[2020] 5.1 Update

5.1 UPDATE

1000×50 44.7 KB

• Kingdoms will now be able to be leveled to 20

• In addition to the normal Gold and Imperial Deeds, Kingdom Levels 16-20 will also need a new type of Deed, the Book of Deeds. (See below for more details)

• The rewards for levelling up your Kingdom will include (not necessarily in this order):

  • Bonus Mythstones from that Kingdom’s Explore

  • More Faction Hoard Stats

  • Kingdom Team Bonus to Tier V

  • Kingdom Skill Point

1000×50 43.9 KB

• Books of Deeds have 6 variations, 1 for each color:

  • Book of Ice Deeds

  • Book of Nature Deeds

  • Book of Fire Deeds

  • Book of Air Deeds

  • Book of Magic Deeds

  • Book of Stone Deeds

• Players will mainly be able to gain Books of Deeds in 2 different ways:

  • Campaign: Players will be able to earn Books of Deeds from the Free Rewards and Elite Pass Rewards.
  • Crafting: Players will be able to craft a Colored Book of Deeds with the following ingredients:

    • 50 Deeds of Color (Color must match the color of Book of Deeds being crafted)

    • 1,000 Souls

    • 500 Jewels (Color must match the color of Book of Deeds being crafted)

1000×50 43.7 KB

• We have added support for Kingdoms to earn Kingdom Power up to Power Level 30.

• As you know, Kingdoms may not be able to reach Power Level 30 when the update releases, but as we add more content to Kingdoms, Players will be able to progress further through their Kingdom Power levels.

1000×50 44.6 KB

• We have introduced a new type of Vault, the Epic Gnome Vault.

• Players will need to earn an Epic Vault Key from Treasure Gnomes to gain access to the Gnome Vault:

  • If a Gnome drops a Vault Key it will be either a Vault Key or Epic Vault Key, they cannot drop both.

  • Epic Vault Keys are rarer drops compared to the normal ones. (about 10%).

  • Vault Key drop rates have not been affected by this change.

• This Epic Vault is similar to a Gnome Vault, however you will be fighting against King Cedric, the “Boss” version of Cedric Sparklesack.

• King Cedric will drop up to x4 more loot compared to his regular counterpart in Gnome Vaults.

  • This only applies to the resources he may drop (Gems, Gold, Souls, etc.)

  • He will not drop extra copies of Troops or multiples of Orbs

1000×50 44.7 KB

We have made some changes to the Gnome Vault.

• When players tap on the Gnome Vault Button in the Mini Games menu, it will bring up a pop up where players can select between playing a Gnome Vault or an Epic Gnome Vault

• We have also made changes to Gnome Difficulty:

  • We have removed the old Difficulty system (similar to other game modes where we have removed it in previous updates).

  • There are new difficulty settings that players can set before they select a Vault.

  • These new difficulties work similarly to the difficulty in Adventure board, where troops can gain levels beyond 20, and have their traits unlocked.

  • The new difficulty settings will affect the currencies earned from the battle (including Gnome Rewards). This includes Gold, Glory, Souls, Keys, etc. It does not affect any Troops, Traitstones or Orbs earned.

    • EASY: Troop level 15, and 80% Standard Rewards.

    • NORMAL: Troop level 20, and Standard Rewards (same as the old Vault).

    • CHALLENGING: Troop level 40, and 110% Standard Rewards.

    • HARD: Troop level 80, and 120% Standard Rewards.

1000×50 46 KB

• During a Gnome Vault Event, players will find a new Gnome Tracker in the Mini Games Menu.

• This tracker will tick up for each treasure gnome you encounter and defeat, with the following conditions:

  • It counts the regular Gnomes that randomly appear in battles

  • It does not count Valravens, Raven Towers, Gnomes in Vaults, and Gnomes owned by Players in PvP

• Once the tracker is completed (by defeating 5 Gnomes), players will be mailed out a Vault key

• This will only reward a normal Vault Key (players will be unable to earn Epic Vault Keys from the Gnome Tracker)

• The Gnome Tracker will then go back to 0, however the number of Gnomes required to earn the next Key will increase by 5 (to 10, then 15, then 20, etc…)

• The Gnome Tracker will reset to 0 after the Vault Event, and the target will reset to 5 in the next event too.

