New Dura Project - A Different Game Experience for an MMORPG

[Dura Aris]

From the moment you leave the temple every step you take, whether through Dura's streets or the torch-lit caves of its dungeons will feel fresh and new with death leaping at you from all sides. Dura was made for the most seasoned and skilled players. Alive with challenges, threats, and dangers it constantly pushes and tests your strengths and limits in contest to your fellow adventurers like never before. It feels like the original game, plays like original game, and it was designed in that same spirit -- 7.4 Tibia. Every monster, city, spell -- all of it looks and feels like the Classic Game. But it stops there, because layered over and under it all are endless differences. What once was for all of us something unpredictable, unexplored, exciting and dangerous has become boring, monotonous, repetitive, unthreatening, and downright easy. No more.​

~ Said many years ago




Tournament

Dura is ready, and with tremendous excitement to try our hand at a Tournament Concept. We believe we have more than a few ideas about how to approach the a Tournament styled game that we'd like to share with you and request your help where we're wrong and need to improve. We've gone back to the drawing board, starting from absolute scratch, about how we think a Tournament Game Experience for an MMORPG such as Dura should be. Therefore Dura's first attempt will not only capture the original spirit of the game, while yet making it harder and more challenging through our System Overhaul, System Addition, and Custom Content, but it will do so with immense innovation accompanying that vision. The result of this compacts all that Dura is into a Condensed Gameplay Experience -- with fun being the priority over all else.

Our Tournament Project will be based off of Dura, which is now to be Dura Classic. A server that launched nearly four years ago and without resetting even once is still active today with a thriving community. Dura Classic is based from 7.4 Tibia. It's Game Mechanics started identical to 7.4, courtesy of reverse-engineering: Maps, Monsters, Spawns, NPCs, Quests, Lore, Core Mechanics, Niche Mechanics, Items, etc. etc. everything you can put your finger on. However that was only our starting point. Immediately it was necessary to improve upon that, because while original Tibia was good enough when we were young to challenge us and bring us adventure it cannot claim to do so anymore as we're all masters of the game. And so now finally, years later, Dura has evolved into the game we always wanted: Something that when played you will feel as if you're playing 7.4 back in 2003. Every single corner you turn round will grant you surprise; every spot, mechanic, or area you come across will have something new for you -- above all so you'll feel like you did when you first played. This has been the number one comment we've received from the over 12,000+ unique players we've had play Dura, and it is without question the mission we aspire towards for this new project.

Understanding where our Tournament comes from, that is what it is based on, we now note that every single thing in it: maps, quests, raids, items, lore etc. etc. will be identical to Dura Classic except where explicitly stated in the Game Settings, Rules, or other such categories. As this post continues it will provide you with informationals, references, and links so you may have a more granular look at Dura's Tournament, it's game settings and so forth and how they differ from Dura Classic.​

Tournament ExperienceOne

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• The mission and purpose above all else is fun.
• Playing Dura offers a wealth of experiences and adventures to be had, but it does come with a few catches -- It takes time to fully enjoy Dura, years to hit endgame. Secondly getting there can be arduous; the gameplay is challenging and deadly, killing you is not a question, the question is how much; and when you die in Dura it hurts, as it should.
• Therefore our goal with it is to allow a person to experience all the thrill and adventure Dura has to offer in a much more compressed timeline; we believe the average player will be able to experience everything in Dura from beginning to end within 2.5 to 3.5 months[/B] -- this is what it has been designed for and we have great confidence in our reasoning and analysis to achieve it.
• And we want that progression of 2.5 to 4 months to be experienced at a smooth and even pace, something that rivals how level 1 to 50 feels in the original game; that is as you play the time it takes for you to keep progressing will feel more or less the same, level by level, skill by skill, new area by new area, items and so forth. This of course is a tight rope to walk, because if you make the game too easy and too fast the game's consequences to your decisions fall flat and the gameplay end's up feeling cheap and hollow.
  
  PvE & PvP
• Further, while PvE and RPG gameplay will be more than enough for many and you certainly won't need to do more than that to enjoy yourself, the Game Set will promote and support a robust setting for PvP, making for truly unforgettable moments of sport and carnage. There will be blood and hopefully lots of it, but because of our design, though PvP will definitely have impact, ultimately players will have great resilience to be able to bounce back and get up again and keep going.
• Across all of this, both PvE and PvP, the key word for this season is 'arcade'. We want the game to feel like a kind of drop in, shoot, reload, shoot again arcade experience -- a non-stop ride, where though there will be a slight push and pull of consequences it will never be so severe that even for a moment you'll want to get off out of pain, distaste, or worst of all boredom.
  
  Game Arc
• Dura's endgame with the arrival of our newest update is a minimum of level 160. To get there you will wage through countless lands and dungeons, monsters and foes, quests stories and tales, raids and bosses, ambushes, events, item progression, and more and more. This is all what you will get to experience -- three or so months of immense entertainment and adventure!

