Jeff Hickman, an Executive Producer at Mythic wrote a letter in which he discusses the Land of the Dead.  Mythic also released a new Land of the Dead FAQ.  Seems like we're getting closer and closer to the release of the next Live Expansion!

You may also be excited to know that Lands of the Dead will launch with a token system built in, players will collect scarab artifacts which can be used to purchase powerful items. Want more? Why not build your own weapon by obtaining a Vessel which you can make your own by filling it with the powerful souls of your slain enemies.

FAQ:

Q. How and where can I obtain Expedition Resources?

A. You can obtain Expedition Resources by locking Tier 4 zones and by killing enemy players in the Tier 4 Lakes and capital cities.

Check after the jump for the full FAQ and Letter!

Hello Everyone,

The first half of 2009 has proved to be an exciting time for WAR! With hundreds of pages of patch notes it's hard to remember everything that's gone live, four careers have joined the front lines, you've experienced our live events which we plan to only make better, and we've made amazing progress in improving performance allowing for larger battles and more stable servers. Additionally we've improved the UI and opened it up even more to our modding community, introduced the RvR Token System, implemented keep upgrades, and we continue to fix bugs and improve the quality of the game every day. To say we've been busy is an understatement and there's no sign of slowing down in sight, we hope you enjoy the ride.

With the release of Patch 1.3 we'll complete the Call to Arms Live Expansion. You will finally have the chance to explore the Lands of the Dead, an exciting new addition with a vast new area to explore, new rewards to earn, and the most challenging content yet!

I'll be discussing this and more over the course of the next several weeks in a three-part Executive Producer's Letter. We want you to have a first hand look at what's new in WAR and what's to come and give you a chance to share your feedback about what you would like to see come to WAR.

Since last year the team has been hard at work on the Lands of the Dead. We wanted a new RvR experience that was different from the current Tier 4 campaign. Set in the southern deserts the Necropolis of Zandri is the resting place of The Vulture Lord who rules his restless lands from his massive tomb, a great pyramid that overlooks the Lands of the Dead.

The forces of Order and Destruction must compete for Expedition Resources in the campaign so that they can make the perilous journey beyond the sands. The realm who earns enough resources will unlock safe passage and adventurers Rank 25 or higher can test their will against an ancient enemy.

Danger and great rewards await those who answer the call! The Lands of the Dead offer a host of new features and challenges. Roaming Public Quests make no avenue safe as the undead host patrol their lands and prepares for a great assault. Take on massive Bone Giants brought to life by cursed magic or fight from aerie to aerie against other players as you are dropped into the nests of massive vultures. The Public Quests in the necropolis offer new twists and trials like you've never seen before!

These public quests are also the gateway to all new lairs. Collect the glyphs to unlock passage into these long-forgotten chambers, but be warned you'll need more than just your sword to make it out alive! It takes teamwork and wits to conquer the challenges within as you flee from massive swarms or avoid certain death as you avoid cursed ground by jumping across toppled pillars and ruins while fighting a powerful denizen.

You may also be excited to know that Lands of the Dead will launch with a token system built in, players will collect scarab artifacts which can be used to purchase powerful items. Want more? Why not build your own weapon by obtaining a Vessel which you can make your own by filling it with the powerful souls of your slain enemies - need more Strength than Toughness? Replace one talisman with another one that will fulfill your needs!

Once you and your allies have prepared yourselves you can take on the Tomb of the Vulture lord and attempt to bring victory to your realm! But be warned, there are more than scarabs and skeletons within these halls - traps lurk around every corner putting every adventurer to the test. Eight fearsome encounters await you, each requiring a new strategy that will put all of your skills to the test.

What would WAR be without RvR? Not even your expeditions within the tomb or lairs are free from the onslaught of your enemy. Should they wrest control of the Lands of the Dead from you prepare to fight! Enemy players can enter your instance and attempt to purge you from the necropolis. You and your party must use the traps and your own wits against them to defend yourselves. Should you win you can continue forward, otherwise…to the victor go the spoils…

Each side will need to gain resources while preventing the other realm from gaining access to the Lands of the Dead. Because of this Tier 4 is now more important than ever and plays a pivotal roll in deciding who controls access to the necropolis.

If that’s not enough we've also managed to slip some other fantastic features such as the new sigil system and a number of improvements to the user interface, inventory management, public quest loot rolls, and more! But we'll talk about that next week in Part 2.

For now we encourage you to check out the Lands of the Dead now on the Public Test Server, your feedback and contributions continue to make WAR even better and for that we thank you. We have a lot of great things in the works, both new and based off your feedback and we look forward to sharing it all with you, stay tuned…WAAAGH!!!

