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As part of RPGamer's Run to the Sun, we had a chance to stop by and chat with Knight Online's Community Liaison, Joseph Willmon. This Free2Play MMORPG is currently experiencing a big change in the way PVP works, and the good news is everyone can get involved. Here's some details on some of the new events, when they are, and how to get involved.
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1. Tell us about the new PVP additions -- what are their names?
Our players have always loved inter-server warfare, and our newest server Hellsgarem is where they can do it. On the 3rd Saturday of every month, Hellsgarem opens for 24 hours of pure PvP combat. Since it’s only open for a limited time, Hellsgarem cuts out the leveling process and provides a completely even playing field for all. Players are bumped up to a predefined level, given a suite of epic gear specific to class, and then let loose.
Hellsgarem’s a blast, but we’ve got more running in the mean time. On every server, our extremely popular Lunar Wars, Dark Lunar Wars and Castle Siege Wars each run two days a week. The new Border Defense Wars are held twice a day EVERYDAY! Also, the Ronarkland and Ardream PvP zones are open all day everyday, except during Lunar and Dark Lunar Wars.
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What are nation points, and how do they work?
Nation Points are earned for performing acts in service to your nation. Generally this comes in the form of defeating players of the opposing nation in battle, but there are also a few “Boss” monsters in the game that will award Nation Points once they are vanquished. Nation Points can be donated to your clan in order to increase your clan’s rank, or they can be used to purchase cool capes that your clan can wear in-game. These capes come in different colors, patterns and sizes. New capes become available when your clan’s rank increases.
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Lunar / Dark Lunar: How often is it, how many players are involved?
More than 300 people per side participate in the Lunar and Dark Lunar Wars. Combined, we see an average of six to eight hundred players each occurrence. The wars are held three times a day, two days a week. Which day depends on the specific server, but we spread the times out to accommodate as many different people as possible from around the globe.
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What objectives need to be fulfilled (for example, do any NPCs need to be killed?), and what's the reward for winning?
Each side needs to kill three NPCs in order to be declared the victor: two Warders, and a Keeper. The Keepers are on opposite corners of the map, necessitating quite a slog through enemy forces. A pretty exciting part is that players who die during the Lunar and Dark Lunar Wars don’t immediately respawn into the fray; upon dying they reappear in “jail.” Essentially a holding pen guarded by the Keepers, the jails open at intervals, letting all the fallen players flood back into the battle. Whichever nation successfully defeats the enemy Warders and Keepers, while defending their own, gets transported to the enemy capital city for a full hour of pillage and plunder.
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Castle Siege: Can you explain a bit the requirements players need to go through to participate?
Basically, your clan’s rank needs to be grade 3 or above OR your clan must be grade 4 and aligned with a clan that is grade 3 or above. The Castle Siege Wars start at 11:30AM PST/KOST (Knight Online Standard Time) on Wednesdays and Saturdays each week. The objective is to overtake the castle and destroy the monument in the central area.
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How much of the population is eligible right now? Will this number increase?
It isn’t too difficult to get your clan up to grade 3 or above, so a large portion of the current clanbase is eligible for the wars. If more clans are created and have ranked up enough, the participants will increase, making holding the castle a little tougher!
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What are the benefits of holding the castle?
There are the ever important bragging rights at stake! Really, though, control of the castle translates into control of The Abyss, a multi-tiered high-level dungeon just underneath the surface. In the Abyss lurk creatures that drop powerful items unique to the zone, and two of the game’s most fearsome bosses—Felankor and Isiloon—who drop epic loot as well. The reigning clan may choose to keep the gates of the castle closed, admitting only members and allies, or throw the gates wide open, granting passage to anyone. Since merchants in the castle and The Abyss collect taxes (castle owners set the rate), the clan who owns it must balance wisely: let in too few players and you won’t make money on taxed sales. Let in too many, and your own clan may not get a chance to get items from the dungeon you control!
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Border Defense: There seems to be some sort of history behind the Border Defense, what is it?
