Beastieball News

Here's a quick little mid-month update! As always, please note that we're working on lots of other stuff which isn't noted here. Our first major milestone update is on track to ship in June, so please look forward to that!

[h2]✨New Features[/h2]

• Edit Teams in Team Setup - this has been a top-requested feature from PvP players. You can now edit the content of your teams as defined in Team Setup! Specifically, you can modify your team order and what plays are equipped. This does come with some weird caveats worth mentioning.
  
  • Uploaded teams won't update when you edit the team locally. If you want to update the data you have uploaded, you'll need to stop sharing the team and re-upload it to generate a new share code.
    
  • Beasties that belong to you will have access to whatever plays they currently know. So it is possible to teach a new play to a Beastie that's already in a saved team, and then add it in
    
  • Teams you have downloaded will only have access to the plays currently equipped on those Beasties.

[h2]🔧Balance Changes[/h2]
We're still assessing the shifts in game balance since our last major balance update. We'd like to see how the meta feels in at least the next Bigmoon Bash before we shake things up dramatically again.

[h3]🍄Traits[/h3]

• Power Up, High Spirits and Full Focus: These traits associated with the 3 starter Beasties now confer a +50% power bonus when the Beastie has less than 34 stamina, rather than a 1.5x power multiplier.
  
  This is a very subtle change that mostly limits how much this power level interacts with other ramping methods.
• Superorganism: Changed to trigger when the Beastie hits 0 STAMINA, rather than when they are WIPED.
  
  This is essentially only relevant for plays that can self-inflict WIPED and these are only relevant on Beasties that can access this trait via Trait Dance. For players who successfully ran this strategy, it would often make the game unplayable for opponents, so we've decided to mitigate its most offensive abuses.

[h3]⛰️Expedition[/h3]
Increased the rarity of Leobro and Waglash so that they aren't available in the pool of recruitable starter Beasties.

[h2]🚧Other Fixes and Changes[/h2]

• Fix for a load/softlock issue that can happen when exiting replays or online matches
  
• Fix for a crash when attempting to queue in a "Local Network" on Sportnet as part of a story sequence
  
• Removed Assess from Diabloceras (this was noted as a change in previous balance patches but wasn't properly implemented)
  
• Removed incorrect popups when Illugus with the Precise trait lands a sideways attack on a shielded Beastie
  
• Reduced how frequently Conjarr's Crpytic trait visually activates from receiving an attack
  
• When attempting to queue in a Bash with an illegal team, the game now offers to automatically assign you a random legal team instead
  
• Updated damage preview to account for the damage boost from the Hunter trait on opponents that are benched
  
• Moved some NPCs in Beryl
  

This past weekend we hosted a BIGMOON BASH in Beastieball, where coaches could challenge one another in fierce contests of sport! In light of the recent balance patch, we opened this Bash up to every Beastie and team out there to see how things are shaping up!

But first: here are the coaches who achieved the highest Bash Scores in this event!
[h2]🏆 Top-Scoring Players[/h2]

1. Satoros (The Diamond Ducks) | Bash Score: 3208
2. Bolimar (The Crimson Waves) | Bash Score: 3088
3. Kesephim (The Dazzling Lovers) | Bash Score: 2992
4. AshleyETA (The Musical Girls) | Bash Score: 2904
5. Rosery (The Roaring Knights) | Bash Score: 2896
6. MochaTeehee (The Hello Fishes) | Bash Score: 2796
7. Kyyg (The Wacky Worms) | Bash Score: 2760
8. • Ket (The Lonesome Lovers) | Bash Score: 2744
   • Arc Tech (The Arcane Machines) | Bash Score: 2744
9. N/A
10. Vega (The Dancing Dragons) | Bash Score: 2740

Honorable Mention: Kim (The Happy Hearts) | Bash Score: 2820 (We initially reported kim among the top Bash Scores but we later realized she hadn't actually played enough matches to certify the score.)

NOTE: During the first few hours of the event, Mac and PC players were mistakenly treated as though they were on different balance patches, preventing them from matching up. Everyone was still able to play, but this did have an effect on the available pool of opponents and likely had an effect on early Bash Score calculations. We apologize for this tech issue!

