Gems of War News

Experience a new era of puzzle warfare as Gems of War prepares to enter its next decade of match-3 combat! With the arrival of Update 8.0, we’re excited to finally introduce a new aspect to Gems of War, Immortals! Adventurers both new and old have been exploring the mythical world of Krystara for nearly 10 years, building their teams and conquering the puzzle board. For such a big update, there is no better person to delve into the details like the Creative Head at Infinity Plus 2, Steve “Sirran” Fawkner!

Hello everyone! Sirrian here, and I’m so excited to finally talk more about Immortals in Update 8.0 and what it means for Gems of War moving forward. But first…

Who are the Immortals?

Immortals are a completely new type of content that houses a new troop, weapon, and pet for adventurers to progress. It is quite unique in that it's ultimately an entirely new troop type in Gems of War, which we haven't done in many years! Unlike other troops, Immortals progress and act very differently from their non-Immortal counterparts, breaking free from the current rarity system. Furthermore, these troops are so powerful that only one Immortal can be included on a team at a time. We’re excited to see what kind of teams will be built by the community to take advantage of each Immortal troop’s unique abilities!



How are Immortals different from regular troops?

Immortals have a unique form of leveling separate from current troops that require a new item, Immortal Souls, to progress. At level 1, you’ll have the troop with its base stats which will already be viable to slot into any team, but as you build that immortal, you’ll unlock its unique weapon, pet, greater stats for all of that Immortal’s content, awakened traits, and mana reductions at higher levels. While there will be multiple ways to earn Immortal Souls, the primary way will be through the brand-new PVP Seasons!




Introducing PVP Seasons

Our new PVP Seasons feature opens a completely new avenue for Gem warfare! These seasons will take place over 11 weeks and provide a set of “Seasonal Goals'' to pursue throughout the season’s run. Completing these goals will earn you special PVP buffs to boost your resource collection and PVP marks to purchase items in the PVP shop.
The introduction of PVP Seasons also launches with a new “PVP Season Pass” to earn even greater rewards!




One last note!

The 8.0 “Immortals” Update is the culmination of the last several updates focused on reinvigorating our PVP game mode in Gems of War. The team has done a tremendous job of developing new and exciting features including the introduction of “Regions” and new “Alliances” in the PVP map. The “Immortals'' update brings all of these features together to establish the PVP system as a core pillar of the Gems of War formula.

We welcome all current, new, and returning adventurers to jump in a play today with our fully rich slate of PVE content or conquer the regions all across Krystara in PVP - there is something for everyone!

Dive into the latest update and recruit your new Immortal to smash gems and take over all of Krystara!

[h2]Patch Notes[/h2]



Immortals are a new type of Mythic Troop linked to the PvP Seasons (more on that further down) with a new unique levelling system.

• When 8.0 Launches, we will have 10 Immortals available in Chests.
  
• Each Immortal has its own unique currency, Immortal Souls – used for levelling it.
  
• Unlike regular Troops, Immortals can only be unlocked or gain levels by earning and spending their Immortal Souls.
  
• Immortals unlock when a player earns 10 of its Immortal Souls.
  
• Unlocked Immortals start at Level 1 (for all players, even if the player has VIP levels). A Level 1 Immortal has similar Skill Points to a Level 20 Mythic
  
  • This is so players can start using Immortals immediately upon unlock.
• Immortals can be leveled to Level 30
  
  • Each level on an Immortal will unlock something new, this includes:
  • More Skill Points
  • The Immortals 3 Traits (and upgraded versions of these – see below)
  • Mana Cost reductions (similar to Shiny Troops),
  • A special Immortal Weapon, whose spell works with the Immortal Troop,
  • An Immortal Pet that also works with the Immortal Troop.
• Immortal Weapons and Pets can only be upgraded by levelling their associated Immortal – they do not use ingots, or pet food, or duplicate copies.
  
• Immortal Troops, Weapons, and Pets cannot be upgraded by Orbs.
  
• At Level 30 Immortals unlock their Awakened Traits, which are more powerful versions of their Traits.
  
• Once fully levelled, any excess Immortal Souls will be automatically converted into Burning Marks, as 1 Burning Mark for every 5 excess Immortal Souls.
  
• Immortals have a home Kingdom and a home Region.
  
• Immortals can ignore any restrictions in their home Region, allowing them to always be used within that region.
  
• However, they do obey any Region restrictions in other regions.
  
• Immortal Troops’ spells have a bonus effect that triggers when used in their home Region (mentioned in their spell description).
  
• Only 1 Immortal can be active in a team at a time.
  
• Players are able to view their Immortals in the Troop List, but Immortals also have their own menu on the left-hand side of the PvP world map, where players can view all Immortals available and manage the Immortals they own.
  
• ‘New Immortals will be introduced with PvP Seasons, with each Season having a Featured Immortal that players will be able to collect Immortal Souls for from the season’s rewards.’New Immortals will be introduced with PvP Seasons, with each Season having a Featured Immortal that players will be able to collect Immortal Souls for from the season’s rewards.
  

