ArenToday at 1:30 PM Dec-5th Just to give you guys an idea of the reason behind the continued delay of the update release, short version is I'm basically trying to make it more Windward-like. Long version is, I want there to be long-term progression in the game for those that wish it. On the released last version atm, you get to tier 3 weaponry, finish research, and you're basically done. Progression stops. That's what I've been trying to change. So, just a quick overview of major changes: by default the world will no longer have hostile NPC outposts (can change in options). Default mode will have the entire world will be up for players to explore and populate like a year ago. Instead, I'm in the process of adding support for instances, like back in Windward. When you want to siege an NPC outpost, you will start an instance, which will effectively teleport you into a remote region where there will be a ready-made NPC outpost to conquer. You can invite friends into this raid, like in Windward. There may or may not be a boss fight. Drops will be catered to the player, based on the player's existing gear, as well as the chosen raid's difficulty. Players out in the world will still be able to do quests, traders, protect random NPCs from pirates, etc -- and acquire basic and rare quality loot this way, but it's the instanced raids that will progress past +6 gear (with difficulties to match). Of course player tactics and composition (healers, tanks etc) will help a lot, but I'll try to scale it in such a way that good equipment will matter greatly in such encounters. All this is a biiig change, which is the real reason for the continued delay. With the system I have in place, gear will go up to +20 quality for the absolute top-tier raid drops from bosses, although I'll have to change it to primarily boost health and damage instead of other stats. I'm thinking of implementing my original idea of there being 1-3 starting spots to choose from for new players, so everyone starts at specific locations and moves out from there. This way players that are there first on the server will get to build things that players that come after will be able to visit. And with the questing in place, the outposts in question will be giving new players a way to progress even without having to build outposts, until they find a spot of their own. Of course how it ends up being in practice remains to be seen/tested. We'll see. But one thing I do want to bring back is the feel of adventure, of being the first to visit a part of the world. This feeling is missing if the entire world is populated by NPC outposts. Perhaps as players expand into the world, add new starting spots on the "frontier", to keep the line moving forward without forcing new players to drive through hours of populated terrain.