Gems of War News

We have reworked the quest path that takes you from creating a hero to starting Broken Spire. They are now their own storyline called Dragon's Pursuit.

• We have rewritten the conversations, reworked the battles, reviewed the quest rewards, and added 3 new quests to the storyline.
  
• After creating a Hero, players are taken directly to the Dragon's Pursuit quest map, instead of selecting a weapon like before.
  
  • The selection of a starting weapon has been included as part of the new storyline (as a reward for the first quest).
• We have updated the 4 key tutorials during Dragon's Pursuit to the new tutorial style.
  
  • Equipping a Weapon
  • Recruiting a Troop
  • Levelling a Troop
  • Upgrading a Weapon
• We have added a Mini Boss battle to Quest 5 in the storyline.
  
• The final reward for the questline will be a copy of The Guardian Dragon.
  
• When players reach the World Map, they will be shown a Special New Player Offer with a new Troop, some resources, and the ability to scout enemy teams (as part of its VIP Point reward).
  

We have made several improvements to Kingdom Quests and their Maps.

• Quest Maps now contain some common UI options from the World Map, this includes:
  
  • Player's Hero info
  • Collection Button
  • Chest Button
  • Shop Button
  • Settings Button
  • Path Button
  • Gem, Gold, Soul amounts
• All Quest Maps have received VFX, so the maps are no longer static images.
  
• There are new VFX for the Quest nodes and path that show it unlocking to the next node, as well as drawing attention to the current quest's node on the map.
  
• A Quest's Slide-in Menu will now display the player's team score (based on the last team used in battle) and the enemy team score for the next quest battle.
  
• The Quest’s Slide-in Menu will rotate between the quest description and the quest's reward.
  
  • This frees up space to make them easier to read on smaller screens.
• Players can now tap on a help button to learn more about the quest's reward.
  
• We have added a "ghost" version of nodes on the map, so players can see the full length of the storyline, rather than fully hiding any quest nodes for the future story arcs.
  
  • They will become active (in their solid grey version), when they are part of the story arc the player is currently working through.

We wanted Mini Boss, and Boss fights to be more interesting in Quests. And we wanted to give them a unique element of challenge.

• Bosses have a Boss Power. While the Boss troop is alive, they will create Heroic Gems at the start of their turn.
  
• The Heroic Gems chosen will be themed to either the Kingdom or the Boss.
  
• There is a visual effect that comes out of the troop when this effect triggers, so players know when/why it happens.
  

To help ease players into the rest of the game after the Dragon Pursuit storyline, we have revisited Broken Spire, Adana, and Zhul'Kari Quest Lines and made some improvements.

[h3]Broken Spire[/h3]

• The number of battles in the storyline has been reduced from 24 to 14.
  
• We have adjusted the number of enemies in some of the early battles, to theme better to the story.
  
• We have adjusted the level of enemies in battles during the event.
  
• We have reviewed and adjusted some of the non-Kingdom income rewards to include XP Boosters.
  

[h3]Adana[/h3]

• We have introduced Mini Boss battles to the storyline.
  
• The number of battles in the storyline has been reduced from 22 to 18.
  
• We have adjusted the level of enemies in battles during the event.
  
• We have reviewed and adjusted some of the non-Kingdom income rewards to include XP Boosters.
  

[h3]Zhul'Kari[/h3]

• We have introduced Mini Boss battles to the storyline.
  
• The number of battles in the storyline has been reduced from 24 to 18.
  
• We have adjusted the level of enemies in battles during the event.
  
• We have reviewed and adjusted some of the non-Kingdom income rewards to include XP Boosters.
  

We have 3 new Achievements for this update:

• Disco Inferno: Match 100 Burning Gems
  
• Baby it's Cold Outside: Match 100 Freeze Gems
  
• Breaking Down Barriers: Match 100 Barrier Gems
  

• After completing the Dragon Pursuit storyline, and reaching the World Map, all UI buttons will be available.
  