Game Set

• The following table is the Core Game Settings, especially the differences between this New Gameworld and Dura Classic. Please if you see anything 'off' tell us! We want to make it as good as it can be and we need you to tell us where we're wrong so we can fix it!
• *Keep in mind that though Classic has a great deal of customization and nuance it is fundamentally a 1x 7.4 at heart -- therefore the following Game Settings should be compared to that if you are unfamiliar with Dura.
• *All Rates/Numbers you see are relative to Dura Classic.

Setting	Rate
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Experience	Staged 1x - 3x*
Skills	Staged 1x - 6x*
Health Regeneration	1x*
Mana Regeneration	1x*
Base Loot	1.5x*
Valuables Loot	2x*
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Ancient Runes Loot	3x
Raid Loot: Creatures Under 1200 Exp	1.6x
Raid Loot: Creatures 1200 Exp and above	1x*
Legendary Items Loot Rate: Elites	2.15x
Legendary Items Loot Rate: Raids	1.33x
Legendary Items Loot Rate: Bosses	1x
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Spawn Rate	1.15x
Elite Creatures Spawn Rate	1.25x
Raids Spawn Rate	2x
Boss Spawn Rate	4x
Heroism Max Exp	2.66x
Heroism Max Loot	2.66x
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Server Type	Tournament
Server PvP Type	Open PvP
Red Skull	3 Unjustified Kills
Auto Banishment - Unjustified Kill Count	TBD
Blessings Protection: Items	1% each
Blessings Protection: Exp	1% each
Blessings Protection: Skills	1% each*
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Legendary Items: Power	60% - 100% stronger
Equipment Break Rate	0.2x
Quest Equipment Break Rate	1x
Legendary Items: Loss Rate	70% drop | 20% keep | 10% break
All Soulbound runes drop on death	Yes*
Amulet of Loss Protection	100% - Items and Containers
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Realms Aid	2.25x more runes per level
Quest Rewards	Scales above level 60
Experience Quests	Scales above level 60
Free Premium Account	14 days on Start
Idle timer	16 minutes
Be online on both Classic and Seasonal at Same Time	Yes*
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Outlaw System	Deactivated

Additional Notes for Game Set:

• Experience: There are things like, e.g. experience quests, elite monsters, and more that make experience not possible to capture in a single number.
• Skills: At the points of: Melee 90, Distance 100, magic level 70 Skill Advancement per skill plateaus out at 8 hours.
• Health Regeneration: Knights largest bonus. Paladins less. Mages least.
• Mana Regeneration: Dura Classic is double (2x) what RL 7.4 is. This allows people to spend less time waiting and more time playing.
  
  
• Base Loot: Loot is 1.5x but there are other things, e.g. Elite Monsters, Custom Quests, and non-base-loot which augment Loot.
• Valuables Loot: This means things like non-permanent rings and amulets, jewels, gems and other valuables.
• Raid Loot - Creatures over 1200 exp: These creatures can drop Legendary Items.
• Auto Banishment: You will be banished for 30 days.
  
  
• Blessings Protection - Skills: At a certain point, if one has all blessings, Skill Loss plateaus out at 6 hours. If you only have some blessings you will receive a proportionate reduction.
• Be online on both Classic and Tournament: Having one character online on each server is okay. It is never okay to have two of your characters online on one server.

Staged Experience, Skills, and Magic Level

This will likely be the most controversial and confusing game-setting. Most people are used to the idea that when a Server starts the rates should be high and as you level up the rates should slow down. This is actually the opposite of what should be done. Fundamentally the problem here is Time-To-Progress is being confused with Rates.

Typically a Server runs as follows: Due to the game starting with high-rates you speed through most of the game's content in less than a week or so, skipping near everything the game offers. Then right when the game starts to naturally become more tiresome, lengthy, and monotonous due to the extreme demand on time to level up the rates are slowed. So in effect the game is sped up where it doesn't need it and slowed down where it does.

The fact of the matter is that at Normal Rates (1x) you already fly by the first 50 or so levels of gameplay. Meanwhile when you approach the upper levels at say around level 100 to 120 the progression needs to accelerate if you are to have anywhere close to similar pacing that the first 60 to 80 levels offer. This is why our settings are designed the way they are.

With the Staged Progression we've set we estimate, conservatively, the **average player will be roughly:

• about level 50 in two weeks
• about level 60 in three weeks
• about level 70 in four weeks
• about level 100 in two months
• about level 130 in three months

It is this that will allow a person to enjoy the entirety of Dura, beginning to end, in 2.5 to 4 months, all at a smooth even pace. **We define an average player as someone who plays 4~ hours a day, 5 days a week, someone who plays more will progress much faster.​

Stages in Detail:

• These stages are floating or smooth. This means that the rate-change is not sudden upon reaching a new stage, it rises steadily as you move through the given stage. The rate listed is the rate at the end of the Stage.
• For example: a floating formula of rising exp from 2.00 to 2.25 spread across level 80 to 89 means that roughly at level 80 you will be 2.00x, at level 81 you will be at 2.025x, at level 82 you will be at 2.050x, etc. etc, at level 90 you will be at 2.25x.

