The latest update to Turbine’s Asheron’s Call is bringing a ton of new stuff to the table for the dated MMO. Players will be able to explore a new faction system complete with quests and angry NPCs. They wil also be able to partake in PvP land control, get new loot and spells, and gain access to a few newly created areas.

A few weeks back I spoke to Turbine’s Community Manager, Andy Cataldo, about the new update, I was surprised by his enthusiasm over a game that was released in 1999. He told me that it was all about the players at this point in the game, “We asked them [what they want] and they told us. Every single month we give them new content…you should never forget your roots, and we don’t forget them [Asheron’s Call players].”

Coinciding with this new content release is a bunch of screenshots and artwork that you can check out below in the gallery. Also, feel free to hit the break for the full press release on the specifics of what is available.

Asheron’s Call 100^th Update – Release Notes

Greetings and welcome to the 100th content update for Asheron’s Call! This is a special time for all of here at Turbine, having reached this most incredible milestone. With this update we wanted to make sure we did something special for the players. For the longest time, the one thing we have been asked for was an Elder Game system. So with this update, we are giving players the beginnings of that system. We are also giving our PvP players something to fight over, with two new PvP controllable towns.

The entire staff here at Turbine is proud to be able to release this update to our players as a small token of our appreciation for everyone who has heard the call over the years. So let’s get in to all the new and exciting things coming this month in Asheron’s Call!

Societies are coming!

A new faction system has been introduced with this update. Players wishing to join one of the three new Societies will speak with one of the Society Recruiters located in the capital cities of Dereth. The Celestial Hand will be in Hebian-to, the Eldrytch Web will be in Cragstone, and the Radiant Blood recruiter will be located in Zaikhal. Once players choose which society they wish to join, they will begin their journey with the initiate quests. The recruiters for each society will have all the details a player will need to make their choice as to which side to join. When a player completes the tasks set out by one of these recruiters, they will be well rewarded and then instructed on how to claim their rewards.

As part of this new system, some creatures will now be able to discern which faction you and they are a part of. NPC’s who are part of your faction will not attack you, however if you get too close to those belonging to another faction, they will attack. These NPC’s can and will also attack each other, if they come in contact.

Deception and Assess Person now have another use for players involved in the Faction system. All players who join a faction will display which faction they belong to in their description panel. Based on a skill check of Assess Person and Deception, some players may be able to “hide” which faction they are a part of. This ability can be particularly useful in conjunction with the new Land Control elements of the game.

PvP Land Control

Two new PK towns have been added to the game. The first of these towns is located just north of the Vesayen Isles, while the other town is located in Northern Osteth, near the top of the Dereth mainland. Each town will start out being held by a rogue faction of Moarsmen who will need to be defeated in order to gain control of the town. Players who want to control one of these towns will need to be player killers, however. Non-player killers will be able to fight the NPCs of the town, but will not be able to claim control of the town.

Each town will have three banners that a PK must gain control of in order to take the towns. Once all three of these banners are “controlled” by the same faction, the town will be owned by that faction thus granting access to the Black Market. This portal will only be useable by the members of the controlling Society.

The Black Markets are the provenance of the Shroud Cabals, unscrupulous humans who have allied with the Virindi to exploit the factional chaos sown by the three new Societies. Players may use the various Vendors and NPC’s in the Black Markets to buy unique items. The Archmage and Shopkeep will also have some nice extra items unavailable elsewhere. Some of the items players will be able to purchase only in the Black markets will include XP gems which can be purchased for MMD’s and level 8 dispel gems. There are some other items of high value that these vendors will sell as well.

New Loot

A new tier of loot is now available to players. This new tier of loot will have a base wield requirement of level 150 and will have the potential to generate with level 8 spells and or Epic level cantrips. There will also be the chance that this new tier will be part of a greater set of armor. Pieces which are part of a loot generated set will have a base level 180 requirement in order for players to equip them. Spell components for the creation of level 8 spells will also be found in this new higher loot tier. This new level of loot will mainly be found as rewards from questing, but there will also be a chance for players to collect Mana Shards off some landscape creatures, which they can then use to purchase keys to gain access to this new tier of loot. In addition, we will be adding these keys to several of our older quests in the coming months, starting in September. Here is a breakdown of how players will get keys for the new tier of loot.

Basic Mechanics

·         Get 10 Pristine Mana Shards via hunting.

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·         Bring the 10 Shards to the Shard Collector within one of the three Mana Forges in Cragstone, Hebian-To and Zaikhal, and get a key.

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·         Use key on the chest for the desired loot.

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Hunting areas that Pristine Shards will be available:

·         Graveyard of Despair

·         Dark Isle

·         Freebooter Isle

·         Moarsman City

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Alternate key mechanics:

·         Society Rank Gateway Quests give Keys the first time they are completed.

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·         Society Trade Tokens can be used to purchase Treasure Writs, which can be turned in for a Key once every 2 weeks

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Level 8 Spells

Level 8 spells have been introduced into the game. To accommodate the desire of some players to have a research system in the game while at the same time accommodating others’ lack of desire to participate in a research system, we have implemented a new system for learning level 8 spells. Players may obtain quills, inks, and glyphs from our new highest tier treasure profiles which may be used to craft spells. Quills may be combined with the new Mana Scarab item (which is also the casting scarab for level 8 spells) in order to craft infused quills. Infused quills may be crafted with inks to create a combination of the two. This combination may then be crafted with a glyph to create a level 8 scroll.

All components may also be traded or sold to a vendor, and the scrolls may likewise be traded or sold to a vendor. We anticipate that those who wish to participate in the system will enjoy it, while those who do not will be able to obtain the scrolls they need through trading. It should also be noted that not all spells exist at the level 8 tier – notably, we have elected not to implement Creature Other buffs, Life Other buffs, Life Other imperil and vulns, the self debuffs, and the item spell Defender. In addition, the Item spell Blood Drinker 8 will appear only on treasure and will not be available as a player-castable spell. If crafting something you expected to work fails, very likely the spell simply does not exist for level 8. You will not lose components upon failed crafting, and there is no skill associated with level 8 spell crafting, so feel free to experiment safely with the various components and see what you may accomplish!

New Areas

A new landmass has appeared near the Vesayen Isles, known as Freebooter Isle. While many of the landscape features will look familiar to the region, many of the creatures that will appear on this new landmass will be changed in some way. Creatures on this island will also have a chance of dropping Mana Shards, which can be used to purchase keys for the new tier of loot. In order to gain access to this new island, players will need to join one of the new Societies.

There is a new Moarsman city that has been discovered. Players will need to discover how to access this new area.

The Graveyard has been expanded to help accommodate the number of players who will be hunting there for Society-related tasks.

So there are just some of the things we have in store for Asheron's Call in August. Please remember that along with everything listed here, there are several new quests and exciting things going into the game for the August event.