(Bi-)Weekly Pupdate (1/26/21) -- Patch #53 (Companion edition!)

Welcome back, everyone! For our first entry in the now bi-weekly Pupdate, we've got a patch targeted towards improving the feedback given to the player throughout their time in Ephemeral Tale, and some balance changes meant to improve the standing of the companions!

Let's hop right in, shall we?

[h2]Ephemeral Tale 1.37.2 Changelog[/h2]

• Lowered the visual intensity of the lightning effects in the overworld
  
• Fateshifter, Bound and Willbearer, the Imprisoned now have wider loot pools
  
• Added an extra drop chance for El Cabones from El Caboney
  
• Zombobber’s can now drop El Cabones
  
• Added additional feedback to Jellies to better indicate their use
  
• Swiftstrike now lowers the users ATK by 30% (was 25%)
  
• Additionally, bows within the “double strike” archetype now lower the users attack an additional 5%
  
• Shoddy Twine’s recoil now strikes the user for 8% (was 5%)
  
• Bosses will now be tougher upon challenging them a second time (i.e., after you’ve beaten them for the first time)
  
• Clarke’s MP growth has been adjusted, and is now faster to climb but caps out at 450MP (was 500)
  
• Clarke’s DEF has been lowered overall, and now caps out at 175 (was 188)
  
• Clarke’s M.DEF has been lowered overall, and now caps out at 275 (was 294)
  
• Clarke’s Rejuvenation has had its cost adjusted, and now costs ~25% more to cast
  
• Additionally, Rejuvenation’s Heal over Turn effect now heals for 10% every turn for 4 turns (was 20% for 3 turns)
  
• Siegfried now takes 15% less physical damage overall
  
• Siegfried’s DEF has been raised overall, and now caps out at 350 (was 280)
  
• Siegfried’s HP has been raised overall, and now caps out at 1500 (was 1300)
  
• Siegfried’s Rally now heals for 50% of the damage done (up from 30%)
  
• Additionally, Rally now lasts 4 turns (was 3)

As you can see from the above patch notes, it's quite a landscape of changes! In the interest of transparency, I thought we might go over a few of these in particular to explain the reasoning behind the changes.

• Added an extra drop chance for El Cabones from El Caboney
  
• Zombobber’s can now drop El Cabones
  
• Added additional feedback to Jellies to better indicate their use
  

These three changes have a very simple reason for being here: things weren't being messaged clearly enough! Finding the right balance between "reasonably hidden, but messaged well enough for players to discover" and "yup, it's just not a thing that exists" is surprisingly difficult! As time goes on, I lean more towards being more indicative of feedback to the player, and instead hiding parts of the puzzle, instead-- a good example would be Sabrina's quest. The recent changes to it added a secondary method for starting it, but also indicated only a cave; there are caves in almost every zone in the game! Thankfully, it's enough of a starter to get players in the right direction, so it works out. The above changes will hopefully allow for players to discover more of the games deeper secrets! The next patch will also have some changes to further help in this regard. Have anything in particular you want more feedback on? Let me know!

• Swiftstrike now lowers the users ATK by 30% (was 25%)
  
• Additionally, bows within the “double strike” archetype now lower the users attack an additional 5%
  
• Shoddy Twine’s recoil now strikes the user for 8% (was 5%)
  

These changes are targeted specifically at weapons that hit multiple times, and are aimed to bring them more in line with other weapons. A 5% change is not a huge amount of change, but over several hits it can add up! My goal here is to keep these weapons feeling powerful and rewarding to use, while also hopefully allowing weapons that need more room to breath the ability to perform for you. Ideally, this will mean more overall flexibility in what you feel you're able to use moving forward.

• Clarke’s MP growth has been adjusted, and is now faster to climb but caps out at 450MP (was 500)
  
• Clarke’s DEF has been lowered overall, and now caps out at 175 (was 188)
  
• Clarke’s M.DEF has been lowered overall, and now caps out at 275 (was 294)
  
• Clarke’s Rejuvenation has had its cost adjusted, and now costs ~25% more to cast
  
• Additionally, Rejuvenation’s Heal over Turn effect now heals for 10% every turn for 4 turns (was 20% for 3 turns)
  
• Siegfried now takes 15% less physical damage overall
  
• Siegfried’s DEF has been raised overall, and now caps out at 350 (was 280)
  
• Siegfried’s HP has been raised overall, and now caps out at 1500 (was 1300)
  
• Siegfried’s Rally now heals for 50% of the damage done (up from 30%)
  
• Additionally, Rally now lasts 4 turns (was 3)
  

Whew! Some big changes to the companions this week, huh? Thanks to some recent feedback from you guys, I felt confident in tweaking the companions a bit this week to find a more perfect middle-ground for all of them, so they can aim for a slot in your party. Clarke was, in general, a bit too powerful once you had her-- she's a healer who could single-handedly invalidate large swathes of content. As such, she's had her more wild ability refined a bit, and her stats tweaked to ensure that you're working a tiny smidge harder to protect such a valuable asset. Siegfried, on the other hand, felt too vulnerable-- which is really bad for a tank-type character! As such, he's been made a bit beefier, and his Rally is now significantly stronger in order to allow for you to really just enjoy chunking through your foes.

That about covers this Pupdate, but if you think I missed something, or have any feedback please feel free to let me know! Until next time, stay safe and have fun!

-- Ryan
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