Conqueror’s Blade: Colosseum has opened and a new era of glory awaits. Inspired by the legendary battles of Ancient Roman gladiators, this new 6v6 Colosseum Mode pits players against each other and a new set of NPC threats.

We sat down with Anton Mamhionov, Creative Director at Booming Tech, and Bing Sheng, Level Design Leader, about the inspiration behind the Colosseum Mode, and insight into the mode’s future.

Where did the inspiration for Colosseum Mode come from; did the Seasonal theme come around to fit the idea of arena-based battles, or was the new mode born out of the concept of the Season?

ANTON: The team had a discussion about introducing the Colosseum Mode around a year ago as something that would be fascinating to try in order to shake up the classical Siege gameplay of 15vs15 and try out small-group competitive matches with some cool historical settings and game features. Initially, we were inspired by Roman gladiators and decided that it would be amazing to try out in our game.



How do you want players to feel when they play this smaller and more intense mode?

ANTON: We hope that players will have action-packed gameplay with minimum wait time—just action, pure fun, and tactical decision-making. With fewer players in one team, each decision made is much more impactful, and it brings a feeling of a much more personal contribution to your team's victory.

The cheering crowd is a great addition to the Colosseum Mode, making it seem like more is at stake and that players need to literally ‘perform’; what do you hope participants think about this feature?

ANTON: We truly hope that the audience will bring some new dynamic feedback thanks to the audio and visual design—-the crowd will cheer for players and highlight hero kills and scripted events on the map. We hope that players feel like gladiator superstars who fight for fame and glory.



Do you have plans to expand the Colosseum Mode map roster?

BING: Our current priority is to explore the gameplay side, polishing this new gameplay to a mature state and bringing a better matchmaking experience. In the meantime, we will also use the current map to experiment with more interesting gameplay.

Why the decision to ban Cavalry Units in the Colosseum Mode?

BING: Even with all the restrictions in the game, cavalry is still a very powerful presence, and we don't want the mode to become unruly at the start, so we have disabled players from bringing their own cavalry. Players can complete the game's PVE mechanics [such as defeating the NPC Gladiators] to earn bonus cavalry regiments, which in turn can change the tide of the battle and the pace of the match.

Have you considered adding more features to the Colosseum, for example, pits and other environmental hazards for players to use to their advantage?

BING: More interesting playable content will be explored in the future, adding elements that have never been seen before.

What other potential future improvements or changes do you foresee for Colosseum Mode?

BING: What's certain is that we'll try to add more contested resources and manipulable mechanisms to the game in the future to increase the fun and pace.

Stay tuned for more behind-the-scenes articles about Conqueror’s Blade: Colosseum coming soon.

Greetings Inheritors!

We will be conducting scheduled maintenance at the following times:

Maintenance Start Time:
UTC: Sep 08 at 08:00 am
CEST: Sep 08 at 10:00 am
EDT: Sep 08 at 04:00 am
PDT: Sep 08 at 01:00 am


Maintenance End Time:
UTC: Sep 08 at 3:30 pm
CEST: Sep 08 at 5:30 pm
EDT: Sep 08 at 11:30 am
PDT: Sep 08 at 08:30 am


* Please note that the game will shut down before maintenance. We apologize for the inconvenience this may cause.

Thank you for your understanding!

The ArcheAge Team

Thanks for checking out Isle of Arrows! This post aims to showcase some of the features of the game and give details on a few gameplay mechanics.

I hope this also helps you decide if Isle of Arrows is a game for you or not.

So here are 5 tips that help you getting started with Isle of Arrows:



Isle of Arrows combines Tower Defense with tile placement mechanics, often seen board games. This adds near endless replayability, but also makes the game different from most other Tower Defense games.

Unlike many other Tower Defense games, Isle of Arrows focuses on the strategic placement of tiles, rather than managing/upgrading individual towers.
Each tile has a different effect: towers attack the invaders. Roads build out the path the enemies walk on. Flags extend the isle, giving you more space to build. Gardens reward you with coins. Taverns boost all adjacent archery towers. And so on.


Tiles can be placed anywhere on the isle, as long as they are adjacent to existing tiles. Consider the position and rotation of each tile carefully!



Every tower, building, trap, and road is drawn from a random stack of tiles. You don’t have control over the order and type of tiles that are drawn, but the randomization guarantees a certain amount of each type, to keep things fair and balanced.

