Release Notes for Oaken

The Roots Update 1.0.1 (July 20th, 2023)

MAIN CHANGES:

• A new world - the Roots - found in the 3rd chapter of the game
• A new Guide - the secret one
• improved and expanded the prologue chapter
• improved AI behaviour
• improved the "undo" command
• added the outro for the bonus ending
• added achievements for the peaceful ending and the new world
• added Japanise localisation
• TONS of small visual and gameplay improvements all over the place

Update 0.10.0 (April 21st, 2023)

MAIN CHANGES:

• added a new hero - Kidu and the Outcasts
• updated localisation for all available languages (CN has no more missing symbols)
• made a ton of bugfixes in different areas of the game
• added a few new achievements and reduced the required counters of some old ones
• added wild Outcasts and their levels to all worlds for gameplay variety
• reworked and balanced levels in all worlds
• reworked and balanced many trinkets, wisps and cards
• made some guides more fun (Raiku, Baralai) and nerfed the most powerful one a bit (Kusta)
• increased the difficulty of the final boss
• removed all placeholder art
• made some global changes to shrines, talents and pushing immobile units

Update 0.9.3 (January 19th, 2023)

MAIN CHANGES:

• the final boss fight was reworked - it's more streamlined and more challenging, especially with masteries
• boss fights in the SoS, the Crown and the Hollows were reworked/improved
• all old levels in the Crown were reworked/improved, and a few additional levels were added
• you can now choose the world you want to visit, based on the guaranteed rewards from the chapter's boss
• achievements now track progression
• masteries are now selected by rows - you can still select the masteries you want, but masteries from further tiers can only be selected after a whole previous tier is selected
• you can now preview the enemy hero on their portrait, and enemy skills are visible all the time, with the one that's currently available being highlighted
• the highest mastery on which you have won with a particular guide is now displayed in the player profile as a trophy
• shrine visibility was improved
• chill mode is now more visible and available since the first game
• strength, shield and other modifiers had their system improved and should now display more sensibly
• many, many various bugs were removed
• a few slight changes to items and masteries were made

Update 0.9.2 (January 18th, 2023)

MAIN CHANGES:

• Seas of Serpents - a new world for Chapter 2 with a new boss, elites and events
• VFX visuals for most spells, skills and abilities were reinvented
• The final boss fight was reworked - it's more streamlined and more challenging, especially with masteries. It's not 100% finished visually yet
• Boss fights in the SoS, the Crown and the Hollows were slightly reworked/improved
• All old levels in the Crown were improved/reworked, and a few additional levels were added
• You can now choose the world you want to visit, based on the guaranteed rewards from the chapter's boss
• Multiple objects, cards and units were improved or has been recreated from scratch (finally shrines too!)
• Objectives were completely reworked and should work and display more accurately
• Spell targeting was completely reworked and should now allow for more precise spell range indicators
• A large general balance/rework pass was also performed, with all guides, talents, trinkets, spells, wisps, etc that needed a buff/nerf receiving one
• Bosses and elites that leave the board for a turn now cannot move or attack after returning, but they now cast those spells only after finishing their turn
• Refuge node now restores all Exhausted cards to the player, no matter which option they choose
• Regen/Degen now activate at the end of a unit's turn, not the start and it is much easier to anticipate its damage
• More events are now shared between worlds in the same chapter for an increased variety
• Obstacles are now interactive and can be destroyed
• Node distribution was changed to allow for more varied outcomes
• Elder and hollow units are now easier to differentiate from their basic versions
• New trinkets were added (16)
• New Wisps were added (16)
• And, as always, a ton of bugfixes

SPELLS:

• wade can now also push units onto occupied hexes
• impale can now be cast on allies
• decompose has been redesigned a bit
• decomposeA+ and flowB+ also make the caster swap rotation with the target (this was inconsistent between spells)
• flow now costs 1 less Lumi
• flowB+ now moves the targets forward instead of giving strengthened targets strength
• surge now costs 1 more Lumi - it overperforms by a lot for it's cost and should still be competitive at 3 Lumi
• allureC+ can now affect allies
• repel can now target enemies
• addle can now target allies
• debilitateB+ now inflicts Exposure based on the amount of allied hexes adjacent to the target
• recycleC+ now deals additional damage if the target is ensnared, not weakened
• launch now can be cast onto the hero in its basic version
• launch A+ now restores health to the target after a collision occurs
• launch C+ now gives the target Growth
• shift now doesn't prevent attacking and can be cast onto any nearby hex, but doesn't have reach shift A, B and C+ have been changed
• protect was fixed to include Strength, but now only affects nearby hexes
• recycle now spawns niblets rotated in the same direction as the target
• sprout now spawns niblets rotated in the direction of the spell

SKILLS:

• Aya's skill can now target allies if the player for some reason wants to do it
• upgraded Aya's skill now deals additional damage if the target is not adjacent instead of hitting more targets
• upgraded Enju's skill now makes the target a Defender
• Kusta's skill now only affects a single enemy in your LoS
• Kusta's upgraded skill now works like the previous unupgraded one
• Baralai's upgraded skill now pushes all units in your frontal arc away
• Plague now deals damage to ALL nearby units
• upgraded Plague now deals damage to ALL units
• upgraded Cultivate now creates an additional allied hex under yourself
• Buff Up now also removes Weakness from the target

