The symphony of war calls out to the eastern lands, across the mountains and deep within the forests, and beckons a ferocious new band of warriors! Download the Rattan Resistance Update today, a free content update that invites five new units from the Rattan Army to the battlefield, alongside a raft of new PvE events.

5 New Units: Unlock the Might of the Rattan Army

The Rattan units hail from a region shrouded in dense woodlands, and they employ these natural defenses to craft unique and durable armor. This woven wood is impenetrable to all but the most determined assailants, who may still succumb to the bite of poisoned weapons if they’re lucky to survive their initial encounter.

• Rattan Roundshields (Melee Infantry Units): The main rank-and-file melee infantry of the Rattan Army, named after their woven bucklers. Wielding a Shortsword and Shield, they can move quickly and charge into combat.
• Rattan Pikemen (Melee Infantry Units): The heavy assault infantry of the Rattan Army. Unlike pike infantry from other lands, Rattan Pikemen are an exclusively aggressive unit, using poisoned weapons to make up for their comparative lack of specialised tactics.
• Rattan Vipers (Ranged Infantry Units): These archers are armed with common recurve bows often used by militiamen, but employ the use of poisoned arrowheads, ensuring any enemies who do not die outright from their wounds suffer for a long time afterwards.
• Rattan Marksmen (Ranged Infantry Units): These crossbowmen are best used defensively in urban combat against lightly-armoured opponents. What their repeating crossbow lacks in range and clout, it makes up for in its great rate of fire.
• Rattan Rangers (Ranged Cavalry): The Ranger Corps of the Rattan Army is both its reconnaissance element and its mounted combat force. Each trooper carries a repeating pistol-crossbow for short-ranged fire against lightly-armoured enemies, and a razor-sharp sabre which can cut through plate armour and flesh alike.

Go to the Unit Tree in-game and use Honour to recruit the new Rattan units to your army. For more information on the Rattan line, check out the dedicated article.



3 New Limited-Time PvE Events: Repel the Scourge of the Sea Raiders

As the war machine turns, it doesn’t just invite the rise of heroes. Villains too heed the call of war, and now the fortress at White Elk is at the mercy of the Sea Raiders! These scurvy sea dogs stalk the oceans, plundering and pillaging wherever their dreaded black flags drop anchor.

Let the Sea Raiders feel the sting of your blade and the weight of your iron-clad sabatons as you drive these marauders back into the ocean! Three new events will be available on a weekly basis, tasking you to defend a town, hold the line against waves of Sea Raiders, and save White Elk Fort from capture and ruin. 

The Rattan Resistance Update is now available to download for Conqueror’s Blade through the Game Center and Steam. For more details about this update, check out the update patch notes.

UPDATE: Server maintenance has been extended. We hope to resume full game access by 12:00 CET (3am PST). Our apologies for any inconvenience caused.

Please be aware that from 07:00 CET on Tuesday 19th November (10pm PST, November 18), the Conqueror’s Blade servers will be inaccessible. The downtime is expected to last for 3 hours.

• Rattan Resistance patch notes.

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

The Rattan Army refers collectively to the military tradition of Liangyun, the mountainous region to the southwest of the Borderlands. “Rattan” refers to a number of varieties of the climbing liana plants, which are used to make all manner of goods. The rattan is harvested, soaked in water, left to dry in the sun, then treated with oil and woven into a lightweight protective vest. Rattan armour offers good protection against slashing and stabbing weapons but is notoriously vulnerable to fire. If a Rattan Army unit comes under attack from thermal weapons such as scorpios or flaming arrows, it will suffer heavy continuous damage.

The Rattan Army has served the rulers of Liangyun many times, most commonly against the myriad clans of the Jade Mountains. Whenever the clans gathered their strength to attack the lowlands, the Rattan Army would be mustered at short notice. The kingdom would supply rattan armour which could be made (and replaced) quickly and cheaply, while the soldiers were expected to provide their own weapons.

During the War of the Black Swan, the Yesi clan chief Shanlu came within a whisker of breaching the walls of the capital city Daicheng, before being caught in a trap: An immovable force of crossbowmen rained bolts on him from the front, and on each flank appeared hundreds of rattan ranger cavalry, sending his own troops into a terrified rout. Chief Shanlu was taken prisoner by General Zhao, and brought in chains before the king.



