Hello everyone, I'm Gtc, the producer of The Bell Echoes . It's hard to believe the EA version has already been live for over a month.
During this time, we've pushed multiple updates and optimizations. Watching the game improve bit by bit and seeing the player experience continuously get better genuinely makes us happy — and it reaffirms our belief that bringing the game to everyone early through EA was the right call.
That said, we're well aware that The Bell Echoes is still not the easiest game to get into. For a tactical chess game that takes quite a few new gameplay risks, that learning curve does cause some players to stop before they even give it a chance.
This also means that, even now, The Bell Echoes remains a very niche title. Not many people are following it — that's something we've always been clear-eyed about.
But that won't change our original intentions. From the very beginning, we never set out to make a safe, middle-of-the-road tactical chess game that plays it safe at the cost of being forgettable.
What we want to make is a game with its own genuine identity. We want more people to play The Bell Echoes and have that authentic moment of wonder — so this is what a tactical chess game can be.
So please don't doubt our resolve, and don't doubt that "dramatic heart" of mine that hasn't changed one bit. At the end of the day, the reason is simple: we genuinely love this game and truly think it's a lot of fun. Just like when we were doing the EA for The Book of Warriors — that feeling of wanting to earnestly craft something you love hasn't changed one bit.
Going forward, in addition to continuously expanding the game's content, we'll also be investing significant effort into optimizing and refining the new player experience, making it easier for more people to smoothly enter the world of The Bell Echoes and truly feel its appeal.
I'd also like to take this opportunity to say a word to players still on the fence: the current EA version already has plenty of playable content, and our update cadence will continue. We sincerely welcome more players to join us, and together help polish this game — one that may look niche on the surface, but that we've always believed has real value — into something better and better.
This update brings an expansion of character build content, along with optimizations, improvements, and reworks to certain characters' gameplay.
Here are the update details:
All characters' out-of-run level cap raised to Level 4.
Level 4 rewards: 2 Artes Enlightenment pools, in-run enlightenment count +2
(All 7 skill enlightenment pools are now fully unlocked; in-run enlightenment count can reach up to 7)
All characters' build content has been added, reworked, and optimized (including Skills, Talents, and Enlightenments)
(Nearly 50% of content has changed. To keep the announcement from getting too cluttered, I'm only highlighting major changes and newly added enlightenment pool content. Please log in to see the full extent of talent and enlightenment changes.)
——Mu Ge
To improve the rhythm of Mu Ge's damage output, we've changed [Basic Attack · Fire Devouring Slash] and [Fire Power]. We feel this change also fits his unrestrained personality.
[Basic Attack · Fire Devouring Slash] (AP: 1): Select an enemy unit or [Fire Terrain] to use
On enemy: Melee Attack, dealing 100% Power (STR) Physical Damage
On [Fire Terrain]: Devour terrain to gain 1 [Fire Power], 1 AP, 2 [Burning]
[Fire Power]: When dealing Physical Damage, adds 1 instance of Fire Damage with the same power (MAG), then stack -1. Stack limit: 1
New Enlightenment Pool (Out-of-Run Level 4):
[Physical Art · Collision]
First [Physical Art · Collision] each turn costs nothing
[Physical Art · Collision] Special Attack power +50% when triggered
Using [Physical Art · Collision] on an enemy on [Fire Terrain] triggers a Special Attack dealing 120% Power (MAG) Fire Damage
After [Physical Art · Collision] displaces an enemy, self also follows the displacement and gains 1 [Fighting Spirit]
[Physical Art · Collision] Knockback count +1
[Grappling Arts · Throw]
First [Grappling Arts · Throw] each turn costs nothing
[Grappling Arts · Throw] can select [Fire Terrain] to throw to an allied unit, causing them to devour the terrain to gain 1 [Fire Power], 1 AP, 1 [Burning]
[Grappling Arts · Throw] selection range (Step 1) +1
[Grappling Arts · Throw] can select [Blazing Greatsword] to perform a Special Attack on an enemy, dealing Collision power (STR) Damage
After [Grappling Arts · Throw] to an ally, self gains X (3+25% DEF) Shield and swaps positions with them
— Mu Shi
We've placed greater emphasis on Mu Shi's passing-through characteristics — passing through units and objects alike. (This theme is also reflected in Mu Shi's talent changes.)
New Enlightenment Pool (Out-of-Run Level 4):
[Movement Arts · Move]
First [Movement Arts · Move] each turn costs nothing
[Movement Arts · Move] can pass through any unit
[Movement Arts · Move] range +1
When [Movement Arts · Move] displaces, path tiles (including pass-through tiles) create [Wind Path Terrain]
[Movement Arts · Move] can pass through any placed object
[Grappling Arts · Throw]
First [Grappling Arts · Throw] each turn costs nothing
[Grappling Arts · Throw] selection range (Step 1) +1
[Grappling Arts · Throw] can select [Wind Path Terrain] to throw to an allied unit, causing them to devour the terrain to gain 1 AP, 3 [Wind Energy]
After [Grappling Arts · Throw] to an ally, grant them 1 [Combo]
[Grappling Arts · Throw] can re-select an empty tile within 1 range of the ally's landing tile (Step 3), and self will pass through the ally to move to that tile
— Ya
To bring out Ya's defining characteristics, we focused on reworking [Basic Attack], [Throw], and [Physical Art].
