(Updated) Update Preview - Increased Initial Discard Limit & Boss Adjustments

Hello, Mahjong enthusiasts! It has been over two weeks since our game launched, and even during the Lunar New Year, our team has been hard at work. We’ve carefully read and discussed every piece of community feedback and reviews.
Instead of making scattered minor adjustments, we wanted to take a more structured approach to ensure noticeable improvements to your gameplay experience. Later today, we will roll out an update focusing on core game mechanics, corruption mechanics, and boss adjustments—areas frequently mentioned in community discussions. The update is currently in its final testing phase, and since it is quite substantial, we welcome players to join our discord to provide feedback.

📌Increased Initial Discard Chances to 10
We've noticed that for most players, the frustration of being unable to make a move far outweighs the disappointment of failing to achieve a high score. Even with consumable items, extreme cases still exist where bad luck can force a round-ending pass despite optimal deck-building and decision-making. To reduce the impact of luck, we have increased the initial discard limit to 10.

📌Smoother Score Progression Curve
Beyond reducing randomness, we have been closely monitoring feedback on difficulty levels, especially regarding the "Goose" difficulty tier. The gap between the base difficulty and Goose was too significant, making Goose feel like an insurmountable wall. To address this, we have reduced the score requirement increase for Goose difficulty by 30% to create a smoother progression.

Additionally, to improve the core game design, patterns that have not been unlocked will now contribute 50% of their original multiplier when successfully played instead of granting no bonus at all. This prevents discouragement when discovering new patterns for the first time. Furthermore, the prices of previously unpurchased Artifacts in the shop have been reduced to prevent minor financial setbacks from hindering gameplay progression.

📌Boss Adjustments & Corruption Mechanic Update
We have adjusted six bosses, including Immaculate, Colorless, and Heartless:

• Flawless: The effect that halves the multiplier of hands missing a specific pattern category (Wind, Forest, Fire, Mountain) has been temporarily removed. We plan to reintroduce this challenge in higher difficulty settings where it will be a known endgame boss rather than an unexpected hurdle for newer players.
• Colorless: The previous effect of "all tiles fade when played" was too universally punishing. It has now been permanently removed and replaced with a new effect that provides a more strategic challenge specifically targeting red-themed builds.
• Heartless: Its effect has been changed from "all non-terminal pair tiles corrupt when played" to "if your pair tile is not a terminal, this play is corrupted." This adjustment allows for more strategic play without arbitrarily punishing all builds.

Regarding corruption mechanics, we previously mentioned our goal of preserving corruption-based builds rather than outright removing them. The issue with the old corruption mechanic was that it altered tiles mid-game, affecting discard choices. The updated version now cleanses the corruption effect when a corrupted tile is discarded, synergizing well with the increased discard limit and providing an effective countermeasure in the late-game Endless Mode, where discards are abundant.

More detailed updates and changes are listed below:

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V0.2.2.0-EA PATCHNOTE
New Features & Improvements

1. New Artifacts: Added "Observer," "Dragon Codex," "Travel Bag," "Indigo Pen," "Burning Pact," and more.
2. Stage Details Panel: Players can now view their current game progress both in and out of rounds, including upcoming boss restrictions (click the stage name to view details).
3. In-game Tips for New Players: Added tips in Zhou's Store to help players understand the system quicker.
4. Hold-to-Skip Toggle: A new setting to prevent accidental skipping or double-taps.
5. Stackable Artifact Counters: Artifacts that accumulate stacks now display their current count directly on their icons.

Optimizations

1. The game will now continue running when minimized.
2. Ultra-wide screen support added—UI and hand displays are now properly aligned.
3. Previously undiscovered patterns can now be viewed in the collections menu.
4. When owning the "Void Stele" Artifact, epic and legendary patterns successfully played will now be marked in the collections menu.

Balance Adjustments
Boss Adjustments:

1. Flawless: Temporarily removed the effect that halves multipliers for missing pattern categories.
2. Unrest: Removed the effect that increases score targets by 40% for all subsequent rounds (Unrest can finally rest in peace).
3. Colorless: Removed the "all played tiles fade" effect.
4. Heartless: Adjusted corruption condition to only trigger if the pair tile is not a terminal.
5. Unyielding: Adjusted its effect from "each duplicate tile increases target score by 4%" to "each duplicate tile increases target score by 5%."
6. New Boss: "Unred" - Tiles containing red will now increase the target score by 6% when played.

