A huge update to Nekarcos's QoL add-ons (and more)

[nekarcos]

An update! (I've been forgetting to do these!)

After releasing my various Quality of Life add-ons, it occurred to me that "Odyssey of The Summoner" would ALSO probably suffer the same type of incompatibility issue the QoLs did. Responding to this, I've spent (an enormous amount of) time splitting the old and the new content into two separate add-ons so that there would be no incompatibility issues whatsoever.
The idea is to allow me to "ease in" new content from now on and prevent this from ever happening again by placing the "questionable" stuff into a different add-on. In a manner of speaking, we can call this the "beta" add-on. This compromise will allow me to test for buggy behavior, add/remove content as necessary-- And, in general, make everything smoother.

... But, that isn't what you've come to hear, is it?

To summarize, the new content is going to be "staggered", rather than everything being released all at once.

What this means exactly is that "Odyssey of The Summoner" is going to receive all the new, updated content (reflections quests, reviewed talents, new mechanics, ending sequence/rewards, etc...)-- But the shiny, "deluxe" content (War Hound, new talent trees, Antimagic, etc...) is going to come out in chunks over the next while.
This is because I've found very little time to TEST most of what I've added in the midst of *adding* everything, so I don't really want to subject people (who do serious, non-testing runs) to any kind of adverse or buggy behavior (which is the worst case scenario I'm trying to avoid). I regret to say it, but I'm somewhat doubtful I'll be able to release the add-on in its full form before the end of Summer.

If there are any other questions about things I've neglected to mention, definitely ask. I'll try to be as transparent as possible about the development process (I have definitely bitten off more than I can chew!)

[nekarcos]

OoTS status update: Looking good!

Been doing some testing, and there seems to be no more hitches! I can safely say the base add-on's update is coming with all of its changes and improvements. The "deluxe" stuff is coming soon after (once I've pressed out some more of the wrinkles), so bear with me.

Please use this time to reacquaint yourself with the new changes to content, mechanics, talents, appearances, clarifications, tweaks, etc...
I even recommend playing the old version a bit so that you can see exactly how much has been changed and/or improved.


PS: A tester of mine actually found a save-breaking bug today. Thank goodness...

[nsrr]

I can safely say the base add-on's update is coming with all of its changes and improvements.

Any ETA? I think you had said late-July/early-August previously, but that was before you determined it was better to release the updates in parts. Any chance we will be seeing this base addon update in the next couple of weeks?

[nekarcos]

@nsrr
It is, in fact, coming in the next 3-4 days-- "The start of August" if all goes well. After that, over the course of August, I'm going to release the other content in bits in order to get some extra testing time in.

As it currently is, I'm spending these last 3-4 days checking out things I've been worried about, but its all looking good.

[nekarcos]

... Oh yes! As long as I'm here, here's that EXTREMELY LONG change list I promised would be coming. Of course, things are liable to change at the last second, but everything is working so nicely at this point, I doubt anything is really going to.
... Anywho, without further adieu-- Please get your reading glasses on.

*** System/Code
- Added VARIOUS hooks to the add-on! (why would I do that? Nobody should be modding MY mod! This is creating a sort of "mod-ception" at this point...)
- New (not-yet-implemented) code in the works that will allow objects with "OoTS" effects to be converted and unconverted when transferred in and out of the Item's Vault, essentially allowing you to use Item without any of the "corrupted" properties (for example, "Behemoth's Hide").
*** This works simply by "adding" the effects when an object enters an "OoTS" universe-- Then removing said effects whenever it "exits" an "OoTS" universe (particularly, take/leave of Item's Vault)

*** General/World/Plot
- VASTLY modified the "Wild Power" system, and added a new resource called "Ferocity".
*** "Ferocity" now represents 100% of your Wild Power and is gained with every kill. However, a percentage of it is lost whenever you leave a zone, so it is most effective after long battles in the same area.
- Reduced the equilibrium regen of Wildness slightly.
- To make Natural Combat activations more meaningful, they no longer share a cooldown-- But they now cost "Ferocity" to use!
- Also, due to the above changes, "Disciplines" have become somewhat redundant, so now, ANY disciplined talent will operate at maximum wild power.
- "Primal Rhythm" now provides "Ferocity Transferrence" (less lost when leaving zone) instead of Fatigue.
- "Sturdy Heart" now provides "Fatigue" (can go below 0%, essentially REDUCING Stamina costs) instead of Max Stamina. I don't think anyone will miss this anyways!
- "Natural Cycle" has been REMOVED and replaced with the Prudence tree's "Tolerance" talent.
- "Nature Hardened" has reduced Armor Hardiness. The idea is to numb damage-- Not negate it entirely!
- "Savage Strength" has slightly reduced physical power.
- To make "Elusiveness" more true to its purpose, it now grants Trap Avoidance when activated and grants Maximum Stamina when passive.
- To make "Keen Awareness" a more "appealing" ability (although, maybe not to "max out"), it now reveals Traps as well (in emulation of Vision Runes/Clairvoyance Wands)
- To make "Lick Wounds" a little more useful, it now also provides immunity to poisons/wounds equal to the life mod it was granting when activated.
*** I noted "Lick Wounds" Catch-22 of a purpose: You CAN use it to remove poisons/bleeds-- But you're likely to just get them back again... Plus, losing "Healing mod" means poisons/bleeds will hurt you even more.
- "Splendour" now describes exactly WHAT resources it restores and how much it will.
- As I had mentioned a long time ago, SEVERAL Natural Combat talents have been MOVED to new talent trees called "Inner Animal" and "Noble Animal". Obviously, these are only available to certain classes and at different masteries!
*** All "Wild Powers" are still accessible-- Although, it may take some "searching"...
- Added a new system that describes talent damage effects with greater detail, even accounting for "boosted/reduced" damage. It's subtle on the game level, but basically: "Damage numbers" in talent descriptions will be more "accurate" now.
- Most talents will now use certain "natural attacks" when performed. For example: "Wild-Heart/Savaging Claws", "Batter", ...
- Also, when something requires hookclaws, it will now ATTEMPT to use mainhand/offhand objects (but will still require the objects to be impermanent)
- ALSO, if you don't have hookclaws when you make Impermanent weapons, they will be created as mainhand/offhand weapons instead (my bad, adventurer dudes!)
- "Natural Attack Count" now increases with Dexterity instead of Willpower. "Hydra" can still increase it with Willpower, however!
- The way "Natural Attacks" and various "melee" talents work have been changed, making them SIGNIFICANTLY deadlier and modifiable.
- SIGNIFICANT changes to the behavior of various natural attacks:
* Glare heads now gain Crit Chance per Cunning
* Drool heads now gain Armor Penetration per Cunning
* Decoy heads now gain Accuracy per Cunning
* Hookclaws now have Life Steal and convert some damage into Bleeding
* Etc...
- "Wildness" now improves the damage modifiers for natural attacks as well.
*** Because each Avatar starts with 30 "Wild Power", this essentially means damage has been increased by 30% (and potentially, 100% at 100 Wild Power)
- Cleaned up the way "Random" and "Rapid" attacks work (as well as doing away with that GOD AWFUL "Ballot" system...)
- Because of how Natural Attacks now behave, the Ritch's "Hookclaw" attacks are no longer guaranteed to be ordered as "Right-Left" anymore.
- You now automatically learn the first talent in your corrupted tree upon becoming blighted.
- Moved the "Drake Touched" parameters from the avatars to the monstrosities (Dragon/Serpent are now considered as Drake Touched, rather than Fire Drake/Hydra). This is USEFUL if you intend to play a Wilder class as one of them!
- The stat changes of "Blighted Form" are now gradual until you reach level 10. The Magic stat gain is also increased to 20 (from 15).
- You can now view your natural attacks by looking at the "Attack" talent's description!
- Experimentation has shown there is actually a LACK of generic points to spend, believe it or not! As such, Avatars now gain SIGNIFICANTLY more Generic points via special new talents called "Inner Animal" and "Noble Animal".
- Monstrosity's "Ego" talent trees now grant 1 Wildness per point spent (meaning you can gain 20 Wildness by maxing the tree out!).
- Several talents now have "Movement" based usage speed (instead of "Standard"), to what benefit/detriment this may cause.
- "Nature Taught" now grants an extra 50 life, but...
- "Monstrosity" (and by extension, Avatars) now have 1 less life rating (essentially HIGHER life at earlier levels)
*** This is to alleviate the new starting zone for Monstrosities and to generally make early game easier for all classes!
- "This-Unlockable-Class" now starts with more Wildness.
- The "Blighting" system has been overhauled. The build-up is MUCH slower, but it now has much more "immediate" consequences...
- Taking Blight damage beyond 5% of your life in a single turn will cause you to become "soft-stunned", as well as lose 1.5% of your maximum life over a short time (30% of what was caused). The idea here is that you can now "resist" small instances of blight damage (such as "diseases", damage retaliation, on-hit effects, map effects) and you won't build up blight nearly as easily (unless there are A LOT of them). Only STRONG bombardments of blight should trigger this!
- This new "soft-stunning" affects Drakelings (though they cannot become corrupted). Be wary when attempting to use them like shields!
- It is now possible to DENY "blight cleansing" from The Summoner, making "Friendly" blighted runs *possible*.

