Hello. This is BrownDust2 PD Jun-hee Lee.
I would like to address the skill cutscene issue before entering the Developer Notes.
Recently, many players have expressed their disappointment in the quality of skill cutscenes.
First, I fully understand your disappointment in Piercing Magic Bow Eleaneer's skill cutscene quality.
I apologize for our lack of care in tailoring our services to your needs in this regard.
I must admit we were in a rush to update the existing skill cutscenes as soon as possible. However, our circumstances cannot be an excuse.
I sincerely apologize again to players who have been waiting eagerly for the 1.5-Year Anniversary update.
We have discussed with the illustration and directing teams to improve the cutscenes that caused complaints.
As for Eleaneer, we will improve her scene's presentation, such as by adding a background or removing the doll.
We will also adjust Luvencia's cutscene and change Levia's body shape to match her figure.
We are very well aware of the value that skill cutscenes hold for you,
the players of Brown Dust 2.
When it comes to cutscenes, we will take meticulous care of various elements, such as motion, effects, body shapes, and balance, as well as the quality of illustrations.
Now, let's move on to the update.
I will give you the details of the updates that will take place before the 1.5-Year Anniversary, as well as some of the things we are preparing for the anniversary.
I will also share the results of the collaboration event survey along with other news.
[Rerun] "Nightmare Winter" Event Pack (December 5th)
First, the "Nightmare Winter" Event Pack, showcased in last year's winter's half-anniversary, will return.
Travel to a modern city that appears peaceful on the outside.
However, a ruthless ruler looms behind the scenes, watching over and controlling everyone in the city
and disposing of anyone who goes against their will.
Yet, there were those who came together to resist such unreasonable rule.
Hidden truths are revealed, and determination blooms through the sacrifices of precious people.
We hope you'll dive into this heart-warming story that unfolds in a cold winter city.
Characters in Nightmare Winter
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Nightmare Bunny Eclipse |
Masquerade Celia |
Anti-Dystopia Diana |
Stray Cat Rou |
In addition to Nightmare Bunny Eclipse and Masquerade Celia, which were released as limited costumes for the Half Anniversary,
Anti-Dystopia Diana and Stray Cat Rou will be available for you to obtain.
All Stray Cat Rou costumes will be distributed up to +5 upgrade, so if you didn't obtain it last year, don't miss out on this opportunity.
There is something I would like to add to the story of Nightmare Winter.
The Character Packs and Event Packs in Brown Dust 2 are based on a parallel universe concept.
Some packs share the same universe, while others play out in different worlds.
In the "Click! Click! Summer" season event updated in the summer of 2024, Eclipse and Morpeah
appeared as actresses, starring in a movie named "Nightmare Winter."
This led to many users speculating that the Nightmare Winter Pack may be the plot of the movie.
I would like to clarify that Nightmare Winter and Click! Click! Summer are based on two different worlds,
and that the costume theme in the Summer Pack is a parody-like adaptation of the Nightmare Winter concept.
In other words, Nightmare Winter's story is a setting that actually exists within the pack.
From now on, we will provide a clearer description of the parallel universe in each pack to ensure you can enjoy the story without any inconvenience.
[Rerun] Seasonal Event "Marry Me!" (November 21st)
The seasonal event "Marry Me!" will be re-released. You'll be able to meet Refithea in a cute wedding dress again.
A new story unfolds in the fairy tale land, the setting of the fifth Character Pack.
In Marry Me, a villain from the fairy tale land who desires a bride kidnaps several princesses.
You will get to experience the bold adventure of Refithea who aspires to become the ultimate bride to rescue them.
Fiend Hunter Blue Beard (Darkness)
Blue Beard, the Fiend Hunter boss in Marry Me, will be re-released.
Although Blue Beard was a boss with Darkness property, it will be re-released with the same property
to maintain the balance of the recent Fiend Hunter property rotation. However, some gimmicks have been adjusted to enhance the fun of strategizing.
The boss now has a pattern of applying a shield to itself, and the quicker you attack this shield consecutively, the more damage you can deal.
[Rerun] Seasonal Event "Fireworks Memories" (December 5th)
Fireworks Memories, which covers the epilogue of the Nightmare Winter pack, will also be re-released.
