[b]Hello, I’m Director Sang Kwon Han.[/b] 2023 has come to a close, and the first month of the new year is almost over also. Did you enjoy the Holiday Event and Coco’s Great Adventure? We made consistent efforts to provide various events to our users after the Season 3 update. I’m thankful for the support from our many Rune Hunter because I know the lengths the dev team went for this update. However, we will continue to strive in order to provide even better content, for we know the areas we fall short in. Without further ado, I want to share information about future updates through this Director’s Letter. [b]■ Feb. 15 / Minor Updates [/b] [b]1. Improvements to Character Transfer[/b] The current Character Transfer system contains parts that can be improved. We want to improve this system because, despite Season Mode, content cannot be fully enjoyed due to Hardcore Mode’s resurrection limits and Origin Mode’s growth limits. Transfers will be changed to ‘Mode Changes’ and Mode Changes will include ‘Character Reversions’ and ‘Character Transfers’. Character Reversions are identical to the existing Transfer system. All character information is reset and characters can be moved to any mode. Character Transfers can only be used by characters in Hardcore or Origin Mode. These characters can move to Normal Mode without resetting information during a season. However, certain information related to modes will be reset. [b]2. Solo Descent Raid Pre-Open[/b] As the name suggests, Solo Descent Raids are a new content that allows Rune Hunters to test their individual abilities to their limits. Since there is no one else to rely on, the difficulty will be extremely high, and characters may struggle to complete the raids if they do not have sufficient attack or survival skills, because the Descent Raids’ boss monsters will become stronger as their HP decreases. This update aims to serve as a test run of the Solo Descent Raids. We will pre-release three Descent Raid boss monsters, Ochogneel, Carovan, and Magroth. Rune Hunter Coins will be given to characters who complete Solo Descent Raids. The coins can be used to purchase new, high-performance titles. The Solo Descent Raids that will be updated on Feb. 15 (Thu) will be a pre-release and will not contain all functions. The content’s direction may be improved or changed based on the Rune Hunters’ preferences and the development schedule. [b]3. Improvements to Ranking Coins and Shops[/b] The current Ranking Coins will change to Rune Hunter Coins. The Ranking Shop’s name will change to Rune Hunter Shop accordingly. We changed the names with the addition of the Solo Descent Raids due to the effects that Ranking Coins have on the content and how the word “Ranking” limits content. New products will be continuously added to the new Ranking Shop / Ranking Title Shop, and the new products may require additional materials other than Rune Hunter Coins. [b]4. Improvements to Potion Auxiliary Slots[/b] The inconvenient and extremely limited auxiliary slot will be improved so that all Enhance Potions can be registered. Through this improvement, you will be able to increase combat and farming efficiency by registering various Enhance Potions in your auxiliary slot. [b]5. School Day Ddakji Event[/b] A new kind of event will be added. Through the Ddakji Event, various in-game currency, materials, and appearances can be obtained. [b]6. New Costumes[/b] New school uniform and gym clothes costumes will be added. To provide more freedom when it comes to decorating compared to the existing costumes that are limiting, these costumes will consist of head, top, bottom, and shoe costumes. The specified costume parts will only be applied to new costumes, and will not be available for existing costumes. However, in the future, we aim to continuously add costumes with specified parts, so please look forward to those. We will make an effort to provide even more various decorations. [b]■ Mar. 28/ Season 4 Major Updates[/b] [b]1. New Rune Hunter Registrations / Character Traits[/b] Existing and new characters can register their Rune Hunter status at the newly added Rune Hunter Registry in every town. After proving their Rune Hunter status, God’s Blessings and background information can be given to characters, and character growth and builds can be changed according to the selected traits. In Season 4, only certain gods and background traits can be selected. New components will be continuously added in future seasons. [b]2. Rune Master Level[/b] A new leveling function will be opened when a character reaches Lv. 100. Rune Master Points will be given when the Rune Master Level increases, and the points can be used to invest in additional options. The levels exist in all modes and do not have a maximum limit. The areas that the points can be used to invest in will be added through updates during seasons in stages. With the Season 4 update, points will be able to be used on stats, trigger slots, and skill slots. We are preparing to enable investing points in Rune Casts and additional Runestone slots mid-season. ※ When a season ends, all Rune Master EXP in Season Mode will be added to Standard Mode. Since a new level will be added, we will heighten monitoring regarding users who use illegal programs to grow their characters. [b]3. Season Content / Eunos Vein[/b] From Act 6, ‘Veins’ can be discovered while exploring stages. From Episode 2, when new veins are discovered in the end content and destroyed, new items called ‘Jewels’ and materials needed to refine jewels will be dropped by chance, and additional monsters will spawn in certain high-graded veins. The collected jewel items can be refined and crafted by the new NPC, ‘Jewel Crafter Parida’, and special options can be added by equipping jewels in the jewel slots added to gear. The source of the vein must be discovered to obtain higher-quality jewels and materials, and characters must enter the new stage called the ‘Eunos Vein’ provided by Parida. The Eunos Vein is a complicated underground world where countless traps, minerals, and powerful monsters appear. When the object that is suspected to be the source of the vein is destroyed, an event will be triggered. Characters will face more danger as they destroy more and more objects due to the ominous energy increasing in the vein. The level of rewards increases according to the degree of dangers characters face, but on the other hand, characters may struggle with finishing the content due to the heightened difficulty of the monsters. [b]4. Gear Sockets and Jewel Items[/b] New growth-related content called gear sockets and jewel items will be provided by the new NPC, ‘Jewel Crafter Parida’. Gear items with jewel slots will be occasionally dropped, and collected materials can be used to add jewel slots to gear through Jewel Crafter Parida. ㄴJewel slots will be erased when gear items that were gained during previous Seasons are transferred to new season gear items. Jewel items can be equipped on the added jewel slots, and only jewels that match the slot color and type can be equipped. Jewels can be classified according to color and type, and there are two types of jewels: Normal Jewels and Star Jewels. All jewels can obtain unique options through refining and the obtained options can be strengthened with crafting. Powerful options can be refined on Star Jewels, and Star Jewels can only be equipped on the Star Jewel slot that is only added to accessories. The above content may change depending on the development schedule. [b]5. Improvements to Runes and New Link Runes Added[/b] The Sentry skill, which has been neglected for a long time, will undergo changes that will improve and upgrade its performance. Also, we are aware that many Rune Hunters have used Whirlwind for a long time because of its convenience. We will focus on strengthening the convenience of other skills rather than lowering the stats of Whirlwind. A Link Rune that additionally strikes enemies near the target when using a melee skill and a Link Rune that, when attacking with a bow, summons an illusion that repeats the same attack will be added. Also, we are aware of how the Rune Hunters are unsatisfied with the fairness of Skill and Link Runes. We will make an effort to resolve this issue not through rushed, short-term measures, but with a long-term improvement of the game structure. [b]6. New Unique Gear[/b] We are aware that the new Unique gear added to Season 3 gained lots of attention from the Rune Hunters for many reasons. We have contemplated deeply on the direction we took to raise the value of Unique gear. We will continuously add Unique gear with ultimate options while considering the special qualities of Unique gear. However, we have no plans of mass-producing items such as ‘Casthor’s Vision’ and ‘Comet’s Perch’. We will continuously provide Unique gear options that suit the characteristics of the seasons, and since Solo Descent Raids were added to the game, we aim to focus on options related to survival in Season 4. Unique items that were added in Season 3 will all be obtainable through farming in Season 4 Standard Mode. This will remain the same for future seasons. Please note that the new Unique items added to each season can only be farmed in the next season’s Normal and Hardcore Modes. [b]7. Improvements to Trading Post[/b] Items that could not be registered in the Trading Post, such as gear, charms, Zodiac Stones, and Lacrimas, will be able to be registered. Please note that these improvements have been made to vitalize the Trading Post. [b]8. Closing of Origin Mode[/b] Origin Mode is consisted of a game balance and item drop system that stands alone from Standard, Normal Season, and Hardcore Modes. We decided that having this mode be available as a regular season mode instead of a temporary, event mode did not align with the direction of UNDECEMBER. Origin Mode will be closed from Season 4, especially because we thought that the variety of common event rewards being restricted solely due to Origin Mode was not beneficial. We would like to offer our sincere apologies to the Rune Hunters who have been enjoying Origin Mode. However, we would like to ask for your understanding, because we made this decision to focus on the existing Standard, Normal Season, and Hardcore Modes more. [b]■ In Conclusion…[/b] We will make many efforts to improve UNDECEMBER in the new year. We will strive to continuously improve content and provide more things to enjoy. We would like to offer our sincerest thanks to the many Rune Hunters who continue to love and support UNDECEMBER, and I will return with the next Director’s Letter.