The Maelstrom

Calling Dragon Lords heroes, old and new! After months of preparations and weeks of testing we have opened the gates of the new realm: The Maelstrom!

Pick one of your old kingdoms from the existing realms (SunSpear, DreadSteed, HellFire, DarkTide or BurningBlade) and transfer it to The Maelstrom to wage war against heroes from other realms! For the first time in Dragon Lords history you have the opportunity to test your strength against best players from other realms.

For more information, you will find the Maelstrom Q&A below.

Q: I stopped playing Dragon Lords years ago! Can I still transfer my old kingdom to The Maelstrom?
A: Yes, every kingdom created before November 1st is eligible for the transfer!

Q: Can I join the realm with my HellFire kingdom.
A: Kingdoms on HellFire have several advantages over those of regular realms, so to address those, and to allow a healthy level of competition, we have decided to allow HellFire kingdoms to join, however we decided to add a few limitations. Those limitations will affect ALL transfers, not just HellFire kingdoms.

Q: What will be carried over?
A: The following aspects of your kingdom will be transferred to the new realm:
– land – up to 15,000 acres,
– Research & Buildings,
– castle rank,
– champion’s level and skill points,
– resources, up to 1 million gold and 500 thousand of all other resources per acre of transferred land,
– relics of all types

Alliances, pacts, buffs, win/loss records, artifacts and consumables, military units, turns and anything else not mentioned will not.

Q: Why are some of the transfers limited?
A: There are several reasons for the limitations. The first one is to allow the inclusion of HellFire kingdoms, as that was widely requested when we first announced the idea of the new realm. Secondly, considering the disparity between the largest kingdoms in the regular realms, and the core population, we felt that we need to provide all players with a chance to enjoy the new realm: we want the currently largest kingdoms to have a chance to participate in wars, and everyone else to be in a position where they compete with the strongest. Thirdly, we want Maelstrom to be a truly new realm, with the title of the first Dragon Lord and Lightbringer up for grabs, along with the units those titles grant.

Q: Can new kingdoms be created on the Maelstrom?
A: Yes – you can join the realm with a completely fresh kingdom, though for obvious reasons you will be at a disadvantage.

If you have any more questions or doubts regarding the new realm, please send them in, and we’ll update this announcement as necessary.

Dragon Lords 2 is online!

DL2 DragonSeveral months after its original reveal, following months of play-testing and countless development hours, Dragon Lords 2 has finally been released!

The game is now available for download on mobile platforms (iOS, Android and Amazon for now, unfortunately we had a last moment issue with Windows Phone, but it should join the rest very soon), as well as Windows PC – download the application and join us on the battlefield today! Of course, the game’s release does not mean our work is done – over the upcoming weeks and months, we will be adding more and more content to it – we want the game to be continuously evolving, so that it stays an exciting experience for all players.

We look forward to your reactions, and hope you find playing the game at least as enjoyable as developing it was for us!

Dragon Lords 2 Trailer

Five years after the original release, the flames of war are kindled anew!

Dragon Lords turned five!

This year’s fifth anniversary of the release of Dragon Lords is a particular milestone for us. It coincides with the completion of our largest project to date – Dragon Lords 2 is ready for release and will become officially available for download on August 25th. We are extremely excited about this release, and we hope that with your assistance we will make at least as successful as the original game.Coming Soon

If you wish to take a closer peek at the game, for the week until release we will be making the first realm (Flaming Fist) available through the Beta client, which you can download (here for Android & PC, iOS version available upon request). While kingdoms made before release will only be temporary, it should allow you to be become more familiar with the new features.

Of course, the game’s release does not mean that our work is done – you will be seeing regular content updates in the following weeks, new major features will be added to it, like multiple champions, the spying system, champion equipment, and more. The technology used in Dragon Lords 2 will allow us to do things that were not possible at all in our previous games, and we plan to make good use of it.

With this update, we also want to reveal the Dragon Lords 2 release trailer – you can watch it (here). In the meantime, enjoy the anniversary event in the original Dragon Lords and Xeno Wars, and we’ll be looking forward to seeing you in the new realms!

Dragon Lords 2 release date

After three months of extensive testing and adding new features we are comfortable enough with the progress, that we decided to officially set the release date. Dragon Lords 2 will go live on Thursday August 25th, just shy of 50 days from now!

DL2 Dragon

In the meantime, we want to remind you that the Beta phase of testing is still going on – if you wish to join us and help us test the game and prepare it for a smooth launch visit our forum and download the latest version of the game client!

Dragon Lords 2 Beta Starts Today!