You always see what tile is coming up next, which helps you plan ahead. Spending 2 coins allows you to skip a tile you might have no use for.
To beat all waves and reach the top of the leaderboard, strategic thinking, RNG mitigation, and min-maxing are required!


Each type of tile is guaranteed to be drawn after a certain amount of tiles have passed. If you haven’t seen a flag tile in a while, one is just about to show up!



Tower upgrades and improvements are not bought with in-game currency, but are acquired through bonus cards, relics, and upgrade buildings, such as the tavern.


Some buildings improve the damage of adjacent towers, others change their targeting priorities.



Once you’ve completed the first Campaign of the game, you unlock the fast forward button, which allows you to speed up the enemy waves.


Make use of the fast forward button, but don't rush when placing tiles!



The composition of enemy waves is different in each playthrough. The red circle above the enemy spawn point shows the amount of enemies that will attack. Clicking the circle brings up a detailed view that shows the exact types and amount of enemies of the next wave.


As the game progresses, stronger enemies will spawn. Some enemies have special abilities and behaviours

Greetings Inheritors!

We will be conducting scheduled maintenance at the following times:

Maintenance Start Time:
UTC: Sep 08 at 08:00 am
CEST: Sep 08 at 10:00 am
EDT: Sep 08 at 04:00 am
PDT: Sep 08 at 01:00 am


Maintenance End Time:
UTC: Sep 08 at 3:30 pm
CEST: Sep 08 at 5:30 pm
EDT: Sep 08 at 11:30 am
PDT: Sep 08 at 08:30 am


* Please note that the game will shut down before maintenance. We apologize for the inconvenience this may cause.

Thank you for your understanding!

The ArcheAge Team

Make way for the Royal Person!

His Imperial Majesty, the Padishah Emperor of the Known Universe Shaddam IV, will soon be arriving on Arrakis to settle the question of its supervision once and for all, and He is not happy about having to make the journey.

House Corrino has been at the helm of the Imperium for 10 millenium, balancing the conflicting interests of the CHOAM, the Spacing Guild, and the Great Houses, and they’re not about to lose their grip on the most valuable planet in the universe.

The Emperor brought with him his terrifying legions of Sardaukar, mysterious elite warriors from Salusa Secundus. He’ll have to use them, as well as the full extent of His political acumen and his hold over the CHOAM, to subdue the unruly houses and savage rebels of Arrakis.




Shaddam IV, the 81st Padishah Emperor, has ruled the Corrino Empire for 36 years, after the tragic assassination of his father. After years handling the tumultuous politics of the Landsraad, Shaddam has become an expert at using his opponents’ ambitions against them.

His growing paranoia, fueled by his lack of a male heir and the growing popularity of Duke Leto Atreides, led him to set up the Spice Wars as a way to eliminate any threats to his rule, and assert his domination on the spice trade.




The imperial administration is perfectly crafted to rule a galaxy-wide territory efficiently. At the heart of it lies Shaddam’s court of trusted advisors, mostly composed of family members and long-time associates, whose loyalty and competence could not be questioned.

• Princess Irulan is the eldest daughter of Shaddam IV. Involved in both the plots of her father and of the Bene Gesserit, she is used to making the best of a bad situation.
  
• Wensicia Corrino is the third daughter of Shaddam IV, trained from the youngest age for stewardship. Her independent mind pushes her to seek a more active role in House Corrino’s doings.
  
• Captain Aramsham is a proud officer of the Sardaukar, sent on Arrakis during the Spice Wars. Aramsham is an expert at using conscripts as cannon fodder to support Sardaukar legions.
  
• Hasimir Fenring is a sharp assassin mentat, one of the deadliest fighters in the imperium and the closest friend of Shaddam IV.

The Emperor has no intention to stay on Arrakis for long. Bringing to Arrakis his royal spaceships, mobile palaces fully equipped to accommodate the imperial administration and act as their centre of operation. And of course, if the need arises, he can call for a second of these juggernauts to descend from the skies towards Arrakis.

The position of Emperor brings a lot of power, but even more crucially, a lot of responsibility. The most critical one being, to keep the Spacing Guild docile. While House Corrino receives a tax or bribe of Spice from most factions on Arrakis, they must in turn pay the Guild’s fees to maintain interstellar travel at an affordable price, not only for their own profit, but also for the benefit of all the great Houses in the imperium.

