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Lairs Unearthed!


Imagine if you will, a stone-wrought door sealed into the side of a mountain. For months, an explorer has traveled by this unusual door and it has always been closed. One day, he passes by and notices the door has opened. As if through invitation the player proceeds into the depths of the mountain and is summarily killed by a huge, ugly troll. Grumbling, the player re-spawns and runs back to the mountain only to find the entrance is now sealed. Weeks later the same happens again, but this time our explorer is prepared, he brings a full group and slaughters the beast. Victory!

Half a zone away another adventurer notices something in the brush. It is a lonely wheel attached to a pipe that travels underground. He turns the wheel and hears the sound of stone against stone far off in the distance. "What purpose did that serve?" he asks, continuing on his journey.

These two incidents are connected! The wheel opens our mysterious stone door.

Since the days of Multi-User Dungeons (MUDs) the idea of stumbling upon something previously missed has always evoked a certain attraction. This is especially true for those explorer types who must know every inch of space within a game’s world and be the first to document what is found there. When we speak about hidden lairs the above design and others of a similar nature are our ultimate goal.

The content designers here at EA Mythic are focused on maximizing the experience of discovery for each and every lair. We are especially focused on adding diversity to how each lair will be discovered. Examples of this diversity are short jump puzzles which will require a moderate agility, player cooperation where a number of players will need to coordinate their efforts through pressure plates and interaction with world objects, and for some lairs players might be required to remove or destroy an obstacle in order to readily access the riches found within. We expect to have quite a number of unique lairs throughout the world, each holding a special challenge for you and your troupe.

Is that it? Fear not! We could not honestly leave the value of lairs at just the experience of discovery. We have coordinated with our innovative Tome of Knowledge team to bring a number of unlocks and titles into play for your characters to enjoy. Accessing a lair will trigger an unlock from the Tome. Furthermore, any who dare to tread within may be bestowed a title upon slaying the beasts who guard the treasures inside. We have also consulted heavily with our Economy team to ensure there is a great deal of variety with any rewards distributed from within the lairs.

Where can you find these lairs? Well, we are situating lairs all across the game world in locations close to and far from roadways normally traveled. You could find them at the top of a high mountain, deep within a forest, or along the coast. A lair could also reside deep within a dungeon or in the basement of a seemingly unimpressive building. If you are a player that loves discovery and who seeks to know and experience all that Warhammer Online: Age of Reckoning has to offer, our hidden lairs await you and all who follow!