This patch takes another pass at the board, the central play area for the game which has long suffered from a lack of interactive elements. Many of the recent patches sought to address this issue indirectly by giving players other options elsewhere (Charms, powers, combat, item shop, etc) but this patch will begin to tackle some of these issues head-on.

When it comes to moving around the board, players are given limited options on how they want to proceed and ultimately what they decide to do on their turn. One of the biggest changes this patch introduces several new mechanics for moving around the game board while also giving players more objectives to pursue throughout the course of a game via Quests!

With part 1, we’ll take a look at giving players short and long term objectives through quests, introducing new square types along with new board elements, and giving players additional options about how their rolls will be used each turn.

GENERAL:

The first major change shipped with this patch is the addition of quests. Quests provide players with short and long-term objectives to work toward for rewards such as bonus AP, but will often require the player to commit to new or different play-styles to complete them.

Quests are tasks each player is given to complete for bonus rewards. Currently, players can only obtain quests at the start of the game, and they are automatically assigned to every player based on their chosen Charm. Quests are personal to each player, and when completed, will award the player at the start of their next turn.5

NEW – Quests

GIVE ME A QUEST – After game setup, all players are assigned a personal quest based on their chosen Charm.

Possible Quests:

MAD SHOPPER

:: Purchase 4 items that cost 100 AP or more.

NOT EVEN CLOSE

:: Defeat 2 players in combat while having more than 50 health.

TASTE OF DEATH

:: Deal 400 damage to other players.

FINISHER

:: Kill 2 players out of combat.

MAD CHEMIST

:: Use 10 consumable items.

TOURIST

:: Land on 7 different square types.

COLLECT EM’ ALL

:: Collect 4 powerups.

Note: These quests will all award 300 AP for their completion.

HALFTIME EVENTS:

SNIPPED – The “Let there be Justice” and “Ready to Rock” halftime events have been removed. They’ll be replaced with other events in a later patch.

BATTLE:

A huge combat update is on the horizon, where nearly every aspect of combat will be revamped. However in the meantime, some smaller balance updates make their way into this patch to keep things nice and fair.

EXHAUSTION- For every 10% of energy a player is missing, their attacks in combat deal 5% less damage. (Max damage reduction @ 50%).

LESS PAINFUL – Critical strike damage scaling reduced by about 15%.

BOARD:

NEW MECHANIC – Three-Phase Rolling

After rolling the dice, players are now presented with more options on what actions they want to take before moving.

Rolling the dice is now resolved in 3-phases:

ROLLING : The player rolls the dice as normal, and can press the space bar to stop the roller on a number. This becomes the player’s roll value for their turn.

Other players can attempt to predict this value. (More on this later).

CHOOSE AN ACTION : After rolling the die, the turn player can now choose an action which corresponds to how that dice roll will be used. Note that some roll actions are available every turn, while other roll actions are only available under certain conditions.

Possible Roll Actions:

MOVE – Moves the player across the board as normal. This will earn the player maximum AP and XP gains for rolling the dice.

(Always available, can be used every turn).

REST – The player will stay put on their current square and restore a percentage of their health and energy based on the roll value. (Lower roll values restore more health and energy!).

(Always available, can be used every turn).

ACTIVATE POWER – The player will stay put and activate their power.

(This action is only available while the player is in a purple zone on the board).

VISIT SHOP – The player will visit the item shop without moving on the board.

(This action is only available while the player is in a yellow zone on the board).

BATTLE – The player will instantly visit the arena, allowing them to do battle with another player.

(This action is only available while the player is in a red zone on the board).

CHOOSE A MODIFIER: Some actions can now be modified, which grants a bonus effect in addition to the chosen action. Modifiers have numerous effects which can affect the roll value, grant the player temporary buffs, grant bonus AP , and more! Modifiers can only be used every other turn.

NEW SQUARE TYPE – Untethered Square

When landed on, the player becomes Untethered for 6 seconds, allowing them to move freely across the board for its duration.

NEW MECHANIC – Untethered

While Untethered, players can use the WASD keys to move their avatar around the board for a limited time. When the Untethered effect ends, the player will be placed on the nearest square to their current position without activating it.

