We are introducing many changes in preparation for our World-Wide Launch in March.
DO NOT UNINSTALL THE GAME
Please wait until the update option is available to you. Updates do not roll out to all regions simultaneously, but one at a time. Please be patient. If you uninstall the game, you will not be able to reinstall the game until the official World Wide release date.
Story:
3D Conversations
One of the biggest visual updates to Puzzle Quest 3 that brings our rich story content into line with our battles and creates an overall more immersive experience.
Map Progress
It was important to us to create more of a sense of place for players within the realm of Etheria.
The post-battle sequence in Story mode has now been updated to include a visual representation of the playerās location on the map, as well as providing a more streamlined way to display rewards gained
When starting a part of the storyline, it also shows a sequence indicating where the story is currently on the map
End of Story Sequences
When the Main Story is complete there are brand new animated sequences
Goals System Rework
The original Goals system was designed a long way back in pre-production and as such it no longer fit with how the game had evolved over the years and the multiple layered systems were confusing.
Summary of the changes:
Goals remain in the Tavern as they are account-wide
Weāre switching to 4 simple categories: PROGRESS, BATTLE, HEROES, COLLECTION
UI altered for clarity around when a reward has not yet been unlocked
Tutorial reworked
In addition to a stat bonus, completed Goals now also give a small resource reward that can be collected from the Goals tab in the Tavern.
Account migration to new Goals system:
Current Goal progression will be reset, along with the stat bonuses provided. Any Goals youāve already completed based on your account state will automatically be completed on first login. Some tasks such as Winning Battles or Defeating Enemies will have to start from 0.
Existing players gain compensation by mail. Compensation will be 30 Gems per previous goal completed. (Or per 0.1% in a stat for ease of counting). This compensation will be received when first logging into the game after installing the update.
Platform Achievements
Platform Achievements have now been added for Android and iOS!
There are 26 new Achievements which can be tracked in the Goals Tab
Rewards Sequence Changes
We wanted to take the time to distinguish the Chest, Battle and Quest rewards so they were more exciting, clear and meaningful
Quest Rewards
This has been integrated into the post-battle sequence along with Map Progress
Battle Rewards
The end of battle sequence has been streamlined so that all rewards show as part of the Victory sequence.
Chests can also be actioned from this screen
Additionally, if a chest is gained Minions can be sent to open them directly from this screen
Create & Select Hero Menu
Both the Create and Select Hero menus have been updated with brand new selection and Hero detail screens
Our goals were to
Streamline the hero creation screen
Showcase the personalities of our heroes
QOL and Miscellaneous:
Kingdoms
We do have plans for significant improvements to Kingdoms in an upcoming update, but for now we have some improvements to the way Kingdom leadership is handled.
Kingdom Leaders can now transfer leadership to another member of the Kingdom
Kingdom Leaders who are inactive for over 30 days can now be demoted by the next highest ranked member of the Kingdom.
Other
An option has been made available in-battle to increase the speed of animations during battle
There have been effects added when casting an Ultimate Spell
New Ultimate Spell Tutorial
Added Minions Filter in Chest Opening UI
Confirmation before spending Gems
Added version number details when a server status error message dialog appears.
Damage text in battle has been updated
Shield icon now should appear near damage amount text when damage is blocked
Playerās health and spells now show when an Altar selection comes on screen
Items such as spells or gear can occasionally be gained at greater than level 1. When this happens an effect will play to note that.
Improved feedback on button touches throughout the game, now most buttons should change visually when pressed or hovered over
Haptics are now implemented for iOS, and can be toggled in the Settings menu
Design & Balance
Difficulty balancing Level 20-50 & Level 55-100
General Hero balance
All 5 classes have had reworks on their 4 starting spells to improve low-level gameplay
Hero Class balance - Ultimate costs & effects; General class spell costs & effects
Enemy flavor & balance - Adjusted so they feel more distinct from each other
50% increase in gold from Altars
Bug Fixes
Black screen on startup and Unity Engine failed to initialize error on Android resolved
iOS Safe area fixes
Fixed issues where multiple small downloads would constantly happen on Android when loading the game
Fixed issue with being unable to change password for linked accounts on Android
Fixed an issue with Live Event leaderboards, where some players could achieve an unobtainable score
Known Issues
The Dwarf Berserker when facing to the left of screen has his shoulder plate in the wrong spot
The Premium Plus pack for Quest Pass has no visual indication of doubling the rewards, before they are collected. However this is just a visual issue as rewards are correctly being doubled when collecting.
āLeave your current partyā error message is displayed during the conversation and title becomes unresponsive after dismissing the message while being in a party and attempting a story battle. This is a rare corner case Note: You are able to continue game after restarting the game
Right, thatās my point. The last time I did playthroughs (after the 0.35 Patch changes) you do not receive 3rd and 4th spells anymore when you unlock the slots. Has this changed? I guess I donāt recall seeing this change.
It did change, but Iād have to go through all the old patch notes to find out which one it changed in. I canāt remember off the top of my head. Iām pretty sure this was already in either 0.38 or 0.39 as I started a new account in one of those versions so I could be up to date with the latest new player experience and Iām pretty sure it was already in there.