Shanlu remained a prisoner for five years, before being sprung from his cell beneath the fortress of Gao Qiang. He evaded recapture and returned to his homelands in the Jade Mountains, and it was not long before he raised the clans again in rebellion. This time Shanlu pursued a more gradual strategy: His clan fighters would besiege small garrisons, take the forts by storm, then move on to the next settlement. The fighting was merciless and bloody: Shanlu’s forces seldom took prisoners, while the outnumbered Rattan Army garrisons took to desperate (and some might say, underhanded) methods such as poison-tipped weapons to even the odds. Shanlu was almost captured a second time when his old enemy General Zhao besieged him at Fort Peacock (near the trade colony that now bears this name). However, Chief Shanlu made use of a great quantity of oil his men had found in the storerooms of the fort, turning the ditches around the fort into walls of flame that burned Zhao’s assault troops and siege engines alike. Shanlu and his honour guard escaped in the chaos to bedevil the people of Liangyun’s lowlands once more.

The Rattan Army led by General Zhao spent long months in the mountains searching for Chief Shanlu, and finally trapped him in a steep snowy valley near the village of Baoshao. A company of Roundshield swordsmen feigned a retreat which Shanlu could not resist pursuing for fear of losing face in front of his subordinates. When the rebel forces passed a critical point, Zhao’s pikemen closed the road ahead and behind Shanlu, and companies of archers appeared on the hillsides above him to either side. To ensure against any more miraculous escapes, Zhao’s archers used arrows tipped with snake venom, and after this victory they were known as Rattan Vipers.


RATTAN ROUNDSHIELDS: Roundshields are the main rank-and-file melee infantry of the Rattan Army, named after their woven bucklers. They can move quickly and charge into combat.

• Possible formations: Dispersed, Schiltron, and Column.
• Orders: Charge
• Size: 32
• Leadership: 130

RATTAN PIKEMEN: The heavy assault infantry of the Rattan Army. Unlike pike infantry in other lands, Rattan Pikemen are exclusively an aggressive unit, using their poisoned weapons to make up for their comparative lack of specialised tactics.

• Possible formations: Dispersed
• Orders: None
• Size: 28
• Leadership: 115

RATTAN VIPERS: Rattan Vipers carry the common recurve bows often used by militiamen, but have special leave to use poisoned arrowheads, ensuring any enemy who does not die outright from his wounds suffers for a long time afterwards.

• Possible Formations: Dispersed, Wings.
• Orders: Attack Area
• Size: 32
• Leadership: 195

RATTAN MARKSMEN: The repeating crossbow is unique to Liangyun. What it lacks in range and hitting power it makes up for in its great rate of fire. Rattan Marksmen are best used defensively in urban combat against lightly-armoured opponents, as they proved during the Battle of Daicheng.

• Possible Formations: Dispersed, Three Ranks
• Orders: Focus Fire
• Size: 28
• Leadership: 180

RATTAN RANGERS: The Ranger Corps of the Rattan Army is both its reconnaissance element and its mounted combat force. Each trooper carries a repeating pistol-crossbow for short-ranged fire against lightly armoured enemies, and a razor-sharp sabre which can cut through plate armour and flesh alike.

• Possible Formations: Dispersed, V-Formation
• Orders: Focus Fire
• Size: 21
• Leadership: 350

It’s been a busy week and with events ending and an update incoming, there are lots to prepare for. Make sure you don’t miss anything with the latest Friday round-up!

As previously announced, the Rattan Resistance update is due to be released on Tuesday 19th November. You can prepare for what's new and improved by checking out the full patch notes below.

The Rattan Army Units have been added to the Unit Interface.

Activated the 3-Week long PVE Event, which is accessible via the in-game “J” interface. We’ll have an article on this exciting event very soon.

• Glory can no longer be earnt from matchmaking battles or weekly chests.
  
• Scroll of Rare Glory is no longer available for purchase.
  
• Season 1 Challenges can still be completed.
  
• Conquest Tokens can still be used to claim rewards at the Seasonal Store.
  
• There is a known issue where some Seasons-related messaging has been retained - this is a display issue and can be disregarded.

Important Fix:

We have received a lot of feedback regarding cavalries bracing and charging, where the damage would continue to be taken by other units when walking through that area. We have resolved this issue with this update.

Personal Storage Expansion:

Warlords can now purchase an item for 200,000 Silver Coins from the Smuggler to expand their Personal Storage by 8 slots. This item is also available for 1,500 Sovereigns. For those of you who were with our Pre-Season update, we will be issuing you all 2 Personal Storage Expansions for free. We will update you on our Discord once sending has been completed.