The Immortals update introduces the final PvP Currency – Burning Marks. It also introduces the Burning Chests which can be opened with Burning Marks.

• Burning Chests are a new Chest related to PvP
  
• Burning Chests can be found on the left-hand side of the PvP World Map
  
• It costs 10 Burning Marks to open a Burning Chest
  
• Burning Marks can be earned in 3 ways:
  
  • PvP Season Pass
  • PvP Season Goals
  • Directly purchasing from the PvP Shop (this will have weekly limits)
• Burning Chests will give one of the following:
  
  • 10 – 50 Immortal Souls for a random Immortal
  • 20 Gold Marks or 50 Silver Marks
  • 1 Bronze, Silver or Gold Icon
• Icons are a new collectible resource that can be traded in for VP in the PvP Shop (in the Other Tab) or saved for the start of the New Season
  
• Icons are worth the following amounts
  
  • Bronze Icon: 500 VP
  • Silver Icon: 1,500 VP
  • Gold Icon: 5,000 VP
• Trading an Icon will earn the VP towards both your Weekly and Total VP amounts for the Season
  
• Any Icons that have been saved or not used by the end of a Season will be auto-converted to 10% of their VP value when the new Season begins, giving players a means to get a headstart for the new Season.
  

As hinted back in the 7.3 update, we are introducing PvP Seasons to Gems of War. There are 2 parts to Season – Season Pass and Season Goals.

[h3]PVP SEASON PASS[/h3]

• PvP Seasons will last 11 weeks.
  
• Each Season will have a Featured Immortal, which will be a new Immortal introduced that season.
  
• Immortal Souls for this Featured Immortal can be earned from the Season Pass and Season Goals. Players will also have a chance to earn Immortal Souls for them from Burning Chests when their Season begins.
  
• Players advance through Tiers in the Season Pass by earning VP in PvP battles during the season.
  
  • VP earned from trading in Icons will also count towards this.
• There is only a single reward track, however some Tiers rewards are locked unless the player has the Premium Pass.
  
• There are 90 Tiers in the Season Pass for players to achieve.
  
• Season Pass rewards include things such as Immortal Souls for the Feature Immortal, Burning Marks, Talismans, Boosters, and other rewards.
  
• Season Pass progress resets each Season.
  

[h3]SEASON GOALS[/h3]

• Each Season will have a set of Goal Tasks for players to complete.
  
• All Goals can be achieved by playing in the PvP system.
  
• There are 3 levels to complete for each Goal – Bronze, Silver, Gold.
  
• Completing a level for a Goal will give a reward of either Burning Marks, or Immortal Souls for the Featured Immortal.
  
• Season Goals reset each Season.
  

The first PvP Season, the Season of Ice will begin 22nd of July, at weekly reset. Keep an eye out for a PvP Season blog with more information



We have 2 new Achievements for this update:

• 20,000 VPs Under the Sea: Earn 20,000 Victory Points in a PvP Season.
  
• There Can Be Only 10: Upgrade an Immortal to Level 10.
  

• Silver Marks and Gold Marks have had a visual update to match the new Burning Marks.
  
• In the Resource Wallet we have created a new category called PvP where Silver Marks, Gold Marks, Monolith Sigils and Citadel Sigils, will be joining Burning Marks, and the 3 new Icons.
  
• The Alliance Skill point boost for Alliances with 0 – 1 Citadels will now apply to those players’ teams on Defense at a reduced amount. (This bonus will add to the Blood Frenzy boost that applies to opponents in those regions).
  
  • 0 Citadels = 20% to PvP Defense
  • 1 Citadels = 10% to PvP Defense
• We have added 2 new Citadel Guardians that will be encountered in their Home Regions the week after 8.0 releases:
  
  • Guardian of Innovation will be encountered in Aidania
  • Guardian of Ice will be encountered in Winter’s Reach

[h3]We will be offering an Alliance Grace Period for the first week of Season 1 – during this time players will be able to change Alliances without losing any VP or Loyalty.[/h3]
From Monday, July 22nd at daily reset when the Season begins until the following Monday the 29th.
You can change Alliance more than once in this period
After daily reset on Monday the 29th, penalties will apply again if you change Alliance.

• We have fixed an issue in the Trials menu where the screen was not scrolling along to match your cursor selection.
  
• We have fixed an assortment of smaller issues.
  

Alliances are a new system. Players can join them and participate in Citadel Wars to take control of Citadels.

• Players can choose their Alliance independent of their Guild.
  
  • This allows players in a Guild to be in different Alliances
    
• There are 5 Alliances for Players to choose from:
  
  • The Bright Empire
    
  • The Enchanted Grove
    
  • The Dark Order
    
  • The Wild Horde
    
  • The Golden Forge
    
• All Alliances are identical (apart from their names & shields), so it does not matter which one you join.
  
• Each day a player is in an Alliance, they will receive +1 Loyalty for that Alliance
  
• When players join their very first Alliance, they will be given 10 days Loyalty as a gift.
  
