King Arthur: Knight's Tale News

[h2]Knights![/h2]

There will be many changes in the upcoming Patch 2.0 for the revered or infamous heroes in King Arthur: Knight's Tale – most of these are numeric changes within skills, and these will all be detailed in the full and final changelog.

Just to get some kind of idea about what is coming, let’s take a look at the most interesting cases, highlighting some of the more significant transformations.

• Merlin is one of the most powerful figures of the Arthurian legend, and it makes sense that his abilities are slightly above average… but this also breaks the balance of the game a bit. He has been by far the strongest Arcanist in the game, especially with his ability to constantly cycle through his low AP cost skills, dishing out Illusions which rendered enemy units virtually incapacitated. So, we made some changes, moved around some abilities. Enemies with more than 50% Mental Debuff Resist will no longer fall for Illusion. However, some of Merlin’s abilities have been buffed to offer viable alternatives, such as Fog or Raven Swarm.
  
• The ever-friendly brothers, Sir Balin and Sir Balan received numerous changes to their abilities, but not only for balancing reasons. By adjusting some of the stats, we made Sir Balan more of a slow and heavily armoured Hero, and Sir Balin an exceptionally mobile one. With these changes we hope to not just increase the contrast between the brothers, but to help them stand out more from their fellow Champions and Vanguards.
  
• Sir Bedivere was always a bit lackluster as a vanguard, lacking the mobility of other Heroes of the class. We decided to embrace this idea, and instead of working on his mobility, we turned him into a full-on frontline brawler by adding new skills such as Berserking to his arsenal. Now we believe he is on par with any hero in the current pool in regards of damage output and sustain as well. He also receives a new trait called Exile that puts a limit on Loyalty.
  
• We felt like Sir Ector also needed something unique of his own. He will receive the ability to summon and command The Lost, as this goes well with his backstory and his "the end justifies the means" mindset. Not to mention commanding disposable units opens a lot of fun tactical possibilities. This new skill will be enhanced with various interesting Masteries.
  
• Sir Lanval didn't stand out much from the crowd, and was tedious to manage due to his Restless trait. With the trait and his skill tree reworked, he should be worthy to join your Round Table (you still need to spare him first, though). An interesting new skill of his is Dazing Strike which will passively add stun to all of his single target abilities, even base attack.
  
• And lastly, let’s talk about the new monarch, nemesis of the Once and Future King. Sir Mordred wasn't a very enticing option in the later Acts of the game due to his lack of Loyalty bonuses other Heroes had. The buffs of his unique trait, Keeper of the Excalibur are meant to take care of that, as it offers more AP and Weapon Damage. He also receives a new skill, Lightning Cleave that will replace Cleave.
  

That’s it for today, just a taste of what’s coming. The full changelog is very-very long, and it will include much more hero-specific changes (virtually every hero has received balancing adjustments). You will see the full list as soon as Patch 2.0 will be released this year, on December 2.

[h2]Knights of Avalon![/h2]

One of the most important features of the upcoming Patch 2.0 for King Arthur: Knight's Tale is a careful rebalancing of all classes. We listened to all player feedback and we replayed the game over and over to see where certain classes needed some extra tweaking. Thus, we came up with a comprehensive list of changes.

Just to get a taste, here are some examples of how these will affect certain classes.

• So. Marksmen. Some of you might have noticed how this excellent ranged class became less than optimal as the game progressed to later Acts. In this new patch, we made some drastic changes to help them stay competent in mid- and late-game, without throwing off early game balance. They also received various tools that reward tactical gameplay and help positioning. Some examples of the changes include bigger damage for Aimed Shot, First Shot and Poison Bomb.
  
• We were pretty happy with Sages... however, players seemed to become a little bit too fond of inspiring other units. Because of this, the AP cost of Inspire will be increased, so players might experiment with other skills as well. Some masteries and abilities have been enhanced and moved around as you will find out.
  
