The Frontier System within Dragon’s Prophet allows players to compete against each other in a persistent conflict over the archipelago of Sky Islands above the world of Auratia. It allows guilds to come together and form Alliances, which can attack the islands of an enemy and claim it for themselves. Once an island has been captured, it is up to the Alliance to defend the island from potential adversaries.

The Frontier System is comprised of three main sub-systems:

Citadel System Highlord System Housing System

Citadel System: The attack and defense of an island
Highlord System: The governing and maintenance of an island
Housing System: The player housing located on the individual islands

The Citadel System is what allows players to participate in Territory Wars.

Territory Wars are made up of two phases:
Attack/Defend the Crystals (the amount of Crystals will depend on the size of the island)
Compete for Victory Points

Phase 1 - Stages of War

Each Sky Island has four possible status levels:

Standby:
The crystal tower is functional and can be attacked to initiate a territory war.

Preparation:
The crystal tower has been destroyed. The territory war will begin the following day at 21:00 CET (8pm UK).

War:
The territory war lasts two hours, or until one alliance reaches the required number of Victory Points.

Peace:
The island prepares for the next territory war whilst rebuilding the crystal tower.

To begin the second phase of the Territory War, an attacking alliance must first destroy the crystals that are placed across the island to disrupt the peace and cause the owning alliance to prepare for war. Once an enemy player begins to deal damage to the crystal, the defending alliance will receive a warning message to alert them of the attack. The defending alliance will then be able to teleport to their island via the Frontier Map to begin their defense.

At 21:00 CET (8pm UK) the following day, the battle for the island will take place and it will last for two hours, or until one alliance reaches the required number of Victory Points.

Once the dust has settled, peace will be restored to the island giving the new, or current reigning Highlord time to repair his Citadel, bolster his defenses and prepare for the next attack that could happen at anytime.

Phase 2 - Compete for Victory points

Once the designated time has been reached, Phase 2 will begin in the instanced version of the island which will allow you to gather Victory Points. The first alliance to 8000 points will gain control of the island.

You can gain Victory Points by doing the following:

Killing enemy players
Attacking/Defending the Strongholds
Gathering resources

Tactical Points are a currency that can be used during the Territory War to purchase things like Siege Equipment and to hire Mercenaries to aid you, these are gained by doing the following actions:

• Killing Enemy Players
  
• Killing Stronghold NPCs.
  
• Killing Guard NPCs
  
• Destroying Defensive Structures
  
• Killing the Siege Dragon
  
• Gathering Resources

These points are reset after each war, so do your best to gain as many as you can and assist your alliance during the conflict!

Each island has their own special resource area that players can mine and gather from.

During a Territory War, players of all levels can assist their alliance by retrieving these resources and bringing them to the designated NPC. Players who do this not only contribute to their alliances’ score, but it will also increase their Tactical Points.

Players who gather enough resources in one trip will be rewarded with a title, but be careful because being killed by an enemy players will undo all the hard work.

Strongholds play a vital role in the Territory War because they allow alliances to gain Victory Points every few minutes for as long as they are owned.

Strongholds are guarded by powerful monsters that obey their Highlord, but these monsters are not very loyal and change sides after being beaten. If the Highlord wants to keep their island, then sufficient manpower must be allocated to protect these Strongholds and their guardians.

Players can also hire mercenaries from these locations by spending Tactical Points at the Stronghold.

During the Territory War, a Mysterious Altar will randomly spawn that allows a group of players to locate and pray to it. Praying to the altar will build up a meter and once filled, will summon a large Siege Dragon that can be controlled by your war commander.

The Siege Dragon is a strong and powerful ally to have so be sure that it is your group that summons him and not your enemies.

Once a Territory War has come to an end, the winning alliance members are rewarded with various rewards depending on their participation level. Alliance members can earn anything from Warforged Insignias to Resonating Draconic Flutes that can summon powerful dragons for them to tame.

The winning alliance will also take claim of the island and begin their reign over the land with the Highlord System.

Quests

The Highlord of an island can acquire quests for both the Alliance that own the territory, and the residents of that island. These quests can be attained by speaking to the Territory Development Adviser. There are currently two quests which can be completed:

• Gather the Resource: Gather the required resources within the time limit given.
  
• Hold the Ground: Defend the central castle from attacking monsters.

Once a quest is complete, each player receives both a personal reward, and Warforged Insignias for their Alliance.

Once an island has been captured by an Alliance, it is up to the Highlord to co-ordinate in setting up the defense of the island. In order to do this, the Highlord will need enough resources to construct important defensive structures, or hire NPCs that are vital to the safety of the island. In order to finance the cost of defending the island, the Highlord is responsible in levying taxes on the island. With the power to both increase, and decrease taxation rates, it is important for the Highlord to balance the defense of the island, while keeping the inhabitants happy.

Cross-Server Housing

Player housing in Dragon’s Prophet has cross-server functionality, meaning that players from all servers come together in the same housing zone. So finding a nice spot for your friends to hang out in is even easier.

Each island can accommodate a large amount of housing plots that players can purchase and begin building their dream home on. Each plot has their own daily rent to be paid and this is determined by the size of the plot.
Players can also give permissions to friends or guildmates to enter their home allowing Guild Houses to be built and shared between everyone.

