CounterSide News

Dear CEOs,

Here is the list of new products featured in this week’s update.

Please look through them carefully, for you never know when they will come in handy!
The product's price may vary depending on the platform, residence, and the daily exchange rate.

For more information on the updates and the maintenance schedule for January 17, please check the link below.

Patch Notes: [Link]


[h3]▣ Packages[/h3]

【 Weekly Resource Package 】



Price: 499 Admin Coins
Total Purchase Count: 3 time/account

▼ Available Schedule
▷ January 17, After the maintenance ~ January 31, 2024, 14:00 (UTC+9)
▷ January 17, After the maintenance ~ January 31, 2024, 00:00 (UTC-5)

▼ Composition:
▷ 550 Quartz
▷ 10,000 Eternium
▷ 1,000,000 Credit
▷ 3,000 Info

※ This product is not refundable.


【 Daily Recruitment Package 】



Price: 1,200 Admin Coins
Total Purchase Count: 1 time/account

▼ Available Schedule
▷ January 17, After the maintenance ~ January 31, 2024, 14:00 (UTC+9)
▷ January 17, After the maintenance ~ January 31, 2024, 00:00 (UTC-5)

▼ Composition:
▷ 1,200 * Quartz
▷ 5,000 Eternium
▷ 10 * Employment Contracts
(1 * Employment contract given for 10 days, starting from the day of purchase.)

※ This product is not refundable after purchase.

【 Activity Pledge #22 - Altergressive Seo Yoon 】



By spending a certain amount of eternium, Activity Pledge will refund a certain amount of quartz back!

Price: 1,950 Admin Coins
Total Purchase Count: 1 time/account

▼ Available Schedule
▷ January 17, After the maintenance ~ February 14, 2024, 14:00 (UTC+9)
▷ January 17, After the maintenance ~ February 14, 2024, 00:00 (UTC-5)

▼ Composition:
▷ 1,950 x Quartz
▷ 1 * SSR Trophy: 1x Altergressive Seo Yoon

Dear CEOs,
Patch notes for January 17 are now live!
Please check it out to avoid missing any vital update details!

▼ Maintenance Schedule
▷ January 17, 14:00 ~ 16:30 (UTC+9)
▷ January 17, 00:00 ~ 02:30 (UTC-5)

▼ Maintenance Compensation
▷ 20,000 Credits
▷ 3 Employment Contracts

▼ Shop News
For this week’s update on shop products, please check the announcement below for more information.
Shop Product: [LINK]

[h3]▣ Raid[/h3]

【 Kraken 】



1. A new raid boss, [Kraken] will be added after the January 17 maintenance.
- Kraken will appear during the schedule posted below.

▼ Kraken Raid Schedule
▷ January 17, After the maintenance ~ January 31, 2024, 14:00 (UTC+9)
▷ January 17, After the maintenance ~ January 31, 2024, 00:00 (UTC-5)

※ [Kraken] raid is not included in the regular raid rotation schedule.
※ CEOs will acquire [Black Flood Tokens] after successfully defeating [Kraken].
※ You can exchange the [Black Flood Tokens] for either [Polymer Token] and [Superconductive Token] at a ratio of 1:1.
※ Craft with your [Black Flood Tokens] with [Distorted Universal Mold] to acquire either Britra or Inhibitor gears.

• 
  Crafting with [Distorted Universal Mold] requires the following materials
  
  • 
    1,500 Black Flood Tokens
    
  • 
    2,500,000 Credits
    

※ With the start of the [Kraken] season, the [plaque exchange] list will be updated.
※ Raid points from the season before will not transfer to the [Kraken] season.

▼ Kraken Raid Plaque Exchange Reward List

The title for Kraken Raid has also been added.

▼ Title: Kraken Slayer
▷ Reach 10,000 Raid MVPs in Kraken Lv. 150


[h3]▣ Arcade[/h3]

【 The Last Wild Card 】



A random Awakened unit will be deployed as the last unit in the deck.

Arcade Rules
▷ Entry available every day
▷ Gear stats not applied
▷ All unit Role ADV DMG +50%
▷ DMG Taken Limit +20% for SSR rarity ships
▷ Rearmed units are not allowed
▷ Ship will be selected at random.
▷ Can select 5 employees of your choice. The final 6th unit will be a random Awkawned unit.

