Balance Talk: Jan 13, 2017

Greetings, Saviors! This Balance Talk will be an update on the changes we’re making to the classes mentioned in our post from last week (if you haven’t yet, read it here first). The bulk of the changes we’re planning for each class remain the same as explained in the previous post (cooldown and duration reductions, etc.), so under “Updates” I will only be highlighting the elements that were altered or added since last week. Again, keep in mind that these changes won’t be applied to iTOS immediately, and by the time they do, some details may have been altered.   Barbarian Updates: - Circle 3 Warcry debuff attribute: debuffs applied by the casting character will last 1 sec longer per attribute level on enemies affected by Warcry (maximum level 10) If on one hand this class conjures up the image of a rugged warrior with a mind of their own, something we learned after playing around with the latest changes was that the Barbarian is surprisingly compliant, in the sense that it is flexible enough to successfully mix with other classes under and above it. One way we decided to push this trait of the Barbarian was to connect the new Warcry attribute with the skills of other lower- and higher-rank classes by allowing it to extend the duration of all debuffs cast by the character, further enhancing the mighty cry of the Barbarian.   ​ Cannonneer Updates: - Cannon Blast overheat changed to 2 - Siege Burst range increase removed (sorry, we ran into some trouble when testing this) - Siege Burst cooldown time reduced from 30 to 7 sec - Bazooka range increased by 20% and skill cancellation time reduced - Other Cannonneer skills can be used with Bazooka (this will also increase the skills’ attack range by 200%) After reading your feedback on our last balance post, one thing we deeply agreed with was that the Cannonneer was still in need of some adjustments to bring it closer to our previously-mentioned vision of the AoE single-hit blaster. Unfortunately, we had some issues with the Siege Burst range increase we wanted to apply, so we had to cross that one out for the time being (we’re not giving up on it, though). After some internal discussion, however, we decided to add in a few more changes to the class, namely the ability to use other Cannonneer skills in the Bazooka state. To sweeten the deal, we also made Bazooka increase the range of these skills by 200%. Note that this increase won’t apply to range boosts coming from equipment items or other external elements, but we believe it’s a good step towards giving the Cannonneer some real explosive potential.   Corsair Updates: - Stamina consumption when using Double Weapon Assault reduced 5% per Jolly Roger skill level - Changes applied to make the Jolly Roger flag last longer Seeing the little Corsair icon appear on the party UI is always a good omen to other players, given the class’ well-earned reputation of the sturdy group leader. This is especially true after our latest changes to Jolly Roger, which helped Corsairs make a name for themselves in high-level contents. As I explained last week, however, we felt that Corsairs weren’t faring so well in solo combat, which is why we upped the usability of Jolly Roger, namely by making it reduce the stamina consumption in Double Weapon Assault. We’re not yet done with the Corsairs though, and we’ll keep perfecting the class until they are as helpful to themselves as they are to their party members.   Monk Updates: - Golden Bell Shield cooldown reduced to 14 sec (24 sec in PvP) - Golden Bell Shield cooldown reduced 1 sec per skill level - Golden Bell Shield duration changed to 1.5 sec - After using Golden Bell Shield, buff will last for additional 0.5 sec - Golden Bell Shield casting time reduced - Golden Bell Shield: Safety Zone attribute cooldown changed to +1 sec We did some more testing on the Monk changes mentioned last week and, from the results we got, it does seem the Double Punch stamina consumption-reducing attribute and the Energy Blast charging time reduction did produce some slight improvements in the use of both skills. At the same time, there are still some problems, some pointed out by the players themselves, that we still need to work on to make sure these skills are having an appropriate influence in the Monk class. The biggest changes since last week for the Monk, however, belong to Golden Bell Shield. We’ve always been a little afraid to tamper with this skill but, after going through the feedback received from players worldwide, our team agrees that, as a class that undergoes extensive physical training to multiply the blessing of the goddesses within itself, it’s only fair that Golden Bell Shield gets a proper boost as well. Don’t think you can start walking around without a Soul Crystal or two, though…   Rune Caster Last week I talked about how we intended to make Rune of Giants usable with other Wizard skills to expand on its utility. We still stand by that idea, especially considering how the Rune Caster is already restricted by the long casting and cooldown times of its skills. On the other hand, we are a still little wary of making Rune of Giants work with all skills, as this could have unexpected consequences. For this reason, we believe it’s best to lift the restrictions on Rune of Giants gradually and analyze the results step by step, increasing the efficacy of this skill in a way that’s safer for the general balance of the game.   Warlock To put the recent Warlock changes in perspective, allow me to mention the Bokor class for a while (I’m not Cleric-biased, I swear). The Bokor’s skill set, despite being in the Cleric tree, revolves mostly around curses and the dead, but in a way that is still connected to the grace of the goddesses, even if a little unorthodox. In the case of the Warlock’s Mastema, we felt that the duration of this skill was too short to allow for any connection to divine power, hence why we decided to extend it and give holy property attacks a chance to make better use of it, at the same time increasing the synergy between Warlocks and other players’ – namely Clerics – class skills. We realize this change isn’t quite revolutionary, but we want to keep improving on the Warlock’s team work abilities as well its efficacy and power in high-level contents.   To the players whose classes aren’t listed here, I hope you won’t be too disappointed; we are aware that there are other classes in need of adjustments. This is an ongoing process, so eventually we’ll get around to making changes to other classes’ characteristics as well. Meanwhile, I thank you all once again for your continuous feedback on our TOS channels. Until the next Balance Talk, this has been yours truly, the balance dev :)

