ARCHETYPE BLUE · published
Hello, everyone! We're Codename Bom, the team behind Archetype Blue.
This major update will roll out in stages over three days, from September 16 to September 18. For a limited time, you'll also be able to play through Chapter 2 in the demo for two weeks. Take your new companion combinations into Chapter 2 and see how the updated combat plays out. We're also sharing the illustration and pixel art for Chapter 2's final boss. You'll find them at the end of this post. Over the past three weeks, we've focused on refining the game's core systems, guided by your feedback from the demo. Our goal was clear: give you more opportunities to recruit different companions early on, explore how they work together, and see your choices make a difference in battle. To support that goal, we've made coordinated changes to companion stats and growth, party formations, cards and status effects, enemy placement, and coin rewards. If you've played the demo before, you'll notice changes not only in how quickly you can recruit companions, but also in how you can use familiar faces.
Building a party in Archetype Blue doesn't end with choosing three companions. Even the same companion can take on a different role depending on where you place them and who fights alongside them. For this update, we evaluated over 500,000 possible formations, including companion combinations and positioning, then selected around 40,000 to build into a database. We looked beyond classes, considering each companion's passives, buff and healing targets, action order, character relationships, and synergies.
Formations that link buffs between companions positioned in front of or behind one another
Formations that improve survivability by changing who receives protection and healing
Formations where companions of the same class fill different roles
Formations built around tactics such as Focus, Injury, Fever, Vulnerability, Recovery, and Magic Ritual
Formations that make use of both character relationships and unique abilities
The existing front-to-back action order remains an important part of these decisions. You might put a durable companion in front to absorb attacks, or give that position to someone who can apply buffs or debuffs before the others strike. Don't just ask, “Who should hold the front line?” Ask, “Who needs to act first?” Companions that seem difficult to use together may find a new purpose when you change their positions and action order. We've also added hidden combinations for you to discover by experimenting with your lineup.
We've reviewed companion base stats, growth, passives, and action patterns across the board. Our focus was on giving each companion clearer strengths and weaknesses, with room for other party members to cover what they lack.
Rebalanced stat growth by rank and level
Adjusted values for class passives and unique companion abilities
Rebalanced HP, attack, accuracy, evasion, critical hit chance, and counterattack chance
Reviewed activation conditions and targets for passives and action patterns
Adjusted the activation chances of certain trait effects
In particular, we've adjusted the base stats of companions who build up Rage, Fury, or Magic Ritual on themselves, taking their in-battle growth into account. This helps prevent strong base stats and self-buffing abilities from combining to overshadow the roles of other companions. These changes aim to let each role shine when the party works together: companions who defend and protect, those who weaken enemies before an attack, attackers who make the most of buffs, and companions who provide healing and resource support.
We've revisited both the amount of effects applied by cards and the baseline strength of the status effects themselves. Effects with similar numerical values don't always contribute equally in battle. Because cards, companions, and enemies all use these effects, we reviewed their interactions together rather than adjusting one set of numbers in isolation. Here are the main status effect changes:
Status Effect
Before
After
Evasion
20%
10%
Darkness: Accuracy Reduction
20%
10%
Life Steal
50%
20%
Reflect
50%
30%
Armor Damage
25%
20%
Focus now lasts for 1 turn. This makes the timing of its application—and the action order used to take advantage of it—more important. We've also updated card data:
Adjusted the amounts of certain buffs applied, including Focus and Rage
Reviewed card effect values and activation conditions
Adjusted card-cycling effects, including additional draws and Anima recovery
Fixed data that caused effects to apply to the wrong targets
Corrected mismatches between card descriptions and their actual effects
These changes support different approaches to combat depending on when you build up buffs, which companions benefit from them, and which cards you use to make the most of them.
Alongside the changes to companions and cards, we've rebalanced enemy stats, positioning, and encounter lineups.
Rebalanced enemy HP, attack, and armor
Updated attack scaling to reflect enemy level
Reduced HP for some tank-type enemies while increasing their armor
Adjusted front-, middle-, and back-row placement to better match enemy roles
Rebalanced monster combinations and stage-specific encounters
The cards and companions you need may change depending on whether you're facing heavily armored enemies or dealing with attackers and support enemies in the back rows. Changing companions isn't the only way to approach a difficult encounter. Repositioning your current party or making use of different effects can also open up new options.
A wide range of possible formations only becomes meaningful when you have the resources to recruit companions and try them out. We've adjusted both combat coin rewards and companion recruitment costs to give you more opportunities to build and use your party from the early stages of an expedition.
Increased coin rewards from combat
Rebalanced coin income across chapters
Adjusted recruitment costs based on companion rank and level
Rebalanced the economy with recruiting and developing multiple companions in mind
This doesn't mean receiving a lump sum of coins at the start. You'll still earn rewards through battle and use them to recruit new companions or continue developing your party. In particular, we've focused on giving you more opportunities to recruit companions and try them in actual battles during the first 30 minutes. Will you keep investing in a familiar companion, or try a different combination with someone new? We want you to have more chances to make those choices during an expedition.
We've added companion-specific accessories that complement their traits and playstyles. Alongside choosing and positioning your companions, you can now consider which strengths to emphasize through their equipment. Try them out with different party members and cards.
To make use of different options, you first need to understand what each one offers. We've revised descriptions to make companions and party strategies easier to understand.
Refined each companion's “Strengths” keywords and usage tips
Improved wording to explain a party's key synergies and overall strategy
Removed unnecessary descriptions that repeated positioning information already visible on screen
Clarified the targets and activation conditions of cards and status effects
Revised stage effect descriptions
Corrected mismatches between descriptions and the underlying game data
These improvements should make it easier to understand what a newly recruited companion does well and what role they could fill in your current party.
Over the past three weeks, we've spent a lot of time thinking about how one choice leads to the next. You earn coins in battle, recruit a companion, rearrange your party around them, discover a new synergy, and then choose cards and a direction for growth. We believe Archetype Blue is at its best when those decisions flow naturally into one another. This update is our effort to strengthen those connections. Thank you to everyone who played the demo and shared feedback. Hearing about the moments you enjoyed—and the parts that felt frustrating or difficult to understand—helped guide this rework. Try teaming up with familiar companions again. A new combination might reveal a different side of them. We hope you'll discover a party that feels truly your own in the updated Archetype Blue. Thank you!
The Codename Bom Team
Meet the boss waiting at the end of Chapter 2 through its illustration and pixel art. Spoiler warning: The images below reveal the appearance of Chapter 2's final boss.