Level Rate 1-7 1.00 8-49 1.00 50-54 1.15 55-59 1.35 60-64 1.55 65-69 1.75 70-79 2.00 80-89 2.25 90-99 2.50 100-109 2.75 110-119 3.00 120+ 3.00

Melee Rate 45 1.00 50 1.22 55 1.50 60 1.85 65 2.28 70 2.80 75 3.42 80 4.15 85 5.00 90+ 6.00 - - - -

Distance Rate 55 1.00 60 1.22 65 1.50 70 1.85 75 2.28 80 2.80 85 3.42 90 4.15 95 5.00 100+ 6.00 - - - -

Magic Rate 25 1.00 30 1.07 35 1.15 40 1.25 45 1.38 50 1.54 55 1.73 60 1.95 65 2.20 70+ 2.5 - - - -

Feedback on Game Settings:
These Game Settings, until we launch, are open to being changed as we find improvements or adjustments we want to make. Player feedback will have massive impact on this, for most settings player majority will be what we do. To give feedback, please do either:

• Here in this same thread on OTLand.
• In this Master Thread, for Game Settings, in our Official Seasonal Discord's Forum: New Server - Game Settings
• The general Seasonal Forum in our Official Discord: New Server - General Forum

Systems & Features

Monster System:
Our Monster System is one of our most core systems. In a phrase you'll never ever really know what's around the corner. Our goal was to push the game away from the mastered mechanics and knowledge bases we all completed long ago, the spirit-crushing and mind-numbing grinding, to something that constantly demands you to think on your feet, employ circumstantial strategy, and test your talents -- all using native 7.4 knowledge and skills.

Monster Variability: In Dura monsters are far more sophisticated and threatening. Each given monster, upon spawn, draws at random from a ranged pool of stats and abilities pre-set for that Creature. This means that each individual fight or confrontation will be different and unpredictable, and thus challenging. *This doesn't mean the monster itself will change, say between a minotaur and an orc (spawn-layering) -- it means the monster itself will have different 'versions' of himself, minotaur who throws a knife vs minotaur who has stronger defense.

Example: These are 2 of about 10 random abilities a Cyclops can spawn with. Every monster has it's own ability pool which it can draw from.

Example: Some warlocks have different shapes to their beams.

Spawn Overhaul: We've also slightly altered the spawns to make them more varied compositions engendering a many-headed challenge. So spawns (types of monsters in a given area) themselves will be different, but then so will the monsters themselves who inhabit them; in the hope of multi-layered unpredictability. *Literally meaning where you may be used to 4 orc riders the spawn might now be default 3 orc riders and 1 orc shaman.

Monster AI: Monsters in Dura are far more clever and deadly then you are accustomed to. Their general behavior is more engaging, you'll have a much harder time tango'ing with them then what you grew up with.

Monster Spells and Abilities: Dura has put much time into evolving monster abilities. You will encounter a wide range of threats and dangers. For example not only one-shot-damage-spells or some Wild Warriors that shoot arrows or the occasional necromancer that is able to use haste, but also damage through sequenced abilities you need to anticipate and dodge, abilities that can teleport you, teleport the monster, stun or root you to the ground, create obstacles in your path, give temporary invulnerability to the monster, and on and on. Again, new ways to challenge your brain and brawn.
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Example: In this video you will see that a Tar Ooze is capable of casting a Pulse-AOE-Healing spell that stays for a certain time after itself moves still, that is it stays independent of the monster's location. Every time it pulses it can heal the monster. This creates a dynamic challenge, requiring actual engagement on the part of the player, bringing him out of monotony. Note: It's also an elite so you will be a bit overwhelmed with it's other abilities visually.

Closing Note: But please don't think we became carried away. The Monster System, as with all of Dura keeps the game in the 7.4 Spirit and Atmosphere: In explanation the spawns do not differ in essence from what you expect -- not just by Power-Level but also Aesthetic; and the monsters themselves, their abilities and stats are in keeping with what their core characteristics are. We've woven and layered nuanced changes but in terms of feel it's just as any other time you've entered a Dungeon in 7.4.


Spawn Layering:
This is a system where a given spawn/monster can actually spawn as many different types of monsters and (even plural monster compositions). You might walk into a given spawn and it might be a Minotaur, but then maybe 10% of the time you walk there it's a Minotaur Guard, and maybe 2% of the time it's a Minotaur Mage! But what's more, maybe also when you walk there, say 5% it's going to be Two Minotaurs AND Two Minotaur Archers instead of that one Minotaur it 'normally' is. This system again doubles down on unpredictability, variety, and challenge.

Custom Monsters:
On top of all this Dura has many custom monsters, well over Twenty. And of all types: some melee, some ranged, some more powerful than a Demon, others as weak as a mummy -- everything you would expect from a monster!

Continued...

 

[Marko999x]

Is it supposed to be that dark?

