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What can you do when the gods are at war? You just pull up a stool, grab a tankard of ale, and hope that one of them doesn't fall out of the air and crush your homestead. Such is the fate of the denizens of Atlas, as they watch their revered Celestials turn against each other in a dangerous and unpredictable civil war.

In the early days of the war, four combatants stand out: Ethera and Sorath'rim protect the old order... Xul and Sekhet represent the proposed age of new leadership among the Celestials.

The people of Atlas dig in for what they hope is a short and relatively painless conflict, and they hope they don't have to choose sides. For the winners decide their fates, too. Maybe a little change is a good thing?

Celestial Rift Season Updates

Branch + Prize Updates

The Celestial Rift Season follows the same basic structure as Eclipse. The major branches will contain 6 season keys each, while the Mission Boost branch will contain 1 season key. The Festive Dragon branch will be a shorter branch with 3 season keys. 20 total keys are required to unlock your choice of either Mythic Dragon. Mythic Dragon branches will be available at no Sigil cost and all of the Dragon’s evolution stones can be claimed for free once the branch is unlocked. All major Dragon branches will have an Arcanum Tier evolution stone available to evolve them to the highest current in-game Tier.  

• This Season, the Legendary Dragon branches will require 37.5k Sigils to complete each line.
• The Base Boost, Dragon Rider, and Electrum Tower branches will require at 37.0k total Sigils to complete.
• The Resurrection Dragon branch will require 37.5k total Sigils to complete
• The Festive Dragon branch will require 18.5k total Sigils to complete and will also contain 3 season keys.  More information about the Festive branch will be available soon.

Similar to previous Seasons, players will have a choice-based prize where Gold Chests are typically found in a branch. Just like Dragon Rider crafting shards, players will now have a choice of what resources to collect from certain prizes in Seasonal branches. The choices will allow players to claim either Gold Chests or a static amount of items that can be found in Gold Chests, such as Elemental Embers, Inner Fires, and Timers. If a Seasonal prize would originally distribute multiple Gold Chests, the equivalent value of that resource will reflect the quantity of Gold Chests in the alternative choice.

For example, a player comes upon a prize in a Seasonal line that originally offered Gold Chests to claim. Now, this player has the choice to claim the Gold Chests or instead claim Elemental Embers or Inner Fires. The prize will be an either/or structure, so once the chosen prize is claimed, it cannot be traded or changed.

Branches and Boosts

Limited Time Branches will make a return in the Celestial Rift Season! These branches will focus on a variety of resources and at least one branch will appear throughout the season for one week at a time. After the week duration has expired, the branch will disappear and prizes in them cannot be claimed further, so be sure to claim them while they’re available!

Limited branches themselves will be much shorter and cost fewer Sigils than their Legendary branch counterparts, and they will feature a multitude of items to help you on your War Dragons journey! More information about these branches will be announced as they become available.

Eyes of the Archon

The Celestial way is to observe the world, but not change it.

The air is thin and piercingly cold high above the Spinal Peaks. It is warm and pleasant in the Celestial cities of ivory and gold that float here high above the world, but outside amongst the clouds, every breath is ice. Before the violent rift, Xul’s cursed rebellion, some Celestials, and their dragons would peer down at the world below from their cities. But for the most part, they relied on Ethera to watch the events far below, and Ethera rarely entered the warm, airy cities. Instead, this dragon stayed out in the cold, watching, observing. Now though Ethera has been brought back to civilization, to help battle an internal threat no one saw coming.

Legendary Ice Sorcerer

Spells

• GLACIAL SPIKE - Active| White | 1 Rage
  Damages towers in small target area for (25) times the dragon's attack power. Cooldown: 4s.

• WATCHER’S SHROUD - Active | Blue | 2 Rage
  Dragon cloaks for (4) seconds, flies (50)% faster, and can attack and cast spells without breaking the cloak. Duration 4s, Cooldown: 1s.

• WARNING BEACON - Active | White | 1 Rage
  Marks a target tower. If the marked tower is destroyed, dragon restores (30)% health and (2) rage. Cooldown: 2s.

