Partholon Vanguard Update

  • 6 years ago

February's update is here with more challenges for you to face! Send out your army of Level 95 mercenaries, take on a new Special Battle against two enemies with little need for finesse, take on a new set of Ein Lacher challenges, gobble up new weekly and monthly play rewards and get used to the changes that have come with a series of character updates.

Partholon Vanguard

One soldier can only do so much, and in a land as torn up by violence as Vindictus, it's time to organize your forces and show the Fomors what a team of powerful mercenaries can do!

The Partholon Vanguard allows you to take your collection of Level 95 characters and send them on special missions throughout Vindictus. Each one of your Level 95 characters can be assigned to an expedition, earning Antiquity Points, Partholon Experience and a variety of item rewards including potions, Enchant Scrolls, Crafting items and more!

Each of the Level 95 characters placed into your Vanguard will still be playable as normal, and will have traits and abilities matching their class that gives them special bonuses to boost the possible rewards from your Vanguard Missions. These missions can take some time to complete, so keep your eye on the Vanguard Mission Timers to maximize your progress.

You can also exchange Antiquity Points for a variety of items, including Intermediate Element Stones, unique titles, Seals of Bravery, fun toys and more. There's a wealth of prizes available, and more to come with special events, so don't pass up the free loot available and turn the whole of your army against the Fomors!

New Special Battle: Underground Assembly

A new Special Battle is here, and it's not exactly the most subtle, technical fight this time around: You're facing off against a pair of massive brutes, swinging around weapons bigger than anything even Karok or Hurk could comfortably wield!

Take on Steel Muspell and Controlled Black Hammer at the same time, just remember to try to keep your distance! Beat them both and claim the rewards, including chances at Dullahan's Essence, Abomination's Essence, Eochaid's Essence, the Scattered Essence box and more!

Ein Lacher Expansion

It's been a while since Ein Lacher was released, and with new story content and new missions coming out in the last year and a half, there's plenty more fodder to add to the Ein Lacher Challenge! Enjoy the following Boss Fights entering the Ein Lacher rotation:

  • World of Pain (Judge Jamiroff)
  • The Devil's Cook (Orlaith)
  • The Operating Room (Odhran the Maniac)
  • Rescue Mission (Captain Baethan)
  • A Moment's Notice (Hexad)
  • A Long, Dark Path (Eviscerator)
  • Frozen Land (Duvanak)
  • You Only Live Once (Abadok)
  • Impermanence (Erkanbald)
  • What to Believe In (Johanus)

Weekly and Monthly Missions

We're also expanding the Daily Missions feature into Weekly and Monthly Missions! These missions will have more strenuous requirements, like completing 30 Raid Battles in a week or triggering 60 Path Transformations in a month, but have superior rewards, including Goibhniu's Enhancement Stones, Premium Enhancement Runes and a Monthly Mission Ticket that can be exchanged in the Exchange Shop for the following items:

  • 12x Monthly Mission Tickets: Premium Armor Enhancement Rune (Protects Armor from destruction when Enhancing from +11 to +12)
  • 6x Monthly Mission Tickets: Enchant Rune (Protects items from destruction or durability loss when Enchanting)
  • 3x Monthly Mission Tickets: Destruction Safeguard Rune (Protects items from destruction on a failed Enhancement regardless of Level, however when consumed will reduce the Enhancement Level and Remaining Unbind Count by 1)

New Fiona Ability: Tireless

Fiona's received some special training with this new update. The Long Hammer is a formidable weapon in the right hands, but the heavy swings can take some getting used to. Fiona can now use Tireless to keep up the momentum, reducing the delay between all attacks for as long as she can keep things moving!

Skill Name Active: Tireless
Training Requirements
  • Level 58
Skill Rank Effects
  • Max Rank: Rank F
Activation Active Ability Quick Slot
Effects
  • Consumes 250 SP on use
  • Can only be used when a Long Hammer is equipped
  • When activated, Fiona focuses her energy on her Long Hammer strikes, reducing all attack delays
  • Lasts 120 seconds, and is extended slightly whenever you use one of the following abilities:
    • Crushing Swing: +3 seconds
    • Crushing Swing - Additional Attack: +3 seconds
    • Beetle Crusher: +5 seconds
    • Butterfly Swing: +2 Seconds
    • Butterfly Swing - Additional Attacks: +2 seconds
    • Stigma Hammer: +2 Seconds (including charged attack)
    • Active: Blooming Violet: +15 seconds
    • Perfect Guard: +5 seconds
  • 180 second cooldown
Skill Awakening
  • None

Class Balance Changes

Fiona's not the only one with some changes. We've unloaded a set of changes to most of our mercs, with Hurk, Fiona and Lann getting the most attention this time around.

