Duskruin Arena: Difference between revisions

Revision as of 21:28, 23 April 2016

The next run for Duskruin Arena will be April 22 (9pm)-May 1, 2016.

SHOP LISTING MOVED TO Bloodriven Village.

Duskruin Arena premiered in 2015 as the first "unattended" pay quest, meaning no GM intervention was required to start the quest. Players purchased entry from the SimuCoin Store for 100 SimuCoins (as little as $0.74 cents). The event is free to watch.

During the quest players accumulate "bloodscrip" (similar to blackscrip) to redeem from a list of prizes.

Release Announcement

Tucked away in seclusion near the Locksmehr River is place known as Bloodriven Village. Notorious to bandits, outlaws, and ruffians to congregate and do business. Located underground from the village, the infamous Duskruin Arena is a place of blood sports among the brave. Earn special scrip to buy a wealth of prizes. Many new items will be debuted at Bloodriven Village, such as scarring razors, pet rats, whisper cloaks, garrote knives, nerve staves, and much more! Be sure to stop out and view the interesting locales and people of Bloodriven Village!

Rumor has it, some couriers who smuggled goods and combatants into the village were ransacked. They were carrying coin pouches with bloodscrip and dueling slips, as well as simple handbills, to deliver to known fences around Elanthia. Be on the look out to find them in treasure chests while you hunt!

Map

Bloodriven Village Map by Rozy

Portals

Town	Transport Departs From	Lich Go2 #
Wehnimer's Landing	Town Square, Southeast	282
Icemule Trace	South Barbican, Gate	2486
Ta'Illistim	Ta'Illistim, City Gate	751
Ta'Vaalor	Entrance to Ravelin	10681
Teras Isle	Copper Avenue, West Docks	1870
River's Rest	River's Rest, Underbridge	10839

Areas to Play

Arena

The arena is located on the eastern side of Bloodriven Village, in the middle of the northwest-southeast road (room 12 on the map). Each arena entry gives the contestant eight minutes to kill 25 creatures. Every 5 creatures there is a champion to face. Bloodscrip earned will depend on how many creatures are killed, the time it takes, and if certain actions are done in response to creature actions. PRAY for stamina and mana recovery, but that will cost time.

Intro Speech

An announcer shouts, "Introducing our new challenger, XXXX, hailing from Wehnimer's Landing!"

An announcer shouts, "XXXX, you will have roughly eight minutes to slay as many beasts as you can.  There will be a total of 25 opponents that you will face one-on-one!"

An announcer shouts, "There are a total of five champions you will face during the match, each at the 5th, 10th, 15th, 20th, and 25th rounds!"

An announcer shouts, "You may use whatever means possible to do so.  Some beasts may feign death and give the assumptions they have dropped dead, so be sure to keep a watchful eye on them!"

An announcer shouts, "You may want to watch your opponents' actions, it could just help you prepare to defend against some of their tactics!"

An announcer shouts, "You will earn more bloodscrip the more you vanquish, but with each opponent slain, the harder it will become!"

An announcer shouts, "You can draw on the ancient magic of the arena to restore lost mana and stamina, but it will cost you time, speeding up the match!  Just PRAY during combat!"

An announcer shouts, "Prepare yourself for battle, XXXX!  Good luck and Godspeed.  At any point you can surrender, but I would not recommend it if you want to be a champion!"

Sewers

The entry for the sewers is through the alley east of the gate. Each sewer entry gives 1 hour or 10 SEARCHes, whichever comes first. Bloodscrip earned here will be less than what is possible in the arena, but it can be done much faster. Sewer rats and MoonShards can also be found in the sewers.

The Celestial Temple

Become Champion of the Arkati.

This section has not been added yet; please add to it now!

Notable NPCS

Schedule

April 22-May 1, 2016

Previous Runs

March 20-31, 2015 (Inaugural)
May 1-15, 2015
July 24-August 2, 2015
August 21-30, 2015

Resources

Announcements

by APM Wyrom

Duskruin has piqued a lot of questions since it was first mentioned at SimuCon 2014. It was originally slated for the spring time last year, but we decided to change up the venue on the event and try something new. So let me explain what this event is.

