Update 2.0: Blackout

Hello, Others!

The day has come: meet 2.0, the biggest update in the game's history. We've rebuilt almost everything: from your first minutes in the game to progression, from the interface to the city itself. Even the name.

🌑 Meet Blackout

The game is now called Blackout. This is more than a new sign above the door: the name hints at the story we're starting to tell. At its heart is the Blackout, an event that the whole plot revolves around and that will touch the entire city. What this event is and where it will lead, you'll find out in the game. We promise it'll be interesting.

📖 Our own story in the Watch universe

We're staying in the Watch universe and building on its lore, but we tell the story of this world the way we see it. New characters, a new plot, a new conflict. This story is being written right now, and you'll be the first to see it.

The focus shifts from the Watches to the Inquisition: it will become one of the main sides of the conflict. Who will stand against it is still a secret. The second side will make itself known later.

Your Other isn't in this story by chance. They're not quite an ordinary Other, and you'll find out why as the plot unfolds. We won't say more: things like this are far more interesting to discover through meetings, conversations and events. Make guesses, argue, share your theories. We'll reveal the story step by step as the game grows, and we'd love to walk this path together with you.

To bring all of this to life, our team now has a person dedicated to the story and the world. With them, ideas we'd been discussing among ourselves for a long time have finally come together into a complete story. And we're genuinely proud of it.

🎓 Akademichesky District: where it all begins

Every Other's journey now begins in a separate district, Akademichesky. This isn't a boring tutorial but the start of your story. Through quests you'll get to know the world, master your abilities, figure out character progression and learn the new interface. Mechanics are explained exactly when your Other actually needs them.

When you're ready, welcome to the city: three central districts are already open.

Veterans, this is for you too! We've changed so much that Akademichesky District is the best way to get up to speed quickly and try everything new in practice.

🏙️ Life in the city

The city has truly come alive. Many services no longer hide in interface windows: they've moved into buildings on the map. Need a service? Find the right place, step inside and talk to whoever works there. And while you're at it, learn something about the place itself and the people in it.

This gives your Other a real city life: dropping by on errands, meeting someone, stopping at a familiar place on the way. And it gives you plenty of reasons to explore the districts, because something different is happening in each of them.

One more detail that makes the world feel more alive: you can now learn another character's full name and surname only after you've met them. Just like in real life.

📍 Your own address on the map

And now for the most exciting part: you are the ones filling the city. Organizations have a new ability: choose a building on the map and open your own venue in it. Where to settle and which district to do business in is up to you. Your organization gets a real address where both its members and other players can come.

Little by little, the city will become yours. The building you walked past yesterday might turn out to be someone's organization headquarters tomorrow, or even your own.

And this is only the beginning. Right now each building has one role, but over time they'll have several, and organizations will get new abilities.

📱 Phone

We'd dreamed about it for a long time, and here it is. The game world is modern, and an Other, like any of us, has plenty of errands, acquaintances and conversations.

Now their whole life literally fits in one hand: the map, taxis, quest notes, contacts and messages. Familiar, convenient and always at hand.

✨ A new interface

You won't recognize it at first glance. A new designer joined the team, and together we reworked almost every game screen: we updated the panels, rearranged elements, moved some features into the phone and cut whatever was unnecessary without regret. The interface has become noticeably lighter and cleaner.

We're especially proud of keyboard controls. Hotkeys let you instantly choose actions, use abilities and handle everyday tasks, and the game itself has become more dynamic. Prefer the mouse? It hasn't gone anywhere. Play the way that suits you, or combine both.

⚔️ Masteries: progression without compromise

We read your feedback carefully. What upset you most was that both branches had interesting abilities, but you couldn't max out both. You had to split your points, 9–6 or 3–12, and live with the feeling of an "unfinished" character.

We heard you. But we didn't want to lose variety either, the way one class can be played in completely different ways. So we fully separated the branches into independent specializations and added shared class abilities to each.

Now you choose a specialization and level it all the way. Inside, forks await you, up to five per specialization, where you decide which ability to take. As a result, there are more builds than before, the system is easier to understand, and you can change tactics without leaving your chosen path. And it's easier for us to fine-tune the balance of each specialization.

🎯 Combat and classes

Melee and ranged combat are now on a more equal footing. Previously, distance gave a noticeable advantage, and melee had nothing to counter it. Now the game has auto-attack, and melee gets a bonus for closing the distance: getting up close to your opponent now truly pays off.

The class lineup has changed too: Shapeshifters are no longer in the game.

🔄 What happens to your characters

With the release of 2.0, your chosen class and masteries are reset, and artifacts are unequipped. You'll be able to choose a class again and build your character for the new system.

Existing characters will be assigned a random appearance. You can change it once for free in Tagansky District after completing the tutorial.

And most importantly: all the experience you've earned is kept. You won't have to earn it again.

🚀 What's next

Our stories are being written faster than we can bring them into the game, and that's the best problem we could ask for. In 2.0, most of the new story awaits you in Akademichesky District, while the quests for the central districts are already written and will start appearing in the city after the release. So there will soon be noticeably more quests.

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A huge thank you for playing, arguing, suggesting and sharing your impressions. Many of the changes in 2.0 came about thanks to you. Come in, explore the city and write to us: we're looking forward to your feedback.

See you in Blackout!