Greetings, Taernians!
As every year, Wrocław became the stage for an extraordinary event that drew brave warriors from across all of Taern. We're talking, of course, about TaernCon 2026, which took place on July 4th at the ever-familiar Czasoprzestrzeń venue!
This year's edition can be summed up in just a few words: bigger, better, and more badass! Cosplays, competitions, tournaments, a Q&A session, the "confession couch" where you could chat with members of the Whitemoon team, a photo zone, a gallery of in-game artwork, the legendary Trentis Stall packed with brand-new Broken Ranks merchandise (the beer mug sold out in seconds!), food trucks, cold beer... the list of attractions goes on and on. But since it's summer and we've got some time, I'd love to tell you all about it myself. I'm Iki, your humble Community Manager.
As tradition dictates, the gathering began with the iconic music that fills every Taernian heart with nostalgia, pride, and joy. No one could resist the sound of drums and violins, and together with the musicians, the attendees marched into the main hall. Alongside the music, they were greeted by a story (mentioning one about Drygu's mysterious algorithms) told by our well-known host, Dawid. After this wonderful introduction, the official part of TaernCon began. This year, alongside the legendary Dawid, I had the pleasure of appearing on stage as co-host. I have to admit that despite my enormous initial stage fright, I'm incredibly grateful for the opportunity because spending that time with all of you was truly unforgettable! It's also worth mentioning that the livestream kicked off at the same time, hosted by the tireless Szeszej, joined this year by Fridriś.
Once our founding fathers — Drygu, Torgerd, and Mr. Tomasz — had warmly welcomed our wonderful Taernian crowd, it was time for the first event of the day: the cosplay competition. Anyone who thought they'd already seen it all couldn't have been more wrong! Once again, our cosplayers outdid themselves, leaving jaws dropping across the hall. This year, alongside our Holy Trinity of judges (Drygu, Torg, and Mr. Tomasz), two chosen members of our community joined the jury. One of them, the warrior Wiktora, held the deciding vote in selecting the winner. And the champion turned out to be none other than Seboheh, dressed as the Lord of Hvar's Wastelands! The competition was incredibly fierce, though, and the Audience Choice Award went to the legendary Leśny Ssak, whose Pumpmaster cosplay from 2D Taern once again proved too enormous to even fit on the stage. Tradition must be upheld, after all! I'd also like to give a huge shout-out to our other amazing participants: BiggieCheese, Duobarb, Nederlander, Lejla, SzyzRizz, and Szeth. <3
After a short break and a chance to cool off with the aforementioned cold beer, Dawid and I returned to the stage for the next highly anticipated highlight — the Q&A session featuring our fearless leader Drygu alongside Game Designers Daro and Hass. They answered questions both from the audience at the venue and from viewers watching the Szeszej & Fridriś livestream. There were so many questions that we actually shortened the following break just to squeeze in "one more... okay, definitely the last one!" While many questions naturally began with the word "WHEN?" 😉, Taernians still learned plenty of interesting new things — from Drygu's thoughts on AI, through the future of the iOS version, to whether unlimited group events might eventually make a comeback.
Immediately after the Q&A concluded, Dawid smoothly transitioned into drawing the four brave contenders for the PvP tournament, professionally commentated by Kavka, whose knowledge of Broken Ranks endgame content can only be rivaled by our very own Loba’s. The battlefield welcomed AngelDust, Killrim, Yedsu, and LukMati, and in the end it was the latter who emerged victorious, as the archer Cięciwoj defeated the mighty Żarquinhos in the final duel. A huge round of applause to all participants for fighting fiercely until the very end! <3
To help everyone unwind after such intense battles, we held the Broken Ranks Trivia Quiz, packed with tricky questions (I personally only knew the answer to three of them! 😄). In the end, five brilliant minds advanced to the grand finale on stage. Those finalists were BorderKicia, Desdens, Vaatu, who claimed third place, Avuliasz in second, and the ultimate champion — Kaelvar!
The grand finale of this year's TaernCon was another PvP tournament: The Battle for Reach, where our irreplaceable content creators — Adanos, Galajus, Dabiu, and Tomczi — fought for the grand prize of 20,000 Platinum. The matches were every bit as intense — if not even more so — than those in the players' tournament. Kavka barely had time to wipe the sweat from his forehead between fights! In the end, the final showdown came down to Galajus and Dabiu, with Galajus utterly dominating the battlefield and securing first place.
Was that the end of TaernCon 2026? Not even close! We still had the traditional Whitemoon team photo (Ikipion for everyone!), thank-you speeches, hugs, countless conversations, and of course the legendary afterparty, which lasted until sunrise. Let me just remind you that what happened in Vegas Wrocław ... stays in Vegas Wrocław. (wink, wink).
And so another unforgettable edition of the Broken Ranks fan gathering — TaernCon 2026 — came to an end. Huge thanks go to the organizers (all hail Marlenka), our server team, and deep bows to every single person who joined us. Thank you for creating such an incredible atmosphere, for all the unforgettable moments, heartfelt conversations, wild dancing, countless high fives, and everything else that made this gathering so special. Since so many Taernians are now regular attendees, I'm sure we'll have plenty of amazing memories to share at the next event — which I already can't wait for!
See you next time!
Your Iki and the Whitemoon Team <3
