v12.07 Major Update

[p]Expected patch release: Monday, August 18[/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]1v1 Featured Event[/p][p]Teammates holding you back? It's your time to shine in our 1v1 event lasting from August 22-24th. Starts Friday, August 22 and 8am PT / 17:00 CEST.[/p]

• [p]Skill-based matchmaking: Play with and against players near your skill level.[/p]
• [p]Visible ratings: Used for matchmaking and bragging rights.[/p]
• [p]Event Points (EP) leaderboard: Gain EP by winning games. Additionally, +3 EP each game, so play as much as you can to climb.[/p]
• [p]Rewards:[/p]
  • [p]Top 10 finish: 25,000 Essence[/p]
  • [p]Top 100 finish: 15,000 Essence[/p]
  • [p]Top 1,000 finish: 10,000 Essence[/p]
  • [p]Reach 150 EP: 5,000 Essence[/p]

[p][/p][p][/p][p]Nova Cup[/p]

• [p]Monthly 2v2 tournament with an $875 prize pool and 4 divisions [/p]
• [p]Next Nova Cup is August 23-24! Join the Tournament Discord to participate and receive tournament notifications. View all past Nova Cups here: Legion TD 2 Esports Portal[/p]

[p][/p][p][/p][p][/p][h3]New Legion Spell: Smite[/h3]

• [p]+80 gold[/p]
• [p]Deal 20% current health damage to the opposing team's king[/p]

[p]Smite is a versatile spell that can be used both offensively and defensively.[/p][p][/p][h3]New Secret Card: Scamimic[/h3][p][/p][p][/p][p]Thanks to Apm from Discord for the idea.[/p][p][/p][h3]New Refraction: Rainbow Fire Elemental[/h3][p][/p][p]Thanks to North from Discord for the idea.[/p][p][/p][p][/p][h3]Improved Feature: Partial Loss Forgiveness[/h3]

• [p]If your teammate is disconnected from the game for 4+ waves and you lose the game, your loss is partially forgiven[/p]
• [p]Loss forgiveness: 50% --> 75% (instead of losing 16, you would lose 4)[/p]

[p]Thanks to Nahuel from Discord for the suggestion.[/p][p][/p][p]Read more about our design philosophy on game balance, and use Drachbot to see mastermind, unit, and spell win rates and pick rates! Check out Jules' Gameplay & Balance AMA from this past month.[/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]Leak Gold[/p][p]Gold lost per Crab (wave 1) by the leaker: 2 → 1[/p][p]Leaking wave 1 is now less punishing, allowing players to take more risks and occasionally go for intentional leaks. [/p][p][/p][h3]Masterminds[/h3][p]We believe in incremental changes. Masterminds are largely substitutes for each other, which means if one mastermind is slightly better than another, it takes the lion's share of the pick rate.[/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]Chaos [/p][p]Starting bonus gold: 4 --> 5[/p][p]Low win rate.[/p][p][/p][h3]Fighters[/h3][p][/p][p][/p][p]Goblin Copter [/p][p]Damage decreased by 8.3%[/p][p]
[/p][p]Pollywog [/p][p]Damage decreased by 11%[/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]Seedling [/p][p]Attack speed decreased by 12%[/p][p]
[/p][p]Proton [/p][p]Health decreased by 7.7%[/p][p]DPS decreased by 18% [/p][p]
[/p][p]Atom / Nucleus [/p][p]Attack speed decreased by 1.7%[/p][p]
[/p][p]Masked Spirit [/p][p]DPS decreased by 14%[/p][p]
[/p][p]False Maiden / Hell Raiser [/p][p]Attack speed decreased by 1.7%[/p][p]
[/p][p]Harpy [/p][p]Damage decreased by 8.3%[/p][p]
[/p][p]Ranger [/p][p]Damage decreased by 3.7% (Damage to bosses from Accuracy unchanged)[/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]Bazooka [/p][p]Damage decreased by 2.8%[/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]Tempest [/p][p]Machine Gunner: Damage decreased by 6.3%[/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]Deathcap [/p][p]Attack speed decreased by 1.5%[/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]Elite Archer / Trinity Archer [/p][p]Attack speed decreased by 2.1%[/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]Banana Bunk [/p][p]Barbs: Damage reflection: 13 + 10% → 12 + 10%[/p][p][/p][p]The above all largely compensation nerfs for the change to Safety Mole, which indirectly buffs cheap units, fast attackers, and units with multiple instances of damage. While some of these nerf may look significant, keep in mind that these units were all previously over-statted and balanced around old Safety Mole.[/p][p]
[/p][p]Pyro [/p]

• [p]Health decreased by 11.5% [/p]
• [p]Damage decreased by 5.3%[/p]
• [p]Pyromancy: No longer deals reduced damage to flying units[/p]

