The latest expansion introduces new factions, betrayal, dynamic weather and more!

Tempest of Strife, the fourth expansion for Age of Wushu, is now available for free download. Snail Games has also launched the new Silver Viper server today and will be hosting several in-game events. We recently got to check out the new content and features coming out with the expansion!

School Betrayal

Community Manager Peter Kang lept into the school betrayal discussion right away, mentioning that players are dubbing the expansion "Age of Wushu 2.0" due to this change alone. Starting in Tempest of Strife, players can choose to have no school affiliation, betray their school to join another or hide their identity to covertly join another school.

• No School: This pathline will allow players to still progress in the game, yet not be locked to a school. Skill-set may be more limited compared to being in a school.
• School Betrayal: Leave your school to join a different or newer sect; this could potentially have an impact on existing school wars. There are consequences: the loss of a large amount of skills from that school and limitations such as not rejoining a school for 24 hours to prevent abuse.
• Hiding Identity: Covertly join a second school by going incognito and hiding your identity from the first. The limit is a maximum of two schools simultaneously.

New Sects

Six new sects will be introduced in Tempest of Strife and are likened to "advanced schools." Each faction adds a new dynamic headquarter zone and bring unique gameplay styles to AoW.

• Rootless Clan
• Peach Blossom Island
• Palace of Shifting Flowers
• Golden Needle Sect
• Xu Family Manor
• Villa of Beasts

Dynamic Weather

A very exciting feature being added in the expansion is dynamic weather effects. The game world was previously always bathed in daylight, but now the shading and environment will change throughout the day. We got a look at the fog, solar eclipse and thunderstorm weather, and all look impressively done. Some of these weather patterns will trigger an extensive weather event, such as:

• Solar Eclipse: Help protect school masters as they join in the hour-long campaign in Jingling
• Thick Fog: Progress through several stages from battling within Lubyang, to chasing down a caravan of stolen cannons, to defeating the boss with the city's cannons
• Thunderstorm: A man comes seeking revenge in the stormy streets of Suzhou City. Save hostages and destroy cultists that are massacring the commoners in this two hour long event.

These weather events, which are 1-2 hours long and may require up to 50 players to complete, are within instanced versions of the cities. You will be able to see the dynamic weather cycles outside the instance, but must join the instance to take part in the campaign. Like the open world, players can either work together, or work to sabotage each other.

The organized scenarios play out the same each time, but since players need to organize well to accomplish the tasks in time, the success rate may differ. Loot includes collection tokens that you can trade in for boxes of rewards. Other weather events, such as tornados in the desert, are more random, spawning bosses and chests in their wake.

Head over to the official site now to join in the fun of Age of Wushu: Tempest of Strife!

Ann "Cyliena" Hosler, Managing Editor