[2022] [8. June 2022] Into the Fray Update

Into the Fray Update - Ver. 20.000.1 - June 8, 2022

Magic Staff Overhaul
Into the Fray kicks off a complete overhaul of Magic Staffs, bringing their visuals, animations, audio, and gameplay to a whole new level.

• Fully reworked player animations for staffs: one- and two-handed Staffs have greater variance while casting; animations vary more by ability type
  
• Improved VFX, audio, and readability specific to each Staff line – e.g. Cursed Staff spells use aggressive red and black with shadowy skull shapes, while Nature Staff spells use pleasing shapes/colors and calming sounds
  
• Each Staff line has a distinct color association for combat readability
  
• Numerous reworked and updated abilities, including:
  
  • Fire Staffs:
    
    • Pyroblast is now a channeled skillshot that rewards positioning and timing; Ignite replaced with a new ability, Flame Blast; Infernal Staff's Contagious Fire replaced with Combustion which ignites an enemy leaving a flaming trail that silences
      
  • Holy Staffs:
    
    • Smite reworked for a more enjoyable solo PvE / PvP experience; now possible to move while channeling Holy Beam
      
  • Cursed Staffs:
    
    • Demonic Staffs: Field of Death replaced with Anguished Soul, which summons a ghostly creature that fears enemies; added entirely new Q-slot Ability, Cursed Tar
      
  • Nature Staffs:
    
    • Improved solo PvE / PvP experience, with reworked Thorns and new Bramble Seed spell that knocks enemies airborne; new Rejuvenating Flower multi-part spell grows a flower that can be thrown to a specific spot
      
• Numerous changes and improvements to Staff mechanics to offer more gameplay options while keeping balance in the overall meta
  
• Fire, Holy, Cursed, and Nature Staffs are fully reworked in this update; Arcane and Frost will receive similar treatments in later patches
  
• For a full list of new and changed abilities, see "Combat Balance Changes" below
  

Portal Towns

Portal Towns replace former Outlands portal zones. These extensions of the Royal Cities make Outlands entry easier for newer players and more convenient for veterans, while reducing overcrowding.

• Each Portal Town shares its Bank and Marketplace with its Royal City
  
• Towns include invisibility shrines (with reworked visuals) and protection bubbles
  
• Towns can serve as standard respawn points
  
• Towns contain Travel Planners, Repair Stations, Energy Manipulators, and Artifact Foundries
  

NOTE: As existing portal zones will be removed, players in those zones when the update launches will be moved to the nearest Portal Town.


Castle / Castle Outpost Improvements

This update brings big changes to Castles and Castle Outposts:

• Improved Castle layouts and graphics to encourage fighting on multiple fronts, create more space for defenders, and offer more polished visuals
  
• There are now two castle layouts, depending on biome:
  
  • Layout A: Highlands, Mountain
    
  • Layout B: Forest, Steppe, Swamp
    
• Castles and Outposts no longer generate passive Season Points
  
• Instead, opening Castle and Outpost chests grants Might to all players from the guild in proximity to the objective
  
• Castles and Outposts also have a new Might Level in the Conqueror’s Challenge, which is how they now generate Season Points
  
• Castle and Outpost Treasure spawn times are adjusted. Chests now have varying rarity levels, which are pre-announced on the world map and spawn at the same time, meaning groups can choose which rarity they feel confident contesting. Castle Chests now also spawn frequently throughout the week to promote large-scale fights ongoingly.
  
  • Chests unlock (i.e. can be opened) at the following times: 1:30 UTC, 4:30 UTC, 7:30 UTC, 13:30 UTC, 16:30 UTC, 19:30 UTC, 22:30 UTC
    
  • Each time slot there is a 67% chance that a Castle Outpost spawns a chest and a 40% chance that a Castle spawns a chest
    
  • Each chest has a random rarity of Common, Uncommon, or Rare
    
  • Chests spawn one hour before they unlock, and are globally pre-announced on the world map along with rarity level
    
  • On the weekend, guaranteed Legendary chests unlock in all Castles and Outposts on Saturdays at 13:30 UTC and 19:30 UTC, and Sundays at 1:30 UTC
    
• Castles have new Mortar NPCs, which assist with defense
  
• Removed waiting times between Castle Guard waves, and Elite Guards now also spawn when breaching the Castle Lord room
  
• After defeating the Castle Lord, players must stand in a capture circle to claim the building, preventing enemies from stealing it by sniping the boss at the last moment
  
• Chests spawn regardless of owner status, but can only be looted by the Castle owner
  

NOTE: As this change involves terrain updates, players in zones with Castles / Outposts when the update launches will be moved to the nearest exit.


