Cross of Auria News

[p]Hey everyone, it's been a while! Don't worry, I haven't forgotten about you. In fact, I've been thinking up a couple of cool new things to add to the game. My goal is to have them released by the end of this month - so keep your eyes peeled in game for a version change! Yes, unfortunately that means this is not ready for deployment YET![/p][p][/p][p]First up, the Headless Horseman, angered by his defeat to Ruby & co, has crossed the barriers of the Veil and slipped into Revan somewhere. He brought with him his army of risen warriors! Find access to this new location from the world map soon![/p][p][/p][p]The Horseman also picked up some new tricks in the form of debuffs... Ruby should probably bring somebody who knows Synergy abilities to dispel them! (Both Synergy and Sabotage abilities will be available as new Classes with the release of this DLC!)[/p][p][/p][p]Alright, was that too corny? Let's get into some documentation style information. Two new classes are joining the game - Synergist, which focuses on buffing allies, and Saboteur, which focuses on debuffing enemies. These new abilities are tied to brand new States, 8 in total for each class. One for Attack, Magic Attack, Defense, Magic Defense, Agility, Luck, and Elemental Resistances. Using a buff on an ally is guaranteed to apply the effect unless afflicted with the opposite debuff. Using a buff on an afflicted ally has a 50% chance to remove the debuff instead. The same is true for debuffing enemies - there is a chance to dispel their buff or apply the debuff, depending on whether or not they have other buffs active. But more than that, these new State-based-skills are guaranteed to Dispel the previous iteration of buffs and debuffs on contact guaranteed! So if an enemy has a 2x Attack buff and you hit them with Attack Break (and it doesn't miss), they can say goodbye to that Attack buff even if your debuff State doesn't land! Sound like a lot? You'll get the hang of it![/p][p]Beginning at level 20, Learn Skills appear for both Synergist and Saboteur. These abilities share names with the previously learned abilities, but instead will activate for the Skills and Magic commands instead! By default, only Synergist and Saboteurs can use these skills. But once you hit level 20 and activate the Learn Skills, you can take some of these abilities with you to the other classes![/p][p]Synergist and Saboteur classes become available through progress within the new Headless Horseman DLC (to be officially named later). [/p][p][/p][p]Near-Future Plans
- Tie achievements to in-game rewards. Ex: completing the new Headless DLC rewards new save files on the same account with the Synergist and Saboteur classes for all characters (except pets).
- Create an extinction event within YSV/Snowdrift.[/p][p][/p][p]The expected release of this new DLC, including progression for two new classes is on October 25th, 2025 for $4.99. The store page will not become active until the DLC is ready to launch that moment - no preorders this time![/p][p][/p][p]Snowdrift Village / YSV is getting a minor mechanical makeover after the Headless DLC drops. This already exists as a DLC and no additional content will need to be purchased or downloaded. The expected release for this is December 20th, 2025.[/p][p][/p][p]Battle Series X wings are also expanding in the meantime.[/p][p][/p][p]On October 20th, 2025, the Horseman's army will infect the Black Forest. The higher Ruby's main class level, the more difficult enemies will spawn (up to level 35).[/p][p][/p][p]What's that? One of the Horseman's allies seems to be willing to recognize Ruby as its master![/p]

[p]I've had to rapid fire some fixes over the last few days so apologies on so quick of a new update - but today we're looking at Electric Power! Those of you who are far enough in the game know that some skills add to Ruby's overall Electric Power which increases the damage her Electric-type skills do, and there are a handful of skills and events that reduce this number. Now, it's all being counted. [/p][p][/p][p]This next part contains achievement spoilers, so exit now if you don't want to see! [/p][p][/p][p]New Achievements:[/p]

• [p]Thunder Bringer: Raise Electric Power to 500. In-game, this rewards Ruby with a new Skill.[/p]
• [p]Through the Ringer: Raise Electric Power to 1000.[/p]
• [p]Power for Damage: Sacrifice 250 Electric Power.[/p]
• [p]For a Good Cause: Sacrifice 500 Electric Power.[/p]
• [p]Ends Justify the Means: Sacrifice 1000 Electric Power. In-game, this rewards Ruby with a new Weapon. [/p]

