Stoneshard News

Hello everyone!

This patch addresses numerous issues reported by the community over the past month. While we're at it, we'd also like to discuss our plans for the near future.

Before the release of “Rags to Riches”, we announced that the new Roadmap would be published early this year. That promise still stands: we'll share details about what you can expect from the upcoming updates once we've concluded support for “Rags to Riches”.

Apart from bug fixes and other improvements, we aim to finish implementing the content that didn't make it into the December patch. Our first priority is introducing new Bastion contracts, which are well underway to being added to the game. This will solve the ongoing issue of the low availability of Brigand contracts, caused by their limited variation. In Rags to Riches, every contract can only be active in a single instance, which, in the case of the Bastion, isn't enough to cover every settlement on the global map simultaneously.

Moreover, the very next patch will add a slew of new weapons for underrepresented subcategories (such as flails and battle staves), additional Caravan events, and one previously unannounced surprise. After that, we will shift our focus to implementing caves and the content related to them, including new enemies and rare plants with special properties, which should take another few weeks to complete. So stay tuned and follow the news!

[h3]GAMEPLAY AND BALANCE[/h3]

• Added a new Crypt contract: “Cleansing Ritual”.
  
• Temporarily disabled the system for closing dungeons after their associated contract is completed in the background this should solve the issue of arriving at a settlement only to find almost no available contracts. The system will be re-enabled after we finalize the intended dungeon progression.
  
• Slightly reduced the base Bodypart Damage coefficient.
  
• Adjusted the formula for thrown items:
  - Agility now affects the damage dealt and Crit Chance.
  - Strength the damage dealt and Range.
  - Perception the Accuracy and Crit Chance.
  
• Reduced the cost of Darrel's “Forced March” Perk.
  
• Added Hay, which will now be crafted instead of Straw. Bedrolls can be crafted both with Straw and Hay.
  
• Significantly increased the cooldowns of the Followers' free Perks and decreased the cooldowns of paid Perks.
  
• Added an option to break a contract after fulfilling its every objective.
  
• Added an option to back away from discussing completed contracts, allowing you to change your mind and later claim the reward from a different NPC.
  
• Osbrook Bread Bowl Stew can now be cooked with Salted Bear Fat.
  
• Fine-tuned some of the items' stats.
  
• The Husk: reduced the penalties of “Unsteady Gait” to 4% per stack. Fixed the Accuracy penalty which was two times more impactful than listed.
  
• The Crypt Keeper: tweaked his stats and gave him access to “Onslaught” and “Knock Out”. Fixed his “material” type (which was listed as Flesh instead of Bone), granting him correct Resistances.

[h3]AI[/h3]

• Changed the Vision zone of enemies from square to radial, just like that of the player character. This should solve several problems, such as enemies being able to target the player character with abilities from around corners while remaining invisible.
  
• Fixed wonky enemy behavior around closed doors.
  
• Added some randomness to the ranged enemies' algorithm for keeping distance, which should get rid of drawn-out chases across open areas.
  
• Improved enemy behavior when the player character occupies a single-tile passage.
  
• Improved enemy behavior inside active AoE effects.
  
• Enemies will now instantly become Hostile when an ally dies within their Vision.
  
• Fixed enemies ignoring Stone Spikes blocking their way.
  
• Fixed multiple issues affecting enemy pathfinding.
  
• Potentially fixed the issue causing Horses to become Hostile towards the player character.

[h3]QoL[/h3]

• Opening the menu for splitting a stack of items will now place the initial slider position in the middle. Fixed the issue preventing it from being set to the minimum and maximum value.
  
• Added an option to drag and drop items into equipped bags, caskets, and other similar containers.

[h3]FIXES[/h3]

• Removed the contracts' 2000 crowns reward cap as well as their Reputation Gain cap.
  
• The 100% Loyalty discount on the Followers' items and services should now work as intended.
  
• Fixed the Manticore being able to jump into already occupied tiles.
  
• Fixed “Defensive Tactic” not gaining stacks from killing enemies.
  
• Fixed “Seal of Finesse” not losing stacks.
  
• Fixed “Regroup” receiving a stack from its own cooldown.
  
