Ancient Lands: Keystones, Drakes and revives
An Ancient Lands run moves between islands. Finish the island objective, take its Leygate Keystone and choose the next route; reaching a gate does not make that route private.
Finish the island objective
Since Patch 1, the clearing objective requires defeating half of the island’s mobs. It no longer uses the launch version’s fame-based requirement. Marmots do not contribute, so chasing them does not advance this objective.
A completed island objective provides a Leygate Keystone. It can activate a Leygate, and you can remove it to choose another route. Other players can see an activated gate: treat its visibility as information for rival parties, not a reserved corridor.
Watch the shared Drake objective
Four islands marked by Drakes each have a quest. Completing all four island quests completes the global objective; the central island then opens after a short delay. Killing a Drake and finishing its island objective should not be treated as interchangeable steps.
The central Fire Drake provides rewards and an exit back to the original world map. You can also leave through an outer entry portal. Decide whether to press on or take the exit before adding more loot to an inventory that can be lost.
Spirit Essence increases the stakes
Spirit Essence increases fame gains and your effectiveness against mobs. Statues and mob drops can provide it, while Drakes provide it reliably. These benefits belong to the run, not to a permanent character progression line.
Being knocked down in PvP transfers half of your Spirit Essence to the opposing group; the remainder is lost. Leaving the Ancient Lands also removes your stacks. Do not value a retreat as though the accumulated bonus will be available in the next run.
Recover a downed ally
A player downed in PvP bleeds out rather than immediately returning to safety. Nearby allies slow that process. Allies can revive a downed teammate, but revives apply a stacking maximum-health penalty of 10% during the expedition.
Patch 1 fixed a case where a damage-over-time defeat made a player invulnerable instead of starting bleedout. It also made Ancient Altar blessings persist through knockdowns and death. Those fixes do not remove the risk of carrying inventory into Orange or equipment into Black.
