Soul-Boards

Noteworthy Game Mechanic Stuff:

• Only the top 100 players have a ladder rank shown now. Every game, after winning/losing, we would have to search through every player to determine who you now have more/less experience than, and set the ladder rank accordingly. This was fine when there were less players. Now that this game has thousands of accounts, that process was exceedingly slow, and a major contributor to why it takes games so long to end sometimes
  
• Between now and the next balance (assuming things aren't bad), I will be going through and re-coding most skills in the game. There are a few reasons for this, namely that there have been several buggy interactions reported regarding Ginjo's "Energy Blade" and friendly skills, as well as the fact that going back and doing old skills better will make it much easier to introduce new mechanics
  
• On the topic of skills, I will also be adding tooltips for characters whose skills swap permanently (grimmjow's first and fifth skills, for example). These effects will be unable to be ignored/removed (so they will work exactly the same). This is both for keeping track of "what skill is what" and for fixing the final issue I'm aware of with Yukio. I don't want to buff Yukio until I fix interactions with "Save State Load" and having the correct skills available to a character that were there the previous turn
  

Buffs:

 - Ayasegawa Yumichika

• "Bloom, Fuji Kujaku" damage increased to 20
  
• Small buff for a character that I'm not convinced even needs a buff. He does solid damage and sustains himself. He fit in nicely with drain lock teams, but I think he should still be holding his own
  

 - Bankai Byakuya

• "White Imperial Sword" will deal 10 additional damage to an enemy affected by "Bankai Scatter, Senbonzakura"
  
• "Bankai Scatter, Senbonzakura" will deal 5 additional damage to enemies marked by "Massacre Scene"
  
• To kick off our buffs to the drainers left behind, Bankai Byakuya has been cursed with a bizzare kit that doesn't flow particularly well with itself. The 2 strategies have always been "spam Massacre Scene" and "drain lock." With one of those strategies gone, these changes should make his kit flow a bit more smoothly
  

 - Demoura Zodd

• "Concentrated Wave" now reactivates when a new harmful energy or strategic skill is used on him
  
• I even fixed the bug that was preventing the reapply effect from triggering. I hadn't until now because drainlock was already cancerous enough
  

 - Kirikaze

• "Surge" will heal Kirikaze for 20 health and gain an energy. In addition, he will gain 1 extra energy for every enemy he has killed with "Sword Absorption"
  
• I think I was on the right track with the last buff for this guy, so I'm doubling down on it. Power to the moo cow
  

 - Kurosaki Yuzu

• "Medical Treatment" will additionally grant 10 permanent destructible defense when the target is healed during its duration
  
• This will help her make whoever she's supporting that much tankier. She is a great nurse after all
  

 - Resurreccion Barragan

• "Death Smoke" Now deals 10 affliction damage over 2 turns
  
• "Gran Caida" Can be used on an enemy already affected to increase the counter on it
  
• Another person impacted by the drain nerf. These changes should give him the slight bump he needs, and fix the "stalemate" issue
  

 - Unohana Retsu

• When an ally (or herself) is "revived" by "Minazuki Release," they will be unable to be killed for 1 turn
  
• "Major Heal" Will now remove all harmful effects from the target and set the target's hp to it's maximum value (100 on most characters, 125 on Choe Neng Poww, potentially less if you've been punched by Hakuda Yamamoto).
  
• "Binding Spell #63: Locking Bondage Stripes" cost reduced to 1 blue
  
• The problem Unohana has deal with is that for a support character, the utility she has brought along has always been lack-luster. I have more buffs on standby if she needs it, but I am very curious to see what the buff to "Minazuki Release" does for her
  

 - Yammy Riyalgo

• "Bala" base damage increased to 15
  
• "Soul Absorption" changed to Energy/Instant, energy damage decrease is now permanent, and deals 10 energy damage
  
• "Energy Sucker" changed to Energy/Instant, targeting AOE, dealing 20 energy damage. Energy damage decrease is now permanent
  
• Perhaps the worst character in the game (until now), Yammy's only viable strategy was drain lock. Since times have changed, it's time to give him a buff he has so desperately needed
  

Nerfs:

 - Ginjo Kugo

• "Full Energy Blade" damage decreased to 30
  
• I anticipated he would need a small nerf, and might need more once I fix all of the buggy interactions with "Energy Blade."
  

 - Hebi

• "Enhancing Strike" cooldown increased to 1 turn
  
• I tried being a bit less direct with Hebi last patch, but she's been performing well. I'm happy to see her enjoy some time in the sun, I also have to reel her in
  

 - Ichimaru Gin

• "Sword Barrage" cooldown increased to 1 turn
  
• "Hawk Eye" no longer ignores executes
  
• Gin has been strong for a while. He still will be, just a bit less spammy
  

 - Riruka Dokugamine

• "I Permit, Dollhouse Entry's" effect's starting value has been lowered to 5. The cooldown has been increased to 1 turn, and the effect will end when she dies
  
• Where to begin with her... I nerfed her sketch before releasing her, then did a hotfix balance with her, and still need to nerf her. When you nerf a character a few times, it's hard to tell if continued nerfs are overkill or justified without giving it time to sort itself out. It turns out, she's been filling ryuuken's niche better than he does, for no downside. I like her kit, and like the fact that she can build up the strength of her skill as the game plays out. She just needs to slow down a little. This might be overkill, but I don't want to nerf her again. If history has shown anything, it's that I will buff a character if I think they need it
  

Random Tip:
Here's a very simplified flowchart of how using a skill works, and explaining a frequently asked question this patch regarding Fullbringer Ichigo lvl 1


Noteworthy Bug Fixes:

• Fixed several issues with Ben 10's "Chromaflect"
  
• Fixed Ashido's double damage
  
• Fixed Gabriel (For real this time) (I mean it) (seriously, I fixed it like 4 times this patch, I literally rewrote a whole section of the engine to make sure it works now)
  
• Resureccion Barragan's "respira" can now be used to deal double damage as intended
  
• Fixed issue with a few character's skills not swapping back after accidentally breaking them while making Yukio play nicely with the engine
  
• Bankai Gin can now use "Kill, Shinsou" on the target he hit when prepped with "Heedless Charge"
  
• Riruka's "Mr Piggy's Big Welcome" now lasts the correct duration
  
• Ginjo's "Full Energy Blade" now ends his "Amplify: Cross of Manifold"
  
• Ben 10's "Heat Blast" can now be removed
  
• Tooltip fixes
  
• Riruka's "I Permit, Dollhouse Entry" is only boosted if she uses her skills, rather than if an enemy Riruka uses skills
  
• Ben 10's "Big Chill: Freeze Ray" now correctly ignores invulnerability
  
• Edrad Liones's "Volcanic Eruption" now correctly always targets the enemy team instead of sometimes targeting his own