(... tons more, no more space...)

.... Ooof-- That was, like... Only a quarter of the changes. Give me a second!
*takes a deep breath...!*

[nekarcos]

*exhales*
... Whew! Okay, let's continue!

*** General/Generic talent changes
- "Relief" has *FINALLY* been reworked!
*** When activated, it provides damage reduction based on the object's weight. If the object becomes tarnished due to this, you will "absorb" its properties for quite some time, granting you its bonuses as though you were WEARING it!
- "Hoarding Beast" now requires the HIGHER of your Willpower OR Constitution.
- "Burrowing Beast" now requires the HIGHER of your Willpower OR Constitution.
- "Geowalk" now grants free movement through "soft sand" (much like the "Sand Shredder" in Embers of Rage), as well as 1 Strength per talent level (*not* RAW talent level) in "Wild-Heart/Burrowing".
- "Part The Earth" now grants invisibility and trap avoidance while within its path (you become "burrowed"). Attacking will cause burrowing to end (but NOT using talents!)
- "Part The Earth" now has new targeting logic that causes it to always fire at max distance.
- "Part The Earth" can now affect non-wall tiles if your talent level is high enough. For this reason, it now also leaves a "hollowed" path on top of yourself as well, causing you to *immediately* burrow.
- "Metalbolism" now grants a powerful, armor-penetrating biting natural attack!
- "Metalbolism" is now compatible with ANY type of "armor rending" effect!
*** Note that this is not armor "corroding" and such like that-- Only the ones that "stackingly" reduce armor!
- "Subterranean Surprise" is now a DEVOURING attack (much like "Swallow Whole")! While devouring, your "jaws" will absorb any intentional damage you receive!
- "Cutting Edge" and "Bladed Mail" now have special events (much like "Consume" and "Clasp").
- As an answer to how Ritch lost its access to "Projecting" weapons (as well as the upcoming "Melee" classes), there is now a new talent called "Psionic Strike" you can get through "mutations" which, essentially, behaves almost exactly like a projection weapon attack.
- "Clasped" objects now force your head (or mouth) to perform a headbutt instead. The "Hat Trick" prodigy will reverse this, however.
- The duration of "Clamping" now decreases whenever a target is dragged by it (proved quite OP with enough movement speed). In response, most "Clamping" effects now have a MUCH longer duration.

*** Alternative Prodigy effects
- "Flexible Combat" ~ Instead grants 1 Basic natural attack if you're Nature Taught.
- "I Can Carry The World" ~ "I Can DEVOUR The World!": Have 100 belly encumbrance to complete the requirements!
- "Windblade" ~ Ritch's Hookclaws are now considered as "Dual-Wielded" weapons
- "Massive Blow" ~ Bashing-type natural attacks are now tabulated as "Two-Handed" attacks
- "Legacy of the Naloren" ~ <... A work in progress...>
- "Corrupted Shell" ~ The Grand Corruptor may have some interesting new things to say to "Blighted" avatars...
- "Swift Hands" ~ "Consume" and "Clasp" have their cooldown reduced to 3, as well as becoming "instant-use".
- "Eternal Guard"/"Spectral Shield" ~ Affects a few new talents from the "deluxe" content...
- "Blighted Summoning" ~ Turns Avatars blighted, as well as providing additional beneficial effects. Avatars now also start with 100 summons.
- "Garkul's Revenge" ~ Unmodified-- But there is now a hint about how to acquire its alternative "Burrowing Beast"...
- "Eye of the Tiger" ~ Now correctly supports Wild-Child, Wild-Heart, and Blighted talent trees (for Physical, Mental, and Spell crits respectively).
- "Worldly Knowledge" ~ Now offers talent trees from the OTHER avatars (for example, Fire Drake's "Dragon Scales").
- "Rak'Shor Cunning" ~ "Blighted Isomorphism": Now causes you to become "corrupted", lose your "Ego" talent tree, and NOT turn into a horrible Skeleton/Ghoul.
- "Subcutaneous Metallisation" (say THAT 10 times fast) ~ Can now be unlocked with TL10 "Nature Hardened" or "Growing Bones".

*** "Other" miscellaneous stuff
- "Monstrosities" (NOT Avatars!) now have a unique opening text, as well as a slight bit of "plot" interaction.
- Fixed an issue that caused Monstrosity talent mastery to overwrite a class's masteries (for example, playing as Dragon Wyrmic caused you to have x1.10 Fire Drake Aspect mastery)
- Monstrosities can now be "Adventurers" (though, they can still only use Wilder class stuff)
- SEVERAL new talent trees are now available to "That-Class-You-Can-Unlock".
- Improved the "Drakeling" code in general, so less "weird" things will happen now
- VARIOUS new Artifact effects for Consuming, Clasping, Crafting... And now even "Bloodhounding" (whoops, spoiler! )

*** "Plot" stuff
- Fire Drakes now has a teacher named "Enghryza": The very first fire dragon to discover and master the art of raising drakelings! Learn well from her!
*** As such, the mystery of drakelings has returned once again-- Descriptions are back to the way they used to be!
- (... Lots of other "deluxe" content...)