[p]Pyro’s reduced damage to flying units was hidden to most players and made it hard-countered by wave 17. Previously, if you sent Safety Mole on wave 17, Pyro's splash damage was reduced by 90%![/p][p]
[/p][p]Veteran [/p][p]Health decreased by 1.4%[/p][p]Very high pick and slightly high win rate.
[/p][p][/p][p]Aqua Spirit [/p]

• [p]Damage decreased by 37.5%[/p]
• [p]Attack speed increased by 2%[/p]
• [p]Water Bounce: Bounces to 1 target → Bounces to 2 targets[/p]
  • [p]Total DPS decreased by 4.7%[/p]

[p][/p][p]Fire Elemental [/p]

• [p]Damage type: Pierce → Magic[/p]

[p]This improves clarity, as its ability already dealt magic damage, and serves a need for more magic damage in the game.[/p][p]
[/p][p]Rogue Wave [/p]

• [p]DPS decreased by 2.9% [/p]
  • [p]Damage decreased by 12.5% [/p]
  • [p]Attack speed increased by 11% [/p]

[p]The Aqua line is now more cohesive and easier to understand.
[/p][p][/p][p]Golden Buckler [/p]

• [p]Health increased by 7.1%[/p]
• [p]Deflection ability (reduced damage taken from ranged units) removed[/p][p][/p]

[p][/p][p]Royal Guard [/p]

• [p]Health decreased by 12.5%[/p]
• [p]Deflection ability (reduced damage taken from ranged units) removed[/p]
• [p]New ability: Radiant Shielding - Gains 10% damage reduction each wave after it was built, up to 3 times[/p]

[p]Royal Guard was intended to be a simple natural tank. However, it didn't have a compelling fantasy. This change makes it more interesting! Royal Guard opening time? [/p][p]Golden Buckler doesn't have the same ability because it would make the optimal play to only build Golden Bucklers, then upgrade them to Royal Guards with 2-3 stacks of Radiant Shielding.[/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]Kingpin [/p]

• [p]Base health increased by 2.6%[/p]
• [p]Base damage increased by 6.1%  [/p]
• [p]Elite Fisherman: Attack per stack: 1.2 → 1.1[/p]
• [p]Now gains slightly more gold value for each stack, which better reflects its true combat value [/p]

[p][/p][p]Slime Larva [/p]

• [p]Health increased by 53%[/p]
• [p]Removed Mini Slime ability[/p]

[p]Slime Larva's ability to stall had too much power budget, which made it (and Slime Siren) unexpectedly weak in the early game and strong in the late game.

[/p][p] [/p][p]Warp Wing / Void Mana [/p][p]Damage increased by 2.3%[/p][p]Very low pick rate and low win rate. The Pack Leader change in June indirectly nerfed Warp Wing.[/p][p]
[/p][p]Lost Chieftain [/p][p]Changed how Gaia Shield’s targeting priority works
[/p][p]Old:[/p]

• [p]Forward-most[/p]
• [p]If tied, center-most[/p]
• [p]If tied, left-most[/p]

[p]New[/p]

• [p]Forward-most[/p]
• [p]If tied, center-most[/p]
• [p]If tied, right-most[/p]

[p]Right-most makes more sense, since waves have a small bias towards the right side. While there will be a re-learning period, we believe this is the best change in the long run.[/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]Ocean Templar [/p]

• [p]Health increased by 1.6% [/p]
• [p]Damage increased by 15%[/p]

[p]Ocean Templar was significantly under-statted.[/p][p]
[/p][p]Berserker / Fatalizer [/p][p]Attack speed increased by 2.2%[/p][p]
[/p][p]Radiant Halo / Arc of Justice [/p][p]Attack speed increased by 2.4%[/p][p]Compensation buffs for shifting the meta away from wave 20.[/p][p][/p][h3]Mercenaries[/h3][p][/p][p][/p][p]Safety Mole [/p]

• [p]Health increased by 10%[/p]
• [p]Damage increased by 74%[/p]
• [p]Safety Aura: Reduces damage taken by 4 → Reduces damage taken by 12% but also reduces outgoing damage and ability damage by 10%[/p]

[p]Safety Mole had a number of design problems:[/p]

• [p]It hard-countered certain units, forcing them to be over-buffed and balanced around the existence of Mole.[/p]
• [p]Its ability made it almost always strong in the late game, which didn't make sense for a cheap mercenary.[/p]
• [p]It required hidden knowledge about units with multiple instances of damage. [/p]
• [p]After the introduction of Honey Bear last year, it became superfluous as a counter to AOE.[/p]