ENEMIES

• The lord of niblets now summons a single Wild Niblet instead of 2, but also summons one when attacked
• The conqueror's spit now summons a hollow orbling instead of 2 wild ones on expert
• Enemies now summon pawns in a way which is not so vulnerable to outsmating
• Grandmaster Artisan was changed a bit

TRINKETS:

• Lifeblood now works on turn start, not on turn end
• Emblem of Loyalty now grants Shield on losing Shield
• Zapbloom now triggers on Slay
• Crippling Vines are now AoE and trigger the first time you attack each battle
• The Cycle affects the whole board, not only nearby units
• Toxic Coating doesn't give you degen anymore
• Spore Infestation now weakens all adjacent units when you are attacked
• Lumite Symbionts now inflict Weakness and Exposure on the attacker, not yourself, but don't give any stats
• Cleansing Heart now protects from becoming Weakened, too
• Source of Eternity doesn't give minus stats now
• Alluring Sundew gives +1 health
• Horn of the Winds doesn't grant "Elusive" but "Mobility" instead
• Necklace of Forecast grants just Vigilant now
• Incorruptible Bark gives +1 health
• Thorn Thrower grants just Shooter now
• Barbed Rose's Seed doesn't deal damage to your units now
• Dark Infusion now heals all Fatigue when received
• The rarity of some trinkets was changed to better fit the way they now work

WISPS:

• Wisp and trinket names are now colored by rarity
• Twisted Wisp now Ensnares the first enemy in the line to its front
• Caustic Wisp now deals 1 damage, but to all enemies in its frontal arc
• Versatile Wisp now doesn't trigger on Outsmart, only on Awake
• Unwavering Wisp now grants Shield, not Strength, to actually increase the survaviblity of the unit with Fatigue
• The Storm Inbound now grants Haste on Slay, not Mobility - it was overperforming by a lot

UNITS:

• Elder Daughter is now 3/4 instead of 4/3
• Elder Shaper now summons Niblets in its frontal arc instead of pushing the unit in front of it away
• Aya's Awake now deals bonus damage to non-adjacent units (up to 2), and her talent increases that to up to 3

TALENTS:

• Talent 1:3 doesn't remove units from your deck anymore, but it also cannot roll trinkets of the highest rarity
• Talent 4:3 now gives a Lumi Globe at the start of the game
• Talent 5:2 was reworded to better mean what it actually does. More rewards are included as guide-synergistic, but the chance increase was reduced to +25%
• Talent 5:3 now gives +0/+3 instead of an upgraded spell

OTHER:

• Luminati is now a global event that can only appear in the 2nd and 3rd chapters
• Achievements now track progression
• Masteries are now selected by rows - you can still select the masteries you want, but masteries from further tiers can only be selected after a whole previous tier is selected
• You can now preview the enemy hero on their portrait, and enemy skills are visible all the time, with the one that's currently available being highlighted
• The highest mastery on which you have won with a particular guide is now displayed in the player profile
• Shrine visibility was improved
• Chill mode is now more visible and available since the first game
• Strength, shield and other modifiers had their system improved and should now display more sensibly

Spellcasters Update 0.5.0

Notice: This patch has some major gameplay changes and will clear your currently saved run!

Features:

• improved tutorial, now it includes world-map steps and much more information
• added a new Guide - Raiku. He can be unlocked in any chapter after the player has unlocked 3 or more Guides
• added 8 new spells
• added separate world illustration for the Crown
• many UX improvements

Changes:

• large rework of the keyword script system, making interactions between different unit effects, spells and special fields more consistent and fixing multiple issues with "on death" effects
• slightly reduced and unified the amount of Lumi Dust gained, especially from main battle objectives
• added animations for Keeper spirit and a new model and animations for Picker spirit
• changed few achievements to provide a better challenge

Bugfixes:

• fixed trinkets sprite areas
• fixed shrines and made them more visible
• fixed a bug causing shrines to sometimes spawn on top of each other
• fixed few achievements not working correctly
• fixed Source of Eternity and Spore Infestation trinkets
• fixed levitating Lurkers bug
• fixed some VFX visuals

Talent Tree Update 0.4.0

Main Features:

• completely revamped the difficulty system - expert mode was removed, Mastery Tree was added
• the player can now choose difficulty modifiers they wish to impose on themselves and unlock Mastery Points by completing runs with the highest Mastery level available
• added the Talent Tree
• the player can choose talents before starting the game that provide some benefits, up to 6 talents can be chosen at once
• talents can be unlocked by finishing runs with various guides and completing achievements
• added Heal Button for healing Fatigued and Exhausted spirits

Changes:

• reduced the length of each chapter by 1 node
• buffed/Nerfed some weak/broken trinkets and abilities
• tripwire Creepers - works on enemies only
• lumite Symbionts - gives +1/+5 instead of +1/+3
• the Swift Gardener Wisp - works up to 3 times per turn
• adjusted Fatigue values in a few Events
• added 5 new trinkets
• improved clarity and terms of some keywords
• removed the possibility of freely rotating before moving - this feature did not work as intended
• refuge shop was balanced a bit - trinkets can now appear there, good items appear more frequently and cost less

Bugfixes:

• fixed an issue causing Aya to be considered the current guide for achievement purposes if the game was reloaded from a save
• fixed issues causing shrines to not correctly apply their effects in some cases
• fixed some issues with displaying Unstable cards in hand and deck preview
• fixed a bug causing push and amber prison interactions to not work as intended