Here the changes:
INTRODUCTION
Overall this patch should have the following impact on the game, when it comes to balancing.
Providing players with more tools to deal with a high movement playstyle
Providing players with the tools to play a tanky playstyle
The second point is already one solution to the first point but it should be something interesting to play regardless. Movement is and will always be a very important factor in the game. Currently the issue is that most high movement cards not only have the ability to close the gap and thus put pressure on your opponent while being safe at the same time but also deal enough damage to trade 1 vs 1 most of the times. So, high movement cards with high damage lack of course defense which balances the game to a certain amount already. The issue is that due to their high movement their low defense rarely matters since other units can't get into range unless they have 3 movement cards themselves. On top of that the mobile cards have still the ability to kill quite tanky units single-handedly. So far one successful tool to improve 1 movement units and also punish high aggressive units was the ability type Counter Strike. Another Ability Type which generally can punish such units is AoE Attacks. But apart from that the main issue was that units which are supposed to be tanks still could be killed pretty effortless by high movement units.
So what did we change and why?
First, we did not really change the high movement cards. Quite the opposite, we buffed 1 movement units, specially those without abilities which can deal with high mobile cards. Low movement units now have the maximum amount of core values for their card level. Playing a more tanky approach now forces your opponent into sacrificing more high movement cards to break through the frontline. This means your backline is more safe now since it takes more cards to break through.
Regardless of that, the changes should now also provide players with a real frontline which should now offer the opportunity to make use of marksmen with a range of 2. So far many of them had issues because there has not been a lot of scenarios where they could be used as the are intended to be used based on the fact that frontlines just got nuked before they even managed to advance on the battlefield.
We will see how this turns out but there is another Ability Type in the works which should provide the tools to survive very aggressive playstyles. It will be something that allows certain units to range attacks multiple targets. Oftentimes the aggressor gets rewarded with the heavy push because in your turn you are left with less units which results in you not being able to trade back due to the lack of actions since new placed cards can not act. In such a case having a unit which is able to range attack two different units for example could balance things out. This is also the reason why Guardians with AoE Damage could be added soon. For now we changed Kratos for example to see how things play out.
EDIT - we also added a new ability which offers counter play to high mobile units to a certain degree. Please look at the Other Changes section for more information. Blancara will be the first card with this new ability. We added her to the balancing changes.
BUGS
Wrong After Death Ability Icon when Deckbuilding
Instead of the After Death Icon cards in deck were displayed as Resilience cards.
Correcting Less Reinforcement description
Currently it says that players can only place 2 cards instead of 3 when this ability gets triggered. But the ability can be stacked, thus it is currently possible to only place 1 card.
Troop Strength was not displayed in the card previews
BALANCING
NAPHAS
Vralak Juz
Attack: 11 ( - )
Defense: 10 (+1) Movement: 2 ( - )
Range: 2 ( - )
Ability Type: Willbreaker (former: same)
Ability: Intimidation (former: same)
The changes on Vralak were made because in the current state he was too susceptible, specially to other heroes with an attack value of 10 and 3 movement. Giving him an additional defense and also the changes on the ability itself should make him now a very interesting choice. If he manages to destroy an enemy troop of 3 or even higher the enemy hero will lose a lot of defense accordingly.
Ruutik Eph
Attack: 9 ( - )
Defense: 12 ( - ) Movement: 0 ( - )
Range: 1 ( - )
Ability Type: Tactician (former: same)
Ability: Sabotage (former: Great Preparation)
Ruutik only switched the ability but not the ability type. Instead of giving the player additional 75 seconds to the starting time budget he will now decrease the enemy time budget by 60 seconds. The reasons for that are simple. Overall the Naphas have a slow but high defensive units and they need some time to ramp up their reinforcements. While for the Tagari playstyle , which is very pro active and thus gaining additional time makes sense, for the Naphas the opposite is the case. Due to Ruutiks genius strategic knowledge players will be able to put pressure on their opponents early on so that the enemy army may ends up bitting of more than they can chew when attacking the durable inhabitants of south Lyboria.