• The same is true for Champions, they only needed some minor adjustments. Whirlwind rarely saw any use, so we reduced its AP cost to make it more viable as an alternative to Cleave. However, we decided to restrict Killing Spree, the free Strike will now only occur once per turn.
  
• Arcanists needed less attention, but a few skills and abilities will receive changes, such as Force Bolt, Fire Blast, Terror Wings and Wall of Flame. Fire spells will cause burning by default, so make sure to get friendly with the elements!
  
• What about Vanguards? Their traps now ignore all Armour, this change also affects Traps placed by Heroes of other classes, like Sir Damas. Traps were far inferior in their damage potential compared to regular attacks, even though their use requires much more forethought and careful planning. This change helps make up for that gap, while it also helps differentiate traps from other skills, giving them a unique advantage. Other changes will affect Assassination, and Vanguards will no longer jump back to their original position when performing a Jumping Attack.
  
• Lastly, Defenders will see some increased damage from Bonebreaker, Flaming Strike (Searing Blaze), and they will receive less damage from Overwatch and Opportunity Attacks. You will see other changes as well, but some will not apply to all heroes!
  

For a more detailed changelog, you will have to wait until Patch 2.0 drops on December 2, 2023. There's plenty of time to get the most out of your current strategies as they might not work anymore... but we hope by learning about these changes now you will be ready for anything!

[h2]Noble(?) Knights of Avalon![/h2]

We already detailed the news about the new season titled Rising Eclipse that's coming to King Arthur: Knight's Tale this December with a Sidhe theme. Aside from new missions and mechanics (like Rifts), this season also comes with a new Patch 2.0 that overhauls the base game.

One of these permanent additions to the game is the Artificer's Workshop which you will be able to use even outside of seasonal content.

• After building up the Hospice, you will be able to unlock the Artificer's Workshop. This building's function is simple but useful: here you can enhance your items or gain new ones. To do so, you will need various crystals that you can find on missions in three different rarities. You will use these in the the Artificer's Workshop to either modify or enhance an item.
  
• With modification, the item you offer will be transformed to a new random piece of equipment, but only within that category (so for example, a one-handed sword will be replaced by another one-handed sword). This is a lengthy process, and you will need to go on another mission until your new item is ready. You can either modify the tier or the rarity of the offered item by applying the corresponding crystals.
  
• Enhancing an item happens instantly, but it will also cost some gold. By doing so, the stats of the item will improve with an increment, and the item will not be replaced by a new one. You will get a visual feedback on this empowered status to know which items you have improved previously.
  
• At its default state, the Artificer's Workshop will only accept one item per turn, so make sure to be smart about it. However, the building can be upgraded to offer you more slots and options as you progress in the game.
  

Patch 2.0 and the free seasonal update Rising Eclipse are coming on December 2, 2023 to the PC version of King Arthur: Knight's Tale. Previous season will be accessible from a menu. Also look forward to our announcements of the console versions and the next expansion.

[h2]In King Arthur: Knight’s Tale,[/h2] one of the enemy factions are the Sidhe. Technically, two factions, as there are two warring courts. The newest seasonal update titled Rising Eclipse will focus on them, so let’s refresh what we know about these magical folk.

• The Sidhe (also known as the Fairy People or the Fair Folk) were once revered as Gods by the mortals. They have retreated to the Land of the Young, Tír na nÓg, a place between Britannia and the otherworld. As Arthur makes an appearance, they return to their sacred woods in Avalon, and settle in the eternal twilight of the magical wilderness of Deepwood, that acts as a gateway to other realms of existence.
  
• They are unpredictable, alien forces, even the most reasonable individuals of their kind will make deadly deals with unassuming wanderers. They wield powerful magic and they use it for negotiations and destruction.
  
