We’ve been working on this update for a while, and it’s a big one: we’ve got a brand-new Dungeon; an entirely new way to upgrade your Champions; new Champion Skins; Champion balance changes; and some smaller fixes and updates! Let’s dive into the star of this update: Awakening!

AWAKENING & THE IRON TWINS FORTRESS

Awakening your Champions gives them access to Blessings - powerful new passive abilities that boost their stats and transform the way they perform in battle. Awakening (and everything related to it, including the new Dungeon) unlocks at Level 42.

To begin Awakening your Champions, you’ll first need to get some important items from a brand-new Dungeon - the Iron Twins Fortress.

IRON TWINS FORTRESS

The Iron Twins Fortress is where you’ll fight the Iron Twins, a tough new Boss that will give you access to some valuable items - Soul Coins and Soul Essence. You’ll need these to begin the process of Awakening your Champions.

The Fortress itself works differently to the other Dungeons - it is divided into the four Affinities, with its Affinity changing each day.

Each Affinity has 15 Stages, and your progression is unique to each Affinity. This means you need to unlock the Stages for each Affinity separately, by progressing through the Stages when that specific Affinity is active.

You need Energy and Fortress Keys to enter a Stage within the Iron Twins Fortress. You are given a maximum of 6 Fortress Keys to use per day, with your supply of Keys being restored back to 6 at 00:00 UTC every day. 

If you manage to use all your Fortress Keys but want to keep progressing, you can get a Fortress Key Refill using Gems, which will restore your supply back to full. You can only get one Fortress Key Refill a day, so choose wisely. If you lose a Battle, you won’t lose a Fortress Key but you will lose the Energy, so keep an eye on your reserves.

If you manage to beat the Iron Twins, you’ll get your hands on Soul Coins and Soul Essence. From there, it’s time to start Awakening your Champions. 

AWAKENING

To Awaken your Champions, you’ll take the Soul Coins and Soul Essence you raided from the Iron Twins, then head to a brand-new building in your Bastion, the Altar of Souls. This is where you’ll use those items to get Souls for your Champions. 

There are two types of Souls: Perfect Souls and Split Souls.

• Perfect Souls let you Awaken your Champions to the exact Level of Awakening indicated by the number of red stars on the Soul - without any extra steps or requirements. The main way to get Perfect Souls is by summoning them using Soulstones, but you’ll also find 1* Perfect Souls at the Soul Merchant.

To get Soulstones, you’ll want to head to the Mystic Market inside the Altar of Souls and spend your Soul Coins.

• Split Souls Awaken your Champions one level at a time, and your Champion must be at the right level of Awakening to use a specific Split Soul. 

To get Split Souls, you’ll need to head to the Soul Merchant and exchange your Soul Essence. The Soul Merchant’s stock changes all the time, so make sure to check in regularly to find the Souls you need.

Each Champion needs their specific Soul to be Awakened - meaning to Awaken the Arbiter, you’ll need souls of the Arbiter.

It’s important to know that only Rare, Epic, and Legendary Champions can be Awakened, and Champions cannot be Awakened to a higher level than their current Level of Ascension.

Once you have the Souls you need, you can Awaken a Champion and choose their Blessing.

BLESSINGS

The reason why you want to beat the Iron Twins, summon Souls, and Awaken your Champions is Blessings.

Each Blessing belongs to a Divinity, and each Divinity has Rare, Epic, and Legendary Blessings. Rare Champions can only access Rare Blessings, Epic Champions can only access Epic and Rare Blessings, and Legendary Champions can access every Blessing.

Each Blessing has 6 Levels, and improving these Levels is directly tied to a Champion’s Awakening Level. The benefits of leveling up are unique to each Blessing, from improving stat bonuses, to unlocking new effects and abilities.

Blessings can be swapped at any time. Like Masteries, the first change is free - but any subsequent changes will cost Gems.

AWAKENING ITEMS

There are a few other ways to get your hands on some of these important Awakening items, as well as ways to turn surplus items back into something useful - so you can always keep progressing.

For example, if you get some Souls you don’t need, you can always sell them to get some more Soul Coins back. Here’s a summary of the key Awakening items.

Soul Coins. Used for getting Soulstones and Soul Essence. Can be earned in a number of different ways, including:

• Beating the Iron Twins.
• Selling Souls.
• Using Mortal and Immortal Soulstones at the Altar of Souls.
• As Soulburn Reimbursement.

Soul Essence. Used for getting Souls from the Soul Merchant. Can be earned in the following ways:

• Beating the Iron Twins.
• Traded for Soul Coins at the Mystic Market.

Soulstones. Used to summon Perfect Souls at the Altar of Souls. 

• Acquired using Soul Coins at the Mystic Market.
• Found in Hydra Chests (Mortal Soulstones only).

And as always, keep an eye out to see what you can win in Events and Tournaments!

HAVE FUN!

You can find out more information about Awakening, Blessings, and the Iron Twins by checking out the in-game Guides. Once inside the Altar of Souls, the Iron Twins Fortress, or the Blessings interface, just hit the “i” icon to find a full breakdown of everything.

Everyone in the game will receive a free pack of items to get them started with Awakening experience once they reach Level 42 and unlock the feature. If you’re already past Level 42, you’ll get this straight after you visit the Altar of Souls - so check it out, then go explore Awakening.

There are a ton of different and unique Blessings to play with, and we’re excited to see all the interesting strategies and combinations you discover. 

NEW CHAMPION SKINS

We’re bringing out two new Skins that will transform the appearance of a Legendary Barbarian - Scyl of the Drakes! We’re adding the following Skins:

Heroic Skin - Lavaborn.

Iconic Skin - Azure.

Both Skins will be available in-game in the near future - so keep an eye out for Events, Tournaments, and Special Offers.