[Basic Attack · Unstable Missile]: Select 1 enemy for a Ranged Attack, dealing 100% Power (MAG) Nether or Light Damage
When Nether Charge > Light Charge: fires Nether missile dealing Nether Damage
When Light Charge > Nether Charge: fires Light missile dealing Light Damage
When Light Charge = Nether Charge: random missile type
Removed the ability to throw allied units from [Grappling Arts · Telekinesis](Moved to the Enlightenment pool: [Grappling Arts · Telekinesis] can control an ally, select an empty tile to displace them, and grant them 5 SP)
[Physical Art · Collision] renamed to [Physical Art · Mind Charge] (Knockback collision deals Physical Damage based on MAG)
[Chaos Black Hole] destruction effect [Judgment] updated: [Judgment]: Special Attack on the enemy with the highest HP% within range, dealing 280% Power (MAG) Light Damage
New Enlightenment Pool (Out-of-Run Level 4):
[Movement Arts · Move]
First [Movement Arts · Move] each turn costs nothing
[Movement Arts · Move] range +1
[Movement Arts · Move] can select a placed object as target; after displacing, automatically uses [Grappling Arts · Telekinesis] to lift it
When [Movement Arts · Move] displaces to an elemental terrain, absorb the terrain and gain AP +1
After [Movement Arts · Move] displaces, the lower Charge type gains +1 stack
[Physical Art · Mind Charge]
[Physical Art · Mind Charge] affects all targets within range
[Physical Art · Mind Charge] can be cast on a placed object; if that object has an on-destruction effect, trigger it and reduce the object's turn count by 1
After [Physical Art · Mind Charge], self gains (3+25% MAG) Shield
[Physical Art · Mind Charge] Special Attack power +50% when triggered
[Physical Art · Mind Charge] range +1 tile (directional)
— Vivian
No matter who it's for, we'd much rather Vivian be able to protect herself.
[Concealment] (SP: 20): Enter [Stealth] state lasting 1 turn, gain 1 [Evasion]
New Enlightenment Pool (Out-of-Run Level 4):
[Movement Arts · Move]
First [Movement Arts · Move] each turn costs nothing
[Movement Arts · Move] range +1
[Movement Arts · Move] can select an allied unit to swap positions with
When [Movement Arts · Move] changes elevation (up or down), gain 1 [Evasion]
When [Movement Arts · Move] displaces to an elemental terrain, absorb the terrain and gain AP +1
[Grappling Arts · Object Strike]
First [Grappling Arts · Object Strike] each turn costs nothing
[Grappling Arts · Object Strike] selection range (Step 1) +1
After [Grappling Arts · Object Strike] attacks an enemy, self displaces to an empty tile within 1 range of that enemy
[Grappling Arts · Object Strike] power +50%
After [Grappling Arts · Object Strike] causes an object to be destroyed, gain 10 SP
— Luya
Luya already has more than enough skills that force enemy displacement, so we went ahead and fully reworked his [Physical Art] Artes. Perhaps this better showcases his versatility as a veteran of the battlefield.
[Physical Art · Object Collision]: Select an object to knock back; when it collides with an enemy, triggers a Special Attack dealing 100% Power (STR) Physical Damage
Ultimate [Raijin Form] state: triggering [Thunderclap] now generates [Electric Current Terrain] on all tiles within range, not just the enemy's current tile
New Enlightenment Pool (Out-of-Run Level 4):
[Physical Art · Object Collision]
First [Physical Art · Object Collision] each turn costs nothing
When [Physical Art · Object Collision] causes an object to collide with an enemy, the enemy is also knocked back 1 time
[Physical Art · Object Collision] knockback count +1
Under [Raijin Form] state, after [Physical Art · Object Collision] knocks back an object, trigger [Thunderclap] centered on that object
[Physical Art · Object Collision] power +50%
[Grappling Arts · Relay Throw]
First [Grappling Arts · Relay Throw] each turn costs nothing
After [Grappling Arts · Relay Throw], both parties gain (3+25% Luya's DEF) Shield
[Grappling Arts · Relay Throw] selection range (Step 1) +1
[Grappling Arts · Relay Throw] can select [Electric Current Terrain] to throw to an allied unit, causing them to devour the terrain to gain 1 AP, 6 Shield
After [Grappling Arts · Relay Throw], gain [Parry]
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Other Optimizations:
Individual equipment passive and stat adjustments
Skill Enlightenments can now trigger during story battles
In story battles, when a character falls, you can substitute another team member at the start of the next turn
[Evasion] and [Combo] now stack up to 2 maximum
Launch landing tile position logic revised
New special effects added
UI description improvements