Hey everyone!

First of all, a special thanks to those of you who participated in the Shards of Titan alpha. Your feedback has been invaluable over the past couple of months, and we look forward to hearing from you more in the future. We've been very heads down over the past couple of weeks working on the features I've detailed below, but we're hoping to improve communication going forward.

With that said, many players have expressed a desire to get a more behind the scenes look at what features are planned for the next couple months of Shards of Titan, and so I've taken the time to write up some quick summaries of what we've been working on. Please keep in mind that these are only tentative plans right now, and any feature listed here could be altered or cut completely between now and the point at which it's released. We're also not really comfortable providing specific timelines for each feature, as there are many things that could result in delays, and we wouldn't want to promise something that we can't deliver on. Needless to say, we're working tirelessly to get these features to you as quickly as we can.

Our primary focus right now is on End Game Content for people who have reached the maximum level and run out of story content to consume, however a number of these features also contain content for players still working through the first 30 levels of play. So without further adieu, here's what we're working on:

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Heroic Missions [Released 12/01/2014!]

Once you reach maximum level, you'll be able to play the Heroic versions of every mission. Heroic versions are balanced for a few levels above maximum, so they'll be more challenging then anything you've played before. They'll award max level loot, gold, lumber, companion XP, etc. Once the Paragon Brotherhood (detailed below) is rolled out, you'll also be able to get Paragon Tokens for doing Heroic Missions. In the meantime there will be achievements and (at some point) a new progress indicator on the campaign map to keep track of your heroic progress. We fully expect some Heroic Missions to require specialized tactics and exemplary play to complete.

Hall of Trials [Released 11/26/2014!]

We're tentatively planning to add the Hall of Trials building as a level 10 unlock. This building will grant access to a randomly generated series of catacombs that you can battle your way through. Each level you complete will unlock a progressively more difficult one. Every 5 levels you'll encounter a much more challenging boss. Defeating the boss will award special Hall of Trials currency, which can be used to buy max level epic gear. Eventually you'll run into a boss or group of mobs that you'll need specialized tactics, better gear, or simply a higher level to defeat. Compete with your friends to get deeper than anyone else!

Paragon Brotherhood [Released 12/01/2014!]

The Paragon Brotherhood is a new building and end-game system that will help you power up your character once you reach max level. You'll be able to accept jobs off of the Brotherhood jobs board and complete them to earn Paragon Tokens and reputation with the Paragon Brotherhood. You can then spend Paragon Tokens on bonuses for your character or max level epic gear. The available jobs will encompass all aspects of the game, so you'll be able to earn Tokens while playing many different game systems. Some examples of jobs are:

- Complete a specific heroic missions
- Complete a specific multi-player dungeon
- Donate gold/lumber/companion xp/university points to the Brotherhood (a use for Lumber/CExp/etc. after you've maxed out your town and companions)
- Battle or win in the arena
- Defeat bosses in the Hall of Trials
- Defeat world bosses (below)
- Etc.

World Bosses

World bosses are large-scale PvE battles that can be joined by hundreds of players at once. They'll take the combined efforts of everyone to take down. You'll earn rewards for participating in the battle based on how much damage you contribute, including a shot at unique sweet looking world boss equipment. We're planning to allow players of all levels to battle world bosses, though obviously higher level players will have more luck staying alive and doing damage than lower level participants, but we want the fights to be cool for everyone regardless. World bosses will be spawned periodically throughout the day, and we may also provide the ability for guilds to spawn bosses that the guild can fight for sweet loot (potentially in a later update).

The Jungle Shard

The next story content update. Missions on this shard will delve into the back stories of Lilinth and Christof and will introduce at least one new companion as well. This particular update will also include an increase to the max level (we're not sure how much right now). When the max level is raised, the current plan is for heroic missions and paragon brotherhood jobs to be disabled until you reach max level again, however you'll retain any brotherhood bonuses that you previously purchased.

Events [Released 12/16/2014!]

We're planning to start rolling out holiday events in the game before the end of the year. Events will include special event missions, multi-player areas, and quests. There will be unique event equipment, trinkets, and clothing for you to collect.

Guilds

We'll also be doing a pass on Guilds at some point. Tentative plans include buffs to the skill tower and guild shop, the addition of guild missions and guild bosses, and a re-balancing of guild levels. We're actually very open to suggestions for guild improvements, so let us know what you'd like to see added.

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So there you have it. Hopefully that provides a more transparent look into what we've got planned for Shards.