• The drop rate of Vault Keys during the event hasn’t been changed by the introduction of the Gnome Tracker.

1000×50 44.7 KB

• Players will now have a chance to encounter the new Daemon Gnome.

• This Gnome is much deadlier and trickier than the rest of his kin, if he manages to power up he will kill an Enemy and then run away.

  • This spell is a one cast only even in teams with more than 1 copy; it will only allow one cast, and the other copies’ spells will then be disabled for the duration of the battle. (Similar to the 4x Great Maw teams)

• Players will be able to earn this Gnome from either type of Vault Battle.

• The Daemon Gnome will drop Chaos Shards (as well as the chance of a Vault Key or Epic Vault Key like other Gnomes).

1000×50 41.7 KB

• Players are now able to select Campaign Tasks and they will be taken to the appropriate section of the game that will assist them in completing that Task.

• The Campaign Button now has a drop down list like the Adventure Board does, so players can quickly view their current Tasks.

• We have updated the Languages Tab in the Settings Menu.

1000×50 42.4 KB

• We have fixed a bug where Google Play would prompt the user every time to log in if they didn’t sign into a Google Play Games account.

• We have changed the Chests Menu so they will now show the Base Rarity of the card in the example display, instead of the rarity that you own it at.

• We have fixed the bug in the Troop Filter Menu where the text would always be set to All Weapon Types instead of the Weapon Type Name.

• We have fixed a bug where Troops and Weapons were not showing up in the Troop List unless restarting the game. The Troops and Weapons should now show up without having to restart the game.

• We have fixed a bug where accepting a Guild Invite would cause a “Cliffy” Error.

• We have fixed a bug with the Ascend All Troops option where it was not properly checking for troops existing in Delve & Event teams.

• We have fixed a bug where the Epic Battle Settings could be reused between Guild Live Events (e.g. setting the Epic Battle to Legendary in a World Event would keep the same setting in a different guild event like Invasions or Raid Bosses which run at the same time on a weekend).

• We have fixed a bug where the Guild Popup was only showing 1 live event of each type in the list on the right, even though multiples of the same type could run (e.g. 2 World Events running in a row).

• We have fixed the bug where Dead/Empty Guilds could be encountered in Guild Wars, where there are no members in the guild to fight against.

• We have fixed a bug on PS4 where the Advent Calendar Offers were not showing the Gem Key image correctly.

• We have fixed a bug on the Campaign Menu, Campaign Pass and Campaign Pass Upgrade menus on 4:3 aspect ratio devices.

• We have fixed a bug where saving the Troop Filter was no longer working.

• We have also fixed an assortment of smaller issues.

Did I leave out the general changes and bug fixes?

Oh wait, I didn’t.

This is my personal fave:

• We have fixed the bug where Dead/Empty Guilds could be encountered in Guild Wars, where there are no members in the guild to fight against. <3

Please keep in mind that this is a smaller update between major updates, and as such won’t include as many major changes.

I could write all that, but I don’t want to lie to you @Zehnpai.

The Daemon Gnome is in game, if you’re not seeing him give your game a restart.

Wanted to jump in with a quick answer to whether you need to wait for Daemon Gnomes to enter the rotation…

You don’t! <3

We’re testing a fix for this right now, thanks.

It’s in the Resources tab in the Shop.

@KYLENATOR001 IF it’s the purchase limit that is the problem (and you haven’t purchased it yet this week) write to support with a screenshot of the Resources screen in the shop - reinstalling won’t fix it if that’s the case as it it would be an error in your account data on the game server most likely.

Direct link for this issue would be a tech issue:
https://gemsofwar.zendesk.com/hc/en-us/requests/new?ticket_form_id=360000013356

@Awryan, the image will show, it’s just because you’re on mobile so we don’t make you download all the art upfront to play the game as we don’t want to use up all your data. Although there aren’t many new art assets with this update the same download rules apply for mobile. Now that you’ve opened the Troop it should download the art for it.

