Sands of Salzaar News

Hi desert travelers!

Based on the recent community feedback collected, we have initially formulated a long-term update plan. We expect the new update to be live on PC first during late July, and subsequently release them to other platforms when ready.

[h2][In-Game Mechanics Optimizations][/h2]

1. [Optimization] The price of a City Trade Permit has been reduced from 1,000 Utar to 200. Interim Trades are now 25 Utar.



*City Trade Permits were a little too expensive. There wasn't much point in their high price tag, and it slowed down player progress. This is just a small adjustment to the trade system, but we'll be seeing how things go and releasing further updates as time goes on, so as to improve the system as a whole.

2. [Optimization] Certain starting relations between the protagonist and various factions have been optimized, so as to prevent players from getting repeated bounties on their heads early on in the game.



*Early-game content was too challenging: players were marked as wanted by various Sultans, the enemy constantly at their heels, and they'd have to try and sneak into cities to buy anything. This adjustment works to amend these issues, but we appreciate that difficulty comprises more than just starting relations. We'll continue to optimize this to prevent the frustration of Sultans surrounding you at every turn early on in the game.

3. [Optimization] Adjusted turrets' siege attack logic.



*Turrets were, on the whole, a little OP during siege battles. Their heavy damage and homing arrows posed a huge threat in the early game when your squad's still quite small, but they weren't much of a threat at all once your numbers grew. We'll be optimizing turrets in the days to come, making them less punishing in the early game but strong enough to work in the late game too. That said, we'll be ensuring their overall damage output remains essentially the same.

[h2][The Ember Saga DLC Updates, Optimizations & Bug Fixes][/h2]

[h3] Among Legends - Xin Qi Ji[/h3]
[Bug Fix] Fixed an issue where Ghostly Sacrifice could stun the user.
[Bug Fix] Fixed skill value display issues and text errors.

*We've been listening to all your thoughts and feedback on Xin Qi Ji's content. We've heard calls for Blade Triple skills, story content and exclusive gear; we'll be discussing this throughout our long-term updates lined up, and make changes as necessary.

[h3]Ember Workshop[/h3]
[New Addition] We've added special equipment to the game. Get it from the Ember Workshop campaign quests.
[Optimization] We've adjusted the Ember Workshop campaign quests' resource rewards to be more reasonable.
[Bug Fix] Fixed an issue where adding skill points to Ember Ocher skill [Avid Mediator] or adding characters to the party could prevent the skill from taking effect immediately.
[Bug Fix] Fixed an issue where creating a faction could have an effect on the activity of NPCs within it.
[Bug Fix] Fixed skill value display issues and text errors.

*Certain rare resources were far more common in the Ember Workshop campaign than in the rest of the game. We've adjusted Ember Workshop resource rewards to address this imbalance, and introduced a brand-new set of special gears too. Obtain it from the original campaign quests! In the future, we'll be considering adding Ember Ocher and this new gear into Legacy.


[h3]Child Rearing DLC[/h3]
[Optimization] We've expanded the potential spouses available: they're no longer limited to just allies, and now even include certain key characters, too.

These updates are set to release in late July, then roll out on all platforms.
Rest assured that this is only the start of our long-term update plan. We'll continue improving areas of the game that need work, and in the meantime, you're all welcome to join our official Discord to keep in touch:

We just released an update that fixed issues such as the [the Tournament registration NPC disappearance in Redstone City] and [Xin Qi Ji's in-game model anomaly].

Recently, we have been focusing on getting approvals and going live on various platforms. Once all platforms are updated, we will address the issues from the player community: after solving the [ESC return causing lag] and [opening and closing animations causing crashes and freezes] issues, we will prioritize underlying optimizations to try to solve the [overheating and crashes] issue caused by excessive save content and calculations in the later stages of the game.

At any stage, if you encounter problems or need any help, please feel free to send DM to our moderators in our official Discord. We will communicate with you one-on-one and keep records. We will also revisit players who have communicated with us after updates to confirm everything is resolved.

[h3]Here are the specific details of this update:[/h3]

- Fixed an issue where the Tournament sign-up NPC would sometimes be missing.
- Fixed an issue where the Starcrusher skill would sometimes lead to NPCs no longer following you.
- Fixed an issue with odd lighting for the Xin Qi Ji mode.
- Fixed an issue where completing a game would sometimes lead to the client crashing.
- Fixed tooltip errors for some menus.
- Updated some in-game descriptions.

After the update, the admin will proactively contact players who have reported the above issues to us.

