red of trudging arduously around seemingly endless zones on your aching, weary, virtual feet? Ever wish longingly to be seated upon a magnificent white stallion, who, with head raised, tail swishing, and hooves pounding, swiftly gallops its owner across the vast and beautiful landscape of this mystical land?

If so, then wish no more, because not only have mounts, of varying shapes, colors, and sizes, cantered into Villagers & Heroes in all their majestic glory, but with them, too, they bring the always challenging and wondrous event zone known as Equinox! So saddle up players! Don your swirling Sheik robes, sharpen your weaponry, and ride into the blazing desert sands of The Oases of Anuk ‘Amon, where insidious Pharaohs, dazzling rewards, and great adventure await all those who venture forth!

This sun-drenched event zone, with its rolling hills of sand and luscious pockets of greenery, equalizes all players to the same level — and this year, everyone has the opportunity to earn, in-game, with just a little perseverance and luck, a truly fantastic, one-of-a-kind, Equinox-only mount! And for those who look forward every year to garbing themselves in some exotic new desert attire, then worry not, because the Arabian Knight Gnogpack, as well as six other new winged accessories, will not disappoint, and all can be earned in-game in this exciting event zone!

In addition to mounts, Equinox, and countless bug fixes, this wonderfully juicy build also contains a number of other exciting new features and improvements! For example, did you know that we have added ‘Social Boosters’ to the game? Huh? What’s that, you ask?

For an MMO such as Villagers & Heroes, where community, friendship, and cooperative gameplay mechanics thrive, this exciting new feature is much in keeping with the collaborative spirit of our game. Social Boosters are special items that will give added bonuses to not just yourself, but to every single player within range of you, be they from two to one hundred! There is both a Hero version of the item (The Crystal of the Benevolent Hero), as well as a Villager version (The Crystal of the Benevolent Villager), and both of these unique items will grant a wide variety of different boosts to yourself and your friends – XP gains, armor, damage, lucky finds, and much, much, more! A social booster can be used one time, and will last twenty minutes. What better way to give a little something back to all of your friends in the game?

But wait, there’s more! With this build comes also the cure for cold, aching, garden-watering hands! Have you ever wished you could just water all of the plants in your garden in a single shot? Well, now you can with the ever helpful addition of the, ‘Bountiful Watering Pitcher!’

And attention new players, and all players who are soon to do a Rebirth: the tutorial zones, specifically Gilly Tunnel and Summer’s Hollow, have received an exciting, new, massive tune-up! Not only has the flow of the quests been greatly improved, but the area known as the backstage of the theater has been MUCH altered for the better – get ready for some lively new combat there! Hint: beware of deadly, Crazed Actors.

There was also another improvement made to the game which, though perhaps not as colorful as some of the other shiny new features implemented, is nonetheless of immense importance – to us, and to any players out there who might suffer from technical difficulties while playing the game. Our very clever programmer has added a new mechanic to the in-game bug reporting system. From now on, whenever the game detects severe internet problems for a player, such as extremely long latencies or high packet loss rates, an icon will be displayed to that player, alerting them to the issue and prompting them to check their connection.

Additionally, in such cases, our system will now automatically run a tracert for them, and that data will then be attached to their in-game bug report. This will be enormously helpful in that players will be alerted to their particular issues, and we will have more specific data with which to better assist them. This is what you might call a win-win for all!

Player: Jenny The Brave
Server: EU 1
Class: Wizard

As a veteran level-capped player, a long time tester, a Royal Guardian, and a major contributor to the V&H Wiki, it’s safe to say that you are well versed in all things Villagers & Heroes. Which aspects of the game do you find to be enjoyably challenging, and why? Any aspects you would particularly like to see improved? Why or why not? I think it is safe to say that indeed I know lots about to game but I’m still learning new stuff every day. I’m a Quest girl, so the more quests the nicer I find the game. So imo there should be a lot more of them – main or side quests. Also, I encourage people to take on another char/class, it is very strange but fun to start over with a new class aka different style of play like range fight/melee….

The Equinox event zone has arrived, and with it the scorching sands of the Oases of Anuk ‘Amon! In keeping with this exotic desert theme, what are some of your favorite films or books that feature a desert in them and why? I can be very short here, not my cup of tea.

