‘The Witcher 2’ producer bringing new RPG ‘Lords of the Fallen’ to next-gen consoles

By Michael Rougeau May 16, 2013

lord of the fallen Tomasz Gop, a former senior producer on The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings, leads development on a new next-gen RPG called Lords of the Fallen, Polish studio City Interactive Games announced today (via Polygon). Lords is billed as “a hardcore action-RPG” and will release on next-gen consoles and PC in 2014. It will make its public debut at E3 next month.

City Interactive promises the game will sport “advanced combat systems,” “robust skill class trees,” and important player choices that will have a dramatic impact on the story.

“Set in a richly created fantasy world where the Gods have failed mankind, players will take on the role of a human named Harkyn who sets out on a quest to stand against an apparently unstoppable supernatural force,” says the announcement. “Players travel across a world that is deeply divided by those that follow, and others that resist, the Fallen God.”

“Our team is building Lords of the Fallen specifically for players who enjoy taking on huge challenges, where the odds are stacked against them,” Gop said in today’s press release. “From the very beginning, Lords of the Fallen will intrigue and satisfy players’ hunger to explore each corner of a brand new world, freely customize and build their own character, and take down some of the most epic enemies ever seen.”

It seems safe to say that Lords of the Fallen is City Interactive’s most ambitious game yet. The publisher and developer’s most recent titles include Sniper: Ghost Warrior 2 and Dogfight 1942.

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Michael Rougeau

Former Digital Trends Contributor

Mike Rougeau is a journalist and writer who lives in Los Angeles with his girlfriend and two dogs. He specializes in video…

Gaming

The best Pendants in Lords of the Fallen

A cleric fights a boss in Lords of the Fallen.

Alongside the various rings in Lords of the Fallen, pendants are your other passive charm item that grants your character some unique and useful buffs. Pendants are far more rare than rings but are generally more potent as well. When paired together, though, that's when you can really start to make some interesting and powerful builds. Before you can start mixing and matching all these buffs, you need to find the pendants that will serve you. After all, a pendant that increases fire damage won't help you if you're a traditional sword and board-type player. To help you cut down on the hunt in the ruthless world of Lords of the Fallen, here are the best pendants to collect.
Best pendants

Whereas you are arbitrarily limited to just two ring slots in Lords of the Fallen, you are equally restricted to a single pendant instead of simply draping all of them around your character's neck. There are 22 pendants in all to find, but these are the cream of the crop.
Shuja Harmony Hoop
Spellcasters are not the most popular builds in souls-like games, but can be some of the most powerful if you're willing to learn them. Even if you only use spells occasionally, this Shuja Harmony Hoop can make them a key part of your build. After you cast any spell the next spell you cast will deal increased damage for a short time, stacking for each subsequent spell you fire off. The effect is even greater if you swap between spells from different magic types. If you can stack the effect, even weaker spells can eventually deal substantial damage.
Scornful Effigy
How confident are you? If you are a master at dodges and parries and love living on the edge with a glass-cannon build, then the Scornful Effigiy is perfect for you. This pendant will drop your maximum HP, but buff your damage in return. Aside from being great for confident players, this is also a fantastic pendant for ranged builds too.
Relic of Perpetuation
Basically, the exact opposite of the last pendant, the Relic of Perpetuation is just a simple buff to your maximum HP. This is going to be more of a crutch pendant if you're finding a particular section or boss just a slight bit too challenging and need an extra hit or two to overcome but it isn't one you should be using the entire game
Princess' Sting
Your equip load in Lords of the Fallen primarily determines how quickly you move and what type of role you have. Most players will tend to opt for light or medium-level equip loads, and if you go for a light build, the Princess' Sting pendant should be an easy pick. So long as you have a light load, this pendant will make all your attacks deal additional damage. Just make sure you don't go too high or the effect won't trigger.
Paladin's Pendant
Finally, for some raw stats you can just equip and forget about, the Paladin's Pendant will give your character a buff to both strength and endurance. It goes without saying, but this is meant for strength builds, and is the best one to wear for those characters.

