Hey there, warlords! My name is Jacek, and I’m the new Producer for Conqueror’s Blade. I’m joining the team to ensure that the game is on the best possible course for the new year, together with my fellow Producer Alexey. I’ve got lots of experience working on different free-to-play titles, both for MY.GAMES and elsewhere, and I’m thrilled to be joining such an exciting game.

As I get myself really well acquainted with Conqueror’s Blade and the entire development and publishing teams in the coming weeks, I’m going to help steer the game into the calmest, and most promising waters for 2020 and the years to come. I’m really happy to be here with you, and I’m looking forward to going through all your feedback!



How many levels will the Battle Pass have?
The Battle Pass will have 200 levels, with the main rewards spanning from level 1 to 100. After you reach level 100, you will be rewarded with Fangs, Season II’s version of Conquest Tokens, which can be used to redeem seasonal content.

Will the Battle Pass be easier to complete compared to Season I?
We have listened to feedback and optimised the Battle Pass to make progression much smoother. We will continue to monitor and listen to feedback throughout Season II to continue to make this feature more engaging and rewarding.

Are Unit Challenges part of the Battle Pass?
They are not. Unit Challenges are part of the Season, but they are NOT a part of the Battle Pass, meaning anyone can take part in the Challenges and unlock the units.

Can I unlock all of the new units for free?

Yes!

When do you plan to release the system where warlords can reset the Honour from their unit nodes?

We plan to release this system with Season II. We will be providing more information on this feature in an article very soon!

Will you be adding new maps with Season II?

Yes! We will be introducing the following new maps:

• Siege: Allenburg
• Field Battle: Desert Fortress
• 15 v 15 Field Battle: Emerald River
• Deathmatch: Cliff Duel

Which maps will be taken out of rotation for improvements?

• Siege: Hidden City, Harbour City
• Field Battle: Ghost Town
• 15 v 15 Field Battle: Grassland Conquest
• Deathmatch: Battle in the Mountain

A few months ago you mentioned that you would be releasing maps every week, why has this not happened?

Throughout the year, many of our focuses shifted towards bringing more engaging and fun mechanics to Conqueror’s Blade. Seasons, challenges, new modes and events all took considerable development time, and we were unable to keep up with our intended schedule. However, our original plan was to release maps until the international version of Conqueror’s Blade caught up with the Chinese version. Currently we are planning different rotations of maps, and you will soon see many new battlefields to conquer, and new changes worked into older maps.

Are we going to implement new brackets for players between level 30 and 60, and to prevent level 60 players from facing level 500+ players?

We are currently working on different matchmaking possibilities. We are aware of the issues, and we will try to present some solutions throughout the course of Season II.

With the introduction of cross-server matchmaking, some warlords do not want to play against players on other servers. Do you plan to introduce a opt-out feature in the matchmaking interface?

We are exploring this possibility. However, cross-server only works for matchmaking battles, and you still can play grouped with your friends. We’ve also heard concerns about being matched with older servers, but the possible discrepancy on one server is much bigger than on EU West 1 and EU West 2, which have three weeks of difference. This is related more to overall matchmaking issues we are currently working on, rather than cross-server matchmaking itself.

Do you plan to merge EU West 1 and EU West 2?

Both servers have a healthy population, and while we are always monitoring server populations to give players the best experience possible, we currently have no plans to do this.

Do you plan to add new ways to get unit experience?

We are planning different events and bonus activities that will allow you to level up your units faster.

Will you lower the unit experience required to level up units?

Over the last few months we have been closely monitoring unit experience balancing and feedback on this topic. We have decided to make the following changes with Season II:

• Decreased the amount of experience needed to level up units.
  
• Decreased the amount of experience needed significantly to level up units over level 15.
  
• Decreased the amount of nodes needing to be unlocked as a prerequisite to unlock Tier 5 units.

We will be continuing to keep an eye on this system and will be continuing to read your feedback regarding unit experience gains and will make necessary tweaks dependant on balance and sentiment.

Do you have any plans to become more efficient when dealing with exploit abusers?

We are constantly working on these issues together with developers in order to stop cheaters and abusers ruining the gameplay experiences of honest players.

Do you plan to add a way for warlords to gift in-game store items to other players? 

Yes, we’re exploring this possibility.

Are there plans to implement new warlord classes or game modes in the near future?

We will soon release a roadmap for everyone to see the glorious future and the biggest upcoming beats of Conqueror’s Blade.

Will we ever see the House bank function? It was mentioned that this was being looked into in a previous producer video.

It’s not in active development right now. However, improving Houses and making House members’ lives easier is still a very high development priority.