[h2]👥 Community Spotlight[/h2]
Thanks primarily to the efforts of kim, we've got mini-interviews with some of these top-ranking players here:

You can read more interviews like this in kim's official sheet!

I also want to acknowledge that there are tons of amazing players in our community, including many who have made huge contributions to the game's competitive exploration but don't happen to appear in the top Bash Scores. If you're enjoying the game and want to meet friendly like-minded players, our official Discord is always humming with Beastieball chatter and fan tournaments!

[h2]📊 Beastie Usage Stats![/h2]
As has become tradition, we've collected a ton of data on Beastie usage during this event and we're happy to share that data with you for further investigation!
[h3]> Check out the STATS here![/h3]

[h2]🕵️ Meta Insights[/h2]
I'm sure players will have their own discourse about the stats from this Bash, but here are my own thoughts on what we're seeing.

• This is the first Bash where Bandicraft was legal but not the most-used Beastie! That crown was taken by Hopra, a different starter Beastie.
  • I think this moment represents a major inflection point in the developing meta of Beastieball. Beasties' relative popularity with casual players has always been a major driving force in what gets used, and that's what we've seen reflected in usage with Bandicraft being the most popular Beastie both casually and competitively. But we're seeing more and more players start to optimize their team building, and that means usage is shifting more towards the Beasties that provide greater utility.
  • Bandicraft might have incredible offensive passing utility with Captain, but with a diverse array of support and offensive capabilities, Hopra is easy to fit onto any team whether they're gearing more for an offensive or defensive playstyle.
• Illugus, Surgus and Bongus still dominate the usage near the very top and still in that precise order.
  • Illugus has been through some finicky tweaks to their moveset and trait balance as we try to get them in line with other offensive tools. It's nice to see that despite their setbacks, players are still using Illugus and finding success with them.
  • We hope the recent changes have made Illugus more fun to play against, too!
• Rally-focused teams are still popular. Roughly 7 or the top 10 Beasties all like to play in Rally. Despite the recent addition of Demolish, a powerful Body-type play which clears field effects, we're not seeing Body-focused Beasties make a meaningful dent in Rally's control of the meta.
  • We'll definitely be thinking about how much we need to intervene with balance chnages here VS. giving the community space to find answers for Rally with the tools already in the game.
• If we turn our eyes to the bottom of the usage list, there's a few regular suspects, but Platypulse is a surprise last-place contender!
  • Platypulse has amazing utility to shutting down mind-style offense, but players may be overlooking it due to Rally being prevalent in usage right now.
  • However, if Platypulse isn't seeing use, that just means mind-type offense has a greater opportunity to shine without its scariest counter to stop it...
• Broadly, we're seeing the meta continue to diversify. There were (almost)* no fully-grown Beasties with 1% or less usage, which is pretty exceptional when there are so many different Beasties to choose from.
  • It's exciting to see players exploring all the possibilities offered by so many different Beasties. I'm sure there are tons of scary combos still waiting to be discovered out there and keep our balance team** up all night!

*Sorry Grazada. **(Damian and I)
[h2]🏐 BONUS STATS: Serving Advantage![/h2]
Many high-ranking players have felt anecdotally like it's more difficult to play from the side that gets the first serve in a match. During this Bash we put some extra analytics towards measuring this dis/advantage! Here are the results from 2,300 matches played.

• Winrate when NOT serving: 52.2%
• Winrate when NOT serving (for players in the top 50% Bash Score range): 53.5%

So: The anecdotes are true! The player who gets the first serve is playing with a very minor disadvantage right now. We'll continue to collect data on this over a larger sample size to see whether this holds true. With a disadvantage so small, and which disproportionately impacts high-ranked games rather than casual players, it may be hard to find a balance adjustment that makes these odds even more fair, but we'll be thinking about it. In looking for stats to compare these numbers with, we found that these numbers are very comparable to what was observed in Hearthstone for the player who goes first. It's a smaller advantage than you typically see in Chess.

