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DEVELOPER'S BLOG
kTOS User Meetup Summary
Greetings, Saviors! Recently, a meetup with players from our Korean servers took place, where questions were answered and our dev team shared a bit of what we have in mind in terms of the development of Tree of Savior. Today, we thought we’d share some details of this meetup with you here at the dev blog to let you in on some of the things we’re preparing and also gauge your opinions on the themes we discussed. First, these are the main goals our dev team is working to implement in the near future: 1. Improve the damage calculation system. 2. Increase the efficiency and revise the effects of each stat. 3. Create formulas to replace the currently fixed-number skill attack values and effects. 4. Revise the basic stats of all equipment items. 5. Readjust the efficiency and cost of enhancement/transcendence. 6. Readjust the difficulty of all fields and dungeons. 7. Overall improve the chat UI and develop new group chat functions. 8. Standardize and simplify item trade policies. As for the contents of our session, below are some of the topics we discussed with the players, summarized in a Q&A format. Transcendence and Balance Q: Item transcendence comes up too early in the game, and the effect it has on overall balance seems a little excessive. A: Originally, we introduced the transcendence system to give items a higher degree of importance in the game. We don’t want to devalue transcendence, since it would negatively affect players who already invested in it, so we are reviewing ways to increase the supply of transcendence items in order to reduce the gap. Q: Being a magic class is tough… A: We want to make it easier for magic classes to play solo in regular fields. We expect some of the difficulties felt by these classes can be alleviated by readjustments in the transcendence system and item rebalancing, so we’re going to make more specific plans after we test these out. Q: If you think about all the new equipment that’s going to come out in the future, it becomes a little too difficult to invest in transcendence, especially if you use a sub-weapon. Even with multiple characters, it’s a lot of work. A: In a way, the game already allows you to “recycle” your transcended items by restoring either part of the Blessed Gems or the item itself, but we are also considering making transcended equipment tradable. Perfecting the transcendence system is a bigger priority at the moment, however. The group of kTOS players met with IMC representatives at our offices in Seoul. Announcements and Communication Q: We don’t get many updates from you on what you’re working on and what your projects are for the game. Even if your plans end up not working out, we’d rather you at least communicate with us and let us in on the progress. A: The truth is that it has always been a little intimidating for us to talk about our plans for TOS, considering the amount of well-documented bugs we have yet to fix. Slowly but surely, however, we’ve started to work more on communicating our ideas and plans for the game, and we continue to strive for improvement on that area. One concern we have is figuring out the right stage of development at which to announce anything we might be working on, given that we do need to be at least somewhat sure that we can carry it out… Premium and Cosmetic Items Q: We get the feeling that new costumes are often released too late, and even when we do want to buy them, their prices aren’t exactly affordable. A: Last year was a constant struggle against bugs. We refrained from pushing the marketing of the game too much until we had some of the most basic issues fixed, and at the same time we didn’t want the gameplay at the time to rely excessively on paid items. In order to be able to service TOS in the long run, we don't think premium items should have too high of a priority on our list of aspects to improve on. We will continue to review our stance on this, but we don’t want anything premium to have too big of an effect on the core gameplay. Q: We understand that you want the game to be working at its best, but the players don’t want to wait. We wish we had more non-combat-related things to do in the game, decorative elements, housing, etc. The lack of premium items means that, even when we do spend money on TOS, there isn’t much we can do with it. A: We have received similar suggestions from players regarding non-combat play, including some really interesting ones we would surely like to review. We will continue to ponder on them and hopefully we can introduce more interesting items in the future. Addons Q: Some addons give unfair advantages to those who use them; we want to know your stance on these. Also, would you develop convenience addons for TOS? A: We wish we could review every single addon used for TOS, but realistically it’s something we cannot do. We can’t vouch for the reliability of any external addon, so our general stance is that it’s best to avoid them, although we do not punish the use of addons unless they are considered harmful to the game. We are, however, considering applying some functions of existing addons into TOS. It was definitely interesting hearing the players talk about their experiences with TOS face-to-face. Item Performance and Stats Q: Can you explain why certain leather armor now increases INT?? A: Our