Splintered News

[p]Early Access Patch #19 (v0.2.9) contains changes that help pave the way for the upcoming Chapter 3b! It also contains some minor adjustments to instinct mode and balance changes for Chapter 3a, along with several localization changes to help support the upcoming Japanese version![/p][p][/p][h3]Instinct Mode Improvements:[/h3]

• [p]If the enemy is cowering in fear (due to Ludriel's Shield) and 2 attacks are likely to result in a victory, the player will now attack on the first turn (instead of potentially using mana).[/p]
• [p]Improved consideration for echoing spells and various healing sources from 3a.[/p]
• [p]Improved decision making when Healing Thrust is available.[/p]
• [p]Improved decision making when Dream Strike will deal much more damage than a normal attack.[/p]

[p][/p][h3]Ability Changes:[/h3]

• [p]Dragon Step[/p]
  • [p]Now: "+20% evasion every turn. -40% evasion every time you evade."[/p]
  • [p]Previously: "+25% evasion every turn. -50% evasion every time you evade."[/p]
• [p]Spellweave[/p]
  • [p]Now: "Using a spell in battle gives your next attack +15% more ATK, scales with MaxMP." (Scaling slightly reduced)[/p]
  • [p]Previously: "Using a spell in battle gives your next attack +20% more ATK, scales with MaxMP." (Scaling slightly reduced)[/p]
• [p]Itemweave[/p]
  • [p]Now: "Using an item in battle gives your next attack +15% more ATK, scales with DEX." (Scaling slightly reduced)[/p]
  • [p]Previously: "Using an item in battle gives your next attack +20% more ATK, scales with DEX."[/p]
• [p]Developer Note: These abilities were slightly overperforming when used generally without considering synergies (especially in the case of Dragon Step and Spellweave).[/p]

[p][/p][h3]General Changes:[/h3]

• [p]Fixed an issue where "Ludriel's Shield" duplicate protection would create add a "Kite Shield" to shops instead of an "Aegis" when playing with equipment from Chapter 3a's era.[/p]
• [p]Further localization changes for upcoming Japanese support.[/p]
• [p]Support added to prepare for the upcoming Chapter (3b).[/p]

[p]Early Access Patch #18 (v0.2.8) is largely a balance patch focused Chapter 3a based on player feedback![/p][p][/p][h3]Ability Changes:[/h3]

• [p]Mindsear[/p]
  • [p]Reduced MP scaling by ~20%. ("Silenced enemies take additional fire damage. Scales with MP.")[/p]
  • [p]Dev Note: This was doing a bit too much damage at high MP levels, especially when players had both fire damage on hit (Ignite) and silence burn (Silent Flame) rolling.[/p]
• [p]Lightning Slash[/p]
  • [p]Now casts an enhanced version of Magic Bolt that pierces 20% of enemy magic defense.[/p]
  • [p]Description modified to indicate the M.Bolt is enhanced.[/p]
  • [p]Dev Note: Often, this will be a ~20% a damage increase. Against enemies with large amounts of magic defense (such as Dreska), this is a much more substantial increase.[/p]
• [p]Healing Rain[/p]
  • [p]STR scaling substantially reduced (from 5str per HP -> 10str per HP), but base healing increased to compensate at lower levels (2HP-> 4HP).[/p]
  • [p]Dev Note: This was healing a bit too much at modest levels of STR, especially when Magic Bolt echoes and double casts were rolling. Even after the reduction, the effect is quite strong, as ability support can provide active and passive healing with a chance to double the effect.[/p]
  • [p]Example at 100 str:[/p]
    • [p]Old: 22hp per bolt[/p]
    • [p]New: 14hp per bolt[/p]
• [p]Ignite[/p]
  • [p]+2 bonus fire damage (up from +1)[/p]
  • [p]This gives the Searing Sword a bit more initial impact before fire scaling sources kicks in.[/p]
• [p]Critical Buildup[/p]
  • [p]Now gives +10% crit (up from +5%) every time you land a non-critical strike.[/p]
  • [p]Dev Note: While the abilities of the Fortune Garb are intended to be situationally effective, this ability wasn't quite paying off as much as it was supposed to. This should substantially increase its effectiveness in medium length fights.[/p]
• [p]Resourceful[/p]
  • [p]+30% chance to recover a torch when thrown (up from +20%)[/p][p][/p]

