In December of 2008, Conquer Online 2.0 New Dynasty received a new update that included two new pieces of equipment to the online game; the Heaven Fan and the Star Tower Talismans. Extra slots were placed in the Equipment tab of the Status menu for all characters to accommodate these new talismans. What was intriguing is an unused extra slot below the talismans' slots that looked like an image of a horse engraved in stone that grew curiosity among the players to what TQ was planning for the future.
Rumors spread quickly that TQ Entertainment was planning to release a new expansion in middle 2009. This upcoming expansion revealed unexplained images of horses that made the CO community grow impatient for TQ to give the final word on the ongoing rumors and vague images. In the month of May TQ finally placed articles on their website confirming that a new expansion was indeed in progress giving full details, images and videos of the anticipated Raiding Clans expansion.
The 16th July marked the beginning of the Conquer Online 2.0 Raiding Clans expansion with new features for CO players to enjoy including the Steed system, implementation of Clans, a new map swarmed with new monsters for the high level players, online and offline events and much, much more.
Steeds
The most celebrated update from the Conquer Online 2.0 Raiding Clan expansion is the "Steed" system. A steed is basically the name given to a horse that is used for mounting, especially during war. The new expansion gives Conquer Online players the opportunity to acquire and possess a steed to aid them on their online journey.
There is a steed to match each player's taste as more than 40 different breeds of steed were designed. Each breed is different only by the colour of the steed and given a name in relation to the colour such as Amber, Cobalt, Lilac, Pearl and Sapphire. TQ also announced 5 rare breeds of steeds; the Blazehoof, Frostbite, Spitfire, Spotted and Zebra breeds. All the different breeds of steed can be viewed at Conquer Online's website.
The steeds aren't only for show; they are proven helpful to the players that possess them as follows:
- A good form of transportation. The steed is a fast means of travelling throughout the Conquer Online maps and chasing other players.
- Adds extra attributes to the player. Having a steed increases the attributes of the player that possesses it, such as Hit Points, Attack and Magic Attack.
How to Acquire a Steed?
Acquiring a steed in Conquer Online is very easy so that every player can have a noble steed at their side. There are two ways to acquire a steed:
1. Purchase using Conquer Points (cps)
Steeds can be purchased through three (3) different means:
- The Great Merchant in the Market at (275,278).
- The Mount Retailer in the Stable in Twin City. The portal to the Stable is found at the west side of Twin City at (382,387). The Stable houses the Breeder, Mount Officer and Mount Retailer and has a small display of a handful of steeds.
- The Shopping Mall is an icon found at the bottom-left corner of the game's display near the HP/MP bars. The Shopping Mall conveniently accesses the shop of the Great Merchant anywhere in Conquer Online. However, it is only accessible to level 50 and higher players.
Purchased steeds are bought as "Steed Packs". Players choose a steed with a Lineage Level of 1, 3 or 6 along with a choice of a white, black or maroon breed for the chosen level. The higher the lineage level, the more cps the steed costs.
+1 Steed (Lineage Level 1) : 12 cps +3 Steed (Lineage Level 3) : 144 cps +6 Steed (Lineage Level 6) : 3888 cps
After purchasing a suitable Steed Pack, right click it in the Item Inventory to acquire the steed.
2. Acquiring a Saddle
The Waterfall Cave at the northeast corner of Maple Forest consists of three levels separated by portals. The cave is swarmed with monsters (Cave Thieves, Desert Thieves, Forest Thieves, Plain Thieves and Thief Leader) that may drop a Saddle when killed. It takes a while to find a saddle and if killed by another player or a monster the saddle will drop. The magic-using Plain Thieves that appear randomly has the highest probability of dropping a Saddle therefore look out for them.
When a Saddle is collected it can be taken to Mount Officer in the Stable in Twin City who will exchange it for a Steed. Again, a player can choose either a white, black or maroon steed but with a lineage level of 0.
Some players may sell saddles in the Market for cps or silvers. The price range depends on the server.
The steeds appear like an item with a picture of a horse's head in the Item Inventory. Right click on the steed to equip it in the slot of the equipment menu of the player below the Star Tower's slot. Once equipped the player is able to mount the steed and receive any added attributes.
Steed's Attribute
Steeds possess improvable attributes, some of which will positively affect the player that the steed is equipped to.
(+n), where n can be any number from 1 to 12, such as +1, +2 and so on.
The bonus level of the steed. Like all equips in the game, steeds can be given a bonus level. The bonus level is linked to the lineage level of the steed so that a steed with a lineage level of two will have a (+2) bonus, a lineage level of five will have (+5) bonus, etc.
The bonus level also adds Battle Power to the player. Each bonus adds one Battle Power. A steed with a (+1) bonus will give the player one extra Battle Power, a (+4) will give four Battle Power and so on. If there is no bonus the steed has a lineage level of 0.
Lineage Level:
Determines the level of the steed. Directly linked to the bonus level of the steed.
Lineage:
The Lineage of the steed at a particular level. The lineage can be increased through the breeding of steeds. When the lineage reaches a certain number it will increase the Lineage Level of the steed. The lineage will reset to 0 after the lineage level increases. Fortunately, if there is any extra lineage, it will be added after level up.
Vigor:
The stamina of the steed. A steed has vigor of 30.
The steed adds the following attributes to the player once equipped:
Attack: 10-10 - Increases the player's attack by 10 Magic Atk: +10 - Increases the player's magic attack by 10 HP: +100 - Increases the player's Hit Points (HP) by 100
The Bonus Level of the steed provides extra attributes for the steed and the player. The higher the bonus level the more the extra attributes. The extra attributes are added to the normal attributes of the steed and they are shown in purple when viewing the status of the steed. Bonus level provides more Attack, Magic Attack and HP for the equipped player and more speed and vigor for the steed.
Example:
A Steed(+1) will give the following extra attributes | A Steed(+6) will give the following extra attributes |
Attack: +20 |
Attack: +180 |
Magic Atk: +20 |
Magic Atk: +180 |
HP: +100 |
HP: +900 |
Add speed: +5% |
Add speed: +40% |
Composed Vigor: +30 |
Composed Vigor: +1000 |
Therefore, a player with a +6 steed equipped will gain:
Normal | Bonus | Total | |
Attack: |
10 |
+ 180 |
= 190 more attack |
Magic Attack: |
10 |
+ 180 |
= 190 more magic attack |
HP: |
100 |
+ 900 |
= 1000 more hit points |
The +6 steed will have:
Speed: The speed will be 40% faster than a steed without bonus when mounted. Vigor: 30 + 1000 = 1030 vigor