Blancara Eph
Attack: 7 ( - )
Defense: 7 ( - ) Movement: 2 ( - )
Range: 1 ( - )
Ability Type: Alteration (former: Impairment)
Ability: Hard Escape (former: Paralyze)
Instead of paralyzing units she does now freeze her surroundings and thus makes it hard for enemy units to escape. Enemies adjacent to her can only move 1 hexagon regardless of their movement value, as long as she is alive.
Brux Juz
Attack: 5 ( - )
Defense: 7 ( +1 ) Movement: 1 ( - )
Range: 1 ( - )
Ability Type: Protector (former: same)
Ability: Side By Side (former: same)
Brux receives an additional defense. The reasons are explained in the patch intro.
Drax Juz
Attack: 3 ( - )
Defense: 10 ( +2 ) Movement: 1 ( - )
Range: 1 ( - )
Ability Type: none
Ability: none
Drax receives two additional defense. The reasons are explained in the patch intro.
Faskor Eph
Attack: 4 ( - )
Defense: 9 ( +2 ) Movement: 1 ( - )
Range: 1 ( - )
Ability Type: Bequest (former: same)
Ability: Sword Drop (former: Armor Drop)
Faskor receives two additional defense. The reasons are explained in the patch intro. His ability changed from Armor Drop to Sword Drop. Although it would be interesting to provide units around him with even more defense we believe it is not really necessary and also changing the ability to Sword Drop provides the players with more new strategies. There are some interesting melee units which would definitely prefer to be next to Faskor when he falls.
Vanax Eph
Attack: 3 ( +1 )
Defense: 7 ( - ) Movement: 1 ( - )
Range: 1 ( - )
Ability Type: Tactician (former: same)
Ability: Sabotage (former: same)
Vanax receives an additional attack damage. Although his ability is very strong and synergizes very well with Ruutik, he still received an attack buff to make him a very good option now. Being able to destroy units with 2 defense from range makes definitely a difference.
Zazix Eph
Attack: 1 ( - )
Defense: 4 ( - ) Movement: 2 ( +1 )
Range: 1 ( - )
Ability Type: After Death (former: same)
Ability: Infection Zone Fighting Ability (former: same)
Zazix receives an additional movement. We think thats exactly what she needed to make her now a viable option as well. Now she is able to block the enemy frontline much easier and forces your opponent to play around her and rearrange his forces.
NORDUR
Dralnar Draubein
Attack: 12 ( +1 )
Defense: 9 ( - ) Movement: 2 ( - )
Range: 2 ( - )
Ability Type: Willbreaker (former: same)
Ability: Pure Dominance (former: same)
Like Vralak, Dralnar also needed a slight adjustment, although for him things are a bit different. With his 9 defense he is still susceptible but he can change things in that regard by himself. As soon as Dralnar destroys one enemy card the high mobile heroes are not a threat anymore. In as it is the case with Vralak, Dralnar can now change the tides of a game by destroying troops consisting of several cards. Specially due to the overall ability change, which removed the cap. Now having a bit more of attack damage as well combined with his range, should make him a very good option for your future decks.
Volgar The Seer
Attack: 7 ( -1 )
Defense: 7 ( -1 ) Movement: 2 ( - )
Range: 1 ( - )
Ability Type: Resilience (former: same)
Ability: Anti-Hermeticists (former: same)
As most of you have already discussed, Volgar was a bit too strong. The major problem was the combination of his ability plus his great core values. Although it does not look like a big change taking away 1 defense and 1 attack, it will have quite a big impact. Before the change the 8 defense in particular stopped many none hermetic units, be masters, pioneers or stacked warriors of getting rid of him. In reverse the 8 damage gave him the power to trade against said units as well.
Yvar Broadax
Attack: 9 ( - )
Defense: 6 ( +1 ) Movement: 2 ( - )
Range: 1 ( - )
Ability Type: Bequest (former: same)
Ability: Sword Drop (former: same)
Yvar receives an additional defense. His fellowship even provides the opportunity to increase his defense to 7. We think based on the overall changes, which have been made to the Nordur but also to the other races, Yvar can be a very strong choice now. He can now lurk behind a way better frontline and as soon as he jumps over them to join the battle he will not only be able to single-handedly kill very durable enemy units but also make sure that his sacrifices was worth it by providing additional damage to his comrades. Also there are very suitable equipment cards for him.
