Cross of Auria News

Hey everyone, just wanted to give a quick update about what I'm working on & what's coming next.

I spent most of today reviewing the next piece of the game - Orc War in Lvell - and came across a difficulty spike that will be virtually unpassable. Right now, I'm working to flatten this spike and make cruising through the main story more enjoyable. I don't have a big patch ready to go out, but this should lighten the currently available grind.

Key notes:
- Players who had Miles and Riley change outfits will have them reverted immediately upon entering the world map.
- Nerfed all Dusk units.
- RNG chest concept and vent concepts removed from Revan.
--- There may be chests and vents that I have missed, but over time I will eventually remove them all.

6.1.1 [Build #140, Release Date: May 28, 2022] Updates & Changes:
- Replaced RNG chests in locations where saving is possible with static chests.
- Enemy types are now handled using a mix of invisible passive states and character sheets as opposed to just the character sheet alone.
- Characters can be afflicted by the same states which give enemies their elemental resistances and weaknesses.
- Reduced Dusk Slasher level from 25 to 21.
- Reduced Dusk Archer level from 26 to 22.
- Reduced Dusk Axe Thrower level from 27 to 23.
- Reduced Dusk Shaman level from 28 to 24.
- Reduced Dusk Mindbender level from 29 to 25.
- Removed timelost requirements from Oros and Dusk synthesis.
- Increased drop rate of Oros and Dusk weapon and armor parts.
- Trigger for reverting Miles and Riley to their original outfits added directly onto the Orc War world map.
- Oros Orcs have invaded the Sha'ri Desert!

I've been extremely busy outside of development, so this is a small one.

I apologize for the delay in continuing the Orc War story. I've been slowly chipping away at it ever since we arrived at the current endpoint in Port Reception, it's just taking me a great deal of time to test the interactivity of events and re-test things I've needed to go over for months now. From start to current point in game, it takes me 12 hours to speedrun everything while testing along the way.

Realistically speaking, but without promising anything, I hope to have the Orc War story finished with a conclusion to Cross of Auria as a game as a whole by the end of 2022. Every time I boot up the engine, I get both encouraged and discouraged at the same time. It's been a fantastic pet project that I wish I could keep going forever, but I just can't justify the dev time while getting a $100 payout once a year. Knowing what I know now, I would never release another live service project without a full team - at least not in this way.

My goals for development have shifted slightly in that I'm really looking at wrapping the story up and then adding some post-game level things, and then starting a new project altogether. Originally, I wanted to do a handful of written guides and 6 "Battle Series" DLCs, some paid some free, but I'm basically looking at a wrap up being the better way to go now instead. I don't know, only time will tell.

Special Notes About This Update:
- If you have a save in a zone that became timelost before today, you will need a new save file. Previous versions of the game are no longer available in the Betas tab.

6.1.0 [Build #139, Release Date: May 11, 2022] New:
- Phoenix Ash Hunter in Port Reception will now let players turn in Green Insect items in increments of 5 in exchange for 100 EXP per turn in after the "Phoenix Ash: Supply I" quest has been completed.

Fixes:
- A checkpoint in Lvell during the Orc War will remove the alternate outfit versions of Miles and Riley to replace them with their original forms. Compensation is given at this trigger in the form of 10k EXP to those characters and 5x Huge EXP Tokens.
- Removed two level-marked An'ura from the Encampment area.
- Added an additional bridge to the Encampment area for players who already completed the bridge event before the multi-map version of Den An'ura was removed.

Updates & Changes:
- File size reduction: Some unused images have been removed from the game files.
- Memoria is now closed. Instead of learning the abilities tied to level ups, the Electrogenic class is now available to Ruby once E Warrior is level 30. This class shares parameters and equipment with E Warrior, but instead has 5 accessory slots. The level 1 parameters are equal to E Warrior at level 20 with a medium growth rate. Stats are slightly enhanced over E-Warrior at level 99. Electrogenic learns its final skill Emblem of the Night at level 62.
- Changed the dialogue after the battle which removes Mend.
- Mend is no longer learned via level-up. Instead, it is learned upon gaining control over Ruby and Alex respectively.
- Cleave+ battle no longer has a trigger for outfit #2 Riley. Players who reverted Riley but were unable to access the battle can now do so.

