This is a HUGE leap in an odd direction. (So don’t tell me how impossible this idea is, I already know.) Take the Realm and turn it upside down. You now know the basic idea of this new realm.
Note: The Dungeons & Enemies category seemed like the best fit for this sort of idea.
How do you get here?
Every player in the Realm is sent to Oryx’s Castle after the realm has closed for two minutes. The players that are in dungeons after this occurs exit into a new realm that is usually not opened in Nexus yet. Instead of players entering an empty Realm they’ll find themselves in the Underworld Realm.
The reason behind this being that the earthquake caused by Oryx sending the players to his castle disrupts the dungeon exits as the Realm is abandoned.
Lets refer to normal Realms as the Overworld.
Before I move forward I’ll display the names and difficulty scaling for both of the Realms.
Overworld: Difficulty increases with increased elevation.
Difficulty-Name
1-Shoreline
2-Lowlands
3-Midlands
4-Highlands
5-Mountains
Underworld: Difficulty increases with decreased elevation.
3-Mushroom Layer
4-Upper Caverns
5-Lower Caverns
6-Hell
7-Land of the Damned
(As you can see, the names could be better. Feel free to suggest better names.)
The Layout
The Underworld is slightly larger than the Overworld, but there are differences that are more important.
(The map size is actually the same size, but it doesn’t waste as much space as the Overworld does.)
I’ll explain each region on the map one at a time.
The Mushroom Layer
Players spawn in the Mushroom Layer, Mushroom Layers can be found in similar locations that the Mountains would be found in the Overworld.
This area should be treated as the shoreline in the Overworld.
The only water in the Underworld can be found here. (Other than possible new event and quest set-pieces.)
This region contains mushroom themed terrain and enemies. (I might supply terrain, enemy, and projectile sprites, but that is a LOT of work for the entire Underworld.)
The difficulty here is similar to the Midland in the Overworld.
Monsters here drop weapons/armors of tiers 1-4 and abilities/rings of tiers 1-2.
There isn’t much to this area like there isn’t much to the shoreline.
The Upper Caverns
Did I forget to mention roads? Nope. As an uncharted territory would have it… there are no roads.
However… There are impassible walls that divide areas much like dungeons. Makes getting to that event that much harder. (Or closing the Realm.)
The Upper Caverns connect all of the Mushroom Layers through tunnels twice as large as the Ice Cave’s. (And not dungeon-like, it is straighter instead of having what players call “Rooms” in dungeons.)
Quest set-pieces with monsters that need to be killed in order to close the realm can be found here inside the walls by breaking destructible walls.
Monsters here drop weapons/armors of tiers 4-6 and abilities/rings of tiers 2-3
The Upper Cavern’s difficulty level is similar to that of the Highlands.
The Lower Caverns
This area is similar to the Upper Caverns, but its tunnels are a third of its size.
The Lower Caverns is where lava rivers begin to appear. The difficulty level here is similar to the Mountains in the Overworld despite containing enemies not as strong as gods. The reason for that is the tight spaces and common lava obstacles.
Monsters here drop weapons/armors of tiers 6-8 and abilities/rings of tiers 3-4.
Here quest set-pieces spawn similar to the Upper Caverns, but some quest set-pieces must be passed through to enter the next region, Hell. (They don’t need to be killed to pass though.)
Hell
In Hell all of the cavern walls end, leaving a much more open environment. Though, it is a little too open… Impassible pits occupy areas in Hell, though they are not very common.
If you follow the banks of the lava rivers from the Lower Caverns you will enter Hell without having to pass a quest set-piece monster. Lava lakes that are not as large as the lakes in the Overworld can be found here too. These are basically like the pits, in which they are a barrier, but they are deadly and can be passed by lava walking. (Why you would want to lava walk here is beyond me…)
Hell is a place that contains “fallen gods” that drop normal stat potions and greater stat potions. Hell is similar to Godlands in the sense that players would farm potions to max stats, but the difficulty of these gods are enhanced compared to your normal god. (All/most Gods here would have piercing shots and more range in order to assist in preventing fame trains.)
These gods drop weapons/armors of tiers 8-10 and abilities/rings of tier 4. This area also contains quest set-piece monsters.
The Land of the Damned
You WILL die. That is a good motto for this location. In the Land of the Damned you will find very little success or reward alone. This is the kind of place that having a guild would be extremely beneficial. Small coordinated parties are most suitable for this location.
The Land of the Damned are islands that are divided from Hell by an ocean of lava. The only way to get to these islands are small land bridges. One way in, one way out. These islands are half the size of the mountain zone in the Overworld and are scattered about the edges of the Underworld map.
The majority of the event bosses will spawn in the Land of the Damned to give more reason to go here. This lessens the chance of steamrolling on top of the already heightened difficulty due to the obstacles between the players and the events.
Enemies in The Land of the Damned are not swarm creatures. A monster type that could be found here are titans. These monsters are dangerous to fight even 1v1 with the average geared 6/8 character.
All greater stat potions excluding the Life and Mana potions can drop here, but farming these areas are challenging due to the strength of the monsters and the small territory.
The weapons/armor tiers that drop here are 8-11 and the rings/abilities that drop are tiers 4-5.
Event Bosses that spawn in this zone open up the REAL end-game dungeons. Shatters is just child’s play. (Okay, maybe not child’s play, but you get the point.) Coordination, trust, and skill are the basic requirements for players in these dungeons. There is no way of brute forcing or steamrolling in the Underworld, it is an unforgiving place.
Current Set-Piece Boss Ideas
Shrine of the Damned
Fallen Guardian
Crimson Demon
Current Event Boss Ideas
Cerberus
Ultra Pentaract
Descendant of the Forsaken King
Charon
Current Dungeon Ideas
Fungi Garden
Eldritch Cove
Enraged Catacombs
Ancient Mines
Hydra’s Lair
Ethereal Battlefield
Stormlands
Slithering Crypts
Cosmic Rift
Pit of Chaos
Acropolis of the Fallen
Lost Lands
Tartarus
^ More info to be added later on these specific additions ^
I might just make a google document for this idea due to the size.
Closing the Realm
The end of the never ending game. Completing what comes next is a greater accomplishment than achieving all stats maxxed, greater than obtaining the White Star, greater than a fully upgraded guild hall, and greater than getting a maxxed Divine pet.
I have few labels for this area, but I do feel that it should be known as the place that ends the game.
This location is similar to that of Oryx, but follows this layout.
(I’ll list the Overworld Realm’s end layout for comparison.)
Difficulty Level-Name
4Oryx’s Castle (Path to the lesser boss)
5Oryx’s Chamber (The lesser boss)
6The Wine Cellar (Greater boss)
7The Styx
8The Bridge (Path to the lesser boss)
9The Gate (Lesser boss)
10Onyx’s Citadel (Path to greater boss)
11Onyx’s Keep (Greater boss)
(I’d rate the Shatters a difficulty level of 8)
Map and game mechanics to prevent leeching would be set in place here too. (No pausing is included. You shouldn’t be going AFK in an end game dungeon anyway.)
That is all.
Not something with a chance of being implemented, just a fun idea to experiment with and imagine.
If you have any suggestions or want to share your input you are free to do so.
