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DEVELOPER'S BLOG
Weekly Question and Answer – October 21st, 2016
Q1. It is very difficult to tell elite monsters from regular monsters. Do you have any plans to distinguish them with a certain clear indicative effect? We are currently in the process of making a method to highlight elite monsters. We understand that, at the moment, players may have trouble instantly recognizing elite monsters which might hinder intuitive gameplay. This may also reduce the fun factor of finding and defeating these relatively rarer monsters. What we are planning to do is indicate them visually on screen and also their names will reflect their elite status to add a sense of drama as well. Such features are on their way. Q2. The monsters run away so fast that it somewhat hinder the gameplay. Is the current speed of monster retreat intentional? Additionally, would there be other gameplay elements regarding the monster fleeing AI such as a monster running away to call for a backup? We also see that the monster fleeing AI can be improved in a variety of ways to improve gameplay. We have come up with some ideas and are now in the final testing and execution stage. Certain changes will be implemented to make the monster behave more organically, less intrusively and allow players to experience the thrill of the hunt. Q3. There is no clear indication of critical evasion and other chances through the character statistics. Are there any plans to make them more intuitive? The chance calculation of critical evasion and alike is based on not just the character’s statistics but also that of the target. Therefore, it is very difficult to have a fixed number representing such chances. However, that is not to say the status quo will remain completely the same. We are internally discussing and experimenting with some ideas to make the gameplay more informative such as displaying target monster’s critical evasion chances on the monster info UI.
Weekly Question and Answer – August 5th, 2016
1. The spectator mode in Team Battle League and Guild Battle matches can have the side effect of revealing each team’s strategy to the opponent. How do you plan on dealing with this issue? Currently the spectator mode in Team Battle League and Guild Battle matches works by allowing anyone to watch them in real-time, a feature which, some players have pointed out to us, can be used to “spy” on the opposing team’s constitution and strategy. We understand the implications this brings to the competition, so we want to consider developing alternatives to the real-time spectator. For example, a transmission with a short delay (e.g. 1 minute) that would still allow players to spectate the combat, but minimize the possibility of an unfair advantage. 2. We have physical block in the game, but no magic block. Do you have any plans to introduce magic block or evasion later on? It’s true that magic has no block, just like it has no critical either. We can also say that we don’t intend to add a block feature to magic. As you know, magic allows for resistance to specific types of attacks or states, and that is the way we conceived magic-type attacks from the beginning. We don’t see ourselves deviating from this concept, so it’s safe to say magic is going to remain unchanged in terms of these features. 3. Can you set the time of Team Battle League and Guild Battles according to each server region, instead of using the EDT standard for all servers? After receiving feedback from players in different time zones about this issue, we can see how our current time settings for Team Battle League and Regional Guild Battles aren’t the most convenient for all regions. As such, we have started to prepare for setting different time slots for each region and are currently working towards implementing them. We hope to bring these new time settings to the game as soon as possible so players in every server have better chances participate in Team Battle League and Regional Guild Battles. 4. When are we going to get momentary invincibility after becoming incapable of combat during Guild Battles? We did introduce this feature to our Korean servers the past 28th of July, so characters that become incapable of combat during a Guild Battle will respawn with momentary invincibility. We expect to add this patch to Steam as well when it’s ready, along with other Regional Guild Battle features you’re looking forward to.
