Cross of Auria News

Following with the concepts introduced in recent updates, Frost Forest is also seeing a makeover.

Highlights:
- First and second iteration maps are timelost.
- New map exists for all periods of time and does not need additional maps for structure creation.
- Structures revert to their unbuilt stage, all trees respawn.
- After passing the Obscurite checkpoint, most of the axe carrying orcs will have despawned leaving only one near each unfinished campsite.

5.1.5.3 [Build #122, Release Date: January 31, 2022] Bugs to look for: Report them as a comment to the most recent patch notes.
- Impossible to progress Frost Forest event for any reason.
- Elites should not appear unless their corresponding structures have been built.
- Transfers take Ruby to a Timelost version of any map.

Updates & Changes:
- It is no longer possible to enter the first or second iteration of Frost Forest. All associated zones have been marked as Timelost. Saving is restricted and enemy battlegroups have been removed. To prevent damage to future save files, leave this location and re-enter. Doing so will bring you to the updated version of the map. Frost Forest Timelost maps are set to be removed from the game data files beginning on March 1st.
- Players who have already completed the Frost Forest event can choose to rebuild the missing structures in the new iteration of the zone. All tree switches have been reset and all fortifications have been changed to events instead of structures in new zones.
- Battlegroups have been removed from the Timelost version of Scarlet Cavern. Quest events remain until March 1st.
- Removed Flask mixing station from Rayman's House in Frost Forest.
- Schematic: Snow Shield no longer drops from Frost Forest enemies. Instead, the Recipe Book for crafting it can be found somewhere in the area.

Other:
- Axe carrying orcs in Frost Forest will reset upon leaving and re-entering the zone until the checkpoint in Obscurite, at which point they will stop spawning. Other orcs in the area will continue to spawn until the end of the Orc War campaign.
- Some axe carrying orcs share spawn triggers with non-carriers.
- For players who have already passed the checkpoint which despawns most of the axe carrying orcs, one remains near each camp location which will continually respawn until the corresponding tower is built.

Known Issues:
- Aurian soldiers will appear in Frost Forest even if players have not built the structures in the new version of the zone depending on how far forward their checkpoint is.
- Having completed the Frost Forest event will not carry over to the new version of the zone visually. However, quest progress will be retained if checkpoints have been reached.
- Riley's dialogue will feature the first outfit even if he has gained the second one.

The new Scarlet Cavern map has been injected into the game! All previous maps for that location have been marked as timelost in the game files and are no longer accessible from any of the world maps. This of course means the entire event with the Aurian group had to be intertwined to the new version of Scarlet Cavern - so look out for any issues with the event replaying when it should not.

"Basic" weapons now drop off some of the early game enemies and can be disassembled for Metal Shards. This new guaranteed disassembly only applies to newly acquired gear.

The Green Insect Gear Recipe Book is now available to replace the An'ura Schematics, which have been mostly removed from the game at this point. There's still a few locations where they can be obtained, but those will be ironed out over the next few updates.

5.1.5.2 [Build #121, Release Date: January 28, 2022] Bugs to look for: Report them as a comment to the most recent patch notes.
- Transfers not working in new Scarlet Cavern.
- Scarlet Cavern events play multiple times.

New:
- Recipe Book for Green Insect Gear can be found in the Den An'ura / Heart area after defeating the second Hive Mind.

Fixes:
- Scarlet Treasure loot box will not appear if the quest to find it has not been obtained from Officer Rose in Lvell.
- Fixed a game lock which would occur if Ruby went to Memoria before level 5.
- Removed the An'ura Knight from the world map spawns.
- Fixed an issue where Alex would join the team with the ability Enraging Flames, or various other abilities she was not meant to start with.