DL2_Samsung_GalaxyJust like we announced last week, we are finally launching the open beta tests of Dragon Lords 2. The beta test realm will be much closer to the final release version of the game than the alpha realm was, though at its launch not all features will be fully available.

We will be adding new content successively as the tests progress, and we will be keeping close watch on the realm’s progress in order to balance and fine tune the already existing features.

In order to accelerate the early phase of kingdom development, all kingdoms will be starting with a high number of turns, but all other mechanics will be operating on regular terms – we want to simulate the environment of a regular realm as closely as possible. The testing will begin on Sunday, May 29th, at 8PM GMT, and will last for two months. Over this period of time, we want to see how the realm’s economy, power structure and player interactions develop – this information is crucial to a healthy and balanced game environment later.

In order for the tests to be truly successful, we will need as many players as possible to participate – we will greatly appreciate it if you decided to join us on the beta realm, and are looking forward to your invaluable feedback. All testers will receive a special Dragon Avatar, as well as The Vanguard title after the game has been released. Additionally, to encourage competition, top ranked kingdoms and alliances (in the Legendary ranking) will receive various valuable rewards as well.033The Android, Windows and Linux versions of the beta client can be found on our forum (here), while players who applied for the iOS client can expect an email from us with more details very soon. For iOS client, if you are interesting in participating in the Beta, please let us know (send us your email address via forum or the Facebook fanpage) and we will add you to the tester group.

We are looking forward to seeing you in the realm!

Dragon Lords 2: Open Beta

DragonAfter a few weeks of implementing new features, testing, catching bugs and balancing units and spells we are finally ready to announce the start of the Dragon Lords 2: Open Beta test.

What exactly does that mean?

On Sunday, May 29th, we are going to launch a brand new realm, which will operate in a mode as close to the “real thing” as we can make it. We may make the start a bit easier by creating kingdoms with a large amount of initial turns, allowing you to go through the research and building phase much faster than on a regular realm. The rest of the mechanics would be left in “regular” mode, as we want to see which parts are unfolding like we thought they would and which are counter-intuitive or annoying. We will be on a constant lookout for the latter and will adjust the gameplay where necessary.

There is already a LOT of new mechanics already in place and ready to be put to serious testing and balancing. At this stage we have eliminated the most glaring problems with magic, battle and war. What we want to accomplish in the Beta phase is balancing of all elements. There is a lot of new things at play and lots of new rules. We will observe how players put the mechanics to use, which elements offer the biggest unexpected advantages, which elements are too powerful and which are too weak.

TrampleOpen Beta will start on Sunday at 8pm GMT, before that date we will post client download links on our forum. We will be publishing Windows and Android clients (and MacOS and Linux if they are requested). If you would like to use iOS to play the game you can still request a dedicated client. To receive an iOS client active on one specific device please visit our Dragon Lords 2 Facebook fanpage and send us a message.

The Open Beta will last for two months (June and July). All players actively participating in the test, bringing issues to our attention and discussing the mechanic on the forum will receive rewards ranging from special Dragon Avatar, as well as The Vanguard title and achievement. We also want the spirit of competition to drive the testers, just like on regular realm, so top positions in kingdom size and Alliance Legendary rankings will receive packs of Obsidian Coins and chests of consumable items, which you will be able to claim once the game is launched, finally, testers will receive an unique ingame item, though that will only happen once items and crafting have been added to the game, likely soon after the game’s official launch. In addition to this, we will grant additional rewards for players who really commit to making Dragon Lords 2 ready for release.

We are excited to enter this new phase of testing and are waiting for your feedback!

 

 

Dragon Lords 2: Alpha

We are officially starting the Alpha testing of Dragon Lords 2!

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You can download game client for following platforms: Windows : Linux : MacOS : Android

Join the group of eager testers and comment on our forum!

Dragon Lords 2: War

DL2_010Changes introduced to war mechanics were not quite as drastic as in some other parts of Dragon Lords 2, however they may have just as much of an impact on how the game is played.

As mentioned in the original announcement, there will be two types of war, one will be free of declaration limits for any two alliances which want to test their strength. This will be a war to which both sides will agree, the purpose being simply having fun. There will be little cost involved and no significant gain other than pride from the victory. The exact details on how this will be accomplished are still being discussed.

The other type of war will be “ranked”, and here opponents will be chosen by the server. Each time you want to declare a ranked war you will see a list of alliances from which you will pick one. This alliance will be forced to accept the declaration, however the leader will be able to adjust the starting time of the war, to make it more convenient for the defending side.