Territory War Rules:

In the patch we deployed on 29/10/2019, we made some changes to the commander system in Territory Wars. Since then, we have players taking advantage of the adjustment we made to conduct passive battles, maliciously kick other players out of the battlefield, and block battle lines. We’ve made the following adjustments to counter this:

• Warlords who have only engaged in the battlefield for 1 minute or less cannot be kicked. (Previously 2 minutes)
• Warlords who have participated in the battle and are in the top one-third of player rankings cannot be kicked. (previously two-thirds)

Level Balance Adjustment: Hidden City Siege Battle:

The ratio of wins compared to losses on this map is higher than we anticipated, after receiving feedback, we have decided to make the following changes:

• Added a new supply point near the defender’s base camp.
• Added a new path behind the defender’s base flag, making it easier for Warlords to retreat and defend the base camp.

Weekly Quest Reward Adjustment:

We received feedback from Warlords regarding the random drop rate of Treatise in the Fine Campaign reward, and how it affected their experience negatively. Now, we have made it so Warlords can get Treatise from the following weekly chests with specific drop rates.

• We have removed Treatise as a drop from the Fine Campaign reward.
• Added 100% chance to get Treatise from the following:
• Page’s Gift: 1 Treatise guaranteed.
• Squire’s Gift: 2 Treatise guaranteed.
• Knight’s Gift: 2 Treatise guaranteed.
• Marshal’s Gift: 2 Treatise guaranteed.

New Player Tutorial:

• Updated the tutorial from when Warlords enters the main city by simplifying some side quests and making it quicker for newbies to upgrade.
• In the “Valen’s Last Stand” level, we have reduced the difficulty by adding few trebuchets to help Warlords win the battle.
• In the “The Battle on the Plain” level, we have swapped out the Eastern Spearmen with Pikemen units.
• In the “Battle at the Storehouse” level, we have added some tips for Artillery and Powder Kegs. We have also added a warning alarm when the Trebuchet is approaching. This level is also able to be skipped.

Miscellaneous:

• PVE Stats will no longer count into Hero Ranking and Career Stats.
• Adjusted the icon size of materials and resources in the Crafting interface.
• Updated the button style for attribute information in the Character interface.
• Adjusted the weekly limitation of the Archaeologist’s Pack from 2 to 5 in the Sovereign store.

Shortsword & Shield:

We’ve made the following adjustments to the Thunderstruck skill:

• Warlords can press T again to jump and smash to the ground while sprinting.
• Warlords can adjust the camera to choose their jump location, before jumping.
• Added a defence buff and slightly decreased the move speed upon the moment of using the skill.
• Increased the movement distance.

Longsword & Shield:

After previous adjustments, we have found that the second hit with Shield Bash is unable to attack enemies accurately, to resolve this issue we have made the following change.

• Removed the “Repelled” effect for the first hit with Shield Bash.

Bow:

We’ve listened to feedback regarding our previous adjustment to the bow, mainly regarding the issue with the Lightning Bolt skill where it couldn’t kill enemy heroes when surrounded and protected by multiple soldiers.

• Lightning Bolt Ⅰ: can shoot through 5 enemies, damage will be reduced by 20% per enemy.
• Lightning Bolt Ⅱ: can shoot through 5 enemies, damage will be reduced by 15% per enemy.
• Lightning Bolt Ⅲ: can shoot through 5 enemies, damage will be reduced by 10% per enemy.

Musket:

The long duration of slowing down enemies and the wide range of attack, the Deploy Caltrops would easily restrain the charge of cavalry and some infantries. Due to this, we have made the following adjustments.

• Decreased the attacking radius from 3.5m to 3m for level Ⅰand level Ⅱ, from 4m to 3.5m for level Ⅲ
• Deploy Caltrops Ⅰ: decreased skill duration from 8s to 5s
• Deploy Caltrops Ⅱ: decreased skill duration from 8s to 6s, increased the bleeding damage from 100 points/s to 130 points/s
• Deploy Caltrops Ⅲ: decreased skill duration from 8s to 7s, increased the bleeding damage from 100 points/s to 140 points/s

Tercio Arquebusiers:

We have made the following optimizations to unstable reloading time and aiming time:

• Optimized the weapon structure, greatly increased the reloading speed and aiming speed
• Fixed the bug that sometimes Tercio Arquebusiers could repeatedly switch between ranged and melee weapons.

Prefecture Pikemen:

• Increased the charge distance by 10m.
• Extra piercing armour penetration for charging will be increased by 15%.

Ironcap Spearmen:

• Decreased leadership from 190 to 175, increased the unit size from 32 to 36.

