Hello. This is Brown Dust 2 PD Jun-hee Lee.
Brown Dust 2 has finally reached its 1st Anniversary.
We have a lot to share with you today, so we'll keep the greetings short and dive right in.
We will cover everything, including the content we couldn't share with you during the 1st Anniversary livestream due to time constraints.
Re-release of the Summer Event Pack: Summer Knight
The "Summer Knight" Event Pack is making its return from the last summer update.
Summer Knight features a pool party set during a hot summer night.
Enter the pack to witness the scene with various characters, including Justia, Scheherazade, Lathel, and Gray, who are all enjoying the party.
The Summer Knight Pack will be available for four weeks, starting from June 20th.
Re-release of Pool Party Costumes for Justia and Scheherazade; Justia's Skill Adjustments
"Pool Party" costumes, which were limited, will return for Justia and Scheherazade, the main characters of the Summer Knight Pack.
Regarding Pool Party Justia, we noticed that players weren't having the fun we expected them to have from her in the current version of the game.
We also found her utility and use rate to be lower than other limited costumes, so we plan to increase her stats in time for her pickup period.
This is your chance to acquire a limited costume that will return after a whole year, so we hope you don't miss out.
New Seasonal Event Pack - Post: Summer Knight 
Summer Knight's story continues with the seasonal event, Post: Summer Knight.
This event will start with the sudden invasion of a mysterious creature after the conclusion of the Summer Knight tournament.
It will feature the selfish yet lovable lifeguard with quirky charms, Nebris,
along with the party staff member, Venaka, who unintentionally gets involved in uncovering the truth
behind the slippery and slimy mystery!
Dalvi, who topped the charts in the popularity poll, will become one of the key characters during this event.
You'll get to reunite with familiar faces as well, including Mamonir and Maria, who briefly appeared as NPCs during the previous Summer Knight event.
New Character: Nebris
Lifeguard Nebris immediately received the spotlight from numerous players when she was revealed as a surprise in the last Developer Note. 
Nebris is set to be the main NPC who will represent the roguelike content, Evil Castle.
However, because the summer season came to precede the update on the roguelike content,
we decided to showcase the "Laid-back Lifeguard" swimsuit costume before the original costume.
Nebris will be released as a character with Wind Property who lands physical attacks.
Laid-back Lifeguard Nebris 
Nebris's Original Costume 
DJ Venaka
Venaka, a popular character from our previous series, who also showed up as a DJ in the Summer Knight, will become available as a playable character.
Venaka will be updated as a character with Wind Property who lands Magic attacks. 
Summer Vacation Dalvi
The third swimsuit costume is "Summer Vacation Dalvi".
There will be a swimsuit costume update for Dalvi, the winner of the Half Anniversary popularity poll.
Just as we promised before, Dalvi's swimsuit costume
will be distributed as a 1st Anniversary gift to anyone who participates in the event.
Giving Out a Total of Six Costumes, From +0 to +5!
The gifts will be distributed in the same way as the Stray Cat Rou costumes during the Half Anniversary.
Don't miss out on this opportunity to get the costume, as it won't be available for quite some time afterward.
Of course, there is always the chance for it to be re-released sometime later. 
Story Pack 14: Trial by Ordeal
We announce the update for the final chapter of the second season, Story Pack 14: "Trial by Ordeal."
"Trial by Ordeal" will be set in the sacred city of Arcadia, which was also the final destination for Justia's party in the main story of Season 2.
During your journey, you will be able to experience a grand and solemn scenery befitting the city's nickname as the sacred city.
"Trial by Ordeal" involves the popular character from our previous series, Michaela the mysterious nun,
and the young Angelica from 10 years ago.
Find out where Justia and her party's adventure will head next with the introduction of new characters
in the "Trial by Ordeal" pack that will be updated on July 4th.
(Michaela)
Angelica (10 Years Ago)
New Character: Justia
Despite being the main character, Justia has not received an update on her new costume in a while.
To celebrate the 1st Anniversary, we wanted to showcase a new look for her.
With her brand new look, Justia will feature a combat theme different from her original design,
which is why we plan to add her as a new character instead of a simple costume.
That will be all for Justia's new look, as it will be for the best for you to get to know her through actual gameplay. 
