October was an incredibly busy month both for us, the developers, and for you, our players. Several updates, the global launch of Broken Ranks on Android, and new servers following the launch. Meanwhile, we’ve been working on several things in parallel that are definitely worth telling you more about.
In today’s DevBlog: major changes to the Path of Exploration, current status of the Party Finder, and a preview of something that could make life much easier for both new and experienced players.
Path of Exploration - More Activities, a New Approach, and More Rewards
The Path of Exploration debuted in Broken Ranks with the latest major update. Trentis was the first area to get it, but we said from the start that this was only the beginning and that, over time, we would expand the feature to other areas of the game world. We’re sticking to that plan, but along the way we decided to make somewhat bigger changes than we originally anticipated.
In the second phase, we plan to add exploration for Alaril, the Kholds, and Thalia as part of an entirely new structure.
From Zones to Domains - Why Are We Changing the System?
When designing the first version of the Path, we opted for a simple division of activities by zone. Each zone had its own set of objectives and rewards, and players could gradually discover its content. The solution worked well in Trentis, but as we started working on other areas, we began to see its limitations. That’s why we decided to introduce an additional organizational layer to the Path of Exploration – domains.
We’ve been developing the world of Broken Ranks for many years, and its content doesn’t always fit neatly into perfectly organized level ranges. Aqua Regis is a good example – it’s a boss intended for characters at a much higher level than most of the activities in the surrounding zone. It would be unreasonable to expect a level 35 player who is just starting their adventure in Alaril to face an enemy designed for level 80 characters just to complete the area’s Exploration and claim its reward.
Another issue is the uneven distribution of content. We have extensive zones such as Trentis and Southern Alaril, but also much smaller areas with a limited number of available activities – Thalia and Northern Alaril, for example. Creating separate, properly balanced reward sets for each of them would be unnecessarily complicated. On top of that, some quests take players through several different zones at once, and the existing Exploration interface wasn’t particularly well suited to handling that.
The division itself isn’t new to you, as we already use it in other game mechanics, such as Legend crafting. In the case of the Path, each domain will group together all activities – even those from geographically separate zones – that correspond to a particular stage of character progression. Individual activities will still be tied to specific locations, but the rewards for completing categories and the entire Exploration stage will be assigned to the domain.
What About Your Existing Progress?
First of all, you don’t have to worry about losing any progress or rewards you’ve already claimed. The vast majority of activities from Trentis will be transferred to the first domain without any changes.
However, the first domain will also include new activities, including some from Alaril that fit the earlier stage of the game in terms of difficulty. If you’ve already completed a given category or all of Trentis and claimed its reward, you’ll keep it and won’t have to complete the new activities to complete that stage again. The new objectives will still be available to those who want to reach that coveted 100% on the progress bar. :)
The situation is slightly different for players who haven’t yet completed a given category or the entire zone. In their case, they will also need to complete the new activities assigned to the first domain in order to claim the reward. In other words: we’re not resetting anything, but we are expanding the list of objectives required to complete the stages.
The new system allows us to group objectives in a much more sensible way and better match rewards to character progression. It also prevents situations where a single, significantly tougher enemy blocks completion of an entire stage, despite being located in a zone designed for completely different levels.
More Convenient Exploration and Better Navigation
New content isn’t the only thing we’re working on. As we expand the Path, we’re also improving the interface and the way it guides you through the various activities. One of the improvements will be the ability to specify your objective in general tasks. Some tasks within the Path have fairly broad requirements, such as “Defeat any boss.” This isn’t a problem for experienced players, but someone who is still getting to know the world of Broken Ranks may not know where to go. Especially since standard navigation doesn’t work for these tasks. That’s why we’re adding the option to choose a specific objective from the list of activities that count toward the task. Instead of wondering which boss you can defeat, you’ll be able to select a specific enemy and receive a more detailed description of the objective, along with navigation leading to the correct location.
We’re also improving the system of notifications about Exploration progress. Notifications should appear more smoothly and be less intrusive, without an accumulation of messages during a series of consecutive fights. We’re also planning to add the option to claim rewards directly from the notification, although we can’t rule out this feature arriving a little later.
We’re also taking a closer look at navigation and how the compass works. We’re introducing changes that should help the route-finding system better handle transitions between locations and areas with different difficulty levels within the same instance. These may seem like minor details at first glance, but they make a significant difference when there are a large number of objectives to discover.
What About Rank IV Rares from the Trentis Zone?
With the launch of the new servers, we removed rank IV rares, including Caratris, from the Trentis Exploration reward pool. On the remaining servers, the change will take effect with the upcoming update. This is a balance decision. The rewards for the first stage of the Path should match its difficulty level. In particular, we don’t want such early access to valuable gear to disrupt natural progression, reduce the value of rares, or undermine the purpose of farming stronger bosses.
