attacking team seizes victory on any battle line, the fief will be conquered and will enter a recovery period. The Honour between the different battle lines is combined so that final ownership of the fief will belong to the House that contributed the most.

The Battle Line system is one step in the long-term plan for the Territory War mode. Currently, the Battle Line system is in its preliminary stages. It effectively allows more people to participate in the core battles of a Territory War and raises the strategic dimension of conquest. At the same time, large guilds will need to invest more manpower in order to defend cities on multiple fronts, giving some room to small Houses. Battle lines are also a double-edged sword: They have sometimes rendered smaller Houses unable to defend their fiefs and fortresses.

We have received feedback from the community and are actively considering different solutions. Because we want to improve Territory War and incorporate valuable feedback from the community, we will be implementing iterations on the gameplay mode in future seasons, with our eye on making Territory War as strategically deep as it can be.




Small and Large Houses

We have received a large amount of feedback indicating that small Houses have no means of fighting back against large Houses. There are also concerns about how servers with low populations can support multiple battle lines.

When it comes to the issue of small Houses fighting larger Houses, we must look at both the offensive and defensive aspects. In a battle with a single battle line, if you want to defend a fief you only need 20-30 people. From this point of view, if a small House has occupied a fief, it can withstand the pressure of defending it. Regardless of the number of enemies one is up against, the manpower required for a solid defense is the same. This prevents large houses from having too great an advantage when it comes to numerical superiority. Therefore, widening the breadth of the Territory War is our primary consideration.

On the attacking side, when a large House attacks a fief, they only need 20-30 people. They can also split up their troops and attack other locations. This poses a major threat to Houses that cannot muster 20-30 effective players. This ultimately results in a situation where large Houses occupy a large number of territories and attack the fiefs of smaller Houses one by one. As for smaller Houses that have lost a fief, it becomes difficult to join a fief siege when so many other Houses are contesting the same one. When there is more than one battle line, the manpower investment required for large Houses increases significantly. At the same time, competition between large Houses is also increased, which expands the breadth of the overall battlefield and provides opportunities for smaller Houses to launch their own attacks.



Server Population Issues

As for the issue with server population, after a long period observing Territory Wars, we can see that gameplay moves through three stages: First is the chaotic stage, then the stage in which strategy comes together, and finally the stage of strategic confrontation. Competition in the first stage is fierce. Once the distribution of power consolidates, the second stage begins and the battles are concentrated on the fiefs bordering the larger alliances. On servers with smaller player populations, the chaotic stage will resolve itself quickly and move on to the second stage. On servers with larger player populations, the first stage lasts longer.

In the second stage, fighting on alliance borders will be especially fierce, and the border will move back and forth often. In the third stage, border conflicts will still happen, but will be less serious. A new chaotic stage may begin when a new power rises, or a large alliance breaks up into factions.

Accordingly, the Battle Line system can draw player attention on large servers and get players focused on taking fiefs. On smaller servers, conflicts will be focused on fiefs. As a result, the Battle Line system overall isn't affected negatively by the number of players on a server.




As mentioned, we will perform adjustments and iterations to the Battle Line system in future seasons.

Our focus is on finding ways to vary the battle lines to create different experiences. For example, on some battle lines, the maximum number of attackers and defenders might be unequal. This would apply different pressures on the defensive teams and give attackers a chance to launch surprise attacks to change the focus of the battle. We may also differentiate between the main and secondary battle lines. The events on the main battle line would determine who owns a fief, while secondary battle lines would influence events on the main one.



 Meanwhile, we will continue to consider the constructive suggestions and ideas the community has provided and implement them where appropriate. We are very grateful for everyone's enthusiastic feedback. Thank you!

They were human, once. Thankfully their wretched souls are not yet lost. With your help, the Community Managers of Conqueror’s Blade can be redeemed!

Join the hunt this Halloween and if you approach one of the team, somewhere in the open world, you’ll be entered into a raffle to win a limited edition Halloween attire - either the Plague Doctor Attire set or the Revenant Unit Armour.

On October 31st, [CM] Chibs, [CM] Ishtrall and [CM] Pablovanu will be scaring the rural populations of EU West 1 and EU West 2, at 17:00 and 18:00 respectively. The following day, on November 1st, [CM] Kageneko will by haunting the NA server from 5:00 PM PDT



If you can’t make it in-game, you can keep up with the hunt by watching live via the Conqueror’s Blade Twitch Channel (EN only), or from the Official Facebook page.



Good luck - you may need it!