您好, 巨龍!
Salutations, Dragons!
It feels like a lifetime ago that you ventured into Tibet’s Black Temple and slew the vile priest Yuan Shao. Years later, long since it's been been jam-packed and ransacked, it’s time to back track and flash back, because the Black Temple is coming back.
The Land needs you. Now more than ever.
And the Year of the Tiger is about to begin, so if you crave satisfaction, then dig this action: the spirit of the Black Tiger is manifest in Loulan, and its power is there for the taking.
Take some time to stop by the Marketplace, because we’ve turned everything upside-down – many items have been permanently discounted, and some gaps in our inventory have been filled. Man, you guys ain't had no deals like these.
Year of the Tiger
February 1st, 2022 marks the beginning of the Year of the Black Tiger. Tigers are time-honoured symbols of nobility and power, and in keeping with its noble spirit, the tiger is here to bless the worthy heroes of the Land.
With the stars aligned, the spirit of the Black Tiger is able to physically appear in the Land, and Loulan is where those stars are shining right now. Every two hours, an announcement will declare that Black Tiger Spirits have manifested in Loulan. When the word goes out, twenty Black Tiger Spirits will appear, scattered throughout the outdoor area of Loulan. If you're seeking to gain the power of the Black Tiger for yourself, you'll have to hunt down as many as you can.
Three inches to the left and they would have missed my black ass.
A Black Tiger Pelt is nearly priceless on its own, and can be sold for a noble sum of cash. But the real blessing of the Black Tiger Spirit comes in the form of a Guardian.
Black Tiger Spirits have a small chance of dropping one of three Black Tiger Seal Stones – Rank 4, Rank 5, and Superior Rank 5. The Rank 4 Black Tiger offers a Guardian skill which will help you level up and farm items, while both Rank 5 Black Tiger Guardians grant you powerful combat buffs, so you can declare war on anybody who spreads evil throughout the Land.
But Black Tiger! I spread evil throughout the Land!
If you’re not lucky enough to loot a Seal Stone from Loulan, then Seo Hwarang in Hefei can attempt to combine Black Tiger Pelts into a [Rank 4] Black Tiger Seal Stone for you. She can also use the pelts to try and upgrade your Black Tiger Seal Stones to a higher rank.
NOTE: Awakening your Rank 4 Black Tiger with Soul Stones will change it into a random Rank 5 Guardian, and Black Tigers can't be traded, even when sealed back into an Empty Stone. This event will be your only chance for the foreseeable future to obtain a Black Tiger Guardian of your own.
Tiger’s Bravery
Wherever there’s injustice, wrongs to be righted, innocents to be defended… the Black Tiger will be there, delivering ass-whuppings. And you can right a few wrongs yourself, with the Tiger’s Bravery event buff.
All characters will receive 180 minutes of the event buff when logging in, and the duration will refresh every time the character comes online.
Eye of the Tiger
The spirit of the Black Tiger has one more blessing for you – during the event period, each account can claim one [Rank 4] Black Tiger Seal Stone, which can be registered to your Guardian list, and will buff you with +22% to all experience and item drop rates.
Can you dig it?
Black Temple: Renewal
The Black Temple is a short, single-encounter dungeon located in Tibet. The forces of evil have never been held back by a minor setback like death, so watch out, because Yuan Shao is back in the game and he's playin' for keeps!
Look at this place. It must have an eight-track player in every room.
The most immediate change is that you no longer need to spend hours hunting down passes - Qibu Baihuo, the engineer for the Everlasting Bridge, will sell you passes for Purple, Green, and Red difficulties. Purple difficulty is unchanged, but the challenge has been seriously stepped up for Green and Red.
A fierce battle awaits you inside against High Priest Yuan Shao and his followers. He’s made some friends since you last faced him, and he’s already come back from the dead once, so don’t be surprised when he does it again.
Your knowledge of scientific biological transmogrification is only outmatched by your zest for kung-fu treachery!
Yuan Shao was able to expand his forces via bribery, and a cache hidden treasures he found within the temple. The temple’s new treasure collection includes many rare items which could hitherto only be found in select locations, as well as a few brand-new artifacts. But their current owners won’t give them up easily. Yuan Shao himself carries a good amount of treasure, and his vile presence makes him the only source of Desecrated Relics.
His little Chinese legs were blown clean off!
Qibu Baihuo can combine the temple’s treasures into materials needed many of the most powerful artifacts in the Land. If you’ve been frustrated by the difficulty in getting your hands on Books of White Dragon, Ironblood Essence, Guardian Seals, and the other rare items listed, the Black Temple might become a second home to you.
