Hey gladiators, thanks for all your feedback on the Starbound Gladiator battle.
This patch 0.7.1 is a rolling patch, meaning I will be updating it through the week ( it's the weekend now so I only got a small amount of time to work on it ) but the major update now is that you are not automatically forced to fight the Starbound Gladiator immediately after defeating Grand Champion XII.
You now have the option to keep exploring, levelling up, fighting and getting better gear until you are ready ( or 300 days pass ). When you are ready, go to a town and press the 'Enter Portal' button to go to the Imperial Villa and trigger the end fight sequence.
As an aside, there are some who have beaten the Starbound Gladiator, some who say he is too hard, some who love the difficulty etc. I am glad he is a challenge as many people said much of the game was too easy - but I also want people to not feel despair if they can't beat him.
Right now I don't think I will be nerfing the difficulty, but there is a plan to bring in a way to weaken him on his journey via the Observatories. Stay tuned for them, they are coming later this month hopefully.
Remember, this is Early Access and stuff can and will change - hopefully for the better! Know that I DO update the game as often as I can, and please keep the faith and thanks for your patience.
I've noticed some negative reviews this week based on things I can easily change and fix , I've tried to address and update the game based on all your feedback so try to go easy with the "Thumbs Down" as low scores on Steam really do impact visibility, sales and ultimately the longevity of the game! So if you have an issue with the game, hit me up on the forums first, see how we can work together to improve the game.
Cheers Oli