Following The Blooms To Roseweaver Grotto

"Where should we start?" Vespera asked. She was speaking with Skylar and Breezyl outside the bakery, watching petals drift past on the wind.

"Well, I'm not sure where it is exactly, but in Luminary Meadows we have a legend about the Roseweaver Grotto -- the source of the blossoms and all this magic in the air!" Breezyl said. 

"The flowers would have to originate somewhere," Skylar mused. "I'm sure we can find it together."

"If I were you," Breezyl replied with a smile, "I'd just follow the petals!"

Breezyl waved Vespera and Skylar off as the adventurous duo and their Pets began their trek across the outskirts of the Luminary Meadows and into the wilds. The entire landscape was draped with roses, and sweet-smelling petals were drifting through the air everywhere. 

"Following the petals is easier said than done," Vespera remarked. The flowers were all around!

Skylar inclined their head, letting the petal-laden breeze ruffle their hair. "Let's explore upwind," they suggested. "The wind is carrying the petals, so it would have to have picked them up somewhere."

Eventually, Skylar and Vespera left the open ground of the Meadows behind and entered a grove of tall leafy trees. Even within the protection of their thick trunks and tangled roots, the wind was still thick with floating petals. In fact, there seemed to be even more of them than before!

"I think we're getting close," Vespera said, walking slowly between the trees to inspect every detail of this strange forest. 

After a few more minutes of exploration, Skylar gasped. "What's that?" They pointed to a gap in the trees. When Vespera looked, she thought she saw a flash of something bright red deeper inside. 

The duo approached, but their progress was quickly halted by a wall of tangled roots and branches. 

"There's definitely something in there," Skylar said. The gaps in the roots were wide enough to see a larger space inside.

"Something magical," Vespera agreed. She could feel the distinctive hum of magical energy in this place. Instinct told her that she and Skylar had found the object of their search. "But how can we get inside?"

River let out a chirp from on Vespera's shoulder. Ripple, following a little behind, rumbled a reply and approached the roots. The two Pets exchanged a glance, then River flew down from her perch to join the Quenaris.

"Oh, do you two have an idea?" Vespera asked.

"Maybe we should step back," Skylar suggested, putting deed to word and backing away from the tangle of roots. 

Ripple raised a foreclaw, and River brandished her sharp talons. Together, the two Pets slashed at the roots and branches, tearing a path through!

"Amazing!" Vespera cried. "Thank you both!"

"This is it -- the Roseweaver Grotto! Now," Skylar added, "what's inside?"

New Pet Ability: Slash

River and Ripple have demonstrated the newest Pet Ability: Slash! Using their sharp claws, teeth, or talons, some Pets are able to rip through obstructions and discover a path into previously inaccessible areas. 

The Direfang, Drava, Gruism, Harlowin, Lerk, Ogreling, Phasmic, Quenaris, Raylen, Rykor, Ursoso, Velarie, Velotra, and Wispyr have this ability.

A well-placed Slash is the best way to clear out the entrance to the Roseweaver Grotto. Prepare to explore the mysteries of this location soon!

Send Messages Along With Items

When you utilize the "Send to User" functionality in your Inventory to send an item to a fellow Adventurer, you now have the ability to optionally add a Message!

Send a note with reminders or explanations about your gift, a simple greeting, or whatever you want -- just keep your total message to 400 characters or less. Your message will be displayed in the notification that the recipient receives. 

When sending an item, the inventory pop-up now also remembers your most recent interactions and allows you to select from those users as recipients with a single click. Your entire Friends list is also available in a drop-down menu!

Sweet Candies With Even Sweeter Messages

Lollipop's Candy Shop has gotten something exciting in stock to celebrate the Heartsong season. These Candy Hearts are printed with cheerful messages -- they're a tasty treat to eat for yourself, but even sweeter to share with friends!

TL;DR

★ Skylar and Vespera explored the outskirts of Luminary Meadows and discovered the entrance to Roseweaver Grotto.
★ A new pet ability (Slash) allows certain pets to slice through the roots obstructing the Roseweaver Grotto's entrance.
★ "Send to User" functionality updated: You can now send a message alongside an item to another user!
★ 10 new conversation heart candies are stocking at Lollipop Candy Shop.

The Heartsong Season Brings New Blooms To The Berry Trees

Flora was rearranging the shelves at Leaf & Petal when a group of Adventurers entered the shop, chatting excitedly among themselves. 

"Good morning!" Flora greeted them. "How can I help you today?"

The group had just arrived from an expedition to the Berry Trees -- and they had harvested something unusual! 

"I think you're right," Flora agreed. "These berries are unlike any varieties I've seen before. It makes sense that the changing weather would bring some new fruits into season!" It was still chilly outside, but the air was starting to carry just the faintest whiff of Spring.

"The season is changing fast," one of the Adventurers agreed. "The Berry Trees looked different. More flowery...?"