intent with this was to reduce the restrictions on the various types of armor for each class tree. Our impression is that it’s currently tilting towards plate armor. Q: Each class has always had its own suitable type of armor; if you start changing things now it will only confuse players. We think it’s best for each type of armor to have a concrete concept attached to it. A: This isn’t the first time we set out a strong concept then ended up making a compromise on it. Our current plans are to make hard-concept equipment more focused towards PvP. It’s a subject we still need to consider. Instanced Dungeon Matching Q: Auto-matching in instanced dungeons sometimes creates parties that are really unbalanced in terms of class distribution. A: If we focus on having a more equal distribution of classes in auto-matched parties, it will end up extending the time necessary to create a party. We need to consider what the optimal way to go about this is, since we also have to take in account the number of players in the queue. Q: How about allowing us to enter missions with a mercenary NPC or adjusting the mobs’ HP according to the number of party members? A: Both suggestions are already being considered and have a chance of making it into the game sooner or later. Bugs and Testing Q: How do you test for bugs? How do you go about fixing bugs that you can’t recreate on the test server and only manifest on the live servers? A: We encounter many different types of bugs, from those that affect both the live and test servers, to those that only sometimes appear on the test server. In cases where it’s difficult for us to recreate the bug, the process of analyzing and fixing it often gets delayed. Q: When is Briquetting going to be fixed? A: We are very sorry for the trouble it’s causing. We are still investigating the cause of this bug and hope we can find a solution soon. Guild Upgrades and Guild Wars Q: Guild raids lack a lot of practicality and it’s currently too difficult to increase the level of our guilds. We need more motivation for investing Talt, and we wish we could get better reward items, like titles or decorations. Also, after you introduced neutrality, guild war contents are pretty much dead. Do you have any plans to take it back? A: We don’t really want to remove guild neutrality. We do want to improve on issues like delays, location errors, lag, etc. and create a better environment for PvP gameplay. The option for neutrality will remain, however. What would you ask the TOS devs if you had the chance to meet the team in person? Other Feedback and Complaints Q: Can you allow us to use TP to extract gems without a penalty? A: The value of gems varies a lot depending on their grade, so it’s not easy to put a TP price on it. We’ll try to think of ways to make this work. Q: There are so many problems with Sorcerer bats. If the Wugushi poisonous insect disappears, the Sorcerer summons disappear with it. You also can’t control the direction in which the summons attack. Not to mention the SP consumption is out of this world… A: We agree that these are issues that cause inconvenience for players, although we should clarify that the fact that you can’t control the direction of summon attacks is indeed an intended feature. Q: We wish it was easier to recognize lucky mobs… A: We will consider ways to make them more visible. Skill-related User Opinions 1) The damage of low-rank attack skills is too low. 2) We wish it was easier to view the amount of skill-related material items. It’s also very inconvenient to have to visit an NPC every time we need these skill materials. 3) One minute is way too short for buffs. The cooldown time for skills is also too long. 4) The pros and cons of skills should be more balanced. Some skills only have pros, which makes them disproportionally popular. 5) Make skill values a percentage instead of fixed numbers. Other User Opinions 1) It can be hard to tell where each of our items is when we have a lot of characters. 2) There’s too much competition for field bosses, which often leads to arguments between players. We wish there was more content we can enjoy together as allies. 3) Regular monsters use stun way too often, especially considering there’s no way for our characters to cancel it. 4) We wish there was a system that would allow us to “hire” NPCs. 5) If you aren’t going to allow us to trade silver, will you at least consider an alternative? This game has so many restrictions, it feels like an RPG from the ‘90s :( 6) Please increase the number of basic slots in the Team Storage. Also, we need a way to deal with the problem of being unable to retrieve silver from the Team Storage after our Token period ends. 7) So many beautiful fields in TOS are abandoned… I suggest you improve the effects of their Collections? 8) The fact that clicking on mouse mode controls both moving and attacking causes many unnecessary problems. Please separate the controls for these two actions. 9) Having Team Battles be 2:2 can cause a big gap between the participating characters. I think 3:3 would be a better option. We look forward to your reactions on the subjects we discussed in this Q&A, so do leave a comment and let us know what you think. And if you’re wondering, we are preparing another GM meetup soon in our Steam servers! We will make a separate announcement on it once we have the details, so keep an eye on the News page.