Weekly Question and Answer – September 2nd, 2016
1. When are you going to develop new content for Guild Battles and Team Battle League? Besides the Guild Battles currently available, we’re working on adding a new PvP gameplay mode. This mode is still in its early stages, but we’ll update you with more details as soon as it’s a little more developed. As for Team Battle League, we would like to expand the current stages in the future, and we’re considering different ways to use TBL features like the spectating mode. 2. Will you consider allowing premade parties into Team Battle League? Including premade parties into TBL isn’t a feature we intended to add initially, but we also recognize that doing so has the possibility to increase social content and allow friends to play together. Because of this, we will be considering the possibility of allowing premade parties to queue for TBL matching, and we will continue monitoring your feedback on this. 3. We noticed the companion UI includes equipment slots. Does this mean our companions are getting their own equipment someday? We’re reviewing different options for companion equipment at the moment. One option would be to have specific items that would alter the physical appearance of your companion when equipped. Another option would be to have the player equip their own items on their companion, similarly to when they are applied to your characters. We will keep actively considering these possibilities for a future update. 4. It would be nice if the guild UI included the times when each guild member is online. What do you think? We think that’s a great idea. We can see how being able to check when each guild member is online would be convenient for guild masters to manage their guild and plan for guild activities. We will most definitely be looking for ways to include a feature like this in an upcoming update. 5. Is the current party setting of 5 players meant to represent one of each class tree, and if so, does that mean we can expect another class tree in the future? We developed parties to be composed of 5 players for gameplay purposes. We found 5 players to be the optimal number that allows you to distinguish the movements of other players without filling up the screen too much. We didn’t really intend to have a different class tree represented in each individual team member when we thought of this number, and we have no plans to develop a new one any time soon. 6. I want to know why guild members can no longer use the guild invite function. We realize this is not the most convenient setting for guilds when the guild master is not logged in, that is why we are developing an alternative function that will allow the guild master to give guild members permission to invite others into the guild. We also plan to add a feature similar to a stand or stall for guilds that they can set up in the long term to recruit new members. 7. Any news about the bird companion? If you’re wondering about the Battlebird companion, we’re planning on releasing it on Steam very soon, so you won’t have to wait much longer. We will also be launching a Battlebird item package for the TP Shop, similar to what we did for the Penguin companion.
GM QnA Session : April 7th, 2017
Greetings, Saviors! We are sharing here a compilation of the questions answered at our latest GM meetup in a summarized Q&A format. Thank you to everyone who showed up! Q : Do you have any plans to launch more gesture macros? A : As you can see from our recent video, yes, we will launch more gestures in a future patch. Q : Can I get detailed information regarding Rank 9? A : I hope to know the exact date of arrival. We are planning to release Rank 9 this year; you will be informed via an announcement on our website once it is ready. Q : There aren't that many bugs on kTOS, why do we have them in iTOS? A : That's not quite true. It has been our highest priority to continue to reduce the amount of bugs that may be found and we have made considerable progress in doing so. If there are still bugs that remain they can be reported on the Forum so that we can address them and develop the game further. Q : Getting disconnected in TBL (Team Battle League) is a big waste of time. I hope you can make a system to re-enter TBL. A : Thank you so much for your nice suggestion, we will pass it on for the proper team to consider. However, we think creating stable connection conditions in TBL is more important than a re-entry system. We will keep trying to stabilize our servers and client. Q : Client unexpectedly closing errors occur frequently after the migration to VS 2015. I'm wondering if you're fixing it. A : Yes it's our top priority and it's not always caused by VGA related issues. Q : I wonder if you a plan to punish people who leave the party after entering the Royal Mausoleum or Canyon missions in Saalus Convent. A : We do not have plans for that yet, but we will inform our designers about this issue and try to find an improvement. Q : We feel that we have a lack of end-game contents. Do you have any plans to make more end-game contents? A : To be honest, we are not sure of what end-game contents are coming but we guess more