Charging into combat with a weapon that truly expresses your personal battle style is key to any discerning Warlord’s kit. Therefore, we'd like to give you a behind-the-scenes peek at how the Conqueror’s Blade weapon skins for Season X: Highlanders came together, from concept to final product. Lovingly crafted by our development and art team, we hope the weapon skins immerse you in the Highlands culture, conflict, and world.

We spoke to Anton Mamihonov, Creative Director at Booming Tech about the journey to bring Scotland to life in Conqueror’s Blade through our weapon skins.

How did you begin conceptualising the Weapon Skins for Season X: Highlanders?

We usually begin with historical research of corresponding historical periods – events, museums, mythology, symbolism - gathering possible visual references. After that, we select the most vivid points and try to use those in the weapons’ designs.



 How much inspiration did you take from real-world history?

One of the challenges we have is that we sometimes must mix styles. For example – how do you make a Japanese Nodachi look Scottish-inspired? We always seek inspiration in history and add a portion of fiction and mythology. For example – the round shield has a blade, then a dirk (dagger) attached to it to represent how it was used historically. It also features a native protection symbol painted in blue. For the Glaive attire we used the historical shape of the Scottish Lochaber axe.



 How do you want players to feel when they wield these weapons?

We think that every season has a different mood, and it projects on the weapons and the way players would feel while carrying those. For Highlanders, we wanted to highlight key points of bravery, love for freedom, and cultural heritage. We hope that players will feel like heroes who fight for the sake of their people.

What materials do you imagine the weapons to be made of this Season?

We focused on wood and iron for this season but some minor elements had more exotic materials such as deer’s horns (Short Bow).

When you run design playtests, what are you looking out for when it comes to how the Weapon Skins look?

Each weapon must have a visual key point that may be adjusted or improved during the creation process and revisions. Ideally, a weapon would have a background story, connection to historical events, or local mythology. If we’re able to create a design that tells a story – that means that we did something right.



Which is your favourite Weapon Skin of this season and why?

I don’t play Maul myself, but I like the Maul skin the most. It has good size proportions and an interesting idea using the Scottish national animal symbol of a unicorn’s head as the key visual element.

The Season X: Highlanders Battle Pass includes Blades which can be exchanged in the Seasonal Store to get your hands on your favourite Scottish-themed weapon skin!

Broch Eastray is the site of the first Highlanders settlement, now threatened by a Loegrian invasion. This sacred village and its hilltop castle provide the main stage for PvP Siege Battles in Season X: Highlanders. Broch Eastray can be defended or attacked, and invites two teams of 12 players to battle for dominion over it.



The Loegrians are at the gate, and what bigger prize to secure than that of the Highlanders’ precious Broch Eastray? Their homeland must be reclaimed by the united power of all Aelba’s clans and their new warriors, even if deadly traps may work against them. Much of the landscape has been destroyed, making cover scarce in the battered surroundings. However, new tactics can be deployed to reach the castle and regain control.



Broch Eastray’s village stretches up to a cliffside castle where the Loegrians have set up camp within the ruins and used its resources to erect defences, artillery, and traps. But the invaders neglected to realise that the Highlanders would have expert knowledge of this sacred site and find other routes to attack.

Attackers can gain an unexpected advantage by using the various routes and footpaths around the map to flank defenders’ formations. The supply point to the west can be seized early by attackers to gain an early foothold, who can leverage that to take Point B as soon as it's available.

Defenders can hold out at the base flag, fortifying units and artilleries behind the castle walls. The natural and invented defences can protect units from artillery fire and ranged attacks, and the narrow paths offer brace units the chance to hold firm against cavalry advances.

An incendiary catapult is the icing on the cake of this fighting fiesta, a devastating weapon to be turned against both attackers and defenders.

• Tread carefully as you advance. The paths may seem straightforward, but slowing tar traps litter the walkways, which can be lethal if set ablaze and could result in heavy losses.
• Point A is located within the village, with some cover to avoid being attacked from above. It can be reached via a narrow eastern passage.
• The incendiary catapult can be used by attackers (if it can be reached) through a slim entrance, which can then be used to pelt the defenders with flames.
• Point B should be the first major goal of attacking Broch Eastray and can be assaulted via narrow mountain pathways.
• Reaching the castle ruins and claiming the base point is the final goal, which can be reached via the main arch or other sneakier routes. Make sure you have your best units at hand and enough resources left over to take on this fight.