Activities Overview and Dynamic Events

A new Activities Overview UI gives a streamlined overview of active challenges, as well as progress towards specific milestones and rewards. These include new Dynamic Events:

• Dynamic Events change every 2-3 days, offering bonuses for certain activities for their duration
  
  • Events can be anything from additional loot and Fame in Hellgates, to additional Faction Points from Faction Warfare, to bonus yields while gathering specific resources
    
  • The initial pool of events provides a solid baseline to available gameplay, which can be expanded in the future to include rare, higher-value events
    
• Local Production Bonuses also change daily, offering bonuses for crafting and refining specific items and materials
  

Victory Emotes

Victory Emotes allow players to mark kills with vanity-only visual effects:

• Players can collect Victory Emote charges
  
• When an emote plays, it consumes one charge
  
• Once charges are depleted, the emote no longer triggers
  
• To prevent too many emotes during large battles, the quantity in close proximity is limited
  
• Victory Emotes always appear for your own kills, and can be turned on or off for kills by others
  
• Multiple emotes are triggered for multiple kills, up to the local area limit
  
• Victory Emotes can optionally be activated for knockdowns
  
• Victory Emotes can be acquired via Gold or new Twitch Drops
  

Twitch Drops

• Players can unlock items by watching Albion Content Creators, earning rewards while supporting the community
  
• In addition to Victory Emotes, players can receive Wardrobe Skins, Mount Skins, and Community Tokens which can be crafted into emotes and skins
  
• Info on specific channels offering drops will come after the update launches
  

Arena Rework and Crystal Arena

A new ranked mode, the Crystal Arena, has been added alongside the existing Arena:
Crystal Arena:

• Uses Crystal League match rules, but is non-lethal
  
• Players can sign up with a party of 1, 2, 3, or 5 and will be merged into teams of five when the match starts
  
• Arena Seasons begin with each Guild Season, and continue through the offseason
  
• All players start at "Iron 1" rank with zero Rank Points
  
• Rankings reset at beginning of each season
  
• Players who don’t play their role may be temporarily banned from the Arena
  
• Soft IP Cap: 900
  
• Scaling Factor above Softcap: 20%
  

Crystal Arena Rewards:

• Winners gain Arena Rank Points, plus loot including Silver, Fame, Sigils, and Crystal League Tokens
  
• Losing participants receive smaller consolation prizes
  
• Match Rewards are split into a daily limited reward and unlimited rewards:
  
  • Limited Reward: New “Sealed Royal Sigil" – can be opened to receive a Royal Sigil of a random tier
    
  • Unlimited Rewards: Silver, Fame and occasional vanity items (untradeable) or Arena Sigils (untradeable, info below)
    
• Win and Loss Rewards scale depending on player rank – the higher the rank, the better the rewards
  
• Players also earn rewards for ranking up
  
• Rewards for reaching each rank can only be earned once per season
  
• New "Arena Sigils " can be used to purchase new Arena Gladiator Wardrobe pieces and already existing Arena Vanity Items
  
  • The new Arena Sigils, as well as any vanity bought with them, are untradeable
    
  • Old Sigils are designated "legacy", and can be used to purchase old skins for a limited time
    
  • Legacy Sigils already in the game, as well as vanity bought with them, remain tradeable
    

Original Arena:

• Queue now allows teams of 1-5 to sign up and automatically creates 5-person teams
  
• Soft IP Cap: 700
  
• Scaling Factor above Softcap: 20% → 5%
  

Non-Lethal 5v5 Crystal League Added

A knockdown-rules 5v5 Crystal League now runs alongside the full-loot League:

• Uses current Crystal League system but changes all matches to knockdown rules
  
• Rewards are reduced from the full-loot League, but still sufficiently reward progress
  
• Season Point cap is shared with full-loot League
  
• Players can qualify for the Crystal League Championship through the non-lethal League
  
• Matches happen at different times than the full-loot League, allowing participation in both
  

New Crystal League Skin Available

• A new Crystal Gladiator Wardrobe Skin can be won in all Crystal League matches:
  
  • Wardrobe pieces are non-tradeable
    
  • Winner chests have a rare chance of dropping pieces – the higher the level, the higher the rate
    

5v5 Crystal League Changes

• 5v5 Crystal Realm map adjusted:
  
  • East and west capture points moved slightly northwards
    
  • Objects added to map for additional choke points and structure
    
• New mechanic added to 5v5 matches, Double Healer Penalty:
  
  • Teams with two healing Staffs get an additional healing reduction debuff, even if the two healers are not healing the same target
    
