Greetings, Raiders!

The time has come to reveal what Update 2.20 has in store for you, and this is going to be some big news. 

First off, the Forge goes live at last! This is a feature we announced a while back, and today you can learn all about its first iteration that’s going to hit Teleria very soon.

Next up, we have a new set of quests for our summoners to sink their teeth into. And the rewards for those are delicious, to say the least!

Finally, we are going through with a massive Champion balance patch with more than 30 (!) Champions tweaked to ensure a balanced and competitive environment for PvP and Tournaments.

Check out the Update Highlights below to learn more.

Artifact Forge

Remember that old campfire in the middle of the Bastion? Yeah, it gained a level and grew into a proper arcane forge, where summoners from all across Teleria can craft powerful Artifacts to equip their Champions with!

This feature will be unlocked for players of level 30 and above, which is when the Artifact Forge building becomes accessible. Tapping on it will bring up the Forge UI, where you can craft Artifacts from specific Sets by spending a resource called Materials and Silver. There will be four types of Materials:

• Magisteel, which you earn by winning Classic Arena Battles.
• Soulstone (Rare, Epic, Legendary), which you earn by winning Faction Wars Battles
• Bloodstone (Rare, Epic, Legendary) is also obtained from Faction Wars
• Corehammer (Legendary only). This is a special Material that can be obtained by scoring a certain number of points in Tournaments

Tournaments and Events will award various materials as well. Keep in mind that the maximum number of Magisteel, Soulstone, Bloodstone, and Corehammers that any player can keep is 10,000 each. Anything that goes over that limit will be lost.

Once you have enough Materials stored, you can begin crafting Artifacts. To do so, you just need to select the desired Artifact Set and the Rank which you want to go for. Once that is done, you spend a set amount of Silver to begin crafting, and a random Artifact from that Set will be forged (within the chosen Rank limits). It’s that simple!

But what if you want to get a specific Artifact, like a Shield, or Boots? Don’t worry, we’ve got you covered! There is another resource you can use in crafting - Charms.

Adding Charms to your recipe increases the chances of getting Artifacts with:

• Better Rank
• Better Rarity
• Specific Artifact Type
• Specific Substats

You can apply up to 4 Charms at once, but only 1 of each type. They will be available as rewards for Tournaments, Events, and in some cases - Advanced Quests.

Finally, let’s take a quick look at the Artifact Sets available in the Forge:

• Resilience: (2) Set. HP +10%, DEF +10%
• Perception: (2) Set. ACC +40, SPD +5%
• Swift Parry: (4) Set. SPD +18%, C. DMG +30%, 50% chance to get Unkillable for 1 turn when hit with a fatal hit
• Deflection: (4) Set. HP +20%, DEF +20%, 25% chance to deflect 1 debuff onto the attacker when a debuff is placed on the wearer

These are just the beginning, of course! There will be more additions to the Forge as we go forward - unique and powerful Artifact Sets closely connected to new gameplay features. 

If you watched our “What’s Next in Raid” video, you already know the Doom Tower will feature new Artifacts and Materials needed to craft these same Sets in the Forge. And, again, that is just what we have stored for the next few Updates. Expect to see even more later on!

Advanced Quests

Now, this is one of those features taking what you already know and making it better. Like the Daily Quests everyone in Raid is used to by now, Advanced Quests offer a list of challenges to complete. Some of them are static and do not refresh until they are done, others will need to be completed within 24 hours. These challenges will focus on things not yet covered by Daily or Weekly Quests: Tag Team Arena, Faction Wars, and so on. When the Doom Tower goes live, there will be specific Advanced Quests for it as well.

Each completed Quest will provide you with an individual reward, but those are just a small bonus. The main thing? You have a tally of 250 Advanced Quests. Completing them all will net you a Legendary Skill Tome! With several other rewards to claim along the way. There are no time limits on these, nor is it a one-time gig. You can complete Advanced Quests at your pace, and after you’ve reached 250 and claimed your reward, the tally will reset and the cycle will begin anew!

Champion Balance

With the above in mind, you can be confident that the role of PvP Arena Battles in player progression - both Classic and Tag Team Arena - will grow. So it is more important than ever to ensure a fair playing field between different teams and Champion compositions. To that end, we will be releasing one of our most comprehensive balance patches in Update 2.20.

The goal is simple - bringing some Champions down a notch while keeping them viable and, at the same time, improving other existing Champions to make team compositions varied and interesting. None of these changes were made on a whim; our dev team reviewed long-term game data, community feedback, specialist analysis of existing PvP and PvE meta. 

The most obvious example of this would be the Undead love doves Rotos and Siphi (the Lost Groom and the Lost Bride, respectively). They are the subject of many debates within the community but, more importantly, our analysis shows that these Champions (paired or individually) take part in 90% of all Arena Battles in Gold IV Tier and above. Unfortunately, they are extremely difficult to counter and thus became a no-brainer choice that damages Arena Team diversity.

