The next update is on the horizon and in it you will see what the owners of the most powerful weapons in the game have been waiting for. The gear rework is now finished, so it’s time for something new. Yes, it’s epics time!
We based the project on the assumption that the gear overhaul needs to be complete before we can introduce the new epics, because they would work using the mechanics you know so very well by now. However, they’ll also offer something new, something no other piece of gear in the game can provide while also giving you a completely new way of acquiring them. What, where, how? Read on!
Basic properties
The new epics were announced last year together with the gear overhaul. It was too early for details back then, but the main assumption has remained unchanged - they are to be an expansion of the current epic weapons. Therefore, each class will be given an opportunity to craft (yes, craft, not loot, but we’ll speak more about this later ;) ) a better version of their epic - a legend.
What will be their parameters? Let’s list the ones you know:
- rank: XII,
- category: class weapon,
- weight: 15,
- capacity: 32,
- required level: 120,
- additional properties: drif empowerment (60%), additional AP (1),
- number of parameters: similar to other level 120 gear,
- number of drif slots and size: 3x archdrif.
You’re probably asking yourselves now - what drifs will there be in the new epics? What about the upgrades, ornaments, durability? What will be their unique properties? Keep calm and read on.
Drifs
As far as drifs go, the answer is simple - the legends will not have them at all. When an epic is upgraded, the drifs inside it will be returned to the backpack and you’ll be able to decide whether you want to insert them again or replace them with different ones.
For this reason, the Err drif, currently available only in the Lantern of Life, will become lootable. Its base intensity will be decreased from 4 to 3 and so its loot chance will be comparable to other drifs of that base intensity (e.g. astah, oda, faln). Err can only be inserted into a weapon and works only with abilities that have weapon damage in their formula.
Upgrades and durability
Upgrades and ornaments will not carry over from the epic to the legend. However, it doesn’t mean that upgrading the epic will be useless. We’ll talk more about incrustation when we discuss crafting, now let’s focus on durability and upgrades. That’s because these two parameters will be closely related.
We’ve been thinking a long time about this - after all, the new epic weapons won’t be a completely new piece of gear but an extension of the old one, meaning you won’t be able to swap it for one with higher durability. We didn’t want this to affect the market values of some epics too much - after all, this type of gear is extremely rare across all servers and although the difference in price between low and high durability epics is something we’re okay with, we don’t want a situation where some epics become unsellable.
Upgrades proved to be another problem (and players upgrade their epics a lot) - we are aware that losing them without getting anything in return could be rather painful. On the other hand, upgrade costs at rank IX are much lower than for rank XII, so any kind of upgrade transfer proved to be either unfair or unsatisfactory. We also didn’t want to introduce a bonus that would affect gameplay so much that if a player decides to create a legend without enough upgrades on their epic, they’ll be unable to make up for the difference in raw power.
As a result of our brainstorming, we came up with a decision that links both of these problems together and solves them - the upgrade level of the epic will translate to the durability of the legend. This means that a player who likes to gamble with upgrades will get a bonus that will make it easier for them to upgrade the new weapon, too. Thanks to this, upgrades on the epic will still be worth it, but those that don’t feel like spinning the clock won’t feel compelled to do so.
New properties
Let’s now get to the cherry on top - what exactly will be the new feature of the legends? What will make them stand out from other pieces of gear and epics? Well, we’ll give them two additional properties not seen before. First is an extra slot for an archorb - yes, you’ll be able to have two inside one weapon. The other will be completely unique across the whole game. Have you ever wanted to perform more actions than normally possible? Legends will allow you to do so! When you wield them, you’ll get an extra attack circle that you can use for any action (if you have the AP of course).
Appearance
Apart from pure gameplay features, legends will also please you aesthetically. Their appearance will change and they’ll get special effects so far reserved only for unique skins. It’s worth noting that this appearance will be limited to the owners of legends. It’ll be impossible to morph them.
Crafting
Since we’re done with what the new epics will be, it’s time to talk about the way they’ll be acquired. As mentioned above, you’ll be able to equip legends at level 120. However, this doesn’t mean that most players will be able to wield them this quick. The level is just the moment when you can begin the crafting process and it’s going to take you some time to finish, although nothing except for difficulty and costs will stop you from getting a legend right away.
When a player who has an epic reaches level 120, they’ll automatically be given an elaborate mission. If they don’t have an epic at this level yet, the quest will appear as soon as one is acquired and repaired. Of course, those who have it at the moment of the update will get the quest immediately. The mission won’t be a quest or a task - it’ll have its own window with a dedicated UI where you’ll be able to track your progress. The whole process will be divided into three stages that can be completed simultaneously, independently of one another - the first will be to empower the epic, the second will be to collect certain items, and the third will entail slaying bosses and, optionally, champions.
The epic empowerment stage is plain and simple - both drifs will have to reach level 16 and you’ll have to incrust it to three gold stars. If you’ve already done this, there’s nothing more here for you to do. ;)
After that, things get harder. Although gold can help you smoothen the process of acquiring items, you’ll also have to collect some that haven’t been lootable in the game yet. However, there’s no way to accelerate the slaying stage - mobs killed before the mission won’t count towards it. The progress in this stage will be divided into two parts: first of all, you’ll have to defeat every boss in the game multiple times (except for those outside of instances), second of all you’ll have to get a certain number of points called Slivers. Completing the first part won’t complete the second one - you won’t have enough Slivers by then. This means that you’ll have to defeat even more opponents, but this time you can choose which ones. In addition to that, hunting champions can hasten the process - killing them will increase the number of Slivers acquired from bosses.
Although you’ll be able to see the progress of the mission in the UI, we’ll also add some lore related to epics. In the cavern below the Garrison, we’ll add a new area named Forge of Fate. It’s there where you’ll be handing in the required items to eventually create the new weapon. You’ll also meet the Blacksmith of Fate who will introduce you to the mission and give you some backstory on the epics. Who was Allenor? How was Wurm created? What’s the lore behind Imisindo? You’ll learn everything soon, on April 24th.