 

[Dura Aris]

Elite Monster System:
When a monster spawns there is a chance the monster will take “Elite Form”. An Elite is much more powerful than a normal monster, it has the same core characteristics but comes with increased health and special abilities that make it a far more deadly opponent. With its difficulty comes just reward -- when you conquer an Elite you will receive more exp, more loot, and a mysterious treasure bag.

The following demonstrates a couple of abilities: Sequence Paralysis. Recloning. Teleportation. And a Field Beam that you wouldn't want to step on. There are many more.

Raid System:
The Raid System contains over 580+ Raids, including the original raids plus new Custom ones. Raids will happen across the entire map for all levels, and there will be about 100 raids a day. Raids can spawn simultaneously or concurrently with each other anywhere in the world, thus overlapping. Dura’s Raid System will give constant variety to the map changing how Players must interact with the world.

Boss System:
There are 15 Custom Bosses. All are End-Game-Content. Each one carries difficulty to a new level; these bosses are extremely deadly and require large groups of players working together to take down.

Heroism System:
Ahh, what the game was always meant to be; defeat a Dragon Lord at level 45 -- get rewarded. Heroism means a player slays creatures that are challenging for their level. The harder the creature is for the player, the higher the boost is - with a maximum boost of 266% experience and 266% loot gained in Season One. *If any player near the creature is outside this bonus range, nobody will gain heroism from slaying it.

Magic System:

Runes and Spells:
There have been many changes to Dura's Runes and Spells, all in the effort for a more balanced and fun game without ever abandoning the 7.4 spell palette and spirit. Whether it's something simple like reducing the mana-cost of Ultimate Light while also having it usable by Knights and Paladins or buffing Poison Storm making it more useful, adjustments have been made to make the game that much better. Beyond that Dura has added many new custom spells and runes, these new spells further frame up the game making it have more balance throughout the level progression as well as adding depth to gameplay through variety.

Mana Sustain:
Dura has faster base-regeneration to allow people to spend less time waiting to play and more time actually playing, and we couldn't be happier with the result! But the picture of Mana Sustain is more than just that: as you progress through Dura there are quests you can complete to increase your regeneration further. Also Dura's Item and Equipment system offers a great deal to help with the needs of mana; whether being able to buy life rings and rings of healing more cheaply, or having items like starlight amulets give mana, and even introducing new custom items like Elven Bangle, Flower of the Desert, Gha'zuul's Helmet, and more!

Customized 7.4 Map:
Dura's Map, though based from the 7.4 RL Map, is highly customized with endless changes and additions for you to explore; we can't understate this enough. You will discover old areas you are familiar with that have been adjusted with depth and pockets of surprise, while at other times expansions of these old stomping grounds or even full on custom areas. It will always keep things fresh for you while at no time feeling unnatural or off.

Map Playability:
Playability consists of all the variability, versatility, and options the map affords the given Player as well as the obstacles and hindrances it presents the player. The entire Map is fraught with traps, surprises, secrets, tunnels, paths, environmental changes, and other interactions; well over 8,000+ individual map changes which do not even include CUSTOM ADDED content/areas. You can cut trees with an axe, make bridges appear and disappear on occasion and even open up secret passageways in walls, and more!

Custom Areas:
Dura has many substantial custom areas added to it's Base Map. From our custom Ankrahmun Update, which is bigger than Edron, Venore, and Darashia combined, or our Shathur Update, known as the 'abyss' by our players, or places like Teshial, the Minotaur Peninsula of Fibula, and on and on. All of which are full of their own lore, mysteries, foes, and quests!

Abyss...

Teshial...

Ankrahmun...

Overspawning System:
In Dura you can lure monsters away from their spawn point by an infinite distance and they won't disappear. However, when a monster gets too far from it's spawning area or changes floors without being killed, then after a certain amount of time, a new monster will appear again in it's spawn of origin without removing/killing the old monster.


Ambush System:
Ambushes take a variety of forms but in essence an Ambush is the changing of a given environment based upon interaction with that environment, usually involving a monster. For example you enter a cave and all of a sudden rocks appear behind you and 3 monsters in front of you with traps on the floor barring your escape. Dura has over 1800+ Ambushes. Our ambush system is now extremely sophisticated and words fail trying to describe the level of engagement and variety you will encounter.

Armor/Equipment/Item System:

• I’m afraid 7.4 has an Item System that, at least in parts, was woefully unbalanced and that imbalance showed up by way of lack of function/utility, lack of variety, and therefore lack of strategy. Dura’s Item System will demand the player makes choices for strategy and pays the price if those choices are wrong. At the same time the Item System is of more equal utility across the vocations and carries proper scaling into the 'late-game' as opposed to only marginal upgrades.
• We've altered nearly every Equipment-Item in the game, realizing what we said above -- more balanced, useful, various, and strategic. On top of that we've added over 150+ Custom Equipment Items.
  
  
  
  
  

Quest System:
Dura features the original 70+ Quests. Added to those it has 45+ Custom Quests.