Introducing Hunting Grounds and Item Identification

Greetings, Saviors! We’re very excited to introduce you to two new interesting features that should be coming up in the game with our next major content update: Hunting Grounds and Item Identification. Hunting Grounds Hunting Grounds are a new map concept focused on hunting and farming. Unlike instanced dungeons and missions, hunting grounds don’t have a specific goal to complete, and you won’t find any boss monsters in them. On the other hand, one advantage of hunting grounds is that they can be accessed at any time without restrictions by both solo players and parties. Plus, they provide higher silver and item drops when compared to regular maps. You see, hunting grounds are also inhabited by glowing Giant monsters (a heftier version of regular TOS monsters) that give you twice as much silver and EXP and up to twice as many items as the monsters you see elsewhere. We’re going to add four portals spread throughout different regions that will grant you access to each of the hunting grounds. All you need to do is stand close to the portal to be transported inside.   The list of hunting grounds to be added is as follows:   - Narcon Prison (Gytis Settlement Area; rec. level 150)   - Natarh Watchtower (Dina Bee Farm; rec. level 170)   - Tatenye Prison (Ruklys Street; rec. level 190) - Neighport Church East Building (Stogas Plateau; rec. level 210)   We wish our saviors to find 'Giant Monsters' on each map.   ▲ You can get double EXP,  items and silver by defeating Giant monsters, which only appear on Hunting Grounds.   Item Identification One type of items you can obtain from the new hunting grounds are what we call Unidentified Items. These consist of weapons and armor with a maximum equip level requirement of Lv 120 or Lv 170 (characters above Lv 170 can, of course, equip them just the same). Unidentified items can’t be equipped, enhanced, added sockets, transcended or awakened. To unlock all these options, you will need to take these items to the new Identifier NPC located in Fedimian to get them identified for a silver fee. The advantage of unidentified items is that, once they become identified, their number of sockets and potential can grow a maximum of two times that of regular items. All you need to keep in mind is that they can only be identified once. We can’t wait to bring in the new features, so don’t miss out and make sure to keep an eye on our weekly patch notes to find out when these are added.    

