May 23, 2013 The Dread WarHey there, EpicDuelists! Ready for your heaping helping of Design Notes, served just the way mama likes 'em? Whose mama I'm not really sure. It's not my mama. But apparently she likes the way I write Design Notes. So, let's get started, shall we?
New Package
To commemorate the upcoming war, we'll be offering special packages with Legion and Exile goodies for your dueling pleasure. Each pack comes with a Physical Mutating weapon and an Energy Mutating Weapon, which come equipped with the Exile Strike Core (for Exiles), or the Legion Strike Core (for Legionnaires) that call in reinforcements against the opposing alignment.
Balance Changes
To make battles a bit more engaging, passive skills are being converted into active skills. With so many points to distribute at the level cap, very little is sacrificed by investing in passives, to the point that they become requirements for most viable builds. Although not all passives will be converted to active skills this release, eventually we would like them all to become active.
Another long-overlooked area has been energy regain for mercenaries, so that class will now be given an energy regain skill. Since many of the changes are still in the testing phase, look for more specific balance changes in tomorrow's patch notes!
The Dread Plains
East of the Barrens lays the plains of Kiirdosh. At least, that's what they were called long ago. After the Kiirdosh Mountains were leveled for Varium mining, the plains were not suitable for human life, and the mountain lizard-goats and dire wolves took over the abandoned mining outposts. However, below the rich volcanic soil and pure groundwater are lodes and lodes of precious gems, and fuel sources, so Legion and Exile forces alike venture into the Dread Plains for the economic resources it contains.
The Plains are currently held by the Legion and overseen by the terrifying Administrator 10. There is a name he uses for official records, but like many coming from the Syndicate, it is not the name he was given at birth. During the Uprising, many of Delta V's criminal element aligned themselves with Oz and the Exiles, and seeing his opportunity to forge a new life for himself, he traded his criminal allies for a cushy spot in the Administration. However, excepting all of her bad qualities Alydriah values loyalty and trustworthiness. This dishonorable man could not be trusted with the health and welfare of Delta V's populace, so although he is technically the administrator of Fortune City's 10th District, his talent for underhanded tactics is much better suited for a post far, far away from the seat of the Administration. But his hold on the area is tenuous, and after feeling the sting of defeat at the hands of John St. Alban last year, Administrator Descarl isn't taking any chances and is personally supporting the Administrator in this endeavor.
The miner grasped onto her holdfast and watched the pebbles crumble beneath her foot. The foothold was apparently not as sturdy as she'd hoped. Moreso than falling, she feared awakening the dire wolves who might attack the rest of the expedition. Finally, she got to the pit, attached her holdfast and lowered herself down into the infinite blackness.
“Oi! Neris!” a male voice echoed up the shaft. “What took you so long?”
“Your fat feet crushed up all the good footholds, ain't my fault.” She unhooked herself, landed, and turned on her helmet light to illuminate her partner's face. “Why's your helmet off?”
The man's skin was blue from the silver deposited just below the surface, as is traditional for those from Delta VI, and his weathered face scrunched up. “You kiddin'? This feels just like home.” The surface of Delta VI is uninhabitable, so the people live in subterranean cities, illuminated by the bioluminescent fungi. Neris nodded, this was exactly like Taryn's homeworld.
“Come on, we've got glass to harvest. The first sunrise is in 6 hours, so we ain't got long.” They ventured further, chiseling out a path along the way. After about an hour, she spotted a sparkle in the rocks. Varium. She waved Taryn over.
“Man, this is better than glass.” Taryn shone his spectrophotometer on the crystal. “150 units for this rock. Ain't much, but there might be more.” Neris prepared the extractor, and cracked open the vein, revealing the beautiful gleaming varium.
“A whole lot more than 150, Taryn. This is gonna change our lives” Overjoyed at their fortune, they gathered the precious crystal, losing track of time. Before they knew it, the time limit had passed. Panic fell over the two of them as light streamed through an opening in the wall. When they heard the growls, they knew the worst had happened. The wolves had awakened, and they were hungry.
Taryn pointed toward the shaft. “We can take our chances with the mountain. Come on.” The two ran back through the cavern, the growls of the dire wolves echoing throughout. They reached the shaft, seeing two of their colleagues. Neris shouted for them to send down a cable, and began to scramble up. Neris reached the top first, while Taryn lagged. Neris pointed a gun straight down.
“What are you doing?”
“Don't move.”
“What?”
“You don't think I'm going to let you take this with you. I have better uses for this varium.”
“Neris, what do you mean?”
“I know you've been turning in Exile sympathizers. It took far too long to get close enough to do this.”
“You're one of THEM?”
“Don't act so innocent. I know you'd do the same. No, worse. I'll only kill you. You'd have handed me over to Baelius's goons. See you on the other side.” She shot- it went cleanly through his forehead and the body fell into the pit. One of Neris's companions shot a flare, causing the shaft to fall in on itself. The second sun rose, and the three Exiles traveled back to camp, the only witnesses to the murder a pack of wolves.
Neris removed her helmet, revealing long black hair. Her companion who was not driving removed her helmet as well, displaying the pointed ears and delicate features of a Tech Mage.
“My husband will give you a new name, and a new occupation as thanks for this.”
Neris shrugged. “Anything for the cause, Calissa.” She took a knife out of her boot and started sawing at her hair. “Who am I now?”
“Your name,” Calissa said “is Anya.”
Tags: Legion exile Varium Promotion War balance Cores balance Cinderella | 