Naturally, we have no desire to make these Champions unusable or even “just average”. So the changes you will see below aim to bring Rotos and Siphi in line with other top-tier Legendaries while minimizing the impact on gameplay for those who already poured a lot of effort into them.

We increase Duchess Lilitu’s Skill cooldowns for the same reasons as that is one of the least painful ways of balancing her without affecting the Champion’s core strengths. And while there are a couple more “nerfs”, the vast majority of changes in this patch are positive. Many Epics and Legendaries who lacked a certain spark to reach their potential will hopefully receive it now. 

As always, game balance is an ongoing effort, and this latest Update will not be the end of it. There are many other Champions on our list, so expect to hear more in the future!

Note: red color signifies a nerf, while green shows a buff.

Rotos the Lost Groom

Terror Scourge

Attacks 1 enemy. Has a 75% chance of placing a 60% [Decrease DEF] debuff for 2 turns. Also has a 25% chance of granting an Extra Turn.

Vitality Plunder

Damage slightly decreased

Fated Destruction

Attacks 1 enemy. Will ignore 60% of the target's DEF. Will also ignore [Unkillable] and [Block Damage] buffs. Enemies killed by this skill cannot be revived if this Champion has MAX HP from the Vitality Plunder skill. Grants an Extra Turn if this skill kills an enemy.

Bugfix: Fixed an issue causing incorrect damage calculation for this skill. Effectively, it will result in a slight damage reduction.

Siphi the Lost Bride

Whirlwind Romance

Fills the Turn Meters of all allies by 10% and places a [Block Debuffs] buff, a 60% [Increase DEF] buff, and a 30% [Increase SPD] buff on all allies for 2 turns.

CD: 6

Eternal Bond [Passive]

Heals each ally by 10% of their MAX HP at the start of their turn. Has a 40% chance of removing [Freeze] and [Fear] debuffs from each ally at the start of their turn. Removes all debuffs from Rotos the Lost Groom at the start of their turn if they are on the same team.

Arbiter

Destiny’s Call - Bugfix

Fixed a bug that had the Arbiter filling her Team’s Turn Meter by 30% instead of 20% as the skill intends.

Duchess Lilitu (update - no changes will be implemented to her kit in this patch)

Shroud of Souls

CD: 6

Madame Serris

Midnight Ritual

Removes all buffs from enemies. Places a 50% [Decrease ATK] debuff and a 60% [Decrease DEF] debuff on all enemies for 2 turns.

Khoronar

Flourish of Slaughter

Attacks all enemies. Has a 50% chance of decreasing each target's Turn Meter by 5%. Attacks all enemies 2 times instead of 1 and the chance of decreasing each target's Turn Meter increases to 100% if Minaya is on the same team. The damage of each hit will be decreased by 50%.

Blind Seer

Dark Shroud

Places a [Block Debuffs] buff on all allies for 2 turns, then places a [Shield] buff on all allies for equal to 30% of this Champion's MAX HP for 2 turns.

CD: 4

Self Sacrifice

Revives all dead allies to 35% HP. Places a [Block Damage] buff on all allies except this Champion for 1 turn.

CD: 6

Aura

Increases Ally DEF in all battles by 34%

Warlord

Orcish Rituals

CD: 5

Protection of Gods

Places a [Block Debuffs] buff on all allies for 1 turn, then places a [Shield] buff on all allies for equal to 30% of this Champion's MAX HP for 2 turns. Heals all allies by 25% of their MAX HP.

Cruetraxa

Curse of Writhing

Attacks 1 enemy. Has a 75% chance of placing a 25% [Weaken] debuff for 2 turns. Has a 75% chance of removing 2 random buffs from the target. Grants an Extra Turn.

Gurgoh The Augur

Bonechiller

Removes 2 random buffs from all enemies. Has an 80% chance of placing a [Freeze] debuff on all enemies for 1 turn. Grants an Extra Turn.

CD: 5

Base Speed

98

Alika

Disorient

Attacks all enemies. Has a 75% chance of increasing the cooldowns of all enemy skills by 1 turn.

CD: 4

Elder Skarg

Hunt the Marked

Attacks 1 enemy 3 times. Places an extra hit for each buff or debuff on the target. Can place up to 3 extra hits. Places a [HP Burn] debuff for 2 turns and a [True Fear] debuff for 1 turn if this attack places all 3 extra hits. Steals all the buffs from the target after the attack.

Elder's Clarion

Places a 60% [Increase DEF] buff on this Champion for 3 turns. Places a [Fear] debuff on all enemies for 1 turn. Places a [True Fear] debuff for 1 turn on targets under [Block Damage] buffs. Places a 30% [Decrease SPD] debuff for 2 turns on targets under [Shield] buffs. These debuffs cannot be resisted. Also places a [Provoke] debuff on Legendary Champions for 1 turn.

