10 of the 15 Mobility, Control and Protection abilities have been altered significantly, in the first of a series of patches aimed at addressing key community concerns.
One of my favorite designers has always claimed that he doesn't start working on the rest of the game until the core is so solid, that it's an enjoyable experience in and of itself.
This principle, applied to Lil' Arena, meant stripping down the game back to its basics, and questioning every choice made so far; the two camera system, the different input methods, the game's moment-to-moment pacing (which was mostly about Mobility, Control and Protection abilities).
The biggest change is probably switching the input of the Top-Down camera from Point & Click to WASD. This means the two cameras' input blend together better, and there is no longer a significant tactical advantage to playing top-down, as you can't see the entire map.
You should definitely try out the patch for yourselves, but I know some people like to dig in the details, so here's a list of all the changes v0.26 brings:
- [Divine Justice, Protection (Blinding Light)] :: Silence instead of Stun
- [Deadly Force, Mobility (Marauder's Leap)] :: Silence instead of Root (charge and interrupt!)
- [Deadly Force, Control (Forced Awakening)] :: Cast Time from 1s to 1.5s
- [High Voltage, Control (Thunder Storm)] :: Added Delay (1s) from the moment the cloud appears to when lightning strikes
- [High Voltage, Protection (Lightning Reflexes)] :: Added 50% damage reduction, reduced duration
- [Burning Shadows, Mobility (Shadow Step)] :: Now passes through others
- [Burning Shadows, Control (Ring of Fire)] :: The ring no longer stays in place, but instead is always around you
- [Burning Shadows, Protection (Night's Veil)] :: Now passes through small objects, reduced duration (4 sec) increased cooldown (8 seconds)
- [Nature, Mobility (Recall)] :: Now automatically returns to your mark after 3 seconds
Additionally, all the long range abilities (10-15m) have had their ranges reduced to (8-12m), because there was a big gap between them and mid-ranged abilities (3-7m).
As always let us know what you think by leaving a comment.
Cheers from the Afterlife,
Tall Guy