While it will still be possible for two alliances to “work” with each other in what’s currently being described as a “fake war”, the server will make sure no two groups of kingdoms fight too often, giving everyone a chance to have a fair go at combat.

Not only war declarations have seen changes. As you have probably noticed, the war panel looks quite different to what you are used to from original Dragon Lords. It should be easy to assess the situation at a glance, with all scores having clear visual representation. War details have been split into three sub-screens where  all information you might need during this military conflict will be readily available.

If you looked at the trailer close enough, you might also have noticed something hinting at the changes in the mechanic. We have introduced the limit for the number of attacks your army can launch against your opponents in each particular war. Each kingdom will have a certain number of invasions guaranteed, with the amount of bonus attacks depending on your Champion’s Conqueror specialization rank.  In a similar way, we have implemented a limit to the amount of spells you can cast on your enemies. Again, you will have a certain number of casts guaranteed, while bonus casts will be granted basing on the Channeler specialization rank.

Those two limits exist for two primary reasons. We wanted to limit the amount of resources players pump into war, reducing the part which players in general find boring, which is “farming” in preparation for war. We also wanted the conflict to become more complex than “who can summon more demons/spam more attacks”. War in Dragon Lords 2 is supposed to be a race of who can manage the limited resources in a more effective way.

DL2_016To keep a better control on how the resources flow in the war and prevent possible abuse we have decided to change the way WarChest is generated and distributed. Every kingdom will be responsible for earning their share of the reward, as we move from Alliance to Kingdom based bounty. In layman’s terms, the better you do in war, the higher your reward will be. If you continue to win battles and manage to break through your opponent’s magical defenses, your WarChest will grow faster than if you were hammered by your foes. If you just sit there and don’t participate in fighting at all, you are not going to get anything at the end of the war.

We have also changed the way winning / losing affects your share of the WarChest. In Dragon Lords 2 there will be two outcomes at the end of war: either one side wins and receives 150% of what they “earned” in their WarChests, while the losing alliance only gets 50% of what they “earned”, or the war is a draw and everyone receives exactly what they “earned”.

It is important to note that in order to stop various unusual tactics we decided to not include supportive magic in WarChest generation. You can increase your potential reward only through invading your opponents or inflicting  pain upon them by the means of magic.
DL2_004The Valor system will continue, in fact, it’s going to be more important than ever, since above a certain threshold, you will have to pay for your land in Valor instead of gold. Valor will be gained exclusively in Ranked wars, ie. with opponents offered by the matchmaking system.

In addition to all that we have plans (it has not been implemented yet, but should be very soon) to make a “Legendary” ranking system, which would reward players at top positions a form of currency which could be spent on exclusive items. However, staying on the top spots would add a steadily increasing debuff, adding a certain amount of Battle Points to your opponents’ score in each battle, making winning harder and harder the longer you stay on top.

This approach would guarantee that at certain point in time you WOULD get defeated and lose land, rather than keep climbing, while at the same time making sure you have opponents to war, even if you are considerably bigger than your opponents.

Naturally, we are going to adjust the parameters ruling this part of the gameplay as the Beta test progresses. If we believe kingdoms need more attacks in the war, we will increase the base. If we decide the amount of magic at your disposal is too high or too low, we will adjust that as well. And we will keep a very close eye on the algorithm selecting potential targets, as this is a pillar of the new, more fair and hopefully free of abuse gameplay.

Dragon Lords 2: Units and Battle

Units and Battle are probably the part of the game which went through the biggest change. On the day we decided to start working on the sequel, our first topic of discussion was “how are we going to make battle more interesting and bring more diversity to units?” After going through a couple of ideas we settled on one with the most promise. With your help, in the coming months, we hope to make it a unique and interesting mechanic.

The core of the new system is moving from the simplistic calculation of “who has more power” towards actual battle, which in itself is also turn based. Victory in the new battle is determined by the number of points gained by each side. Those “battle points” are earned in various ways: certain buildings give defensive army a flat bonus, champion’s Armorer specialization will also bolster the score, however majority of the time the results of each clash of armies will be decided by the amount of hurt they can inflict on the opposing side.

DL2_008In order to go into more details on how battle points are calculated we have to start with units. Besides the already known from the original Dragon Lords characteristics of attack and defense, each unit has two additional attributes: initiative and power. Initiative is responsible for deciding the order in which units perform their attacks, the higher the initiative, the faster the unit can attack in the battle. Low initiative units usually are stronger, however before their turn to attack comes they are very likely to suffer losses from units with higher initiative.