• FROSTBITE - Passive | Yellow
  Normal attack debuffs towers and increase the damage that building takes by (50)%.

Design Intent and Strategy:

Ethera is a utility-heavy sorcerer that focuses on debuffing and disabling towers. 

Ethera’s most important spell is Watcher’s Shroud, which cloaks Ethera and allows the dragon to attack and cast spells while cloaked. Watcher’s Shroud has a very short cooldown, so Ethera can remain cloaked for most of battle, provided that she deals with any Blue Mage towers. 

To help with this, Ethera has Glacial Spike, which heavily damages towers in a small target area. Ethera lacks the damage to take down an island by herself, but Glacial Spike can destroy Blue Mage towers and other key threats from the safety of Watcher’s Shroud. These two spells demand a lot of rage to be cast frequently, so Ethera has Warning Beacon to help with rage sustain. 

Warning Beacon marks a targeted tower, and destroying the marked tower restores health and rage. Glacial Spike is the easiest way to proc Warning Beacon’s heal effect, and this all can be done from within Watcher’s Shroud. 

Ethera’s final ability is the passive spell: Frostbite, which causes the dragon’s breath attack to debuff towers and take increased damage. Ethera’s spell kit allows the dragon to safely traverse an enemy base, applying Warning Beacons and Frostbite’s debuff, while also removing a few key threats and blue mage towers. This won’t be enough to take down an enemy alone, but any dragon following Ethera will be grateful for the softened defenses.

Portrait: Autolata

The Cruel

Seeks to change the world, at whatever cost.

While most dragons of Atlas can communicate only with Dragon Lords, the Celestial dragons have always been able to speak to anyone with their powerful telepathy. The dragon once simply known as Ahiram was considered quite the witty poet and was famous throughout the Celestial cities, drawing large crowds for performances. Now referring to themselves as Sekhet the Cruel, their dragonic words still echo mightily in the minds of any nearby, but instead of poetry, Sekhet calls for the tearing down of the old order and for the Celestials to seize the destiny of the world of Atlas. No knowledge, power, or artifact should be forbidden according to Sekhet, and every day more and more dragons and Celestials heed these ideas.

Legendary Dark Warrior

Spells

• CLAW OF KHARNYX - Active | White | 1 Rage
  Damages towers in small target area for (100) times the dragon's attack power. Cooldown: 5s.

• SEETHING CHAINS - Active | White | 2 Rage
  Dragon damages all nearby towers for (8)% of its modified HP and freezes them for (3) seconds. Affected towers take (75)% increased damage. Duration: 3s, Cooldown: 2s.

• RING OF TORMENT - Active | Red | 1 Rage
  Dragon damages nearby towers for (8)% of its modified HP. Dragon also restores (24)% of its modified HP and becomes invincible for (3) seconds. Duration: 3s, Cooldown: 7s.

• BLOODLUST - Active | Blue | 1 Rage
  Using this spell grants 2 rage (net +1) and destroying a tower heals dragon for damage done to towers (0.15%). Duration: 5s, Cooldown: 2s. 

Design Intent and Strategy:

Sekhet is a spell-heavy warrior with a mix of AOE and free-target damage. 

Sekhet’s main offensive ability is Claw of Kharnyx, which heavily damages all towers in a small target area. A spell archetype not typically seen on warriors, Claw of Kharnyx can be used to surgically destroy red and blue mage towers, which is essential to enabling the dragon’s colored spells. 

Sekhet’s main defensive spell is Ring of Torment, which damages all nearby towers, restores health on cast, and briefly makes Sekhet invincible. Ring of Torment can be used offensively to finish off a weakened island, but also defensively to avoid mage tower supershots and Crystal howitzer attacks. It’s important to note that Ring of Torment will always heal and shield Sekhet; only the spell’s damage is blocked by Red mage towers. 

Sekhet’s next spell is Seething Chains, which damages and freezes all nearby towers. Additionally, any towers frozen by this effect are debuffed to take increased damage. Seething Chains is quite versatile. It can enhance the dragon’s breath and spell damage, lock down threatening towers, and also disrupt mage tower supershots if timed carefully. 

