Greetings everyone, this is the ArcheAge dev team.

 

We would like to share the details about the first update preview for this year.

In this update preview, we would like to provide detailed information on the Phase 1 update that we revealed through the New Year's roadmap.

 

* The below contents are currently in development and can be subject to change upon actual release.

 
The "Akasch Invasion," originally developed to promote cooperation among factions to resist the invading Akasch faction at Ipnya Ridge, has deviated from its intended plan. It is currently being exploited to hinder the growth of opposing factions, with activities like deliberately releasing equipment and intentionally losing to the Akasch faction.

The development team made continuous efforts but concluded that simply modifying some content will not lead to overall improvement.

Therefore, in the upcoming March update, we plan to undergo a comprehensive overhaul of this content to transform it into a format where cooperation and competition between factions can be enjoyed together.

1. While the invasion battle process remains the same, we have reduced its duration and adjusted the difficulty to relieve the burden of combating the Akasch faction.
2. After the competition with the Akasch faction, a higher grade Akasch who heeds the call of "Akasch Queen Kina" will appear in Erenor.
3. Depending on the victory or defeat of the player faction, the raid boss that appears subsequently will change, and better rewards, such as the "Ipnysh Ring," can be obtained when the player faction wins.
4. Improved Ipnysh Protection buff, which used to strengthen the raid boss after the Invasion battle defeat, will be removed. This change ensures no impact on raid progression after the invasion battle.
(Image) New raid boss (Left) Grand General Allu (Upon player faction's victory) / (Right) Elder Nergal (Upon player faction's defeat) 
Removal of Faction Points, and Introduction of Free Exile System
ArcheAge has been a prominent RvR game since its launch, but it has grappled consistently with the challenge of "faction imbalance."Despite the development team's persistent efforts to find systemic solutions, previous improvements fell short of fully resolving the issue of "faction imbalance."The faction scores, designed to assist the disadvantaged faction based on systemic evaluations, could not accurately reflect the actual situation. Furthermore, the exile system, where member capacity was determined by faction strength, was inconvenient and worsened the faction imbalance.To address these concerns, the upcoming March update will streamline the faction limitation system and allow players the freedom to choose their factions based on their own will. 
1. Removal of Faction Points
All faction points to assess the faction activities will be removed.It will eliminate the faction advantage/disadvantage assessments, and discontinue support for disadvantaged factions.The following systems will be removed.
• "Don't Give Up" buff granted to the disadvantaged faction
• Faction Statue's "War Time" buff
• Mobilization Order Flag's [War Preparations] buff
• Advantage/disadvantage information from the Community > Alliance Info tab
• Removal of Alliance System
 
2. Removal of Systematic Exile, and Freedom of Exile Through Alliance Exile Scroll Purchase
With the removal of advantage/disadvantage assessments, the system limitation on the number of exiles will be lifted.Starting from the March update, players can purchase Alliance Exile Scroll from the NPC "Exile Broker" in Freedich Island.Please note that Alliance Exile Scroll can be purchased once a week using Honor Points, and it will expire after 6 hours.  After use, it cannot be used again for 7 days. The reuse cooldown applies to other faction scrolls as well.(Image) Exile Broker's Location in Freedich Island
• 1: Nuia Alliance Exile Scroll Purchase Location
• 2: Haranya Alliance Exile Scroll Purchase Location
• 3: Pirate Faction Exile Scroll Purchase Location
 
