Divine Favor
Divine favor is a system for granting special buffs to players provided they meet specific class and race criteria. The Divine favor system was added to the game in the Rise of the Upstart Gods patch on March 17th 2003.
Contents
Use of Shrines
Purchasing a Shrine
Shrines can be purchased off of builders. Racial shrines require an R1 builder, and class shrines require an R3 builder. They have a base cost of 250-300K gold. Each shrine will correspond to one and only one race or class.
Building a Shrine
Only guildmasters can place shrines, and shrines may only be placed on the guild's city grid. You may not have two of the same shrines in a city. Also, the number of shrines your city may possess is based upon the rank of the Tree of Life.
- Rank 3 ToL for 1st Shrine
- Rank 5 ToL for 2nd Shrine
- Rank 7 ToL for 3rd Shrine
Shrines are large, visually distinct and very cool looking. There are no race-class limitations on shrines, however, as the race and class boons stack, it is advisable to choose a shrine where the race and class are compatible (Temple guilds will want the Human, Templar and Confessor shrines for maximum bang for buck).
Destroying Shrines
City leaders will be able to destroy their shrine (if say, the stated purpose of their guild changes). Once destroyed, any favor spent on those shrines is considered lost.
Offerings
Offerings are objects found throughout the world which have value when offered to a shrine. Different offerings have different values at different shrines – for example, the Relic of St Lorne is worth 10 points at a Crusader shrine, 5 points at a Prelate shrine, and no points at a Templar shrine (the shrine won't take it). Guilds are advised to form trade alliances in order to maximize offering output.
Offerings are otherwise normal objects, and can be stolen, traded or junked.
Gaining Offerings
Offerings are available in three ways:
- Monster drops
- Conquering an enemy city with a shrine (see looting shrines, below)
- Killing or stealing from someone who is carrying an offering.
Sacrificing Offerings
You can only sacrifice an offering at a shrine where that offering has a favor score. If you do so, your shrine's score will increase by the value that offering grants to that Shrine (in the example above, the Relic of St Lorne grants 10 points to a crusader shrine).
Boons
Boons are enchantments that are granted by shrines. You must be a citizen of that city to get a boon, and you must match the race or class denoted by the shrine as well. These boons will be powerful boons that may well turn the tide of battle. Class boons will be slightly more powerful than racial ones.
Boons last about 1 to 2 hours, to encourage players to revisit their cities periodically. Boons are very substantial – players with boons will have a dramatic advantage over those who do not. Boons cannot be dispelled by standard enchantment dispelling means, but they do fade upon the player's death (as most enchantments do).
Boons stack with all current enchantments. Racial and class boons stack with each other – the most successful cities will have compatible race and class boons.
Players access the boon by talking to the Votary, an emissary of devotion which must be slotted into the Shrine for it to offer its boon.
Boon Quality
Boon quality will be adjusted as follows:
Shrines that have the most favor on their server for that shrine type (i.e. the best Crusader shrine in the land) will get the boon cast at 100%. Shrines below first place will take a penalty to the enchantment effectiveness, with higher ranked shrines offering more benefit.
The shrine bonuses are more substantial for the base (nation) guild.
Looting Shrines
A shrine can only be destroyed if the tree of life protecting it is destroyed. Once the shrine is in a 'destroyed' state, it is then lootable. A corresponding number of Super-Offerings are created a can be looted by any nearby player– these offerings will be 'generic' offerings that can be offered at any Shrine, so looting an enemy shrine is always a good deal!
There are no limitations on who can loot a shrine. Be sure that your guild is around a shrine when a city falls, and be prepared to kill interlopers!
Leader Board
Players can open an interface at any time that tells which guilds have the top favor scores for each shrine type.
Favor Decay
Once per day, the two leading shrine of each shrine type loses 10% of their standing. This is to ensure that newer guilds can always compete in the system.
Official Posting
Lore Excerpt
Long have the peoples of Aerynth have looked to the Gods for guidance, but their prayers have gone unheeded. At last some of the Lost Gods stir again, and new demi-gods offer their favor to the scattered nations of the Age of Strife. Which would-be God will they follow? New altars arise in the cities, and quests have begun for the precious treasures the Gods demand as offerings. The peoples of Aerynth look to Gods new and old – how will the rise of the Upstart Gods reshape the shattered fragments of Aerynth?
How does Divine Favor affect me?
