e would like to take you with us on a journey, on Tibia's journey. Tibia's 20th anniversary is coming up! This is a good time to remember and to retrace the important stations in the life of the game that we all love. Most of you have vivid recollections of Tibia's past. Let's bring these back into our conscious mind. Each week in December we will publish a summary of the development of five years of Tibia, all in preparation for the big anniversary on January 7, 2017.

Part 1: January 1997 till January 2002

On January 7th, 1997, Tibia was born. On this day, the very first test phase started, Tibia Alpha 1.0. The preparations, though, started about 9 months earlier. A map editor was needed and a way to generate and handle objects in this virtual world needed to be found. One of the last things that was implemented before Tibia's first test was a basic user management.

In the first year, Tibia started growing and developed quickly. In Tibia Alpha 3.0, there were already NPCs, an automap, light sources, and fighting was possible. Also, the concept of time effects had been implemented, a basic move-use-system had been created, as well as distance weapons. Also, Tibians could already play chess, checkers, mill and tic-tac-toe. Tibia even had its very first fansite already after this first year, Yorin's Tibia Homepage.

In the first quarter of Tibia's second year, the magic system was created and characters received skills and vocations. Also the mail system and depots were implemented, just to name a few things. In May 1998, Tibia Beta 4.0 went online.

During the first 5 years of Tibia, the map was extended greatly. In the beginning, Tibia had not been much larger than Thais. When Tibia 6.4 went live in November 2001, the newbie island Rookgaard had already been added, and the mainland had been extended immensely. It already included Kazordoon, the Green Claw Swamp, the Jakundaf Desert, Femor Hills, the Orc Fortress, Ab'Dendriel, the Ice Islands, and the Fields of Glory, for example. And with this 6.4 update, Edron became a part of Tibia.
An account system had been created in July the same year and a first version of the gamemaster system had followed just a few months later.
Premium accounts became available in November 2001, as well, and along with that, houses and house auctions. Evidence of what Tibia looked like back then was captured in an old video created by Tibia players:

On December 19, 2001, Tibia 6.5 went online, with a multi server architecture and a new game world was started. There was now Antica and Nova.

January 7, 2002 was Tibia's 5th anniversary. In order to celebrate this great milestone, everybody who signed up for 7 months of Premium time received a shield of honour.

If you would like to read more about how the time was back then, the article The Birth of Tibia! might be of interest to you.

Part II: January 2002 till January 2007

On February 18, 2002, an update went online that allowed a management of guilds via the website. Guild halls were built ingame, and a guild chat channel was provided. Apart from these guild improvements, this update also brought promotions to Tibia. From that time on, Tibia's rulers had the privilege to promote you to an Elite Knight, a Royal Paladin, an Elder Druid, or a Master Sorcerer. The northern part of the continent of Darama was discovered around that time, too.

For an update on August 28, 2002, Lord Ariakas and Mantus, two old Tibia players, had re-drawn and animated dozens of creatures. The new Tibia 7.0 client included a chat system with different channels, a safe trade system, a VIP list, and this beautiful login screen, which had also been provided by Mantus:

This was about the time when CipSoft started hiring employees, and more and more features and content for Tibia were released. Here is a list of some of the major things that were implemented or changed during the years of 2002 till 2007, apart from what was already mentioned above:

• 2002:Venore and its surroundings were created by Knightmare, and Rookgaard was extended.
• 2003: New outfits for Premium players were introduced, the Ghostlands were added to the map, and a better quest support was implemented. The "amulet of life" was replaced by the "amulet of loss", an auto-logout after having been idle for a while was implemented, and the first version of the skull system was published.
• 2004: In addition to the skull system, automatic banishments for excessive unjustified player killing were implemented and the party mode replaced the duel mode. At the end of the year, eagerly awaited skill bars and a permanent ignore list made it into the game. Also, a login queue came to the Tibia client. On the map, Ankrahmun was discovered, and several graphics were revamped.
• 2005: This year, several things were implemented in order to try to reduce the pain some players caused for others. For example, luring was dramatically reduced, and the roping of creatures limited. Also, blocking by using parcels and fire fields, for example, became impossible. Ships and the pyramids in Ankrahmun were turned into protection zones and furniture kits were introduced to prevent the destruction of heavy furniture during the transport. And not to forget, soul points were added, and the fish in Tibia developed a craving for worms.
  Contentwise, the jungle of Tiquanda including Port Hope was created, as well as many new graphics, enhancing the shape of mountains and the look of water with animated waves, for example. Also, wands and rods were introduced for sorcerers and druids, and the entire magic system was revised. Being able to cast a spell was no longer dependant on your magic level from then on, but on your experience level.
• 2006: Looting a creature became the privilege of the highest damage dealer. And in order to prevent Tibians from overworking themselves, stamina was introduced. Further, shooting runes via the battle window was implemented and the hotkey system was extended, allowing you to choose whether you would like to use an item on yourself, your target, or to select the affected area via crosshairs. Captains received the possibility to speak to more than one customer at the same time, and all characters received a questlog and a bank account.
  12 different islands were discovered west of Tiquanda, the so called Shattered Isles. They were featuring the prospering seaport Liberty Bay located on the largest island Vandura, as well as the Forbidden Islands. Several graphics were re-designed, for example, the beloved rotworms, or the four basic character outfits. New outfits and addons were introduced as well, and Ab'Dendriel received a complete makeover. Ferumbras and Morgaroth started threatening the Tibian lands this year, too. We ended 2006 with the Tibia client version 7.9.