plans will be released after the rebalance patch. Q : We are facing the problem of 0% map exploration for 2 weeks now. When can we expect this issue to be resolved? A : Our dev team members are still finding out the reasons for the 0% map exploration problem. We will try to fix it as soon as possible. Q : We are really curious about how IMC improved the DPK system in iTOS. Can you explain what things have been changed and improved? A : As we have done with the Mystical Cube, we are planning to have an interview with the team to give you more detailed information through the dev blog. Q : There is bug on the Cyclone skill that reduces it from level 15 to level 1 sometimes, which often causes less damage. A : We have the same bug on kTOS too, we've already informed our QA team to test and we hope it is fixed soon. Q : Do you plan to do anything about players who didn't get any Practonium from the Mystical Cube even after trying for 3 months? A : We know many players have complaints about the RNG system of the Mystical Cube and we will forward them for possible improvements Q : Many players don't know the Unstable Cube can expire. What are your plans to improve this? A : The team has made a few UI adjustments that will display this information more easily to players. Please wait a little longer for the update. Q : It's a shame that not many people play the field bosses, it feels like the content is being wasted. Any changes planned for field bosses? A : That's a fair point. We will pass on this feedback to the designers and maybe request for more field boss events, for example with cubes. Q : I like GM meetpus, but I wish there was a dev meetup too. A : GMs do pass on all your feedback to the dev team, and we try to give you information back from the devs too. That's the reason we have the dev blog on our website. Q : Any plans to add new level 270 and 315 items? A : We're looking forward more 270/315 items too, but we can't be sure of when they will be released. They are still in development. Q : Why are words like "hunt" censored in the chat window? A : We agree, and we will try to improve this. Q : I saw in your combat changes video preview that you're rebalancing a lot of aspects in the game, does that mean we're getting a class reset too? A : Yes, we want to open a reset event when this rebalance update arrives. You can read more details about it on our dev blog. Q : Do you know that some skills are causing fps drops? A : Yes, we are aware that skills like Divine Might can cause fps drops especially in TBL. We are working to find the cause and will try to fix it. Q : Are the new user event rewards tradable? A : No, the event rewards are untradable. Q : There's a problem where I can't see the quest NPC. A : Please send in a ticket about your specific quest so we can try and help you. Q : Will non-Token users be able to use Team Storage too? A : Many players have made this request. Something is being worked on, but the final changes will be announced later when they are ready. Q : I wish there were checkpoints in the Solmiki Area like we have in the Lolopanther Area. A : That's a good idea. It could help improve disconnection issues as well. Q : Can you make the Kabbalist's Revenged Sevenfold be less powerful in PvP? A : PvP balance is next on our list of improvements, but we can't be sure of which skills will be affected. Q : What are you doing about the people who abused the Symbol of Wealth issue? A : We did not ban anyone, but they are on our watchlist. Q : Any results you can share from the South America ping test? A : Thank you for sharing your test results. We haven't decided anything yet, but we will let you know when we do. Q : Will you be adding new monster cards or monster gems? A : Not yet. We want to focus on stabilization and balance first. Q : What about new social functions like a marriage system, fishing, etc.? A : Again, stabilization and balance will come first. Q : What was your favorite update in TOS? A : Personally, the update on March 14, 2017 was my favorite. Q : What will happen to the Agny Necklace? Are you going to make other items like it? A : You can read about it on our recent Combat System Changes dev blog post. Q : Will there be other ways for Swordsman classes to defend themselves against magic in PvP? A : We're not aware of any plans yet. As a Swordsman class player myself, it does hurt to be hit with magic. Q : How are you fighting against Hook64 and other unauthorized programs? A : We keep taking new measures against it, but the details don't appear in the patch notes. Q : Any chances you'll improve the Sadhu class? A : There are no plans yet for specific classes, but it could be possible after the general balance update. Q : Will you be using Steam wallpapers and badges? A : That's something we have been wondering for some time now, but so far it's not one of the top priorities. Q : Will you release the Chronomancer Master hair and other NPC hairs and costumes? A : Those are good ideas, we're always open to suggestions for hairstyles and costumes. Q : What are you doing about AFK and macro users? A : We're reviewing a few measures and will relay your ideas as well. Q : Why