Dear CEOs, 

This is Kim Hyun Soo, the Head PD of CounterSide. 

This episode of the Dev Notes will be about the updates on April 26 along with what is coming on May 2023. 

[ Arcade Mode ]

On April 26 update, a new gauntlet event mode, which we have mentioned in the previous dev notes, will be released with the name [Arcade Mode] on the KR server first. The [Arcade Mode] is a mode in which we plan to feature different gauntlet concepts that everyone can enjoy without pressure. The [Arcade Mode] will be open every day from 11:00 to 23:59 and available to everyone without any requirements. Regardless of the result, CEOs will be able to receive a small reward for playing the mode. Depending on the number and the frequency of using this mode, we may change the opening time for the [Arcade Mode]. 

[New Taskforce Plan - Squad Growth Plan]

Ship developments, raid equipment crafting, and other in-game systems are needed elements while playing the game, but there was no guide from the Taskforce Plan about it to aid our CEOs, hence newer CEOs had a hard time adjusting to the game. As such, we have integrated elements that are needed to grow the units and such into the Taskforce Plan which we hope will aid all our CEOs. 

[Status Effect Display]

On the status effects that were explained previously through the developer's notes, we decided to add a ◇ mark to the description for status effects that are not buff/debuff to differentiate them. However, since there was no detailed explanation of how the existing buff/debuff system work, I would like to take the time to introduce how 'confusion' and 'nullification' work as examples.

‘Nullification’ is a term that unifies what was previously expressed as ‘immune’, ‘remove’, ‘cancel’, etc. to nullify buffs/debuffs that are not permanent effects. Status effects with the ◇ mark are not applied through buffs/debuffs, so they are not affected by ‘nullification.’

‘Confusion’ does not have a ◇ mark, so units in the ‘nullification’ state are not affected by ‘Confusion’. However, units that are already in a ‘confusion’ state will not be dispelled through the ‘nullification’ state. This is because the ally affected by 'Confusion' is temporarily judged as an enemy and cannot receive the ally's debuff nullification effect. However, if a unit that is in the ‘confusion’ state receives the ‘confusion’ effect once more, the ‘confusion’ state inflicted by the enemy will be canceled.

Moreover, since the application of buffs/debuffs has a complex structure, we plan to continuously update the management guide for more detailed information so that all CEOs can check it in-game.

Furthermore, starting from April 26, the automatic organization rules, which previously placed units in order of combat power, will be changed to place them in consideration of the unit class and the deployment cost. 

In addition, changes in deployment costs will be shown when checking the ship information or rearming, and we plan to add a special icon to prevent confusion on the equipment set for the Initiative and Replica equipment series. 

What's more, the skill cooldown reduction option of Eugene's exclusive gear 'Hound Fangs', which was questioned about its effectiveness after rearmament, will be changed to an attack speed option.

For a more immersive play, the overall balancing of in-game sound will be carried out, so that there is no situation where the volume of a specific BGM is too loud or the dialogue is difficult to understand.

On May 2023, the expansion of the existing contents and gameplay is in progress. 

[Tyrant Gigas and Additional Co-op Battle Funcitons]

A new Co-op Battle Boss, Tyrant Gigas will be featured. Gigas will have a high defense, which will make him way tougher than the Demolition Worm.

With the addition of Tyrant Gigas, changes will also arrive in the arena. Of the existing arenas, 4 of them will be replaced, hence we hope the changes in the arena will bring a new strategy to our CEOs. To aid our CEOs, a consortium notice will now appear on the Co-op Battle UI, and a practice mode will be added for practicing the Co-op boss while choosing any artifact in the practice arena. 

[ Dive Coordinate Expansion ] 

Just like the title, additional dive will be added. Since these dives are designed for those CEOs who can reach coordinate 50 with ease, these dive coordinates will be extremely difficult to challenge the squad to the limit. Also, ESPR Corrupted Objects on the coordinates around the 30s will have their difficulty lowered. 

As for gameplay improvement, we are first converting enhancement modules into supply, and improving the UX of the equipment system, including equipment recommendations for each unit. Through this, we want to make it easy to manage various types of equipment and to check which equipment suits each unit better.

Next, we are going to alleviate a rapid increase in difficulty on Mainstream episodes 7 & 8 so that the progress continues smoothly. Also, we are currently adjusting the certain sections where certain units were forced to be included in your squad will be changed so that you can select your units. 

The monster tag, which was developed to expand the PVE experience by giving characteristics to monsters, is decided to proceed in the form of sentences because it was judged that the existing form was difficult to contain certain complex combat information.

Finally, to reduce the confusion and chaos by featuring new units towards the end of the Danger Close season, we are currently adjusting the Danger Close’s opening period. With it, we are also planning to add a feature where CEOs can practice the Danger Close’s boss without spending the try count. We also are planning to add a feature where Awakened units will now be able to get the team up buff which is given during the Danger Close season. 

This is it for the April Dev Notes. 

We will come back with more news on the next episode. 

Thank you.