Hey everyone!
Before we get into the balance stuff, some housekeeping:
Bug/General Fixes
Fixed a bug where some status effects that targeted random enemies would freeze the game if there were no more living enemies when it triggered
The pre-combat tooltip for Ogre Husk should now display properly
Slime’s combat intention for it’s attack + slime toxin move now properly shows a debuff intention
Exploding Ether should now unlock correctly in the bestiary
The semantics of the Deathmark status are now correct
Snow Plating now gains fortitude at the correct amount of frost barrier
Cursed Dice Bodies gained as a result of the Approach the Palace event will now be marked as discovered in your collection
Relevant Worthiness level info will be sent with analytics, if enabled.
Balance Changes
General
The Grounded status will now be a duration-based status effect (it will decrease by 1 at the beginning of each turn after barrier is gained)
Enemies
[Dev's Note: The data showed that my instincts about the game's difficulty curve were correct; making it past the first area was the biggest hurdle to a win, and once you are past the first area the rest of the run can be a bit trivial. This tells me that the first area is a bit more difficult than is desirable, and that the later areas are too easy. This definitely isn't my goal for the game, so I wanted to begin to adjust the run's difficulty curve. It's likely not perfect but I will continue to monitor this and make further balance adjustments. Note that the notes on balance changes to enemies will generally be less specific, as being specific about which attacks changed is tough since they aren't really named or easily identifiable.]
Armored Rat deals slightly less damage
Mace deals slightly less damage
Tiny Ogre deals slightly less damage
Hextress gains slightly less Might
The 4 Slimes combat in Area 1 now only has 3 slimes
Hexbeast deals slightly more damage and has 3 more base HP
Punch Warlocks attack deals an additional 1 damage
The Replicator's base HP has been reduced by 3
Armored Homunculus has 5 more base HP and deals more damage
Emerald Demon deals more damage
Ruby Demon deals more damage
Bladed Dancer has 7 additional base HP
Spore Shroom has 6 additional base HP
Spore Shroom's unit ability cost has been changed from Countdown 13 to Countdown 15
Arena Hero deals more damage in both phases of the fight
Master of the Armory deals more damage
Writing Slime deals more damage
Demon of Misfortune has 17 additional base HP, deals a bit more damage, and begins combat with an additional Hexproof
The Sacrifice has 10 additional base HP
Ogre Husk deals more damage and has 10 additional base HP
Cleric of Beauty has 15 additional base HP
Doom Wizard has 30 additional base HP
Parasitic Wurm deals more damage
Trickster has 10 additional base HP and deals more damage
Volatile Being has 18 additional base HP and an additional 5 in Worthiness
Origin of Sickness has 30 additional base HP and deals more damage
Ghost of Beauty has 40 additional base HP and deals more damage. Ghost of Beauty's multi-attack attacks an additional 2 times in Worthiness
Avatar of the Soul has 60 additional base HP and deals more damage. Avatar of the Soul's 3rd attack gains more barrier in Worthiness.
Dice Runes / Bodies
[Dev's note: The numbers for most of the dice runes and bodies were mostly good already, so most of the balancing work here is shuffling around rarities. I wouldn't expect a ton more changes to the runes or dice bodies moving forward]
Bolt Rune - Base damage: 6 > 4
Grounded Rune - Grounded gain: 3 > 4
Sear Rune - Burn inflicted: 1 > 2
Time Rune - Rarity change: Rare > Uncommon
Crystallize Rune - Rarity change: Uncommon > Rare
Repeat Rune - Rarity change: Common > Uncommon
Protection Dice Body - Base barrier: 10 > 9
Consecrated Dice Body - Rarity change: Uncommon > Rare
Spells
Gaiamancer
[Dev's note: Gaiamancer had the lowest win rate of the 3 main characters (a bit above 15%). I wanted to bring the balance of the 3 characters closer together, so Gaiamancer received some number of buffs. One of the larger changes to Gaiamancer is the change to Grounded, mentioned earlier. That's a bit of a debuff as Grounded proved to be quite strong, but lots of the Grounded-giving spells received buffs to the Grounded gain to make up for this if necessary.]
