By RJ
With the highly anticipated new chapter of Elvenar just around the corner, excitement is building among our community. To give you a glimpse of what’s coming, we recently teamed up with our favorite content creator, iDavis, to create a video overview of all the new features and challenges that await you. But we didn’t stop there! Now, we’re taking it a step further by bringing you this exclusive blog article, where we dive into iDavis’s personal thoughts, opinions, and behind-the-scenes insights on the new chapter. Get ready to explore his unique perspective and learn what makes this chapter truly special!
And if you’re interested in more from iDavis you can check out his channel here along with the sneak peek video of chapter 22 here.
What were your initial thoughts when you first saw the new chapter? Did anything immediately catch your eye?
Chapter 22 has once again proved that the diverse world of Elvenar is open and welcoming to all kinds of creatures and dynamic story plot twists – from peaceful strings of melody in the Harmony Grove, through flying hordes of dragons directly to an earthquake and never-ending rains. The arrival of floods has brought an amazing concept of water-themed buildings and various sea creatures from the underwater caverns, which truly stands out from all the chapters we have seen in Elvenar so far.
Is there a particular feature or aspect of the new chapter that you’re most excited about? Why does it stand out to you?
One thing that always excites me about a new chapter is the city-management challenge that comes with it. First, you need to find a spot to place your settlement. Then, the settlement starts to grow. Then you start upgrading your core city buildings – they transform, grow, shrink, and may even rotate. Your city turns into chaos and you need to sort it out quickly – ideally long before the guest race leaves your city. But Harbours of the Deep offers a great opportunity to shake things up when they get slower. This is thanks to the way the slots inside the Production Buildings are designed – we can now choose between slower, cost-effective productions or faster, more expensive options. This allows us to decide and strategically use our resources to complete the chapter and free up space.
Was there anything in the new chapter that surprised you or defied your expectations? What makes it unique compared to previous chapters?
Aside from the stunning graphics and the unique water theme I mentioned earlier, I was positively surprised when I saw how big of an impact the questline has in the chapter’s progress. The last third of the chapter contains a collection of quests that allow us to exchange our stockpiled resources for the resources we lack in the Research Tree. Furthermore, these quests are entirely optional, so it gives players complete flexibility to either speed up their progress or maintain a slower pace depending on their strategy, will and available resources.
What challenges do you think players will face in this chapter? Do you have any tips or strategies in mind for overcoming them?
In recent chapters, players gradually unlocked additional goods for all manufactories (Sentient and Ascended). In the last chapter, even Residential Buildings found their secondary resource (Community Work). In this chapter, we unlock Canned Goods, which will be produced in Workshops. Workshops become the final type of building to receive its secondary production. I think the biggest challenge of this chapter lies in managing such a diverse range of resources at a time, particularly since there are only a few Ancient Wonders yet available to boost these newest resources.
Ancient Wonders are a huge support for your city. I recommend developing a strong foundation of key Ancient Wonders and keep evolving at least one Ancient Wonder providing each resource type. For example, Enar’s Embassy will help you deal with high requirements of Mana in this chapter, while Elvenar Trade Center will provide a significant boost for your spells and enhance the production of Ascended and Sentient goods. And of course, don’t forget to place enough Residential Buildings – your citizens will need to provide Community Work so that you can keep all your Settlement Buildings active!
How does the storyline resonate with you? Did you feel connected to the narrative or characters in any particular way?
The questline sees a return of some of the well-known faces from the previous chapters, but also some new characters making their debut. Harbour Halflings are very different from the Halflings we know so far. At the beginning, we hear their heartbreaking story of how they escaped the huge storm and made it to the Sea Saddle thanks to their great friend – Kokei, the whale. Now they are in chaos, worried about their settlement and not particularly happy about our swampy orcs walking around.. but they need our support! To heal, rebuild and restore! We are tasked to produce resources and upgrade the Whale Bay to make Kokei feel better so he can go on tours with them again. Seeing how the settlement and the Harbour Halfling family slowly come back to life, rebuilding their community and regaining their strength with Kokei by their side, makes me feel a great sense of connection to their journey.
If you had to pick one highlight from the chapter that players absolutely must experience, what would it be?
Just don’t rush through it. Chapter 22 is currently the latest chapter available, and there’s no need to hurry. Take your time to appreciate the graphics, the evolving story, and how lovely your city transforms with the unique water-themed style brought by the newly discovered Harbour Halflings. Chapter 22 has much more to offer than just ranking points and depleted Portal Profit instant.
Did you come across anything unexpected while exploring this chapter, like hidden details or Easter eggs?
The visuals of the Portal are a perfect match for the story. Not sure how many players catch this, but at level 1, you can see the injured Kokei bound to wooden poles. As you provide the necessary resources and upgrade to level 2, Kokei is restored to full health and ready to resume his tours, which also explains why the Tours (productions in the Portal) are only available from level 2. I really appreciate how the graphics details perfectly reflect the game’s narrative and storyline!
Does this chapter give you any hints or hopes for the future of Elvenar? What are you looking forward to next?
I don’t want to spoil anyone, but seeing how the chapter ends, I can’t help but wonder what challenge we’ll face next? It feels like the story is gradually building toward something significant and momentous. Who do we meet next time?And as for my hopes for the future of Elvenar? It’s no secret that I have long hoped we might one day discover a new place to settle within the game. Something like a second city to expand into, build and potentially face new challenges beyond our original town. Something that will align with the continuation of the story and allows us to explore beyond the currently known sight of Elvenar. May that ever happen? I don’t know, but I believe the diverse world of Elvenar holds endless possibilities at every turn.
Overall, how would you sum up your experience with this new chapter? What do you think it adds to the game as a whole?
Chapter 22 proves that the world of Elvenar is – even after 9 years of the game – full of potential to bring new and exciting twists to the story and gameplay features. We’re introduced to a new set of characters, an unknown guest race with unique habits to uncover, and a new resource type to produce. It challenges us to manage a wide range of resources at the same time, but rewards us with numerous upgrades for our core city buildings, providing a strong foundation for future updates!
Hopefully everyone can dive into the story of Harbour Halflings and fully explore everything this chapter has to offer. And remember – it’s a game, so make sure to enjoy this new adventure and have a lot of fun!
We thank iDavis for his deep insights and tips about Chapter 22 which will be released on live servers on September 23! Until then you can try out Elvenar on Browser or Mobile.
Fiene 
Hernan Diaz