See you on the battlefield,
Jeff Hickman
Executive Producer, Mythic Entertainment

FAQ:

Q. What Rank do I have to be to enter the Land of the Dead?

A. You must be at least Rank 25 in order to enter the Land of the Dead.

Q. Will I be bolstered if I go to the Land of the Dead, and I’m only Rank 25?

A. Yes, you will be bolstered up to Rank 36.

Q. How do I travel to the Land of the Dead?

A. You will be able to fly to the Land of the Dead after you unlock the Flight Path by speaking to the Flight Master in your capital city. Once you unlock the flight path to the Land of the Dead, as long as your Realm holds control, you can fly there from anywhere in the world!  Keep in mind, you will only be able to fly to the Land of the Dead if your Realm controls it. In the event that the population cap has been reached in the Land of the Dead, your Flight Master will inform you of such.

Q. I just logged in and want to go to the Land of the Dead. How can I tell who currently holds control?

A. You can view the current state of the Land of the Dead by viewing the Land of the Dead tracker. This tracker will show you how many Expedition Resources have been earned by each Realm, who currently controls the Land of the Dead, and whether the Land of the Dead campaign is locked currently or not. (The Land of the Dead is only locked for the first 30 minutes after it is captured.) This tracker can be found on the map window and toggled to appear on your main HUD.

Q. How and where can I obtain Expedition Resources?

A. You can obtain Expedition Resources by locking Tier 4 zones and by killing enemy players in the Tier 4 Lakes and capital cities.

Q. What if the Tier 4 campaign is completely locked and my Realm’s capital city is under siege? How do we gain Expedition Resources then?

A. In response to the news of their Realm's near-victory against their enemy's king, elements of the competing armies (either Order's or Destruction's) will form celebratory camps in Praag in order to partake of their spoils of war. For example, if Altdorf is captured, Destruction's forces will start the victory party a little too early. Regardless of the Realm, these festivities will always be located somewhere in Praag's RvR lake.

Members of the Realm whose capital city has been captured can raid these celebratory camps, bashing the heads of the would-be victors and claiming their ill-gotten gains as Expedition Resources.

Q. I’ve gathered some Expedition Resources. What do I do with them now?

A. Make haste to your nearest Expedition Resource Quartermaster to turn them in and progress your Realm’s expedition to the Land of the Dead! Expedition Resource Quartermasters can be found in any warcamp and near the Flight Master in your capital city. In the event that your city is contested, the Expedition Resource Quartermaster will be in your Refugee Camp. The first Realm to gather the necessary Expedition Resources gains control of the Land of the Dead.
 
Q. What happens when the control of the Land of the Dead changes from one Realm to the other?

When control of the Land of the Dead changes from one Realm to the other, the purge occurs. During this time, the Realm that just earned control is able to enter the Land of the Dead and hunt down the enemy Realm’s players. If you are a member of the Realm that just lost control of the Land of the Dead, and you’re killed, you will respawn back at your capital city and cannot re-enter the Land of the Dead until your Realm regains control of it by gathering Expedition Resources.

Q. My Realm just lost control of the Land of the Dead and my character died during the purge! What do I have to do to get back into the Land of the Dead?

If you are unable to get a resurrection, you will be returned to your capital city. You will not be able to re-enter the Land of the Dead until your Realm turns in enough Expedition Resources to regain control of the Land of the Dead. You can log out in the Land of the Dead, and will still be there when you log back in.

Q. On servers where one Realm consistently dominates the other, what are you doing to ensure the underdog Realm can gain access to the Land of the Dead, too?

A. We are implementing a handicap system that will favor the underdog Realm if they have not gained control of the Land of the Dead after a set period of time. This system will work exponentially as more time elapses, until the underdog Realm gains access to the Land of the Dead. We will be discussing the details of this system a little later, but rest assured we want to make sure all players are able to access the Land of the Dead.

Q. What will be the Ward requirements to do the instanced lairs and dungeon bosses? What is the Ward range in the live expansion?

A. The Land of the Dead content comes in three different flavors if difficulty: Public Quests, Lairs, and the Tomb of the Vulture Lord dungeon. The Public Quests in the Necropolis of Zandri will not require any Wards. The Lairs will require Lesser Wards (the same as city sieges and Forts), which come from Bastion Stair and Tier 4 Keeps. And the Tomb of the Vulture Lord will require Greater Wards, which are earned from Forts and capital city dungeons.

It’s important to keep in mind the changes coming to the Ward system in 1.3 that will allow for much greater gear choice flexibility; once you unlock a Ward in your Tome of Knowledge, it is applied to your character, regardless of whether you are wearing the armor that has the Ward on it or not.

Q. What are the lockout timers for the four Lairs and the Tomb of the Vulture Lord dungeon?

A. The Lairs have a 12-hour lockout period, and the Tomb of the Vulture Lord dungeon has a three-day lockout period. Purging an instance does not apply a lockout to the invaders.