Changelog: Realm Divided Part II
This release expands on the Realm Divided update with even more Faction Warfare content: Faction Battle Standards and a reworked Bandit Assault.
[h3]Faction Battle Standards[/h3]
Faction Battle Standards are new carriable objectives in Faction Warfare. They appear in the open world, and bring capture-the-flag style gameplay to Faction Warfare. Groups of opposing Faction players can fight over possession of a banner, with the aim of building up its value and carrying it to its destination for Faction Points.
- Battle Standards can be found in any Province currently in conflict
- When a Battle Standard appears, it is initially locked
- During this time it is visible on the Region Map, as well as on the World Map when in a nearby region
- After a short time, it unlocks and can be picked up by any Faction-flagged player
- Once unlocked, it is no longer visible on the World Map
- Battle Standards can be carried between Provinces of the same lethality, but not from Non-lethal to Lethal or vice versa
- They cannot be carried into dungeons or cities
- If dropped in a secure Province, they will disappear after 10 minutes
- Battle Standards can only be carried on foot
- A player carrying a banner can receive a move speed increase
- After traveling for 4 seconds without taking damage, the carrier goes into a sprint until they take damage or come within range of an enemy player
- This will reward Faction Points to the following:
- The carrier
- Faction members who fought alongside the carrier as they held the Battle Standard and contributed to its growth
- Available drop-off locations are marked on the Region Map
- When an Outpost is actively under attack, Fiona Fableheart takes cover and will not receive any banners
- There are four levels of Prestige: Uncommon, Rare, Epic, Legendary
- Once it reaches Epic level, only defeating enemy Faction players can progress a Battle Standard
- A higher-rarity Battle Standard rewards more Faction Points when delivered
- When carrying a Battle Standard, a HUD element shows its progress towards the next rarity level
- If a Battle Standard is dropped and picked up by an opposing Faction, its rarity progress remains intact
[h3]Reworked Bandit Assault[/h3]
The Bandit Assault event in Faction Warfare has been overhauled to bring it into the new era initiated by the Realm Divided update. The Bandit Assault now uses the Province and Supply systems, culminating in multi-Faction Fortress fights.
Caerleon is now a participating faction in Bandit Assault.
- Caerleon-flagged players now receive Bandit Assault notifications
- Caerleon-flagged players now receive rewards based on their placement during the event
The Bandit Assault comprises two phases, with the winner being the Faction with the most Bandit Assault Supplies after both phases:
Phase One
- The first phase lasts 40 minutes
- It covers all lethal Provinces
- All Outposts in lethal Provinces are taken over by Caerleon
- Fortresses and Provinces themselves do not change ownership
- All Faction Warfare activities (Faction Camps, Faction Chests, etc.) can be found in these Provinces during this stage
- All Factions compete to earn Bandit Assault Supplies in these Provinces
- These are Supplies specific to the Bandit Assault event, but earned from the same activities
- If a Province is also in conflict, Supplies earned by participating Factions count for both the Bandit Assault and the Province conflict
- The Rallying Cry and attacking Faction bonuses only apply to the Province conflict in this case, not to the Bandit Assault
- The second phase lasts 20 minutes
- In this phase, the battle for Bandit Assault Supplies is focused into two Provinces
- The amount of Bandit Assault Supplies generated in these Provinces is greatly increased
- Players can still capture Outposts in the other lethal Provinces, but these no longer provide Bandit Assault Supplies
- The Fortresses in these Provinces become vulnerable to attack by players of any Faction (except the defenders)
- While the walls and gates can be destroyed, these Fortresses cannot be captured at this time
- Weapons Caches appear in the areas around the Fortresses
- As with standard Fortress fights, these Weapons Caches provide powerful buffs, but during the Bandit Assault they do not have an impact on the time-to-win for attacker or defender, as these fights have no Defensive Progress bar
- A highly valuable chest appears in each Fortress, containing loot and Bandit Assault Supplies
- The Faction who owns the Province attempts to prevent the other Factions from breaking into the Fortress and claiming this chest before it unlocks
- The defending faction has the advantage of the Fortress walls, but any Faction can tear them down to take this chest for themselves
New Albion Journal missions have been added for the Bandit Assault, in the Faction Conquest subcategory.