Addition of High Grade Raid Equipment
In the March update, higher grade equipment that many of our players have been anticipating will be introduced.Higher grade equipment can be acquired by awakening lower grade equipment of the same type. Awakening not only increases the basic ability but also adds one more synthesis effect.The synthesis effects will also be upgraded, so we hope you will be able to experience more powerful raid equipment with stronger abilities.
Category
Equipment Type
Lower Grade Equipment
New Equipment
Nehliya
Greatsword
Eminent Soulslake Edge
Annihilating Soulslake Edge
Nehliya
Katana
Eminent Soulslake Razor
Annihilating Soulslake Razor
Nehliya
Greataxe
Eminent Soulslake Cleaver
Annihilating Soulslake Cleaver
Nehliya
Scepter
Eminent Soulslake Leech
Annihilating Soulslake Leech
Nehliya
Shield
Eminent Soulslake Bulwark
Annihilating Soulslake Bulwark
Nehliya
Rifle
Eminent Soulslake Bullet
Annihilating Soulslake Bullet
Black Dragon
Sword
Ferocious Black Dragon Tail-Reaper
Bellowing Black Dragon Tail-Reaper
Black Dragon
Shield
Ferocious Black Dragon Fireguard
Bellowing Black Dragon Fireguard
Black Dragon
Bow
Ferocious Black Dragon Eyesplitter
Bellowing Black Dragon Eyesplitter
Black Dragon
Nodachi
Ferocious Black Dragon Wing-Reaper
Bellowing Black Dragon Wing-Reaper
Black Dragon
Staff
Ferocious Black Dragon Roar
Bellowing Black Dragon Roar
Black Dragon
Club
Ferocious Black Dragon Silencer
Bellowing Black Dragon Silencer
Black Dragon
Rifle
Ferocious Black Dragon's Bite
Bellowing Black Dragon's Breath
Anthalon
Head
Nefarious Dread Necromancer's Hood
Cruel Necromancer Hood
Anthalon
Top
Nefarious Dread Necromancer's Shirt
Cruel Necromancer Armor
Anthalon
Gloves
Nefarious Dread Necromancer's Gloves
Cruel Necromancer Gloves
Anthalon
Pants
Nefarious Dread Necromancer's Pants
Cruel Necromancer Pants
Anthalon
Shoes
Nefarious Dread Necromancer's Shoes
Cruel Necromancer Shoes
Leviathan
Head
Resolute Hermit's Glare
Pale Sea Glare
Leviathan
Top
Resolute Hermit's Heart
Pale Sea Heart
Leviathan
Gloves
Resolute Hermit's Touch
Pale Sea Touch
Leviathan
Pants
Resolute Hermit's Will
Pale Sea Will
Leviathan
Shoes
Resolute Hermit's Footprints
Pale Sea Footprints
Charybdis
Head
Termisia's Merciless Thoughts
Chilled Cap
Charybdis
Top
Termisia's Merciless Soul
Chilled Jerkin
Charybdis
Gloves
Termisia's Merciless Grasp
Chilled Gloves
Charybdis
Pants
Termisia's Merciless Resolve
Chilled Breeches
Charybdis
Shoes
Termisia's Merciless Path
Chilled Boots
 
Reduced Difficulty in Acquiring Crafted Equipment
The current Crafted Equipment starts with the Illustrious equipment and develops through many stages in the following order: Magnificent > Epherium > Delphinad > Ayanad > Erenor > Awakened Erenor > Brilliant Erenor. The cost burden of acquiring upper-tier equipment is very high.The difficulty level will be adjusted to help players enhance their strength by utilizing Crafted Equipment. Illustrious and Magnificent grades, the lower grades of crafted equipment, will be removed. Players will be able to obtain Epherium or higher-grade equipment to proceed with growth.

1. Epherium equipment will be available for purchase from Weapon/Armor Merchant.
2. The paths to obtain Existing Illustrious and Magnificent equipment will be eliminated.
3. Existing Illustrious and Magnificent gear can still be used, and "Salvage Forge" on Mirage Isle will allow players to create awakening materials for higher grade equipment.
4. You can obtain crafting equipment and awakening materials by defeating the Delphinad Ghost Ship.
 