can't we exchange items we get from the Exchange shop for medals? A : There are some improvements on the way. Please check our Future Improvements dev blog posts. Q : What about a search function for the Exchange Shop? A : That's a good idea. We still want to improve the Exchange Shop UI. Q : Can you make skill effects flashier? Some skills don't look that powerful. A : Not yet. We want to focus on stabilization and balance first. Q : We need better functionality in guilds. There isn't much to do as it is. A : There should be some guild improvement plans coming soon, maybe. Please wait a while. Q : Will there be other ways to obtain hairstyles other than buying them at the TP Shop? A : We're not sure, but getting hairstyles through other ways sounds like a good idea. Q : Please get rid of guild neutrality. It's less fun when guilds can be neutral. A : We don't think guild neutrality will be removed from the game. Q : I wish there was a button to enter instanced dungeons and missions like the one we have for TBL. A : There are no plans to develop one yet, but we agree it would be practical. Q : Why do potions have a cooldown time? TOS is not even a MOBA. A : I personally think it's maybe to prevent balancing issues and such since there are some examples of other famous MMORPGs also having cooldown periods for potions. Q : Mouse mode is a little inconvenient. It's better than before, but some actions can still improve. A : We apologize for the inconveniences of mouse mode, that's something that is being worked on. Please let us know exactly what aspects of mouse mode are inconvenient so we can work further to improve on it. Q : Why don't you do events for returning users? A : We want to make events specifically for returning users too, but unfortunately it's been impossible because of certain technical issues. Q : I wish you could introduce more food buffs like the dumplings. A : We'll take note of that, keep sending any ideas you have about items and other aspects of the game. Q : I wish I could make my companion big forever like it was during the trickster event. A : We noticed a good reaction from the players during that event, so we may consider ways to make it happen. Q : Will you give us another Rank Reset Voucher when Rank 9 comes out? A : Any updates about Rank 9 should be announced through the website when they're ready, but we're still considering what to do about the Rank Reset Voucher item. Q : When will we get new companions and costumes? A : We're always considering new ideas for new companions and costumes, and want to keep releasing more. We take suggestions from the players too, so feel free to keep them coming. Q : I wish there were more food accessories like the sushi series, for example curry. A : Curry sounds like a good idea for a hair accessory, too. p.s During the GM-Meet Up, there was disconnection problem on Fedimian Server. We apologize to those users and we will also provide rewards to all users who have participated. "
[Video] Balance Changes Preview : Feb 23, 2017
Greetings, Saviors! As you may remember, throughout the month of January we made a few posts on our blog where we discussed some balance changes we're working on. If you haven't yet, do have a look at them here: Balance Talk Jan 6 / Jan 13 / Jan 26. Part of the changes we planned are now ready to be implemented on kTOS, so we wanted to share with you a preview of what the rebalanced classes will actually look like in-game. In this video we feature Warlock, Cannoneer and Monk skills: check them out below!
Weekly Question and Answer – July 29th, 2016
1. Are you ever going to add new functions to companions? We’ve been receiving plenty of suggestions for new functions meant to improve the convenience of playing with companions, some of them rather interesting, so we’ll definitely keep reviewing those. Right now we’re thinking of developing a set of hotkeys or commands that would allow you to interact with a companion or use its functions without opening the corresponding UI. 2. The new Penguin companion is too cute! Please tell me you have other companions coming. Indeed, we do. Yesterday (July 28th) we introduced a brand new bird companion in our Korean servers, which we hope to bring to Steam as well, as soon as it’s ready. We also plan to keep creating and bringing you new companions in the future, so stay tuned for that. 3. I’ve noticed that, in Team Battle League matches, your companion’s HP and Stamina does not reset with each new round. Is this done on purpose? Originally, the HP and Stamina of companions weren’t designed to reset after each round of Team Battle League matches. After receiving more feedback from the players, however, especially those with classes that rely on companions for combat, we have decided to actively review our original design and consider resetting these stats for companions as well. 4. The torch mission in Siauliai seems too long. Do you have any plans to make it shorter? We agree that 3 minutes is a little long for the torch mission in Siauliai, but for now we don’t have any plans to shorten it. Instead, we will consider creating additional bonuses for completing more of other missions.