  • This is only the first Alliance they join, any Alliance a player may join after this first one will not give this perk.
    
• If a player decides to leave their Alliance they will lose 25% of their Total VP (Weekly VP will not be affected), All their current Loyalty, and their current Alliance Rank.
  
  • Joining a new Alliance will recalculate the player’s rank based on Total VP and Loyalty (which will be 0 days, unless it is your very first Alliance).
    
• To aid Alliances who don’t own 2 or more Citadels, their Alliance members will gain a skill point buff in all PvP Battles (Citadel + Quick Battle).
  
  • 0 Citadels Owned = +20% Skill Point Bonus
    
  • 1 Citadel Owned = +10% Skill Point Bonus
    
• There is an Alliance Leaderboard Tab in the Alliance menu that will display the top 100 performers in your Alliance based on the number of Citadel points earned for the week (see Citadel Points below).
  

[h3]ALLIANCE RANKS[/h3]

• Players need to earn Victory Points in a Season and Loyalty in an Alliance to advance up the Alliance Ranks.
  
• There are 18 Alliance Ranks – 9 Legionary Ranks, and 9 Officer Ranks.
  
• All Alliances use the same rank names.
  
• The higher the rank, the more VP and Loyalty required.
  
• Starting at Legionary VI (the 4th lowest rank) players will earn Daily Rewards from their Alliance (Silver, and eventually Gold Marks).
  
• Daily Rewards will increase as players earn higher ranks within their Alliance.
  
• Changing Alliance, and resetting your player’s rank will stop any daily rewards from being earned until you reach Legionary VI in the new Alliance.
  

[h3]ALLIANCE CHAT[/h3]

• When a player joins an alliance they will gain access to the Alliance’s Chat.
  
• Alliance Chat will contain system messages intended to notify Alliance members when a Citadel is vulnerable, when the Alliance Wins or Loses a Citadel, when a Citadel’s voting is available, etc.
  
• Players need to be rank Centurion V or higher to write into chat
  
  • This is to prevent malicious chat spam
    
• If a player leaves their Alliance they will lose access to that Alliance Chat.
  

The central location in the regions is now available for players – Citadels.

• All Regions have a Citadel in a central location of the Region menu
  
• 1-2 Citadels will become vulnerable once a week from Daily Reset (excluding Wednesday and Sunday).
  
• Vulnerable Citadels can be fought over by Alliances in Citadel Wars.
  
• Blood Frenzy will never occur in any Region that has a vulnerable Citadel.
  
• Players will be able to see when a Citadel will be vulnerable from their Alliance Overview Menu.
  
  • Players will also be able to jump directly to a Citadel from this menu as well.
    

[h3]CITADEL WARS[/h3]

• Citadel Wars only last for 1 day
  
• Players get 6 Citadel Sigils per day to spend in battle.
  
  • There is no version of the Valraven or Valhawk for Citadel Sigils.
    
• Players can purchase more Citadel Sigils in the Citadel Bundle which contains 6 more Citadel Sigils. (This bundle can only be purchased 3 times per Day.)
  
• Sigils are capped at 6 when they regenerate, if they are more than 6 Sigils though, none are lost.
  
• Citadel Wars contain PvP Battles, and battles against the Citadel’s Guardian.
  
• Similar to Quick Battle, players will have 3 opponents to choose between.
  
• When you fight players in a Citadel Battle, you will not encounter any players from your Alliance.
  
• Each Battle will give Citadel Points (CP) from completing them.
  
  • PvP Battles will be worth 10% of the final VP earned from a battle (minus any boost from Victory Talismans… i.e. you can’t inflate your CP by using Victory Talismans).
    
  • The first Citadel Guardian is worth 25 CP
• After defeating 4 PvP Battles, Players will then face off with the Citadel Guardian.
  
• As players complete battles, the battles will increase in difficulty (both the Player Opponents and the Citadel Guardians).
  
  • Enemy stats will increase by 10% after the first battle, and be worth +2 CP more per battle.
    
  • Citadel Guardians will increase by +50 Levels, and be worth +25 CP more per battle.
    
• After defeating the Citadel Guardian, players can play through another 4 battles to gain access to the Citadel Guardian again (if they have the Sigils to do so).
  
• There will be 4 Citadel Guardians available when Citadel Wars launches (but we may add more in the future).
  
• Citadel Guardians will not be collectible at this time.
  
• Citadel Guardians will only appear in their set Region, so players will always encounter the same Guardian when fighting in a Region.
  
• At daily reset, players can no longer play Citadel Battles in that Region, and the winning Alliance is decided.
  

[h3]CITADEL WAR REWARDS[/h3]

• There are 2 types of Rewards that can be earned in Citadel Wars:
  
  • Player Rewards: Players can earn additional rewards from participating in Citadel Wars (on top of their regular Rewards for PvP Battles)
    
  • Alliance Rewards: As well as being able to vote on the following week’s Restrictions (see below), and Heroic Gem in the Region (see below). Alliances also get an extra reward for winning a Citadel War.
    
