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Ultima Online UNCHAINED
REBORN
What’s being announced today isn’t a decision I’ve taken lightly. Unchained has been in development and evolving over the course of nearly three years. As a self-taught coder, I made some rookie mistakes early on that led to imbalances and exploits across the server. One issue—recently reported—stemmed from a piece of 2023 code that turned out to be extremely harmful to the economy. Back then, I wasn’t tracking things as I am now (currently, I track everything—seriously, I probably even know how many times you’ve emptied your poopsock today!). So while I can’t say for sure how badly the exploit was abused, I know it was easy to reproduce—just one of those beginner errors. To me, a healthy economy is one of the foundational pillars of a strong server, which is why—among other reasons—I’ve decided it’s time for Unchained to be reborn.
The reasoning behind the decision
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From what I’ve been hearing, Unchained is currently in a fantastic state—far improved from the original launch. That “fresh start” appeal can draw in new players and keep them invested. I know it’s summer and player activity tends to dip, which is normal, but right now we’re only attracting small groups or solo players.
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The AOS realm had its strengths, but combining both maps has resulted in a world far too large for our current player base—even larger than OL’s map! So I’ve decided to rework the world, consolidating it into one map centered around the UOR era, while integrating select AOS mechanics purely for PvM.
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Supporting both AOS and UOR is highly demanding. AOS doesn't add much beyond UOR’s current state, and any changes I make require extra consideration for both systems—to prevent issues and exploits, causing a lot of overhead for minimal gain. UOR’s PvM setup is already close to AOS, minus the elemental attack/defense features. Necromancy and Chivalry will/could eventually enter the UOR PVM scene in a new revamped system.
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I understand that even though it’s a game, many of you have invested time and effort. I don’t want to penalize anyone—but for Unchained to reach its full potential, I believe this issue is necessary. To honor your progress, I’ve introduced a Legacy System that will reward long- and short-term players based on tracked metrics. I’m compiling all useful values—donation support, playtime, slain monsters, crafting, harvesting, mastery XP, etc.—into legacy points. These points will be spent in a store similar to the veteran reward system. Each month unlocks a new category: Month 1 might include exclusive hues, ethereals, and decorations; Month 2 adds clothing options, and so on. Legacy players won’t have a gameplay advantage in the rebirth, but they’ll benefit from their previous journey in meaningful ways.
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REBORN FEATURES
REVAMPED WORLD MAP
The world was revamped and shrunk to be more fitting to a medium sized, with plenty of housing room, interesting and dangerous POI, the world will feel less empty.
NEW ZONES
- Normal Zones: Standard creature loot and skill/XP gains—anything goes.
- Haven Zones: Reduced loot/gains. If PKed, only backpack contents are lost.
- Danger Zones: Increased loot/gains. Full Felucca rules—everything is lost on death.
- Militia Players: Full Felucca ruleset with a slight gain/loot bonus outside danger zones.
ENHANCED MELEE MECHANICS
Melee mechanics have been enhanced for PvP combat. Each melee skill now benefits from two unique special abilities, tailored to both one-handed and two-handed weapon types.
PVM PROPERTIES CHANGES
On top of the properties that were already existing, 4 more were added and 1 was removed
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Concoction Bonus: Boosts potion effectiveness
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Warding Resonance: Improves buffs
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Casting Speed & Recovery
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(Removed) Paragon Conversion
ARTIFACTS
Artifacts are powerful weapons and armor featuring static PvM properties. Once their recipe is learned, they can be crafted by skilled crafters. Unlike conventional gear, artifacts are notably more durable—and their PvM attributes never decay with use.
WIZARD GRIMOIRE
For wizards who rely on spells and not summons.
- Allows people to focus on upgrading their spells. Each spells can be upgraded 3 times, granting a new and more powerful effect on each tier.
- "DDR" system for spells : wizards will be shown a spell to cast, if they cast the right one, it will deal additional damage & maybe a special effect.. or a lesser summon!
- Arcane Scrolls will now affect everyone to cause less confusion, however, they will now only affect damage & efficiency (Diminished on tamers)
REVAMPED GUILD SYSTEM
Completely revamped system which includes guild auditions, controlled zones, militia integration, permanent/temporary buffs, boss summoning, leader boards, guild quests and more!