• Let the tar traps do the work by luring attackers into them and setting them on fire. Be careful not to get caught in them yourself, though.
• Defenders should man the small entrances to the village and the points, as there are multiple attack routes.
• Defenders can use the defences of the incendiary catapult to hold attackers at bay and use the artillery to attack themselves.
• Point B sits between the village and the castle ruins, meaning it is vital for defenders to keep this point safe and remain vigilant for all ambushes.
• Within the ruins lies the final and focal point of the battle, and defensive measures should be taken to make sure the attackers do not reclaim it.

Need some advice on which fearless warriors to take to Broch Eastray? Check out these brave kinsmen who have joined the fight for freedom—Bagpipers and Claymores.

While you may have explored Season X’s new Siege Map—the Highlanders’ ancestral home of Broch Eastray—you may not have had the opportunity to visit the inspiration behind the iconic landscapes and fortifications of Scotland itself! Never fear, as we’re here to transport you to the land of deep-fried Mars bars, tartan, and bagpipes as we discover some of Scotland's choicest castles and loveliest landmarks that inspired Season X: Highlanders.
Standing proud and strong on the volcanic Castle Rock, Edinburgh Castle has loomed, quiet and domineering, over Scotland’s capital since the 11th century and has been the home of many monarchs, from James IV to Mary Queen of Scots. Edinburgh Castle is also the most besieged site in Europe, having been attacked no less than 23 times in its lifetime, resulting in much rebuilding.

It’s now a popular tourist attraction where visitors can marvel at its architecture and immerse themselves in its rich and dramatic past.

The castle is also home to the National War Museum. Housed within its storied battlements, it includes exhibits of over 400 years of conflicts.

As well as numerous buildings which once operated as munitions storage, chapels, and more, the sprawling forecourt provides the backdrop for the annual Edinburgh Military Tattoo, a fantastic exhibition of drills, displays, and bands.


Edinburgh Castle

Does a mythical sea creature lie within the depths of this world-famous natural landmark? That is the question many visitors to the freshwater loch have wondered, and some purport to have even captured the Loch Ness Monster (or Nessie) on camera. Containing more water than all the lakes in England and Wales combined, it’s no wonder that wishful thinkers claim there is a cryptid living in its depths.

First brought to wider public attention in 1933 (but allegedly spotted as far back as 565 AD) by George Spicer, whose story of witnessing “the nearest approach to a dragon or pre-historic animal that I have ever seen in my life” in the Courier sparked a greater interest in what could be out there. Since then, several photographs and videos have been taken of ‘Nessie’, and sonar experiments have been carried out to see whether Nessie is lurking deep within the loch. With any pure-hearted seeking of the truth also come hoaxes, including that of a deceased bull elephant seal placed in the water by a zoologist from Yorkshire's Flamingo Park Zoo.

Whether Nessie is real or not, the legend of her existence continues to spark wonder and curiosity in tourists and travellers worldwide.


Loch Ness

Atop Castle Hill sits Stirling Castle, one of Scotland’s most important historical sites. Dating back to the 12th century, the stronghold and its buildings have endured many sackings and attacks, most notably by Robert the Bruce. He seized the castle and destroyed its defences during his armies campaign for freedom.

While its past is fascinating, and its sweeping views of the Scottish countryside breathtaking, Stirling Castle has seen its fair share of ghoulish events. Here, James II ordered a brutal assassination of William, 8th Earl of Douglas, resulting in the Earl being stabbed 26 times, then thrown from a window into the grounds below. This was not the only violent killing to take place within the castle grounds, with five skeletons discovered within the last decade with traumatic and blunt injuries to the skulls leading scientists to suggest these poor souls fell to a war hammer.

Don’t let these less than family-friendly occurrences put you off, though, as Stirling Castle has many incredible sights to see, including the exquisite Great Hall, the sprawling and peaceful Queen Anne Gardens, and the Palace Vaults.


Stirling Castle

At over 5,000 years old, the Calanais Standing Stones (also known as the Callanish Stones) pre-date even the world-renowned Stonehenge. Erected in the Neolithic era and used for ritual ceremonies, the stones stand in a cruciform formation near the village of Callanish, on the Isle of Lewis in the Outer Hebrides. The thirteen stones have an average height of three metres and are thought to have been used for religious rituals and mapping the sky.



Standing Stones on Lewis, Outer Hebrides (Credit)
The highest mountain in the whole of the United Kingdom with a summit height of 1,345 metres, Ben Nevis entices over 100,000 climbers every year who wish to conquer its peak. The first to do so was James Robertson, a botanist, who conquered the mountain in 1771.

Due to its immense altitude and polar climate, snow covers the mountaintop almost all year round, and because of this, avalanches frequently happen, making the notoriously tricky climb even more dangerous.

