A September 9 dev diary from the Pantheon: Rise of the Fallen team said Black Rose Keep would open the following day, and used the occasion to lay out what the studio intends to build next. The diary acknowledged the dungeon's recent delay, with the team saying it does not take such decisions lightly and that the additional time was spent fixing several key issues.
The team described Black Rose Keep as the most complex dungeon it has built, drawing on what it learned from Halnir Cave, Mad Run and earlier content. It characterized the result as a multi-level fortress designed around exploration, cooperation and challenge, and tied into the world's lore rather than assembled as a standalone monster den. The studio said work on the keep will continue after launch: an addition aimed at players level 45 and above is planned for later in the fall, along with tuning and fixes as issues surface.
Wildbloods next in the Silent Plains
The next major content delivery after the keep will expand the presence of the Wildbloods in the Silent Plains and add a new point of interest there. The studio said players have already encountered a scattering of Wildbloods in parts of the Plains, but that the planned build is considerably larger. The point of interest is in pre-production, with implementation scheduled to begin once work on Black Rose Keep is finished, leaving room in the schedule for any hotfixes the launch requires.
The diary included a passage describing the group:
Once known for their peacefulness and immense intellect, the Wildbloods have grown increasingly violent and incendiary, as if possessed by an alien will. Their escalating conflicts with neighboring peoples are not of their own making, but rather the stirring of a hunger from unknown origins with an unknown endgame.
First underwater content planned
Further out, the team gave a first look at a zone called Badia de Cara, an ocean-based area south of the Silent Plains made up of several island regions with the island of Kosa Ull at its center. The surface of the volcanic caldera is home to the Mawnok, among jungles, opaline geysers and obsidian sands, and is visited occasionally by Bone Merchants. The studio said the more serious danger lies deep below the surface, in a place no explorer has documented.
Badia de Cara will be the first area in the game to feature underwater content, and the team said the systems work done there is intended to be reused across the rest of the world. The diary also pointed readers to preliminary patch notes for the update published ahead of launch. It was signed by Chris 'Joppa' Perkins.
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