[[> Game Update <]] 7/12/16 - Comments - MEGAthread

"EA_Jesse;53649" wrote:
Greetings,

Here are the update notes for our major update which features Mods.

Prior to this update, there were four progression systems for characters: level, rarity, gear, and abilities. Each of these were a pre-defined progression per character. The end result is that two players who have maximized the current caps on those systems for a given character would have the identical character.

With the introduction of Mods, we are enabling players to bring strategic creativity to character development. Now a character can emphasize different strategic aspects depending on how you want to have that character play. This will engender a much broader set of strategic challenges and opportunities for players.

Note that Mods open up once a character reaches level 50. This is to ensure players have mastered the other four progression systems before they add Mods to their play experience.

Beyond Mods, there are a host of improvements, optimizations, and bug fixes to make your play experience even better.

On behalf of the entire team, we hope you enjoy our latest update!

Please note that this update can be manually updated on 7/12/2016 from either the App Store or Google Play, or players may wait until 7/13/2016 when it is rolled out to all players and they’ll be updated automatically.

NOTE: Not all of these changes will be visible in game until all players are on the same version on 7/13/2016.

NEW FEATURES

Mods
Mods are our newest feature that allows customization of character stats

Mods provide a significant boost to the stats of a character
Mods have a Rarity, which does not change and can range from 1 to 7
There are 6 Mod slots on each character and each Mod is associated with a particular slot (ex. A "Stabilizer" Mod can only be assigned to the "Stabilizer" slot)
Each Mod is associated with a particular set (ex. Health Mod OR Speed Mod)
A Mod has a primary stat and up to 4 secondary stats
Mods have a level that can be increased to level 15
Mods have a tier which determines the number of secondary stats currently on a Mod

Mod Battles
The first location to earn Mods is through Mod Battles, which unlocks at level 50

Each stage is associated with a particular Mod set (ex. Stage 1 = Health Mods)
There are 7 nodes on each stage, one for each of the 6 slots and a 7th node where random slot is earned
Rarity 1 and 2 Mods are earned from Mod Battles with node 7 providing the best opportunity for Rarity 2 Mods
There initially will be 8 stages, each with its own unique Mod set
There are no character restrictions in Mod Battles
Cantina energy is used for Mod Battles and in addition to earning Mods, all Cantina Battles rewards are also earnable (ex. Ability Mats and Cantina Currency)

Mod Challenges
Mod Challenges is an opportunity to earn higher rarity Mods (Rarity 3-5) by assembling specific squads

Unlocks when Stage 3 of Mod Battles is complete
A new challenge unlocks as each Stage in Mod Battles is completed
Each challenge requires a specific squad of characters (ex. Jedi only OR Rebel's only)
The stronger the characters, the higher the tier of the challenge that can be accomplished
Cantina energy is used for Mod Challenges and in addition to earning Mods, all Cantina Battles rewards are also earnable (ex. Ability Mats and Cantina Currency)

Character Detail Updates
The Character Details screen has been updated to incorporate Mods.

Rearrangment of elements to incorporate Mods (Ex. Character name and categories included in the HUD)
Training XP relects XP needed for next level
Detailed Stats (button at bottom of character details) has been updated to better explain stats
A character must be at level 50 to assign Mods

Mod Management
The Mod Management screen is where Mods can be equipped on a character

The inventory of Mods can be viewed
Character stats can be viewed
Mods can be assigned and removed with each action displaying the impact on the character's stats. This allows rearranging the Mods as desired prior to confirming changes. (Removing a Mod costs credits on confirmation)

Set Bonus and Max Set Bonus
Assigning multiple Mods of the same Set to a character will provide a Set Bonus

Some Sets require 2 assigned Mods and others require 4
Up to 3 Sets can be active at a time
A Max Set Bonus can be earned when all Mods in a Set are at max level (level 15)

Selling and Finding Mods
In the Sell screen, Mods can be sold for credits

A variety of filters are available to quickly identify and select all Mods that need to be sold
The Mod find flow allows search criteria to be specified to find the desired slot and set

Upgrading Mods
Mods can be upgraded to become more powerful

Mods can reach up to level 15
Each level up increases the primary stat on the Mod
At levels 3, 6, 9, and 12, a secondary stat will be added or an existing secondary stat will be increased
Mods are upgraded by spending credits to increase the XP of the Mod.
It is possible to receive a large XP boost immediately upgrading the Mod's level.

