Version 1.6 Sparks of Old will be available within the next day or two :)

It's that time again! Over the past 3 months, we've been working tirelessly to produce this

next adventure! First, I'd like to officially welcome Blaze Knight as a member of the

Beta Team and Pixel Artist. You've been a HUGE help toward making this project

what it is! Thanks Blaze! We do officially have 1 other member of our team that has 

preferred to remain anonymous. Many many thanks to you both!

Thank you to everyone who has provided feedback, bug reports and suggestions since the last

patch. Your feedback is ALWAYS heard and appreciated.

Proudly presenting version 1.6, Sparks of Old! 

1. New Story Update!

This patch continues where 1.5 left off. You can expect to be taken through new areas of

Vana'diel, encounter terrible new foes and dazzling treasures! I hope you're prepared

to take a magical journey into the next leg of Chapter 3 as we continue to unravel

the plot!

2. New Areas!

As previously stated, this patch will take you into some iconic and tucked away areas.

You can now explore the Ministries of Magic within Windurst, relax on the shores of

Bibiki Bay and Purgonorgo Isle. Take a ride on the Manaclipper. Enjoy the cool air

of The Sanctuary of Zi'tah...and even find yourselves in the depths of The Boyahda Tree.

3. A Face Lift!

If you're in our discord, you've already gotten a sneak preview of the new sprites added

to the game by Blaze Knight. You can expect to see actual Beastmen sprites populating

every corner of Vana'diel. Not only Beastmen, but you may encounter a few other big baddies

who have gotten a make over. This is truly a treat and I can't thank Blaze enough for his

awesome contribution. We're getting closer and closer to that true XI feel :)

4. The Scales of Balance!

How do I say this...EVERY SINGLE JOB has been assessed, some have even been reworked entirely.

All jobs will now follow more closely to a natural power curve while still maintaining their

uniqueness, individual strengths and weaknesses. 

Some noteable mentions are...

Corsair! 

This job has forever been low on the tier list. Corsair is a gambler, and their skills

now reflect this. Luck has been added as a modifier to their abilities in place of INT.

Roll abilities will now roll a random number resulting in 3 different outcomes for

their buff abilities. Not only that, but their buffs are now ROW TARGETABLE, allowing them to

buff the front row and back row separately. 

Red Mage!

Hotly requested by the community, the infamously broken Chainspell has been reworked from the

ground up. When using Chainspell, the Red Mage will unlock an additional skill set that will

grow from levels 1 - 75. Each spell will cost a certain % of MP, but all spells in this

category will be Instant Cast allowing for Red Mages to rapid fire spells to turn the tides

of battle. Not only that, but their signature 'En' spells have all been reworked to now

scale with the CASTER's stats. No more 50 damage swings with an En spell active. Have fun

with this one!

Thief!

An unexpected series of changes has occured for our friendly neighborhood thief. This update

will allow thief to spend less time in the menus and more time dancing from row to row, dealing

damage, status effects and more! Thief has truly become a delight to play and I hope you all

enjoy the updates!

Dragoon!

We now have achieved a fully functioning Wyvern pet. The pet will now act similarly to how

BST pets function. The DRG job will also interact with the Wyvern pet in various ways with

skill re-works and other changes. A lot of thought has gone into these changes and ultimately

help dragoon shine! Fly high, friends!

Among these major changes, every job has seen rebalances, skill assessments, and more.

5. New Quests!

A handful of new quests have been added. A special thanks to Hard Reset for his contribution

in this department. Some of our discord members are sure to recognize a few of the 

characters appearing within these quests. With each patch, we continue to grow our quest list. 

100 side quests one day? We'll see!

6. Skull and Bones

This patch will see a handful of new challenging Notorious Monsters being added with rewards

that reflect their intensity. These baddies are not for the faint of heart. With these new

big bads, we will have a new Community Challenge! Bringing us up to #5 :D

7. New Merits!

Eagerly anticipated by all, each job has at least 2 new Merit skills available to learn once

you begin Chapter 3. These are powerful abilities to add to each jobs toolkit. I hope you'll

make good use of them for the challenges ahead!

8. I feel...weak...

A new mechanic has been added with this update. After a fallen hero is revived in battle,

they will incur a 2 turn status penalty known as Weakness. This certainly 'raises' the stakes

from battle to battle :P Adding another layer of tactical depth!

9. TP Modes, {Where?}

A decision was made to remove TP modes for this update for the overall balance of the game.

You've all seen it, the mass TP returns for certain abilities. Now, TP has been balanced

on a skill by skill basis to align with the true vision of the game.

10. Farewell, old crafting mats

Due to the the changes to the crafting system in 1.5.5, new IDs were assigned to EVERY

crafting item. The old items have no all been deleted from the game entirely in place

of these new versions. This may result in some blank spaces for some of you but will

ultimately result in a much cleaner presentation. Sorry for any inconveniences!

While these are some major points for 1.6, they certainly are not all! The full patch

notes will be posted on launch day ^_^ Looking forward to seeing you all in 1.6!