Seeking rest and respite from a year of adventure, the Champions arrive in the tranquil town of Longsaddle - only to find it under siege! Drow from the Underdark are on the hunt in Longsaddle for a Harpell artifact, and it's a race against time to find it before they do...

Brightswords 5 introduces Dob the upbeat, half-orc bard from The Oxventure crew, and brings back his teammate Corazón de Ballena, the dashing Human Pirate, and Lazaapz, the Goblin Armorer Artificer. Players have until Monday, September 5th at 12PM PDT to complete their event unlocks and objectives.

I. New Champion: Dob

Dob never knew his parents. When he fell ill as a baby, his sister Suzette searched far and wide for a cure. She successfully saved his life, but on the last of her trips out to find medicine, Suzette never returned. So Dob became a self-taught traveling bard, sleeping under the stars and roaming town to town in search of his lost sister. This brought him into contact with the Oxventurers, with whom he shares in many bizarre adventures, including one that did indeed see him reuniting at last with his long-lost sister!

Dob is a Support and Gold Find Champion, increasing the damage of Champions not next to him while boosting gold find based on how many Champions are adjacent. He has the unfortunate habit of dumping all that hard-found gold into a nearby lake to keep it safe, but he'll make sure to make it up to the formation! For more information on Dob and his abilities, check out his Champion Spotlight!

Year Five Variants

• Half-Orc's Charm - Dob starts in the formation, and can't be moved or removed. Champions next to Dob deal no damage.
  
Complete Area 75.


• Making Friends - Dob starts in the formation, and can be moved but not removed. Only Champions with a Charisma and/or Dexterity of 17+ may be used.
  
Reach Area 125.


• Skeletons! (on Strike) - Dob starts in the formation, and ce can be moved, but not removed. His Ultimate starts unlocked and its cooldown duration is half as long. Each wave spawns a relentless Striking Skeleton, who is slow, but deal 400% damage. In addition, if they are defeated, they respawn in the same location after 5 seconds.
  
Reach Area 175.

See the in-game FAQ for more information!

Lazy, Hazy Days of Summer

The residents of the Commons want to close out summer with a blast! That big old event field sits there empty most of the time anyways. Help them build an awesome temporary pool to chill out beside. Once you've completed all three building quests, the residents will come in and there will be 3 turn-in stations where you can bring Towels, Sunscreen and Life Rings to get event tokens for buying this year's custom items!

Nate's New Puppies!

Plus, foster an adorable puppy for Nate. It seems he's accidentally ordered too many dogs (again!!) and needs your help to look after them temporarily. Choose one of the 3 to help him out! Once you equip your dog, Nate has some daily quests for you to do to keep the ball of energy that is your puppy occupied. Love the look of the dog? Permanently adopt it with a simple purchase! You can choose between the Raiju Puppy, Aralez Puppy, and Qiqirn!

Puppy and Person Training

A professional dog trainer will help train your puppy AND you! As dog owners need to know how to care for their puppy.

Puppy Mill Protest

Miss Marbles is rooting out awful puppy mills this event, and could use your assistance!

Race Track

Check out the Companion Racing Track once it becomes available, and you'll be able to bet on pet races! You can only win the prizes once per day though.

The Next Race Track Champion

Later on in the event, you'll need to help an NPC train their unlikely companion to participate in the race!

New for 2022

If you can complete the event, you'll earn the Dog Days Flower Box!

Wally's Custom Trinket

You can also look forward to a 8th upgrade to the trinket Wally has made for you! With some more glitter, he can improve it from Ritzy to Magnificent, which is 3-ish% more effective!

Achievements

-- POSSIBLE SPOILER ALERT
There are 19 possible Achievements in the Dog Days of Summer 2022 event:

Returning Achievements

Pool Digger - Build the Pool for the Dog Days event.
Safety First! - Help at each pool-side station during the event.
Safety to the Max! - Help at each pool station 50 times - must first complete "Safety First!"
Doggy Daycare - Complete all the doggy dailies.
Man's Best Friend- Level your doggy pet up to level 10.
Training Day - Complete all the puppy training quests.
Dog Days Race Track - Successfully win 5 bets on the Companion Race Track.
Pro Racer Assesser - Buy all the racer assessment upgrades for the Companion Race Track.
The Plodding Blob - Help Shayla Sharker train her blobfish for the Companion Race Track.

