Greetings, Survivors!
Today, as mentioned previously, we would like to share the importance and reasoning for the upcoming update that we’re preparing!
Edwin Skill Adjustment
The most noticeable change will be to Edwin’s [Chain Support] skill.
The [Chain Support] skill allows Edwin's basic ability, [Support Attack], to be used multiple times by using TP instead of having a cooldown time.
However, since the cost is 5 TP, there was a lot of feedback that by choosing this, Edwin actually feels weaker. It's like suddenly being asked to pay for something that was originally free.
This has been a concern for us for some time. When players chose the [Control Breathing] skill or obtained weapon traits that additionally recover TP upon attack, the synergy became extremely powerful. Therefore, making adjustments had to be handled carefully.
However, based on observations during early access play, a significant number of players felt that this skill unlock was not valuable. Some even considered starting the game anew after trying it out!
In response, we decided to control the strength of consecutive usage while reducing the sense of disadvantage. We eased the TP consumption for the first skill use from 5 to 2 and increased the TP consumption by 3 on each subsequent use. Consequently, up to the second consecutive use, players will gain more benefits than before, easing the initial sense of frustration.
Tier 2 skill unlocks have also been modified.
The [Control Breathing] skill, which recovers TP by 2 for each attack once you don't move after the turn starts, considering its synergy with [Chain Support], has been moved to Tier 3. Instead, the Tier 2 skill unlock becomes [Ready Preemptive Attack], allowing you to pass unused WP to the next turn.
Given the strength that the “Chain Support” tree's traits can provide in situations with mobility constraints, a clear distinction is now made. In less challenging situations, players can conserve strength, while in situations requiring maximum firepower, the potential is further enhanced. This is the intention behind the skill unlock changes.
After the update, all skill unlock points will be reset upon loading saved data. Therefore, players can try out new skills or, if they’re not happy with their choice, they can switch them back.
Additionally, along with the modification of the Skill Tree, all originally locked skills that were inaccessible have been opened for viewing, regardless of their use in the early access version. This allows players to preview the “intended long-term development direction” of each character and facilitates receiving feedback on the design direction of each skill in the future.
Transfer Modifier Between Weapons
The “Transfer Modifier” feature performed by the blacksmith Jorgn was originally restricted to two of the same type of weapon.
The original intention was to allow players to “modify” weapons without hesitation, even if they had random “unique modifiers” or disliked the current modifiers. For example, if you found a two-handed axe with a more appealing modifier while your current two-handed axe already had a +4 mod, the idea was to allow the transfer instead of starting the modification process over.
However, many players found the linear structure limited opportunities to acquire new weapons. There were instances where players wanted to use a specific weapon but had an unpleasant experience because they didn't like the modifier. For example, if modifiers suitable for one-handed weapons were applied to two-handed weapons or vice versa, it felt like a disadvantage in itself.
We came to the conclusion that it would be better to remove restrictions based on weapon types. This means that a one-handed weapon with desirable random traits can now be used for modifier transfer to a two-handed weapon and vice versa.
Please note, however, that after the update, modified weapons used as materials will not transfer modifications.
Changes to Weapon Quick Slots and Inventory Rules
Given the game encourages “weapon usage based on a given situation”' without requiring additional resources for weapon changes, manually selecting a weapon every time by opening the inventory can be quite inconvenient. The “Weapon Quick Slots” feature was developed to make this gameplay more convenient.
However, especially when switching from a “one-handed weapon-shield” setup to a two-handed weapon, if the weapon inventory is full, players often had to go through the hassle of dropping weapons on the ground one by one before making the switch. This was inconvenient, leading to feedback indicating that this feature was not yet polished enough and sometimes resulted in players giving up on weapon changes.
Therefore, we plan to make the following changes to the weapon quick slots and inventory rules.
- The limit on the number of weapons/tools/food/material items that can be held in the inventory during combat will be removed.
- Instead, the limit on the number of weapons that can be taken on a mission will be changed to a maximum of 4 (the limit for tools will remain at 8)
With these changes, due to the removal of inventory restrictions during combat, it will be possible to handle situations like switching from a “one-handed weapon-shield” setup to a two-handed weapon while still having the quick slots accessible.
Additionally, as a result, there may be cases of holding more than 8 weapons during combat. In such cases, a “page” will be displayed on the quick slots. You can switch pages by clicking the UI arrow button or pressing the [TAB] button.
Other QOL Updates
In addition to the major changes mentioned above, there are UI/UX QOL improvements as well.
- Adjusting the volume and playback frequency of the bell sound before departing on the “Monastery” map
- Displaying the quantity of main gathering materials at each scavenging location when “Scavenging” at the camp
- Displaying only the current required weapon tab when using “Tool Crafting” and “Blacksmith” functions at the camp
- Highlighting the most recently played data slot at the top
- Addressing issues such as AI returning from a too far distance
Apart from these changes, QA for a version with improvements to various bugs and issues observed during the early access period is underway. The update is expected to be released as early as next week, or at the latest, within two weeks.
In addition to preparing for the upcoming update version, the development team is continuously analyzing and addressing the linear issues and more “long-term” problems shared in the previous posts.
As always, if there is progress or questions regarding these issues, we will share them through the weekly developer notes!
Also, don’t forget you can get in touch with us directly over on discord, if you have any concerns or questions about any of these changes!
Thank you!