A Real Wonder : Mystical Cube
Staff_Max : Hello everyone, this is Staff_Max who wasted spent 47 days (unlike Staff_Amy who only took 1 try) trying to get Practonium from the Mystical Cube. Today, I’m with the person in charge of designing that particular nightmare item. Could you please introduce yourself to the players? PrinceKen : Hello everyone, please call me PrinceKen. I hope you’ll forgive the somewhat sad mood I am in. It’s because spring is around the corner. Staff_Max : I would like to, on behalf of the players, complain ask about the Mystical box. Something that a lot of players are quite annoyed and angry curious about. PrinceKen : I think I can see what is coming, and I would like to use this opportunity to apologize in advance…. Staff_Max : Could you please tell us the reasoning behind setting the 24 hour cooldown period and the impossibly extremely low chance to get Practonium? PrinceKen : There are a few ways to get the best equipment for Rank 8 content. Most of it can be obtained from end-game content such as the Earth Tower. However, we wanted to give the players that can’t enjoy that content a way to catch up. That’s why the Mystical Cube was created. A way for players, with a bit of luck on their side, to catch up with hard-core players. However, since Practonium is a core ingredient for crafting some of the best equipment for Rank 8 content, we had to set it at really low chances so it wouldn’t trivialize the effort that the hard-core players put into clearing end-game content. Staff_Max : I see(Give me back my 47 days)…. What do you think about the inconveniences that the players are experiencing because of the short expiration time(5 hours) on the Unstable Cube which they get when they don’t get Practonium? PrinceKen : I do think that we need to tweak the current settings a bit in order to make it less inconvenient for the players. These are some things that we are currently considering. 1. The Mystical Cube can be located in the Cube section of a player’s inventory, while the Unstable Cube is in the Item section. We plan on making it so that they will always be in the Cube section 2. We are currently developing a warning UI that will tell you if an item is about to reach it’s expiration time. Staff_Max : I think such changes will be able to help many players from missing the expiration date. Thank you so much for agreeing to this interview. I hope that this Dev Blog will help answer some of the questions you all may have had about Mystical Cubes. How many days did it take for you to get your Practonium? You could brag or lament on how quickly/long it took for you to get it. I had to try 47 times(lucky that I’m not a gambling man). Also, please let us know what you would like to be discussed in such fashion. I’ll see if I can ask the devs for a short interview so I can share some insight into how Tree of Savior was made.
NPC Profile - Rune Caster Master
Greetings, Saviors! Get to know the Rune Caster Master, Shelly Pennington through this week's NPC Profile.