Arisha

  • Arisha now starts of Battle Quests with 250 MP
  • Mana Tracer attack has increased range
  • While Ether Zone is active, each time Ether Zone inflicts damage it now restores 13 Stamina

Evie

  • Drain now consumes 10 Stamina when stationary (down from 15) and 20 Stamina when moving (down from 30)
  • 1-3 hit Scythe Smash attacks now have a wider and longer range
  • 4 Hit Scythe Smash attack is now longer, but narrower

Fiona

  • Focal Point now consumes 100 SP (down from 125)
  • Additional Focal Point attacks now consume 75 SP (up from 50)
  • After a Shield Dash, a Longsword-equipped Fiona can activate a special Focal Point strike with a Smash attack
  • Shield Dash now consumes 25 Stamina at rank 9 and above when activated with [Kick], instead of costing SP
  • Ivy Sweep’s kick can now be activated after Amaranth Kick
  • Can now combo into the Stigma Hammer attack after a Butterfly Swing attack, without utilizing Slashing High or Iron Defense
  • Crushing Swing can now be used after a sprint attack
  • Slightly improved the hitbox for Crushing Swing, and made it more smoothly transition into a normal attack
  • Starting at Rank 9 Shield Dash will consume STA instead of SP when activated via alternate controls

Hurk

Greatsword

  • Crescent damage slightly increased
  • Full Moon damage slightly decreased
  • Additional Transcendent ranks added (new max Rank 6 consumes a max of 15 HP per 1 Stamina)
  • Impenetrable now reduces damage taken on subsequent portions of multi-hit attacks, stacking with each hit
  • Revenge now restores a set amount plus 10%/12%/14%/16%/18%/20% of the damage inflicted as HP (down from 10%/13%/16%/19%/22%/25%)
  • Berserk’s cooldown increased from 1 min to 1min 30 sec
  • Berserk’s buff changed from an ATT increase to a DMG percent increase
  • Additional Berserk ranks added (new max rank 8 lasts for 17s, +4s when Impenetrable is used, max duration of 32s)
  • Judgment now restores 15 SP per hit
  • Additional Judgment ranks added (new max rank 8 has a 25% damage increase, 19% knockdown rate and 0.83s Invulnerable period)
  • Decimate damage slightly increased
  • Vortex awakening now stacks to 5 upon a full hit
  • Execution damage slightly increased
  • Execution can no longer have Damage Increase or Knockdown Rate Increased Skill Awakenings
  • Execution speed and range increased
  • Fixed an issue where Hurk would enter a Fatigued state while affected by Transcendent and changes to a Secondary weapon

Teide

  • Flesh Wound duration now 25s (up from 20s)
  • Open Wound duration now 20s (up from 15s)
  • Gaping Wound duration now 15s (up from 10s)
  • Reloading while standing still now loads 3 rounds (up from 2)
  • Bonus Reload while standing still now loads 3 rounds (up from 2) and can only be done once
  • Barrel Roll Dodge now loads 2 rounds (up from 1)
  • Enhanced Bullet reload after a Barrel Roll now affects 2 rounds (up from 1)
  • Deft Reload can now be used more quickly after Split Slash, Wicked Shot and Spinning Slash
  • Deft Reload now immediately removes the Overheat state when used

Karok

  • Blast: Terror Rush, Bison Stance and Stompede now apply a flat ATT speed buff instead of a percentage ATT Speed buff

Lann

  • Can now use Absolute Fury, a form of Gliding Fury, when sprinting and repeatedly using Normal and Smash attacks
    • Consumes 50 SP
    • Gliding Fury must be Rank 9 or above
    • A critical attack can lead into Lightning Fury
  • Using Gliding Fury while Sprinting at Rank 9 or above is called Absolute Fury and is now activated with a Normal attack instead of Smash
  • Can begin Sprinting slightly faster when using a Fury skill
  • Can use Slip Dash slightly faster when using a Fury skill
  • Fixed an issue preventing Lann from using Spear Dash after using a Fury skill

Delia

  • Falling Comet’s forward attack range has been slightly increased
  • Starbloom’s STA recovery changed from 80 to 120
  • SP consumption for Ion Thrust and Falling Comet used after Cosmic Blitz has been changed to 50
  • ATT SPD 7 effect has been added to the Keen status effect
  • The Exhaustion status has been removed upon use of Wild Star
  • Upon activating Zenith, the Fighting Spirit effect duration has been increased from 90 seconds to 120 seconds
  • The degree in which the Vigor buff disappears had been changed to the following:
    • 3rd stage Vigor removed after taking 3 hits
    • 2nd stage Vigor removed after taking 5 hits
    • 1st stage Vigor removed after taking 7 hits

Miri

  • Chainswing damage has been reduced by ~10%
  • When revived, Miri will always have at least 4 Flamebreath

Succubus Sales

The seductive designs of the Succubus Wings and Succubus Black Set have returned with the Partholon Vanguard Update! Claim these classic looks, grab the Limited Battle Priest and Battle Sister sets, grab the Primal Flame Dragonspine from the updated Hero's Lucky Box and more!