▼ Participation Reward - Comment Emote
▷ Win 3 times - Such a ruckus
▷ Win 5 times - I’ll quiet things down here

▼ Arcade [ The Last Wild Card ] Schedule
▷ January 17, After the maintenance ~ January 30, 2024, 23:59 (UTC+9)
▷ January 17, After the maintenance ~ January 30, 2024, 09:59 (UTC-5)


[h3]▣ Danger Close[/h3]

【 Tyrant Sword 】

[Battle Conditions]

Easy
▷ All units’ Incoming Healing -30%
▷ [Alphatrix] unit ATK +100%, HP & Skill Haste +50%

Normal
▷ All units’ Incoming Healing -60%
▷ [Alphatrix] unit ATK +100%, HP & Skill Haste +50%

Challenge
▷ All units’ Incoming Healing -90%
▷ [Alphatrix] unit ATK +100%, HP & Skill Haste +50%

▼ Danger Close Schedule
▷ January 17, 14:00 ~ January 24, 04:00 (UTC+9)
▷ January 17, 00:00 ~ January 23, 14:00 (UTC-5)

▼ Danger Close Settlement Period
▷ January 24, 04:00 ~ January 31, 04:00 (UTC+9)
▷ January 23, 14:00 ~ January 30, 14:00 (UTC-5)


[h3]▣ Gauntlet[/h3]

▼ Gauntlet Loyal First Half Schedule
- End Date: Jan. 22 at 08:00 (UTC-5)
- Settlement Period: Jan. 22 08:00 ~ 14:00 (UTC-5)

▼ Gauntlet Loyal Second Half Schedule
▷ January 22, 2024, 22:00 ~ March 31, 2024, 22:00 (UTC+9)
▷ January 22, 2023, 08:00 ~ March 31, 2024, 08:00 (UTC-5)

The special reward from the Loyal season is Joo Shiyoon’s [Dragon Unbound by Clouds].



The Gauntlet Ban Effect will be enhanced as follows.

[h3]Before[/h3]


[h3]After[/h3]



[h3]▣ Returning Operators[/h3]

【 Operator Sigma 】

▼ Sigma’s Banner Schedule
▷ January 17, After the maintenance ~ January 31, 2024, 14:00 (UTC+9)
▷ January 17, After the maintenance ~ January 31, 2024, 00:00 (UTC-5)

【 Jung Dain 】
▼ Dain’s Banner Schedule
▷ January 17, After the maintenance ~ January 31, 2024, 14:00 (UTC+9)
▷ January 17, After the maintenance ~ January 31, 2024, 00:00 (UTC-5)

【 Lee Sooyeon 】
▼Sooyeon’s Banner Schedule
▷ January 17, After the maintenance ~ January 31, 2024, 14:00 (UTC+9)
▷ January 17, After the maintenance ~ January 31, 2024, 00:00 (UTC-5)


[h3]▣ Substream Event[/h3]

【 The Moonless Night 】
[ Gathered Nightmares ] will drop 3 times more than normal during the event.

▼ [ The Moonless Night ] Currency Drop Event Schedule
▷ January 17, After the maintenance ~ January 24, 2024, 14:00 (UTC+9)
▷ January 17, After the maintenance ~ January 24, 2024, 00:00 (UTC-5)


[h3]▣ Challenge Stage[/h3]

【 Academy Student Council Special Course 】



Academy Student Council Special Course challenge stage will be opened to create exclusive gear for the Academy Student Council employees after the maintenance on January 17, 2024.

In this challenge, collect [Lost Student Notebook] to craft their Exclusive Gear. Moreover, there is a slight chance for the fully crafted exclusive gear to drop after each successful run.



▼ Crafting [Academy Student Council] Mold
To craft with [Academy Student Council] Mold, the following materials are required.

• 
  2,500,000 Credits
  
• 
  400 Lost Student Notebooks
  
• 
  600 Advanced Gear materials.
  

The mold will give a random exclusive gear from these three gears listed below.

▼ Equipment from the [Academy Student Council] Mold


▷ T6 Yin-Yang Unification (Yen Xing Lanchester only)


▷ T6 Major Andreas (Edith Twins only)


▷ T6 Magic Hat (Mika ★ Star only)


▼ Challenge Stage - Academy Student Council Special Course Schedule
▷ January 17, After the maintenance ~ January 24, 2024, 14:00 (UTC+9)
▷ January 17, After the maintenance ~ January 24, 2024, 00:00 (UTC-5)


[h3]▣ Punch-in Event[/h3]

【 Vice President’s Special Bonus 】


▼ Vice President’s Special Bonus Schedule
▷ January 17, After the maintenance ~ January 31, 2024, 14:00 (UTC+9)
▷ January 17, After the maintenance ~ January 31, 2024, 00:00 (UTC-5)

[h3]▣ System Improvements and Changes[/h3]
1. Cutscenes for returning CEOs have been added.

