While Embers Adrift poked fun at itself on April Fool's Day, one tidbit in its gag apparently is real: the PvP Proving Grounds.
Personally, I thought a PvP Proving Grounds arena was a joke, along with the extra-long nights and inventory stacks, when Stormhaven Studios posted its April Fool's gag on social media yesterday. However, the team took to its socials to announce that the PvP part of the joke was actually real.
April Fooled us all, I guess.
The new arena is in Newhaven Valley, where players can test their mettle against each other in one-on-one duels, party-based combat, or even a free-for-all melee. Based on the forum post detailing the new feature, it all seems to be pretty free-form.
Ups! The Proving Grounds was actually not an April Fool!You can find our first PVP arena in #EmbersAdrift. It's LIVE NOW! 1V1, free for all or Group VS group. Log in now to fight other drifters for funsie!More infos in the Patch Noteshttps://t.co/32Zt9zlIz0 pic.twitter.com/bCl4DnUp7x
— EmbersAdrift (@EmbersAdrift) April 2, 2024
On entering the arena, you'll be flagged for PvP, opening yourself up to attack from those with a flag themselves. You won't be able to engage anyone who does not also have a PvP flag, which means no random ganking of spectators. Additionally, certain status effects won't work, while armor damage won't be applied when defeated. Your items will appear outside the arena once you release to a nearby circle.
Stormhaven also cautions that this is meant to be a fun addition only and not intended to be balanced. In fact, the team states they have no plans on rebalancing classes or even the whole MMO around this new feature, so don't complain, I guess, if it feels unbalanced while you're slashing your way to victory.
"This feature is FOR FUN. We fully recognize that nothing about this is balanced and that is ok with us. We have no intentions on rebalancing the game around PvP. We very well may expand upon this feature in the future with additional areas (with obstacles, etc, think EQ's arena zone) - but it is lower on the priority list."