Palace Guards:

We’ve taken a look at the defense ability of this unit and have decided that it needs enhancing, due to this we have made the following changes:

• Added a new trait “Staunch Defenders”: reduces damage taken from pikemen, shortsword & shield infantry, archers and crossbow infantry by 12%.

Imperial Archers:

• Veterancy point “Garrison”: “each level increases accuracy during siege battles by 5%” was adjusted to “increases the shooting speed of Bodkin Arrows by 5%”
• Veterancy point “Kit Repair”: “reduces resupply cost by 5%” was adjusted to “increases damage to cavalry by 10%”
• Veterancy point “Sharp Shot”: “increases the shooting accuracy by 5%” was adjusted to “increases the shooting speed of Bodkin Arrows by 5%”

Vanguard Archers:

• Veterancy point “Open Ground”: “increases damage during field battles by 100 points” was adjusted to “during ‘move and fire’, the move speed will be increased by 10% each shoot ”
• Veterancy point “Move as One”: “increases move speed by 5%” was adjusted to “during ‘move and fire’, slowing the targets by 15% for 6s.”

• Fixed the unbalanced player amount in matched battles.
• Fixed the incorrect icon of the base flag and supply points in some villages, including Ziya, Futao and New Sintar.
• Fixed a bug where the guidance marker was sometimes blocked by buildings in PVE levels.
• Fixed a bug where Blood Oath (Nodachi Skill) did not correctly give effects for slash damage and blunt damage.
• Fixed a bug where Warlords couldn’t move nearby the city wall in Hovd.
• Fixed a bug where the personal camp would retreat automatically by the system and cooldown for camp migration didn;’t take effect correctly.
• Fixed the repeated notification issue in the mail system.
• Fixed the issue where interfaces overlapped when opening the Season interface while collecting resources.
• Fixed the horn sound effect while city walls are being broken.
• Fixed a bug where the damage buff of some veternancy points did not take effect correctly in field and siege battles.
• Fixed the incorrect attack speed of Ironcap Bowriders while Warlords are spamming “follow” orders.
• Unified the model of Demesne Archers in the Unit Tree interface and battlefield.
• Optimised the settings of some Hwacha Arrow Launcher’s in the city wall area of Wall Fort so they could no longer be blocked by buildings.
• In PVE levels, we have updated the style and colour of the health bar and icons on top of AI allies making it easier for Warlords to distinguish between allied Warlords and allied AIs.
• Fixed some bugs with the movement of the Imperial Pike Guards, the unit can now move more fluently after formation is completed.

We are having a bonus weekend - starting Friday 15th November at 18:00 CET (9am PST) and ending at 13:00 CET (4am PST) on Monday 18th November - during which you can benefit from a 30% boost to Hero and Unit XP from all matchmaking battles.  

What are we celebrating this time? Not that we need an excuse, but it just so happens to be a year since the end of our first pre-alpha Siege Test, when the game was first made playable to pre-order customers. If you want to recreate those nervous first encounters, simply limit your activities to sieging the ancient city of Augolia over and over again. 

Don’t forget that this weekend you can also benefit from a 50% boost to Glory, as well as the permanent removal of Scroll of Rare Glory purchase limits - all as part of the thrilling conclusion to Season 1, which also ends on Monday.

Consisting of three stages, the inaugural Warlord League took place last month over three intensely-competitive weeks. Forty NA and EU teams took part in the initial knockout battles, from which eight teams progressed to the group stage - joining eight qualifying RU teams along the way. When we were left with just four teams, it was already clear who the favourites would be - WereRabbits, the only team in the competition with a 100% win record when the final day of the competition dawned.

The winning streak couldn’t last and during the semi-final and final, WereRabbits faced obstinate opposition. But, even against the best teams in Conqueror’s Blade, the group only dropped two games on their way to lifting the title. Now, after reflecting on its victory, we thought we’d bring the team back together to recall how it was achieved.

What were your expectations in terms of how far the team would go in the tournament?

We expected to go quite far but was not sure how far, we thought we may have trouble with Chaos.

Did you have an overall strategy before the tournament? How well did that strategy hold up and how much did you have to adapt it as the tournament progressed?

We tested units and realised nothing beat the Firelance 1v1 since nothing had veterancy points, so realised they were meta. We had general plans for each starting side but adapted as needed. If a team was streamed we would watch it to see if we thought our tactic would be viable for the first game.

You seemed well-drilled during much of the tournament. Did you impose a lot of practise sessions prior to each stage of the competition?

