[2021] One thing I really appreciate in this update.

This update’s getting a bit of steam from the community for that sh*tfest of a Chainblade rework. But I’m going to point out what i consider to be the best part of this update, for me personally. And that, is the refresh of Boreal and Coldrunner. Slap to the face for the ‘Blades, but round of applause from me on this end. Seeing what they did to Boreal and Coldrunner gave me a massive spark of hope for this game. Sure, the ’Blade refresh was a seriously disappointing letdown and kind of clashes. But I nearly watered at the eyes with appreciation seeing Boreal and Coldrunner. MORE LORE. IN THE HUNTING GROUNDS. THANK YOU DEVS. THANK YOU. One of my biggest issues with this game was a lack of personality to hunting grounds, which this update fixed AMAZINGLY on part of these islands.

(Spoiler) For those who havent seen yet, Linnea and some Skaldish are in Boreal Outpost where they now have, well, a proper outpost! Linnea informs us that Coldrunner is approaching to re-connect with Boreal. And we see this! Going to “Coldrunner” shows us the two have merged! The entirety of Boreal is there, now with the added attachment of Coldrunner chained alongside. One really cool detail is the ruins. On boreal, there’s an entrance to a wrecked stone structure. Just the entrance. On Coldrunner, we see that entrance was for a tower. Still wrecked, but there’s more ruin there. Ruin that was on Coldrunner when the island split.

Also, Linnea has a small quest for us. Around both islands are Aether-soaked trees which can be harvested. We start us the quest where she requests them, and must return 5 to the pile. On boreal. Im too lazy to check if it was a different amount on Coldrunner, which it mostly likely is as the quest rewards more. It’s actually an infinite quest, you can do it as much as you like. I don’t think the rewards are that valuable for an older player, but it’s a nice little boost in rams and Merits to new players to kick things off and get some early Path nodes quickly. I think there could’ve been more quests and interaction, but I’m honestly satisfied.

I’m DEFINITELY looking forward to more of this. If you ask me, this is a definite priority. No new behemoths, heck, forget new weapons or refreshing the ones we have. (Except maybe fix Blades.) Just get the bugs fixed, and work on the refreshes of these islands. I wouldn’t mind haven’t to wait months just to have all the big bugs fixed and the islands lore-ified. Step in the right direction devs, good job on this front. Best thing to come of this update. Massive thumbs up from me. 👍