[Game Update] - 643115

Update Information:

Notes on Wendy's changes

Beta releases are intended to be a time when we release a test version of the game and issue balance changes and fixes while we work toward live. We expect to make tuning changes and adjustments once we release the game to the beta branch and gather feedback. Since Wendy's tuning was fairly low in a lot of places when it released to the beta, in this update we have raised a bunch of the effects of her skill tree:

• Abigail's Planar Defense for her alignment skills has gone up.
• The maximum health for resting at the sisturn has been gone up.
• The Cursed Vexation effect was shifted from a duration increase to a damage increase instead.
• The burst damage effect from the final Shadow Skill has been changed to a buff that multiplies abigails damage for a duration.
• We have added refinement of Dark Petals from regular Petals, in addition to the Petal refinement that exists.

There are several things we are planning to change that are not in this update:

• A Haunt command for Abigail.
• Evil Flower Growth rate at decorated graves will be increased.
• Strong Brew skills will be compressed into two slots and a new skill added to craft an Elixir carrying container.
• The Flower Shroud currently redirects Wendy's damage onto Abigail. It will change so that Abigail will benefit from Wendy's head gear armor instead. 

The current version of the dress was intended to increase Wendy's appeal to players who don't like fighting but want to survive if they get caught. In truth there are a lot of armors already to help Wendy stay alive and there were many issues with the current design yet to be solved. So we agreed to change it to help Abigail have more durability in combat instead.

Notes on Walter's changes

We're still working on his ammo, and hope to update them in a batch next week.

• Gunpowder, Dreadstone, and Brightshade Husk Rounds, as well as the old Slow-Down Rounds are currently being worked on.
• In addition we have the new Pure Briliance and Pure Horror Rounds coming.

The Woby training skills are also a work in progress. Here are some things we're working on:

• Making the training progress and badge effects more engaging and easier to understand.
• Adjusting numbers and possibly adding features that would make Big Woby a competitive alternative to beefalos. The goal is to have features that set them apart, instead of trying to replace beefalos.

Another feature that didn't make it into the build yet, is that when using the Thulecite Slingshot Frame, the special skill-shot should enhance the magic effects of ammo such as Slow-Down and Freeze Rounds, and possibly the Cursed Rounds as well.  It's possible that Pure Brilliance and Pure Horror Rounds will be included depending on how those are implemented.

We also want to rebalance ammo production since it may be a bit too high at the moment.  The plan is to lower the bonuses from Production Pro skills, and raise the base values a bit to compensate for this change.  We're also going to look at having different values depending on the type of ammo.

Notes on Wortox's changes

The initial Naughty or Nice aspect was a core foundation for the tree, with Naughty focusing on the trapping and greedy part of Wortox and Nice focusing on the releasing and kind spirited part of Wortox. The Inclination status being simple stat changes is not one that makes for a gameplay shift and can feel a bit lackluster, so we will be looking into making them have a reason to go for with different reasons.

The Knabsack was added onto to the point where there were many conditions stitched onto it that made it feel not good to use. Likewise for some of the Naughty side skills being too interconnected, and read like a dictionary. So skills involving the Knabsack have been streamlined to not need it as a catalyst and the Knabsack has been brought to a more early to mid game state as an alternative.

Soul Jar filled states were an instant on and off switch for power and that felt bad for gameplay so those have been removed and instead are now linear slides for Soul counts instead which helps make the Soul Jars able to be used while not stripping of all of the gained power inside in one go from one Soul removed.

The Neutral Pan Flute perks are a bit underwhelming when in game due to the random factor about it. It was created to try to flow with Wortox's more care free nature of doing things in the moment as a side bonus for a strong item in the game. In practice this feels like it punishes for not using it so it will be looked over to make that feel better and more of a competitor to the other skills. In the mean time the buff duration will be increased so the down time from not using it will be reduced. The side prongs for the Pan Flute have their situational uses but lack purpose for certain players who use the Pan Flute for different purposes. We will be looking into making these perks have more depth to them or scrap them for other Neutral related goodies.

The Lunar Affinity being protective against Shadow Aligned made sense with lore, but comparing it to the Bone Armor, an item that you get right before rifts, made the restriction too overbearing and the perk not useful. This is addressed in the hotfix.
 

Changes
Wortox

• Naughty skills
  • Knabsacker's planar damage aspect has been removed.
  • Overflowing Greed no longer requires Soul Jars to be filled, and now has an increased amount of Souls able to be held before overloading.
  • Covetous Collector no longer requires Soul Jars to be filled, and will instead use the current number of Souls possessed for damage calculations.
  • Soul Pierce I and Soul Decoy III will no longer use a held Knabsack's damage, but will instead use Covetous Collector as the source to increase their damage by a bit.
  • Soul damage will adhere to explosive resistances for bosses.
  • Knabsacker pickup cone area has been increased slightly to feel better.
• Lunar Swindler has had its Shadow Aligned restriction removed and acts more like Bone Armor for how late in the game this perk takes effect.
• Impromptu Flautist buff duration has been increased for now until a revision on it is done.

Wendy

• Added an evil petal refinement recipe.
• Increased Abigail’s alignment Planar Defence buff from 5 to 15.
• Increased the health boost maximum  from the Sisturn from 100 to 300.
• Changed Cursed Vexation from increasing vex duration to increased damage.
• Changed the Shadow Aligned Murder effect from a burst of Planar damage, to a damage multiplier buff on Abigail plus some extra Planar Defense. Stack size affects duration.

Walter

• Moved some of Walter’s new crafting recipes to their respective crafting stations.
• Increased projectile speed of charged shots.

Bug Fixes

• Fixed crash sometimes when pressing the Alt Action button on controllers.
• Fixed crash sometimes when projectiles go offscreen.
• Fixed the keyboard Attack control always behaving like Forced Attack.
• Fixed an erroneous ingredient name in Cursed Vexation Elixir.
• Fixed missing minimap icons for the Tackle Box and Spectackler Box.
• Fixed Cargo Hold on Archaic Boats having a minimap icon at all.