1. 
   The cutscene will automatically play when CEOs return to CounterSide after 15 days.
   

2. Cutscenes for CEO birthdays have been added.

1. 
   You can set your birthday in the [Profile] interface.
   
   1. 
      You cannot reset your birthday under any circumstances after the confirmation.
      
2. 
   The cutscene will automatically play on the day of your birthday, and after the cutscene, a special trophy and a present will be sent to your in-game mailbox.
   
3. 
   You can watch it again in the [Collections] after it is played at least once.
   

3. Title effects will not be displayed from the list of titles.

4. You will now be able to dismantle [Undercontrol] and [Coffin].

1. 
   You will not be able to dismantle the last copy of either [Undercontrol] or [Coffin].
   

5. Skin option from [Management] - [Unit] will now display the number of skins you own.



6. Two new puch alarms have been added.

1. 
   A push when the eternium is almost fully charged.
   
   1. 
      The alarm will be sent when you are 75 eternium away from max.
      
2. 
   A push when the Gauntlet Points are fully recharged.
   

7. The Coalition Mission tab will be removed.

8. New sets of flashback scenes will be added.

1. 
   The Moonless Night (3)
   
2. 
   End of the Maze (2)
   
3. 
   Crossroads (1)
   
4. 
   The Inheritor (2)
   
5. 
   Flora Maid Service (3)
   
6. 
   Old Fear (1)
   

9. Level requirements to unlock World Map Branches will change as follows.
■ Before: 0 / 10 / 30 / 45 / 60 / 75
■ After: 0 / 10 / 25 / 35 / 45 / 55

10. Friendly Match will now have its [ Apply highest level ] effect applied on the Alternium Reactors and Tactical Update levels.

[h3]▣ Fixes[/h3]

1. A fix on the Steam client where [ Information Reception Agreement ] was being displayed.

2. A fix on Arcade strings to display correctly.

3. A fix where the client would close immediately if players enter the gauntlet right after the last stand play.

4. A fix on mail display where important mail tag is also applied to mails that are not supposed to have.

Dear CEOs,

This is Kim Hyun Soo, the Head PD of CounterSide.

First, we deeply apologize for the confusion from the last announcement regarding the Future Plans for Gauntlet Balance Adjustments.

In the announcement, we have introduced the changes in [Strombringer Jake Walker], [Awakwned Counter employees], and [Enhanced Ban Penalties]. However, because of these sudden changes, we confirmed many concerned voices from our CEOs.

To correct the sudden changes, we plan to adjust the changes as follows.

[h3]▣ Adjustments to January 17 Gauntlet Balance[/h3]

- [Strombringer Jake Walker]’s skill changes will not be included in the January 17 update.
- Additional stats to [Awakened Counter Employees], [Anti-C.O. DMG], and [Anti-C.O. DMG RES] will not be included in the January 17 update.
- Ban penalty enhancement will be carried on as informed in the January 17 update.


Before

After



Moreover, to compensate for the confusion caused, we have prepared the following.


[h3]▣ Compensation[/h3]
- 30 Relic Binary
- 50 Set Binary


[h3]▣ Date of Compensation[/h3]
- January 17, 2024, during maintenance.

※ Compensation can be claimed within 7 days.
※ The mail will expire after 7 days.


We will proceed with the adjustments to the Gauntlet balance sequentially, taking into consideration the opinions of our CEOs. Throughout this process, we will ensure that abrupt patches do not confuse our CEOs.

We sincerely apologize for any confusion caused by the previous announcements and assure you that we will be more attentive to the feedback of our CEOs during this upcoming adjustment process.

Thank you

Dear CEOs,

This is Kim Hyun Soo, the Head PD of CounterSide.

In the previous December developer's note, we provided information about the survey responses regarding the plans for Gauntlet balance adjustments. On the January 3rd update, we planned to modify the abilities of [Carmen] and [Full Moon Nanahara Chinatsu]. However, this modification has been excluded due to concerns raised by CEOs and internal discussions.

We apologize for any confusion caused by the hasty update decision and subsequent withdrawal, despite the topic's sensitive nature.

After the decision to exclude the update related to healing abilities, the development team has thoroughly reconsidered the direction of future Gauntlet balance adjustments. After the reconsideration, we plan to proceed with a different approach than the one we initially announced.

▣ Future Plans on Gauntlet Balance Adjustments

As mentioned earlier, we have acknowledged the concerns expressed by CEOs regarding the previous balance adjustments which led to the establishment of a new direction for Gauntlet balance adjustments.

The initial balance adjustment plan mentioned in the previous developer's note focused on readjusting employees’ combat survivability stats, such as healing/barrier and cost-to-value ratios of high-value stats. However, this process led to nerfing stats for specific employees like [Carmen] and [Full Moon Nanahara Chinatsu] causing a loss of cost put into developing these two employees.