During these 5 years, many new game worlds were set up, including different game world types. In 2002, Premia went live, the one and only Premium game world, as well as Amera, the very first American game world, and Secura, the first non-PvP game world.
About two years later, in 2004, the first two PvP-enforced game worlds, Inferna and Dolera, went online, as did the very first Brazilian game world, Tenebra. Tenebra was moved to the United States, though, in 2005, since the Brazilian provider was unable to offer an acceptable connection quality.

Then came Tibia's 10 anniversary! For this event, the website received a complete makeover, and we celebrated the anniversary with several events, ingame party items and 1000 lucky winners of 3 months of Premium time.

Part III: January 2007 till January 2012

In the article Facts About Tibia, from the year 2007, we learn that back then, 150 different creatures existed and that there were already 60 raids frequently and automatically happening in the game. There were 2450 guilds, 56 guild halls, 873 houses and flats on each game world.

One of the main topics in 2007 was Vocation Balancing, making the damage output much more dependant on the weapons and the weapon skills, as well as the magic level, rather than the level of your character. An update in June brought new spells for all vocations and level requirements for melee weapons, as well as 60 completely new weapons in order to provide a variety for different level ranges.
In December that year, the system of elements in Tibia was enlarged and now included: ice, holy, death, fire, energy, and earth. With the help of these elements an attempt was made to make each vocation more distinctive. The elements were used to effect creatures, weapons, equipment and spells. Old spells were revised and new ones added.
That winter, the magic level needed to use healing runes and spells effectively was raised. Also, monsters received new abilities. From then on, they could leave you dazzled, freezing, and cursed. Further, shared experience was introduced.
Contentwise, Svargrond was discovered, including its arena and plenty of new creatures that this huge ice continent is a home to. Also swimming in designated areas became possible, Rashid started his job as a merchant, and the Fool's guild and the Secret Service started their business.

At the end of 2007, we had reached Tibia client version 8.1.

The following years also brought many new features:

• 2008: Darashia and Kazordoon were revamped. Also, Yalahar was discovered, as well as a completely new underwater area featuring evil sea serpents. The trade window when trading with NPCs was implemented, and they started talking in an extra chat channel. Party features, such as a party channel, a shared experience bonus, and party buff spells were implemented that year, too. Further, the demon oak was first seen in Tibia and it became possible to receive experience points as a quest reward.
• 2009: The death penalty was reduced and blessings were introduced. Stairhopping was made useless, and monsters learned how to be invisible for real. Automatic banishments for excessive unjustified player killing were removed, and a black skull was added to the skull system. Also, from then on, the last 20 damage dealers were counted as killers in PvP, and a guild war system was implemented. Further, an experience counter was added to the Tibia client, as well as the server log channel.
  Contentwise, Carlin was revamped and weddings became possible. For quests, we can name the following additions as examples for the year 2009: Pilgrimage of Ashes, The Scatterbrained Sorcerer, and the Shadows of Yalahar. And not to forget: The Lightbearer event. Farmine was discovered, too, along with the new land of Zao, and creature products as loot were introduced.
  The world type realignment took place this year as well: Non-PvP became Optional PvP, regular PvP became Open PvP, and PvP-enforced became Hardcore PvP. Also Character World Transfers were implemented.
• 2010: Zao was extended and World Quests came to Tibia, already including the popular world quest Rise of Devovorga. Also, runes and potions became stackable and loot did not drop in bags any longer. Achievements were a newly implemented feature this year, and Tibians learned how to tame creatures to turn them into mounts. The Midnight Panther, the Undead Cavebear, and the Blazebringer were among the first available mounts in Tibia.
  Beholders underwent a namechange and wanted to be called bonelords from 2010 on, and we bid our voluntary gamemasters farewell.
  Also, the PvP system received another revision this year. Along with new spells, a cooldown system including spell icons and a cooldown bar was implemented, and the new damage type bleeding was introduced.
• 2011: 2011 was the year of the Flash client! Apart from this milestone, world changes were implemented. Thornfire, The Mummy's Curse, The Steamship, Awash and the Raging Mage were among the first available world changes. Later that year, some of the citizens of Venore suddenly became infected with swamp fever.
  Also, a new tutor system was introduced, offering the possibilty to give somebody a "Thank you" for a helpful post or statement. And the biggest new feature of 2011 was the ingame Market. We ended 2011 with Tibia client version 9.4.

And then it was Tibia's 15 anniversary, including Nostalgia, a small museum island, displaying old Tibia graphics, a reward for old guilds and many fun ingame events!

