Horizons: Empire of Istaria Update Interview

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Written by BuckGB on September 5th, 2005

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Q: What are the most important improvements or additions that are likely to go live by the end of this year, and which ones are focused on Dragons?

A: The Ancient Rite of Passage, Dragon Lairs, Biped Tutorial, and Confectioner school revision are all coming before the end of the year... as well as a few surprises that we'll talk about soon.

The Ancient Rite of Passage opens up further advancement for Dragons. Because we have multi-schooling advancement for the non-Dragon races; they have a great deal to do to advance their characters' powers. But Dragons reach a roadblock as adults. After completing the Ancient Rite of Passage, they can once again progress their characters in new ways.

Dragon Lairs are fantastic. I haven't emphasized them enough in this interview so far. Lairs fulfill a promise to players that they could own land and develop it. Non-dragons have been able to do this since launch, but Dragons, while they could own land, could not develop it. Lairs allow Dragons to do this. The newly rediscovered Dragon school of Lairshaping, (being re-taught to Dragons with the return of Ancient Dragons to Istaria), allows them to magically sculpt the resources of the world into their land and shape out subterranean corridors and chambers beneath. This is unique to Horizons. Dragons can create mazes of corridors and chambers below the surface of the world in which to live. Chambers provide consigning, crafting, pawnbroker, travel and storage abilities as well as aesthetic expression.

To quote a player after seeing the first lairs in game: "Whoa, this goes FAR beyond any of my best expectations! Mindgasm! I explode with delight!"

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