Skygard Arena News

[p]Dear Tacticians,[/p][p][/p][p]Thank you to all of you who recently purchased the game and tried it for the first time! We read your feedback and decided to release a small update to fix some issues and improve the experience as soon as possible.[/p][p]Patch notes v0.9.2:[/p]

• [p]Lowered difficulty of missions #1 and #2 by reducing health points of several enemy units.[/p]
• [p]Fixed a bug that triggered a dialogue under the wrong circumstances in mission #2.[/p]
• [p]In the campaign timeline, quests are no longer visible below the narrative description of a mission until you have completed that mission for the first time. They still appear in the teambuilder and inside a mission all the time.[/p]

[p]Please keep sending us feedback, this is super helpful as we work towards making the best possible version of Skygard Arena. Also, if you have been enjoying the game, feel free to leave a review on Steam, it helps us a lot! ːsteamthumbsupː[/p][p][/p][p]Gemelli Games[/p]

[p]Greetings, Tacticians![/p][p][/p][p]We just released a new Major Update for Skygard Arena. The game is now available in Simplified Chinese, Spanish and Brazilian Portuguese![/p][p][/p][p]The update also includes performance optimizations, changes to some of the Champions’ Relics and Spells as well as some UX improvements.[/p][p][/p][p]Enjoy the update and see you in the Arena![/p][p][/p][p]The Skygard Arena dev team[/p][p][/p][hr][/hr][p][/p][p][/p][h2]Localization[/h2]

• [p]Skygard Arena is now available in Spanish, Brazilian Portuguese and Simplified Chinese![/p]

[p][/p][h2]Optimizations[/h2]

• [p]Cleaned several assets in the game, which reduces GPU VRAM usage in-game.[/p]
• [p]Adjusted lighting and other visual elements in the Crystal arena and the various Guardians arenas, which greatly improves FPS when playing in these arenas in High quality.[/p]
• [p]Adjusted the performance settings for the Low, Medium and High quality options.[/p]
• [p]When launching the game for the first time, the game will now check your PC setup and choose the most appropriate quality setting.[/p]
• [p]Added FPS targets for each option (when VSync is disabled).[/p]

[p][/p][h2]Changes to Combat System (tokens)[/h2]

• [p]For clarity and consistency purposes, Bleed tokens are no longer considered the opposite of Regeneration tokens. Only Poison tokens are the opposite of Regeneration tokens.[/p]
• [p]Impact tokens now apply to every target hit instead of the first target only. This applies to AoE spells and targets with the Bond status.[/p]

[p][/p][h2]Changes to Relics & Champions[/h2][p][/p][p]Raine - Poison Witch[/p]

• [p]Creeping Thorns (Primary): damage increased from 30 → 35.[/p]
• [p]Deadly Harvest (Ultimate): damage increased from 30 → 35.[/p]
• [p]Scepter of Mithridate (Reworked): Whenever an enemy consumes a Poison token, Raine heals for 15 health points.[/p]
• [p]Armlet of Haste → Reaper’s Gem (New): damage dealt by Deadly Harvest (ultimate action) to enemies are increased by 10 for each Poison token on them.[/p]
• [p]Cobra Staff (Buffed): the effect now applies to every member of Raine’s team.[/p]
• [p]Cursed Censer (Reworked): when an enemy with a Poison token moves or is moved, they become Infected for 1 turn.[/p]

[p]Raine Poison Witch was pretty underwhelming, so we are reworking / buffing all her Relics and buffing her ultimate spell. These relics should offer 4 different playstyles, enabling you to choose her role between a self-sustaining mid-distance mage, a high-damage mage relying on her ultimate, a Bleed/Poison comp enabler and a pure damage comp amplifier![/p][p][/p][p]Raine - Life Mage[/p]

• [p]Scepter of Vitality (Nerfed): +10% → +8% damage per Regeneration token.[/p]
• [p]Rejuvenating Staff → Vision Staff (New): Whenever an ally of Raine is healed above their maximum health points, this ally gains 1 Vision token.[/p]

