Dear Envoys,
We have a couple of news for you, including our very first regular update to the PC version of the game.
While we will always consider putting Hotfixes live as quickly as they are ready, we hope that a new update cycle can help us stabilize the game and reduce the need for Hotfixing in the long run.
Reducing the risk of introducing new issues into the version by moving too fast is also a very welcome side-effect.
Our highest priority for these updates is to improve the overall game experience and to get anything preventing matches from being found, played, and completed out of the way.
Now, onto today's topics:
Maintenances
Starting today, we will introduce a regular maintenance on every Thursday. This will happen around 14:00 UTC and we estimate that downtimes will not be longer than 30 minutes.
We will also use this time window to update the ingame store with new items and put a new set of Ubisoft Connect challenges online, including a new community challenge.
Errors, De-Syncs and "frozen" matches
Despite already fixing some severe crashes that prevented some players from accessing the game at all, the hotfixes we deployed in the first weeks after launch have also helped us in reducing the occurrences of de-syncs in the game. These efforts will continue until we can provide the multiplayer experience you expect. We will keep you updated on our progress and future fixes.
Balancing
Adventurer & Guildhall
With Thursday's update, we introduced a couple of changes around all areas of the game. The balance updates change construction costs for buildings, unit prices and stats. One of the more substantial impacts are the changes to the Adventurer and the Guildhall. Recruiting Adventurers in the guildhall now require wheat instead of wooden logs. The guildhall now requires tools to be constructed. Together these changes create a requirement to build the toolmaker (and the construction goods industry), a farm and the guild hall itself, which requires a larger commitment from players going this route than before.
Research
Some research options have been adjusted in their effects. "Criminal Records" was boosted to deal more bonus damage, while the slow duration of "Improved Alchemy" was slightly increased. Our efforts here are just a first step and we will continue improving the research based on the match data and user feedback we see, further down the road.
Order Of Brunn
We have changed the units in the Order of Brunn to be a bit different for each faction. This includes the costs, health, and ranges of their abilities.
Maps
Multiple maps have undergone iteration and received some well-deserved fixes and the team is eager to continue with that.
In some cases, we already bring a very first change to the ways how AI behaves on the map, but this effort is just a first step and by far not yet the last one.
We appreciate your feedback and observations on the AI and thank you for the patience in the time it will take us to improve the situation.
UI / UX / QOL
Many changes have happened in UI and UX, many of them may seem rather small in nature, but all together they should be a noteworthy improvement to the game.
This includes (but is not limited to) changes in the HUD, the Lobby, the Friendslist / Invitations and the settings menu.
Bugfixes & Minor Improvements
This version also introduces bugfixes and minor improvements. Feel free to look up a selection of these in the full patch notes.
Thank you all for playing the game. We're looking forward to seeing how this version plays out in your hands.