Evil Castle: Tower of Salvation
Now, the moment you've all been waiting for is finally here. It's time to share some details on the roguelike content.
Currently, we're preparing the content under the code Evil Castle: "Tower of Salvation."
Today, we will reveal several more details about the current development status.
Tower of Salvation will be available from the existing Evil Castle Pack.
You can choose between various difficulties that will give you more rewards while penalizing you with stronger enemies as they increase.
Each season will last four weeks; you can challenge yourself to the tower for free three times a day and enjoy the content throughout the season.
Difficulty Selection Screen 
When you enter the Tower of Salvation, you will be given a choice of random characters and costumes. You then start the game by selecting five characters.
Only ★5 characters will appear on the list; when they join your team, they inherit all costume upgrade levels and potentials identical to your account.
The stats of characters joining your team will be based on Level 100 with no additional gear.
Main Screen 
The layout of the map, which consists of battles, events, shops, and treasure rooms, is randomly determined at the start of the challenge.
You progress by selecting a room after moving up a floor, and you power up, go through battles, or obtain rewards according to the room you choose.
The objective is to reach the top floor and win the final battle.
The difficulty varies by battle room, and you can check the room's difficulty on the map before entering. << This part is included in the Developer Note.
(The content above was removed during development)
The enemies you face are randomly determined each time, and their stats will be based on the difficulty level you choose.
Since relics can be obtained by winning in the advanced battle rooms, which are more difficult than regular battles,
you can set the strategy to challenge the advanced battles to obtain relics when your party is developed to a sufficient level.
The unique feature of the Tower of Salvation is that you can use SP to change the characters deployed for the battle.
That way, you can control five or more characters in one battle and expand your strategic choice according to the situation you face during combat.
Relic
Relics constitute one of the most important systems in the Tower of Salvation.
Since individual characters cannot equip any gear in the Tower of Salvation, they do not have the means to develop their skills during their progress.
Thus, you must collect as many relics as possible to strengthen your party.
The effects of some relics activate during battle, while others offer effects elsewhere.
Relics related to battles have effects that only apply to characters of specific attributes or those that activate according to the enemy's state.
Therefore, the key is to collect the ones that go along with the members of your party when you come across these relics.
Relics with effects from outside battles offer benefits that help you get through the Tower of Salvation,
including higher interests and an increased chance of success inside event rooms.
Event
Various random events occur inside event rooms.
Choices appear according to the event, and you can obtain the effect that matches your choice.
Some events will bring you favorable results, such as giving away relics and costumes;
still, you must stay vigilant, as others inflict negative results, such as running into battles or suffering damage.
Rechallenge After Growth
You can obtain growth currency after exiting the Tower of Salvation. When retrying the challenge, you can proceed after increasing the stat of your choice.
The increased stats only apply to the current season and reset after the season ends.
Common Season Goal
In each Tower of Salvation season, all users participate in reaching a common score.
Users can contribute to reaching the target score whenever they challenge the Tower of Salvation and earn points.
This target score is determined before the start of each season based on the number of participants from the previous season.
End of Challenge
When the challenge ends, you can obtain growth currency.
You will earn the full amount of the growth currency by clearing the tower
but you will only obtain 30% of the set amount if you fail or give up in the middle.
Escape
There is a system in place to let you escape at specific points during your challenge.
The escape feature is similar to "Give up," except that you can end your challenge with 100% of the growth currency obtained up to that point.
You can utilize the escape feature to pull your party out of sticky situations and obtain currencies without suffering any losses.
Continue
As the Tower of Salvation features prolonged playtime, all floors and events are automatically saved,
allowing you to continue your progress at any time.
No Retries
You must be prudent in every step you take in the Tower of Salvation battles, as you will not be allowed to try again.
The developers also had numerous discussions because the retry feature was related to a wide range of other elements in terms of convenience, such as mistakes during gameplay, as well as the option to retry after Crit DMG.
Ultimately, we concluded that forcing players to face combat repeatedly will add more burden and fatigue to their gameplay experience.
That is why we have decided to exclude the retry feature in the Tower of Salvation.
We expect many of you are already waiting for the update on our roguelike content.
We believe we'll be able to roll out the update as early as July, but at the latest, by August.
The initial phase of the update will be operated as a trial season, as various playtests will be necessary due to the large content volume.