To help fuel all this spellcasting, Sekhet’s final spell is Bloodlust, which restores rage on cast and causes the dragon to heal whenever they destroy a tower. Bloodlust should be cast frequently to maintain rage, but Sekhet’s spell kit allows the dragon to benefit greatly from the heal-driven tower destruction. Claw of Kharnyx is the easiest way to proc Bloodlust’s heal, but combining Seething Chains with Ring of Torment can lead to some massive heals by destroying an entire island at once.

Portrait: Orbus

Herald of Revelations

Leader of the rebellion against the Celestials and their aloof ways.

Xul has long been concerned with the affairs of Atlas. A herald of the glory of the Celestials, Xul kept careful note for the right times for their splendor and might to be unleashed on the direst threats to the world. And so it was great unease that Xul observed the negligence of the Celestials during the last, terrifying Withermoon, where entities of the Void itself attacked Atlas, and Xul was fully roused to anger by the time the Eclipse and strange cosmic visitors were ignored entirely. In defense of the ideals of protecting the people and dragons of Atlas, Xul has started a civil war with no weapon or magic or tactic deemed off-limits, and the Celestial cities shake and shudder from this conflict.

Mythic Fire Hunter

Spells

• SMOTHERING REVELATION - Active| White | 1 Rage 
  Dragon damages towers in the target area for (12)% of its modified HP and freezes them for (4) seconds. Duration: 4s.

• DARK TRIUMPH (Stage 1) - Active | White | 1 Rage
  Dragon cloaks for (2) seconds, flies at (25)% speed, and restores (50)% of its hunter ammo. Upon uncloaking, dragon damages nearby towers for (14)% of its modified HP. Duration: 2s.

• TORRENT OF RUIN (Stage 2 of Dark Triumph) - Active | White
  Dragon gains (200)% increased breath damage for (3) seconds. Duration: 3s, Cooldown: 1s. 

• SOUL SIPHON - Active | Blue
  Dragon restores (20)% of its modified HP and (0.75) rage whenever it destroys a tower. Duration: 4s, Cooldown: 3s. 

• TOME OF KHARNYX - Active | White | 1 Rage
  Dragon damages nearby towers for (8)% of its modified HP and gains (99)% reduced ammo cost for (2) seconds. Duration: 2s, Cooldown: 6s.

Design Intent and Strategy:

Xul heralds the end of the tranquil Celestial ways, and its spell kit is packed with destructive, free-target power. 

Xul’s first spell is Smothering Revelation, which damages and freezes all towers in a moderate area. Smothering Revelation has no cooldown, so Xul can freeze and disrupt as many towers as it can target, provided the dragon has enough rage. Smothering Revelation is particularly effective against Mage towers and Crystal Howitzers, as the long-range spell can disrupt the towers’ slow moving projectiles. 

Xul’s next spell is Tome of Kharnyx, which grants the dragon unlimited ammo for a short duration. Tome of Kharnyx allows Xul to attack multiple towers at the same time and output an insane amount of damage. One should be careful not to attack too zealously, however, as multi-tapping after the spell ends will empty Xul’s ammo and leave the dragon vulnerable. 

For defense, Xul has Dark Triumph, which is cast in two parts. The first cast cloaks Xul briefly and reloads a portion of its hunter ammo. This cloak is excellent for disrupting mage tower supershots and other dangerous projectiles, and the ability changes to its second stage after cloaking. 

Dark Triumph’s second cast is Torrent of Ruin, which massively increases Xul’s breath damage for a short duration. While a sizable damage buff on its own, Torrent of Ruin is best used in combination with Tome of Kharnyx, granting the dragon unlimited, supercharged attacks. Combined with the multi-tap attack mentioned earlier, Xul can annihilate a base, completely shredding through both defenders’ hammers and defensive boosts. 

Xul’s final spell is Soul Siphon, which causes Xul to restore health and rage whenever they destroy a tower. Naturally, Soul Siphon is at its strongest when combined with Tome of Kharnyx, allowing the dragon to massively heal itself during its demonic rampage. Xul’s spell kit focuses on achieving a pinnacle, destructive moment where multiple buffs are all active at the same time. Dark and Ice flak towers are particularly threatening to Xul, and the dragon should either freeze or destroy these towers before unleashing its powerful combo.

