Update log
Full Winds of Valen update
The complete published notes, normalized for clean reading and source attribution.
Extracted changes
- Gameplay
- Store
- Events
- Balance
As we move forward with the development of Winds of Valen, we want to clarify our plans for both future development and monetization. We know monetization isn't glamorous, but how it is handled can fundamentally affect gameplay and ultimately make or break a game. We believe you deserve full clarity on the game’s future and how we intend to support its development long-term.
Our Core Commitment
Before we get to anything, we want to clarify some things we will NOT be doing.
No Microtransactions (MTX): We will not add any MTX to the game, with exception of account services such as character slots.
No Pay-to-Win: We are not interested in making a pay-to-win game. We will never sell power or convenience items like extra inventory space, as we believe everyone should play on a level playing field.
Why not just Cosmetics? Selling cosmetics goes against our core design pillar of satisfying progression. We want the coolest gear to come from high-level gameplay, not a credit card. Furthermore, monetizing this way would force us to spend valuable dev time constantly pushing out skins rather than focusing on making a better game every week.
The Choice: A Subscription Model
We believe a subscription-based model is the most honest and consumer-friendly way to sustain an MMORPG long-term.
Sustainability: Unlike "Buy-to-Play," which is unsustainable without additional MTX, a sub allows us to focus entirely on making the best game possible.
Fairness: It ensures that every player has the same experience and that cosmetics remain a reward for gameplay, not a purchase.
Focus: It lets us spend 100% of our development time on content and mechanics.
The Road Ahead
To show you exactly what we have planned for the game, we are excited to share our Development Roadmap. This outlines our plans for the Members Release, near term content post members release and future content.
The Members Update is what we are actively working on, we are expecting it to take us another month. We will give an exact release date once we are closer to finishing it. This will also mean patches will be on the smaller side until then.
As of next patch you will be able to find this roadmap in-game, and we planning on keeping it up to date as updates come out.
Pricing & Membership Benefits
Here's how the membership subscription model is going to work.
Membership Cost: $5 USD per month.
Character Slots: One subscription covers all characters on your account. Extra character slots can be purchased as a one-off fee of $5 USD.
Multiboxing: One sub allows for one simultaneous login. To play on multiple characters at once, you will need multiple subscriptions, which stack.
Membership Comparison
Here's a breakdown of a Free Player vs a Member vs a stacked Member
| Feature | Free Player | 1 Subscription | 2+ Subscriptions |
|---|---|---|---|
| Simultaneous Logins | 1 | 1 | 2, 3, etc. |
| Free Content | Yes (All Characters) | Yes (All Characters) | Yes (All Characters) |
| Members Content | No | Yes (All Characters) | Yes (All Characters) |
| Extra Bank Space | No | Yes (All Characters) | Yes (All Characters) |
| Vote on Updates | No | Yes | Yes |
Non Steam Accounts Deprecated
Due to technical limitations, we cannot receive payments from accounts that are not linked to steam and therefore cannot become members or buy character slots. For this reason we have already disabled signing up as an email account and will be providing a way to migrate your non steam account and its characters to a steam account. If you have a
Source