UO Evolution Ultima Online free shard has added an extensive amount of New Samurai Empire content to compliment the original SE:UO expansion.

The UOE team has been working on creating new buildings, monsters and systems to enhance the limited content from the original UO:SE expansion that was released by UO back in 2004.

The original reviews about the Samurai Empire expansion were not great, so it was always our intent, as developers, to make this new addition have engaging, relevant content that enhanced the Asian theme.

There are no other UO freeshards that have this expansion and this exclusive content is what sets UO Evolution apart from the other free shards

———-Original Samurai Empire Expansion Features———-

Samurai Empire is the sixth expansion of Ultima Online. It adds unique Japanese-themed content, such as the new Ninja and Samurai professions, as well as a new land mass, the Tokuno Islands

*Become a Samurai Master
Dedicate yourself to the art of Bushido, with powerful new skills and
deadly new weapons.

*Join an Elite Ninja Clan
Submit to the discipline of Ninjitsu, mastering stealth, deception, and the art of assassination.

*Adventure on a New Continent
Explore a new Japanese-themed land filled with scenic housing areas,
mythical creatures, monsters, dungeons, and more.

*Lay Claim to Exotic New Treasures
New weapons, armor, clothing, house tiles, magic, and more will reward the adventurous.

*Powerful New Guild Systems
Create a guild, set up ranks, declare wars on other guilds, and set win conditions. Recruiting guildmates and increasing your power have never been easier.

———-New Samurai Empire Expansion Features———-

New Temples and Dojos
There are 8 new dojos/temples to locate and explore

Dojo 1 – Mount Sho
Dojo 2 – Fandancer
Dojo 3 – Undead
Dojo 4 – Bushido
Dojo 5 – Bridge
Dojo 6 – Garden
Dojo 7 – Forgotten Desert
Dojo 8 – Abandoned

There are also some unique defenses including fire traps, breakable doors, and hidden foes that you must strategically defeat!

New Warriors/Monsters
There are 8 new warrior/monsters to defend each area, each with new special abilities and defenses.

*Sohie (Temple Guards)
*Yamabushi (Temple Guards)
*Temple Samurai
*Temple Monk
*Temple Priest
*Temple Archer
*Temple Warrior
*Temple Weapons

Breakable Doors
The doors at each dojo are “breakable doors” and must be attacked and broken down to enter the area. The doors each have hit points and regenerate over time.

Emperor’s Palace
The Emperor palace was inspired by Qin Shi Huang and the
Terracotta Army

Belt of Tokuno – Blackbelt System

This unique Black Belt System is exclusive to UO Evolution. You start by hunting and collecting ancestral cloth, then craft the basic white belt. You then journey to each dojo and defeat the opponents to earn experience that will change the color of your belt from white all the way up to the black belt.

As your belt increases in power, the belt color will change at each stage as follows.

Stage 1 = White
Stage 2 = Yellow
Stage 3 = Orange
Stage 4 = Green
Stage 5 = Blue
Stage 6 = Red
Stage 7 = Purple
Stage 8 = Brown
Stage 9 = Black

It is a very powerful system and is designed to be an end-game item. The Belt IS intended to to take months of challenging game play to achieve!

Enjoy the journey, grasshopper!

—————————————-
UO:SE News and Articles
—————————————-
Ultima Online: Samurai Empire – Designer Diary #1
PC News | Sep 19, 2004

The world of Ultima Online continues to expand year after year, fueled by fan support and an ongoing sense of community. The latest expansion, Samurai Empire, adds more than just samurai and ninja professions. Indeed, it adds substantially to the Ultima mythos itself: a new virtue will be rolled out, “Honor.” How did it come about, and what’s the process this new game addition goes through from start to finish? Game Programmer EvilMantis tells us in his own words how it all went down.>>>Read More

Ultima Online: Samurai Empire – Designer Diary #2
PC News | Oct 14, 2004

In our last Ultima Online: Samurai Empire designer diary, we looked at how the new “honor” virtue was integrated into the game. This week, as the expansion is preparing to ship, we’ve invited art director Walter Ianneo to talk about the artistic decisions made with the new expansion. Unlike much of the Ultima universe, Samurai Empire is rooted in a specific history and culture. Does feudal Japan mix with Ultima Online as smoothly as peanut butter and jelly? We went straight to the source!>>>Read More

Ultima Online: Samurai Empire – Designer Diary #3
PC News | Nov 2, 2004

Ultima Online: Samurai Empire has at last gone gold, meaning that it’s on its way to store shelves as you read this. Over the last several weeks we’ve been tracing its progress from a gleam in a game designer’s eye to the finished product. In the first diary we looked at how the new “honor” virtue was created and implemented. From there we talked to Art Director Walter Ianneo about the artistic style of the game. And now, this week, Game Designer Jennifer Lane ties it all together by describing for us the (sometimes painful) process of rolling a game out. Read on to discover just what keeps the team going during the long hours>>>Read More

Ultima Online: Samurai Empire Q&A – Overview

Ultima Online, which was launched in 1997 and continues to draw in devoted adventurers night after night, even to this day. EA Games and the recently relocated Ultima team are now hard at work producing the next expansion pack for the game. Samurai Empire will add all-new character classes, housing options, and lands to explore.>>>Read More

Ultima Online: Samurai Empire – PC – Review

The Land of Feudal Lords, otherwise known as the Takuno Islands, serves as the new territory for this expansion to the Ultima universe. It was hinted at in the first Ultima title, and expanded upon with new classes, a new guild system, as well as the usual array of new territories to explore and new monsters to kill.>>>Read More