After that day, which was like a nightmare, I gained something precious and irreplaceable.
A new story begins as members of the resistance organization Levatein devise a new strategy to end the chaos in the city.
* The Fireworks Memories event story takes place after the ending of Nightmare Winter story.
We recommend reading the story after clearing the Nightmare Winter Event Special Pack main quest.
Fiend Hunter E.O.N (Water)
E.O.N, the Fiend Hunter boss in Fireworks Memories, will be changed from Light to Water property.
Also, the boss has a pattern of attacking the character while also granting a buff every turn.
Next, we have details regarding the pickup for November and December.
The two new pickups updated on December 17th (Tue) will be revealed through the 1.5-year Anniversary livestream.
The pickup period for New Employee Nebris will be extended by 7 days to celebrate the 1.5-year interaction content update.
The 1.5-year Anniversary update will take place on Tuesday instead of Thursday. Due to this difference, there will be changes to some of the pickup schedules.
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Queen of Signatures Michaela |
New Hire Nebris |
Wind Dancer Venaka |
Queen of Signatures Michaela: As a magic DPS with Light property, she consumes extra SP when suing skills, but deals high DMG proportionate to her penalty.
New Hire Nebris: As a physical DPS with Wind property, she deals more DMG the more beneficial effects are applied to her.
Wind Dancer Venaka: As a magic DPS and a supporter of Wind property, she makes the enemy vulnerable to Wind property as she deals DMG.
* Notice regarding Fiend Hunter and pickup policy
Fiend Hunter is divided into a preparation period and a hunting period.
Players have pointed out that they feel significant pressure to prepare all strategies on the first day when a new pickup appears during the hunting period, and we wholeheartedly agree with this opinion.
As pickup costumes greatly impact the clearing of Fiend Hunter, we will release them during the preparation period from now on to provide you with enough time to practice before the hunt.
Also, we have again discussed the gameplay method of forcing players to use specific costumes with the planning team.
From now on, we will put more care into our gameplay design to offer a wider variety of strategies.
We will also focus more on finding the balance while maintaining the original difficulty.
Official Seasons for Tower of Salvation (November 21st)
After five trial seasons, the Tower of Salvation will be converted into an official season.
Increase in season target score
With the start of the official season, the target score will be increased from 2 billion to 15 billion.
The target score may change every season, and the score will be determined by compiling several factors, such as Tower of Salvation participation level, participation rate, and length of the previous season.
* Target Score Achievement by Season
Increase in rewards
Following the conversion into an official season, rewards will also increase.
Awakening Elixir (final reward) x100 => x150
Refining Crystal x200 => x300
Ancient Crystal x20 => x30
Refining Powder x5,000 => x7,500
Other improvements
Relics with low usage rates will be buffed.
Effects of certain choices in the event room will be buffed.
Requirements will be added for score bonus achievements.
Skill specs of certain monsters will be changed.
We hope you enjoy the Tower of Salvation's official season, and we will continue to listen to your voices and improve our content.
Additional Improvements to Guild Raid (December 5th)
Additional improvements will be implemented to the Guild Raid.
Soon, you will be able to check each guild member's recent Guild Raid battle records according to their dates in the guild member list.
The battle records will clearly display the played level information.
You will also be able to sort your guild members based on their contribution rate on the guild page
and check their battle records from the previous season.
Additionally, the UI regarding the Repel feature will be improved.
When you press the Repel button, you will be able to see which guild member increased the Repel stats at which level.
Fourth Guild Raid Boss, Rucersingha, the Ruler of Darkness (December 5th)
Ruler of Darkness Rucersingha was designed to provide high buff values but make it harder to endure the boss's attacks when more characters try to receive the buff.
You will see better results by paying careful attention to the placements of a small number of characters who can use the buff given by the boss so that they can use it to their advantage.
1.5-Year Anniversary Update Plans
Now, the moment you've all been waiting for: news of the 1.5-Year Anniversary update.
The 1.5-year Anniversary update will be on Tuesday, December 17th,
and the pre-registration period will last for two weeks, from December 3rd (Tue) to December 17th (Tue).
