Heroes of Arkesia,
Following the recent Korean Live Stream, we know many of you have questions about how these announcements will impact the Western version of the game. To ensure transparency and avoid speculation, we want to clarify what you can expect based on our internal discussions.
Nerfs and Endgame Balance
While Smilegate RPG has announced gold adjustments to various raid levels in the Korean version, our region's economy and gold income are not 1:1.
We understand concerns about implementing certain nerfs at this stage. Doing so now could negatively impact the experience for both new and returning players, as well as endgame players who are still progressing. Since we are behind the Korean version in terms of how long these raids have been available, we want to carefully consider any gold balance changes to ensure they don’t disrupt progression or overall gameplay experience. We will continue to monitor this closely and provide updates as needed.
However, to ease progression costs for new and returning players, we will be implementing the Transcendence and Advanced Honing nerfs. These changes will help make progression more accessible without the negative impact that gold nerfs might have caused. These will be reflected in the April update and are as follows:
Advanced Honing
- Required shards and silver -20% for Tempering stage 1 and 2
- Required honing materials -50% to progress Advanced honing level 1 - 20
- Required Shards, Silver and Gold -20% for Advanced honing level 1 - 20
Armor Transcendence
- Restoration 740 Gold > 510 Gold
- Purification 110 Gold > 75 Gold
Weapon Transcendence
- Restoration 2,200 Gold > 1,460 Gold
- Purification 190 Gold > 125 Gold
Gem System Adjustments
We recognize that the current gem system creates barriers to both character progression and playstyle flexibility. Our goal is to create an environment where players can freely enjoy their favorite classes without unnecessary restrictions.
While some players choose to play multiple characters of the same class for fun, others choose to optimize gem usage, our focus is on promoting a healthy balance where players feel free to explore classes based on what they find most enjoyable. We will continue to evaluate ways to support greater class diversity and player choice.
Smilegate RPG is actively exploring solutions to make the gem system more flexible. We are carefully evaluating multiple options, each with its own pros and cons, to find the best path forward. This process takes time, and we appreciate your patience as we work toward a balanced solution. We’ve said it many times before, but your feedback is invaluable to us. While we may not respond to every social post, we are always listening, actively discussing player concerns, and considering both data and community input in our decisions. Your passion and dedication help shape the game, and we encourage you to continue sharing your thoughts in constructive discussions.
Class Balance Patch
Class balance is vital to maintaining a fair and engaging gameplay experience, and we take it very seriously. We always strive to bring the latest class balance updates to the Western version as soon as possible. Smilegate RPG’s recent balance patch will be applied in the West’s April update, bringing several important class adjustments. We appreciate your patience as we finalize specifics for the Western version and will continue to share updates as they become available.
Content Localization Updates
As our game has evolved, we've significantly narrowed the gap with the Korean version. Initially, the well-defined two year roadmap allowed ample time for localizing new continents, raids, in-game guides, and other content across multiple languages. However, as we've got closer to the Korean updates, we've seen increased demand on localization. After careful analysis of player language preferences, we've discovered that German and French localizations are currently being utilized by a much smaller portion of our community than anticipated.
Therefore, beginning with the May update, we will cease supporting German and French localizations and reallocate resources to the remaining languages to support the increased localization demand. The game will transition to English voice-over and text for players who previously selected German or French. Moving forward, we will be focusing our localization efforts on English and Spanish support. Our website will also reflect this change for a consistent experience across all platforms, with the in-game translations being supported on the site. You will see these changes take place throughout April. We continue to evaluate our localization strategy and appreciate your understanding as we work to deliver timely content updates.
Bus Advertising
We’ve noticed players using creative methods to advertise bus services, such as making their titles appear unrelated to the actual activity (e.g., using terms like “Field Trip” or “Journey”) and using passwords to indirectly advertise prices. This behavior undermines our no-advertising policy, and we are actively working to eliminate this practice to maintain the integrity of the in-game economy and community. The grace period for shorter bans has now passed, and players who continue to break this policy will face escalating penalties. We appreciate your cooperation in keeping the game fair and enjoyable for everyone.
T3 Deadzone
The T3 honing dead zone (1580 - 1620) is a known progression pain point and is not something that's new to the Western Version of the game. We are actively working on addressing this. At the moment, we are not able to share the exact plans we have to address this, but we felt it was important to at least call this out. In the meantime, we will continue to support rosters that are challenged by this dead zone, with more materials and books through the various events we have planned.
Looking Ahead
We understand that many of these changes will have a significant impact on the game’s progression and community dynamics. We are committed to keeping you informed as we implement these updates and are actively working to ensure that these changes are positive for both new and experienced players.
Thank you for your continued support, and we’re excited to continue this journey with you. We’ll see you in Arkesia!