Exploration Quest System:
These quests are points of interests you discover by interacting, using smarts, with an area you explore. They reward experience based on the challenge it was to find them. Dura has 450+ Exploration Quests.

Legendary Item System:
Legendary items on Dura are far more powerful than all other items. There are multiple ways to acquire them.
...for glory and power do not hold council with defeat...

World Shifts OR Map Swings:
Map swings are temporal changes to areas, which can last for in-game days, months or even years - areas previously explored may be completely different when you return again! These Shifts often come with changes to the creatures in the area, as well as changes to the path going through them, some even becoming Quests! They can happen anytime throughout the day. There are many World Shifts all over Dura!

Ancient Rune System:
Ancient Runes are runes that can be acquired through vanquishing monsters, as well as some other ways like Quests. They are more powerful than Normal Runes. This provide a market of exchange between high and low levels while also giving greater Strategic-Range when it comes to approaching gameplay.

Death/Loss System:

• Though Rates will be faster in Season One death will still hurt, as it should. We have balanced the Death/Loss system economically:
• It costs more money for Blessings at every level higher you become.
• Dura uses a Tier-System for Amulet of Loss. AOLs come in Color-Tiers. As you level up you will need a higher and higher Tier, and the higher the Tier the more expensive the AOL.
• At the very late stages of the game when someone dies they can lose what is literally hundreds if not thousands of hours in Skills/Magic-Level. It is one of the flaws of the original game. We have fixed that. In Dura after a certain point, if you have all blessings you will only lose '6 hours' worth of Skills/Magic-Level; '24 hours' if no blessings.

Realm's Aid System:
The realm of Dura is constantly being attacked by hordes of different creatures, and its leaders are in desperate need of help. When a player reaches level 20 and has Premium Account, they are able to ask a city leader for some runes to help the realm out, once per day and per account. These runes are soulbound, and can only be used by the player that receives them. The amount of runes given is based on the highest leveled character on the account. This system is designed to allow every player to login each day and be able to hunt around an hour without feeling forced to manasit.

House System:

• In Dura you may own as many houses as you like.
• Guild Halls are registered as Houses, meaning a Guild Hall is purchased and owned just like a house without any Guild-associated restrictions.
• The more houses one owns, the higher their individual costs become -- a tax.

Unowned Houses System:
Any houses and Guild Halls that are not currently owned are able to be entered by all players. It is also possible that a player can attack and be attacked by other players and creatures inside such houses. We anticipate this to add much to the potential of fighting and war.

World Preservation System:
Dura has Map Saving in place, which means that items laid on the ground, even outside houses, are also kept in the place and state they were left from server save to server save. The game world is full of history and tells a story by itself, thus allowing players to remember past events that took place at a certain spot when gazing upon an item laid there, or even to hide secret stashes for hunting or some banditry you were up to.

Continued...

 

[Dura Aris]

Events:
Dura does Weekend Events every other week, for a minimum of twenty-six events a year. They have various themes and functions with the goal being to change things up, offering challenge and variety. Some events we do annually are: 'The Dwarven Ale', 'Season of Fire', 'Hibernation', 'Rapine', 'Blood in the Fist', 'Cold Waters of the North', as well as 'World-Slaying' events where all the Heroes of the World must unite to slay certain types of monsters in masse before the end of the weekend. These are some of the types of Events you can expect in this New Project, and many many more.

Example: Cold Waters of the North. All monsters have Double Health, Experience, and Loot but with slightly slowed spawn time.

Example: Unknown Strength. All melee and distance attacks, as well as all runes and all spells which deal damage as well as heal health points can critically strike. When these attacks and abilities critically strike they will have double the power they normally would. All attacks and abilities that deal damage apply in PvE situations, but they do not apply in PvP situations.

Example: Monsters of Brawn. Kill enough Behemoths, Cyclops, and Dwarves together before it's too late! If you do the whole Realm will be rewarded!

Skill & Advancement Formulae and System:
Dura has altered the Advancement Formulae of the game. In 7.4 unfortunately after a certain point the only thing that matters is Level. This is because Skills and Magic Level plateau and can no longer be advanced, thus the only thing can make you stronger is your level. This makes the game boring and one-dimensional, which also leads to imbalance. What we've done is make it so skills and magic level can keep growing higher if a player puts the time in. What this does is make the game not just about level, therefore giving more variety and strategic expression to how you approach the game, all in all making something much more fun to play.

Game Formulae and Bedrock Systems:

• Where to even begin with this. It's not possible in even a few pages. Though Vanilla 7.4 is a fantastic game with many strokes of genius it was not perfect. There were many deep-seeded problems that particularly start to show themselves as the game enter its later stages. It took many hundred hours of analysis and development but we've fixed it.
• In simple concept -- crucial problems were present in the original game because of the way some of the bedrock systems were designed and then interacted together: advancement formulae, player combat(damage) formulae, monster combat formulae, vocational formulae/distinctions, item/equipment design/formulae/stats, spell/rune formulae and design, etc. etc. We've sorted it all out and the result is a pristinely balanced game at the ground level. Dura now has a foundation to always be balanced well into the many thousand levels.
• This naturally lays a strong runway for this New Project to be balanced on all sides, the Combat and PvE System, PvP, the Vocations, the way Items work, Spells, and so forth. The engine to a car is not fancy or visually stimulating as it's always under the hood, but it's where a great deal of our time has gone and the result couldn't be more worth it.
• Also to add: During this process we realized the necessity of introducing a new mechanic: Focus. Focus is essentially a stat for the Magic System in the game, it's like an Attack-Stat which can make spells and runes more powerful. It's more powerful than Magic Level and is primarily found as a stat on Items.

