It's a really big update with a reworking of the combat system!
Systems
- Combatants now have a defence stat as well as an attack stat
- Combat in quadrants is now in two phases per round; player attack vs enemy defence, then enemy defence vs player attack
- The difference between attack and defence scores (with rolls added) results in how many wounds are suffered per quadrant by each side. This means multiple wounds per round and much faster battles.
- Fighters can now be moved to different quadrants between rounds, with a Deployment Time costs
- Fighters can also be withdrawn from the fight with a Deployment Time cost
- Losing the battle now also reduces fighter morale
- Enemy forces can include several different unit types in the same battle
- Three new fighter classes and some new enemy types also added
- Loyalty is no longer a primary stat for fighters. It still exists (and affects how quickly fighter morale drops), but isn't displayed and varies far less between different fighter types.
- Global states (bad weather, unrest, festivals etc) are now region specific, with a number of new state types added (tumult, turmoil, anarchy, tax hike, patrols, crackdown, bad omens, good omens). A region overview icon has been added for each region, mousing over will indicate the rough dimensions of that region and the current region state.
- Trade Traits now give a reputation bonus for one specific settlement and most also give a reputation bonus for one specific faction. Mouse over on trade traits on the profile sidebar to show this, as well as called out on faction reputation bar mouseovers on the reputation sidebar.
- Road combat events gain extra enemies as player's global reputation reaches set thresholds, making them more difficult and dangerous the more well known the player gets
- Travel speed now begins as Fast rather than Slow when beginning a journey
Balance
- Upped baseline starting Deploy Time from 5 to 6
- Rebalanced fighter stats
- Hunters now always have the Deadeye talent
- Removed variance in Deployment Time per fighter class, now set per class
- Max combat rounds reduced from 12 to 6
- Increased the Global Reputation requirements for story chapters 6 (150 > 200) and 9 (250 > 400)
- Road combat events now have more enemies as player's Global Reputation increases
- Fighter morale now drops quite a lot more slowly than before, but fighter wage costs are higher. Felt you had to pay fighters too often before, and autopay isn't neccesarily a good option if money is tight.
- A few fighter perks altered to fit the new combat system (Weapon Expert, Manouverable)
- Hero levelling readjusted to include increases to their new defence stat
Content
- Variations of appearance added for all fighter classes
UI
- Added region icons on the map and an indication of this region's dimensions on the map when you mouse over the region icon
Fixes
- Fixed issue where combat traits wouldn't activate if fighters were deployed after the first round (Hunter, Paladin, Lawful, Freedom Fighter, Inspired, Veteran)
- Fixed issue where combat traits wouldn't apply their bonus correctly beyond the first round (Foolhardy, Loner)
- Fighter left the caravan message on arriving in towns (due to morale) reinstated