Chapter 378

He had multiple messages, and he mentally sorted through them quite quickly. Rue, had sent him the most. Which he figured, was also why she’d been a bit irritated with him. He grinned as he pushed those away though. Especially considering the final message she’d sent him had been titled You’re TOAST!!!!

Those aside, he had messages still from Fel, Steve, BLANK, and Hades. From the titles, he figured Fel’s could wait. Which meant he had messages from Steve, BLANK, and Hades to go through still. And, each of them seemed rather important. Timeline wise though, James figured it was best to look at BLANKs. Since it was actually a message from BLANK, along with a system announcement from the Game Developers. And, Steve’s message seemed relevant to that.

From: BLANK

Subject: Sorry in Advance

James,

First, thanks again for everything. Without your help, and the risks you took, this Cyb3ru5 situation would have taken us much longer. Your assistance was, without saying, above and beyond, and we thank you for that. Additionally, we would like to apologize, once more, for all the trouble our father has caused you. Ideally, we hope life can again return to normal for you, and we can all continue working within and on DCO together. We’ve taken your thoughts to heart, and will be working, best we can, to implement an opportunity for Dungeon Cores to do some adventuring of their own. When this happens, hopefully we can form a party together, and have a few moments of actual gaming fun together. We look forward to, once again, playing on the same field as you.

Now then, that aside, we’ve got some news to relay to you. We were able to finish setting up our next event and laying the groundworks for a few additional bits to come. While we were going to keep this event a secret from you, we understand you are already going to be at a disadvantage, because of the Cyb3ru5 situation. Mainly, you’re not going to have as much immersion time as should be fair. As such, we are sending this message to you so you may connect with Rue and ensure she gets everything in order for you, until you arrive home and are able to enter into immersion. After all, while we can’t give you early advantages, we can at least, try and ensure you’re also not at a disadvantage. Especially given your aid in helping us out.

Our first event goes live at 0100 MST. We moved the start time to the right, a little, out of consideration for you, but also to ensure we had everything wrapped up on our end. After all, half assed events and implementations are not how we do things.

This event, piggy backs on the Dungeon Gates, as well as Dungeon Wars aspects. While this event isn’t an actual Dungeon War, it will still involve dungeons interacting with each other. These events, called Dungeon Skirmishes, will serve as small little battles between Dungeons, their cores, and their players. They will last for 6 hours at a time, and Dungeons can partake in two of them in a 24 hour period. Know that your players are likely going to be chomping at the bit for this, and obviously, your dungeon, being the top dungeon, is going to find itself quite busy.

As such, make sure you’ve got everything in order, to have your attention pulled away during these skirmishes. Apply any upgrades you may have been saving that you want to, sort everything out mob wise, and make sure your research is plugging along. We figure you’ve already got a handle on all of these things, but also know, given everything you’ve been through, that you’ve got a lot on your plate. So, consider this our act of kindness, to make sure you aren’t blindsided by this event.

We look forward to chatting with you again soon, but know first and foremost, you are due some relaxation and downtime. Take all the time you need James and reach out to us when you want. As always, we look forward to hearing from you, and consider you one of our few, close friends.

BLANK

James finished the message, glanced at Steve, and went immediately into the system announcement declaring these damned skirmishes. Seriously, what the hell were they implementing now? It felt like every time he got used to a new feature, something else was immediately introduced. He was all for content in a game, but this seemed a bit much.

System Announcement

Attention Players! In preparation of Dungeon Wars, a new feature has been unlocked. Dungeon Skirmishes will be live at 0100 MST. In preparation of this new feature, read the abridged notes below. Additionally, you may follow the link below, to the full details of Skirmishes.

Dungeon Skirmishes are ‘friendly’ battles between two different dungeon instances. Up to 1000 players from each dungeon may participate in a skirmish, and players can only interact in 1 skirmish every 24 hours. Skirmishes last for 6 hours, and a dungeon instance can partake in 2 skirmishes every 24 hours. Players may take part in a total of 4 skirmishes per immersion, in order to ensure every player has ample chance to partake. These limits may be adjusted dependent on instance size, and player involvement. Additional details can be found at the official FAQ page.

Skirmishes can be initiated by adventurers at the Adventurers Guild. Registration for these events begins 1 hour prior to the skirmish beginning, and closes out when the 1,000 players have been selected. It is possible for those forming skirmish events, through the Adventurers Guild, to put down a wish list of dungeons they wish to challenge. Additionally, challenges can be received, and accepted, through the skirmish desk at the Adventurers Guild.

A skirmish will take place on the Fields of Battle, with modified battle rules for both sides. Similar to dungeon wars, players can summon mobs, bosses, and Avatars. Skirmishes offer players the chance at unique gear, as well as special skirmish related items, which can be utilized within skirmishes.

Finally, Skirmishes will introduce within the game the Warmonger AI. This AI, similar to class trainers, will serve as a point of contact for players both in their respective Adventurers Guilds, as well as while they are on the fields of battle. The Warmonger AI, additionally, will offer those who compete in skirmishes an additional resource to utilize during Dungeon Wars. Interactions and utilization of the Warmonger AI will enable the use of battle tactics, planning, and much more, during Dungeon Wars.

The developers wish to keep DCO completely engaging for players, and are working hard to take care of any and all issues, bugs, and such, that players have been reporting. Furthermore, continue to offer up suggestions and wish list thoughts via the appropriate means, as the game continues to grow, and develop, for its player base. Our launch week has been a massive success, and we look forward to continuing to make this an experience greater than any you’ve ever had.

For full details on skirmishes, please utilize the following link to be taken to the official forum page for it. Have fun, and keep climbing!

The Developer Team

James sighed as he glanced at the time. He had all of 20 minutes before the skirmishes went live. Meaning, he just knew he was about to be thrown into one. So much for relaxing. And all that aside, he still had the message from Steve to read. He looked at it, looked at the title, and before he even opened it, was shaking his head.

“No.” He said, as the message opened. “Not a chance.”