Notes:
- All zones marked as timelost have been removed from the game files. This includes previous versions of: Rift An'ura, Market Town, Den An'ura (Multi-Map), Den An'ura/Encampment, Frost Forest (Expanded), Frost Forest (Multi-Map), Scarlet Cavern (Multi-Map), Campsite. If you had a save file in one of these locations, a new game is required.
- Current save files which do not have Mend removed will be able to keep it for the foreseeable future. New save files will lose Mend on the appropriate trigger.
- Current save files which did not yet learn Mend will be unable to do so altogether.
- Current save files will be able to collect the Poison Weapon components from Den An'ura a second time, but will be unable to use them.

Next update, unless its another bug squash, will be 6.0.1.4 or 6.0.2 or 6.1.0 depending on which direction I decide to go next. Barring random acts of RNGesus IRL, expect an update from me next weekend.

Below are the full patch notes, in no particular order, of everything that was done during the 6.0.1.3.X series, relative to itself. If this is the first time you're checking in for over a week or so, removals or changes may be listed that you didn't even know were in the game. It was a big week or experimentation.

**Key Note** Use the telepad in Agartha/Hall of Challengers to return to the Veil. Upon entry, the White Mage, Black Mage, and Swordsman class will become available for all characters.

Known Issues:
- Due to the addition of the Skill Mastery plugin, Mend has returned to Ruby and Alex even though it was previously removed in a story event.
- The Class - Learn Skills menu and Skills - Learn Skills menu may appear blank in the class list, similar to the old Quest Log bug, which may also be blank where it should say "Available, Completed, Failed, All Quests" on the top left.


6.0.1.3.X [Build #138.X, Release Date: April 11-April17, 2022] Bugs to look for: Report them as a comment to the most recent patch notes.
- Miles or Riley are wearing a different outfit during dialogue.

Job Points:
- Unfortunately, it is not possible to deploy Job Points to players who already have active save files. Therefore, references to Job Points introduced in 6.0.1.3.X have been removed.

Classes & Subclasses:
- Some classes will require the completion of quests to unlock.
- To introduce this concept, the following classes have been included and are available to various characters: White Mage, Black Mage, and Swordsman!
- The new classes do not share full level up trees with the original classes - Electro Warrior, Rogue, Barbarian, and Priest. These original classes remain available only to their respective characters.
- Soul of the Frostslayer now costs 15 Compressed Veilstone and 90 Yule Spirits, but unlocks the Frostslayer class for all characters!
- Level 2 and Level 3 skills now require the previous level learned before the higher level can be learned for classes where skills can be learned through purchasing.

Electro Warrior ("E-Warrior"):
- Can equip: Medium Armor, Sword, Axe, Flail, Shield, Ring, Cloak, Scarf, General Accessory.
- Has two Accessory slots.
- Skill Types: Skills, Magic
- Accessible by: Ruby.
- Sp/Ex Parameters: 100% Target Rate, 100% Hit Rate, 5% EVA, 4% CRIT.
- Learns final skill Thunderstorm at level 22.

Rogue:
- Can equip: Light Armor, Claw, Ring, Cloak, Scabbard, General Accessory.
- Has two Accessory slots.
- Skill Types: Skills, Tool-Kit.
- Additional: Enables Dual Wield.
- Accessibly by: Miles
- Sp/Ex Parameters: 100% Target Rate, 100% Hit Rate, 5% EVA, 4% CRIT.
- Learns final skill Vanish at level 22.

Barbarian:
- Can equip: Heavy Armor, Sword, Ring, Cloak, Belt, General Accessory, Shield.
- Has two Accessory slots.
- Skill Types: Skills, Shout.
- Accessible by: Riley
- Sp/Ex Parameters: 100% Target Rate, 100% Hit Rate, 5% EVA, 4% CRIT.
- Learns final skill Shatter at level 22.

Priest:
- Can equip: Cloth Armor, Wand, Whip, Cane, Shield, Ring, Earrings, General Accessory.
- Has two Accessory slots.
- Skill Types: Magic
- Accessible by: Alex
- Sp/Ex Parameters: 80% Target Rate, 100% Hit Rate, 5% EVA, 4% CRIT, 3% MP Regeneration.
- Learns final skill Arcane Ray at level 22.

Beast Archer:
- Can equip: Light Armor, Bow, Ring, Cloak, Quiver, General Accessory.
- Has two Accessory slots.
- Skill Types: Skills, Special.
- Accessible by: Ares
- Sp/Ex Parameters: 100% Target Rate, 110% Hit Rate, 5% EVA, 4% CRIT.
- Learns final skill Lifelink Shot at level 42.