[h3]Equipment Changes:[/h3]

• [p]SpellBlades Gauntlet[/p]
  • [p]EXP to max 900 (down from 1200)[/p]
• [p]Searing Sword[/p]
  • [p]Price reduced to 1300 (from 1400)[/p]
  • [p]ATK reduced to 14 (from 18) (Note, this is compensated by the increased damage to Ignite, which deals pure fire damage).[/p]
  • [p]Swapped ability order, now learns Ignite first, then Silent Strike. (This provides a more immediate damaging effect.)[/p]
• [p]Blazing Mantle[/p]
  • [p]Swapped the ability order of Inferno and Warmth.[/p]
• [p]Jugglers Belt[/p]
  • [p]EXP to max 1500 (down from 2000)[/p]
  • [p]Price: 5 (down from 20)[/p]
    • [p]A minor change, but since it requires a torch to have an effect, it'll help in situations where there's very little gold and a player is trying to get on their feet.[/p][p][/p]

[h3]General Changes:[/h3]

• [p]When using "Enhanced Teleport" in battle, the known location list will no longer display. The spell will either report that it can't be used, or escape from battle if the player knows "Blink".[/p]
• [p]Various equipment descriptions revised.[/p]

[p]Early Access Patch #17 (v0.2.7) features custom setting support for Chapter 3a! It also features improved help via "Ludriel's Guidance" in the randomizer and various 3a adjustments.[/p][p][/p][h3]General Changes:[/h3]

• [p]The Help System (and Ludriel's Guidance) is now MUCH more useful in Chapter 2 and beyond.[/p]
  • [p]It now gives a reminder of what items you need to create Aedma's blessing (Dragon's Horn, Aedma's Splinter, and Sunstone)[/p]
  • [p]It now displays your progress in terms of chests and secret stashes searched (e.g. "7/34").[/p]
  • [p]It now displays the locations that you've yet to fully search (indicating they still have chests or secret stashes you've yet to open).[/p]
  • [p]Note: If continuing a run started before v0.2.7, respawnable chests will need to be obtained again to accurately display progress.[/p]

[p][/p][h3]Chapter3a Support:[/h3]

• [p]The Blessing of Clairvoyance and Instinct are now available for use with Chapter 3a (if you've unlocked them).[/p]
  • [p]Note: Due to the increased complexity of 3a's abilities, I expect Instinct Mode will require additional tuning compared to the classic settings. I plan on further refining this feature following balance passes of 3a.[/p]
• [p]Chapter3a has been added to the Randomizer presets. Additionally, the following settings have been added to the customizer:[/p]
  • [p]Class Equipment (Classic | 3a)[/p]
  • [p]Enemy Trait Pool (Classic | 3a)[/p]
  • [p]Extra Boss Traits (None | One)[/p]
  • [p]Note: Chapter 3a must be completed before these features are unlocked.[/p]

[p][/p][h3]Misc. Changes:[/h3]

• [p]Enemies burning from the "Silent Flame" ability will no longer burn after successfully running from you.[/p]
• [p]Fixed an issue where Magic Bolt echoes wouldn't properly defeat an enemy before they had taken their turn.[/p]
• [p]Healing Thrust and Dream Strike now cause the player to take thorns damage, when applicable.[/p]
• [p]If a counter attack would defeat you, the enemy will no longer finish their turn.[/p]
• [p]The damage log now reports both instances of Magic Bolt when striking twice due to Twinbolt.[/p]
• [p]In Clairvoyance mode: If your hovered move deals damage or heals, your post turn damage or healing (regeneration, echoes, etc.) will be added to the displayed result.[/p]
  • [p]e.g. If Lesser Heal will heal for 21, and Greater Heal will echo for 44 HP: hovering over lesser heal will display "HP: 65".[/p]
• [p]Fixed a bug where gold received could be slightly different than stated when picking up gold from a chest.[/p]
• [p]Fixed various typos and updated descriptions.[/p]

