Perfect World Entertainment Inc. is pleased to announce Swordsman, a new free-to-play martial arts-inspired MMORPG based off the famed novels from Louis Cha.  Players in Swordsman experience a compelling fantasy story and ten unique combat fighting styles, all wrapped in the visuals of the brand new Angelica III engine.

“We’re constantly looking to add to our library of games,” said Perfect World Entertainment’s GM of Publishing, Andrew Brown. “Bringing Swordsman to a Western audience is something we’ve wanted to do all along.  With its rich story and engaging gameplay, Swordsman is a cultivation of our previous and successful titles we’ve brought over from our parent company Perfect World Inc.  We’re currently in an alpha testing phase and the game simply looks amazing.  We look forward to bringing it in to closed beta to give players the chance to check it out for themselves, so stay tuned!”

Swordsman is a free-to-play martial arts-inspired MMORPG, set in the rich universe created from the immensely popular wuxia novels of Louis Cha. Players will explore the grand martial arts world during an intense era of the Ming Dynasty. Swordsman is a world brought to life with Perfect World’s latest gaming engine – Angelica III -capable of highly detailed character models, smooth animations, and realistic environmental changes. As a member of one of the ten class-defining martial art schools, players journey to master legendary fighting skills to engage in fierce real-time combat with members of rival schools and the Ming government. Swordsman welcomes both players who enjoy following the path through the power of its story and those warriors who rather blaze a trail of their own adventures.

For more information about Swordsman and to register for the Closed Beta please visit: www.playswordsman.com

Triumph Studios, the team behind the Overlord and Age of Wonders series, today reveals the Theocrat leader class of Age of Wonders III.

Age of Wonders III is now available for Pre-Order on Steam and GoG and has a worldwide release date March 31st on digital platforms and European retail on PC.

“Theocrats lead the masses by their hearts. They heal, persuade, minister and convert. Their zealots are fiercely loyal, convinced that any action they perform will earn them a greater reward in the afterlife.  Because Theocrats tend not to wield many directly offensive powers, it is tempting to believe Theocrats pose no threat. History has proven this to be foolishness. Many earthly kingdoms have fallen under relentless crusades where holy armies of martyrs, evangelists, templar knights, war shrines and angelic beings bring Armageddon to pagan lands.” — “Gifted Lords of the Third Age” by Ralinstone Pedant, Chronicler

Age of Wonders III introduces RPG-style class-based character building to the strategy genre. The leader persona of the players, consisting of a main class, race, and specializations, forms the heart of their realm. RPG style skills are extrapolated to affect a whole empire. Leader characters range from Elven Princesses and to Machiavellian Rogues and ruthless Warlords. Today we reveal details of the Theocrat class.

Examples of Theocrat Class Units include:

• Martyr:  Martyrs have the ability to absorb the damage dealt to another unit in the Theocrat’s army, sacrificing themselves for the holy cause. These fanatical warriors also throw stones at enemies.
• Evangelist:  The Evangelists inspire the Theocrat’s ranks with their Touch of Faith ability and are able to Convert enemy soldiers to the Theocrat’s side on the battlefield.
• Exalted: The most loyal subjects of the Theocrat grow angel-like wings  and act as flying infantry in his armies.
• Shrine of Smiting: Theocratic armies carry this  Holy Shrine into battle to rain death and destruction upon their enemies. The Shrine’s Smiting Prayer Bolts gets boosted by the Devout units in the supporting army.  Once per combat, the Shrine of Smiting can be opened to unleash Ark of the covenant style death and destruction upon the unbeliever. Don’t look at it, keep your eyes shut!

Theocrat Skill Examples:

• Mighty Meek – They say the meek shall inherit the earth, and this spell gives them the power to do so. The Target friendly unit gains bonus strength for each tier level difference when attacking or defending against a higher tier unit.
• Instant Wrath – Deals half of all damage dealt against target friendly unit back to its attacker until end of combat.
• Mark of the Heretic – Marks the units in target enemy army as Heretics for a few turns. Devout units deal an additional 3 damage against Heretics.
• The Great Purge – Channels divine power to cleanse the land of all supernatural beings. The caster’s Infantry and Cavalry units gain Dragon Slayer, Fey Slayer, Giant Slayer, Monster Slayer, Summon Slayer, and Undead Slayer.
• Armageddon – Foretells the end of the world. The caster’s entire Empire ignores negative morale modifiers and its units gain Strong Will. The caster’s enemies suffer 80%  Weakness and cannot regenerate health anymore.

The Theocrat Class can be mixed with any of the six races and can be further augmented using specializations leading to additional magical skills.

Funcom has announced its first-ever Scenario Weekend for The Secret World. Starting on March 14, 10am Eastern and continuing until March 18, 10am Eastern, the weekend will offer the following bonuses to players:

50% Bonus Aureus: Earned both when you loot tokens and when they are awarded at the end of a completed Scenario.

Free Cooldown Removers: Log in during the weekend to get a free stack of five Venetian Exemptions, which removes all current Scenario cooldowns, from the Item Shop.

Bonus Funcom Points: Every Funcom Points purchase will earn 30% extra Bonus Points (valid for six months to any in-game purchase.)