  • Penalty applies in all 5v5 matches, including Arena and Crystal Arena
    
• Level 1 Tokens can be bought from the Energy Manipulator, Level 4+ Tokens are untradeable
  
• Level 1 matches for the standard League are now full-loot, due to the introduction of the Non-Lethal League
  

20v20 Crystal League Changes

• Match Adjustments:
  
  • Base Respawn time: 10s → 15s
    
  • Runestone Channel Time: 10s → 7.5s
    
  • Points per Death: 2 → 3
    
• The goal of these changes is to make matches more accessible. Shorter channeling of Runestones makes them easier to claim, while higher Respawn times and points per death reduce the number of deaths per match, reducing gear costs. Additionally, this makes mass strategies, like sacrificing numerous players to secure Runestones in non-full loot matches, less successful.
  
• Consolidated time slots:
  
  • 20v20 matches are now scheduled across fewer time slots, with more teams playing simultaneously, to reduce no-shows
    

Updated Resource Graphics

Graphics for static resources (Stone, Ore, Wood, Fiber) updated and improved:

• Visuals updated to make resources more appealing to gather and easier to distinguish from each other and their surroundings
  
• Higher-level resources now look more valuable and consistently increase in size
  
• Treasure Versions of resources updated visually to show their greater quantities
  
• Enchantment effects updated for readability and attractiveness
  

Post-Tutorial Improvements

Updates made to zones near Starter Towns to help ease new players into the world:

• Immediate access to both T2 and T3 resources (previously split across the zone)
  
• New Heretic Group Dungeon added to T3 zones, replacing existing Solo Dungeons and encouraging new players to form parties
  

In addition, new tutorial messages now appear after the first instance of various occurrences.
NOTE: As this change involves terrain updates, players in any T3 zone (including dungeons in these zones) when the update launches will be moved to the nearest zone exit.

Quality-of-Life UI Improvements

Lost Equipment Loadout

One temporary Loadout is now automatically created on death, allowing easier regearing:

• This Loadout is created upon death for equipped items; empty slots remain empty
  
  • Dying again overwrites it
    
  • Can be saved as Personal Loadout when checking its details
    
• If Loadout would be empty (e.g. if player dies naked) the previous Lost Equipment Loadout remains
  
• Quality, enchantment, and tier settings are "equal or lower" by default
  
• Like all Loadouts, this can be equipped from chests or bought at the Marketplace
  
• Inventory items are ignored, except tools (stack size always 1)
  
• Lost Equipment Loadouts are not listed in Personal Loadout list, but instead appear at the bottom of the Loadout UI
  

Loadout "Buy and Equip" Option

"Buy and Equip" option added to Quick Purchase Loadout UI alongside "Buy":

• As long as only one Loadout (i.e. quantity 1 of each item in Loadout) is purchased, it buys all items and equips them directly, bypassing the "Completed Transactions" tab
  
• Any equipped items that would block Loadout items are moved to the inventory, joining inventory items in the Loadout (gathering tools, etc.)
  

Search / Filters for Crafting UIs

To sort long crafting lists, crafting and refining stations with more than 5 recipes now have search and filter options. The list can quickly be shortened with pre-set filters, and specific recipes can be located by typing search terms.

Party UI Improvements

Opening Party UI details gives new quick options:

• "Small View" reduces party view to "Raid" sizing
  
• "Sort by Role" groups members by role
  
• "Show Target Markers" adds pre-set target symbols to all players
  
• "Show Mount Health" adds mount health bar to displays
  
• "Hide Party" hides entire display
  
• These can be further customized in the Settings menu
  

Note: as the mobile version uses the same UI for Party and Quest management, these options are not currently available for mobile. Further updates to Party management on mobile devices will be added in future patches.

Custom Match UI

Custom Matches can now be initiated via Arena signup UI. These matches allow you to challenge other teams risk-free, with various options:

• Maximum Team Size: Defines the maximum team size; participating with smaller team is allowed
  
• Item Power Soft Cap: Defines the threshold from which IP scaling applies
  
• Item Power Soft Cap Scaling: Scaling (0-100 %) of IP above Soft Cap
  
• Map: Choose match map
  
• Opponent: Define member of enemy party you want to challenge
  

Muted Players UI

New tab added to Social UI alongside existing Friends tab showing muted players. Allows easy scrolling with the option to unmute by clicking a button.