*** "Graphical" stuff
- Sharpened the Avatar graphics, making them look a little less fuzzy and horrible. They're also a little bigger (so that they don't look TINY when standing next to a human).
- Avatars now have a few additional doll visuals for certain artifacts (more to come-- a matter of making them "look" good!)

(... STILL tons more. Just getting the "boring" stuff out of the way...)

... Hold on, I need a second to breathe again...
*inhales*

[nekarcos]

... BUG FIXES!!! AHHHHHHHHH!!!!

*** Bug fixes:
- Removed the debug message that appears when equipping impermanent objects
- Overhauled the way "intention" works so that its programmed a little less awfully.
- Modified the way "Intentional" damage works-- Moving onto a projectile of your own volition is no longer considered as "Unintentional" damage.
- Corrected some text in the "Mantis" description.
- Ritch's "uber" dialogue now correctly explains that it will cost 1 prodigy point upon success
- Fixed a bug where activated natural combat talents would prevent entry into the wilderness (for example, using "Elusiveness" to run from an ambush)
- "Natural Combat" talents are now considered as "Innate" and cannot be disrupted by effects such as stuns.
- Drakelings will no longer attempt to "comply" with natural combat talents if they DON'T have the talent.
- At some point, I realized how Armor Hardiness ACTUALLY works (don't ask)-- But I've decided not to change anything. Nature-Hardened will remain OP (since your biggest threat is usually stuns and nukes anyways).
- You will no longer be lifeburned when TEMPORARILY blighted...
- Corrected a bug with clamping and teleporting (lower case "O"...)
- "Scale Release" had no cooldown!
- VARIOUS melee talents have been modified to use the CORRECT speed types (such as "Combat", and not just "standard")
- "Breath" speed is also now influenced by your healing factor and current air-- But has thusly been nerfed in response.
*** "Breath" speed was always an uncontested danger, as well as an "unbuffable" stat. As such, I've added a few ways you can improve your breath speed-- As well as a few ways enemies (and zones) can take it away from you!
- "Shadow Flare" now CORRECTLY scales with Spellpower. Its damage has also been adjusted accordingly.
- Corrected some behavioral issues with "Shadow Flare" when used in tight spaces. ALL the bolts now correctly spawn! (BEWARE!)
- Fixed a bug where "Shadow Flare" would detonate in front of you if a wall was obstructing the explosion (sheesh...)
- For safety's sake, the detonation from "Shadow Flare" is now partially a burning effect
- You can now respec in The Summoner's various locations (sorry about that...)
- "Burning Sphere" now correctly crits.
- Fixed a glitch with "Battery Charge"
- "Flaming Bolt" now correctly crits.
- Realized NONE of the summons during the intro sequences had any stats. Needless to say, everything is CONSIDERABLY more powerful now... Like, "+100 STR, CON, WIL, ..." sort-of more powerful...
- Various effects ("Blighted Feed", "Impermanence", and "Bladed Mail" particularly) are no longer removed upon entering the Eidolon Plane!!
- Fixed the buggy behavior of the "Swordbreaker" weapon when the player already had several levels of the "Swordbreaker" talent.
- The "Zigur Ambush" now only happens once. (oops)
- If you are corrupted, "Raise Drakeling" now ONLY creates "Weird" Drakelings (unless it's a "focus" birth, of course)
- Fixed a problem with detonating "Fire Pods" behind walls.
- "Rasping" now correctly punishes ONLY activated talents (not sustains)
- "Take Them Down" now has a cost (whoops...)
- Removed the "numbing" that occurs with "Loving" Drakelings when in near-death. This is because it prevented "Blaze of Glory" from working correctly.
- Fixed a GRIEVOUS error with how "death threshold" was working for Drakelings. In general, thresholds should be better now and they should die less.
- Adjusted "Battle Formations" timing so that it updates correctly when moving quickly.
- Various "Odyssey of The Summoner" Poisons and Diseases now interact CORRECTLY with "Waters of Life" (the AI couldn't understand... Whoops!)
- "Menace" now obeys "no evasion" type effects (such as "Battle Cry"). This was mainly to stop you from evading the attacks from those you have "Swallowed Whole"!
- FIXED "Swallow Whole": Time is no longer "stopped" when one is devoured. They will share YOUR turns, cooling down and such when YOU do!
- Victims inside your belly also no longer trigger damage retaliation (so you won't hit YOURSELF with it now)
- "Devouring" is now an "other" effect-- Meaning it can't be "removed" anymore
- "Devouring" now correctly reduces breath speed.
- Fixed a VERY dangerous bug concerning "digested" actors with "resurrection" effects and such!
- FINALLY found a way to make "Crown of Burning Pain" be considered as a crown (BUT AT A GREAT PRICE...)
- FINALLY fixed the "Hydra Mixture" bug which DIDN'T make Drool heads attack first.
- Drakeling "Unusual" talents now have scaling and stat requirements (previously didn't). This MAY or may NOT break some things... Who knows.
- Natural attacks now CORRECTLY break stealth (not that there are many stealth effects in OoTS that can be broken anyways)
- "Flare Hide" now correctly explodes on YOURSELF (not the target... Whoops.)
- Here's a fun bug that was terrible and broke everything: You can no longer change levels while "holding" something ("Swallow Whole" for example)!
- PHEW!! It was hard, but "Mitotic" Mindstars now work! (only LIGHTLY tested, though)
