Not many days have passed since the release of the first part of the Skill Renewal, and we're thrilled to see how you've embraced the changes. Moving gathering outside of adventures has already created far deeper gameplay, just as we hoped.
Some players are going all-in on the Enchanted Islands, while others are optimizing their builds to farm and supply scrolls. And of course, there are those who enjoy every aspect of Lost Relics; gathering, crafting, fighting, trading… you name it! It's also been exciting to watch the economy evolve in real time. Nature's Gift has opened up many new playstyles: some adventurers stack up potions to push harder content, while others gamble their way through containers in search of big wins!
Now, it's time to dive into Part 2 of this massive Skill Shake-Up overhaul. Strap in: this one goes big.
This update unlocks a major new progression path for two iconic item groups:
Both are getting full upgrade support, expanding their usefulness, longevity, and impact on your adventure progression.
Every player begins their journey with two Soulcraft Tools:
These are obtained after completing the tutorial (so all of you will already have them waiting in your stash). The base version starts at 75% success rate (previously 80% on tools), and each tool can now be upgraded all the way to Level 10, reaching a 100% success rate.
To upgrade your tools, you'll need to seek out two residents in the world of Lunaria:
Each level-up consists of two steps:
Soulcraft Tools have no rarity tier. As long as you maintain the required gathering level, you can collect items of any rarity with them.
And before you ask… no, we're not revealing the full list of fees and goals here. We're sure some of you will dive deep, push hard, and share your discoveries with the rest of the community!
During the tutorial, every player chose a Soulcraft Weapon type. Just like the tools, this weapon is bound to your soul and now gains the ability to upgrade in power and tier.
Upgrading works much like the tools: Edmund Ironhand is the master you'll need to visit for Soulcraft Weapon upgrades.
Each upgrade requires:
Soulcraft Weapons can be upgraded up to Legendary tier. This ensures that every player, new or veteran, can earn at least one Legendary weapon purely through gameplay.
However, if you want to go beyond the Legendary limit of Soulcraft Weapons, you'll need to…
To respect the rarity and economic history of current BC gear, Soulcraft Weapons contain only one socket. They do not have unique base effects tied to them. This preserves the exclusivity and long-term value of items already circulating in the ecosystem.
Soulcraft Weapons were created to replace the old Virtual Weapons system entirely. For years, virtual gear that was lost on death led to constant support requests, accidental losses, and frustration for new players. Removing them is a major quality-of-life improvement; and Soulcraft Weapons fill the gap they leave behind.
More importantly, they redefine the early and mid-game experience.
Instead of hoping for the right weapon to drop, or needing to buy one from someone who was lucky before you, every player now has a guaranteed progression route from Common to Legendary. Your journey is no longer dictated by RNG streaks or marketplace prices. You'll earn power through gameplay, completing goals, and choosing how far to push your weapon.
This system gives Soulcraft Weapons the feel of blockchain gear without competing with it. They're intentionally tuned below all existing blockchain weapons, offering only a single socket and no unique base effects; though their damage output remains equivalent. This keeps blockchain items firmly at the top of the power hierarchy while allowing Soulcraft Weapons to provide a dependable progression path that teaches weapon identity and playstyle, all without diminishing the rarity or value of established gear.
In short: Soulcraft Weapons give every Adventurer a dependable way to grow stronger, eliminate an outdated and frustrating system, and create a smoother, more rewarding path into Lost Relics.
Soulcraft Armor upgrades are coming, but this system is more complex than tools and weapons, so it needs a bit more development time. We know many players are eager to plan ahead and want clarity on whether they should prioritize Arcane Fragments or Primeforge Shards from their Expedition rewards. What we can confirm at this stage is:
More details, including perks, specialization paths, and how it integrates into build identity, will be revealed in the next update.
We aim to release Part 2.2 before the holidays, but there is a chance it may slip slightly if it's not fully ready. We'd rather deliver a polished system than push something rushed.
This also means that the final piece of the Skill Shake-Up won't arrive before the end of 2025. We know many of you are eager for the full picture, and we're just as excited to complete it.
Our focus is on delivering high-quality systems that will support Lost Relics for years to come, not rushing the final stretch. We'll continue working at full speed to complete Part 3 as early as possible in 2026. Once the Skill Shake-Up is fully in place, we can immediately begin shifting our attention to the next major milestone: Co-op gameplay.
A stronger foundation means a stronger future, and we're getting closer every day!
Over the past weeks, we've also been working on a new internal system that makes item conversions faster and far more reliable. Thanks to this, we no longer need items to simply disappear into the void. However… we also need to clarify why we can't compensate market value for every removed item, and why doing so would be harmful for the game. (There are over 6.5 million items that we'll be processing)
Why not refund market value?
To put that in perspective: There are 572,957 Iron Sickles in circulation. In the last two months, only ~20 were traded.
Some players hold tens of thousands of these items. Even if each were valued at just 8 gold, paying out their "market value" would inject millions of gold into the economy overnight, causing immediate inflation, crashing prices, and hurting every active player. And realistically, there isn't even a market capable of absorbing those items at 8 gold each. There's simply not enough demand.
Over time, 99% of players became self-sufficient, gathering and producing everything they need rather than engaging in the intended economic loop where some gather, some craft, and many consume.
With so few buyers, the "market value" of these items is not a reflection of actual liquidity or real demand, and treating it as such would distort the economy even further.
This is on us. The game evolved over the years, and systems were expanded without enough balancing around supply and demand. The Skill Shake-Up fixes this long-term, but we must avoid destabilizing the economy in the process.
With this update, we are removing all items linked to virtual tools and virtual weapons:
All removed items will be converted into Nature's Gift, instead of turning them into gold or containers.