If you want to just make sure you get everything upfront connect to wifi (or just use your mobile data if you don’t care) then go to settings and hit the download all assets button.

Juuuust checking I know you’re not new but I don’t remember what things I’ve said to specific people in the past

Is this on your Samsung or on your chromebook? Got someone checking their samsung atm.

It’s dropping there, it’s either in the Vault or not, it’s not tied to difficulty or device. Same release data for every platform except Switch.

@Arelana I’ve asked a designer and will let you know.

@awryan images and troop data are 2 completely separate things.
Looks like there might be an issue with the Daemon Gnome art on some Android devices though, a programmer is looking into it now. Will update with more information once they’ve checked it out and I’ve gotten back from lunch.

Important bug fixes, more rewards, guaranteed Vault Keys, more progression on existing features for end game players. This entire update was built for players I’m sort of confused about any negativity on this update unless it’s solely based on us not including that "one thing"that you specifically wanted. These are all good additions and fixes even if I do say so myself.

So it is about that “one thing” tm then.

I’ll see if I can get it tomorrow

Yes.

Incorrect, the Vault Key drop rate for Gnomes hasn’t changed and in addition to the Gnome drops you also now get a guaranteed Vault Key for completing the tracker. So this has significantly increased the number of Vault Keys everyone will earn on average if they play during a Vault weekend.

You’re welcome

You’re cute.

from the patch notes.

Alright, I have some things to say!

Sorry for the delay, I have had an exceedingly busy day, and will be working a silly long week. I’m taking some time out of my higher level duties to come and discuss this.

1 - Sirrian will not be returning to these forums in the capacity that he was once here. We have discussed this many times over the years, but it isn’t possible with the size of the game and nature of the community. I know this isn’t what you want to hear, but it is the reality of how Gems of War has been for years, and will be moving forward until the game is no more. Touch wood that never happens.

2 - A design vision is a huge process. We implemented these kingdom levels to give end gamers more to work towards. We received a fair few complaints (via reviews, DMS, and our social media accounts) regarding the fact that our previous updates offered little to end gamers. This is a double edged sword, as anytime we put more things in game for end gamers, they complain, but if we don’t, they also complain. The rate at which it will take players to max their kingdoms will vary greatly, with many never doing so. There are too many variables to answer your question with any concrete accuracy. End gamers now will have a much easier time than new hard core players, and many players will never even aspire to it, as it is content purely for our more hardcore endgamers. That being said, we do hope it takes our hardcore endgamers a long time to achieve, as it is important to always have things in game for players to work towards.

Now, that huge disclaimer in place, I have a few more points to raise and discuss.

• There are 2 dimensions of leveling here: Kingdom Level 20 & Kingdom Power Level 30 so this answer kind of applies to both.

• At this current moment, both of these are clearly out of reach.

• Kingdom Level 20 requires Books of Deeds - which are a brand new resource that is not easy to get. Currently, these Books can only be gotten through crafting by using a resource that is already scarce. This is by design. (They will be available in more ways in the future, such as in campaign awards, and in other places that we deem appropriate.)

• To even get to Kingdom Level 30 a lot more troops need to be released. At this time, it isn’t possible.

• Given the current rate of release, this means that Power Level 30 could take years to accomplish. I personally think this is a good idea, as we have needed long term goals for end gamers, and we have many players that have stuck around for over 5 years.

• However, as we’ve done in the past, we need to create space to work into. This means we create big systems that (at first) look like they’re way off on the horizon, and then in a future update, we create events and systems that release the things players need, so they can work towards the goals meaningfully.

• An example of this is when we released the Trait system. Upon release, there was a major complaint was that it would take years to get the Arcane traitstones needed to fully trait all 150 troops in the game. After release, we were able to observe how people were playing and give them fun ways to get those traitstones. As of today, lots of players have fully traited collections of 800-ish troops, because we found lots of ways to make traitstones available.

