Best Of

As we come to the end of 2021, we've taken our usual time to reflect on the year and wanted to give a brief teaser of what kinds of things you can expect in 2022!

We've had quite a bit going on this year. Let's take a look:

Q1: 2021 began with so many bugs as we released the Pariah class and the associated Ghezavat area. Close on its heels Crixos found a hard fought victory in the Championship Games (much to the dismay of everyone who figured out his more infamous staff power).

Q2: This was a busy one. Between the mass PVE update, relic changes, various collaborations for events with external writers, Pandora deciding to take over Cyrene (or so the propaganda says), city guides and city salaries (fear the unions), Underworld politics, classleads, foray rebalances... there was something for everyone in this three months.

Q3: Ictinus moved on to bigger and more stressful things as the Aetolia producer, making us all very sad. However, this quarter was not all doom and gloom! There was the major Discord integration, a project that probably drove Phaestus to despair several times. We also joined you in tears and cheers for Adryn's tournament featuring some incredible sailing, riddling, and a most puzzling return for the old to Minia's Imp Tower! We also saw Hashan's first ever CTF win, a mass hallucination thanks to a strange fungal monster, and if that wasn't terrifying enough the usual Mayaween celebrations capped off the quarter!

Q4: We started the final stretch of the year with the move away from knighthood as a core aspect of the warrior classes, and the release of the long awaited Paladin update and Unnamable class. Along with the various Logosmas festivities, the release of the excessively festive Merrywick village has also come to fruition, its creator's driven firmly into grinch status by exposure to the process.

And all through the year: mass quest system migration and bugfixes!

So what went wrong this year?

Mostly, we hit the things we wanted to this year. There were a few things we unfortunately couldn't fit in in the latter half - this was mostly a combination of: prioritising other projects (Discord etc), shifting staff around, and deciding to shift the knight split from 2022 to 2021.

So what can you expect next year?

Among other things, you'll find:

- Some exciting enhancements to Knighthood roleplay.

- Interfactional conflict expansions.

- Classlead implementation from the currently open cycle, naturally. That will include runewarden updates.

- Magi updates - these will be separate from classlead implementation, as they'll be getting a more indepth update and release!

- The long overdue and anticipated return of LHG!

- More customisation options.

- Some lore expansions for things you will have to wait and see on.

- The sprint from heaven (or hell if you're us): Achaea's 25th birthday in September, Mayaween in October, the Championship games in November, and then Logosmas to round out the year!

- Some other stuff! Nothing important, we're sure...

We're excited and we hope you are too!

Today I learned there can be floods caused by IG weather!!!

The western edge of the redwood forest.

Rain pours down from dark thunderclouds, only the merest hints of sunset breaking through.

You see exits leading north and east.

Occasional raindrops fall on your head as the drizzle continues.

Flowing waters begin to suddenly flood in around you.

The air temperature around you is measured at 85 F.

The apparent temperature is at a steady 85 F.

The relative humidity is at 75%.

The winds around you blow to the west at 11 mph.

Water rushes past as your surroundings flooded by the incessant rain.

The western edge of the redwood forest.

This area is unnaturally flooded with water. Rain pours down from dark thunderclouds, only the merest hints of

sunset breaking through.

You see exits leading north and east.

Idk if you actually can, never happened to me before but, that's what they said. I hope you really can

N with the lightning eagle I can't remember what led up to it but he mentioned it then I was like "OOooh, I wanna see it!" Z: "We're gonna die." R: "WOoot, let's gooOo!" and yeah :D

Yooooooooo make a different thread for mourning. Share happiness instead.

I REMEMBER...

Tenebrous Shores

Achaea's premier spa and resort, located just a short walk south of Cyrene and sporting a light therapy tower.

No Cyrenians.

(@Gribbit @Minkai @Farrah @Mazus @Elyra @Mezghar )

Yeah. I was really surprised and saddened. @Mezghar, you will be missed.

@Mizik I was not clear what you meant, but I just found out in game and was completely surprised. @Mezghar our interactions were usually brief but they were always fun. Aina will miss him in her own way.

As a novice I mistold (thanks to reply) something I meant to tell a friend to @Crixos instead and told him I hate him and followed it up immediately with explaining that it was a mistell and he replied something along the lines of "I hope it was" and I was dying inside.

Then there was the time all of Mhaldor was headed to the Aran'kesh foray which was in some obscure northern location and poor @Mizik was trying to lead the motley crew (the rest of us) to @Proficy who had found the location and was waiting for us and we got so hopelessly lost. We were climbing every mountain, fjording every stream. XD

Then there was the time I went 'Ooh, what does this do?' and pulled the root that leads to the underworld when I was with @Grimpylder, @Faerum, and @Drozi and ended up you know where. Grimpy followed me right in, followed by Faer and Drozi, and then ended up hoisting me to the exit where poor Drozi got tentacled by something and died, but the rest of us made it out. Ahhhh. How do I do these things?

You rip into a flesh-eating slug with your massive, deadly claws.

You have scored a WORLD-SHATTERING CRITICAL hit!!!

You have slain a flesh-eating slug, retrieving the corpse.

Your soul cries out in ecstasy as it reaches new heights of power.

You have advanced to level 114.

You have reached the illustrious level of 3rd Echelon of the Paramount.

Look out @Penwize I'm coming for you....

Throughout my time in Achaea, obtaining dragon was never really a goal I set for myself. It didn't seem pertinent to who my character was or what they were pursuing at the time. Now that the main part of that story seems to have played itself out, I'm glad that there are things like this to keep pursuing that give me purpose and excitement in a game.

Channeling the fury of battle, you prepare to unleash a brutally swift stroke against your foe.

Drawing back a runic bastard sword, you unleash a flesh-mincing blow at the fortress steward.

The fortress steward exclaims, "Guards, guards! An enemy of Sirocco is within the fortress!"

You have scored a WORLD-SHATTERING CRITICAL hit!!!

The fortress steward crumples to the floor, his beloved parchment list fluttering out of his

gnarled, elderly hand as death seizes upon him.

You have slain the fortress steward, retrieving the corpse.

You have learned a new Attainment ability: Dragonhood.

Your soul cries out in ecstasy as it reaches new heights of power. You have advanced to level 99.

You have completed the Ashaxei's Brood resolution! Congratulations!

You just received message #1067 from Achaea.

You just received a group of 15 mementoes!

You have reached the illustrious level of Greater Dragon.

Huge thanks to my House, the Merchants, for their support, morale and otherwise. @Sydari thank you for sharing your sips with me, and your diabolical hanging of stockings at Dragonspire. @Ozmatiah thank you for lending me your hunting arties and helping reset areas along the last push. @Merewyn thank you for being you and always a constant positive force propelling me ever forward. @Laetetia thank you for your constant company and discussion as I mindlessly butchered my way through entire generations. @Killian thank you for your sharing of sips, and your ever eager promotion of having a new dragon to drag along on your dangerous adventures.

Your soul cries out in ecstasy as it reaches new heights of power. You have advanced to level 98.

You have reached the illustrious level of Lord of Creation.

One step closer.