Blasting Sands - Dice cost: Min 7 > Any Body + Any Body
Boulder Toss - Damage: 22 > 24
Carved in Stone - Rarity change: Uncommon > Common
Carved in Stone - Damage: 6 > 8
Carve Power - Dice cost: Min 7 > Any + Min 7
Cleave the Mountain - Dice cost: Countdown 45 > Countdown 50
Connect with Gaia - DV requirement for Weak: 10 > 9
Coarse and Rough - Barrier: 5 > 9
Crop Rotation - Damage: 4 > 5
Deep Roots - Dice cost: Countdown 14 > Countdown 18
Drain Nutrients - Consume count: 3 > 4
Duneburst - Sandstorm Intensity gained: 5 > 4
Dune's Grasp - Consume count: 1 > 2
Fertilize - Might and Fortitude gain: 2 > 1
Fertilize - Consume count: 2 > 4
Fertilize - Charge count: 1 > 2
Force of Nature - Dice cost: Exact 1 + Exact 1 > Exact 1 + Any Rune
Gaia's Bounty - Copies of a dice without runes or bodies created: 3 > 2
Grounded Fist - Damage: DV + 6 > DV + 5
Herald the Sandstorm - Rarity change: Common > Uncommon
Herbal Remedy - Dice cost: Max 2 > Max 2 + Any Rune
Huddle Up - Barrier: 9 > 10
Landslide - Dice Cost: Countdown 8 > Countdown 7
Mined Explosives - Damage on spell consumed: 20 > 25
Mycelium - Dice cost: Max 2 + Max 2 > Max 3 + Max 3
Oasis - Grounded gained per sandstorm damage: 2 > 3
Plate Slip - Damage: 14 > 15
Poisoned Foliage - DV Requirement to inflict additional Weak/Vulnerable: 7 > 9
Quicksand - Dice cost: Min 7 + Any Rune > Min 6 + Any Rune
Ragna-Rock - Might and Fortitude gain: 4 > 3
Raze the Forest - Dice cost: Min 2 > Any Body
Raze the Forest - Grounded gain: 7 > 15
Regrowth - Dice cost: Any Body > Any Body + Any Body
Seek Shelter - Dice cost: Countdown 15 > Countdown 12
Staying Power - Barrier: 10 > 15
Superbloom - Rarity change: Common > Uncommon
Sweeping Kick - Damage: 7 > 8
Tectonic Lash - Damage: 8 > 9
Turn to Sand - Sandstorm Intensity on spell consumed: 2 > 3
Wrap in Sand - Consume count: 2 > 3
Pyromancer
[Dev's note: Pyromancer had the most appropriate win rate in my mind (at a bit over 21%) so the other characters were balanced generally in relation to Pyromancer. However there were large disparities in the winrates of pyromancer's spells, so changes were made to make the character more balanced holistically. Blueflame/Ethereal dice generation spells were generally too powerful, so many have been debuffed. And self-burn spells generally performed less well, so many were made more powerful. I'm hoping the result is a more dynamic character where the luck of your rewards are not as important.]
Attack (Pyromancer) - Damage: 3 + half DV > 4 + half DV
Blackflame Accelerant - Self-damage: 10 > 13
Blueflame Cycle - Charge count: 3 > 2
Blueflame Deflection - Barrier: 6 > 5
Blueflame Explosion - Consume count: 3 > 2
Blueflame Immolation - Ethereal dice generated: 6 > 5
Blueflame Meditation - Dice cost: Min 2 + Any Body > Exact 1 + Any Body
Blueflame Rotella - Dice cost: Even > Any Rune + Even
Blueflame Spark - Burn inflicted: 4 > 5
Blueflame Spear - Dice cost: Odd > Any Rune + Odd
Blueflame Tackle - Charge count: No Limit > 3
Blueflame Uroboros - Dice cost: Countdown 9 > Countdown 10
Burn and Run - Barrier: 4 > 5
Burn Ethereal - Rarity change: Uncommon > Rare
Burn Ethereal - Dice cost: Countdown 16 > Countdown 17
Conflagrate - Damage: 3 > 5
Embrace Heat - Barrier: 7 > 8
Engulf - Dice cost: Countdown 15 > Countdown 13
Flame of Symmetry - Charge count: No Limit > 3
Flame of Symmetry - Barrier and damage on matching dice value: 6 + DV > 4 + DV
Flame Stack - Consume count: 1 > 2
Flame Whip - Charge count: 2 > 3
Fuel the Fire - Barrier: 6 > 7
Gambit of Rage - Self-inflict Blackflame: 5 > 3
Heat Fist - Damage: 9 > 10
Know Flame - Charge count: 1 > 2
Melt Away - Damage: 12 > 13
Pain Lash - Damage: 12 > 15
Pain Protects - Dice cost: Max 2 > Max 4
Scatter Blackflame - Dice cost: Countdown 10 > Countdown 11
Scry the Flames - Barrier: 7 > 5
Share Pain - Consume count: 2 > 3
Shield of Ashes - Dice cost: Exact 1 + Exact 1 > Exact 1 + Any Rune
Spreading Roots - Charge: 3 > 2
Stoke the Blueflame - Dice cost: Max 2 + Max 3 > Exact 1 + Max 3
Vengeance - Damage: 23 > 25
Vengeance - Self-inflict Burn: 3 > 4
Thaumancer
[Dev's note: Thaumancer was the winningest of the 3 main characters by around twice Gaiamancer (at around a 31% win rate). Very few Thaumancer spells had a lower win rate than either of the 2 other characters, and all of Thaumancer's strategies were well represented. Having not seen the stats the last time I made balance changes (going mostly via player feedback, which sounds like was a loud minority of players who were simply not skilled with the character), I made many buffs that need to be reverted to bring the balance of the characters closer together, in addition to many other debuffs. Sorry to players who struggle to win with Thaumancer, but it's important to the health of the game as a whole to make sure the majority of players can still have a fun experience with a more well balanced spellset.]