Additional Mods Information

To prevent highly valuable Mods from being sold or destroyed, Mods can be locked
A new shipment store becomes available when Mod Battles unlocks that allows purchase of Mods
To keep Mods manageable, there is a limit of 500 Mods that can be stored in the Mod Inventory. Any Mods earned after that point are sent to the players inbox where they can be claimed after Mods are sold. Note that Mods left in the inbox will expire.

Guild Exchange: Donating Gear
Guild Exchange is a new benefit available to Guilds that allows Guild Members to request and donate gear pieces to other Guild Members.

Especially great opportunity to help other members acquire the required purple gear pieces
Gear is requested through the Character Detail's screen find flow
Gear is donated in the "Exchange" area of Guild Home

Sim Ticket Improvements
A variety of improvements have been made to sim tickets to expedite the sim process

Multi-Sim Tickets: Up to 20 battles can be simmed at once
Challenge Sim: Players can now sim Challenges that have 3 stars (countdown timer still applies)
Find Flow: Players can sim directly from the Find Flow
All possible drops are represented in the Find Flow

Back Button Revamp
The back button has been vastly improved to ensure that pressing back truly takes the player to the last place visited

When using the find flow, pressing back to character details will display the particular piece of gear in the search so it can quickly be crafted or equipped

Improved Messaging on Perceived Account Loss
Many of our players have had a frightening experience where they logged into the game and were presented with the tutorial making them think that their account was lost when in reality they were logged out of GameCenter or Google Play and were placed in the Guest account. In this situation we are now providing better messaging to help the player realize what happened and correct it.

When a player that has had an active account on a device is put into a Guest account due to being logged out of GameCenter or Google Play, we present a prompt asking the player if he already has an account and providing the ability to log into that account.

Other new Features

New achievements have been added
To provide a better player experience, anything that can be tapped now provides feedback (ex. touching energy in the HUD will display a white outline to display that is can be tapped)
The Allies screen has been improved to better surface the ability to send invites to friend via e-mail or Facebook
The Ally Cap has been raised to 50 to enable being an ally with every member in your Guild
The pack opening flow has been optimized to allow faster purchases

The skip button appears earlier in the pack opening flow
When the flow is complete, there is a button that allows immediately purchasing another pack

To expedite Guild related activities, a button has been added to the Home screen HUD to jump directly to Guild Home

When a Raid is active the button will display the active Raid

For players looking to optimize their Guild Activity contribution, the next guild activity is surfaced in the Guild Activities screen
Dark Side Character shards are now differentiated by having a red background to contrast the blue background for light side character shards

New Characters

Chief Nebit

Cunning Jawa Tank with Stealth synergies who can reduce cooldowns.
Unlocks at 3 Stars (50 Shards)
Available from: Arena Shipments

Abilities
BASIC Attack – Sheltering Shot:

Deal Physical damage to target enemy with a 55% chance to grant Protection Up equal to 10% of Nebit's Max Health for 2 turns to a random ally who is not Stealthed.

SPECIAL Attacks

Distracting Negotiations – Nebit taunts for 1 turn with a 55% chance to gain Heal Over Time for 1 turn. Reduce the cooldowns of all Jawa and Droid allies by 1.
Desert Ambush - Deal Physical damage to target enemy and call a random ally to Assist dealing 20% less damage. If the Assisting ally is a Jawa or a Droid, call another random ally to Assist. All Jawa called to Assist gain Stealth for 2 turns.

Leader Ability

Jawa and Droid allies gain 10% Critical Chance and inflict Critical Chance Down for 1 turn on a Critical Hit.

Jawa Scavenger

Versatile Jawa Support who can detonate Thermal Detonators to inflict a large variety of status effects.
Unlocks at 2 Stars (25 Shards)
Available from: Cantina Shipments

Abilities

BASIC Attack – Dismantle:

Base: Deal Physical damage to target enemy with a 35% chance to inflict Offense Down for 1 turn. This chance is doubled against Droids.