"Flowery..." Flora frowned thoughtfully. "Could it already be that time?"

"Thank you!" Flora waved the Adventurers off to continue their journey. "I'm going to go check on the Trees for myself!"

Flora set off along the familiar wooded paths that meandered through the forest toward the Great Berry Tree. As she drew closer and closer, she thought she could smell a strange new sweetness in the air.

Finally, she arrived. Gazing up at the mighty tree's crown of leaves. she gasped. The branches were twined with flower vines, blooming with a profusion of colorful petals!

"I knew it!" Flora cheered. "It's time for the Heartsong Festival -- the Roseweaver Roses are blooming all over Santae!"

"We should start collecting these," Flora murmured. The Roseweaver Roses were known to have many exciting magical properties -- who knows what kind of exciting applications the Adventurers could unlock!

The Blossom Harvest Begins

Visit the Great Berry Tree and the Shadow Berry Tree to begin collecting these bountiful blossoms for yourselves, Adventurers!

Roseweaver Rose Petals and Blossomheart Petals have begun to appear. These rare and magical blooms are only present during the earliest part of spring, during the season of the Heartsong Festival. 

The mystical properties of these petals are not yet fully known -- but they will surely prove useful soon! Begin collecting your supply now to ensure you have enough to unlock their magic in the future. 

Each Adventurer is particularly attuned to either the Roseweaver or Blossomheart Petals. Cooperate with friends and fellow Adventurers to collect both types!

QoL Updates: Friends List And The Block Function

Build community connections with the new "Friends" feature, available under the "Social" dropdown in the main menu!

Add any fellow Adventurer to your Friends list by typing their username into the "Add Username" search bar in the upper right of your My Friends page. This page has tabs for your current list of friends, any pending friend requests, and your list of blocked users. When you receive a friend request, you can accept to add the user to your friends list, or decline (the request will disappear, but the user who sent it will not be notified about the decline).

Adventures around the world of Santae are better together. Extend some Friend requests to your adventuring companions today!

We have also introduced a Block function in order to help users better control their community experience. By clicking the "Blocked" tab at the top of your My Friends page, you can see your list of blocked users or add new users to your block list. 

When you block a user, you will no longer be able to see them or interact with them around Santae, and vice versa. 

TL;DR

★ Eight new varieties of berry are appearing: 4 at the Berry Tree and 4 at the Shadow Berry tree!
★ Roseweaver Rose Petals and Blossomheart Petals have begun to appear around Santae! Collect these rare materials at the Berry Trees. They are useful for Heartsong Festival celebrations, and their properties will be revealed soon.
★ "Friends" has been added to the "Social" dropdown in the main menu. You can now add other Adventurers as Friends!
★ A "Block" function has been implemented. When you block a user, you will no longer be able to see and interact with them (and vice versa).

Four More Roseweaver Plushies Are In Bloom

These four new Roseweaver plushies are the perfect cuddly friend for your pet -- or the perfect gift for somebody you care about! The Roseweaver Blepp, Seamso, Quenaris, and Shimmerint plushies have been added to the Plushie Machine.

These adorable toys are draped with decoration shaped like Roseweaver roses to celebrate Santae's annual bloom and the Heartsong Festival. You can try your luck at collecting the whole set by using your Plushie Machine Tokens, which you can stock up on by completing quests for the Terrible Toymaker if you need more!

The four newest Roseweaver plushies will be appearing in the Plushie Machine at boosted rates for the next 48 hours. Good luck collecting them all!

QoL Update: Sort Your Pets With Ease

The My Pets page has received an update as a part of our ongoing effort to the user experience around Santae! The My Pets page now shows additional information about your pets, and your pets' display order can be freely changed by dragging and dropping.

Click and hold the three horizontal lines (or "hamburger" button) in the bottom right corner of any pet's box to freely drag it around the page and reorder it. As you arrange your pets to your liking, their order will be automatically saved.

Now it is easier than ever to make your profile look exactly how you want. Arrange and rearrange your pets by name, color, or whatever theme you desire -- your creativity is the limit!

We have also added an "Activate" button to each pet's summary select to mark that pet as your active pet, along with also displaying your pet's current activity (such as gathering) underneath each one so you can easily know where all your pets are at!

Finally: As rarer and rarer Minimals begin to appear in the wild, we have listened to user feedback and created a new difficulty label for the recently added Minimals.  Exalted Minimals are very challenging to capture indeed -- but your reward is an exceptionally uncommon companion!

Our UI and QoL improvement efforts are ongoing. Stay tuned for future news posts about additional exciting changes!

TL;DR

★ Four new Roseweaver plushies are available in the Plushie Machine. They are appearing at boosted rates for the next 48 hours!
★ The "My Pets" page has been updated. You can now see more information about your pets, choose your active pet with the push of a button, and drag and drop your pets to reorder them.
★ A new tier of difficulty has been added to Herding: "Exalted"