• Players can expect a similar curve and outcome here. You’re asking how long will it take? Well, it’s meant to be a mountain to climb, but we’ll adjust the height of the mountain and the steepness of the slope over future updates.

3 - You can see the amount of resources needed to craft Books in the body of the post. I cannot give you an accurate time frame on the time it will take to craft these, as there are too many variables. How many resources does the players already have? How long have they been playing? What are they focussing on with their resources? Why? Etc, etc, etc,

4 - I cannot give you a thorough drill down on these rewards. This is because if I provide something that is then changed, myself and the others devs will be burnt at the stake. In the past I have shared similar information, on the caveat that it might change, and then when it has been changed people have abused, threatened, and attacked me anyway. Unfortunately, this is the case of a few ruining things for the majority. I cannot share rough ideas and estimates to give you a more well rounded idea of how things will work, because even if I have a disclaimer on that information saying it isn’t final, if we change it we get relentlessly attacked.

I apologise, as I would love to be able to share that information with you and be more transparent. However, for the mental health and general well being of myself and staff, I will not disclose this sort of information now, or moving forward.

5 - We all have different ideas of what “reasonable” means in the context of your query. This end game content is not gated by a pay wall, but it will take a F2P player a fair amount longer to level their kingdoms. Once again, there are too many variables to accurately tell you how long it should take a player to reach these levels, and I cannot with any firm specificity elaborate on what is reasonable. At the end of the day, what is reasonable is decided by the player, and whether they decide to chase those levels or not. We cannot choose or guess at what is reasonable to a player, they must decide based on their own wants and needs.

Here are my closing words regarding Gems of War still not being “that type of game.” Anything that you can get with money, you can also get with time. (And a bit of luck, but that applies to both paying players and non paying players.)

I am unaware of any concrete measures that COULD be put in place to maintain the balance between players that spend time versus those that purchase campaign passes. There is no magic formula which will 100% solve this perceived problem. We will do what we always do, which is all we can do… That is, we will monitor the data on our end, and tweak and adjust things until they are fair as they possibly can be. We do this as much as we possibly can, and are dedicated to doing it for the entire life cycle of this game. It is one of our highest priorities.

In conclusion, I am not Sirrian, and cannot pick up his sceptre.

But I can write over 1200 words on why this is the case, and try to explain why not all of the above issues raised can have firm answers, or be elaborated on further. I have endevoured to answer and be transparent about what I can, and the information provided above was discussed with Sirrian before I came here to write this massive reply.

I will tell you, once again, everything I possibly can, @Razzagor

We are aware of the issue. It has been pushed back to even be looked at more comprehensively due to covid and the pressure it has put on our development cycle. I wish this wasn’t the case, but it is, and I am sorry. it is something that I have personally been adovcating for for quite some time.

My best recommendation to you is to assume it is never happening. That way you won’t get your expectations up. It is something we would like to rework, but don’t have time for right now or in the immediate future. It is not actively being looked at, and won’t be for some time.

@Lyrian sniped me. (in the best way!)

In general, it’s like laying the ground work, so instead of trying to develop all the things at once on a limited schedule, we can start paving the way earlier so that it’s slightly less of a task later.

Sometimes this is done solely on the back end where players don’t see things as we regularly just try to predict what we might want certain systems to be able to do in the future, sometimes it’s added in game where you can see it which also helps to point out the general direction to endgamers looking for their next objectives.

@DigitalWar669 nearly every industry has seen major delays due to COVID, and we are no different. Yes, coding can happen at home, and a lot of iother industries can now also be done from home.

But things are still significantly delayed worldwide across a huge amount of industries. Stress, anxiety, poor living conditions and the big one, children not at school, will always change how fast and efficiently things can be done.

Also, mental health.

@Starlite I understand that you are coming from a good place, but you aren’t aware of the reality of our studio, practices, and publisher relationship.

It is easy to look at things from the outside and think they are easy, I am telling you that they are not.

Sorry it just fell off my radar to be honest.

Kurandara will be available from chests (I believe 3-5 weeks after the Campaign ends) and it will also go into the random Soulforge pool.