Balance Talk: Jan 6, 2017

Hello, this is the developer in charge of skill and class balance in TOS, writing to you once again to get you up-to-date with the balance-related changes we’re preparing to launch. We were very glad to see your positive reactions and engagement in our previous balance post, so we thought we’d share some details about the most recent balance patch we have planned. These changes will most likely be applied in kTOS very soon, and we hope to bring them over to iTOS as well once everything is ready. Note that this could take a while depending on how smoothly the changes apply over at kTOS, so we ask for your patience…   Barbarian Main changes: - Reduced cooldown of Warcry to 42 sec - Added new Warcry attribute We envision the Barbarian as a fearless warrior, using sheer audacity to intimidate and weaken any adversary. In the game, as a mid-lower rank class, the Barbarian is unique in that they become stronger as the combat progresses. In order to stay true to this vision, we needed to incorporate more synergy with other Swordsman tree classes that depend a lot on debuffs. That is why we decided to reduce the cooldown time of Warcry and introduce a new attribute that increases the duration of the skill’s debuff effects. With this, we hope to help all the Barbarians out there unleash their savage side and use Warcy with confidence in battle.   Cannonneer Main Changes: - Increased critical chance for Kneeling Shot - Increased range for Cannon Shot, Shootdown, Cannon Blast and Cannon Barrage by 20% - Increased range by 20% and reduced casting time for Siege Bust by 50% The Cannonneer was designed to be the heavy artillery of TOS, a class that can blast through hordes of enemies with a single blow and fill in the role of AoE dealer; a class that comes with its own handicaps, but a powerful one nonetheless. From what we’ve observed, however, the Cannonneer skills’ short range isn’t always letting them fulfill that role. Besides the necessary slow attack speed and single-hit constraints, we felt that some skill-related restrictions were a little harsh. For this reason, we decided to increase the range of Cannonneer skills and ease some of their restrictions and associated penalties. We also increased the critical chance of Kneeling Shot in hopes it can be more widely used with other Archer tree skills. Don’t be too sad about the disadvantages of the Cannonneer class, though. We’re going to keep working on it until we feel it’s as true as possible to its concept.   Corsair Main changes: - Reduced stamina consumption for Double Weapon Assault according to Jolly Roger skill level In kTOS, we introduced a few changes to Jolly Roger combo requirements and effects, expecting to differentiate the role of Corsairs as party leaders in Earth Tower and other high-level contents. We realized, however, that in solo combat, Corsairs were still not living up to the image of the ruthless pirate we had imagined. So this time, we decided to make the effects of the pirate flag apply to the casting character as well, and use the skill level of Jolly Roger to reduce the stamina consumption for Double Weapon Assault. Ultimately, we want Corsairs to prove their worth not just as leaders of a group, but as capable solo fighters too.   Monk Main changes: - Added stamina-reducing attribute to Double Punch - Reduced Energy Blast charging time to 0.25 sec - Reduced cooldown of Golden Bell Shield to 120 sec Last time on the dev blog I wrote about how we thought Monk skills were a bit too restrictive, especially all the cool skills players usually go for when they choose this class. To bring a little freedom and efficiency into Monk skills, we first added an attribute to reduce the stamina consumption of Double Punch and cut the charging time of Energy Blast in half, increasing these skills’ versatility and efficacy. Finally, we decided to buff Golden Bell Shield as well, seeing as, despite being a Rank 7 skill, it doesn’t offer much more than Safety Zone, which can be learned at Rank 1. We understand that, especially in the case of Golden Bell Shield, which makes you invincible after all, we need to be extra careful when tampering with some of these skills in order to avoid something that’s too OP. We’ll keep this in mind for future updates.   Rune Caster Main changes: - Wizard skills become usable under the effect of Rune of Giants In our previous dev blog balance post, I broke the silence about hidden class changes to write about the updates we were planning for Rune of Giants. We played around with some of these changes and, fortunately, they seem to help Rune Casters use other skills with Rune of Giants a lot more actively like we hoped. Following that, we want to lift even more restrictions from the skill and allow Rune of Giants to be used with the most sought-after Wizard class skills. At the moment we don’t foresee any major negative impact from liberalizing Rune of Giants, so we hope these changes will help turn it into a skill that is increasingly helpful, rather than just “for show”.   Warlock Main changes: - Extended duration of Mastema’s stigma (Devil type) to 20 sec There are only a handful of skills in Tree of Savior that give characters the ability to change the property of enemies, and Mastema is one of them (another prime example is the Druid’s Chortasmata). The main advantage of Mastema is that, as its stigma changes enemies to Devil type, characters with strong attacks against this property can use it to deal extra damage to any monster (this is especially useful to your Cleric friends). On the other hand, we thought 5 seconds was a little too short to have a significant impact in actual combat, so we decided to give a big boost to the duration of Mastema. Our hope is that this will encourage Warlocks to use Mastema in a wider range of situations and in combination with their own as well as other characters’ skills.   I would like to stress here that these changes are just a preview of what we have prepared. By the time this balance patch reaches iTOS, some details may have been changed, so don’t take anything for certain just yet. That said, we look forward to your feedback on these changes, and we hope to keep providing you more updates through the dev blog, so stay tuned!

