XLGAMES will adjust class and crafting balance for 'ArcheAge Chronicles' on November 17.
In a developer letter posted on Steam on November 13, Jae-hwang Lee, Lead Designer for ArcheAge Chronicles, announced that key improvements reflecting feedback gathered from the community, Discord, and live streams will be included in the update on Tuesday, November 17.
Lee categorized the incoming feedback into three main issues: fire skills on elemental staves being overly strong in hunting and PvP while longbows fail to deliver firepower proportional to investment; a lack of means to mitigate status effect damage; and the cumbersome process of gathering crafting materials. He also offered an apology, stating that these areas should have been polished further prior to launch.
For the elemental staff, fire-attribute attack skills such as Wall of Fire and Flame Thrower will have their power reduced. Flame Thrower, which delivered high damage and status effect efficiency when paired with the Hellfire passive, will also be rebalanced. In contrast, Meteor Shower will see an increase in power. For longbows, weapon attack power across all longbows will rise, and skills like Focused Fire, Fire Arrow, Crimson Flame Arrow, and all Physical/Martial skills will be significantly buffed. Rapid Fire and Aimed Shot will retain their skill power values, but their performance will improve as weapon attack power increases.
The mechanics of elemental defense will also be revamped. Previously, elemental defense only reduced incoming damage of the matching element, but starting with this update, higher defense stats will also reduce the accumulation and damage of associated status effects. For example, boosting Fire Resistance will lower the chance of being Burned, and even if afflicted, incoming damage will be reduced. However, a minimum effect cap has been established to ensure status effects cannot be completely negated.
The burden of collecting crafting materials will also be lightened. Normal and High-grade monster loot and Sweetgrass Powder will be entirely removed from recipes for processed goods like ingots, fabrics, and additives. Loot materials directly required for equipment crafting will maintain their existing recipes, with plans to boost acquisition amounts for select items. Bone Fragments, which were difficult to obtain, will see higher overall drop rates, yielding even greater quantities in late-game regions.
Meanwhile, Lead Designer Jae-hwang Lee explained that the balance changes were finalized through simulations based on top Pioneers' equipment and stats. Remaining weapons, such as the Battlerage Greatsword and Defense Axe, will be adjusted sequentially based on future play data and trends to avoid delaying updates. He added that while this update may not resolve all feedback at once, the team will continue making ongoing improvements by evaluating real player data alongside actual gameplay experience.