- Modified the way "Inherited" talent descriptions are displayed-- They should be SIGNIFICANTLY more accurate, parameter-wise.
- A SIGNIFICANT change in Drakeling code structure-- FAR more stable and consistent now-- As well as some new party features!
- Corrected A LOT of issues concerning drakelings' "near-death" traits.
- Corrected some incorrect descriptions for various drakeling-related things.
- Fixed a typo that caused drakelings NOT to update their maximum level when you leveled up. My bad!
- "Clean Slip" was allowed to remove some VERY bizarre effects (for example, "Indigestion")
- Fixed a bug with drakeling "emotions" (a logical error... whoops.) MANY behaviors should work correctly now.
- Drakelings receiving the detrimental effects of Natural Combat talents will no longer break run/rest (sorry, my bad!)
- A REALLY bad glitch that prevented Drakelings from correctly inheriting Shadowflames talents
- REALLY tuned down the intensity of the "Blighted" screen effect. It's kinda annoying, considering how long it stays on-- But it IS a warning!
- Made the "Killing Floor" effect red. (duh!)
- I commented out the "diminishing" code for "Treasure Hoarder's Will"... Whoops... It wasn't diminishing!
- Corrected a bug which allowed the player to gain a Mouth slot WITHOUT using generic points in Hoarding (a minor bug, really)
- I figured out why Drakelings WON'T use objects! They can now CORRECTLY use objects with activated effects (such as "Rod of Spydric Poison").
- Foolproofed a few "dangerous" superloads (particularly "Tolerance", which begins "stacking" if a LUA error occurs)
- Fixed a bug that allowed various effects to be considered as "Intentional" (such as the extra physical damage from "Cut Loose")
- "Imperilled" was INCREASING saves, not DECREASING them! WHOOOOOPS!!
- You can now "Consume" untransmogrified objects (Sorry...)
- "postUseTalent" was broken for a REALLY long time (which made "intentions" all glitchy)... I'm sorry!
- "Nurturing" of drakelings now correctly accounts for your increased damage. WHOOPS... That's A LOT of healing wrongfully lost...
- "Mist Shroud" now correctly "taunts" inert enemies.
- "Fire Drake" was getting the wrong life per level (said 12, was only getting 9... WHOOPS.)
- "Glob" talents now make the correct noises and have the right sound effects (sheesh, this one took a while to fix!)
- Various "Intimidated" effects will now STACK with the last application ("Snarling Roar" for example)
- Drakelings that ask for talent advice now go to the "back" of the queue every time they ask (meaning you can help a different drakeling out next time)
- Fixed "Idealists" having incorrect stat requirements.
- A bug in Drakelings was causing "enthusiastic inheriting" NOT to follow the rules of "Role Model" and "Idealists"... Sorry about that!
- "Recuperation" is now affected by Healing Mod (whoops... When did THIS stop being the case??)
- You can no longer tell a Drakeling to "keep doing what it's doing" if its current battle style is "Newborn" (lol)
- Fixed some "forgotten" code that assigned sources to effects.
- (In the process of) fixing several incorrect projections when a target is devoured.
- Enemies killed by "devouring" or the initial attack thereof ("Swallow Whole", "Subterranean Surprise", etc...) now get a special flag which causes them to CONTINUE damaging your belly!
- Fixed a bug with Metalbolism where it did not account for the target's TRUE armor value (for example, "Carbon Spikes")
- Drakelings (upon entering the Crypt of Kryl-Feijan) will now become too terrified to even THINK of shoving others out of their way (especially NOT a certain nearly-demonized lady!)
- Fixed a bug that allowed "Flaming Bolt" to pass through walls (and easily screw Drakelings over)
- "Wild-Heart/Glob" talent now correctly describe that they scale with Mindpower.
- Fixed a projection error that caused Glob traps to detonate incorrectly when around corners. SORRY, this was a big one!
- Illusions produced by "Hallucinations" are MUCH, much less laggy now. Sorry!
- "Paralysis" (as from "Hydra Toxin") no longer IMMEDIATELY breaks the same daze that it causes. Duuuuuh...
- "Globs" will no longer plant themselves into walls when fired at one. WHOOPS...
- "Swordbreaker" no longer destroys "Rare" weapons (as from "Unique" enemies)... WHOOPS!! Sorry about that!
- "Blinding Shot" now respects Blinding Immunity... Whoops.
- Fixed a bug that caused "Cruel Elation" to REMOVE additional turns if you were above 200% turns... Whoops.
- A LOT of VERY bad damage projection code. Still working on it even now-- There's so many to fix!
- Removed the incorrect wording on "Burning Sphere" that mentioned that flames would not harm allies. This was changed for the sake of allowing Drakelings to heal parents and one another.
- "Meteoric Impact" has a cost now. Whoops!
- Fixed "Battle Formations" for CERTAIN this time! No more using "Meteoric Impact" and such!
- "Multi-Pronged Attack's" combat speed reduction was NOT multiplicative before, causing victims to gain OBSCENELY low amounts of combat speed (possibly even NEGATIVE). This was fixed now.
- Fixed a bug with Drakeling stat auto-levelling (in certain rare circumstances where their Constitution and Cunning were already 60)
- Fixed "Burning Rush"-- Enough said.
- Fixed TL5 of "Parental Bond". I moved some code badly, so it wasn't even working! (My bad, my bad...)
- Corrected some incorrect text for "Backdraft's" damage value