[EDITED] Update on the Optimization Process

Greetings, Saviors! This is TypeBPenguin, the programmer in charge of optimization for TOS. Firstly, I would like to apologize for not giving you an update on how things have been going in a while, and for the delay in the optimization update. We needed some time to reconsider the optimization process for there were certain stability issues. These issues have been dealt with since then and, with that success, different aspects of the optimization process have improved as a result. In this quest for optimization, we set out one goal: make the game run without a hitch even with 100 players on the screen! Now, as some of you might already know, this is not an easy task. But we set our goal high and we will dedicate our time and effort to realize it. Also, we have set up a specialized test environment. As you can see from the screenshots below, 100 player characters are moving about, casting skills, jumping and doing all kinds of activities. This would be an ideal environment to test the optimization.   Optimization Process The first and foremost thing to solve were the client stability issues from the previous optimization process. During the numerous tests, certain side effects from the previous optimization process have been found and, regrettably, for the sake of stability, we had to forgo some improvements. However, through other optimization processes, we were able to obtain both stability and improved performance. 1. Our resource management system has been improved by applying resource background loading and data pull. What we have achieved was a reduction in the time wasted on resource loading. The graph below compares performances before and after the resource management system application. The unit is ms/frame and the red graph indicates the before, while the purple graph indicates the after. The test environment for both is the same as the one shown in the screenshots above. Please look at the number of spikes and duration. Through the application of these measures, we were able to obtain the best of both worlds and have the benefits from the previous process along with the huge reduction from resource loading.   2. We created a separate thread to process articles, models and other ingame factors to reduce processing time. Most of the total processing time is spent on updating models when 100 characters are on one screen. When characters cast skills, naturally a number of particles are created. Consequently, more time is needed to process the particle effects. Here, we thought of a way to process them in different threads.   3. We reduced rendering time and draw call numbers by improving the rendering pipeline. We have improved the Character Depth MRT process and other unnecessary rendering processes that we weren’t able to do last time.   The graph above was obtained in a test environment and based on the results from replays where certain features were locked. There might be a margin of discrepancy in the actual gameplay environment. Also, we must be prepared to deal with unexpected side effects like last time. Therefore, we took some time testing and re-testing to find possible issues so that this optimization process will perform without major problems. Likewise, we did have to sacrifice some performance to ensure better stability, but the ultimate goal was to provide our users with a safe and sound gameplay experience.   Ingame Test The graph below is based not on replay scenarios but rather the actual ingame environment like the screenshots above. The red graph indicates the before, the blue graph the after. The first graph is recorded when loading 100 characters doing various activities. The second graph is taken after the character loading and doing various activities. We can clearly see certain significant improvements in the overall processing speed and reduction in frame drops.     Closing Words Aside from the processes we have mentioned above, we are also working on improving inefficient algorithm structures and other tasks to reduce even 1ms for our users. We will keep on striving to improve the optimization process. As always, thank you for playing and loving our game :D UPDATE: We thought we'd add in a few words on the general timeline for the new optimization measures after seeing your feedback on this post. One part of the processes described here has already been implemented in kTOS and we hope to apply it to iTOS as early as next week (January 3, 2017). Keep an eye on the weekly patch notes for more on that. Other processes still need some fine tuning before we can bring them into the game, so we'll keep working on those and hopefully we can let you in on more updates in a near future.

