Preface
Hello everyone, this is TRIBE NINE's director, Soejima.
First, I'd like to thank you everyone for your patience while waiting for this update. Today, I'm excited to introduce some of the changes coming in the major update Ver.1.1.0, as well as a roadmap for future plans.
About the Ver.1.1.0 Update
Ch. 3 "Dead History Comes for Vengeance"
A new main story will be added.
The city that the Trash Tribe will visit this time is "Neo Chiyoda City."
As the name "Neo" suggests, it is not the same Chiyoda City from the anime, but rather a region slightly removed from the central area of the former Chiyoda City that serves as the anime's setting.
In contrast to Chiyoda City's solemn atmosphere, you'll discover a unique world steeped in subculture.
The New NUMBERS: Zenichi Magata
In Neo Chiyoda City, a new NUMBERS, "Zenichi Magata (CV: Shigeru Chiba)," will appear before Yo and the others.
Unlike the NUMBERS they've encountered so far, Magata seems to be an opponent who strongly desires "Communication."
We hope you'll pay close attention to this new way of interacting with the NUMBERS and witness Trash Tribe's struggle as they navigate the unique XG of Neo Chiyoda City.
Also, the mysterious Q, who seems to have a significant connection to Neo Chiyoda City, will be an important character in this chapter.
The events in Ch. 3 are partially connected to those in the anime. So, we highly recommend taking this opportunity to watch the TRIBE NINE anime's limited-time release, as it may allow you to enjoy the story even more deeply.
https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLMsDHgwu-UmIxGnt5FaAbzeY6tGESp5jC
About the Difficulty Level
As a heads up, the enemy levels in Neo Chiyoda City will be higher than in previous areas. You may find battles challenging if you have just completed Ch. 2, so we recommend thoroughly upgrading your characters and cards before proceeding.
Starting with Ch. 3, we've reduced the number of "Full Marks Gates" that restrict story progression. Additionally, we've adjusted Ch. 1 and Ch. 2 to require fewer Full Marks Stickers, making it easier to enjoy the story.
On the other hand, routes that are considered "shortcuts" in Ch. 3 will have gates that require a higher number of Full Marks Stickers.
These routes will also feature higher-level enemies with challenging battles. We encourage you to unlock the new level cap, strengthen your characters, and explore Neo Chiyoda City after completing the main story!
Furthermore, in Neo Chiyoda City, in addition to bosses and the story, new Patimon and Patimon Sub Stats will also be added.
The new PAR system—which we'll detail later in this letter—is designed to ensure your carefully selected Patimon remain valuable over time. We hope you'll enjoy experimenting with new combinations.
New Playable Character: Hinagiku Akiba
A new playable character, Hinagiku Akiba (CV: Kaede Hondo) joins the Synchro roster in update Ver.1.1.0!
At first glance, she seems like an ordinary(?) maid, but she appears to be related to the once prosperous "Otori Family." We hope you look forward to her role in Ch. 3.
An Infighter Who Overwhelms Enemies with Her Powerful Primary Attack and Unique Deflect Mechanics
Hinagiku's most distinctive feature is her "Charge Attack," which can be unleashed by press and holding her "Primary Attack."
This action also has an integrated offense and defense capability. If Hinagiku takes an enemy hit while charging her attack, an "Deflect Counterattack" will activate.
While this ability may seem overpowered, we want to note that the Deflect frames during a Charged Attack occur shortly after she begins charging, which means that if you want to be aggressive, you'll need to use regular "Deflects" effectively instead.
Hinagiku is a character who makes Deflects easy to perform, even for players less comfortable with timing Counterattacks. However, mastering her unique Deflect abilities unlocks her potential for massive damage output, making her versatile across different playstyles.
Hinagiku's Ultimate Skill consume Tension by 100 and inflicts "Attention" on all enemies.
