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[Developer's Note] July Update Preview

7 hours ago

Hello, this is DEV Allanon.

In today's Developer's Note, I'd like to give you an early look at the major changes coming with the July update.

This update bundles together a new raid battle, an overhaul of the Aggro system, character utility improvements, and damage adjustments. Let me walk you through them one by one.

New Raid Battle – Esras

A new raid boss monster, Esras, is being added. Since we believe the greatest fun of a battle comes from facing it head-on and experiencing it yourself, I'll focus first on the stats you'll need to prepare and the rewards you can earn, rather than the attack patterns.

■ Entry Requirements

The minimum entry stats (Quick Battle standard) are as follows:

Stat	Entry Requirement
Attack (Magic Attack)	66,120
Defense	39,750
Critical	354
Balance	202
Defense Penetration	390
Additional Damage	8,650

There is no separate Attack cap. Please refer to the boss's main resistance stats below:

Category	Value
Level	125
Critical	427
Critical Resistance	328
Balance Resistance	111

■ New Equipment Items

The Esras battle adds a new material that can promote weapons to Rare grade. It also adds material items for crafting the hand armor Eriu Gauntlets and the new ring Mortal Coil.

The Eriu Gauntlets can be promoted from Regular grade all the way to Legendary grade. The detailed stats for each grade will be available in future KR Test Server Patch Notes.

You can also obtain the new ring Mortal Coil, and it's possible to equip two Mortal Coils at once. However, the set effect only activates when you equip it together with the Dominion Coil, the ring that pairs with the Mortal Coil. The Dominion Coil is scheduled to be added in the November update, and equipping both rings together will activate an additional set effect of Critical +4.

We've designed the Mortal Coil to deliver more than enough performance on its own right now, and once the Dominion Coil is added later on, it's structured to become even stronger through the set effect.

In addition to equipment items, two new Enchant Scrolls are being added.

The Imbuing Enchant Scroll, a Rank 3 prefix enchant that can be applied to Hand/Feet slots, is being added, along with the Wandering Enchant Scroll, a Rank 3 prefix enchant that can be applied to rings. Both enchants can be obtained as drops from the Esras battle, and we'll share their detailed stats through the Test Server patch notes.

Also please be noted that all English names are not finalized and may change in the actual update.

■ Weekly Mission

Completing the Esras battle 7 times rewards you with an Esras' Essence Box [AS]. Opening the box grants 1 Essence of Esras, which becomes bound to the character that opened it.

Aggro System Overhaul

We're completely overhauling the long-standing Aggro system in this update.

First, let me explain how the current Aggro system works.

A boss monster selects its target right before starting a new pattern. This selection uses a mixed method of Aggro value + proximity-priority selection. A character who has built up a lot of Aggro has a high chance of being targeted, but other characters within reach of the boss is also considered as a target.

Once a target is selected and the pattern attack begins, the Aggro values of all party members are reset. The next target is then chosen based on the Aggro that party members newly build up between the end of that pattern and the start of the next one.

In other words, Aggro is contested in the short windows between patterns.

Proximity-priority selection is intentional by design. If a boss monster's target changes too frequently, the boss moves around more often, which can break the flow of combat or lead to an unpleasant experience. To prevent this and maintain a smooth, organic combat flow, we designed the system to give a certain degree of priority to nearby characters.

That said, this weighting had been set differently for each boss. These were values individually tuned around the combat style and meta at the time each boss was first designed, but we determined that, in the current combat environment, the rationale behind those settings has gradually been diluted.

In this overhaul, we plan to unify this previously boss-specific weighting to 30% across the board.

The core of this overhaul is unifying the Aggro of all actions under a single standard. Aggro value is designed as a concept similar to damage contribution: the more damage you deal and the more actively you act, the naturally higher it becomes.

Differences will also arise based on attack type. Ranged actions will be adjusted to generate lower Aggro than melee actions, and this will be applied per action rather than per character. For a character that uses both ranged and melee attacks, it will apply individually according to the nature of each action. Additionally, actions that take in an enemy's attack—such as Guard or Counter—are also designed to contribute to Aggro, so it's not just about hitting a lot; active participation in combat itself leads to Aggro.

