As the chilly spring weather drizzles away, we are faced with the approach of the scorching summer.
We are curious to find out if all of our Rune Hunters enjoyed the slight change in the game's atmosphere through the new event.
We aim to continue making various attempts in enhancing the fun aspects of the game.
Now then, allow me to share with you the core contents of the upcoming updates along with the details of the Season 5 update through this letter.
※ The details are still in the planning stage and may change during development.
■ Jun. 20 (Thu) / Season 4, 3rd Update
The final minor update of Season 4 will present an expansion of the Rune Master feature, as shared in the previous Developer's Letter.
Rune Master Points can be used to unlock slots for the newly added independent Rune Cast to register Skill/Link Runes more freely than before.
Rune Hunters who felt subdued by the existing Rune Cast system will be able to create a wider variety of Rune Builds starting with this update.
In addition, the Skill Quick Slots and Trigger Rune Slots can also be expanded by using Rune Master Points to utilize even more skills.
We have also prepared a summer event where you can obtain Swimsuit Costumes, so we hope you enjoy the last five weeks of Season 4.
■ Jul. 18 (Thu) / Season 5 1st Update
1. New Story
In Season 4, we shared separate stories by adding Side Quests, distinct from the Main Quest.
And now, we plan to gradually add new journeys to find the hidden Zodiac Masters scattered throughout the world, season by season.
In Season 5, the Main Quest will continue in a new themed stage named Kustodia with the introduction of new characters and bosses.
2. Addition of New Item Grades
Since the launch of UNDECEMBER, we have maintained the 'Legendary' and 'Unique' grade system for over two years.
And of course, we have added new gear options and tier upgrades to consistently provide enjoyment in farming.
Despite our efforts, we found that staying with the same grades was not providing enough enjoyment in farming, even with the improved Legendary Item Drop Chance and Unique Gear Options.
Therefore, we are adding the new 'Ancient' and 'Divine' grades to enhance the farming experience.
Existing Legendary Gear can be upgraded to Ancient Gear by using 'Ancient Upgrade Essence'.
Similarly, existing Unique Gear can be upgraded to Divine Gear by using 'Divine Upgrade Essence'.
※ Note that 'Legendary Unique Gear' cannot be directly upgraded into Ancient Gear. It must first be reverted to Unique Gear before being upgraded to Divine Gear.
※ Ancient and Divine gear can be applied to all Legendary and Unique gear, regardless of the 'previous season,' and we plan to minimize their impact on the value of existing gear.
We have designed 'Ancient Gear' to have the highest performance as a single gear.
Just as Legendary Options can be imbued into 'Legendary Gear', up to two 'Ancient Options' can be imbued into Ancient Gear.
We are planning to add new and powerful options for Ancient Options not previously available on existing gear.
As for 'Divine Gear', up to two 'Divine Options' can be imbued like to the 'Legendary Unique Gear'.
And there is even a chance for 'Divine Set Options' to be additionally imbued into the gear. These Divine Set Options will become a key feature in assembling Divine Gear.
While individual Divine Set Options do not have effects themselves, they grant more powerful Set Effects as the number of options increases.
We believe this change is expected to impact the efficiency of existing 'Unique Gear' as well.
Also, we have determined that the 'Legendary Unique Gear' are ambiguous and will no longer drop starting from Season 5.
Of course, any existing 'Legendary Unique Gear' will be maintained.
3. Chaos Statue Revamp
The 'Chaos Dungeons' accessible through the Chaos Statue, marks the start and the end of UNDECEMBER, and is one of the main end-game contents available.
Thus, we have continuously improved 'Chaos Dungeons' by adding seasonal content and random encounter elements.
But having realized that such additions did not resolve the fundamental issues, we plan to address them with a major revamp of the system as shown below.
3-1. Removal of Chaos Stones and Addition of Chaos Points
The 'Chaos Stones', originally designed to enable more experience of seasonal content and random encounter events, will no longer be used.
After considering the difficulty of obtaining 'Chaos Stones', we found that they did not meet the current needs and decided to improve the system to be more intuitive.
Instead, you will now earn 'Chaos Points' by clearing 'Chaos Dungeons'. The accumulated 'Chaos Points' can then be used to directly select the desired random encounter elements.
Any existing 'Chaos Stones' will be converted into 'Chaos Points' along with the season update.
3-2. Improvements to Greater Chaos Card Acquisition Difficulty
We are planning to improve the acquisition methods for 'Greater Chaos Cards' in Chaos Dungeons.
Currently, Greater Chaos Cards can be difficult to acquire as they can only be obtained in Tier 10 Chaos Dungeons or above, or through the Black Market.
So, to allow all Rune Hunters to fully enjoy the Chaos Dungeons, we are going to provide additional acquisition methods for these cards.
Each nation's Greater Chaos Cards will be rewarded based on the total number of Tier 10 Dungeon clears for that nation.
Similarly, the total number of Tier 11 Dungeon clears for each nation will offer choices between Greater Chaos Card (Domain of Might), (Land of Authority), (Anchorage of the Golden Ring), and (Ilya's Room)
We will also update the UI to reflect these changes. Detailed information will be provided in future update notices.
3-3. Removal of Chaos Compendium and Addition of Chaos Rune Cast
The 'Chaos Compendium' provided additional farming effects by earning points from clearing Chaos Dungeons.
But we have decided to remove this feature due to poor accessibility and awareness among Rune Hunters.
To compensate for this removal, the 'Chaos Rune Cast' feature will be added.
The 'Chaos Rune Cast' is a new feature that will provide various option effects exclusive to Chaos Dungeons.