Updates & Changes:
- Main campaign bosses are having their loot tables changed to exclude randomized drops. Instead, these enemies will have fixed drops. This change will not apply to repeatable challenges. This will be noted in patch notes as "Boss_X loot table finalized."
- It is no longer possible to enter the first iteration of Scarlet Cavern. All associated zones have been marked as Timelost. Saving is restricted. To prevent damage to future save files, leave the dungeon and re-enter. Doing so will bring you to the updated version of the map. Scarlet Cavern maps are set to be removed from the game data filed on March 1st.
- Scarlet Cavern enemy data updated.
- First Hive Mind loot tabled finalized - now includes the Weak Tool Kit for disassembling weapons and armor.
- Second Hive Mind loot table finalized - schematic removed.
- Drop rates of Tattered gear from Moombas increased from 1% to 5%.
- Golem loot table finalized.
- Removed zoom effect from Lightning Rage Double & Triple strike, and from regular Double-Strike.
- "Basic" weapons now drop off various beginner enemies. These now disassemble for at least two Metal Shards.

This update removes the ability to enter Lvell during the day of the Orc War, which was not yet completed. There is a telepad in the second area for Amaya & co to warp out which will return Alex and Ruby to the party. The quest step from Captain Reynolds to collect Amaya and Eurus as teammates has been left in.

Please note that using the warp in Ruby's house to escape Lvell will not return her or Alex to the party. If you have already done this, it won't be possible to reclaim these characters until the quest is fully live and can be completed as intended.


5.1.5.1 [Build #120, Release Date: January 27, 2022] Fixes:
- Disabled ability to enter Lvell during Orc War.
- Added escape telepad in Lvell for players who already entered and became stuck. This escape pad will be removed when the quest is live.

To sum up the patch notes in just a few words - I'm looking to streamline some of the experience to be more enticing to new players. This decision is based on what I can see in the back of Steam for brackets of time played for everyone who has ever played the game.

Much longer detail -

Notes:
#1 - Until a debug event is added to the game to cycle skills that party characters already know, updated skills may not apply to the team but will apply to enemies.
#2 - Schematics as a concept are slowly being removed from the game in favor of the Crafting tab. Over the next few updates where enemy levels are removed, so too will their loot tables be changed and schematics will be removed. As we go, Recipe Books will take their place and these items will find their way to the Crafting tab requiring many of the same materials currently required to craft them. However, because of the way the game was originally made - recipes which require weapons or armor as schematics will no longer require them in the Crafting tab. (For anyone also developing a game in RMMV, this is because one of the Yanfly plugins requires a before-first-public-build determination about whether armor and weapons of a single type can be carried as a stack or as individual items. Since CoA uses individual items where two weapons of the same type may have different socket amounts, ItemSynthesis can not read Armor or Weapons as ingredients. Changing from one setting to the other now would require full game restarts by everyone with a save file as it would cause an immediate crash upon opening the menu.)
#3 - Multiple units of different levels as a concept is slowly being removed from the game which will be replaced by a unit having fixed stats throughout the game regardless of when or where it appears. Example: An'ura Warrior in the back end will always be level 1 and always have X/Y/Z stats - An'ura Warrior Lv. 2 & Lv. 3 have been permanently removed from the game. This concept will eventually apply to all enemies throughout the game. The same image may be used for different enemies, but they will have different names. No enemies will display their level.


5.1.5 [Build #119, Release Date: January 26, 2022] Updates & Changes: {Skills}
- The limited event location in the Veil has been discontinued. Its challenges have been scaled down and moved to the Encampment.
- Removed zoom from Triple-Strike.
- States with differing Stun effects have been condensed into a single 1 turn state simply called "Stun". (State #21). Skills which cause multiple turn stuns increase the counter of this state.
- Custom states which add to or decrease the value of parameters have been removed. The default buff and debuff system built in the engine has taken its place.
- Diminish and Boost now display the number of turns rather than the % effect or % chance to occur. Tooltips across the board have been updated.
- Diminish and Boost effects are now guaranteed so long as the ability makes contact.
- Rockbreaker changes: TP cost reduced from 40 to 10. Added 1 turn cooldown. Increased damage to (a.atk * 4) from (a.atk *3).
- Increased Cleave damage from (a.atk * 2) to (a.atk * 3).
- Increased Frost Blast damage from (a.atk * 3) to (a.atk * 4).
- Increased Arcane Shock, Flame Shock, and Frost Shock damage from (a.mat *3) to (a.mat *4).
- Increased cooldowns of Flame Shock, Frost Shock, and Arcane Shock II to 2 turns.
- Increased Reave damage from (a.atk *3) to (a.atk *4).
- Increased Arcane Ray damage from (a.mat * 3) to (a.mat * 4).
- Psychic skills now diminish Agility and Luck instead of Defense or Magic Defense.

