In our Q1-Q2 2020 Roadmap post we announced that one of our upcoming projects for Q2 this year is launching the first Mini Story Pack. In the first Story Pack you’ll discover a side of Patreayl you’ve never seen before. Using the newly developed “micronizer” tool, shrink down and explore a miniature world teeming with life—as well as a few secret cities. Your first assignment? Track down the lizard Zaarp, leader of a hidden society of sentient lizards, who’s mysteriously gone missing.
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What to Expect
Mini Story Packs are story-focused in-game DLC (downloadable content) that will provide an additional 10-15 hours of gameplay.
The Pack is primarily aimed at exploration and questlines, as well as new mechanics like climbing, and a few new quest types.
It will feature new NPC types, 5 new zones to explore, and a new storyline with both main and side quests to complete.
It will also feature 3 new armor sets and 2 new weapon sets, pets, mounts, furniture pieces, achievements, etc.
Mini Story Packs are additional paid content. The first Mini Story Pack will be available for $9.99.
New Zones
With the first Mini Story Pack, we'll be introducing four new mini zones, as well as a micro version of Pierre's shop. With the exception of Pierre’s shop, all zones will be accessed from different locations throughout the greater Highsteppe area.
Mugwood
Explore the lizard village and talk to its inhabitants, then take a stroll along the zone's walking trails underneath towering mushrooms and flowers – but keep your weapon close, for the lizards aren't the only creatures living in the area. Be sure to also keep an eye out for climbing vines, which will allow you to explore additional areas of the zones in search of secret caves and hidden treasures, along with some interesting views.
Hollow’s Creek
Below the deck at the top of Leisa Falls is a hidden world teeming with life. This area is the home station of the Foragers, a collection of lizards devoted to gathering and distributing food to lizards throughout the region. There's plenty of beauty to behold in Hollow's Creek, from the blooms and the lily pads to the glow of the moonflies at dusk. But be on your guard, for there's more than that lurking among the reedflutes of the creek.
Thorndell Meadow
Along the road between the city of Highsteppe and the plateau above it is Thorndell Meadow.Though it might seem peaceful from above, upon shrinking down you’ll find it anything but. Make your way around the maze of wagon wheels and other debris to find safety at the Patrol’s outpost and get a better view of the surrounding dangers. Or clamber up planks and ropes to explore new territory and find a few surprises.
The Lair
The final zone of the story takes you deep into a crevice at the back of Sarrow’s Cave. Little light penetrates this lair, so be sure to pack your lantern before you embark on the final stretch of your journey. The last thing you want is to lose your bearings in the maze of tunnels that make up this cave...
Patch 11.30 Is live - Explorer's League Outposts, Phase II (Main Story Quests)
Hey everyone, today's patch eaturing the continuation of the Explorer’s League main story quests, as well as bugfixes and improvements is now live. Check out our blog for an overview of the new quests.
Other Patch Notes
Updated the Potion “Ability Reset Potion” to the “Super Charger Potion”
When active this potion causes your Class Super to charge at an additional 25% rate, currently for an hour
Added Zone Transition Names to all the zones
When transitioning between zones you will now see a system notification that will appear informing you of the zone you are currently in (EX: When entering the Highsteppe gates you will see “Highsteppe City” appear, this also works with dungeons)
Added a new Dye vendor that is unlocked through the second part of the Explorer’s League quest line
There are 7 new dyes that can only be bought through this vendor (or from other players)
Fixed a typo with the Pure White dye category
Adjusted a spawn in the Sewers dungeon to fix some issues with mob stacking
Tweaked the Golden Egg Shard Mutation, this mutation will be back in rotation after this patch
Fixed various bugs when grabbing and passing the egg.
Long range grab indicator properly hides when someone is holding the egg.
Added the ability to anchor the egg to a position relative to your body. Simply press the trigger while holding the egg to anchor it. Then grab it again to pass it off.
Fixed a bug with potion drinking that was causing the particle effects to not work properly
Added feature to make it more apparent to players when Developer “boosts” are activated
This allows players to easily recognize when logging into the game if there is an “XP Event” active (like XP boost weekends)
The correct number of achievements completed should now be reflected in the achievements tab
Corrected an issue with the drop rates for chest transmog blueprint and gear mount blueprint, you can obtain them from the Grinding Device
Removed the weighting towards Mine and Temple dungeons for high shard levels
Thanks!
Q1-Q2 2020 Content Roadmap
While we’re only a few weeks into the new year, the team has been hard at work on some new projects, and we are excited to share a sneak peek of the things we have planned for 2020.
