Changelog for Update #3 v.0.7.3.0

Highlights

Difficulty & Gameplay Settings

• The “Default” difficulty is still present as the baseline and would be the recommended setting for first-time players.
• The “Relaxed” preset reduces the amount of enemies and provides you with more resources and loot. A perfect mode if you are most interested in base-building and light-hearted adventuring.
• The “Hard” preset increases the amount of enemies and makes them more aggressive to give you a tougher combat experience.
• The “Survival” preset is for those who seek some punishment with additional survival mechanics like hunger and dropping all of your backpack on death, on top of more aggressive enemies.
• Finally, a “Custom” setting where each preset can be freely modified. Crank one or all of the 30 game settings all the way up, mix and match and tailor your adventure! Craft your ideal settings and share your thoughts with us and the community.

Collectible props

New character customization options

• Skin color
• Eye color
• Eyebrow color
• Six additional new character presets

Quality of Life / Balancing

Changelog

Gameplay

• Added difficulty presets and individual gameplay settings to the game world menu and to the config file for dedicated servers. The settings need to be set before starting the server or hosting the game world. Difficulty settings can not be changed while playing: you will need to restart the server to change them.
• Updated the XP needed for leveling up. The beginning of the game should feel very similar to before. In later regions, the level-ups now need slightly more XP.
• The costs for upgrading weapons have been updated. The goal is to keep the Runes economy from inflating too much, especially in later areas. This however means that it is now more expensive to upgrade and decisions about which weapon to upgrade and when should be made carefully. The upgrading costs can be changed in the difficulty settings.
• Weapons now show the level maximum that can be achieved by upgrading the weapon.
• Improved the use of consumables via the action bar hotkeys. Before, when using hotkeys immediately after an attack, it could unintentionally trigger another attack, especially with wands.
• The grappling hook no longer attaches to anchors that are too far off-screen or anchors the player hasn’t seen yet, so the game stops seemingly yeeting Flameborn in unexpected directions.
• Fixed the issue that when dying with a completely filled large backpack, the tombstone inventory wouldn’t be able to hold every item. Tombstones are now sufficiently large, which is a very strange thing to write.
• The quality of screen shakes has been improved. As a reminder, screen shakes can be switched off in the accessibility tab of the user settings.
• Torches can now be dropped while sneaking because you’re not very discreet if you’re carrying the Olympic Flame.
• Reworked the damage zones of daggers so that small enemies like rats can be hit more reliably.
• It is now possible to interact with secret doors while climbing a ladder.
• Changed input handling for the instrument's song selection, so that it works similarly to the ammunition selection of ranged weapons.

Combat Gameplay and Balancing

• A rework behind the scenes to improve the block and parry feature. This was necessary as these mechanics were affected by several subtle yet impactful glitches that could render the experience unreliable if not frustrating. While a part of the rework itself cannot be felt on its own, it generally gives the player more control, power, and consistency. The visual indication of the parry windows is still something we are working on as well as further polishing of anticipation animations for the enemies.
• Improvements for the Mage gameplay and balancing. Read on for details!

General Combat Gameplay Changes

• Fixed timings going wrong or visual glitches when quickly switching between wands and the ranged weapon using the ranged shortcut key.
• Improved responsiveness of player input, so parry actions take effect more immediately and transitions into the blocking state are seamless.
• Now multiple enemies can be parried at once (provided that the timing is right).
• Fixed an issue where enemy attacks could be parried even though the player was stunned.
• Fixed an issue where the movement direction was locked when blocking out of a sprint.
• Fixed several issues where parry and pushback directions could be inaccurate.
• Fixed an issue where parry in a multiplayer session could be unreliable in certain situations.
• Removed a glitch that allowed jumping while attacking with the wand.
• Fixed a bug where players with the Double Jump skill could force the double jump animation at any point after a jump with a wand attack.
• Fixed an issue where trying to block while shooting an arrow would make the character continue drawing the bow instead of switching to blocking.
• Improved input handling for comfortably triggering melee attacks out of blocking.
• Improved input handling for comfortably remaining in the blocking stance after a successful parry.
• Fixed an issue where the camera would move back and forth when firing multiple consecutive arrows.
• The Warrior Tank sub-tree has been restructured: Absorb, Snap, and Soul Leech are now connected to the Warden skill.
• Epic and Legendary Daggers now have the poison damage perk.
• 2 new skills in the Beastmaster sub-tree can be unlocked to improve the poison damage perk on daggers.
• A new skill “Quick Reflex Block” in the Beastmaster sub-tree can be unlocked to improve blocking with daggers.

Mage Gameplay Updates and Fixes

• The physical armor values on mage armor sets have been increased slightly.
• Increased the projectile speed for the spells Fireball and Ice Bolt by 50% to allow easier hitting of moving targets.
• Increased the damage of the spells that are available in the early game: Ice Bolt, Fireball.
• Changed the functionality of the Light Burst spell. It now has a wider range on Shroud enemies for stun effect, damage, and pushback. The strength of the pushback has been increased while the damage has been slightly reduced. With its low mana costs, it can help to put space between crowds of enemies and oneself, especially for smaller swarm enemies.
• The Light Burst scroll has been made available as a drop in earlier parts of the game.
• Improved the homing and speed of the Healer spell. Projectiles are no longer blocked by walls.
• Tweaked the Martyr spell to provide better support, it now heals 50% up from 30%. Additionally, it grants the Final Blessing buff which increases the maximum health by 100 for a lengthy duration.
• A new skill was added to the Battlemage sub-tree: Life Essences. It grants extra maximum health based on the intelligence attribute.
• The durability of wands has been increased to better compensate for the fast attacks. Remember, if still more durability is needed, the Eternal Spark skill in the Battlemage sub-tree could be helpful.
• The time a wand attack takes before it can be transitioned into the blocking, either with shields or wards, has been slightly reduced.
• Part of the Battlemage sub-tree in the skilltree has been restructured. It felt like interesting skills could only be reached by unlocking skills that didn’t contribute directly to the Battlemage playstyle.
• The skills Bloodletting and Blood Magic have been moved to the Trickster sub-tree.
• Fixed an issue that made it look like blocking with the wand didn’t work while in fact, the enemy hit was blocked.
• Fixed an issue where input queueing of staff attacks was too aggressive, which could result in unintended consecutive shots.
• Fixed an issue where consecutive wand shots couldn't be queued while a wand attack was still occurring.
• Using wands and evading in quick succession no longer causes the evade to go in the wrong direction.

