This is the patch after Spooktacular where we apply the good stuff from the event as actual changes! As well as various bugfixes and improvements as usual.

We took a bit of a break after Spook (also its holiday season) so things have been a bit slow, but we're working on lots of stuff in the background... anyone up for some rest and relaxation?

[PvE] Content

Desert Dragon Nest Time Attack

We had pretty positive responses for the new mechanics, so we're bringing some of them in as regular additions
Some of the other mechs require some more TLC to get working satisfactorily

Manticore

See below for the [Endure] changes that this adjustment is for
PLEASE AT LEAST USE YOUR TUMBLE

[Sandstorm Air Gust] damage reduced: 3.5% --> 2% max HP per hit

Golem

Triple stomp is now a real threat. Jump!
The mark mechanic will return later as a tank-related experiment

• [Triple Stomp] now deals 12% --> 20% max HP every hit (total 36% --> 60%)
• [Enraged Triple Stomp] now deals 20% --> 35% max HP every hit (total 60% --> 115%)

Dragon Phase 1

Now everyone has something to do instead of just sitting there twiddling thumbs half the time

Eyes of Life explosion now hits the entire map (no more hiding in the safe spot)
Eyes of Life must now be destroyed within 10 seconds of the previous one to stave off the explosion
Eyes of Life no longer have the 1 damage taken phase nor do they provide immunity

Dragon Phase 2+

Honestly we needed a spacebar somewhere in this raid tired of those damn A-D mechs

[Click the Eyes of Life] now requires you to spacebar
[Rotating Sand Breath] cooldown increased from 96s --> 115s

Rewards

This was hotfixed in v842 but putting here for completeness
Drops adjusted to be less dependent on your (sometimes random) teammates cooperating with loot distribution so everyone gets a little something when they clear

Solace of Oblivion

Given the positive response from during Spooktacular we're bringing this to normal Solace. Also a Balapa tweak to make him a little more fun to fight instead of being in barmech simulator
Nemesis artifacts are not coming back due to bugs and needing more polish, options, etc, but may return in the future!

Maximum party size increased from 2 --> 4
Boss HP (and damage a little bit) scales with party size (2-4)
Balapa now can only do energy barmech once, other cooldowns tweaked

Boulder Training Ground

Added a new stat equalized variant of Boulder Training Ground (BTG). Access it at the same portal as regular BTG.
Equalization is set to the same type as [Ice Dragon Nest Vahrcore 8-man], so stats from gear do not matter, but skill crests, skill up crests, and wellsprings still matter. Kiwi buffs also still apply.

Note that just because its equalized doesn't mean you can use it to compare classes, but this is useful to use if you want to try out certain classes without having to move gear and be able to compare to other people or yourself playing a specific class

[PvE] Class Balancing

Several of the Spook changes were well received or introduced better and/or healthier gameplay, so many of those are coming back
Gladiator we're still cooking/deciding, since while there were a lot of good changes, some changes were mixed and we also need to be careful how we change the gameplay

/\c24\Lunar Knight

Baking some stuff in from Spook as well as adjusting Moon Fall vs Crescent Cleave. Since the cleaves move faster now, you have to aim better now and the distinction of when to use Moon Fall vs Crescent Cleave is very obvious. Moon Fall overall got nerfed but Crescent Cleave (S) got a slight buff if you manage to land all the hits. The easy way to tell when to use Crescent Cleave vs Moon Fall now is if you can score 15 or more hits with Crescent Cleave
This is a nerf except against large bosses (where it ends up being a buff)

[Courageous Shout] ATK buff decreased: 25% --> 15%
[Awakened Moonlight Splitter] Lunaris generation reduced: 3 --> 2 [Awakened Sword Flurry] Lunaris generation reduced: 3 --> 2
[Awakened Moon Fall] damage decreased: 15488% --> 10944% (applies to Moon Fall & Crescent Cleave)

• Crescent Cleave (S-Cast)-specific changes
  • Coefficient per hit increased: 2.75% --> 7%
  • Melee hits removed: 60% --> 0%
  • Cleave projectile speed increased: 300 --> 400

[Halfmoon Slash EX] coefficients decreased: 250/80% --> 150/120% (330% --> 270% total)
[Awakened Blade Storm] damage increased: 39261% --> 43187%
[Ascension]

• NEW: now generates 1 Lunaris per hit
• Hit count increased: 8 --> 12

/\c35\Pyromancer

This one is from spook. I changed the way the hits come out so it should be more consistent and the visuals got updated a bit.