[p]To collect the in-game rewards, the save file being used must have completed these milestones. Within the next few weeks if possible, I hope to add an in-game vendor that would check achievements and reward these things even on a brand new save file.[/p][p][/p][p]Additionally, the Save screen has changed. "Sacrificed", referring to Electric Power Sacrificed, now appears below Psychic and Electric power in the middle column. Challenge Lv. has been moved to the far right column. Challenge Lv hasn't been used in a long time, but the Pit will be making its return soon for all players.[/p][p]If something does not work as expected, feel free to reach out right here on the Steam forums at any time. I check in regularly when able - but the best place for immediate help is on Discord @ https://discord.gg/wTbquRqWZv[/p][p]I'll stop talking now - here's what's new this week:[/p][p]6.8.2.1 \[Build #184, Release Date: July 02, 2025] Fixes:
- Empty Snowdrift Village now exits direct to smaller Snowdrift Area to prevent getting stuck in the larger Snowdrift Area. [/p][p]6.8.2.2 \[Build #185, Release Date: July 03, 2025] Fixes:
- Dojo Cerberus no longer returns pets to the party before the story sequence introducing the snake to Miley & Riley occurs. [/p][p]6.8.3.0 \[Build #186, Release Date: July 03, 2025]
New:
- New concept: Power Sacrifice. This internal stat now appears in the Save menu and counts how much Electric power Ruby has sacrificed for the sake of using skills and performing other actions. Affected are: all Lightning Rage skills and Bolt Cutter schematic chain.
- New achievements can be earned relating to accumulating and sacrificing Electric Power.[/p][p]Updates & Changes:
- The Essence of Essences has ended! The portal in the Veil no longer functions.
- Crossbolt now accurately reduced electric power by 2 when used.
- The "Decrease Electric Power" trigger can now bring Ruby below 0 power, but will not yield Sacrifice points. This will only result in reduced Electric Ability damage and not progress toward any Sacrifice perks.
- Lightningstrike now has a 2% chance to stun.
- Lightning Rage now forces Ruby to act immediately using any of the LR-enabled abilities.[/p][p][/p][p][/p]

[p]I discovered a new way to manage checking ownership of DLCs - so this update focuses entirely on that. Put simply, additional unnecessary maps have been marked as Timelost (~20 or so) and all DLC data is included with the base game regardless of purchase status, but is unlocked via an in-the-moment check when content is accessed. [/p][p]Also, a major passability issue was found based on a report here on the Steam forums between Snowdrift Village and the world map, so the entire Snowdrift Area section 2 has been temporarily removed. The distance from the World Map to Snowdrift Village via the area north of Lvell is significantly closer than before, but SDV no longer connects to the Veil at all. [/p][p]DL Hopper also runs a DLC check in the Headless Horseman arena, refusing to fight you without it. [/p][p]The Headless Horseman level 20 event is still available to those who do not own the DLC via the same visible unit as the other tiered battles.[/p][p][/p][p]Special Note: I didn't want to release the DLC changes as a standalone patch, but once I found the passability problem in Snowdrift Area, I didn't have a choice but to address it immediately. It was not possible to escape SDV once entering it and while there it was virtually impossible to save.[/p][p][/p][p]6.8.2.0 \[Build #183, Release Date: June 29, 2025][/p][p]Fixes: [/p][p]- Fixed a passability issue in Snowdrift Area. [/p][p]Updates & Changes: [/p][p]- Leftover data from 'vents' is slowly being removed.[/p][p]- Removed the Valentine's Day NPC from the Veil.[/p][p]- Adjusted the layout of the awake Veil.[/p][p]Updates & Changes (DLC):[/p][p]- Snowdrift Village can no longer be accessed from the Veil. This change is reflected on the DLC page. The entrance through Snowdrift Area north of Lvell now serves as the fixed point on the world map to access the village.[/p][p]- The way DLC ownership is evaluated has been changed.[/p][p]- Support for MAC DLC has been permanently removed from the script files.[/p][p]- The original maps for Founder's Packs (now Gift Packs) have been timelost and will be deleted at a later date. FP Chests now appear directly in the Veil in the same location as expected.[/p][p]- Condensed the Headless Horseman event into a single visible unit who despawns after the battle. He returns every time the player returns to the map. The level 30 no-DLC event is no longer available to users who own the DLC.[/p][p]- Headless Horseman access no longer requires Halloween Event 2020 progress.[/p][p][/p]