• Player Reward Details:
  
  • After winning the third PvP Battle, players will receive 5 Gold Marks.
    
  • After winning against the Citadel Guardian, players will receive 2 Swift Talismans and 10 Gold Marks.
    
  • These player rewards can be earned each time players run through the 5 battles.
    
  • The Swift Talisman is a new Talisman that will give the Swift Trait to all Allied Troops in the battle. It can only be earned from defeating a Citadel Guardian.
    
• Alliance Reward Details:
  
  • When an Alliance wins a Citadel War, they will receive a special version of the Region Bonus for that Region, that will give Gold Marks instead of Silver Marks for the next 24hrs after winning the Citadel.
    
  • This Special Region Bonus can only be earned once per week.
    
  • The amount of Gold Marks will be scaled based on the size of the Alliance when they win the Citadel.
    
  • Players must be Alliance rank Legionary VIII or higher to be able to claim this reward (to prevent players jumping into a winning Alliance to try and earn this perk each day).
    

[h3]CITADEL VOTING[/h3]

• On Daily Reset every Sunday, if an Alliance owns a Citadel, they will be able to vote for restrictions and Heroic Gems to randomly drop in that Region for the next week.
  
• Citadel Voting lasts for 24 hours
  
• Players need to have an Alliance Loyalty of at least 10 Days to be able to participate in Citadel voting.
  
  • This is to prevent players hopping between Alliances trying to influence region voting
    
• Players can cast their votes, choosing one of 3 different Restrictions and one of 3 different Heroic Gems.
  
• After voting, players will then see the current voting results.
  
• The winning Restrictions and Heroic Gems will then appear in the upcoming week’s battles in that Region.
  

We have made a few improvements to Legends Reborn Events

• Players only have to play through the Kingdom’s quest once, rather than 5 times over the duration of the event.
  
  • Players will still receive enough copies of the Quest Pet to upgrade it to Mythic.
    
  • They will also now receive a bonus amount of the event’s collectible currency.
    
• Legends Reborn will now be a 1 week event (similar to the Mist of Scales event back in February).
  
• We have added a 2 day grace period after the event ends, so players who are playing close to the end of the event will have a chance to collect or purchase any tier rewards they have unlocked.
  
• We have added new pips to the Legends Reborn button on the World Map and on the Games menu. When players have rewards that can be collected or purchased, these pips will be visible.
  
• We have updated the menu to be a single menu (not split over 2 menus, as it was previously), which reflects the changes mentioned above.
  
• We have updated the collectible currency icons for the events, to make them easier to see in battles.
  
• We are reviewing the Tier Rewards and will have some changes coming in the next events (similar to some of the changes we tried in the Mist of Scales Legends Reborn event).
  

We have 2 new Achievements for this update:

• Part of the Club: Join an Alliance.
  
• You Are Victorious!: Defeat 10 Citadel Guardians.
  

• We have added a new Heroic Gem for a future Campaign.
  
• We have added code to improve variation of teams in the PVP opponent selection screen.
  
  • This should make it less likely you will see 3 opponents with the same team on the same opponent selection screen.
    
• We have changed the “Troop More Info” menu for Shiny Troops that are fully maxed out so the progress bar and shiny icon will continue to display (just saying that the troop is fully maxed out for Shiny Levels).
  
  • This will make it easier for players to bring up the Shiny Troop menu to read a Troop’s Shiny Lore, or see their bonus for each Shiny Level.
    
• We have added a new slide option to the Battle Pause menu for Bonus Mana, which will display all Bonus Mana earned from Traits, Class Talents, or Kingdom Banners.
  
• We have sped up the animations when players first enter the Holiday Event menu.
  
• We have updated the UI for the Puzzle Battle dropdown menu (where players can access Game Speed and Chat).
  
• We have added a new option to the Puzzle Battle dropdown menu – Heroic Gem Guide. This option will show a popup that lists all the currently available Heroic Gems and what they do.
  
  • This should help players not only with any Heroic Gems on the Board but any mentioned in spells.
    

• We have fixed an issue where text in the Adventure Board popup was misaligned.
  
• We have fixed an issue where placeholder text would sometimes display on the initial loading screen.
  
• We have fixed an assortment of smaller issues.
  

We have released the 7.4.1 Hot Fix.

• We have fixed an issue where if you navigated to the World Map > Games > Epic Trials, after the Epic Trial battle the game would crash, cause a CLIFFY error or you wouldn’t be able to close the Epic Trials menu.
  
• We fixed the issue in PVP where the game would crash when you selected your opponent’s Hero on the pre-battle screen or during the battle.
  
• We fixed an issue where Hero Class information would be displayed on non-Hero Troops in battle.
  
