Sorry I haven’t been more chatty today, but it’s launch day at Wolfpack. The Throne of Oblivion goes live today, and it provides exciting extensions to the promise of Shadowbane. To be honest, I’m a little disappointed with the timing, because the game really does add some functionality to Shadowbane which makes it a whole new game.

The centerpiece of the expansion pack is the territories system, which will allow people to conquer the world map one territory at a time. Basically, a guild can declare their city a capital, and if they successfully do so, can start imposing taxation on others in the capital. Don’t like how your liege treats those in the territory? Well, go take them out — Shadowbane style.

The expansion pack also has Phase Two of resources, which allows for players to fight for small resource mines that their cities can use to craft magic items for themselves and their guild. This system has been highly successful for the game, providing smaller points of conflict that are less of a psychological investment than burning down your opponents cities. It’s also easy to look on a map, see which mines are under attack, and make your way there for a quick-fix PvP experience.

I know that everyone else is off playing that other game, but if you’re really interested in PvP in your MMO, you should give our new expansion a shot.

Now I’m off to go drink more champagne and wait for Murphy’s Law to contribute some of its usual launch day goodness.