By Jason Van Horn
On a press tour just last week, two of the good people at Joymax - Rob Alvarez
(Community Manager) and Dennis Winter (Game Operation Associate) – showed me
around the Tomb of the Qin-Shi Emperor…the newest addition to their hit MMO
Silkroad Online. It's an expansion – called Legends in the game – that not only
brings with it a new, massive in scale high level dungeon, but also new weapons,
armors, skills, and a level cap increase.
The tomb of the Qin-Shi Emperor is surprisingly deep and rich in terms of its
lore, which you'll be able to learn about over the course of 40-50 new quests
that take place within the confines of the new dungeon. The story involves a
white viper named Beak Yung, who wanted to feel the emotions – like love – that
her kind were unable to experience, and so she turned herself human so that she
could experience them for herself. A young monk saw through her disguise and
revealed her for the fake that she was, imprisoning her in a tower for eternity.
The wars of the land, however, fractured the tower, allowing her to escape and
seek refuge in the Qin-Shi Emperor's tomb so that she could recoup and build her
power up. The tomb was filled with a wide variety of riches, which those of the
human world heard about and wished to claim for themselves. After having her
heart broken by the monk, Beak Yung will not stop until all adventurers entering
her lair are dealt with and killed properly.
Besides the lore, one of the most captivating things about the dungeon is its
architecture, which varies throughout the dungeon's six different levels. Upon
first entering the tomb, players are met with a giant set of staircases, which
lead down into a massively open cavernous system, where ancient warrior statues
adorn the scenery, and classic Asian inspired buildings await for players to
discover. The dungeon's high ceilings aren't just for show, however, as giant
enemy mobs are known to appear, practically taking up the length from floor to
ceiling.
Once players leave the opening level, it's off to a wide assortment of different
themed areas to explore, each one leading you closer and closer to the
horrifying Beak Yung. While not so much evident in the first section, the second
level really emphasizes one of the things the developers strived for with this
dungeon, and that's the sense of discovery and exploration. Unlike some dungeons
in other games, the Qin-Shi Emperor's tomb demands the would-be adventurers out
there to actively explore and solve puzzles to facilitate their progression
towards the final boss, Beak Yung herself. The second area, for example,
requires navigating a series of portals, which if taken incorrectly, can cause
players to get lost and have to retrace their steps. It's a bit of trial and
error if you've never been there before, but luckily the layout of the portals
never changes. After managing to make our way through this maze of portals, we
came upon a sloping cavernous area, where snake women and bugs waited to take us
on.
Speaking of monsters, they'll really test your abilities, as none of the mobs
are passive, and will always attack you when you get too close. You'll need to
be at least level 70 to even stand a chance against some of the lower level
single enemies, but even then you'll waste some revival scrolls as the enemies
of this new dungeon are ferocious. Close to 50 new monsters were added, and
you'll experience these as a wide variety of different sizes and various
strengths. Besides the regular enemies, there are also several mini-bosses,
situation enemies that appear after a certain requirement is met, and then
finally Beak Yung is waiting for you herself at the end. Throughout my hour-long
adventure through the dungeon, I witnessed things such as stone warriors, bow
wielding ghosts, snake women, and giant cave crawling bugs. After an hour of
adventuring, however, we still weren't close to beating the dungeon.
In order to tackle the challenges of this tomb, you'll need everything that
Joymax has also provided with this update, namely the ten new levels you can
earn, raising the previous level cap all the way up to an even level 100. As you
gain that experience, players will also learn new skills, especially given
during those specific levels of the new cap. There are also new rare armor and
weapon drops, many of which will come from Beak Yung herself…if you're able to
overcome her challenge.
I was very happy with the new dungeon, as it has an absorbing lore about it,
plus a great aesthetic look, and plenty of new quests and challenges to keep you
busy for some time. Much like the general populace of the game, however, I was
unable (even with the help of my developer lead party) to work my way down far
enough to experience Beak Yung for myself. Besides that one lament, I really had
an enjoyable time discovering the new dungeon, and didn't even mind the fact
that my butt was constantly being handed to me. If you're looking for a
challenge to really test your Silkroad Online character, then the Qin-Shi
Emperor's tomb is just for you.
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