Hello, person!
You spoke and I listened. When you start a fresh run, you will now begin with the Punch and Dodge abilities. This makes things more fun and interesting from the get go.
Punch is a melee attack like your Blade strike. While Punch does less damage than Blade, it has a faster cooldown so you can attack more rapidly. When you find the Blade ability, it replaces Punch.
Dodge is a speed ability like Blink. It shoots you forward and does a little damage on impact. This damage can be used as a skill shot. If you damage an enemy that is low on HP with the Dodge, Blink or Boots abilities it will automatically become a critical hit. The Dodge ability is replaced by Blink or Boots once found.
Elements like Fire, Acid, Ice and Lightning no longer use MP.
When you vanquish all enemies in a room, a little reward item will appear. In addition, enemies will no longer respawn after a time.
Mappings for Xbox controllers have been updated so if you use one of these, please delete the "controller-xxxx" section of your Saves.txt in order to use the new mappings.
For more details on over 40 new improvements check the Update Notes for Oct. 23.