*** ?!?!
- "Rantha the Worm" is a SHE, god dammit-- The lore says so! It's driving me NUTS!!

*inhale*

[nekarcos]

And now, the good stuff.

*** "Hydra" related changes
- REWORKED "Slyness"!
* Timer counts down when NOT moving.
* Timer resets if moving while stealthed.
* Actions will not break the stealth.
* Fixed the timer so that it triggers after "1" (not "0"), also meaning it activates 1 turn sooner.
* Cooldown is slightly higher (since it now operates
- Improved the base scaling of "Cruel Elation", but took away some of the Cunning scaling as such. MUCH easier to access now with or without cunning.
- "Sadistic Calm" now affects "Blights" as well!
- "Wild-Heart/Prudence" now has "Vigilance", a talent which causes you to preemptively strike when approached
- "Avoidance" now triggers for REAPPLICATIONS of effects as well (such as "Poison" or "Burning")... Whoops!
- "Triumph" now targets the LOWEST ranked enemy. Kinda pointless to target the strongest one, huh...?
- Applied a light color filter over "Hydragon" talents and related talent trees so that they "convey" their themes a little better!
- Hydra's various heads no longer show up on the equipment doll UNLESS you actually possess them!
- Removed some redundant text concerning hydra's heads.
- "Hat Trick" now requires 50 Cunning (instead of 50 Willpower).
- "Stare Down" now also deals Mind damage and negates evasion/concealment effects
- "Stare Down" now has range equal to your sight range (NOT Infravision!)
- "Sordid Howl" has +1 radius
- "Sordid Howl" can be resisted! (though, it should hardly ever happen, tbh)
- "Sordid Howl" now (once again) causes a "Fear" effect, however...
- "Menace" now has a lower chance of evading at all levels (since fears are absurdly easy to cause now).
- "Incite Death" now deals mind damage for each fear the target has, but it no longer ignores fear immunity.
- "Incite Death" has +1 radius
- Added SEVERAL visual effects to the "Prudence" talent tree, allowing the player to VISIBLY SEE who and what it is affecting! Good lord!
- You may now meet "Wild-Heart/Hydragon" talent requirements by learning "Three Triads" instead (meaning you can get extra heads WITHOUT learning certain talents, but it will take SIGNIFICANTLY longer to get them)
*** I am aware: ANY Hydra player will ALWAYS want these extra heads, no matter what playstyle you're doing-- You'd honestly be insane NOT to get them.
- Modified the way "Hydra Form" works so that it is in-line with the new Natural Attacks system and makes more (programmatic) sense. This ALSO means it won't disrupt OTHER heads you acquire when learned.
- FINALLY fixed "Hydra Mixture". It now CORRECTLY prioritizes Drool heads when active and converts their damage.
- "Beneath The Wake" now only slows by 10% (instead of 20%)
- "Beneath The Wake" now grants Projectile Slowing as well.
- "Beneath The Wake" now grants an extra natural attack that dazes targets.
- "Drench" now disarms on initial use, and gains size if you crit.
- "Soaked" (caused by "Drench") now additionally reduces lightning resistance.
- Examining the code for "Clean Slip", I feel like it might have been broken for a while. It's fixed now.
- "Clean Slip" now performs a melee attack. If it crits, it transfers all your pins/stuns to the target.
- Modified "Wild-Heart/Hydragon". It is now a x1.00 category, but the values have been adjusted accordingly. This means a category point will do much more.
- Reduced the cooldown of all "Feral Hydra" talents. I expect the limiting factor of this tree to mainly be Stamina, not cooldowns.
- Significantly modified the way "Blood Geyser" and Blood Tapping works!
- "Blood Geyser" talents now only extend durations to 100 turns at most. (that 149,762 turns of Rotting Disease might be a bit much.)
- "Corrupted Sigh" now also takes effect immediately, whether the target casts anything or not.
- Lowered the disease damage, but SIGNIFICANTLY buffed its other properties (to match Ghouls, Vampires, Banshees, etc...)
- SIGNIFICANTLY boosted the "high" damage of Blight Fountain (making its damage somewhat more viable)
- "Bloody Breath" now doubles the duration of effects it transfers
- "Blight Fountain" is now an instant-use, activated talent! Set to automatic usage to achieve the old effect!
- "Blight Fountain" now doubles the duration of effects it transfers
- "Voracious Feast" has a cost now-- And it's HEFTY.
- "Voracious Feast's" imperiling effect now causes ABSOLUTE save reduction, making the effect EXISTENT during end game.
- "Voracious Feast" now grants a special biting natural attack.
- "Clamp Down" now scales on physical power and the duration of the clamping has been doubled (from 10 to 20).
*** Be aware, "Clamping" has been improved so that it now procs whenever you move (instead of on the victim's turn), making "dragging" targets A LOT easier.
- "Clamp Down" no longer checks against Pinning immunity.
- Switched the special conditions for "Tear Apart" around (Clamp: extra damage, Imperiled: no miss).
*** What's the point of dealing extra damage to something you can already deal enormous amounts of damage to...? This, and it makes more sense that an imperiled target is unable to avoid this attack!
- "Swallow Whole" is now instant-use (to prevent situations where you might use it and miss 1000 turns-- Also to make it a nice panic button!).
- Modified "Swallow Whole's" behavior a bit (see "bugfixes"). Devoured victims now take damage from effects normally (such as poison)
- More modifications to "Swallow Whole"-- Your Armor/Resistances no longer apply when attacked from your belly. Better toughen up that gut!
- "Swallow Whole" cooldown is SIGNIFICANTLY increased (to prevent it from being used like a free break and more like a last resort)
- Fixed some incorrect physical scaling on "Swallow Whole".
- The duration of "Digesting" is now indefinite. It's either you or them!
- "Hydragon" (feral, glare, drool) has been slightly nerfed. It is now possible to lose MULTIPLE heads if your appropriate save isn't good enough!
* Each time you fail to save against an effect, your save is doubled or their power is halved (whichever has the greatest effect in YOUR favor).
* You will repeat this until you successfully save or you run out of heads.
* If you run out of heads and still need to save, the effect will pass through undisrupted.
- The last point of "Hydragon" talents have been buffed-- They now provide "Absolute" bonuses, which are applied AFTER modifiers and diminishing returns.
- "Wild-Heart/Regenerate" can now be learned with Constitution as well.
- "Recuperate" now ALWAYS triggers on damage you cause to yourself
- "Splitting Wounds" now triggers a small recuperation based on how much damage you cause to yourself
- The various "Hydra Breath" talents have had their cone narrowed slightly, turning them into more of a "line" nuke with slight collateral damage (much like "Biting Gale" runes).
*** This is to counteract its obscenely strong early-game properties by allowing "swarms" to slip in a little more easily and encourage "Feral Hydra" for crowd disposal instead.
- "Hydra Toxin" cost is reduced (since it already INCREASES costs, why not?)
- "Misty tiles" (as from "Mist Shroud") now make you GENERALLY undetectable, such that you will no longer be spotted on the edges.
- "Misty tiles" you've created (as with "Mist Shroud") now provide a warning when the one you are standing on is about to vanish.
- "Mist Lurker" now always attempts to teleport you to the furthest location possible.
- "Hydragon" has been overhauled. Additionally, Hydra now has extra proficiency in it. (I think I've mentioned this...?)
- "Feral Hydra" talents effect chances have been clarified.
- "Drag In" no longer requires targets to be "away" from you for the extra hit (if they resist the pull, it will still only hit once, however)
- Significantly increased the proc chance of "Triple Trouble".
- "Wring Out" is now a two-fold attack: First is a light, grabbing attack that DOES NOT break "Dazed", then a heavy squeezing attack. As such, it also deals slightly more damage.
*** Logic: Physical Save is cut in half when dazed (as from using Drag In). "Wring Out" used to HIT victims first, which REMOVED the "Dazed" effect, THEN attempted a physical check-- Which is VERY adverse to itself! As such, if it is done in this order, it will see FAR more success (and will give me an excuse to make it more powerful, heheheh...)
- "Thrash About" now performs a smash when initially activated.
- Hydra can now "discover" auxiliary heads. It's only a matter of "how" you will discover them, though...
- "Decoy" heads (when attacking) now randomly assume the properties of another hydra head you have. Doppelgangers!
- SIGNIFICANTLY reduced the stamina drain of "Clamp Down" (and even considering to remove it entirely)
- "Three Triads" now only requires 1 other head talent to be learned.
- "Ceaseless Blood" now removes "Flesh Wound" as well (don't ask how THIS happens!)
- "Triple Trouble" now works with completely missing heads (only affected present and >1 heads)
- "Delta Formation" no longer fizzles if a group of heads goes missing (an unnecessary weakness, really!)
- "Delta Formation" now removes multi-attack penalties while active.
- "Triad of Threes" has an entirely new effect now: Each head type now has a uniform bonus it grants to "compatible" talents.
- "Trinity Attack's" Feral Head attack now clamps regardless of knockback immunity
- All "Wild-Heart/Glob" talents now scale on Constitution! Its base damage has also been bumped up, so it is generally "stronger" now.
- "Glob" talents (as originally intended) are now compatible with Breath Hydra effects!!
- "Glob" equilibrium costs are much lower now (to bring them more in line with being talents you use when breaths are on cooldown)
- The DURATION of "Glob" talents are now displayed in the talent description... (WHOOPS!!)
- "Adhesic Glob" is now HIGHLY synergetic with Breath Hydra talents, gaining VARIOUS new properties depending on which are active.
- The "poison" caused by "Toxic Glob" now uses Mindpower (NOT accuracy/physical power)
- Changed the graphical effects for when glob traps trigger. They don't all "explode" now!
- Changed the timing on "Triumph" so that the healing occurs more immediately.

Safety advisory: If you are feeling light-headed or dizzy, please consider taking a rest and/or perhaps consuming some energy-restoring foods. We're only a little over half-way now!

[nekarcos]

... Fire Drake stuff!