• We fixed the issue where the Legends Reborn button on the left side of the World Map did nothing
  
• We fixed an issue for some mobile players where the amount of Silver Marks they owned wasn’t appearing in the PVP shop.
  • This issue may still occur on some devices, for example the Samsung Galaxy Tab A, so we’re continuing to investigate.
• We fixed the issue where the Blood Frenzy overlay was appearing over Rewards that weren’t earned as part of the Blood Frenzy, for example, on Silver Marks sent to mail.
  

Thank you all for your patience while we sorted these issues out!

We have added the first expansion for the new PvP system, Monoliths. Monoliths are PvE battles that provide buffs to your team when fighting PvP Battles. Learn more about them below.

[h3]Monoliths[/h3]

• All Regions have Monoliths, however the number of Monoliths will be related to which ring the Region belongs to:
  
  • Center Ring: 3 Monoliths
    
  • Inner Ring: 4 Monoliths
    
  • Outer Ring: 5 Monoliths
• Each Monolith gives a buff that applies to all Regions in PvP
  
• Winning a battle in a Monolith will unlock its Buff which applies for 1 hour.
  
• Winning further battles within a Monolith will increase the effect of the buff and give an additional 1 hour to the duration.
  
• If a Monolith’s duration reaches 0, then the Monolith will reset and players will need to win the first battle again to activate it.

[h3]Monolith Battles[/h3]

• Players can fight up to 5 Battles in a single Monolith.
  
• This means there are 5 levels of power for the Monolith’s PvP buff.
  
• Monolith Battles require Monolith Sigils, which can be gained from purchasing the Monolith Sigil Bundle from the PvP Shop, or defeating Valhawks in PvP Battles (see below for more info about Valhawks).
  
• While there is a cap to the amount of Monolith Sigils that players can earn from Valhawks of 6 per day, there is no cap on the number of Monolith Sigil Bundles that can be purchased.
  
  • If you have 10 Monolith Sigils, Valhawks won't appear in your battles until you have less than 10 Monolith Sigils
• Each Monolith Battle has a “Boss Enemy” that will appear in the every battle
  
  • This Boss Troop will appear in the Monolith’s menu
• Enemy teams will be built of predefined team restrictions that fit the theme of the Boss or Monolith.
  
• Players will need to fight battles using the Region’s current team restrictions
  
• After winning battles 3 and 5, players will also receive some copies of a new Talisman – the Victory Talisman.

[h3]Valhawk[/h3]

• Players can only encounter the Valhawk in PvP Battles (no matter the Region).
  
• Players have a 20% chance to encounter a Valhawk in a battle.
  
• Valhawk can be defeated up to 3 times per day.
  
  • It will not count to the daily limit if the Valhawk runs away or the player loses the battle.
    
  • Once the Valhawk has been successfully defeated 3 times, it will no longer appear in PvP Battles that day.
• Winning a battle against a Valhawk will give 2 Monolith Sigils.
  
  • Valhawks will only give Monolith Sigils if the player is victorious
• Monolith Sigils do not reset at the end of the week.
  
• The Valhawk will be available as a troop from the Vault on Tuesday March 12th daily reset (7am UTC).
  

[h3]Victory Talisman[/h3]

• As mentioned, Players can earn Victory Talismans from Monolith Battles 3 and 5
  
• When used, Victory Talismans will double any Victory Points earned from that Battle (+100% Victory Points)
  
• If the Victory Talisman is used in a Blood Frenzy Region (more on Blood Frenzy Below), the bonus will be additive
  
  • (so it’s a x3 bonus not x4 as 100% Regular Amount + 100% Blood Frenzy + 100% Victory Talisman)

[h3]Monolith Buff Menu[/h3]

• On the World Map the Buff button will display how many Monolith buffs are currently active.
  
• Players can use the Monolith Buff menu to see how many Valhawk Encounters they have left for that day.
  
• The Monolith Buff Menu will display Monolith Buffs in a set order in the list:
  
  • Active Buffs – These are all the Monolith Buffs currently active, and they will display their current progress, effect and how much time remaining for that Buff.
    
  • Available Buffs – Monoliths that are available to play battles to activate them.
    
  • Locked Buffs – These are Regions which the player doesn’t have access to yet.
• Players can select a Monolith Buff in the list to be taken to that Monolith’s menu to play a battle there if they wish.
  
  • If a player doesn’t have a Region unlocked the Region’s Monoliths cannot be selected to shortcut to them.

Blood Frenzy is a new feature of PvP which will apply to 2 Regions daily, making the battles harder but giving increased rewards.

• Blood Frenzy applies in 2 Regions each day
  
  • While it should mostly be different Regions each day but sometimes a Region may experience 2 days in a row
• Blood Frenzy will never apply in Central Spire
  
• Blood Frenzy changes Regions with Daily reset
  
• The Regions chosen will be the same for all players
  
• Blood Frenzy will increase the skill points of opponent teams by 50%
  
• Winning battles in a Blood Frenzy Region will give double Victory Points (+100% bonus), and double Silver Marks if the Blood Frenzy Region has the Region Bonus active in it.
  
• Blood Frenzy Regions will be easy to identify on the PvP World Map by the Red Crystals that will appear beside the Region’s name when it is affected.