The Aggro of combat support actions is being adjusted as well.

Previously, some support actions—such as using a Potion or performing Armor Repair—had an uneven impact on Aggro relative to their actual party contribution. In this overhaul, we've changed the Aggro contribution of support actions to align it broadly with party contribution levels, correcting things so that players who actively participate in combat naturally take on higher Aggro. Among these, the action of reviving an ally has been adjusted to a higher weighting, in consideration of its impact on the entire party.

In truth, the Aggro system hasn't been managed as meticulously as the damage system over the years. With this update, we've now laid the groundwork to manage Aggro data on a log basis, just like damage. Going forward, we'll carefully monitor whether the system is working as intended and whether anything needs adjusting, and we'll keep refining it.

Detailed values may be adjusted further before the Official Server release based on your feedback.

Character Utility Improvements & Damage Adjustments

This update includes utility improvements and damage increases for Twin Swords Lann and Delia, along with some utility improvements for Spellwhip Arisha.

We're also changing the damage values of some characters as part of an overall character damage balance adjustment.

■ Lann – Twin Swords

For Twin Swords Lann, we've focused on bringing out more of the fun when a Critical hit lands and on giving more breathing room to Skill Points management during combat. Along with the utility improvements, damage has been increased as well, raising overall combat power.

Raging Fever Cooldown Reduction: Each hit of Lightning Fury reduces Raging Fever's cooldown by 2 seconds. Additionally, when Raging Fever hits, Swift Fury's cooldown is reduced by 1 second (up to 2 seconds including the follow-up attack).
Gust Stinger Full Charge Combo Adjustment: Previously, repeatedly chaining fast Raging Fever after a fully charged Gust Stinger was excessively strong at high spec levels, which dampened the fun of using a variety of skills. To improve this, the damage of the fast Raging Fever chained immediately after a fully charged Gust Stinger is reduced by 20%.
SP Generation Improvement: Activating Risky Wind instantly restores 10 SP. The SP restored on a successful Double Crescent hit is increased from 20 to 30.
Double Crescent Recovery Reduction & Movement Distance Improvement: The frames transitioning from a Double Crescent attack into the next action are shortened, making combat chaining feel more natural. There was also an issue where casting Double Crescent after dodging backward wouldn't reach the boss; this improvement increases Double Crescent's movement distance overall to resolve it.
Gliding Fury / Lightning Fury Improvements: The attack hitbox range of the Fury-line attacks is increased. Lightning Fury (Twin Swords) gains dodge-invincibility frames, and the cooldowns of Absolute Fury and Swift Fury are separated (Absolute Fury 15s / Swift Fury 10s).
Active Skill Combo Improvement: The combo structure is improved so that active skills like Berserker Spirit, Slashing High, and Fury No. 7 can be triggered more quickly during attacks. This also applies identically to Lann using Twin Spears.
Damage Increase: The damage of major skills—Double Crescent, Gliding Fury, Lightning Fury, Raging Fever, Gust Stinger, and more—is increased overall.

■ Delia

For Delia, we worked on improving the combat flow so she can focus on the boss without having to use Smashes into empty air. Along with the utility improvements, the damage of key skills is increased as well.

