"Maybe, the Warmongers were right. Maybe, we were foolish to hope for more."
"Maybe, we deserved to be punished. It would be easier to give up and let them decide our fate."
"But we won't! Because it only takes a spark... to start... a rebellion."
Year of Reckoning: Season 3, named "Resistance," is the fifteenth season of the ongoing Faction War. The invasion by the Warmonger and the Cult of Horkos has shattered the minds of many warriors in Heathmoor. Witnessing their mighty power, it was evident that the best option was to surrender to the tyranny of these war-thirsty invaders... but some believed it's necessary to keep the resistance and not let the land be swallowed by terror and war.
Overview[]
"Heathmoor is in flames. Corruption is spreading. What do you do when all hope is lost? Well, you unite, gear up and fight back!"
"After a season of tyranny that has left crippling scars on the foundation of each faction, year 4 season 3 Resistance tells the story of the rebellious warriors who take a stand to vanquish a common enemy: the Warmongers and their order."
The Order of Horkos imposed a regime of terror and left many scars around the world. But in the most desperate times, a spark of rebellion is all they needed to bring back hope. As the warriors of Horkos seized several fortresses to conduct experiments with the Corruption, various groups of outcasts and mercenaries from all factions took up arms to reclaim their homes. Unexpected alliances were formed, and a new Draconite weapon was invented to fight the enemy back.
Rise together with the Chimera Alliance and dispel the Horkos from Heathmoor. Play your part for the resistance and get access to new armor, weapons, events, battle pass and more!
Features[]
Tales of Rebellion[]
"Starting at launch, live through the Tales of Rebellion event and be part of historic battles that will determine the future of Heathmoor."
Start the season with PvE event gamemodes where you act as one of the many rebellious warriors who team up with Goemon the Aramusha and the mysterious blacksmith, Ilma. The plan is to escort the Blacksmith into Horkos territory to banish the corrupted Horkos Leaders from Heathmoor. However, the Horkos Leaders won't be easy to defeat as they are empowered by Draconite, so fight corruption with corruption. Collect Draconite for Ilma and she will craft a special Draconite weapon that will sunder even the most Draconite-corrupted warrior! This event will come in many parts, starting with the siege of Overwatch fort that had been taken by one of the Harbingers, Yato.
For more information on the Tales of Rebellion event, see here. For more information on Part 1 specifically where you fight the Samurai Horkos and Yato, see here.
Team Identification[]
"Time to bring your hero's customization to the next level! No more distinctions between Attacker, Defender or Neutral colors: you can now wear any color palette you want, no matter which team you are in!."
Updates have been made to Customization and the UI for player comfortability. Color palette locks on armor visuals between Attackers and Defenders have been removed, as Heroes will now only feature neutral colors to allow for greater player expression. As a result, team identification has had an update, where allies will be in blue and the enemies orange. Health bars will now also be team color-coded. These will also affect NPCs such as Soldiers, as allied NPCs will be in blue with blue health bars.
Allies will also be outlined together with their name noted above them, thus visible across the map; players can turn this feature off if they desire more immersion. Enemies will only have their details (Name, Health, Stamina) shown when you are engaged in a fight with them. Team revealing feats or game mechanics (carrying an Offering) will now be shown with a fill flash on top of the previously mentioned outline feature.
The default color for non-customized characters have been change to “Radioactive Decay” (Yellow, Black, Light Grey). The “Exotic” palette (Orange, Turqoise, Light Grey) will still be unlocked by default.
More info in regards to Team Identification can be seen at this dedicated page on the official website.
New Armors and Weapons[]
Pledge your allegiance to the group of outcasts and mercenaries that make up the rebellion.
Using their influence, the Order of Horkos seized the most expensive resources to craft their weaponry and armors. The warriors who refused to join them were left with only scraps from battles and modest materials. But as these rebels joined forces to fight for their homes, they learned to make a better use of what they could find on the battlefield. With the help of some rogue blacksmiths, they crafted robust and practical gear that could survive the test of time.
Get access to the Rebellion rewards during Y4S3 Rebellion through the seasonal and battle pass rewards.
All Heroes have received a Rare weapon visual which follow a different path of corruption compared to the previous season, in the form of venomous insects and snakes. As for armor, all Heroes except for the Year 1 Heroes have received variations of already existing sets. Among the Year 1 Heroes though, Aramusha received an entirely new set of gear to commemorate Goemon rising to leadership for the rebellion.
Maps[]
A new map has been added, the Belvedere, to fulfill the circle of all factions having their own Arena map. This new Wu Lin arena features a gorgeous visage over a lake, together with Chinese architecture revived by Heathmoor architects. Enjoy the view as you partake in duels or brawls.
