Hi everyone!

As many of you likely know by now, we have made the difficult decision to close the Felanah instance on March 31st, 2024. We’ve taken excruciating care and worked with the major faction leaders hailing from Felanah to ensure a seamless and more importantly, lore-driven transition.

These decisions don’t come easily, as we’ve previously seen in the Rohvencost closure. We learned many lessons, and we are grateful for the feedback we received from that process. As before, we would like to affirm that we are dedicated to providing the necessary support to assist players in transferring their items and builds to their new homes - both in & out of character. Our build team has been working tirelessly to find spaces for your favourite landmarks to find new life on Orlan and prepare land for several other distinct settlements.

Ultimately, our reasoning behind this decision remains consistent in our goal of bettering the server experience for new & old players alike, with priorities in both technical optimization and continuing to refine our player experience.

1. Server Resources:

   In the same vein as the Rohvencost closure, each instance we host has a baseline amount of resources that they passively require. This amount is consequential before adding players, custom models, and NPCs on top of that. Once again, this allows us to free up those resources and allocate them elsewhere. Felanah also carries a lot of abandoned areas that are still full of entities, silently taking up server performance. This final point isn’t a deciding factor, but it is still a net boon since tracking down all of these areas and figuring out if they’re still in use isn’t something that we have the resources for.

2. Roleplay Density:

   By now, I am sure that this term isn’t new to the vast majority of our players. By existing in an open world, we face the same issues as many games released today - emptiness, and a lack of contact that allows the world to feel lived in. This problem is exaggerated in the fact that we don’t have a story with NPCs, we have a story with living breathing players with variable real-life schedules. By bringing everyone closer together, our world will continue to feel more lived in & random encounters will become more frequent.

3. What we’re moving:

   Dhara and its realms will be finding a new home on Orlan, with key reworks to both make them fit naturally & to make them easier to navigate. We intend to move all NPCs from Felanah to Orlan, so rest easy - your favourite NPCs will be finding a new home as we get settled - they may be in transit for a bit though, so please ensure that you buy what you may need before they shut their doors leading up to the 31st. More information on where these NPCs are located will be released later down the line. The Dhara train station will remain, so don’t worry about needing to travel long distances - the dwarven kingdom will be more accessible than ever before!

When it comes to these new locations, we’ll be announcing them OOC as they emerge, as well as providing in-character solutions for the movement of important POIs to make this transition as seamless as possible for both you and your characters!

Support & Assistance

In-Character:

The people of Felanah are being assisted in their transition by the current government of Stone Bay, following some in-character announcements later, processes and office hours will be established to enable you to meet with those who can get you assistance in-character. From moving your stuff or helping rebuild elsewhere, we're here for anyone and everyone in-character.

Out-of-Character:

If you'd like to talk to us about getting some OOC support for your transition, please #⁠⁠📨-open-a-ticket.

We are working ardently staff-side to make this as easy as possible, but we’re cognizant of the emotional connection so many people have to their homes. That isn’t lost on us whatsoever, and we want to affirm that we’re actively listening to do anything we can to support you all in this process. We’d also like to ask you, as a community, to welcome the residents of Felanah with open arms as they relocate their homes, or find new ones. This change will be incredibly positive for the server’s health, but we want to ensure that we are providing opportunities for those who are facing relocation as a result.

Thank you all for your support and understanding, if you have any questions regarding this change & how it may affect you, please do not hesitate to ⁠⁠#📨-open-a-ticket.

Thanks to @cluv for the banner image!

IMPORTANT CLARIFICATION

The closure of Felanah does not indicate the land, areas, or loot as free game. If you are curious or uncertain about looting something that may be abandoned, please ⁠#📨-open-a-ticket & our support team will investigate the location in question to ensure that the area is no longer in active use & clarify if you may proceed.

Our existing rules on theft stand for all active zones, and I request that we are all safe rather than sorry when interacting with these locations.

These are still people's homes, and we as members of the community must use diligence and respect when it comes to interacting with them.

When/If salvage areas are declared, there will be a public announcement outlining exactly what is free for the taking.

Thank you all for your understanding, have a good week!

Jude / Kov

Communications Manager