Letter from the Game Director September 2009

Silirrion wrote:For this month’s letter I want to go into some details on the new
veteran reward system that will go live with the next game update. The
update is getting ready for the test server (at least when I am writing
this, there is every chance the build will already be on the test
servers as you read this!)

Veterans System

As I mentioned in my last letter this new system offers veterans a
whole new set of rewards that they can purchase from new veteran
vendors depending on how long they have subscribed for.

Veteran Points and how you earn them

Players will be awarded new veteran points for each month that they
have paid for (whether it is through subscription or game-cards). Each
month that a player pays for will accrue a certain number of points,
with the number of points awarded each month growing after each
six-month period they have subscribed for. In addition there is a bonus
amount awarded at each six month interval. These numbers are still
subject to possible change over the next couple of weeks as the system
gets put through it paces on the test server.

• Month 1 to 5 – 6 points awarded per month
  
• Month 6-11 – 8 points awarded per month
  
• Month 12-17 - 10 points awarded per month
  
• Month 18-23 - 12 points awarded per month
  
• etc...
  

This means that players who have paid for six months will have 38
points (5x6 pts plus 8 ) and players who have paid for twelve months
will have 88 points (38 points plus 5x8 points plus 10). So at a top
level the more months you have paid for the greater value you get from
the veteran system.

All the veteran points will be awarded retroactively as we have already
a log of how many months a player has paid for to date. So when the
system goes live players will have access to their points to use at the
vendor.

The points will be available on each character separately. So you don’t
have a pool for all your characters, you have the same number of points
to spend on every character you have. The rewards however are character
bound so you can’t just keep making and deleting new characters to try
and horde veteran rewards.

Veteran Items

The idea behind the veteran items is not to create items that make
characters more powerful, but to offer convenience and social items for
veteran players to enjoy, either to offer things like better travel
options for their characters or to make things a little easier when
they start a new alt character. So let’s take a look at the list of the
rewards for the start of the system. Again, this list is subject to
change as we work through the versions on the test servers, but this is
the current plan as we enter testing. The prices in particular will
almost certainly be tweaked and adjusted as we go through the testing.

Convenience Items

• Veterans Path 10 points (reduces the cooldown on your Path of Asura and Path of Comrades)
  
• Veterans Teleports 12 points each – Separate teleport items
  that share a cooldown that can take you to The Fire Beacon, the Hunting
  Lodge, Khesshata City, Iron Tower, Prison Colony or The Lair)
  
• Veterans Home Paths 8 points each – Separate path items that
  return you to either Khemi, Old Taranatia or Conarch Village that share
  a cooldown, but are on a separate cooldown to the Totem of Origins
  
• Basic Riding Training – 2 points
  
• Basic Horse – 10 points
  
• Advanced Riding Training – 35 points
  
• Swift Mount – 110 points
  
• Full Feat Respec – 5 points
  
• Reset Feat Cost – 25 points
  
• XP Potion – 2 points (stack of potions that increase xp rate for a given time)
  

Veteran Items

• Straw Man – 5 points (allows you to summon a straw man similar to the ones found in guild cities)
  
• Veterans Boots – 8 points
  
• Veterans Cape – 10 points
  
• Veterans Bag – 10 points
  

Social Items

• Size potions – 2 points (potions that allow you to grow in size for a period)
  
• Arm Enlarging potion (potions that make your character a little more buff)
  
• Breast Enlarging potion (female only)
  
• Fireworks – 2 points each
  
• Companion: Casilda (will summon Casilda to cheer you on just like she did on the beach when you started your Hyborian adventure!)
  
• Pet: Hyena – (will summon a non combat Hyena pet)
  

A System for the Future

The veterans system will also be expanded upon in future updates with
more items being added over time. This will give us the opportunity to
allow us to reward veteran players on an ongoing basis with new rewards
and new options.

The Iron Tower

The veterans system is not the only thing in the next game update. This
update will also see the release of the new level 80 team instance the
Iron Tower in Tarantia Commons. So what exactly is the Iron Tower?

"The grim Iron Tower stood apart from the citadel, amid a maze
of narrow streets and crowding houses where the meaner structures,
appropriating a space from which the more fastidious shrank, had
invaded a portion of the city ordinarily alien to them. The Tower was
in reality a castle, an ancient, formidable pile of heavy stone and
black iron, which had itself served as the citadel in an earlier, ruder
century." Robert E. Howard - The Hour of the Dragon


Under Conan the Iron Tower has found a new use as a prison for the most
malicious and evil of criminals of Aquilonia. Murderers, thieves and
other evil souls are here to await their judgment or carry out their
sentence.

This group balanced dungeon functions as climax of the questing
experience and story of Tarantia Common District. Players will have the
chance to pit their wits against four boss and five mini boss
encounters. There is also the possibility to encounter one of the five
rare bosses on each visit. These individuals are the worst of the worst
scum Aquilonia has to offer, Betty Wolfsmilk, Jack Knives, Horace the
Shadow, Nightcharm and Vulferam. Approach with caution!

The tower itself though will present players with numerous challenges.
Anoki the Scourge of the Common District and the leader of the
daughters has bribed the Guards and has ventured into the Iron Tower.

What are her intentions? They can’t be good! If the player tries to
follow her trail he will have to fight corrupt guards and a sadistic
Executioner with the power to force his will on others causing them to
hurt themselves. Higher up in the the tower you will encounter Anoki’s
Officers who have freed prisoners and started a riot. Apparently Anoki
is trying to free a mysterious prisoner but she can’t get to him as he
is guarded by a strange cult that have formed around a priest of Mitra
who calls himself Desumo. Gossip has it that he is here on his own free
will in order to see that no one even gets close to the prisoner. Not
only is he personally guarding the only way to the prisoner but it
seems he has set up various defense mechanisms.

What exactly is going on in the Tower – it will be up to you to find out!