Hello everyone! In todays devlog well take a look at the new ability tree - the long awaited Armored Combat. We also have a surprise announcement to make. Initially, we planned to add Armored Combat with the next major update, Rags to Riches. But since theres still a lot of work to be done, and itll be a while before Rags to Riches is released, we decided to make this one ability tree a part of the previously unannounced Equipment Update III, which will introduce many new pieces of armor for mages and hybrid builds. On top of all that, Equipment III will feature various tweaks to half the existing abilities. There was a lot of negative feedback regarding Ranged Weapons, Warfare (former Combat Mastery), and Shields, so these ability trees in particular were changed the most. Therell also be certain QoL improvements, such as reworked skill hovers and a better system for skills classification. The exact details will be revealed in the patch notes.
We aim to release the Equipment Update III on May 16th. Please take note that this interim update wont feature new bags, reworked Dungeons, the Caravan, and everything else that was explicitly presented as a part of Rags to Riches. The exact date for the latter will be announced a short time before its release. Another thing worth mentioning: the Equipment Update III will be compatible with your current save files. Now lets move onto the new ability tree. Armored Combat consists of 8 skills, spread evenly between actives and passives.
While conceptualizing Armored Combat, one of our goals was to make it useful to all armor types, both heavy and light. As a result, its skills are designed to dynamically change depending on the equipped armor. This mechanic bears some resemblance to the one used by Shields, although the differences between armor types effects are significantly more noticeable.

• Light armor adds bonus Dodge Chance to the skills effects or otherwise improves the effectiveness of evasion. It also allows using Armored Combat skills more frequently.
• The main drawback of heavy armor is its hefty penalties to Max Energy, so its changes to the ability trees skills are focused on counteracting them in one manner or another.
• Medium armor offers a compromise between Energy efficiency and Protection. For the most part, it doesnt require any bonuses to be effective, and wearing it usually wont modify Armored Combat skills in any way.

ACTIVE ABILITIES

Brace for Impact!

Grants bonus Dodge Chance and Block Chance until the next turn. While the effect is active, all received strikes receive major penalties to Accuracy, Fumble Chance, Armor Penetration and cant crit. Light body armor halves the skills Cooldown Duration and Energy Cost, and heavy armor doubles its Cooldown Duration. This skill is useful for situations when your enemy is preparing to deliver a highly damaging or debilitating strike - Brace for Impact! will allow you to either negate it entirely or at least greatly reduce its effectiveness. Flexible Defense

Delivers a strike to three adjacent tiles with a penalty to Weapon Damage but a large bonus to Stagger Chance. Additionally, all enemies within the skills area of effect receive a debuff to Weapon Damage, Fumble Chance, and Accuracy for three turns. Light body armor prolongs the debuffs duration to six turns, and heavy body armor replenishes 5% Max Energy for each enemy within the skills AoE. Although this skill works well with all armor types, its synergy with high Dodge Chance makes it exceptionally useful to lightly armored builds. Unyielding Defense

Allows to reposition to an adjacent tile, then activates an effect that grants a bonus to Control Resistance, Block Power Recovery, all body parts Protection, as well as Block Chance or Dodge Chance (depending on which one is higher). Receiving enemy strikes grants an extra stack of the effect. This skill isnt considered a stance, so it can be used together with Weaponry stances. Other than that, it provides an option to safely reposition when surrounded by enemies, as moving with abilities doesnt trigger Attacks of Opportunity. Battering Ram

Battering Ram performs a charge towards a target, dealing Crushing Damage to it with a chance to apply Stagger. Light body armor halves the skills Cooldown, increases its Range, and allows it to grant bonus Weapon Damage for a few turns that scales with Dodge Chance. Heavy armor reduces the skills Range and switches the Stagger Chance to Stun Chance for a greater impact. This skill is meant to be an alternative to Dash from Athletics, offering extra means of closing distance with enemies, especially if your weapon of choice doesnt have access to charges.

PASSIVE ABILITIES

Self-Repairs
Reduces the rate of Durability loss (for weapons too) by 15%, increases the effectiveness of Repair Kits, and allows to dismantle armor into fragments that can be used for patching up your other armor. Additionally, this passive grants a bonus to Bleed Resistance and Fortitude for each equipped piece of armor with more than 80% Durability.
Different fragment types replenish different amounts of Durability depending on an items level. For instance, a piece of cloth scrounged from a peasant shirt wont be very effective when used for repairing an expensive mantle. Hard Target
Reduces Armor Penetration of all attacks against the character. Ranged attacks against the character also grant a bonus to Dodge Chance for a few turns while simultaneously reducing the attackers Accuracy. The effect triggers twice if the enemy manages to land a shot. Battle-Hardiness
Using stance skills and maneuvers reduces Damage Taken until the next turn. Light body armor also grants bonus Dodge Chance and Counter Chance for a few turns for each traveled tile (this includes tiles traversed with charges and maneuvers), and heavy body armor reduces Skills Energy Cost for each turn spent on the same tile. Custom Adjustments
Each piece of equipped armor grants a special bonus depending on its type. Light armor grants additional Protection to the respective body parts. Medium armor grants Bleed Resistance to the respective body parts. Heavy armor increases Max Energy and Energy Restoration. ==================================== And finally, here are some of the new items that will be added with the Equipment Update III:




Thats all for now. Until next time!