A livestream for the 1.5-Year Anniversary will also be waiting for you, along with special livestreams for Taiwan and Japan, one for each region.
We are still finalizing the details, but we'll give you a sneak peek of some images under development, as many of you have high hopes for this update.
We will give you more details in the 1.5-year Anniversary livestream.
Development Team's Response to Players' Key Suggestions Regarding Gameplay
We received a list of suggestions for improvement from over 10 high-ranking guilds worldwide through our customer service center.
As these suggestions reached us through this venue, it is possible for us to answer them using the customer service center again, similar to other inquiries.
However, we felt that it would be best to deliver the development team's thoughts and directions along with the response.
Below are the items the development team has reviewed and shared via the Developer Notes.
* The suggestions have been written as closely to the original as possible to avoid any misunderstanding, with only some parts being condensed for clarity.
Suggestions Regarding Guild/Guild Raid
[Suggestion] A real-time leaderboard that displays the top 10 guilds (or top 0.1%) every season would be nice. I would also like to see an option to check the records from the previous season, just like in other game modes.
[Suggestion] The guild emblem effect feels somewhat plain. I suggest that you change it to a frame-like shape.
[Suggestion] Displaying the top 3 guilds' emblems instead of the trophies on the second floor in Chapter 3 Mercenary Guild would be a great way to recognize the guilds' achievements visually.
[Suggestion] I'd like to ask for new achievements and titles based on guild rankings, such as becoming the first to reach a record or reaching the top 0.1% multiple times.
[Response] The suggestions above were met with a positive reaction by the development team. We will evaluate them thoroughly and implement them whenever possible.
Fiend Hunter
[Suggestion] Some players who reach for the top 1,000/100/10 think that the rewards could be improved. Adding rewards such as Refining Crystal to the end-of-season rewards for these rankings would be a meaningful incentive to loyal players.
[Response] We wholly agree with the players who compete for the high ranks in Fiend Hunter.
However, increasing the currency rewards for the top-ranking players in competitive content aligns differently with our current approach to avoiding excessive competition. As such, we decided to defer this issue.
[Suggestion] I strongly recommend that you conduct thorough tests before releasing updates for Fiend Hunter. Playing Fiend Hunter with bugs disrupts user experience and destroys the competitive environment.
[Response] We deeply understand the frustration that may arise when the Fiend Hunter does not work properly due to bugs.
Due to bugs, many players would likely have lost all their progress toward conquering the Fiend Hunter.
We sincerely apologize for the inconvenience caused by the bugs.
We are constantly putting our efforts into improving the testing process.
We will also conduct more thorough checks for various scenarios.
[Suggestion] I hope you do not allow character renting from guild members or friends in Fiend Hunter. Maintaining the integrity of single-player competitive modes, such as the Fiend Hunter and PvP, is crucial for ensuring that each player's efforts are rewarding and fair.
[Response] After the support character system update in Guild Raid, we've received some suggestions regarding the rental of friends' characters.
However, we have not yet confirmed the development of the character rental system. We will take this into consideration and review it during the planning stage.
Last Night
[Suggestion] Similar to the Guild Raid, I'd like to see a leaderboard showing the top 10 (or top 100 / top 1,000) players in the Last Night, along with better rewards, to encourage a more competitive spirit. Including Refining Powder in the rewards will make achieving a high score more rewarding.
[Response] Scores above 100 million were set purely for the purpose of challenge, and since the Last Night content is not intended to push for high-level competition, we have decided to put this suggestion on hold.
[Suggestion] Adding achievements and titles based on damage thresholds would also be a suitable addition to recognize players' accomplishments.
[Response] Honorary rewards, such as achievements and titles, can serve as motivation for everyone, so we are considering them with a positive attitude.
Fatigue in Crafting Refining Powder
Another major problem is that all high-ranking players need Refining Powder.
Currently, the only reliable method is to follow the cumbersome process below:
Materials -> Craft gear -> Upgrade gear -> Dismantle -> Powder
To reduce the fatigue of high-ranking players, I suggest adding the following conversion options to the alchemy skill:
Materials -> Powder (Refining Powder)
This way, hundreds of players will be able to craft numerous N swords without the need to upgrade and dismantle them, which will also reduce the burden on the server.
