Greetings Adventurers,

I would like to dive a little deeper in the direction where the studio is headed as I mentioned in part 1 of my letter.

 

First, UI/UX improvements are being made and will be announced in detail through  our future roadmap.

The studio is aware of the feedback given from our players regarding the current UI/UX system being not so PC friendly. Thus we recognize that further improvements are needed to the existing system. 

 

Much of the feedback including the marketplace search function, keyboard and mouse interface, display of content information etc. are being thoroughly reviewed so we can create a more immersive gameplay experience. Please be aware that each and every piece of feedback is being investigated in our development team and will continue to be improved through future patches.

 

Details regarding the UI/UX improvements will be revealed through a future roadmap so players can fully understand what will be changed beforehand. 

 

 

Second, we will be strengthening both security and penalties regarding hackers and illegal programs.

[Illegal Programs]

Abnormal content play using illegal programs has recently been increasing.

We have strengthened in-game monitoring and are restricting game play for accounts that have been confirmed to use illegal programs. We will do our best to eradicate the use of illegal programs by continually investigating and updating the game so players can enjoy a comfortable gameplay experience.

 

[Real Money Trading Advertisements] 

We are currently actively monitoring and restricting players advertising real money trading.

However, because these players constantly create different patterns to advertise, we will and are continuing to strengthen our internal filtering system as well as building automatic restriction systems in response to developments on this issue. 

 

[Abnormal Transactions + Starseed Real Money Trading]

Players abusing payment related chargebacks, fraud, or unpaid card fines are now automatically restricted by our integrated detection systems. In addition, we have been tracking, collecting and restricting users who have been using the in-game marketplace to move Star Seed as a part of abnormal transactions by selling a usually low cost item at an unusually high price.

 

The Round 8 Studio team promises  to do their best to eradicate illegal programs and users participating in illegal transactions continuously.  

 

Third, our focus is on improving class and content balance.

The development team is aware of the issues surrounding balance, and have been reviewing and testing all feedback received from our users. In order to build a strong and lasting game balance, we are being extremely careful when it comes to adjusting the performance of characters, Blessings, and items. 

 

Currently, we are refraining from applying any sudden balance reduction updates to prevent our players from feeling a sense of loss. However, modifications cannot be avoided in the case of gameplay bugs, where content overwhelms the players unintentionally, and when content is not functioning as designed. It may be a disappointing update for some players, but we ask for your understanding that it is a necessary adjustment to allow more players to enjoy the game. 

 

We recognize that there are some issues such as how certain Blessings have comparatively low efficiency or are not as usable mechanism-wise, as well as issues where the content was made too easy to complete.

We plan to employ the following direction in balance updates that will be made to address these issues.
 

[Crusader] 

Crusader - Mark of the Wolf

• The concept of continuous damage for the Crusader Mark of the Wolf will be strengthened. 
• The ratio of damage from Bleeding as well as the max stackable amount of Bleeding will be increased. The Crusader’s position as a durational damage specialist will be enhanced through changes such as the effect being changed to Excess Bleeding if another skill is used when Bleeding is stacked. 

 

Crusader - Lionheart Legacy

• The Crusader’s Lionheart Legacy provides both buffs and damage when using Shout skills. Changes prepared for the Lionheart Legacy are expected to increase overall attack ability. Damage will be increased for when Shout skills are used due to Roar of the Lion, and combo damage from the shout effect will also be increased to output an amount of damage equal to the complexity of the Blessing’s controls.

 

For The Crescent Moon, changes such as increasing the duration of the defensive stance for the core skill ‘Counterattack’ so that enemy attacks can be blocked easier are currently being made to make it easier to manage.

 

[MAGE] 

Mage - Lionheart Legacy

• The Mage’s Lionheart Legacy class specializes in Flame-type combos and skills.
• Due to the large amount of mana consumption for Flame-type combos, by the time the Chain Explosion effect is activated, the lack of mana prevents the user from using additional skills when needed. This is currently being addressed to give the Mage class more flexibility in their skill usage. Also, the issue where the Chain Explosion effect did not apply to Meteor skill will also be fixed to offer a more fluid skill effect application. We will also make adjustments to the effect of Madness of Fire, by making changes to the damage radius and other changes to the small meteor when Flame Wave is used.

 

Mage - The Crescent Moon

• It has proven to be difficult to maintain the selection between Flame-type and Arcane-type skills.
• And to quickly address the concern, the effect durations for each skill will be increased for an easier, and fluid skill management.

 

In the case of the Mage class, the studio is aware of the biggest concern of the constant lack of mana.

And the devs are constantly reviewing a suitable balance for the class and we hope our players can expect some great changes coming their way.

