Wild Blood is nearby, and you’ll be able to hunt some down for yourself when the update launches. In this Dev Talk, Game Director Robin Henkys looks at
Tracking, a new feature where you pursue creatures across the open world.
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[h3]Finding Tracks[/h3]
The tracks of rare creatures can be found in the
Outlands and in
Red Zones of the Royal Continent. To interact with these, players need a
Tracking Toolkit. These are craftable at the
Toolmaker and can be used by:
- Clicking on a track
- Using from inventory
- This reveals nearby tracks on the map
- Higher tier Tracking Toolkits reveal tracks in a wider area
There are
seven types of creature you can Track, each of which exists in
two sizes:
- A smaller one, for up to three players
- A larger one, for four-to-eight players
If your party is too big or small the track, you won’t be able to follow it.
The
first tracks that players can find are those of
Panthers,
Sylvians, and
Spirit Bears. Rarer creatures require higher-level tracking skills and higher-tier Tracking Kits.
[h3]On the Prowl[/h3]
After a track is successfully read, the hunt begins:
- Players are guided to an area
- Once you reach that area, you will have to search for further tracks or the target itself
- Party members can collaborate to read tracks more quickly
- Each completed step rewards Tracking Fame to all party members, which boosts your Tracking skill
- The chances of encountering the target at each step increases with:
- The number of steps already completed
- Your Tracking skill
When you encounter your target, a fight ensues. But the creature may flee if:
- Its health falls too low
- The fight lasts too long
- Too many players attack
A target that flees will have to be tracked to its new location, but any damage it has taken remains.
[h3]Spoils of the Hunt[/h3]
A defeated creature can drop various new items which are used for the following:
- Rare Animal Remains: enchanting Potions
- Rare Ingredients: crafting new Potions and Shapeshifter Weapons
- Artifacts: crafting Artifact Shapeshifter Weapons
These are the new Potions:
- Calming Potion: from Shadowpanther Claws, provides a PvE disengage
- Cleansing Potion: from Sylvian Roots, cleanses damage over time, crowd control, and debuffs
- Acid Potion: from Spirit Bear Paws, decreases resistances
- Berserk Potion: from Werewolf Fangs, boosts damage but decreases your defense
- Hellfire Potion: from Imp Horns, deals damage-over-time
- Gathering Potion: from Runestone Golem Teeth, increases gathering speed
- Tornado Potion: from Dawnbird Feathers, knocks enemies back
Rare Animal Remains can be reduced to
Arcane Extract, to enchant Potions:
- Potions now have three levels of enchantment
- The amount of Remains required for each enchantment level increases significantly
When Wild Blood launches, there will be an
increased amount of tracks and creatures to allow players to hone their skills. But to keep the new items rare, the additional creatures will drop Silver and loot instead. After a time, these additional creatures will be removed, and those which remain will drop only the new items.
We can’t wait to see players take part in this new economic activity, and start using these new items. You’ll also be able to use them to craft
Shapeshifter Weapons, of course, which will be the subject of our next Dev Talk. See you then!