If you don’t fancy a four-hour trip to the top of Ben Nevis, you can always simply look upon its stunning topography from the safe vantage point of the ground.


Ben Nevis taken from Banavie

Whether you want to climb a mountain, gaze out from a historic castle’s walls, or spot a cryptid, there’s something for everyone in the mystical and magnificent lands of Scotland.

In 1270 AD, in a town named Paisley in the North of Scotland, a boy was born whose first cries would later become cries of freedom for his people. Sir William Wallace, as he would soon be known, is an icon of Scottish history and has been immortalised in history and popular culture (Braveheart, anyone?).

Just as the clans of the Highlands in Conqueror’s Blade fight for liberation from Loegrian rule, so too did the Scottish against the English, who viewed the Northern lands as a feudal state and not a sovereign country in its own right. During the early 1200s, Scotland enjoyed a time of peace and prosperity. The untimely death of King Alexander III led to turmoil, undoing the previous stability, and almost ushering in a civil war.

King Edward I of England, looking for a way to undermine potential heirs to the throne, ordered his armies to storm Berwick-Upon-Tweed (the Battle of Halidon Hill), where the Scots fell in a devastating defeat. This marked the beginning of the First War of Scottish Independence (1296 AD).



Statue of William Wallace of Scotland in Druid Hill Park, Baltimore

Although William Wallace’s military experience is largely unknown, it must have been extensive (and successful) for the role he took in leading Scotland’s armies during this war. He seemed to make the impossible possible through rousing leadership. One such instance is the Battle of Stirling Bridge (September 11, 1297), where even though his men were vastly outnumbered by English forces, they won the day, leading to Wallace’s decoration as Guardian of the Kingdom of Scotland, and a knighthood for his valiant efforts and keen leadership skills.

Many more military operations and raids were carried out under Wallace’s determined leadership, who managed to evade being captured by King Edward and the English until 1305, when he was betrayed by John de Menteith. The Scottish knight handed him over to English soldiers, resulting in Wallace’s brutal execution for treason.

“I could not be a traitor to Edward, for I was never his subject."

• Sir William Wallace on his treason charge

While William Wallace may have left the brunt of the freedom-fighting (and eventual triumph) to his successor Robert the Bruce, he remains a symbol of Scotland’s spirit and unerring resilience, and an icon of liberty for the ages. For Freedom!

Ranked Battles return on January 7! Accessible throughout Season X: Highlanders, check out the Event Schedule to plan your rise through the ranks.

Unlike regular matchmaking battles, where you earn Bronze and XP, Ranked Battles are all about creating a continuous record of where you sit beside other heroes. Your efforts will still reward you with experience and go towards fulfilling quest objectives (although you won’t receive any Bronze), but Ranked Matchmaking is predominantly about establishing an evolving order of dominance. 

As well as ranks to ascend by earning points, there are Weekly and Season rewards to unlock - including a choice of Unit Attires to show off in front of your adversaries.

You can always check out your current rank by pressing ‘J’ and selecting the Ranked Battle tab.
The Maps

• Cross-server battles will be enabled, meaning players from NA/EU will be matched together. Matchmaking for NA will first search for players on their own server before moving them into the cross-server queue (EU will automatically go into the cross-server queue).
• Ranked Battles will occur all weekend during the Season, and with cross-server enabled, we anticipate shorter queue times.
• Ranked Battles are scheduled to run throughout Season X.
• Characters must be level 100 or above to take part in Ranked Battles.
• Player groups are limited to 3 members.
• *Above Gladiator, players within a group must all be within one rank of one another. (Eg: If one player is ranked Arena Hero, the others must either be Arena Hero or Gladiator, or Arena Hero and Imperial Hero)
• Deployable artillery per player is limited to one piece for defenders and two for attackers.
• Units do not endure permanent losses.
• In-game currency is not given out as a reward for participation.
• Rewards will be distributed weekly and after the conclusion of a season, as appropriate.
• The rules, schedule and rewards for Ranked Battles are subject to change, although we will strive to keep you updated prior to any changes.

Throughout 2021, hundreds of you entered dozens of contests run by the Conqueror’s Blade community team and served up your creativity on a platter!

We want to shine a light on those fabulous admissions that never got to be seen by our community—just because these entries didn’t win, doesn’t mean they weren’t amazing!

Check out the ten best contest entries of 2021 (that didn’t win)!
The Avatar Creation Contest was a call to action for the community to submit their designs for a new Avatar to be used in-game! While the winners received their rewards and accolades, we want to put the spotlight on a couple of entries that astonished us.

Wiins Sicania (EU2), an illustrator, submitted this incredible Japanese-inspired Avatar design.