We will do our best to keep up with the updates.
Guild
Many of you have requested the addition of the guild system.
To commemorate the 1st Anniversary, we have finally decided to implement the feature.
We have previously mentioned this feature as "clubs."
However, we concluded that the word "guild" coincides better with the fantasy landscape of Brown Dust 2 and settled with the term.
If you have already played Story Pack 3, you may recognize the character on the screen. 
It's the Mercenary Guild Receptionist from Brwynn.
You will be able to create and join guilds after clearing Story Pack 3. 
Guild Messenger 
The Guild Messenger feature becomes available upon joining a guild,
allowing you to freely chat and exchange emotes with other guild members.
Your formations can also be shared on messenger so you can consult with your guild.
When sharing your formation, the information on your growth, including character levels, potential, skill upgrades, and gear, will also be included.
You'll also be able to receive check-in rewards every day by joining a guild.
We are also preparing to release Guild Raids as exclusive content for guild members,
which is scheduled for release in Q3. We'll share relevant details with you further below.
For now, let's get into other matters we're preparing for the update.
Mirror Wars Scoring Improvements
After replacing the scoring system with ELO, we found that players experienced difficulties increasing their scores compared to before.
This issue has led some tiers to have empty spots in their quota.
We plan to replace ELO with a fixed score obtainment system for Dia and below to resolve this tier distribution issue.
This change will allow players to acquire points more easily at lower tiers. In March, we added Sapphire and Ruby tiers to bring improvements into Mirror Wars.
Restart Battle from Previous Turn
However, the current battle system forces you to retry from the beginning if you make a mistake or do not get the result you wanted,
which made things stressful when engaging in longer battles.
We hope being able to restart the battle from the previous turn will alleviate your burden.
Players will have the option to choose whether to restart the battle from the beginning or from the previous turn.
UI Improvements for Upgrade All
When setting the maximum Gold limit and upgrading at once, the process would aim to reach +9 unconditionally within the set limit.
However, after the update, you can freely set the desired upgrade target, number of upgrade attempts, and maximum gold limit.
Quick Filter System Improvements
At the moment, all filters are applied by default, requiring multiple taps to select the desired options.
In the upcoming update, a separate "ALL" button will be added to improve the filter selection process.
Addition of Preset Saves in Battle Preparation
Until now, players have experienced inconveniences due to not being able to apply changes during battle immediately to their presets, as they could not save presets during the battle preparation stage.
We will improve this system by allowing you to save presets during the preparation phase.
In addition, the feature to delete individual or all presets will be added.
Stats Cap Removal
We are reviewing the option to remove the cap on ATK, Magic ATK, and Crit DMG.
We are aware that changing the maximum limit will bring inconveniences to players, as they will have to adjust their gear options.
However, considering the long-term effects, we believe that this issue must be addressed as soon as possible
in the right direction because this problem will become more frequent and significant over time.
The first reason for removing the cap is to resolve issues for some characters who experience stat losses in specific situations due to the limit.
Some characters who can reach the Crit DMG cap more easily than others or those not affected by ATK/Magic ATK face limitations in terms of growth,
which we identified as a hindrance to the fun of playing the game for character growth.
The second reason lies in our perspective as a content provider.
The current cap entails restrictions in higher stat values, leading to limitations in offering additional content.
In this regard, we decided that removing the cap would be necessary to provide better content in the long term,
considering factors for future updates, including new growth elements and battle content.
We understand you may have concerns regarding power inflation after removing the cap.
That is why we will perform balance tests to the smallest detail to prevent such an issue from arising within the game.
Japanese Voiceover Update
Japanese voiceovers will be updated for Story Packs 4-10.
The voiceovers for Character Packs 1-5 are still under preparation.
There may be delays, but we are confident the update will be carried out; we will notify you after setting the specific schedule.
Additional Supported Language: Simplified Chinese
Simplified Chinese has been added as one of the supported languages.
Low Performance Mode (SD) Update
An option will be added to support low performance mode.
You can select the low performance mode on the game title screen while downloading the patch or on the settings page after logging in to the game.
Low performance mode will set the game to use more compressed textures and prevent playing cut scenes or sounds
depending on your device's memory conditions for stable gameplay under insufficient memory.
That is all for the 1st Anniversary update.
