Welcome, Adventurers! In the last few months, we’ve received a tremendous amount of feedback to merge the Serafine server into Angerhorn. This led us to conduct a website poll among our community to gauge support for merging both servers. The poll results revealed strong backing for the Server Merge, with over 90% of respondents in favor. As a result, we're moving forward with the World Merge during the Horizon’s Call Pre-Patch, scheduled for July 23rd! In this post, we will explore the details of the World Merge and how it will happen.
We are also launching Public Test Realms (PTR) for both the Pre-Patch and the Expansion. This post will provide information about what the PTR is, how you can take part in tests, and the relevant dates. The first PTR goes live this Wednesday, so you better prepare!
Some History…
Ravendawn was designed with a channel system that allows a single world to function as dozens of interconnected worlds, similar to the server models used in games like Runescape, as opposed to a model used in games like Tibia where players are separated over dozens of worlds.
On Ravendawn’s Official Release, we had 4,000 pieces of Open World Land for players to claim. However, at release, we experienced 50 times more players than we anticipated, leading to a severe shortage of Open World land, which used to be the only viable option for players. This caused significant disappointment among a huge portion of the player base that could not get land, a core gameplay loop in Ravendawn.
This is why, soon after the release, we opened the second server, Serafine, to provide extra land for the players. We have also started developing the Community Land System, comparable in value to Open World land, with only a small difference between them. Right after the release, we understood that such a system was necessary, but it needed extra time and thought to develop.
The Present
With the Community Land system now fully functional and our improved infrastructure capable of supporting dozens of channels on a single world without issues, we believe that having two worlds in the same region is no longer necessary. In addition, the split market and player base across two worlds caused additional issues that Serafine players began to report, such as guilds abusing power and material shortages on the market. This led to a poll in which the vast majority of our players voted to merge both Worlds.
We understand that, in a player-driven economy, having one world and a unified market in the same region is healthier long-term for the game and the players. Additionally, we anticipate a large influx of new and returning players with the upcoming Expansion, supported by a strong marketing plan. Thus, we believe that consolidating into a single world is the most sensible approach, allowing a wide range of players to enjoy the new systems introduced in Horizon’s Call, such as Guild Wars, dynamic Group Bosses, instanced PvP & PvE Arenas, and much more!
The Future
As we’ve already announced on our official Discord server and during the recent Livestream, Serafine will be merged into Angerhorn on July 23rd alongside the Pre-Patch for Horizon’s Call. The Pre-Patch is not an Expansion but a period before it, during which several important features will be added, such as the New Player catch-up system – Adventurer’s Board, and important balance changes!
During the World Merge, all characters and market offers from Serafine will be transferred into Angerhorn which will become Global World. All land of Serafine players will be fully refunded. On Angerhorn, characters that haven't logged in for over a month before the merge date will have their land wiped and costs fully refunded. We believe that this way all Serafine players will manage to claim their Open World Land spot after the merge.
Public Test Realm
If you would like to test the World Merge (and a few other systems that are coming to the game) before the 23rd, you will be able to do it by playing our Public Test Realm!
The Public Test Realm (PTR) is a special, optional server where patches and updates are released earlier for players to test before they become available on the live servers. Its purpose is to stress test the servers, find and fix critical bugs, and gather feedback before the changes become public.
The first time that Ravendawn’s PTR will open its gates to the community is on July 17th! This version of the PTR will include the new catch-up system (Adventurer’s Board), important balance changes, the World Merge, and additional features coming for the Pre-Patch, but we will provide more detailed Pre-Patch Notes soon!
To participate in PTR, navigate to your Account Panel on the website by clicking the "My Account" button in the upper right corner (or click here). Then, click "Opt-in for PTR" below your account details. After that, please follow our Discord or wait until the download link becomes available on the account panel and get ready for the PTR to become Online on the 17th!
Changes to Multi-Character Land Ownership
The community has consistently requested addressing the issue of utilizing multiple characters on a single account for additional Land ownership. This concern has been heightened since the announcement of the World Merge, which will allow accounts to have up to 8 characters available.
With upcoming Pre-Patch, we will remove Land ownership from alternate characters within an account. The character with the highest Legacy Level will retain their Land. Additionally, moving forward only one character per account will be able to own Land, including Community Land.
