Realmers!
It has been a while since you were able to join our testing session. This weekend we are back with a remodeled version of the enchantment system! We clearly heard your feedback about making the system seasonality exclusive and changing this. More about this is down below.
Additionally, you will be able to test changes to dungeon difficulties.
Enchantments
The Enchantment system consists of several ways to enhance existing items with bonuses such as extra damage, stat boosts, on-hit procs and the like. For the most part this will take the form of collecting a new currency – Dust – and spending it with an Enchanter to enhance Tiered equipment. In this way even mundane drops will become better and able to take your characters further into the planned new endgame tiers. In addition, small batches of UT’s and ST’s will be given specific combinations of Enchantments to upgrade them with new and interesting abilities.
Rebalance Overview
After the last PT, we have decided to remove the Seasonal Character requirement from the Enchantments system. This has prompted a rebalance of the concept.
Overall, the previous iteration of Enchantments was geared towards allowing Seasonal characters to become quite powerful in the end stages of a Season. With this requirement removed, the content has to become the first step of an upgrade system to move the player into the new endgame content shown with Dungeon Difficulties. This means that the bonuses given by the Enchantments have been reduced in power, and the flow of them into the game throttled back. As the endgame extends, more slots will open up, more dust will be unlocked, and more slots will become available. As it stands though the following rules have been applied:
- Engravings have not been changed
- See below for details.
- Tiered items have a maximum of ONE slot available.
- Only one dust currency (Green) is available.
- This is a fully virtual currency that can only be gathered by end-game dungeons.
- Currently, it has been implemented in the Shatters, the Steamworks, and Oryx 3 dungeons for testing.
- Dust is tightly capped to prevent players from hoarding it to make expansions to the system trivial to buy out as soon as they are released.
Enchantments and Seasonality
As noted, Seasonal Characters are no longer required to use Enchantments. However, Seasonal Characters do get bonuses to the following:
- They have an increased value of Dust dropped for them in dungeons.
- They have a higher chance of getting Engravings
- Currently, this is set very high for testing but will be reduced in the future.
- They have a higher chance that an item will drop for them with an enchantment slot.
Accessing Enchantments
Enchantments can currently be accessed through the Enchanter, which is located in the Vault in the North East corner – opposite the Blacksmith.
Characters can interact with them to bring up the Enchantments Menu:
| Menu Key | |
| 1 | List of enchantable items – if an item can be enchanted, it will appear here. |
| 2 | Currently selected item |
| 3 | Filter – display everything, UT/STs or tiered equipment only. |
| 4 | Enchantment slots – currently always show 4, but the placeholder graphics shows which slots are currently used. |
| 5 | Locked Enchantment Slot – this slot can be purchased. If there is no button next to the slot it cannot be purchased. |
| 6 | List of Enchantments – shows only those available to buy or use on this item. If an enchantment cannot be applied it will not be shown.NOTE – Tooltips on mousing over an enchantment are coming. They have not been implemented yet due to other, higher-priority changes coming first. As a rule of thumb, a stat bonus adds +3 to a stat, a change to range/speed applies 10-15%, and onhit effects for abilities will mimic the ability as closely as possible. |
| 7 | An enchantment which can be purchased for this item. |
| 8 | Green Dust store – other dust icons will be removed. |
Unlocking Slots
Unlocking slots will take a cost in Dust, depending on the item. An item needs to be generated with slots in order to unlock them though!
For this PT, all of the Tiered items will have up to one slot when they are generated. All UT’s will have exactly 1 slot. These will cost Dust to unlock, although the exact value needed has not yet been balanced.