With the worldwide launch of mobile quickly approaching, we will likely see an influx of new players to the game. What advice would you give to particularly combat-oriented new players? How about to the more crafting inclined? And if you could sum up Villagers & Heroes to all new players using only five words, what would they be? Unfortunately I can’t test it on my tablet, but I’m looking forward to it. So as to combat/craft orientation I can’t say anything yet. Perfect pastime, fun, friends, excitement/thrill, all ages.

Given your distinct signature image on the forums, this question shouldn’t be too out of left field. Please assign a specific David Bowie song (whether be it through their personalities, appearances, or your own experiences battling them) to the following Elder Bosses in V&H: The Banshee Queen, Skarn, Lady’s Fate, Valuspa, Headmaster Rotburga, and Lord Pyrrus.
The Banshee Queen: Be My Wife
Skarn: Scary Monsters & Super Creeps
Lady’s Fate: The Glass Spider Tour
Valuspa: Lady Stardust
Rotburga: Aladdin Sane
Lord Pyrrus: The Man Who Sold The World

For those out there who might be curious, or interested in doing it themselves, what is it like to be a tester for Villagers & Heroes? Please paint us a picture, so to speak…. Fun, difficult, awarding & frustration. Fun: to find out first what is going to happen – difficult: to keep quiet to your friends – awarding: when I send a bug report or say something on test forum, and at next patch I see that something I mentioned is changed – but frustration when comments or suggestions are not applied or can’t be applied in the game.

If you could bring one fictional character to life, who would it be and why? Hercule Poirot, one of Agatha Cristie’s characters – because he’s the perfect detective.

What is one of the most uniquely memorable experiences you have ever had in Villagers & Heroes? Please describe. The first time I ever capped a char and recently when I capped all craft/gather skills (at my 4th now the excitement does wear off ) – but also the guild raids/runs we did/do , especially when rift was difficult, Tomb too.

There have been lively forum discussions in the past regarding the topic of ‘merging servers.’ What are your thoughts on it? Advantages? Disadvantages? Simple: don’t merge the servers. 1 major problem: lag and 2 what with those who have chars on different servers?

If you could personally design a brand new zone in the game, what would it look like visually and thematically? Would it be high level or low level, or maybe an event zone? Underwater region – so far we have grasslands, islands, swamps, snow regions .. but no underwater region and for high level. Something like Atlantis and we could use our swimsuits, and ofc the underwater mobs like Kraken.

You have watched Villagers & Heroes go through many changes over the years. What have been some of your favorite improvements made to the game? What feature would you most like to see added in the future? VIM= RIP. I do like the overall graphics, icons, regions, (btw a few more regions could use an update). Add: return of Rift, with its difficulties (not the items) could make it part of a main quest – rift makes you think about strategy.
Introduce pets that we can raise to help us in battle – fungal/rift: after x-time of kills, the first kill is reset.

Thank you, as always, to Puzzler of US 1 for putting together yet another fabulous contest! This was a short story contest, and there were so many wonderful entries! We are incredibly lucky to have so many talented and creative players in our community.

Congratulations to the winners, and a very special thank you to each and every person who submitted. You can read all of the fantastic stories HERE.

First Place: Leanas (US 1) – ‘A Chance of a Lifetime’
Second Place: Enina (EU 1) – ‘Vales and Tears’
Third Place: Tamella (US 1) – An Untitled ‘Memoir’

From the test server, names changed to protect the shameless:
Dev1: We now have mounts!
Tester1: I would like to suggest other players can rent themselves out as mounts. It would help the economy.
Tester2: I wouldn’t mind being mounted!
Dev2: :O

Dreams DO come true:
“I want a pony.” —Cardqueen (US2)

Are you sure that’s not Otter?
“I smell squirrel poo.” —gianca (US2)

US2 That’s A Pun, Son:
dellking10: Dear dairy I met a talking boar today.
Cardqueen: lol
greenpuppy: lol I like talking to my dairy too.
greenpuppy: confiding in your cheese is good for the soul.
Crystal Chanda Lier: you mean is gouda for your soul right?

Where did you go to school again:
“Dancing in my undies in a graveyard…makes me miss college…” —Stella StormSong (US2)

On looking sharp:
“That’s ok it would make my butt look too big in my armor.” —Zaharra (US2)