Thatās good to hear. I am a pretty close reader of the patch notes as you know but I donāt recall seeing that. Really good change though for new players. Glad to hear it.
I see no mention of increasing inventory limits for gear. Any word on that, please? Are we really still stuck with āgear set bonusesā that we canāt achieve because thereās not enough space in the inventory to keep enough copies of different gear?
ā¦means reducing how hard mobs hit at those upper levels, because combined with the double barrier nerfs (reducing proc rate on Dwarven Necklace, and decreasing to 50% damage reduction), the game will be unplayable at higher levels. Relying on procs is not exactly a fun way to play. Itās like playing the lottery, hoping that you āhitā before you lose. There arenāt any viable alternatives in 0.38 though, as healing or lifesteal are far, far too little to offset high mob damage. Any mob from level 60 on can crit on a simple swing and wipe out an entire armor+life bar.
With epics + 3 legendary items (gear score of 2089), Iāve been entirely reliant on getting barrier procs to save from being one-shotted. Each dungeon fight takes 10-12 minutes, nearly an hour to fill 5 chest slots. If I get unlucky in not getting up a barrier at the right time, Iām toast, which is about 10-15% of fights, often on the first mob. That in mind, if the mobs hit as hard (or harder), without barrier to prevent those hits, the game will be essentially unplayable.
Please note: I havenāt paid a dime for PQ3 yet, but plan to do so once it goes live. Iāll pay when itās live, if itās playable. Soā¦hereās hoping.
Hi folks, weāre currently investigating why the update isnāt showing up for some players. Weāll let you know once we have an update.
Iāll endeavor to also discuss some of the balance changes with you later, if you have any specific feedback about anything please feel free to share it.
I was in chat a little while ago and noticed some of the players in there between levels 25-35 had about half the gear score expected for their levels in some cases. Iāve been playing through on a fresh account and am square on level 30 myself with double the Gear score of a level 34 player, so I suspect that maybe we might need to have more education in game about the different places to earn shards, relics and chest rewards in general? ie. the Mark shop in the events, the Daily Deals you can purchase for Gold. I started my fresh account in v0.38 or v0.39 to get a feel of the game from the perspective of someone on a new account instead of the account Iād been playing since the start of early access, and I havenāt run into any difficulty problems yet.
We can obviously use game data to investigate these challenges some players are reporting with the balance changes but having discussions about it in the community is helpful too (qualitative vs quantative data).
Some play styles may need to adjust a little for some of the changes, maybe what worked before isnāt the most optimal way to play the core game now, so experimenting and being flexible should help as well.
We will have new and updated Help Center content ready in time for the official launch as well of course which will hopefully help the new players as they come in, in addition to the in game tutorials.
I look forward to following the discussion about the update. Things you like, donāt like (being as specific as possible is great!).
Honest questionā¦ should it be that much work, though? Its not just a game. Itās just a mobile game. Nothing wrong with that at all imho, or I would not be here.
Also, Iām not talking specifically about the balance changes in the update. (Because you really could not pay me to update until I have to. It doesnāt sound like it is more fun, so I will wait.) What I am referring to is the, complex just to be complex, system of gear upgrading. I actually follow it, because Iāve been here quite awhile now. But just because I can follow it doesnāt mean its not atrocious.
Again, to be clear, Iām speaking of the overly complicated system, when I say atrocious. Not the balance changes. I donāt think its an education issue. (Maybe partly?) Itās just way too many things to pointlessly keep track of day to day. Those of us who came in early, kind have it down due to the incremental changes, a long the way. Also EA folks are the type to invest in learning all of it.
A new player in WWR is just going to throw their hands up and give up. Thatās my fear, anyway. My point (if I have one, lol!) is that a mobile game is something people want to pick up on their lunch break, play, then go back to work. We donāt really want it to be this much of a chore.
This is a complicated question in itself I think. For some itās not work, for others it is, or specific parts of it are complicated, like the relics and Glyphs but the levelling isnāt complicated but maybe more of a grind. I think thereās a whole discussion that could be had on the Gear system alone.
New players get incrementally introduced to different aspects of the game as they play through, so the core systems are introduced first then more and more as they level up and play through the story etc. weāve been improving the early game and FTUX (First Time User Experience) throughout the early access so a lot has changed from the start of the project.
Iāll be trying to go through some of the feedback in the forums later this week and I know all this stuff is in there.
@anrandad at level 30 your expected Gear Score is around 1000 (mine is 976 at level 30 for just 1 example). Would you be able to share any comments about your general gameplay? Like for example:
Do you always play on easy where possible?
Do you have trouble with the normal mode before the update?
How often do you play the Daily Challenges and events?
How often do you use the Daily Deals for Gold in the shop?
How often do you use your marks to buy shards in the event mark shops?
How often do you salvage Gear you donāt need?
How often do you upgrade your Gear and Spells?
^ also do you know where to find all of these things? If not, which ones arenāt you sure about? Knowing this will help us as well
but I donāt recall seeing that. Really good change though for new players. Glad to hear it.
might take a bit of time to get out to every region.