This duty gives them a lot of leeway to influence the other factions, further reinforced by their ability to lend Sardaukar, to change the Landsraad’s agenda, and to use their connections to manipulate the CHOAM market.




In the last recourse, House Corrino can always rely on its military might to make a reluctant faction fall in line.

It uses large formations of cheap conscripts, and a few elite units specialised in shock tactics, including the formidable Sardaukar. Its armies are renowned for being ruthlessly efficient and leaving no room for error.

• Infantry are conscript swordsmen. Relatively weak when alone, their mastery of complex formations make them stronger with each ally infantry in their vicinity.
  
• Ranged Infantry are conscript riflemen. Like their melee counterparts, they get stronger when surrounded by their allies.
  
• Incinerators wield flamethrowers that bring agonising death to even the most armoured opponent.
  
• Sardaukar are the infamous elite swordsmen of the Emperor. Originating from the mysterious prison planet Salusa Secundus, the secret of their training and recruitment process is one of the most well-guarded in the imperium. They are as renowned for their legendary fighting ability as for their lack of mercy.
  
• Artillery Drones throw high-calibre explosives from a long distance. These dreadful siege machines need to be anchored to sound ground to operate.

Developer Hyper Games and publisher Raw Fury are thrilled to come together and bring the beloved world of Moomin to PC and consoles in Snufkin: Melody of Moominvalley. The Moomin characters come from the brilliant mind of writer, artist, and world-renowned cartoonist Tove Jansson.

We have just published a patch to the experimental branch of the game with a bunch of additional performance-related fixes. This also includes a potential fix for stuttering/hiccups in large bases with high numbers of drones. Give it a shot!

Since we haven’t fully finished testing this update yet. We strongly recommend you to back up your save files before moving onto the experimental branch.

How to join the experimental branch:

1. create a backup copy of your save folder (Documents/The Riftbreaker)
   
2. disable Steam Cloud save backup
   
3. go to your Steam Library
   
4. right-click on The Riftbreaker
   
5. select 'Properties,’ then 'Betas,’ and use the following password: IknowWhatImDoing

After that, you will be able to choose 'experimental' from the drop-down menu. Download the update, play the game and let us know if you encounter any issues. We also have a channel on our Discord: #rb-experimental-feedback - we highly encourage you to join in and share your feedback.

• Implemented Target Finder Throttling in drones. Thanks to this change you should see a large CPU performance uplift in bases that utilize a large number of drones (repair towers, cultivators, minelayers etc.). It should also fix gameplay 'hiccups'.
  
• Optimized the UpdateEnvironment component of the TimeOfDay system. Depending on the circumstances, it can save up to 5ms of logic calculation time. In human terms - it can save you a lot of CPU performance!
  
• Introduced extensive optimizations of the LuaSystem that can increase both stability and CPU performance.
  
• Introduced a large number of small optimizations in various other game systems. Taken individually, the performance gains from them are negligible, but as a whole they should free up a decent amount of resources for the game and make it run better as a result.
  
• Fixed a memory leak in TerrainAffectorSystem that caused performance degradation when loading old save files.
  
• Fixed an error that could potentially unlock research rewards before the relevant research item has been discovered.
  
• Fixed building grouping errors in the new building menu screen.

EXOR Studios

Extreme Mode:

• Opens Sunday, September 11th at 12pm
• Group Size: 10 to 20 Players
• Drops Hero Tokens – Renxia Jade
• Weekly reset on Sundays

Slowly the sun begins to set earlier and the night lies its star cloak over Cloudrise. The moon shines bright over the jade buildings and the moon rabbits bask in its light.
To embrace the slowly approaching cold season with our Immortal friends, Chang Yiyi is hosting a banquet on Starmirror Island. And once our tummies are full with tasty Moon Cake, why not enjoy some games to earn Moon Offering Incense? Chang Rong on the Blessed Dew Terrace has some beautiful goods to offer in exchange.





Chang Rong trades cute avatars, avatar frames and more. And once night falls you can use the lanterns she offers to brighten the starry night.Each day, from September 8th until September 29th, from 8pm until 1am, you can admire the night sky over Cloudrise, Chang’an and Jiangdu.