For now, if you're worried about the serve disadvantage, you should factor it into your team building; having a strong serve option that can disrupt your opponent's first turn should be a very important part of any strong team. Bolimar said as much eloquently in their mini-interview above; and notably, even with their jaw-dropping 3088 Bash Score, they happened to be the serving player in the vast majority of their matches, so there's provable ways to put that advice into practice and see results!

[h2]🙇 THANK YOU![/h2]
I'm grateful every day that this gets to be my job. I love seeing the competitive game grow and change in the hands of players! We'll keep working hard on balance changes and other things. Stay tuned!

* = Added in update on 05/03

This update brings a huge balance patch to the base game, as well as a few long-requested quality of life features! After this update, the quality of your life will be improved SO much while playing this game, it's CRAZY. You'll all be saying, "I can't believe how high quality my life is right now!"

Note: Most things we're working on are not in this patch. We've got a big update cooking, but big things take big time. Look forward to more updates soon!

[h2]New Features[/h2]

• Custom tags for Beasties! After you have a couple extra recruits, you can set a Beastie's "tag," which is basically just a free text entry similar to a nickname. You can now also sort your Reserves by tag, so this gives you a tool to group your Beasties however your heart desires for easy searching. (Reserve sorting now also displays relevant text for each sorted Beastie, so if you're sorting by tag you'll see each Beastie's tag, or if sorting by level you'll see each Beastie's level, etc).
  
• You can now clap at online opponents! Press the clap button during an online match to show your opponent some pep! Claps are rate-limited to limit griefing. And of course, you can also disable seeing gestures from your opponent in the Settings menu.
  
• New hat shop added! You can now buy hats from Walter, the Jersey Weaver in Coquelicot Beach. These hats may look familiar to some players...
  
• New hats added to existing shops! Trat Can (in Geo City), Large Cap (in Chartreuse), Fedora (in Gamboge) and Paintbrush (in Jaspers)
  

[h2]Other Neat Changes[/h2]

• Holding the "run" button during a sports match will now cause animations to speed up (equivalent to setting the Sport Speed to the fastest setting). This is a hidden feature for power-users.
  
• In Impossible Mode, any campsites/Railhouses/etc which have already been used to heal are now marked with a red ring on the map
  
• We made the timing window more lax for when the game client treats disconnects itself from an online lobby when no activity has been received. This should reduce the number of disconnects players experience in general.
  
• Bigmoon Bash: Reduced the rate of rank meter gain for players at higher ELO, with the goal of better standardizing how many matches players have to get through before they are awarded a Bash Score. We also improved analytics quality + will be tracking player winrates based on who has the first serve to see if there is any unwanted correlation.
  
• Changed the visual indicator for throwing a ball so that the "aim line" is airborne. This makes it generally easier to target and also means it remains visible even when the player is standing in water.
  
• Added a visual indicator when Reese's radar is active
  
• Corrected issues with Bindiva pattern designs. Bindivas recruited in previous updates with certain patterns may change in appearance due to this update,
  

[h2]Balance Changes[/h2]

[h3]Traits[/h3]

• (NEW!) Stagecraft: When field has RALLY or DREAD, this Beastie never takes more than 66 damage from attacks
  
  
  
  • Given to Plumask in place of Performer
    
• Precise:
  
  • New effect: Non-SIDEWAYS attacks always go where they are targeted
    This updated effect keeps Precise effective as a tool against redirection, while allowing for more counter-play to its most annoying uses.
    
• Crafty:
  
  
  
  • New effect: Additional effects from this Beastie's attacks trigger twice
    
• Unflappable:
  
  
  
  • New effect: Damage from non-attack sources reduced by 20
    
• Musclebrain:
  
  
  
  • 1.2x damage (from 1.3x)
    
• Echo:
  
  
  
  • 1x damage (from 3/4x)
    
• Vampire:
  
  
  
  • Restores STAMINA equal to 1/4 of damage dealt (from 1/6)
    
• Welcoming:
  
  
  
  • Restores 35 STAMINA to an ally that TAGS IN for them (from 40 STAMINA)
    
• Stirring:
  
  
  
  • Reflects all FEELINGs onto BOTH opponents now (rather than just the original user)
    
• Goofy:
  
  • Updated text to read 1.3x rather than 1.5x
    Back in January we intended to buff this trait, but due to a version control mishap the math was never properly updated so the trait was always calculated at 1.3x. We only just discovered this issue now thanks to fan investigation. However, in the time since we falsely claimed this change had been made, Goofsder saw a lot more usage and optimization, to the point where it would now be overpowered if we actually gave it a 1.5x damage multiplier. It seems any Beastie can be strong if you simply believe in them...