SPECIAL Attack:
Scrap Bomb

Base: Deal Physical damage to all enemies and immediately detonate all Thermal Detonators with a 25% chance each to inflict Defense Down, Healing Immunity and Tenacity Down for 2 turns on detonated targets.

UNIQUE Abilities:
Line in the Sand

Base: Whenever a Jawa ally takes damage, 30% chance to place a Thermal Detonator on the attacking enemy that will explode after 2 turns. Whenever Jawa Scavenger scores a Critical Hit, he gains Stealth for 1 turn.

Salvaged Equipment

Base: At the end of each of his turns, if Jawa Scavenger is Stealthed, he has a 50% chance to give a random ally Defense Up for 1 turn, and a 50% chance to give a random ally Offense Up for 1 turn. Ability Upgrades increase Defense & Offense Up Chance, Increase the duration of both buffs and increase the number of allies granted Defense Up.]

CC-2224 “Cody”

Clone Attacker that Stuns and calls tons of Assists.
Unlocks at 3 Stars (50 Shards)

Available from: Chromium Packs

Abilities
BASIC Attack – Alpha Strike:

Deal Physical damage to target enemy and gain 5% Turn Meter. Gain an additional 5% Turn Meter if that enemy has more than 50% Health, and an additional 5% Turn Meter if that enemy has less than 50% Turn Meter.

SPECIAL Attacks

AT-TE Mass-Driver Cannon: Deal Special damage to target enemy and 65% less damage to all other enemies. If this attack scores at least 2 Critical Hits, Stun the primary target for 1 turn.
The 212th Attack - Call all Clone allies and one random ally to assist. These Assists deal 70% less damage. Each time an Assist scores a Critical Hit, reduce the Cooldown of this ability by 1

Leader Ability: Ghost Company Commander

Clone allies gain 10% Critical Chance, and other allies gain half that amount. Cody gains 5% Defense for each living Clone ally

Other Character Changers

Aayla Secura removed from Chromium and added to Cantina Battles, Stage 5 mission 2

Balance adjustments have been made to Geonosian Spy:

Feint: Now always has a chance to gain Critical Chance Up, and the chance is doubled when the attack doesn’t score a Critical Hit. Stealth mechanic moved to Illicit Insect.
Silent Strike: Dispel is now triggered when the target has a positive status effect instead of when Geonosian Spy is Stealthed. Increased bonus damage by 10% across all ranks.
Illicit Insect: Geonosian Spy now begins each encounter in Stealth, and gains Stealth on any Critical Hit.

Balance adjustments have been made to Zam Wesell

Detonating Shot: Increased Turn Meter Gain by 3% across all ranks.
See What Sticks: Cooldown reduced by 1.
Electro-goggles: This ability can no longer be Evaded. Cooldown reduced by 1. Chance to Expose is now 100% at all ranks (can still be Resisted.) “Expose Chance” upgrades have been replaced with “Chance to gain Turn Meter” upgrades.
Shapeshifter: Now grants a baseline amount of Evasion, and that amount is doubled when suffering a negative status effect.

Misc. Changes

Potency and Tenacity have been normalized to exist between 0% and 100% when obtained through Gear. This was done to provide both a more readable number for comparison’s sake and also for balance reasons associated with Mods. Both of these values may exceed 100% through the usage of Mods and the comparison itself remains unchanged at this time.
Reward Payout increased for Galactic War
Changed the term "Critical Hit" to "Critical Chance" for character stats
MK 7 Nubian Security Scanners will be removed from Shipments and replaced with MK 6 Nubian Design Tech
Daily Activity "Daily Guild Contribution" has been removed and replaced with a new system. This new system is displayed under the "Guild Activities" and tracks each individual guild member's progress as well as displaying the pending total amount of Guild Bank Coins that will be generated when the Guild Activities resets. Additionally, the Guild Roster no longer tracks (WEEKLY) progress but rather (DAILY) and (LIFETIME) for all areas.
All Guild Leaders will be sent Guild Bank Currency for the recent changes to Guilds, as well as for the recent bug that made their Raids end early the week prior to the update.
Viewing the details of an Ability on the Character screen now displays the ability’s current Cooldown (if present).
Character Stats info screen has undergone an improvement of both layouts and displayed values.
The “Events” area of the Cantina has been relocated to the right of “Dark Side Battles”
Kamino Landing Pad and Geonosis Catacombs have been added as environments to the game.

