The release of our expansion is just three weeks away! This is the fourth article in our series about what the expansion brings, and this time, we will talk more about the new side content added to the game.

Faction Wars
The core game already featured faction wars as part of the main story, but they were limited in terms of which factions you could join and what territories you could conquer.
With the expansion, we’ve split the world into 16 areas, each controlled by one of six different factions.
As a player, you can now join any of these six factions and work to paint the whole world in their colors.

Conquering an area under your faction’s banner will replace the local citizens, introduce unique NPCs, and trigger related world events.

To conquer a territory, you’ll need to initiate a siege and assist your army, much like in the core game.
This content will be available as a late game side quests, which unlock either after completing the war portion of the main story or upon reaching a certain point in the expansion’s alternate main storyline.

Playable factions include House of Faith, House of Coin, Free People, Underworld Horde, Devourers (new) and Lizards (new).

A significant aspect of the game lies in the choices you make in the godly realm and the earthly realm, and how these two intertwine. With the Faction Wars update, we aim to make choices in the earthly realm more impactful.

Now, let's talk about a few other smaller updates that are related to crime and companions.

Mercenaries
You can now purchase slaves to make them companions and assign them tasks, such as following you, guarding your home, or granting them their freedom.
Companions can be equipped with any gear you provide. However, don't expect them to be very intelligent, as they function as standard followers. They are designed as a small side addition to the gameplay.

Head Hunt Quests
These optional side quests allow you to take contracts from bounty boards in villages. The more difficult the target, the higher the reward.
Some contracts might lead to crime-related troubles with villages, which ties into the last new mechanic we will discuss today.

Serving Crime Sentences
Previously, committing a crime (eg. stealing) meant you either paid your bounty or fought back, often escalating your troubles. Now, you can choose to serve your sentence to clear your record and regain your freedom.
We’re considering adding this feature to the core game in the future, as it feels like a natural fit.

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That’s all for this content reveal article!
Stay tuned for our next update, where we’ll showcase the two new classes coming to the game.

Here’s a smaller update on some additional content coming in the expansion.
Among other things, the expansion will expand the item pool with over 120 new unique items.

New Items
We are introducing a new category of items known as Cursed Items.
These are weapons and gear with attributes often surpassing those of divine equipment but balanced by unique drawbacks. Over 40 Cursed Items will be unlocked with expansion.
Additionally, we are adding more than 20 new offhand items, offering offensive options for players wielding one-handed weapons instead of shields.
The expansion will also include new food and alchemy ingredients, fresh herbs, and an array of new recipes for food and potions crafted from these resources.

More Roaming Traders
We're adding more roaming traders who sell rare items and roaming attribute trainers, making the world feel more alive. These characters will travel between towns, and you may stumble upon them randomly.

Caravan Protection
When talking about traders, we’ve also added a few side quests to protect traveling trader carts or simply pay a cart driver to travel across the map.
These quests aren’t very in-depth, but we thought they’d be a cool way to travel the map quickly if you’re not a fan of fast travel.

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We will continue with our lore posts, and this week we will mention:
Mokosh, the goddess of Water and Fertility, she is also associated with the Moon, Fate, and the protection of women.
In some descriptions, she is portrayed as an ugly woman made from the bodies of dead animals, who uses her charm to make others see her as a beautiful woman, while in others, she is simply a beautiful woman. It was believed that her sacred day was Friday, and women were expected to honor her by refraining from work on that day.

In one interesting myth, Mokosh had a son with Perun named Yarilo.
Yarilo was stolen by Veles and taken to the underworld, where he spent his childhood.
Once he grew up, he traveled from the Underworld to the Sky, passing through Earth and bringing Spring in the process. Perun, angered by Yarilo's upbringing under Veles, rejected him and smote him with lightning.
However, Veles resurrected him, and the cycle repeated, bringing spring to the Earth each year.

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Soon, more posts are coming.
Stay tuned to hear about new classes, areas, quests, and other new mechanics.