• Fixed “Determination” not attacking knocked back enemies and, in rare situations, not attacking moving enemies in general.
  
• Fixed the penalty applied to enemies by “Determination”.
  
• Fixed “Defiled Remains” being able to target tiles that already contain a corpse.
  
• Fixed “Enough for Everyone” not working as intended against targets occupying multiple tiles.
  
• Fixed the issue affecting the Vision formula after removing “Blindness”.
  
• Fixed the bug preventing enemies from receiving negative effects while the player character is affected by “Will to Survive”.
  
• “Web Spit” no longer applies its effects to tiny and giant targets, just like the Throwing Net item.
  
• “Distracting Shot” will now attack the closest enemy, not just the closest target.
  
• Fixed “Necrophage” sometimes failing to target suitable corpses.
  
• Fixed Ghouls gaining an extra action after using “Necrophage”.
  
• Fixed the bug allowing enemies to use “Hooking Chop” through their allies..
  
• Fixed the inability to use Spear skills with extended range while in smoke.
  
• Fixed Wraiths not taking the dungeon's danger level into account when spawning from sarcophaguses.
  
• Fixed the formula of “Unholy Blessing”.
  
• Fixed thrown items ignoring the target's Dodge Chance.
  
• Fixed Anmarraks not granting Experience when killed by damaging their Tentacle Arm.
  
• Fixed the incorrect miniboss hint text for the Brander and Anmarrak.
  
• Fixed the bug allowing enemies to follow the player character into dungeons with the “Trapped Entrance” Condition.
  
• Fixed the incorrect number of turns required for enemies to follow the player character between locations.
  
• Fixed the issue preventing potions from being delivered to the Caravan when trading through the Caravan Stash.
  
• Removed the possibility of completing the Miller's task multiple times by dropping and picking up the key.
  
• Fixed the activation of the Bailiffs' dialogue about Darrel after already finding him.
  
• Fixed the rare softlock caused by blood puddles.
  
• Removed the Repair Kits' minimal Durability requirement that carried over from the previous patch.
  
• Removed the possibility of fixing jewelry with Repair Kits through the context menu.
  
• Fixed the crash caused by stealing items in locations without a Faction.
  
• Killing the Ancient Troll will now assign the Signal Tower to the Grand Magistrate.
  
• Fixed the Repairs Price modifier not working as intended.
  
• Fixed “Tongue Pull” playing its animation on top of the UI.
  
• Fixed the Alarm Trap.
  
• Fixed the bug allowing multiple corpses to sometimes occupy the same tile.
  
• Removed the possibility of dying and moving to another location simultaneously.
  
• Fixed Surgeon Toolkits not applying their temporary effects
  
• Fixed Leeches not applying their temporary effects.
  
• Removed the possibility of stacking “Leech Therapy” on the same body part.
  
• Fixed the inconsistent damage formula when wielding weapons with psionic or cursed damage types in different hands.
  
• The time interval between turns will now be the same in and out of combat.
  
• Fixed the Rotten Willow NPCs displaying their Faction two times.
  
• Fixed the Oaken Glade Bailiff granting extra gold instead of Brynn Reputation.
  
• Fixed enemies becoming hostile towards Straw Dummies.
  
• Fixed the possibility of moving the Caravan with the Messenger Pigeon while the Followers are out on a mission.
  
• Removed the possibility of repairing and selling stolen items in the same location where they were acquired.
  
• Fixed the Vision range inconsistencies when looking through grates.
  
• Fixed tools not losing Durability when thrown.
  
• Potentially fixed the bug allowing enemies to move into the tile occupied by their recently resurrected ally.
  
• Fixed another bug causing dual counters to sometimes skip a turn.
  
• Fixed the hover of “Against the Odds” not displaying the Attributes it scales with.
  
• Fixed Wells of Souls sometimes spawning Wraiths over the intended limit.
  
• Removed the possibility of moving full bags into the Crafting menu’s working area.
  
• Removed the possibility of interacting with bags while the Crafting menu is open.
  
• Fixed the bug allowing free attacks against Young Trolls during their “Earthshaking Strike” animation.
  
• Fixed the rare knockback-related crash.
  
• Removed the possibility of casting some Pyromancy spells through walls.
  
