Realmers,
It’s been a while since our last team note. As we move toward the end of the year, it feels like a good time to look back, recap, and share where the game stands and what we’re working on.
Over the past few months, we’ve adjusted our priorities a bit. After reviewing your feedback and the results of recent updates, we saw the need to balance things differently. You’ve probably noticed that we’re moving away from focusing only on new systems and content, and putting more effort into fixing and rebalancing existing systems, improving the overall experience, addressing technical issues, and making the early game more welcoming for new players.
To make it easier to follow, let’s break this update into two parts. First, a look at what has changed in the game since the last letter. Then, a look ahead at what’s currently in development and what you can expect to see next.
What Happened Over the Last Year
Equipment Rarity Update
Our biggest update of the year involved adapting the Enchantments system into a full Item Rarity system, opening a whole new dimension of build customization. Build optimization has become more tailored and personal, and even the act of just checking loot bags has become a much more interesting and rewarding experience. We’re proud of how this update turned out, and we’re looking for more ways that comprehensive system expansion can benefit the game as a whole.
Account Levels
One of the main pain points for new players has always been losing a character they spent hours building. Account Levels help reduce that frustration by giving players a sense of lasting progress. It’s been well received so far and has improved early player retention, but we know there’s still more work to do to make onboarding smoother.
Reworks And Rebalancing
This has been another major focus for us. Many parts of the game needed updates to stay relevant with the current meta and new mechanics. We’ve continued our class modernization efforts, rebalanced a large number of items, and revised several older dungeons. There’s still plenty to do here, but we’ll keep reviewing and adjusting to keep the game healthy and balanced.
New Mechanics, Encounters, and Seasonal Content
Seasons are a key part of what keeps the game fresh. We’ve been working to make each one feel unique and worth playing. While maintaining a fast release rhythm is challenging, we’ve chosen to focus on quality over quantity. You may have noticed that we’ve phased out shorter two-week events and are now centering efforts on one major event per Season.
What We’re Working On Now
With our new balance between content and stability, we’re putting resources into both improving the game’s foundation and preparing new things to come.
Awakening of the Primals
Let’s start with the big one. This is a major endgame expansion featuring the Grave of Eden and the Eternity Summit. At this time, we’re still concepting, prototyping, and taking our time to ensure that our vision and direction is as strong as it can be. The scope of this project is huge, and its expectations are even higher, so we are taking our time to make sure it meets the quality that the game and its most committed players deserve. We appreciate your patience as we take the time and effort needed to do it right.
Server Performance, Cheats, Balancing, UX
We know there’s still technical and usability debt in the game. Work is ongoing, and you’ll continue to see improvements. We’re focused on server stability, performance optimization, and keeping up the fight against cheating. We’re also reviewing the interface and other systems that affect everyday gameplay.
Steam Achievements
These have taken longer than planned because much of our attention has been on stability and technical improvements. Development is still active, and our goal is to release them in the first part of next year, depending on how the other work progresses.
The Druid
Yes, a new class is coming. It’s been four years since the Kensei, and we’re very excited about this one. You’ll hear more about it soon, and we can’t wait to show you what we’ve been working on.
Thank you for your patience, your feedback, and for keeping the Realm alive. Keep sharing your thoughts with us, and we’ll see you in the Realm.