Developer's Note: Season 1 The North Bannerman Qualifiers: Frost and Steel

Season 1 The North Bannerman Qualifiers: Frost and Steel

Greetings, Lords and Ladies.

This is the Game of Thrones: Kingsroad development team.

We are preparing a new content update along with various improvements coming this July 15.

Details regarding these improvements will be shared in next week’s update notice; today, we would like to introduce the details of our first season.

On Wednesday, July 15th, Season 1 The North Bannerman Qualifiers: Frost and Steel will officially begin.

In this developer note, we would like to introduce the stories, systems, and new content that await you in Season 1.

1. The Invasion of the Iron Islands, and The North's Counterattack

The Ironborn have begun to invade the coastlines of Westeros. Though the shadow of the Reavers looms over the North,

the Northerners have chosen to counterattack in their own way rather than cowering in fear.

The Great Houses of the North have put forward their bannermen (Champions) to fight for honor.

Season 1 is a tournament stage for honor, not a brutal all-out war. It is like the North’s Olympics, fueled by a spirit of competition rather than hostility towards each other.

You will pledge allegiance to one of the three Great Houses, and experience the season as that house’s champion.

2. Three Houses, Three Convictions: What is your choice?

The House choice is not about calculating which House gives more benefits, but a declaration of ‘ What kind of Champion am I? ’

Please step forward under the banner of your faith.

• · House selection is per account. All characters on an account become the champion of the same house.

• · You can change your House only once per season (available for 24 hours starting Wednesday of Week 3).

• However, some accumulated scores may be lost, so make a careful decision.

1. Season Lobby: The Hall Displaying the House’s Honor

Season opens after completing the Winterfell main quest. Players can enter the Season Lobby and new space via the season icon on the HUD.

The center of the lobby displays the three Houses' banners on a podium.

The banner of the 1st place House from the previous week takes the center stage, while the 2nd and 3rd place banners are positioned on either side,

updating every week based on the rankings. Every time you enter the lobby, you can see exactly where your House stands at a glance.

4. Ranking System: Rise Through the Ranks Within Your House

The essence of Season 1 is simple. Choose a house to pledge allegiance to and become the Top Champion in your house.

Instead of competing against the entire player base, your ranking will be determined solely among the Champions who chose the same House.

With a more focused competitive range, you can experience a fair and rewarding competition where your skills and efforts are directly reflected in your rank.

Individual Tiers (5 Tiers) - Determined by your ranking within the House.

(Tiers are subject to change based on live service conditions.)

Every Wednesday, it is time for the weekly results.

Individual tiers and House rankings will be determined every Wednesday at 9:00 AM (UTC +9), and

weekly rewards based on your tier will be distributed via mail.

Although the weekly score is reset, the season accumulated score will keep stacking up. After 5 weeks,

the final tier and House ranking will be recorded by the accumulated score.

A House Buff will be given to all members this week based on last week's House ranking the higher the rank,

the better the buff. Your individual contribution becomes a collective benefit for the whole House.

Feel the unity with the champions gathered under the same banner.

5. How do you earn scores? Whether talented or diligent, everyone has their own way.

The scoring pathway is split into two ways. It is designed so that any style of bannerman can contribute to their House in their own fashion.

① Prove Your Skill in Dungeons

A total of three seasonal dungeons Seasonal Wormwalks, Seasonal Beyond the Wall Expedition, and Seasonal Elite Hideout are now open.

In these three new seasonal dungeons, combined with two existing dungeons (Altar of Memories and Altar of Lost Memories),

the highest record among all characters on your account will be converted into Season scores. Your score will update every time you break your own record.

This is a true stage of honor for the masters, where your score directly reflects your skill.

② Prove Your Dedication with Season Tokens ‘Coast Warden's Iron Plate'

The Season Token ‘ Coast Warden's Iron Plate ’ can be acquired as a reward for fighting the reavers invading the coast

by completing Repeatable Expeditions, Challengers, Regional Events, and World Bosses.

You can turn in these tokens to your House Token Collector NPC in Winterfell Square to convert them into scores.

These scores stack up as much as you play, meaning even growing Champions can contribute to the House with their hard work.

※ Season Token acquisition is not affected by World Level or clear grades.

※ You can earn 50% additional Season Tokens in the Today’s Recommended Areas.

6. New Content: The North Bannerman Duel Festival

A completely new content, ‘ The Northern Bannerman Duel Festival,’ opens alongside Season 1 on Wednesday, July 22.

At the Dreadfort Watchtower Camp, you will fight 1vs1 against NPC Bannerman Champions from other Houses.

These Champions are completely different from ordinary enemies. They act like real players who are parrying, evading, and backing away for ranged attacks.

