Dragonmages are quite calm for individuals who can command such devastating arcane powers. At least until they swing into action.

--------------------------------------------------

Our crowdfunding campaign is LIVE at Fig.co. Get instant access to the Early Access now!

Great news: Vagrus has made it into the finalists in the Digital Dragons Indie Celebration competition!

Beside the 1st, 2nd, and 3rd places awarded based on the votes of the jury, there is also a Community Vote you can participate in here. The list is in alphabetical order, so Vagrus is the last one. ;)

As we teased in our latest devlog post about Mercenary Tasks, we are extending Crew Combat with a new feature: you can deal with the enemy from now on following a victorious battle. This simply means that you can decide the fate of the defeated foe.

The option appears on the Crew Combat UI at the end of the fight opposite your heal options provided that your enemy surrendered (remember, only humanoids can), fled or retreated but you caught some of them while pursuing them.

The Sharduk are a savage, cruel, and opportunistic people who are notorious for raiding all the more civilized lands bordering their vast, barren territory, the Great Eastern Desert. When designing these tribal marauders, we went for a versatile damage-dealer enemy type that - when left unchecked - can work itself up to a huge threat.

We are immensely honored, happy, and proud to share that Vagrus has been nominated for two awards in the upcoming Unfold Games Awards show. It feels like quite an achievement for a game still in Early Access, especially since over 400 high-quality games entered the contest. The nominees were selected by a panel of 20 judges comprised of top industry professionals. The two categories are:

In Part I. of our breakdown of Mercenary Tasks, we discussed what this new kind of gameplay element brings to Vagrus, how it works, and began describing the types implemented in the current build. In the second part, we focus on the other four types of Mercenary Tasks, in which passengers play an important role.

The Veles Gladiator enemy is an arena combatant in traditional Imperial gladiatorial arms in the Veles tradition, which was modeled after lightly-armored, mobile spear-wielding warriors from the ancient times of the Third Age. This mirrors how a peculiar kind of ancient Roman gladiator was also following a precursor military unit's doctrine - although in this real-world parallel, the arena fighter in question was quite different from our Veles. Still, our design was based on historical sources, albeit tweaked to fit the dark fantasy setting of the Riven Realms better. The enemy itself is a quick, evasive warrior that can work well in concert with heavier frontline fighters like the Murmillo.

The latest content update (Patch 0.5.30 Codename: Brimstone and Bones) brings with it a spacious region to explore, the most prominent part of which are the Smolderbone Flats. Players who took the 'Pilgrims of the Wasteland' standalone story for a spin surely recognize this place, as it was an important location in that story. And yet you will find that much has changed since your last visit, with 10 years passing, allegiances shifting, and new threats rising.

Tahrar Barak, or the "Grim Plains", is a volcanic highlands region surrounding the Molten Tongue. To the west, it reaches the Molten Kingdom of Dvendar Tharr, while to the east, west, and north it gives way to the less jagged  but still excruciatingly hot Searing Plains. Clefts in the slag and hard earthen crust run dozens of miles in all directions, creating a hard-to-navigate spiderweb of ravines that most travelers shun.

The Riven Realms, the setting of Vagrus, is a harsh, violent place. Up until now many players have felt that their ventures are the primary targets of this cruelty but with Mercenary Tasks, you will have the opportunity to return the favor. This facet of gameplay has been in the works since we began developing Vagrus, and it not only adds a ton of variation and replayability, but also goes a long way in softening up story content. Along with the branching story and trading, we consider mercenary work as one of the three pillars that hold up the game. Of course, we leave it to players which facet they want to concentrate on at times in each playthrough. Mercenary Tasks even allow for a completely combat-oriented gameplay, concentrating on forging a warband from your comitatus.