Month: March 2022

Patch 1.5.8b Notes

Bryan

Patch summary

This patch marks our first reactive work to event feedback, and brings an optimization in the form of new loot and treasure rolls for Emissaries of Myth bosses. As it does, it brings some fixes, more skill clarifications, and minor QoL and quest changes – while keeping its scope relatively narrow, as 1.5.7 intended to allow us to do moving forward.

 

1.5.8b patch notes

 

Fateful Attribute Retrainer distribution

Because of the changes outlined below, this patch will automatically distribute Fateful Attribute Retrainers to all existing characters. This is a new Unique variant of regular ones, which will also be distributed in the future if the need arises. Like its Fateful Skill Retrainer counterpart, it cannot be auctioned, traded, or dropped, and does not have a limit of one per character. 

 

Skill description clarifications

The following skills’ flavor texts and descriptions were further clarified to better convey their intended effects and behaviors. None of these skills were functionally changed in any way.

Templars

  • Prayer of Healing: specified its healing range as within the user’s Holy Aura, and clarified that each healing recipient heals based on their own max hp.
  • Templar Restoration, Crosscutter, and Heaven’s Arc: specified in their description texts that they can be used even under shock.
  • Shield Bash: removed the description text’s “knockback” and “stun” components, and streamlined it to better convey the skill’s general sfx focus.
  • Aura of Thorns: added a line that clarifies its range.
  • Anchor: added a “TOGGLED SKILL:” field to its description text, and clarified its effect applies to swords, shields, and guns.

Cabalists

  • Darkform: clarified in its description text that learning the skill allows the player to dual-wield foci even outside the transformation, and split the effect into lines for easier reading. Clarified that the Shadow Minion synergy bonus it grants applies to the effect of Dark Lord.
  • Dark Lord: slightly rephrased the effect. Clarified that the maximum number of Shadow Minions depends on the skill’s level, and moved its line to the skill’s effect field.
  • Demonspine: removed the leftover description line that suggested it can pierce enemies, which it no longer does.
  • Bone Shards: removed the description text’s “knockback” component, and clarified it deals damage on cast. Also clarified that stunning enemies is not guaranteed.
  • Wall of Bone: clarified in its effect field that it may be destroyed before expiration.
  • Blood Surge: clarified in its effect field that it restores power instead of increasing it.
  • Concentrate Damage: added a “TOGGLED SKILL:” field to its description text, and clarified its effect applies to both spells and guns.
  • Elemental Mastery skills: separated the new description texts from the original flavor texts for easier reading.

Hunters

  • Medpak Retrofit: corrected its effect field to state that upgrading the skill increases healing and shield regeneration amounts per tick, not tick frequency.
  • Ghostly Strike: better clarified in its effect field that phasing is not guaranteed.
  • Tactical Stance: clarified in its description field that using other offensive skills also cancels the skill’s effect.
  • Multishot: clarified in its description field that using it does not cancel Tactical Stance.
  • Drone Aggressive Mode: added a new field to its description text to better convey its behavior, and clarified that the movement speed bonus only applies during the skill’s effect.
  • Rebounder, Ravager, and Concussion Rounds: clarified that the skills must be actively used for their full effect to apply, and that the listed “bonuses” come from other Rounds skills.
  • Flashcrasher Grenade and EMP Blast: specified in their description texts that they can be used even under shock.

 

Drone fixes and changes

  • The Drone will now start with 3 points in each of its 4 attributes as intended. It will then get 3 attribute points per levelup, maxing out at 147 points at lv50.
    • This change is not automatically retroactive; it will only apply to existing Drones after the player has used an Attribute Retrainer.
  • Using an Attribute Retrainer will now also reset the Drone’s attributes as well as the player’s, if (and only if) the player has an active Drone at the time. In that case the Drone will be automatically dismissed on Retrainer use.
  • Drone feeds will now properly account for attribute points given by Retrofit skills that are provided/buffed by +skill gear on the player. 
    • Previously, the game would sometimes fail to account for those +attribute sources before calculating total Drone attributes and deciding if they cover equipment feeds. This fix addresses that interaction.
  • The Drone will now properly check for item feeds of attributes which it has 0 of.
    • In effect, this should prevent Drones from equipping gear whose feeds they don’t fully meet. While this should not occur naturally anymore, this fix was also applied for more security and futureproofing (ie bugs/glitches and potential attribute penalties).

 

Map changes

  • Possibly Australia was reduced in size by roughly 50%.
    • This change should hopefully make its native quests easier, as well as help with game performance during the Ruax encounter.

 

Monster changes

  • Shriekers, Screechers, and Howlers were changed from demons to beasts.
    • This includes named and noexp versions.
    • This change was made both for consistency with the model and to slightly increase the availability of beast essences across the game.

 

NPC and ally changes

  • The Smith in Covent Garden Station has been moved away from Ko to avoid the issue of overlapping minimap icons.
    • He may now be found next to the portal to Train Depot, to better align with the station’s side quest progression.
  • The Lightning’s damage bonus has been increased by an additional 200%. 
    • This is in addition to the 200% it had before.