[p]It has come to my attention that the snake pet can return to the party earlier than intended via Dojo Cerberus. I'm working on fixing this but many save files are probably already affected. Realistically, this will only cause a minor continuity error in the story but will otherwise have no lasting negative effects. However, it does make the beginning of the game significantly easier than intended since Snake has basically level 15 stats at level 3.[/p][p]Today I'm releasing some stuff that was currently in the pipe for 6.8.2. My kids being home for summer break threw a huge wrench in development speed, but I'm still chugging along. If you want to come talk about the game with other players, join us on Discord @ https://discord.gg/wTbquRqWZv - this is the best place to ask questions and submit bug reports.[/p][p][/p][p]My goal is to have the game in a finalized state by the end of the year, DLC and all. There's so many things I want to add to the game but I'm limited by the inexperience I had when I created it. The best thing for us to do right now is move on to a brand new CoA2. Before we do that, we're going to wrap up here and give you all something cool to do with your 'endgame' items! It is likely that the story ending for CoA1 will be rather abrupt - those of you who were here from the very beginning may remember this game's original name: "Cross of Auria Chapter 1: The Awakening". That is still what this concept is even today. So... let's wrap it up. We've got 6 months to go - wish me luck! [/p][p][/p][p]6.8.1.4 \[Build #182, Release Date: June 28, 2025][/p][p]Fixes: [/p][p]- Changed the condition for KO'ing eggs, preventing 0 exp battles where the Drahkin doesn't spawn.[/p][p]- Fixed a Grand Library NPC repeat function.[/p][p]- Fixed the Bolt Cutter not accurately reducing Electric Power.[/p][p]Updates & Changes: [/p][p]- Changed the way Elite and Boss enemies are handled. Instead of baked in stats, it will be done through an auto passive state which directly applies percentage based stat buffs.[/p][p]- Scaled BSX enemies to non-Elite stat sheets and applied the Elite passive state.[/p][p]- Hive Mind, Flame Titan, Frostbrood Titan, Blood Queen, Hive Queen, Corrupted Queen now have the Boss state in addition to their current stat sheets.[/p][p]- An'rim Operant, Catermoth, Overcharged Dissector, Rockfist Ursid now have the Elite state.[/p][p]- Heart Strike now deals significantly enhanced piercing damage to targets who are bleeding.[/p][p]- Crush Armor is now Physical.[/p][p]- Doublehand Stance attack combo changed to add one attack per 10 levels, currently up to level 40+. Swing now occurs before Attack. Beginning at level 20, Lucky Strike, Disabling Slice, Silencing Slice, and Airstrike have an equal chance to be used last. [/p][p]- Singlehand Stance attack combo changed to add one magic per 10 levels, up to 40+. Airblade + Arcane Shock are granted by default, then ArcaneShock/Airblade at 10, ArcaneShock/Airblade/Gust/WindBuffet at 20, ArcaneShockII/AirbladeII/Gust/WindBuffettII at 30, and Magick Shock at 40.[/p][p][/p]

During playtests today, I discovered several bugs in the Zodiac Overwatch. Ideally my goal is to only make one of these posts per week, but whenever something is truly broken I have to fix it right away. The only problem was - I discovered the broken things after adding a new thing, and I want to post every time something new rolls out.

So here we are at 6.8.1.3, just a few hours after 6.8.1.2.

Capricorn, and the associated achievement, are now available in the first wing of Zodiac Overwatch.
This wing has been downscaled from level 25 to level 15 due to changes in development planning moving forward.

6.8.1.3 [Build #181, Release Date: May 18, 2025] New:
- Capricorn is ready for battle!
Fixes:
- Fixed broken and impassable tiles in Zodiac Overwatch.
Updates & Changes:
- Battle Series X wing 1 enemies have been scaled to level 15 Elite.
- After the Orc War events in Lvell, Mystery Shop Gizelle has moved to Port Reception for more mystery coin trade ins! A higher tier chest is available for purchase for 5 coins! This chest will always yield 15 of each essence, 1 of each tier 2 flask, 1-3 tool kits of varying tiers, and one of twelve Special items such as Veil Crystals of Dusk Armor Parts.
- The Mystery Box - Silver no longer grants a Tiny Coin Purse.
- Added a sell price to Zodiac and Astral Coins.