[h3]Plays[/h3]

• (NEW!) Demolish - Body attack, 70 POW. POW x1.5 if field has any effects. Clears all field effects.
  
  
  
  • Via level up
    
    
    
    • Millimine/Demolipede
      
    • Sprecko
      
    
    
  • Via friendship
    
    
    
    • Kassaleet, Deluja, Crabaret, Trat, Yamyth
      
    
    
  • This attack clears field effects even when scoring a point, including when landing a free point
    
• Clear Field
  
  
  
  • Restores 10 STAMINA to entire team (from 8)
    
  Up until now, keeping the field clear has always been difficult and costly in terms of action economy. This has made it difficult to disrupt field-focused strategies including Rally, Rhythm and Trap. We're providing higher value and more convenient field-clearing tools to help mitigate the strength of these playstyles, as well as combo damage potential utilizing your own field effects.
• Dump
  
  
  
  • New effect: Mind attack, 60 POW. Used from net. Targets front row. POW x1.5 if user has 2+ ACTIONS.
    
  We're trying out something pretty different with one of the most-used and dominant attacks in the game. In true volleyball, a Dump is only effective when used as the 2nd touch instead of passing to a valid attacker. This new design simulates its iconic real-world counterpart. It means that Dump is still usable in all the ways it was before, but requires planning to unlock its full potential.
• Hyperspike
  
  
  
  • POW to 125 (from 135)
    
• Challenge
  
  
  
  • POW to 85 (from 90)
    
• Ego Blast
  
  
  
  • POW to 80 (from 85)
    
• Dive
  
  
  
  • POW to 55 (from 60)
    
  We're lowering the power level of a few plays whose strength can invalidate what should be good matchups, or offer too much consistency without enough risk
• Vigor Beam
  
  • New Effect: Body attack, 20 POW. Used at net. Add user's STAMINA to POW.
    This slightly flattens the curve on this attack's power, making it a little less exploitable at its best, while better clarifying how its power is calculated
• Heat Wave
  
  
  
  • New effect: Every non-SWEATY fielded players feels 1 SWEATY
    
  Combinations that utilize Heat Wave have been oppressively strong. Its capacity to add as many as 4 stacks of SWEATY to the field can make it game-warpingly powerful. This adjusted version makes the play far less valuable to use as the match wears on, and creates a distinct use case from plays like Heat Up which can continue stacking sweaty on opponents throughout the match. We have other ideas to mitigate this play's effectiveness, but we want to take the lightest touch to hopefully maintain its capacity to reward clever team building.
• Snipe
  
  
  
  • POW to 65 (from 60)
    
• Nerve Strike
  
  • POW to 55 (from 65)
    
  • POW x2 if target has a bad FEELING (from 1.5)
    
  These plays are cool but typically haven't been rewarding enough to be useful. We want to see players get more use out of these.

[h3]Beastie[/h3]

• Debugly
  
  
  
  • Plays Added: Dispel, Telekinesis, Assess
    
• Illugus
  
  
  
  • Plays Added: Slice
    
• Magpike
  
  
  
  • Plays Added: Snipe
    
  • Plays Removed: Tracker
    
• Heliath/Lunaptra/Humflit
  
  • Plays Removed: Excited Pass
    
• Platypulse
  
  • Plays Removed: Demanding Set
    
• Noizard
  
  
  
  • 50 BDEF (from 55)
    
  • 85 MDEF (from 90)
    
• Mistic
  
  
  
  • 80 MDEF (from 70)
    
• Zefyre
  
  
  
  • 89 SPOW (from 92)
    
  • 85 MDEF (from 88)
    