February: Explorer's League Outposts, Phase II (MSQ)
As the new leader of the Explorer’s League, it’s time to finish the work you started with the budding outposts. Assist Leta Lowell in finishing the docks in Hulthine’s Basin to reestablish trade with the continents of Parathime and Ottathamine. Ensure the fragile relationship developing between the Scavs and Ambassador Horne continues to progress. And find out what fishy Corthu Ryne is up to at his mining camp in the Lamavora Battlefields.
The second phase for these storylines will launch on February 10th and will provide around 5-10 additional hours of new content to delve into, including rewards such as a Transmog chest piece and new dyes, achievements, along with new buildings once the storyline is complete.
March: Springtime Festival
March marks the arrival of spring in Patreayl—and the debut of our next festival. The snow will melt, leaving behind a landscape dotted with new flowers and blooms on the trees. Venture out from Highsteppe to gather the bounty of spring and take in new scenery. But be warned: every change of season seems to bring some new danger to the citizens of Patreayl, and spring is no different. More details and specifics including the dates of the festival will be in an upcoming blog so stay tuned!
Q2: Mini Story Pack 1
And now for the big announcement: we are very excited to be introducing our first Mini Story Pack, which will be an in game DLC available for $9.99, releasing Q2 of this year! The Story Pack will feature all-new zones, quest lines and NPCs, allowing you to experience Patreayl like you’ve never seen it before.
While the effects of Essence radiation are clearly visible throughout the land, no one has ever explored their effects on the micro ecosystems of Patreayl. Using the newly developed “micronizer” tool, shrink down and discover a miniature world teeming with life—as well as a few secret cities. Your first assignment? Track down the lizard Zaarp, leader of a hidden society of sentient lizards, who’s mysteriously gone missing.
Explore the fields and streams outside Highsteppe up close and personal. Meet the residents of a mushroom village, clamber up discarded barrels in a field, and find your way through a maze of underground tunnels.
This first Mini Story Pack will introduce around 10-15 hours of new gameplay. You will find eight new monsters (some of which you will be familiar with if you have played Pre-Reborn Orbus), three new armor sets, and two new weapon sets, along with a new mount, pet, house decor and achievements. You will also be able to sift through five new "mini" levels, including one dungeon. Each new zone will be laden with hidden areas and secret passages—discovery of which will be aided with the addition of a new climbing mechanic!
We'll be diving deeper into all the details of the Mini Story Pack through additional blogs in the coming months.
Additional Information
Along with the Mini Story Pack, we will also be working on additional features for the core of the game, including improving performance on the Quest, crashes on Quest and PC, implementing mechanics from the expansion into existing over-world zones (such as some climbing areas, and additional quests involving new quest mechanics), and working on general bug fixes.
There’s a lot to look forward to in 2020, and we wanted to thank everyone that has been supporting us, all old and new, and hope that the community is as excited as we are about this release!
XP Boost Weekend & Final Days of Festival of Strangers
The Winter Festival of Strangers is sadly coming to a close! The festival will officially end on Tuesday, January 7th at noon CST. If you haven't had a chance yet to finish up quests and earn your rewards, now is the time. Speak with the Festival NPC outside of the Highsteppe main gates and complete 5 quests total to receive a Snowman Body Transmog armor set. Speak to the Festival Villager outside of Pierre Cenn's Critter Capture shop inside of Highsteppe and find all the "floating lights" to receive a Stranger's Festival Cape. Finally, speak with Pierre Cenn inside his shop and capture 75 "Snowballs" for him to receive a snowman pet.
To celebrate the end of the festival, we are also doing a Bonus 50% XP event happening now through the festival's close, so you can grab that extra experience while you are out working on and finishing up these quests.
Finally, we also want to welcome any new players that joined us over the holidays, and welcome them into the best VR community out there!
New Adventurers' Meet Up
The OrbusVR community wants to welcome all new adventurers and help them on their travels through the game! As part of our in-game Anniversary Weekend, we're holding another New Adventurers' Meet Up. Join other players to trade tips, ask questions, find players to party with, and theorize on strategy.
Veteran players along with the game’s developers will be on-hand to help. We can walk you through the tutorial, show you the best combination for Warriors, or show you the best way to cast a Fireball as a Mage as well as tips for all the other classes! Even if you’re not a new player, you can meet other players to find a new group to play with. We encourage all players no matter their skill level to join us.
We will be meeting Saturday, Dec. 14 at 7 PM CST next to the starting graveyard where you first begin the game outside Highsteppe Gates, and will hang out until 9 PM CST. We hope to see you there!