• Added the Recipes for Runestone V & VI (PvE)

• Removed Flight from the Heart Demon I & II from the Instance Exploration Daily Event.

• Shenwu Research Team Prestige is now shown in the Prestige Menu
• Three Yannas’ Art Soulforce now works in Flight from the Heart Demon II

The new version is now available
-Fixed some bugs.
-Added multi-monitor support, if you use multiple monitors, you can set which monitor Desktop Girlfriend will be displayed on inside the system options.

Hello everyone,

Following the announcement of this month’s card balance changes a few days ago (details of the balance update), we have deployed these changes on September 7th.

This patch also adds the KARDS 2022 World Championship hub into the game client, as well as some bug fixes.

Let’s have a look at the changes in this patch.


A total of 20 cards have been updated in this patch.




Old: Enemy units get: "When this unit receives damage, pin it.
New: Deal 1 damage to a unit. If it doesn’t have any adjacent units, deal 2 instead.

With the advent of SUPPLY SHORTAGE, this card suddenly became a celebrity on the battlefield. The combo of these two cards is kind of toxic and we want to break it. The new version does 1 base damage. These parachute units are very good at hunting separated units, dealing 2 damage if the target doesn’t have any adjacent units. So don’t leave your units alone on the battlefield.




In addition to breaking the combo of SUPPLY SHORTAGE and CRITICAL DAMAGE, the cost of this card is increased to 3.




This fighter was used extensively as a long-range bomber escort, along with various other purposes during the war. On the KARDS battlefield, the fighter has a universally efficient ability: Retreat, which fits the escort role and will certainly remain the same in the game. To reduce its power level, the defense is reduced by 1.




Old: Give a friendly unit +1+1 and: "Combat damage dealt by this unit adds equal defense to your HQ."
New: Give a friendly unit +1+1 and: "When this unit attacks, your HQ gains defense equal to its damage."

With its previous change of increasing the cost to 2, this card was indeed slower. However, the healing amount is still very stable. With the new version, the affected unit can only heal your HQ on your own turn by initiating an attack. As compensation, the cost is reduced back to 1 for flexibility.




Old: Deployment: Give any target +1 defense.
New: Deployment: Give another target +1 defense.

Besides air decks, British decks with a focus on ground units do appear on the battlefield with many variants. Sadly, none of them are working very well. We would like to make them better by changing a few more cards. The new WELSH GUARDS is one of them, with a more flexible 1 cost and the same ability.




Old: Deployment: Gets +1 attack for each order you have given this turn.
New: Gets +1 attack when you give an order.

During the Second World Wars, this regiment saw much service in Asia. On the KARDS battlefield, it is kind of the opposite. With this new version, this unit card can Guard your HQ and units, with a passive ability of +1 attack whenever you play an order from hand. It is expected to make British ground units decks better.




Old: Enemy random effects always choose this unit while it is on the battlefield.
New: If in hand or on the battlefield, random effects always choose this unit.

The passive ability of this card is very interesting, making it a tech card against random effects. We would like to make it more useful by expanding its validity to friendly random effects and being in hand. Note that random effects have their own ranges by default. For example, DEATH FROM ABOVE can only randomly choose a unit on the battlefield. In other words, ROYAL SCOTS can never be chosen as a target for DEATH FROM ABOVE. This unit can not be chosen for KI-44 TOJO while in hand, as it is not a bomber, out of TOJO’s range.




Old: Units attacked by this unit must retreat if they survive.
New: Deployment: Retreat a unit in the frontline. If it is empty, gets Blitz.

As mentioned in our previous dev blogs, we hope to see more fierce battles fighting for the frontline. This Elite unit now can force a unit in the front line to retreat, helping you take control of it. Alternatively, It can also retreat your own unit for protection or the Blitz ability, if needed.




Old: Deployment: Deal 1 damage to your HQ.
New: Deployment: Deal 1 damage to a unit and your HQ.

We have seen some self damage Soviet decks in recent tournaments. This change is intended to make this deck even better. Dealing 1 damage on deployment can remove low defense units or make them damaged, for example TYPE 93. The 1 damage on your own HQ can be beneficial for this deck for triggering the effects you need.




