The “Time of the Oldening” is almost upon us, as Vagrus turns to the respectable age of 5 years on the 5th October! The anniversary celebrations bring a new improvement patch, including a couple of small gifts for all our players. The name of the game’s base edition is changing to Anniversary Edition on Steam to reflect half a decade of improvements and free content – a better, improved Vagrus. In addition, in this article we’d also like to shout out one of our fellow developers and their cool new game, Retro Space.

The time has come to sharpen your quills, dust off your scrolls, and return to your studies. Or, if you happen to live in the Riven Realms, perhaps also to sharpen your blades, inspect your beasts, and make sure your supplies will last until the next statio.

While there may not be a universally recognized academy capable of preparing someone for the life of a vagrus, surviving the wasteland requires a surprisingly broad education. A successful leader must be part explorer, merchant, commander, diplomat, warrior, and even historian. So, with the season of learning upon us, we thought we'd put together a rather unconventional curriculum.

Since our last article on the design and lore considerations behind some of our companion cosmetics tied to Supporter Packs, some of you have expressed an interest in reading more about such insights. Thus, we return, this time to discuss another companion’s alternative attire. And that companion is none other than Vorax, everyone’s favorite, annoying Undead cook.

The Riven Realms have a grim reputation for the many wastelands, deserts, and cursed locations inside their confines. However, even in such inhospitable environments, life has found a way to cling on. In some cases, new life has thrived, demonstrating an almost uncanny resilience and adaptability. This, however, is not a unique trait of the Riven Realms. Quite the contrary.

Varnurud, the stage that most of At the Heart of Ruin plays out on, is a varied realm of ruin, past glory, and faded splendor. The kingdom of Dvendarr Tharr, now mostly referred to as the Mountains of Fire, has a great deal of Dwarven infrastructure; ruins of stone are most plentiful. Although most of it has crumbled to rubble or dust in the wake of the Calamity, there are those jutting edifices that yet endure – old watchtowers, cracked roads, small forts, great staircases, and massive walls only a few among them. One does not have to look far and wide.

Today we’re taking you underground, into a realm obscured to most inhabitants of Xeryn. Beneath the broken sprawl of the Mountains of Fire lies a labyrinthine network of cyclopean tunnels: the roads of the ancient Dwarven kingdom of Dvendar Tharr. During Xeryn’s Third Age, before the Calamity wreaked untold havoc, these passages were used for trade, marching armies, and all manner of other activities. In fact, the majority of Dwarves during the period favored them over paths above ground. Small fortresses stood at important crossroads or straddled major causeways, and by now, many of them have crumbled to rubble.

Another day, another step closer to At the Heart of Ruin’s release date, October 22. And of course, another teaser. Today’s fare showcases largely avoided territory deep beneath the ruined Dwarven city of Dum Garok. It is a territory where few tread and from which even fewer return.

In the long lead-up to the release of our At the Heart of Ruin expansion, we’ve spoken at length about Dvendar Tharr and the perils there – the horrifying creatures, the utterly inhospitable weather, and the countless other hazards that await the bold who venture there. Most denizens of the Riven Realms know the realm of Dvendarr Tharr to be largely uninhabitable.

The teaser this week is somewhat of a continuation of an earlier post, where we brought the Earth Elemental to you, explaining that a key aspect of its design included not just anger, but a range of human emotions felt and experienced by the cursed, suffering spirits that manifest them.

In many ways, the Fire Elemental is no different. Similarly, it is a host to restless spirits, yet in contrast, that spirit is perhaps more enraged than broken. The diverse denizens of Varnurud testify that the two elementals are different in that their anger is represented in disparate ways; the Earth Elemental holds a deep grudge and sadness, while the Fire Elemental manifests a furious rage.

What makes a great set of stairs, you might ask? Well, that’s a tough question, we say. In our At the Heart of Ruin expansion, there are many sets of great stairs, but only one is called the Great Stairs – at least that’s what the locals would say. Whether those locals are bloodletting miscreants who worship an unknown entity that demands depraved sacrifice, madmen who delight in the act of burning themselves and others alive, or men who believe themselves to be beasts after discovering a dead Wyvern that they thought was a divine creature of the skies, that’s what they would say. There are other… more cultured locals, of course – even ones that’ll talk to you – but they each share a different brand of insanity. Enjoy, we say.