Shards Online’s most recent patch — which brings the game to version 0.3.4 — turned out to be a fairly significant update, adding many new areas and features to the game:

The release of our most recent patch marks one of the largest in Shards Online to date since the release of Pre-Alpha 3 in December. If you are an alpha supporter and it’s been a while since you’ve logged in, there’s no better time than now! We will also be reactivating trial codes on Thursday for the rest of the week.

Our release delivers new content for adventurers, new abilities and skills, new tameable creatures, an improved new player experience and a wealth of quality of life improvements to our user interface. With the introduction of new resources and improved craftables, our new hireable player vendors allow Citizens of Aria to take part in a true player crafted item economy.

We also have exciting news to share with you regarding our new Immortal program and upcoming in-game events!

To celebrate, Citadel Studios are holding another Trial Weekend; if you have a trial account for Shards, you’ll find that it has re-activated as of today. Additionally, a major new area — the Catacombs — has been added to the game world, which boasts no less than Death itself as the final boss. Player homes can now be transformed into shops, and crafters will find that a dozen new resources have been added for them to make use of.

A new set of spells has also been introduced:

Master the necromantic arts with new spells including Void Blast, Soul Drain, Reanimate Skeleton, Summon Imp, and Grim Aura.

A combination of direct damage and summoned minions makes any master of this skill a force to be reckoned with. The higher your skill, the more minions you can control at one time (up to 3).

And lastly, dragon taming is now possible.