This effect allows Hinagiku to serve as a tank, protecting party members similar to Saigo and Q. This update will also introduce many additions that expand the synergy of "Hegemony" Tension Cards, so we hope you'll enjoy experimenting with different builds!
Rift Updates
We have received extensive feedback about the difficulty of enjoying Rifts and will be implementing significant improvements in response.
Starting with this update, new difficulty levels will be added to bosses and Rifts. Beyond these new difficulties, a bonus called "Highest Difficulty Bonus" will be added, allowing you to earn additional Kane and T Points.
Furthermore, similar to Lux-Phantasma's repeatable stages, a function will be added that allow players to consume up to three Boosters at once and double the number of reward draws you receive based on the number of Boosters consumed.
Changes to the PAR System
We will be changing the specifications for PAR to partially remove the Tier restrictions, so that Sub Stats will be inherited if the Tier is higher than the Patimon selected at the time of use.
We understand that this change may be met with mixed reactions due to the increased frequency of Kane consumption associated with using PAR.
However, we're making this change to maintain players' motivation to strategize with overworld Patimons, ensuring they receive similar attention to those obtained from Fractal Vice.
As mentioned earlier, we will continue to review and balance resource acquisition by increasing both sources and amounts of Kane, which should help reduce this stress in the future.
Patimon Filtering Feature
A filtering feature for Patimons will finally be added! Thank you all for your patience while we worked on getting this feature implemented.
We also plan on adding an automatic compression function in a future update.
Limited-time Shop
As a brief side note unrelated to game content, we'll be adding a "Limited-Time Shop" that uses paid Enigma Entities in Ver.1.1.0.
Skins that were previously only obtainable from "Wonder Boxes" will now also be featured periodically in the shop for direct purchase. Keep an eye out—your favorite character's skin might be featured soon!
Additionally, we are planning to sell several items to help those who cannot spend much time playing the game progress efficiently.
Ver.1.1.1 Update Details
About Fractal Vice - Hegemony
As mentioned earlier, the current Fractal Vice has several issues that we plan to address through a major overhaul after Ver.1.1.0.
Due to the extensive nature of these changes, we'll introduce them gradually.
The new Fractal Vice - Hegemony is scheduled to launch on April 24th, one week after the Ch. 3 update. We encourage you to first enjoy Neo Chiyoda City and the Ch. 3 story in Ver.1.1.0 before preparing to tackle the upcoming Fractal Vice.
Furthermore, we are planning an update aimed at improving Fractal Vice to coincide with the timing of Support Contract switches in the future.
In this update, we also plan to implement "Character Balance Adjustments" that we will discuss later in this letter.
We aim to maintain a balanced game environment long-term, enabling players to enjoy many kinds of team compositions.
Separating the Red Limit Series from Fractal Vice
First off, battles with the Red Limit Series can only be challenged in a special space that can be accessed after clearing the deepest part of Fractal Vice, not within Fractal Vice itself.
Once you reach the space related to the target boss, you can move directly to that space without going through Fractal Vice from then on.
For example, after you clear the deepest floors of Fractal Vice and unlock Backgammon's room once, you can then always travel directly to Backgammon's room going forward.
If the active Red Limit Series boss changes to Solitaire, you will need to clear Fractal Vice's depths again to unlock access to Solitaire's room. However, if the boss later switches back to Backgammon, you can immediately challenge Backgammon directly when Fractal Vice resets.
Note: as the battles with the Red Limit Series have been separated from Fractal Vice, you can now rematch them at any time.
New Map Feature Added
We've added an overall map screen where you can see the entire Fractal Vice. You can now check routes and the number of treasure chests you've obtained.
Changes to Unlocking Gates
Within a given week's run of Fractal Vice, once you defeat the so-called "gatekeeper" enemies, the corresponding gate remains open for the rest of that week.
On floors you've already cleared once, this makes it possible to employ playstyles like quickly defeating remaining enemies efficiently in groups.