The event is free to be a spectator. You can come and go as much as you please. There are some sights and places to rest should you just like a place to roleplay. About 99.9% of all things for sale are priced with bloodscrip. To earn bloodscrip you can compete in the arena or search for loot in the sewers. To enter either of these, you will need a dueling slip or gold rat token. Both of these items will be in the SimuCoin store for 100 SimuCoins.

You can go as much as you'd like, but will need a new dueling slip or gold rat token for each trip in. We have a large number of newly created items for sale. Brand new scripts and some really interesting things. Currently, we don't have any ways to upgrade gear or unlock anything, but it will likely be something down the road that we do. So you can either spend your bloodscrip or save it for a later use.

The arena is a PvE combat sequence with 5 levels of combat. You start off fighting beasts until you make it to the last round where you fight a champion. You have 5 minutes per round to defeat each level. As the timer ticks away, you will run into more environmental hazards in the arena, such as being slammed into a spiked wall or having arrows shot at you. Defeating the beast in a timely fashion will earn you bonus bloodscrip to your prize cache. Should you defeat the champion, you'll also earn a temporary title of Champion until you log out. If you're defeated, you'll lose half the bloodscrip you earned. If you merely run out of time, you'll just earn the bloodscrip that you were credited for until then. You can WATCH combatants as a spectator much like you could at Droughtman's Maze Challenge. You can WATCH LIST to see a list of people in the arena at any time, and even CHEER them on. You can also YELL to those fighting!

The sewers are like a large-scaled Deserted Cottage from Ebon Gate. You go inside and just have to search around. You get 10 to 12 searches before you'll be washed out. You have a time limit of one hour to do this. You mostly find bloodscrip, but can find random loot, or if you're lucky enough, a rat. You can only catch one rat per time Duskruin Arena is around, which currently is a weekend at a time. The rats are amazing little pets created by GM Keios. The catch is, the rat is in a random location inside the sewers, and there are about 100 rooms. To add to the hunt, the sewers are constantly shifting, so it will be difficult to find it running around aimlessly. There are clues to know which way to go or if you're in the correct spot. That's up to you to figure out.

Bloodscrip will be a physical item you can REDEEM. But if you are defeated in the arena, the bloodscrip are added to your total, much like Troubled Waters. You can trade the physical bloodscrip you find, but you cannot trade after they are redeemed or applied to you. You will need to REDEEM them to be able to make purchased at the shops, they do not work like a promissory note.

The original design concept was created by GM Scrimge and arena/sewer mechanics were by GM Wyrom. GMs Haliste, Keios, Liia, Luneth, Scrimge, Reidyn, Valyrka, and Wyrom all created shops. GMs Haliste, Liia, Mazreth, Scrimge, and Wyrom all had a hand in painting the area. GMs Aulis, Haliste, Kaikala, Krellis, Sherlise, Spalt, and Vanah were huge helps with QC and testing, as well as various last minute needs to help get this out.

We will likely be beta testing this event in Platinum, with free dueling slips and gold rat tokens, next week. More details will be posted in Platinum in the coming days. Feel free to post your questions, concerns, or excitement in this topic.

~Wyrom, APM

May 2015 Major Update

I'm excited to say I've spent the remaining amount of my sanity on some Duskruin Arena updates! HOORAY!

Just kidding, I never had sanity.

The arena matches are much more action packed now. No more herb munching and waiting an obnoxiously long time to maximize your bloodscrip. Matches will be roughly 6 to 7 minutes long where you face 25 creatures one-on-one. Every 5 matches you'll face a champion similar to the champions in the previous version of the arena. There are over 20 new creatures in the arena to face. Most creatures can perish to a critical blow, outside the champions. You earn bloodscrip for each creature you kill. You also earn a bonus if you defeat all 25 creatures in the time limit. Dying no longer incurs a bloodscrip penalty, but surrendering still does.

