Greetings, mighty Lords!
In our previous preview, we announced boundless movement and the strategic perseverance of "Flames Shattering Cities." Today, we will provide a detailed breakdown of the brand new mechanisms of the "Flames Without Borders" season for our Lords. With the evolution of the territorial landscape, the transformation of individual marches, and the competition of alliance declarations of war and sieges, where will you move your pieces on the chessboard?
[Flames Across the Nine States, From the Periphery to the Center]
"All streams and rivers flow to the sea; all conflicts of the four directions point towards the Central Plain."
This season's Full Map will have all passes removed. The concept of geographical barriers between States will be significantly weakened. The distribution and tier system of Cities across the world will present a distinct trend of "increasing from the periphery to the center": outer Cities are lower level, making it easier for Alliances to establish a foothold and accumulate strength at the start of the season. As they advance towards the center (Sili), City levels become higher, garrisons become more powerful, and the terrain and defenses become more formidable. At the start of the season, Lords can only choose to raise an army in Counties containing the outermost low-level Cities. Access to more advanced Cities will be gradually unlocked through World Milestones.
This evolution means the strategic routes for Lords and Alliances will be exceptionally clear: starting from the edges and converging towards the center. The flames of war across the Nine States are destined to sweep from all directions towards the Central Plain as the season progresses. The final decisive battle will inevitably erupt in the heartland of power.
[No Adjacent Land Needed, Boundless Expedition]
"Expanding and growing, nothing is impossible; Iron cavalry swift as the wind, nothing can hinder their advance."
The most fundamental change of this season is that individual marches will no longer require adjacent land: as World Milestones gradually unlock more advanced Cities, Lords will not need adjacent land when marching from Counties with already unlocked Cities. To adapt to this boundless Battlefield, Land rules and Attack & Defense relations will undergo deep restructuring.
In this season, Lords will no longer need to tediously pave roads and connect Land during the early development phase. To reduce conflict, we have increased the resource density across the entire map. The advanced City Areas gradually opened through World Milestones will also be more abundant, helping all Lords develop smoothly. Simultaneously, due to the greater threat posed by Guerrillas with high mobility, this season will remove the Guerrilla Switch function, while the Peach Land Soldiers can switch normally.
In terms of combat, Lords can also directly attack the Main Cities or Subcities of other Forces. However, before marching to the center of another Force's City, you must successfully occupy at least one City Area. Correspondingly, this season will also provide necessary protective measures for Lords: Conquering the Alliance Chief will no longer cause the entire Alliance to be conquered, and the resources required to rebel will be significantly reduced. During long-distance marches, the Siege Value of Troops will decrease as morale drops. Additionally, Lords can use the newly added "Truce" administrative task in Governance to place their Main City in a Truce state, which lasts longer and is more flexible compared to the previous Perseverance/Aegis.
[The Battlefield is Like a Chessboard, Declare War on Connected Cities]
"Advance step by step, plan before you move; let the flames of war spread far and wide, prepare before you fight."
Although the restriction on individual adjacent land has been removed, the strategic advancement of an Alliance is far from a disorganized mess. This season, we hope Lords will focus on city connection, planning before moving and preparing before fighting on the crisscrossing map chessboard. To this end, a new "Declaration of War" feature will be introduced:
Before the army moves, strategy comes first. The Alliance Chief and Commanders can consume War Declaration Tokens to schedule a siege at 13:00 or 21:00 (UTC+9) daily. There's no longer a need to manually pave long connecting roads; simply follow the geographical connections of the Cities and march on adjacent Cities. If an Alliance is newly formed and has not yet gained any territory, it can also choose any Level 3 City within its current State to light the spark of an empire.
Once war begins and troops are at the city gates, after a successful Declaration of War, the Alliance will directly obtain a siege foundation within the target City's range and automatically construct it into a [Center Tent]. Allies from all directions will act upon the order, able to rally up to 400 Troops at the Center Tent. To improve the Response Speed of allies, Troops rallying to the Center Tent will have their speed significantly increased.
Banners darken the sky as they await the moment to fight. The same City supports up to 4 Alliances declaring war simultaneously. When all forces gather, they only need to wait for the Declaration of War countdown to end before launching a massive assault, initiating a 2-hour siege phase.
[Destroy Cities and Capture Strongholds, The Essence of Strategy]
"Fight for every inch of land, uphold pure strategy; unite armies in battle, gather the fervor of the battlefield."
When armies form up before the city walls, how will the imminent siege unfold? To return siege battles to their strategic roots of alliance coordination, we will preserve the most authentic adjacent land attack & defense experience of INFINITE BORDERS within the city's range. Using the most extreme battlefield rules, we aim to ignite pure combat fervor:
A fierce battle rages beneath the city walls, with every inch of land contested. Each city has an irregular area of no more than 400 tiles. Once the siege phase begins, the army must use the Center tent as its starting point, connecting closely with the territories of the Alliance and its members, edging forward until the city's last Durability Point is demolished. This is not about paving roads but fighting your way inch by inch to your objective.
Multiple factions vie for victory, where holding ground is winning. If attacking a neutral city is a steady, methodical battle of capturing strongholds, then when the target is an already occupied City or when multiple factions declare war, the battlefield transforms into a brutal arena of carnage. In this multi-sided struggle, the first alliance to capture the city doesn't need a prolonged tug-of-war; they only need to continuously occupy the City for 30 minutes to end the battle early and declare victory!
Charge forward at full speed, hearts boiling with passion! To make the siege phase more exhilarating and intense, land tile truce and fortress construction times are significantly shortened. The speed of Troop mobilizing to Fortresses is greatly increased, and Reservists from the affiliated city can be used for immediate drafting.
As the dust settles and the battlefield is cleared, upon the final occupation of the City that ends the siege, all Center Tents not affiliated with the City occupier will be demolished into ownerless siege foundations. Except for the city areas already occupied by the City occupier, all individual territories within this City's range will be completely erased. Meanwhile, the victorious alliance's members can still calmly occupy this city's areas. The enemy's traces are entirely removed, and vast stretches of the city's outskirts become alliance territory. This is the epic sense of achievement and accomplishment of conquering the world after countless battles!
INFINITE BORDERS has always been committed to providing Lords with a richer experience of ancient management and warfare. The land is boundless, beacons of war urge cities to fall, iron cavalry have already formed up outside the city walls, and the throne of Luoyang awaits its true master. The "Flames Without Borders" season awaits you! For an introduction to the Season Tally, Trade Special, and more benefit activities, please stay tuned for the next preview.
There is no other land than the king's land; within INFINITE BORDERS, all are subjects of the king.
A ruler of all families lives up to the times!
(Actual in-game content subject to further updates)
INFINITE BORDERS Project Team