New Achievements

Sunshine Keepsakes - Purchase all the custom items for 2022*
Cats Teaching Dogs - Help School Cat complete her thesis

Retired Achievements

We have the following achievements from previous years, which may be earned by spending some Bush Bucks, if a player was not present/didn't earn it during the initial year:
Dog Days Sale - Buy all the custom items and pool items from 2013
Dog Days Outlet - Buy all the custom items for 2014
Summer Supplies - Purchase all the custom items for 2015
Summer Souvenirs - Purchase all the custom items for 2016
Pool Party Procurer - Purchase all the custom items for 2017
Good Dog Goods - Purchase all the custom items for 2018
Dog Toy Takehomes - Purchase all the custom items for 2019
Doggie Dabbler - Purchase all the custom items for 2020
Pool Procurer - Purchase all the custom items for 2021

* The Mini Golf piece is NOT included in the achievement, and therefore it is not a required purchase.

Mount Packs

To kick off the event, we're having a sale! Get 30% more on purchase of 50 Bush Bucks or more! Plus, all new mounts are available this weekend, from August 14th to 17th!

The Xolotl mount comes free with your first purchase of 100 Bush Bucks or more!

The Cursed Xolotl and Ethereal Xolotl are in packs containing 100 Bush Bucks, 10 Pristine Feed Vouchers, and a VIP Voucher! These two mounts produce their own unique sparkly particles when you ride them!

Get Ready!

Post your celebration plans on the forums!

The event will run until Friday August 26th at Noon PDT.

Check out the Release Notes here!

It's the day before Shieldmeet and the Open Lord of Waterdeep has gone missing. Nobody has seen Laeral Silverhand in days and it is imperative that she be found before the meeting with the Masked Lords begins.

At the behest of the Blackstaff, the Champions are sent to discover what happened...

Ahghairon's Day 5 introduces and brings back Prudence, the Chaotic Evil Tiefling Warlock of the Oxventurer's Guild, and Omin Dran, CEO and founder of Acquisitions Incorporated. Players have until Monday, August 22nd at 12PM PDT to complete their event unlocks and objectives.

I. New Champion: Voronika

This young Eladrin woman was raised to be the Queen of Koshmarr. What was meant to be an idyllic life took a dark turn when she was killed on the night of her wedding. But Voronika didn't let death stop her, even as she was pulled into the machinations of greater powers. Using her excellent intelligence and observational skills, as well as a lot of cunning and manipulation, she used the crown of the Raven Queen to defeat Zybilna and cause the fall of Prismeer. This action drew the mists to Voronika, and she became the new Darklord of her domain of Koshmarr.

Voronika is a Support Champion that allies with evil Champions and members of the Black Dice Society. With help from her Inner Circle Champion, she ultimately must complete three goals to claim the Crown of the Raven Queen and transform into a Darklord. For more information on Voronika and her abilities, check out her Champion Spotlight!

Year Five Variants

• The Fringe of Society - Help Laeral Silverhand track down a retired Open Lord with limits on which Champions can deal damage.
  Voronika starts in your formation, and only Black Dice Affiliation members and Evil Champions can deal damage.
  Reach Area 75.
  
  
• Ultimate Challenge - The search for the Open Lord continues by relying on Ultimate powers!
  Voronika starts in your formation, and Champions deal no damage unless at lease one Ultimate is on cooldown.
  Reach Area 125.
  
  
• In Search of Power - A royal escort joins the search for the Open Lord!
  Voronika starts in your formation, and her base level-up cost is greatly reduced. She's joined by two Eladrin bodyguards, and additional Orc Fighters attack with each wave.
  Reach Area 175.

See the in-game FAQ for more information!

Coppers of the Creature Collector

The eccentric Creature Collector has returned to the Commons, this time with a trio of pixipup pets!



Head to the event area and choose one to train. You have until noon on Wednesday August 10th to complete the collector's four daily quests, level up your chosen creature, earn Creature Coppers to spend in their store, and get another page to your Creature Collector's Compendium!

The Compendium Page will be given after the event ends. If you don't have the Creature Collector's Compendium ranch item, you'll get it when you get your first page.

After the event, the collector will be taking their creature back unless you adopt it by purchasing its corresponding mount pack, available starting Monday August 8th.

Train hard, Bush Whackers!

The training quests unlock at noon on Friday, Saturday, Sunday, and Monday. Those busy on the weekends can still catch up!

Notes
- The VIP "Quest Reset" power does not reset these mini event quests, and they are not affected by the Time Turner and Timey Whimey Watch.
- These three pets earn double the experience compared to other pets for the duration of this mini-event!

Ye Olde Creature Collector's Galleria - Pets

When you speak to Tanela Tiva in the event area, you can select the "What past pets are for sale?" chat option.

This will open a new store, which will contain 3 non-event premium pets you have never owned! They cost Bush Bucks, like in event stores. The selection will change next time Tanela Tiva visits to event area.

We've done this in response to players asking to see old premium pets they've missed out on, to help you fill out your pet collection. Snag those old-school pets you're missing out on!