We have made a few improvements to PvP

• Players can now view the Region Bonus tracker from the Quick Battle menu. So they no longer need to return to the Region Menu to see their current progress for the Region Bonus.
  
• When players earn the Silver Marks from a Region Bonus they will see an animation popup celebrating this as they return to the Quick Battle menu (in case they missed seeing the Silver Marks in the Victory menu).
  
• PvP Pets in the PvP Shop will now sort Silver Marks Pets before Gold Mark Pets in the list.

We have 2 new Achievements for this update:

• A Monumental Achievement: Win a Monolith Battle.
  
• Put me on a Pedestal: Complete all Battles in a Monolith.

• We have added a new Heroic Gem for a future Campaign
  
• We have added a help button to the Event Headstart offer menu so players can view the Shiny Troop’s card before the troop releases.
  
• We have made some improvements to the navigation of the World Map.
  
• We have updated the Kingdom Slayer Weapon offer to match the new visual style of the game.
  
• In shop menus players can now tap on the resource in the top right corner to view the resources popup help.
  
• We have added some darkness behind the locks on the Path Menu, to help make it easier to see what rewards are locked and cannot be collected.
  
• We have adjusted all the Buttons in the Top Left corners in menus so they should be consistent in size
  
• We have adjusted the Headings of each menu so they should be consistent in size.
  
• We have updated all the feature lock banners to match the Underworld locked message.
  
• We have set up the XP, Gold, and Soul boosters so they appear the same size and in the same location on the World Map.

• We have made additional improvements to PvP to reduce the lag that some players are experiencing.
  
  • This is in addition to the server improvements we have made after the release of the 7.3 Update.
• We fixed an issue where some players on Xbox and PlayStation were not receiving their purchases correctly.
  
• We have fixed an issue where Ironhawk and Queen of Sin would cause the game to lock at the end of battle.
  
• We have fixed an assortment of visual issues in the UI
  
  • This includes a fix to the Epic Trials button in the Games menu so that it correctly takes you to the current Kingdom Epic Trials screen.
• We have fixed an assortment of smaller issues.

• On the world map if you select Games > Epic Trials and then play a Trial battle, collect your rewards and then select to close the Trials menu, it causes the game to soft lock
  
  • Fixed in hotfix

The PvP system has not seen a major update since it was changed in the 2.0 Update (May 2016). As Gems of War has evolved since then we’re giving the PvP System a big overhaul, 7.3 is the first part of this overhaul with expansions to the system planned for future updates.

[h2]The PvP World Map[/h2]

• PvP now takes place on a new World Map
  
• When players tap the PvP Button they are taken to an alternative version of the world map for PvP.
  
• The left 3 buttons change to PvP Shop, Ladders, and Alliance replacing PvP, Games and Guilds.
  
• The left side-buttons Adventure, Campaign, and Events have been replaced with PvP Goals (it looks a little lonely right now, but we have more buttons planned to appear in future updates).
  
• All other buttons on the World Map remain the same.
  
• Players are able to return to the regular World Map menu by tapping the central buttons (similar to returning to the world map from the Underworld).
  
• On the new PvP Map, players will see 10 Regions. This is where PvP takes place – more on that below after we explain VP, Silver Marks, and Gold Marks).
  

[h2]Victory Points (VP)[/h2]


Players now earn Victory Points (VP) from PvP Battles instead of “PvP Score”.

• VP will be used for 2 separate things

• VP will be a measure of your progress in weekly PvP

• VP totals as they accumulate week-by-week will unlock things in the PvP Shop

• In a future update, we will introduce PvP Seasons, and your VP will reset (not back to zero though – there will be ways to get a headstart)

• For now, we are treating version 7.3 as “Season Zero” – it’s the season you get when there’s not really a season!

All PvP battles have a base amount of VP (based on a player’s progress through the game) with bonus VP that can be earned from battles if players meet certain conditions.

• Bonus VP can be seen applying to base VP in the post-battle menu alongside the battle MVP.

• A series of slide-ins will show the exact amounts of Bonus VP and what they are earned from.

When you lose a defense battle, there is no loss of VP (like there was with the old PvP Score). There may be a mode in a future update where VP can be lost, but in 7.3 (with Quick Battle the only mode available) there is no VP loss at this time.


[h2]New Currencies (Gold Marks and Silver Marks)[/h2]

• The PvP system contains 2 new currencies that can only be earned from PvP
  
  • Silver Marks – You earn these as rewards from playing PvP Battles every day, as well as for completing other various simple objectives.
  • Gold Marks – These are a little harder to obtain, and come from completing weekly goals. They can also be purchased in the PvP Shop.
• Both Gold and Silver Marks can be spent in the PvP Shop (see details of what is available below)
  

[h2]Regions[/h2]

• There are 10 Regions on the PvP World Map.
  
• To play PvP, players simply select a Region ,and then choose Quick Battle – this will allow them to choose 1 of 3 enemies, just like the old system.
  
