Steadfast Steward's Update - 8th Build Live!

HEROES

Occultist

• Crossroads description has been updated from +Back Rank to +Flexible Rank

Wanderer

• Dev Note: After some deliberation, we've opted to retain the higher Unchecked Power cost on The Burning Stars and Anamnesis but have increased unmastered access to Unchecked Power in various other parts of the Occultist's kit, reducing the mastery-hungry nature of generation skills. Malediction, as a debuff skill across all Paths, has been normalized to a cost of 2 Unchecked Power regardless of mastery.

• Abyssal Artillery CRIT chance increased from 5% to 10%

• Abyssal Artillery now has a 66% chance of granting Unchecked Power per target that is CRIT

  • Dev Note: Abyssal Artillery was adjusted to remove some of the onus on having to master skills in order to generate Unchecked Power.

• Binding Shadows DMG reduced from 4-6 to 3-5

• Binding Shadows CRIT reduced from 10% to 5%

• Binding Shadows+ DMG reduced from 5-8 to 4-7

• Binding Shadows+ CRIT reduced from 15% to 10%

  • Dev Note: Binding Shadows is an extremely utility-laden skill, so its DMG balance is being readjusted accordingly.

• Sacrificial Stab now grants Unchecked Power when killing a target

  • Dev Note: The unmastered version now has the same On Kill benefit as the mastered version of the skill, reducing some of the onus on early mastery to support Unchecked Power effects. The mastered version still has its own additional benefits to make killing comparatively easier.

• Wyrd Reconstruction and Wyrd Reconstruction+ no longer consume a CRIT token if the skill is already guaranteed a CRIT via the Unchecked Power bonus

• Anamnesis and Anamnesis+ DMG increased from 2-4 to 3-5

• Anamnesis Bleed reduced from 4 to 3

• Anamnesis now applies Shuffle

  • Dev Note: We wanted to keep the majority of the mastery value on some of the Big 3 Unchecked Power skills related to the reduced cost, so unmastered Anamnesis has been adjusted to gain the Shuffle but have slightly lower Bleed than mastered.

• Malediction and Malediction+ no longer have inherent Debuff RES Piercing

• Malediction and Malediction+ now apply Combo to the target

• Malediction and Malediction+ now last for 3 rounds

• Malediction and Malediction+ now cause the target to gain Combo every time it's hit

• Malediction Unchecked Power cost reduced from 3 to 2

• Malediction+ now ignores Blind in addition to Dodge

• Malediction+ now refunds its Unchecked Power cost at the end of the round if the debuff is resisted

  • Dev Note: Malediction now stands apart as requiring less Unchecked Power at base but gaining more potency from mastery, unlike the more damage-oriented Unchecked Power skills. The skill can guarantee that it will hit but ensuring it passes through Debuff RES will require some outside help.

Ritualist

• Abyssal Artillery now has a 50% chance to apply a second Blind when consuming Unchecked Power

• Abyssal Artillery+ now has a 66% chance to apply a second Blind when consuming Unchecked Power

  • Dev Note: 2 unconditional Blind tokens on an AoE feels a bit too potent but 1-in-2 / 2-in-3 chances of doubles feels more acceptable. The tokens also separately roll their resists, so it's not an all-or-nothing roll.

• Binding Shadows and Binding Shadows+ now grant Stealth in the same way that the Wanderer version does

• Binding Shadows and Binding Shadows+ now reduce the target's Debuff RES by 10% for 3 rounds if the Ritualist has Stealth

• Binding Shadows DMG reduced from 4-6 to 3-5

• Binding Shadows CRIT reduced from 10% to 5%

• Binding Shadows+ DMG reduced from 5-8 to 4-7

• Binding Shadows+ CRIT reduced from 15% to 10%

  • Dev Note: We wanted to retain the Ritualist's ability to assist others by lowering a target's Debuff RES without giving up some of the new signature capabilities of Wanderer Binding Shadows.

• Sacrificial Stab is no longer a Path skill

  • Dev Note: If you'd rather just stab somebody to get your Unchecked Power, go for it.

• Wyrd Reconstruction and Wyrd Reconstruction+ no longer consume a CRIT token if the skill is already guaranteed a CRIT via the Unchecked Power bonus

• Malediction+ no longer has a chance to grant basic Block or Dodge; the chances to grant Block+ or Dodge+ have been increased accordingly.

• Malediction+ now removes all Riposte from the target, since Riposte has no inverted token version

Warlock

• Dev Note: There were concerns that Warlock was not able to generate sufficient Unchecked Power comparative to other Paths. Changes to some Wanderer skills that Warlock uses should assist in alleviating this, as should an update to his unique take on Chaotic Offering.

• Unchecked Power no longer decreases maximum health

• Unchecked Power now increases DMG received by +10% per token

  • Dev Note: Bouncing HP values mid-fight was adding more unnecessary math than tangible engagement so we've shifted the Unchecked Power penalty to something you'll feel a bit more.

• Chaotic Offering and Chaotic Offering+ now correctly state Round Start in their passive effect instead of Turn Start

• Chaotic Offering and Chaotic Offering+ now have additional effects that can be activated as a Free Action

• Chaotic Offering and Chaotic Offering+ require at least 15% HP to activate

• Chaotic Offering and Chaotic Offering+ deal 15% HP DMG when activated

• Chaotic Offering and Chaotic Offering+ apply a random side effect (as per Wanderer version of the same skill) when activated

• Chaotic Offering and Chaotic Offering+ grant 1 Unchecked Power when activated

• Chaotic Offering and Chaotic Offering+ disable the Round Start chance to gain Unchecked Power for 2 turns when activated

• Chaotic Offering now has a cooldown of 3

• Chaotic Offering+ now has a cooldown of 2

  • Dev Note: Now compatible with relationships and still something unique to the Warlock. Spot an opening? Sacrifice your passive chance at Unchecked Power to gain one for immediate use instead! Beware of side effects.