Conqueror’s Blade stormed into Open Beta in June 2019. Since its launch, we’ve released four major updates, introduced the Rattan, Crusade, and Sons of the Steppes unit lines, added loads of new battlefields and features, and established a mighty global community of warlords. In addition to tomorrow’s Season II: Wrath of the Nomads update, we’ve got so much more in store for the future. Here’s to an incredible 2020, we can’t wait to share our plans with you in the new year!

Thanks for reading, I’ll see you on the battlefield!

Last month we asked you whether you’d like to see the start times change for daily events and, if so, what those times should be. We’ve since tallied the votes and can reveal that EU players want to keep things as they are, while NA players have decided on 6pm PST as the new start time - presumably to keep New Yorkers from falling asleep at the keyboard in the middle of a Territory War.

So, without further ado, starting from this Thursday (December 19), all NA server events will begin 90 minutes earlier, at 6pm PST. Event start times will remain at 20:00 CET across both EU West servers. 

Server Timezone: PST

As always, you can check out all event times and details right here.

There is a new feature of the Unit interface that allows you to create and save Warband Builds, so that you instead of clicking on individual units to take with you every time you start a battle or leave a settlement, you can select one of a number of pre-selected unit arrangements instead. This allows you to not only join battles more quickly, but you can save deployments that are successful or that are suited to particular styles of gameplay.

1. To create or amend a Unit Build, press ‘U’ to bring up the Unit panel and select the new ‘Warband Build’ tab.

2. Click on ‘For Battles’ to see or create your deployments for matchmaking battles, or on ‘Open World’ for builds to take with you when leaving settlements. You can have up to three for each.



3. Select an empty deployment slot to create a new scheme, or click on “Primary Build” to amend it.

4. You can change the selected Build name at any time by clicking the icon to the right of the current name in the lower panel.

5. To add a unit to the build, click on an empty card in the lower panel to bring up a panel of your available units. To remove a selected unit from the current scheme, mouse over the unit card and the ‘Remove’ icon will appear above it.

6. Builds will be saved automatically, but you can select a favourite by clicking on ‘Set as Default’. This will be your selected choice when starting a matching battle or interacting with the Watchman, but you can change it via the ‘Select Build’ drop-down box. You can also change or remove individual units my mousing a unit card and selecting the appropriate command.



7. In addition to displaying your Leadership points status and total, you will also be shown marching speed, maximum marching time and Labour values when configuring and selecting Open World WarbandBuilds

Note that you cannot currently delete Warband Builds, but if you change its name and swap out all the units, it will effectively be new. The only limit is to the number of selectable builds you can choose from, which currently stands at three.

The above images are taken from a pre-release version of the update and cannot be considered final.

Up until now, new units introduced to Conqueror’s Blade were unlocked much as they have been since early beta; by spending Honour Points. Things will be different from the release of Wrath of the Nomads, as access to season-specific units will be tied to a new set of challenges. More directly, the more of the new Seasonal Unit Challenges you complete, the more units you will unlock as the season progresses.



There will be seven separate challenges per “stage”, with multiple stages to complete depending on the unit tier. Challenges will be accessible to all players - which means you are not hindered by not having a Battle Pass. Also, unlike most seasonal content, these challenges will not expire, so that if you don’t manage to unlock all of the new Season 2 units during Season 2, you can continue for as long as it takes.


If you don’t have the time to complete the required challenges, it will be possible to use Sovereigns to skip them, in much the same way that you can complete Daily and Weekly Quests. The option to do so will be available in the Seasonal Challenge interface.



Just as a final note, there are no plans to reassign any of the current units to the Seasons interface, which will continue to require Honour to unlock. It is only unreleased units that are directly tied in with future seasonal gameplay that may require challenges to unlock.

The above images are taken from a pre-release version of the update and cannot be considered final.

With a new season of warfare comes a new Battle Pass, but unlike war itself, this one has changed.

As during Season 1, your seasonal efforts will see you issued with Glory Points to help you ascend through up to 200 Nobility Tiers. However, instead of unlocking Conquest Tokens that can be exchanged for items at the Seasons Store, for the duration of Season 2 you will be awarded with Fangs - a currency that ties in with the nomadic theme running through the season and its updates.



As before, you’ll still earn substantial rewards for progressing without a Battle Pass, but if you have one you will receive more rewards more regularly as you progress. Also, if you decide to hold off buying the Battle Pass under later in the season, you’ll still be eligible to get all the bonus rewards you missed - so long as you don’t leave it too late.



Thanks to your feedback from last season, we have optimised the Nobility Tier rewards, so that the lower level rewards are more substantial. In addition, we’ve lowered the threshold for the season’s biggest reward to tier 100, after which - up to tier 200 - you will only be issued Fangs for reaching a new tier.