Rank IV rares aren’t disappearing from the Path of Exploration, however – they’re moving to the reward pool for completing the second domain. One of the rewards for completing it will be a guaranteed rare item, and Caratris will once again be among the gear that can be obtained. We’re aware that for some players, a rare like this may no longer be a particularly valuable reward at this stage of the game, but let’s remember that the Path of Exploration is designed for players who progress at their own pace, and the gear you obtain is only one part of the overall reward package.
Party Finder - From Design to the First Playable Tests
In our July Dev Blog, we presented our plans for a major overhaul of the Party Finder. Since then, work has progressed, and we can now tell you a little more.
We’ve already completed most of the work on the interface and user experience design. We’re currently playing through the first fully playable build of the new Party Finder, checking how the individual solutions work in practice. And, as is usually the case, the first tests have allowed us to catch things that looked great at the design stage but still need some minor adjustments in the actual game. :) Based on this, we’re refining the original design and introducing further improvements.
More Ways to Communicate
In July, we also mentioned the idea of introducing group private messages, but at the time we weren’t sure whether we would be able to implement them as part of the work on the new Party Finder. Today, we can confirm that group private conversations will be coming to the game, and not only in the context of the Party Finder.
This feature will be useful for much more than just organizing expeditions. We want to give you a more convenient way to communicate in smaller groups, without having to create a party or use public chat channels. We also want the new Party Finder to become a natural place for organizing group expeditions, rather than just another list of advertisements. In the long run, we hope this will help take some of the pressure off the party chat and move a large part of party organization directly into a dedicated interface. The good old party chat will of course remain – we have no intention of taking away the ways you currently use to arrange boss runs together.
There are still tests and fixes ahead, so we don’t want to announce a specific release date for the new Party Finder just yet. We’re happy, however, that we’ve already moved from designing individual screens to testing the entire solution in the live game. We hope the final result will mean that you’ll still need to put a party together before setting out, but actually putting one together will take you much less time. :)
Knowledge Center Inside the Game
Broken Ranks is a complex game today. Its mechanics, systems, and interactions all take time to learn properly, and some of them can still change with future updates. New players deal with this every day, but even veterans will admit that keeping track of all the nuances isn’t always easy. That’s why we’re working on something we currently call the Knowledge Center.
The idea is simple: one well-organized collection of all the most important tutorials, terms, and basic game mechanics, available directly from the interface. No need to open a browser, search the internet, or dig through Discord. However, we want to go a step further than simply putting together a standard list of help articles. We’re considering the option to open several tips at once and arrange them on the screen according to your needs. This would allow a player to read about aggressive enemies, the Rage mechanic, and elites at the same time, without switching between tabs.
We’re also considering a tag system that would allow you to narrow down searches more precisely than traditional categories. When looking for information about enemies, you could seamlessly move on to elites, champions, or bosses – all of these fit under the “enemy” category, but they have different mechanics that a player might want to learn about. In the longer term, we’re also considering extending the solution to other parts of the game interface. While at the Blacksmith in the Drifs tab, for example, you could not only read about Drifs themselves, but also check what elemental damage is, without leaving that screen.
The Knowledge Center is essentially our answer to one of the most common problems faced by new players: the game is vast, and learning it takes time. We want that time to be well spent, rather than wasted searching for basic information in external sources. It’s also one of the things that players who come to Broken Ranks through recommendations are increasingly paying attention to. We hope the Knowledge Center will significantly improve their first experience with the game.
Some Stats for the Curious
In addition to the above, you’ve been asking us to provide you with some interesting stats from time to time. Without further ado, here is some data about gear upgrades and the Volkhard instance.
Highest-upgraded gear on each server.