[p]The new Safety Mole is stronger in the early game but weak against summoners, healers, and ramping builds and during base races. Safety Mole now synergizes well with Hermit, Witch, Four Eyes, and Needler.[/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]Siege Ram [/p][p]Health increased by 0.9%[/p][p]Slightly low usage rate and win rate.[/p][p]
[/p][p]Shaman [/p][p]Damage increased by 4.2%[/p][p]Compensation buff for shifting the meta away from wave 20.
[/p][h3]Waves[/h3][p][/p][p][/p][p]Wave 15: Quadrapuses [/p][p]Health decreased by 0.9%[/p][p]
[/p][p]Wave 16: Cardinals [/p][p]Health increased by 1.4%[/p][p]Shifting power from wave 15 to 16.[/p][p]
[/p][p]Wave 18: Wale Chiefs  [/p]

• [p]Health increased by 1.7%[/p]
• [p]Attack speed increased by 1.3%[/p]

[p]
[/p][p]Wave 19: Dire Toads [/p][p]Health increased by 3.4%[/p][p]
[/p][p]Wave 20: Maccabeus [/p][p]DPS decreased by 3%[/p][p]Shifting power from wave 20 to 18 and 19.[/p][p][/p][h3]Classic 4v4[/h3][p]
[/p][p]PvE[/p]

• [p]Mythium now accumulates on waves 21+. The AI will still send every wave on 21+ but it will no longer use up your team’s mythium, which means bigger sends each wave! This rewards the team with more workers.[/p]
• [p]Breaker gold is now distributed evenly, since lane matchups in PvE do not exist.[/p]
• [p]Players can now only play masterminds they have unlocked, same as in other Classic modes.[/p]
• [p]Improved MVP formula for PvE.[/p]

[p][/p][p][/p][h3]Balance Watchlist[/h3][p]The dev team is constantly monitoring game balance, between looking at data and listening to community feedback. If anything is being more closely monitored than usual, it will be listed in this Balance Watchlist section. For this patch, the following are on the watchlist:[/p]

• [p]Safety Mole and affected units[/p][p][/p]

[h3]Improvements[/h3]

• [p]Savior (if it heals the king), Dark Ritual, and Smite are now announced to the opposing team when used.[/p]
• [p]Increased the probability of secret cards (with triggers) dropping by 10-20x. They will still be rare.[/p]
• [p]When a card drops, it shows the % chance in the chat message.[/p]
• [p]Improved Dark Mage's Mind Warp targeting for Tree of Knowledge[/p][p][/p]

[h3]Game Translations[/h3][p][/p][p]We used AI to translate empty German texts. After having native German speakers review them, we are pleased with the results, so we are starting to slowly roll out AI translations for more languages. We are aware that AI will make mistakes, but a slightly suboptimal translation is usually better than a missing one.[/p][p]This patch also fills in missing translations for Brazilian Portuguese, French, Spanish, and Turkish and enables the following languages, which were previously untranslated: Afrikaans, Indonesian, Slovak, and Vietnamese.[/p][p]If you'd like to contribute to improving the game's translations further, visit the following link: Help Translate Legion TD 2 [/p][p]HUGE thank you to everyone who has helped up to this point! [/p][p][/p][h3]Reward for Boosting Discord[/h3][p]Anyone who Boosts the Legion TD 2 Discord will receive 500 Premium Essence each month the Boost is active. Here's how it works: [/p]

• [p] When you Boost the Legion TD 2 Discord, you'll get a DM from Safety Mole with a code [/p]
• [p] The code can be redeemed by typing "/redeem code" in the in-game Global Chat [/p]
• [p] Players who keep their Boost active will receive a new code every month [/p]
• [p] Codes expire when the Booster receives a new code or if the old one wasn't used[/p]

[p]Thank you to everyone for contributing to the community! [/p][p][/p][h3]Monthly In-Game Reward Code[/h3]

• [p]This month’s ultra-secret code is nerfcrabs to unlock some free Essence in-game! [/p]
• [p]Each month, a new code will be revealed right here in the patch notes. Codes are only valid during the month they are announced.[/p]

[p]Here’s how to enter a code in-game:[/p][p][/p][p][/p][p]This patch introduces a brand new legion spell—Smite! It also reworks Safety Mole, Golden Buckler, Aqua Spirit, and Fire Elemental and makes a major improvement to PvE.[/p][p]As always, with any major patch, we'll keep a close eye on things and rapidly hotfix as long as needed. Thank you again for playing Legion TD 2! We hope you continue to enjoy the game. [/p][p]If you've enjoyed the game, but haven't left a review yet, please consider posting a short (hopefully positive ) review for the game! If the game reaches 90% positive, Steam will give it more visibility = more players = more freelo better matchmaking!

If you enjoy these updates, please give it a Thumbs Up, too!

If you have constructive criticism, let's chat about it. Discord and /r/LegionTD2 on reddit are our main channels of communication, and aside from the development team, there are community helpers who can ensure your feedback is heard, as well as answer pretty much anything you've ever wanted to know about the game. If you want a guaranteed answer from the devs, the monthly AMAs on /r/LegionTD2 are your best bet.

Sincerely,
The Legion TD 2 Team[/p]