Winter Festival of Strangers
Join the OrbusVR community in celebrating the Festival of Strangers! Starting Dec 5th and running through Jan 7th, the festival will feature new quests, missions, enemies, pets, armor and more!
Back in the days of old, when the nights were dark and long, the “Strangers” first descended. Snow-covered beasts of great strength and size, these creatures left their hillside caves at the first snow to wreak havoc on the villages of Patreayl. Isolated clans came together to beat the strange creatures back into the hills every year and afterward celebrate their victory. Thus, the Festival of Strangers was born.
Visit the Stranger Festival NPC outside the gates of Highsteppe to pick up a quest to slay the Strangers—as well as embark on a hunt around Patreayl to track down two very different strangers. Complete all the quests from this NPC to receive a full set of Snowman armor transmogs. You can also visit the Festival Farmer outside Pierre Cenn’s shop to start a scavenger hunt to find all the mysterious floating lights around the country—or visit Pierre himself to capture wild snowmen and earn a pet.
You will notice a lot of big changes to the terrain also, from ice choked bays in Hulthine’s Basin to snow crested fields throughout the realm. The residents of Highsteppe have even decorated for the festival! We hope you enjoy exploring the new winter wonderland that is Patreayl.
Patch 11.10 Hotfix
Hi, we've fixed the following bugs with today's patch:
- Fixed an issue where the quest dialogue button on mission NPCs was missing - Fixed Scoundrel Ult not recharging properly - Attempted a fix for the issue where furniture resets to default position after placing occasionally - we’re still investigating this one, but we’ve added a manual “save” function to the build mode button, so essentially press the Build Mode to toggle it off, and it should save your position. - Fixed tools being tradeable again bug for Tinkerer tools.
Thanks!
Player House Customization Update Live!
Decorate your Player House with the latest update! After a hard day of fighting back the forces of evil, wouldn't it be nice to be able to enter your Player House and have it feel more like home? With our new Player House Customization update, you can now make that happen!
Visit the new furniture store to purchase common items such as bookshelves, tables, and even windows. You can also unlock certain Achievement based furniture through game play to show off your many accomplishments—such as the time you defeated the Lich King or protected your airship from the deadly Chaos Hunter.
You can also adorn your Player House with Tinkerer furniture, which you can make yourself at your new Tinkerer crafting table, or purchase from other players. Tinkerer furniture is more intricate than common pieces, and will add that extra homey touch to your own personal sanctuary.
With up to 16 slots per room in your house, you have ample opportunity to put your own personal touch on your Player House and truly make it home sweet home. Once decorated, we encourage players to share pictures of their houses on the Community Forums. We look forward to seeing how everyone decides to decorate!
Tinkering Profession Update Now Live!
Jump into OrbusVR and start Tinkering around with our new crafting profession update! Build yourself a new mount to ride on or a lantern to light the way through the dark dungeons—or even a new transmog armor chest piece. You can also craft furniture that can be used to re-decorate your house with the upcoming Player House Customization update (Nov 19th), or sold to others through the Auction House.
Pictured: Expedition Chest Transmog; (top) Gears of Time Teleporter; (bottom) Geared Harvester
You will have to earn blueprints to the items you want to build, then start to stockpile the new crafting resources needed to build your prized Tinkerer items. Once ready, venture down to your Player House basement to begin working at your new Tinkerer crafting station. Place all blueprints and resources inside the chest by the station, then choose the item you wish to build from the blueprint list to the right. Find the correct placement for each piece on the hologram outline to complete the puzzle and add the item to your inventory!
If you have any questions about the basics of the class, be sure to wave at the Tinkerer tutorial sign next to the crafting station, or check out our blog for an in-depth post on the profession. Good luck, and good Tinkering!
New Adventurers' Meetup!
The OrbusVR community wants to welcome all new adventurers and help them on their travels through the game! Join other players to trade tips, ask questions, find players to party with, and theorize on strategy.
Veteran players along with the game’s developers will be on-hand to help. We can walk you through the tutorial, show you the best combination for Warriors, or show you the best way to cast a Fireball as a Mage as well as tips for all the other classes! Even if you’re not a new player, you can meet other players to find a new group to play with. We encourage all players no matter their skill level to join us.
We will be meeting Saturday, Nov. 2 at 7 PM CST next to the starting graveyard where you first begin the game outside Highsteppe Gates, and will hang out until 9 PM CST. We hope to see you there!
Hey everyone, today's patch eaturing the continuation of the Explorer’s League main story quests, as well as bugfixes and improvements is now live.