Lastly, we welcome all players to join our official Discord. If you encounter any problems at any stage, please feel free to send DM to our moderators in our official Discord. We will communicate with you one-on-one and do our best to provide assistance.

Hi desert travellers, the 60% off sale for Sands of Salzaar that's right our biggest discount is now live for two weeks, together with new DLC discounts.

As we mentioned in the last blog, our regular updates following DLC 1 and 2 have resolved many of the issues concerning our players. With this new discount, we're also releasing our 3rd DLC, The Ember Saga!

For this DLC, we've taken greater inspiration from the more asked-for content among the community. Considering the current framework of the game, we've taken note of your ideas and 3 new gameplay features have been packed into this DLC based on that.

The Ember Saga is already available on Steam and will become available on other platforms too once they get approved there.

https://store.steampowered.com/app/2406290

[h2]📌 The Ember Saga DLC Contains the Following:[/h2]

The Ember Saga includes three content parts; you may choose to activate either or all of these:

Ember Workshop: This comprises all-new side story content. As you progress through the story, you'll unlock the new features [Jewel Refinement] and [Jewel Fusion]. With these you can bring new life to jewels with good effects but low levels! There are new friends to be made as you continue through the story too. Invite them to join your party or learn new skills from them.

Child Rearing: A brand-new way to interact with the Tavern Girls! Having confessed your passions to your dearly beloved, there's a chance you might just start a new chapter in your lives together, and start a family. Experience the trials and tribulations of parenthood, give your time and attention to your darling child, and see what kind of person they'll grow into—it's all down to you.

Among Legends - Xin Qi Ji: This includes a new [Selectable Class]. Xin Qi Ji takes on an assignment that leads him into the Salzaar deserts. With the Profoundness Style in his repertoire, just what kind of story will he embark upon among those swirling sands?

[h3]🌆 Ember Workshop: When it comes to the Machinos Empire's history, this is but the tip of the iceberg.[/h3]

Tales of ancient dynasties; stories of eternal cities; legends of the Old King: they're all waiting to be discovered, buried beneath the sands. As fragmented, fleeting rumors, they live on.

And it's with this that the Machinos Empire reveals a snippet of its expansive history.

Following the Battle of the Black Sun, various missing-persons incidents began appearing across the desert lands. A dark plague encroached upon the tribes. Thoroughly shaken by the peril upon them, they whispered rumors of a bizarre half-metal, half-flesh creature out in the deserts. Legend has it that the beast could never die.

Speculation rippled across the tribes' population faster even than the plague. Yet the elders, drawing on their wealth of lived experience, claimed this creature the Vitalus Vitara remnants' masterwork.

The Sultans, however, were wrapped up in the throes of war, unperturbed by such rumors and legends.

Husnu, the Nasir Sultan, was one such example. His concerns lay instead with the [Ember Workshop] craftsmen, as awaited their latest weapon with bated breath. What's more, he'd caught wind that [Cherry] of the Ember Workshop had been posting up requests across the lands. Husnu hoped that, this time, she'd be able to find a few people up to the task.



Having received Cherry's assignment letter, we'll set out for the Redstone Keep. There, she'll fill us in on the details, and so, our involvement with the [Ember Workshop] shall begin. (Keep in mind that Ember Workshop assignments are challenging indeed. Take them on only once you know you're prepared.)

We'll make a new friend as we complete the assignment tasks: Ember Ocher, owner of the Ember Workshop. She can join our party too, and aid us in our plight. Yet the one pulling the strings, an enemy most powerful, grows ever closer…



Two new features can be unlocked as you embark upon the Ember Workshop tasks: jewel refinement and fusion.

Use the Refinement Furnace to refine low-level jewels to enhance their power with all kinds of Magic Dust. (*Jewel dust can be obtained by salvaging jewels in the Ember Workshop.)



And with the Fusion Furnace, you can combine two jewels of the same level to form a random, higher-level jewel. If you wish to fuse jewels of differing levels, however, you'll need to first unlock the corresponding formulas.



[h3]👪 Child Rearing: Children—even more of a handful than the tribe members![/h3]

Succeed in confessing your love to the Tavern Girl of your dreams, and you'll have a chance to start a family with her; raise a child, and start a whole new chapter in your lives. (Fail, however, and you'll have to pick yourself up and try again.)



You'll need to get involved as she carries your unborn child, taking part in a range of interactions together, and shouldering parental responsibilities. (A range of different events will affect the youngster's development, and thus their attributes.)



Eventually, the wait will be over and a new life shall be born into Salzaar. It's then that you must name your child; a name that shall accompany them throughout the years as they grow. (So make sure to choose wisely 🙏).