*** Fire Drake changes
- Have SIGNIFICANTLY enhanced the performance of drakelings by allowing them to use Natural Combat talents in the appropriate situations! (for example, they'll use "Blend In" if they feel they're being hunted)
- As a result, however, they will no longer "concur" with you unless you're using "Concurrency".
*** Note, however, the "chance" of them actually ATTEMPTING it is based on their talent level (such that 3 out of 10 levels is a 30% chance of usage)
- TRIPLED the rate that drakelings choose their talent tendencies. You will now see a MUCH more noticable pattern in which natural combat talents they choose.
*** As strange as this might sound, THIS IS ACTUALLY A NERF (due to the "tactical natural combat" buff drakelings have been given)
- Lowered Fire Drake wildness by 5 (so that it has 30 AFTER receiving TL5 Fire Drake Scales-- this is a nerf!)
- Drakeling base HP reverted back to 100 (from 150). Drakelings now have a built-in death threshold of -50 to compensate.
- Modified how drakeling antideath works-- It now checks against "death" in general (not just damage beyond their death threshold)
*** This is to counteract cases where they are killed by something OTHER than damage (such as "Devour" or air suffocation)
- Fire Drake has been given 2 "claws" and 1 "dragon tail" natural attack-- Making "Dexterity" Fire Drakes SIGNIFICANTLY more deadly!!
- Reduced the chance of failure for "Turn Up The Heat"
- "Heat Sink" now IMMEDIATELY produces the barrier upon sustaining (meaning it can now also be used like a makeshift Shielding rune)
- Added SEVERAL new talents and effects for the MISSING traits drakelings had.
- Finally remembered to fix scaling for "Blazing Fang". Also gave it a buff: Reduces Armor Hardiness and is guaranteed to work now.
- "Horn Charge" now performs a physical splash on the second hit instead of a single weapon attack (making it arguably more reliable and powerful).
- Modified the behavior of Horn Charge-- The stunning effect will occur as long as the hit connects and the target fails a knockback resist check.
- Significantly reduced the cooldown of "Horn Charge" (since it's such an "unlikely" talent anyways!)
- If you drakeling loves/hates you enough, you can now "retrieve" them from death by... Ahem-- "Visiting" the eidolon plane.
*** THIS, was a rather DARING addition to Drakelings. I have absolutely NO doubts that SEVERAL things will break. Don't mess around with this too much (or do)!
- "Low Flight" now grants 2 clawing natural attacks which clamps targets you strike
- "Low Flight" can no longer be activated unless you have 5 turns worth of stamina
- "Glide" will now attempt to land IN FRONT of what you target
- "Glide" now performs 2 Talon attacks if an enemy is there
- "Glide" will now drag clamped enemies with you
- Fire Drake's "basic" talent trees now operate on "DragonFire" mechanics.
*** The primary damage type is the same as your primary heritage, while the secondary damage types are the same as your secondary heritage.
- "Fiery Breath" has been ENTIRELY reworked! However, Fire Drakes will hardly notice a thing.
- "Renewing Flames" has a new effect (even given a new icon). Many things about it are different now, so there's no point trying to describe them. See for yourself!
- "Torrential Blaze" now destroys Projectiles
- "Torrential Blaze" can no longer mind-crit.
- Simplified a lot of messages concerning "Compliance Checks" with Drakelings
- Relieved some of the restraints on unlearning Dragon Scales talents. Only "scales" cannot be unlearned.
- "Scale Release" now CORRECTLY applies gain/loss of damage for Sand Drake Scales's Physical component, effectively QUADRUPLING the damage return it was supposed to give.
- "Scale Release" has improved damage at TL1, making it more useful without being maxed out.
- There are now unique appearances for ALL Drakelings!
*** However, there are no "rexorcorum" graphics at the moment... Beware!
- Removed the short distance restriction on "Battery Charge" (which means the AI will have an easier time using it)
- Targets of "Battery Charge" will now explode whether they are knocked back or not (it only makes sense!) This is helpful against "immovable" targets!
- Removed the short distance restriction on "Burning Rush"
- To make "Burning Rush" more of a defensive option (and LESS suicidal), it now briefly grants 100% absolute resistance and fire affinity upon collision.
- Cooldown of "Burning Rush" is increased (because it's so damn good now!)
- "Burning Rush" is now correctly considered as a melee attack.
- "Flaming Bolt" is now considered as a melee attack and you will not slow down if you miss.
- "Ablaze" now attempts to spread the moment it is afflicted (but not when it spreads), meaning CAUSING ablaze will still be effective against those instantly killed.
- "Ablaze" now also attempts to spread when the victim dies.
- "Stoke the Flames" now ignites ANY fire effects whatsoever!
- ... However, its damage has been somewhat reduced to compensate... (*cough*RenewingFlames*cough*)
- "Stoke the Flames" now also deals half of its damage over time (too powerful as instant damage!). This is also somewhat a buff because it means you can chain this talent onto itself over and over (but at half effect each time)
- "Hungry Flames" now also allows you to "spread" the burning sphere BEFORE it even lands! Basically, shooting a grenade out of the air!
- "Flare Hide" now gains radius with talent levels, and CORRECTLY describes its radius (it didn't before)
- "Flare Powder" now gains radius with talent levels, and CORRECTLY describes its radius (ALSO didn't before)
- It is now EASIER to gain radius for "Flare Claw"
- Modified "Flare Blast" so that it triggers 1 turn faster (took two turns before the first reaction before)
- "Flare Blast" now gains radius with talent levels
- VARIOUS "Unusual" talents have received physical/mind power scaling.
- "Take Them Down" no longer uses up the drakeling's turn.
- "Blaze of Glory" no longer consumes staminas. Instead, it has a duration (based on the drakeling's level)
- Nerfed "Aura of Silence". It, once again, silences you, but for only half the duration.
- Nerfed "Abyssal Flame"-- The "anti-resurrect" effect now checks against instakill immunity. (Sorry about that Linaniil!)
- SIGNIFICANTLY buffed "Infuriated Roar": Stronger effect, always 50% threshold, longer duration, and more potency at low health. A longer cooldown, however, to make its usage require a little bit more meaning.
- "Heavy Swing" now slowly scales with physical power, and has been buffed significantly as such.
- "Relativity" will no longer make you blind to targets that you are capable of seeing via ESP.
- I "tuned up" Drakeling behavior a bit.
- Also added 2 new commands: "Freedom" and "Safety".
* The former is the threshold Drakelings can move away from you
* The latter is the threshold Drakelings will stay away from their target.
* The default settings make Drakelings behave exactly like they used to.
- Added "Hurricane Immunity" as a parameter. This reduces the power of "certain horrible AoEs"... Ahem-- Such as "Hurricane".
*** This mechanic will show up to aid Fire Drakes and their Drakelings "when the time is right".
- "Boil In Flames" now has a significantly shorter cooldown. This is to encourage using it for its resource-draining properties over the course of a long, exhaustive battle.
- "Burning Coals" has higher radius at lower levels
- "Burning Coals" now terminates the victim's turn if stepped upon. This means fast-moving targets ("Lightning Speed", "Blinding Speed", etc...) won't be able to zoom past them!
- "Inferno" now takes twice as long to achieve maximum damage (nerf)
- Shrank the radius of "Boil In Flames" and "Inferno" by 1. You'll have to work a little harder to keep them inside of these now!
- "Still Giant" has a lower equilibrium cost and it now starts with maximum charges when activated-- But it will also slow you down!
- Fixed "Break Spirit". (Sorry, sorry!)
- Drakeling "Death Shock" is now a mental effect-- Which is essentially a buff to "Break Spirit" (as you can now use it to bypass the death shock stunning effect!)
- "Break Spirit" now has a limit on how many effects it can remove.
- "Break Spirit" now also removes mental *SUSTAINS*!
*** There are not many "beneficial" mental effects to remove, so we're going to extend its purpose a little further. Will it be OP? Let's see.
- "Break Spirit" now stuns the target if they are currently "revering".
*** This should put "Break Spirit" into more of an "initiating" place!
- "Reverence" now occurs at the end of the turn, allowing it to function in the middle of combat more frequently (much like "Dazed")
- Fixed "Sovereign's Domain". (Sorry!)
- "Sovereign's Domain" now also performs (and gains) an attack when an enemy stops targetting you within.
- COMPLETELY overhauled "Dragon Scales", as well as fixing it. (Not sorry-- This is pretty cool!)
*** This change allows you and Drakelings to heal one another with ANY fire damage. As a side effect, this causes drakelings to interact in... "Interesting" ways when given various fire-based tools.
- "Fire Drake" is now considered slightly "less" of a dragon (see talent: "Dragon Heritage")
- "Turn Up The Heat" no longer procs on fire damage. Instead, it now procs on successful melee attacks. (nerrrrrrf)
- Some improvements to the "healing" AI for Drakelings. They now account for HOW MUCH the target will be healed (they'll prioritize targets that will be healed A LOT-- especially their parent)
- "Commanding Roar" has been revised-- It now allows you to perform ranged "gesture" natural attacks.
- "Infuriated Roar" now performs "Gesture" natural attacks on targets struck, significantly improving the potency if your life is lower.
- "Break Spirit" now performs "Gesture" natural attacks on those struck.
- "Raise Drakelings" no longer requires inspiration if you presently have no drakelings!
- "Dragon Scales" now requires Constitution, not Willpower!
- "Scale Release" has a SIGNIFICANTLY lower cooldown, and now gives the correct melee retaliation for "Sand Drake Scales".
- A new mechanic "Kindness" and "Cruelness" applies to Dragon Brood and Dragon Army, as well as Dissension and Tyrannic Beast (respectively).
*** This mechanic causes newborn drakelings to hate/love you more than usual, making it easier to control what kind of Drakelings you get without the use of "Reflections" events.
- "Safeguard/Vanguard" can now be toggled to 3 states: "Safeguard", "Vanguard", and <off>.
- "Multi-Pronged Attack" now also considers YOURSELF as an attacker, effectively buffing the effect to 4 possible stacks.
- "Savaging Claws" talents will no longer miss targets if they are friendly and know Dragon Heritage.
*** This is to enable physical, melee-oriented Fire Drake that can still protect/heal their Drakelings!
- "Legacy"... WORKS now...!!