Revised Structure and Difficulty
In Hegemony, we are revising the overall difficulty—enemies will become significantly stronger as you venture into deeper layers.
We're also removing all "Rifts" for returning within the floors. To return, you'll need to clear the "Boss Floor" that matches your current difficulty level.
You can access the Boss Floor from floors B1~B4, where you'll face a boss appropriate to your difficulty level.
Instead of Red Limit Series bosses, you'll encounter Ferocious Enemies and familiar foes like Brave Diver and S.H.A.R.K from your previous adventures.
Some of these bosses may exceed the levels typically available in normal play, ensuring challenging battles even with familiar opponents.
Changes to Scoring and Rewards
Clearing a Boss Floor causes two types of chests to appear: "Luxurious Chests", with the quantity determined by your score at that point, and one "Special Chest", which can be obtained once per week.
Different from the chests found normally on the floors, these score-based "Luxurious Chests" can be earned repeatedly on subsequent clears.
This change aims to prevent a situation where players who could clear the original Fractal Vice without problems up to the deepest level might now only be able to clear up to floor B2 in Hegemony, which could result in a decrease in the total number of Patimon obtained or require more time for Patimon selection than before.
In addition to this, we are implementing several improvements to make it easier to select Patimon and to provide a greater sense of progression.
Red Limit Series Improvements
As mentioned briefly in the Fractal Vice section, the Red Limit Series will be repositioned as a separate challenge content, detached from conquering Fractal Vice. Therefore, the "Special Chest" that allows you to raise your character rank to EX+1 and beyond can now be obtained by clearing Fractal Vice without having to defeat the Red Limit Series.
As we mentioned in the previous Director's Letter, we position the Red Limit Series purely as challenge content, and this change aims to further clarify that policy.
Furthermore, for the Red Limit Series in Hegemony and going forward, difficulty selection will be added, similar to Rifts and boss farming.
However, unlike the overworld, you will unlock higher difficulty levels by clearing the one before it.
We've prepared some exceptionally challenging optional bosses, available to fight once you've cleared Chapter 3. Defeating them on their highest difficulty setting rewards players with a unique Medal corresponding to each boss.
To put it another way, these bosses only drop their respective Medals – there are no other unique items or progression benefits tied to them. So, if you're focused on building your characters and following the story, you can absolutely skip these fights with no penalty.
Fatal Attacks
Also, starting with the Hegemony edition, including the existing Red Limit Series, "WARNING Attacks" will be replaced with a new attack called "Fatal Attacks."
If you are hit by this attack, you will be inflicted with a "Perilous State", which increases the damage you take for a certain period. Perilous State is a stacking effect, up to a maximum of 3 stacks. At maximum stacks, the multiplier becomes so high that the next hit will definitely knock you out.
The duration of one stack is not very long, so if you are hit by a Fatal Attack, we recommend playing it safe and prioritizing recovery from the Perilous State.
For players who have already figured out the attack patterns of Backgammon and Solitaire, this change should not significantly impact the gameplay feel.
Even with builds centered around characters like Saigo, who specializes in damage reduction, it is still possible to withstand attacks and win as before if you properly deal with the "Fatal attacks."
About Game Balance
In the Ver.1.0. environment, we designed the game assuming a base player level of 40, with Lv 50 being attainable only for those who had defeated the Red Limit Series.
However, shortly after launch, we made several changes to the game. These changes allowed many players to reach Level 50, and removing the card Tension consumption made players even more powerful. We now recognize that these adjustments have made enemies too weak to pose a meaningful challenge against players' increased firepower.
While we appreciate that this power progression reflects our players' dedication to strengthening their characters, it reveals a deeper issue. The current lack of gameplay depth means players don't feel sufficiently rewarded for character advancement.
With that in mind and based on our current development progress, we are continuously working on adjusting battles, starting with increasing the enemy difficulty in Ch. 3 and Fractal Vice.