As the name suggests, this system will allow hunters to equip runes, but only the newly added 'Chaos Runes'.
Chaos Runes can be obtained from 'Chaos Dungeons' or the 'Black Market'.
And like the Chaos Statue, 'Chaos Runes' will reset each season.
We have decided to make this a seasonal feature instead of a permanent addition to maintain a stable balance and make diverse attempts.
We hope that this new feature will enhance the farming experience in Chaos Dungeons, and we are planning to make various efforts to achieve this goal.
3-4. Addition of Hard Difficulty for Chaos Dungeons
We are adding a Hard Difficulty mode as a more challenging and intuitive content.
The 'Chaos Dungeon Hard Difficulty' can be accessed once the Chaos Statue reaches Lv. 20 and above. This difficulty can be selected regardless of the card tier.
Resurrections will not be available in Hard mode.
Moreover, you will face monsters of the highest level with different abilities and additional card options exclusive to the Hard mode.
These Exclusive Options may include challenging effects from Cursed Monsters in Season 4, such as harsh Debuffs and Nullify Immunity.
The newly added 'Ancient Grade Items' will be obtainable in Chaos Dungeon Hard mode.
4. Seasonal Content 'Exodium'
The content for this season will be centered around the Kustodia Island, a key part of the storyline.
Ancient monsters from the mythical ages will start appearing in Chaos Dungeons.
These ancient monsters will be in a Berserk state, bound by unknown devices, making them hostile towards all Rune Hunters.
They will remain hostile even if the devices are destroyed, but their powers will be weakened with the Berserk status removed.
By defeating the ancient monsters, you will be able to obtain [Exodium Card (Kustodia Island)], and [Exodium Card (Kustodia Temple)], which will grant access to Kustodia Island.
The Exodium Cards are divided into Tier 3, 6, 9, and 12.
Unlike the existing Chaos Cards, there will be a Tier 12, from which you can obtain the [Greater Exodium Card] which can be used to face the final boss.
The new bosses will be significantly more challenging than those from normal Greater Chaos Cards, and will drop 'New Unique Gear'.
Also, the newly added 'Divine Grade Items' can only be obtained from Exodium Dungeons.
5. Improvements to Gear Enchantment and Simplification of Essences
We plan to improve the Gear Enchant system accessible through NPC Blacksmiths Croco and Kiroki for your convenience.
We plan to eliminate the use of unnecessary essences and integrate those that can be combined for usage.
Magic and Rare Grade Gear will always have the maximum slots for prefix and suffix options.
However, Empty Options Slots will still be available, and Imbue Essences will continue to be used on them
Existing essences that can no longer be used can be disassembled into new materials and traded in for other essences.
Essences related to quality can now be used freely regardless of the gear grade.
This also applies to existing 'Unique' and newly added 'Ancient' and 'Divine' gear. The quality limit for 'Unique Gear' will also be adjusted to a maximum of +30 like for other gear.
However, considering the balance of such 'Unique Gear', further adjustments to the functionality and values of the quality-related essences may be made.
Now, Reversion Essences will be added to all essences of Legendary Grade and above, enabling more freedom in Reversions and Upgrades through enchants.
As we mentioned in the previous Developer's Letter, please note that all Essence Pieces will be removed with the start of Season 5.
Please make sure to use all of your Essence Pieces before the current season ends.
6. Improvements to Dismantling
Various gear and items can currently be dismantled, but we believe the value of materials obtained from dismantling has significantly diminished.
And since pieces will no longer be used starting from Season 5, dismantling will provide combined materials instead.
We plan to add various items which can be purchased with such combined materials. Further details will become available in future update notes.
7. New Skill Runes
Currently in UNDECEMBER, physical element builds and attack skills have very high usage rates.
And while spells used from 'Spell Activation on Hit' are utilized often, directly cast spells are not used very often.
Therefore, in Season 5, we plan on adding new skills and improve existing skill that are cast directly.
And as previously announced, the hit count bug for 'Whirlwind' skill will be fixed with the start of Season 5.
Subsequently, the skill damage for Whirlwind will be adjusted to appropriate values in accordance with the hit count bug.
8. Removal of Guaranteed and Reversion Transfers and Addition of New Transfers for Alchemy Gear
Finally, to offer diverse builds for Rune Hunters, we have provided the convenient features of Guaranteed Transfer and Reversion Transfer through Alchemy.
However, despite numerous updates, the utilization of legacy gear remained high, deterring the gear turnover and the enjoyment of farming in a hack-and-slash game.
Therefore, we have decided not to support Guaranteed and Reversion Transfers starting from Season 5.
In addition to the Season 5 2nd update, we will be adding 'Fixed Partial Transfers' in Alchemy to allow more flexible settings in gear options.
You will be able to select one desired option as the Fixed Prefix or Fixed Suffix, and all other options will be transferred with equal chance.
Also, existing 'Gear Guaranteed Transfer Stone' and 'Star of Regression' will be used as new Alchemy materials after being renamed accordingly.
※ Note that 'Gear Guaranteed Transfer Stone' and 'Star of Regression' items will not be removed; they will be renamed and used as materials for Fixed Partial Transfers.
■ In Conclusion…
We expect the 3rd update at the end of June to bring about significant changes to existing skills builds.
Furthermore, the Season 5 update planned for July 18 will implement major changes to the gear system.
We understand that there are many other issues which must still be addressed,
but we stand hopeful that the revamp of the Chaos Statue, along with the addition of new gear tiers and grades, will enhance the hack-and-slash satisfaction of UNDECEMBER.
We would like to once again thank all of our Rune Hunter who continue to love and support UNDECEMBER.
Thank you.
