UPDATE XXVIII – 8TH ANNIVERSARY

Greetings everyone!

The 8th Anniversary Update for The Age of Calamitous mod is here!
This update comes with a host of fixes, updates to existing systems, and more.

An important note before we head into this update:
In order to achieve a much more stable system for Factions, Rifts, and Quests, these systems have been reworked from scratch.
This will make the content much easier to expand upon and add to, as well as offer a more stable experience for players.
Due to issues such as Rift Gates not unlocking correct destinations, Quests not triggering well, etc. the decision was made to focus on reworking these systems instead of major content additions this time around. While this has impacted the amount of new content coming in this update, it has also made it possible to streamline content creation moving forward.

So, what does this entail for players?

• Alliances/Factions have been reset. You’ll have to return to the Faction Hall and reselect your Alliance/Faction.
• Collected Rifts & Rift Gates have been reset.
• Reputation has been reset. However, Reputation has now been increased across the board, which will make building RP faster and easier than before.
• Quests have been reset.

This will all happen automatically upon logging into the game. No admin work should be needed.
Additionally, there have been updates to the Faction Hall and the Vanquished Coast. For existing characters: To get to the Faction Hall, go to the old location in the Dark Forest and take the Rift Gate. This will lead you to the Vanquished Coast. From here, head over to the Stormhold camp and use the Rift Gate to the Faction Hall.

Before we proceed into the update, a huge thanks goes out to our Patrons for their immense support. With your help, we’re able to continue developing the AoC mod for Conan Exiles. Any and all support is greatly appreciated!

Without further ado, let’s get into this update!

TL;DR

Here’s a list of the Major Features & Updates coming in this update:

• ALLIANCE SYSTEM UPDATE
  The new Alliance Update includes new systems to prevent players from damaging their own Allied NPCs, which will make fighting alongside your allies a much better experience. (Server Settings can disable this if desired). Additionally, when fighting alongside your allies, you will be rewarded RP, Faction Commissions, etc. even when it’s the NPC killing an enemy target. Participation will award bonuses. This also applies to fellow Alliance players, where everyone within range will be awarded contribution bonuses.
• QUEST SYSTEM UPDATE
  With the new Quest System, players can now work together with their friends to defeat quest targets. As long as the players are within range of the target, they’ll be awarded credit for the kills. This does not only apply to Clans but your entire Alliance. Join up with fellow Alliance members to defeat enemies and reap the rewards. Additionally, Thralls/Pets should now work when used for kill credit. With the Alliance System in play, your fellow allied NPCs can also help defeat targets, and nearby players will be given credit.
• LEGACY SYSTEM
  The Legacy System allows players to take their progression even further. The Legacy System will give the player additional benefits, such as higher Reputation earnings, higher Faction Commissions, faster Skill Leveling, etc. Each player starts at level 1 in their Legacy and can level up once they reach the Character Max Level of 150.
  Once the player levels up their legacy, their Character Level is reset to 1. However, Skills, Reputation, Alliance/Faction, and so on will not be reset. The quests, however, will be fully reset, allowing the player to go through the questlines again and reap the rewards once more.
• DEATH PENALTY
  The new Death Penalty System has been created for those who want to up the stakes in their gameplay.
  The Death Penalty will cause a Corrupted Soul that reduces the overall attributes’ effectiveness and it will last for 1 hour unless cleansed.
  The Shrine of the True God has been added to the Dark Forest ruins, where players can go to cleanse their Souls.
  Additionally, a new bonus is available as part of this system, the Survival Bonus. The Survival Bonus will come into effect after surviving for 2 hours and will increase stats as well as boost Skill XP).
• CONQUEST SYSTEM
  The new Conquest System is a PvP-centered update. This system will make parts of the world into PvP zones and/or Safe Zones.
  In the AoC Server Settings, admins can decide which area will be considered a PvP zone and what area should be a Safe Zone free of any PvP.
  These options currently include: SOUTH – Dark Forest, Lake Felkar, and Devil Mountain. EAST – Jungle. WEST – Desert, and Unnamed City. NORTH – Grasslands, Mounds of the Dead, Snowy Mountains, and Volcano. EVENT ZONES – Faction Hall.
  NOTE: This system is currently only supported on PvE servers where the selected zones will allow for PvP. It currently does not support Building Damage, only Player VS Player.

CONTENT UPDATE XXVIII – 8TH ANNIVERSARY

V.4.23

IMPORTANT NOTE:
You must reselect your Faction due to an overhaul of the system. Go to the Faction Hall and select your Faction the same way. Do note that all RP will be reset as well, but is now obtained at a greater scale. All Rifts have also been reset. The Faction Hall can now be found at the Vanquished Coast.