Future Plans for Class/Skill Balance

Hello, this is the developer in charge of skill and class balancing over at the TOS team. We have been closely monitoring all the opinions and feedback you guys have been sending in from in-game, the forums and other sources about class balance. There are a good number of possible class trees that have allowed for some creative builds from players of TOS. As developers, we appreciate all the enthusiasm you’ve shown. Unfortunately, we also understand that not all of our players are happy with their class trees and builds. Some classes show their true beauty the way we intended them to and are consequently loved by many, but some classes weren’t as lucky and have often been ignored… We at the dev team feel the need to reduce this ‘class disparity’. We have implemented five class patches so far. These are the goals we have been aiming to achieve with them: 1.     Each class should have its own characteristics and roles. 2.     Adjustments should be carefully planned to avoid one class dominating its rank or being left out, and to achieve a fairly equal distribution of classes in each rank. 3.     Rather than letting one class become too good to the point of self-reliance, we should devise a plan to encourage different types of classes to work together and develop new play strategies. The sixth and seventh balance patches we want to implement will be to renovate the classes that have yet to fully show their true potential. For example, classes such as the Cannonneer will be undergoing changes to their AoE range, damage, play convenience and so on. Some classes have already had similar changes implemented in previous patches. Now, let’s talk about some specifics of the sixth and seventh balance patches we want to implement. 1)     Barbarian - Our goal is to make Barbarian skills easier to use with other Swordsman skills. - Upcoming patches will therefore focus on maximizing the potential synergy of Barbarian skills and Swordsman skills. 2)     Rune Caster  - We plan to continue expanding the list of skills available when in the Rune of Giants state. - After considering which classes are the most often used in a Rune Caster build, we will examine the skills of those classes and see which ones can be used alongside Rune of Giants without any problems. 3)     Cannonneer - We find that the Cannonneer is not fully living up to the promise of being the explosive AoE nuker it’s meant to be. - That is why we intend to lengthen the Cannonneer’s range and improve the tactical use of this class. - Also, we are figuring out ways to improve its performance by utilizing skills from other classes in the Archer tree. 4)     Monk - The most urgent problem with the Monk class, we find, is that the skills have too many restrictions. - Removing these restrictions could have a huge ripple effect, however, so we’re proceeding with caution. - Generally speaking, though, we want to improve the Monk’s go-to skills by changing certain restrictions and aspects of the skill system. Aside from the alterations mentioned here, we are still working on other changes to come in future patches. Moreover, in 2017 we hope to emphasize PvP balance patches to answer the needs of players from all around the world. We’re attentively examining all issues regarding the Team Battle League, Regional GvG and general PvP. One thing we want to start on is dealing with the skills considered either too OP or make PvP otherwise boring. The balancing process is never complete, as many seasoned gamers will know, and neither is our quest to improve the Tree of Savior that you and we love. We cannot thank you enough for all the love and support we have received. Thank you.