Not every Tiered item has the ability to spawn with slots. Below is the table of the items which can be enchanted:
| Item Name | Type | Tier | Slot Unlock Cost | Max Slots |
| Bow of Covert Havens | BOW | T12 | 200 | 1 |
| Bow of Mystical Energy | BOW | T13 | 200 | 1 |
| Bow of Deep Enchantment | BOW | T14 | 200 | 1 |
| Cloak of Ghostly Concealment | CLOAK | T6 | 200 | 1 |
| Cloak of Nightmares | CLOAK | T7 | 200 | 1 |
| Dagger of Foul Malevolence | DAGGER | T12 | 200 | 1 |
| Dagger of Sinister Deeds | DAGGER | T13 | 200 | 1 |
| Dagger of Dire Hatred | DAGGER | T14 | 200 | 1 |
| Bloodshed Blades | DUALBLADE | T12 | 200 | 1 |
| Moonstone Blades | DUALBLADE | T13 | 200 | 1 |
| Soulforged Blades | DUALBLADE | T14 | 200 | 1 |
| Celebrant Flail | FLAIL | T12 | 200 | 1 |
| Divine Flail | FLAIL | T13 | 200 | 1 |
| Gravelord’s Flail | FLAIL | T14 | 200 | 1 |
| Acropolis Armor | HEAVY | T13 | 200 | 1 |
| Dominion Armor | HEAVY | T14 | 200 | 1 |
| Annihilation Armor | HEAVY | T15 | 200 | 1 |
| Helm of the Great General | HELM | T6 | 200 | 1 |
| Helm of the Tribune | HELM | T7 | 200 | 1 |
| Masamune | KATANA | T12 | 200 | 1 |
| Sadamune | KATANA | T13 | 200 | 1 |
| Kusanagi | KATANA | T14 | 200 | 1 |
| Hydra Skin Armor | LEATHER | T13 | 200 | 1 |
| Wyrmhide Armor | LEATHER | T14 | 200 | 1 |
| Leviathan Armor | LEATHER | T15 | 200 | 1 |
| Longbow of the Endless Sky | LONGBOW | T12 | 200 | 1 |
| Longbow of the Morning Spirit | LONGBOW | T13 | 200 | 1 |
| Longbow of the Midnight Diamond | LONGBOW | T14 | 200 | 1 |
| Skyward Lute | LUTE | T6 | 200 | 1 |
| Nebular Lute | LUTE | T7 | 200 | 1 |
| Sovereign Mace | MACE | T6 | 200 | 1 |
| Grandmaster Mace | MACE | T7 | 200 | 1 |
| Morning Star of Repentance | MORNINGSTAR | T12 | 200 | 1 |
| Morning Star of Conjuration | MORNINGSTAR | T13 | 200 | 1 |
| Morning Star of Reckoning | MORNINGSTAR | T14 | 200 | 1 |
| Planefetter Orb | ORB | T6 | 200 | 1 |
| Dimensiongate Orb | ORB | T7 | 200 | 1 |
| Baneserpent Poison | POISON | T6 | 200 | 1 |
| Necrofish Poison | POISON | T7 | 200 | 1 |
| Prism of Apparitions | PRISM | T6 | 200 | 1 |
| Prism of Reveries | PRISM | T7 | 200 | 1 |
| Quiver of Elvish Mastery | QUIVER | T6 | 200 | 1 |
| Quiver of the Autumn King | QUIVER | T7 | 200 | 1 |
| Ring of Exalted Wisdom | RING | T5 | 200 | 1 |
| Ring of Exalted Vitality | RING | T5 | 200 | 1 |
| Ring of Exalted Speed | RING | T5 | 200 | 1 |
| Ring of Exalted Magic | RING | T5 | 200 | 1 |
| Ring of Exalted Health | RING | T5 | 200 | 1 |
| Ring of Exalted Dexterity | RING | T5 | 200 | 1 |
| Ring of Exalted Defense | RING | T5 | 200 | 1 |
| Ring of Exalted Attack | RING | T5 | 200 | 1 |
| Ring of Unbound Wisdom | RING | T6 | 200 | 1 |
| Ring of Unbound Vitality | RING | T6 | 200 | 1 |
| Ring of Unbound Speed | RING | T6 | 200 | 1 |
| Ring of Unbound Magic | RING | T6 | 200 | 1 |
| Ring of Unbound Health | RING | T6 | 200 | 1 |
| Ring of Unbound Dexterity | RING | T6 | 200 | 1 |
| Ring of Unbound Defense | RING | T6 | 200 | 1 |
| Ring of Unbound Attack | RING | T6 | 200 | 1 |
| Ring of Decades | RING | UT | 200 | 1 |
| The Forgotten Ring | RING | UT | 200 | 1 |
| Robe of the Grand Sorcerer | ROBE | T13 | 200 | 1 |
| Robe of the Star Mother | ROBE | T14 | 200 | 1 |
| Robe of the Ancient Intellect | ROBE | T15 | 200 | 1 |
| Scepter of Storms | SCEPTER | T6 | 200 | 1 |
| Scepter of the Firmament | SCEPTER | T7 | 200 | 1 |
| Seal of the Blessed Champion | SEAL | T6 | 200 | 1 |
| Seal of Invocation | SEAL | T7 | 200 | 1 |
| Great Shinobi Sheath | SHEATH | T6 | 200 | 1 |
| Sonic Wave Sheath | SHEATH | T7 | 200 | 1 |
| Colossus Shield | SHIELD | T6 | 200 | 1 |
| Shield of Orcish Regalia | SHIELD | T7 | 200 | 1 |
| Doom Circle | SHURIKEN | T6 | 200 | 1 |