• Fixed the Prologue crash caused by interacting with certain consumables.
  
• Fixed “Lacerate” creating blood decals even after missing.
  
• Fixed the bug causing Distant Dungeons' minibosses to despawn.
  
• Fixed the missing effect of Ethnarch's Funeral Mask.
  
• Fixed the Dockside Merchants disappearing into thin air the moment they restock.
  
• Removed the possibility of interacting with some nightstands through walls.
  
• Removed the possibility of identifying items in the Caravan Stash while trading through it.
  
• Fixed the log message for harvesting berries.
  
• Fixed weaponry stances not losing stacks if the corresponding weapon is equipped in the off-hand.
  
• Fixed “Battle Trance” working with every weapon type.
  
• Fixed the incorrect duration of both “Tactics”.
  
• Fixed the Stone Spikes' visual layering issue.
  
• Fixed “Onrush” scaling its Armor Penetration with Perception rather than Strength.
  
• Removed the possibility of using medical items through the bodyparts' context menu while stunned.
  
• The Vision stat no longer requires a turn to take effect (for example, the Vision penalty will now disappear instantly the moment you take off your heavy helmet).
  
• Fixed the knockback issue affecting "Boulder Throw".
  

• Fixed the issue with the system for background contract completion that wasn’t functioning as intended in previously unvisited settlements. Increased the rate of successful background contract completion.
  
• Further adjusted heavy armor stats: slightly reduced the penalties and increased the Protection values.
  
• Increased the rate at which Repair Kits lose effectiveness when attempting to fix moderately and heavily damaged equipment.
  
• Potentially fixed the issue with enemies using their “Dash” from extremely long distances.
  
• Fixed “Disengage” granting a penalty to Magic and Nature Resistance to characters with negative Dodge Chance.
  
• Fixed “Revelation: Losses” ignoring the use of some consumables.
  
• Fixed the bug allowing enemies to counter melee attacks from a tile away (mostly as a result of being knocked back on the same turn).
  
• Fixed the bug allowing free attacks against enemies while they use “Sic!”, “Onslaught”, and “Hooking Chop”.
  
• Fixed the issue with some supposedly fire-resistant items being burnable.
  
• Fixed “The Real Treasure AND The Friends We Made” achievement requiring only one artifact instead of three.
  
• Fixed the “Trapped Entrance” Condition sometimes failing to actually block the dungeon’s exit.
  
• Fixed Brynn Craftsmen not having a Markup on their Repair Prices. Slightly reduced Darrel’s Markup.
  
• Fixed Bears and Bisons using incorrect icons for Injuries.
  
• Fixed “Sprint Training” not affecting the Range of NPCs’ Charge skills.
  
• Fixed the hover of NPCs’ “Dash” displaying incorrect Range.
  
• Fixed the bug causing enemies to act twice when attacking them with “Flurry of Strikes” while under the effect of “Enough for Everyone”.
  
• Fixed the “red hand” icon disappearing from stolen items when placing them in Coin Purses.
  
• Fixed “Unyielding Defence” not granting a stack of “Elusiveness”.
  
• Fixed the issue causing enemies to not lose their “Elusiveness” stacks.
  
• Fixed the incorrect duration and number of stacks of “Elusiveness” after reapplying it on top of the already active effect.
  
• Fixed the issue with spellcasting still being treated as a crime inside settlements even when targeting enemies.
  
• Fixed the bug preventing the Rotten Willow contracts from increasing Brynn Reputation.
  
• Added a minimum threshold for Max Energy.
  
• Fix the bug with duplicating artifacts, this time for certain.
  
• Fixed a number of dialogue-related crashes.
  
• Fixed the incorrect Agility scaling of some Ranged Weapons skills.
  
• Removed the possibility of bringing enemies to the Manticore arena.
  
• The Ancient Troll is no longer hostile towards Young Trolls.

[h3]ECONOMY, PROGRESSION, AND THE CARAVAN[/h3]

• Reduced the chance of Negative Settlement Situations when failing or not completing contracts.
  
• Increased the chance for Neutral and Positive Situations to occur.
  
• Negative Situations will no longer overlap, preventing their quick “chaining” one after another.
  
• The Caravan Camp can now be set on the seashore.
  
