Apr 19, 2023

Warlords Under Siege - Komisarek

Greetings Warlords!

We are excited to shed some more light about the upcoming update for Warlords Under Siege, titled "Wrath of Sands". This update will bring new content and features to the game, including a new enemy race, fighting which will require a very different approach. In this dev diary, we will showcase some of these new units, their abilities, and how they fit into the game's lore.

The Shar'Qa Desert, an unforgiving expanse of scorching sands and treacherous dunes, stretches out as far as the eye can see. Once a place of mystery and wonder, it is now a land of shadows, where malevolent forces have been awakened from their ancient slumber. The once-balanced ecosystem has been disrupted, and the desert's inhabitants now find themselves caught in a battle for survival against the rising tide of darkness.

Whispers of an ominous power have spread like wildfire, stirring the evil that has long lain dormant beneath the sun-parched sands. The desert fiends, once bound to their respective territories, now find themselves united under a sinister force, their collective wrath turned towards the human cities at the desert's edge.

As the sun sets on the horizon, casting eerie shadows across the dunes, a palpable sense of dread settles over the desert, heralding the approach of the encroaching darkness. The people of the besieged cities must now stand together, drawing upon their courage and strength to face the awakened evil that threatens to consume them all. The sands of the Shar'Qa Desert, once a place of quiet solitude, now bear witness to a conflict as ancient as the land itself, a struggle for survival against the forces that lurk within its depths.

Wrath of Sands will bring two new maps, and a brand new enemy race along with it. This will bring us very close towards the end of our planned roadmap (in fact, once done we'll go beyond what was initially planned!), but the fun will not be over, and we still have some stuff up our sleeve for the future. All that being said, this update will be massive and will provide many hours of fun for experienced and new players alike.

With each update we try bring more than just a map and the same cookie-cutter enemies. Greenskins and the Undead are very different races, offering different challenges - but really they are still quite similar. We wanted to push enemy variety even further, and so this update will bring some massive changes to the battlefield.

This article will not show you all enemies you'll face - just some of them. Don't worry, we're leaving plenty hidden for you to discover :)

Let's talk about Desert Fiends.

Deep within the Shar'Qa Desert, hidden beneath the sands, lie the tombs of ancient civilizations long forgotten. Silent witnesses to the passage of time, these crypts harbor untold secrets and unimaginable treasures, drawing many an adventurous soul into their shadowy depths. Yet, those who dare venture within must face the enigmatic guardians of these sacred burial grounds: the Watchmen.

Neither living nor dead, the Watchmen are mummified, humanoid figures with an air of something far more sinister. Wrapped in tattered linens stained by the sands of time, they possess an otherworldly presence that instills fear in even the bravest of hearts. Their origins remain shrouded in mystery, with whispers of forgotten rituals and dark pacts that have bound them to their eternal duty.

[expand type=showmore]The Watchmen possess an uncanny ability to sense intruders, emerging from the darkness of the tombs to protect the resting places of their long-departed masters. Their lifeless eyes seem to pierce through the very souls of those who trespass, while their withered hands wield ancient weapons with devastating precision. Silent and relentless, they serve as a stark reminder of the price of greed and the consequences of disturbing the slumber of the dead.

In the ever-shifting sands of the Shar'Qa Desert, the Watchmen stand eternal, unwavering guardians of a past that refuses to be forgotten, a testament to the darkness that lingers at the edges of human history. And now... they ventured out of the tombs they have been bound to protect.[/expand]

In the heart of the Shar'Qa Desert, a tribe of fearsome Snakemen known as the Serpentis dwell amongst the shifting sands. Their bodies, a fusion of human and serpent, are adorned with bronze armor and weapons forged from the desert's scarce resources. These formidable beings are skilled in the ancient art of bronze smithing, which has been passed down through generations.

[expand type=showmore]The Serpentis are fiercely territorial, guided by a strict code of honor that demands unwavering loyalty to their kin and the desert they call home. They live in harmony with the harsh environment, their keen senses and unparalleled agility allowing them to navigate the treacherous dunes with ease. Their venomous fangs and swift strikes make them a formidable foe to any who dare trespass into their domain.

