Hello everyone,

While the expansion is getting very close to the finish line, we've been busy making some quality-of-life improvements to enhance your gameplay experience in all of Vagrus. In this article, we wanted to provide detailed information on these updates, so here's a quick rundown of what's new and improved:

In this week’s post, we’re proud to present you with one of the more perilous locations in the already conflict-ridden Bronze Desert: Hakhtarast. This sullied oasis and the eponymous town in it are home to a colorful cast of characters – Imperial, Handjari, and Bandul live and work inside its confines. War has seen the settlement beset by the Ahari, engulfing it in a series of ongoing skirmishes, murders, and a bid for control of both the oil operations as well as the once-sacred ponds and lakes. Most Bandul scowl at its ruinous nature, eager to admonish the defiling that has so marred its confines but none go as far as the warlike Ahari.

The teasers just keep coming, and with good reason; we are inching closer and closer to the release of Sunfire and Moonshadow, and we’ve no shortage of intriguing points of interest to share with you. This week features one of the Bronze Desert’s more mysterious locales: the Katharaka Hills. Once covered in a lush forest that surrounded the long-lost Elven ruins of Vaelenesthil, the land here succumbed to the destruction wrought by the Calamity, leaving it in a rocky, barren state.

The wildlife of the Riven Realms is not exactly all cuddles and kisses, but we wish to bid you all a happy #WorldAnimalDay on this fine Wednesday all the same.

-The Lost Pilgrims Team

It’s been a while since we posted an update on the release of Sunfire and Moonshadow, and given our previous announcement in May on aiming to release the expansion in Q3 2023, it’s only fair that we share a project update.

In the last few months, the whole team has been hard at work to set up and fill the huge new region we picked for our upcoming DLC that slowly grew into an Expansion. It’s been a daunting task given the size of the Bronze Desert and our goal to keep the standards we set in the main game regarding engaging storytelling and activities. We wanted to pick a region that was not tied up by existing in-world historical events too much, so we can be more free of those constraints when designing new storylines but that freedom also meant that there were more things to expand upon and work out the finer details of – locations, NPCs, dynamics, and storylines. Overall, it has taken a lot longer to create all the content we set out to but we are finally getting there.

The Forest of Shadows is a vast expanse of tangled trees that extends across the western side of the Penumbral Plains, covering the feet of the abandoned mountain range that rises high and stands mighty over the benighted lands. Many theorize that this woodland and the Dead Forest were once united; a tale the proof of which is lost to the annals of time. Old stories circulate about the Forest of Shadows enduring the wrath of the Calamity and its fallout, only to succumb to the enigmatic arachnids that now plague its shadowy expanse. The creatures killed everything there and built their nest in the forest, covering it with their webs so thickly that not even light itself could penetrate them.

The origins of Malkin remain a tantalizing mystery. Among the prevailing speculations the most accepted one is that they are the results of sorcerous experiments. They clawed their way to the summit of the ecosystem following their appearance post-Calamity, assuming dominion with an insatiable appetite and the hunting skills to back it up. Just like many apex predators, they are rare in and around populated areas, but they don’t mind a human snack every once in a while. Their sharp claws and fangs, as well as a deadly fusion of reptilian tenacity and feline swiftness make them formidable foes indeed. Keeping a watchful eye is in the best interest of every traveler,  for to be caught unaware in their sights as potential prey is to court a perilous fate!

This week we’re excited to share one of the expansion’s most intriguing locales: the Fadhuldak Mountains. Part of the forlorn Brown Mountains spanning the western border of the Bronze Desert, the peaks, valleys, and ranges that make up these mountains are home to beastly denizens mostly, although allegedly there are some wayward people prowling these lands, too.

Those of you who have been following what’s going on over at Steam are surely aware of the Strategy Fest lasting from 28th August to 4th September. Vagrus is represented in the festival with a never-before-seen 35% discount! A great time to grab it at this bargain price if you haven’t already.

It’s not every week we have a chance to share something many might find out of place in the Riven Realms, but today is one such day. On that note, let’s cut right to the chase: we’re here to show you a beautiful jungle from one of our newest artists, and boy, we’re pretty stoked about it.

A beautiful place to go bird watching or have a nice picnic with your comes! Perhaps you could pick some berries, relax in the shade, or make friends with the wildlife. Or, it could be that beneath the veneer of colorful lushness lurks something darker, deep in the recesses of the thicket. As always, you shall have to find out for yourself; all in good time, naturally.