New Spell Icons

• All Boots - Dodge
  
• Heavy Mace - Battle Howl
  
• Tombhammer - Grasp of the Undead
  
• Grovekeeper - Ground Pound
  
• Carving Sword - Fearless Strike
  
• Light Crossbow - Exploding Shot
  
• Bow of Badon - Raging Storm
  
• Whispering Bow - Undead Arrows
  
• Bear Paws - Razor Cut
  
• Dual Swords - Spinning Blades
  
• Galatine Pair - Soulless Stream
  
• Malevolent Locus - The Void
  

Journey Back

Journey Back allows limited fast travel, reducing tedious travel times without affecting Albion's trade and transport economy. Players can fast travel to the last Hideout or City visited, as follows:

• Journey Back is a mount spell on all non-battle mounts
  
• Requires 15s channel which can be interrupted by damage - 60s cooldown
  
• Costs Silver based on:
  
  • Number of zones the player would travel through:
    
    • Capped at 10
      
    • Teleporting into or out of the Roads assumes cap of 10
      
  • Zone type (Blue, Yellow, Red, Black)
    
  • Item Value of all equipped and inventory items
    
• Can only be used in open world or Roads of Avalon
  
• Disabled until player enters a Hideout or City again if:
  
  • They trade with another player
    
  • They retrieve items from any type of container players can put items into (e.g. Outland Banks)
    
  • They lose access to the Hideout they were bound to, or it is destroyed
    
• The ability is temporarily disabled if:
  
  • Player exceeds 100% carry capacity
    
    • Dropping below 100% re-enables ability
      
  • Player is within a Zerg bubble (red bubble on the minimap)
    
    • Re-enabled after leaving bubble (checked every 10s)
      
  • Player has "Disarray" debuff
    
    • Re-enabled when debuff ends
      
  • Player has insufficient Silver for the fee
    
    • Re-enabled when player has enough Silver
      
  • Player has Outlaw debuff
    
    • Re-enabled when debuff ends
      
  • Player is returning from Faction trade mission
    
    • Re-enabled when mission is finished / abandoned / failed
      
  
  
  

Gathering Tomes

• Drop on rare occasions while gathering
  
• Offer Gathering Fame when used, for the node of the designated Tier and resource type regardless of current equipment
  
• Available for every resource from T4-T8
  
• Tradable, shares new “Tomes” Marketplace subcategory with Tomes of Insight
  

Controller Support

Mobile Controller Support

• Controller support added for mobile devices. Note: PC and mobile controller support are still in active development, and further changes and improvements will be made over the coming months.
  

General Controller Improvements and Fixes

• Fixed issue where furniture chests would not trigger a dynamic interaction state in the UI while still accepting the interaction input if the player did not have access rights
  
• Changed default controller scheme to Right Stick Target Selection with Left Stick Spell Targeting
  
• Tooltips now show in the world near exits and portals when approaching them using controllers
  
• Fixed issue where hover tooltips could persist when using a controller
  
• Fixed issue where target selection would not be closed on release if left trigger was pressed
  
• Added missing icon for loot mode radial menu
  
• Added input hint to target radial menu when eligible target selected
  
• Controller radial menu now defaults to player target view if a player is selected
  
• Fixed issue where controller radial menu could show in target player mode on ineligible targets
  
• Fixed issue where selecting "Back" in Emotes radial menu closed it
  
• Fixed issue where cursor style would not immediately update after changing styles
  
• Fixed issue where some furniture would not show dynamic action hints
  
• Fixed issue where zone map UI border would overlay controller cursors
  
• Fixed issue where switching application focus could activate character controls while full-screen UI was open
  

Controller UI Navigation Fixes and Improvements

• When navigating between UI windows, each window remembers last selected element
  
• UI navigation can be held down to navigate more quickly
  
• UI can be navigated via left stick when not in situations where character movement is allowed
  
• Improved auto-scrolling on various UIs
  
• Fixed issue where initial inventory UI selections could be set on the wrong element
  
• Fixed issues with switching tabs in some UIs
  
• Fixed issue where "Back" button closed UIs that were not actively selected
  
• Fixed missing highlight in Repair Kit UI
  
• Fixed issue where "Move" item hint would not show
  
• Fixed issue where offhand equipment item would not show "Move" or "Equip" hint
  
• Fixed issue where equipped items did not show "Unequip" hint
  

Training Dummies on Islands

• Training Dummies are available for Player and Guild Islands, in "Friend" and "Foe" versions:
  
  • Allow players to practice healing/support and damage abilities respectively
    
  • Unlocked at Personal Island Level 1 and Guild Island Level 3
    
  • Islands with dummies unlocked now have additional space to place them (exception: on Level 6 Guild Islands, training arena is extended)
    

Map Tooltips

Mouse-over Tooltips added to zone and dungeon exits to indicate where they lead (zone name, type, etc.). Map tooltips also added to Dungeons and Hellgates to help identify them and give additional info.

