With the new update, Crowfall brings numerous innovations. These make it easier for new players to get started, but also bring interesting new features for experienced players.
What kind of update is this? The “Fortunes of War” update (Update 5.100) is now playable for testers of the pre-alpha of Crowfall. It includes:
- a new type of world: “God’s Reach”
- new campaigns
- An embargo and “Vault” system
- new class/race combinations
This is how Crowfall changes for newcomers
These changes are important for newcomers: The most significant innovation for newcomers is the “God’s Reach” worlds. These serve as social hubs and are intended to ease the entry into the complex PvP MMORPG Crowfall.
What is “God’s Reach?”
This is what is special about the worlds: In God’s Reach, the otherwise very important PvP mode of Crowfall is disabled. Players cannot be attacked by other players here. They are meant for newcomers to familiarize themselves with the game and mechanics, such as:
- The combat system
- Traveling between worlds
- Death and respawn
- Leveling
- Talent trees
This is intended to prepare players to dive into the actual gameplay and participate in the campaigns that distinguish Crowfall and represent the core feature.
The progress is intended to be fast enough that the character becomes combat-ready in just a few hours. This also allows players to try out new builds, classes, and combinations.
This is how the worlds encourage more player interaction: By freeing players from PvP in these worlds, God’s Reach also serves as a kind of social hub. Players are meant to meet and connect to tackle PvE content or get to know traders and craftsmen.
Moreover, God’s Reach is intended to become a meeting point for players looking for guilds and for guilds wanting to recruit new players.
This changes for veterans
These changes are important for experienced players: In addition to God’s Reach, Crowfall is also expanding its campaign mechanics with new systems and even offers an alternative way to obtain good equipment.
New mechanics: Embargo and the Vault
What is an “embargo”? An embargo in Crowfall regulates which items you can bring into a world and which you cannot. Most worlds and campaigns have strict regulations concerning characters and their equipment, such as:
- “Elf Wars,” where only Wood Elves, High Elves, and Half Elves can be played
- “Survival,” where players can only bring a single tool
- “Diehard” campaigns, where only players at the maximum level may participate
The embargo now regulates which items may be taken into or out of the respective worlds. When selecting a character, you will be shown how many import and export tokens you receive.
Many worlds offer unique and particularly good loot for successful players, from which they must then decide which items to take with them.
What is the “Vault”? The “Vault” expands this system a bit further. It is a kind of “meta-bank” that exists outside of the worlds. It can be accessed from the lobby or from a temple in God’s Reach and in the Eternal Kingdom.
In limited worlds (those with an embargo), items can be transported from the vault via temples to the banks of the respective world. In unlimited worlds, players can simply take all their items with them, making the complex system important only for more experienced players.
This is how you get even more loot
This is the “Magic Loot”: In addition to the new restrictions on loot, there is now also a new way to obtain powerful items. Those without good access to craftsmen can now also “farm” loot.
To this end, the “Magic Loot” has been introduced. These new items are randomly dropped by monsters, like in many other MMORPGs. While these new items are meant to be “usable,” they should still not be as good as what craftsmen can create.
Crafters remain the main source for good equipment. The “Magic Loot” is meant to ease the burden on crafters while simultaneously stimulating the economy.
What else changes?
This new combination is now possible: In addition to the mentioned changes, players can create a new race/class combination: the Fae Knight. This combination is meant to unite the agility of the Fae and the steadfastness of the Knights.
What’s next?
ArtCraft has already announced another update to follow “Fortunes of War.” This will be called “The Dregs” and will introduce the new feature of “Guild vs. Guild” wars. A date is not yet known. However, the alpha is also expected to start rolling out slowly.