Simplified Normal Attack Combo: The core thrill of Delia's combat lies in landing the Comet skills. However, to trigger Rising Comet and Falling Comet, you previously had to go through the intermediate Smashes (Rings of Saturn, Orbital Flurry) first.
- The previous activation sequence was as follows:
  - (Attack) – (Attack) – (Smash) – (Smash: timed)
  - (Attack) – (Attack) – (Attack) – (Smash) – (Smash: timed)
- With this improvement, you can now connect directly into the Comet without the intermediate Smashes:
  - (Attack) – (Attack) – (Smash: timed)
  - (Attack) – (Attack) – (Attack) – (Smash: timed)
- We've preserved Delia's signature fun of pressing a timed Smash to trigger the Comet, while simplifying the entry process to improve usability. The motion of the 3rd normal attack is replaced with the Orbital Flurry motion, while the damage and controls remain the same.
Zenith Cancel Timing Improvement: After casting Active: Zenith, it can be canceled into Guard, dodge, or normal attack starting from frame 10 (previously frame 250).
Cosmic Blitz Invincibility Added: The charge skill Active: Cosmic Blitz gains dodge-invincibility frames, and the activation frames of the normal attacks chained afterward are also shortened.
Comet-line Combo Improvement: After using Rising Comet or Falling Comet, you can now chain directly into a normal attack.
Full Moon Guard Combo Fix: Fixed an issue where dodge-invincibility was missing in the segment transitioning from Active: Full Moon into Guard.
Rose's Revenge Condition Change: Previously, the status effect disappeared when its duration ended or when a Smash was used; after the change, it is removed when the duration ends or when an attack lands.
Damage Increase: The damage of Rising Comet and Falling Comet is increased.

■ Arisha – Spellwhip

For Spellwhip Arisha, we're improving the Stamina generation structure and Guard detection that are core to combat sustainability.

Stamina Generation Improvement: Currently, Spellwhip Arisha recovers most of her Stamina through Active: Inspiration. This skill consumes 500 SP, and you must trigger it via command after a successful A Battuta to reduce the SP cost. However, the command timing is tricky to hit and the requirement to successfully block was a burden, and the per-second Stamina recovery alone often wasn't enough to sustain continuous use of key skills. This improvement simplifies the SP-reduction steps when triggering the command skill after a successful A Battuta guard, and raises Inspiration's per-second Stamina recovery to improve combat sustainability. Active: Motivation is modified in the same way.
Guard Detection Improvement: Spellwhip Arisha had an issue where the time it takes to attempt another Guard after a failed Guard was longer than for other characters. This fix lets her quickly resume a Guard stance after a failed Guard, and the overall Guard-able window is also extended slightly.

■ Damage Adjustments

This update reviews overall character damage balance and adjusts some characters. The damage adjustments were made based on recent actual play data.

Lynn – Glaive (Damage Increase): Glaive Lynn maintains a mid-tier level in raid environments, but her damage in the Space-Time Distortion environment ranks among the lowest of all weapons, so we determined that a significant upward adjustment was needed. Damage is increased for frequently used skills such as Swift Assassin, Zhen Swift Assassin, Active: Long Armed Devil, Fishtail Pole, and Drunk Mantis.
Evie – Staff (Damage Decrease): Staff Evie currently ranks among the highest in damage of all weapons in raid environments. To keep the damage gap from widening too much, we're making a slight downward adjustment centered on the commonly used 3rd-stage charge skills. The adjustment is kept within a range that won't significantly affect the combat experience, and she'll still deliver more than enough power.

Other Planned Changes

■ Special Dungeon Battle Change

The target battles for the Special Dungeon are being swapped. The newly opening Special Dungeon battles this time are [Special] Battle of Rocheste and [Special] Spearhead of Paradise Lost.

Along with this Special Dungeon change, new regular equipment Outfit crafting recipes are also being added. Applying Core Boost lets you obtain an Outfit Recipe Scroll, and registering that recipe lets you craft an Outfit set through Armorsmithing or Tailoring crafting at Artisan proficiency or higher. The types of newly added Outfit sets can be found in the official patch notes.

■ Shadow's Castle – Boss Monster Change

Among the boss monsters appearing in Shadow's Castle, the Shadow of Pantheum is being replaced with a different monster.

The Shadow of Pantheum's basic stance is itself a floating, airborne form, and in some patterns it moves across the top of characters' heads, causing attacks to miss. It also had many patterns of moving widely left and right, which created an unfair environment for characters that benefit from concentrating damage while standing in place. To address various inconveniences—including an issue where some of Kai's skills didn't work properly—we've prepared a replacement with a boss whose combat style is more intuitive. Specific information about the replacement monster will be revealed at a later date.

We're always open to your opinions and feedback regarding the planned changes. We'll review your feedback as thoroughly as possible before the Official Server release.

Thank you.