We’re still wrapping up internal development on all the stuff for the upcoming release.  We hope to get to a good spot mid-week and start the beta either late in the week or a week from Monday.  So, we have not sent out any beta invites yet. Sorry for the delay, we’ll get the invites out soon - thanks for your interest! 

Just an FYI:  I’m not e-mailing anyone yet relating to the beta.  But rest assured that I am getting the requests and reading them.  I’ll send out invites next week (probably late in the week).

One thing that we have wanted to do with Duels from the beginning is to make it more strategic and the Action System is designed to do this.

The basis of the Action System is, well, Actions. Originally we called them Action Cards, but they evolved beyond that.

Actions can come from several sources:

• Path / High Path: As you advance in level on your chosen Path/High Path various Actions will become available for you.
• Packs: Some specialized Actions will come in Packs (and possibly Quests). (Think of these as kind of like scrolls.)
• Items: Some items may enable certain Actions.
• Pets: A small number of Actions might be available based on what kind of pet you have.
• Race: Initially there probably will not be Elf or Human specific Actions, but as we introduce more races this will be an area where we add additional special Actions.

Actions are expended like scrolls, but you will be able to buy them in stacks of 10-20. If you have learned the Action you will be able to buy it from your Path / High Path trainer. This means that once you unlock a High Path skill, you will be able to buy more Action Cards as needed from your trainer.

Of course, now you are asking: how do I unlock them? As I said above, some Actions will be unlocked as you advance in level based on your Path / High Path. Other unlocks will be rare+ items in Packs, available from Quests, etc.

You will also be able to get special Actions from packs and vendors - think healing potions.

So that’s the basics. The next question is: How do I use them?

In the initial version you will be able to layout a set of 10 Actions. This Stack is then played out in a Duel. You will be able to save Action Stacks and make changes to them prior to a Duel. Which you’ll probably want to do since if you always use the same Stack people will figure out what you’re doing and mess up your combos.

Part of your 10 Actions are 2 Negates. A Negate effectively cancels your opponents Action for the Turn. This is quite effective for breaking up combos and generally messing your opponent’s strategy up. But remember, your opponent gets 2 Negates too.

I’ll try to post a screenshot of the Action Manager later today or tomorrow.

 In the actual duel:

Actions are used at the beginning of each turn based on initiative.  (IE:  Whoever won initiative uses their Action first - unless someone is using a Negate.)

— Oh, and all these names are subject to change.

Ok, here is a sneak preview of female avatars:

Also, at the same time we will release:

• Action System: This is a way to provide more choices for duels while maintaining the same challenge/response model. I will do a separate post on this in the near future.
• Balance Adjustments: Various changes to the skills of all Paths (high and normal) to better balance them.
• A New Set

These will be released after a limited beta program that will start around 10/27. So we expect to release this major upgrade on November 12 if all goes as planned. If you are interested in the limited beta, please e-mail beta@duels.com with your avatar name and why you would be a good tester.

We will also release tournaments and ladders between now and then, depending on a myriad of things. So if they aren’t out before then that’s when you can expect them.

Thanks for your continued support of Duels and, as always, let us know if you have any comments or suggestions.