[Summon Meteor (3)] changed from one large meteor to a meteor swarm of 13 meteors.

/\c36\Ice Witch

More consistent Ice Stacking and making bubbles actually feel used by making the restriction for casting significantly higher. You should now be able to move your field around more often. However, it isn't low enough to still punish reckless placement or timing. This should make the class feel more complete.

Ice Crystal(bubble resource) max stack count increased: 50 --> 100
[Frost Chaos] cooldown reduced: 25s --> 16s
[Glacial Devastation] cooldown reduced: 35s --> 25s
[Ice Cyclone] cooldown reduced: 26s --> 18s; bubble requirement increased: 50 --> 100

/\c74\Valkyrie

We'll have to see about the remaining changes from Spook, but this one should be safe to keep at least.

[Class Mastery II] instant skill enhance time increased: 1.8s --> 2.2s

Endure (Tanks)

We introduced [Endure] as a party impact skill for when we did the big tank rework. However, after having it for a while and seeing how its used across various content, as well as having to design for and around it, it didn't quite hit the mark we wanted.
That being said, we're not outright removing the skill. We'd like to try some other meaningful ways for tanks to have more obvious party impact in the future, which may or may not involve [Endure] in some form.
We do think that [Endure] gives tanks a good self-preservation button for certain scenarios (which tank players do use when they aren't using it for their party), so the skill has been changed to still allow for that.

Destroyer, Guardian, and Defensio [Endure] no longer iframes allies within range
Caster is iframed for the entire duration (unchanged)
Cooldown reduced from 300s --> 180s
Cooldown is shared with other instances of [Endure] in the party (unchanged)
Cooldown is not affected by CDR (unchanged)
Visual effects updated to reflect its usage

[PvP] Class Balancing

Yeah so, I decided to make Vandar a Roey class. It's probably overtuned. I'll figure out how best to nerf it after seeing more of it in action and playing around with it myself.

/\c25\Barbarian

Circle Swing EX: Combo attack lift height reduced but overall time enemy is lifted in air is the same. SAb 100 > 200
 Dev Note: The purpose of this change is to allow Soccer Kick Combo to connect immediately after the combo attack while hopefully not effecting the other combos since the time the enemy is in the air is the SAME. The slight SAb increase just sounded reasonable to give this extra attack SOME chance of breaking SA if the main attack is dodged...

/\c30\Warden

Swift Shot EX: S-cast version now creates the aoe field instead of the arrows at the spot of the frag core.

/\c35\Pyromancer

Fire Wall EX: Hitbox on top of pyro during combo attack SAb increased 0 > 400.
Hot Rod EX: SAb increased (8x6+50)x6 > (25x6+50)x6 == (1200 sab total over ~6s instead of ~600 sab total)
 Dev Note: These probably won't amount to much but seem reasonable and are technically buffs so... no more complain syndrome?...

/\c62\Chaser

Shinobi Drop: Parry buff duration decreased from 1800s to 5s
 Dev Note: IDK if this will do anything about the infi parry, I didn't test it.

/\c201\Vandar

THIS UPDATE PROBABLY BUFFS VANDAR TOO MUCH. I JUST WANT TO SEE THESE CHANGES IN PLAY FIRST BEFORE NERFING AFTERWARDS. I KNOW, I'M SORRY.
So, the main ideas here were to increase the damage and utility of close range skills to discourage kiting on the class. The changes don't negate or remove their ability to kite. However, they shouldn't feel like they NEED to kite anymore. The utility buffs include ease of comboing as well as buffs that should hopefully allow the class to be more aggressive. The base class buff is changed to something other than a damage increase to help compensate for increasing the damage of some close range skills while also giving them something unique as a class buff in PVP (warriors already give attack...)

