As mentioned during the last Heidel Ball, this update marks the first round of our efforts to streamline items that have seen less use over time.

In the past, Epic and Abyssal Accessories played an important role in character progression. However, with most Adventurers now progressing through the Season, these items have become far less relevant, so we've removed items that no longer serve a meaningful purpose in the current progression path.

At the same time, we wanted to make sure these changes would not reduce the value of the rewards Adventurers receive. In certain content, we've therefore replaced lower-grade items with more useful, higher-grade rewards.

We've also streamlined how some items are used to reduce unnecessary steps.

For example, previously, using a [Mystical] Sealed Treasure Chest would grant an Ancient Tablet Chest, which then had to be opened separately to obtain Ancient Tablets.

After this update, using a [Mystical] Sealed Treasure Chest will grant Ancient Tablets directly.

We will continue streamlining areas that could benefit from further improvements so that Adventurers can enjoy a smoother and more convenient gameplay experience.

Last Stand was designed for classes that wield massive weapons and favor an aggressive playstyle over a defensive one, allowing them to remain on the battlefield for a short time and continue making an impact even after they would normally be taken out of the fight.

However, because the effect only activated when the character became incapacitated, Adventurers had little control over when to make use of it, resulting in a more passive playstyle than intended.

We found this particularly limiting when these classes pushed deep into the battlefield or fought at close range, where being unable to choose when the effect activated could disrupt the flow of combat.

To better support the aggressive playstyle these classes are intended to have, we changed Last Stand to Last Resolve.
This allows Adventurers to activate the effect at a time of their choosing and take a more proactive approach to combat.

Last Resolve can be activated using each class's Special button whenever needed, and Super Armor is applied while the effect is active.

For 10 sec after activation, Last Resolve grants Damage Reduction, Grab Immunity, increased PvP Skill Damage, and other effects that help the class stay in the fight. Once the effect ends, a debuff is applied that increases Damage Taken for 15 sec.

With this change, we hope choosing when to activate Last Resolve becomes a meaningful tactical decision, giving Adventurers greater control over when to engage and how they approach the flow of combat based on the strengths of each class.
We will continue monitoring Last Resolve's performance in combat and make further adjustments as needed.

After the Transcendent Shai update, we took a close look at the feedback Adventurers shared about Shai's gameplay and overall performance. With this update, we'd like to explain in more detail how we approached strengthening Shai's signature support capabilities and restoring the unique combat style that defines the class.

■ Enhanced Support Capabilities

We adjusted Skill Sigil placement and several skill effects to help Shai protect her allies more reliably and provide more effective support on the battlefield.

First, we improved the Skill Sigil options for And a Two!.

And a Two! is one of Shai's key PvP skills, allowing her to attack while quickly repositioning. We initially assigned a Guardian Skill Sigil slot to the skill to provide Forward Guard and help Shai disengage safely. However, because And a Two! already has instant activation, Super Armor, Damage Reduction, and Grab Immunity, we found that Guardian Skill Sigil provided relatively little additional value.

To give Skill Sigil choices more strategic value, we replaced its Guardian Skill Sigil slot with a Refined Skill Sigil slot. At the same time, Refined Skill Sigil slot of Summer Rain was replaced with a Guardian Skill Sigil slot. We hope this gives her more reliable defensive options while supporting her allies and allows her to better fulfill her role as a support class.

Second, we improved the usability and reliability of several skills.

As a support class, Shai often operates from the mid-to-back line, using ground-targeted skills and pressuring enemies from mid to long range. Grow Big, Go! has the advantage of being a ranged, ground-targeted attack, but its long cast time made it difficult to use effectively in combat. To address this, we reduced its cast time from 3.98 sec to 2.84 sec so that it can be used more quickly and reliably.

We also increased the attack range of And a One! by 2 m and added Grab Immunity while the skill is in use, making it safer for Shai to fight from mid range without being easily interrupted by enemies.

Third, we improved resource management and survivability through changes to Shai's passive effects.