[p]Stacking Regen tokens with Scepter of Vitality and dealing massive damage is fun, but it seems slightly overtuned at the moment, so we are bringing it down a notch. We are also bringing another source of Vision tokens to the game.[/p][p][/p][p]Aiden - Archbishop[/p]

• [p]Tome of Sight (Reworked): At the end of his turn, Aiden and his allies in a 3-cell radius around him gain 1 Sight token.[/p]
• [p]Tome of Purity (Reworked): Each member of Aiden's team deals 20% more damage when they have all their health points.[/p]
• [p]Tome of Alacrity → Clear Bell (New): At the end of Aiden's turn, applies a Positive Resonance to the closest ally.[/p]
• [p]Tome of Rejuvenation (Reworked): Whenever a member of Aiden's team receives healing, its value is increased by +5 per unique kind of token on him.[/p]

[p]Aiden Archbishop’s relics were not exciting enough, so we are reworking all of them and offering 4 unique distinct playstyles.[/p][p][/p][p]Aiden - Inquisitor[/p]

• [p]Clear Bell → Tome of Omnipotence (New): Supreme Verdict also hits enemy Pillars.[/p]
• [p]Lunairomicon (Reworked): Whenever a member of Aiden's team applies a stackable negative token, applies once more the same token type.[/p]
• [p]The Lunairomicon is now given as a reward after completing mission 12 in the campaign.[/p]

[p]Picking the new Tome of Omnipotence solves one of Aiden’s big weakness: his lack of damage against Pillars. And we hope to see some crazy negative tokens combo comps with the reworked Lunairomicon![/p][p][/p][p]Bu Shin - Shadow Assassin[/p]

• [p]Throwing Dagger is now called Sharp Eye.[/p]
• [p]Infiltrator’s Mask (Reworked): Enemy units receive 40% increased damage if they have a Blind token on them.[/p]

[p]The reworked Infiltrator’s Mask increases Bu Shin damage and kill potential and synergises well with other Champions like Aerica.[/p][p][/p][p]Vallya - Vanguard Persona[/p]

• [p]Guardian's Resolve (reworked): Allies in the area of effect of Sacred Bulwark also gain Haste and Impact.[/p]

[p]The previous iteration boosted Vallya’s ultimate, which is already super strong. We are shifting some power towards her secondaries with this relic. She can become a reliable source of positive tokens for a hypercarry like Bu Shin![/p][p][/p][h2]User Experience Improvements[/h2]

• [p]When launching the game for the first time, your system language will be detected automatically and the game's language will adapt accordingly.[/p]
• [p]Added Back and Home buttons to some screens in the lobby of the Arena mode where they were missing.[/p]
• [p]Merged the Play and Teams buttons in the lobby of the Arena mode. Clicking on Play now enables you to select ax existing team or to create one, before choosing your game mode and launching a game.[/p]
• [p]Added a clear description to the Protections keyword.[/p]
• [p]When Aerica uses her beacon to teleport, you will now see the visual effect and hear the sound effect of Teleportation.[/p]
• [p]The dialogue explaining that capturing a Pillar grants 1 ultimate charge now appears in mission #2 instead of mission #3.[/p]