2nd Collection Achievement System: Awakened Andelph Drakora
A considerable time has passed since the first collection achievements were introduced. As many players have already completed the collection achievements, the excitement and purpose of collecting have stagnated.In response to this, we plan to introduce a new set of second collection achievements to rekindle the interest and goals of players for the collecting content.Upon achieving the final goal of the second collection achievements, you will obtain an item that allows you to awaken the "Andelph Drakora," and upon awakening, you will gain "Awakened Andelph Drakora" with increased basic performance and a new skill that releases a strong condensed current.(image) Awakened Andelph Drakora 
Other
1. Loot Rewards Boost
• Hiram Rift
  • The chances to obtain Ipnysh Accessories upon defeating monsters in Hiram Rift will increase.
• Delphinad Ghost Ship
  • The chances to obtain Haunted Chest, Epherium Equipment Awakening Materials, and Delphinad Equipment upon defeating Delphinad Ghost Ship will increase.
  • The quantity of Relic Trade Packs created upon defeating Delphinad Ghost Ship will increase. 
2. Instance Team Recruit System Revamp
• Pre-Team Recruit/Search Support
  • To enhance user convenience, the "Recruit/Search" button will now be active 10 minutes before the instance starts, allowing participants to prepare for team recruitment in advance.
  • Applied Instances
    • Faction War: Golden Plains Battle, Skyfin War
    • Raid: Red Dragon's Keep, Kadum
• Team Recruit Edit Feature Added
  • Players can now click the "Edit Team" button to easily modify the required level, equipment points, and information, eliminating the need to disband the team when trying to change the content and details after creating a recruitment post.
(image) Edit Team Button(image) Team Recruit Edit Screen 
3. Improvements To Kick System of Inactive Participants
During an Instance, Raid General will be able to directly kick the inactive player without a vote.A reuse time of 1 minute will be applied after usage, and it will not be applied to the Instance Kick Vote cooldown. 
4. Expansion of Collection Sources for Guild Prestige
A new individual guild mission in which you can obtain Guild Prestige through item donations will be added.We hope this will relieve your burden of obtaining Guild Prestige. 
Lastly
In 2024, our development team will focus on your continuous growth while aiming to lower gameplay barriers and address inconveniences. Alongside the details shared through this notice, please look forward to updates that will enhance convenience and ease gameplay difficulties. We appreciate your love and support.Thank you all for your love and support for ArcheAge. We will be back with the March update soon.Thank you. 

The last level for the current sector has been added, there are also improvements to graphics, animations, balance...
The next update will expand the building options for the Island.
In parallel, I've already started working on the next story level, which will include a new enemy.

Here's a roadmap with progress notes:


List of changes:

• A new story level (consisting of two parts), the final one for this sector.
  
• An additional opening cutscene with a less abstract explanation of the plot than the main Intro. It should be at the beginning of the game in the headquarters, but if you have already completed the game, you will also see it once when you enter the game.
  
• Hitting the central red eye of small robots now deals critical damage (+30-40%) will make more sense to upgrade the recoil reduction.
  
• Changed character behavior, after a second without shooting - the character " unsticks " from the aiming. This is more typical for this genre.
  
• Falling outside of locations no longer kills the player, but safely teleports them to the last recovery point, similar to the action of a quantum leap. This will greatly improve the cooperative playthrough on some levels.
  
• Improved graphics of the area near the data center on the abandoned cliff level.
  
• Energy grenade - increased explosion radius to make it easier to use.
  
• Implosion now flies faster and has a small homing effect on enemies.
  
• Improved effects of some explosions... more black smoke afterwards.
  
• The mini-map has been improved with a compass.
  
• Fixed a bug ( though nice) where upgrading the plasma pistol, in addition to changing to plasma, was doubling its damage.
  
• Fixed a bug where the jump flew further with a decrease in fps.
  
• Other minor fixes.

Dear preservers! 🌱

Thank you very much for your support and for playing our demo! Based on your extensive playing, we are receiving a lot of valuable feedbacks and reports about various smaller bugs. It's very helpful and we are thankful for that! That's why yesterday we made the first update of the demo in which we solved few problems:

• Support for ultrawide screens
  
• Support for simultaneous controller + mouse cursor control
  
• Controller auto-detection fix
  
• Several other smaller bug fixes

We hope you are enjoying the demo! 😊 Please don't forget to fill out the feedback form after the session or chat with us our Discord channel, so we can work on the necessary improvements for the Steam Next Fest in June. And of course, please Wishlist Preserve! 😊

New Content:

- Added Story animations to 2nd planet levels 1 & 2

Bug Fixes:

- Fixed the issue where Done button was unclickable on 1st planet level 3

We're currently working hard on 3rd planet and hope to get it done by the end of the month.

