Welcome back for June's update! Things are only heating up outside, and it's the same thing for the development of ToC! Besides continuing to work on the main story, and a bunch of small updates and bug fixes, we've been able to accomplish a lot of feature implementations as well. Let's take a quick look:
BATTLE CAMERA
I always liked the rotating battles from Golden Sun, so we've added a new panning camera for combat to feel more immersive. This also comes with an update to all background art for a more pronounced 3D effect.
CHAIN METER
The Chain Meter is a new mechanic, where for each point of damage done by the party, it will continue to increase both the party's overall ATB speed, as well as a chance to duplicate any damage (at least until someone in the party loses health). This encourages you to cleanse those poisons and burns, and interrupt spells so that you can unleash a ton of bonus attacks with a high meter.
GEM SOCKETING
We've introduced gem socketing as a mechanic to customize your weapons and armor. Before, gems would drop from the random elemental shades out in the world, but they didn't have much use beyond a relatively weak spell or being sold to the vendor for a moderate amount of gold. Now, you are able to speak with any blacksmith to add gems to weapons, armor, and some accessories, granting them bonus stats depending on the color and grade.
MYSTERY BOX
You won't be able to find grade 2 'cut' gems, grade 3 'lux' gems, or grade 4 legendary gems out in the wild. Instead, blacksmiths can combine five of any color gem (for a small fee) in order to create a single higher rank gem. You can also trade in random junk items from monsters to the blacksmith to get a Mystery Box, which also has a chance to contain higher grade gems. Just be warned that when you socket a gem, you cannot remove it... only replace.
Stay tuned for July's update around this time of the month!