• Players may also select a Region and view info on their battles in that region.
  
• More features and modes will be added to the Region Menus in future updates.
  
• The 10 Regions are divided into 3 sections: Center Ring, Inner Ring and Outer Ring.
  
  • Central Ring (1 region): Central Spire
  • Inner Ring (3 regions): Aidania, Southwild, Geheron
  • Outer Ring (6 regions): Winter’s Reach, Ancient Khet, Bay of Stars, Maraji Expanse, Summer Isle, Broken Lands
• Each of these Regions is related to 3-4 kingdoms that fall within its borders – exactly how that affects gameplay is described below.
  
• Central Ring (Central Spire)
  This is available to all players
  There are no restrictions on teams
  Playing PvP in Central Spire is very much like playing the old PvP system.
  
• Inner Ring (Aidania, Southwild, Geheron)
  Teams are restricted by troop/weapon color
  Only players in Silver League and above may play PvP here
  
• Outer Ring (Winter’s Reach, Ancient Khet, Bay of Stars, Maraji Expanse, Summer Isle, Broken Lands):
  Teams are restricted by troop type or kingdom
  Only players in Gold League and above may play PvP here
  
• Team restrictions for Inner & Outer Rings will change every week, and are related to the Kingdoms found “within” that region.
  
• Restrictions are displayed on the PvP World Map, the Region Menu, and the Pre-Battle Menu
  
• More information on Leagues can be found below.
  

[h2]Regional Bonuses[/h2]

• In much the same way that some Kingdoms give bonus Mythstones for Explore, PvP Regions can give bonus Silver Marks for PvP
  
• If a Region has a Silver Mark bonus, then winning 5 PvP battles there will grant you some Silver Marks, and will move the bonus to a new region. The base Silver Mark values are:
  
• Central Ring: 10 Silver Mark bonus
  
• Inner Ring: 15 Silver Mark Bonus
  
• Outer Ring: 20 Silver Mark bonus
  
• Starting in Sapphire League the amount of Silver Marks earned from a Region Bonus will increase by +1, up to +5 in Diamond League.
  
• The bonus will always remain within the Regions you have unlocked
  
• There are limitations to how many Silver Mark bonuses you can collect in a day, based on your league. These limits relax the higher you go.
  
• 2 for Bronze League
  
• 3 for Silver League
  
• 4 for Gold League
  
• 5 for Platinum League
  
• Unlimited for Emerald League and beyond (there are 10 Leagues)

[h2]PvP Goals[/h2]

• The old PvP Weekly Ranks have been replaced with a new system called PvP Goals.
  
• PvP Goals are a weekly series of VP milestones to work towards
  
• There are 20 Ranks in the PvP Goals, which each give a reward when they are reached
  
• Both Silver Marks and Gold Marks can be earned here each week.
  
• PvP Goals introduces 2 new timed Boosters – Gold Boosters and Soul Boosters. Like XP Boosters, these timed boosters will give bonuses for Gold or Souls in battles (for 15 minutes).
  
• PvP Goals can be viewed from the PvP Goals button on the left
  
• To collect completed goals, a player must go into the PvP Goals Menu and select the Collect button.
  

[h2]Talismans[/h2]

• Talismans are a new collectible item that can give a 1-time buff in a PvP Battle, much like Trinkets give a 1-time buff in Underspire.
  
• To activate a Talisman, select a blank slot on the left-side of the Choose-An-Enemy Menu in Quick Battle mode – that type of Talisman will continue to be used in each subsequent battle until you turn it off)
  
• Talismans are purchasable from the PvP Shop
  
• Currently Talismans will only help the Attacker, but we have plans for Talismans to help Defenders in a future update
  

[h2]PvP Ladders/Leagues[/h2]

• There are 2 types of ladders in PvP – PvP Leagues and Global Leaderboard.
  
• Global Leaderboard functions very similarly to the old Global Leaderboard, tracking the overall leaders (but with VP now, rather than PvP Score)
  
• PvP Leagues are new, and should give all players something to aim at every week, not just the very top players
  
• There are 10 PvP Leagues: Bronze, Silver, Gold, Platinum, Emerald, Sapphire, Amethyst, Topaz, Ruby, and Diamond
  
• When 7.3 launches, players will be placed into a league based upon the “Path” they are on:
  
  • Adventurer’s Path (Levels 1-100): Bronze League
  • Guardian’s Path (Levels 101-250): Silver League
  • Champion’s Path (Levels 251-500): Gold League
  • Paragon’s Path (Levels 501-1000): Platinum League
  • Exalted Path (Levels 1001+): Emerald League
• Each week, you will be given 29 other players from your League to compete against and ranked via your VP (in the rare case of a tie, the older account wins).
  
• Each League has a “Promotion Zone”… finish in the promotion zone to go up one league (unless you are in Diamond)
  
• Each League has a “Demotion Zone”… if you finish in there you will drop one league (unless you are in Bronze)
  
• Promotion Zones get smaller as the leagues get higher, but average around 7 players.
  