 

[RANGER] 

Ranger - Gift of Valor

• We are ready to upgrade the core effect for Gift of Valor, ‘Flash’. Players can expect the increased duration of the ‘Flashing’ effect as well the effect duration reset when the same effect is applied while the other is still in effect.

 

Ranger - Lionheart Legacy

• Upgrade to the ‘Scarred’ debuff effect to bring more out of the team synergy.
• The max stack will be increased and when ‘Bottomless Quiver’ is used while the effect is applied, additional ‘Scarred’ effect will be added at a certain rate which is a significant buff to the class.
• Also additional mechanics can be expected to be added to incentive the use of the ‘Bottomless Quiver’ skill. While the changes may not be so dynamic, the adjustments will change the Range class to be more suitable, and contribute more in teamplay scenarios.

 

[PRIEST] 

Priest - Lionheart Legacy

• In terms of the Priest’s blessing, the system is designed so that the class will recovery HP through damage output and in the case of the Lionheart Legacy, ‘Benediction’ is the prime example. Adn with the upcoming balance changes, the effects of the Healing Orbs increase when the skill is upgraded.
• Also, the ‘Fervor’ effect, in addition to the increased attack speed, it also applies increased attack damage effect to allow the class to be more aggressive then the current meta.

 

Priest - The Crescent Moon

• The process leading up to the activation core mechanics of the Blessing, and applying the effects is arduous and difficult to master in the current design. Adjustments to the Divine Strike, and Eruptions skill will be made for easier class control.

 

Priest - Mark of the Wolf

• This particular Blessing is regularly being reviewed for its efficiency. ‘Protection and Sacrifice’ skill contains effects that increase attack damage and recovers HP and is considered a high-performing skill but the studio’s core direction is that the Blessings itself are designed to be suitable and optimized for certain scenarios/contents in the game. Thus currently under review. If the recovery effect have higher performance output from other HP recovery skill effects, necessary adjustments will be made, after a thorough internal testing and feedback from our players.

 

 

[BERSERKER] 

Berserker

• In the case of the Berserker class, and the data gathered, indicators show that based on the number of Berserker class and the selection of the available Blessings, the blessing selection is geared towards one specific Blessing. This does not necessary mean that the balance between the Berserker class and the available Blessings are not in tuned, but instead that regardless of the selection of the Blessing, the combination between ‘Rage’ and ‘Guillotine’ is too overpowered which makes the selection of Blessing meaningless. This balance is currently under review and as stated earlier, does not mean a nerf to the class. Similar to Gift of Valor, if the effects are directly tied to attack skills, adjustments such as buffing the skill, ‘Whirlwind’ is under consideration to have an alternative skill selection other than ‘Guillotine’. And in the cases where a skill is forced to be used similar to Crescent Moon’s Rage: Extinction, we are looking into options to change the mechanism of the Blessing as a whole. While the mentioned adjustments and changes are still in its early stages, as soon as the appropriate balance changes are made, our users will be informed of the final changes.

 

The studio is always continuously reviewing the balances between each class as well as other contents which are listed below.

 

[Adjustment to the Invasion balance]

Despite the extensive waiting time to participate in regional Invasions, the time it takes to complete the Invasions is very short. Thus, players that wish to participate in the Invasion content have a fairly short, and limited time window. And to mitigate the issue, a scaling system will be applied based on the number of participants in the Invasion that will adjust the monster’s HP. The appropriate balance changes will be applied first, and increasing the quality of the Invasion rewards are currently in review.

 

[Dungeon & Reward Balance Adjustment]

The Abyssal dungeons are currently set to have the highest difficulty level in the game. And also aware of the unrealistic condition to enter the dungeon thus implementing a system that will raise the current entry condition to the specific dungeons. Also internal balance adjustments to specific dungeons will be made, and in return, increase the dungeon clear compensation.

Also, players can expect to see some changes to the accessories that have been underperforming from the intended design and add new accessories that will provide additional utility in the future patches. Timed Dungeon compensations will drop an array of accessories that will be useful in many contents of the game. 

 

[PVP Balance]

PvP Balance will continuously be reviewed and adjusted based on the current state of the game.

The official PvP Season will start with the Fall update, and before the official start of the season, the following changes will be applied. 

 

To avoid battles that decide the winners and losers based on the character’s equipment, skills and stats, it will be adjusted to be geared more towards the player’s controls and expertise in the game.

This will include general adjustments to PvP balance and the PvP attack damage multipliers. And constantly review skills and effects in the content to maintain the right balance between all classes.

We understand that many of these upcoming changes may not be so welcoming to some of our players but many changes are not permanent and subject to change based on the data and importantly, feedback from our players.

 

All the changes that our players can expect to see will be made sequentially and thank all of our users for their patience and support for our game. We aim to offer high quality, immersive and in-depth game contents to our users, and hope to join us in the exciting journey that awaits.