As we continue to push toward an Early Access release later this year, our focus for this update has turned back to combat, specifically adding new special abilities to the playable classes.
This patch focuses primarily on the balance and implementation of abilities, but does not necessarily include the final FX or animations for those abilities. We wanted to ensure that each class received its new abilities at the same time so we can balance and polish them together while testing overall group balance. Our goal is to have all player abilities ready for the next public playtest.
Abilities
Increased the baseline healing numbers of the Sinew Stitch and Carrion Ward abilities.
Ravagers can now train the Cull the Weak ability. This AoE attack deals +25% damage to Bleeding targets, with an additional bonus against low-health targets.
Added a new Ravager ability: Savage Pursuit. This attack rushes the target. If the target is Pinned, it will attack twice.
Introduced the Apex Predator ability. This devastating Ravager strike gains additional damage against Bleeding, Exposed, and Pinned targets. Killing the target grants Frenzy.
Doomsayers have gained a new Curse of Hesitation debuff. This ability deals light damage initially, but more importantly, reduces all outgoing damage dealt by the target for a period of time.
Implemented a new Spreading Dread ability for Doomsayers. This ability deals light damage but temporarily Terrifies all enemies.
The final new Doomsayer ability is Final Prophecy. This ability deals heavy damage to a single target, with increased damage if the target is Bleeding, Exposed, or Terrified. These modifiers can stack for up to a +60% bonus. It will also instantly trigger any curse effects on the target.
Introduced a new Sinew Shaper ability: Mend. This is a potent heal with a heavier mana cost. It will also apply Stabilized to the target, which can prevent them from dropping below 1 hit point once.
Added the Shared Hunger ability to Sinew Shapers. This ability will distribute your party's hit points evenly and then perform a small heal on each party member. It is useful for balancing hit points when one character is being heavily targeted.
Sinew Shapers can now train the Bone Lattice ability. This ability will reduce all incoming damage by 25% for a short period of time. It will also cap the maximum damage from a single hit to 35% of the target's health for its duration.
Implemented the Feast of the Fallen ability. This high-end Sinew Shaper ability consumes all Momentum to heal and Ward the entire party. It requires Momentum, and the amount of health healed increases based on your total Momentum at the time of casting. In addition to healing and Warding the party, it will also increase the damage output of all affected party members.
Stalkers have gained a new Predator's Eye ability, which marks a single enemy and reduces their Defense for 8 turns.
Introduced the Run Down ability. This Stalker-based melee attack deals increased damage, and if the target is Pinned, it will perform a free second attack.
Death Between Heartbeats is a new Stalker ability. It requires the Stalker to be Veiled to use and deals heavy damage, with a +25% bonus if the target is Pinned. If the target is killed, the Stalker receives +3 Initiative, reducing the time until their next attack.
Added a new Guardian ability: Counter Attack. This will counter the next melee attack that damages the Guardian, damaging the attacker and leaving them Exposed.
Hold the Line is a newly introduced Guardian ability. For a short period of time, it protects teammates by reducing their incoming damage by 20%. That damage will instead be applied to the Guardian at a reduced rate.
Guardians have gained the Final Stand ability, which requires and consumes Resolve. This is similar to Hold the Line, reducing damage to allies by 20% and redirecting that damage to the Guardian at an amplified rate. Where it differs is that it will also prevent the death of any allies for its short duration, keeping them at a minimum of 1 hit point.
Combat Effects
Exposed now applies a -20% defensive adjustment rather than a flat value reduction, allowing it to scale better and increasing its effectiveness.
Terrified's damage reduction is now percentage-based rather than a flat value.
General
Repaired an issue that could cause the Retreat dialog to remain open after selecting an option.
Fixed a bug with saving trained abilities and perks.
Sound
Resolved an issue where disabling music could cause it to ignore the volume setting until the Settings window was opened, at which point it would sync properly.
User Interface
Corrected an issue that could prevent the combat window from appearing in rare circumstances.