Reborn Dev Spotlight: End Game Content and Post-Launch Updates

The next Reborn Beta begins Monday, March 25th. Until then, we're busy previewing some of the new content coming when the game launches in April. Today we're taking a look at what high-level players can expect to do with their time once they reach max level in Reborn.

Shard Dungeons

The first tier of end-game content in Reborn will be Shard Dungeons, which will be similar to the system from the current game. Once you hit Level 30, if you run a normal dungeon and don't already have a shard in your inventory, a random Level 1 shard with a minor mutation keyed to a random dungeon will be generated for you when you kill a boss.

Once you have a Level 1 shard (or someone in your group does), you can proceed to that dungeon to activate the shard and begin completing the dungeon. Once the shard is activated, you will have a limited amount of time to complete the dungeon, killing both bosses and a certain percentage of the other mobs. Note that in Reborn we've designed the dungeons to be very similar in terms of number of trash groups and dungeon length, so it should be a much more even experience than in the current game.

If you complete the dungeon, even if you go over time, you will receive Shard Dungeon loot for that dungeon, which scales up via the new "Plus Levels" on gear. For example, if you complete a Level 1 Shard Dungeon you would get 30+1 Epic-level gear. Level 4 will net you 30+2 gear. And so on, all the way up to Shard Level 10.

Along the way, if you complete the dungeon under the time limit you'll continue to receive upgraded shard levels just like the current game, with increasing numbers of mutations and difficulty for each dungeon level that you achieve.

We've also added several new minor and major mutations, with a total of 11 Minor, 12 Major, and 2 Brutal mutations currently in the rotation, with some new ones including "Reaction Test", "Difficult to Dodge", "Break It", "Virus", and "Shared Pain." Some existing mutations such as Reincarnation that have always had problems have been overhauled and fixed. The system will also now automatically rotate the Major mutations that take effect in higher level shard runs every week during the weekly reset, so no more waiting on a Dev to do it manually.

End Game Gear

A quick note on End Game Gear progression. End game gear will progress via the Plus Level system. This allows you to have Level 30 gear that has stats which are actually higher than Level 30. This is the current planned progression:

Note that Shard Dungeon gear follows the same form as overworld gear and is not class-specific, while Raid gear armor is class-specific. Also note that when you are Level 29 and below, +1 Rare gear is available via normal dungeons; once you reach Level 30, normal dungeons will only grant Rare 30 (or "30+0") gear, you will need to complete Shard Level 1 or higher to receive 30+1 gear.

In addition, in Reborn we'll be introducing a new temporarily tradable system for gear drops in Shard Dungeons and Raids. Whenever an item drops, anyone who was present when the drop occurred is eligible to receive it via trade until you leave the dungeon or raid instance. This should keep the current personal loot system intact while still allowing Fellowships and other organized groups to share gear to prioritize gearing up a certain player or help catch someone up quickly without needing to wait for the RNG loot to cooperate.

Raid: Ruins of Guild City

We're pleased to announce that the first Raid in OrbusVR: Reborn will the Ruins of Guild City. Featuring 5 unique and challenging raid boss fights geared for 10 players, the raid will see the denizens of Patraeyl venture forth to the ruins of Guild City in an attempt to begin understanding the events which led to the current state of the world and what can be done to repair it.

The Normal Mode version of the Raid will launch approximately 6 weeks after the launch of the game, with the Hard Mode version to follow shortly thereafter. Note that in terms of tuning this time, the Normal mode Raid will be able to be completed by most parties who spend time learning the mechanics, while the Hard Mode Raid will be tuned about as hard as the Expert Mode Raid is in the current game, requiring significant practice and dedication to overcome. As in the current game, there will also be cosmetic rewards such as capes, a mount, and pets available in the Raid in addition to the gear rewards.

Content Patch One

In addition to the Raid content listed above, we'll be releasing our first content patch, which will be a free update for all users, a few months after the release of Reborn. In this patch you can expect new dungeons, the Tinkerer crafting Discipline, and our second tier of end-game content, including a second Raid and additional scaling on the Shard Dungeons system, as well as other major game improvements and new content. We'll provide more details on this content patch after the launch of Reborn.

With all of the new content in the game including lore quests, public events, and missions, plus the shard dungeons and raid, crafting disciplines, and more, there will be plenty to keep you busy in Reborn after you've gone through the initial leveling process. We look forward to seeing the community conquer it all!