Thank you all for your patience
I'm sorry that I haven't been able to reach out sooner and share our thinking with you. Part of the reason is that we have been concentrating on the development of V2.7.0 — an important version we are preparing for you. The other is that we wanted to see the situation more clearly and think it through more thoroughly before responding, so as not to repeat what happened before: a hasty statement followed by a hurried reversal, which ended up causing even greater problems.
Our commitment
In V2.6.0 we introduced new difficulties and rewards for the D-Effect Zone. The intent behind that change was to offer a fresh challenge without affecting the rewards you were already able to obtain. Alongside it, we made a commitment: the core rewards are achievable without Over-Exaltation, without Absolute Axiom, and without Emergency Gnosis. We do not use these additional layers as the baseline for stage balance. And if what actually happens does not match that expectation, we will make adjustments.
The adjustments coming
Among all the feedback we received, one item needs to be addressed first: the difficulty curve leading into Hard is far too steep, which makes the experience at that tier drop off sharply. So, starting next rotation:
Hard — enemy HP reduced by roughly 20%–50%, and damage by roughly 7%–11%, with Hard 5 receiving the largest reduction.
In the current version, we have in fact seen Nightmare cleared without relying on Over-Exaltation, Absolute Axiom or Emergency Gnosis — consistent with the standard we designed against in internal testing. But for many Keepers, that standard may still sit too close to the edge. Loosening it somewhat is better for everyone. So, also starting next rotation:
Nightmare — enemy HP reduced by roughly 5%–15%, so that more of you have a chance at the newly added Silver rewards.
A sincere apology
Whatever the reasons behind it, a breakdown in communication is my failure. Please allow me to offer you my sincere apologies. We will continue to do everything we can to honour every commitment we have made to you, as we always have. 100 Ethereal Cores will be sent to your in-game mail shortly. May the Silver Key guide the way.