Faction Campaign Chest Adjustments

• As too many mounts and capes were generated from Faction Campaign chests, these were removed from the loot list and must now be purchased directly
  
• Significantly increased Fame and slightly increased Silver from Faction Campaign chests to compensate for the lost value and generally further improve rewards for Faction Campaigns beyond the original value
  

Other Changes and Improvements

• Demolition Hammers in inventory are now used automatically (like gathering tools) when interacting with hostile structures (e.g. Castle gates)
  
• 12 new guild symbols added for custom logo creation
  
• 5 new Achievements added
  
• When invisibility shrines are clicked while mounted, players now dismount automatically to use them
  
• Adjusted respawning of Faction Outposts so intentionally blocking respawns is much less effective if the area is then abandoned
  
• Rarity levels of Loot Chests are no longer known to the game client until visually displayed, and thus cannot be read from memory or network traffic
  
• Slightly reduced resource yield from salvaging
  
• Added Silence icon to Arcane Orb spells and Invisibility Shrine Buff
  
• Moved Grizzly Bear's "Intimidating Aura" from armor slot to third weapon slot (Hotkey: E)
  

Combat Balance Changes

Bows
To make Lucent Hawk feel more fluid, the initial buff activation has been eliminated. Instead, the first arrow is shot directly.

• Lucent Hawk (Mistpiercer):
  
  • No longer requires buff activation as first step; instead, activating the ability now directly shoots the first arrow
    

Cursed Staffs
Two new abilities added: Anguished Soul and Cursed Tar. For Demonic Staffs, Field of Death has been replaced with Anguished Soul, which summons a ghostly creature that fears enemies. Cursed Tar is a new Q-slot ability which places cursed areas on the ground, applying Vile Curse Charges. Cursed Beam is now more threatening in PvP as it consumes Vile Curse charges more slowly and has increased guaranteed base damage. Grudge damage now depends on how quickly the ally attacks, so it works with all auto-attack speeds and has additional depth. Various other improvements and adjustments have also been made to make these staffs feel more polished.

• Hit and Run (Passive, all Cursed Staffs):
  
  • Spell activations needed: 4 → 6
    
• Vile Curse (all Cursed Staffs):
  
  • Hit Delay 0.2s → 0.4s
    
• New Q-slot Ability: Cursed Tar (all Cursed Staffs):
  
  • Create a Cursed Tar puddle with a 2.5m radius at target location lasting 4s
    
  • Slows all enemies in the puddle by 10%
    
  • Applies one Vile Curse Charge every second
    
  • Cooldown: 3s
    
• Cursed Beam (all Cursed Staffs):
  
  • Vile Curse Stacks are now removed every second tick
    
  • Channel Duration: 4.5s → 3s
    
  • Damage with 0 stacks: 36 → 48
    
  • Damage with 1+ stacks: 72 → 68
    
  • Cast Range: 11m → 13m
    
• Grudge (all Cursed Staffs):
  
  • Grudge hit effect delay: 1s → 0s
    
  • The Grudge effect now stacks on the ally every 0.5s
    
  • Each auto-attack consumes all stacks
    
  • Grudge Stacks 0 / 1 / 2 / 3 / 4 = Damage 10 / 20 / 40 / 70 / 120
    
  • This means Grudge triggers with all Attack Speed builds, but damage is diminished if the attack interval is too fast
    
• Death Curse (One-handed Cursed Staff):
  
  • Death Curse Debuff is no longer cleansable
    
  • Hit Delay for Projectile: 0.4s → 0.15s
    
• Replaced the ability Field of Death (Demonic Staff) with a new E-slot Ability, Anguished Soul:
  
  • Send an Anguished Soul in targeted direction, passing through all enemies
    
  • Deals 175 magical damage
    
  • Any enemy hit will be feared for a duration based on the amount of Vile Curse Charges on them
    
  • Vile Curse Charges: 0 / 1 / 2 / 3 / 4 = Fear Duration: 0.4s / 0.8s / 1.2s / 1.6s / 2s
    

Daggers
Even after its most recent buff, Demonfang still struggled to compete with other weapons. To make it more effective as an assassin weapon, its Damage over Time effects have been removed, and instead its damage now applies instantly. The self-Bleed is now also only triggered on the third activation, which increases the incentive to attempt 1-2 hits and allows the caster to attempt two activations even when low on health. Various adjustments have also been made to make aiming and hitting opponents more reliable.