This season also features some map reworks, primarily Sentinel. Currently being the only Dominion map with Ballistas (and the first map that introduced them in a PvP gamemode), that aspect has been preserved. Instead, priority was made to map navigation and making those Ballistas more a secondary objective.
Both capture zones were modified in order to make them more fair to fight in. With the removal of a pathway behind Zone A, the Zone itself has been made to be bigger, with the stairs leading up to it becoming wider. A Brasero has also been added to its center to help as cover from Ballista fire from Zone C. Zone C itself has had many changes, such as the interior becoming larger and the outside platform being sized down. The upper level of the Zone where the Ballista is located has been removed from being part of the Zone, with fences now lining the interior drops. To create easier ways for players to move from Zone C to mid, ziplines have been added from the upper level towards the edges of the midlane.
For Duels on Sentinel, the dueling area in the Defender's Courtyard has been moved to the interior of the Tower. The trapdoor at the top of the tower has also been closed permanently. For Brawls, fights now happen in the Defender's Courtyard instead of the Tower's interior.
Other maps that have been adjusted are as follows:
- Temple Garden: Zone A has been made to be more spacious by removing the doors and standing torches, preventing players from abusing the environment to obstruct attacks.
- Harbor: In the Dominion gamemode, the open ledge in the midlane has been closed up.
- Gauntlet: Zone C has been expanded into the dual-entry corridor, while the stairs from this corridor into the fallpit area has been widened.
Battlepass[]
The new battlepass is also here. Through the hundred tiers, get access to the new collections of items that you'll be able to unlock as you progress through the free or premium pass. Battle Pass and season content will be themed around the Sylvan druids, who bring together silver, Eir flowers and Bezoar stones to offer new weapons and mystic powers to Heathmoor.
As more people struggled with the Corruption, rebellious warriors sought the spiritual guidance of the Sylvans to survive and heal themselves. Wearing large antlers and wooden masks, Sylvans were revered in all parts of Heathmoor as the spirits of nature's vengeance. According to various sources, their first appearance predated the first cataclysm. Their knowledge of botany, herbalism, and blacksmithing was unrivaled.
Through the influence of the Sylvans, bring together herbalism, purification and divinity with this set of items from the Battle Pass. Also available are battle outfits and visuals that have come together with the formation of the Chimera Alliance.
Due to the Year of Reckoning releasing only two Heroes, the Year Pass has been replaced with the seasonal Battle Pass. Bring your customization to a whole new level with 100 Tiers of rewards for all heroes, all worth over a million Steel! As this pass is seasonal, progression through the Pass will reset at the end of the season.
Free & Premium Pass[]
The Season Pass has two ranks: the Free Pass and the Premium Pass. All players will have access to the Free Pass, earning rewards which include embossings, ornaments, an emblem outline, color swatches, paint patterns and more. Rewards are earned every few tiers.
The Premium Pass on the other hand offers the bulk of rewards, such as new signatures, new weapons, new executions, new effects, and more. Premium Pass owners will still receive rewards from the Free Pass. The Premium Pass also offers +10% Battle Points, the points necessary to progress through the Battle Pass tiers.
As both Pass' progression are shared, a player is able to upgrade to a Premium Pass and receive all rewards they would have gotten if they had purchased the Premium Pass from the start.
Notes[]
Take note that the purpose of the Battle Pass is to guarantee rewards for players, compared to how all rewards were based around random drops post-match or scavenger crates. The Battle Pass however will not replace any current system of cosmetics and loot gain, such as the above mentioned random drops, any event loot or the content of the week.
Content of the Battle Pass, even for the Premium Pass, will only be character customization items and consumables, preventing a pay-to-win model. All tiers are also visible to Free Pass owners, so there are no hidden rewards. However, the exclusive rewards in the Premium Pass may become unobtainable at the end of the season.
Progression through the tiers of either Passes can be hastened with Steel, skipping either 1, 5 or 20 tiers at once. The price for hastening progress is static through the tiers and between both ranks of Battle Passes.
Other Changes[]
To reflect the season of Rebellion, there have been changes to the menu elements. New menu music, together new background visuals for all menus. Just like last season with the "Horkos Sigil" effect visual, this season has an effect visual that can be earned in Ranked Duels called "Chimera Supporter." Horkos warriors will now regularly be featured as one of the factions that appear in a match, opposing the Viking, Samurai or Knights.
New customization has been introduced at the start of this season. Together with the new Cinnabar material color that allows you to paint your armor in red, there is a new illustrious set, Draconite Lord, where you summon a Draconite-corrupted dragon at your behest. There are also new Faction executions: Catapults for the Knights, Spears for the Vikings, and Arrow Storm for the Samurai. The Wu Lin will receive theirs later in the season.
