The new season of MasterWork from the E-Global Entertainment team may be the last / Es posible que la nueva temporada de MasterWork del equipo de E-Global Entertainment sea la última

[Eleyn 544]

  

OCTOBER 24, 2025, 20:00 (GMT +2)

 

Friends, dear community, and everyone connected to this historically important culture. I invite you to take a moment to reflect on what’s happening, to revisit cherished memories of a vivid world, and to recognise that it will never be the same.

Reading the article takes just 5 to 10 minutes — about the time it takes to enjoy a cup of tea 🍵.
And as you've surely assumed, tea pairs perfectly with reading... You’re brilliant!

Briefly, what the chronicle consists of:

1. Causes and consequences of 15 years of ignoring community requests.
2. Irreplaceable solutions in freeshard projects, exemplified by MasterWork.
3. Peripheral content for the game and what it COULD have become.
4. Plans for Season 6. Fulfilling community requests.

Hope you enjoy the reading.

All good and bad things tend to come to an end.
That does not mean that our team will disband, abandon the development of LU4 (the first project launched by E-Global on Unreal Engine 4 in June 2025), shut down the servers, or reduce our effort.
We firmly believe that every team active in the market shares this perspective.

Any statements from the official publisher come across as tightening the screws and ignoring community requests.

• The reason for the rise in violations is straightforward — high profits and low fines, which are paid only by the administrators of such servers. Developers, PR teams, support staff, players, streamers and bloggers do not face any criminal or administrative liability for copyright infringement (c).
  Original news from goha.

Ignoring the interests of players is central to this story, as the players themselves have not become consumers of freeshards. They have become the main drivers of their development.

Let’s restate the main point. It is not some evil masons or mafia running everything from the shadows. Your own players want to play on freeshards, support them so they can play with their friends, and create worlds in their own image, for example, how Rockstar openly does it. With all due respect, this isn’t rocket science, colleagues. And if players lose that opportunity, they will leave the game, and the developers and publishers will face consequences that aren’t immediately noticeable. Indeed, all those working on YOUR market today will undoubtedly create outstanding alternatives (the process is already underway) — with full knowledge of the craft, the market, the audience, and, most importantly, with strong arguments and compelling reasons to move into a freer space.

So, following what seems like invulnerable logic:

• Cleanse the information space of any choices.
• No choice ➡️ only officials.
• Better here than nowhere.

The result will be the exact opposite — you will unleash a flood of alternatives. It is not 2002 anymore. That is not about people being attached to the game or dependent on a client or the term wind-strike. It is about the community: specific packs, small groups, and clans. You can't possibly absorb the full diversity of ideas and the “vibe” that is organically forming like different “nightclubs” scattered across a massive metropolis without collaboration. And yet, you are about to burn them all down, leaving just one enormous club: yours. By ignoring what truly matters, you will also hurt yourselves. The “nightclub” market will collapse to an all-time low, and creativity and innovation will stall —because there will be no reason left to grow.

Summary?

The alternatives will first come from the “discarded” freeshard projects offering their own game worlds, and from the micro- and macro- communities — those who choose to be part of something new, unique, understandable, and free, rather than what they abandoned long ago, which, in their eyes, threatens to take away their home.

For decades, the well-known forums have hosted server leaks and various Java emulators

Let’s figure out — is this a good thing or a bad thing?

The result of free vision and autonomy didn’t just give the game room to breathe — it also encouraged a whole generation of professionals, many of whom are now your own employees, and all they want is to work for the benefit of the game they love.

Are you hearing about custom mods or reimagined templates in games like Dota 2, Heroes III HoTa, WarCraft, or GTA for the first time?

To build an ecosystem — that is (or was?) your path, because the broader the ecosystem becomes, the longer you will stay on board.

One example of this approach is the MasterWork project concept.

An MMORPG of this scale has a high entry barrier, and for most administrators, it is not the income NCS is talking about, but rather a hobby or a pet project — something that brings in cents, or even runs at a loss. And those projects that do manage to earn and operate in the "+" are a real treasure trove for feedback and growth, isn’t that so?

As leaders, you must ENDORSE the legend, not be afraid to give it freedom.

Have a look:

1. Design the concept based on audience needs
2. Work with the team and staff
3. Implement the technical aspects
4. Create the game design
5. Support players through customer service
6. Run a marketing campaign and coordinate with media partners

That is an enormous amount of work, and who would know it better than you and the developer, admired colleagues?

Think about the peripheral content that may be created on a massive scale, how much reach and influence the game could gain...
Even with all the restrictions and constant obstacles, the E-Global team still manages to release something like this:

The total freeshard audience exceeds 300 000 unique users per month in Russia alone. Among them are highly skilled specialists who have been in the game context for 10–20 years.