• Blood Ritual (Demonfang):
  
  • Hit Delay: 0.3s → 0.15s
    
  • Instant Damage: 100 → 140
    
  • Fixed AoE Escalation
    
  • Removed the DoT Damage on enemies
    
  • The Self Damage is now only applied after the third cast
    
  • Self DoT Base Damage: 12 → 60
    

Fire Staffs
Pyroblast is now a channeled skillshot that rewards positioning and timing. Ignite has been replaced with a new ability: Flame Blast. And Infernal Staff's Contagious Fire has been replaced with Combustion, which ignites an enemy, leaving behind a flaming trail that silences. The Burn effect of Fire Bolt now triggers sooner, increasing the damage output if the same target is hit multiple times. Flame Pillar now deals significantly more damage on a higher cooldown (15s). If at least one enemy is hit, however, the cooldown is reduced back to 10s. Various other improvements and adjustments have also been made to make these staffs feel more polished.

• Fire Bolt (all Fire Staffs):
  
  • Burn Damage over Time Delay: 1s → 0.3s
    
  • Hit Delay: 0.2s → 0.12s
    
• Burning Field (all Fire Staffs):
  
  • Hit Delay: 0.1s → 0.15s
    
• Removed the ability Ignite (all Fire Staffs)
  
• Added a new W-Slot ability, Flame Blast (all Fire Staffs):
  
  • Select a target (Ally, Enemy, Self) - after 1.6s an explosion occurs around the target, dealing 150 magical damage to all enemies in a 5m radius.
    
  • If the main target is an enemy they also take an additional 45 magical damage immediately.
    
• Wall of Flames (all Fire Staffs):
  
  • Standtime: 0.6s → 0.4s
    
• Fire Wave (all Fire Staffs):
  
  • Fire Wave area Duration: 0.8s → 1s
    
• Fire Ball (all Fire Staffs):
  
  • Renamed the ability to Raging Flare
    
  • Cast Range: 18m → 22m
    
  • Instant Damage: 124.63 → 135
    
  • Projectile Speed increased by 10%
    
• Fire Artillery (all Fire Staffs):
  
  • Hit Delay: 0.1s → 0s
    
  • Projectile Hit Delay: 0.5s → 0.2s
    
• Pyroblast (One-handed Fire Staff) has been completely reworked:
  
  • Pyroblast is charged while channeling for up to 2s (can aim while channeling)
    
  • Deals magical damage in a 4m radius upon impact with an enemy, dependent upon the length of the channel
    
    • Charge Up: 0.5s / 1s / 1.5s / 2s = Damage: 240 / 280 / 320 / 360
      
    • (Previous Pyroblast instant Damage: 300)
      
  • If channeled for the full duration, the Pyroblast also knocks targets back 2.5m
    
• Flame Pillar (Great Fire Staff):
  
  • Damage: 184 → 218
    
  • Cooldown: 10s → 15s
    
  • If at least one enemy is hit the cooldown is reduced to 10s
    
  • Energy Cost: 13 → 9
    
  • Hit Delay: 1s → 0.8s
    
• Removed the ability Contagious Fire (Infernal Staff)
  
• Added a new E-slot Ability, Combustion (Infernal Staff):
  
  • Ignite the targeted enemy, dealing 143 magical damage over 5s
    
  • After a short delay, the burning enemy leaves a continuous fiery trail that lasts 4.6s
    
  • Deals 28 magical damage vs. players / 26 magical damage vs. mobs every 0.5s
    
  • Enemy players on the trail are silenced
    

Hammers
Forge Hammers have been underrepresented recently. Their low cooldown and moderate damage on each hit in giant form meant it was too easy for enemies to evade the effect area. Therefore, Giant Smash now also knocks enemies into the air and deals more damage, making the ability more threatening and making it easier to stick to targets. To offset this buff, the cooldown between each Smash has been increased. The cooldown of Threatening Strike has been reduced further to provide a better Q-slot option for a bruiser tank, which synergizes with Giant Steps.

• Threatening Strike (all Hammers):
  
  • Hit Delay 0.4s → 0.1s
    
  • Standtime: 0.4s → 0.1s
    
  • Cooldown: 3s → 2s
    
• Giant Steps (Forge Hammers):
  
  • Giant Smash:
    
    • Cooldown: 1.2s → 3s
      
    • Now knocks players airborne for 0.6s
      
    • Damage: 75 → 110
      
  
  
  
  
  

Holy Staffs



Healing Staffs no longer have a 50% damage reduction on the staff. Smite has been reworked for a more enjoyable solo PvE / PvP experience, and it is now possible to move while channeling Holy Beam, albeit at a reduced speed to allow for counterplay. Desperate Prayer's Healing Output has been increased and if used above the 40% health threshold it now also gives the caster a buff that increases Healing Output, creating an incentive to use the ability above the threshold. Various other improvements and adjustments have also been made to make these staffs feel more polished.

