Announcement: Please note that with this update your Perk Points will be reset and must be distributed again. Not a real biggie, just consider it a second chance to redo your Lyric.
///
To everyone who has waited patiently for the past two weeks, Version 1.08 is now live!
This patch represents our effort to parse through objective community feedback and implement changes that will definitely enhance the overall player experience. Since launch, we have prioritized listening to the amazing perspectives our players have brought forward. After all, there are some issues that are best solved from exactly that type of input.
For details about the biggest changes, please check below.
Adjustable Difficulty
When we started making Vambrace the objective was to create an extremely punishing but fair game. We wanted to balance it in such a way that players had a genuine sigh of relief when they managed to make it through a neighborhood. We received feedback that early versions subjected players to the whims of RNG a little too much. After that, we rebalanced encounters and enemy stats for a friendlier learning curve.
The good news is that now you can have your cake and eat it too. This version has 2 difficulty levels: Standard & Cold Soul. Standard difficulty represents the patched difficulty that was much easier from what players experienced before and at launch. Cold Soul is the definitive experience with more combat encounters, tougher enemies, and a faster Geistometer.
New Skills
ALL characters now come with 3 skills. 2 default skills & 1 randomized skill. This means that the 3rd skill will vary from hire to hire. Maybe you hired a new recruit with a particularly awesome combination of skills. Now you’ll have to think twice about letting him/her go. It also significantly varies the tactics you can use in combat. You can still craft relics to alter your Ultimate Flourish for even more variety in combat.
New Flourish System
With the addition of multiple flourishes, we’ve also implemented a new point based system for these skills. Characters will have a default of 5 Flourish points to spend. Each Flourish skill has a different Flourish Point cost, so be sure to check that out before you use them. This also adds a new layer of tactics to combat as you weigh what skills to use and how to build points for future attacks.
New Monster Type System
Creatures will now come in 7 varieties. Certain skills will have bonuses against these creature types. Their type will be indicated in the icon below their portrait. The basic types are as follows:
Flesh: Weak against some melee skills.
Wraith: Weak against some Magick skills.
Blood: Weak against some Hedge skills.
Hedge: Weak against some Blood skills.
Tek: Weak against Grenades and bullets.
Archonic: Weak against Lyric.
Shade: No weaknesses.
New Items
To accommodate the new skills, we’ve altered existing Relics and have also added some new ones to the mix. Every character class will have a special relic that enhances their specific skill. This Ultimate Flourish can be upgraded two levels.
Bugs & Text
We’ve also worked diligently to smash a variety of bugs and correct any text issues we managed to catch as well. Perhaps our favorite “minor” bug to fix was the inventory cursor issue.
Outro
Once again, a huge shout out and thanks to our amazing community of players. You guys have been totally amazing and your support means the world to us. We’re just really happy we can share this world with you. As always, we look forward to your continued input as we strive to make Vambrace the best version of itself. We hope the new systems motivate you to try out Cold Soul mode and experience the difficulty it was meant to be played at.
-Tris, over and out!
