Greetings, brave explorers of Nanraas! Despite literary unbearable heat and desire to put everything until later, we’re working hard on the upcoming large HotA content update! We’ve collected valuable feedback since the early access release of our game on Steam, and now we’re ready to share more details about what’s coming next!
Completing the Chapter One of the Sarantales and Nental routes is our top priority
As you may have already noticed, currently only Aegis Scholar (aka Aegisologist) route has got proper ending of the Chapter One. This campaign greatly differed from the other two due to Azaries’ decision to… Oh-huh, no spoilers, ha-ha! We’re currently working on a whole bunch of new branching dialogs and two epic combat encounters for two other classes respectively. Thus, the ending of the Chapter One will be full of events, new discoveries and mysteries to solve! Azaries will find out more about the ancient technology and its connection to the color of her eyes, as well as her visions and nightmares.
Also, we’ve fixed major plot inconsistencies discovered and reported by our players. For example, Azaries’ Dad will comment on her decision to leave her companions behind and travel on her own, as well as he would scold her for being a maverick and breaking their agreement (in case if Gherstie was also left behind).
You will have an opportunity to find out Elveos’ true personality and motivation behind her “Big red bully” façade
This big red tomboy easily gets the first place among the most hated characters of the game, but is there more than meets the eye about this seemingly simple-minded daredevil? We’d better not jump to conclusions. If such a hooligan might have a backstory to tell. Do you remember some of the characters mentioning her father? OK-OK, no more spoilers!
Also, Niravel is not simply a mindless Elveos’ minion, but tender and complex personality. Since many players liked her, we’ll unveil some of her past and continue her story in the upcoming update. If you still haven’t had an opportunity to speak with her near the cozy campfire, maybe it’s time to do it now?
More QoL changes, fixes and improvements
We’ve also prepared multiple fixes, QoL changes, improvements and much-much more! Complete list of upcoming changes will be published in the Steam patch notes once the update goes live. Each idea and suggestion of our players is discussed and evaluated, so we’d like to thank you all very much for your valuable feedback and support! The best of your suggestions and ideas will be implemented in the
upcoming patches and updates!
One of the most important QoL improvement of the combat system will be the updated Azaries’ Diary that will display the combat characteristics of Azaries, her party mates and unlockable allies, including short description of the parameters that impact each value and the list of pros and cons of every attack type.
For example:
1) Base attack value. This is the main attack value of the main character that increases with each level obtained.
2) Friendship bonus. This value is applied to the Azaries’ allies’ base attack value and depends on the affection level of the specific character. Affection level (level of friendship) can be increased during loyalty missions, side stories, by making certain decisions and/or interacting with the characters.
3) Mastery level. This parameter affects Azaries’ attack and increases when she uses her offensive skills (the more often the skills is used, the higher its mastery level will be).
4) Difficulty level multiplier. This parameter affect the attack/defense of Azaries and her companions, as well as the parameters of the majority of foes. “Narration” difficulty allows to adjust the multiplier to balance the combat element of the game to your liking. “Classical Difficulty” and “Dangerous World” modes do not allow to alter the difficulty level multiplier and offer more hardcore combat.
Since some of the players requested the possibility to skip battles/disable combat system, we’ve been discussing possible changes within our team. Combat is the core element and one of the major distinguishing features of our game, which is deeply integrated into both the gameplay and the story, so completely disabling it will cut off a significant portion of story-based gameplay, so we decided to seek the alternatives. Thus, currently we’re offering our players a more flexible “Narration” mode, which lets everyone make the encounters more enjoyable and less stressful. Moreover, such control over the power of Azaries and her companions also makes it easier to check all available options in certain battles.
We’re planning to release the update in August, 2024.
Thank you very much! See you in Nanraas!