• They have two different courts, the Seelie and the Unseelie. The Seelie Court represents spring and summer, daytime and brightness, their crystal towers reflect and magnify the sunlight. Don’t mistake this for benevolence – they gather power from heat and fire. This court is home to the Springborn and Summerborn who were once mortals. The Unseelie Court, however, is a sad, melancholic bunch, they weave their somber castles from mists and spiderweb, and they raise Autumnbreed and Winderbreed fighters.
  
• Yes, both Sidhe Courts have a long-standing tradition to raise disposable warbands using human children who were stolen from their cribs as infants. The Seelie Court takes these changelings into their forts of amber and thorns: time crawls sluggishly there, which grants the Sidhe years and years to shape these children both physically and mentally, until they become vicious creatures that will fight against their own kind blindly.
  
• The Sidhe are cunning and powerful enemies in Avalon, so always watch your step and words when encountering them. You will recognize their territories from the unique architecture and ornaments.
  

[h3]Of course, King Arthur: Knight’s Tale takes some artistic liberties and has a unique take on these Fairy People.[/h3]

• The word ‘Sídhe’ originally meant fairy mounds, and ‘Aos Sí’ was the name of the people of these tumuli. ‘Sídhe’ as a loanword took on more meanings, for example, the legendary poet W. B. Yeats was among those who referred to the fairies as ‘Sídhe’, but it has been conjectured that 'sídh' is also synonymous with ‘immortal’.
  
• This is a whole rabbit hole of linguistics and folklore, so if you want to learn more about them, make sure to pick up some handbooks of Celtic myths and legends, or any collections of various Irish and Scottish fairy tales. Because of the nature of these stories you will find many variations and mutations on the same themes and names, which is also the case with the core Arthurian legend.
  

If you want to see more concept art for the Seelie, Unseelie and others, consider the Supporter Pack DLC which includes a 200+ page Art Book for the game.


Be prepared for Rising Eclipse which will come as [h3]a free update on December 2, 2023![/h3]

[h3]Deep within Avalon[/h3] reside two factions of the Sídhe, the Seelie and Unseelie. Their courts walk very different pathways in the twilight realms, but they are all drawn to these strange new occurrences throughout Avalon - the rifts, introduced in King Arthur: Knight's Tale's upcoming season, Rising Eclipse.

[h2]So, what are they exactly?[/h2]

Arcane researchers are puzzled by these curious tears in the fabric of reality. Otherwordly earthquakes signal the opening of rifts, and they are oozing dangerous, seemingly uncontrollable energies. However, it seems that the Sídhe know a bit more about them, a knowledge yet hidden from Camelot. They want to claim these fissures to themselves - it seems that whatever ancient energy leaks from the rifts, it can make the Sídhe even more powerful.

In the new season of King Arthur: Knight's Tale this feature serves as a new challenge for Camelot's knights to overcome.

• Glowing magical rifts appear randomly on battlefields and grant huge boosts to all Sidhe units. These rifts function as barriers to the knights, they cannot step on the tiles where these magical fissures appear. However, Sídhe units are able to step inside the rifts, draining their energies and gaining buffs for themselves and allies within the mission. They can even chain together multiple enhancements by absorbing these powers.
  
• This has grave consequences for battlefield tactics: now the player needs to take rifts into account when moving around. Are the rifts blocking your optimal path to the enemy? Is there a Sídhe unit close to one of these energy sources? Do you block their path or do you prepare for their increased HP and damage?
  
• All Sídhe units will retain the acquired buffs until the end of the mission. But, if the enemy is defeated, all remaining rift energy can be interacted with and converted into a special resource that could empower player units in Camelot.
  
• Rifts might occur outside of battles as well, but according to Camelot's wise arcanists, these are rare occurrences. However, they might provide interesting benefits.
  

The new season titled Rising Eclipse (together with Patch 2.0) will arrive on December 2, 2023 to the PC version of King Arthur: Knight's Tale. Previous season will be accessible from a menu. Also look forward to our announcements of the console versions and the next expansion.

[h2]See you soon![/h2]