Changes & Fixes:
– Performance & Optimization improvements
– Updated various Spells (All spells excluding Faction unique spells are now found out in the world)
– Updated XP gain from AoC NPCs
– Updated naming of various Profession Bundles
– Updated Specialty Farming (Available for Forsaken Legion at the Gravespitter)
– Updated Certificate of Exotic Animals (Available for Forsaken Legion at the Gravespitter)
– Rebalanced Recruiter Merchants (Merchants selling thralls)
– Removed Study Destination – Faction Hall item from the Quest reward as it can be learned in the Faction Hall
– Fixed an issue with Elarikan Plague
– Fixed an issue with Soul Damage
– Fixed an issue with the Tome for Study of Faith
– Fixed an issue where players could buy from merchants without requirements met
– Fixed an issue where certain Soul Magic recipes were listed under Blood Magic in the Knowledge window
– Fixed various issues tied to AoC NPCs spawning randomly long after picking up Rifts and/or Trigger Events
– Fixed various issues with picking up Rifts
– Fixed various issues with Vanghoul Grunts
– Fixed various issues with naming consistency
– Fixed various exploits
– Fixed various bugs

Admin Settings:
– Added Reset Daily/Weekly Quests for a Target Player to the AoC Admin Settings (Displayed as a Clock next to the target player name)

Audio:
– Added new sound effects
– Updated various sound effects

Alliance System:
– Each Alliance will now have a Leading Faction that will act as the Central Hub for that Alliance. The Silverlight Accord = The Kingdom of Stormhold. For the Forsaken Legion = The Cold Embrace. The Central Hubs will now hold unified Alliance Quests. This will make specific Daily Quests tied to Alliance instead of separate Factions. As an example, the old approach was that each Faction had their own set of Dungeon Quests, which meant you had to complete the same quest 3 times in a day to get RP for each Faction. The new approach will make the NPC in the Central Hub give those Daily Quests, but with shared RP for all 3 Factions
– Faction Bonus Stats have been updated (Stormhold – Sword/Maul/Pick. Elvanor – Arcane/Divine/Pickaxe. Vanghoul – Battle Axe/Greataxe/Cleaver)
– Added Faction Commission

Armor/Clothing:
– Added Romance Top (Available from the Attire Dealer)
– Added Romance Bottom (Available from the Attire Dealer)
– Added Romance Headgear (Available from the Attire Dealer)
– Added Romance Shoes (Available from the Attire Dealer)
– Added Romance Ring (Available from the Attire Dealer)
– Added Plague Mask (Available from Cold Embrace merchant in their hub)

Character Creation:
– Added New Eyebrows
– Additional head types are now available in CC
– Created new CC base for future updates (If using other CC mods with AoC, use their in-game re-customization options after creating your character)

Combat System:
– Alliance NPCs can no longer be damaged by their allies (including players). This makes fighting alongside your fellow allies much easier. This can be Enabled/Disabled in Server Settings
– Weapons will now take the Tier into consideration when utilizing Repair Kits. This means that a T1 Sword will always use a T1 Repair Kit

Decorations:
– Added 8th Anniversary Cake

Features:
– Added Death Penalty
(Death Penalty is a new system that will make players receive a penalty from dying. This can be Enabled/Disabled through server settings. A new Shrine of the True God can be found in the southern part of the Dark Forest, which will mend your soul and remove the death penalty. Additionally, a new bonus is available as part of this system, the Survival Bonus. The Survival Bonus will come into effect after surviving for 2 hours and will increase stats as well as boost Skill XP)
– Added Stats to Character Menu
(The stats window will allow you to monitor your progress, stats, etc. The Stats window will be expanded upon with time)
– Added Legacy System
(The Legacy System becomes available at level 150. At this point the player can level up their legacy, which will unlock new benefits. However, this will reset the player’s level back to 1, alongside a reset of Quests. Skill Levels, Factions, and Reputation points alongside collectibles will be saved)
– Added Mod List to Server Info
(The Mod List will display information about the Mods that are active on the current server. This information includes: Mod Name, Mod ID, Latest Patch Notes from the specific mod, as well as the Mod Author)
– Added Conquest Zones
(This is an optional feature that can be Enabled through Server Settings. This will allow servers to designate specific zones as PvP or Safe Zones. This currently covers North, South, East, West, and Event Zone like the Faction Hall. As an example: This will allow the Desert to be considered a Safe Zone from PvP while the North is an Active PvP zone. This is currently only supported on PvE Servers and does not include Building DMG. This system is experimental and in its early stages)

Items:
– Added Holy Water as a recipe from Ancient Arts
– Added Shrine of the True God (Admin Spawn Only for now. Intended for Servers utilizing different maps than the Exiled Lands)
– Added Token – Unlock All Rifts
– Added Tome of Knowledge
– Added Rift Destination – Kingdom of Stormhold (Available from Faction Merchant)
– Added Rift Destination – Elven Covenant (Available from Faction Merchant)
– Added Rift Destination – Order of Elvanor (Available from Faction Merchant)
– Added Rift Destination – Cold Embrace (Available from Faction Merchant)
– Added Rift Destination – Shadaerion Dominion (Available from Faction Merchant)
– Added Rift Destination – Vanghoul Clans (Available from Faction Merchant)
– Added Gravespitter Loaf
– Added Serpent Ring
– Added Ancient Crown
– Added Mythical Herb
– Added Stone Tablet
– Added Crystalized Obsidian
– Added Lost Treasure
– Added Ancient Artifact
– Added Mysterious Talisman
– Added Mystical Pendant
– Added Nightfire Crystal
– Added Band of War
– Added Mysterious Artifact
– Added Forsaken Necklace
– Added Ancient Silver Coins
– Added Frozen Stone Tablet
– Added Ancient Fragment
– Added Plague Sample
– Added Silverware
– Added Nagorath Egg
– Updated Enhanced Kronyxium Tools to have no Durability, making them the true end-game tools they’re supposed to be
– Updated Ruby Pickaxe to have no Durability as this is a Loyalty Unique item
– Updated Pickaxe Tools to be Gem/Crystal/Ice Harvesting Tools (Picks are no longer used for those resources)

