With the Ruins of Shaqqara update to Bless Online today, the game is undergoing a massive transformation across a number of features. Players will find the level cap increased, new areas to explore and a new open world battlefield. We caught up with the devs to find out more.
MMORPG: With the inclusion of the new level cap of 50, and several new areas added, what can players expect when leveling in these areas? Will Union and Hieron players find a lot of open world battleground areas where both factions run across each other?
Devs: Like Wyvern Valley and the Saltus regions, most of the scenario spaces are disputed territories where Union and Hieron may run into each other. They are definitely places where we expect fights to break out between factions.
MMORPG: With Bless’ launch and now a new level cap, will there be any leveling events available to aid new players in catching up with the early access players?
Devs: The ongoing Level UP Event will continue even after the Level 50 cap update, and we’re also planning to upgrade the Level 45 Reward Box, which is currently being sold for 1 Lumena, to a Level 50 Reward Box. We’re also planning to have some events in which players can get rewards for leveling up their character from level 1 through level 50 (with different rewards being given out at different levels). Existing characters will be able to get rewards that match their current level.
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MMORPG: In the previous versions, peace pledges were free prior to level 45, but at level 45 you had to purchase them with real money. What can players expect in terms of peace pledges during leveling to 50?
Devs: Currently the Peace Declaration can be used up until level 44 and was sold in the general shop, while the Peace Pledge which is usable by all levels was sold in the Lumena Shop. However, due to the level 50 expansion update, the level restrictions for the Peace Declaration has also changed. The Peace Declaration sold in NPC shops can now be used up until level 49. (The attributes of the Peace Pledge purchased with Lumena has not changed. It can still be used by all levels (including the max level 50).
MMORPG: With new areas comes new Mounts and Pets to capture. What new tame-able enemies can players look forward to?
Devs: There will be many new monsters for players to tame in the new areas, including level 50 ones. Among these new monsters are the Basilisk and a variety of mechanical-type mobs.
MMORPG: In some of the later areas there are bosses similar to a world-boss that requires multiple players to defeat, will the new areas have any of these roaming bosses?
Devs: There won’t be any field bosses in the newly added areas, I’m afraid! But never say never...
MMORPG: What can players expect from Royal Quests, and what will the rewards be for completing them?
Devs: In the November 7th update, players can expect the following changes made to Royal Quests: Firstly, the level required to perform Royal Quests will be raised to 50. Secondly, in order to increase the randomness of Royal Quests, players will now only be able to accept the quests that are shown randomly in each region each day. The current acceptance method allowed users to choose from all quests. Some improvements were also made from a UI and UX perspective.
The main rewards for Royal Quests will be gems for skill growth, but there will also be reward items that are helpful for growing mounts/pets. In addition, players can earn small amounts of gold or equipment crafting materials, and chances at obtaining mounts and pets.
MMORPG: With the addition of the new Dungeon, Zeeto’s Laboratory, it was said that players should expect some dangerous and harrowing fights ahead. Without spoiling the content, are there any boss fights players should be particularly wary of, and why?
Devs: We can say that the bosses in Zeeto’s Laboratory are quite charming! We can’t reveal too much, but unlike many other boss battles, it’ll be possible to use the map and different objects strategically in order to attack the bosses.
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MMORPG: A lot of players that may have tried Bless in early access and left may not know how far the game has come. With the new update, the Bless Team has mentioned a lot of Quality of Life improvements that will be included in the content patch. What improvements can players look forward to?
Devs: A lot! For one thing, we’re making some improvements to the item enhancement system that will make it more streamlined and intuitive. We’re also rebalancing some class skills and weapons, improving the UI in several places, and adding some guild features that the community has been asking for, such as a viewable guild history, guild invitations through the Party/Raid widget, and more. All the details will be in the patch note on Steam as well, so players can review everything they can expect from the update.
