Echoes from the Cisterns: A New Build Emerges

[h3]Time Moves Swiftly[/h3][p]How quickly time slips away. It feels as if yesterday’s missive had only just departed our hands, yet more than two weeks have already passed. Each day within the palace carries its own intrigue, while beyond its gates, Istanbul continues to open doors to new adventures.[/p][p]⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯[/p][h3]New Foundations for the Character[/h3][p]This week, our small circle of testers received a fresh build. For the first time, the health, mana, and stamina of our character are revealed on the screen suddenly, those carefully chosen attribute points weigh with greater meaning. A new “humble” starting outfit awaits as well; we thought to let you step into the palace a little more rough-hewn this time, though in truth, even rags seem to shine once inside these walls.[/p][p]⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯[/p][h3]Shadows of the City[/h3][p]Three new places rise from the shadows: the Basilica Cistern, Yedikule Fortress, and Rumeli Fortress, each appearing as static instances in your path. Their mechanics are far from complete enemies fall too easily, loot remains ungenerous, and bosses still stand as little more than placeholders. Yet the ambience now begins to take shape, and with it the first taste of enemy variety and placement. Over the coming month, we will tune the challenge: balancing enemy strength, assigning loot and chest rewards, and weaving in level-completion treasures. The bosses themselves, however, will wait beyond Early Access; they deserve a more careful hand.[/p][p]⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯[/p][h3]Loot Learns to Change[/h3][p]Loot, at last, has embraced the hand of chance. A blade dropped within one level may not be its twin elsewhere its hue, damage, armor, or stats may shift. Vendors, too, have learned to bargain with this new uncertainty, pricing weapons and armor according to their qualities, refreshing their wares as your journey progresses. Chest and quest rewards still belong to the older system, but soon all shall be aligned.[/p][p]⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯⎯[/p][h3]Scenes Before Battle[/h3][p]New furnishings have found their place within the palace, though perhaps more exciting are the cutscenes now greeting you as you step into each level. Even before the clash of steel and the cries of battle, who could resist a moment to gaze down upon the field, to see the stage of war from above?[/p][p][/p][p]The palace grows, the city breathes, and the seventh moon wanes. Until the next whisper…[/p][p]-Team Upgrade[/p]