The Lore You Know: Zealot
February is the month of love, so why not shine a light on our more fanatical of Goddess-lovers, the Zealots. For those of you who are not as familiar with this Cleric-tree class, our Zealots do not call upon the power of a specific Goddess but instead sacrifice their life energy and similar forces to invoke a different type of power to use in battle. There are also rumors that they tortured and assassinated demons during their search for the missing Goddesses. But in regards to this, how does our MMORPG version of the Zealots differ from that of history? First, let’s break down the etymology of the word "zealot". Zealot comes from the Greek word, zelotes, which means, “one who is a zealous follower.” Zealot is also the common translation of the Hebrew word, kanna’im, which means “one who is zealous on behalf of God.” In this historical context, this term was used to characterize members of a 1st century Jewish sect who fought against the Roman rule in Palestine. The more extreme members of this group participated in acts of terrorism and assassination in order to fight against the pagan Romans. When discussing this sect, the word zealot is usually capitalized. The Zealots were adamantly opposed to the pagan Romans that ruled over them. And their views were so extreme that they also opposed any idea of peace between the two political bodies. As Zealots believed they were the defenders and true devotees of the law of God, some Zealots even carried daggers beneath their cloaks to stab anyone they believed were committing a sacrilegious act or who were being too friendly to Rome. A lot of our knowledge about the Zealots during the 1st century comes from the historian and scholar Josephus (37-100AD) who wrote influential works on Jewish history and the political climate of the time. However, Josephus labeled the Zealots as dangerous fanatics and pointed them out as a possible reason why the Romans destroyed the city of Jerusalem. With all of this in mind, it is also important to state that although Jewish Zealots are seemingly the more popular mention, there are zealots in other areas of history as well. The Zealots seen in TOS are not a reflection of the Zealots from the 1st century but more of an interpretation of the word’s core definition “one who is a zealous follower.” Our Zealots express themselves through various skills that reflect the actions of a zealous follower. Skills that involve blind fate, fanaticism, and immolation. Therefore, as you search for the Revelations of the Goddess, have you also given thought to devoting yourself as their follower and becoming a Zealot yourself? References Poole, G. 2017. Encyclopaedia Britannica. Flavius Josephus. [Online] The Editors, 2014. Encyclopaedia Britannica. Zealot. [Online] Etymoline. Zealot. [Online] Jewish Encyclopedia. Zealots [Online] Wikipedia, 2018. Zealotry in Jewish History. [Online]
Weekly Question and Answer – October 7th, 2016
Q1. I would really like to ride a Guinea Pig companion. Will there be a way for me to do it in the future without a mounting skill? During our initial closed beta tests, Guinea Pig companions were actually mountable by all classes. Later, however, we ended up considering the possibility of it hurting the uniqueness of mounted classes, and that’s when we put the restrictions in place for Guinea Pigs. We don’t think we’ll change the current setup that soon, though, so it seems the only way you’ll get to ride a Guinea Pig companion is by creating a character in a mounted class. Q2. Will we ever get the current trading system of kTOS in iTOS? We did make some changes to the trading policies in our Korean servers which we trust would be welcome in iTOS as well. Currently, the new trading policies are undergoing a few internal tests in order to stabilize them before we bring them over to the international version. As always, you can keep an eye on our News page for future announcements with more details about these changes. Q3. Having the bosses in Siaulai Mission match the level of the highest-level character in the party can be a bit rough for those with lower levels. Any plans for improvement? We are well aware that this is an issue affecting auto-matched parties playing the Siaulai Mission. Because of that, we decided to make boss monsters match the average level of all party members, instead of the highest-level character alone. Development of this feature is fully complete now; it’s already been applied to our Korean servers, too. You can be sure we’ll bring it to Steam as well, you’ll just have to wait a little longer for this update. *P.S.: We would like to take this chance to clarify something about the new Dumpling items, as it seems to be confusing some players. When there are 20 or more levels of difference between your character and the monsters you're hunting, they will not drop Dumpling materials. Please keep this in mind, and our apologies for any confusion this may have caused.
The Lore you Know: Schwarze Reiter
Schwarze Reiters were a German Cavalry unit from the 16th Century. They were armed with a Wheellock pistol and a Sword and wore a Kettle Hat (Eisen Huet) or a Burgonet. Their name, "Schwarz" ( which means "black" in German), originated from the black armor that they wore. Their armor was black because they made it using low quality steel in order to cut down the price. During battle, Schwarze Reiters would wield two weapons at the same time: the Sword and the Pistol. This was because, in this era, armies were attempting to integrate gunpowder weapons into cavalry tactics. For example, the riders would first advance towards the target in rank formations. As each rank came into range of their target, the riders would turn their mounts slightly to one side, fire one pistol, then turn slightly to the other side to fire another. They would then retire towards the back of the formation to reload and repeat again. This tactic was called “Caracole.” Caracole is also known in Dressage as a turning maneuver. but in Tree of Savior, Caracole is a skill used to immediately disengage from the enemy. Commanders expected Reiters to engage enemies with both firearms and swords. While riding a horse they would shoot a pistol at enemy ranks with the hope that the enemy line would collapse. However, Henry IV and Gustavus Adolphus preferred to employ Reiters and Heavy Cavalry in a more aggressive manner, ordering them to press the charge and fire pistols at point-blank range or to use their swords instead. In Tree of Savior, Schwarze Reiter wields both the Crossbow and the Pistol. But our Schwarze Reiters tend to keep their distance from the enemy.