  • Previously, players would need to play the first couple of quests in Broken Spire before it would unlock.
• The Adventurer's Path Shop Starter offers (the rotating offers with Troops, Weapons, Pets) are being retired. We are currently working to adjust the number of offers aimed at new players, and refocus the remaining ones to have clear value to new players.
  
  • This is the first part of a larger Shop Rework coming in future updates where we will be looking to consolidate and improve all offers within the game for all players - new and old alike.
• Based on ongoing feedback we have received from Guild Leaders, we have adjusted the guild permissions around Guild Wars, so only Guild Leaders and Rank 2 members are able to register their guild for Guild Wars, and set their guild's Keep.
  
  • Original Guild Wars allowed Rank 3 members to register for the next event. Although we honored that original design in the initial Guild Wars release, we recognize that “Changing a Keep” and “Opting Out” is a lot more impactful than just “registering for a Guild War”, and as such, is more appropriate for Guild Ranks 1 and 2 only
  • Sorry Rank 3 folks! We will investigate giving Rank 3 Guild Members something new to offset this in a future update though.

Ensure you and your Guild are updated to 8.7 as soon as possible, to prevent any issues or confusion with these updated Rank permissions.

• We have fixed an issue where the Guild Wars Keep text was inconsistent.
  

We have given the Campaign system an update to allow players to focus more on playing the game, and less about completing a lot of side-tasks – similar to PvP Seasons.

For a quick explanation, please check out our updated Campaign article, here!

[h3]General Changes
[/h3]
We have separated the Campaign Pass into 2 parts:

• A Reward Track, which requires “Stars” to progress
  
• 8 Campaign Tasks that can be completed in any order to Bronze, Silver & Gold level over the course of the 10-week Campaign.
  

The Campaign Menu has received a visual update to reflect the new system, and keep it aligned with PvP Seasons.

Tapping the Campaign button on the World Map will take players directly to the Campaign menu (the old popup was no longer meaningful).

[h3]Campaign Rewards[/h3]
The total rewards available from the 10-week campaign are identical to – or in many cases better than the previous system.

New rewards include:

• The 121 rewards on the main track (including Elite+ Pass rewards)
  
• The addition of 24 rewards from the updated Campaign Tasks
  

An additional 24 rewards can be earned from the updated Campaign Tasks
We have also updated the types of rewards players can earn:

• The Free Rewards track has been updated and now includes rarer items such as Orbs of Glory
  
• The Elite pass track now includes extra books of deeds, shiny mythic tokens, and more.
  
• The Elite+ Pass track rewards now include additional shiny mythic tokens.
  
• Elite Pass and Elite+ Pass have not changed in price.
  

[h3]
Campaign Pass Reward Track[/h3]

• Players can now earn 1 Campaign Star when playing most game modes ( Event Battles, PvP Battles, Quests, Explores at Difficulty IV or Higher).
  
• Players can still only earn up to 100 Stars each week.
  
• Like PvP Seasons, the new Campaign system has a single reward track with a mix of Free and Elite Pass Rewards.
  

Campaign Tasks
Similar to PvP Seasons, Campaigns now have a set of 8 Tasks, each with 3 Star Levels (Bronze, Silver, Gold). These can be earned over the course of a Campaign.

Earning a Campaign Task Star (Bronze, Silver, or Gold) will give a reward. These rewards are available to all players, and are not part of the Elite or Elite+ passes.

Campaign Tasks have been simplified, so players should progress in the ordinary course of playing battles (there are no longer tasks like earning Glory, or spending resources).

The new Campaign Tasks are:

• Slayer: Kill Enemies in any battle (except Training)
  
• Brawler: Win any battle (except Training)
  
• Grave Keeper: Match Skull Gems in any battle (except Training)
  
• Mana Master: Match Mana Gems in any battle (except Training)
  
• Match Master: Match 4 or more Gems in any battle (except Training)
  
• Heroic Master: Destroy Heroic Gems in any battle (except Training)
  
• Archmage: Cast Spells in any battle (except Training)
  
• Favored Enemy: Kill Enemies in any battle (except Training)
  
  • The specific Troop Type to kill will change between Campaigns.