I've also introduced new hazards. I removed the darts, arrows, spiked ball-and-chain, and boulders. Hazards can now be avoided in a small mini-game during arena matches. I will leave it to you to figure it out. It's not terribly hard, and the term "mini-game" probably is an exaggeration of what it is. But it adds flavor. Hazards are a little more deadly though.

You can now earn a time bonus too that works in a more favorable way. The quicker you make it through, the higher the bonus. You can earn a max of 225 bloodscrip plus the time bonus.

The Ratacombs have also had a minor update. It seems more wildlife has escaped into the sewers, as well as some other sort of rats. So you may find something different this time around. There are also some minor obstacles in the sewers when you SEARCH to add some flavor.

We'll be relaunching this Friday and staying open for a week.

~Wyrom, APM

July 2015 Major Update

I'd like to discuss the plans for Duskruin on the next run. Outside anything new added to the grounds, this is the last overhaul planned for the bloodscrip earnings structure.

Arena Updates

There will be a 250 cap on earnings. That cap will be achievable. Earning bloodscrip won't be about massacring everything as quick as possible. Time will still be an important element to being a top earner, but there will be more things at play when earning bloodscrip. Dodging the traps will play a minor role. Dying and surrendering will no longer have any penalties to your bloodscrip earnings, but will still result in no chance of a randomly created item in your prize package. Prize packages are also getting a small revamp to offer a little more variety. Losing will now earn a good showmanship bonus to bloodscrip, meaning people who can't always win will still have a chance to earn more depending on how long they last on their final opponent. For example, if you can't defeat the your 12th opponent and you had 3 minutes to defeat them, you'll earn for making it to the 12 opponent, for dodging any traps, and a bonus for lasting 3 minutes (dying/surrendering won't get you that bonus). The spells haste and rapid fire will be dispelled during the combat sequence of the arena matches. While they both offer an advantage, the reason is due to the crashes many of you experienced in the arena.

The arena is slower by about a second per "round" that is being cycled throughout your placement. This means you have about ten minutes to get through the arena instead of eight minutes.
- This does mean that creature clean up will be a second slower as well.
There are a couple new creatures in the arena. Hobgoblins have moved to becoming champions where kiramon moved to being regular foes.
Creatures have less bolt and ranged DS equivalent to a negative modifier of your level / 2. This means at cap, you'll see a reduction of 50 DS.
Creature health has had a reduction across the board. Characters under level 10 still get the biggest bonus to health reduction.
Hazards go off about twice as fast now, and there is no immunity for the first 30 seconds. Creatures will not use hazards until they are established as your enemy.
Dodging a hazard will now injure the creature, giving players who might not be able to overcome an opponent a chance.
Scoring is based on winning, killing, speed, and dodging hazards. If you don't win, your speed bonus changes to what I've named the showman bonus, which awards you bloodscrip based on how long you lasted. All four categories have a hard cap of how high you can score. I'll leave it up to you to figure out the range you score for each. The only way to score 250 is by winning. The temporary titles and item prize have been adjusted to be distributed at specific bloodscrip won. Exp and silver awards are equivalent (in some manner) to the bloodscrip you've earned. Prior to this, silver was randomized.

Ratacombs Updates

Bloodscrips earned while searching the Ratacombs will have a higher range of their value. It will still not compare to the arena, but it will be closer to the hopeful median. The random directions in the Ratacombs will be lessened with some more static areas to walk through.

There are 25 less rooms in the Ratacombs and the maze layout shifts less often.
Bloodscrip amounts are now displayed when you search, eliminating the need to LOOK to see what you got.
Survival ranks will help you stay on your feet when entering and exiting the sewers.
A small handful of new descriptors have been added to the rats.

Shop Updates

I will be going through the shops to try to make some items more appealing for purchase. The limited release items will be discussed as we get closer to the first run under these revamped conditions.

April 2016 Update

There is going to be a certain element to be discovered here. Not so much inventory. Most shops either have signs or things are obvious this time around. Lots of new inventory (or updated with new properties). The new collectible system has gone over very well in Platinum, but a lot of it is going to be for you to find out. The collectible system is a new layer to the arena and (mostly) sewers. There is no additional cost, nothing is lost or sacrificed to have this new system.