 

Quest fixes and changes

  • Ken’s “Petrified” and “And One More” quests have been repaired, so their quest target “Hybrid Zero” will now spawn normally.
  • Joanne’s “Kill No Name” quest will now award Legendary-grade mods instead of predetermined Common weapons.
  • The following quests have been reordered so that quest progression flows more logically:
    • Tyndall’s “Regicide” quest now comes before “Death To Order”, to avoid having the player backtrack into the Deep again. The quests’ texts have also been switched to reflect this change.
    • Gil’s “Dogs” quest no longer requires the completion of “That’ll Get Infected” to become available. It still requires the completion of “Arms & Answers”, as well as Gil’s previous quest, “Hey You”.
    • Lolli’s “Jaywalker” quest now requires the completion of part 3 of the “Arms & Answers” quest in Death’s Sewers, so as to align with Hatton’s “Lightweight” quest for Death’s City.
  • The following quests’ targets have been changed so as to not inconvenience the player by not appearing or commonly dying to NPCs:
  • Quest rewards across the game have been revamped:
    • With the exception of Named quest rewards, all quests after Charing Cross Station will now offer items of a minimum quality of Rare.
    • Several quest rewards will now offer Legendary items, often those of more demanding quests or ones closer to the ends of quest lines and stations. The item types most affected by this change are boots and mods.
    • Quest rewards should no longer roll Common focus items among Legendary items, due to the item change outlined below. This still excludes ones that offer conversion weapons (ie Puppet Masters and Id Pulsars), which still cannot roll for grades other than Common and Unique.
      • These changes affect both Normal and Nightmare, as the two share quest reward treasures.

 

Hunt-type quest fixes

  • All targets of hunt-type quests (ie quests that require the player to kill specific Named targets) will now behave in the same way as Abyss bosses and Moloch do. Namely, they will now check for the quest holder’s presence in the map at the time of kill, and will not award loot if the quest holder is absent.
    • This fix intends to address a common longstanding exploit with boss farming, which Flagship was also struggling with and had started to implement countermeasures against. 
    • This fix does not apply to enemies who are quest targets but also spawn naturally (ie without requiring an active quest), or to targets of collect-type quests (ie that require collecting kill trophies from their targets). It only applies to those enemies who are exclusively spawned through kill-only quests.

 

Item changes

  • Stovall’s Smiter’s damage icon has been changed into the proper physical one.
    • This change is only cosmetic.
  • Attribute Retrainers will now require confirmation on use, the way Skill and Expertise Retrainers do.
  • Attribute, Skill, and Expertise Retrainers now have a new hover text that states their function.
    • The Attribute Retrainers’ one also notes that it applies to active Drones.
  • The following focus item lines that could previously only roll for up to Rare grade will now be able to roll for all item grades, from Common to Mythic:
    • Coreslicers, Coreslashers, Coreshredders
    • Ripping, Riving, and Rending Radiants
  • The following focus item lines that could previously only roll for Legendary+ grades will now also roll for Double-Edged:
    • Mk1, mk2, and mk3 Ripshards
    • Mk1, mk2, and mk3 Bloodshards
    • Mk1, mk2, and mk3 Glyphshards

 

Recipe fixes and additions

  • Weapon reroll recipes will now correctly award 2-handed Templar guns of the same grade as the 2-handed guns used as materials.
  • Focus item reroll recipes will no longer produce the following focus items:
    • Coreslicers, Coreslashers, Coreshredders
    • Ripping, Riving, and Rending Radiants
  • A new reroll recipe, exclusively for Mythic-grade Emissaries of Myth weapons, was added to the Cube. This recipe requires the following materials: 
    • 2 of the same Mythic item type from the same boss (ie with the same inherent caste)
    • 10 fragments of the boss’s corresponding caste, acquired by event subbosses of the same caste 
    • 100 spectral essences

 

Item additions

21 new Unique armor pieces, all using Flagship’s unused names, were added to the game as Emissaries of Myth boss drops. As with their Mythic weapon counterparts, CCM castes will depend on the boss from which these items drop.

Cabalist, Invoker set

Templar, Order set

Hunter, Military set

 

Event boss and subboss changes

  • The Bile Brain spectral subboss was changed to a Fury, and its affixes were changed for a more aggressive encounter.
    • This change seeks to prevent spawn issues and passive encounters, in line with player feedback.

Xitalu

  • Its hp and armor values were reduced.
  • The armor value of its Eye minions was reduced.
  • The maximum number of Eye minions it can spawn was reduced from 12 to 6.

Ruax

  • Its poison and ignite resistances were reduced.
  • The number of Rifts it can spawn was reduced from 5 to 3.
  • It will now heal for 10% max hp whenever it spawns minions.
  • Its sight range was reduced to 60m.
  • It will now spawn in an invulnerable state, which it will break out of once engaged. It will revert to this state if players disengage and distance themselves from it.
    • This change intends to address an exploit that allowed it to be farmed safely from a distance.

 

Event boss treasure changes

  • The Emissaries of Myth bosses will now come with the following additional treasure rolls:
    • 6 rolls for Legendary+ mods; 50% chance each. 
    • 3 rolls for a random new Unique item among the ones above, 1 per faction; 20% chance each.