Updates & Changes: {Enemies}
- Conversion to a new system has begun - enemies will no longer exist at multiple levels with the same name and will no longer display their level.
- Both versions of Den An'ura have been updated with the new system as a trial run.

Updates & Changes: {General}
- Weed field units have been removed from Den An'ura.
- Field units have been added to Den An'ura. For now, they are always the same battle configuration of 2 Warrior & 1 Archer.

Before you worry at the sight of the word limited - these enemies and their loot will continue to be available even after the event ends somewhere in Revan. Permanent placement has not been decided yet.

In other news, I've been extremely busy with doctors visits, snow days, and other development interrupting real-life issues. I haven't forgotten about YS Village, but real life and the children come first! Plus, I have a very strong feeling none of you have completed what is available yet! This new veil event is being added to give you guys a little something extra in the meantime. Cards on the table, it did not take very long to make and offers desirable and otherwise unobtainable rewards - so I hope you all enjoy!

In addition to a wand, shield, and skill - a new item has been added which will be temporarily purchasable - the Herb! Herb will remove Poisoning and Poison Diminish from a single ally.

Oh, and the wand lets Alex use some cool poison skills that have been chilling in the back-end without being released as a character skill for a while now.

Final note before the patch details: the Recipe Book only needs to be purchased once for these items to be permanently added to the Crafting menu. However, herbs can not be crafted and may later find their way into regular shops across Revan.

5.1.4 [Build #118, Release Date: January 13, 2022] New:
- The first Veil event is now available. Duration is unknown. When the event is finished, the battles and obtainable loot will change and move to a new location somewhere in Revan as its permanent residence. During this event, drop rates of item synthesis materials are greatly increased.
• Lv 10 Vine Snapper - 722 HP / 180 MP / 27 ATK / 37 DEF / 37 MAT / 30 MDF / 27 AGI / 31 LUK / Barbed Stem: 100%
• Lv 25 Vine Snapper - 5306 HP / 405 MP / 73 ATK / 107 DEF / 89 MAT / 77 MDF / 72 AGI / 87 LUK / Barbed Stem x2: 100%, Pungent Root: 50%
• Lv 50 Vine Snapper - 112515 HP / 780 MP / 188 ATK / 243 DEF / 215 MAT / 184 MDF / 181 AGI / 201 LUK / Barbed Stem x3: 100%, Pungent Root: 100%, Silky Leaf: 50% x2, Silky Leaf: 25%.
• Shop: Herb, Barbed Wall (Shield), Rod of Thorns (Cane), Guide: Remedy (skill book).
• Location: In the Veil closest to the telepad that leads to Ruby's house.

Updates & Changes:
- The Veil has been updated with the permanent placements of the Battle Series events and the rotator events.
- The following items have had their tooltips updated: Metal Chips, Metal Shards, Metal Plates, Iron Bars, Steel Bars, Leather Strips, Coarse Hide, Beast Hide, Thick Hide, Heavy Hide.
- Poison the status ailment will be referred to as "Poisoning" in tooltips effective immediately to differentiate from Poison the elemental damage type.
- Swarm now does (a.mat) damage down from (a.mat *4), may apply Poisoning at a rate of 10% per hit down from 50%, may apply Diminish Defense 20% at a rate of 7% per hit down from 30%, no longer regenerates TP, and has a cooldown of 2 turns up from 0. However, it now strikes four times per use.