Wind Warrior:
- Can equip: Light Armor, Medium Armor, Ring, Cloak, General Accessory
- Has two Accessory slots.
- Skill Types: Skills, Magic, Special.
- Additional: Resist Air Current, SharpGusts I, SharpGusts II, and SharpGusts III by 50%. On-Hit: Air Current (5%). Enables Dual Wield.
Accessible by: Amaya
- Sp/Ex Parameters: 100% Target Rate, 100% Hit Rate, 2% EVA, 6% CRIT. 105% EXP.
- Learns final skill Ravage at level 55.

Wind Reaver:
- Can equip: Light Armor, Axe, Ring, General Accessory.
- Has two Accessory slots. Cannot equip Off-Hand.
- Skill Types: Special.
- Additional: Resist Air Current, SharpGusts I, SharpGusts II, and SharpGusts III by 50%. On-Hit: Air Current (5%).
Accessible by: Eurus
- Sp/Ex Parameters: 100% Target Rate, 100% Hit Rate, 3% EVA, 7% CRIT.
- Learns final skill Airblade III at level 36.

Frostslayer:
- Obtained in Yuelslain's Village.
- Can equip: Light Armor, Medium Armor, General Accessory.
- Skill Types: Skills, Magic.
- Attack Element: Ice-Killer
- Sp/Ex Parameters: 100% Target Rate, 97% Hit Rate, 3% EVA, 7% CRIT, 5% MP Regeneration.
- Learns final skill Icefall at level 62.

Swordsman:
- The Swordsman basic class is now available for all characters! New players will have this class unlocked automatically by progressing through the first day events in Lvell. Current players will need to visit the Veil to unlock it.
- Can equip: Medium Armor, Sword, Ring, General Accessory
- Skill Types: Swordsman, Skills
- Additional: Physical attacks are 20% more effective.
- Sp/Ex Parameters: 100% Target Rate, 95% Hit Rate, 5% EVA, 4% CRIT, 103% TP Charge Rate.
- Learns final skill Flamecutter at level 40.

White Mage:
- The White Mage basic class is now available for all characters!
- Can equip: Cloth Armor, Wand, Ring, General Accessory
- Skill Types: Magic
- Additional: Arcane abilities are 50% more effective.
- Sp/Ex Parameters: 100% Target Rate, 95% Hit Rate, 5% EVA, 4% CRIT, 3% MP Regeneration.
- Learns final skill Stitch at level 40.

Black Mage:
- The Black Mage basic class is now available for all characters!
- Can equip: Cloth Armor, Wand, Cane, Ring, General Accessory.
- Skill Types: Magic
- Additional: Fire and Ice abilities are 25% more effective.
- Trait: Learns less skills by level-up, but learns a wide variety of higher level magic.
- Sp/Ex Parameters: 100% Target Rate, 95% Hit Rate, 5% EVA, 4% CRIT.
- Learns final skill Airblade at level 15.
- Final skills become available in the learn menu at level 45.