There are some new arena mechanics to help with resource (mana/stamina) management. The announcer has some new dialogue about this. We have 3 new champions, an orc, a tattooed maniac, and hallowed zealot (in game descriptions don't quite match these descriptions) -- the hobgoblin, mezic, and bendith have been retired. The goblin and stone troll in the regular matches have been replaced with a troll slaver and a vor'taz. Some descriptions have been updated. Stealth builds don't get the double whammy on being pulled from hiding with the dodge mechanics. You'll still get pulled when performing most the moves. Just not the actual dodge.

Two new NPCs are included with some history and questions they can answer. One NPC, a dwarven archaeologist, buys the new MoonShards that you can find in the sewers. This will make more sense once people start getting involved. The other is a rat catcher in the sewers that will buy your rats, should you not want them anymore. Both of these pay in bloodscrip that gets added directly to your character's TICKET amount.

There is a new area, the underground temple, which is across from the actual arena entrance where you use a slip to fight. It is part of the background of the area and houses the dwarf NPC. The temple has a direct tie in to the new collectible system.

There were a plethora of fixes on the GM side that helps with better tracking, better messaging, and more options for a wider variety of players to enjoy both the arena and sewers.

Earning Bloodscrip and Level Differences

Information in blue applicable to the May 2015 run and provided by APM Wyrom.

Champions spawned by characters 25 and under had 1/3rd the amount of blood as a capped character. Characters level 10 or under always got an extra bonus of making every creature that spawned in the arena with 100 less blood (that's on top of that 1/3rd for champions).

Creature level is always determined by progression in the arena, but the first 5 rounds creatures are between -3 to 1 level higher than the player. It slowly scales up until the last 5 rounds, where it's between 5 and 10 levels.

Earning 200 bloodscrip means a player managed to kill all 25 creatures. Anyone scoring 192, managed to kill 24.

Each creature was worth 8 bloodscrip. This is changing in the next variation of the arena to add more emphasis on a few different factors of the challenge. The time bonus is going to be greatly reduced, but you'll have chances to earn other bonuses. The cap will still remain 250, but this time it will be achievable. The reason the arena's figurative 250 isn't able to happen is because you're losing on average 35 seconds for creature clean ups and the new creature entering.

I think those that felt underwhelmed because they couldn't complete the arena or struggled with defeating all 25 will feel a little more confident in the next edition.

Searching the sewers will usually reap around 80-100 bloodscrip per token. The secondary market for bloodscrip will sell for between 950-1400 silvers per scrip (based on May 2015 observations).

Arena v. Sewers (and Scripting)

Information in blue provided in August 2015 by APM Wyrom.

I realize the sewers are a controversial subject, since you can move much faster to gain bloodscrip. From a pricing standpoint, I wanted the arena to be twice as effective as the sewers, and last run I hit that mark. That means in order to earn as much as you can in the arena, it would cost you twice as much in the sewers. Money is a very big factor here. I'm contemplated what to do to slow down the sewers over and over. I feel hard roundtime is the wrong way to go. When I added the washout effect, I had emails, posts, and messages on how awful that was, so I dropped it down to a "fumble" type search. The only real measure that is feasible is a cooldown, and that is going to come with some serious ramifications. It's not something I have the time to deal with right now, and it's going to need to be something that will get deliberated on next time.

Scripting, by itself, is allowed in GS. If it wasn't, we'd also have to enforce no third-party overlays like Lich. The people in the sewers are there or have really good ways to make sure they can be there. I'm a no nonsense staff member when it comes to script checks. I don't worry about if I was clear on my check because I'm usually pretty upfront. You miss one of my checks, you're not there. As a big time warning though, you and ALL OF YOUR LINKED ACCOUNTS get their bloodscrip confiscated and you become banned from the sewers for 30 days. That means if you transferred a character to someone else, you're still responsible for whoever takes control of that character. Any history follows that character. You can ride, but you can't hide, etc etc. But again, everyone has been pretty good at being at the keys when I check.

Artwork