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AstralCodex -> RE: =DF= October 1st Design Notes: Arena at the Edge of Time: A.A.R.G.H. Update! (10/2/2021 2:29:58)
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Despite no new Inn fight this week, it's a pretty meaty release! Thanks to the devs for all their hard work.
I have a lot to say, so in order of design notes:
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Aside from the placement change on the board in the Inn, the board will now show your accumulated Timewarped Medals and Timewarped Trophies inside your inventory or bank.
The new placement is really good! I really like the new visual interface - it helps the buttons on the left look less lonely, while also providing useful information in the number of medals.
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With an A.A.R.G.H. system update comes new rewards and challenges!
A number of cosmetic rewards have been added to the A.A.R.G.H. rewards shop! Check the shop in-game for previews.
I'm a big fan of the new cosmetics - there's been 11 total at 25 medals each, or 275 medals total. My favorite is the book, because we finally, finally got a book weapon to go with the Student class.
Also, Verly said on Discord that he's increasing the cap on Timewarped Medals to 125, which I think is a super welcome change - you can now get Uragiri in a single go!
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The following challenges have been added to the A.A.R.G.H. system's selection pool:
Warlic, the Blue Mage
Nythera, the Half-Void Dragon
Frostcythe and Glaisaurus
Vilmor and Cryozen
Mega Fluffy Tog
The AdventureFiend
Sek-Duat, the Eternal
Noxus, Claw of the Necropolis
Notha, Bane of Destiny
Uaanta, Avatar of the Makers
Based on first impressions, Warlic and The Adventure Fiend are definitely doable, Nythera, Sek, Noxus, and Notha might be doable with more work, Uaanta is doable if you feel lucky, while FrostScythe and Tog are clear skips unless you're going for a long streak.
I'm also very happy that neither SMUDD nor Draco made it onto the list. That being said, I'm sad that none of the Lords of Chaos and none of the Baleful Brothers were added. Discordia and Ledgermayne would've been cool additions of about average difficulty, while the Baleful Brothers (individually) would be nice easy inclusions to counterbalance the harder ones we got with the last two AARGH updates. As is, it seems that AARGH is getting harder and harder on average (or, equivalently, has more and more skips) with every release, which indirectly punishes people who didn't farm Uragiri/cap Timewarped Trophies before the updates.
I think one problem with doing AARGH updates so frequently (and then excluding some of the easier bosses to boot) is that doing AARGH feels the same every update. There were ~50 random bosses with AARGH before this update, now there are 60, which means that only about 1 in 6 of the fights we encounter are new. Contrast this to the last update, where the pool of bosses was almost doubled! Even though the low Timewarped Medal Cap means you have to do AARGH after every update to get the cosmetics, the 'feel' of AARGH doesn't really change by adding 10 bosses to a 50 boss pool, especially when players will probably skip some of the more RNG heavy bosses like Uaanta and Frostscythe or the really tedious Tog boss.
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Next up, Reforged ChronoZ has been completed!
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ChronoZ has had a couple of adjustments.
Fixed a bug where a certain combo did more damage than intended.
ChronoZ's "Blink" skill CD reduced to 17, from 34.
I'm happy that another Rare Calendar has been reforged, making it more accessible. In terms of the impact of the Blink CD Re-reduction (it went from 34 -> 16 -> 34 -> 17) and the Bow -> Blade bugfix/nerf (it went from 433% average to 216% average), I think the net power level of CZ is actually slightly higher even though the DPT has been slightly decreased. This is because the CD reduction helps you bring your shield around more quickly, letting you reliably shield bosses with 6 turn nuke cycles. It also feels better to play, as the Blink double turns/CD reduction is a fun mechanic!
Note that you now do Blade > Blast > Blast for Focus combo, instead of Bow -> Blade -> Blast, as the former is more damage.
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The color custom Fancy Witch's Hat is the first hat to not replace your hair! Instead, it will layer on top of it. This might look odd with some hairstyles, but it will also look really good with other options!
The Radiant Shimmer trinket is also available!
This trinket gives your character a shining aura, and has a skill that grants 25 Boost in exchange for your Avoidance.
Also, the Bloodfarer Gear has returned!
I haven't had time to play around with the Witch's Hat, but it looks cool! I'm excited to fashion with it over different hair styles, and excited to see both the good and the odd.
The Radiant Shimmer trinket is a functional rerelease of the rare You Are Here trinket, which is welcome! There's not really a use for it right now, but it's nice that such a unique effect is now in wider distribution. I also really like the shining aura, especially since it's CC to the player's trim.
Also, this wasn't in the design notes, but the previously rare Scythe of the Unhallowed has also returned. As with the You Are Here trinket, it's not really a power house in its own right, but it's a unique effect (it's a +Boost on hit special that applies the turn you proc it), and it's nice that it's been rereleased.
Overall, it's a really meaty release, and I enjoyed it! Thanks again to the staff for the amount of effort they clearly put into this week's release.
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