Here are some of Season 2’s reward highlights:
 

In terms of the Season 2 interface (summoned by pressing F5), the fundamentals are much the same. You can check out our Season 1 guide to the Battle Pass, interface and progression right here.

Please be aware that as a feature of Seasons gameplay, Glory points, Nobility Tiers and their stated Rewards are all reset prior to the start of a new season. Of course, you get to keep all the items you’ve been awarded through having a Battle Pass, however, the benefits of having a Battle Pass do not carry over into a new season. Battle Passes bought during a season expire when it ends.

Leading the charge for the Wrath of the Nomads update are six new units inspired by the Mongol Empire that once dominated central and eastern asia. Rather than conscripted for coin or wooed by Honour, as many current in-game units are, to unlock these new troops you need to impress them by completing sets of challenges that will soon be a part of your Seasonal progression. You can read more on these challenges soon, but for now we’re going to focus on the units themselves.

Generally, the new unit line contains troops that are strong fighters but don’t necessarily follow established battlefield etiquette. As an example, they may not fully benefit from being in a formation, but they will thrive once the chaos of battle is underway. Relatively lightly-armoured, these units enjoy mediocre survivability and good manoeuvrability and movement and can boast of a 5% damage increase when fighting on Field Battle maps.

Known for their ability to survive in hostile territory, the new units will consume fewer rations when traversing the open world and will claim extra food from each victory as a spoil of war - although they can’t carry as many provisions as similar units, as they prefer to stay as unencumbered as possible.



Namkhan Archers (Tier 3, ranged)

Namkhan roughly translates as “commoner” or “peasant”

Traits

• Light archers with a relatively low base attack.
• Firing can inflict bleeding on enemies and deal real damage.
• Veterancy Points can make the bleed effect stronger. Full stacks of bleed inflict heavy damage.

 

Khorchins (Tier 3, ranged)

A “khorchin” relates to an arrow quiver.

Traits

• These archers feature weak health and defence but strong attack and attack speed.
• Can fire somewhat accurately while moving.
• Can switch to bodkin arrowheads that increase armour penetration but lower attack speed.

Selemchid Cavalry (Tier 3, mounted)

Selemchid means “swordsmen” in Mongolian.

Traits

• This unit has high attack and is capable in sustained melee combat.
• Charge has a short cooldown, enabling lots of movement across the battlefield.
• Health is exceptional but defence is weak and this unit has a hard time dealing with arrow attacks.

Tseregs (Tier 4, melee)

“Tsereg” is Mongolian for “soldier” or “warrior”.

Traits

• This unit has high health and damage but low defence.
• Can use Swift Blades and Wolf Blades.
• Sabre Dance: Quick attack speed. Can attack two targets.
• Wolf Blades: Attacks can pierce armour and inflict bleeding.

Khevtuul Cavalry (Tier 4, mounted)

The Khevtuuls were the nighttime bodyguards of the emperor, counterparts to the Kheshigs.

• Traits
• This heavily-armoured unit has relatively low attack and movement speed.
• Can charge when wielding sabers.
• Can fire while charging when arrows are equipped. Launches a rain of arrows while riding in a charge formation.

Kheshigs (Tier 5, mounted)

Kheshigs were the daytime bodyguards to the Great Khan, a counterpart to the Khevtuuls

Traits

• Attacks with two sabers.
• Heavy blade riders with high attack and long charge cooldowns.
• Can launches a flurry of skills. The blades slash alternately, with explosive melee damage.
• Immune to control effects. Has high melee defence and low ranged defence.
• When charging, upon reaching a destination, can charge again toward a hero and inflict 50% damage.

The MY.GAMES Market is your one-stop shop for Conqueror’s Blade content at amazing prices. To celebrate the launch of our new storefront, we’re offering discounts on the best in-game Attire throughout December in the MY.GAMES Market Winter Sale!

A new trio of Attire Sets are available for purchase starting today. Save an irresistible 25% on:

• Chivalric Horse Attire:Knightly armor worthy of the most gallant steeds.
• Vadász CorpsUnit Attire: Equipped with this elite armor, your soldiers will hunt down the enemy without hesitation and mercy.
• AswaranHero Attire: This armor was worn by a noble cavalry that was once the cornerstone of a mighty empire.

The Chivalric Horse Attire, Vadász Corps Unit Attire, and Aswaran Hero Attire will be available from the MY.GAMES Market from December 16th at 00:01 CET until December 22nd at 23:59 CET (3pm PST)[/b][/b].

Attire for Heroes, Horses and Units in Conqueror’s Blade is purely cosmetic, and does not grant additional bonuses or advantages during gameplay. It just looks really, really cool.