[p][/p][h3]v0.2.7a:[/h3]

• [p]Fixed an issue introduced in v0.2.7 that was causing chests to respawn after running from enemy nest encounters. (This was due to some of the chest tracking changes provided to support the new Help system progress reporting.)[/p]

[p]Early Access Patch #16 (v0.2.6) features a new chapter, Chapter 3a! Dive back into the main quest to experience new equipment and abilities, deadlier enemies with new enemy traits, and unravel Splintered's story![/p][p][/p][h3]Chapter3a Main Features:[/h3]

• [p]New equipment and abilities based on 3 new class archetypes:[/p]
  • [p]The Dragon Knight, Trickster, and Spellblade[/p]
  • [p]Each class features at least one "Spell Transformation", that transforms their spell into a new spell ability.[/p]
  • [p]Additionally, various existing spells have new enhancements![/p]
• [p]8 new enemy traits[/p]
  • [p]Several more enemies carry new innate traits Chapter 3.[/p]
  • [p]Many more traits are now inherited by enemies and spread throughout the randomizer.[/p]
  • [p]Bosses are now very likely to randomly inherit 1 additional trait![/p]
• [p]The progression Splintered's plot, that sets that stage for Chapter 3b (coming soon!).[/p][p][/p]
• [p]Note: Due to some last minute issues, Clairvoyance and Instinct mode has been momentarily disabled for Chapter3a and Chapter3a's features are not yet selectable in the randomizer/customizer options. The plan is to get them up and running in next week's update.[/p]

[p][/p][h3]v0.2.6a[/h3]

• [p]Fixed an issue introduced in v0.2.6 when setting "Equipment Price: Shuffle" in the randomizer.[/p]

[p]Early Access Patch #15 (v0.2.5) contains further feature work to help prepare for Chapter 3. It adds the "Trait Compendium", allowing players to view detailed description of enemy traits in-game. It also allows players that have completed one of Aedma's Trials to use the associated blessing in the Main Quest (Chapter 1, Chapter 2, and beyond).[/p][p][/p][h3]Main Quest Changes:[/h3]

• [p]Blessings of Clairvoyance and Instinct can now be used when repeating Chapters 1&2.[/p]
• [p]If you've completed at least one of Aedma's Trials, the option will be available when starting a new quest.[/p]

[p][/p][h3]Trait Compendium:[/h3]

• [p]A "Bestiary" section has been added to the main menu.[/p]
• [p]The "Enemy Codex" is under construction and will arrive at a later date.[/p]
• [p]The "Trait Compendium" is available now.[/p]
  • [p]Encountering enemy traits in game will unlock their detailed descriptions and will be viewable in the compendium.[/p]
  • [p]The compendium currently contains all of the enemy traits available up until Chapter 2.[/p]
• [p]Note: Traits will have to be re-encountered in v0.2.5+ to unlock. (I added the tracking for enemies in v0.2.5, to avoid this inconvenience in the future for when the Enemy Codex is ready).[/p][p][/p]

[h3]General changes:[/h3]

• [p]The "Mageborne" enemy trait has been renamed to "Magicborne" for consistency.[/p]
• [p]Removed a couple of instances where the "Confirm" sound effect would get cut off in combat, creating a "chirp" sound when playing the game at lower framerates.[/p]
• [p]Delivering a glancing blow now plays a sound effect to provide better feedback.[/p]
• [p]Various behind the scenes changes to support Chapter 3.[/p]