DL2_005Power is essentially the amount of “space” this unit takes up in your army. Each kingdom has a limit of how big an army it can field in one battle, this limit is calculated based on the current land the kingdom owns (however it does not mean that a bigger kingdom will always have a bigger army, we will cover this scenario in a post dedicated to War). This limit is utilizing power, rather than amount of units. Initially you are only  going to have basic soldiers, with the power of 1, however as more powerful forces join your cause, their power cost is going to grow. For instance, you will have to remove 100 soldiers in order to make room for one Dragon.

Finally, each unit is assigned a “Type”, which establishes this unit’s position on the battlefield and its preferred target. We have three types: melee, which fights hand-to-hand with opposing army’s melee, ranged, which targets melee as well as ranged, and special units, which can do various things, based on their abilities. One very important thing when planning your army setup is the fact that melee units, if their attack is overwhelming, have the ability to break through the enemy melee lines, gaining an additional attack against either ranged or special units. So, while ranged units might have higher attack and initiative, it is critical to have them protected from enemy melee forces.

Now that you know about units we can come back to battle calculation. The first step is establishing the order in which units are going to attack. We calculate the order of units participating in the battle, from highest to lowest initiative. When two units of opposing armies have the same initiative, the defending unit attacks first. The attack is spread across all units of the preferred target type (example: you have 100 grunts facing a manticore and stone elemental, the attack will be split against those two units 50/50). Casualties are being calculated basing on attacking units’ attack and defenders’ defense values. Only defending units suffer casualties in this step. The combined power of all eliminated units is added to attackers’ battle points.

Luckily, not all units eliminated in the battle are actually dead. The ratio of fallen units to eliminated in the battle varies depending on several factors, which we will cover elsewhere. It is important to remember, that units marked as eliminated are not the units you see as lost in the battle event.

DL2_009This system will in essence work in a very similar way to the one we used in original Dragon Lords, as in: the stronger the army, the higher chance of victory, however in situations where kingdoms of equal size clash, army composition will play a significant role. This will also influence the flow of war, as between kingdoms of equal size, one might be better suited to attack specific targets in the opposing alliance, basing on their race, and through that – bonuses their units might get in that battle.

Because of the maximum army limit you no longer have to put your entire population in army during the war. Holding a solid magical defense might prove critical in tipping the scales of victory, since even if enemies manage to break through your defense, each mage you have decreases the power of spells being cast on you.

The limit also allows you to use different units in attack and defense without training soldiers back and forth, something that players did not like in the original game. In Dragon Lords 2 you can create an offensive template with Siege Towers and Armored Wagons, while your defensive template will employ a contingent of Scrap Mechs and Boiling Tars. Army Templates are guidelines for the game which units you wish to use, however, as the situation in your kingdom changes while you are not playing (some units die, others are summoned/sent as reinforcements by your alliance mates), the game will automatically pick what units are available, to make sure your land is protected.

DL2_014Now that we have mentioned both Mechs and Engines it’s time to introduce the new way units are split. Your army consists of Soldiers trained out of your population, Minions created by alchemists and builders or summoned by mages; and hired Mercenaries. The last group consists of units you can hire at the Red Eagle Company, as well as any units sent to you by members of your Alliance. Both groups, Minions and Mercenaries have a limit, to prevent using them as your only source of military power, however they are going to be a very important tool in mounting successful military campaign.

DL2_013Military units can also be distinguished by their “race”. Each unit wears a “badge” indicating to which group it belongs. A helm signifies a soldier unit, trained from the population. Gears are the symbol of engines, constructs raised by builders. Sun symbol indicates elementals, while the demon head means – you probably guessed it – demons. The last two groups are summoned by your mages.

As we have hinted in the announcement post, each group of units will be susceptible to a specific spell. Plague, aside from targeting the general population, will reduce the number of soldiers, Banish will do away with demons, Conflagration will destroy Engines, Unbind will release elementals from under your control, while Overload will destroy mechs.

On a final note we want to mention a couple of interesting things about the units. First, Engines (formerly known as Siege Engines) are constructed by builders, much like in the original Dragon Lords. Their use has been extended with the addition of the new unit: Armored Wagon. This unit is not going to help you in battle, however only through the use of Wagons will you be able to steal opposing kingdom’s resources. The amounts of food, stone and mana carried away during attack are limited by the number of Wagons, which have survived the battle.

Finally we need to mention the group of units, which is completely new to Dragon Lords: Mechs. Those creatures created by a mixture of magic and engineering are brought to life in the Alchemy lab, a place where you scholars will spend a lot of time, after all discoveries have been completed.

I think that’s enough info for today! New server is ready, Alpha testing will start this Sunday!