Hello everyone,\n\nThe last dev update was on November 12, when we talked in detail about movement and how mouse and controller gameplay would work . That phase is now fully wrapped up. With that done, we are finally back to focusing on developing content and features for the game itself. Even in that short time we were able to get a lot done.\n\n\n\n

• A new system inspired by elite monsters commonly found in ARPGs has been added. You can now encounter enemies empowered by pure or corrupted Erilith. These powerful crystals grant enemies a wide range of random abilities.\n\n
• This makes gameplay more diverse and challenging, as you can face these mechanics combined in different ways across different enemies. So far, we have created 50 mechanics that can be blended together to create unique fights.

• We added Fishing to the game! We believe this kind of feature is very important because it offers a break from combat focused gameplay and many players enjoy it.\n\n
• In Kasteron there is an Aquarium that will be filled with the fish caught by the player. Filling it will unlock several exclusive rewards. We also added a Fishing Order system that offers fishing tasks and grants valuable rewards for completing them.

• Maps in Adventures and the Open World are now covered by fog, requiring players to explore in order to reveal them. This was always part of the original plan, but we did not have time to implement it during the beta. It is now fully in place.

• We needed some new artifacts to fill some content, and some old artifacts became dull with the change of free walk gameplay, and we needed to do some more to replace them, so we made 8 new ones.\n\n
• Some examples are the Magic Top Hat can be activated to switch places with an ally, Enemies targeting that ally will turn the attention to the user, that will get a shield. Another artifact is the Mirror of Reversal, that when placed, blocks incoming attacks and returns it as a mystical blast.

• Each monster you kill or side objective you complete increases your points at the end of an adventure, improving both rewards and experience. But it was not very visible to players during the adventures, so now the points are always displayed on screen, right next to the objectives.

• You can now check each allys ultimate charge in the scoreboard, which will be especially useful in harder boss fights and PvP.

• The player with the best performance in an Adventure receives 10% extra points at the end. It is a small bonus meant to encourage players to push a little harder and aim for the extra reward.\nThe MVP is highlighted in the TAB score with a distinct frame using a warm yellow glow making it easy to spot at a glance.

• Players can now chat and use emotes during the victory screen. It is a small feature, but a very useful one for forming parties, and it was something many players asked for during the beta.

• Instead of the adventure finishing automatically when the main objective is completed, you can now keep playing and end it whenever you choose. This allows you to complete more side objectives or defeat more monsters to earn better rewards.

• We removed body blocking from allied players, summons and friendly NPCs. Enemies still block movement, as this is an intentional design choice. From a strategy standpoint, positioning and controlling space are meant to be part of the gameplay.

• You can now send duel requests to anyone in the Open World. It is a great way to test your skills, have fun with friends, or intimidate your rivals.

• Pets can now discover items while walking alongside you, revealing hidden spots you might have missed during exploration.

• The Databook and Bestiary are now collectible systems. Instead of unlocking entries automatically, each entry is now a card hidden throughout Adventures and the Open World. You must find and collect them through exploration.\n\n
• An NPC in Kasteron will reward you with exclusive items for completing sets of cards. These cosmetic rewards include titles, pets and player displays, with additional high value rewards available along the way, including even some weapons.

• We have added one more type of puzzle, but there is plenty in planning for the future!

• The spriters had a little bit of time ahead of us because of the free movement rework, so they remade a lot of placeholders, the most visible is the waterfalls and all the mountains in every biome. Not only reworks, they also did new locations such as Ships, the Museum, the Golden Lily and even the Sewers. For the heroes we added two new Skins and their variations! For Reya and Yura.

• We have implemented direct player trading and the Player Market will be added next. The rules around these systems will be shown and discussed in a future dev log, as this is a very polarized topic with a lot of discussion around it.\n\n
• Almost all items in Drakantos will be sellable through the Player Market, including orbs, emotes, artifacts, equipment, mounts, displays, pets, dyes, and general materials. Direct player to player trading, however, comes with several restrictions designed to prevent RMT. We will certainly encourage the market of the game, but not this kind of market.