FREE AT LAST – At the start of the game, all players are Untethered for 10 seconds, which will let them choose their starting square before the game officially starts.

NEW SQUARE TYPE – Auction Square

When landed on, this square will start an auction. (This mechanic is unchanged). However, auctions now only display a special set of unique items that cannot be obtained any other way.

After halftime, some auction squares will become regular shop squares, but auction squares will now be present throughout the entire course of the game.

BACK TO NORMAL – Shop squares will now always take the player to the item shop, and thus will no longer begin an auction.

PENNY PINCHERS – Shop squares will appear less frequently before halftime.

AUCTIONS AWAY – There is no longer a limit on how many auctions can occur in a game.

EXPERIENCE CHANGES:

To make leveling up more consistent and user-friendly, these changes are to make each game more consistent in how players scale up.

CARRY OVER – Experience now carries over to the next level when a player levels up.

SCALING COSTS – The amount of experience needed to level up is now determined by the amount of game rounds to be played. Players should now consistently start hitting max level around halftime or shortly after. (but this can still vary!).

ITEMS:

NEW – Stalker’s Boots

Category: Benign

:: Grants +2 max energy. Can be activated to teleport behind a target player. (4 round cooldown).

NEW – Tempest Amulet

Category: Benign

:: Grants +1 max energy. Your power is 10% stronger.

UNIQUE AUCTION ITEMS

Auctions now display unique items that cannot appear in the shop! Here are the new auction-exclusive items:

NEW – Berserking Blade

:: Grants +5 attack. When below 40% health, this item’s attack bonus is doubled.

NEW – Deathblade Scythe

:: Grants +7 attack. Whenever another player dies for any reason, you permanently gain +1 attack.

NEW – Dashkai’s Blood Tome

:: Grants +2 max energy. Your power is 30% stronger when used while below half health. Can be activated to deal 20 damage to yourself and restore 5 energy. (3 round cooldown).

NEW – Eddy’s Amethyst

:: At the end of your turn, you restore 5% of your max health. Any time you roll a 4 or less, you permanently gain +5 max health.

NEW – Riot Shield

:: Grants +4 defense and +10 max health. Can be activated to slam an opponent, dealing your defense score plus 15% of your max health as damage to them. (3 round cooldown).

Some tweaks to the existing roster of items:

CHANGED – Old Man’s Tincture

Self-inflicted damage decreased to 30. (From 35).
Experience gain decreased from 7 XP to 5 XP.

BUFFED – Atlas Shield

Now grants +5 defense and +10 max health (Changed from +5 defense).
Cost decreased from 125 AP to 120 AP.

BUFFED – AG II Pistol

Cooldown decreased from 3 rounds to 2 rounds.

BUFFED – Ryan’s Piercer

Cost decreased from 190 AP to 170 AP.

These items were around since item stealing was a popular mechanic. As a result their prices remained inflated, but that changes now!

BUFFED – M-4 Rifle

Cost reduced from 190 AP to 160 AP.
Now grants +5% crit chance.

BUFFED – Sirkind’s Grandstaff

Cost reduced from 195 AP to 190 AP.
Now grants +2 Attack, +5 Defense, and +2 Max energy. (Changed from +3 attack, +5 defense).

CHANGED – Jorge’s Submission Club

Now has a 30% chance to break after winning a battle. (Rather than after every battle).

CHANGED – Cultist Robe

Now also grants +2 max energy in addition to +3 defense.
Cost increased from 80 AP to 105 AP.

CHANGED – Spartan Helmet

Now grants +4 defense and +10 max health. (Changed from +1 attack and +4 defense)
Cost increased to 100 AP.

CHANGED – Alien Shield

Now grants +7 defense and +10 max health. (Changed from +1 attack and +7 defense)

CHANGED – Kevlar Vest

Now grants +5 defense and +10 max health. (Changed from +7 defense)
Cost reduced from 150 AP to 140 AP.

NERFED – Bow of the Master Archer

Attack bonus decreased from +8 to +5.

NERFED – Restorative Charm

Cost increased from 40 AP to 60 AP.
Healing from this item reduced by 50% after halftime.

Patch 0.3.5 — Quests, Mobility Changes, New Map, and More!