• Reduced the price of most Caravan Upgrade items.
  
• Reduced the price of Fodder.
  
• “Foraging Table”: added slow Fodder generation.
  
• “Soothing Incenses”: added +5% Experience Gain and +5% Fatigue Resistance if Sanity and Morale are above 50% respectively.
  
• “Training Area”: added +3% Experience Gain.
  
• “Web of Contacts”: added +50% Advances Size for contract rewards.
  
• “Old Favors”: added +10% Contract Rewards for each settlement you’ve achieved Respect with.
  
• “Local Informants”: now displays the ongoing Situations and available contracts when inspecting settlements on the global map.
  
• “Trade Preferences”: added +10% Stocks Size for traders.
  
• “Messenger Pigeons”: the Pigeon will now spawn immediately after installing the upgrade.
  
• Reduced the price of most “advanced” consumables, such as drugs and bombs.
  
• Reduced the price of valuables in general, but increased the price of valuables made of gold, silver, and gems.
  
• Changed the starting tiers of some dungeons: the Bastion near Mannshire (T1 > T2), the Crypt near the Rotten Willow (T2 > T3), and the Catacombs near Denbrie (T3 > T4).
  
• Reworked Repair Kits and Armor Fragments: removed the scaling of Durability restoration with the repaired item’s level. Instead, the amount of restored Durability is negatively affected by the degree of damage the item has sustained (only for Repair Kits). All Durability restoration values were adjusted as well.
  
• Increased the number of Fragments received from dismantling armor with the “Self-Repair” passive.
  
• Doubled the size of advance payments that can be requested when accepting a contract, from 20% to 40% of the reward.
  
• Reworked “Common Cause” and “Underworld Connection” Reputation perks: the amount of reputation granted in other settlements for completing local contracts now depends on the completed contract’s difficulty.
  
• Different types of meat now grant varying effects when used in dishes.
  
• Using an ingredient with multiple charges now spends one charge instead of the entire ingredient.
  
• The minimum Durability at which equipment can be sold to traders was lowered to 50% to better correspond with damaged items’ visuals.
  
• Butchering chickens, roosters, and ducks will now yield two drumsticks instead of just one.
  
• Added a possibility of crafting Straw.
  
• Fixed the Caravan Storage granting less space than stated.
  
• The Drug Dealer in the Rotten Willow will now purchase drugs.

[h3]BALANCE[/h3]

The changes listed in this section won’t affect already saved items:

==================================

• Tweaked the Protection and Resistance values of various pieces of equipment to reduce the disparity between the effectiveness of different armor types.
  
• Adjusted the overall stats of some weapons and armor.
  
• Increased the base Range of Ranged Weapons.

==================================

• Reduced the number of enemy spawns on the surface.
  
• Reduced the Vision Range of most enemies.
  
• The speed of Hunger and Thirst accumulation during the Rest Mode now depends on the current and maximum Health and Energy respectively.
  
• Reduced the Health and Resistances of most wild animals.
  
• Increased the Bodypart Damage coefficient. In other words, Injuries will now become more frequent. Reduced most enemies’ Bodypart Damage values to reduce the impact of this change on the player character.
  
• Reduced the base Energy Cost of most abilities in the game.
  
• Restored the innate +4% Accuracy and -4% Fumble Chance bonus of Attack skills.
  
• Reduced the resurrection frequency of the “Blasphemous Ritual” Dungeon Condition. Reduced the amount of Health and Energy replenished to the Undead resurrected by it.
  
• Significantly nerfed the hidden debuff affecting the Proselytes in the Prologue to reduce the overly high discrepancy between its difficulty and that of the main game.
  
• Move Resistance is now less effective against Claw Traps and Caltrops. Increased their base Armor Penetration and Bodypart Damage.
  
• Changed the abilities available to Mage Hunters.
  
• Decreased the base Ambush Chance on roads.
  
• “Cleaving Strike”: increased the Bodypart Damage scaling.
  
• “Keeping Distance”: increased the Stagger Chance scaling.
  
• “Onrush”: increased the base Weapon Damage bonus.
  
• “Mutilating Lunge”: increased the Bodypart Damage scaling.
  
• “Double Lunge”: increased the base Weapon Damage bonus.
  