• Base Stats (all Holy Staffs):
  
  • Removed the 50% Damage Reduction
    
• Smite (all Holy Staffs) has been completely reworked:
  
  • Smite all enemies at the targeted location, dealing magical damage in a 2.5m radius
    
  • The next time any enemy hit takes damage within the next 3s, they will take an additional magical damage
    
  • Hitting at least one enemy will reduce this ability’s cooldown by 50%
    
• Sacred Pulse (all Holy Staffs):
  
  • When used against mobs, they are now knocked into the air rather than knocked back
    
• Holy Beam (all Holy Staffs):
  
  • The caster can now move while channeling, with 30% reduced movement speed
    
• Desperate Prayer (One-handed Holy Staff):
  
  • Heal Value below 40%: 200 → 220
    
  • Heal Value above 40%: 82 → 100
    
  • Additionally, if Desperate Prayer is cast on a target above 40% health, the caster receives a buff which increases Healing Cast by 5% for 15s (stacks up to 3 times)
    
  • Energy Cost: 15 → 12
    
• Holy Touch:
  
  • Heal per Tick: 55 → 59
    
• Celestial Sphere:
  
  • Base Heal: 60 → 85
    
  • Healing the same target twice no longer increases Healing Output
    
  • Initial Hit Delay: 0.4s → 0.15s
    

Nature Staffs
Healing Staffs no longer have a 50% damage reduction on the staff. The solo PvE / PvP experience has been improved, with a reworked Thorns spell and a new Brambleseed spell that knocks enemies airborne. Rejuvenating Mushroom has been replaced with the new Rejuvenating Flower multi-part spell: Grow multiple flowers on the ground that can be picked up and thrown to a specific spot to provide instant healing and Rejuvenation stacks. Revitalize is now on a much shorter cooldown, and is limited more by energy cost than by cooldown, to make it more useful in PvP and provide higher single-target healing output to compete with Holy Staffs in group PvE. Various other improvements and adjustments have also been made to make these staffs feel more polished.

• Base Stats (all Nature Staffs):
  
  • Removed the 50% damage Reduction
    
• Thorns (all Nature Staffs) has been completely reworked:
  
  • Conjure Thorns with a 3m radius at the targeted area, lasting 4s
    
  • Deals magical damage and applies one Thorns Charge to all enemies within the area every 0.5s (stacks up to 5 times)
    
  • Slows by 25%
    
  • The ability goes on cooldown if you either cast it the maximum of 3 times or don't recast it for 3s
    
  • Thorns Charges can be consumed by your normal attacks and deals additional magical damage
    
• Removed the ability Rejuvenating Mushroom (all Nature Staffs)
  Added a new Q-slot Ability: Rejuvenating Flower (all Nature Staffs):
  
  • Plant a magical flower at the targeted position, lasting 20s; the flower grows stronger over time
    
  • Collecting the flower gives you the ability to throw it at a targeted location; on impact it heals and applies Rejuvenation Charges on up to 5 allies within a 3m radius based on grow time (only the caster can collect the flower)
    
  • Grow Time: 0s / 2.5s/ 5s = Heal: 17 / 41 / 70 = Rejuvenation Charges: 1 / 2 / 3
    
• Added a new W-slot Ability: Brambleseed (all Nature Staffs):
  
  • Throw seeds along a 16m line in targeted direction, dealing 54 magical damage
    
  • After a 1s delay, brambles grow along the line, dealing 162 magical damage
    
  • Throws all enemies hit in the air for 0.71s
    
• Revitalize:
  
  • Cooldown: 15s → 7s
    
  • Channel Duration: 4.5s → 3s
    
  • Energy Cost per Tick: 6 → 9
    
• Living Armor (Great Nature Staff):
  
  • Cast Time: 1s → 0s
    
  • Cooldown: 25s → 15s
    
  • Duration: 8s → 4s
    
  • Heal Value on each hit: 27 → 40
    
  • Can no longer be stacked from multiple casters
    
• Ruthless Nature (Blight Staff)
  
  • Renamed the ability to Elevated Nature
    

Spears
Glaive has consistently been very strong in 5v5 Crystal League, due to its threatening kidnap potential and high sustain damage. To make it less oppressive, the Fling distance has been adjusted and the cooldown of Harpoon increased. This change on the Q and W abilities doesn't affect other spear lines' base gameplay as much as other changes would (e.g. reducing Q damage).