Vocational Balancing:
Much like the Combat Forumlae we can't begin to put into words what we've accomplished with Vocation Balancing. We put a great deal of time into it, making countless adjustments within the game to support equilibrium throughout the four vocations. Everything is taken into account: common things like the relationship between each vocation and monsters, solo hunting vs team hunting, their spell distinctions and what items they use, to less typical synergies and influences like how item inflation ultimately impacts vocational value, or the impact of the break system, or who benefits most from Heroism etc. etc. It's important to note that vocation balance doesn't have only to do or even mostly do with the vocations themselves directly, it's how the other systems in the game operate. We've done our homework and you will be hard pressed to find a game with more balanced classes than Dura.

Vocational Uniqueness and Distinction:
Vocation design is not just about balance, it's also about disparity. Making it so there is real distinction between the vocations, something special that defines a given vocation compared to another, giving it unique value -- making it so any vocation you play you feel like your missing out on something another has. Through Dura's evolution we've continued to make each vocation stand out more and more against its peers, making gameplay multi-faceted with a great deal more depth.




Individual Changes & Features:

It would be a real eyesore to list all the individual features Dura has in mechanics and content. So instead I'll give a few examples. The reality is that when
Dura started there were already many hundreds of meaningful non-trivial individual changes, now 4 years later there are many thousands. If you'd like a more exhaustive list so you can dive in on what these are you can check some of the links we provide below in the 'Learn More' section.

Examples:

• Addition of multicolored Light Wands
• Stillness is an added Condition
• Dimmed is an added Condition
• There are more forms of ammunition/projectiles
• You can go lower than -8, via floors
• Heal Friend has been Buffed via mana-cost
• Heal Friend cannot be used on oneself
• Ring of the Sky gives Magic Level
• Cheaper Life Fluids
• How you get six small sapphires instead of two small sapphires from a Quest you're accustomed to.
• Some trees are cut down with axes
• Dragon Necklaces and Might Rings don't lose charges when you walk over a Fire Field
• Strike Spells damage has been slightly buffed
• Fire Devil gives more experience
• Enchant Staff has been Changed and greatly Buffed
• Demon Skeleton loot have been Buffed
• Mana Fluids can be used on others
• Etc.
• Etc.

Tournament Itself & Season Two:
As we've mentioned this new project is not just a new and different server but a Tournament Server. This means that the Tournament's End, there will be a range of categories that players have competed in, with some players emerging as winners. Those players will earn certain prizes for their achievements, and perhaps most of all the prestige of being the best.

• The Tournament will naturally begin when the Server begins, and will then last for 3 months. At the end of this decided time the Tournament part of the Server will end and the placements will be locked in but the Server/Gameworld itself will not close ever, as there will likely be people who want to keep playing, e.g. wars or personal goals.
  
  • 
    
• As stated there will be placements for various categories, each with corresponding prizes.
  
  • Example Categories: highest experience, most frags, biggest bank account, and much more.
  • Much of this is up to feedback: i.e. what categories but prizes will be the prestige and bragging rights itself along with hefty amounts of Dura Coins.
  • *The prizes for the given placements will be listed before The Server starts.
• These placements will be immortalized in the Hall of Fame. The Hall of Fame will always remain up and public commemorating your deeds.
• To note you shouldn't feel compelled or that your primary motivation to play this new project has to be for the Tournament. Though we think it will be a great time for players, it's really just one more layer to add to the festivities and excitement. At core The Project's purpose is foremost the sheer joy of the game itself, the pure wild fun of it, not unlike sport tournaments and seasons or ranked ladders in FPS's and MOBA's.

During Tournament:

Patches and Changes
As of now we are leaning towards no Patches or Changes mid-tournament unless:

• Something not being patched/changed would cause flagrant issues.
• Players vote in majority, via a poll, for a given change.
• *Bug fixes would obviously be patched though.

The reason for this policy is to keep everything on an even footing for competition as well as simplicity in not having to relearn or readjust.

Content Updates
Substantial content updates we do intend to add during the Tournament, as we think it will only benefit the Gameworld if there is more to do and see. This would be classified as a full fledged update.

Events
At Dura we do events at a minimum of every other week. These events will also be done for this New Server. They have various themes and functions with the goal being to change things up, offering different ways challenge you and let you play.