• “Cut Through”: increased the base Weapon Damage bonus.
  
• “Hewing Strike”: increased the Bodypart Damage scaling.
  
• “Parry”: reduced the base Counter Chance bonus.
  
• “Heroic Charge”: increased the base Stagger Chance bonus and the Weapon Damage scaling.
  
• “Unstoppable Force”: increased the Knockback Chance scaling.
  
• “Hooking Chop”: increased the Armor Penetration and Weapon Damage scalings.
  
• “Dismember”: increased the Bodypart Damage and Crit Chance scalings.
  
• “Reign in Blood”: increased the Knockback Chance and Bodypart Damage scalings.
  
• “Nail Down”: increased the base Weaponry Damage bonus and Bodypart Damage scaling.
  
• “Impaling Lunge”: increased the Armor Penetration and Bleed Chance scalings.
  
• “Regroup”: removed the mention of the Damage Taken bonus which carried over from the previous version of the game.
  
• “Hail of Blows”: increased the base Daze Chance bonus.
  
• “Step Aside!”: increased the base Weapon Damage bonus.
  
• “Elusiveness”: increased the Dodge Chance and Fumble Chance scalings, and also reduced the scaling of the Damage Taken bonus. Added a possibility of prolonging the effect by dodging.
  
• “Distracting Shot”: added scaling to the Weapon Damage bonus. Increased the Dodge Chance scaling. Increased the base Immobilization Chance bonus.
  
• “Startling Volley”: added scaling to the Weapon Damage bonus. Increased the base Daze Chance bonus.
  
• “Hard Target”: increased the debuff to the attacker’s Accuracy to 8%.
  
• “Flexible Defense”: increased the debuffs applied to the target while wearing medium armor.
  
• “Battle-Forged”: reduced the heavy armor bonuses.
  
• “Custom Adjustments”: reduced the heavy armor bonuses, added Dodge Chance to the medium armor bonuses.
  
• “Unyielding Defense”: reduced the effect’s bonuses and duration.
  
• “Right on Target”: reduced the Accuracy and Fumble Chance bonuses to Attack skills.
  
• “Defensive Tactic”: reduced the base duration and bonuses to it for each enemy within Vision. Reduced the effect’s bonuses to stats.
  
• “Raise Shield”: increased the Block Chance scaling but reduced the base bonus to it. Increased the Block Power scaling.
  
• “Hold the Line”: reduced the effect’s bonuses.
  
• “Flurry of Strikes”: fixed the penalty to Hands Efficiency that applied a -25% debuff instead of the listed -20%. Reduced the bonus to Hands Efficiency for successful hits to 3%.
  
• “Concentration”: reduced the Accuracy Chance and Fumble Chance bonuses to +3% and -3% respectively.
  
• “More Blood!”: reduced the Hands Efficiency bonus to 10%.
  
• “Residual Charge”: fixed the Weapon Damage bonus which was 33% larger than intended.
  
• “Bone Throw”: added scaling to the skill’s damage and Armor Penetration.

[h3]FIXES[/h3]

• Fixed the bug allowing some enemies to block ranged attacks without shields.
  
• Fixed the issue causing settlements to generate contracts for Distant Dungeons.
  
• Backfire Damage will now gradually decay when out of combat, no longer requiring manual turn-skipping for optimal play.
  
• Fixed the issue with missing stats on some pieces of armor and jewelry.
  
• Fixed partially blocked shots dealing zero damage.
  
• Fixed the complete removal of the "Mighty Swing" effect when attempting to reapply it.
  
• Possibly fixed the rare softlock caused by the "Cannibalistic Frenzy" Dungeon Condition.
  
• Fixed "Living in the Light" failing to apply its effect in certain situations.
  
• Fixed "Ghastly Revelation" failing to apply its effect in certain situations.
  
• Fixed the Brynn Bank exploit with backpacks and Bills of Exchange.
  
• Fixed the exploit with the increased price of enchanted items.
  
• Potentially fixed the issue with dual wielding counters skipping a turn.
  
• Fixed “Dual Wielding Training” granting the Off-Hand Efficiency bonus while equipped with two weapons of the same type.
  