We have played a lot together prior to the tournament - the team consisted of a core group of players who have been in the house since it started. In our house, we have a strong emphasis on team play and coordination, this allowed us to not have to practice specifically for the tournament. However, we watched games that were streamed and tested all units thoroughly before the first match in the tournament.

Which were your most difficult opponents and why?

There were a few opponents that were tough. Exiles, ENDGEGNER and Chaos were all good. We also fought SUNTZU (through miscommunication) which was also tough.

Are there any teams you wished you’d been lined up against? How would you have fared against them?

We would have liked to of fought our second house group and agreed to use different units for a bit more fun, but unfortunately, they had a DC and got knocked down to the loser bracket.

If you had to pick a star player from among your team, who would it be and why?

We could not pick a star player as everyone had an important role if one person does not fulfil their role, it means another one also fails. All of the team did very well and each person had fights where they shined.

The semi-final and final were perhaps closer than the final scoreline suggests? Were there moments where you felt you could lose the game - how did you pull yourselves back from the brink?

After something was not working so well we would change up our tactics, we had multiple tactics for each side ready and had the freedom to change some of our units up also to counter the enemy units. We had to try and keep calm and think about what was needed.

Had you been in charge of Chaos during the final, what would you have done differently?

Chaos is a very good team and we thought they would be the biggest challenge before the tournament due to fighting them in the last. Last time their dual blades destroyed teams, so I would have liked to see them.

How did you celebrate your final victory?

We celebrated our victory by farming some siege to try and catch up on our Nobility rank!

Assuming you’ll be defending your title should there be another tournament, what advice have you got for any teams that might take part?

Be patient with your team and with the tournament. If something does not go right try not to get tilted and think about what you can improve on for the next match. Doing your research always pays

With Halloween as the theme and a full set of spooky in-game attires as the prize, last month we revealed the details of our first-ever writing competition. Suitably inspired, many of you set to work with frightening speed to envision your disturbing fantasies and, three weeks on, we’re happy to announce that after being suitably unsettled by your dark material, our judges have decided on the winning entries.

Thank you to everyone that entered and congratulations to all of the following scribes, all of whom will shortly be issued with in-game attires to reflect their out-of-game efforts - which you can check out yourself by clicking on the names.
 
 

  

War begets war. As clashing swords ring and castle walls are torn asunder, the symphony of war calls out to distant lands and invites new challengers. On November 19th, the Rattan Resistance will be mobilized! The latest update to Conqueror’s Blade will introduce a line of tough, well-armored units from the eastern lands, plus a new series of PvE events. 

The Rattan Army crafts their uniquely durable armour from the mighty trees and dense woodlands that encircle their homeland. This natural, woven armour grants excellent defensive values, making Rattan units real tough nuts to crack, and formidable adversaries on the battlefield. Whether you’re fighting with or against them, you’ll certainly feel the resistance!

Five new units will be available to recruit from the Rattan Army, including Rattan Roundshields and Rattan Pikemen (Melee Infantry), Rattan Vipers and Rattan Marksmen (Ranged Infantry), and Rattan Rangers (Ranged Cavalry).

Looking to tackle more PvE content? Three new events are coming where you’ll be able to confront the Sea Raiders, scourges of the seven seas, and defend the fort at White Elk from their villainous piracy! 

The Rattan Resistance Update will be available for Conqueror’s Blade on November 19th. Detailed patch notes and downtime details will be released on the official website and via our social media channels before the update is deployed.

We all know that Honour, experience and wealth are important, which is why we’ve regularly had bonus periods to help increase the amount you can earn. However, Glory has increasingly been in demand over recent weeks, which makes now the perfect time to give all players a massive boost!

Starting NOW (Monday 11th November, at 10:00 CET/1am PST) and until 10:00 CET on Monday 18th November, you can earn an extra 50% on normal Glory rates from all matchmaking battles. In addition, the weekly purchase limit for the Scroll of Rare Glory has been permanently removed.   

Introduced as part of Season 1, Glory is a type of experience that determines a character’s Nobility Tier. The higher the tier, the greater and more numerous the rewards, especially for those heroes armed with a Battle Pass.    

Season 1 is scheduled to end on Monday 18th November, which is when all Conquest Tokens and Scrolls of Rare Glory have to be used by, and when all Season 1 rewards need to be claimed. Nobility Tiers will then be reset and any aforementioned inventory items expired as part of preparations for the start of Season 2, the start of which will be announced in due course. 

With seven days to go, now’s the time to seek your Glory!