| Dynastic Star | SHURIKEN | T7 | 200 | 1 |
| Bloodsucker Skull | SKULL | T6 | 200 | 1 |
| Mindwaster Skull | SKULL | T7 | 200 | 1 |
| Elemental Detonation Spell | SPELL | T6 | 200 | 1 |
| Burning Retribution Spell | SPELL | T7 | 200 | 1 |
| Spellblade of the Sun | SPELLBLADE | T12 | 200 | 1 |
| Spellblade of the Heavens Light | SPELLBLADE | T13 | 200 | 1 |
| Spellblade of the Everlasting Death | SPELLBLADE | T14 | 200 | 1 |
| Staff of the Cosmic Whole | STAFF | T12 | 200 | 1 |
| Staff of the Vital Unity | STAFF | T13 | 200 | 1 |
| Staff of the Fundamental Core | STAFF | T14 | 200 | 1 |
| Sword of Acclaim | SWORD | T12 | 200 | 1 |
| Sword of Splendor | SWORD | T13 | 200 | 1 |
| Sword of Majesty | SWORD | T14 | 200 | 1 |
| Skyslash Tachi | TACHI | T12 | 200 | 1 |
| Sunset Tachi | TACHI | T13 | 200 | 1 |
| Godslayer Tachi | TACHI | T14 | 200 | 1 |
| Tome of Holy Guidance | TOME | T6 | 200 | 1 |
| Tome of Hallowed Language | TOME | T7 | 200 | 1 |
| Giantcatcher Trap | TRAP | T6 | 200 | 1 |
| Depthchaser Trap | TRAP | T7 | 200 | 1 |
| Royal Wakizashi | WAKIZASHI | T6 | 200 | 1 |
| Virtuous Wakizashi | WAKIZASHI | T7 | 200 | 1 |
| Wand of Recompense | WAND | T12 | 200 | 1 |
| Wand of Evocation | WAND | T13 | 200 | 1 |
| Wand of Retribution | WAND | T14 | 200 | 1 |
The list of UT items which can be given Engravings will be covered in the Unlocking section below.
Known Issue – Unlocking Slots
At the moment you will need to change areas after you gain an item in order for the slots to be unlockable. If you give yourself something in the Vault, then open the menu, you may see the following error:
If you do, go to the Nexus and back, and you should be able to unlock the slots as expected.
Also – If the game disconnects on purchasing enchantments or a slot on an item, relaunch the game and it should be fixed.
Unlocking Enchantments
There are two ways to unlock and apply enchantments, and this depends on the items you are trying to apply the enchantment to:
Tiered Items
Tiered items require Dust – a new currency which comes in just Green for now. Green will be the most common, with other Dusts becoming available with the addition of higher level content.
To gain Dust you can complete the Shatters, The Steamworks, and Oryx 3. This will give you Green dust at a rate of ~150 per run, up to a cap of 2k.
The current enchantments for Tiered items are simple levers which affect (usually) a single aspect of the weapon or item. For instance, there are extra stats, extra range, larger projectiles, etc.
- Weapons have the most variety right now, as they have DPS related stats boosts, as well as options to change aspects of the weapons performance.
- Rings are equally versatile:
- The current logic is that you can turn any ring into either a dual-purpose ring or enhance its stats further.
- Armors add defensive stats, and also have a variety of on-hit procs, from healing to temporary stat boosts.
- Abilities add MP, as well as Speed and Wisdom.
- Abilities also have an on-hit ‘mimic’, which will deploy a version of the ability itself when taking damage.
- This does not cost Mana, and does not perfectly mimic the ability in many cases.
To unlock and apply an Enchantment, you must:
- Select an item from the list of those which can be enchanted.
- This will show a list of the options to have in the Enchantments list.
- You can then pay Dust to unlock each specific Enchantment.
- This will remain unlocked for just that item.
- So, for example:
- You select Spellblade of the Heavens Light
- You choose to unlock ATT BonI.
- This means that JUST THAT Spellblade of the Heaven’s Light will be able to apply this enchantment.
Once an enchantment has been unlocked, you can apply it to slots, so long as it is a legal option.