Building, Crafting, and Equipment

• Three new types of furniture can now be crafted as part of the collectible feature:- Mannequins for displaying armor pieces - Weapon stands for displaying weapons - Decorative shelves for displaying collectibles such as fossils
• Fixed several incorrect seams on armor pieces. Also fixed some issues with clipping of hair or skin through armor or clothes.
• Added additional messages for actions that are not allowed due to missing server permissions such as re-potting plants and chopping trees within the player base.
• Fixed an issue with the Hunter NPC where she could get stuck on a specific dialog line. We heard you loud and clear, Athalan, you’re impressed about that Tanning Station!
• Stone fences can now be freely rotated in non-snapping mode just like other fences.
• A new building material “Mixed Sandstone Block” is now available in Nomad Highlands crafting tier. The recipe can be found in the Scavenger Outpost.
• Fixed collision and snapping issues with the prison fences and doors set.
• Fixed an issue that prevented placing items on stone shelves.
• The tear-down of single blocks has the correct sound effect now.
• Fixed several issues with cloth sim and capes clipping through the player character.

Game world

• A new type of quest guides players to search for collectibles in the world. Once found, the collectibles can be showcased on specifically designed shelves.
• Added more food sources to the start of the game and in the Hollow Halls to support the hungry and starving gameplay in survival difficulty.
• Increased the chance for better loot in the Hollow Halls by exchanging many regular or silver chests with golden chests.
• Reduced the number of obstacles in the glider passages in the Kindlewastes Hollow Halls. There were too many head injuries reported…
• Reworked the jump pad section of the Ancient Spire in the Blackmire region to make it less frustrating.
• Fixed several instances where enemies would spawn within the terrain or props. This was particularly harmful in some of the situations in the Hollow Halls when it occurred.
• Fixed an issue with wolves which lost interest in combat in the middle of the fight. They now try to finish eating their food.
• Fixed an issue with the quest in Mistbury Catacombs that could lead to resetting of that quest's progress.
• Added a reminder quest at the Flame altar when players have not yet placed the blacksmith NPC.
• A new set of armor has been hidden in the depths of the Kindlewastes Hollow Halls.
• There are 3 additional music tracks for environments in the Kindlewastes.
• There is 1 additional music track for Ancient Spire exploration.
• Added more variety between day and night sound ambiance.
• The player character now shrugs their shoulders when trying to open a door locked by a dungeon puzzle. They’re as confused as you.
• Many footsteps sounds have been tweaked and improved.
• Fixed many incorrect hit- and interaction sounds with items and props in the game world.
• Fixed an issue that sometimes prevented players from being able to dismantle large trees within their base.
• Many locations in the game world have been improved, fixed, or tweaked.
• Some areas have been updated significantly:
• The first encampment, when entering the Shroud, was visually improved.
• Trade outpost "Blazing Rock" has been reworked.
• In the Shroud areas below Nomad Highlands, enemy density has been increased.
• Both the surface area and the cave below the Kindlewaste Elixir Well have been overhauled.
• The jump pad canyon in the Blackmire region has been reworked.
• Added 2 new caves to the Blackmire region
• Added 3 new temples to the Blackmire region.
• Added 2 additional enemy tree camps in the Blackmire region.
• Added 5 new temples to the Kindlewastes.
• Many no-build areas have been reduced in size to minimize the impact on player base locations.
• Reworked the edges of the world to look more natural. Additionally, several vistas have been updated to look more interesting, for all your tourism needs…
• The mountains in Embervale are less snowy now. This is in preparation for new things to come…

Technical Improvements

• Improved stability and performance on lower hardware specs and on the Steam Deck.
• Updated the default settings for the Steam Deck. Please use the “Reset to Default” button to use the updated settings.
• FSR3 is now supported and replaces FSR2. You can stop asking now.
• Improved global illumination to reduce visible seams between brighter and darker areas, especially in dungeons and caves.
• Fixed point light shadow leaking on thin voxel walls.
• Fixed several rare situations that could lead to crashes.
• Fixed occurrences of short freezes on faster graphics cards.
• Improved the visuals in reflective materials.

User Interface and Localization

• Added new customization options in the character creation menu for skin color, eye color, and eyebrow color.
• Added 6 new character presets with new faces to the character customization menu.
• The crafting menu now has larger preview images of the craftable items. Additionally, the sorting into recipe categories has been updated and improved.
• Added a new section to the ESC menu to list the difficulty settings of the game world.
• Fixed several typos and incorrect translations. A big thanks to our great community for sending in all these suggestions and reports.
• A bug has been fixed that showed the incorrect player levels for a short while for players who are joining a server.
• The UI now correctly indicates that players who have the kick permission can in turn not be kicked from the server.
• Fixed additional cases where a large area marker on the world map prevents clicking on other markers within that area. That was annoying.
• Fixed an issue with filling up stacks of items in chests when bulk-transferring items with no free slots in the chest.
• Fixed the button prompts for PS4 and PS5 controllers using the default Steam input setting.
• Prepared the game client to support Twitch drops.