Magic:
– Added Tome for Blood Magic – Witchcraft
– Added Tome for Flames of Winter
– Added Tome for Tempest
– Added Tome for Nature’s Blessing
– Added Shrine of the True God to the world
– Updated Tomes
– Updated location for Soul Essence Vol. 5

Menu Updates:
– Sorted AoC Menu into new Tabs (Character, Journal, Conquest, Codex, and Server Info)
– Character tab includes: Character, Alliance & Faction, Coin Pouch, Stats, and Skills
– Journal tab includes: Quest Log and Characters
– Conquest tab includes: Battleground, Faction Wars, Scoreboard
– Codex tab includes: Customization, Updates, Tips & Tricks, Credits
– Server Info tab includes: Server Settings, Mod List, Admin Panel

NPCs:
– Added Alexandra to Ghoulshaw Dungeon
– Added Mistress Tilly
– Added Blacksmith Grifford Oakwood
– Added Chef Felucia Gravespitter
– Added Wild Fox
– Added Sir Vicaran to Vanquished Coast
– Added Covenant Soldier (T1 for Elven Covenant)
– Improved Alliance Detection
– Updated Combat for AoC NPCs
– Various code improvements to the AoC NPCs
– Fixed various issues with Eliza Cole

Quest System:
– Added Ferongar’s Tutorial Quests (15 New Quests)
– Added Ferongar’s Al’huran Quest (1 New Quest)
– Added Ferongar’s Underworld Quest (1 New Quest)
– Added Fraya’s Breach Quest (1 New Quest)
– Added Alexandra’s Dungeon Quests (34 New Quests)
– Added Campaign Quests for Silverlight Accord (23 New Quests part of Chapter 1, more quests will be coming to the campaign)
– Added Campaign Quests for Forsaken Legion (23 New Quests part of Chapter 1, more quests will be coming to the campaign)
– Added Daily Quest from Errynaya (1 New Quest)
– Added Ferthur’s Ekaratosh Quest (1 New Quest)
– Added support for earning Reputation for multiple factions from a quest
– Added support for earning Skill Points from quests
– Added support for earning multiple knowledge feats from quests
– Added support for Weekly Quests
– Reworked Daily Quests (Daily Quests are now reset at Midnight – Server Time)
– Improved Quest UI Navigation
– Various code improvements to the Quest System
– Fixed various issues with the Quest Log in the AoC Menu
– Fixed various issues with Kill Quests
– Fixed various issues with Daily Quests
– Fixed various issues with the Quest Tracker

Server Settings:
– Added Death Penalty
– Added Alliance Damage
(This is Disabled by Default. Alliance Damage is a setting that allows players to attack their ally NPCs. When Disabled, players can’t attack a faction of their own alliance)
– Added Alliance Support
(The Alliance Support setting allows players to obtain Loot, Reputation, and Quest Kills within the range of an Ally that defeats an enemy target)
– Added Dynamic Vanilla NPCs
(This system will make base game NPCs dynamic like AoC NPCs. This means that the NPCs will scale and adapt to the player throughout the game)
– Added Companion Priority (Accessibility Setting)
(With this setting enabled, enemy Faction/Alliance NPCs should prioritize the Player’s Companions over the player itself)

Skill System:
– Added support for Vanilla & other Mods Weapons/Tools
– Rebalanced Harvest Amount for Tools using the Skill System
– Rebalanced XP for Skills

Visuals:
– Updated lighting in various areas
– Updated Mage Staff
– Updated Rangers of Thaelyndor Banners
– Updated Rangers of Thaelyndor Icon
– Updated Cult of the Nethermyst Banners
– Updated Cult of the Nethermyst Icon
– Updated Ingame Menu
– Updated AoC Features Menu
– Updated Quest Menu
– Updated Updates Menu with support for Latest Patch Notes
– Updated various icons

Zones:
– Updated Vanquished Coast

 

CONSIDER SUPPORTING US ON PATREON

In order to offer our players/community the highest quality content and the best gameplay experience, we ask for your help.
We hope you will consider supporting the development of the AoC mod moving forward!
We thank you from the bottom of our hearts, and we hope that you will enjoy the future of AoC!
Link to Patreon:
https://www.patreon.com/espengjohansen