The details we've discussed will be applied to the game in their order from June to July.
The following is a list of content we're preparing for Q3 after the 1st Anniversary update.
Guild Raid
After implementing the guild system in the 1st Anniversary update,
we plan to add guild raids during Q3, where guild members join forces to defeat massive bosses.
We are reviewing the plan to expand the formation beyond the existing 3x4 grid system and allow more than five characters to take part in battles.
We also consider using guild members' support characters when more than five participate in the formation.
In this content, all guild members work together to raise a gigantic golem,
who will then assist the members in battle by landing powerful attacks.
New NPC Quests & Seasonal Events 
To keep up with global sports events starting in July,
we are preparing new NPC quests and seasonal events with the theme of a sports gathering.
A new area called Athletic Field will be added to the map of the 2nd Brown High School, the main stage of Character Pack 1.
There, you will run into a variety of events as the sports gathering is being prepared.
In this story, Loen becomes the protagonist who embarks on a journey filled with dreams and sweat.
Besides Loen, you will also run into a familiar face.
It will be one of the popular characters from the previous series and a member of the Dominus Octo.
The hints for the character are #Fire, #Magic, and #Female. Those who have played our previous title would have already figured her out.
New Summer Event Pack: Beachside Angels
After the First Summer Event Pack: Summer Knight, the second Summer Event Pack: Beachside Angels will be updated.
The new pack will set its stage at a beach, unraveling all sorts of hot summer tales. Of course, we can't forget about the new costumes.
Four brand new swimsuit costumes will be added: two for existing characters and two more for new ones.
Streamer Origami has promised to showcase incredible cutscenes during his livestream. Rumor has it that he put his career on the line for the cutscenes, so don't miss out! 
Products Scheduled to Celebrate 1st Anniversary
We have organized a wide range of products to celebrate the 1st Anniversary with you.
Firstly, the buy-one-get-one-free Dia purchase count will be reset.
Secondly, we'll be adding a "1st Anniversary 365 Paid Dia Draw x10", and "★5 Guaranteed Draw," both of which can be purchased with Paid Dias.
Also, a Step-up Draw that guarantees the new costume in line with the new costume pickup will be introduced.
Thirdly, we are preparing a new type of product that will provide "1st Anniversary Costume Selective Tickets."
Furthermore, we plan to add a variety of products that offer better value than before.
Detailed information will be provided through the update notes.
Update Plans for 2024 H2
Because we focused on Story Packs for H1, we plan to add a chain of Character Packs and Event Packs
dealing with our characters' side stories for 2024 H2, starting with the new Summer Event Pack.
We're coming up with a wide range of intriguing themes, so stay tuned.
"Direct Relay to PD Jun-hee Lee!" Q&A
Next up, we have "Direct Relay to PD Jun-hee Lee!" Here are the answers to your questions submitted via the Q&A channel.
We have once again received a lot of suggestions from users around the world. We truly appreciate all your heartfelt pieces of feedback and assure you that we have checked all of them.
Based on the frequency and significance of the commonly asked questions from various countries, we have categorized them into "Key Questions" and "Miscellaneous Questions."
Besides the questions we've addressed, we gathered noteworthy queries to bring improvements to our team.
In the previous Q&A, there were many questions that could only be answered after discussions between the development and business teams.
But this time around, we figured that most of the questions were in line with the ideas of the development team, so we were able to come up with our response more comfortably.
Along with the questions, we received a lot of support messages, which became a morale boost for us to work even harder for you.
Most of the questions and answers below were mentioned during the livestream, but we've organized them here for your convenience.
Key Questions
Q. Do you plan to add any content where we can cooperate with other players?
A. As mentioned during today's stream, we have plans to add the guild feature along with guild raids.
Q. Since the game rating has changed to "Mature," can we expect to see more revealing costumes for future female characters?
A. Brown Dust 2 is currently being serviced globally through a unified build; it should be made clear the game has not been rated "Mature" for all regions and platforms. Therefore, we have no plans to raise the level of exposure drastically. However, we understand our users' desires and will try our best not to disappoint you.
Q. Are there any plans to improve the battle system?
A. For the Guild Raid, which is under preparation, we're reviewing the expansion of formations, additional characters, terrains that prevent character placement, and different battle modes according to the boss's phase.