Campaign Tasks reset with each new Campaign.

Shiny Mythic Troop
We are introducing a Shiny Mythic Troop in each new campaign.

Tokens for the new Shiny Mythic Troop will be in the Elite and Elite+ rewards in the Reward Track. This will allow players to upgrade the Campaign Mythic Troop to a shiny version.

Elite Pass Players will be able to earn Shiny Mythic Tokens to get the Campaign Mythic to Shiny Level 1, while Elite+ Players will be able to earn Shiny Mythic Tokens to get the Campaign Mythic to level 3 (if they complete the reward track).

Shiny Mythic Tokens will go into Shiny Chests 3-4 weeks after the Campaign ends

[h2]Please Note: The new Campaign starting next week will use this new System[/h2]


We have a new Achievement for this update:

• Taken To Task: Fully complete 2 Campaign Tasks (to Gold level) in a single Campaign.
  

We are also updating several older achievements to work with recently-updated systems (like the Campaigns and Guild Wars):

• The Other Side of Dawn: Complete all of your Guild Wars battles in a single event.
  
• Olympus Has Fallen: Defeat an opponent in the Palace in a Guild Wars Keep
  
• Kingdom Crusher: Reach Tier 5 in a single Legends Reborn event.
  
• Defender: Win a PvP Defence Battle in Central Spire.
  
• The Midas Touch: Earn 50 Stars in a single Campaign.
  
• Hard Taskmaster: Earn 1000 Stars in a single Campaign.
  
• Quarter Pounder: Earn 250 Stars in a single Campaign.
  
• You Just Have To Task: Earn 2 Stars in a single Campaign.
  
• Bronzed and Beautiful: Earn 10 Stars in a single Campaign.
  

• We have made some further improvements to Xbox behaviour with how it interacts with the Shop to address the issues that some players were seeing.
  
  • This is the error:0 and error: 800706BA pop up
• Guild Wars defence team were causing the location’s team restrictions to apply to other game modes.
  
• We have made some further improvements to Guild Wars to optimize performance.
  
• We have fixed an assortment of smaller issues.
  

We have made several improvements to the opening 3 battles of the game, to improve how the
puzzle game basics are introduced to new players.

● The opening 3 battles (The Stranger, The Knight, and The Dragon) now have short
interactive tutorials that will walk players through the key parts of the puzzle game.
● We have also given the hub for the opening 3 battles a visual update.
● When a player starts a battle, it will run through the conversation and then will load new
players directly into the battle.
● The load menu for each battle, will display what will be taught in that battle.
○ (Similar to the previous Pre-Battle menus).
● We have changed what parts of the puzzle game are taught in each battle:
○ The Stranger: Matching Skulls, and Dealing Skull damage
○ The Knight: Matching Mana, Casting Spells, Enemy Turns
○ The Dragon: Matching 4-Of-A-Kind, Revisiting Spell Casting
● At the end of the Stranger battle, New Players will now get the troop - Eleanor
● At the end of the Knight battle, New Players will now get the new troop - Prisoner Luther
● We have also given the Hero Creation menu a visual update.
● We have updated Eleanor's spell so it is more useful in general gameplay
○ Her spell now lets players choose a Colored Gem, and will destroy several Gems
of that Color.

Please Note: Prisoner Luther will be going into chests for all Players with Weekly Reset



We have now implemented a pop-up for XBOX players when they experience an issue making a purchase.



You will now be directed to go into the in-game Settings > Account, where you will now find a 'Check Purchases' option.

Pressing this will resubmit any failed purchase data. Should you press this and still fail to receive your purchase, please contact support with your purchase receipt and your invite code.

• We have changed the Landing Menu of the game when players load the game after a fresh install.
  
  • Updated the buttons for New Players and Returning Players
  • Improved clarity of Settings button in the bottom right corner of the menu
  • New Background splash image
• 
  

Enchantée: Destroy 100 Enchanted Gems.

• An Immortal would be removed from the team if they didn't match the Region restriction (even though the Immortal is from that Region).
  
