We’re excited to introduce the Discord Open Beta, our most ambitious update yet, transforming how players experience the game by bringing it directly into Discord. This update is not just a refactor; it’s a complete rebuild that enhances gameplay, introduces new content, and leverages Discord’s powerful social features. Here’s an in-depth look at what’s new and why this update is a game-changer.

Downtime will be at 4:30pm (BST) and will last for approximately 4 hours while we get all of the new content in.

Integration with Discord: A New Era of Social Gaming

Why Discord?

Our game has always prioritised social interaction and connecting players. With Discord, we can now seamlessly integrate social gaming features directly into a platform designed for community and communication. This means automatic party formations, streamlined login processes, and enhanced friend-finding capabilities—all through Discord.

• Party Formation: Discord now allows you to easily group up with friends or join new players in parties, making it simpler than ever to find teammates and jump into the action.
• Account Management: Manage your game account directly through Discord, including all your settings and progress.
• Unified Login Experience: Whether you’re playing on a browser or within Discord, you can log in using Google, Twitter, or Discord itself. For those playing within Discord, Discord login is required, creating a unified and smooth user experience.

A Whole New Beginning: Revamped Login and Character Creation

The first thing you’ll notice when you start the game is our completely overhauled login and character creation screens.

• Character Creation: The new character creation process is more intuitive and visually engaging, allowing players to create their avatars with more customization options right from the start.
• Login Flow: The new login system integrates seamlessly with Google, Twitter, and Discord, making it easier to access your account and get into the game. This is especially crucial for players accessing the game via Discord.

Opening Cinematic: Setting the Stage

https://x.com/SoulBound/status/1826718082406219885

We’ve introduced a brand-new opening cinematic. This cinematic not only draws you into the world but also lays the groundwork for the game’s expansive lore. You can expect to see more cinematics in-game as we expand on content.

• Enter Soulbound: The cinematic provides context for the events of the game, introducing key elements of the story and setting the tone for your adventures.
• Lore Expansion: It paves the way for deeper narrative experiences and future storylines within the game.

Rebuilt Tutorial: Faster, More Engaging Onboarding

The tutorial has been completely rebuilt to offer a faster, more streamlined onboarding experience.

• Quick Access to Action: The new tutorial is designed to get players into the action as quickly as possible, guiding you through the game loops and UI/UX.

Discover Virelda: A New World to Explore

One of the most significant changes is the introduction of our overworld Virelda, a vast, open-world environment that players can now explore. This is the first time we’re opening up the world, allowing for unprecedented freedom in how you engage with the game.

• Arcadia: Formerly known as De-Sat City, Arcadia serves as the central hub, offering various points of interest and quests.
• Virelda Regions: Step into the sprawling desert-like landscapes of North, East, South and West Virelda. Each region offers unique environments, challenges, and resources to discover.
• Alchemy and Cooking: Virelda is home to the heart of Cooking and Alchemy. You’ll find everything you need to engage in full-blown alchemy and cooking progressions, with opportunities to level up these skills as you gather ingredients and craft powerful items.

New Game Mode: Farming

For the first time, farming is introduced as a new game mode within East Virelda at the Homestead.

• Farming Minigame: Engage in the farming where you can plant, grow, and harvest crops. Farming plays an integral role in the game loop allowing you to grow food and herbs, used for alchemy and cooking.
• Farming Progression: Just like alchemy and cooking, farming has its own progression system, allowing you to unlock new crops, tools, and quests as you advance.
• Farming Plots: Make use of the public farming plots and explore

Points of Interest and Apartments

Virelda is dotted with points of interest that beckon exploration.

Apartment Previews: While apartments aren’t available for ownership just yet, you can now view the locations where they will be placed. These potential homes are situated near key points of interest, giving you a sense of where you might want to establish a base in future updates.

Level Cap Increase and New Gear

In response to player feedback and the expanding world, we’ve raised the level cap to 40. With the addition of our new dungeon, the Everdune, comes new resources for you to use on new gear and equipment. This equipment will be available to craft in our next patch which introduces a brand new crafting system.

• Skill Progression: Along with the level cap increase, all related skills have new levels to attain, providing more opportunities to specialize and strengthen your character.

Dungeons: A Complete Overhaul

We’ve completely revamped the dungeon experience, making it more dynamic, challenging, and rewarding.

• New Dungeon Biome: The Everdune – New biome, new enemies, new resources!
• New Reticle System: A new aiming reticle has been added, making combat more precise and satisfying.
• Improved Dungeon Flow: Dungeon rooms now transition faster, relic upgrades occur more rapidly, and the overall dungeon performance has been enhanced to reduce lag and improve fluidity.
• Countdown Timer: A 15-second relic selection timer has been introduced, ensuring quick decision-making during intense dungeon runs.
• UI Enhancements: We’ve streamlined the UI, reducing clutter to create a smoother experience, while updating the party UI for better visibility of your teammates.
• Experience gain change – Experience now comes from enemies killed and not damage dealt. This experience is shared with all players in the party.

Questing and World Map: Navigating the New World

Navigating Virelda and completing quests has never been easier, thanks to significant updates to the questing system and the introduction of a world map.

• Quest UI/UX: The quest interface has been drastically improved, with an on-screen quest log that keeps you updated on your objectives.
• World Map and Mini Map: A comprehensive world map and mini-map have been introduced, showing your location, quest objectives, party members, and important stations. This feature is invaluable for exploring Virelda and coordinating with your friends.
• Friends and Party Indicators: Improved indicators help you easily spot friends and party members. Your friends’ names will be highlighted in green, and a star icon will be displayed next to them. On top of that, a green glow effect will make sure you never lose sight of your allies.

Visual and UI Overhaul: A More Immersive Experience

We’ve made several enhancements to the game’s visual and user interface elements to create a more immersive experience. (edited)

• VFX and Shaders: We’ve added new shaders for day, sunrise, and sunset, bringing a new level of dynamic lighting and atmosphere to Virelda.
• Map Icons: The icons in the map menu have been updated to make navigation easier and more intuitive.
• Bag UI: The bag interface has been redesigned with tabs for key items, currencies, and more, making inventory management simpler and more efficient.
• UI Tutorial: A new UI tutorial walks new players through the various elements of the game, ensuring a smooth onboarding experience.
• Settings Page: We’ve consolidated the settings into a single, user-friendly page, making it easier to customize your experience.

Renamed and Expanded Areas

In addition to all the new content, we’ve also renamed and expanded some of the existing areas.

• Eastern Reach: What was once known as “the Playa” has been renamed to Eastern Reach. This area has been reworked and renamed and now includes new dungeons and quests that push the narrative forward and offer new challenges.

New Quests: Expanding the Narrative

To support all the new gameplay elements, we’ve introduced a host of new quests.

• Skill-Based Quests: New quests related to farming, cooking, alchemy, and foraging have been added, each designed to help you progress and master these skills.

The Future Awaits

This update is just the beginning. We’re laying the groundwork for even more features, content, and adventures to come. The Discord Open Beta represents the start of a new chapter for our game, one where social interaction, exploration, and deep customization come together to create an unforgettable gaming experience. Jump into the Discord Open Beta now, only on our Discord server and discover all the incredible changes we’ve made.

Your adventure awaits!