Roadmap

Every nation can issue money of its own. A nation leader names their currency, gives it a three-letter tag like KAR, and mints it from gold nuggets at a smithing table. It can be backed by Sovereigns or by real gold in the nation's vault, and /currencies shows an estimated exchange rate that rises and falls with how much is printed compared with what backs it. Players, towns and nations can hold and pay in any currency, so a nation's money truly lives in its economy. Nation Currencies should have actual uses and not just be a gimmick.

Bring physical money into the world. Certain mobs and NPCs will sometimes drop coins, which you can deposit at your vault to add them to your balance. You'll also be able to withdraw money from your vault as physical coin stacks, and place them as furniture, perfect for treasuries, merchant counters or a dragon's hoard in your base.

Magic is coming to the world. Learn spells and cast them through staffs and wands you craft yourself, from simple utility charms to powerful spells for exploring, building and battle. Magic will be something you grow into rather than something you're handed: wands to start with, stronger staffs as you master the craft. Mages, enchanters and rune smiths will finally have a craft worthy of their name, and towns like White Foot a reason to become true centres of arcane learning.

Set sail between towns. Speak to the boat master at a town's dock, pay a small fare, and step aboard: smaller boats ferry you to nearby towns, while larger ships sail between coastal towns across the world.

The journey isn't instant. You'll spend a few minutes on board while the boat makes its way, with a timer showing how long until you reach port. Pass the time talking to fellow travellers, or cast a line over the side for fish you won't catch anywhere else. Don't think about jumping overboard though, the open sea is no place to swim.

And the sea isn't always kind. Every now and then, a voyage runs into trouble, and something large rises from the deep.

Your companions are getting a lot more company. New animals become tameable, giving you more friends to keep by your side as you explore and build. Pets will also be easier to look after: pick one up and carry it in your inventory, bring it along wherever you go, and place it back down when you arrive. You'll even be able to trade pets with other players, so a rare companion can change hands.

Cultures are about to matter more, and to be fought over. A culture's cultural centre will grow stronger the further its culture spreads: the more towns that follow it, the bigger the benefit its heartland enjoys. Spreading your culture becomes a real goal rather than something that just happens over time.

And it won't just happen on its own any more. New ways to promote a culture let you strengthen its hold on a town, while sabotage lets rivals weaken it, shifting a town's loyalty toward another culture. Win hearts and minds, or quietly undermine your neighbours.

Death is about to mean more. When you die, your belongings are taken from you, though not for good. You'll wake at the nearest graveyard instead of spawn, and to get your items back you'll have to earn them, through a short quest to reclaim what death took. Dying becomes a setback with a story rather than a simple trip back, and a reason to think twice before taking a risk you can't afford.

The wilderness is about to get a lot more dangerous. Bandits will roam in greater numbers, and some won't travel alone: expect tougher, better-armed outlaws who fight smarter and hit harder, ambushes on the roads, and a few names that every traveller learns to fear. The reward matches the risk. Bandits will carry real treasure, and the most dangerous of them guard hoards worth hunting down. Travel prepared, keep your chests under a roof, and think twice before wandering alone.

Runes are getting a lot more to offer. Today a few runes carry you home or to spawn; this update brings new runes with new kinds of magic, and makes the runes you know more powerful and more worth hunting for. Expect more ways to find them, more reasons to carry them, and runes that become a real part of how you travel, explore and survive.

Nations will be able to stake a claim on land their towns intend to grow into. A nation can stake as many chunks as its towns have unclaimed room left, for a small daily upkeep paid from the nation's treasury. Staked land shows as that nation's territory on the map, so nation borders reach beyond the towns themselves, and no other nation can stake land that's already spoken for.

A stake isn't a wall: anyone can still found a town on staked land. But doing so gives the nation that staked it a legitimate cause for war, once wars arrive.

When diplomacy fails, steel decides. War mechanics will let towns and nations formally declare war on one another, turning rivalries into real conflict with real stakes. Wars will have clear rules for how they're declared, fought and ended, so battles stay fair and meaningful rather than random, and every peace treaty or surrender is written into the history of the world. The United Nations may yet find itself the last place where war can be stopped.

Faith comes to the world. Once you reach a certain level, you'll be able to found your own religion, give it a name and gather followers around it. Followers draw strength from their faith: praying, or gathering near their religion's leader, grants temporary blessings. A shared belief can bind a town together, spread across nations, or become a source of power and rivalry of its own.

Post offices are coming to the world. At any post office you can send a letter to a single player, to every town leader, or to every nation leader. Letters aren't delivered by magic: players can pick up waiting mail at the post office and carry it to its recipients, earning their keep as couriers. Important news travels the same way, with official letters sent to every leader when a town or nation is founded, falls into ruin, or something else of note happens. If nobody delivers a letter within a week, the recipient can collect it themselves at any post office, so no message is ever lost.

Give your nation a home at the heart of diplomacy. Nations will be able to rent an embassy plot in the diplomatic district near the United Nations at spawn, and build their own embassy there in their own style. The rent is paid from the nation's treasury, and the plot stays yours for as long as you keep paying. A place for your representatives to meet, host foreign guests, and fly your banner where every nation can see it.

The United Nations passed the International Railway Initiative: a railroad network connecting towns across the map. The UN builds and maintains the lines through unclaimed land, while each town builds its own station within its borders. Alongside it comes a railroad update that makes minecarts faster and more useful, so rail becomes a real way to travel and trade between nations.