Zombie Crisis

The Zombie Crisis was a global event that saw multiple NPC villages depopulated or entirely wiped out from repeated zombie attacks. While it is now impossible to truly know the extent of the damage, the Air Nation, Fire Nation, Water Tribe, and Earth Commune are known to have been particularly harshly.

Context

Due to the lack of resources, it was common practise for new states to declare themselves within an NPC village. Villages entered the game with shelter, food, trade options, and a variety of resources, and would not resist a player taking shelter there. They were therefore ideal starting locations, saving time and resources on constructing a shelter from scratch.

The downside of such a model came in the dangers that players brought to villages. Monsters spawn specifically in the 16 block radius around a player, including zombies, who are unlike other monsters in that they seek out and target villagers, not just the player. The 16 block radius happens to coincide quite closely with the size of a given village. As a result, players residing in NPC houses would bring about zombies, who then found ample NPC targets to attack. While NPC villagers are supposed to take shelter indoors when this happens, their AI is not great.

Impacts

At least 4 villages were entirely depopulated as a result of the crisis. These are known today as Kingsland, Grainswood, Balsarp, and Glodby. Other villages who saw large-scale depopulation were Polaris and Flammeberg. As of the Kami Breakthrough, these are beginning to flourish once again.

The Crisis had wide-ranging impacts. The Earth Commune collapsed as a result of their one village, and resource base, being eradicated. Due to the severe loss of resources, the Air-Fire tensions of the time seriously diminished. Initially, the death of the Commune was interpreted as an act of war and received a full investigation by the Firelord until the answer was revealed. Villages remained depopulated for months until the Kami Breakthrough made the transport of new villages viable, and the Fuel Revolution their transport cost-effective. The Air and Fire Nation both lost prestige and influence due to the crisis, enabling Southern Sea states to flourish as the new global leaders. With the return of villagers, tensions appear to be rising between the two blocs.

The model of village-bases went into decline as a result of the crisis. Independent bases became the centre of renewed focus. Thanks to the independence from this surroundings, this also saw more settlements being established along coastlines, such as the Southern Sea, ushering in the age of ships.