Fred The Gregarious One
Attack: 5 ( - )
Defense: 7 ( +1 ) Movement: 1 ( - )
Range: 2 ( - )
Ability Type: none
Ability: none
Fred receives an additional defense. The reasons are explained in the patch intro.
Jochen Bock
Attack: 4 ( - )
Defense: 9 ( +2 ) Movement: 1 ( - )
Range: 1 ( - )
Ability Type: none
Ability: none
Jochen receives two additional defense. The reasons are explained in the patch intro.
Runa The Seeker
Attack: 2 ( -1 )
Defense: 1 ( - ) Movement: 3 ( - )
Range: 2 ( - )
Ability Type: none
Ability: none
Runa loses 1 attack damage. Her 3 movement combined with 2 damage in close combat plus the other 3 movement cards of the Nordur made her a bit too strong. Besides that the whole identity of the card got lost. It was always used as an easy additional 2 damage instead of an high mobile marksman troop which can be shifted very quickly across the battlefield. Due to the overall changes, marksmen like her maybe get a different chance to shine, since there is a reliable frontline now.
TAGARI
Tapeesa Sillas Nat'ala
Attack: 6 ( +1 )
Defense: 14 ( - ) Movement: 2 ( - )
Range: 2 ( - )
Ability Type: Protector (former: same)
Ability: Covering (former: same)
Tapeesa is a good card already but we felt giving her an additional attack makes her another great option.
Maun Gatua Novani Chas'oke
Attack: 6 ( - )
Defense: 7 ( - ) Movement: 1 ( - )
Range: 1 ( - )
Ability Type: none
Ability: none
Lapu Sanu Chas'awi
Attack: 7 ( - )
Defense: 2 ( - ) Movement: 2 ( - )
Range: 3 ( - )
Ability Type: none
Ability: none
Maun is and will always be a less popular choice when it comes to the Tagari but for certain deck types, such as a marksmen heavy one or a more tanky approach he is already a viable option. Nevertheless we added a new fellowship called Baska Guild which perfectly fits the lore and probably makes him a more popular option now. Him and Lapu are both members of the Baska Guild. Both have dedicated their life to protect the wild life . If you have them both in your deck, each of them will receive 2 additional defense. Making Maun on one hand a very great frontline and on the other hand providing Lapu with some additional durability which can make the difference in some situations.
Mingan Anoki Chas'ori
Attack: 6 ( - )
Defense: 3 ( - ) Movement: 2 ( - )
Range: 1 ( - )
Ability Type: Raider (former: same)
Ability: Armor Fanatic (former: Weapon Collector)
Due to his stats it is way more attractive to raid additional defense than additional attack damage. Now similar to Kaliik, Mingan can make sure to survive upcoming turns by destroying enemy units and using a good positioning. Also the overall buff to the raider ability should benefit him as well.
Vicket Sanu
Attack: 3 ( +1 )
Defense: 3 ( - ) Movement: 2 ( - )
Range: 1 ( - )
Ability Type: Tactician (former: same)
Ability: Battle Experience (former: same)
Vicket has a very good ability which synergizes well with other Tagari cards already. Nevertheless we thought giving him that additional 1 attack damage makes him even a better option.
ARACHNIDS
Kratos
Attack: 10 ( - )
Defense: 10 ( - ) Movement: 0 ( - )
Range: 2 ( - )
Ability Type: AoE Attacks (former: Enhancement)
Ability: Area Damage (3) (former: Leadership)
In contrast to Khanta Yiallore Kratos did enhance the defense value of your own masters. This ability is overall still interesting but when it comes to the Arachnids and their master we felt that the ability did not change a lot based on their strengths and stats. Also increasing the enhancement by adding an attack buff as well or just increasing the defense buff from 1 to 2 would influence things too much considering fellowships etc. Based on that plus the fact that we want to provide tools to deal with high movement and aggressive decks (please refer to patch intro) we changed his Ability to Area Damage. The new ability fits his artwork way better anyway. You better get out of his way when he starts to wield his chains.