Basic Attacks: 2nd and 3rd basic atk hitbox reach the ground now for more reliable basic atk combos potentially
Crossfire: Last attack SAb: 300 > 400. Last attack aoe slightly adjusted to match FX. Dmg increased by x2
 Added a Lvl 6 enhancement: Extra attack creates a small upward lift attack before shooting the arrows
 Extra lift attack: 400 SAb, +15% dmg 
Double Check: Sped up to make it connect better for combos
Double Slash: Damage increased by x2. Hits are now allowed to hit grounded enemies
Ice Bolt: SA 400 > 200
Inspiration: Buff changed from ATK +8% > MP Recover +250/2sec
Piercing Bolt: 200 SAb > 100 SAb. 50% dmg nerf
Power Dive: Allowed some horizontal jump velocity to be retained when using the skill.
Low Slicer: Damage increased by 60%. SAb increased 300 > 400. Added small hitbox behind Vandar to better match FX
Windmill: last hit SAb 200 > 300

Dev Note: Crossfire, Low Slicer, and possibly Double Slash will probably be really good skills for overall dps now. This sounds healthier maxing Piercing Bolt and such. They might be doing too much damage this update though.

/\c100\Treasure Hunter

Arrow Sword: SA 600 > 400. 2nd Hit SAb: 400 > 600. 2nd Hit lift height increased.
 Dev Note: 600 SA on a 13 second cooldown was pretty obnoxious. Trying out 600 SAb here for now. The lift height increase will help with comboing.
Blading Edge: SAb 150x4 > 200x4. Dmg increased by x2. Enemies lifted will be pushed forward slightly in the air. 10 frame startup added. SA 200 > 400.
 Dev Note: Because the first 3 hits are basically bunched up in the action, using the skill up close will allow for 600 SAb. Whereas medium to long range may result in 200-400 SAb on average. I'm hoping this skill can be used more aggressively with the increase in SAb and SA. Landing it in combos vs a wall will now also be rewarding. Plus, it's a 25 second cooldown, so, I felt as if it should be a bit stronger than what it was. I think the 10 frame startup increase will allow this change to be a bit more fair for counter play as well.
Double Rise: Able to walk a little sooner on landing.
Execution: 800 SA > 900 SA
Falling Arms: Created a W-cast version where it doesn’t move the Vandar backwards but has iframes (35). Damage -50%.
 Dev Note: Hopefully the W-cast version will be used more for the iframes and keep the Vandar within close range. It can also help with combos since it doesn't move them so far away where only a few skills would connect.
Flush: Increased SAb 80/hit > 100/hit. Can left/right click sooner. Made hits slightly pull enemies hit towards Vandar. Slight hitbox behind Vandar added to match FX.
 Dev Note: This should hopefully make sure that enemies aren't pushed out of the skill in combos.
Interlude: Mark duration 20 sec > 5 sec
Guillotine Blade: 20% chance > 100% chance
 Dev Note: Yeah I'm gonna regret this but idk by how much. Skill is still locked behind Falling Arms' cooldown. The 5 second duration is so that it's used relatively quickly.
Metal Body: CD increased: 15 > 20. Damage increased by x4
 Dev Note: with all the other stuff going on, this skill won't need to be used as much hopefully. Its main purpose was for movement and picking up combos so, there should be less needing of that now.
Pale Burst: 1st hit SAb: 200 > 400. 2nd hit hit-state: Stagger > Lift. Damage increased by x2.
 Dev Note: this skill was trash. Now it's good and can be used in neutral. Since it's a close range skill, I think this is the right direction to go. The lift severely helps Trickster combos too IMO.
Rearrange: CD 10s > 20s. Dmg increased by x2.
 Dev Note: 10s iframe that makes the Vandar kite away is not the playstyle I'm aiming for here.
Ripple Effect: SA 200 > 300. hitbox increased by ~10% to better match FX. Increased pull velocity (like EX).
 Dev Note: 300 SA was given to help make it so baby 200 SAb skills don't accidentally punish the Vandar for trying to play aggressively.
Split Fire: SA 400 > 200
Unchained Bolt: SA 400 to 200 > 200 to 100

