Hello, Taernians!
The balance change tests on the PTR are now behind us. Many of you completed the surveys we prepared, we also received plenty of feedback on Discord, and after the tests ended, we continued discussions with a group of the most engaged players.
Thank you for participating in the tests and, above all, for your substantive feedback. This was exactly what the PTR was meant for: to let us confront our assumptions with how the game is actually played. In several cases, your comments led to significant changes compared to the version you tested.
At the same time, we want to emphasize that the PTR is not only about answering the question of whether a particular change is liked or not. Some of our assumptions address balance issues that we still intend to resolve. However, if testing showed that a proposed solution was too severe or that the same goal could be achieved in a better way, we looked for another approach.
That is exactly how we tackled the changes described below.
Fire Shield
One of the conclusions from the PTR was that Fire Shield was too effective at very high Power values.
The overall direction of the change remains the same. We want the skill to provide direct protection against attacks from the melee zone, with its effectiveness tied to character progression. After testing, however, we decided to adjust its scaling.
The adjustment will be less noticeable for Mages with low and medium Power values, while the values reached by characters at the other end of the scale will be limited more strongly. It was specifically for highly developed Mages that the damage reduction on the PTR reached levels we considered too high.
Additionally, after the change, the skill will also cost Stamina.
Evasion
For Evasion, we are also sticking to the main assumption: at the Adept and Master levels, the Stamina cost of using the skill will increase.
However, your feedback showed that the values tested on the PTR were too severe. That’s why we are significantly toning down this change.
The biggest difference, compared to what is currently in the game, will be visible with maxed-out Evasion. At lower skill levels, the cost increase will be significantly smaller than in the version you tested.
Amok
Amok received fairly positive ratings in the PTR surveys, but additional discussions with experienced players brought up quite a few comments regarding its effectiveness and its place in the Barbarian’s skill set, particularly when compared to the Fire Mage’s corresponding skill, Fire Shield.
After these discussions, we decided to buff it compared to the PTR version.
At the same time, we don’t want Amok to simply become an equivalent of Fire Shield that works against a different attack zone. We want the defensive skills of individual classes to retain their own identity and provide different tactical options.
That’s why we are keeping the mechanic based on evading mental attacks—which, unlike Fire Shield, also allows to avoid a debuff—but we are improving its parameters so that using Amok is more attractive than it was during testing.
Natural Resistance – The Biggest Change After the PTR
Natural Resistance was by far the most discussed change.
The version tested on the PTR was intended to turn it into a more elaborate tactical tool—one that could also be used on allies and would give the Druid additional options at the cost of some of their healing potential and Dispel effectiveness.
After the tests, surveys, and subsequent discussions, however, we concluded that we were trying to achieve too much with a single skill. That’s why we are moving away from the PTR version of Natural Resistance and reworking it once again.
After the changes, Natural Resistance will:
- once again be a skill that can only be cast on the Druid,
- have a shorter duration,
- reduce damage dealt by the Druid’s attacks by 25% while active,
- provide a larger physical resistance bonus than it does currently,
- also increase elemental and mental resistances,
- have its Dispel difficulty restored to the previous value of 100 points,
- cost both stamina and mana,
- provide a large melee defense bonus that works on the same principle as the Tall drif.
We are therefore abandoning the model in which the cost of using Natural Resistance was reduced effectiveness of Healing and Dispel. Instead, the choice will become more direct: the Druid will be able to significantly increase their survivability, but at the cost of their own offensive potential.
We want Natural Resistance to be a strong defensive skill, while making sure that the decision to use it comes with a real cost. Your feedback convinced us that this approach will be clearer and fit the Druid’s role better than the version tested on the PTR.
Death – The Debt Stays, Additional Penalties Go
The proposed penalty for an unpaid death at level 140 also caused a lot of controversy.
On the PTR, a character who did not have enough funds to pay the death penalty received additional restrictions on gaining psychoexperience, Mastery points, and drops in addition to the debt itself.
Based on your feedback, we decided to completely abandon these additional penalties.
The main idea behind change remains, however: for level 140 players, the death penalty should represent a real cost in gold, and it should not be possible to avoid it by moving gold from the character to the deposit beforehand.
Therefore, after death, the system will first attempt to collect the required amount from all locations where the player can keep their gold—the character, the deposit, and the Marketplace.
If the combined funds are still insufficient, the remaining amount will become a debt. From that point on, gold earned from battles will automatically be used to repay it until the entire amount owed has been settled.
There will be no additional penalties to drops, psychoexperience, or Mastery points.
In this case, we are keeping the mechanic that solves the original problem—the ability to easily avoid the economic consequences of death—while removing the elements that proved too severe during the PTR and caused controversy among players.
What’s Next?
These are the biggest changes we’ve made based on the tests and your feedback. In addition to these, we’ve also made a number of minor adjustments and fixes, which you’ll find in the full update changelog.
We are not planning a second PTR this time.
The changes will hit the live servers on September 15, 2026.
Alongside the update, we’ll publish the full changelog containing the final values and the remaining elements of the patch—including the economy changes, fixes, and improvements you tested on the PTR.
That’s Not All!
With the upcoming Broken Ranks update, the game’s content will be translated into Spanish. This will be our seventh language, alongside English, Polish, French, Russian, German, and Brazilian Portuguese.
On top of that, two new skin sets are coming to the premium shop, available for two weeks — the Crownguard Wargear and the Hetman Wargear. If you want your character to shine with a knightly flair, they’re worth a look. :) You can see the skins in the image below.
The shop will also get brand-new weapon skins for various classes:
- Last Stand (shield),
- Rampart (shield),
- Radiant Karabela (sword),
- Sarmatian Cleaver (axe),
- Hetman's Fist (hammer),
- Royal Huntsman (bow),
- Eagle Blade (two-handed sword),
- Royal Greataxe (two-handed axe),
- Hussar Thunder (two-handed hammer),
- Eagle Claws (knuckledusters),
- Brigadier's Bardiche (staff),
- Hussar's Honor (staff).
Something for everyone — you will surely find one that catches your eye :) Remember that these will also only be available in the shop for two weeks.
Once again, we thank everyone who took the time to participate in the tests, surveys, and discussions. Some of our assumptions remained unchanged after the PTR, some were fine-tuned, and in several cases—such as Natural Resistance or the penalty for an unpaid death—your feedback led to much more substantial reworks.
