With the goal of simplifying gameplay complexity while preserving fun, this update brings major systemic overhauls to the game.
1. **The original skill system has been fully restructured into Skill Cards**
Starting with this version, skills are now integrated as cards and function alongside other cards within your deck. You may drag and play any card from your hand freely — only Skill Cards require additional conditions to activate. This change delivers two key improvements:
1. It greatly simplifies combat decisions and progression mechanics. You now only need to plan your play order and decide whether to swap cards, removing the extra layer of skill selection. Complex skill upgrading systems have also been streamlined, while all engaging upgrade effects are retained.
2. It reins in overpowered skills. In previous versions, skills could be used at any time. Overly strong skills would break game balance and drastically reduce gameplay challenge. Now that skills follow the standard hand cycle, even powerful ones can no longer be spammed indefinitely. This revamp also allows us to buff previously underused skills, making them more practical once drawn into your hand.
2. **Hand size limit increased from 6 to 9**
The addition of Skill Cards makes the original 6-card hand limit overly restrictive. Additionally, repeated playtests showed that HP caps and damage restrictions hurt the overall experience more than they enhanced it. These two limitations have therefore been removed in the new version.
3. **Minor adjustments to enemy behavior**
All non-boss enemies now perform exactly **one action per turn**, making strategy planning more straightforward. Most formidable enemies have also been given the **Strength** card in their decks, to curb strategies that rely on stalling turns for long-term advantages.
4. **Revisions to several buff effects**
Due to the introduction of the Sin mechanic, the original Strength effect was no longer a good fit for the Warrior class. The new Strength simply boosts the value of all attack cards by 1. Dexterity, Sharpness and other buffs have also been reworked. All these changes aim to make the game more intuitive and cut down on unnecessary mental workload.
5. **New cards & balance changes for the Penitent Knight and Armless Scholar**
To adapt to the new Skill Card system and expand gameplay possibilities, numerous new cards have been added for both the Penitent Knight and the Armless Scholar. Details will not be listed here.
6. Miscellaneous bug fixes and general balance tweaks.