With that said, we also recognize that for those who prioritize enjoying the story, this increase in difficulty may be causing more stress than intended.
Therefore, we plan to distribute the difficulty across the game's four main pillars: story progression, post-story content, Fractal Vice as endgame content, and then the Red Limit Series. In particular, we plan to adjust the difficulty of the "story progression" to make it smoother than the current experience. Furthermore, within Fractal Vice, we plan to establish clearer difficulty differences between floors B1~ B4.
Taking all of this into account, in the upcoming Ver.1.1.0, we will reduce the number of enemies in areas that are part of the main story progression. We will also make adjustments in future updates so that the battle difficulty in the Ch. 3 story progression is somewhat easier.
In particular, regarding the Ch. 1 boss, "S.H.A.R.K," while some players were satisfied with the challenge, we have confirmed that many others felt compelled to stop playing because of it. We hope to make it possible to enjoy the story comfortably as soon as possible.
Looking Ahead: Our Roadmap
Starting with Ch. 3 and onwards, we plan to add new chapters and cities in a 3-month cycle to TRIBE NINE.
In April, the renewed Fractal Vice will appear one week after the release of Ver.1.1.0, and starting in May, a battle-focused event will be added.
This event is designed to be slightly over-the-top, allowing even casual players experiment with different team combinations and see damage numbers beyond the usual range. It also provides challenging battles for hardcore Fractal Vice players, giving everyone the freedom to play at their preferred difficulty level.
This battle event, like "Lux-Phantasma," is also scheduled to be held for a longer period.
In addition to this, we plan to hold somewhat smaller events every 1 to 2 weeks.
Regarding "Side Stories" including the current Lux-Phantasma, we have received a lot of positive feedback and are considering reorganizing the flow so that they can become permanent content in the future.
This will be a rather large-scale change, so it will take some time to implement. However, we are preparing to share some news by the time the next Side Story is released, so please stay tuned for further updates.
Improvements in Upcoming Updates
We are also preparing updates that will improve the quality of life (QoL) for our players, including functional enhancements.
Among these, we have received a lot of feedback, particularly regarding Minato City, stating that "the map structure and connections are difficult to understand." In response, we are preparing an update that will renew the display of the radar and the overall map.
In addition to this, we are working on many other improvements, such as features that will make it easier to check synergy effects and buffs/debuffs during battles. We hope to announce these in this format in the future as well.
About the Game Balance Update
Following the new chapter's release, we will implement regular balance updates focusing primarily on character adjustments.
These updates aim to strengthen underused characters, creating more diverse options for team compositions.
Characters that were released at launch will particularly need ongoing balance updates to keep them viable, since they tend to become weaker as the game evolves.
We've also received feedback that some characters' "Transcend" effects feel underwhelming. While we plan to strengthen these effects to make them more impactful, such adjustments require careful balancing. We ask for your patience as we work on these improvements.
With that said, we plan to implement some initial numerical adjustments to "Q", "Hyakuichitaro" and "Minami Oi" in Ver.1.1.0.
Final Thoughts
That'll be all for this Director's Letter.
Since the game's launch on February 20th, we initially received a lot of critical feedback. However, thanks to everyone's support, we were able to recover a "Very Positive" review on Steam. We'd like to extend our sincerest gratitude to everyone.
Beyond what we've introduced today, we have prepared several additional updates and improvements to enhance your adventures in Neo Tokyo.
We hope to continue providing you with further updates in the future, so we appreciate your patience.
In the upcoming Ver.1.1.0, we have prepared a major update that will significantly change the environment with a new city, new characters, and new Patimons.
A more dramatic development awaits Yo and the others' story as well.
We hope you will pay close attention not only to the new NUMBERS but also to the actions of "Q," who will be a key person in the upcoming story.
Let’s meet again in Neo Tokyo!
Please note that while some images show the Japanese UI, the actual game content will be in available in English.