Your newborn baby boy/girl will be cared for by their mother, but remember that you must visit often, too. Their development is split across four stages: Infancy → Childhood → Adolescence → Adulthood. In each stage, you'll need to make decisions that will influence the path their development takes. As you'll see, though, they'll go through rebellious phases. How you deal with their rebellion is up to you.

Your child will have sets of different character images and models for their Adolescence and Adulthood (also differing according to their gender). As they come of age, you'll also get another chance to customize their features, again altering their images and models.



Apart from their parents' skill pages, there's also 4 Bloodline skill pages for children to select from: Bloodline Combat, Bloodline Archery, Bloodline Magic and Bloodline Healing. (You can pick a Bloodline skill for your heir during the One Year Old event, and once confirmed, this cannot be changed once confirmed. Choose wisely!)



Bloodline Combat: A combat skill page focusing on Strength.

• Blade Force: Unleash two rapid slashes, each dealing Physical Attack x 0.75 + Strength x 1 damage.
• Force Combo: Unleash Blade Force then three more strikes, each dealing Physical Attack x 1 + Strength x 1 damage.
• Vortex: Deal Physical Attack x 1 + Strength x 1.5 damage per second to enemies within 350 cubits.
• Slice Vortex: Unleash a vortex of air slices, dealing Physical Attack x 1 + Strength x 1.5 damage per second to enemies within 650 cubits.
• Clone Rush: Summon four shadow clones to stab at the target, dealing Physical Attack x 0.5 + Strength x 1 damage to enemies in their path.
• Clone Combo: Unleash a Clone Rush stab attack, then summon four shadow clones that stab forth to deal Physical Attack x 1 + Strength x 1 damage to the target and enemies in their path.

Bloodline Archery: A combat skill page focusing on Agility.

• Piercing Arrows: Fire an arrow that pierces enemies, flying 2,500 cubits in a straight line and dealing Physical Attack x 1.5 + Agility x 1.5 damage to enemies hit.
• Piercing Arrows: Heavy: Piercing Arrows gain Knockback effects and doubled damage.
• Scatter Hail: Fire 9 arrows, each dealing Physical Attack x 0.5 + Agility x 1 damage.
• Scatter Hail: Retreat: You dash backward 800 cubits before unleashing Scatter Hail.
• Web Shot: Fire a specially-made arrow that deals Physical Attack x 1.5 + Agility x 1.5 damage to enemies hit, then ensnares all in a 400-cubit range with a web. Those ensnared take Physical Attack x 0.2 + Agility x 0.5 damage per second, and are Slowed.
• Arcane Web Shot: Web Shots summon forth a Toxic Spider Queen on hit, lasting 10 seconds.

Bloodline Magic: A combat skill page focusing on Spirit.

• Fireball: Launch a fireball that explodes upon hitting an enemy, dealing Magic Attack x 2 + Spirit x 2 Magic Damage to all enemies within 400 cubits. Targets hit are Burned for 8 seconds.
• Pyromancy: Greatly enhance your Fireballs, increasing their blast radius to 800 cubits and explosion damage to Magic Attack x 5 + Spirit x 5 Magic Damage.
• Arctic Spear: Launch forth an icy spear that flies 3,000 cubits in a straight line, dealing Magic Attack x 1.5 + Spirit x 1.5 Magic Damage. Targets hit are Frozen for 3 seconds.
• Arctic Spear: Penta: You launch 5 spears with Arctic Spear, their damage increased by 50%. Deals +50% damage to Frozen enemies.
• Thunder Tempest: Summon forth 10 thunderclouds at random locations within the target area, lasting 8 seconds. Snow falls from the clouds, dealing Magic Attack x 0.1 + Spirit x 0.1 Magic Damage to those within a 200-cubit range beneath them for 5 seconds. A bolt of lightning strikes from clouds every 2 seconds, dealing Magic Attack x 0.3 + Spirit x 0.3 Magic Damage to those within a 200-cubit range beneath them. Targets struck by lightning are Shocked for 2 seconds.
• Meteorologic Mastery: Thunder Tempest summons an additional 5 clouds.

Bloodline Healing: A support skill page focusing on Spirit.

