September 30 (Thu) Update Details

Here are the updates made to Shadow Arena during the maintenance on September 30 (Thu).
* Patch Size: Approx. 163.88 MB

Check out the details below, and we will see you in the Arena!

■ Major Fixes and Improvements

- (Solo) Removed the game mechanic that increases AP and DP over time.

[Dev Note]

In this update, we decided to remove the AP/DP increase mechanic which had many limitations. At the same time, we’ve also reduced the HP of each hero, revamped the items in the shop, implemented a patch to lessen the importance of hunting normal monsters, and made various in-game changes that may have an impact on gameplay. The purpose of this patch aims to change the direction of the gameplay from repetitive farming of monsters to combat-oriented gameplay with a focus on occupying objects. Although the goal of this patch is to improve playability and make the game more engaging, we understand that a change of this magnitude, especially in the middle of the season, may be confusing for our players, and we apologize for any inconvenience this may cause. Moving forward, we want to reassure you that major changes will be kept to a minimum throughout the season, and we will do our best to iron out in-game content and hero balance in a better-attained state as soon as possible. For more information on the major changes, please see the link below.
▶ Developer Note Link

- Improved the issue where the game would begin before the minimum number of players were met.
- Changed the number of Item Slots to the following.
> Before: 5 Consumable Item Slots, 5 Equipment Slots
> Now: 4 Consumable Item Slots, 4 Equipment Slots
- Changed the number of automatically obtained Tokens from 30 per 5 sec to 40 per 6 sec.
- Changed the base stat (HP/AP/DP) of Heroes to the following.

■ Hero

| All

- Improved so skills can be used immediately while performing Sprint Dash Attack.
- Changed so 40 Stamina is consumed at the start of performing Sprint Dash Attack.
> Before: Consumes 15 Stamina at the start of performing skill and consumes 20 Stamina if attack fails.
- Fixed the issue where attacks would be performed in mid-air when using Sprint Dash Attack.
- Fixed the issue where Narc message would display “Please try again later” when using Sprint Dash Attack in high terrain.
- Improved so the camera view switches immediately when Heroes sit or take prone position while performing Special Attacks.
- Improved so skills can be used while performing Special Attacks when sitting or in a prone position.
- Changed so you cannot transition into another action when sitting or in a prone position.
- Decreased the charge distance when performing a Special Attack when sitting or in a prone position by approximately 17%.

[Dev Note]

To increase the usability of special attacks that can be cast while sprinting, sitting or in a prone position, we made changes so that they can instantly be transitioned into a skill. Rather than focusing on the skill's targeting, we hope that players will be able to use it to dash forward quickly to close the distance between themselves and enemies, or as an evasion technique.
- Fixed the issue where you would take a falling pose then were immediately able to move when using Dark Shift.
- Fixed the issue where you were inflicted damage of 2 hits upon using Electric Shock.
- Decreased the range of Electric Shock from 2.5m to 2.8m.
- Decreased Range of Matchlock by approximately 33% from 30m to 20m
- Decreased Extra Damage against Monsters of Matchlock by approximately 25%.

[Dev Note]
Although the Matchlock was intended to be used as a way of obtaining objects from a ranged distance, its relative ease of use made it far too beneficial with little risk, which is why the matchlock's power was reduced.

| Shield of Heidel (RMB)
- Decreased Party DP increase effect from 200 to 100.

| Spear of Serendia (RMB)
- Increased cooldown from 7 to 10 sec.

| Shield Charge A (Q)
- Decreased AP Reduction effect from 100 to 50.

| Shield Charge B (Q)
- Decreased cooldown from 9 sec to 7 sec.
[Dev Note]
To follow up with the removal of AP/DP auto-increase mechanic, we decreased the effects of those skills that are directly affected by AP and DP. For example, Spear of Serendia is an excellent skill in terms of applying damage and ignoring CC, so its cooldown was increased by 3 seconds to lower its frequent use as before

| Dark Mark B (Q)
- Decreased the duration of Knockback from 1.2 sec to 0.9 sec.

| Shadow Explosion B (E)
- Removed DP Reduction effect from skill description.

| Sun of Destruction A (R)
- Decreased damage for each level to the following.
> Level 1: 100% (no change)
> Level 2: 125% Before 134%)
> Level 3: 150% (Before 167%)

| Sun of Destruction (R)
- Decreased stun effect applied as a follow-up skill from 1.5 sec to 1 sec.

