Artifacts Overhaul

Arci

Community Manager
Grepolis Team
Hello players!

As mentioned in our Community Preview earlier this year, over the last few updates, we've been working on an overhaul of our Artifacts system. The overhaul includes changes to the way artifacts work by adding a level system, decoupling each artifact from specific endgames, as well as adding 3 new artifacts to the roster, bringing the total up to 6 possible artifacts! Read on to find out details of this overhaul.

Artifact levels system

In the past, artifacts have only had one 'level', meaning that once you win a world, you can't improve the effectiveness of that artifact. We wanted to make it so it was valuable for players to win multiple worlds with each artifact by adding a level system. Each artifact will have a maximum level of 30, and with each level, the artifact's potency will increase. For example, each level of Zeus' Spark grants 3 favor, meaning a level 30 grants you an additional 90 Favor to your maximum cap! Details of the values associated with each level can be found later in this article.

With this new levelling change, we're also adjusting the overall artifacts rewarded to the winners of worlds. The intention with this change is to improve the competitiveness of a world, as well as reward not only the winning alliance, but also the alliances which finish 2nd and 3rd in a world. Not only that, but the top contributors within the top 8 alliances will also receive levels for the artifact. Check out the tables below for some specifics:

RankArtifact levels
First place+ 4 artifact levels
Second place+ 2 artifact levels
Third place+ 1 artifact levels


Alliance Rank*Top playersLevel
1stRank 1-10 in alliance+1 Level
2ndRank 1-8 in alliance+1 Level
3rdRank 1-5 in alliance+1 Level
4thRank 1-3 in alliance+1 Level
5thRank 1-3 in alliance+1 Level
6thRank 1 in alliance+1 Level
7thRank 1 in alliance+1 Level
8thRank 1 in alliance+1 Level
**ranking is based on endgame ranking. If there are less than 8 alliances involved in the endgame, the ranking defaults to alliance points. For more details, please see the FAQs in post 2.

For some specific examples:
  • Rank 3 player in the winning alliance of a world would win 5 levels (4 + 1)
  • Rank 2 player in the 3rd place alliance rank would win 2 levels (1 + 1)
  • Rank 3 player in the alliance ranked 4th would win just 1 level
With the addition of this new system, players who already have one of the 3 existing artifacts will have these converted to their equivalent level. Additionally, any open worlds which use the old system will have their artifacts delivered based on the old system. Only worlds released after the overhaul is rolled out will use the new system. We understand that with this new system, we're rewarding not only the alliance that wins, but the players who work hard to try and win, too! As there are likely many questions on this topic, please check out the FAQ in the second post below.

New artifacts

With the overhaul, we're introducing 3 brand new artifacts to the game, the Silver Kantharos, Ambrosia, and Palladion. To coincide with the new level system, we have also adjusted the existing artifacts to level system. Check them out in the table below:

NamePortraitEffect
Silver Kantharos
silver_kantharos.png
Silver Kantharos bestowed only upon conquerors of a world.
Once owned by Minos the first king of Crete, Zeus' son, as
well as goddess Athena and Aphrodite.


Effect: Reduce Farming village upgrade cost and time by 1% per level.
Ambrosia
ambrosia.png
Ambrosia, food fit for divine consumption and nectar of their immortality.
Only the most powerful warriors earn the chance to rule a world, and
taste this godly sustenance.


Effect: Increase small island's bonus resource production by 6% per level.
Palladion
palladion.png
Palladion, hidden by Athena her self in the great citadel of Troy before
the Aegean sea fell to a new ruler. Its power radiates, and is heavily
sought by many who wish to wield it.


Effect: Reducing city founding time by 1.4% per level.
Athena's Cornucopia
cornucopia.png
A blessed Cornucopia, presented by Athena herself. The cornucopia was
created when Heracles fought with the river god Achelous and tore
off one of his horns.


Effect: Increase the storage capacity of warehouse in
all cities by 1.2% per level
Zeus' Spark
spark.png
A spark of Zeus' bolt collected by priests. The spark is what makes
gods liberated beings with true freedom.


Effect: Adds 3 capacity to all gods' favor storage per level.
The Golden Fleece
golden_fleece.png
The Golden Fleece, gods' reward for proving your worth.
This magical artifact was collected by Jason on his journey and has
powerful healing abilities.


Effect: Reduce heroes training coin cost by 1.2% per level.

As you've probably noticed, there are now six artifacts, but only three endgames! This is because the artifacts have been detached from their respective endgames, meaning it will now be an option that can be configured like world speed on a world.

Artifacts on Profile and Awards

Another addition being included in the overhaul is the adding of Artifacts to your player profile! If you have an artifact, it, as well as it's level, will be shown on your profile. We're also adding new awards for unlocking certain levels of each artifact, as well as associated Greposcore.

All of these changes will be made available on Beta with the new world, Sandbox 22 (zz22), which will be released today! Surprise! We're planning to release the first live worlds with this new system in a few months, which should give us a good enough buffer to make any changes before live, and fix any bugs which come up during our Beta phase.

As always, please go ahead and add your questions and feedback to the feedback thread. We're sure there will be lots, so we're looking forward to reading them. As we answer more questions, we'll try and keep the FAQ below up to date.

Thanks!
Your Grepolis Team
 

Arci

Community Manager
Grepolis Team
FAQs

Q: I currently have a Zeus' Spark/Athena's Cornucopia/Golden Fleece from winning a world with the old system. What does this change mean for me?


A: If you have one of these three artifacts, your existing artifact will be converted to the following level:
  • Zeus Spark level 17 (equal to 51 additional favor)
  • Athena's Cornucopia level 9 (equal to 10.8%)
  • Golden Fleece level 8 (equal to 10% due to rounding up)
Q: With this new system, the rewards for winning a world are lower than they used to be! Why would you do this?

A: The main reasoning is balancing. It is quite difficult to make the artifacts valuable without making them severely overpowered. We had the choice of either making the current maximum their max levels, or making them the middle of the road, meaning those who already have the artifacts are still incentivized to compete in these worlds. The best way to achieve this is to improve the potency of a level 30 artifact, and reduce the overall output per world won. For Zeus Spark, this does mean that a player has to win around 4 worlds to get the same benefit as winning one world on the old system, but with the decoupling of artifacts from their endgames, this could be a variety of worlds!

Q: I'm currently playing on world X which started on the old system. Will I get the old rewards or the new rewards?

A: Any worlds opened before the new system is enabled will have the old reward structure. This means if you started on a world with Zeus' Spark for example, then you will win a level 17 artifact at the end of this world (in the event you win it, of course). The only instance where this isn't the case is if you already have a level 17 Zeus' Spark, in which case, you will not earn any new levels for winning a world. This is fair, as this was already the case when you started this world.
 
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