• Healing Zone: Create a 900-cubit healing zone, in which allies recover Magic Attack x 1 + Spirit x 1 Health per second. This zone lasts 10 seconds.
• Healing Zone: Filiality: Healing Zone takes effect at your location one extra time.
• Safe Zone: Create a 900-cubit safe zone, in which allies gain shield and Damage Reduction equal to 3% Max Health. This zone lasts 10 seconds.
• Safe Zone: Filiality: Safe Zone takes effect at your location one extra time.
• Blessed Zone: Create a 900-cubit blessed zone, in which allies gain Magic Attack x 0.5 + Spirit x 0.5 Attack. This zone lasts 12 seconds.
• Blessed Zone: Filiality: Blessed Zone takes effect at your location one extra time.

Having learned one of the four aforementioned basic disciplines, your heirs also excel in team effort attacks and can launch skills with you. But that's not all: as your heirs continue to grow, they'll learn a variety of [adventure skills] based on how they train.

[h3]🔪 Among Legends - Xin Qi Ji: A Grand Chinese Swordsman[/h3]

Xin Qi Ji is a collaboration character from our title Among Legends. He'll be joining the world Salzaar as the protagonist, featuring an all-new [Selectable Class].



[Xin Qi Ji]'s Attributes:

Arcane Talents - 0

Attribute Growth

Strength: 8
Agility: 6
Spirit: 1
Essence: 10

[Profoundness Style] Skill Page - Focuses on counterattack skills and strengthening physique. Comprises the Profound Sword, Profound Mind and Demon Sword.



• Profound Sword: Equipping a One-handed Sword changes basic attack to Profound Sword and increases Evade by Skill Level x 5%. At Profound Sword level 3, basic attacks cannot miss, be evaded or blocked, and deal Agility x 0.2 x Skill Level as extra Damage.

• Profound Force: Slashes forward to cause three blade forces that travel, each force dealing Physical Attack x 0.8 + 40 x Skill Level Damage.

• Force Absorb: Recover 15 x Skill Level% of the damage dealt by Profound Force as Health.

• Meteora Strike: Advance 1000 cubits forward, dealing Physical Attack x 1 + 100 x Skill Level Damage to enemies hit, then slash 8 times, creating blade force that deals Physical Attack x 1.5 + 150 x Skill Level Damage. Enemies hit by blade force are Forced together and Stunned for 1 second.

• Blade Shower: Blade Shower can be used within 5 seconds of using Meteora Strike to summon blades that strike at enemies in an area, with each blade dealing Physical Attack x 1 + Agility x 1 Damage.

• Headstrong: Increases Crit Rate by 5 x Skill Level%. Critical hits have a 10 x Skill Level% chance to cause Knockback and Stun enemies for as many seconds as the skill's level.

• Ghostly Sacrifice: Dons the Ghostly Sacrifice mask, gaining a shield equal to Essence x 20 + 500 x Skill Level.

• Ghostly Sacrifice: Wail: Lets out a piercing howl when donning the Ghostly Sacrifice mask, Stunning enemies within 700 cubits for 2 seconds.

• Ghostly Sacrifice: Stagger: Gains the Stagger effect while the Ghostly Sacrifice shield is active. When attacked in melee, stagger enemies back and deal Essence x 3 + 50 x Skill Level True Damage.

• Ghostly Sacrifice: Demon: The shield of Ghostly Sacrifice affects all allies within 700 cubits but is only half as potent.

• Profound Mind: Increase Max Mana by 5 x Skill Level%. Increase Mana Regen/s by 5 x Skill Level.

• Bastion: Increase your Damage Reduction by 10 x Skill Level.

• Bastion Commander: Melee units - Increase Damage Reduction by 10 x Skill Level%.

• Sword Mastery: When using sword weapons, increase damage by 5 x Skill Level%.

• Profound Claymore: Attacking enemies with the Profound Claymore alters basic attacks for 25 seconds.

The Ember Saga DLC is currently available on Steam, and it'll become available on other platforms too as soon as it is approved.

Feel free to join our Discord to talk about the DLC or the game at large, and share your journeys throughout the sands! Should you encounter any issues, you can always tell us about them in the Bug Report channel there. We'll collect issues and fix them as soon as we can!

Hi everyone,

Sands of Salzaar is going to have a 2-week limited-time base game discount starting on June 7th. Mark your calendars📅. From June 7th (at 10am Pacific Time) to June 21st, enjoy a 60% off base game discount on Steam.

Alongside our continuous updates of DLC1-2, we implemented changes and improvements on issues that the community is mainly concerned about. Plus, if everything goes well, there's a chance that we can release "The Ember Saga" DLC on June 7th as well. Check out our previous announcement for more details:

https://store.steampowered.com/news/app/1094520/view/3708196261807048248

Also, don’t forget to join our official discord community if you want to follow the latest news:



Thank you for your support and please look forward to more content we’ll bring to Sands of Salzaar!

