Requiem: Bloodymare Q&A

WC: Please introduce yourselves and describe your work at Gravity and on Requiem: Bloodymare.

I am leading the planning team of the Requiem Division, and currently developing Requiem: Bloodymare.

WC: How many developers are currently working on Requiem: Bloodymare?

About 60 developers are putting their every effort into the Requiem game right now.

WC: There is a major update in the works. It has been slated for August and we are in the waning days of the month. Will it make the August deadline?

The update will be ready by the 28th of August.

WC: Please give us a brief look at the next update. Will it include only bug fixes or will there be content additions?

The new race, Xenoa, will be added. Therefore, Requiem can now provide more active and energetic gameplay for users. And to increase the level of the user satisfaction of characters, we added in-game images of helmets and created shoulder pieces. In addition, the new version of Requiem contains a guild war system which is a tournament style of wars between guilds. Lastly, the developers put a lot of effort to adjust monster and character balance and fix many bugs to make a better Requiem.

WC: There is an upcoming patch. On the website forums, there is a long list of changes, bug fixes and enhancements. Will all of the things listed there be included in this patch? If some will be missing, which ones?

Yes, everything we have announced will be included in the update.

WC: Will there be things included in the patch that are not on the list? What can players expect to see that isn’t currently listed?

Also, version 3.0 will include some special features that we have not announced to users. First, the new race called Xenoa. The race is specialized on distance attacks (range attacks) and a mage class which is transferable. Both classes are required a 180° difference in game play style that delivers a lot of fun and excitement to users. Secondly, the update includes a guild war system which will progress as a tournament. Of course, all guild members are able to enjoy the event and also, can find out the best guild from all servers. 1st place gets the best prize and other guilds have some gifts, too. Lastly, we removed level restriction penalties from scroll and scenario quests. Previously, quests were used as an encouragement tool to start quests when users reached a certain level. However, users only got partial rewards as penalties depending on the level difference between quest required level and user level. But these penalties have been removed through this update to provide a more agreeable level-up system. Our Requiem team expects and hopes that the new update will provide new enjoyment in Requiem world.

WC: Patches seek to add new content, fix bugs, enhance the game, etc. How is the priority set for things to be included in a patch?

Adding new contents is the first priority, and bug fixes and game improvement have the next priority.

WC: High level players have complained (loudly) about the lack of quests and the inability to level after about level 40. Will this patch include some new areas or quests?

The development team already knew about this issue. We added some new quests for high level users in this update. Currently, we are planning to add various types of quests and improve existing quests through the next big update. The development team already started testing quest bugs and errors to make a better Requiem. Unfortunately, this update does not contain new areas. New areas will be added in the next big patch.

WC: Will this new patch make it any easier for high-level players to level up?

This patch is focused on a new race, unity of guilds, and new items; all of which can increase the satisfaction in character gameplay rather than leveling up. As I have pointed out, the removing of quest penalties will help to level up. The assistance of high level users to level up will be provided as soon as possible through increasing party EXP, and adding new areas and items.

WC: Another major bug in Requiem is the distance at which monsters can attack and successfully hit characters yet players must close the distance. Has this been addressed in the forthcoming update? How so?

We already knew about this problem. Right now, the server team and client team are co-operating and deeply discussing how to solve this issue. Unfortunately, the problem has not been solved through this patch, but it will be solved shortly.

WC: Gravity has made a fairly good stab at combining the microtransaction and subscription models. Why was the decision made to choose both rather than just one?

The movement we made is for the Korea market only, however, we can provide various systems for global services.

WC: How many players do you estimate play Requiem worldwide?

Currently, Requiem services about 80K active users in 3 countries.

WC: What are the long-term goals for Requiem?

The main purpose of Requiem is for all high level users to have an active PVP scenario. This PVP can be castle sieges, PVP in disputed areas, etc. When you see the Requiem map, there are Zudekha areas which will be the final destinations, and surrounding areas such as Fennir and Alkest will be the main areas in which various types of PVP will occur.

WC: Are there plans to add new areas, new cities, new monsters, etc.? (please describe)

The development team already started developing new areas, a new city and new NPCs. It will be implemented in-game when a new map is updated.

WC: What about new classes and races? If so, please describe them.

After having finished the update of the Xenoa race, Requiem has completed 4 races as per the initial plan. The planning team has not decided anything about adding 5th and 6th races as per the Requiem scenario yet.

WC: Are there any plans to add to the item mall? If so, what types of things can players look forward to purchasing?

The Item Mall will be expanded in the future. To catch up to the users’ demand and develop the items that users want, will be the main focus of the item mall.

WC: Does the development team actively follow the discussions on the forums?

Many development team members visit the forum site to get users’ opinions. Actually, some of the users interchange their opinions with developers, of course, developers hide their id. Therefore, good and reasonable ideas from users are implemented in the actual game.

WC: What part of the development of Requiem has presented the most challenge? How has the development team responded to these issues?

The hardest part is to reflect all the requests from the users. Currently, Requiem has not been covered enough from the variety of the users’ requests. However, we always try to do our best to develop and improve our game even though it is hard to implement all of the requests. We also try our best to implement things as close as possible to the users’ requests. But sometimes, we are blocked by technical problems. For example, many users request more character customization, but the current Requiem system cannot provide more detailed customization.

WC: Of what part of Requiem are you as developers most proud?

Developing and adding content for users and delivering more satisfaction gives me a lot of pride as a developer.

WC: Please add other thoughts and information you feel appropriate for the community.

I really appreciate all the users who play Requiem: Bloodymare. Requiem is a growing game full of potential. Right now, we cannot provide 100% satisfaction. However, we will return to you with a much better game. Thank you very much, and god bless you.