Celestial Juggernaut

The tip of the spear, the avenging vanguard.

The armies of the Celestials have never been numerous, for these winged beings themselves are not. Instead, they rely on elite warriors and powerful magic during the few times when the Celestials and their dragons have had to defend Atlas. The beating heart and cutting edge of their military is undoubtedly Sorath’rim, a massive siege breaker of a dragon who glories in war. Yet even Sorath’rim can find no glory or honor in the Celestial Rift, Xul’s rebellion that Sorath’rim has sworn to crush, break, or otherwise end.

Mythic Earth Warrior

Spells

• CELESTIAL PROTECTION - Active | White | 1 Rage 
  Alternates between Endure Evil and Cleansing Burst. Each cast restores (1) rage and (18)% of dragon's base HP. Duration: 2s, Cooldown: 4s.

• ENDURE EVIL - Active | White | 1 Rage
  Dragon dodges all incoming damage for (3) seconds and damages nearby towers for (2)% of its modified HP each second. Duration: 3s.

• CLEANSING BURST - Active | White | 1 Rage
  Dragon damages all nearby towers for (6)% of its modified HP and freezes them for (1) second. Affected towers take (35)% increased damage. Duration: 1s, Cooldown: 3s.

• GLORIOUS CHARGE - Active | Blue | 1 Rage
  Dragon cloaks briefly and charges forward. Cooldown: 12s.

• LAY WASTE - Active | White | 1 Rage
  Dragon gains a shield for (100)% of its modified HP for (3) seconds. If the shield's capacity is exceeded or it expires, the shield explodes and damages all nearby towers for (10)% of the dragon's modified HP. Duration: 3s, Cooldown: 4s.

• DIVINE JUDGEMENT - Active | White | 1 Rage
  Dragon gains (350)% increased breath damage for (3) seconds. Duration: 3s.

Design Intent and Strategy:

Sorath’rim is a powerful warrior dragon with high burst damage. 

The dragon’s main offensive spell is Lay Waste, which shields the dragon briefly for a large portion of its health. When the shield expires, it will explode and heavily damage all nearby towers. 

Lay Waste is vulnerable to Ice Flak and Crystal Howitzer supershots, but Sorath’rim’s next spell, Glorious Charge, helps avoid this weakness. When cast, Sorath’rim cloaks briefly and charges forward, traveling roughly the distance of a short island. This spell can be used to skip over dangerous towers, but is better used to skip the space between islands for a faster clear. Additionally, Sorath’rim can combine Glorious Charge with Lay Waste. Cast the shield first, then immediately activate Glorious Charge. The shield will remain active, but the dragon won’t be targetable until it finishes charging. Around the same time Sorath’rim uncloaks, the shield will detonate. This combo allows Sorath’rim to consistently connect with Lay Waste’s explosion, and is an excellent opening attack against an island. 

For more defense, Sorath’rim has the multi-stage spell Celestial Protection, which is cast in two parts. The spell’s first cast is Endure Evil, which dodges all incoming projectiles and periodically damages nearby towers. Endure Evil offers excellent protection against mage tower supershots and other threatening attacks, though its damage component can also be useful for cleaning up islands weakened by Lay Waste. 

Celestial Protection’s second stage is Cleansing Burst, which damages and briefly freezes all nearby towers. Additionally, any towers frozen by this effect are debuffed to take increased damage. While the spell’s freeze provides some defensive utility, it is best combined with Lay Waste to yield an even more destructive explosion. 

Sorath’rim’s final spell is Divine Judgement, which massively increases the dragon’s breath damage for a short duration. The bonus breath damage allows Sorath’rim to cut through defender hammers and quickly burst down threatening towers. The spell has no cooldown, so the enhanced breath can last as long as Sorath’rim has rage to fuel it. 

Each cast of Celestial Protection restores health and rage in addition to their other effects, so Sorath’rim has a steady stream of healing and bonus rage throughout battle.

Light's Dawn