Learn more in the Succubus Sales post.

Temporal Box Events

February comes with a bevy of events to shine a light on all of this update's huge changes. Crack open a few Temporal Boxes, claim a special outfit reward from the newly added Partholon Vanguard, get all the Honor you can muster and give the new tag-team fight double the pain!

Learn more in the Temporal Box Events post.

Bug Fixes and Game Improvements

General

  • Fixed an issue with the incorrect Element Stone used in the Spirit Injection tutorial
  • Fixed an issue where some characters could not use skill sporadically after moving the Quick Slot window
  • Fixed an issue where pets spun wildly when they entered the Hot Springs
  • Fixed an issue with the mouse not working when players moved around the Town with active mouse
  • Fixed an issue where the returned mail history only showed the gold fee when Mail with gold attached is returned
  • Fixed an issue with chat and characters not syncing when both players are in the same area in Colhen Dock
  • Fixed an issue where Lynn and Hurk's unarmed punches did not work properly
  • Fixed an issue with the client sporadically crashing for the Battle joined by Arisha
  • Fixed an issue with the Character Name Change Coupon not being removed properly upon changing the character name

Gameplay

  • The Dark Knight or Paladin path now unlocks for the player after first receiving the corresponding Path of Duty or Path of Honor title
  • Fixed an issue where players were unable to complete the bonus objective Defeat 1 Goblin Trainer with spears (P) for the mission Reinforcements
  • Change the Goddess Grace given upon character creation to (Binding) item.
  • Added a function to prevent players from moving to the Avatar Shop while speaking with an NPC
  • Fixed a camera issue when the Juggernaut clings to the ceiling
  • Added a contingency for when Ellis is dead in Fomorian Technology story goal allowing players to complete the story
  • Using Directional Keys now disables the aim assist function for attacks when the 'Attacks where the camera faces' option is enabled
  • Decreased the gold reward for Battle completion
    • Season 3 Raid (Normal) completion reward decreased by 25%
    • Season 3 Raid (Hero) Difficulty Bonus reduced from 100% to 35%
    • Season 2 General Battle (Hero) Difficulty Bonus reduced from 50% to 35%

UI

  • Player inputted values now display with commas when trading via Marketplace, Shop, and Mail
  • Fixed an issue where players could not open the Quick Battle UI upon returning to the town after some Stories' ending cut scenes
  • Fixed an issue where players could alter UI text using Tab key in Join Party UI
  • Fixed an issue where the mouse-over glow effect was applied to unselected departure areas in the Battle Prep UI
  • Fixed a graphical error with the Quick Battle UI
  • Added scrolling function to the Exchange Shop's Coupon list
  • Fixed an issue where some items could not be linked
  • Fixed an issue where the Season 3 Battle of the Day notification message did not work properly
  • Added Notification function for items that are about to expire
  • Fixed an issue where the mailbox 'To' drop down didn't display the correct capitalization of player names from recent whispers
  • Fixed an issue where clicking the category tab did not refresh the list when searching the Supply Depot
  • Fixed an issue where mouse-over tooltips remained stuck on screen
  • Rental items are no longer be displayed in the item list for Enchant/Enhancement
  • The character info window's portrait will now change during Ceara Transformation
  • Fixed an issue with UI not refreshing when Blessing Stone is moved between Storage Chest and Shared Storage
  • Fixed an issue where the Luminary icon is not displayed or not being removed upon harvesting in some of the season 2/3 map
  • Added a warning pop up now displays upon purchasing an outfit item
  • Fixed a text issue with Lv.5 Dullahan weapon, leg, and chest armor power description incorrectly referencing Dullahan Destroyer instead of the Dullahan Dominator title

Graphics

  • Fixed an issue where Shayla's portrait was missing during The Way to Malina story
  • Fixed a graphics error with equipped Halloween female wraps

Arisha

  • Fixed an issue where Arisha could not transform
  • Fixed an issue with Mana Tracer's targeting

Known Issues

  • Expired Statuette Shards will continue being given for completing daily missions until the next maintenance