Introduction
On 25th March 2023, a video Developer Commentary was released showing new content expected to arrive with Land of the Morning Light. This new region is coming to live servers in Korea on 29th March 2023 and will be released globally once localization is complete.
The Dev Commentary video can be found below, however, it is in Korean with Korean subtitles only. Therefore, we will be going through the subjects and information shared in the video!
Story and Theme
Lead Developer at Pearl Abyss, Jae-Hee Kim, started by talking about the concerns and challenges of bringing a Korean-themed region to the game. Land of the Morning Light is based on the Joseon Dynasty, the last dynastic kingdom of Korea. This is not something that is common in most Western games and is also challenging because it is a completely new visual that even Korean players in their 20s are not familiar with. The region is filled with new topiary, such as the lush green bamboo forest of Damyang, which reaches high in the sky. There are also the colorful pink fields of Beombawi Valley, Plum Red Trees outside the village, and many other places that were designed with the idea of taking beautiful screenshots to share.
Players will first be introduced to the new region through Yeonhwa, who players may already know from the Magnus Questline. The Bartalli Family also asks for your help to strengthen trade with Nampo Harbor, however, as soon as you arrive, you find out that Yeonhwa is caught up in a secret affair, and one of the villagers, called “Dolsoe”, accompanies you in her place.
For the story, the developers want to bring something different that players haven’t experienced before. Although each region is unique and has different stories, such as Kamaslyvia, the Great Ocean, Dreighan, etc. The story is always presented in the same way. With the Mountain of Eternal Winter, cutscenes and voice acting were added, but this time the developers felt that they needed to make another change so that the experience is more engaging for players. Therefore, in the Land of the Morning Light, they have removed the linear storytelling, and instead, there are 15 chapters that all begin in Dalbeol Village.
Each chapter is more of a short story, described by the developers as a “fairy tale”, since these stories are based on Korean lore and myths, which were often told to Korean children as bedtime stories. These chapters are stored in your new “Storybook”, and you can complete each story in any order you like, but once you start a story, you must complete it before you can continue with a different one. The storybook acts as a journal or diary, and updates as you progress, or may give clues to where the story will start. For example, the story of the Son Gak-si can be started by going to the chief’s house and listening to suspicious rumors. The ending of each story can also change depending on your choices and the ending you unlock will be stored in your storybook so that you can read it again at any time.
For the voice acting, professional actors were used and Korean players may recognize some famous voices, such as the actress who is best known for playing Anna in Frozen. In total there are over 5,000 voice lines and 100 cutscenes to bring a more immersive story to life.
Boss Rush
Land of the Morning Light is designed to be different from other regions, and instead of the traditional grinding zones, the boss rush is introduced.
There are 8 bosses in total, each with its own story, theme, and mechanics. Each boss also has up to 10 levels of difficulty, and the mechanics become more difficult, or new attack patterns may be introduced as you progress through the levels. The fights are designed to be challenging and intense.
Each boss has an attribute allocated to them (eg. Sun, Moon, Earth) and the attribute affects the attack and defense of the boss. You may be able to defeat the lower levels of the bosses straight away, but to further progress and make the fight easier, you will need to collect points called “Jewels of Light” while adventuring in the Land of the Morning Light, and then use these points to strengthen a certain attribute. For example, if you put points into the Earth attribute, you will become stronger against bosses that have that attribute. The amount of “Jewels of Light” you can obtain will be limited so you need to think carefully and plan how you want to allocate the points.
The attributes are very important, since 80% of your damage is determined by the attribute type, and the remaining 20% is determined by your character AP. The ratio for your defenses is the same as well, with 80% of your defenses determined by the attribute type, and the remaining 20% determined by your DP. However, your character stats will become more and more important when you reach the higher difficulty levels since the attributes can only be leveled so far.
Due to the popularity of Arena of Solare, Pearl Abyss wanted to introduce more competitive content that can also be enjoyed by newer players, so the attribute system was developed, and the completion time for boss kills will be recorded in a leaderboard against other players. The Boss Rush rankings will be applied to each class separately, and not to your entire family. The difficulty level is also not available to all classes straight away. For example, if you complete level 4 with a Warrior class, you need to use the same Warrior to complete level 5, this will then unlock level 5 for all classes.
New Items
Taebaek Accessories
The first new accessories are the Taebaek’s Necklace and Taebaek’s Belt. These accessories unlock a new character skill when you wear them.
The new ability on Taebaek’s Necklace is similar to your Emergency Escape skill (V), but the difference is that you are able to escape from all CC types. The character disappears for a second, then when they reappear, they inflict a Stiffness CC on the enemy. However, if you wear the new Taebaek’s Necklace, you cannot use Emergency Escape (V).
For Taebaek’s Belt, you get a skill that gives you a buff called “Taebaek’s Protection”. The tooltip shows an increased AP and DP buff for yourself and surrounding players. The skill has a 10-minute cooldown and a 1-minute duration.