Moose (NA3) offered this beautiful image for the contest, which they named "Prefecture Hearts".


The Lunar Festival Lantern Contest invited players to celebrate by letting their creativity come to life on a Lantern template. The entries produced were beautiful and really captured the spirit of the season. In particular, one hand-painted entry by Hurmushka (EU1) didn’t quite make the winners circle, but deserves to be shown off!


To celebrate the second anniversary of Conqueror’s Blade, we tasked players to create epic loading screens to use in-game—and they delivered! Thvmper (NA) created this fiery battle scene featuring the fan-favourite maul.


To commemorate the launch of Season VIII: Dynasty, we asked players to explore the new region of Longting and capture its beauty with screenshots. There were so many fantastic entries that we couldn’t feature—until now!

ImPerT0Ry1



Alconchloe (NA3)



Amaniell (EU1)



DeathlyNyx (NA3)


The House Recruitment Contest invited you to prove you had the best recruitment tactics around with video, text, or images. There were two entries that didn’t win but demonstrated their strength in conscripting!

House: DeathPilgrims (EU2)



House: Valiance (NA West)



Thank you to all our players and community members who grace us with their creativity, passion, and talent in every contest. There’ll be even more chances to win prizes in new contests coming soon in 2022!

Keep up to date on Conqueror’s Blade with the latest news and events. Check out what’s happening in January as we embark on a brand-new year with special events and big surprises to come this month!
Cry freedom in Season X: Highlanders! Unite the clans and recruit warriors from the far reaches of the Highlands, including the morale-boosting Bagpipers, greatsword-wielding Claymores, and the animal-handling Houndsmen (coming soon!).



Venture into a new Seasonal Campaign and ascend the Nobility ladder in the Battle Pass to earn over 100 levels of Premium rewards.

Stand with the sons and daughters of the Highlands in their fight for freedom with this free update, available now in Conqueror’s Blade.
Territory Wars occur every Tuesday and Saturday throughout Season X beginning on January 4, and participation in these server-wide PvP battles is essential if you crave more action! Join a player-controlled Free House or Alliance, or a Cohort (NPC-controlled House) to take part before the Season ends and earn epic rewards.
The magical events and sales of Winter Wonderworlds continue! Claim two more free gifts in January, and check out what’s inside the big red mitten today (spoiler: it’s an Epic Armour Schematic Crate)!


Can’t wait to get your creative juices flowing in 2022? Well, you won’t have to wait long, as on January 15 you can let your artistic talent show on your very own face with a Face Paint Contest! Stay tuned for more info.

We will also announce the winners of the Yule Bread Contest on January 14, so check back to see if your perfect pastries have won a prize!
Join the Community Team on the official MY.GAMES Conqueror’s Blade Twitch channel every week, with streams scheduled to start at 17:00 CET throughout January! Tune in for giveaways, trivia, or simply to watch your Community Managers become Community Manglers as we meet you on the battlefields!

• English (EN) streams: Every Monday and Wednesday (except January 26)
• German (DE) streams: Tuesday, January 11
• Polish (PL) streams: Thursday, January 13, Tuesday, January 25
• French (FR) streams: Thursday, January 6, Thursday, January 20
• Turkish (TR) streams: Tuesday, January 4, Thursday, January 27
• Spanish (ES) streams: Tuesday, January 18

Don’t forget to tune in on January 26 for a very special event—trust us, you don’t want to miss this!

More information will also be arriving this month about the details of the international CBL Champions match-up where our victors will battle it out on the global stage—stay tuned!

Follow Conqueror’s Blade on Twitch, Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, YouTube, and Discord for more of the latest news throughout the month. You can also subscribe to the official newsletter to get awesome content straight to your inbox. See you on the battlefield!

IMPORTANT: The dates and content featured in this article may be subject to change. Please stay tuned to official Conqueror’s Blade channels for further news and announcements.

As we look forward to 2022 and everything it will bring, we’d like to take a moment to reflect on a great year and thank all the Conqueror’s Blade players for being part of our amazing community!

The game has grown so much in the past year, including recently releasing our milestone tenth Season, and we couldn’t have done it without the support of our fantastic players.

From everyone at MY.GAMES and Booming Tech, have a safe and happy new year—here’s to 2022!


Don’t forget, you can still finish the year strong with 50% Boosted Unit and Hero XP until January 3, and pick up your free Winter Wonderworlds gifts!

Tiny Tyrants is a webcomic brought to life by the Conqueror’s Blade team at MY.GAMES. Follow the escapades of a fearsome band of chibi-style warlords and see Conqueror’s Blade from an all-new, much smaller perspective!