• Hydrolm
  
  
  
  • 75 BPOW (from 70)
    
• Tortanchor
  
  
  
  • 70 BPOW (from 65)
    
  • 110 BDEF (from 115)
    
• Riplash
  
  
  
  • 55 BDEF (from 60)
    
  • 90 SDEF (from 95)
    
• Cherrily
  
  
  
  • 88 SDEF (from 90)
    
  • 57 MDEF (from 60)
    
• Squimage
  
  
  
  • 46 SDEF (from 38)
    
  • Plays Removed: Assess
    
• Plumask/Collarva/Wormask
  
  
  
  • Plays Removed: Assess
    
• Bildit/Handicoot/Bandicraft
  
  
  
  • Plays Removed: Assess
    
  • Plays Added: Meditate
    
  After Assess was changed to be a disruption play rather than a self-boosting one, we never properly re-examined its distribution and how it fit with different Beasties' kits.
• Grazada
  
  • Plays Added: Pep Shot
    
• Pladion
  
  • Plays Removed: Demanding Set
    
  • 40 BPOW (from 30)
    
  • 81 BDEF (from 86)
    
  • 70 SDEF (from 75)
    
• Maraptor
  
  
  
  • 87 BPOW (from 89)
    
  • 29 SPOW (from 19)
    
  • 85 MPOW (from 87)
    
  • 83 BDEF (from 85)
    
  • 88 MDEF (from 91)
    
• Mascurry
  
  
  
  • 97 BDEF (from 82)
    
  • 88 SDEF (from 91)
    
  • 54 MDEF (from 50)
    
• Diabloceras
  
  
  
  • 108 BDEF (from 111)
    
  • 83 SDEF (from 86)
    
  • 68 MDEF (from 71)
    
  • Plays Removed: Assess
    

[h2]Fixes and Other Changes[/h2]

• Beasties are now immune to all additional feelings when they are WIPED
  
• Skulkapi's Stealthy trait will now fail to activate if the space they intend to move to is obstructed by a WALL
  
• Adjusted SP cost of field-clearing plays in the Academy shop
  
• Fixed a visual issue when scoring a point by hitting a WIPED Beastie through a wall
  
• Adjusted playbooks in the Tower Challenge
  
• Added a visual* delay to Scary Face (Grazada's trait) triggering such that the interaction between it and other movement effects like Stealthy is clearer
  
• Changed how effects that impact the target's ally trigger, such that single Beastie teams (aka ROWDY Beasties) don't get double-triggered effects
  
• Added much clearer/faster "start" and "end" effects for Dreadful Mist so that it's easier to tell when the effect is active
  
• Improved visual timing of field effect animations relative to when plays are used
  
• Fixed interactions between forced-switch attacks with Tornadoball with ally-triggered traits like Protector
  
• Changed Marlin's tutorial AI to not act as if the player has a sideways attack if their only sideways option can only target the front or back row
  
• Moving selection up/down on the main phone menu now loops from top to bottom and nice versa
  
• Beastie status icon now layers visually over Beastie art when viewing them in Reserves (more functional for Ironman)
  
• Slightly optimized/reduced load times for Begonia and an area of Garcinia Meadow
  
• Added better safety checks for recruiting new Beasties such that the number is never automatically set to be blank or over 999
  
• Changed damage preview so that Pressure shows boosted damage against Beasties that are not currently on the field
  
• Made it so that Beasties cannot sustain injuries during a critical endgame sequence during which the player can't travel
  
• Fixed bugs with desyncs on who has the first serve in Matchmaking Lobbies when one or more players previous played in a Private Lobby, causing some matches to never advance
  
• Fixed bugs with desyncs on the current ruleset during Bigmoon Bashes, causing some matches to never advance
  
• Added more robust logging for network activity so that we get better data when players report issues via feedback form
  
• Visual fixes to private online lobbies to always show the correct pose for opponents
  
• Made some changes to reduce unnecessary "The lobby rules have changed" messages
  
• Fixed a softlock that can occur when rapidly skipping cutscenes that include a scene change/level load. This impacted Speedrunners frequently!
  