• Sacrificial Stab is no longer a Path skill

• Wyrd Reconstruction and Wyrd Reconstruction+ no longer consume a CRIT token if the skill is already guaranteed a CRIT via the Unchecked Power bonus

• Anamnesis and Anamnesis+ DMG per positive token increased from 1 to 3

  • Dev Note: Less tokens required to gain DMG value vs. The Burning Stars, since monsters don't typically stack tokens quite like Heroes do.

• The Burning Stars and The Burning Stars+ DMG reduced from 10-18 to 10-16

• The Burning Stars+ CRIT reduced from 15% to 10%

  • Dev Note: It's still a monster of a skill, especially when mastered and pulling +6 DMG from Unchecked Power.

• Malediction and Malediction+ duration increased from 2 rounds to 3

• Malediction and Malediction+ monster heal changed from 10% to a flat value of 4

• Malediction and Malediction+ Hero heal changed from 10% to a flat value of 4

• Malediction and Malediction+ monster heal changed from On Hit to Combat Damage

• Malediction Unchecked Power cost reduced from 3 to 2

• Malediction+ now ignores Blind

  • Dev Note: Malediction has been updated to be less punishing when used against large HP pool targets such as bosses. In addition, the switch from On Hit to Combat Damage for the monster heal means that a Hero using a non-damaging skill can still receive their own heal but will not trigger a heal on the target. DOT ticks, however, can now proc the heal.

Aspirant

• Unchecked Power no longer increases max HP

• Unchecked Power no longer has a risk of applying Immobilize to the Aspirant

• Unchecked Power when moving rate increased from 66% to 70%. This rate now decreases by 20% for each Unchecked Power the Aspirant already has.

  • Dev Note: Similar to the Warlock, manipulating health values during combat wasn't really bringing anything sufficiently engaging to the experience. The Immobilize, while an appropriate counter-dance penalty, ranged from minor inconvenience to absolutely crippling. We decided to instead settle on having the Unchecked Power counterbalance its own generation. Dance-heavy team compositions are still likely to set the Aspirant up fairly quickly but Sacrificial Stab, Abyssal Artillery, and Chaotic Offering all offer additional ways to surmount the decreased generation when needed.

• Binding Shadows and Binding Shadows+ have been updated to match the Wanderer's rules for Combo consumption

• Binding Shadows and Binding Shadows+ DMG has been normalized to match other Path values

• Binding Shadows and Binding Shadows+ CRIT has been normalized to match other Path values

• Sacrificial Stab and Sacrificial Stab+ DMG has been normalized to match other Path values

• Sacrificial Stab and Sacrificial Stab+ now gain Unchecked Power on kill

• Sacrificial Stab now gains Block vs. Combo

• Sacrificial Stab+ now gains Block+ vs. Combo

  • Dev Notes: The Combo effect on Sacrificial Stab gives it a bit more use in Boss fights while the change to On Kill helps generate faster Unchecked Power against standard enemies, particularly if Unchecked Power's generation rate is reduced. There have been mixed requests to swap/keep the directional movement of Sacrificial Stab and Binding Shadows; we opted to keep it as-is since forward movement into Stealth in ranks 1 or 2 helps divert hits to your actual tank in the adjacent rank.

• Wyrd Reconstruction and Wyrd Reconstruction+ no longer consume a CRIT token if the skill is already guaranteed a CRIT via the Unchecked Power bonus

• Malediction and Malediction+ no longer have inherent Debuff RES Piercing

• Malediction Unchecked Power cost reduced from 3 to 2

• Malediction+ now ignores Blind

  • Dev Note: Normalizing certain aspects across the Paths.

• The Burning Stars Burn increased from 4 to 5

• The Burning Stars+ DMG reduced from 7-13 to 6-11

• The Burning Stars+ Burn increased from 4 to 6

  • Dev Note: As the sole Burn version of the skill, we felt it needed to play up the DOT element a bit more.

MONSTERS

Beastmen

• Huntsman: Splitting Edge chance of Weak token reduced from 100% to 50%

• Huntsman: Stalker's Reach chance of Weak token reduced from 100% to 50%

  • Dev Note: Given rough average of non-DLC Hero Debuff resistance, this brings the average chance of Weak landing from these attacks from 76% to 38%.

Creature Den

• Carrion Devourer:  Pulverize Weak tokens reduced from 2 to 1

Cultists

• Cherub: Enfeebling Miasma Weak reduced from 2 to 1

Fisherfolk

• Fish Monger: Debone distribution of Weak and Vulnerable has been tilted slightly in favor of the Vulnerable (2-in-3) over the Weak (1-3)

Military

• Spearman: Spear Toss Weak reduced from 2 to 1

GAMEPLAY

• Hemic Rot chance of Weak token reduced from 15% to 10%

• Trephine Bur: Replaced Convert with Invert in description for consistency

• Fervent Defender: Removed redundant Battle text from description

• Fixed Academic View descriptions on Coven enemies

• Entropic Enemies battle modifier: Stealth is no longer one of the possible tokens 

  • Dev Note: Stealth tokens have special timing when they're removed which was causing issues with Entropic Enemies where Stealth tokens weren't removed when they should be. Changing the timing of Stealth tokens would be risky, likely introducing knock-ons, so we opted to remove Stealth tokens from the possible options.

Known Issue

Aspirant Binding Shadows and Binding Shadows+ is missing the Forward 1 from its tool tip but the skill's movement still functions