[p]Dear Tacticians,[/p][p][/p][p]It’s been 9 months since the release of Skygard Arena in early access in November 2024![/p][p]Thank you very much to all of you who have played the game, provided feedback or left a review on Steam. We are currently standing at 86% positive reviews, which is something to be proud of for our studio’s first game 🙂[/p][p][/p][h3]Sales to date and marketing strategy[/h3][p]As we get closer to the official 1.0 launch of the game (still scheduled for September - more on this pretty soon!), we have been thinking about our marketing strategy and potential avenues to bring more players to Skygard. As you might have understood, the unit sales to date have been disappointing and do not reflect the potential of the game, in our view. We have been hearing the frustration of players who love the game but find it hard to stick around when few people are playing in PvP mode. We want to do everything in our power to maximize the game’s chances of success.[/p][p][/p][h3]Price Adjustment[/h3][p]As part of this work, we have been reviewing the game’s price point. We have been looking at the pricing of successful indie titles with a PvP mode, studying the pricing strategy of successful publishers and taking advice. We have decided to adjust the base price of the game from $19.99 to $14.99, effective immediately. Regional prices have also been adjusted accordingly.[/p][p]Even though it might look counter-intuitive as the game has been improved a lot since its early access release, we believe this is best for the long-term success of the game and we see it as one of the key ways to bring in more players. We have other marketing actions planned as part of the 1.0 launch campaign.[/p][p]To the players who bought the game at the previous, higher price point: thank you for taking a chance on the game early and sorry for not having adjusted the price earlier. Hopefully, this will bring in more players and make your experience better if you’re looking to play in PvP! We hope you will understand.[/p][p][/p][h3]Major Update coming this week with more languages![/h3][p]We have a Major Update coming this week! It will add Spanish, Simplified Chinese and Brazilian Portuguese localization the game. It will also bring balancing changes, performance improvements and other UX improvements… Stay tuned![/p][p][/p][p]Thank you for your support and see you in the Arena![/p][p][/p][p]Gemelli Games[/p][p] [/p][p][/p]

[p]Greetings, Tacticians![/p][p][/p][p]Skygard Arena just received its 12th update since the start of Early Access![/p][p][/p][p]This update brings lots of general user experience improvements, some performance optimization, several balancing changes for Raine, Aiden, Bu Shin and Aerica, and a bunch of bug fixes.[/p][p][/p][p]Enjoy the new patch and see you in the Arena![/p][p][/p][p]The Skygard Arena Dev Team[/p][p][/p][p][/p][hr][/hr][p][/p][h2]General User Experience Improvements[/h2]

• [p]Optimized the game to reduce vRAM usage.[/p]
• [p]Added a sound effect when selecting a Relic in the Champion editor.[/p]
• [p]In Relics’ descriptions, improved the font colour of the ultimate action when it is referenced.[/p]
• [p]Adjusted the speed of the camera rotation when rotating the camera with the mouse wheel.[/p]
• [p]Improved and clarified the description of several Spells and Tokens.[/p]
• [p]Improved the visuals for the Champions’ portraits in the teambuilder.[/p]

[p][/p][h2]Improvements to the Single-Player Campaign[/h2]

• [p]Improved the intro dialogues of mission 2.[/p]
• [p]Once you have gone through the teambuilder tutorial before mission 3 once, this tutorial will no longer appear when launching mission 3.[/p]
• [p]Added a tutorial dialogue about Teleporting between Ally Pillars in mission 3.[/p]
• [p]The model of Na Jima Skirmisher persona is now used in the Camp through Act 2 of the Campaign.[/p]
• [p]Improved the intro and outro scenes in mission 8.[/p]
• [p]Fixed a bug that could cause weird UI elements to appear on the loading screen of campaign missions.[/p]
• [p]Fixed the description of a couple of Quests which were using “turns” instead of “rounds” and conversely.[/p]
• [p]Re-balanced the volume of the music in intro scenes, the teambuilder and outro scenes.[/p]
• [p]On the Rewards screen, when you unlock a Persona, the first Relic unlocked with this Persona now appears immediately below the Persona.[/p]
• [p]When you complete a mission for the first time, you will now see an animation with a moving golden start next to the Quests button to let you know that you can pick up stars in the Quests section.[/p]
• [p]In the teambuilder of a campaign mission and during dialogue scenes, clicking on Quit in the options menu will now properly lead you to the Home screen instead of closing the game.[/p]
• [p]Improved the user experience when coming back into the game to play the Campaign mode.[/p]

[p][/p][h2]System Changes[/h2]