Explore the Cities of Tree of Savior

Introducing the Rank Reset Voucher

 Greetings, Saviors!   Today we would like to introduce the long-awaited Rank Reset Voucher, an item that, as the name implies, allows you to reset your character’s rank. We understand our players will have a lot of questions on how this item works and how it can be used, so we wanted to do this round-up guide to show you how you can take the best advantage of the Rank Reset Voucher. First, we hope you understand that, as much as the Rank Reset Voucher will help you redo an important part of your build, there are a few things to consider before you decide to use yours. And so, to avoid any kind of misunderstanding, we urge you to read the information here very carefully. We know it’s a lot, but we don’t want your precious Rank Reset Voucher to go to waste!   1. What kind of item is the ‘Rank Reset Voucher’? The Voucher can be retrieved from the message box in your lodge until XXday, XX XX, 2017, at XX:XX (EST). One Voucher will be provided per account, and the Voucher can only be given to one character in your team. ※ You will not be given additional vouchers, and you cannot move the Voucher from one character to another, so choose wisely!! After you retrieve the Rank Reset Voucher from your message box, you must use it within 14 days. The received Voucher will then appear in the inventory of the character to whom you give it. The item cannot be disposed of, cannot be traded, and cannot be moved via team storage.     2. What do I need to do before resetting my rank? Unequip all items your character may be equipping. Unlock any costumes received via class advancement your character may have in their inventory. If your character is learning an attribute, wait until all attributes your character may be learning are complete. Your character cannot be learning any attributes when you use the Rank Reset Voucher. Make sure there are no companions following with your character (you can disassociate a companion from a character at your lodge). You cannot be using shops (buff shops, etc.) or have any shops open while using the Rank Reset Voucher. You cannot be crafting items, enhancing items, enhancing gems or combining cards while using the Voucher. If your character is a Templar guild master, you need to transfer the position of guild master to another member or leave the guild entirely.   ※ Before using the Voucher, make sure to check whether you gather all the conditions for a successful rank reset through the Voucher’s UI.   3. What happens to my character after I use the Rank Reset? You character will reset to Class Level 1 of Rank 1, and you will automatically receive the amount of Rank Cards necessary to return to Class Level 1 of your character’s original Rank. All Rank Cards obtained are bound to the character that receives them and are untradeable. ※ Your character’s Class Level and EXP will completely reset when you use the Rank Reset Voucher. ※ If your character’s Class Level is 15, you will also receive a Rank Card corresponding to the next Rank. For example, a character of Rank 7 and Class Level 15 will receive Rank Cards up to Rank Card 8, allowing them to reach Class Level 1 of Rank 8 after using the Cards and completing the corresponding advancement quests. Meanwhile, a character of Rank 7 and Class Level 10 will only receive Rank Cards up to Rank Card 7, allowing them to reach Class Level 1 of Rank 7 after using the Cards and completing the corresponding advancement quests. ※ Each Rank Card can only be used when your character is in the Rank immediately prior to it (e.g. when you are on Rank 1, you will need to use the Rank 2 Card; when you are on Rank 2, you will need to use the Rank 3 Card, and so on).       All of your character’s learned attributes will reset. However, after the Rank Reset your character can learn the same attributes they had learned before the Reset, as long as the Class/Circle and Skill Level are the same before and after the Rank Reset. The attributes where your character meets these conditions can be learned by them free of charge (no silver consumed) up until the attribute level reached before the Rank Reset.     All costumes received via class advancement will be deleted. Hair accessories will remain in your inventory.   Hidden class advancement requirements remain the same after you use the Rank Reset Voucher. ※ If you had advanced into a hidden class before the Reset and want to advance into the same hidden class after the Reset, you will need to gather the exact same conditions once again in order to advance.   All advancement quests will be reset. In order to advance to your desired class, you will have to use the Rank Cards provided to increase your Class Level and complete each advancement quest according to the class you want.   Equipped monster cards will be unequipped and moved to your inventory. No penalty will be applied to your cards after they are automatically unequipped during the Rank Reset (i.e. they will remain the same as they were before the Reset).   Companion vouchers obtained via class advancement will be deleted when you use the Reset. Companions previously obtained via voucher will not be deleted and will remain in your team.   Remember that Circle 3 Costumes may become unequippable by your character after the Rank Reset if you choose a different Circle 3 class than the one you had before the Reset.   If your current character is a Kannushi and you wish to advance into the same class again, after the Rank Reset you can only do so with a female character.     Again, make sure you understand what the Rank Reset entails and how to use the Voucher before you jump into your new class tree. May the goddess’ blessing accompany you in your path. PS. We are currently proceeding with tests regarding a Hidden Class, Earth Tower Solmiki contents, Rank Reset Vouchers etc and they will be released as soon as the tests are finished.     

NPC Profile - Goddess Laima

Greetings, Saviors! Get to know the Goddes of Fate, Laima through this week's NPC Profile.  

NPC Profile - Demon Queen Gesti

Greetings, Saviors! Get to know the malevolent Demon Queen Gesti through this week's NPC Profile.