[h3]Changes[/h3]
- Faction Warfare Siege Times on the World Map have been moved to a dropdown at the top of the screen
- These are now ordered from server maintenance onward
- Faction Chests can now spawn in the blue zones of a Province that is in conflict
- Region queues can no longer be joined from inside Smuggler’s Dens, but overcrowded regions can be skipped
[h3]Combat Balance Changes[/h3]
Bows
Speed Shot has not been very popular or interesting, so it has received a small rework to make its gameplay more engaging while preserving its core identity.
- Speed Shot (all Bows)
- Move speed increase: 20% for 5s → 30% for 2s
- Cooldown: 15s → 10s
- Casting now resets Q cooldown
- Removed attack speed buff
Players using Enchanted Quiver can no longer be distracted by invisible enemies.
- Enchanted Quiver (all Bows)
- No longer deals decreased damage if the only player(s) within 6m are invisible
As the first Crossbow ability, Snipe Shot had a cast time that felt too long to be practical in solo PvE. Additionally, its long-duration, high-damage cast felt too similar in its function to Bolt Casters. To address this, its cast time has been reduced and an armor reduction effect added, giving it a clearer role as a single-target burst support option.
- Snipe Shot (Crossbow)
- Cast time: 2.5s → 2s
- Damage: 418 → 386
- Added resistance reduction: 0.15 for 4 seconds
Dark Matter has felt unreliable, so its damage has been redistributed across fewer total bounces.
- Dark Matter (all Cursed Staffs)
- Bounces: 8 → 7
- Dmg vs players: 98 → 112
- Damage vs mobs: 49 → 56
With its enhanced range, Polehammer has found success as a non-committal long-range stun option. That being said, in smaller-scale PvP its max range stun has often felt unavoidable. Its hitbox now ‘grows’, matching the visuals and giving opponents an additional 0.3s to dodge (at max range).
- Groundbreaker (Polehammer)
- Hitbox now matches VFX more closely
In PvE, silencing mobs can feel like a trap, as it causes them to auto-attack instead of casting dodgeable abilities, increasing the damage they deal. To combat that, Battle Howl now also reduces mobs’ auto-attack damage.
- Battle Howl (Heavy Mace)
- Added: 40% auto-attack damage debuff (vs mobs) for 4s
Threatening Smash has had its damage increased to help all Maces in PvE and PvP.
- Threatening Smash (all Maces)
- Damage: 135 → 142
Sinister Swipes has received more damage but has a longer cooldown, allowing Prowling players to weave auto-attacks between Q casts. At the same time, its increased cooldown forces them to stay in form longer to complete a full combo, making them more vulnerable.
- Sinister Swipes (Prowling Staff)
- Damage: 76 → 90
- Multicast cooldown: 0.5s (global cooldown) → 0.8s
- Time window: 2s → 3s
Dashing onto enemies on cooldown with Tethershift’s large shield was difficult to deal with, while the shield applied to allies felt too small to have a real impact. As a result, these values have been separated and adjusted differently.
- Tethershift (all Shapeshifter Staffs)
- Enemy-targeted self-shield: 200 → 100
- Ally shield: 200 → 300
While the Paladin healer builds that have popped up with the new Blueflame Torch are undoubtedly cool, the damage and healing bonus was slightly too high, so they’ve been reduced. These values can be understood as a reduction from 25% to 22%.
- Blueflame Torch
- Damage & healing bonus: 0.201 → 0.177
Frost Shield hasn’t been very popular compared to its alternatives, so its slow has been made more powerful.
- Frost Shield (all Cloth Robes)
- Slow: 30% → 40%
As the Soldier Armor mini-update was very controversial and led to unhealthy gameplay, it has been reverted.
- Fury (Soldier Armor)
- No longer heals
- No longer a toggle
Blink and Delayed Teleport no longer require line-of-sight, meaning you can now freely faceplant into trees, rocks, and walls.
- Blink (Cleric Sandals)
- No longer requires line of sight
- Delayed Teleport (Mage Sandals)
- No longer requires line of sight
[h3]Fixes[/h3]
UI Fixes
- Fixed issue where attack arrows on the Faction Warfare World Map overlay would sometimes not be visible
- [MOBILE] Fixed issue where it was only possible to select a Party to travel to from a Faction Transport, not a region
- Fixed issue where multiple Faction Warbanners could be crafted by the same character
- Fixed issue where Albion Journal missions for unlocking Avalonian Dungeon chests would not progress