Once you have your house fully built, it is time to start furnishing your dream home with belongings. There is a vast amount of furniture available in the game, ranging from beds to plant pots. Some items of furniture can even grant temporary buffs to the owner.

Players are also able to place crafting stations into their home so they can cook that special recipe or even smith the strongest armour, the possibilities are endless.

What is the Frontier System and what does it consist of?
The Frontier System allows alliances to conquer the Sky Islands and it is made up of three main sub-systems, the Citadel, Highlord and Housing System.

What is the exact ruleset of who can engage who? E.g. is it bound to alliance/guild members only, or is anyone at risk who visits the Sky Islands?
All players are welcome to participate in the war and attack other non-guild/alliance members, however if you are not part of an Alliance, you will not be able to claim the island.

But my house in on the Sky Islands, will I be attacked?
The actual war takes place on an instanced version of the island, so residents do not have to fear about being attacked.

So I can start capturing the island as soon as I arrive there?
You will need to start by attacking the Crystals within the zone, after defeating all of these you will be able to talk to an NPC which is located in the Southeast corner of the island to teleport you and your comrades to an instanced version of that island to start the Territory War.

How many points do I need to win the war?
Currently, you will need to achieve 8000 Victory Points to win the war for your alliance and claim the island.

What if 8000 Victory Points are not reached after the time limit is up?
If no alliance is able to reach 8000 Victory Points by the time the war ends, then the defending alliance will retain leadership over the island or the alliance. If the island is uninhibited then the alliance with the most points wins.

Can the Crystals be attacked at all times or only during specific time frames?
Crystals can only be attacked after an island has entered the 'Standby' stage. The status of each island can be seen via the Frontier Map.

Will I get any kind of currency for participating in the Territorial Wars?
Yes, you will be able to gain Warforged Insignias for successfully completing a war.

How many players can be in the same Territorial War at the same time?
Currently, each island can hold up to 300 players during the war. If this number is reached, additional reinforcements will not be able to participate until there is sufficient room on the island.

How many alliances can take part in a Territory War? Is there a limit?
There is currently no limit on how many alliances can take part in the war.

Is there anything I can do to improve my FPS during a Territory War?
Yes you can, once a Territory War has begun, you will have the option to disable Friendly Combat Effects, Friendly Dragons and change the appearance of the defenders and attackers by the Territory War Display Settings.

Change the appearance of the defenders and attackers? What do you mean?
By using the same Territory War Display Settings, you can make all the defenders look blue and the attackers look red. This should further help with FPS and to quickly recognize between friend and foe.

What kind of Siege Weapons can i use?
The following Siege Weapons can be bought by using Tactical Points during a war:

• Dragonflight Demolisher
  
• Fearless Siege Chariot
  
• Onslaught Battlebarge
  
• Ragefire Behemoth
  
• Cinderflail Chariot

Can I craft Siege Weapons or are they bought?
During the first phase of the Frontier System, you will only be able to purchase Siege Weapons from an NPC by using Tactical Points gained during the Territorial War. However, in the future we plan to make them craftable.

Will I be able to buy defense structures? How can I place them?
The first phase of the Frontier System will see these defensive structures in a fixed and pre-built position, but once the Highlord System is fully introduced you will be able to purchase and place them yourself.

Do they contribute to the Victory Points once destroyed? Can they be repaired?
Defensive structures do not give Victory Points once destroyed, they are there to aid in the defense of the Castle, they will however respawn after a war has ended.

During the Territory War, what is the purpose of the Castle? Is there a reason why i should attack it?
Once an alliance conquers the castle during the war, they will get more Victory Points than a Stronghold per minute. So if you want to have a better chance at winning the war, the Castle should be high on your objectives.

Also, defenders will revive at the Castle, so conquering this location will prevent them from spawning there. And lastly, defense structures can only be built in the Castle, making it the easiest position to defend if control of the Strongholds are lost.

Can I hire Mercenaries to aid in my battles?
Yes, you can hire powerful Mercenaries from around the island to aid you in combat. First you need to show them who is boss by destroying their outpost first, once you have done this, simply interact with the central post and with Tactical Points, you can hire them. But be warned, once they die they will no longer be under your control.

Will the hired Mercenaries be static or will they follow me?
Once they are successfully hired, you will have an extra hotbar with the following commands:

• Attack
  
• Follow
  
• Stay

This will allow you to have more direct control over them and have them attack high priority targets or defend strategic locations.

I want to spawn the mighty Siege Dragon, how and where can I do this?
The ‘Mysterious Altar’ will spawn randomly during the Territorial War at a random location.
Once your alliance has found it, you can begin to summon the dragon by interacting with it. The more players that are involved with the summoning, the quicker the casting will be.



Once the summoning has been completed, the Commander will get a buff which will allow him/her to summon the mighty Siege Dragon once. If the Commander leaves the battle before spawning the boss, the new Commander will not gain the buff.

Can the Siege Dragon only be used by the Commander? Can it be controlled?
Yes, the Siege Dragon can only be controlled by the Commander and he or she will be able to control the Siege Dragon with an extra hotbar that contains the following skills:

• Attack
  
• Follow
  
• Stay

Is there any way to decrease the amount of PvP damage I take?
We have implemented a new stat called ‘Toughness’. This will increase your Critical Damage-Resistance during PvP combat.

Where can I get this stat?
You can purchase a Transformation Stone from the Adventurer Insignia Merchant in Arteicia.

-The Infernum Community Team