Artifact Adjustments:

1. 3D Glasses: Rarity downgraded from Rare → Common.
2. Copper Pocket Watch: Rarity downgraded from Rare → Common.
3. Demon Statue: Rarity downgraded from Epic → Rare.
4. Pruner: Effect changed from "permanently reduces 3 symbols each use" → "permanently reduces 2 symbols each use."
5. Collector's Amulet: Multiplier increased from x0.75 → x1.0.
6. Corrupted Crystal Ball: Bonus per Nest Tile increased from x0.05 → x0.1.
7. Fire Axe: New Effect - Grants an additional 80 symbols if it provides 20x or more multiplier.
8. Copper Dagger: Bonus per bronze item increased from 25 symbols → 30 symbols.
9. Brush: Recoloring chance increased from 1/13 → 1/8, now capable of restoring color to faded tiles.
10. Guzheng: Now removes all negative effects from previously played tiles instead of only the currently playing tile.
11. Pirate Chest: Now prevents further accumulation of pirate coins when full.
12. Agate Dagger: Bonus per agate tile increased from x0.05 → x0.1.
13. Tricolor Flower: Effect increased from +2x multiplier per trigger → +3x.
14. Kaleidoscope: Multiplier increased from x2 → x3.
15. Shredder: Improved rewards when deleting epic/legendary patterns.
16. Frog Amulet: Reworked Effect - Discarding a non-simple tile now destroys it (limit: 3 times per round).
17. Vermilion Bird Fan: Reworked Effect - Expended Artifacts grant a x2 multiplier to hands, and depleted non-consumable items grant a x1.2 multiplier. 💬Dev：The original design encouraged players to discard all items early, lowering game adaptability. The new version retains the "Empty Castle" concept while fostering synergy with more Artifacts and items.
18. We have also increased the rate of finding rare Artifacts in East Wind Circle Liulang Hall.

Pattern Adjustments

1. [Buffed] All Five, All Big-Medium-Small base/bonus values: 48/36 → 64/48 Reason: Adjusted to match other epic-level comprehensive patterns.
2. [Nerfed] Seven Pairs growth value: 48 → 24 💬Dev：Reducing its overpowered mid-game performance, encouraging players to mix it with other patterns for specialized builds.
3. [Buffed] Symmetrical Tiles bonus value: 24 → 32
4. [Adjusted] All Terminals And Honors base/bonus values: 32/32 → 36/24 Reason: Strengthened early-game performance while reducing abnormal upgrade scaling.
5. [Buffed] Small Four Winds base value: 108 → 128 Reason: Adjusted to match other four-meld patterns.
6. [Buffed] Three Triplets bonus value: 6 → 8 💬Dev：While triplet-based patterns shouldn’t scale as well as sequence-based ones, the previous growth rate of 6 points per level was too weak compared to other blue-tier patterns. This update compensates by improving the growth value of high-rarity triplet patterns, ensuring they remain dominant when fully built.
7. [Buffed] Four Triplets bonus value: 24 → 32
8. [Buffed] Three Kans bonus value: 24 → 32
9. [Buffed] Tile Hog+ base value: 12 → 16
10. [Buffed] Three Dragons Pairs base value: 48 → 68
11. [Buffed] Thirteen Orphans upgrade bonus: 188 → 248 Reason: Compensating for the low base value due to its lack of synergy with other patterns.
12. [Buffed] Mixed/Pure Double Sequence, Short Straight, All Sequences upgrade bonus: 1.5 → 2 Reason: Strengthening the growth potential of the "Book of the Forest" pattern pack and improving mid-game curve for sequence-based builds.
13. [Adjusted] Twice Pure Double Sequence base/upgrade bonus: 48/68 → 68/48 Reason: Preventing an excessively large jump from Lv.1 to Lv.2.
14. [Buffed] Pure Triple Sequences base value: 58 → 68
15. [Buffed] Three-Suited Terminal Sequences Meeting upgrade bonus: 88 → 128 Reason: Rewarding the high-risk Twin Dragon strategy.
16. [Buffed] Half Flush upgrade bonus: 2 → 3 Reason: Smoothing the mid-game transition for character/terminal flush builds.
17. [Buffed] Mirror Triplets base/upgrade bonus: 68/88 → 88/58 Reason: Strengthening niche triplet-based strategies.
18. [Buffed] No Reds upgrade bonus: 16 → 24 Reason: Adjusting to match standard rare patterns and reinforcing the Faded style.
19. [Buffed] Big Seven Stars base/upgrade bonus: 188/188 → 218/168 Reason: Compensating for its lack of synergy with other patterns.
20. [Buffed] Ao no Domon base value: 48 → 68 Reason: Adjusted to match its difficulty level.
21. [Nerfed] Three-Suited Character Sequences base/upgrade bonus: 68/48 → 58/38