Rule Set

The rules for This Project are as follows, it is not an exhaustive list but covers the key rules:

• Multi-Client is forbidden - Deletion.
• Botting or Use of Macro is forbidden - Deletion.
• Selling/Buying/Trading/Sharing Gold/In-Game-Items is allowed.
• Selling/Buying/Trading/Sharing Accounts/Characters is allowed.
  • 
    
• In Season One Power Abuse is allowed to the Maximum; GMs have no oversight on this whatsoever. It is entirely for Players.
  • Here I will talk on Gamemastering. If you are familiar with Dura (classic) then you are aware we have certain rules, i.e. One) Disallowing the selling/buying/trading/sharing of accounts -- and enforcing it strictly and successfully. Two) That fundamentally all players have a right to play on Dura Classic, no player can prevent another from being able to play, that power only resides with the Gamemaster. This is the cornerstone of our Rules on Power Abuse.
  • For players who are in power, who aim to not allow other players to be able to play the game no matter what they do to redeem themselves -- is by default Power Abuse and Dura Classic's rules allow for provisos that prevent this from happening. In effect these provisos always guarantee a player in good faith a way to play and punishing those who would seek otherwise. It's a tight line to walk for a Gamemaster to not allow a player to infringe on the right of another player to play, but also the gamemaster himself to not infringe on the right of a player, when merited, to impact another player who deserves it.
  • We stand by this Rule Set on Classic, its is one of the primary reasons Dura is still healthy and active after many years, let alone the rich community that it is. However an ecosystem that does not allow the fluidity of accounts, characters, and gold being exchanged lends itself to power being accumulated and concentrated over time in select hands. This then makes it so unempowered players are at the mercy of these players in power permanently and have no recourse to be able to play. That is why these rules exist. But in this new server with these Rules of fluidity of exchange being allowed it removes the need for Power Abuse oversight and that is why on this new server you will see nary any Gamemaster Oversight -- because the easy flow of characters/gold mean it is too hard for power to become accumulated.

Miscellaneous:

• Everyone will start with 14 days of free Premium Account.
• You are allowed to have one character online each at a time for each Dura Server, Classic and New Server. We see no downside in this.
• You are not allowed to buy/sell/trade accounts/characters/gold/in-game-items between Classic and New Server. Classic has strict rules against these types of behaviors, as it is effectively Pay-2-Win. Allowing such exchange between Classic and New Server would mean, since the new server allows such behaviors, the P2W of the new server would start to impact Classic, thus making Classic a P2W server itself.
• To play Dura, both New Server and Classic, you will need Dura's Custom Client. It has all manner of features you should expect: WASD, Backpack Saving, Right and Left Panels, Anti-Bot Injection, Auto-Updating, etc. etc, the works.
• Any cosmetics purchased during on this New Server will be yours forever.

Help Us!
We need your help to point out where we're wrong and where we need to improve! To know more than this thread alone can offer check these:

• New Server Website - Home: Latest News - Dura (https://tournament.dura-online.com/)
• Rates: Seasonal Dura - Dura (https://tournament.dura-online.com/?serverrates)
• Rules: Rules - Dura (https://tournament.dura-online.com/?durarules)
• Systems and Content - What is Dura: What is Dura? - Dura (https://tournament.dura-online.com/?whatisdura)
• Dura's Patch Note History - For greater Detail into Gameplay: Patch Note History
  
  
• For a more vivid display of Systems and Content this Project will offer you may check some of our Player Wikis:
  • DuraWiki Powered by Gryn Djinn: https://sites.google.com/view/durawiki
  • Dura_Wiki: Dura wiki (https://www.durawiki.com/wiki/Dura_Wiki)
• To see screenshots and videos of the type of gameplay it will have you can check our official Media Channel: Dura Media
• To be able to communicate about this new server, our Official Discord: Seasonal Chat

More information will be coming -- especially with your feedback and ideas about what we should change and work on! We're still mulling over some decisions like for example: how long the Tournament itself will last, how Launch-Day and Rookgaard will be handled, and as we mentioned various Game Settings and what not, nothing is free from being changed up until launch, even core rates and rules too! Which is again why we want you to tell us everything you're thinking, we're listening! Thanks!

 

[Kresh170]

Im very excited for this server. Played Dura during corona and it was very fun and refreshing.

 

[szaba]

Very cool ideas

 

[Handicap Ninja]

ideas about what we should and how long and what not, nothing is free

clear goals
first lvl 200 wins 10% profit from prem acc *
= game over the end

time on = off season
equal length of time
duration of season 1 is how long before restart season 2

clear rules and administration
in the beginning it was written in stone, no mid-season updates etc

*numbers may vary

 

[Bloodbringer]

The inverted rate of exp stages is actually quite clever, that makes a lot of sense, you are basically linearizing the exp curve, which is usually designed to be exponential/logarithmic

 

[Marceklos]

I always thought that was the kind of otserver I'd enjoy better.
However I still think it's:

• Too complicated. The tournament concept is already something very different to the community so I wouldn't bother adding a whole bunch of new features.
• Too long. I'm a long fan of Dota 2 and it spoiled me a bit in terms of duration. I hope you'd consider making it more like 3h, 24h or at most a week long. Risky I know but that's what I'd be willing to play.