Other UI improvements have been made. For the Podium UI where the winning team is showcased after a match, the player names and emblems are now shown above each player in a more distinct fashion than before. New icons for players above Reputation 100 and Reputation 1000 have been added also. Orders are now part of the Game Menu than being a side bar on the War Map, which allows them to be seen during a match. The Orders UI format has also been modified to have more clarity in what prizes are offered.
All Bots should now have improved Stamina management behaviors when fighting in the lane, stopping to regain Stamina before going Out of Stamina and, if Out of Stamina, waiting to have Stamina again before resuming their attacks.
Replaced all dodges effects with a new "dodge shadow effect" for all Heroes, with all the Heroes now having their own base avatar when they dodge. Bug and customization error fixes have been made, such as fixing offsets in armor visuals and executions.
Midseason[]
Monsters of the Otherworld[]
With the midseason patch comes the yearly Halloween event, Monsters of the Otherworld. This event reintroduces old emotes, executions and other cosmetics, while there are an addition of new ones for veterans to enjoy. In contrast to the previous years of spooky green, this year's menu background a face-off screens are bathed in a ghastly purple! Join your fellow warriors on a trick-or-treat trip on Endless March and Spooky Slashers!
Participate in Halloween before the portal to the Otherworld closes once again at the end of the event. More details on the event page.
Player Experience[]
Player expression will be more flexible once again as armor piece color patterns that were forced will now not have restrictions. While some Heroes couldn't remove patterns on parts of their armor, this patch will remove that restriction by allowing Heroes to set these patterns to "empty," letting your Hero be bare in their natural form.
Ranked rewards now will be easier to obtain across the board. Whereas before, loot was only guaranteed for the winner, the loser will now also be guaranteed loot. The only loot that is restricted to the winner of the ranked match is the ornaments. Unlock conditions on some of these drops were updated, while references to the seasons in which they were introduced were removed as some players thought these cosmetics were not available anymore.
XP boost costs have been reduced across the board, cutting costs down by 25 to 66%. This allows players to use their excess Salvage more to gain XP boosts during a match.
Players can now deactivate event effects in custom matches, especially if they are playing content or are partaking in a tournament.
In-game Changes[]
Revenge will also be more recognizable on the battlefield as there will be a gauge around your ally and enemy's emblems that will display how much the Hero has built up Revenge. This will make teamfights a bit more manageable, whereas before, one would only know when a Hero filled their Revenge meter full.
For Dominion games, players will gain control of their Hero earlier during the opening cinematic compared to before. This will allign with other maps such as Temple Garden and The Shard which already allowed players to move during the fixed camera angle of the opening cinematic.
Gauntlet received further changes after the updates at the start of the season. The drop bridge connecting Capture Zone A and C directly (left bridge for Defenders, right bright for Attackers) now has a platform under it connected to the midlane, making a drop from the bridge non-lethal. The pit at Capture Zone C (Attacker side Zone) has been closed off and now allows navigation around it; the visual aesthetic of the room has been altered to reflect this change.
The winner's screen at the end of a match has had its camera angle adjusted so that players showcased on the "podium" are more dynamic, together with being less intrusive with the other winners.
And More[]
Bug fixes and other minor changes have been added. Check them out on the official 2.23 patch notes page here.
Gallery[]
Images[]
Video[]
Trivia[]
- The name of the rebelling Aramusha, Goemon, is likely a reference to Ishikawa Goemon, a legendary Japanese outlaw and folk hero who stole gold and other valuables to give to the poor.
- The names for most of the new armor sets for this season reference something or someone with a theme related to rebels or resistance against authority.
- The exceptions are among the Knights, as the armor sets for Warmonger, Black Prior and Lawbringer do not reference rebelling or resistance based themes. The rest though reference topics in regards to contradicting religious beliefs to spur rebellion.
- The Vikings reference individuals who lost much to achieve their victories.
- The Samurai reference largely popular mass movements or specific individuals related to fighting against authority.
- All the armor sets of the Wu Lin heroes reference the 108 Liangshan outlaw heroes from the 14th-century Chinese novel "Shui Hu Zhuan" written by Shi Nai'an.
- The Chimera Alliance (possibly also known as the Chimera Rebellion), that has been hinted at in the battlepass for this season, may be named so as the warriors of all four factions "fuse" together like a Chimera to become a multi-animal monster that will resist the Horkos.
- One of the Symbols obtainable in the battlepass, "Chimera Alliance 1," showcases four animals which likely represent each faction: a Lion (Knights), a Raven (Vikings), a Dragon (Wu Lin), and a Koi Fish (Samurai).