TLBB: The Shadow Curse Expansion Interview Michael D. aka ''Sanzaburo'' – CM

Gameogre recently had the chance to talk with Michael the Community Manager for TLBB about their newest expansion: The Shadow Curse.


GameOgre: For those who don’t know can you tell us the backstory for TLBB and how the new expansion: The Shadow Curse plays into the storyline?

Michael D.: TLBB is based around the lives of ancient Chinese heroes who fought during the political turmoil of the Song Dynasty in South-Eastern China from 960 to 1279. From the middle of the 10th century through to the last quarter of the 13th, The Song Dynasty ruled the southern part of China and is considered a high point of classical Chinese innovation in science and technology. However, it was also a time of unease in the kingdom - which the majestic Emperor has now taken charge of. ‘The Shadow Curse’ is an ancient myth that comes alive to disrupt the lands and based on this, the v0.85 expansion opens the gates for players to battle their way through fierce enemies whilst having the chance to fight alongside the Emperor’s army to defeat the evil Shadow Master Ting.

For more about the expansion story, please visit TLBB - The Shadow Curse Expansion

GameOgre: The Shadow Curse will include a new area called Wild Snowfield. What can you tell us about this new scene? What new quests and enemies can players encounter there?

Michael D.: Wild Snowfield is a distant land that impresses with its snowy visuals and cool horizons. Players can enter at their own risk, but should be warned that high-level monsters prowl the area and will attack anyone who disturbs their land. The scene is home to the new Penguin Boss as well as others including; wolves, penguins, abominable snowmen and more. They drop monster diaries which lead to level 2 class fashions and the Penguin boss can drop 2 weapons – dandelion fan and the palace fan which are also new items in the game. Players will not be welcomed by these enemies who take no pity on those brave enough to enter but reward those strong enough to emerge triumphant. Victors will be rewarded handsomely and can receive significant items that lead to the capture of top in-game items including 1 of 4 artifact weapons now available. One of the quests includes battling against the Penguin Boss as well as his evil minions who will stop at nothing to defeat players.

GameOgre: With the expansion the level cap is raised to 100. Have you added additional content to help support players to this new cap?

Michael D.: There are a number of ways players can reach their goals quicker. Whether it’s to peak at the level cap, or to gather and craft as much as possible, TLBB enables players to find the different ways of doing this. Our forum and website provides helpful hints & tips and the new features incentivize players to gain more, which will ultimately reward them better. For example, by acquiring one of the artifact weapons, players will have gone through quite a journey that would see them gain XP along the way. The token shop is also now available, where players can purchase items such as double XP balls and have the opportunity to progress quicker

For more about the expansion features, you can visit the website:
TLBB - The Shadow Curse Expansion


GameOgre: Can you tell us more about the new artifact weapons that will be included in the Shadow Curse?

Michael D.: The Shadow Curse Expansion introduces four main artifact weapons, they are; The Melting Falchion, Blue Silver Circle, Traceless Sword and WindStone Fan. They all possess great power and are a deadly force for any player good enough to attain one. As well as looking great, these four weapons will not only increase attributes considerably, but play a massive part in the storyline of the expansion where the evil Shadow Master Ting is plotting to steal them from the kingdom.

GameOgre: Can you tell us about the new Daily quests that have been added in the Shadow Curse? What will the rewards for them be as well?

Michael D.: Ice space and The Cursed Brother are two new events that can be done once a day. Ice space is a new scene that allows players to practice their skills and gain XP for up to half an hour by just being in the area. The Cursed Brother is a quest about the Jiang Shi (a Chinese zombie), that offers a lot of XP as a reward, gives them the ability to disguise themselves as a Jiang Shi for a period of time and double XP balls - to help players level up faster.

GameOgre: Can you explain the new Daily Trade event? How is it different from normal trading? What can players gain from participating in the Daily Trade Event?

Michael D.: Before the new patch, the trade quest was only for people in guilds who had an alliance with another, where they would transport items from one guild city to the next. The new transport quest allows anyone to take part, whether they are in a guild or not. By speaking to an NPC in one of the three major cities, they can start the quest, buy the item to transport and then set off to another city to sell the item. However, along the way players cannot use their mounts or use any teleportation as the treacherous journey must be made on foot. In wild scenes there is a chance that the bandits will appear and attack them, in which case players will lose the items that they transport. This quest can be done up to 20 times a day and is a very good way for players to earn lots of ivory (a type of bound gold).

GameOgre: I understand a new currency called Ivory will be introduced. Can you explain what Ivory is and how it differs from the normal currency?

Michael D.: Ivory is a new, alternative way to carry gold and insures players of their riches. The main benefit of ivory is that if a player dies in-game, they will not lose their currency like they usually would with gold, silver or bronze. Players still have the option to carry either currency, but we highly recommend they exchange the old currency for ivory, which can be done in-game.

GameOgre: Besides the new content can you tell us how you will be improving the functionality of the game?

Michael D.: We’re always looking at player feedback and analyzing the game to see where we can improve. The relationship we have with our community helps us determine where we can tweak functionality based on players’ perspectives. We recently held our official 2010 player survey which gave us an insight into what areas we can look into further and it’s been a good help.


GameOgre: Can you explain the new Social tool and how it will help players?

Michael D.: It’s a new tool to help players find each other, even when they’re offline. They can post an “ad” about themselves and what they’re looking for, and then others can search the ads to find what they’re looking for. This new feature is to help search for Friends (Kinship), a Master or Apprentice, a Guild and Marriage - each with their own special benefits for players.

GameOgre: Can you tell us about some of the new items that will be in the Token shop?

Michael D.: This is a perfect opportunity for our players to capitalize on the great items available in the newly launched shop. During in-game events such as TLBB Connect, for example, our players are rewarded at random, but some of them lose out on great items such as the Snow Wing and Dark Wing mount, which are now readily available. Players will also benefit from things like fashion, pet skills and hair styles that add to the customization aspect of the game.

To get involved with the community, you can visit:
TLBB - Powered by vBulletin - TLBB Forum
TLBB Europe | Facebook - TLBB Facebook page
TLBB MMORPG (TLBB) on Twitter - TLBB Twitter page

GameOgre: What can players expect in the future from TLBB?

Michael D.: As the publishers, we (ChangYou.com) are constantly listening to the community and their suggestions about our games. It’s important for us to find people’s interests and capitalize on what the game has to offer them. This can be simple things like the surroundings, which are genuinely portrayed, right down to the martial arts moves that the characters possess. We’re looking at delivering more localized versions of the game so that players around Europe don’t miss out as well as future expansions and updates that will be beneficial to everyone. Our community also takes part in a number of events that capture the imaginations of all our players and so we continue to establish both the in-game and out of game competitions.

For more information about TLBB, please visit The Most Powerful Martial Arts Experience Of Your MMO Life