Q. "Very Hard" mode has become increasingly difficult. Are you considering any new growth elements?
A. "We plan to release the new growth elements along with new content. We are also reviewing the possibility of allowing ★3 and ★4 characters to grow alongside ★5 characters."
Q. "When will you release the next Character Pack? Also, will the Summer and Winter Event Packs be re-released?"
A. Starting with the new Summer Event Pack, we have plans to update even more Character and Event Packs during the second half of the year.
Q. Do you have any plans to sell merchandise?
A. "Of course. The plan is to start sales in sequence within key global regions, such as Korea, Japan, and Taiwan. After the cafe collaboration merchandise in Korea on June 6th,
we will make arrangements to offer merchandise in other global regions by the 1.5-Year Anniversary at the latest. Any further details will be shared as soon as they are finalized."
Q. Why aren't you removing the limit on ATK and Crit DMG?
A. "Currently, ATK and Magic ATK are capped at 10,000, and the cap for Crit DMG is 700%. We are certainly considering the removal of these limits.
We've also had countless discussions on whether to raise the bar or just remove the limits altogether.
We concluded that the same issues may reoccur if we made ambiguous changes to the limit, which would force us to adjust the limit repeatedly. This has led us to consider the total removal of the stat cap."
Q. When will full Japanese voiceovers be available for all stories?
A. We're almost ready to release the Story Packs, and they will be made available to you soon enough. As for the Character Packs, please stay tuned as they are still being worked on.
Q. Do you have any plans to release limited characters again, including future collaborations?
A. "We plan to continue re-releasing limited characters. However, since collaboration characters require separate contracts from other parties, we cannot give you a definite answer at the moment."
Q. Do you plan to release villain characters, such as Apostles?
A. Yes, we are considering their release. There are even characters whose release has already been confirmed.
Q. Do you plan to add more Bunny Girl costumes in the future?
A. Because we consider Bunny Girl costumes to be one of our key visuals alongside Swimsuits, we definitely have plans to add more.
Q. Do you have any plans to release Olivier as a playable character?
A. This is a popular question we've received from all regions. Olivier is a character who grabbed the attention of players in Story Pack 13, even more so than Justia. She was not designed to be playable, but thanks to her popularity, turning her into a playable character is being debated on a serious note.
Q. "Do you have any plans to update My Room? I hope you can turn it into fully-fledged housing content."
A. The My Room is a feature that is always on our agenda. We are considering the option to completely overhaul the system, as well as scaling its scope.
Q. Please increase the supply for Tear of Goddess.
A. "In the current state, we believe that it is too early to increase the speed of unlocking potential. Therefore, we have yet to make plans to expand their supply significantly.
However, we will come back to the issue when designing the rewards for future content."
Q. Do you have any other content in development besides the roguelike feature?
A. "The Guild Raid feature we revealed during today's stream is next in line. We haven't confirmed what will be in store after that.
However, during our internal meetings, we've discussed themes such as SPRG battles with traditional tile movement, a maker mode in which players can manually design monster formations in dungeons, defense-type battle content, and a community feature where users can gather at a single square. We are also considering to add more content based on user feedback."
Other Questions
Q. Do you have plans to create and release an art book?
A. We are definitely considering the release of an art book. It's just a matter of when. We will notify you right away when we come up with a specific plan.
Q. The female characters of Brown Dust 2 are extremely attractive. Do you have any plans to create their figurines?
A. We are trying to create figurines through various channels. We expect to give you more news on this matter soon.
Q. Do you have any plans to develop Character Packs or Event Stories into more extended scenarios like the Main Story Packs?
A. "The development team has been entertaining a similar idea.
We plan to develop more stories within the same universe as the Character Packs that are already available.
As of now, we're preparing the new Summer Pack to be a continuation from last year's pack, Summer Knight."
Q. I would love to see packs released more frequently. How long does it take to create a new pack?
A. "It takes us about three months to plan out the story of a pack from start to finish.
To maintain high-quality field play, everyone is doing their best to reach their full potential in all areas of the game, from map creation to level design, direction, and sound.
On top of that, we need to take care of voice actors' recordings and post-production quality enhancements. That is why the whole process begins at least six months ahead."
