Frogster America, Inc. today announced that it has again expanded Runes of Magic, the Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Game (MMORPG) that is redefining the standard for free-to-play titles, with a new public encounter feature that introduces dynamic combat where players can fight it out with increasingly powerful waves of computer controlled attackers. Public encounters have now been activated on the live servers, giving players new ways to play the rapidly growing free-to-play online game.

Public encounters are made up of three phases and take place around the Sergarth Outpost, which has long been afflicted by Cyclops and their minions. Their leader is battlewolf Axis and it's he who personally commands the attacks. The supreme goal of all players in this area is to defend the outpost against three waves of attackers and to hunt down the leader of the pack. The Attack on the Sergarth Outpost marks the first time this new feature appears in Runes of Magic, with additional scenarios currently in development.

Players have to defend against opponents who grow more powerful over two phases, until in the third phase the commander steps onto the battlefield. The allied garrison troops all cry out at the sight of Axis. Only by standing together and by uniting will the heroes be able to overcome the fearsome leader and his troops. He enters the battlefield for exactly ten minutes. If he's defeated within this time period, the leader will leave behind him some very valuable rewards as he leaves this public encounter. If the players fail, he will also leave, but without leaving anything. Following a half-hour pause for rest, the first phase resets. With this type of scenario, the interesting part that every player can jump in to the scenario anytime and take part in the encounter.

"We envision introducing the top villain, the Demon Lord, or one of his vassals in a public encounter in a new zone," commented developer Tony Tang while discussing the implementation of the new feature.

About Runes of Magic
With an extensive range of features Runes of Magic is redefining the standard for free-to-play titles. Runes of Magic conveys an absorbing story through more than 1,600 quests in an exciting and dangerous fantasy world. Players can choose between six main classes and combined with a secondary class, choose to create a character from 30 character class combinations. All characters possess unique skills with impressive combo attacks and can use mounts including war horses.

A particularly attractive feature for guilds and players is the ability to decorate their own virtual homes with individual furnishings. Thanks to an extensive crafting and reputation system, thrilling PVP, as well as demanding dungeons and boss monsters, Runes of Magic has something for everyone. The Taiwanese developer Runewaker, has developed Runes of Magic according to western MMO standards and put more than three years of development into the game. The studio will continue to provide new challenges for players every four to five months with free add-ons and updates. MMO fans can find more information, pictures and videos on the official website at: www.runesofmagic.com.

Runes of Magic features:
• Free-to-play: no monthly fees, free download
• Extensive dual class system (six primary and secondary classes)
• Versatile spell- and attack-combinations
• Enthralling background story
• More than 1,600 quests and quest series
• No zone boundaries thanks to seamless architecture
• Dungeons: Instanced and tile based as well as persistent
• Individually developable skills and spells
• Armor sets with special bonuses
• Dynamic item system with hundreds of runes for upgrading
• Optional PvP system with arena battles and guild wars
• Ranking system with player-ranking lists
• Multitude of unique mounts
• Epic crafting system with the chance to improve existing items
• Personalization of player houses through individual furnishing
• Reputation system
• Customizable user interface with the option to use Add-Ons
• Map and radar system to find dealers, resources and quests easily
• In-game auction houses for trading items
• Teleport-Runes for instant travel
• Mouse and keyboard controls for movement
• Regular updates with new content
• Guild castles in special zones
• Cross-server fights in three-server-battle in development