When Transcendent Classes were introduced, we added MP consumption to Florang skills as part of a design that encouraged Shai to manage her resources while taking a more active role in combat, alongside passive effects that increased the damage of Florang skills and Bear attacks. However, after reviewing her performance in combat, we found that the added resource management placed too much strain on her gameplay and limited both her ability to pressure enemies from range and her use of summon. We therefore removed the MP consumption effect from skill use, allowing Shai to fight more freely alongside her bear. For Vitclari, we also found that she lacked sufficient means to protect herself while supporting allies in combat. To address this, we added Damage from Adventurers -10%, giving her greater survivability and allowing her to provide support more reliably.

Fourth, we improved recovery and skill growth efficiency.

As part of this update, we closely investigated reports that Shai's healing felt weaker overall than it did before Transcendence. We found that when the maximum skill level was expanded from 10 to 20, the recovery growth per level became more gradual, resulting in lower recovery at comparable level ranges than before.

We also found that some skills continued to provide a fixed amount of recovery even as their skill level increased. To address this, we adjusted recovery scaling across the affected skills so that recovery increases more effectively as the skills level up. Detailed values can be found in the skill descriptions below.

■ Enhancing Shai's Unique Combat Style

She has a distinctive combat style built around fighting alongside her summons, pressuring enemies from mid to long range, and healing her allies. With these changes, we aimed to restore more of that familiar playstyle while reducing the restrictions caused by resource management.

First, we restored a Bear-related Flow skill.

We previously removed a summon-related Flow skill in order to keep the number of Florang and Vitclari skills balanced around the concept of each weapon. However, after the update, we agreed that this had weakened the distinctive feel of fighting alongside her Bear. To restore that aspect of Shai's gameplay, we added Flow: Here We Go! back to Shoo!.

Second, we restored debuffs to Bear attacks.

Under the previous system, skill enhancement allowed Bear attacks to apply Move Speed and DP reduction effects. When skill enhancement was removed with the introduction of the Skill Sigil system, Adventurers gained the ability to choose and equip Sigils directly to skills. However, because the Bear's debuffs had been tied to the skill hit effects, they were removed along with the old system.

Under the current Skill Sigil system, Sigil effects apply only to skills used directly by the character and do not apply to attacks made by the summoned Bear. As a result, even equipping a Skill Sigil could no longer reproduce the same debuff effects through the summon, significantly changing how Shai played in combat.

To preserve her unique ability to support combat through her summon and restore more of her previous playstyle, Bear attacks now always apply Move Speed and DP reduction effects regardless of whether a Skill Sigil is equipped.

For Flow: Here We Go!, which has been restored to Shoo!, however, we chose not to restore the enhanced debuff values that previously applied under Musical Genius, as doing so could have caused balance issues. Instead, its Move Speed reduction has been set to the value used before Musical Genius. We also adjusted its summon to apply a DP reduction effect on par with that of the Bear summoned by I'm Performing Here!.

With this update, we hope Shai can once again shine in her signature support role while retaining the distinctive combat style that makes her unique. We will continue reviewing gameplay data and Adventurer feedback after the update and make further adjustments where needed.

Warrior is designed to control the battlefield through powerful strikes and fast-paced skill combos.
However, we found that some of his skills could be difficult to use consistently, so we made the following improvements.

Berserk Blood provides powerful effects, including Skill Speed +15% and reducing remaining skill cooldowns by 0.3 sec.
Previously, activating Berserk Blood also reduced HP by 5,000 as a trade-off for these benefits. However, after reviewing combat data, we found that this sudden loss of HP could make Warrior less stable to control and unnecessarily disrupt the flow of combat.

With this update, we removed the HP reduction applied when Berserk Blood activates and changed the condition from landing a hit to using a skill. These changes improve Warrior's combat sustainability and make his gameplay more consistent. However, since Berserk Blood retains its powerful effects without the previous drawback, we slightly reduced the damage of Reckoning to prevent his overall combat performance from increasing too sharply. We felt this adjustment was necessary to keep his overall performance in check after reducing the risks associated with Berserk Blood.