Amass the Stormhead - Rarity change: Common > Uncommon
Avalanche - Consume count: 2 > 1
Bitter Cold - Dice cost: Max 2 > Exact 2
Blizzard - Dice cost: Any Body + Max 2 > Max 2 + Max 2
Blood Cloud - Rarity change: Uncommon > Common
Calm Before the Storm - Rarity change: Uncommon > Rare
Chaos Bolt - Charge count: 5 > 7
Cloud Cover - Consume count: No Limit > 3
Cold Front - Charge count: 3 > 2
Cold Front - Frost barrier: 3 > 5
Crashing Wave - Self-damage: 10 > 9
Crashing Wave - Temporary Might gain: 5 > 3
Electron Barrier - Dice cost: Exact 1 > Max 2
Electron Barrier - Barrier per charge depleted: 5x > 6x
Electrostatic Surge - Dice cost: Countdown 4 > Countdown 5
Energize - Consume count: 5 > 2
Energy Field - Consume count: 3 > 2
Energy Pulse - Energy Pulse gained: 9 > 6
Feel the Surge - Damage: 18 > 19
Fickle Bolt - Charge count: No Limit > 8
Flurry Stack - Rarity change: Rare > Uncommon
Frozen Aether - Might gain: 3 > 2
Gust of Wind - Dice cost: Min 5 > Exact 5
Hurricane Fist - Consume count: 4 > 3
Ice Shards - Frost barrier and damage: 10 > 8
Lightning Shield - Barrier on 10+ Storm: 12 > 10
Multibolt - Charge count: 3 > 5
Overdrive Bolt - Damage multiplier: 5x > 4x
Peace of Winter - Dice cost: Max 4 > Max 6
Peace of Winter - Charge count: 2 > 1
Precipitation - Barrier 2 > 3
Precipitation - Rarity change: Uncommon > Common
Rapid Chilling - Barrier: 15 > 13
Ride the Lightning - Charge count: 2 > 1
Rolling Shock - Charge count: 10 > 5
Rolling Shock - Self-damage: 3 > 4
Snowball - Charge count: 1 > 3
Snow Pile - Frost barrier: 6 > 7
Snow Plating - Fortitude gain: 2 > 1
Split Bolt - Damage: 6 > 5
Split Bolt - Charge count: 3 > 4
Static - Rarity change: Common > Uncommon
Static Barrage - Damage: 5 > 3
Storm God's Fury - Damage: 125 > 175
Storm God's Luck - Charge count: No limit > 4
Strike Twice - Rarity change: Common > Uncommon
Strike Twice - Damage: 10 > 9
Tempest - Dice cost: Max 3 + Min 7 > Any Rune + Min 7
Tumultuous Weather - Charge count: 4 > 3
Void Engine - Consume count: No Limit > 4
Voltage Transfer - Damage: 18 > 16
Voltaic Spear - Damage: 9 > 10
Volt Injection - Consume count: No Limit > 3
Wall of Rain - Charge count: No Limit > 2
Wild Gale - Damage and barrier: 5 > 4
The Archon
[Dev's note: The Archon is kind of a power fantasy character, so that the character was winning more than 50% of the time is no surprise. I have no interest in making The Archon play at the same lower power level as the other three characters, but I did notice that some of The Archon's spells were winning at close to 80-90% of the time, so I figured I'd balance them out a little.]
Bring Low - Dice cost: Countdown 25 > Countdown 35
Chaos Convergence - Consume count: 3 > 2
Gaze of Death - Dice cost: Any Body > Any Rune + Any Body
Golden Fist - Dice cost: Any Rune + Any Body > Any Rune + Min 7
Mana Nexus - Dice cost: Any Body > Max 2 + Any Body
Rising Dominance - Dice cost: Countdown 7 > Min 7
Closing Thoughts
I want to make sure the game balance is in a healthier place before I start to implement the Challenge Mode content update, so there will be a few more balance patches before I begin to work on that. Until then, I hope the changes here help make the game a bit more challenging of an experience late game, and to help improve run variety by making more of the spell pool viable!
-Thomas, PolyGryph