DAILY AND GLOBAL QUESTS
Considering new areas were added.. that obviously means, new quests! Over 10 daily quests were added.
Players will now be encouraged to work together to complete Global quests, those quests will require the community to work towards the same goal, could be harvesting resources in a certain area, killing monsters within a dungeon.. slaying a large amount of daemon in the world etc!
DUNGEON AND CHAMPION BOSSES CHANGES
Bosses now scale in power and loot depending on how many players are engaged in battle.
Champions will reward players who summoned the spawn with crystals, as well as performance-based rewards.
DUNGEON AND CHAMPION BOSSES CHANGES
Bosses now scale in power and loot depending on how many players are engaged in battle.
Champions will reward players who summoned the spawn with crystals, as well as performance-based rewards.
DUNGEON CHESTS (and chests in general)
Dungeon chests were revamped to be more fun, will now give an utility to the remove trap skill.
Waterstained & Treasure chests loot table was reviewed and revamped.
DUELING QUEUES
Queue up for matches with selectable rulesets—5x, 7x, Sphere, T2A/Insta-hit.
TEAM DEATCHMATCH / BATTLE ROYALE
Automated no-loot PvP system inspired by a popular competitive game style.
TRANSMOG SYSTEM
The UO fashion diva dream!
Unlock new visual styles for hats, spellbooks, and shepherd’s crooks.
GLOBAL AUCTION HOUSE
Searching vendors for hours to find that one item is now a thing of the past! You will be able to focus on the fun stuff. We implemented a global auction house where you will be able to sell or buy a large amount of items simply by being at the bank!
FOCUS SKILL ADDITION
Focus will be added to the skill list as a source of stat regeneration. In addition, it will enhance weapon accuracy and increase surging chances when using spellbooks.
DUNGEON CHANGES
Destard was completely revamped
Wrong increased in size
Exile is now the new player dungeon
REVAMPED LOOT TABLES
Loot tables have been reviewed and revamped—some items are now more common, while others have been made rarer. I felt that runic tools and vanquishing weapons were almost being "given away," which diminished their value. To address this, monsters will no longer directly drop runic tools. Instead, new resources have been introduced to allow players to craft them. Additionally, the special loot table has been enriched with new items, and the Book of Lost Knowledge—a key ingredient for many crafts—will now appear more frequently.
Masteries Experience Balance
The journey to reach max mastery level has been made less demanding. Instead of requiring an excessive number of orbs, the XP gain threshold was increased, and the overall orb requirement was reduced. This is still a time consuming process but you should not feel as "stuck" when reaching a new level.
Legacy Shop & Legacy Garden
Players with history prior to Reborn will gain access to a personalized store reflecting their gameplay journey. Early-stage items available in this store will focus solely on aesthetics and quality-of-life improvements, ensuring no competitive advantage during Reborn’s early stage.
A memorial garden will also be established in the Britain region to honor past seasonal champions—as well as those yet to come—celebrating their legacy for all to see.
Dragon Breeding
Dragons can now be bred, unlocking the potential for mixed and hybrid breeds. These powerful offspring may harness different relics and offer rare chances to evolve into formidable variants such as Berserker Wyrms or Eldritch Drakes.
Delucia, the PVP ISLAND
Delucia has undergone a significant transformation, with an expanded layout and a fresh new look. Several new points of interest have been added, including a Champion Spawn and a shrine. The island remains dedicated to its unique questline and now functions as a lawless zone—offering increased loot and experience gain.
Staff team & Player Council
Players with interest, maturity, professionalism, and a strong understanding of both the game and Unchained are invited to apply for a position on the staff team. A few candidates are already being considered, but if you're passionate about helping Unchained thrive, all you need to do is reach out!
A player council—already established—will also be open to long-term players who want to contribute to Unchained’s future and guide it in the right direction.
WHEN?
Summer tends to be an unfavorable time for major launches, so the event will be postponed until the seasonal “downtime” subsides. The exact date will be discussed with the community and finalized shortly. Most of the content outlined above has either been completed or has long been in the testing phase, and the map itself is finished—leaving only final stages such as polishing, testing, and promotion.
The tentative launch target is around August 30th. (or before!)