Hello Everyone,

The first half of 2009 has proved to be an exciting time for WAR! With hundreds of pages of patch notes it's hard to remember everything that's gone live, four careers have joined the front lines, you've experienced our live events which we plan to only make better, and we've made amazing progress in improving performance allowing for larger battles and more stable servers. Additionally we've improved the UI and opened it up even more to our modding community, introduced the RvR Token System, implemented keep upgrades, and we continue to fix bugs and improve the quality of the game every day. To say we've been busy is an understatement and there's no sign of slowing down in sight, we hope you enjoy the ride.

With the release of Patch 1.3 we'll complete the Call to Arms Live Expansion. You will finally have the chance to explore the Lands of the Dead, an exciting new addition with a vast new area to explore, new rewards to earn, and the most challenging content yet!

I'll be discussing this and more over the course of the next several weeks in a three-part Executive Producer's Letter. We want you to have a first hand look at what's new in WAR and what's to come and give you a chance to share your feedback about what you would like to see come to WAR.



Since last year the team has been hard at work on the Lands of the Dead. We wanted a new RvR experience that was different from the current Tier 4 campaign. Set in the southern deserts the Necropolis of Zandri is the resting place of The Vulture Lord who rules his restless lands from his massive tomb, a great pyramid that overlooks the Lands of the Dead.

The forces of Order and Destruction must compete for Expedition Resources in the campaign so that they can make the perilous journey beyond the sands. The realm who earns enough resources will unlock safe passage and adventurers Rank 25 or higher can test their will against an ancient enemy.

Danger and great rewards await those who answer the call! The Lands of the Dead offer a host of new features and challenges. Roaming Public Quests make no avenue safe as the undead host patrol their lands and prepares for a great assault. Take on massive Bone Giants brought to life by cursed magic or fight from aerie to aerie against other players as you are dropped into the nests of massive vultures. The Public Quests in the necropolis offer new twists and trials like you've never seen before!

These public quests are also the gateway to all new lairs. Collect the glyphs to unlock passage into these long-forgotten chambers, but be warned you'll need more than just your sword to make it out alive! It takes teamwork and wits to conquer the challenges within as you flee from massive swarms or avoid certain death as you avoid cursed ground by jumping across toppled pillars and ruins while fighting a powerful denizen.

You may also be excited to know that Lands of the Dead will launch with a token system built in, players will collect scarab artifacts which can be used to purchase powerful items. Want more? Why not build your own weapon by obtaining a Vessel which you can make your own by filling it with the powerful souls of your slain enemies - need more Strength than Toughness? Replace one talisman with another one that will fulfill your needs!

Once you and your allies have prepared yourselves you can take on the Tomb of the Vulture lord and attempt to bring victory to your realm! But be warned, there are more than scarabs and skeletons within these halls - traps lurk around every corner putting every adventurer to the test. Eight fearsome encounters await you, each requiring a new strategy that will put all of your skills to the test.

What would WAR be without RvR? Not even your expeditions within the tomb or lairs are free from the onslaught of your enemy. Should they wrest control of the Lands of the Dead from you prepare to fight! Enemy players can enter your instance and attempt to purge you from the necropolis. You and your party must use the traps and your own wits against them to defend yourselves. Should you win you can continue forward, otherwise…to the victor go the spoils…

Each side will need to gain resources while preventing the other realm from gaining access to the Lands of the Dead. Because of this Tier 4 is now more important than ever and plays a pivotal roll in deciding who controls access to the necropolis.

If that’s not enough we've also managed to slip some other fantastic features such as the new sigil system and a number of improvements to the user interface, inventory management, public quest loot rolls, and more! But we'll talk about that next week in Part 2.

For now we encourage you to check out the Lands of the Dead now on the Public Test Server, your feedback and contributions continue to make WAR even better and for that we thank you. We have a lot of great things in the works, both new and based off your feedback and we look forward to sharing it all with you, stay tuned…WAAAGH!!!

See you on the battlefield,
Jeff Hickman
Executive Producer, Mythic Entertainment

Feel free to discuss and share your thoughts on the Official Forums!