• [p]When an action both consumes and applies tokens, consumption happens first and application happens second.[/p]
  • [p]Example: using Earth Squash with Champei equipped with Resonant Gong on a target who already has an Exposed token will consume the Exposed token, increase damage dealt and then apply another Exposed token.[/p]
• [p]Impact tokens now deal regular damage instead of pure damage.[/p]
• [p]Tweaked the damage formula, which is now:[/p]
  • [p]\[Spell base damage x Attacker Damage Multiplier (Critical Strike, Dazed token, any relic boosting spell damage…) + Additional Flat Damage (from Impact tokens)] x Defender Damage Multiplier (from Exposed token, Barrier token…)[/p]
  • [p]In particular, Impact tokens are now affected by both Exposed and Barrier.[/p]
• [p]Dealing damage with Aerica's sentry is now counted as a separate effect. In particular, using Switcheroo on a Champion to displace them into the sentry's surveillance line now first consumes the Barrier token with Switcheroo and then applies the full damage from the sentry's surveillance attack.[/p]

[p][/p][h2]Balancing & gameplay changes for Champions[/h2][p]Aiden - Inquisitor Persona[/p]

• [p]Word of Penance (secondary) : this action no longer has a different effect on allies and enemies. The effect is now: Deals 25 damage and applies 3 Regeneration tokens to target.[/p]
• [p]Inquisition (secondary): can be cast on an enemy holding any token → can be cast on an enemy holding a negative token.[/p]
• [p]Inquisitorial Rosette (Relic): +15% → +10% damage per charge.[/p]

[p]Aiden Inquisitor could feel oppressive to play against with few options to counter him. We are reducing his scaling power so that he does not one-shot enemy Champions too early in the game. We are tweaking his teleport ability so that he won't be able to jump on your carry as long as you they don't have negative tokens on them.[/p][p][/p][p]Raine - Life Mage Persona[/p]

• [p]Renewal (secondary) : can no longer be cast on enemies. Applies Unhealable for 3 rounds instead of 2. Still heals by 50 HPs.[/p]
• [p]Twin Roses (ultimate): ultimate charges cost = 6 → 8.[/p]
  • [p]The Bond effect no longer copies Statuses, except when it’s clearly stated otherwise (for only one status at the moment: unhealable).[/p]
  • [p]The color of the Bond VFX is now Blue if it was applied by one member of your team, and Red if it was applied by a member of the enemy team. [/p]
• [p]Sceptre of Overheal (Relic) → Sceptre of Vitality (new Relic): Damage dealt by the spells of each Champion on Raine's team are increased by 10% for each Regeneration token on them.[/p]

[p]The downside from using Renewal and healing for 50 HPs was too small, especially when used on Raine, so we are increasing the duration of Unhealable. We don't think it was healthy that Raine could easily counter a composition relying on healing, so we removed her ability to target enemies with Renewal.[/p][p]Twin Roses is one of the most interesting and powerful ultimate actions of the game: we are aligning its cost with its power.[/p][p]Sceptre of Overheal was causing many balancing issues, especially combined with Aerica Artificer. Teams could generate an insane amount of ultimate charges and shield points (with no real counterplay), which resulted in frustrating matches. We looked at different options and decided to change the Relic for a new one, which brings a new scaling option and synergies with other Champions who can apply Regeneration tokens.[/p][p][/p][p]Bu Shin - Shadow Assassin Persona[/p]

• [p]Shadow Trap (secondary) - Reworked: [/p]
  • [p]Summons a Shadow on target cell.[/p]
  • [p]At the start of his next turn, Bu Shin teleports on the Shadow.[/p]
  • [p]If a unit steps on the Shadow, it is destroyed. When the Shadow is destroyed, Bu Shin gains Impact 2.[/p]
• [p]Smoke Bomb (secondary): token applied to enemies: 2 Blind tokens → 1 Blind token. He still gains 1 Impact token for each enemy hit and regains his movement action.[/p]
• [p]Tormentor (Relic) → Looter Dagger (new Relic): When Bu Shin slays an enemy Champion, he gains 3 ultimate charges and 1 Impact token.[/p]
• [p]Night Fang (Relic): now increases by 30% both damage from Bu Shin's spells and Bu Shin's Impact tokens.[/p]