Q. Do you have plans to add new costumes for ★3 and ★4 characters?
A. Yes. We know that a surprising number of users have stated their favorite characters are ★3 or ★4. We would love to create more but haven't been able to so frequently because ★5 characters tend to become our priority.
Q. Will ★3 and ★4 characters ever be able to reach Level 100 like ★5 characters? Sometimes, I can't use my favorite characters in battle because of their low stats.
A. We are considering ways to let ★3 and ★4 characters develop as well in the new growth system.
Q. Do you plan to add more NPC Quests?
A. NPC Quests have been delayed due to the development of Seasonal Events. However, we plan to add more NPC Quests with the Sports Gathering theme in July.
Q. I recently started playing this game. From a new player's perspective, it has been hard to find useful reference materials, and the game seems to lack continuity when it comes to promotional events.
A. "Improving the convenience of new users will always be one of our priorities.
We also expect to host various promotions during the 1st Anniversary, with plans to include offline advertisements in Korea, Japan, and Taiwan."
Q. Do the developers play the game like users?
A. "Yes. Members of the development team also play the game under the same conditions as normal players.
In fact, some of us got too deep into their gameplay, so we had to prevent them from ranking within the top 100 in some content.
However, players sometimes run into updates that lack quality in terms of gameplay experience.
These issues occur most likely because some pieces of the content are rushed near the update deadline.
We sometimes had instances where we gave the content a pass if it worked without any bugs in ordinary situations.
But from now on, if we find any inconveniences for our users, we plan to halt the process and revise them as needed during development."
Q. "When are you going to address the device optimization issue? The app keeps crashing."
A. "The device optimization process is ongoing. App crashes often occur due to insufficient device memory.
That is why we're going to add a low performance mode to ensure a stable gameplay environment under limited memory settings."
Q. When is the Main Story going to be concluded?
A. We are carefully designing the flow with scalability in mind. Thus, some story arcs may come to a conclusion, but we do not have a set ending planned just yet.
Q. Who is the development team's favorite character?
A. I will be the representative to answer this question. It used to be Justia, but lately, I have grown fond of Loen.
Q. Which female characters do the producers prefer? Young or mature?
A. Allow me to take this opportunity to clarify one thing. I generally prefer cute characters, but that does not mean I am into characters that resemble children...
Q. Do you have any arguments with Origami when coming up with new costumes or animations because you two have different desires?
A. "I admit that our directions sometimes go down different paths, although we both have a similar level of desire.
I personally prefer simple designs with more unique effects.
On the other hand, Origami tends to prefer adding spice to colors from the design stage.
Since there is no right answer, I respect Origami and the art team's style to their full extent
and work in collaboration while sharing gentlemanly references through personal channels."
Q. How many Brown Dust 2 creators are there?
A. "When it comes to the development team alone, we have around 70 people. When considering everyone from the business team and other relevant departments, there are about 40 of us.
We may not be the number one game just yet,
but we aim to offer the best Brown Dust 2 experience to match our contemporaries at the top of the list.
A total of 100+ members in the Brown Dust 2 team are doing their best for the game's success.
We believe our long-term investment will improve the game continuously and eventually gain more recognition from players."
Thank you for taking the time to read this note.
We've noticed many Brown Dust 2 players
have voiced their wish to let more people know about our game.
In response to your requests, we will initiate various marketing along with our 1st Anniversary.
You'll find billboards with Brown Dust 2 advertisements in various areas, including Akihabara in Japan, Taipei Station in Taiwan, and Hongdae and Kukje Electronics Center in Seoul.
We're also planning a small offline event at the underground shopping mall of Taipei Station in July, so keep your eyes open for the news on this event.
Starting with the 1st Anniversary, we plan to host various offline events in major global regions, such as Korea, Japan, and Taiwan, one after another.
We will make preparations to meet you face to face in offline events in various parts of the world by the 1.5-Year Anniversary at the latest.
We might have already expressed gratitude and appreciation for being with us for the past year during our stream,
but we can never thank our users enough.
We are truly grateful to everyone enjoying our game,
and we will always work to offer a better gameplay experience.
With that, we will wrap up today's Developer Note with a gift.
[Developer Note Gifts]
- 600 Dias
- 40 Cooked Rice
※ You can receive your Developer Note Gifts from your Mailbox until June 17, 2024 (KST).
Thank you.