• Fixed a crash that occured when a team with a Stirring Plumask applied a feeling to an opposing Stirring Plumask
  
• Fixed crashing issues with networked opponents using new clothing items
  
• Added a visual pop-up for when Conjarr's Crpytic trait activates
  
• Fixed an issue that made it impossible to erase tags on Beasties
  
• Changed how smaller Beasties display on the map screen, ie. when viewing habitats or looking at a roaming encounter. This specifically was implemented to address an issue where a roaming raremorph Petula was so small it was nearly impossible to see on the map.
  
• Tweaked the player foot position in one of the idle poses
  
• Fixed weird colliders on a couple buildings
  
• Fixed a gap in floor geometry I mistakenly added to Begonia
  
• Color overlays (ie. fade to black) no longer layer over the feedback menu
  
• Adjusted awkward collision on the Thousand Views Beastieball center so players cant accidentally clip into the building
  
• Fixed an issue causing Marlin to be shown as interactable even when his dialogue is exhausted
  
• Made it harder to abuse/clip into the weird collider on Campsite tents
  
• Added invisible walls to a certain screen with wild Vultoxin to prevent raremorphs from flying out of bounds
  
• Fixed an issue with the round count displayed to the player when resuming a Tower Tourney or raft Challenge streak from a save file load
  
• Plugged a few collision holes in Gamboge
  
• Fixed the door animation on Hyperlink Terminal
  
• Added more safety/stability for the way Beasties are "pushed out" of the player after forfeiting an encounter, making it less likely (hopefully impossible, actually) to push a Beastie out of bounds this way.
  
• Changed how Reese's radar state is stored in save data to make Beastie spawns more consistent when saving/loading. This addresses a specific possibility where a player finds a raremorph while a radar is active, then saves their game after the radar expires. Previously, loading from this state would yield inconsistent results, whereas now they should be consistent.
  
• Fixed visual offset issues when high-fiving floating Beasties like Kaleidarn
  

Another BIGMOON BASH is starting soon in Beastieball! During Bigmoon Bashes, coaches can challenge each other in open matchmaking for a limited time. All Beasties and coaches are invited to participate in this event!

When: May 10, 2025 00:00 UTC to May 12, 2025 00:00 UTC (equivalent to Friday, May 9 @ 4PM PST to Sunday, May 11 @ 4PM PST)

During the event you'll have a Bash Rank, which will improve based on your performance. After it's over, you'll receive in-game rewards based on your participation, such as Social Battery and Sports Points.

Players of all skill level are invited! All you need to do to participate is to play the game on that day and join the Bash on SportNet! SportNet is typically unlocked within the first 2 hours of your adventure, after beating your first Ranked boss. And if you aren't confident in your own Beastie team, you can use a randomly generated one instead - just go to Team Setup and set "Random Team" as your current team.

[h3]Official Game Rules:[/h3]
First to 2 Points wins
Standard time limit on move selection
No Undos allowed
No duplicate Beastie species allowed
Relationship Combos are disabled
All Beasties are set to Level 50

[h3]Balance Patch Notice![/h3]
This Bash will be on the latest balance patch! You may need to update your team to prepare. Check out the patch notes here!

* = Changed in update on 04/23 ** = Changed in update on 04/24 *** = Changed in update on 04/25 **** = Changed in update on 04/28
On PC ONLY, we've got a big update to test in the Experimental Branch! It features a number of new features and sweeping balance changes. Jump on the Experimental Branch to take a peek and help us test these balance changes before we bring them to the main Steam release.

[h2]Balance Changes[/h2]

[h3]Traits[/h3]

• (NEW!) Stagecraft: When field has RALLY or DREAD, this Beastie never takes more than 66 damage from attacks
  
  
  
  • Given to Plumask in place of Performer
    
• Precise:
  
  
  New effect: SIDEWAYS attacks do 3/4x damage and ignore all shields and redirection
  The intention of Precise has always been to force opponents to cover lanes to avoid free points rather than utilizing redirection. But with lots of damage boosting, this could put opponents into no-win scenarios too easily. This refactor keeps the most threatening targeting options open, but also makes them less effective as kill options.
  • ****New effect: Non-SIDEWAYS attacks always go where they are targeted
    We were happy with the power level of the previous adjustment, but we didn't put enough respect on Precise's utility to counteract common traits/strategies that revolve around redirection. We are trying a different implementation that leaves more counterplay to offense at the net while leaving more options for Illugus to punish opponents that over-rely on defensive redirection.
    