[Dev Note]
Ranged skills such as Ahon Kirus’ Sun of Destruction, Orwen’s Thunderbolt Arrow, and Badal's Helix Cannon were difficult to counter, and their effects were very powerful which seemed unreasonable on the opponents’ side. So, the power of these skills was slightly lowered by decreasing their Damage and Ignore CC effects.

- Fixed so sprint attack would not be made in mid-air when performed at a certain height.

| Gate Breaker A (Q)
- Fixed the issue where 3 hits would sometimes be applied.

| Heart Stab B (Q)
- Decreased casting time by approximately 0.1 sec.
- Decreased Charge Distance from 7m to 6m.

- Fixed the issue where you would freeze in air before jumping to perform Sprint Dash Jump.

- Fixed the issue where motion of scrambling in mid-air would be displayed when performing Sprint Dash Jump in low terrain.

- Fixed the issue where you could not use Black Spirit skills in mid-air.

| Thunderbolt Arrow (RMB)
- Increased cooldown from 10 sec to 12 sec.
- Reduced the maximum level of instilling energy of lightning to 3 levels (Before: Up to a maximum of 4 levels)
> Knockback and Ignore DP is applied when instilling energy of lightning up to level 3.
- Decreased the speed of instilling energy of lightning by approximately 10%.

| Shower of Arrows B (R)
- Added ‘Rain of Arrows is not triggered when hitting trees or poles’ to the skill description.

| Asura Tread (RMB)
- Fixed the issue where the timing of Knockup did not match the action when you used uppercut after using Asura Tread two twice in a row.

| Helix Cannon (RMB)
- Decreased damage by approximately 9%.
- Decreased the duration of Golden Gate B’s Knockdown effect from 1 sec to 0.5 sec.

- Fixed so Sprint Jump Attack would not be made in mid-air when performed at a certain height.

- Fixed the issue where Sprint Jump Attack would fail in mid-air when performed at a certain height.

| Radiant Pursuit/Sacred Barrier (Q)
- Decreased DP Reduction effect from 100 to 50 upon taking Patience Stance.

| Heavenly Descent/Judgment of Light A (R)
- Increased Range from 15 to 20 upon taking Courage Stance.

| Earth Alchemy Stone (RMB)
- Increased cooldown from 5 sec to 6 sec.

| Rock Manipulation B (Q)
- Fixed the skill description to match the actual skill.

| Forbidden Alchemy A (R)
- Increased cooldown from 70 sec to 80 sec.
- Changed so that Tokens and items that increases AP/DP are no longer available from the summoned Alchemy Tool.
> You can only obtain Consumable or Equipment Items and Boss Gear Items will not be dropped.

| Forbidden Alchemy B (R)
- Increased cooldown from 60 sec to 80 sec.

[Dev Note]

As the amount of tokens obtained from hunting normal monsters decreases, which will be introduced below, it is expected that Gorgath's Forbidden Alchemy will be a highly beneficial skill. Therefore, we reduced the benefits that can be obtained through using the skill.

| Avalanche A (R)
- Fixed the issue where opponents would fall abnormally upon using Dark Shift when they were successfully grappled in high terrain.

| Sixth Blade: Free-Form (RMB)
- Fixed the issue where cooldown of Mastery skills was not reduced upon successfully targeting [Whirlwind A].

- Fixed the issue where cooldown of Mastery skills was not reduced upon successfully targeting [Haze A].
- Fixed the issue where cooldown of all skills was not reduced upon successfully targeting [Haze B].

- Fixed the issue where cooldown of Mastery skills was not reduced upon successfully targeting [Blizzard A].
- Fixed the issue where cooldown of all skills was not reduced upon successfully targeting [Blizzard B].

| Second Blade: Countercurrent A (E)
- Fixed the issue where cooldown of Demon Rend B was not reduced upon successfully targeting skill.

| Second Blade: Countercurrent B (E)
- Fixed the issue where cooldown of Demon Rend B was not reduced upon successfully targeting skill.
- Increased the maximum duration time to maintain defensive stance from 3 sec to 5 sec.

| Fourth Blade: Demon Rend A (R)
- Fixed the issue where cooldown of Countercurrent B was not reduced upon successfully targeting skill.

| Fourth Blade: Demon Rend B (R)
- Fixed the issue where cooldown of Countercurrent B was not reduced upon successfully targeting skill.