The situation is that this segment needs to be engaged, and the easiest and most effective way to do so is through the administration of freeshard projects, which are deeply immersed in the context and practically cultivate these meanings and talent from start to finish.

In the end: the opportunity to develop the game together was exchanged for... what exactly?

The official product line (except for copy-pasted versions of current Essence at a reduced price — here the logic is clear and straightforward) doesn’t intersect at all with what freeshard projects are doing, and without open and unrestricted media coverage, the ability to entertain the audience is negligible.
I hope there’s no need to “go in circles,” as the consequences are obvious — the collapse of the ecosystem, the absence of a market driver, the presence of broad alternatives, and the increasingly noticeable rise in product cost alongside a shrinking content-generating audience.

What do modern freeshards offer?

Let’s dive deeper into the product context using E-Global Entertainment and their products Lu4 & MasterWork as an example.

If you’re hearing about this project for the first time and aren’t familiar with the concept:
Visit the official project website to find out.

The game has features that make her stand out from the others: intense competitions in an open environment with minimal restrictions, which naturally lead to cooperation in clans and organised groups.

However, against the backdrop of an outdated engine and completely inadequate half-screen animations (we’re talking about the latest official versions), this competitive aspect turns into a turn-based strategy with low FPS, making any cooperation difficult.

Below are clear examples of what a typical free-shard project team does, without multi-million budgets, driven purely by player enthusiasm.

GAME CLIENT ENGINE OPTIMIZATION:
STANDARD CLIENT / MASTERWORK CLIENT / NEW LU4 CLIENT

On the left side – 99% of potential, including fine-tuning of textures and animations.
On the right side – 20% of potential, with almost no changes to animations or textures.

Standard Client / Lu4

To clarify for most people why the MasterWork client and the Lu4 client are shown in the same example, even though it’s the same company (E-Global) — here’s the explanation:

• Content developed on Unreal Engine 4 (Lu4), released in summer 2025 as a pre-alpha, currently covers the pre-interlude period. During testing, the game attracted over 150 000 players, with peak daily online numbers near 13 000 — a strong result considering the relatively poor gameplay.
• MasterWork — a deep conceptual, technical (server-side), and client-side overhaul of the game, built on the golden era: starting from C1 and guiding the player through staged updates up to the equivalent of H5. MasterWork uses the old (standard) Unreal Engine 2.5 client, but with a massive number of custom modifications and optimised as much as possible for the old technology.
• We’ll go into more detail on all MasterWork modifications below, but to simplify: if Lu4 content equals 40 days of intensive gameplay, MasterWork content is about 220 days.
• And the key point — while the E-Global team continues parallel Lu4 development, gaining experience and resources, they are rethinking and refining everything they conceptualised and implemented in MW over the past 5 seasons. You have to admit, this is a focused and effective approach to learning from own mistakes.

I hope that by this point, all the core values and cause-and-effect connections have formed a clear structure of understanding, not just for the local audience, but also for the external players.

 

Now, let’s focus on the MasterWork project

Thank God we were able to complete this journey and release:
The original staged low-rate, every autumn
Tailored to our mentality — once a year
(c) Safero League,
Year 1534 A.D.

Out of more than 198 (think about that) system modifications for a comfortable gameplay experience. We’ve highlighted what we consider the most essential.
I won’t describe them in detail — otherwise this article would turn into a book.
I’ll leave links for those who want to explore the job done, either briefly or in depth.

 

And now in order.
 

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 His majesty - the Client!

Pride, joy, tears, and relentless effort.
Over 5 seasons of MasterWork, more than 100 tools (and many more) have been created, refined, and adapted to provide convenience, comfort, and a truly unique gaming experience.

Key areas of client updates:

• Information — descriptions for most skills and items have been standardised for a consistent and clear style.
• Skill Panel — a complete redesign and UX optimisation, making your “piano” gameplay smoother and far more comfortable.
• Cosmetics — cloaks polished to perfection and a brand-new Beauty Shop (dressing room) created from scratch. You can also hide all visual modifications of other characters at your discretion.

• Game world and locations — revamped visuals, balanced monster counts, new bridges and tunnels, rooms and caves expanded for better exploration.
• Character control — improved movement and removed collisions, so other characters and NPCs no longer obstruct you.
• Party — deputy party leader, buff display, readiness checks, ground markers, party highlighting, nickname colours, tokens, resurrected members, and advanced party search functionality.
• Clan — clan search, recruitment applications, additional privileges, leaders can access key skill information across all groups, set ground markers for team channels, check readiness, and review War statistics after battles.
• Inventory — dual display modes (list and icons), view all recipes and resources, recraft resources for a small fee, and Item Broker for automatic item searches.
• Menu & Settings — multiple new features added for enhanced usability.
• Radio & Browser — share news, stories, and good vibes via MasterWorkFM radio, and access all important in-game information through the built-in browser.