Fixes [Released Before the compiled 6.0.1.3.X Update]:
- Fixed an issue where the game would freeze if the fallen Velleren event was activated while Miles was not in the party.
- Disabled the final statue of the middle path in Memoria in place of the return of the Lightninstrike quest.
- Blocked the path to Ana in Hell's Gate when Miles is not in the party.
- Speed in Shroud will only trigger for Outfit 1 version of Miles due to the removal of outfit 2.
- Removed branch looking for Outfit 2 version of Miles and Riley during the Morros quest.
- Removed an empty battle from Hell's Gate near Ana.
- Added an anti-cheat system which will target players adjusting their level through third party means.
- Blocked access to the Veil before level 2, so Ruby is guaranteed to be equipped with her basic gear, which will prevent instant defeats during the Eurus event.
- Fixed an issue where Annie's dialogue would suggest Jack isn't in the party even when he was.
- Fixed an issue where the soldier at the outpost in Auria would have dialogue with Miles and Riley even if they were not in the party.
- Fixed an issue where an event in Veil #2 could be replayed repeatedly.
- Disabled the ability to return to the top of Raphael's Tower after the quest was completed which resulted in getting permanently stuck.
- Fixed an issue where in the second return to Scarlet, game would freeze.
Updates & Changes:
- Removed the new versions of Miles and Riley, beginning at their introduction in Scarlet Cavern.
- Ruby can now always equip Swords and Shields, as with Miles and Daggers, Amaya with Katanas, Eurus with Scythes, Riley with Axes, and Alex with Wands.
- Ruby can now always equip Scarves, as with Miles and Scabbards, Riley with Straps, and Alex with Earrings.
- All characters can always equip General Accessories.
- Boosted TP regeneration and resistance to TP degeneration are now traits of Amaya instead of the Wind Warrior class.
- The "Scythe" command is now a trait of Eurus, not the Wind Reaver class.
- Ravage and Reave are both now Special type attacks.
- Wind Warrior and Wind Reaver now add the Special skill type.
- Rose can not be KO'd on day 1.
- Bombs and Grenades are now Tool-Kit type attacks.
- Miles's default Rogue class now adds the Tool-Kit skill type.
- Bulk Up, Battle Shout, and Ferocious Shout are now "Shout" type attacks.
- Riley's default Barbarian class now adds the Shout skill type.
- Slice, Cut, Slash, and Poison Cut are now Swordsman type attacks.
- Formula for Cut increased by a fixed 25 damage.
- Formula for Slash increased by a fixed 50 damage.
- Increased the use cost of Poison Cut and increased the formula by a fixed 25 damage. Poison Cut can no longer inherit debuff applications from equipment.
- Reduced the potency of Mend by half.
- Remedy is now single target and can be used out of battle.
- Reduced the cost of Resurrection from 100MP to 20 MP.
- Updated White Mage's parameters.
- Removed Mastery gains from Singlehand Stance and Doublehand Stance.

Over the last couple of days, you may have noticed your game version increasing by 0.0.0.0.1 every so often without any attached patch notes. Today I want to talk a little bit about what I'm doing and what the goals are.

First, let me start by saying that I won't have official patch notes until I do a test run on my end, which is still a few days out. However, unlike previous version releases, the game will have updated before the notes are out.

What I've been doing
- Discovering and stomping out bugs.
- Retcon the Miles & Riley outfit change
- Introducing CLASSES and JOB POINTS!
-- Other usable classes are currently being worked on.
-- Yuelslain's Village - Frostslayer has already been updated. Once the item has been obtained and used, all characters can change their class to Frostslayer instead of just Amaya and Eurus.
-- The job points post-battle screen is active but as of right now, most skills don't give JP and no enemies give JP. As I develop classes, JP integration will also grow.

What I'm still doing
- Preparing the first round of universal basic classes - Swordsman, White Mage, Black Mage, Archer, Pyromancer, and Geomancer.
-- When available, new save files will have access immediately. Current save files will obtain them in the Veil (enter from Ruby's House/Sitting Room, or from Hall of Challengers).
- Carefully adjusting the JP cost of skills learned by the above classes.
- Setting the JP granted upon use of every skill in the game (this is going to take a little while).
- Adjusting some enemy skills to be used by player characters.
- Separating traits of classes and characters.

Extra Notes
- Skills learned by one class are retained on the character and not limited to just the class. Therefore, skills are being branched into different Skill Types.
-- Definition: "Skills" and "Magic" are both "skill types". Soon to be added are class specific skill types, such as Swordsman, Tool-Kit, Shout, etc.
-- Example: Slice, Cut, & Poison Cut are now Swordsman type skills and can not be used while the Swordsman skill type is unavailable. The Swordsman skill type is only available for the Swordsman class, and can be disabled by Disabling Slice along with the "Skills" skill type. Ruby changing from Swordsman back to Electro Warrior will remove the Swordsman skill-type.
-- Universal abilities that fall under the Skills or Magic skill types can be used on any class so long as it makes those skill types available. (Ex: Alex will keep Firebolt after learning it as a Black Mage even if she reverts back to her Priest class since it is a 'Magic' skill-type ability.)

TLDR; I'm fixing a ton of things and adding some cool things. Go to the Veil to get them when they're ready.





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As mentioned at the beginning, final patch notes are not yet available... but here's what we have so far. Keep in mind that as I continue to develop these things, they will go live immediately for me to test. So if you're looking forward to the introduction of new classes, simply go to the Veil then open the Menu and navigate to the Class tab to see if they've been added yet.

Note: Everything listed in the below notes is already available in game.