Hi, travelers in the desert,

Recently, we shared some news about the new DLC and today we want to further discuss our thoughts after reviewing our work and officially share a preview of the new DLC, "The Ember Saga", with you.



After releasing two DLCs earlier this year, we went through a two-month period of frequent updates and fixes. Through six versions, we supplemented and optimized the skill configurations, rewards, and effects of the DLCs. We also fixed bugs including abnormal passive skill effects for heroes, save function errors, and errors in tournament rewards settlements.

After addressing these issues, we did not forget the issue of game crashing. However, the causes of crashes are diverse and complex, making it difficult to thoroughly solve them with one or two updates. Luckily, after several attempts and communication with enthusiastic players who reported problems, we have made some progress in reducing game crashes during startup on some devices and systems.

As the game was initially focused on open-ended support during development, this has led to many potential issues involving fundamental modifications that cannot be resolved all at once. However, we will continue to devote effort to maintaining these tasks.

Therefore, in the near future, we will on one hand prepare for the final stages of the new DLC and testing, and on the other hand, focus on memory optimization (as well as crashes and freezes caused by memory issues) by debugging the underlying code to make the game more stable when loading more content simultaneously or for a longer period of time.

We will continue to fix remaining small bugs and issues (such as issues with the ESC key on the DLC details page) with each update and continue the communication with players. If you have any good suggestions, please feel free to contact us directly through the Discord .



The inspiration for this new DLC primarily comes from the discussions of "Desert Life" on our community. The contents of "The Ember Saga" will be divided into three independent parts: "Ember Workshop", "Child Rearing", and the new playable character "Among Legends".

💎 Making Gems More Useful - “Ember Workshop”

Those familiar with the storyline may find the name "Ember Workshop" very familiar. It was founded by the leader of the Nasir Tribe, Husnu, from the technical school in the Redstone Keep area. They worship technology and use jewel to drive various machines, greatly improving production and combat efficiency.

The Ember Tribe is skilled in mining various ores. For them, "decomposing*" the gems that travelers have already identified, or "refining" the initial low-level gems, is their specialty. At the same time, they can also "synthesize*" any extra gems travelers have on hand, allowing previously neglected low-level gems to play a role.



In addition to gem-related features, the master of the Ember Workshop, Ember Ocher, will also make her debut, and travelers can travel with her. She is skilled in archery and can pose a great threat to buildings. Behind her, there are also some secrets about the "Vitalus Vitara" and the past waiting for travelers to discover.

👨‍👩‍👧‍👧 Passing On Martial Arts - “Child Rearing”

In the community, travelers often discuss stories after confessing to their crush, and the concept of nurturing offspring and passing on martial arts gives us inspiration. After all, even in such a turbulent era as the Battle of the Black Sun, new heroes will emerge constantly in the desert. Therefore, based on the current character relationship system, we have designed new content for [Child Cultivation*] and [Child Inheritance*].

In the new DLC, after successfully confessing to the tavern girl, travelers can further develop their relationship with her, and may receive the “gift of love” after a period of time. We have designed many cultivation events for travelers' offspring, ranging from pregnancy to adulthood. According to travelers' choices, the inheritance of offspring attributes and skills will undergo corresponding changes.



In addition, during the growth process, the children can also fight alongside the travelers, and even have ultimate skills launched together with the protagonist. If you want to pass on your peerless martial arts, investing your energy in raising children will naturally become a new challenge to face.



🗡 Jianghu Grudges Reappear in the Desert - Among Legends


The power conflicts in the desert are complex, gathering many extraordinary people with their own agendas, as well as outsiders who have been wandering here. One playable character added this time is one of the protagonists from Among Legends.

Originally wandering in the martial world, he was forced to take on a caravan escort mission due to a series of unexpected events. And the destination of this escort mission happens to be the barren Desert of Salzaar. In order to make enough money to return home, he starts exploring this desert, embarking on an unconventional "journey home"...

Compared to the rough and simple martial arts used by the tribes living in the desert, the new character, who comes from the martial world, has a series of martial arts techniques called "Mount Tai Ultimate Skills*" - by combining Mount-Tai Swordsmanship* and Mount-Tai Heart Method*, no matter how fierce the attack is, it can be resolved one by one through powerful counterattacks. As one of the special characters in the desert, his gameplay and controls will undoubtedly bring you a different experience.

Tips: Words marked with * are not final

There is still some time before the DLC is officially released in June. We will continue to work on finishing touches and testing preparations.
If you have any further ideas or suggestions, please feel free to join our Discord channels and contact us.