It’s no secret that the Karus and the El Moradians hate each other and are extremely territorial. The Border Defense Wars just prove that point. Each nation controls their own monument—a source of great power—in their area. The opposing nation seeks to capture this monument as well as the contested monument in the middle of the battlefield.
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The level brackets seem odd -- there seems to be one missing!
Yes, and rightfully so. This was done intentionally in order to promote participation in the Dark Lunar War which is available for all players level 30 to 59. The Border Defense War is available for levels 35 to 45 and levels 60-70. Many Knights decide to forego leveling past 59 in order to try to become the best of the best at lower level PvP combat. The schedule for these events is located in the “events” section on the Official Knight Online website.
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How many players can participate, and what is their goal?
A minimum of 16 players (8 vs 8) is needed for the war to begin. The first nation to destroy the center monument and their opposing nation’s monument while defending their own within the 50 minute time limit wins. If neither nation is able to do so, the nation with the most enemy players defeated is victorious! The winning team members are awarded bonus experience points and a Red Treasure Chest that can contain valuable items.
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Juraid Mountain Defense: How many players can enter Juraid, and how are they chosen?
Juraid Mountain, like the Border Defense Wars, is an 8 vs 8 instance. If more than 8 per nation enter the gates of Juraid Mountain located in Eslant, 8 players per nation are randomly entered into each instance. Knights must be level 70 or above to participate.
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Is this a PvE encounter, moving slowly to the end boss?
What’s unique about Juraid is that it’s both. Players have three enemies here: NPC monsters, the enemy group, and the clock. The winner is largely determined by which side can manage these threats efficiently. First, they must battle through hordes of monsters. In the center of the map lies the boss. Most of the time both teams arrive at the boss around the same time, and then a skirmish breaks out to see who gets the rights to defeat it. All of this must occur within one hour’s time. If not, the team with the most kills is declared the winner.
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How does the loot in Juraid differ from other dungeons?
Some pretty fantastic gear drops in Juraid Mountain, as it is designed for end-game and close to end-game players. Different colored gems drop from monsters that only appear in Juraid Mountain. There are Black, Green, Blue, Yellow, Red and Silver Gems ranging from least valuable to most valuable. After collecting these gems, you can place them in the “Chaotic Generator” located in the capital city of Moradon to transform them into some really cool gear. There is even a chance for them to turn into very rare unique items such as the Spear of Murky Waters or the Eagle’s Eye Bow.
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Hellsgarem: It sounds like you guys have some amazing prizes for this event! What's been won in the past, and will it change in the future?
We’ve had special Knight Online t-shirts made just for the winners of Hellsgarem, and some classy looking certificates for display as well, but the big prize goes to the winner with the most nation points. This time around he’s getting a computer speaker system care of Creative. It’ll be a different prize as time goes on, however, so players are urged to keep at it.
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When does this happen, and how can players get involved?
Hellsgarem opens on the third Saturday of every month, beginning at 12:00 AM KOST and ending at 11:59 PM KOST. Players can register via the in-game Powerup Store beginning three days before the server opens. At the time of this writing, the next time Hellsgarem will open is June 21st.
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Are there in-game rewards?
There are! We give out all of the aforementioned prizes for winning Juraid Mountain Defense and Border Defense Wars, in addition to thousands of potions for health and mana, and even the materials needed to complete the Master skills quests for each class.
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What makes this different from other games and other Knight Online battlegrounds?
It’s just a huge knock-down drag-out fight the likes of which can’t be experienced on a normal server. Here, the fights aren’t limited to battlegrounds; nothing is sacred on Hellsgarem. Mages sling destructive spells right through the middle of town, roving groups of players terrorize the countryside, and armies clash in the middle of dungeons. It’s truly a sight to behold, and luckily, we’ve got lots of players taking screenshots and videos during the event.
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RPGamer would like to thank all those at K2 Network who made this interview possible. Knight Online can be downloaded for free at the Official Site.
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