• Fixed the possibility of prying open locks with a crowbar in settlements without it being considered a crime.
  
• Fixed “Leg Sweep” granting its free move option to the player character when used by an NPC.
  
• Fixed the issue causing only the item in the main hand to lose Durability when equipped with two items with the same Block Power.
  
• Fixed “Fate of the Brewery” ignoring the “Help the Brewer” stage of the quest when blackmailing Odar.
  
• Fixed the bug granting access to Skinflint Homs before achieving the relevant Reputation perk.
  
• Fixed the inability to trade with the Hostess in the Watchtower Tavern.
  
• Fixed the “Pimp my Ride” achievement.
  
• Added appropriate sound effects to Caravan upgrade items when moving them around.
  
• “Web of Contacts” and “Reinforcements” no longer grant Reputation for slaying harmless critters.
  
• Fixed the disappearing projectiles when using “Fire Barrage” and “Jolt” on birds.
  
• Fixed the possibility of attacking enemies during the animations of “Peck”, “Defiled Remains”, and “Deadly Premonition”.
  
• Fixed the issue with the incorrect cooldown reduction of “Last Stand”.
  
• Fixed the issue with “ineligible” cooking ingredients in certain situations.
  
• Fixed Bonus Range not affecting some Ranged Weapons abilities.
  
• Fixed the issue with graves respawn. This fix will also remove all graves in pre-existing save files.
  
• Fixed the incorrect duration of “Adrenaline Rush”.
  
• Fixed the bug allowing multiple runes and sigils to exist on the same tile.
  
• Fixed the Rest Mode hover which wasn’t adjusting the effect’s stats dynamically.
  
• Fixed Caravan Followers using Settlement Situations’ speech lines.
  
• Verren’s dialogue about the final three “Communication” upgrades will now only trigger after installing the initial two upgrades.
  
• Fixed Darrel not having a Markup on his Repairs Price.
  
• “Flame Wave”: fixed the missing cooldown reduction for each target affected by the spell.
  
• Fixed the issue with Caravan Followers being able to occasionally occupy the same tile.
  
• Fixed the possible softlock during the Brewery Mercenary’s dialogue.
  
• Fixed the speech lines for critical shots and throwing full bottles at enemies triggering at incorrect times.
  
• Added a context menu option for emptying out plates and cooking pots.
  
• Added the Swap option to more working NPCs to avoid potential softlocks.
  
• Fixed the missing Energy Cost and Cooldowns Duration icons in the Chinese Localization.

• Added an option to ask about a contract’s details after accepting it.
  
• Reduced the rate of egg generation by the Mobile Coop.
  
• Reduced the duration of the “Leg Sweep” debuffs.
  
• Increased the cooldowns and energy cost of “Leg Sweep” and “Mighty Kick”.
  
• Reduced the Poisoning Chance of the “Pestilence” Situation.
  
• Added duration caps to “Curse of Decay” and “Curse of Agony”.
  
• Increased the size of the territory revealed on the world map after receiving a hint about the location of the Rotten Willow and Denbrie.
  
• Fixed the bug causing guards to repeatedly initiate their dialogue.
  
• Fixed the bug sending the character to Mannshire jail after surrendering in Denbrie.
  
• Fixed an option to surrender in the Rotten Willow outskirts.
  
• Fixed the bug with Brynn guards being able to start their dialogue without having a direct line of sight.
  
• Fixed the bug with one of Leif’s perks putting his other perk on cooldown upon activation.
  
• Fixed the bug allowing to get a full reward after leading deathstingers to the Cidery’s guards during the “Deathstinger Infestation” quest.
  
• Fixed the bug causing dungeons to spawn only the loot of the current tier, ignoring the wider pool of items.
  
• Fixed the interaction between the spoilage mechanic and containers.
  
• Fixed the Fodder counter, which also included the Fodder sold by NPCs.
  
• Fixed the stock of the “Bloom” Foragers.
  
• Fixed a number of trade-related exploits.
  
• Fixed the incorrect discount offered by two Brynn craftsmen after delivering Ryn’s letter and saying hello from Darrel.
  
• Fixed the incorrect Reputation gain from the “Web of Contacts” Upgrade.
  
• Fixed the bug with artifact duplicates.