Deboreka Earring
A new Deboreka Earring is being added as well and there is a 3-set bonus for equipping all 3 Deboreka accessories, which gives All AP +10 and Critical Hit Damage +3%.
When you kill a boss through Boss Rush, you can obtain a Treasure Orb. This is used to craft the new Deboreka Earring using the following recipe:
- Treasure Orb x1
-
Ancient Power – Red Shard x2
- Ancient Power – Black Shard x2
New Crystals
There are 2 new crystal slots that can be unlocked in Land of the Morning Light. These 2 crystal slots can be equipped with any crystals, but there are also new lifeskill crystals that give +3-5% lifeskill EXP, or +10 Mastery. No specific details were revealed just yet of how to obtain these new crystals, but it was hinted later on that they can be obtained through quests related to each different life skill.
There is also a best-in-slot crystal that is limited so you can only equip a maximum of 1 of them. This new crystal was shown at Calpheon Ball and has lots of item effects.
Dawn’s Gloves
Dawn’s Gloves are the 3rd piece of Armor to go alongside the Fallen God Armor and Labreska Helmet.
To craft the gloves, you require PEN Blackstar Gloves or PEN Bheg’s/Leebur’s Gloves with level 10 Caphras. There is a planned event for Caphras Extraction which allows you to extract your caphras for a much cheaper cost. To craft Dawn’s Gloves, you will also require a new item called the Flame of Hongik. Unlike the other Fallen God pieces, the Dawn’s Gloves can drop directly from the bosses in Land of the Morning Light, however, the chances are very low.
The flame can also drop from the bosses, or you can also craft the flame yourself.
The recipe to craft the flame is:
- Embers of the Rising Sun x300
- Embers of the Rising Moon x300
- Embers of the Rising Earth x300
- Crystallized Despair x300
There are 3 different embers for the 3 different boss attributes (Sun, Moon, Earth) it is presumed that the ember will drop from the boss with the same attribute. You also need 300 Crystallized Despair, which is an item that drops from Calpheon Elvia grind spots.
Housing
Unlike other regions, the Land of the Morning Light does not have the usual workshops and player housing. Instead, there will be two new housing options that are similar to the mansion available in Serendia. The first is very spacious, with a large outdoor area. The second option is very different, it is a small shack with a cozy and warm atmosphere inside. In addition, a variety of furniture will be added to fit the theme of the new region.
New Ship
A new ship will be added and can be built. This new ship is a warship that is mainly used for combat and is a mid-tier ship that is not as powerful as the carrack. What makes the ship special, is that it can carry a lot of sailors and a large crew, as well as exclusive equipment. The ship requires Ocean Coins to craft, so players that already own a mid-tier ship will find it easier to obtain.
Life Skills
Last week, the Trading lifeskill rework was completely revealed in the Global Lab Patch Notes. With this update, the prices of trade goods will be synchronized across all servers, allowing for more trading events for players to enjoy. There will be an introduction to the new Trading changes through the Old Moon Guild so that players can become familiar with the new system in a more friendly way.
In Land of the Morning Light, there will be lifeskill-themed stories and quests, and by completing these quests, you can obtain knowledge of the Deep-rooted Gathering. This knowledge unlocks a green artisan skill, which adds a mini-game to the gathering life skill. The mini-game will trigger randomly and is different for each type of gathering. The mini-game is easy to complete, and if you are successful, you will use more energy but will obtain a large amount of gathering materials all at once. This is expected to reduce the time required for gathering, and very rare materials can only be obtained through this new type of gathering. For example, the thousand-year-old Wild Ginseng is a highly prized item in the Land of the Morning Light, and when used, you can get a buff that lasts for 3 months. This item is exclusive to the new gathering ability but can be exchanged with other players on the central market.
New Recipes
Various dishes and herbal ingredients are being released with the Land of the Morning Light.
Some of these new dishes can be used separately alongside Cron Meals, Elixirs, Perfumes, etc. However, they are designed to only be used for emergency situations only.
For example, there is a new dish that recovers 5000 HP but has a 22-hour cooldown.
There is also a food that instantly gives you 500 energy and +30 energy recovery for 1 hour, but this has a 22-hour cooldown as well.
Then finally, different foods were shown that can be used to level up your training stats (Strength, Health, Stamina) to level 40. These foods have a 6-hour cooldown.
Workers
The Developer Commentary showed two different workers: a human and a goblin. The goblin however is a new race called the “Dokkaebi” and can be sent to make special items at an exclusive workshop for goblins only.
Marni’s Sniper Rifle
The final new update revealed in the video was a Marni Sniper Rifle. This item improves the Sniper system so that the damage you deal depends on the area that you hit. For example, the greatest damage will be dealt with a headshot. The quality of the reward also depends on your accuracy.
