Hey Trainers,
We've Just Updated Version 1.0.5 and got Steam Deck Verified!
Montabi will be part of the Akupara Publisher Sale to celebrate the 10th anniversary of Akupara Games. To celebrate the occasion, we’re also releasing a pretty large quality of life update to Montabi.
After testing the 1.0.5-beta update in the beta branch, we’re bringing some changes to the live game. Thank you so much to everyone who played the beta and sharing their feedback and bug reports with us in Discord.
For the full list of changes, check out the patch notes below. Keep in mind that some sections might include late game content.
Choose Your Starter or Randomize
Previously, you were given 3 random Montabi to choose from. Now, you can choose from all Montabi you’ve unlocked or challenge yourself with Random Montabi Starter. To make your starting setup more unpredictable, you can also select Random Trainer and Starting Charm.
Based on beta feedback, we’ve added your selected Trainer and Charm to the Montabi selection page. This lets you make a more informed choice when picking your starting Montabi.
Changed the starting Montabi selection from 3 random options to all unlocked Montabi.
Removed guaranteed starting Montabi unlocks.
Added a Random Starter Montabi, Trainer, and Starting Charm option.
Updated the Tutorial / FTUE first run to support the new starting Montabi selection.
Added selected Trainer and Starting Charm information in Starter Montabi selection.
Quality of Life Improvements
Added an optional Hold to End Turn setting.
Added an optional Hold to Sell setting.
Added the controller cursor size and color settings for better visibility.
Improved default controller targeting. For example, using the Tri-Taps skill now prioritizes targeting enemies by default.
Separated starting decks from the Common, Rare, and Legendary card pools in the Montapedia.
Added Innate Passives and Evolution 3 Passives to the Montapedia.
Added quick switching between allied Montabi using the right analog stick.
Handheld Font Size Improvements
Montabi is now Steam Deck Verified! To improve the experience on handheld devices, we've made the following changes:
Increased the available font size options, especially for handheld devices and Steam Deck.
Added an Overall Font Size Scale option that allows players to set the font size to 22px.
Visual Feedback
Improved the visual feedback of Root to make its effect clearer.
Improved the visual feedback of Slime and Velcro.
Bug Fixes
Fixed the Born to Win Achievement not triggering after defeating Ascension 5. Also added an achievement re-check system to catch achievements that may have been missed.
Fixed Second Rinse wrong implementation.
Fixed an issue with Double Resonance skill-type cards.
Fixed opening and ending cinematics not playing correctly on Steam Machine.
Fixed Fire Command not removing Weak.
Fixed an issue where Cover movement could cause two units to occupy the same tile.
Fixed an issue where an extra unit could appear during the Preparation phase, causing units to stop drawing cards during battle.
Fixed Tea counts not displaying correctly.
Fixed Disgust not adding Diminish to the caster's hand when exhausted.
Fixed a softlock that could occur in the tutorial menu.
Fixed a softlock that could occur when opening the Map during battle using the Map icon.
Fixed the Generous Leader status effect icon always appearing as active after redesign.
Fixed Rabid Enemy not applying Bleed correctly.
Fixed Trade for Power drawing extra cards when used by units with Sling Bag.
Fixed incorrect HP values in Boss Areas caused by cached data.
Fixed Vulnerable would not decrease when killing 2 enemies at once.
Fixed Slow Motion when switching opened application windows right before killing bosses.
Fixed Velcro root visual stuck.
Fixed Spicy Interaction in KO-ed allies.
Ensured Supplies can also target Summon.
Fixed Ascension text blocked by “Selected” on Trainer Selection screen.
Copywriting Fix
Fixed incorrect copy for Ascension 4.
Clarify IV Bag's description that its healing effect only applies during battle.
Fixed the AP cost wording for cards in English, including Hydro Clone and Riot Shield.
More English grammar fixes: Lucky Merchant, Garbage Pick, Temporary.
Balancing
We're also making several adjustments to Difficulty, Ascension, and individual units and skills based on feedback from both newer players and experienced players.
We want Montabi to be approachable for players who are new to the genre while still providing meaningful challenges for experienced roguelike deckbuilder players. That's why we have five difficulty levels, ranging from more accessible settings to Veteran.
We've received feedback that some players are still struggling with the lower difficulties, while experienced players have found some higher Ascension levels particularly frustrating. With this update, we're making some adjustments to improve the overall difficulty curve.
Difficulty Adjustments
We've made the Casual difficulty easier, which also affects the Rookie difficulty. The goal is to make Montabi more approachable for players who are new to the genre or are still struggling with the game's difficulty.
Casual Difficulty
Montabi: 75% → 50%
Elite: 150% → 120%
Boss: 225% → 200%
Ascension Adjustments
We've switched the order of the Ascension 1 and Ascension 2 modifiers.