• Crafty:
  
  
  
  • New effect: Additional effects from this Beastie's attacks trigger twice
    
  • *Fixed to interact correctly with Cut Shot
    
• *Unflappable:
  
  
  
  • New effect: Damage from non-attack sources reduced by 20
    
  • **Fixed an issue where this didn't interact correctly with damage from traps
    
• Musclebrain:
  
  
  
  • 1.2x damage (from 1.3x)
    
• Echo:
  
  
  
  • 1x damage (from 3/4x)
    
• Vampire:
  
  
  
  • Restores STAMINA equal to 1/4 of damage dealt (from 1/6)
    
• Welcoming:
  
  
  
  • Restores 35 STAMINA to an ally that TAGS IN for them (from 40 STAMINA)
    
• Stirring:
  
  
  
  • Reflects negative
  • * FEELINGs onto BOTH opponents now (rather than just the original user)
    
• ***Goofy:
  
  • Updated text to read 1.3x rather than 1.5x
    Back in January we intended to buff this trait, but due to a version control mishap the math was never properly updated so the trait was always calculated at 1.3x. We only just discovered this issue now thanks to fan investigation. However, in the time since we falsely claimed this change had been made, Goofsder saw a lot more usage and optimization, to the point where it would now be overpowered if we actually gave it a 1.5x damage multiplier. It seems any Beastie can be strong if you simply believe in them...

[h3]Plays[/h3]

• (NEW!)
• ***Flatten Demolish - Body attack,
• 70 POW. POW x1.5 if field has any effects. Clears all field effects.
  
  
  
  • Via level up
    
    
    
    • Millimine/Demolipede
      
    • Sprecko
      
    
    
  • Via friendship
    
    
    
    • Kassaleet, Deluja, Crabaret, Trat, Yamyth
      
    
    
  • *Changed interaction such that field effects are cleared even when the hit results in a point scored
    
• Clear Field
  
  
  
  • Restores 10 STAMINA to entire team (from 8)
    
  Up until now, keeping the field clear has always been difficult and costly in terms of action economy. This has made it difficult to disrupt field-focused strategies including Rally, Rhythm and Trap. We're providing higher value and more convenient field-clearing tools to help mitigate the strength of these playstyles, as well as combo damage potential utilizing your own field effects.
• Dump
  
  
  
  • New effect: Mind attack, 60 POW. Used from net. Targets front row. POW x1.5 if user has 2+ ACTIONS.
    
  We're trying out something pretty different with one of the most-used and dominant attacks in the game. In true volleyball, a Dump is only effective when used as the 2nd touch instead of passing to a valid attacker. This new design simulates its iconic real-world counterpart. It means that Dump is still usable in all the ways it was before, but requires planning to unlock its full potential.
• Hyperspike
  
  
  
  • POW to 125 (from 135)
    
• Challenge
  
  
  
  • POW to 85 (from 90)
    
• Ego Blast
  
  
  
  • POW to 80 (from 85)
    
• Dive
  
  
  
  • POW to 55 (from 60)
    
• Vigor Beam
  
  • New Effect: Body attack, 20 POW. Used at net. Add user's STAMINA to POW.
    This slightly flattens the curve on this attack's power, making it a little less exploitable at its best, while better clarifying how its power is calculated
  We're lowering the power level of a few plays whose strength can invalidate what should be good matchups, or offer too much consistency without enough risk
• Heat Wave
  
  
  
  • New effect: Every non-SWEATY fielded players feels 1 SWEATY
    
  Combinations that utilize Heat Wave have been oppressively strong. Its capacity to add as many as 4 stacks of SWEATY to the field can make it game-warpingly powerful. This adjusted version makes the play far less valuable to use as the match wears on, and creates a distinct use case from plays like Heat Up which can continue stacking sweaty on opponents throughout the match. We have other ideas to mitigate this play's effectiveness, but we want to take the lightest touch to hopefully maintain its capacity to reward clever team building.
• Snipe
  
  
  
  • POW to 65 (from 60)
    
• Nerve Strike
  
  • POW to 55 (from 65)
    
  • POW x2 if target has a bad FEELING (from 1.5)
    
  These plays are cool but typically haven't been rewarding enough to be useful. We want to see players get more use out of these.

