This patch is 99% back-end information. For players, notable changes are:
- Shoreline now open during Orc War with 4 repeatable field troops. (Returning to the World Map triggers the respawn of these types of enemies)
- The first Tool Kit can be found inside Shoreline/Port Reception. This tool kit is not consumed on use and is required to break weapons and armor down into reusable parts. Weapons and armor obtained before their back-end information was updated to allow for disassembly can not be broken down. You can tell if an item can be broken down by going to your inventory (NOT the equip screen!) and selecting a piece of gear. "Upgrade" means you can add gems, "Disassemble" means it can be broken apart using a Tool Kit.
- Synthesis stations are now available, though are relatively unusable. It is possible to collect enough Oros Weapon and Armor parts from the four troops in Shoreline, but more troops will be coming with the next part of the Orc War story. The Oros-Bane set is a significant upgrade over anything the party could be wearing at this time. The purchase menu of the synthesis shop is visible even without the required materials - go check it out!
5.0.7 [Build #103, Release Date: October 18, 2021]
Note:
- This patch is being released due to the changes in items which can now be disassembled. Weapons & Armor obtained before this patch will retain their previous properties. However, newly acquired gear will conform to their new database information. In short, a Basic Blade obtained before can't be disassembled, but one obtained now can.
Development Changes
- The way enemy stats are determined has been changed. The short explanation is - the old model used a fixed stat value based on a dice roll for each stat of the 10 enemy class designs and the new model uses a new dice roll every time a new enemy is added to the game. The result that players will see is that enemies of the same class and same level will have different stats moving forward to give enemies a more dynamic feel in their own level range.
- In addition to the new way ATK/DEF/MAG/MDF/LUK/AGI are handled, HP receives a boost on every 20th level up to level 100. The maximum HP the game is prepared to handle for an enemy is 999,999. Enemies whose HP exceedes that will begin battles with shields to make up the difference. There is a fair chance that we never get that far in development where we have to break the HP limit - and not all enemies who use shields have max HP. However, just like the other stats, HP per new enemy is rolled on a case by case basis using a new variable formula instead of a fixed point, so enemies of the same class at the same level but of a different species will have different HP, whereas previously they did not.
-- If the new system causes too many problems instead of making battles feel more dynamic, it will be removed. The time to remove the system will be significantly faster than the time it took to create as information from the previous system has been retained. All class data is contained in a Google Sheet outside of the game, and enemy stats are not rerolled in the engine or during gameplay. The change is as simple as referencing an already made Sheet and changing 7 numbers in the engine.
-- All enemies currently programmed into the game will retain their current stats.
-- New enemies level 20 and over will use the new dynamic system for a probationary period which will become permanent if I feel the system works and makes sense relative to the team's projected stats for each given level bracket.
New:
- Forging stations have been added to Lvell/Phoenix Ash, Auria/Research Shack, and Shoreline/Port Reception. This system will be used to create gear from enemy drops. For now, all forging stations will allow access to the same Synthesis menu.
- Oros-Bane (225-point) & Duskfall (242-point) are now available for Synthesis! Required items come from level 20+ Oros and Dusk orcs.
- Though the next step of the questline is not yet ready, Shoreline and Port Reception are now open during the Orc War event.
Changes:
- "Unremarkable" now means that a piece of gear has no extra hidden parameters, such as target rate, regeneration, damage types or resistances, etc. Specifically, it means that an item has exactly 0 extra properties besides it stat boosts. However, items which do not say "Unremarkable" but also do not specify what their perks are does not imply that they do not have perks, but rather the text space for filling in what the perks are is too small or that the perks are hidden.
-- Example: Flamewind Cloak increases Hit Rate and Evasion Rate by 1% each, adds 20% Fire and Wind resistances, and reduces Ice and Poison resistances by 5%. Some of this information can be found on the Elements page of the Status menu on any given character, but the Hit Rate and Evasion would be considered hidden as it is not visible in any of the menus.
-- Only new gear obtained will be affected by this change. Already owned gear will show the previous tooltips.
- Shatter no longer adds chance to land bleeds - this debuff was removed in a previous patch. Instead, shatter now does 3x atk dmg (up from 2x) and is considered Stone-Killer type instead of Earth type. (-killer type attacks are considered non-elemental to all types other than their intended targets. Intended targets take 200% damage instead). The tooltip for this skill has been fixed, but may only be visible to new save files or players newly acquiring the skill.
- The following items can now be disassembled: Flamewind Set, Tattered Set, Tattered Gray Set, Bone Band, Snow Band, Oros Band, Coal Band, Sticky Gloves, Rusty Set, Torn Set, Mech Shield, Snow Shield.
- Weapons and Armor will no longer disassemble into Frames or Patterns. These items can instead be purchased at a new vendor inside Lvell/Cafe Lvellan and the vendor on the right in Auria/Market Town.