I believe you can implement this change while maintaining the same ratio of materials and the Ability Pills to Powder ratio as the current system's costs.
[Response] We understand the fatigue caused by the need to repeat the process of crafting, upgrading, and dismantling to obtain Refining Powder.
Many within the team have expressed similar opinions.
We are currently considering various approaches, such as automating the entire crafting-to-dismantling process or adding a feature where items are automatically dismantled once upgrading is complete. We will thoroughly review our options and implement suitable updates whenever possible.
Closing Remarks
Even if you decide not to adjust the current rewards, the most important thing to us is simply offering a leaderboard and extra rewards, such as achievements and titles. This move will recognize and celebrate player passion and enhance our experience.
Thank you for considering this suggestion. We believe that such changes will provide a richer and more rewarding experience to the loyal players without harming the game's accessibility. If the development team raises any concerns, we are ready to discuss further about the issue.
[Response] We wholeheartedly agree that motivational factors are needed for players to have a deep, immersive gameplay experience.
We put a hold on the increase of higher rewards, as this move did not align with our current direction of avoiding excessive competition.
However, we are planning to review the issues regarding improvements for honor rewards and convenience and implement them one at a time.
We are truly grateful to all of those who shared their meaningful thoughts.
Next, we have a part of the next collaboration and survey results many of you may want to know.
The entire result will be released through a separate post later.
What do you think about the number of pickup costumes in the collaboration event?
Overall 1st: 3
Comment: The majority of users in Korea answered "2," while expressing their concern about the increase in time-limited costumes due to the nature of collaboration events.
Which method of distributing collaboration characters do you prefer?
Overall 1st: Distribute 1 character costume with +5 upgrade
Comment: It was a surprise to see "It does not matter" come in first in English-speaking regions.
How many collaborations with other works would you consider ideal?
Overall 1st: Twice a year
Comment: "Twice a year" was the most answered across all regions, which was also more than twice as many as "Once a year," coming in at second place.
Although "Twice a year" was first in Korea, the difference between the first and second places was smaller compared to other regions.
Which collaboration character's skill cut-scenes did you enjoy? (Select all that apply)
Overall 1st: Yumi
Comment: Yumi came in at first place by a narrow margin.
In Taiwan and Japan, Yumi was in first place, while Hikage was in second.
In Korea and North America, Hikage was in first place, while Yumi came in second.
I personally liked Yozakura's cutscene, so I was a bit let down when I saw that it placed last globally.
Share your thoughts on the invasion defense of the second Guild Raid.
Share your thoughts on the boss defense in the second Guild Raid.
The results for Invasion Defense and Boss Defense showed slight improvements,
with an increase in "Satisfied" and a decrease in "Haven't Played"
compared to the first survey about the Guild Raid.
However, we are aware that we still need to make improvements, as the satisfaction rate did not exceed 50%, and because the "Not fun" selection rate has not been improved.
In addition to the improvements mentioned above, more are planned to take place. We will do our best for a higher satisfaction rate.
The next two are short-answer questions. We have compiled the common opinions from players all around the world.
Feel free to share your hopes for the next collaboration event. (Short Answers)
Many of the players showed high satisfaction in regard to the +5 upgrade giveaway policy.
There were also many requests for the re-release of collaboration events.
There were various opinions regarding performance balance, stating that characters should neither be too strong nor too weak.
In some regions, there were concerns that the collaboration events were held too frequently, mentioning that it felt like there was too much on the table.
Feel free to share your thoughts on what you liked and what could be improved in the second trial of Guild Raid. (Short Answers)
The overall feedback largely aligned with the requests for improvement in the first survey.
Since these opinions are consistently raised, we will pay closer attention and continue making improvements.
That is it for today.
Looking ahead to our 1.5-year Anniversary, we are making various external preparations as well as in-game content additions.
We will reveal them one by one starting next week, so please stay tuned.
With that, we will wrap up today's notes with a gift.
[Developer Notes Gifts]
- Dia x600
- Cooked Rice x40
※ You can collect your Developer Notes Gifts from your Mailbox until November 18th, 2024 (Monday).
Thank you.