Fixes [Released Between 6.0.1.3 and 6.0.2]:
- Fixed an issue where the game would freeze if the fallen Velleren event was activated while Miles was not in the party.
- Disabled the final statue of the middle path in Memoria in place of the return of the Lightninstrike quest.
- Blocked the path to Ana in Hell's Gate when Miles is not in the party.
- Speed in Shroud will only trigger for Outfit 1 version of Miles due to the removal of outfit 2.
- Removed branch looking for Outfit 2 version of Miles and Riley during the Morros quest.
- Removed an empty battle from Hell's Gate near Ana.
- Added an anti-cheat system which will target players adjusting their level through third party means.
- Blocked access to the Veil before level 2, so Ruby is guaranteed to be equipped with her basic gear, which will prevent instant defeats during the Eurus event.
- Fixed an issue where Annie's dialogue would suggest Jack isn't in the party even when he was.
- Fixed an issue where the soldier at the outpost in Auria would have dialogue with Miles and Riley even if they were not in the party.
- Fixed an issue where an event in Veil #2 could be replayed repeatedly.
- Disabled the ability to return to the top of Raphael's Tower after the quest was completed which resulted in getting permanently stuck.
- Fixed an issue where in the second return to Scarlet, game would freeze.

Updates & Changes:
- Removed the new versions of Miles and Riley, beginning at their introduction in Scarlet Cavern.
- Ruby can now always equip Swords and Shields, as with Miles and Daggers, Amaya with Katanas, Eurus with Scythes, Riley with Axes, and Alex with Wands.
- Ruby can now always equip Scarves, as with Miles and Scabbards, Riley with Straps, and Alex with Earrings.
- All characters can always equip General Accessories.
- Boosted TP regeneration and resistance to TP degeneration are now traits of Amaya instead of the Wind Warrior class.
- The "Scythe" command is now a trait of Eurus, not the Wind Reaver class.
- Ravage and Reave are both now Special type attacks.
- Wind Warrior and Wind Reaver now add the Special skill type.
- Rose can not be KO'd on day 1.
- Bombs and Grenades are now Tool-Kit type attacks.
- Miles's default Rogue class now adds the Tool-Kit skill type.
- Bulk Up, Battle Shout, and Ferocious Shout are now "Shout" type attacks.
- Riley's default Barbarian class now adds the Shout skill type.
- Slice, Cut, Slash, and Poison Cut are now Swordsman type attacks.
- Formula for Cut increased by a fixed 25 damage.
- Formula for Slash increased by a fixed 50 damage.
- Increased the use cost of Poison Cut and increased the formula by a fixed 25 damage. Poison Cut can no longer inherit debuff applications from equipment.
- Reduced the potency of Mend by half.

Known Issues:
- Due to the addition of the Skill Mastery plugin, Mend has returned to Ruby and Alex even though it was previously removed in a story event.
-- Mend will again be removed for current players at a checkpoint when entering Lvell during the Orc War when that phase becomes available.

Warning to anyone who just started the Orc War - try not to progress it until the next version of the game is announced. There's a few minor changes and a few major fixes that are being inserted between now and then. Game version display won't update until the official 6.0.2 or 6.1 release.

* Removing the new outfit versions of Miles & Riley
- Takes too much time to make branching dialogue for events which are accessible during the Orc War day but after the costume change occurred.
- For players who already have the new versions, entering Lvell (when it's available) during the Orc War will remove the new versions and replace them with the old so everything is in sync again.
- For players who don't already have the new versions, they'll never know this change happened.

* Blocked path to Ana in Hell's Gate while Miles is out of the party, since Miles & Riley are included in the dialogue.
- Simpler than making branching dialogue per character currently in the party.

* Disabled final center statue in Memoria which allowed Ruby to learn Lightningstrike and Bolt Cutter by sacrificing Electric Power.
- Reactivated the Lightningstrike quest instead which will automatically trigger and progress in the Veil.

* Regeneration I quest now also requires Miles to be in the party. This event has Ruby say the team should return once Miles & Riley have rejoined them instead of investigating it right then.
- Again, simpler than making branching dialogue per character currently in the party.


Over the next few days, all dialogue branches featuring Miles & Riley's second outfits will be removed, followed by the game data files for their sprites and faces. When the process is 100% complete, patch notes will be posted in full.


If you discover any bugs, reach out on facebook @ https://www.facebook.com/CrossOfAuria ASAP!