*stumbling*
... We're almost done... Hang in there!!

[nekarcos]

... And, finally... The "Ritch" changes!

*** "Ritch" related changes
- Ritch gets MANY new talent trees in the "deluxe" content
- "Bloodletting Beast" is now an unlocked category for Ritch.
- "Wing Pod" is now an unlocked category for Ritch.
- "Hoarding Beast" is now a locked category for Ritch.
- "Burrowing Beast" is now a locked category for Ritch.
- "Ritch" now has x1.30 mastery of Cold Blood (from x1.10)
- Improved Ritch's life rating by 1.
- "Killing Blade" now allows you to make... "Unusual" weapons.
- Impermanent weapons now grant Armor equal to half its damage value
- Impermanent weapons no longer have any offhand penalties whatsoever (to make dual-wielding them feel a little bit better!)
- "Tempered Steel" now improves the weapon's Armor Penetration as well.
- "Bladed Mail" now doubles the weapon's armor value
- "Diving Bomb" is now instant use
- "Flamespit" now scales slightly on dexterity and cunning as well (such that 100 Dex and 100 Cun would be equivalent to 100 Wil). However, the overall damage has been reduced to 70% as such. (but that still means you can potentially do 40% more damage than before)
- "Predator's Stride" now uses your Dexterity INSTEAD of your Cunning when checking!
- "Predator's Stride" now teleports REGARDLESS of whether it succeeds or not, but it will not be instant if it fails.
- "Blinding Shot" is weaker, but now also scales on mindpower.
- "Torture" is now instant use.
- "Torture" now heals for the same amount of Mind damage caused.
- "Ego/Mantis" has been reordered: "Guillotine" is now the 1st talent and "Bloody Edge" is the 2nd talent.
- "Bloody Edge" has been boosted and now enhances Armor Penetration instead of Physical Power.
- Buffed "Bloody Edge" some more after realizing how oppressive armor really is to a heavy-melee fighter. Seriously, screw Bulwarks!
- In "Wild-Child/Fervency", "Burst Slash" is now the 4th talent. Its power has been adjusted accordingly to make it remain a worthwhile investment.
- "Buzz-Off" now grants TWO jumps if you are indoors. Also, stamina cost has been SIGNIFICANTLY reduced.
- "Open Veins" is now instant use.
- "Open Veins" now grants an additional natural attack that causes HEAVY bleeding.
- "Bloody Roar" now heals the user based on the power of all affected bleeds (including your own). You STILL receive damage, however!
*** Due to "technicalities" with the engine, you can use this talent on a bleed effect that is at 1 Duration to effectively heal yourself.
- "Bloody Roar" damage has been cut in half (since it is now more of a self-heal talent than a damage-dealing talent)
- Reduced stamina cost of "Lacerations"
- Impermanent weapon durability is now displayed on the equipment doll
- "Strongarm" now causes a special kind of bleeding that cannot kill and doesn't interrupt rest. It is also an "other" type effect, so it will not get in the way of physical effect removal.
- "Strongarm" now requires less stamina to be sustained
- "Strongarm" (and Impermanence) penalties no longer apply if the target was already dead before the attack.
- "Death From Above" is now ALWAYS available, even if you do not meet the requirements to learn it (making it easier to "discover")
- "Cold Blood" has been reordered: "Merciless Killing", "Killing Floor", "Headhunter", "Brutal Touch"
- "Cold Blood" now requires either Willpower or Cunning.
- "Killing Floor's" duration has been doubled!
- "Deadly Sting" works a little more efficiently now, triggering specifically after natural attacks
- "Deadly Sting" now only deactivates if you DON'T achieve a critical hit!
- "Deadly Sting" can now stack upon itself (but with diminishing returns)
- "Diseases" are now renamed to "Blights" (as "diseases" tend to imply a reduction of stats, while "blights" imply blight-based damage over time)
*** This was also to avoid "buffing" blighted hydras, heh...
- "Predator Stance" now ADDS a stinging attack (rather than limiting you to one attack). It also now STACKS with Deadly Sting, allowing for 2 stings in one attack if you're lucky enough.
- In light of the former, "Diving Bomb" no longer requires a Needle for usage.
- "Diving Bomb" no longer deactivates Predator Stance.
- "Ejection" no longer deactivates Predator Stance and the stamina cost has been reduced.
- "Ejection" can now physically crit!
- "Ejection" no longer renders stingers unusable. Instead, it "obliterates" your current stinger, rendering *IT* unusable!
*** This talent was designed as a "Coup De Grace" for all the stinging you might do-- But since it was a ranged attack and the only way you could use up all your stingers was to get close... Well, it was fundamentally flawed, "combo-wise".
*** These changes are intended to turn it from a "finishing" move to an "initiating" move by not only "defining" what sting you'll start the battle with, but also potentially "softening up" anything else you just don't have enough time to sting at the moment.
- I have removed VARIOUS "impermanent" restrictions on the "Extravagency" tree (for the sake of buffs and "That-Unlockable-Class"). It can now be used to nearly the same effect WITHOUT impermanent weapons-- But don't say I didn't warn you!
- "Helmbreaker" now affects undead and non-breathing (sorry, the way it worked before kinda made no sense)
- "Helmbreaker" has MUCH higher probabilities now and scales on STR and DEX (we'll see how broken this really is)
- "Helmbreaker" fatalities now instead deal physical damage equal to the target's maximum life. This means it is now possible to life steal, reflect, resist, penetrate, etc...
- Added feedback for when a deathblow is struck!
- Gave "Swordbreaker" SIGNIFICANT buffs (since it is sort of useless/unpleasant as an early ability). Before, it relied a bit too heavily on stats-- But now, base talent level is almost enough.
- Added feedback for when a weapon is broken.
- "Mailbreaker" now gains increased crit rate (INSTEAD of crit power), and now shreds armor based on damage dealt.
- Buffed "Shieldbreaker" SIGNIFICANTLY. It now does EVERYTHING-- Quite literally.
*** For 1 turn, your melee attacks will have infinite armor penetration, X iceblock/shield penetration, will remove Blocking and shield effects, and will reduce the target's armor based on the damage dealt.
- COMPLETELY overhauled "Macabre End". It now leaves the target "standing" after you kill them, allowing any additional damage you cause to them to become "Overkill".
*** This was ORIGINALLY what I wanted the talent to do, but I was too inexperienced with the engine to do it! Finally, my vision is realized!
- "Cut Loose" now has a significantly lower cost, but is a little more "difficult" to use: The duration now extends with each overkill, and the confusion is guaranteed-
- BUT! You can shorten the confusion's duration by getting more overkills!
- "Dismember" has been slightly changed: It now "finishes off" targets you leave "standing", converting all of their bleeding into *even more* "Overkill"!
- "Burst Slash" has a slightly new effect: <X>% of "Overkilling" you cause (to a "Near-Death" target) is dealt to a random, adjacent enemy of the same faction as Physical damage.
- Changes to "Headhunter". It is now guaranteed to work on uniques/rares. It is now also unaffected by level if the target is a unique or rare.
- Fixed some inconsistent rounding with "Searing Spray". The description will now display the CORRECT radius (sorry!)
- "Flamespit" now has travel time. A minor nerf really (compared to the buff "Fire Pod" is getting!)
- "Inflame" now scales with mindpower.
- "Gatling Fire" now has a cap on how much speed it can grant (can only increase 20 times).
*** This was because "Equilibrium" wasn't serving well as the "limitation" I was hoping it would be-- Plus, the emergence of MANY equilibrium-refreshing abilities ("Attune to Nature" for example) makes reducing your equilibrium practically trivial now. Sorry-- No more infinite-speed spitting (but it's STILL pretty good-- Trust me!)
- To "represent" the above change, "Gatling Fire" has been renamed to "Rapid Fire". Name fits better thematically, plus, the pun's not lost! (:D)
- "Fire Pod" now scales with mindpower.
- "Firewall" now has TWICE the duration (and thus, TWICE the damage potential) and the radius has been increased by 1 (so that the wall isn't so "pathetic" at the first level)
- "Firewall" can no longer be targeted upon yourself, however. Walls are weird like that...
- "Ignis Infernus" and "Wild Swings" have switched places!
- AHEM! "Ignis Infernus" now costs less stamina and has a BETTER stamina curve, triggers only ONCE per turn, has new fiery particles, scales on mindpower, deals more damage when missing, grows in radius MUCH faster but has a smaller miss radius, and now converts 50% of natural attack damage into Fire.
*** A good talent-- But needed to be EVEN BETTER!
- Changed how "Ignis Infernus" functions so that the stamina consumption does not reach 0 (and thus, does not shut off stamina sustains!)
- Changed the "timing" of when "Ignis Infernus" procced. It also now works on friendlies (but still not yourself)
- The hit chance of "Wild Swings" has been locked to 35%. Talent levels now instead grant almost-complete Blindness immunity, as well as some Confusion immunity.
- "Wild Swings" no longer consumes stamina and has a SIGNIFICANTLY reduced cooldown!