This week we announced Wrath of the Nomads, reintroduced White Elk Fort and kicked off new contests and discounts - all of which are detailed in the moving picture below. Note that this will be the last video round-up of 2019, so you’ll have to try to keep abreast of the news all on your own for the next couple of weeks. We have faith in you - you got this!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rSy-cUjRsPw

If you recently defended its streets from the Sea Raiders and their nefarious rebel allies, the interior of White Elk Fort will be immediately familiar to you. However, now it’s not just the streets that are under siege, but the entire city! Regardless of whether you choose to side with the attackers or defenders, the battlements are calling!  

HISTORY
Named after the famed White Elk that has been hunted to near-extinction in the ancient forests beyond the city limits, White Elk Fort was considered a fairly quiet mercantile town until the Sea Raiders splintered its gates and massacred its citizens. Since then, the defences have been hastily rebuilt, although the walls remain every bit as fragile as the population’s nerves.


SCOUTING REPORT
Were it not for its breached walls White Elk Fort could almost be called impregnable. The battlements are high and wide, offering plenty of depth for defence, while along the main gate facing, a line of stakes planted at the base of the outer wall is a permanent deterrent to any ladder-borne assault. However, to the east and west, the walls are much less secure, and with just two control points sited in the centre of the fort, it’s difficult for the defenders to both protect its flanks and hold the centre-ground. 



PLAN OF ATTACK

• Unless you plan to ram through it at lightning speed, an assault on the main gate will be unwise - and seen for what it is, a folly rather than a feint. Use the siege towers by all means, but do so as part of a coordinated attack on the flanks of the fort.
• If you intend to breach the fragile walls in order to quickly rout the enemy, don’t expect to find too many artillery pieces perfectly positioned to help you out. You will need to deploy your personal reserves if you want to bring down the scaffolding holding those brittle sections together. You may find it quicker still - not to say cheaper - to use the ladders instead.
• Once you are established inside the city walls, your route to capturing the fort will be the same that the Sea Raiders faced. You may find you’ll also face the same defensive tactics from warlords that are used to facing them. So, instead of flooding the control points with waves of troops, use the narrow streets to outmanoeuvre the defenders. The mid-point latitude between A and B is especially fragile and, significantly, can be reinforced if you capture the supply zones to the east and west. 

DEFENSIVE MEASURES

• As you will have found if you faced the Sea Raiders, trying to defend the walls of White Elk Fort was a futile gesture. It isn’t quite the same when under siege, but if you see that you face an attacker that is coordinating its attacks to soften your flanks, you may find it difficult to hold the enemy back on both fronts. Prioritise your defence to ensure a series of managed retreats, so that you can engage the attackers on your own terms.
• Just as you don’t want to be too far in advance of your main defensive position in the centre of the map, neither do you want your main forces to be surrounded defending Point A. The ground that is most advantageous is Point B, and the supply areas to the north and west. It’s in the final third that the fort will be won or lost, so make the bulk of your preparations with that in mind.
• Lone wolf tactics can be risky but one or two mounted warlords with elite-grade cavalry units roaming behind the enemy lines can be a great way to disrupt an attack. A wide map with narrow streets where you can hide entire units offers the perfect terrain for mounted raiders to cause chaos and rack up an impressive tally of kills!

It is time to bring to an end the current state of war in Conqueror’s Blade and prepare for a new era of conquest. With Season 2 approaching on December 19th, we will be resetting Territory Wars so that when a new age of hostilities gets underway, we can ensure that all players, houses and alliances will charge into battle across a level playing field. 

In addition to the following changes being in place on December 19th, due to the winter holidays, we will be running Territory Wars in Drill Mode on the 21st, 24th, 28th and 31st of December. Please plan your campaigns accordingly! 

ALLIANCE RESET

• Diplomacy between alliances will be reset to Neutral.
• There will be NO CHANGEto alliances in terms of names, member houses, member warlords or leadership.

HOUSE RESET

• House level will return to Level 1.
• House Prestige will be reset to 0
• Unresolved war declarations will be cancelled.
• House markers, which are used on the open-world map to tag Resources and places of interest for House members will be removed.
• House membership will no longer be determined by level. All houses can have up to 100 members, regardless.
• There will be NO CHANGEto houses in terms of their names, members, leadership, history or achievements.    

FIEF RESET

• Fief ownership will be transferred to NPC houses.
• A fief’s resource centres will return to default with access and transit permitted.
• Fief levels and quests are to be reset.
• Fief Prosperity will revert to 100.

RESOURCE RESET

• Players will have access to acquire and transport resources.
• Site reserves will be set to full.
• The collection tax rate will revert to 100%.

If you have any questions or concerns about the Territory Wars reset, please direct them via the usual channels. You can always share your thoughts and request clarification in our Discord channel.