Since the changes of some Soviet fighters, Soviet air decks are performing a bit better than before. They still lack cheap fighters for a better curving and early game survivability. With a cheaper operation cost, this fighter might be able to fit this role. This also applies to the spawned fighter from I-15 CHAIKA.




Old: Deal double damage to infantry and HQ.
New: Deals double damage against infantry and HQ.

This tank is not really that useful on the battlefield except hiding in the support line by Smokescreen and then dealing a huge amount of damage with a lot of buffs. With this new version, it can still inflict very serious damage, just probably not that surprising without Smokescreen. Nevertheless, costing 3 less makes combos possible in a single turn for a much lower cost. In addition, let’s not forget it is also the cheapest T-34 tank.




Old: Infantry units you deploy get +1+1.
New: Infantry units you deploy or add get +1+1.

As we are getting more and more cards that can spawn units in the frontline, it is time for P-40B TOMAHAWK to get an upgrade, being capable of affecting added infantry units as well.




Tank destroyers are supposed to be intimidating with a very strong firepower. With a cheaper operation cost, this tank destroyer will be a threat to any enemy unit and the HQ, along with being an efficient tank killer.




This new ZIPPO tank is still unlikely to be part of the meta decks, even with a decreased cost. If played exactly at turn 3, it at least can be a threat to the enemy’s HQ, with the potential of dealing 6 damage in the next turn, which can’t be always ignored.




Old: All enemy units in the support line have -3 attack until start of your next turn.
New: All enemy units have -3 attack this turn.

Suppressing the enemy is a very effective military tactic during a battle. Affecting units in the support line only seems to be a dramatic show on the KARDS battlefield, nothing really useful. The new SUPPRESSION affects all enemy units with a very flexible 1 cost. Keep in mind that the effect only lasts one turn, instead of two turns. It means that you need to command your own units to attack in the same turn to get a good value from this card.




We have seen the ups and downs of German tank decks in KARDS. None of those versions included this tank. As Germany's most-produced fully tracked armored fighting vehicle during World War II, STUG III-G is somehow left alone here in KARDS. It might be able to join the big family of German tanks with an extra defense.




Old: Gets +1+1 when you deploy a Japanese unit. Has Fury if attack is 10+.
New: Gets +1+1 when you play a Japanese card. Gets Guard if attack is 10+.

This change is expected to make this Elite unit more versatile. It can get Guard if its attack is equal to or more than 10, protecting your HQ.




Old: Can only be played if you control more units than the enemy. Deal 4 damage to a unit.
New: Deal 2 damage to a unit. If you control more units than the enemy, deal 4 instead.

Some Italian cards gain or lose something, Depending on the battlefield. As mentioned in our previous dev blogs, we don’t want to see such cards stuck in hand. MEDITERRANEAN RAID is the last card that could be completely useless if you could not manage to have more units than the enemy. With this new version, it can at least cause 2 damage to a unit at the cost of 3, which is very insufficient. However, it can deal 4 damage to any unit on the battlefield if the condition is met.




Besides cheap cost Mobilize units, we also hope to see some midrange decks with a combination of control and Mobilize. As the most powerfully armed and armored tanks of its day, this heavy tank’s body is now even stronger in the game, with a lower cost but also a lower attack.




Old: At the start of enemy’s next turn, the enemy must choose and discard a card from hand.
New: When the enemy gives an order, the enemy discards a random card.

This card has been on the list for changes for a long time, as it is the cheapest card that has the potential of draw denial. This new version is now a countermeasure and the discard ability stays.

---

The in-game Open Qualifiers for the KARDS 2022 World Championship are almost upon us - with the first qualifying sessions THIS weekend, September 10th and 11th. This update brings the World Championship hub into the game, which you’ll be able to use to compete in the World Championship when the qualifier sessions are open. More details on the Open in-game Qualifier will be released later this week!

• Added varied music to the new player experience

• The 2ND CALIFORNIA and some heavy armor units were experiencing some issues. Fixed.
  
• SEABORNE INVASION was causing some issues in AI matches. Fixed.

• Several translation bugs have been fixed. Thank you for reporting them!

• Fixed some issues when Mulligan timed out.

• Some missing item textures have been fixed.
  
• Bugged visuals in historical photographs have been fixed.
  
• Some unintended camera effects have been fixed.

That’s all for now. As always, we welcome your feedback in the comments below and on the KARDS Discord.