Other Adjustments

1. [Buffed] A Pack of Tools Event: Now grants two random tools (previously three random gadgets).
2. [Buffed] Schemer Mahjong: Now grants 10 discard chances at East - East (Stage 1) as usual.
3. [Nerfed] Malice Sawmill: Increased card removal cost thresholds from 110/85/60 → 110/90/70 remaining tiles. Reason: Since the initial discard count per round has been increased by 5, this change balances the impact on smaller hands.
4. [Adjusted] Colorless Effect: -5 Fu → -3 Fu
5. [Adjusted] Corruption Effect: -0.5/-2/-4/-6 Fan → -1/-2/-6/-12 Fan 💬Dev：Since Corruption can be easily cleansed by discarding, its penalty has been increased to balance its impact while improving the rewards from Demon Statues.
6. [Buffed] Bone Porcelain Tile: Maximum fan increase limit removed (previously capped at 20 fan).
7. [Buffed] Pink Porcelain Tile: Score multiplier per unique tile increased dynamically: +1 → +1/2/3/4 based on game progression.
8. [Buffed] Increased the chance of encountering rare gadgets in Treasure Shop.
9. [Buffed] Flower Tiles: Farming now permanently grants +10 Fu to the playing pair as well.

Bug Fixes

1. Fixed a bug where gadget usage count could go below 0.
2. Fixed an issue where the Marble Bag artifact could trigger incorrectly when holding duplicate circles.
3. Fixed a game-freezing bug caused by certain Boss interactions with Dream Eater tiles.
4. Fixed an issue where Dream Eater tiles interacted incorrectly with Corruption tiles, causing a freeze.
5. Fixed various display errors and localization mistakes.
6. Fixed a bug where Red Marker Pen caused display glitches when used with other gadgets.
7. Fixed an issue where discarding a tile under special conditions increased hand size.
8. Fixed multiple artifacts not providing real-time stat boosts as intended.
9. Fixed an issue where Frog Amulet interacted incorrectly with flower tiles.
10. Fixed a crash when storing more than 9 tiles in the Secret Pouch.
11. Fixed an issue where players couldn’t use the Eraser gadget with left-click after the final tile play.
12. Fixed a game-freezing bug when Flower Tile: Qin copied itself.
13. Fixed a bug where Firefighter Axe didn’t trigger properly after inheriting the "All Terminals" pattern.
14. Fixed a bug where players couldn’t play tiles correctly in Bamboo Mahjong under certain conditions.
15. Fixed a display issue where Tooth Extractor artifact failed to show proper values at high target scores.
16. Fixed an issue where Suppression effects continued past the Boss stage.
17. Fixed missing sound effects when Flower Tile: Fisher was played.
18. Fixed a bug where Gluttonous Tile didn’t consume correctly when paired with Silver Dog Chain artifact.
19. Fixed numerous localization and description errors.

As we continue in Early Access, we deeply appreciate your patience and trust in Aotenjo. Your feedback directly influences our adjustments and improvements. We’ll keep listening to the community and refining the game based on your experiences. Be sure to join our Official Discord and share your thoughts and suggestion with us!