Bug Fixes

Characters can no longer Dodge While Stunned
Stunned enemies would sometimes hang the application if a character was killed just before a stunned character's turn
Gear items which are present in guild shipments will now display in the find flow
When two players started a battle with the same rank opponent at the same time, the second player was stuck in a loading loop
Closing the app on the defeat screen of galactic war was allowing the squad to be used again
Cantina Credit Currency was not Tappable in Cantina Shipments
Having multiple inbox messages was causing some messages to display in a different font
Find flow was not showing shards from Daily Login
The "Daily Gear Collection" Daily Activity didn't have a go button to take the player to characters screen
The Gamorrean Guard Muscle In special ability, was not consistent when it granted Protection
There were a few abilities which would cause the manual target to switch without any player input. (Ex. Yoda's buff steal AoE ability would cause this to happen)
The Equipment-Used-By Feature would not always display the correct characters that need the Equipment
Corrected phrasing in Rancor's Devour ability so that the last sentence now says the following: "This ability is on cooldown when the phase begins."
Characters with a counter attack chance less than 100% were not triggering as often as they should, this has been fixed.
IG-86 Sentinel Droid: Assassin Droid Tactics will now correctly grant assisting Droid allies additional Critical Damage.
Old Daka: AI will now use "Chant of Resurrection" to heal damaged allies even if there are no defeated allies to revive.
Resistance Trooper: Using "Opportune Strike" on an enemy that has a negative status effect will now correctly reduce its cooldown by 2 even if the target is defeated.
Cad Bane: "Hunter's Reflexes" now correctly grants Evasion to Scoundrel allies, and will correctly grant Scoundrel allies Turn Meter at all ranks.
Jedi Knight Anakin: AI will no longer wait until targets are at low health before using "Reckless Assault."
Geonosian Spy: "Illicit Insect" will now grant Turn Meter when a Geonosian unit inflicts a Damage Over Time effect via IG-88's "Resourceful Pursuer" ability.
Zam Wesell: "Detonating Shot" will now grant Turn Meter when detonating Thermal Detonators placed by Nute Gunray's "Grenade Toss" ability.
Tenacity Down: Updated description to state that it minimizes the chance to resist negative effects. The chance to resist a negative effect can never drop below 15%.
Fixed a bug that caused debuffed units to continue doing reduced damage to the Rancor if they are present for the transition from Phase 3 to 4.
Tenacity Down: Dispels that remove positive status effects will no longer remove Tenacity Down.
Fixed a bug that caused placeholder text to appear during Rancor phase transitions.
CT-21-0408 "Echo": EMP Grenade now correctly deals Special damage.
General Veers: Speed Up granted by "Daring Attack" can now be dispelled.
Improved performance (frame rate) in several parts of the game, notably: the Squad creation screen, the character inventory screen, and during in-battle game play.
Multiple Continuous Healing buff icons will now appear when a character has multiple Continuous Healing effects.
Corrected an issue where Characters which have abilities that trigger from the death of any (or enemies) will no longer occur at the start of Battle in phases 2 and 3 of “The Pit” Raid.
Fixed an issue with Event Tiers’ “BATTLE” button where it would sometimes appear to be disabled when it shouldn’t be.
Gamorrean Guard’s size was adjusted

from: https://forums.galaxy-of-heroes.starwars.ea.com/discussion/53649/game-update-7-12-2016#latest

Alright everybody, here it is! Let's cut a rug. B)
(Please remember to keep your replies within the Forum Guidelines).

P.S. Yeah I'm a little super stoked.
P.P.S. Remember, it's not an automatic download until tomorrow, so you'll have to go to your app store and update manually today if you want to get started.

feedback