Early Access Patch #25: Sirens Reign and Tons More!

What's up, everybody, you're listening to Riff Radio! There's a new Reigning Boss Band in town, and that's only what's bubbling beneath the surface of one DEEP update!

Early Access Patch #25 Brings so much to Battle Bands, including but not limited to:

• A new Reign headed by "Sirens Scream"
  
• "The Final Judgement" chilling out and battling as a normal boss under the moniker "The Judgement"
  
• All the normal Bosses have been shifted and updated for balance and clarity.
  
• The bots, both friend and foe, have been overhauled to be smarter, more responsive and better team players.
  
• Protection is now removed at the end of your opponents turn. This applies to both Player bands, and Boss bands.
  
• In Match UI has been improved to more clearly communicate what cards are effecting whom and how.
  
• And so many other general fixes and changes that it's hard to express just how big this update really is!
  

"A rising tide raises all boats" - or so the saying goes. When Sirens Scream is raising the tide, boats have a funny way of going in the other direction. As the waves rise in Riff City, so do the hopes of many potential Crew-mates. Use their ambition to your advantage or against your opponents with some fishy new strategies that really hold water!

5 New Player Cards that enable crew to be copied, stolen, buffed and used against other bands.

12 New Gear to help navigate the crowded, watery streets of Riff City.

4 New Moments to discover as Riff City slowly sinks beneath the waves.

2 New Card Upgrades that let existing strategies morph and shift like a rushing river.

Overcome the allure of the "Sirens Scream" as you hold your friends close and fish-friends closer!



[h2]The Judgement[/h2]



When not reigning over Riff City with a velvet fist, this tall and mysterious figure can be found working on themselves at the Night Beach. Spending their time tempting all who cross this sandy path...

"The Judgment" is now a Boss that can be found in Riff City... when they aren't busy reigning as "The Final Judgement".

[h2]Tour Mode Bosses Overhaul[/h2]
Bosses have had their general strategies updated to be more understandable. This has led to some Bosses having cards removed and many of their cards being adjusted to read more clearly and work alongside the new Protection change.

[h2]Protection Change[/h2]

Protection now evaporates at the end of your opponent's turn.

This applies to both Player bands and Boss bands which leads to more intentional decision making about Protection and its perceived value versus Aggressive tactics. We look forward to hearing how you all feel about this change after you have had a chance to try it!

[h2]Quality of Life Improvements[/h2]

• More In-Match Icons have been added to help clarify moment-to-moment gameplay.
  
• The Hype Bar now displays a fiery vfx to indicate which band is going to win at the end of a round.
  
• Bosses will now shout their thoughts at player bands. (Asking each other for energy, and some extra flavor text associated with their specific cards)
  
• Players can now view their Bandmates Hands with the number keys 1 through 4 or the directional arrow keys. This should help provide more information about what both their human and bot bandmates have in their hands.
  
• The number of Bummers in players Hands, Draw piles, Graveyards and Exhaust piles are now displayed alongside the icon for each pile.
  
• We've added some clarity to Saving and Loading at the start of a Tour. You will now see an "Empty" save slot when you do not have a Tour save file.
  

[h2]Bot Overhaul:[/h2]


Bot Bandmembers will now chat about what they have, need, and want. On top of better communication they also have a better understanding of when to play more complex cards, such as high cost cards and intentionally discarding cards.

[h2]General Balance Changes & Fixes:[/h2]

• "Quick Keys" now gives 1 fewer hype and 1 more Protection on play.
  
• "Quick Riff" now gives 1 fewer hype and 1 more Protection on play.
  
• "Promising Beat" no longer has "Safe" upgrade.
  
• "Distracting Cross Stick" upgrade "Maintain" replaced with "Protective"
  
• "Chillin In The Groove" upgrade "Pensive" replaced with "Protective"
  
• "Distracting Glare" upgrade "Hard" & "Shining" Replaced with "Incredible" upgrade.
  
• "Deceitful Draft" now gives two "Good Ideas" on overwrite.
  
• "Off Key Notes" gives one "Embarrassed" twice instead of two once.
  
• "Shake It Off" draws all bandmember 1 card on discard and 1 more hype on play.
  
• "Melancholy Lick" costs 1 fewer energy.
  
• "Thunderous Cacophony" now gives all 4 "Broken Things" to one random opponent .
  
• "Crazy Keys" now gives 1 more hype.
  
• "Crazy Beat" now gives 1 more hype.
  
• "Practiced" upgrade now gives 1 Protection.
  
• "Building" upgrade now gives +2 Hype to all snares in hand.
  
• "Cool Jam" upgrade "Rejuvenating" replaced with "Protective"
  
• "Genius Opener" gives 1 more hype and "Maintain" upgrade replaced with "Safe"
  
• "Happy Melody" gives 1 fewer hype.
  
  
• "On Muck:" effects now happen at the end of the Player turn, before the Opponents turn.
  
• Final match Hype Goal raised to 500.
  
• One new Vendor added to each Reign for more Gear variety.
  
• Money can no longer go lower than zero.
  
• Invalid Band Name more apparent when in Band Setup.
  
• Cards refresh faster when their energy cost changes.
  
• Grand Royale scheduling fixed for more time zones.
  
• Ultra Slasher audio fixed.
  
• Axel animation idle loop fixed.
  
• Unplayable card bug fixed.
  
• "Clipper" name tag no longer gets lost under the card stack.
  
• Overhead labels of bosses adjusted to fit better.
  
• Milestone issues fixed.
  
• Updating card bugs fixed.
  
• Many other miscellaneous fixes and changes.
  

Yowza, that's the type of update you can really SINK some hours into! Come chat about all the big changes and additions over on our Discord, or find some scurvy dogs to ship out with and take on Sirens Scream. We love hearing from you punks, so don't be shy and as always- thanks for listening!