We understand that those who use multiple characters for additional Land will find this change challenging, but we strongly believe this is a necessary change that will improve Ravendawn as a whole and alleviate the pressure some players feel to run alternate characters for extra Land.
With this change, we will be refunding all Land owned by alternate characters at 100%.
Frequently Asked Questions
On World Merge:
I’m a landowner on Serafine. Will I get a refund for my Land?
Yes, you will get a full 100% refund of all silver and materials you spent on obtaining and upgrading the Open World Land. This means that will be a full refund of your investment, as opposed to the smaller one when you normally demolish your land.
What will happen to items listed on Serafine market?
Offers from Serafine's marketplace will be merged into Angerhorn’s marketplace.
I have more than four characters total on both servers, will I have to delete some after the merge?
All the characters you have on both servers will be retained on the merged server, there will be no need to delete any of them.
Will I have to change my character names?
Since character names are unique, there won't be any need to change your name after the merge. Everyone will have their current name.
What Angerhorn land will be considered inactive and wiped?
Land of players who haven't logged in for 4 weeks before July 23rd will be cleared during the merge and players will get full 100% refund, making it easier for current active Serafine players to claim their desired Open World Land plot. We’ve run some tests, and we believe that all active Open World landowners on both Angerhorn and Serafine will be able to claim a plot after the merge and before the expansion rush of players.
Will Twitch Drops from before the merge work on the merged server?
No, any unclaimed Twitch Drops will be lost after the merge.
What will be the name of the merged server?
We won’t use boss names for the servers anymore. The merged server will be simply called “Global”.
On Public Test Realm:
Will I be able to play with my character on the PTR?
Yes! Before the PTR goes live, we will be importing all the data, allowing you to access your account and play with your character almost exactly as you do on the Live Server. This means that you will be able to continue your progress and experience new features with minimal disruption.
How to report bugs in PTR?
Reporting bugs in PTR will work exactly the same as in the game right now. Although we also provide Discord ticket and email support, we will always redirect you to report bugs in-game, as it is the most optimal method of obtaining necessary information for our QA team.
Is a few days of PTR enough time to fix the bugs?
We've just started including PTR in our development process and so far we want to focus on short-term stress tests that would find the critical issues within the systems. If we feel it will be necessary to extend the PTR phase, we will.
Isn't the time between the PTR and the Expansion Release too short?
Horizon’s Call has been in development for quite some time and has gone through lengthy in-house testing. We believe that 2 weeks between Expansion PTR and its release will be enough time to find and fix most of the bugs, especially that the systems have been tested internally for months already. This time should also be enough to balance and finetune the systems according to the players’ feedback.
Will there be special rewards for PTR participants?
While we understand the importance of recognizing helpful players, we believe a reward system for the PTR might cause more harm than good, leading to a focus on over-reporting rather than actual testing. Our priority is for the team to concentrate fully on bug fixing and collecting feedback. Ensuring everyone feels equally rewarded could distract from the PTR's primary purpose, which is not our goal. We hope that the opportunity to help the game, be among the first to test major new changes, and gain extra knowledge will be a sufficient reward. Rest assured, we notice all the helpful members of the community and will continue to ensure they feel acknowledged!
Will it become a common practice to always release PTR before Patch/Update?
We recognize the importance of the Public Test Realm (PTR) and are committed to integrating it more extensively into our development process. While we plan to utilize the PTR more frequently, this does not guarantee that every patch will be released on the PTR first. We will continue to run tests and refine our approach to ensure that the PTR fits seamlessly into our workflow. Our goal is to balance timely updates with thorough testing to deliver the best possible experience for our players.
Important Dates
We know that there’s a lot of coming! To make things clearer, here are all the important dates for the upcoming weeks:
July 17th: Pre-Patch Public Test Realm
July 23rd: Horizon’s Call Pre-Patch (Adventurer's Board, Balance Patch & World Merge)
July 26th: Horizon’s Call Expansion Public Test Realm
August 9th: Horizon's Call Expansion Launch
Thank you for attention and we hope that you’re excited both for World Merge and the upcoming Expansion! See you in-game!