[Dev Note]
For Sura, the cooldown of all skills were reduced when you successfully targeted a skill. However, there was an issue where reduced cooldown for some skills did not occur. So we made changes so that the feature now functions normally.

| Heilang (RMB)
- Changed the effect of [Heilang’s Roar: Combat] to increase by +50 each from increase AP/DP +75.
- Changed so the buff levels in the skill description match the actual effect.

| Heilang! Sic 'em!! (RMB)
- Decreased duration of Stun effect from 1.5 sec to 1 sec.
- Fixed the issue where RMB skill description did not match the actual skill.

| Heilang's Territory B (R)
- Decreased AP/DP Reduction effect from 200 to 50.

| Found You!! A (E)
- Decreased AP Enhancement effect of nearby players from 150 to 100.

| Found You! B (E)
- Decreased AP Reduction effect from –150 to 100.

| Laytenn! A (R)
- Increased cooldown from 60 sec to 80 sec.

| Laytenn! B (R)
- Increased cooldown from 50 sec to 70 sec.

| Shadow of Quturan A (Q)
- Removed the text ‘gathers the Power of Quturan upon successfully targeting skill’ from the skill description.

| Shining Light A (E)
- Changed so you would not automatically get up when using skill in a sitting position.

■ Content

| Bounty System
- Changed the “Bounty System” of obtaining additional Tokens upon defeating a Hero to the following.
> (Before): 1 Kill 0 Token / 2 Kills 100 Tokens / 3 Kills 300 Tokens / 4 Kills 500 Tokens / 5 Kills 700 Tokens ...
→ (Now): 1 Kills 200 Tokens / 2 Kills 400 Tokens / 3 Kills 600 Tokens / 4 Kills 800 Tokens / 5 Kills 1000 Tokens ...
(200 Tokens per kill thereafter)

[Dev Note]

Instead of reducing the number of Tokens earned on Hero kills from 500 to 300, we increased the value of the prize/reward. It will reduce the benefits of killing AI players at the beginning of the game, and if you defeat a player with relatively more kills, you will be gain significant benefits.

| Dark Nebula
- Changed the effects of Dark Nebula to the following.
> Before: Steal applied, AP +200, Ignore DP +30%
→ (Now): Steal applied, AP +100, Ignore DP +30%
- Fixed the issue where the Dark Nebula would sometimes stop following the player in stealth mode.

- Improved so certain Skin Items could be disassembled.
> Items available to be disassembled: [Event] Skin Selection Box, [Event] Skin Selection Coupon, [Event] Special Skin Selection Coupon
> You can obtain 3 Skin Shards when you disassemble a Skin Selection Coupon.
> Added information regarding Disassemble feature to Item description.

- (Trio) The percentage of acquired Tokens shared with team members has decreased, as shown below.

[Dev Note]
In Trio mode, because the ratio of Tokens shared was high, players were forced to stick together during the early to mid-game. Due to the increased number of objects, we drastically reduced the Token share ratio to ensure that players playing alone can still help the team win in situations where team play isn't required. For example, a team can devise a strategy to split up to the three locations where the Level 1 Blackstar Beacon can be found after 3 minutes into the game in order to maximize benefits.

| Final Stage
- Light of Ascension will no longer appear near the gateway of the southern wheat field area. As a result, the Dark Fog will not be reduced in that area.

[Dev Note]
There was a situation where specific locations grew dark when the Light of Ascension appeared near the gate of the southern wheat field. As a result, we've temporarily removed that with this change.

■ Items

- Changed so the purchasing price of Items are equal in Solo and Trio.
- Changed the color of High Tier items’ names from blue to green.
- Decreased the number of Tokens received upon starting the game from 600 to 500.
- Decreased the number of Beacon of Light received upon starting the game from 2 to 1.
- Blackstar Beacon will no longer grant increased vision effect when fragments are being created.
- The percentages of Tokens obtained by selling items have been changed as follows.
> Consumables: 50% of purchase price
> Equipment: 80% of purchase price
- Removed the following items from the Shop (B).
> Steel Longsword, Iron Shield, Bloody Gem, Crimson Blade, Desert Snake Scale, Axe of Carnage, Dark Sorcery Gloves, Obsidian Gauntlet, Bloody Leather Belt, rare orb-type items, Hunting Boots, Boots of Valor

- Legendary items have been added.

[Dev Note]
Because Starting Items can be combined to obtain Legendary Items, choosing a Starting Item has become more important. We recommend the Blackstar Great Sword route for players who prefer offensive play, and the Blackstar Route for those who prefer defensive play. The Blackstar Longbow is ideal for players who prefer to fight in the early to mid-game or those playing an Assassin-type hero.