Thanar — TOP 10
| Rank | Nick | Gear | Upgraded to |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | YuriBoyka | Washi | +20 |
| 2 | Essiorek | Allenor | +20 |
| 3 | Rirish | Washi | +20 |
| 4 | Exeggutor | Wurm | +20 |
| 5 | Rooku | Wurm | +20 |
| 6 | URl | Attawa | +19 |
| 7 | CandyHunter | Gorthdar | +18 |
| 8 | Mervelka | Wurm | +18 |
| 9 | KissmeBaby | Alenders | +18 |
| 10 | MrTrolooo | Wurm | +18 |
Kaalor — TOP 10
| Rank | Nick | Gear | Upgraded to |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Kanaz | Lantern of Life | +21 |
| 2 | Plamcio | Imisindo | +17 |
| 3 | GetMogged | Imisindo | +15 |
| 4 | Marioszela | Washi | +15 |
| 5 | KfunkuPanda | Imisindo | +15 |
| 6 | Zagrzyb | Attawa | +15 |
| 7 | Mintah | Remigeses | +14 |
| 8 | Boro | Envils | +14 |
| 9 | RycaNiemyję | Tarul's Shadow | +14 |
| 10 | FaQs | Allenor | +14 |
Veskara — TOP 10
| Rank | Nick | Gear | Upgraded to |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | ZysekK | Washi | +21 |
| 2 | CzarnaMalpa | Allenor | +20 |
| 3 | Leeku | Lantern of Life | +18 |
| 4 | Małły | Envils | +18 |
| 5 | Shelona | Attawa | +18 |
| 6 | Alfa | Wurm | +17 |
| 7 | Trotylda | Lantern of Life | +17 |
| 8 | Cenere | Wurm | +17 |
| 9 | Kuj | Attawa | +17 |
| 10 | Noximilian | Lantern of Life | +17 |
Renlis — TOP 10
| Rank | Nick | Gear | Upgraded to |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Ravh | Pyroclast | +10 |
| 2 | Pradan | Caratris | +9 |
| 3 | SwiftFour | Gloves of Distancing | +8 |
| 4 | Hypergamy | Star of Tellabag | +8 |
| 5 | SwiftFour | Sash of Inexistence | +8 |
| 6 | Hypergamy | Allakaya of Mana | +8 |
| 7 | SwiftFour | Boots of Dimensions | +8 |
| 8 | Hypergamy | Allakaya of Stamina | +8 |
| 9 | Kolbini | Pyroclast | +8 |
| 10 | Deemosiek | Gloves of Distancing | +8 |
Naravar — TOP 10
| Rank | Nick | Gear | Upgraded to |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Antes | Washi | +18 |
| 2 | AnocmoJl | Salmurn | +17 |
| 3 | Тимурр | Gorthdar | +16 |
| 4 | Tridadus | Draugul's Hatred | +16 |
| 5 | Пoфиг | Attawa | +16 |
| 6 | AnocmоJl | Allenor | +16 |
| 7 | ReaperRоry | Attawa | +15 |
| 8 | Веном | Imisindo | +15 |
| 9 | Sкy | Attawa | +15 |
| 10 | Crazysan | Imisindo | +15 |
Omnar — TOP 10
| Rank | Nick | Gear | Upgraded to |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Anaelthus | Vorleah | +11 |
| 2 | VannyWhip | Ariarches | +11 |
| 3 | Anaelthus | Draugul's Pledge | +11 |
| 4 | VannyWhip | Ortasis | +10 |
| 5 | Estellee | Gorthdar | +9 |
| 6 | CreamyLatte | Attawa | +9 |
| 7 | Yshari | Tarul's Shadow | +9 |
| 8 | Valenor | Allenor | +9 |
| 9 | Yshari | Morana's Love | +9 |
| 10 | Yshari | Ariarches | +9 |
Wyvern — TOP 10
| Rank | Nick | Gear | Upgraded to |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Mrazcho | Imisindo | +20 |
| 2 | Aerlanria | Imisindo | +17 |
| 3 | Velveta | Morana's Memory | +16 |
| 4 | Velveta | Vengur | +16 |
| 5 | Zizno | Dorbis | +16 |
| 6 | Jasur | Vengur | +16 |
| 7 | Zizno | Allenor | +16 |
| 8 | Maghillite | Washi | +15 |
| 9 | Zizno | Zeeraks | +15 |
| 10 | Zizno | Keel | +15 |
Cordis — TOP 10
| Rank | Nick | Gear | Upgraded to |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | SirKenoth | Isverd | +7 |
| 2 | UpAbove | Alava | +7 |
| 3 | Amelyka | Star of Tellabag | +6 |
| 4 | DucT | Sidun | +6 |
| 5 | Portobello | Pyroclast | +6 |
| 6 | TerraGrom | Isverd | +6 |
| 7 | Banaloth | Isverd | +6 |
| 8 | BuoukenBou | Pyroclast | +5 |
| 9 | Zeophus | Pinari Axe | +5 |
| 10 | Razzivex | Ayol | +5 |
Volkhard Statistics
Number of defeated and undefeated Volkhards by server.
| Server | Result | Number |
|---|---|---|
| Thanar | Undefeated | 3 708 |
| Thanar | Defeated | 426 |
| Veskara | Undefeated | 2 162 |
| Veskara | Defeated | 277 |
| Naravar | Undefeated | 130 |
| Wyvern | Undefeated | 160 |
Number of gear items obtained from Volkhard.
| Server | Gear | Number |
|---|---|---|
| Thanar | Arcana | 11 |
| Thanar | Exarchius | 8 |
| Thanar | Sacrigar | 6 |
| Thanar | Praetoris | 3 |
| Veskara | Sacrigar | 10 |
| Veskara | Arcana | 9 |
| Veskara | Praetoris | 6 |
| Veskara | Exarchius | 2 |
That’s all for October. As you can see, there’s a lot happening behind the scenes, and most of these things are getting closer to the point where we’ll be able to present specific details or final solutions. We’ll also keep you up to date on the latest developments on Discord - if you’re not there yet, we’d love to have you join us. :)