• Demotion Zones vary too, but are more consistently around 7 players.
  
• If you finish in the top 3 players in your League, you win some Gold Marks (with more marks available in higher leagues)
  
• You will not drop down a league if you do not play for the entire weekly event.
  

It’s important to note that these groups of players in Leagues are not symmetrical – just because a player is in your group of 30, does not imply you will automatically be in their group of 30. While we are seeding people into Leagues, in the early days of this system, you may find that some players in your group of 30 are actually in a different League to you – this is expected, and should resolve after some time has passed.

[h2]PvP Shop[/h2]

• The PvP Shop is a new style of Shop for PvP, with 5 different tabs
  
  • Home Tab: This is where you start – it will always highlight one of the main PvP offers.
  • Premium Tab: Players can purchase offers with real money transactions
  • Talismans Tab: Spend Marks to purchase Talismans that can help you in PvP Battles
  • Pets Tab: Spend Marks to purchase PvP Pets, only 4 Pets will be available each week, along with an Orb of Minions
  • Other Tab: Spend Gold Marks to purchase some rarer resources, including a random Book of Deeds.
• Players can view their current VP and Marks in the top right corner of the PvP Shop Menu
  
• Many offers in the PvP Shop have VP requirements, the better the reward the more VP will be required to have access to it. Note that this VP is not “spent” upon purchasing the office, your VP total simply unlocks it
  
• Some Offers like the Gold Mark pack or Pets have limitations for how many times they can be purchased within a timeframe, for example
  
  • The Gold Mark Pack can be purchased only once per Day
  • The Pet Pack can be purchased only once per week
  
  
  [h2]PvP Pets[/h2]
  
  
  • PvP Pets are new Pets whose bonuses only apply to teams within a defined Region.
    
  • Each region currently has 2 possible PvP Pets
    
  • We will add more PvP Pets in future updates.
    
• The Pet Pack can be purchased only once per week
  

[h2]Miscellaneous PvP Changes[/h2]

There have been some other changes to PvP necessitated by the new design. These are listed below:

• Ranked PVP has been renamed Quick Battle, while Casual PvP has been removed.
  
• Players no longer define a PvP Defence Team – the team you attack with will be the team that other players face.
  
• PvP Revenge battles have been removed.
  
• We have made improvements to matchmaking which take higher team score into account
  
  • We will be monitoring this and will make adjustments on the server after 7.3 releases
• The old PvP System gave some Glory every day for logging in based on your Rank. This was implemented at a time when there were far fewer ways to obtain Glory. This has now been changed so that you will receive Silver Marks every day instead, based upon the League you are currently in (from 1 per day in Bronze League, up to 10 per day in Diamond).
  

With all the PVP changes in the 7.3 Update, we will be currently delaying the next Guild Wars. This will allow us to make sure the new changes have not caused issues in Guild Wars.



We have added a new Status Effect: Terror.

Troops affected by Terror have a small (10%) chance at the start of each turn to move down 1 spot in their Team (this is resolved from bottom most Troop to the Troop in first position). If a Troop is already in last position when the Terror triggers, they will run away from the battle…
Cowards!

Terror has a chance to cleanse at the start of each turn similar to other negative status effects (such as Burn or Death Mark). Troops with Impervious or Invulnerable traits will be immune to Terror.

New Spells and Traits based on Terror will be coming as part of an upcoming kingdom release.



We have added a new set of Cosmic Dragons, and their weapons, to the Soulforge for crafting using Dragonite. Like the Gem Dragons, there is a Cosmic Egg that will randomly give 1 of 6 possible colored Cosmic Dragons. There are also 2 Legendary Weapons, 1 Mythic Weapon, and a new Prismatic Dragon which can only be obtained from crafting in the Soulforge.

These new Dragons cost a little more than their Gem Dragon counterparts, but they are a little tougher too.

Cosmic Dragons will only be encountered in Soulforge for now, but will appear as potential battles for Dungeons and Underspire in a future update.



We have 2 new Achievements for this update:

• Up All Night to Get VP: Earn 1,000 VP in a Season (Season Zero counts for this)
  
• Ranks for the Memories: Earn all 20 ranks in the the Weekly PvP Goals
  

We have also made some changes to previous achievements that were related to the old PvP System:

• Gladiator: Reach rank 5 in Weekly PvP Goals
  
• Reaver: Reach rank 10 in Weekly PvP Goals
  
• Champion of PvP: Reach rank 15 in Weekly PvP Goals
  
• Defender: Win a PvP Defence battle
  

We have added in 2 new Heroic Gems for future Campaigns and content.

• Campaign Tasks were not counting towards the Hard Taskmaster Achievement.
  
• Pplayers on iOS were seeing an error message when they tried to collect rewards from Guardian Chest.
  
• Glory being earned from battles other than PvP was not counting towards the Glory Hound task.
  
• The green “!” icon would only appear for the first initial mail in a play session and wasn’t notifying players when they got additional mail.
  
• We have fixed an assortment of smaller issues.