Hi Gyldhunters!
On Wednesday, we released our Playtest Q&A, addressing 30 of the most frequently asked player questions. Thanks to every Gyldhunter for sharing your passionate feedback and valuable suggestions. We've carefully read through them all and shared our upcoming plans in the replies.
Your enthusiasm gives us massive confidence in the game's future. After multiple rounds of playtests and refinement, Mistfall Hunter's core framework is largely in place, laying a solid foundation for further optimization and quality improvements. We're moving forward with development at a positive, steady pace, focusing on high-priority adjustments to ensure the game is in its best possible shape when it officially launches.
Regarding the various concerns and frustrations you've raised in the chat channels, we're already planning and rolling out targeted fixes. Moving forward, we'll keep iterating on the gameplay experience to make every single hunt feel more balanced, fun, and challenging.
Today, we also want to share our recent project progress and our upcoming plans for class balance adjustments. Please keep working alongside us to make this game the best it can be!
Since the Next Fest playtest ended, the whole team's been going full throttle. We've not only deployed a ton of manpower to tackle various optimization issues, but we've also got plenty of brand-new content ready for you.
Let's start with the optimizations for the Auction House: Season 1 will focus on optimizing two features—One-Click Buy and Quick Purchase (at the Loadout Station). This will drastically improve item purchasing stability, effectively reduce purchase failures caused by real-time market price fluctuations, and smooth out the overall trading experience.
Additionally, we've expanded the gameplay depth for the Key system. We've added locked treasure chambers and treasure chests corresponding to new keys within the stages, along with several new types of rare, high-tier keys. This not only boosts exploration rewards but also enriches the trading gameplay surrounding keys.
Next up, we're introducing a brand-new weapon for the Withered Knight: the Polearm & Shield. The Greatsword you played during Next Fest wasn't the class's final form. Imagine using "Thorn Guide" to yank an opponent right into your face to unleash a burst of damage. Just as they burn a mobility skill to escape, you swap to the Polearm & Shield, land a clutch throw to pin them to a wall, and follow up with a shield bash to break their guard and delete their health bar. We can't wait to see what kind of playstyles you guys cook up with this new weapon!
We know everyone's been dying for info on Holy weapons, which we've kept completely under wraps until now. This weapon tier features exclusive gameplay affixes that will massively expand your build variety and theorycrafting. Holy weapons drop from map bosses, with each boss offering their own unique Holy weapon. We're keeping the exact stat bonuses a surprise for now, but here's a sneak peek at some of the concept art:
Craving tougher Elite mobs and want to test your mettle against the best players? Look no further than Brandrgarde on Cataclysm difficulty. In Cataclysm mode, top-tier rare loot drops everywhere, and every single landmark holds a surprise—so don't leave any corner unchecked. It's high-risk, high-reward gameplay, and a prime farming spot no Gyldhunter should miss!
For Season 1, we've designed a core concept called the "Fate Chart," which will drive the entire seasonal main storyline. The critical core gameplay connecting this narrative, "Soul Hunt" (the name may change for the official launch), will debut a few weeks after open beta.
As the anomalies deep within the mist grow ever more apparent, the Valgr have restarted their forbidden soul experiments. Countless creatures have been turned into rampaging Cocoon Puppets in a desperate bid to wield soul power, create a False God, and tear apart the Web of Fate. Dew will call upon all Gyldhunters to fight side-by-side, track down wandering exiled souls, and contain the spread of soul corruption. Your actions will help repair the broken Web of Fate and avert the catastrophe looming over the regions.
This gameplay runs through all narrative phases of the season and is tightly linked to the progression of the Fate Chart. Every Gyldhunter's actions will reshape the world's direction as shown on the chart. We're keeping the exact mechanics and gameplay loops a surprise for now, waiting for you to experience them firsthand.
On top of the main seasonal "Soul Hunt" feature, we've also got the "Ancestor Tree" gameplay coming exclusively to Hallowgrove, set to drop in the mid-season update for Season 1. Beyond the traditional high-tier resource contest points, the Ancestor Tree will spawn on the map over time. Head there to hunt for treasure or play it safe and cash out—the choice is yours!
Class balance is a tale as old as time, and making sure we get it right has been our goal across every playtest. After the Next Fest test ended, we held several balance review meetings. Here's a quick rundown of our tuning plans for some of the classes:
The Withered Knight was the most popular class during Next Fest. Looking at the overall data, the Withered Knight's killing power was excellent. However, due to the sluggish nature of heavy weapons and the fact that Polearm & Shield skills weren't live yet, some hardcore Withered Knight players felt the class lacked sufficient strength and depth.
The Withered Knight's other weapon, the Polearm & Shield, will launch in Season 1, and we've also further optimized the Greatsword's weapon skills and talents.
Withered Knight - Greatsword Adjustments: The "Parry" skill now unlocks at an earlier level, and the Parry Counter window has been extended. "Thorn Guide" has been tweaked to resolve collision issues during the pull, increasing its success rate. The second-stage branch attack from "Breakthrough Charge" no longer has a massive knockback effect, preventing you from losing ground when fighting ranged enemies. The core talent "Legacy" now grants increased Health recovery when knocking down rival Gyldhunters. Light and heavy strikes have had their hitboxes slightly increased so that the actual damage area better matches the visual effects. Additionally, because the Polearm & Shield will also benefit from the cooldown reduction provided by the "Endless Flow" talent once it goes live, we've slightly reduced that talent's cooldown reduction percentage.
Withered Knight - New Weapon (Polearm & Shield): The Polearm & Shield introduces 6 new skills for players to choose from, along with a unique ability to rescue downed teammates from a distance. With a wide variety of talent and skill options for both DPS and support paths, this will bring a massive boost to the Knight's overall skill variety and strategic depth.
Regarding the other classes, take the Shadowstrix as an example. Some of its skills still offer too much mobility and overwhelming crowd-control chains, making it overperform in combat. Moving forward, "Crow Storm" will no longer stack on players who are already stunned, and its damage will be slightly reduced. This will tone down the excessive outplay potential that came from low-cost chain CC. For the Seer (Mace), the duration of the mobility skill "Shapeshift" will be reduced and its speed boost tuned down. This addresses the overpowered escape capability tied to specific skills, while still preserving its tactical value for short-distance chases and kiting.
We're still tweaking the balance for the remaining classes, and a more detailed breakdown of all class adjustments will be thoroughly covered in Developer Update #7 at the end of this month!
That's all for now on the Season 1 content preview and class balance adjustments. Over the next three weeks, we hope you'll keep the faith in Mistfall Hunter. The dev team will continue tracking the community's top-requested optimizations and new content to prioritize them for future updates. We'll have a lot more to share in the Developer Update at the end of this month! In the meantime, please keep dropping your feedback and suggestions in the community. Let's make Mistfall Hunter the best it can be, together!