We also changed the condition for reducing skill cooldowns from landing a hit to using a skill. When Branch Skill Sigils were first introduced, this condition was limited to prevent certain skills from being used without hitting an enemy to gain excessive recovery benefits. However, we now believe it is more important for Warrior to maintain a smoother flow between skill combos and chasing down opponents. If using Serrett on Shield Charge or Off-Kilter results in recovery performance that has too great an impact on overall balance, we plan to address this by adjusting the Branches available to those skills instead. This allows us to preserve the overall flow of Warrior's gameplay while making targeted adjustments where necessary.

Reckoning previously activated immediately when stacks were available, which gave Adventurers limited control over how they used the skill in PvP. Reckoning can now be charged manually by holding the skill button even while stacks are available. In addition, stacks will not be consumed when the skill is fully charged, giving Adventurers more strategic options in combat.

With these adjustments, we expect Warrior to perform his signature fast-paced combat more consistently and reliably. We will continue reviewing individual skill performance and the overall combat environment after the update, making further adjustments as needed so that specific effects do not unnecessarily restrict gameplay while keeping Warrior's overall performance balanced.

Musa is designed to move swiftly across the battlefield with Blade and deliver powerful close-range strikes with Crescent Blade.

However, after reviewing Adventurer feedback, we agreed that maintaining Resonant Blade and managing MP with Blade required too much effort, while Crescent Blade's unique combat identity felt less distinct after Transcendence. We therefore looked for ways to reduce these points of friction while reinforcing the strengths of each weapon.

First, we improved Resonant Blade so that it can be used more reliably with Blade. Previously, its short duration could make it difficult to take advantage of the effect at the right moment. Resonant Blade will now activate after using skill 2 times and remain available for the next three attacks without a time limit. We hope this gives Adventurers greater control over their positioning and when they choose to engage.

Because Musa is intended to move quickly across the battlefield when using Blade, we also reduced the MP burden from attacking and repositioning. When using Blade, MP Cost for all skills is reduced by 50%, allowing him to move and chain skills more smoothly when it matters most.

Next, we added two effects to Crescent Blade to more clearly reinforce its close-range, high-pressure combat style.

First, using a skill increases Max HP by 3,600 for 20 sec, stacking up to 3 times. This allows Max HP to increase by up to 10,800, further reinforcing Crescent Blade's aggressive playstyle of diving into the fight and maintaining pressure at close range.

Second, using a skill increases the PvP damage of skills that use Crescent Blade by 5% for 20 sec, stacking up to 3 times for a maximum increase of 15%. This also applies to Rabam Skills that use Crescent Blade, allowing Musa to deal even greater damage to nearby enemies.

Lastly, we made adjustments to Mountain Divide.

It is designed to deal heavy damage by charging power, but its lengthy animation previously made it difficult to land consistently in actual combat.

With this update, we reduced the skill's animation time from 2.18 sec to 1.38 sec while keeping its base damage unchanged. Holding the skill button will now allow him to continue charging, with damage increasing based on the charge stage. This gives Adventurers more flexibility to choose how long to charge the skill depending on the situation.

With these changes, we hope Musa can maintain a smoother combat flow while better reflecting the distinct strengths of Blade and Crescent Blade, giving Adventurers more control over when to engage and how they apply pressure in combat. We will continue monitoring his performance and overall balance in actual combat and make further adjustments where needed.

When using Surging Justice, additional hits would only activate after the animation for the third hit had finished, even if the skill button was held.
So we improved Surging Justice so that holding the skill button during the third hit activates additional hits before the animation finishes.

We continuously monitor trading volume, price fluctuations, and other activity for items traded on the Merged Market.

After reviewing the recent trading activity and stock levels of certain items, we found that prices remained high relative to actual demand, resulting in lower trading activity.

Taking into account how these items are currently used, as well as their supply and demand, we have adjusted their minimum Market prices accordingly.

We will continue monitoring item usage and trading activity as the game environment evolves, and make further improvements to maintain a more stable Market.