[h3]Beastie[/h3]

• Debugly
  
  
  
  • Plays Added: Dispel, Telekinesis, Assess
    
• Illugus
  
  
  
  • Plays Added: Slice
    
• Magpike
  
  
  
  • Plays Added: Tool, Snipe
    
  • Plays Removed: Tracker
    Tool was too good on Trusting-Magpike. OK, we get it. We're turning the power knob down a tiny bit and seeing if we can get away with it now.
    
• *Heliath/Lunaptra/Humflit
  
  • Plays Removed: Excited Pass
    
• Platypulse
  
  • Plays Removed: Demanding Set
    
• Noizard
  
  
  
  • 50 BDEF (from 55)
    
  • 85 MDEF (from 90)
    
• Mistic
  
  
  
  • 80 MDEF (from 70)
    
• Zefyre
  
  
  
  • 89 SPOW (from 92)
    
  • 85 MDEF (from 88)
    
• Hydrolm
  
  
  
  • 75 BPOW (from 70)
    
• Tortanchor
  
  
  
  • 70 BPOW (from 65)
    
  • 110 BDEF (from 115)
    
• Riplash
  
  
  
  • 55 BDEF (from 60)
    
  • 90 SDEF (from 95)
    
• ***Cherrily
  
  
  
  • 88 SDEF (from 90)
    
  • 57 MDEF (from 60)
    
• Squimage
  
  
  
  • 46 SDEF (from 38)
    
  • ***Plays Removed: Assess
    
• Plumask/Collarva/Wormask
  
  
  
  • ***Plays Removed: Assess
    
• Bildit/Handicoot/Bandicraft
  
  
  
  • ***Plays Removed: Assess
    
  • ***Plays Added: Meditate
    
  After Assess was changed to be a disruption play rather than a self-boosting one, we never properly re-examined its distribution and how it fit with different Beasties' kits.
• Grazada
  
  • ***Plays Added: Pep Shot
    
• Pladion
  
  • Plays Removed: Demanding Set
    
  • 40 BPOW (from 30)
    
  • 81 BDEF (from 86)
    
  • 70 SDEF (from 75)
    
• Maraptor
  
  
  
  • 87 BPOW (from 89)
    
  • 29 SPOW (from 19)
    
  • 85 MPOW (from 87)
    
  • 83 BDEF (from 85)
    
  • 88 MDEF (from 91)
    
• Mascurry
  
  
  
  • 97 BDEF (from 82)
    
  • 88 SDEF (from 91)
    
  • 54 MDEF (from 50)
    
• Diabloceras
  
  
  
  • 108 BDEF (from 111)
    
  • 83 SDEF (from 86)
    
  • 68 MDEF (from 71)
    
  • ***Plays Removed: Assess
    

[h2]Fixes and Other Changes[/h2]

• Beasties are now immune to all additional feelings when they are WIPED
  
• Skulkapi's Stealthy trait will now fail to activate if the space they intend to move to is obstructed by a WALL
  
• Adjusted SP cost of field-clearing plays in the Academy shop
  
• **Fixed a visual issue when scoring a poitn by hitting a WIPED Beastie through a wall
  
• **Fixed a crash to do with a Beastie trying to become TIRED from STRESSED while already WIPED
  
• **Adjusted a Heliath playbook in the Tower Challenge
  
• **Added a delay to Scary Face (Grazada's trait) triggering such that the interaction between it and other movement effects like Stealthy is clearer
  
• ***Changed how effects that impact the target's ally trigger, such that single Beastie teams (aka ROWDY Beasties) don't get double-triggered effects