In our Discord channel, you can find out the latest news updates, ask questions, and take part in the development, offering your own concepts for the environment, weapons, and more. And also a free distribution of copies of the game in honor of the release

Friends!

Soon, you won't need to worry about repairing weapons or gear anymore! We’re disabling the system entirely and welcoming a new page of indestructible items. We're also committed to making the WF$ system more intuitive and useful, with our next focus being the introduction of the bonus currency vault and bonus weapon mastery boost.

---

After reevaluating the durability and repair system, we've determined that this feature is outdated and restricts the gaming experience for rookie players. Which is why we're disabling the system entirely. Worrying about deteriorating gear and weapons will soon be history.

After the coming update, the system will be disabled and the repair mechanic will no longer be accessible. Any items that have lost durability before the shutdown will be restored to a mighty 100%, so we’re all on equal footing.

This also means that you will no longer receive repeats of permanent drops from Random Box, as that will not affect durability.

---

As the PvE system evolves, so do its features! We’re introducing a brand-new way to earn bonus currency from completing PvE missions and boost your XP –the bonus currency vault. Soon, you’ll be able to use your WF$ to increase the amount of bonus Crowns or other in-game currency you earn.

By investing WF$, you’ll be able to “feed” a currency pool with a currency of your choosing, let’s use Crowns as an example. As you fill the pool with a certain number of Crowns, you increase the pool’s level. This in turn influences both the quantity of bonus Crowns you can earn and their cost. As the pool's level rises, so does the potential yield of bonus Crowns, however at a higher cost.

Here's the gist: every time you earn Crowns through PvE, you'll receive an equivalent amount from the bonus pool, along with XP. Subsequently, the pool's balance decreases by the number of Crowns you receive. If the bonus Crowns in the pool fall short of your reward, you'll only receive the available bonus Crowns from the pool.

Please note: you cannot receive bonus Crowns from the pool by completing contracts or receiving Crowns through any means other than earning them in battle.

This exciting feature will enhance not only your PvE experience but will work in Events and Ranked Matches going forward, offering a new avenue to bolster your currency reserves and boost your progression.

---

The modification system is also getting a taste of that WF$ touch up! Soon, you’ll be able to add an extra boost to your weapon mastery progression.

This system will allow you to use WF$ to purchase a weapon mastery booster for a specific weapon that you’re leveling through in the progression system. And, similarly to the bonus currency vault, you’ll also get the chance to upgrade that boost using WF$. With each purchase, the percentage of that boost goes up, letting you climb that mastery ladder with top speed. And once you’ve maxed out your weapon in the system, you won’t be able to add any more boosts to it, so on to the next!




Get ready to level the playing field!

---

See you in the game!

Discuss on Facebook
Discuss on Discord

We're happy to announce that DLC for "GUNVOLT RECORDS Cychronicle" are now available!

DLC "Song Pack 3 Lumen: ♪Last Station ♪Traces ♪Reality ♪Sign"

Please enjoy!

-Increase course unlock gold quantity.

• Updated version info to 2.7.5 from 2.7.4
  
• Adjusted Fog to be thicker on the Outside Mansion Map.
  
• Moved usable items around the Outside Mansion Map to increase exploration.
  
• Added Note to docks with new item unlocks.
  
• Changed all notes from Takeable to Inspect only.
  
• Adjusted Jumpscare in reseach center.
  
• Updated SteamAPI for Achievment system.
  
• Added More Achievements.
  
• Adjusted Volumes for Intro Cinematic and Outside Cinematics to be a lower volume.
  
• Updated Doors inside Mansion with a Differtent Texture.
  
• Updated Locked Room in Mine Level with more decor.
  
• Added Tunnel to entrance of Locked Room.
  
• Planned out more of the Storyline.
  
• Adjusted Jumpscares in each level.
  
• Adjusted Spawn locations for Enemy Outside.

Capcom Highlights will bring you news on upcoming Capcom titles including the soon-to-be-released Dragon's Dogma 2!

Stream time for Day 1 of the event (approximate length 20 minutes):

Thursday, March 7, 2024
3:00pm PST
23:00 GMT
*Time and date subject to change without notice

For more details, check out our website:
https://www.capcom-games.com/showcase/highlights/