WAR Herald has just posted the final part of the "The Sword is Forged" fiction piece. I'm a big fiction writer myself, so it's especially exciting for me to see such excellent work being produced for the WAR community.

"The Sword Is Forged" by Nathan Long
Chapter 1 Here, Chapter 2 Here, Chapter 3: Honed

If you are interested in writing some fiction for our site here at Allakhazam, we'd love to read it and share it here on the news for the rest of the community to enjoy!

A few Hot Fixes for today, focusing on RvR and Items:

RvR : Fixed a terrain issue in the Serpent’s Passage scenario.

Items : Armor Sets: All effects on armor sets should now work properly when activated.

As mentioned yesterday, the update 1.1 patch is now live on the Public Test Server!

The update 1.1 patch is now live on the Public Test Server: Deathsword! Be one of the first to try out all the new changes. Below you will find all of the exciting features and improvements included in this update. We look forward to your feedback! Thanks for helping us make WAR a better game. Enjoy!

Highlights:

With 1.1, we have been working hard and listening to player feedback to make the great game of WAR even better. We’re proud to introduce to the game several exciting changes that you requested! These changes include the following:

Even more updates are being pushed through today! Mark Jacobs has announced that Patch 1.1 is going up soon on the public test server, and hopefully will make it live tomorrow!:

Patch 1.1 is going up on the PTS later today and after some more internal testing, we hope to open it up to the public tomorrow morning. So, as usual, here are the highlights. Please keep two things in mind before commenting on the highlights:

Beginning now, the servers will be down for maintenace:

Status: Maintenance is Complete!

All servers will be coming down at 12:00 PM EST for maintenance to address server stability issues. We apologize for the short notice of this downtime. At this time the downtime is expected to last until 2:30PM EST. As always, please check the Herald for updates.

Thank you for your understanding and we apologize for the inconvenience.

Additional update notes and clarifications to existing ones have been made for Update 1.0.6. I've noticed my cast bar being slow at responding at times, so the first item is definitely a welcome change:

Cast Bar Responsiveness

In version 1.0.6 we resolved a number of issues that related to cast bar functionality and combat responsiveness. The following improvements have been made:

• Spells will no longer be interrupted accidentally if you begin moving after the cast bar has disappeared
• Cast bars will no longer restart or flicker after the spell has finished.

Click "More..." below to read the rest! We've also included this addendum to our Update 1.0.6 post.

Last week the developers announced efforts to improve Tier 4 performance. Today they've announced progress towards this goal with a new client update:

Last week we reaffirmed our ongoing commitment to improving overall client performance in Tier 4 and large-scale RvR battles. Today, we’re excited to announce that we have released a new client update that will significantly increase players’ frame rate in RvR battles (especially in large-scale encounters) as well reduce and/or eliminate character “ghosting” and flickering. You will automatically receive this update the next time you log in to WAR.

The servers require a little bit more maintenance today before you can enjoy Update 1.0.6:

Status: Maintenance Completed!

All servers will be coming down at 4:00PM EST for a maintenance to improve server stability. We apologize for the short notice. We anticipate all servers to be back online by 7:00PM EST.

We apologize for any inconvenience this maintenance causes. Thank you for your patience!

Part 2 of Cruel as Ice, Cold as Steel is released, continuing the adventures of Rathann and his serving of the Witch King:

First came the layers of heavy, indigo-hued woolen robes and steel-toed leather boots, then a reinforced kheitan made of quilted fabric and tanned human hide. Over the kheitan went a hauberk of blackened steel mail, with long sleeves and a broad skirt that hung down to mid-calf. The weight of the steel rings rested heavily on Rathann’s strong shoulders, aggravating the pain of the many bruises and shallow cuts that marked his arms and torso. The druchii scarcely noticed. He’d suffered worse on a daily basis during his years of training.

Game Update 1.0.6 is live! Time to see what the new careers and content changes can do for your gameplay experience. Waaagh!

Status: Update Completed

As previously announced all North American servers will be brought down at 6:30AM EST to begin the deployment of Patch 1.0.6. Oceanic servers will follow at 9:00AM EST. We anticipate all servers to be online by 1:00PM EST.