/\c102\Duelist

Just some damage nerfs here to compensate from the other damage buffs in the Vandar and TH trees.

Arrow Sword EX: SA 600 > 400. 2nd Hit SAb: 400 > 600. 2nd Hit lift height increased. Damage increase from EX +50% > +30%.
Flush EX: increased SAb to 100/hit. Damage increase from EX +50% > +30%.
Pale Burst EX: 1st hit SAb: 200 > 400. 2nd hit hit-state: Stagger > Lift. Damage increase from EX +50% > +30%.
Ripple Effect EX: SA 200 > 300. Damage increase from EX +50% > +30%.

/\c103\Trickster

Added some close range hitboxes for help with comboing and doing damage in close range. Unchained Bolt nerfs should hopefully make the class not a 1 skill pony.

Clutch Field EX: add 30% Lift hit to shooting animation. 100 sab.
 Dev Note: This helps and rewards the skill be used in combos close range.
Outlink EX: add 50% hit and FX for stagger hitbox before the shot, 400 SAb.
 Dev Note: The hitbox up close helps makeup for the damage lost when using the skill closer to enemies. It can also help with combos by resetting the timing for when an enemy can roll/wake attack on the ground.
Split Fire EX: SA 400 > 200. Fxed debuff icons not appearing on enemies hit.
Unchained Bolt EX: 2nd attack +100% > +67% dmg. 3rd attack +100% > +33% dmg. SA 400 to 200 > 200 to 100
 Dev Note: Overall, the EX goes from a +200% damage increase to a +100% damage increase.
CM1: 10% > 20% cd reduction on Falling Arms.
 Dev Note: I just felt like Trickster could use a skill on a 20 sec cd, since it has a little gap between 18 and 23 seconds.

Crusader AI

Kinda fixed the hard AI version getting FULLY stuck in Stance of Faith... Though it still kinda gets stuck, you can at least hit the AI and it should go back to fighting...

Roey's Magic Temple

I think I made this map selectable in 200% HP Rounds mode. I did NOT test if it worked.

Misc

UI

• You can now inspect/interact with players that are riding a mount as a passenger, including passengers of your own mount
• Dropped item dice rolls now have unlucky streak breaking, meaning you will be less likely to roll consecutive low rolls (it still can happen at which point you're just that unlucky, but this should help with feeling less unlucky)
• The startup screen fades in sooner since loading times are so much faster now (meaning the Skip Autologin button is actually clickable)

Vulkan

• Game now detects more integrated graphics chips that are incompatible with Vulkan/DXVK and will automatically disable Vulkan if detected (can be overridden in settings)
• Game now only applys the above mitigation if it doesn't detect a discrete graphics card (e.g. people that have a proper graphics card but didn't disable their integrated chip)

Bugfixes

UI

• Removed pumpkin heads on background characters in character select (forgot to remove them after Spooktacular)

Classes

• Fixed Arch Heretic's [Dark Tumble] sometimes failing to cast but still going on cooldown
• Fixed Destroyer's [Class Mastery III] tooltip erroneously stating that [Crash Mode] is extended for 5 seconds --> 3 seconds
• Fixed Jotunn's [Hailstorm] ghosting when used after [Frostbite]'s right click input
• Attempted to fix Blade Dancer's [Blade Step] having an inconsistent hitbox
• Reaper's [Shadow Rage] energy bar now tracks the time you have for the [Class Mastery I] skill enhancement rather than the ulti buff duration (which turns out, are not the same thing)