[p]Bu Shin Shadow was not quite fulfilling his fantasy as an assassin who can go in, get a kill, go out. Shadow Trap was also quite complex to grasp with multiple effects. So we are simplifying this secondary action and turning it into a reliable tool to teleport and generate Impact tokens. [/p][p]The Tormentor Relic (which applied Poison and Bleed tokens) did not fit with the assassin, bursty fantasy of this Persona. The new Looter Dagger Relic rewards Bu Shin for getting kills and should make him more reliable in the mid-game, after getting his first kill.[/p][p][/p][p]Aerica - Artificer Persona[/p]

• [p]Elvish Boots (relic): Whenever Aerica or an ally teleports through a Pillar or the Relay Beacon they also gain 3 → 2 ultimate charges.[/p]

[p]Teams using this Relic could generate an absurd number of ultimate charges by teleporting and gain a massive advantage in the early game. We believe the Relic is still powerful and playable with 2 charges per teleport.[/p][p][/p][p]Daerio - Duelist Persona[/p]

• [p]Final Hour (relic): Daerio's ultimate action slays the enemy target -> deals 9,999 pure damage.[/p]

[p]The goal of this change is to clarify which is stronger between Final Hour and the Undying status: Final Hour does not enable to kill a target who has the Undying status.[/p][p][/p][h2]Bug Fixes[/h2]

• [p]Fixed a bug that prevented Daerio from capturing a Pillar with his refunded Primary Action after eliminating an enemy with his primary action.[/p]
• [p]Fixed a bug that prevented a Champion from fully disappearing when eliminated by Daerio Duelist equipped with Final Hour.[/p]
• [p]Fixed a bug that could cause the game to soft-lock when playing against the Experimental AI, if the AI was considering using the Teleport action or Champei’s Switcheroo action.[/p]
• [p]Fixed a bug that could cause the game to crash when using Bond against the Experimental AI.[/p]
• [p]Fixed a bug that could cause ultimate orbs not to respawn if Aerica, Champei or Bu Shin were being played.[/p]
• [p]Fixed a bug that could prevent your team from spawning at the start of a PvE mission in certain circumstances.[/p]
• [p]The Ascending Bow relic now properly shows up as a relic which influences Na Jima's primary action and ultimate action when you hover on one of these actions.[/p]
• [p]When Vallya Vanguard is equipped with Judgement Hammer, the prompt correctly says Choose a Champion instead of Choose an Ally.[/p]
• [p]Fixed a bug that prevented the camera from moving when using the mouse while auto-focus was on.[/p]
• [p]Hovering on the Night Fang Relic (Bu Shin Shadow) no longer shows the tooltip for Impact tokens.[/p]
• [p]Fixed a bug that would delay the update of the spells’ description when changing Personas quickly in the teambuilder.[/p]
• [p]Fixed a bug that would cause a zone on the right-hand side on the screen to be unclickabke during battle.[/p]

[p]Greetings, Tacticians! [/p][p][/p][p]We hope you are enjoying the summer and surviving the heatwave! We have two pieces of good news for you.[/p][p][/p][p]First, Skygard Arena is taking part into the Steam Summer Sale! Enjoy a 25% discount during the sale and purchase the game for only $14.99. With the recently released Major Update, there has never been a better time to try the game![/p][p][/p][p]Also, we are organizing a new community tournament: the Summer Edition of Arena Kings will take place on Saturday, July 5th! Prepare your most creative teams and play best-of-3 matches against other members of the community to show who's the best Tactician![/p][p]--> Register on the Toornament page of the event and join the official Discord server to chat with other members of the community.[/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]See you in the Arena,[/p][p]The Skygard Arena Dev Team[/p]