EpicDuel PVP Game Design Notes

January 30, 2015

The coveted Heartbreaker/Azrael items have returned once again! Visit the Alydroid in Fortune City to explore its shop of sensational seasonal rares, available NOW!

These are some of my favorite items in all of EpicDuel so I'm always excited to see them return. They also happen to possess some of the most powerful cores to entice those who value power over aesthetics.

Remember, these are seasonal rares with some being limited quantity. They will leave so be sure to stock up while you can! However, these aren't the only seasonal content coming to EpicDuel. In fact, we're in the process of planning the next major event...

Heartbreaker Saga 2: Electric Boogaloo

Prepare for this new epic event launching Friday, February 13!

This event will take place in the mysterious realm between life and death known as the Void. Many of Delta V's cititzens were banished here by Baelius in a desperate attempt to crush the uprising decades ago.

This realm is vast so although it is home to countless beings, they are very distant from each other making this a very lonely, but awe-inspiring, place.

Some happen into the Void through technology, some through death, but escaping is a complicated matter. Those who were born into the Void view the incursion of humans as a nuisance at best and a plague at worst. Humans are unique in their curiously and desire to understand and manipulate the Void to their will. Void Creatures want seek to maintain balance in this realm lest it become infected by outsiders. Some are friendlier than others, but their loyalties are always to the Void above all else. 

Join us for this exciting event as we reveal the mysterious of the Void and it's inhabitants...some of whom may be familiar to you.

"The Big Game" Returns!

Are you ready...FOR SOME FOOTBALL?!

For those of you international players, we're refering to American Football or Hand Soccer as it's otherwise known. This Sunday the SeaMonsters will do battle with the Patreons...as far as I recall. I'm bad at sports talk. Anyway, I'm sure the commercials will be expensive!

Celebrate this event with the "Big Game" achievement available NOW in the achievement shop.

The War Wages On!

There is another battle raging this weekend: the battle for The Barrens Outpost! 

After a strong start, the Legion forces gave way to the persistent Exiles. There's still plenty of time for that to change as every war tends to surprise with its final outcome.

It's still too early to call and there's a lot more dueling to do so don't give up! For Order! For Freedom! Duel On!

Tags: Nightwraith

January 26, 2015

Greatings EpicDuelists!

Did you know last week that EpicDuel upgraded several of the servers that run the game? If you're not familiar, a server is a computer that hosts the game and makes it available to players all around the world. Just like your technology and computers at home, servers become outdated. The new EpicDuel servers have significantly faster processors and more memory than the old ones. 

For you, this upgrade will mean less server-lag and better in game performance. You probably didn't know that in addition to the servers you see on the EpicDuel server-select screen, there are other important computers that keep the game running. These include our webserver which hosts the EpicDuel website and our database servers which store all of your player data and account related information. 

Last week we actually moved several of the servers to new machines and you probably didn't even notice. While this move has been mostly transparent so far, there are several things going on behind the scenes technically that require our full focus.

This week, we're going to be moving two of our database servers to new computers. Because we want to ensure all player data is safe during this transition, we're going to bring the game offline each time. We intend to bring the game down once on Monday in the later afternoon EST for about an hour, and again early in the morning on Tuesday EST for up to 3 hours.  Later in the week. Watch our twitters for the most recent update!

If all goes well, we'll have the game back online faster than that, but we want to allow plenty of time to make sure everything is perfect when you login. These upgrades will help with better performance, improved security, and should ultimately provide a better gaming experience for ED players.

Thanks for your patience and understanding as we finish up this transition!

Tags: Titan

January 16, 2015

After a long holiday truce between Legion and Exile forces, war resumes on Delta V. The war for the fate of the Barrens Outpost begins today! The Legion will battle to defend the powerful Barrens Turret Array while the Exile will attempt to undermine their control through hacking terminals.

Hacking terminals are already scattered throughout the Barrens Outpost. Set your starting location for quick access to these crucial war points.

The prize at stake is the Barrens Turret Array. Access the Control Panel, control the Barrens. Those who faught against Dravax and the Dragonoid remember the potency of these mighty guns. If they can wound an interdimensional dragon they'll have no problem turning an armada into scrap. 

Win PvP battles to earn war drops and boost the score of your alignment! The Legion took the last region; can they continue their winning streak or will the Exiles emerge triumphant?

Remember that this is also an opportunity to earn Barrens Outpost influence to build up your regional achievement! Let's see some red stars!

New Year's Loot

Guest artist Bidoof has crafted a timely set of New Year's gear available at Torgan in Frysteland!

What time is it? Time to DUEL!

One again, we prepare for war. Good luck and good dueling!

Tags: Nightwraith

January 09, 2015

It's a new year and we're already rushing out the gate with new features! The first is a new, reimagined gifting system! Rather than rehash the existing gift system, we've combined the excitement of giving gifts with the awesome power of PRIZE CODES!

With this new feature, accessible from the Varium shop, you will be able to create your very own prize code! 

Choose your code, choose your prize time, choose your quantity, and share the code in game and on social networks! All your generated codes, including the number of redemptions remaining will be stored within this interface for quick reference.

NOTE: I should hope it goes without saying, but using inappropriate language in your codes will result in moderator action. 

Pit your generosity against your fellow Duelists with competative daily and all-time leaderboards. These boards will track the number of code redemptions so you'll need to be craft to organize your buddies, fans, and followers to claim as many codes as possible. You'll also be rewarded with daily and all-time achievements!

Fame 2015

For the longest time, the Fame system in EpicDuel was completely external from the game client. This made the system vulnerable to exploits and very difficult to manage. Now, we've finally incorporated fame into the game client which will allow you to fame your friends and foes in and out of battle!

Click your friend, and click the arrow! Easy!

After you receive fame, you will receive a toast informing you that you were famed by another player. Be sure to fame them back and say, "Thanks!" Please don't beg for fame, though, as you can be reported for griefing/spamming. Please fame responsibly.

With this long-awaited revamp, we hope that this feature can become a more fair and engaging part of EpicDuel. 

New Daily Missions

Guest Writer Trans has crafted several new daily mission chains! Sharpen your blades and load your bazookas as you come to the aid of the denizens of Delta V for great rewards! Be sure to check the Daily Missions tab to see the currently available mission.

New Year, New Loot

Visit The Endless' shop in Frysteland (assuming you've already unlocked it) to pick up some new seasonal, limited rares designed by Reki, T0mcat, and Revontheus!

If you've already got swords aplenty, then decorate your home with new interactive bobble heads based on your favorite EpicDuel NPCs!

Here's to a grand new year of sharing and dueling in EpicDuel! 

Tags: Nightwraith

January 06, 2015

Hi EpicDuelists!

First of all, I want to extend my appreciation and thanks to everyone who participated in the EpicDuel House Frozen Fury Decorating Contest 2014! I want to thank our judges who took their time this weekend to vote, and a special thank you to Mecha Mario and Trans for leading and moderating. We had a tremendous response to this contest; of over 200 submissions, we had to narrow down to just 25 winners.

Our judges went through each and every entry, spanning the AE Forums, Reddit and Twitter. They judged based on the most creative home decor designs. While houses didn’t have to have a winter theme per se, they did need to have some sort of winter house item involved. We looked for color schemes, patterns, function and overall creative effort put into the house design.

Ultimately we could only chose 25 winners to receive this awesome Winter-themed achievement:

Tags: charfade