• Harpoon (all Spears):
  
  • Cooldown: 15s → 20s
    
• Fling (Glaive):
  
  • Pull Distance: 10m → 7m
    

Swords
Dual Swords have continued to underperform since their latest rework. To improve their abilities’ utility and damage output, Heroic Charges are no longer consumed with use. These stacks help players keep up with targets with the move speed boost, and the increased auto-attack speed synergizes with the attack damage buff at the end of Spinning Blades.

• Spinning Blades (Dual Swords):
  
  • No longer consumes Heroic Charges
    

War Gloves
Fleet Footwork's second ability had been too situational to be reliably useful, and the reduced damage output for using it once was a big drawback. To make it more effective and fun to use, it is now a ground target dash that provides an auto-attack damage buff. This buff ensures that damage output doesn’t drop too much when using the second ability. Spiked Gauntlets had been too oppressive in large scale fights when stacked. To discourage this stacking, enemies can only be hit once per second by the effect. Ravenstrike Cestus had also been dominant in large scale fights, so its damage output has been reduced to offset the often high AoE Escalation due to its large radius.

• Fleet Footwork (all War Gloves):
  
  • Kick:
    
    • Step can now always be used as a follow-up, even without hitting an enemy first
      
    • Damage: 50 → 64
      
    • Slightly increased Hitbox
      
  • Step:
    
    • Range: 5m → 7m
      
    • No longer requires a target; it is instead a ground target Dash
      
    • Increases Attack Damage by 100% for 5s
      
    • Removed the Damage Reduction during the quick Step animation
      
• Gravitational Collapse (Spiked Gauntlets):
  
  • Enemies hit become immune to being hit by another Gravitational Collapse for 1s
    
• Earth Crusher (Ravenstrike Cestus):
  
  • 0 Charge Damage: 188 → 160
    
  • 1 Charge Damage: 200 → 170
    
  • 2 Charge Damage: 212 → 180
    
  • 3 Charge Damage: 224 → 190
    

Misc

• Self Healing Sickness Duration: 60s → 120s
  

Corrupted Dungeons
With the overhauled Magic Staffs, we want to make solo Healers feel powerful again, but we also don’t want out-sustaining strategies to dominate Corrupted Dungeons.

• Healing Reduction inside Corrupted Dungeons: 20% → 30%
  
• Casting any Holy or Nature Q-slot Healing spell inside Corrupted Dungeons reduces caster's damage by 50% for 60s
  

Fixes

• UI fixes:
  
  • Fixed bug where clicking ESC in party invitation UI did not decline the invite
    
  • Fixed issue where window would "bounce" while scrolling Mail UI
    
  • Fixed issue where multiple messages could overlap in Mail UI
    
  • Fixed issue where overhead message did not correctly reflect picking up more than 1 farmable
    
  • Fixed issue where double-clicking "Claim Territory" threw an error
    
  • Fixed issue where clicking ESC during Arena did not open Settings menu as intended
    
  • Fixed issue where double-clicking Points of Interest on the world map to open zone map made other Points of Interest open with single clicks
    
  • Fixed issue where scrolling Visible Channels menu within Social settings scrolled entire Social tab
    
  • Fixed difficult scrolling in "Your Buy Orders" UI
    
  • Fixed issue where font icons sometimes disappeared after being typed in chat
    
• Spell fixes:
  
  • Purifying Combo (Fists of Avalon) now always purges targets before applying damage
    
  • Mark of Sacrifice (Hellion Shoes) now also increases magical spell damage
    
  • Fixed issue where ability cooldowns could be reset by mounting up
    
• Resolved issue that sometimes caused players to receive lower Fame when studying high-tier items at low specializations
  
• Fixed bug where Snappers weren't considered in Focus cost calculation of fish-based foods, which increases the following Focus costs:
  
  • Roasted Whitefog Snapper: 70 → 77
    
  • Roasted Clearhaze Snapper: 210 → 225
    
  • Roasted Puremist Snapper: 630 → 652
    
• Fixed issue where guild banner symbols would not change during character selection
  
• Added collision blocker behind chests in Hellgates to prevent dead players from blocking looting
  
• Fixed bug where some Fishing Fame sources did not progress fishing nodes
  
• Resource Aspects can now appear in enchanted form again
  
• [MOBILE] Fixed issue where chat channel selection button was sometimes not pressable
  
• Numerous additional graphical, animation, terrain, audio, UI, and localization fixes