Roughly one week ago, the battle lines were drawn and war was declared between the Knights of Aenok and the Daemonic Acolytes. Phyrrans that are active in the Revolution cause were told to pick a side and swear their allegiance to one of these two warring factions: the strict-ordered Aenok who will stop at nothing to bring order to our world, or the chaotic Daemons whose wickedness is outweighed only by their propensity for anarchy and mutiny.

As  the initial war cries were heard, the ‘field advantage’ has gone back and forth between the two sides. Initially, the Aenoks held a slight lead over the Aenok, mainly contributed to their ability to quickly assimilate and fall in to an ordered squad. With the mission to ‘cleanse or kill all heretics’ in their path, the Aenoks worked efficiently and effectively. When the first stage of the battle completed on Monday, September 14th, the Aenoks held a minor lead and the Revolution’s overall Top Killer for the stage (Busterbros) was of the Aenok faction.

The tides always turn though, and the Daemons came back with a vengeance. Though lacking the precision and order that the Aenok pride themselves on, the Daemons used their brute force and lack of conscience to slaughter their way through both Aenok and innocents alike. Without planning or foresight, their attacks come as an ambush on Aenok forces, leaving the angelic warriors confused and disoriented. At the time of this writing, the Daemons and Aenoks are neck-and-neck (both on the scoreboard and on the war field).

As was mentioned earlier, at the end of Stage 1 of the PvP battle (held on Monday, September 14th), the Aenoks were in a slight lead. Busterbros took the spot for Top Killer for the Aenoks, and The Muffin scooped up the win for the Daemons. Both Busterbros and The Muffin received their coveted prizes for being the Top Killers; picking and receiving one of our brand new Revolution Gear Sets for free.

Stage 2 of the PvP event continues until Monday, September 21st and will finish at 12:00pm EDT. At that time,  the Top Killers will be recorded again and notified of their win. Once the Top Killers are recorded, the personal scoreboards are wiped and everyone is set back to zero. Everyone is encouraged to start fighting to reach the top of the Killers list for their side! This way, players can fight through the entire event, or just pick a certain stage, and can enjoy having a fresh chance every few days to try their hand at being a Leader. The overall score for the Aenoks and Daemons will continue to record, and will be used in tallying the winning side for the end of the event. At that point, Stage 3 of the PvP event will continue.

You can join in this legendary battle too! Players who have completed all released chapters in the Revolution Quest Series will be prompted to pick their favorite faction. If you have yet to begin your Revolution quest series, visit your Quest Journal and click on the Revolution image. Get Started with the Prologue, and work your way through the chapters. Not only will you get to take part in the PvP of the season, but you will also rack up some really great rewards for your avatar!

If you are caught up on your Revolution quests, visit the Revolution PvP Battle page and get to hunting players on the opposite side of the war! If you look at your faction’s scoreboard, you will see a link to help you Hunt the other faction. For more instructions and information about the event, visit the official Revolution PvP schedule and information page. We’ll see you in the Arena!

Get your fight on! http://www.duels.com

As the battle begins in Phyrra, each side of the PvP event has brought their fashion to the Arena. The Revolution Mini Set is available the Game Store at this time!

The mini set is divided in to four sets, one for each High Path. Each outfit comes with a special legendary, available only as part of this Mini Set.

The Daemon Mage Gear Set features the infamous Daemon Hellcaller gear, along with the ghastly Staff of the Foul Baptism and the legendary Abominable Wand.

The Daemon Mage Gear Set includes the Fleshrender collection of armor, as well as  the Daemon Horn Clobberknocker and the legendary Fleshy Shiv.

The Aenok Warrior Gear Set features classic Aenok Paladin armor pieces, the Aenokic Defender and the legendary Sword of Shining Faith.

The Aenok Druid Gear Set includes the Aenok High Father armor, and the High Father Scepter and the legendary High Father Staff.

http://www.duels.com

This fall, Duelists must face the ultimate decision: align themselves with the Aenok Knights, or venture forth with the Daemon faction. Beginning with the Revolution in the Shadowlands prologue, all roads have led to this choice.  As the newest chapters in this saga unlock on Thursday, you will be given the task to fight for one of these sides. Whichever side wins the PvP will decide Duels’ future expansion.

For those who are unfamiliar with this quest series, you can begin your own Revolution by logging in to Duels and visiting the Revolution quest page (http://www.duels.com/quests/shadowlands ).  Click the first Get Started button and catch up through Chapter 12 (The latest chapter to be unlocked thus far).