Frusia
Attack: 7 ( -1 )
Defense: 9 ( +2 ) Movement: 2 ( - )
Range: 1 ( - )
Ability Type: Protector (former: same)
Ability: Side By Side (former: same)
Frusia receives two additional defense but loses one attack damage, which should fit here purpose a lot better now and make her a very interesting choice.
Zivishra
Attack: 8 ( +1 )
Defense: 7 ( - ) Movement: 2 ( - )
Range: 2 ( - )
Ability Type: Raider (former: same)
Ability: Weapon Collector (former: same)
Zivishra receives an additional attack damage. We think she has a very unique kit. She is not only very durable for a marksman but can also deal quite some damage and has even the option to increasing her damage by destroying enemy units. Removing the cap on the Raider abilities makes her even stronger.
Metallos
Attack: 6 ( - )
Defense: 6 ( +1 ) Movement: 1 ( - )
Range: 1 ( - )
Ability Type: Bequest (former: same)
Ability: Sword Drop (former: same)
Metallos receives an additional defense. The reasons are explained in the patch intro.
Lithana
Attack: 7 ( - )
Defense: 6 ( - ) Movement: 1 ( - )
Range: 1 ( - )
Ability Type: none
Ability: none
Both are siblings which makes it perfect to add another fellowship called Godlike Siblings. If you take both of them into your deck both will receive an additional movement which will make the duo now a very interesting choice.
Exodus
Attack: 3 ( -1 )
Defense: 1 ( - ) Movement: 3 ( - )
Range: 1 ( - )
Ability Type: Impairment (former: same)
Ability: Grevious Wounds (former: same)
Exodus loses one attack damage. The attack value itself combined with his ability and his movement was just a bit too high. He is still a very strong card, specially against tank units. Lowering their defense permanently by 3 is still very strong but taking away 1 attack damage prevents him from also being able to just kill low defense units in the backline. It is also still possible to make use of the guardian buff to increase is attack back to 4 but not 5 anymore.
Qakrax
Attack: 3 ( - )
Defense: 2 ( - ) Movement: 2 ( +1 )
Range: 1 ( - )
Ability Type: After Deah (former: same)
Ability: Infection Zone Steadfastness (former: same )
Similar to Zazix from the Naphas, Qakrax needs the additional movement to make use of his ability. Now he should be a very interesting choice, specially combined with all the other After Death units.
OTHER CHANGES
Willbreaker and Raider Abilities are not capped anymore
So far both Ability Types were capped. Now it is possible to gain the benefits more than 3 times.
Adjusting Fighting Spirit - No Surrender
So far the ability No Surrender was only triggered when all masters had fallen. Now cards with this ability (like Riuk from the Naphas) will gain the bonus each time a master falls instead of all of it at the end when all of them have fallen.
In-game shop will be available again.
Nevertheless the shop on our website will remain, in case the in-game shop will be unreachable due to third-party issues.
EDIT New Ability Type "Alteration" and Ability "Hard Escape" added.
We added a new ability called Hard Escape to the game. This ability should provide players with an additional tool to deal with very mobile units. You will find the detailed description in the game as soon as the patch goes live, but basically units with this ability hinder enemy units from easily walking away due to environment manipulations such as freezing abilities or even seduction skills for example. As long as units with this ability are alive , enemy units can only walk 1 hexagon regardless of their actual movement value.
this new ability looks interesting, but i find it weird to find it in the impairment category. If i understand it correctly the new "hard escape" is a permanent "aura" effect just like all the protector abilities. All other impairments require you to attack in order to activate the effect. So if left in the impairment category, at least the description for them has to change to avoid confusion. Also now looking at the other ability types, couldnt immunity and resilience be merged together? Like immune to hermetic attacks? Because right now the resilience ability type description only states that the damage of the attack is reduced to 0. that is actually not true, because Volgar is also resilient to effects coming from hermetics when attacked like paralyze.