Gaming

Where to get the Sunless Skein Key in Lords of the Fallen

Sunless Skein in Lords of the Fallen.

Lords of the Fallen has an abundance of shortcuts to find throughout its vast and densely-packed levels, but they're often locked behind doors that require you to round up specific keys to unlock them. Such is the case with the Sunless Skein Key, which you won't be able to find until pretty far into your adventure. As a matter of fact, it's probable that you'll come across a door asking for this key well before you actually find it. Luckily, Lords of the Fallen's interconnected world means you'll almost certainly come back across those doors later in your journey anyway. When you're ready to seek out and add the Sunless Skein Key to your key ring, check below for everything you need to know.
Where to get the Sunless Skein Key
The Sunless Skein Key is found relatively late in the game while exploring an area known as, well, Sunless Skein. This dark and dreary area is filled with baddies and will take some time to work your way through, but you'll eventually reach the Hoist vestige, which will put you pretty close to getting your hands on the key.

From the Hoist vestige, exit the small room out the way you first entered it, taking an immediate left towards the nearby lever.

Gaming

The best rings in Lords of the Fallen

The Lords of the Fallen trailer.

Magical rings are nothing new to fantasy or games, and Lords of the Fallen makes good use of these little pieces of jewelry. Unlike armor or weapons, rings are an accessory that gives you passive bonuses as long as you're wearing them. While not as immediately noticeable as other gear can be, some of these rings are quite strong and can do a lot to improve your build and playstyle. Some give straight attribute buffs, while others have more conditional effects, but with dozens to pick from and find, you'll be spoiled for choice. No matter what build you're going for, these are the best rings to bling out your character within Lords of the Fallen.
Best rings

There are well over 50 rings in Lords of the Fallen, and despite your character having 10 fingers, or at least 8 if you don't count thumbs, to wear them on, you have to choose only two at a time. Rings can be found either in chests or by beating special enemies or bosses.
Ring of Nourishment
Health is your most valuable resource in Lords of the Fallen, as is the case with all Soulslikes. You have limited healing options normally, so getting through a tough or new area can wear your character down over time as you run out of healing. The Ring of Nourishment can't replace your default healing but is a great supplement to keep you going and save a few charges. Each enemy you kill while wearing this ring will restore a bit of your health. If you play carefully and smartly, you can use it to completely undo some mistakes. This ring won't do you much good in boss fights, though.
Ring of Gnawing
For the more spell-focused builds, mana is always tough to manage. Unlike stamina, which will automatically replenish itself over time, but require you to rest at a checkpoint or use a consumable item. If you have the Ring of Gnawing, you can get a bit of mana back every time you hit an enemy with a normal attack. This is ideal for builds that spec in both strength or agility and a magic focus since you can swap back and forth as you regain and spend your mana.
Ring of Duty
This is a somewhat boring pick, but if you're a more traditional build focused on hitting things hard and fast, then the Ring of Duty is an easy one to slap on. This simply buffs both your VIT and END attributes to make you that much harder to kill.
Queen Verena II's Ring
If the Ring of Nourishment is a bit too risky for you, you can always fall back on the Queen of Verena II's Ring. This is a simple HP regen ring that slowly ticks up your health over time. If you are patient enough, you can take a break after each encounter to get back to full health before moving on, though that can be quite boring.
Ring of Bones
Lords of the Fallen breaks down your equipment load into four categories: light, medium, heavy, and overburdened. Most players will feel most comfortable at either medium or light burden levels for a more fluid feeling combat flow, but keeping yourself that light is tough without forgoing some armor or weapons. The Ring of Bones can help you sneak under these thresholds by increasing your character's maximum equip load.
Mineowner's Ring
As an alternative to the Ring of Duty, or complement to it if you wear both, the Mineowner's Ring is focused only on stamina. Not only is it a better stamina buff, but it also increases the rate your stamina recovers so you can get back on the offensive as fast as possible.