For players who have kept up with the quest series, you have already been introduced to the two new NPCs that represent each faction. Below is a closer inspection of these foreign creatures.

The battle of good versus evil will be decided this fall.  The fate of Phyrra rests on your shoulders. The Revolution is upon us.

Get started today- www.duels.com

This month’s forum contest is a nod to the games of yore, our 8-bit ancestors that let us spelunk, jump, and eat our way to glory. Though a few of us may not have been old enough to enjoy the simpler times of gaming, we can all take part in our 8-Bit Duels image contest. Using any images or tools at your disposal, create an image that mixes Duels or Challenge Games with the 8-Bit era of gaming and then post your creation in our official Contest Thread ( http://www.duels.com/forums/viewtopic.php?t=960698 ).

The contest is free to enter, open to players of all levels, and hands out great prizes for winners every week. There will be an overall grand prize at the end of the month too, so be sure to enter for your chance to win!

Some tips on posting images in the Forums:

1) You need to have the image hosted on an image-hosting site, like Image Shack. There are a lot of free sites out there, what you’re looking for is a place where you can load your images and can share a link to particular photos without the viewer having an account with that service.
2) When you image is loaded on the image-hosting site, it should have a URL that you can use to view the image publicly.
3) Once you have a URL for your image, paste it into a forum post with “[img]” before the URL and “[/img]” after.
4) Click the ‘Preview’ button for your forum post to make sure the image shows up
5) Press ‘Submit’ and watch as your photo magically appears in all its splendor and glory!
Ex: Here’s a quick breakdown on how to do this with one such service, ImageShack.

ImageShack ( http://imageshack.us/ )

1) Create and log in to your account, then use the list to the left to find Upload Image
2) Once the image is loaded, click on it. A box should appear around the image.
3) Click the tiny ‘i’ icon to the right of the image. A box pops up with a bunch of handy stuff. Copy the ‘Direct’ URL.
4) Paste it into a forum post with “[img]” before the URL and “[/img]”

Help Us Make Duels Better!

Dear Duels players,

Hello, Challenge Games needs your help. We are asking our players to take a short survey in order for us to better understand who you are. All information is confidential and anonymous and will only be used by Challenge Games to help us prioritize features, craft better content, and use to sharpen our messages. Your insightful answers will help us make Duels the best it can be. The survey should only take a few minutes of your time, but will be invaluable information for us. Click here to take the survey now!

Thanks,
Challenge Games

The elusive Nobleman’s Bundle is back in Duels, and as always it’s got a lot of cool factors going on.

Here’s the royal facts on this Noble offer:

* The Nobleman’s Bundle is a special offer, only a limited number are created and when they’re gone, the bundle goes away. It appears every once in awhile and never lasts long.

* This bundle is all about packs, and room for your new goods. It’s 50 (fifty!!!) Noble Set packs, and 50 Inventory Slots to boot, all for $49.95. That’s a really, really, really good deal- and that’s why these bundles sell out so quickly.

* At the time of this writing, less than 300 Nobleman’s Bundles were still available for purchase.

* One of Phyrra’s most beloved pets, the Recently Reformed Rat, is only available with a purchase of a Nobleman’s Bundle. When you purchase this bundle, you automatically receive a legendary Rat for free! (Limited one rat per avatar)

* The Nobleman carries a very special guarantee. If you purchase two Nobleman’s Bundle and do not receive a legendary or artifact in any of the packs, Shindaan Guardian Del will gladly give you one of his legendaries- and you even get to pick which one! The only items in his inventory that are not up for grabs are his Blade of Halstora, and the Crunchies (he really likes his Crunchies).

If you want to check out the nitty-gritty or go ahead and pick one of these Bundles up, head to the Nobleman’s Bundle page in the Game Store!

I thought we’d try something a little different this week and talk about our update a little bit on the Blog (our Patch Notes are still posted in the forums, as always). Change is always fun, right?

This week’s update touched on a lot of different subjects. There were a lot of changes made in regard to game balance, all tested on our Forge servers and ready for the live game. For a more detailed breakdown of these changes, please visit this week’s Patch Notes

• * First and foremost, the “If Resisted” Clauses were removed entirely from Energy Drain, Hold Person, Slow, and Shakes to simplify their purposes.

• * Burning Powder’s duration was reduced by one turn, to help bring high Stamina builds in line.

• * Energy Drain was change to non-resistible and the ‘drain’ was reduced due to the removal of the “If Resisted” clause.

• * Shakes’ reduction was changed to beef it up a bit and help it perform better for non-Artifact builds.