Anyways I'll consider giving it a shot when it launch.

 

[Dura Aris]

The inverted rate of exp stages is actually quite clever, that makes a lot of sense, you are basically linearizing the exp curve, which is usually designed to be exponential/logarithmic

Exactly! While while we think overall this works well for our classic server, for something more arcadey where the main goal is to have fun, and a kind of drop in shoot, die, respawn, shoot again gameplay attitude we think smoothing things out makes for a better experience.

 

[Kresh170]

I always thought that was the kind of otserver I'd enjoy better.
However I still think it's:

• Too complicated. The tournament concept is already something very different to the community so I wouldn't bother adding a whole bunch of new features.
• Too long. I'm a long fan of Dota 2 and it spoiled me a bit in terms of duration. I hope you'd consider making it more like 3h, 24h or at most a week long. Risky I know but that's what I'd be willing to play.

Anyways I'll consider giving it a shot when it launch.

I dont get it, if the server is on for 1 week then half of the tibia community will miss out on the server. Everyone cant play at any time. Might as well let more people try it out and have fun

 

[Azakelis]

that's just an ad

 

[Dura Aris]

I always thought that was the kind of otserver I'd enjoy better.
However I still think it's:

• Too complicated. The tournament concept is already something very different to the community so I wouldn't bother adding a whole bunch of new features.
• Too long. I'm a long fan of Dota 2 and it spoiled me a bit in terms of duration. I hope you'd consider making it more like 3h, 24h or at most a week long. Risky I know but that's what I'd be willing to play.

Anyways I'll consider giving it a shot when it launch.

I myself am thinking of streamlining the Tournament aspect this first go round so we keep things simple and not confusing.
As for the duration, could you give an example about how you'd like to see it be setup, the structure and so forth. What numbers and timetables would you like to see?

 

[Marceklos]

I myself am thinking of streamlining the Tournament aspect this first go round so we keep things simple and not confusing.
As for the duration, could you give an example about how you'd like to see it be setup, the structure and so forth. What numbers and timetables would you like to see?

Have you ever played the first couple days of a new server on Cip's?

That's a unique experience. If CipSoft would launch new servers more often I'd always be playing.
I don't know how to structure it properly (likely needs startup-like validation testings) but I think Tournaments have potential to capture that feeling.
Btw new Cip servers are launching this Oct 16

 

[Adposatnr]

Have you ever played the first couple days of a new server on Cip's?
View attachment 87675
That's a unique experience. If CipSoft would launch new servers more often I'd always be playing.
I don't know how to structure it properly (likely needs startup-like validation testings) but I think Tournaments have potential to capture that feeling.
Btw new Cip servers are launching this Oct 16

but u know new servers working only few times then nobody give a fuck about em? first retro-pvp was really dope and literally broke queue now retro-pvp servers die on launch

 

[Handicap Ninja]

I myself am thinking of streamlining the Tournament aspect this first go round so we keep things simple and not confusing.
As for the duration, could you give an example about how you'd like to see it be setup, the structure and so forth. What numbers and timetables would you like to see?

ok so first to level 100 wins 10% profit

for a short first round introduction

 

[Marceklos]

but u know new servers working only few times then nobody give a fuck about em? first retro-pvp was really dope and literally broke queue now retro-pvp servers die on launch

I'm not sure I follow you but indeed it dies very little after launch... That's why I think a Match/Tournament format may work... In my vision when the tournament ends the whole server would be erased and players would move to next tournament/match.
However one of the reasons so many people play on server start (and thus it's so fun) is cause it's pretty easy to profit real money selling resources to power gamers... they could be integrated somehow into gameplay... but the p2w may destroy the fun of it...
maybe reward achievements other than those done by power gaming...
game design ain't easy

 

[Handicap Ninja]

maybe reward achievements other than those done by power gaming

it sets the stage and marks the winner but the game must still be played ...

 

[Dura Aris]

@Marceklos
@Handicap Ninja

The tournament aspect is great and all and that's why we're putting it in. But I'm excited to watch people be able to play at a more entertaining pace and never feel boxed too much in by the fears of the game like death and economic harshness.

I'm excited to see people actually incentivized to take demons on at level 70 as a team of 8 like in the old old days of Tibia because of our systems like Heroism (giving more exp/loot if your underleveled for the monster), which on this new server gets an extra buff on top. It's gonna feel like an arcade game, like space invaders or asteroids, even fun load-in shoot'em'ups like earlier halo and CoD. It's gonna be a lot more fast-paced pixel-explosion gameplay but will never lean off the deep-end into full on cartooniness where it feels kind of indifferent whether you choose to do this or this because it's not properly balanced and locked in.

That's what I'm eager for.

 

[webb]

It's gonna feel like an arcade game, like space invaders or asteroids, even fun load-in shoot'em'ups like earlier halo and CoD. It's gonna be a lot more fast-paced pixel-explosion gameplay