Though they share the desert with the sinister Sand Nightmares, the Serpentis have learned to coexist with these spectral beings, avoiding confrontation and respecting the boundaries of their haunted territories. In the ever-shifting landscape of the Shar'Qa Desert, the Serpentis stand as a symbol of resilience and unity, a testament to the power of adaptation in the face of adversity.[/expand]

Long ago, in the sun-scorched dunes of Shar'Qa, there existed an ancient order of assassins known as the Al'Samara. These elusive warriors were feared for their lethal skills and unwavering loyalty to their enigmatic leader, Zul the Shadowless.

One fateful night, Zul attempted to harness the power of the rare and mystical Dark Sands to grant his assassins immortality. The ritual, however, backfired and unleashed a catastrophic storm that decimated the order. Consumed by the very darkness they sought to control, the assassins were reborn as vengeful spectres, now known as the Sand Nightmares.

[expand type=showmore]Bound to the cursed dunes, the Sand Nightmares roam the desert, cloaked in their tattered black robes, carrying the very daggers that once belonged to their mortal forms. Driven by a relentless thirst for vengeance, these malevolent apparitions hunt for unwary travelers, plaguing them with nightmarish visions and striking fear into the hearts of even the most hardened of warriors.

In the endless sea of sand, the Sand Nightmares serve as a grim reminder of the perils of ambition and the dark forces that lie beneath the surface, awaiting those who dare to awaken them.[/expand]

The desert is home to a diverse array of scarabs, each uniquely adapted to the harsh environment.

Some of these scarabs, known as the Burrowers, have evolved to live beneath the desert's surface. With their powerful legs and sharp mandibles, they tunnel through the sand, creating intricate networks of subterranean passages. These cunning predators lie in wait, sensing the vibrations of their prey above before striking with deadly precision from below.

Others, on the other hand, have taken to the skies, their large wings allowing them to traverse vast distances in search of food. Equipped with keen eyesight, they patrol the desert from above, scanning the dunes for signs of life. With a swift and silent descent, they can snatch their unsuspecting prey from the ground, carrying it away to feast upon in the safety of their aerial domain.

[expand type=showmore]In the ever-changing landscape of the Shar'Qa Desert, these scarabs serve as a testament to the power of adaptation and the resilience of life, even in the most unforgiving of environments. As the darkness continues to encroach upon the land, the scarabs remain a vital part of the desert's delicate balance, their presence a reminder that life will always find a way to persist in the face of adversity.[/expand]

Within the vast expanse of the Shar'Qa Desert, the skies are ruled by a fearsome race of creatures known as the Harpies. With the upper bodies of humans and the powerful wings and talons of vultures, these formidable beings have adapted to the harsh conditions of the desert, soaring above the dunes in search of prey.

The Harpies are skilled hunters, wielding bows and arrows with unmatched precision. Their keen eyesight allows them to spot potential targets from great distances, while their agile wings grant them unparalleled maneuverability in the air. With a swift and deadly grace, they dive towards their enemies, raining a hail of arrows upon their unsuspecting victims before retreating back into the safety of the skies.

[expand type=showmore]
In addition to their formidable hunting prowess, the Harpies possess a cunning intelligence that enables them to coordinate their attacks, striking fear into the hearts of those who dare to venture into their domain. They are fiercely territorial, guarding their aerial kingdom with a ruthless determination that leaves few survivors.[/expand]

An ominous darkness stirs, awakening ancient evils long entombed beneath the sands. Foul creatures of legend, once thought mere myth, now rise to plague the land, their malevolent intentions sowing chaos and despair. As these nefarious beings unite under the banner of darkness, the men inhabiting this land must band together, forging alliances in a desperate bid to survive.

We hope you're just as excited for the update as we are! With new enemy threats such as flying units, and burrowers, the battlefield will be a very different landscape. We hope to see you soon in the next dev diary, where we'll reveal a little more about the upcoming maps.

As always, there's no ETA regarding the patch release date, but we do expect to work on it throughout the month of May. Lots of art is done, but there are still animations, map improvements, tweaks, mechanics and lots of other fun stuff!

Stay tuned, report bugs, and lift the siege, Warlords!