• * Resistance was put on a Diminishing Returns scale. This change was made because Resist granting gear has evolved and Resistance needed to reflect the current times.

• * Dual Wield/Shields and Shield Mastery skills had their dodge debuff removed entirely. Shield builds have been underperforming and needed a little boost to pick up some momentum.

• * Fortitude’s bonus to Stamina was reduced a bit.

• * Offensive Power’s effect on an opponent’s Absorb and Dodge was tweaked to give Sword paths a better way to reduce Dodge and Absorb without relying completely on Openers and Actions.

• * Defensive Power’s bonus was split because it was allowing too high of  a Resistance bonus, but is still useful has a general Resistance/Dodge boosting skill.

• * Dark Elf’s Delight’s duration was changed a little bit to combat its High Stamina version while keeping the same duration for non-Stamina focused builds

We also brought back the ever-popular limited-run Nobleman’s Bundle (50 Noble packs and 50 inventory slots), complete with its exclusive pet Rat (they’re actually quite darling and sought after!). The only way to snag a rat is to grab a Bundle, just remember it’s limited to one per avatar. The Nobleman’s Bundle carries a very special guarantee- if you purchase two Nobleman’s Bundle and don’t find a legendary in either one, Shindaan Guardian Del will be more than happy to give you one of his!

Chapters 7-9 of the Revolution in the Shadowlands have been unlocked at this time and are waiting for you. “The Aenok have arrived. The newest Duels race has landed and, with their help, the cleansing of Shadow Phyrra begins. But, what are these strange, angelic creatures and what unexpected consequences might their arrival hold?” To get started, visit your Quest Journal and begin the Revolution.

Last but certainly not least, Shadowland packs are on sale for Challenge Coins. When you pick up a pack, box, or case of the Shadowlands using CCs it’s buy one get one free. Very nice.

For a short time after our update this morning, we will run our weekly trivia contest. To try your hand at winning a few free packs, please visit our Patch Notes page to view the question and submit your answer!

It’s been less than a week since the Shadowlands launched in Phyrra. The awe-inspiring art of the Shadowlands set has been the talk of the Arena, as well as the deadly weapon and armor stats. Hundreds of teams have formed and are tearing it up in our Team Battles ring. Tons of team battles have been waged and show no signs of stopping.

August’s Forum Contest has also started, and this month’s theme is Sci-Fi Costume Party. You can use any items in the game to dress up your Duels avatar as any science fiction character, then enter for free for your chance to win great prizes.

That’s the good news.

With the arrival of the Shadows, there has been a change in the mood of the Arena, and Phyrra in general. Regular Duelists are now fighting for the twisted amusement of the Shadows, Phyrra’s new rulers. The quarantine placed on Phyrra by the mainland remains in place, making it impossible to get off the island by the usual means.

Our city has turned in to a  psychotic circus for madmen, killers, and the seemingly unstoppable Shadows. And the outside world wants nothing to do with us.

A small group of well-trained Duelists managed to escape the initial corruption of the Shadows, slipping past the dark collars and leashes being snapped on all Phyrrans’ necks. The only safe place in our city has proven to be Tomb Town, where we’ve taken residence.

Join us every week as new chapters unfold. Take part in the Revolution by visiting your Quest Journal and clicking on the Revolution image. The Prologue is currently available, and new chapters will unlock this Thursday after our scheduled update.

It’s time to take the city back.

Click For Wallpaper

Nightmare in the Elemental Age was kind of the Empire Strikes Back of Duels. As we left that last series, Phyrra was pretty boned. The ‘Bad Guys’ had won and gone on to betray even those who helped them and the city was overrun with psychotic monsters.

Now it is time to take the city back.  But, even if we manage to send the various Shadow Beasts and Kin back to their own foul dimension, Phyrra’s future may not be too rosy.  Two new factions are waiting in the wings. In a few weeks, they will make their appearance and, once again, we will need to choose sides and decide the future. It promises to be a devilishly good time.

And, even though the people of Phyrra are currently being forced to endure slavery at the hands of shadowy lunatics, on the plus side, we get an absolutely gorgeous new set out of the deal.  There is some pretty gnarly stuff in this one and gruesome is always fun to write for, thus, coming up with the lore this time has been a total (ly grim) blast.

Team Battles 1.0 also arrive today.  Blerg and I (and hopefully a few others) are planning to set up a team and take all comers once the launch craziness is finished, so be sure to track us down.

Finally, Sunday marks our second anniversary! We have some special surprises planned just for that day, so be sure to log in and check it out.

- TAD out!