Update #79 is a follow-up release to the newest Era but also contains another major milestone struck down from the v2.3.x family! We've also added 6 new rank 15 Talents and started the first improvements on a new round of changes to the starport upgrade screens.
Raised Level Cap
First, we've raised the character level cap from 32 to 40 and the maximum job rank from 30 to 32 for all jobs. This allows your veteran captains, officers and crew to keep climbing in ability, even if there progression naturally slows as they become all the more elite in their task. This will probably not be the last time we raise the level cap, but as we have introduced more and more content into the game, it is the right time to crank the cap up to 40.
Rank 15: Reset the Cards
Of course, new max level cap should come with new high power Talents! We've introduced 6 new Talents with this release, each related to one of the card games -- Explore, Spy, Patrol, Blockade and Black Market Access. Each of these Talents gives you the ability to completely discard the 5 cards you've been dealt in the card game and get a fresh hand. This is especially perfect for your exploration runs when 2 Xeno cards come up and you can't face them, or if you have 100 illegal units of narcotic spice you are trying to get to the Black Market and two Confiscation cards are drawn.
Plague Improvements
We waited a few days to gather as much feedback as we could on the Plague Era before dropping this major update -- which contains a huge package of improvements, balances and new content for the 5th story era.
We've added a new mission type to the Chaesin list of offered missions -- one that sends your Captain straight to zones affected by Infections and Outbreaks with medical deliveries. We've also improved the description of all plague rumors to be more clear about the potential benefits of delivering medicine there. We've expanded the Rep bonuses to Outbreaks as well as Infection Rumors as well. Even more ways to benefit from the plague as a medical dispensary!
We fixed issues with Trait Mutation and bad text in the event logs and got any change to the plague score lodged in your Captain's Log so you can always check where you are at.
Linked Components
We've now added a visual designation to those components slots that are built into a hull's superstructure and cannot have their type changed. At the moment, this only includes the Void Engine, Bridge and Hyperwarp Drive but as we move into the next phase of ship design and launching fighters, this will become a more prevalent and common factor.
v2.3.3 - 7/4/2018
- Character level cap raised from 32 to 40 -- captain, officers and crew advance!
- All Job level caps raised from 30 to 32 -- additional skill points
- Added 6 new rank 15 Job Talents for Explorer, Smuggler, Pirate, Spy, Zealot, Military Officer
- New Talents can reroll the entire hand of cards in Explore/Blockade/Patrol/Spy/Black Market
- Plague Era: new special mission type features delivery of medical supplies to Infected / Outbreak zones
- Plague Era: clarified Rumor descriptions, unless you stop them First Infection Rumors always become Outbreaks
- Plague Era: when Infection Rumor converts into Outbreak Rumor in Plague Era, new Rumor now immediately visible
- Plague Era: can also gain Reputation bonuses for 10+ deliveries of medicines to zones with Outbreak Rumor
- Plague Era: any change to the plague score is now recorded in your Captain's Log
- Plague Era: fixed bugs and typos with the Flighty Ex-Merc storyline
- Plague Era: fixed Trait Mutation issues and "ERROR" text, improved overall balance
- Bridge, Void Engine and Hyperwarp Drive components are now marked as linked-by-type, as they can only be replaced by the same type
- Fixed bug preventing some Spy/Patrol/Blockade missions to get stuck without option to go forward
- Fixed issues with opening subscreens on landing zone and odd click behavior
- Rebalanced Gunnery Skill requirement for early levels of Ship Missile Weapons
- Fixed bugs with Smuggler's Hideout Talent
v2.3.5 - 7/5/2018
- Fixed crashes in wild zone when loading missions, star atlas, rumors or factions list