Ascension 1
Before: Whenever a player plays a card, that card costs 1 more AP for the rest of the turn.
After: More Elites spawn.
Ascension 2
Before: More Elites spawn.
After: Whenever a player plays a card, that card costs 1 more AP for the rest of the turn.
Ascension 8
Before: All units gain 2 Vulnerable and 2 Weak at the start of battle.
After: At the start of the player's turn, apply 1 ATK Up and 1 DEF Up to all enemy units.
Rex Adjustments
We've received feedback that Rex can sometimes feel frustrating, especially when defeating a Rogue Montabi on a turn when Rex doesn't cast Volcanic Devour, since it will automatically revive. We made some changes in the beta to give players more opportunities to counter Rex.
However, we found after testing that these changes made Rex less intimidating. We've decided to revert these changes to maintain the intended difficulty and will explore other solutions to address this feedback.
Spawning Pit
Beta version:At the end of this unit's turn: Spawn 1 random Montabi on random ally tile(s) if a Montabi ally died.Revert back to: At the end of this unit's turn: Spawn random Montabi on random ally tile(s) until there are 2 Montabi.
Volcanic Devour
Beta version:Copy all status effect and passive from allied non-summon unit to this unit. Heal this unit equal to half all target current HP. Kill targeted unit. Spawn 1 random Montabi on random ally tile(s).Revert back to: Copy all status effect and passive from allied non-summon unit to this unit. Heal this unit equal to half all target current HP. Kill targeted unit.
Goldie Enemy Adjustments
Deep Dive Strike
ATK damage reduced from 200% → 100%.
Junk Slam
ATK damage reduced from 200% → 150%.
Recycle Slam
ATK damage reduced from 250% → 200%.
Now gains 3 ATK Up.
Exchroma Adjustments
We've removed the ability for Exchroma's attacks to bypass Armor and increased their damage to compensate.
Exohorn Slash
Removed Bypass Armor.
ATK damage increased from 100% → 150%.
Still deals 2 additional damage for each Armor on this unit.
Exoleg Force
Removed Bypass Armor.
ATK damage increased from 100% → 150%.
DEF Armor increased from 100% → 150%.
Still deals 1 additional damage for each Armor on this unit.
Exohead Charge
Removed Bypass Armor.
ATK damage increased from 100% → 150%.
Still deals 1 additional damage for each Armor on this unit.
Kyuchi Adjustments
Kyuchi has been one of the most consistent and powerful units, especially when combined with the Slash combo. We're tuning it down slightly to make the combo less dominant.
Chi Draw
Resonance cost increased from 2 → 3.
Cards drawn reduced from 3 → 2.
Obtain Slash
AP cost increased from 0 → 2.
Windcut
ATK damage reduced from 300% → 150%.
Still puts all 0-cost cards from this unit's Discard Pile into its Hand.
Montabi Biscuit Truck Adjustments
We noticed that the second option from Montabi Biscuit Truck was not as appealing as the others. We're making a small adjustment to Medkit to make the Legendary option more meaningful.
Medkit
Healing increased from 3 HP → 10 HP.
Added Exhaust.
Other Adjustments
Scorchwave
ATK damage reduced from 100% → 50%.
Still targets the same area and repeats 2 times.
Apex Jaw
ATK Up and DEF Up increased from 2 → 3 at the start of battle.
Still affects all player units, including reserve units.
Card Gift
AP cost increased from 0 → 1.
Exhaust Draw
AP cost increased from 1 → 2.
Armor Delivery
AP cost increased from 0 → 1.
Generous Leader
Before: Each turn, after using 4 cards, the next card causes every other ally to draw 1 card.
After: At the start of this unit's turn, other allies draw 1 card.
Attach Sticker Adjustments
We've received feedback that Attach Stickers can sometimes feel frustrating because they enter the Discard Pile when not used. To make them more consistent and easier to use, we've added Retain to the following Attach Stickers:
Attach Bleed Sticker
Attach Burn Sticker
Attach Sword Sticker
Attach Spicy Sticker
Attach Sour Sticker
Attach Sweet Sticker
Attach Salty Sticker
Attach Repeat Sticker
Known Bug
Armor gain enemy skills, such as Strong Defense on Kaibug, sometimes do not trigger when playing above 60 FPS. We’ll investigate this issue.
What's Next?
We have a lot of things on our backlog, from hand size improvements, run history, and more. For now, we’re focusing on the following priorities:
Implement analytics to gather data that could help us address balance feedback more effectively.
Consider bringing back the previous starting Montabi selection as an additional option, where players can pick 1 out of 3 options.
We hope these updates will improve your experience playing Montabi. If you’d like to share more suggestions, get early updates, and chat with the community, feel free to join our Discord!
Thank you for playing Montabi and sharing your feedback with us!