Essentially, our goal was to create a ‘PvE like PvP’ experience.

• · 3-Round Tournament Time Attack : Face different House Champions in consecutive duels each round.

• Tiers are determined by your clear time. However, a single defeat means instant elimination, so stay on your guard.

• · Daily Scheduled Regional Events : An in-game notice and a World Map marker will guide you 10 minutes before the event begins.

• · 10 Minutes Per Session: Jump into the challenge every day with no burden.

Upon clearing, you can earn Season Tokens along with growth rewards.

1. Season Mechanism: Burning Battle Spirit

In this season, a new seasonal mechanism, ‘ Burning Battle Spirit,’ will be applied to select content.

Affected Content: Seasonal Wormwalks/ Beyond The Wall Expedition/ Elite Hideout/ Besieged Site/ Bannerman Duel Festival

The core concept is simple: build [Battle Spirit] through attacks, accumulate [Adrenaline],

and unleash it all in a devastating explosion with [Battle Spirit Release].

① Battle Spirit Stacks: Faster attacks bring faster speed.

Battle Spirit stacks are accumulated upon hitting enemies with attacks. The higher the stack, the faster your Adrenaline charges,

and you instantly acquire additional Adrenaline upon hitting an Active Skill. Continuous, nonstop attacks will bring you that much closer to the next stage.

② Special Skill: Use Now or Stack up more

When Adrenaline reaches 50% or higher, you can unleash a Special Skill. This powerful technique restores Rage while dealing damage to enemies in a wide area,

stunning both normal enemies and opponents in the Bannerman Duel Festival.

If you hold out a bit longer and build it to 100%, these effects are amplified, and your Active Skill cooldowns are also reduced.

Unleash it now, or wait for maximum power? The choice is entirely yours.

③ Battle Spirit Release: The Core of Combat This Season

Using a Special Skill enters you into the Battle Spirit Release state. During this time, your stats are significantly increased, and HP is recovered upon landing attacks.

If triggered at 100% Adrenaline, the release effect becomes much more powerful.

While Battle Spirit Release is active, your Adrenaline will gradually decrease and the effect ends when it hits 0%.

From there, you will stack up Battle Spirit and Adrenaline again to get ready for the next release.

※ Battle Spirit Stacks and Adrenaline cannot be gained during the Battle Spirit Release.

Build, unleash, and build again: How well you feel this rhythm will be key to this season’s combat.

8. Season Rewards: Bannerman's Honor

Weekly: Growth materials, currency, and weekly limited tier badges will be delivered via mail based on your tier.

End of Season: After completing the 5-week journey, rewards will be given based on your final rank.

• · House Identity Costume: Umber/Hornwood/Manderly House exclusive costumes.Details, such as the inclusion of a helmet, will vary based on your final tier.

• A single glance on the street will be enough to recognize a bannerman's seasonal achievements.

• · Mount Equippable House Banner (Top Bannerman and Greatsword Bannerman): The ultimate honor of riding into combat with your House banner proudly displayed on your mount.

• · House × Tier Title and Nameplate (Frame, Background, and Badge), Season limited emoji set

• · 🏆 Hall of Fame: The top bannerman of each House (Cumulative 1st–5th place) will be permanently registered in the Hall of Fame.

Leave your name in the history of kingsroad.

In addition, a variety of seasonal rewards await you, including the Seasonal Battle Pass and House Co-op Weekly Missions to accompany you throughout the season.

🔔 Previous Ranking Integration: Bannerman Reconvergence

A season is the beginning of a new journey and the moment the competitive stage is reset. As time passes,

the population of active bannermen within each ranking group naturally shifts.

Without enough bannermen to compete against, the tension of ranking competition and the drive for growth weaken.

The development team wants to reignite this tension to tighten the density of competition once again. Therefore,

Kingsroad will use the launch of each new season to regroup and reconverge. Season 1 'Frost and Steel' will mark the start of our first reconvergence.

• · We will reorganize the group by pairing those with similar momentum. High-ranking bannermen from last season will be grouped together,

• and growing bannermen will match with other growing bannermen, designing a starting line that is as fair as possible.

• · After the regrouping, you might face bannermen who are stronger than before. However, the sense of achievement upon winning,

• and the variety of opponents you can learn from, will also grow that much greater.

As the stage resets and new bannermen arrive every season, it is time for you to create your new place within the regrouped Houses.

Conclusion

Season 1 ‘Frost and Steel’ is the first page of the seasonal journey moving forward in Game of Thrones: Kingsroad.

The development team sincerely looks forward to seeing what House you choose and what stories you create.

We look forward to seeing you in Winterfell on July 15.

The Game of Thrones: Kingsroad Development Team

※ The content and values introduced in this note are subject to change depending on development progress.