 

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 MidCompany equal competition system!

Communities that want and deserve to have fun and exciting battles, but aren’t ready to compete with top-division players, can now face opponents from their own league.
Many talked about this, and many have tried, but now this is the only working Mid War system.

• General information
• New Epic Boss Dent
• Separate SoD for attribute collection in the Gracia update

 

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 World and battlefields — Locations!

The true victory and the title of the best are forged in the locations.
That’s where you spend most of your time, build the foundation of dominance, and find loyal friends as well as real enemies.
We regularly update or create new hunting zones that fit into the world’s story and gameplay.
Expanding the ordinary boundaries, we have updated 43 locations, and there are also completely new ones with the modified map and new textures:

• Archaic Laboratory (60-65) — can switch the farming zone between AoE and single-target. A completely reworked raid boss fight.
• Hatoum Settlement (68-72) — a custom location north of Gludio, designed for party play. Battles here have literally become a MasterWork lore.
• Mimir's Forest (75~80) — a high-level location for magical and physical groups on the Kamael island.
• Isle of Prayer and Chromatic Highlands (74-83) — an important spot for farming attributes, both for solo players and full groups.
• Crypts of Disgrace (78-83) — added a new AoE farming mechanic, sparking massive battles with hundreds of players.

 

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 Information & learning

One of the key goals of the new season is to improve the knowledge base and create a native in-game system of triggers and hints directly within the game.

The game design is intuitive enough that even without knowing all the intricacies, you can still enjoy the experience.

However, thanks to our wiki — which not only explains mechanics, skills, items, locations, and monsters but also provides advice on choosing the optimal path — you can improve your efficiency and discover the game in a new way just by reading an article.

• Section for New Players
• Collection of Useful and Updated Quests
• Important Quest Chains for the Toughest Levels
• Mission System

 

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 The core of all social gameplay — Class balance!

Experience a unique class balance where every profession is meaningful and comes with a set of new skills that help you survive in the world of Elmoraden. Each year, it’s refined and polished, based on gigabytes of analytics, thousands of chat messages, and countless personal tests.

Sure, you can read about it, and we could describe it here. But it’s far better to log in to the game and experience it with your friends or party, especially during the first three months of the season.

 

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 Boosting & build tips — Items!

Equipment bonuses have been fully reworked, with new upgrade options added that affect nearly every aspect of the game. Previously underused items now have relevance, offering more ways to develop your character. See the full list of changes here.

• Updated Set Bonuses — Ng/D-grade, C/B/A-grade, S-grade
• Updated SA Effects — D-grade is now more useful. Effects, such as Mana Regeneration, were replaced with more practical options
• Rare Equipment Bonuses — rare top and full armor pieces are now part of sets
• Talismans — removed overpowered or unpopular talismans, combining essential ones to save inventory space
• Pets — the cherry on top! Over 30 new skins, including turning the Kookaburra into a rooster :)
   

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 Manual farming alternatives

We understand the audience — you need time to step away, go shopping, or reply in Telegram, while your character continues to gain experience. Controlled. Balanced. Equal for everyone.
That is not a flaw. It is exactly what you need.
At the same time, we are developing the “rest” logic so the game isn’t just about farming, but rather a pleasant complementary experience.

• A library with books. Because knowledge is power.
  Instead of a semi-AFK mode, we plan to link this system to short quizzes to educate players.
• Assist Manager & cyclic macros.
  Convenient and intuitive interface, with limited macro usage per day (4 out of 24 hours).

 

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And finally — Season 6 Plans

October 24, 2025

As we mentioned and explained before — possibly the last one...
The launch will take place on October 24, 2025

Key goals:

1. Rebalancing skills and classes. We hear you, see what’s happening, and know what needs to be improved.
   • Rethinking the balance of ultimate party buffs and their usage conditions
   • Mages (balancing archetype across server progression)
   • Over-cap critical hits
   • Off-party buffs, etc
   • That is a major area we’ll continue refining together. Carefully, without drastic changes. And we’re confident we’ll get it right.
2. In-game forum recruitment to significantly enhance communication opportunities for new players.
3. Revamping the CP (group/party) system for greater autonomy, including:
   • Improved management
   • Storage
   • Skills (both passive and active)
   • Visual customization
4. Several new locations featuring more challenging PvE, new mechanics, and valuable rewards, expanding the world horizontally and adding variety for players.
5. A new World Boss — a test polygon for reconsidering epic farming tactics. The Boss will make you plan and prepare, not just zerg-rush the target.
6. Our long-term project... MOBA-style content, answering the question: “How we approach Events.”

Each system will be unveiled with detailed information from October 1 to October 14.

We’ll meet, as explained, possibly for the last time.
October 24, 2025, dear friends.

 

Don’t lose heart or give up. Cherish what’s still in your hands.
With love, E-Global & Averia 🫶