The development team has completely revised the initial Gauntlet balance adjustment plan. The new plan aims to preserve the value of the employees while providing a more enjoyable Gauntlet environment.

The initial direction of balancing was aimed at making adjustments to the abilities or stats of employees only in the PVP environment without affecting the existing PVE environment. However, with the recent balance adjustment patch related to the self-healing abilities of employees, we have acknowledged the concerns of our CEOs.

In response to this, we plan to establish a new direction for Gauntlet balance, for future balance adjustments do not result in specific employee skills or stats being nerfed. If there is an unavoidable need for a nerf, we will provide corresponding compensation.

Through this approach, we aim to respect the affection and cost invested towards the employees while aligning the Gauntlet balance. This announcement informs you about the preemptive measures and adjustments regarding the new direction outlined earlier.

As the first step in the new direction, we plan to enhance the existing employees’ attributes or introduce additional skills and stats based on classifications.

The first adjustments will target [Stormbringer Jake Walker] and [Awakened Counter employees].

Stormbringer Jake Walker specializes in facing mech-type employees with his level 5 Special Skill and Passive Skill effect triggered by basic attacks. However, with the introduction of new employees whose abilities counter the Status Effects, the prominence of Jake Walker against mech-type employees has diminished. To emphasize his role as an employee who specializes in countering mech, Jake’s [Stun] effect on mechs will change to [Binding] effect.

In Counter Side, all employees, bosses, and monsters are composed of various types, and the intuitiveness of corresponding types to all these characters is somewhat lacking.

In response, the development team aims to clarify the use of employees by classifying them based on specific type categories.

As the first step in this classification initiative, the [Awakened Counter Employees] have been categorized with a specialization in countering the Corrupted Object type, allowing them to gain an advantage over those opponents.

The Awakened Counter employees will gain additional stats of [Anti-C.O. DMG] +10% and [Anti-C.O. DMG RES] +10% per cost.

The list of employees receiving these additional stats is as follows.


If the opponent deploys a C.O. type employee in the Gauntlet environment, we expect Awakened Counter employees will create a refreshing meta with the new stat.

Additionally, these new stats will also apply in the PVE environment to the Awakened Counter employees which will further enhance their potential in PVE combats. The development team plans to create further specializations to classify categories.

This update on [Strombringer Jake Walker] and [Awakened Counter employees] will take effect after the January 17 maintenance.

The second approach of the new Gauntlet adjustment involves prioritizing the buff for employees who are showing low performance in the Gauntlet environment. The development team will identify employees with lower rankings, such as those who were released some time ago or employees with skill structures that do not fit well in PVP environments. These employees will be sequentially adjusted to ensure they will fulfill their roles effectively in the Gauntlet environment.

During this adjustment process, if a new skill or attribute that the employee did not originally possess is introduced, then that employee will be granted an Alternium Reactor rather than through stat or skill adjustments. This approach aims to preserve the affection and value invested in developing these employees.


▣ Ban Penalty Enhancement

Employees listed in the ban list do not receive the leader bonus and will incur various penalties such as increased deployment cost, decreased DMG, and increased DMG taken.

Despite these penalties for employees listed in the ban list, using banned units is considered a valid strategy by the development team if the ban penalty level is low.

However, employees with high stats and powerful skills continue to exhibit strong performance in battles despite the high ban penalties.

Furthermore, employees with the Fury do not suffer from the penalty of reduced skill haste, but only ASPD. On the other hand, employees without Fury suffer from both reduced skill haste and ASPD, creating an imbalance in the fairness of penalties.

In response to this, the development team aims to reinforce ban penalties and introduce new penalty effects. This enhancement will impose greater burdens on employees listed in the ban list, ensuring a more significant challenge for players who choose to use them. Additionally, the goal is to address the fairness of ban penalties with or without Fury. The updated ban penalty details are as follows.

Before


After

We hope that the enhanced ban penalties will encourage you to create more strategic squads in the Gauntlet. The ban penalty enhancement patch is scheduled to be implemented in the upcoming update on January 17th, 2024.

That concludes the plans on the enhanced ban penalties and the new direction for Gauntlet adjustments.

In addition to the information provided in this announcement, the development team is continuously working to make the Gauntlet environment more enjoyable and optimized for our CEOs.

Once again, we apologize for any confusion caused by the previous update rollback, and we strive to be a CounterSide team that listens to the opinions of our CEOs regarding all content, including the Gauntlet.

Thank you.

This event will arrive to Global once Eve arrives!
Please look forward to the event!
Thank you.