Tiny Tyrants #12 wraps up 2021 with a look back at fellowships forged in battle and a promise of new beginnings, featuring words by the iconic Scottish poet Robert Burns.



Tiny Tyrants #12 was illustrated by Maggie Fess, a 2D artist based in Saint Petersburg, Russia. 

Stay tuned for more adventures from our diminutive despots!

Tiny Tyrants #1 | Tiny Tyrants #2 | Tiny Tyrants #3 | Tiny Tyrants #4 | Tiny Tyrants #5 | Tiny Tyrants #6 | Tiny Tyrants #7 | Tiny Tyrants #8 | Tiny Tyrants #9 | Tiny Tyrants #10 | Tiny Tyrants #11

It has always been our goal to make Conqueror's Blade a game that is constantly evolving and becoming better than before. Now that the game has been up and running for ten seasons, we have collected tons of feedback and have also learned that there is room for improvement. One of these improvements is to balance our units, and we are aware we may not have addressed issues quickly enough when they arose, which we apologise for and now endeavour to fix. 

One of the biggest balance issues has been with the Axe Raiders from Season IX: Tyranny. We have looked into why that is and have come up with the following reasons: 

1) The development team has pooled too many resources into creating new content for new seasons and overlooked the balance of current units.

2) Due to controversies about the Fire Lancers adjustments, we have been too conservative in changing popular units. We want to give each unit its own place in the game via systematic changes rather than altering certain problematic units. Naturally, this has led to us not being able to address certain issues in time.

The game's balance is of utmost importance and an issue we must face head-on. We will immediately start rolling out a series of balance changes based on the following: 

AdjustmentData

According to the data, the ten most-used units make up a total of 46.8% of all units used. This means that the other 80+ units don't see much usage. This situation is in stark contrast to the diversified battles we have in mind. We are planning to make relative data public regarding units and roll out a series of changes to make battles more varied and balanced. 

A goal we have always had is for more units to have their own unique roles in the complex battlefield of Conqueror's Blade. We have also made attempts to do so since Season VII: Wolves of Ragnarok. For example, changes for Ironcap Swordsmen and Iron Reapers have made them usable once more. Conqueror's Blade is made up of almost one hundred units, and in the future, we want to increase the speed and quality with which we change units that need changing. All in all, we want our players to enjoy more units in battles.
<h3>Adjustments to Units</h3>

1. Axe Raiders

The Axe Raiders are strong in several ways. They are tankier and deal more damage than average units of their leadership cost, leading to high usage and win rate. Based on their characteristics, we have decided to tune down their survivability to better fit into their category as squishy light infantry. These changes will make them weaker when affected by other units.

1. Modao Battalion

The Modao Battalion has always been a highly used unit. Data shows that they are exceedingly tanky and deal high damage. Their tight formation and easy-to-use skills have led to them being overly powerful in organised group battles. While we don't want to change their characteristics, we will be nerfing a reasonable degree of their damage to other infantry, especially infantry using shields. 

There are many aspects affecting balance, including Heroes’ weapons, runes, maps, and so on. We will continue to monitor balance and roll out grounded and systematic changes. In the near future, we will also be changing some underused units based on data and community feedback, such as firearm and heavy shield infantry. 

Please check out the announcement on balance changes we will be publishing in the near future for more information. 

We estimate that this round of changes will hit the servers on January 13, 2022.

We will also issue the following compensation to all players as a form of apology:

• We will issue the items required to remove all Doctrines equipped to units receiving nerfs. 
• All players will receive an extra 25 Lotus Water so you can change your doctrines after the update. 
• All players will also receive 3 Treatises. 

Have Your Say with Feedback

We also want to improve communication with our players and provide timely responses to your feedback. Let us know if you have any thoughts or ideas about these balance changes or other improvements to units via the balancing_feedback channel on Discord.

The Future of Conqueror's Blade

Diversity and balance are integral topics to Conqueror's Blade. We want to shorten the time required to roll out balance changes based on communicating with our players. 

During past seasons, we have continued to launch new heroes, units, maps, and other content, all to bring you a more diverse gameplay experience. In doing so, we have overlooked the importance of what's already there, for example, the aforementioned balance issues. This has made it difficult for players to wage war the way they want to. Going forward, our focus will be on creating a more balanced, transparent, and varied Conqueror's Blade. 

Once again, thank you for all your feedback and encouragement. Conqueror's Blade is only here because of you. And we hope to create an even better world in Conqueror's Blade with your help.

We wish you all a happy new year and we’ll see you on the battlefield!