Furthermore, deciding when to buy Blackstar gear will become an important strategy. The reason for this is that the gear is expensive because it grants powerful effects, which means you'll have to save without spending Tokens for a while. During the process of saving Tokens, you run the risk of being easily eliminated without any gear, so you must always be cautious.

- Changed the Name/Purchasing Price/Effect of Starting Items to the following.

- Changed the Name/Purchasing Price/Effect of Offensive Items to the following.

- Changed the Name/Purchasing Price/Effect of Defensive Items to the following.

[Dev Note]

Following the item revamp, defensive items were tweaked to be slightly less effective when compared to offensive items. Due to the nature of the genre, where death means elimination for that round, this aims to offer advantages for purchasing offensive because you are foregoing survivability.

Of course, because the value of all items has increased due to the removal of the automatic increase of AP and DP, the value of defensive items has also increased in this regard.

These are significant changes, so we'll keep an eye on how the offensive and defensive items interact with the balance and make adjustments as needed in the future.

- Changed the Name/Purchasing Price/Effect of Mobility Items to the following.

- Changed the purchasing price of Consumable Items to the following.

[Dev Note]

As the time for hunting normal monsters decreases and object battles become more frequent, the use of consumables during early to mid-game will become more important. In order to reduce the burden, the prices for consumables have been slightly decreased.

- Changed the effect of Consumable Items to the following.

■ Monsters

- Decreased the number of Normal Monsters appearing in all areas by 20%
- Changed the number of Ruins Golem appearing in the Tulip Farm from approximately 8 to approximately 6.
- Changed the number of Knights in the Training Camp from 11 to 10.
- Changed the number of Knights appearing in the Windmill Village from 13 to 11.
- Changed the number of Knights appearing in the Extraction Mill from 22 to 13.
- Changed the number of appearing Goblin Thief from 4 to approximately 3.
- Decreased the number of appearing Shadow Trolls to the following.
> 30 sec: 16 → 12
> 5 min: 8 → 6
> 8 min: 4 → 3
- Decreased the AP of normal monsters of Shadow Trolls by 50%.
- Decreased the number of appearing Shadow Knight Captain at 11 minutes from 30 to 20.
- Decreased the attack speed of Shadow Knight Captain by approximately 15%.

- (Trio) Boss Defense Gear will no longer drop as a loot when defeating Shadow Lords.
- Changed the time it takes for Shadow Lords' HP to naturally decrease from every 9 seconds to every 10 seconds.
- Decreased the Damage (AP) of the following monsters.

- (Trio) Decreased the Damage (AP) of the following monsters.

[Dev Note]
The damage of powerful monsters has been reduced to balance out the overall decrease in hero stats.
- Increased HP of Goblin Thief from 12000 to 15000.
- Changed the criteria of Tokens obtained upon defeating Shadow Lords to the following.

> Method of obtaining Shadow Lord’s Soul buff does not change.
> Players picking up Tokens do not perform the cheering motion.
> Improved so that the hero who successfully deals the final blow to the Shadow Lord will have a purple effect around them, while the hero who acquires the token will have a white effect around them.

[Dev Note]
Because the player who deals the final blow to the Shadow Lord receives the majority of the benefits, players fighting Shadow Lords at close range frequently miss out on those benefits. As a result, the way benefits are distributed has changed, requiring players to get close to the Shadow Lord to acquire the chest in order to receive Tokens.

- Changed the Effect/Buff gained upon defeating the below Monsters.

- Changed the Item Drop Rate upon defeating Goblin Thief to the following.

■ AI Players

- Fixed the issue where players who died due to the Dark Fog were not included in the Survivor count.

■ UI

- Adjusted the placement and font size of the game result window.
- Fixed the abnormal appearance time of Shadow Trolls in the information of World Map(Tab).
- Fixed the issue where the confirm button could not be clicked on certain areas from the item reward pop-up screen.

■ Additional Fixes and Improvements

- Improved the victory motion’s sound effect upon winning a match.

■ Fixes and Improvements to the Official Website

- Changed the consent banner for cookie collection.

■ Fixes and Improvements to the Pearl Abyss Website

*The fixes and improvements listed below were applied during the September 29th (Wed) maintenance made on the Pearl Abyss website.
- Improved the overall UI, terms/policies, profile page design, and login/sign-up pages of the official website.

Thank you.