April Fools’ jokes do occasionally lead to genuinely welcome surprises. That is exactly what happened with Tainted Grail: The Fall of Avalon, which has just turned a fake DLC gag into a real free content drop.
While Square Enix was busy apologizing for its fake NieR: Cosmic Horror reveal, Questline took a very different route with its own community joke. Within twenty-four hours, the studio behind Tainted Grail: The Fall of Avalon went from teasing a fake DLC to actually releasing a real free expansion, complete with a brand-new dungeon aimed at veteran players rather than some throwaway novelty.
It started with a fictional trailer that was clearly meant as an April Fools’ gag, but fans embraced it anyway. The spotlight was on Qrko, the game’s odd little axolotl, who was supposedly going to headline a new campaign called Qrko’s Journey. Even though practically everyone understood it was a joke, players still reacted with the familiar mix of amusement and disappointment, because quite a few of them clearly wished it were real.
This Is Merlin’s Tomb, the New Expansion for Tainted Grail: The Fall of Avalon
The real twist arrived on April 2, when Questline officially announced Merlin’s Tomb. The expansion had originally been planned for late March, but after a slight delay it has now landed at no additional cost. That does not mean it is meant for everyone, though. According to the studio, Merlin’s Tomb is designed as a high-level challenge. Players need to have collected all fragments of King Arthur’s Soul, and the content is balanced for characters around level 75. Even getting inside is not supposed to be easy, since a mini-boss called the Guardian of the Barrow is waiting at the entrance.
Alongside the new dungeon, update 1.21 has also gone live and introduces a number of meaningful gameplay changes. Mana regeneration has been adjusted, new weapons have been added, several existing ones have been improved, and extra chests and resources have been placed throughout the game. Players can also craft armor sets now, which should make gear management less cumbersome. On top of that, Questline has continued refining the semi-open world of The Fall of Avalon with visual improvements and smaller touches such as new sound effects.
All in all, it is a smart and genuinely likable move. What began as an April Fools’ joke has turned into an actual free content drop, and not a token gesture either. Questline has delivered something aimed squarely at players who are already deep into Avalon and want tougher late-game material to chew through.
Leave a Reply