But, if you want to see what these Skins look like right now, just head to the Champion Index, find Scyl of the Drakes, and take a look for yourself!

And remember, you won’t lose a Skin if you sacrifice your only copy of a Champion you’ve collected a Skin for; and yes, you can use the same Skin on each of your duplicate copies of a Champion at the same time.

CHAMPION REBALANCE:

Marksman

[Skill 1 - Venom Arrow]

- Effect changed: Increased the chance of granting an Extra Turn from 15% to 25%.

[Skill 2 - Impressive Shot (Ascended)]

- Effect changed: Increased the extra chance of inflicting a critical hit from 15% to 25%.

[Skill 3 - Thorns]

- Effect changed: Increased the chance of ignoring DEF from 25% to 35%.

- Base stats changed: SPD increased from 92 to 98.

- Aura changed: now increases Ally SPD in Arena battles by 20% (was Ally DEF in Arena battles by 32%).

Canoness

[Skill 3 - Stalwart Guardian]

- Skill changed. 

Old version: Places a 50% [Ally Protection] buff and a 60% [Increase DEF] buff on the target for 2 turns. Also places a 15% [Continuous Heal] buff on this Champion for 1 turn.

New version: Places a 50% [Ally Protection] buff and a 60% [Increase DEF] buff on the target for 2 turns. Also places a 15% [Continuous Heal] buff on all allies for 2 turns.

- Base stats changed: SPD increased from 89 to 98.

Drake

[Skill 2 - Final Blow]

- Skill changed. 

Old version: Attacks 1 enemy. If the target has less than 30% HP, this attack is always critical.

New version: Attacks 1 enemy. If the target has less than 50% HP, this attack is always critical.

[Skill 3 - Decimate]

- Skill changed. 

Old version: Attacks 1 enemy. Places a 50% [Decrease ACC] debuff on all enemies except the target for 2 turns if this attack is critical.

New version: Attacks 1 enemy. Places a 50% [Decrease ACC] debuff on all enemies for 2 turns if this attack is critical.

- Cooldown decreased from 5 to 4 turns.

[Skill 3 - Decimate (Ascended)]

- Skill changed. 

Old version: Attacks 1 enemy. Places a 30% [Decrease SPD] debuff and a 50% [Decrease ACC] debuff on all enemies except the target for 2 turns if this attack is critical.

New version: Attacks 1 enemy. Places a 30% [Decrease SPD] debuff and a 50% [Decrease ACC] debuff on all enemies for 2 turns if this attack is critical.

- Cooldown decreased from 5 to 4 turns.

- Aura changed: now increases Ally ATK in Faction Crypts by 30% (was in Arena battles).

Delver

[Skill 2 - Mark for Death]

- Skill changed. 

Old version: Attacks 1 enemy. Places a 25% [Weaken] debuff for 3 turns if the target has a [Heal Reduction] debuff.

New version: Attacks 1 enemy. Places a 25% [Weaken] debuff for 3 turns if the target is under a [Decrease DEF] debuff.

[Skill 2 - Mark for Death (Ascended)]

- Skill changed. 

Old version: Attacks 1 enemy. Places a 25% [Weaken] debuff on the target for 3 turns if the target has a [Heal Reduction] debuff. This debuff cannot be resisted.

New version: Attacks 1 enemy. Places a 25% [Weaken] debuff on the target for 3 turns if the target has a [Decrease DEF] debuff. This debuff cannot be resisted.

[Skill 3 - Finisher]

- Skill changed. 

Old version: Attacks all enemies. Places a 50% [Increase ATK] buff on this Champion for 2 turns before attacking. If the target has a [Weaken] debuff, places a 60% [Decrease DEF] debuff on the target for 2 turns.

New version: Attacks all enemies. Places a 50% [Increase ATK] buff on this Champion for 2 turns before attacking. Also has a 50% chance of placing a 60% [Decrease DEF] debuff on the target for 2 turns before attacking.

- Base stats changed: SPD increased from 91 to 98.

Karam

[Skill 1 - Bloodstained Swords]

- Effect changed: Increased the chance of placing a 2.5% [Poison] debuff from 30% to 50%.

[Skill 1 - Bloodstained Swords (Ascended)]

- Effect changed: Increased the chance of placing a 5% [Poison] debuff from 30% to 50%.

[Skill 2 - Fit of Rage]

- Skill changed. 

Old version: Attacks 1 enemy. Has an extra 15% chance of inflicting a critical hit. Damage increases according to the amount of HP this Champion has lost.

New version: Attacks 1 enemy. Has an extra 15% chance of inflicting a critical hit. Damage increases by 50% if this Champion has more than 50% HP.

- Damage multiplier changed: This skill’s damage multiplier is now based only on ATK, rather than ATK and HP.

Miscellaneous changes & Battle fixes

• Soulstones (the Forge Material) have been renamed to Willstones.
• Champions that Astranyx the Dark Fae banishes with her Dark Abduction skill now becomes invisible.
• The [Stun] debuff animation and icon no longer display if the debuff is removed.
• Fixed a bug that caused Iragoth not to sacrifice one of his minions with the Consume Soul passive skill if the minion was under a [Petrification] debuff.
• Champions in the Stone Skin Artifact Set who place [Provoke] and [HP Burn] debuffs no longer make enemy Champions under these debuffs skip their turn.
• Fixed a bug that caused Helicath, while under a [Block Damage] buff, not to counterattack after an enemy with Warmaster or Giant Slayer Masteries attacks him.
• Fixed a bug that caused Shemnath not to be revived correctly after she was defeated in earlier Rounds in a Battle.
• Fixed a bug that resulted in players not receiving Rewards from Demon Lord Novice Chests under certain circumstances.

That’s everything we’ve got for you - now it’s time to dive into Awakening.