(... And probably *STILL* a lot more I've missed and/or forgot to mention...)

... Whew! TRUST ME when I say this was harder for ME to write than it was for YOU to read...!!
(And, to think-- These are only the things I can describe WITHOUT giving spoilers about the deluxe stuff...)

Anywho, the usual: Any questions? Any comments? Let me know. I'm always listening.
... As for me? I'm... I'm gonna take a nap...
*collapses*

[Steven Aus]

Is this still only for version 1.4.9, or is it now being made for 1.5.5?

[nekarcos]

@Steven Aus
This will, undoubtedly, work just fine on 1.5.5, as that is where I've done all my testing.

[Steven Aus]

Yes, I was just making sure.

[nekarcos]

And now, for a little something special I always like doing before my big releases:

A small pre-release tutorial-lization* on the mechanics and systems of "Odyssey of The Summoner"
Today's topic: The "Natural Combat Split": "Noble" animals vs "Inner (Savage)" animals

Originally, Natural Combat was a talent tree loaded with 16 talents that each had 10 spendable points. This was never intended (it was included for testing purposes) as it breaks two rules in terms of Tales of Maj'Eyal's game design. It gave FAR too much value to a single Category point. As such, it has been split into multiple talent trees as originally intended:



- "Natural Animal (Natural Combat)" comprises 8 talents that define the "basic needs" that any character might want (remember, this talent tree is intended to REPLACE the need for equipment!). Almost every character gets this talent tree if they're nature-taught.
(Note that "Tolerance" from "Wild-Heart/Prudence" is now part of this talent tree, and that "Natural Cycle" is now gone!)


- "Noble Animal" is comprised of 4 of the "flightier" Natural Combat talents plus 4 new special ones with special requirements. These special talents consist of various "Mind Power" related effects and boost the ability to use Mindstars.


- "Savage Animal (Inner Animal)" contains 4 of the more "predatory" Natural Combat talents, plus 4 of its OWN new special talents. These special talents consist of "Physical Power" related effects and boost the ability to perform "Natural Attacks".


The point of this change (other than to "spread out" the value of category points) was to "define" the individual qualities of a "Ranged" avatar and a "Melee" avatar. Don't get me wrong however-- Ritch, despite being a "Ranged" avatar, is just as much of a melee as any other avatar, and thusly, gets "Inner Animal" AS WELL as "Noble Animal" (which gives it a notable potential for adaptability and customization). For that matter, "Stone Golem" (one of the "deluxe" avatars) will fit as neither a "Noble" animal, nor a "Savage" animal, and thusly, won't get either. What does it get instead...? You shall see...

*: Not a real word; do not use

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Very excited to play this again! Also, thank God for those "tutorials" as, honestly, I'm not reading those changelogs.