1.19 UPTADE (2025.12.12)
New Content
Main Quest 29
a1. Gameplay Changes
The number of stages per quest has been reduced from 12 to 6.
Average playtime per quest has been reduced by approximately 33% to 66%.
Quest clear rewards remain unchanged.
All basic stat-related shop items now provide double their previous effect.
Enemy strength now scales at every 1-stage transition as much as it previously scaled at every 2-stage transition.
The random encounter shop introduced after version 1.17 will now appear with a 100% probability.
a2. Difficulty Adjustments
All enemies’ HP increased by 12%.
All enemies’ ATK increased by 33%.
All enemies’ Break HP increased by 100%.
a3. Patch Intent
Significantly reduce player fatigue during gameplay (highest priority).
Roughly double the rate at which players acquire clear-reward tickets, greatly reducing grinding pressure.
Shorten quest playtime while making each run more tense and demanding.
Allow players to move through the early quests (Quest 1–10) more easily and quickly.
In contrast, increase the difficulty of the mid- and late-game quests (Quest 10–29).
Maintain tension by ensuring casualties occur frequently during combat.
a4. Developer Notes
I pushed this patch in a sudden and urgent manner because, after replaying the entire game from start to finish, I encountered serious issues that I had not fully realized during earlier test sessions. I felt a strong need to address them quickly and decisively.
The problems that stood out to me were the following:
A 12-stage structure per quest was excessively long and dull. Within less than an hour of starting a new save, I had already decided that I needed to cut quests down to 6 stages.
The early stages of each quest (Stage 1–3) felt completely meaningless.
While upgrading with quest-clear tickets was enjoyable and motivating, the early-game ticket acquisition rate was far too slow. Before reaching mid-game, I felt as though I was forced into an uninteresting period of monotonous labor.
Difficulty had a serious balance issue: only the very beginning of the game felt tense. Once a few upgrades were applied, the player effectively became invulnerable, and even the highest-difficulty quests progressed without tension or casualties.
I believe the mid-to-late section of the game (Quest 10–29) must be challenging, and higher-difficulty quests should naturally involve frequent casualties.
(After this patch, casualty rates during combat have increased significantly. Whether this will affect the player experience positively or negatively remains uncertain.)
a5. Expected Side Effects and Mitigation
This patch was implemented in a highly aggressive manner, and I do not expect it to be free of issues.
The most significant concern is difficulty balance. The gap between version 1.19 and the previous versions is substantial. If the earlier versions were excessively easy, this update may have pushed the difficulty too far in the opposite direction.
Going forward, I plan to introduce powerful new upgrade elements so that difficulty remains ultimately surmountable through progression. Since this patch has greatly accelerated the rate at which players acquire clear-reward tickets, I intend to focus on expanding upgrade content—currently the game’s only long-term motivation—and use that as the primary method of balancing future challenges.
b1. Four New Extra Shop Types Added
The Extra Shop, which previously existed in only one type, has been expanded to a total of five types.
With this patch, the Extra Shop now appears with a 100% probability. This should help players counter the significantly stronger enemies introduced in this update, especially during the early quests (Quest 1–10) where upgrade options are limited.
However, caution may be required in the late-game quests (Quest 20–29). Enemy damage is now extremely high, and reckless max-HP spending at the Extra Shop may directly lead to quest failure.