The third map in the game (Miasma Woodland) unlocks two new maps. In our last preview, we showcased the Elven Court. This time, we'll be focusing on the other map: City of Whitestone.
City of Whitestone
City of Whitestone is a massive map divided into three distinctly styled major regions. Due to the map's enormous scale, each exploration run will typically only allow you to thoroughly explore one of these regions, meaning you'll need to carefully choose your exploration route based on your current equipment loadout, skill combinations, and strategic objectives. The enemy configurations, resource distribution, and potential events encountered will vary significantly across different regions.
Of course, City of Whitestone also features many new enemies and new enemy abilities. For example, outside the city gates, you'll encounter enemies with the "Frozen Seal" skill. Unless you defeat them, you won't be able to collect nearby resources, and crystals will require more keys to break.
Equipment Upgrade
Starting from City of Whitestone, a brand new resource will appear in certain maps: Runestones. These yellow gems are closely tied to a new system: Equipment Upgrade.
By consuming Runestones, you can select one piece of equipment you're currently carrying and upgrade it for the duration of that exploration. The number of Runestones required equals the equipment's grid size × 3. For example, upgrading a 2-grid equipment piece requires 6 Runestones.
Upgraded equipment typically have higher stats, giving you a greater advantage in combat. Some equipments also have special effects that trigger upon upgrade.
Of course, the depth of the equipment upgrade system goes far beyond this. Certain special equipment possesses "Auto-Upgrade" capabilities, allowing them to enhance themselves automatically when specific conditions are met without consuming Runestones. Additionally, some equipment or skills are specifically designed to synergize with the upgrade mechanic, and clever combinations can create unexpectedly powerful builds. How to efficiently allocate your limited Runestones and choose which equipment to prioritize for upgrades will become a crucial strategic decision in your mid-to-late game explorations.
Visual and Quality of Life Improvements
Beyond new maps and mechanics, we continue to refine the game's visuals and user experience.
We recently gave the protagonist party's character sprites a complete overhaul. The new sprites are more detailed while also better matching the character portrait designs, making characters more recognizable during exploration.
Furthermore, during exploration phases, the character you control will be determined by the user of the first skill you're carrying (if you haven't unlocked any skills or aren't carrying any, you'll still control Tasia by default).
In terms of interface operations, we've optimized the interaction logic of certain interfaces, making the workflow smoother and reducing unnecessary clicks. These optimizations will be gradually implemented once testing is stable, and some features may also be updated into the demo version.
If you have any expectations or suggestions for future previews, feel free to let us know in the comments!