Part IV: January 2012 till Today

In 2012, Premium Scrolls were implemented, offering Tibians a safe and easy way to buy and sell Premium time ingame. That year, also serveral new mechanisms to alleviate the negative effects of lag and kicks for players were introduced. Some of the major new features in Tibia that year were offline training and a global inbox. Further, two preview game worlds Aurora and Aurera were started, with double experience points and double skill training enabled.
Contentwise, the gnomes were discovered and Venore was renovated. And, not to forget, Ten Rentable Houses designed by Tibians were released. Further, the speed of all creatures in Tibia, including player characters, was adjusted: Lower level characters started walking faster, while the speed of characters with higher levels was curbed. We ended 2012 with Tibia client version 9.8.

2013, the reward system in Tibia was improved, taking into account everyone who took an active part in the fight against bosses. Damage dealers, blockers, as well as players who supported the fighters received a chance on individual loot. Further, reward chests were added to the Adventurers' Guild. Also, several smaller adjustments were made, for example, an adjustment of the respawn rate of monsters and an adjustment of the raid system and the raid frequency. Also, 2013 brought the first smooth walking animations, starting with player outfits. And - who would have thought, some monsters finally became more intelligent.
On the content side, the evil in the haunted ruins of Drefia started shining in new splendour, and Ab'Dendriel received a makeover, too. Fury Gates appeared in the Tibian lands, and the forsaken mines could finally be entered. Also, leaf golems and their tree houses were discovered, as well as the Spike, and The Spirit Grounds. Roshamuul, a new island east of Darama was discovered, too, a place filled with deadly menace and frightening horror. With the help of umbral creation, Tibians learned how to improve and transform their weapons. 2013 ended with Tibia client version 10.30.

In 2014, Oramond, the slime slide system, a huge underwater area beneath Oramond, and the city of Rathleton including new houses and guildhalls, as well as Rathleton's voting system, and the dangerous inventor Jaccus Maxxen was discovered. And Dawnport, a new beginner's island, was added.

The first game world merges were announced that year and our preview game worlds lost the double XP and double skill gain, right after a PvP preview phase had taken place. The makeover of the PvP system this time included a more granular punishment for unjustified PvP, taking into account the extent of participation in a kill. Further, an experience boost for characters below level 50 was implemented, with the intention to help new players getting past the early stages of the game more quickly and to enable them to set out to explore the more challenging parts of the Tibian world. Guilds recevied a couple of new features as well this year, for example guild messages, a guild events section, an automatic rank progression, elections for a new guild leader in case a guild becomes leaderless, a guild bank account and a guild activity log. Also, the respawn behaviour of several monsters was adjusted and several mounts and outfits became buyable via the payment system. Last but not least, 2014 brought hotkey presets to the stand-alone client.
Further, a new game world type that had long been wished for was released that year. Retro Open PvP game worlds finally happened. In October Morta and Motera opened their gates, after Calva and Calvera had become Retro Open PvP already. 2014 ended with Tibia client version 10.70.

2015 included the following new features, among others:

• Some technical adjustments, for example the possibility to connect your account with an authenticator.
• Loyalty points and a skill bonus, as well as loyalty highscores.
• Tibia Coins and the Store. With the introduction of Tibia Coins, the earlier implemented Premium Scrolls were no longer needed.
• Immidiate skinning and a global depot.
• A brand new PvP arena system, with the battle types Last Man Standing and Team Deathmatch.
• Grimvale and Krailos and ogres and a new big questline about Ferumbras' Ascension, including several new dungeons with minion bosses that you have to defeat.

This year, 2016, the development of Tibia went on, of course, and while the memories are still fresh, we want to inlcude the news, nevertheless. Vortexes through which you can enter an otherworld with mysterious creatures and difficult boss fights started to appear in Tibia. With the strange energy from this otherworld, charging of items became possible, allowing Tibians to enhance their weapons with critical hits, hit points leech and mana leech. Also, NPCs learned how to deduct money from bank accounts. PvE arenas openend their gates, challenging players to fight their way to the top of the brand new leaderboards.
In the recent Winter Update, a new main questline was presented, including further dungeons and boss fights and a brand new imbuement system. Also, the prey system was implemented. We hope that you enjoy these additions to Tibia.

We also should not forget to mention that this year, three new game worlds were opened in Brazil again. On November 22, Ferobra and Serdebra were launched. A third Brazilian game world, Belobra, followed on December 7, the first optional PvP game world located in South America.

Apart from these features, 2016 was a spectecular year for other reasons, too. Not only did the first player ever step through the gate of expertise for Level 999, but also a brand new Tibia client was released on September 13. Tibia 11, the new version of the Tibia stand-alone client has received many bug fixes and updates with new features in the meantime, and we will continue our work on this client of course, in order to make its usage a good gaming experience for you.

We want to thank everybody for accompanying us on this over 19-year-long journey, and we hope to journey onward for many further years to come! The 20th anniversary celebrations are waiting for you in January. So enjoy your holidays and stay tuned!

Have fun in Tibia!
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