Introducing Hethran Badges
Greetings, Saviors! We have another new feature coming up that we want to introduce to you today. We will be adding a series of new quests that can only be accessed through a special type of item, the Hethran Badge, found in specific maps. Keep reading for a preview of how you will be able use this new feature, and remember that, as this is expected to arrive only in a future major content update, some details may have been changed by the time we bring it over to iTOS. Q. What are Hethran Badges? Hethran Badges are a type of symbol badges named after a former head of the Kedoran Merchant Alliance, and like most items in TOS, they can be used by right-clicking them from your inventory. Using Hethran Badges gives you access to exclusive quests that you can complete as many times as you want. Q. What level do I need to be to use them? There are two types of Hethran Badges: Lv1 and Lv2. Lv1 Hethran Badges can be used by characters starting at level 260, while Lv2 badges can only be used by characters of level 300 or higher. Q. How do you use a Hethran Badge? 1) First, move to Klaipeda, Orsha or Fedimian (the badges can only be used in town). 2) Go to the Item tab on your inventory and right-click your Hethran Badge. It will be under the Consumable category. 3) A random quest will begin, depending on the level of the badge you used. Note that you can’t play two Hethran Badge quests of the same level simultaneously. If you’re playing a quest obtained from a Lv1 badge, you will need to complete it in order to get another quest from a different Lv1 badge. You’re allowed to have one Lv1 quest and one Lv2 quest in progress at the same time, however. Also, there is no limit on the number of Hethran Badge quests you can complete in a day, so you are free to use as many badges as you like. ▲ The quest starts automatically after you use a Hethran Badge from your inventory. ▲ The badges can only be used by characters of levels 260/300 or higher and in town. Q. Can the badge quests be played with a party? Yes! Once you use a Hethran Badge, nearby party members will also be able to accept the quest and play together, even if they don’t have a badge themselves. However, if another party member already has one Hethran Badge quest of the same level as yours in progress, your party will not be able to accept your quest. Q. Can Hethran Badges be combined like monster cards or gems? Yes. You can combine two Lv1 Hethran Badges to create one Lv2 Hethran Badge! Q. Where can I get some badges? You can obtain Hethran Badges from a series of maps with recommended levels ranging from 261 to 327. The chances of obtaining a badge vary from map to map, however. Below is the list of maps where you can obtain Hethran Badges, organized by drop rate. On maps with the “highest drop rate”, the chances of obtaining a badge are 4 times higher than the maps with the “lowest drop rate”, so keep this in mind if you’re looking to collect some badges. Highest Drop Rate ♦♦♦♦ - Martuis Storage Room - Tevhrin Stalactite Cave Section 1 - Zima Suecourt - Tevhrin Stalactite Cave Section 2 - Phamer Forest - Tevhrin Stalactite Cave Section 5 - City Wall District 8 - Mollogheo Forest - Inner Wall District 8 - Ghibulinas Forest High Drop Rate ♦♦♦ - Emmet Forest - Syla Forest - Pystis Forest - Kule Center - Nobreer Forest - Yudejan Forest - Tevhrin Stalactite Cave Section 3 - Nheto Forest - Khonot Forest - Taniel I Memorial Low Drop Rate ♦♦ - Lake Rasvoy - Tevhrin Stalactite Cave Section 4 - Alembique Cave - Inner Wall District 9 - Salvia Forest - Arcus Forest - Jonael Memorial - Lhadar Forest - Khamadon Forest - Mishekan Forest Lowest Drop Rate ♦ - Timerys Temple - Workshop - Outer Wall District 9 - Jeromel Park - Solitary Cells - Maven Abbey - Sekta Forest - Storage - Investigation Room - Oath Memorial Site
NPC Profile - Miko Master
Greetings, Saviors! Get to know the Miko Master, Hitomiko through this week's NPC Profile.
Balance Talk: Jan 26, 2017
Greetings, Saviors! Today, I’m following up on our last Balance Talk with a few more updates on the classes we’re currently working on. I will only be talking about what has changed since the last update, so do read the first and second Balance Talk posts in this series if you haven’t yet. Also, remember that these changes aren’t set in stone yet. We’re still testing and reconsidering our plans for the next balance patch, so these may look a little different once they’re actually introduced in the game. Cannonneer Updates: - Distance restrictions removed for skills used with Bazooka (excluding normal attacks) For the past couple of weeks, I talked about a good number of improvements we made to Cannoneer skills; increasing ranges, reducing casting and cooldown times, and all-around bolstering the Cannooneer’s explosive abilities. One of our devs was actually cured of indigestion while testing the new version of this class: that’s how refreshingly powerful it is. Overall, we were very satisfied with how the class became a lot less frustrating to play, which inspired us to give it one extra boost and allow the Bazooka skill to be used from short ranges as well. We sure had a lot of fun exploding things, so we hope you are as excited to start blasting your cannons once the new changes arrive. Monk Updates: - Double Punch side-to-side range increased to match range of normal attack - Additional damage dealt with Palm Strike, equivalent to the enemy’s defense - Additional damage dealt with Hand Knife, equivalent to the enemy’s INT stat Previously I mentioned how we finally managed to free the Monk of some of the class’ most discouraging restrictions, especially after the big Golden Bell Shield reform I explained in the last post. We noticed, however, that as far as Monk skills go, players continued to resort almost exclusively to Double Punch (then Energy Blast and Golden Bell Shield). This time, we decided to show a little love to some other Monk skills in an effort to balance out and strengthen the purpose of this class. Palm Strike and Hand Knife especially, which so far were mostly used as debuffs with their corresponding attributes, will now aid primarily in dealing, with each skill delivering extra damage based on the enemy’s stats. We look forward to making all the Monks out there answer with a firm ‘YES’ anytime someone asks if the class is any good. Rune Caster Updates: - All skills in the Wizard class tree allowed with Rune of Giants If you read my two previous Balance Talk posts, you’ll know we had two things in mind for Rune of Giants: we wanted to lift the restrictions on this skill safely and gradually. As you can see from the update contents, this lift was anything but gradual, as this time we decided to allow the use of all Wizard skills in combination with Rune of Giants. We did stick to the “safe” part of the plan, though. We ran tests after tests, using every single skill in the Wizard class tree with Rune of Giants, but we arrived at the conclusion that there really were no drawbacks to full-on liberating this skill. We’re very pleased with the results, and we feel even more motivated to keep improving other skills in this class from now on. Warlock Updates: - Mastema applied to flying-type enemies The demon of hatred summoned with Mastema is one that cannot exist on its own; it needs a target to latch on to. This time, by allowing Mastema to apply to a wider range of targets, our plan is to increase the scope of this skill and further reinforce the role of the Warlock. You see, compared to other classes, we still feel that the Warlock’s identity as a dealer is a little ambiguous. As such, this is the first step towards a series of changes that we hope will continue to build up on the efficacy and versatility of Warlock skills. We hope you understand that we aren’t yet done with these balance changes, and we will get to work on other classes eventually. Meanwhile, we want to keep updating you on the progress through the blog, where we can also keep an eye on your reactions and opinions on the new plans. Thank you for sticking with us throughout the process; I look forward to writing to you again on the next Balance Talk.
The Lore You Know : Fencer
Fencer Master : Sorsha Hutton Sorsha Hutton constantly betters herself as the Fencer Master. This growth is not just limited to her swordsmanship. When she was inaugurated as the Fencer Master, she only cared for her family and her swordsmanship. This all changed when she faced the world after Medzio Diena and all the decimation it left. She began to grow. She even sold the treasure of her family to secure the fund to help those in need. Today, she not only fulfill her duties as the Fencer Master but also the obligation of the nobility. Many people quite rightfully believe that her emotional growth along with ever expanding swordsmanship will be of great help for the Kingdom and its people. Fencer? Fencers rapidly attack enemies with rapiers. Skills of Fencing Attaque ? Attaque means “To Confess One’s Eternal Love for Someone” in French. Just kidding it means “Attack.” In fencing, it is the initial attacking move used through Fente, Fleche or other attack moves with your arm stretched. Attaque Composee ? In fencing Attaque Composee “composite attack” is a type of Attaque preceded by one or more feinting moves. It is a go-to skill for a fencer and create great synergy when used with Epee garde. However, please, do mind the SP consumption. : ) Fleche ? In fencing, Fleche is an attack movement you do with your arm stretched, legs crossed, and upper body lowered. Through this position, a fencer can do a triple stab Fleche. Sept Etoiles : Fencer's Skill Those who speak the language of love might guess how many times you strike while using the skill “Sept Etoiles.” Sept Etoliles, which means Seven Stars, but attacking eight precise stabs like a star. The Fencer Master did tell us that many of you got mesmerized by this skill and became a Fencer. Knowledge of Fencing for our saviors :D The expression “touche”, which was originally a fencing term, has entered common parlance and is used to acknowledge a good or clever point made by the opposite party. If you really think about its origin, the pure sportsmanship can be found. The movement speed often exceeds what human eyes can handle. So, it is the one who is hit or ‘touched’, acknowledge it for the opponent by uttering that famous phrase. Such graceful acknowledgement of a defeat is certainly expected of a sport closely associated with nobility.
Rank 8 Classes IRL
Greetings, Saviors! Rank 8 Classes IRL is to describe the history and concept of Rank 8 's classes and how we could be inspired. Hope our saviors to be interested in each class and play throughout reading it. Which one is the best class for our saviors? Murmillo – Swordsman Murmillo is a subset of Gladiator. Murmillos adapted the Roman standard army equipment (i.e a short sword ‘gladius’ as weapons and a rectangular shield ‘scutum’) The term ‘Murmillo’ is derived from the fish-like helmet (Cassis Crista) and the fish scale-like armor they wore. In the game, Murmillos wear their iconic helmet and bravely engage in combat. Lancer – Swordsman Lancers appear frequently in medieval battles. They wielded long jousting spears and charged towards the enemy line, destroying their formation. Fun fact! Lancers have been in the history of warfare as far back as 400 BCE and persisted until the Great War. According to some reports, in Poland lancers fought until 1934. In TOS, Lancers are a companion-riding, dual-hand spear wielding fierce PVP class. Sage – Wizard In various works of fantasy fiction, a sage is a not uncommon name to hear. The word is used to refer to someone who is wise and achieved great knowledge. In most RPGs, they are the top wizards. In TOS, Sages are the ones who attained the understanding of the universal principle through knowledge. They can manipulate dimensions. The class is best known for its incredible Missile Hole skill, the zenith of supportive skills. Enchanter – Wizard In most other games, enchanters are NPC classes. The actual meaning of the word is more akin to those pixies that allure people through beautiful tunes and spells. Nowadays, the word is used to describe magic users who enhance items through magic. TOS is no exception. Enchanters can set up shops that can grant equipment special abilities and effects or help comrades by giving out buffs to their gears. Mergen – Archer Type All those Mongol ethusiasts might be familiar with the term Mergen. It is a Mongolian word for an excellent archer. It is a name of Ghengis Khan’s maternal grandfather. The name has become something of a title that is awarded to those who showed great marksmanship. In TOS, Mergens are well known for being able to fend of multiple enemies at once. A great hunter indeed. Hackapell – Archer Hackapell was one of the names used to call the Finnish Calvary in Sweden also known as Hackapelit. The name is derived from the slogan they uttered “Hakkaa päälle!” (Cut them down!) They shot their enemies from a distance with their pistols, charged towards the enemies, moved swiftly while on horses, and attacked mercilessly with their swords. The terror they imposed on their enemies is inconceivable. In TOS, Hackapells, instead of a pistol, use a crossbow and a one-handed sword and ride on a companion to fight. Taoist – Cleric Taoism originated from China and those who practice it are called Taoists. Some of the most well-known skills are the ones that utilize paper charms, just like Taoists in TOS use Strange Yellow Papers. Taoists have more tricks up their sleeves, however, like being able to control ghosts and paper dolls. It’s a shame we can’t fully list all of the amazing feats Taoists are capable of. We hope more of the Taoists’ charms and magic will be revealed in Circle 2. Inquisitor – Cleric Nobody expected the Inquisitors! The name ‘inquisitor’ now lives in infamy for ruthlessly eliminating so-called heretics. It has been said that their infamy was even more notorious in the modern age. However, unlike the historical inquisitors who were deeply involved in politics and harmed so many innocent lives, in TOS, the Inquisitors are truly faithful and pure people who worship the goddesses and pass judgment unto the monsters only. There are numerous torture devices such as the iron maiden, but at the moment only the Pear of Anguish is in the game. Fingers crossed for more horrendous torture devices to appear in the game as the class’ skills.
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 :)