Test Server Update - November 3, 2023 - Game Update 139

New Character Creation
The process and interfaces used to create characters has been completely overhauled and streamlined. This includes new, upgraded versions of some of our most classic styles, new slimlines, and new streetwear.

New Tutorial
The new player tutorial just following character creation has been rebuilt to better introduce players to the game. Look for a smoother experience, updated environments, refreshed narrative, and more.

Repair Removal
Gear can no longer be damaged, broken, or repaired.

• Repair tabs have been removed from all vendors.
• Sale prices for dropped gear has been lowered in later episodes.
• Oracle Bot has a new passive (to replace the support ability that repaired gear).

Allies
Oracle Bot

• Passive 1 is now Task Manager
  • Rank 3: Recharge 10% Power after using 6 Abilities
  • Rank 4: Recharge 12.5% Power after using 5 Abilities
  • Rank 5: Recharge 15% Power after using 4 Abilities

Episode 46: Justice League Dark Cursed - Elite Plus
Elite Plus versions of the Cursed House of Mystery alert and of the Cursed Themyscira raid are now available, featuring further challenge and reward.

• Look for these Elite Plus versions in your On-Duty menu in their own queues alongside their Event, Normal, and Elite versions.

Bases

• Vendors in player houses that “dispense” items will now be called Dispensers
• Housing item subcategories will now scroll if the text is too long

Seasons Greedings

Larfleeze is back! Find and recover the stolen gifts in Metropolis and Gotham City before it’s too late! Look for “Yuletide Fear” (Villains) or “Winter Plunderland” (Heroes) in your Mission Journal. Or alternatively you can now use the Warp Menu to head directly to The House of Legends by selecting Season’s Greedings: Hal Jordan (Hero) or Season’s Greedings: Sinestro (Villain). There are also wondrous new feats to be found, along with style items and accessories to be earned! New Feats!

• The Iceman Cometh
• From the Land of Ice and Snow
• Eat the House and Home

Larfleeze’s greed can’t be satisfied so he is taking advantage of a heated battle between the Green Lanterns and the Sinestro Corps. Look for “Ring in the Holidays” in your Mission Journal. Players must complete “Yuletide Fear” or “Winter Plunderland” and “Season’s Greedings” in order to receive the “Ring in the Holidays” Daily Mission. Each day of the event, look for “Season’s Greedings” and “Ring in the Holidays” in your Mission Journal to complete the mission and earn Holly Leaves. Don’t forget to check out the Green and Yellow Lantern gifts to get the latest winter clothing, holiday goodies, and festive base items!

Ability Balance Changes
Fire - Absorb Heat

• Fixed a bug causing Absorb Heat to preserve its HoT effect even when cancelled
• Increased Healing by 20% per tick
  • Players were using a bug to gain more healing than intended by block canceling. The bug has been fixed but I adjusted the healing from the effect to compensate for the fix. Players that were cancelling will not see as big a decrease and players who used it as intended will receive a buff.

Earth - Brick

• Removed the FX indicating that you were sharing damage with brick
  • It's visually distracting for something that never falls off unless Brick dies, and we have several ways to show that to players that doesn't need to be messaged with an FX.
• Removed Jackhammer and replaced with a new move called "Earthshatter"
  • Jackhammer was a strange move for Brick to cast since it often would lock him in place causing him to get himself killed from Area of Effect attacks.
• New Ability: Earthshatter
  • Earthshatter: A fast Area of effect attack (same range as jackhammer), dealing roughly 2.2x damage vs. a single jackhammer hit, and provides brick with 5s of 25% damage mitigation
    • This was created to grant brick a fast and powerful move. Allowing him to move onto his next priority in his AI strat quickly, along with the short duration damage mitigation, should better protect him from errant damage effects.

Earth - Crystal

• Created a new variant of Shuriken Storm for Crystal and added it to Crystal's basic attack combo profile
  • The intent here is to help raise Crystal's Area of Effect potential, by granting them a new move.

Sorcery - Fury/Watcher/Guardian

• Removed FX
  • It's visually distracting so it has been removed to improve clarity.

Sorcery - Fury

• Replaced Pulse Beam (Handblaster Channel) from their Basic attack combo profile with Scissor kick (Handblaster Combo)
  • Pulse Beam was a rather long channel that could get Fury killed by channeling it, so it was replaced with a similar move from the Handblaster tree.

Character Create

• Fixed the ordering of face styles in character create and Gentleman Ghost vendor

Tutorial

• Spider Robots are now destroyed during the hangar invasion force cinematic

Ally
Oracle Bot

• Power back reduced to 8/10/12.5
• Ability cast requirement raised to 8/7/6
  • When balancing Oracle, my original numbers were taking in account the CR cost of powers and using that to form the baseline for the ability, and I realize in retrospect that this was short sighted and I have updated the ability to properly account for all the different ways players can increase their power pool without increasing their CR. I tuned both angles so that it retained some level of value without being to difficulty to engage with.

Episode 46: Justice League Dark Cursed
JLDC: Cursed Themyscira

• Fixed issue causing Ethereal Hecate to get knocked out of the center when doing her spinning Water Spray attack
• Elite Plus
  • Increased range of Cursed Wonder Woman's Whirlwind Lasso Pushback for NPCs
  • Fixed bug causing Circe's Curse to apply to nearby players after the attack/animation is over
  • Fixed bug causing Bestiamorphs' Meteor Smash to damage nearby players after the attack/animation is over
  • In Circe/Wonder Woman fight, Bestiamorph buffs now get immediately removed when a Bestiamorph is defeated
  • Replaced FX tell for Circe's curse ability

JLDC: Cursed House of Mystery

• Deadman's Soul Steal ability will no longer transform tanks
• Elite Plus
  • Swamp Thing will heal far slower in seed pod while heal debuffed by controller
  • Etrigan will no longer charge while mirages are up in Elite Plus

Missions

• The Missions BOUNTY: Gotham Heroes!, BOUNTY: Metropolis Heroes!, WANTED: Gotham Villains!, and WANTED: Metropolis Villains! now more clearly identify themselves as PvP.