Greetings All,

I have released the Gauntlet Dueling System. you can read all the details from my original post:

http://www.fantasyrealmonline.com/News.aspx?NewsID=424

Currently there is one Arena, once we get all the kinks worked out I will add another (Hopefully in 1 - 2 weeks). You can find the first Arena just below East Brimstone. 

In addition to the Gauntlet Duel System there were a few other fixes/changes that were implemented in this patch:

1. After removing classes last patch, the recipes in alchemy were only visible when opening your spell book and there was no tab to navigate to them. This has been corrected and an "Alchemy" tab will now appear in your book if you have any recipes. (Thanks to Khor for pointing this out)

2. Super Natural Storm would have the possibility of targeting the caster, this has also been corrected to no longer be able to select the caster as a potential target. (Thanks to Khor again)

3. Players may now freely push through Merchant and non-aggressive NPCs in towns and such. Aggressive NPCs will continue to block your passage.

I will be doing some other small patches in the coming weeks prior to starting the next major release for late spring/early summer. The next major patch will introduce a number of new quests for Chapter 2, some new spells, creatures, and items. So be sure to watch for that.

I will be backing up the launch of the Gauntlet release one day, to Sunday March 3rd, as I have a funeral to attend tomorrow and family matters to attend to. 

On Saturday March 2nd we will be releasing the Gauntlet Dueling Arena System. This new dueling system will be the first of a set of dueling modes introduced to the Arenas that will be found throughout the lands.

The Gauntlet mode will allow 1- 5 players to team up and take on enemies in 10 waves of enemies. Each wave will get progressively harder. Waves are semi-randomized and its unlikely you will face the exact same Gauntlet each time you participate. Making it to the end of the 10 waves with a single player may be possible but it will be extremely difficult. 

In order to participate in a Gauntlet a player must be at least level 30. In order to inititate the dueling system you will simply head to any arena of your choice and speak with the Dueling Master NPC there. After talking with him and going through the numerous prompts you will be presented with a menu that allows you to choose your teammates.

The cost of the gauntlet duel is 1000 gold pieces. and the prize pool is listed below based on the round your team makes it to. The cost and prize pool is always evenly split among participating players. Costs and Prizes are taken/put directly from/to your in game bank account.

Round Prizes (Making it to the round but not finishing):

1. 0 GP
2. 50 GP
3. 100 GP
4. 200 GP
5. 400 GP
6. 800 GP
7. 1,600 GP
8. 3,200 GP
9. 6,400 GP
10. 12,800 GP
11. 25,600 GP (Finishing All Rounds)

Should the arena be in use at the time you register for your duel, your team will simply be placed in a queue and automatically summoned 90 seconds after the arena becomes available allowing you to go and do other activities while you wait. If your entire team is not available (not online or dead) when the duel is ready to start or cannot pay the split entry fee then the duel will automatically be canceled and you will have to re-register.

We are open to tweaking the difficulty and prizes but need your feedback first. While we have tested the system fairly well, we expect that there may be some things we didnt think of that causes bugs and/or crashes so will be looking for you players to help us test it more thoroughly.

Below is an early development preview of the Gauntlet Dueling Arena: