1.0 PATCH NOTES - Asper Pre-Patch

1.0 PATCH NOTES

We did it! With Primal Codie defeated, Beta Island has been saved! I couldn't be prouder of you all, and I'm ecstatic just thinking about the amazing new adventures that await you all in the next region.

Today we're launching Patch 1.0, which is a pre-patch, cleaning up the game a little and ushering in a few QoL improvements. You may have already noticed that we've done a FULL SKILL TREE RESET, and that all BYTES spent have been refunded.

Here's what the new skill trees look like!

So what has changed? Well, there's been a few buffs, a few nerfs, and a ton of Quality of Life improvements all around to make combat more enjoyable. 

Let's get stuck right into it!

TRAINER SUBCLASSES

-Subclasses now fall into THREE CATEGORIES: Basic, Advanced, and Prestige.

Any class not part of the starting trio (Kindler/Gardener/Swimmer) is often unlocked by Kickstarters, dungeons, and raids, and will have prerequisites for those who missed out on getting them through their related event.

-BASIC: These all follow the same progression as Kindler/Gardener/Swimmer. They differ mainly in flavor, and will confer the same buffs across styles (T2 will always give +5 to Pokemon of a certain type, for example). This classification is meant to be the simplest, easiest to understand style of trainer class. 

-ADVANCED: These are far more specialized than Basic classes, and will alter established mechanics and subclass bonus expectations (Alchemist/Basilisk). Advanced subclasses are intended for more niche playstyles, and may require specialized teams and strategies to implement effectively. 

-PRESTIGE: These subclasses require you to already have another subclass at T5. Currently there are no prestige classes available.

-Players who max out a subclass at Tier 5 can now equip a second subclass.

-Basic Subclass Tier 4: KNOW YOUR ENEMY has been changed to being Super Effective vs PKMN of your type (previously gave a +5 bonus).

-Unequipped subclasses at Tier 1 will no longer be displayed in the Character Record.

SKILL TREES

This is the big one. We've had an eagle eye on battle balance since the start of the Beta, and we're cleaning up the trees a little. I think you all saw some of these changes coming, but some were made to help tighten up the Tank/Sweeper/Support class identity.

-Pokemon may only be equipped into ONE skill tree at a time.

We were hoping that the ability to multi-class would allow for some interesting builds, but unfortunately it just made for Sweepers with way more HP than normal and no need to be healed.

-T5 of the move track (Mega Evolution) has been changed slightly. Mega Evolution now allows ALL ATTACKS by the user to hit for Super Effective damage (+20)! This is in addition to the increased Rarity (Increased to +20) already gained through the transformation. 

We saw Mega Evolution used in the raid, and while it felt Epic, it sure felt like we could tweak the dials to make it more impactful on the battlefield, especially when compared to the Z-Moves unlocked at T4. We're hoping that the buff to utility will allow for an experience that feels strong, AND hits hard. 

-SPECIAL ABILITIES are now DIFFERENT for each of the classes. Each class has FOUR Special Abilities available.

-Basic Pokemon attack has been changed to a flat 20 Damage. This attack is available to all Pokemon (including those in Support Tree, and those not currently equipped in a tree). 

TANK CHANGES

-Tank HP has been INCREASED. It is now DOUBLE the other classes. (300 -> 400 -> 500 -> 600 -> 700)

At its core, tank is meant to be a protector class, using their bodies to protect the sweepers and supports. We were expecting players to be guarding more often, but with multi-classing being in play it just didn't see as much play as we wanted. We're hoping that with the increased HP tanks will being seeing a lot more action, and will have their heroic movements more often.

-Tank has access to the DISRUPT/GUARD/ESCAPE/SACRIFICE Special Abilities

We've felt that the class identity for tank has been really lacking. Guard was utilized a few times, but far more often we saw Sweepers utilizing massive disrupts to negate all of the damage from an incoming AoE. This is definitely meant to be a tank job, so we've made Disrupt a Tank exclusive special ability. 

GUARD is the ideal single-target protections, and a core part of the Tank class's bodyguard identity.

DISRUPT gives Tanks the ability to influence the battlefield on a larger scale, at the cost of dealing damage.  

SWEEPER CHANGES

-SWEEPER has RECOIL/DODGE/ESCAPE/SACRIFICE

RECOIL is a NEW special ability, exclusive to sweeper. It DOUBLES ALL DAMAGE TAKEN AND DEALT. All. Damage. This is meant to be your 'all-in' move, for when you need some serious DPS, potentially at the cost of your sweeper's life. We recommend pairing this with a chunky Tank, or with a dedicated Support healer

DODGE is the other Sweeper exclusive, and is the exact opposite of Recoil: a way for damage dealers to take a more cautious turn, avoiding some of the incoming damage at the cost of their own output. Maybe they're waiting for a heal, maybe the tank is occupied with another target. Either way, we feel that being able to modulate damage and risk is a core part of strategic play for the Sweeper. 

SUPPORT CHANGES

-SUPPORT has BUFF/REVIVE/ESCAPE/SACRIFICE

BUFF has been separated from the heal tree, and has (as many of you expected) been nerfed. It is now a Special Ability that applies a +10 to a single target, stacking to a maximum of +20. Why cap it? In short: Balance. In long: The lack of a cap on buff had numerous negative effects. It overshadowed things like Z-Moves, Super Effective hits, and Mega Evolution, and it emphasized a playstyle of sitting back and buffing, buffing, buffing and FINALLY attacking with overwhelming, OHKO attacks.

It's not what we envisioned, and it tended to overshadow players who didn't have access to buff. Not ONLY this, but it lead to multiple people buffing up a single Pokemon, sometimes spending their whole turn doing so. This is far from ideal, as EVERY PLAYER should be able to take the spotlight, and to have those heroic moments over the course of the battle.

This change also increases Support utility, as they are applying a single target +10 Buff in addition to their Heal, meaning that keeping the Support alive longer leads to a stronger overall team, as their Buffs stack on teammates as well as allies. 

REVIVE has also been split from the tree and become a Special Ability. We never got to see any usage of this ability during Beta, so we're hoping that this change makes the revival tactic more accessible, as players no longer have to spec deep into their skill tree to unlock it. Mechanically, Revive has also been changed. Now it will bring a fainted Pokemon back to life, imbuing it with all of the remaining HP of the Support that used that ability. Once used, the Support Pokemon will faint. 

-Support now takes battle damage from Healing (-10 per heal dice rolled).

Damage taken when performing actions is a direct representation of your Pokemon being in a dangerous situation, and taking consequential damage as a result of being IN BATTLE. Originally, this did not apply to Supports as we envisioned them as backline casters (similar to traditional JRPG White Mages). What we've seen through gameplay is that Supports are as much in the fray as the other classes, and as such they should be taking similar battle damage to the other classes. 

MECHANICAL CORRECTIONS

-Sweeper Multi-Attack and Support Heal count as MULTIPLE ATTACKS, instead of a single set of damage/healing.

This isn't so much an update as it is bringing gameplay in line with the intended experience. Damage and Healing has always been calculated as if it were multiple attacks (applying bonuses to each dice rolled), but in game it was being treated as a SINGLE ACTION. The intention here is that your Pokemon is performing MULTIPLE ACTIONS on their turn. 

For example, a Sweeper Blaziken with 4x Fast Attack using Flamethrower will attack with Flamethrower FOUR TIMES, applying its relevant bonuses each time. 

This is actually a BUFF to Fast Attack, as it allows for the usage of MULTIPLE DIFFERENT ATTACKS in the same action, as well as splitting your attacks across multiple relevant opponents. For example, that same Blaziken can use Flamethrower against an Ice opponent, Double-Kick against a Normal opponent, Sand-Attack against a Fire opponent, and then finish off with a Sky Attack against a Ground opponent, hitting each of them for Super Effective damage in the same turn! 

OTHER

Alongside these big changes there have been some tiny tweaks, or steps forward in ongoing projects. 

-Move and Type mods can now be switched between Pokemon. This costs 25 BYTES and 50 BYTES, respectively.

-More location detail and difficulty based prompts have been added to the Machamp Colossal Battle (with more coming for Glaceon, and more Colossal Battles once Asper launches). 

-Trainer stars are now animated.

-Litten Fights are now in the Arena.


And that's it for today! Asper is right around the corner, so stay tuned for more awesome updates in the near future!