• We have made some improvements to XBOX behaviour with how it interacts with the Shop to address the performance issues that some players were seeing.
  
• Bonus morale from Leaderboard was not being included in the Morale Bonus section (Blue text) on the Guild Wars Reward menu.
  
• Monoliths were incorrectly applying to some Guild War Battles
  
• Guild Keep Defense Bonus was not applying to Troops that were transformed or summoned on the defending team.
  
• Guild Wars where a Guild could face the same Enemy Guild more than once during a single event.
  
• We have made some improvements to Guild Wars to optimize performance.
  

Update 8.4 sees the return of Guild Wars, but we have fully reimagined and redesigned the system.

For a detailed breakdown of how to play Guild Wars, read about it here: Guild Wars Reimagined, by Sirrian.
Or for a quick explanation, check out: Guild Wars Game Guide.

[h3]How Often Will Guild Wars Run?[/h3]
The good news is that we’ve built the new Guild Wars to be quite flexible, so a given event can run from 2-10 days, and it is not tied to the weekly rotation of other events.

That said, everything in these patch notes refers to a Guild War that runs for 4 days - which is how we are going to introduce them. Initially, the plan is to replace Arena Weekends with Guild War events that run from Thursday to Sunday. This will allow us to gather feedback from everyone as we balance and adjust the system. After that, we’ll look to adjust the length and frequency of Guild War events to make it the most fun it can be.

Each day of a Guild War event will see your Guild facing off against another Guild to see who can score the most points and win. Each win will increase your Guild’s Rating on the leaderboard, while each loss will cost your Guild some Rating.

As for Arena Events - they’ll probably get a rework at some point in the future and return - but we do not have anything to announce at this time.

[h3]Is There Anything Unique About Guild War Events?[/h3]
Guild War Events have a couple of unique elements to keep each one fresh.

Firstly, each Guild War has an “Attacker Restriction” in place (don’t worry - defenders also have restrictions to keep it fair). This might be Troop Color, Troop Kingdom, or Troop Type. We have no plans at present to double these up and make complex restrictions that are difficult for forming teams.

Also, each Guild War introduces a Shiny Legendary Troop. You can win Shiny Tokens for this Troop in the Guild Wars reward track. Tokens for these new Shiny Legendaries will go into Shiny Chests 2-3 months after the event.

[h3]
Please Note: The first Guild Wars event will be taking place from the 28th of March. This is to allow Guilds a chance to set up their Keeps or decide to opt-out of the event if they do not wish to participate.

[/h3]


We have 2 new Achievements for this update:

• Talkin' 'Bout A Revolution: Be in a Guild that wins the day in a Guild War.
  
• Tangled: Destroy 100 Entangle Gems.
  

Existing broken achievements are still going to be addressed and updated in future. Currently hoping for 8.5 but that is to be confirmed.

It is not as simple as just editing the text for the existing achievements and linking them to a new task.

• Updated the Guild Popup Menu to match the new UI style, and added Guild Wars as a permanent option on the left-side of the menu.
  
• Updated Polymetis' spell icon art.
  
• A new set of Dragonite Dragons, and their weapons will be going into the Soulforge with the weekly Reset.
  
• Updated the Guild Activity screen to include new Guild Wars features
  

• Skipping past the Wandering Merchant system popups by repeatedly pressing A on the Load Screen.
  
• Comic panels would slide in twice during the Tutorial quests.
  
• Completing all 3 Tasks in a Campaign would sometimes not let you select the Bronze Task if you play with a controller
  
• Added safeguards and fixes to improve stability on XBOX.
  
• Resolved some issues with the in-game Store on XBOX.
  
• Soft lock in Daily Plunder
  
• Among other smaller issues
  

With todays hotfix, we have resolved the following issues:

• 
  
• ‘Touch by an Angel’ achievement not progressing
  
• Xbox, Playstation and Switch: Selecting a Dungeon door, then pressing the back button quickly, prevented you from being able to start Dungeon battles
  
• Mobile: Rewarded Ads were missing
  
• Fixed text on some screens where the text cut off or was otherwise incorrect