"I, the Votary of this shrine, am empowered to grant Boons of Divine Favor to those favored by the shrine's exalted Power, if there have been sufficient offerings. Any may sacrifice an offering to the shrine, but only those favored by its Power may receive a boon. Only those bound to the Tree of Life that safeguards this shrine may partake of Boons from me, its Votary. If you are favored, ask me for a boon and it shall be granted! The touch of Divine Favor shall grant a blessing that shall last for some time.
Know this: the Powers are testing their faithful, and only the strongest shall know their goodwill. The Powers favor Guilds that are masters of their own destiny, and prefer fresh offerings! The faithful must strive to win the favor of their chosen Powers: only those shrines that have rendered the most offerings to their Power will grant true Boons.
Know also that the Powers do not look kindly on those who abuse their favor: each Boon granted will reduce the shrine's favor, and the faithful must continually sacrifice new offerings to their shrines, lest their Power lose interest in their works."
Each offering sacrificed to a shrine has a favor rating. When sacrificed, the favor rating of the offering is added to the total favor rating of the shrine. A shrine's favor rating decreases over time, and each time its Votary grants a Boon.
Each shrine has a specific Boon effect that its Votary can bestow only upon members of its favored race or profession who belong to the Guild that owns the city the shrine is placed in.
The effectiveness of a shrine's Boons depends on several factors, including: Guild Status - only Sovereign Guilds receive the full Boon bonus. Sub-guilds or sworn guilds have their Boons reduced in power. Shrine Favor - only the shrine on the server with the highest favor rating grants the Boon at full effectiveness. The shrine with the second-highest favor rating grants the Boon at less strength, and all other shrines grant only tiny proportions of the full Boon bonus, if any. Remember that both the granting of Boons and the passage of time can reduce a shrine's favor rating, possibly limiting the effects of its Boons.
Where can I find favor offerings?
"There are many things pleasing to each God or Power - seek their legendary enemies, or else look for lost, precious things revered by their faith. Some offerings will be favorable to many shrines, others to only one. Every shrine will accept many different types of offerings, scattered in different regions. Seek offerings through quest, but beware, once on offering has been found, it may easily be stolen by the unscrupulous…
There is another way to seek the favor of the Gods. When an offering is sacrificed to a shrine, it is miraculously transformed into an élan stone, a sacred object of immense power. Any shrine will accept these stones as offerings. A shrine's cache of élan stones may be plundered, but only if that shrine is destroyed. To destroy a shrine, weaken the Tree of life that sustains that shrine through siege. Thus Faith must be wed to Might in the wars of the Upstart Gods."
Favor offerings are available as loot items in specific zones. Mouseover an offering for a list of the shrines that will accept that offering, as well as the amount of favor the offering will earn for each shrine. You can find a list of those found so far here.
A shrine's accumulated favor can be looted, in the form of élan stones, if the shrine is destroyed. To destroy a shrine, de-rank the Tree of Life for that shrine's city.
Who can receive boons?
"Know this: each shrine is devoted to a Power, and I may only bestow boons upon those favored by that Power, be they scions of one race or walkers of one path.
Know also that the Tree of Life in this City serves as the conduit from the Higher Realms to this world. Only those whose souls are bound to the Tree that nourishes this shrine may receive Divine Favor from it."
Each shrine is devoted to a specific race or profession, and can only grant Boons to that kind of character. Only members of the Guild that owns the shrine can receive Boons.
What is this shrine?
"Listen well to what I say, seeker: the Gods, so long absent from this Age of Strife, are returning. Shrines like this one, devoted to the Gods of elder Ages, new Gods, or other Powers are appearing in cities across the face of Aerynth. I serve as Votary of this shrine, its keeper, protector, and mediator. This shrine is linked to a great Power beyond the world, serving as a conduit of Divine Favor and blessings. Through me, you can receive that favor, and feel the touch of cosmic power!
Such blessings do not come without a price. Seek out offerings pleasing to the Power this shrine exalts, and bring them here to be sacrificed. The shrines that receive the most sacrifices will earn the notice and goodwill of their Power, and the Votaries of those shrines will then grant Boons to the faithful."
Only a few shrines may be placed in any given city, up to a maximum of three. Each shrine favors one race or profession, and can only grant boons to that favored race or profession. Of all the shrines of a given race or class on the game server, only the shrines that have received the most offerings will grant powerful boons.
To sacrifice an offering, double-click the offering object then select the shrine.