Had you connected, pimp-slapping you into that china cabinet might have been justified.
There are enough epithets available from the Black Temple to fill an address book. The one-day epithets have been rare prizes from the Blue Dragon’s Treasure Boxes and powerful monsters in Kunlun, but you can now earn one of these titles if you have Qibu Baihuo sacrifice enough Desecrated Relics.
Mastering this dungeon can earn you the right to bear its name, in the form of The Black Temple epithet – either for seven days if looted, or permanently if you have the patience to craft it. The epithet comes in two varieties, whether you wish to commemorate the memory of the temple’s former glory (Endure), or lament its loss to evil (Consume).
That's you, Tricky Dick! So I'm here to deliver you one presidential ass-whupping!
Rakshasas are among the most evil beings in existence, and even the names of Rakshasas hold such evil power that the monks who once worshipped in the Black Temple kept them under a secure guard. If you believe yourself better capable of resisting their influence than the monks were, you can try to contain them within your weapon, via a Mark of the Rakshasa.
Qibu Baihuo has lost his home in the Black Temple, and can no longer try and reclaim it himself. If you can aid him by retrieving some of the relics he left behind, then he’ll offer you one of the fragments of power he’s kept safe since the temple fell.
I'm blacker than the ace of spaces and more militant than you and your whole damned army put together.
A Great Disturbance
Our last patch implemented the highly-anticipated increase to the damage cap – allowing characters to strike for a maximum of 2 million damage - twice the former maximum. However, this fix was implemented at a fundamental level of the game’s code, and a few unforeseen complications arose. Various players at varying levels of gear progression experienced massive increases or decreases from their former damage performance, and we required an emergency fix to stabilize everything.
We turned up the experience for the rest of the week to show our appreciation for our players and the roller-coaster ride they endured. But it didn’t quite feel sufficient, so we’re offering one more gift package for our loyal players, which includes a few consumable items, and the return of the 1 day Stumbling Dragon epithet.
Marketplace
Our eighth series of costumes have arrived, and can be obtained with the coupons found inside the Classy Ensemble Box. You can exchange them with Mae Hwar in Hefei for one of four new [Exquisite] Costumes, or if you save them up, you can select one of two new [Exquisite] Premium Costumes.
The Winter Wardrobe coupon exchange has been moved to Sua.
Swashbucker's Regalia
"You're so righteous!" "This is also true."
Epic Dancing Dragon Costume
Stick with me, baby, I'll have you fartin' through silk.
Left to Right: Blue Dragon , Red Phoenix, White Tiger, Black Tortoise Wardrobe
At long last, our friendship bonded by the struggle against The Man has been brought to an end by kung fu treachery!
Marketplace Update
With the renewal of an old dungeon and the beginning of a new lunar year, it felt like a good time to implement a number of changes to our permanent Marketplace offerings.
Several new items have been added for permanent sale:
- Increase Hero Band Attributes (High) grants you 15 Hero Band Attributes.
- The God of Wind and God of Rain cash accessories are a pair of temporary accessories for the “Belonging Item (Cash)” equipment slots. Wearing them together provides a set bonus, and the RainWind Trinket Box contains both, at a discount.
- The Master’s Creating Guide (High) is a much more effective and cost-efficient version of the previously available guide.
- New Plates for higher dungeon difficulties are available, including the debut of Plate of Conqueror. One plate can be used to enter a dungeon, instead of three passes, and plates will grant you the Adamantine Force buff while you are inside.
Many of our existing items, while still useful, have been overpriced compared to the market value of other Marketplace items. The base price for these items has been dropped slightly, and some substantial bulk discounts have been applied.
- Increasing your Hero Band Attributes and Experience now costs less if you purchase at higher point values.
- The Special Auction Pass has been discounted to encourage more player trading.
We’ve removed a few items which now have cheaper and better available alternatives, such as the Master’s Creating Guide, the Four Deity Pills, and Superior difficulty dungeon plants. Some items which are simply obsolete or redundant have been discontinued. This should make the Marketplace a little easier to navigate.
Notes & Bug Fixes
- NPC’s with daily quests should once again properly display the exclamation mark (!) quest indicator.
- On the world map, Hefei now highlights Qingdao as a connecting zone.
- The Character Screen (C) once again highlights stats in green if they have been increased beyond their base, and indicates with flashing numbers stats which have been increased to their maximum.
- The percentage displays for Experience and Anger are now easier to see.
有空再會!
Thanks, and see you in the Land!
Team Papaya