As noted – the removal of Seasonality means that Enchantments will remain unlocked on individual items and this will be permanent. You will no longer lose Enchantments at the end of the season, and they can be edited by non-Seasonal characters.
UT’s
Most UTs follow a different pattern to Tiered items, due to their complexity. As you might imagine, given how many UTs follow specific fire patterns and have unusual bonuses, allowing them to take a +X% fire rate or even adding extra projectiles to them could cause them to break or become overpowered.
This is why high-level UTs will use a system called ‘Engravings’ to apply Enchantments. Each Engraving will apply a package of tailored Enchantments to the UT which should keep it balanced and not break any special fire patterns or other upgrades it has. This also allows us to focus on a smaller group of such items per batch, theme them to events and dungeons, etc.
For this PT the following UTs can be Enchanted with Engravings:
| Item Name | Type | Gained From |
| Steam Pipe | Staff | Steamworks |
| Avarice | Dagger | 03 |
| Laser Pointer | Wand | Steamworks |
| Enforcer | Katana | 03 |
| Divinity | Sword | 03 |
| Bow of the Void | Bow | Void |
| Diplomatic Robe | Robe | 03 |
| Vest of Abandoned Shadows | Leather | Shatters |
| Gladiator Guard | Heavy | 03 |
| Overclocking Amulet | Ring | Steamworks |
The Engravings they gain will be dropped from the Steamworks, although they will eventually be limited to Hard mode only. These Engravings will apply the following bonuses:
| Name | Applies To | Description |
| Iron Plating | Armour | Increases the defense of the item, and adds an on-hit heal effect. |
| Kogbold Spirit | Ring | Increases Hitpoints and Defence. |
| Heavy Hitter | Weapon | Increased damage, and projectile size. The projectiles also move slower but retain the same range. |
| Gatling Shots | Weapon | Decreases damage and projectile size. Also, increases firing rate and projectile speed without increasing range. |
Engravings work differently to normal Enchantments in that they require a consumable object to apply them. To test, you can give yourself
- Iron Plating Engraving
- Kogbold Spirit Engraving
- Heavy Hitter Engraving
- Gatling Shots Engraving
If you have these items in your inventory you will be able to apply the Engraving like a normal Enchantment. IE, select the item, and select to apply the Engraving. This will bring up a confirmation box and cost 1 copy of the Engraving.
Engravings CANNOT be removed or replaced after application, nor can they stack. So you cannot have Gatling Shots and Heavy Hitter on the same weapon, nor stack Iron Platings. Nor can you swap Gatling for Heavy after it has been applied.
- Vault is locked for enchanting, you will have to move items in inventory before enchanting.
- Trading is locked after you unlock an enchantment slot on an item.
- UTs or Tiered items that do not have enchantment slot are not displayed in the enchantments menu.
Coming Soon
As might be expected, the change to the Seasonality of the system has reduced the scope of the Enchantments which will be launched. A number of options such as applying condition effects on shots and MP cost reduction have been shelved until we can spend more time tweaking them. They will be released eventually, but since we are only going to have one slot per item, they are being pushed until we have more high-level content to drop Dust and multi-slot items.
Dungeon Difficulties
You already know what dungeon difficulties are from here.
In this session, we want to show you the changes since the last public testing and get some early opinions yet again.
We’ve seen your feedback about the “Difficulty 10” naming – you’ve made some good points! We will review the other options and see if we can find one which fits.
We’ve also heard your thoughts on Hard Mode and we understand that there’s a preference for changes in gameplay mechanics over a simple increase in enemy HP and damage. We definitely want to ensure a challenging, not tedious, gaming experience. For this public testing, we want you to try the harder version of Steamworks again, this time with enchanted equipment, and see if it still feels the same way.
As for the survival phase, we want to provide some insight into the perma-sicken aura. We’ve actually done some closed testing with builds that don’t include it. While we see where you’re coming from and agree it could be more dynamic, we think the sick aura is currently necessary to prevent certain “cheesy” tactics that can undermine the challenge of the attack.
The changes available in this Public Testing are mainly for the Survival Phase. It was redone from scratch, trying to incorporate more elements from the original fight. It is still a work in progress so you can expect more changes in future sessions, but we think it’s important to see if we are moving in the right direction.
Thanks for the constructive feedback and don’t hesitate to share your thoughts again this time! If you have some new feedback on things that were unchanged from the previous public testing, feel free to share it as well!