Different items and rarities use different conversion rates. We're not listing every rate publicly, because it would lead to endless debates about fairness and individual value. Earlier we explained why a 1:1 market-value conversion simply isn't possible without damaging the economy, especially considering the insane volume of items being processed.
Even with conservative conversion rates, this change will have a major impact on the economy. Some markets may fluctuate immediately after the update, but we are confident they will re-balance and recover as supply and demand normalizes under the new systems.
Nature's Gift offers real, flexible value, whether a player wants resources, containers, or progression boosts. It ensures that even previously oversupplied items now contribute back into the ecosystem in a healthy way.
All Nature's Gift rewards will arrive as a Gift Chest that expires after 6 months. Open them if you've got them! This lets us introduce a gentle additional sink for accounts that remain inactive for long periods, reducing long-term oversupply, while still giving every player plenty of time to log in and claim their rewards.
As mentioned in the first blog, this entire transformation of Lunaria is designed to secure Lost Relics' long-term scalability and stability. By moving to unbreakable Soulcraft gear; Tools, Armor, and Weapons, we eliminate one of the largest pain points for both players and support:
This way Lost Relics can scale to a far larger player base without friction. But beyond operational benefits, player experience sits at the heart of this overhaul.
With Soulcraft upgrades, there's now real, personal progression built into every piece of Soulcraft gear you own. Instead of endlessly grinding and praying to RNGesus, players now set goals, work toward them and upgrade their gear through gameplay achievements. Soulcraft items cannot be traded, that was an intentional choice.
We are confident that, in the long run, this will do the game more good than harm. We believe it's important to have a real sense of prestige and achievement, not just drawing your wallet and buying your way in (which is also cool, don't get us wrong. We love to offer both, and we can!)
We are also actively working on map balance and special encounters (such as Heart of the Horde). These adjustments will impact the average runtimes players achieve. We understand this may cause some frustration, but it's part of the ongoing process of evolving the game.
Many enemies currently serve as placeholders in terms of behavior and attack patterns. After co-op releases, a large number of monsters will receive updated mechanics, which will again influence how adventures and other game modes are approached, whether through build choices, consumable usage, or speed.
For this update, we've made one specific change:
This results in roughly the same monster count across both tiers, leading to more predictable pacing while maintaining difficulty curve differences through monster strength rather than pure quantity. We previously discussed just adding an extra Guardian to Transcendent maps, but we decided to trial this method out first, because it allows people to feel more powerful when using their Transcendent loadouts, rather than always shifting the difficulty above the rarity.
The Overseer has been part of Lost Relics for a long time. It was originally created to highlight exciting moments from across the world and bring a sense of energy to the game. Over the years it has done that, but it has also created pressure and frustration for many players who felt unlucky or felt they were falling behind whenever they saw other people's drops. This has continued to grow as the community gets larger and more active.
Based on everything we have seen and learned, we are starting a full Overseer blackout for loot (Overseer will still be used for certain announcements). The Overseer will go quiet for a while so everyone can play without the constant comparison to other players. We want enough time for this change to truly settle in so that its long term effects can be understood clearly.
There is one important point to make here. During this blackout, we are asking players not to create third party systems to replicate global drop feeds. Over the years the Overseer has shown us that global drop visibility does not create a healthier experience for the community. It affects how people feel about their own progress, increases tilt, and turns normal RNG variance into something that feels personal. It also fuels conspiracies about accounts, luck, and manipulation. Rebuilding a version of the Overseer outside the game would simply recreate the same problems we are trying to solve. Loot should feel personal, not social pressure.
Alongside the blackout we are also updating the marketplace. All listings will now be fully transparent. The old option to list items anonymously has been removed. (All existing listings that were anonymous will still remain that way).
This applies to all listings, including Luneri Bonds. With the Overseer staying quiet, the marketplace becomes the place where clarity is most important. Fully transparent trading gives everyone a clear view of how items move through the economy and removes the confusion and suspicion that partial anonymity created. Every listing will now simply show the seller's and buyer's names.
These changes work together. Loot stays personal. Trading stays public. This keeps the economy clearer and the play experience healthier.
We will continue observing how this feels for the community and adjust if needed.
On your next login after Dec 15, you'll be asked to review and accept them.
No action needed now, just accept when prompted.
We've refreshed our Terms of Service to bring them up to date with how Lost Relics has evolved over the years. While most players won't notice any difference in day-to-day gameplay, these updates improve clarity, strengthen player protections, and set the foundation for future features. Here's a quick breakdown of what's new:
We've expanded the section covering Virtual Items, Virtual Currency, and Blockchain Items. This includes better explanations of how items work today and how they may work again when blockchain support returns. The updated Terms simply clarify how things work now and keep the door open for future on-chain integrations.
Lost Relics uses a global loot system that is inherently random. The updated Terms now explain this more clearly: different players will naturally see different results, drop tables may change over time, and no rewards are ever guaranteed. This helps ensure everyone understands how the game's systems work; especially as we continue improving balance and event rewards.
The monitoring and anti-cheat section has been expanded to better explain what data the game may collect while running, how it's used, and why. Nothing changes operationally; this simply communicates more openly how we keep the game fair for all players.
The Terms now explain more plainly how in-game purchases work, when refunds can or cannot be issued, and how Australian consumer law applies. There are no new restrictions; just clearer language.
We've added clearer guidelines for account ownership, parental or guardian oversight for younger players, and what's required to keep your account secure.
Several sections have been rewritten to be more balanced and easier to understand. This includes how suspensions work, when we may close services, and how disputes are handled under Australian law.
You can review the full Terms of Service ahead of time.