Kingslayer [P]

Receives 15% less damage from Legendary Champions. 

Inflicts damage equal to this Champion's ATK when attacked by Legendary Champions.

Candraphon

From the Shadows [P]

[Passive Effect]

Damage increases by 40% while attacking under a [Veil] or [Perfect Veil] buff.

Receives 40% less damage while under a [Veil] or [Perfect Veil] buff. Also boosts this Champion's Turn Meter by 15% each time this Champion receives damage under a [Veil] or [Perfect Veil] buff. Does not work if this Champion is the only alive ally on the team.

[Active Effect]

Places a [Perfect Veil] buff on this Champion for 1 turn each time an enemy's Turn Meter is filled. This buff cannot be removed.

Punish Hubris

Attacks 1 enemy. Places an extra hit if the target is under any buff.

On the Hunt

Places a [Perfect Veil] buff, a 50% [Increase ATK] buff, a 30% [Increase SPD] buff, and a 30% [Increase C. DMG] buff on this Champion for 2 turns.

Tormin the Cold

Wintry Wind [P]

[Passive Effect] 

Has a 20% chance of placing a [Freeze] debuff on the enemy each time they receive a buff or have their Turn Meter filled. The 20% chance applies up to twice per enemy turn (once for buffs, once for Turn Meter fills) in cases where an enemy receives multiple of these effects at the same time. Does not work with effects from Artifact Sets, Turn Meter filling effects from Masteries, healing, or those buffs or effects that take place at the start of a Round.

[Active Effect]

Revives this Champion to 100% HP when killed and places a [Freeze] debuff on this Champion for 1 turn.

Bystophus

Horror

Attacks 1 enemy. Has a 50% chance of placing a [Block Cooldown Skills] debuff for 1 turn. Has a 35% chance of placing a [True Fear] debuff for 1 turn on targets under [Block Cooldown Skills] debuffs.

Crumble

Attacks all enemies. Has a 50% chance of placing a 60% [Decrease DEF] debuff for 2 turns. Also has a 50% chance of placing a [Block Cooldown Skills] debuff for 2 turns.

Azure

Lunge

Attacks 1 enemy 2 times. Each hit has a 30% chance of placing a [Stun] debuff for 1 turn. This chance increases to 100% if the target has an [Increase SPD] buff.

Coup de Grace

Attacks 1 enemy. Places an extra hit if the target has a [Stun] debuff. The extra hit is always critical. Steals 50% of the target's Turn Meter if they are not under a [Stun] debuff. 

Bushi

Deadly Edge

Attacks 1 enemy. This attack is always critical. Places a 30% [Increase C. RATE] buff and a 15% [Increase SPD] buff on this Champion for 3 turns.

Hexia

Grave Rot

Attacks 1 enemy. Has a 40% chance of placing a 60% [Decrease DEF] debuff for 2 turns. This chance increases by 20% for each debuff placed on this Champion.

Soulreap

Attacks 1 enemy. Grants an Extra Turn and places a 50% [Increase ATK] buff on this Champion for 2 turns if this attack kills an enemy. Damage increases by 7.5% for each debuff on this Champion. Stacks up to 30%.

Spirit Harvest

Attacks 1 enemy. Heals this Champion by 15% of the damage inflicted. The heal increases by 10% for each debuff on this Champion. Places a 30% [Increase SPD] buff on this Champion for 2 turns.

Pitiless One

Split Arrow

Attacks 1 enemy 2 times. Each critical hit fills this Champion's Turn Meter by 5%.

Damage slightly increased

Projectile Burst

Damage slightly increased

Bonekeeper

Precision Strike

Attacks 1 enemy. This attack deals 50% extra C. DMG.

Killing Haze

Attacks 1 enemy. Places an extra hit if this attack is critical. Fills the Turn Meters of all allies by 15% if this attack kills an enemy.

Missionary

Crashing Halberd

Scales from Champion HP

In the Thick

Attacks 1 enemy. Has a 75% chance of placing a [Provoke] debuff for 1 turn. Has a 100% chance of placing a [Provoke] debuff for 1 turn, and a 50% [Decrease ATK] debuff for 2 turns, if this Champion's current HP is higher than the target's current HP.

Scales from Champion HP

Humble the Faithless

Attacks 1 enemy. Decreases the target's Turn Meter by 50%. Has a 75% chance of placing a 100% [Heal Reduction] debuff for 2 turns. Also has a 75% chance of placing a 30% [Decrease SPD] debuff for 2 turns.

Scales from Champion HP

Jotun

Brute Strength

Scales from Champion HP

Burning Blade

Scales from Champion HP

Sear Away

Attacks 1 enemy. Decreases the target's MAX HP by 30% of the damage inflicted. Damage increases by 50% if the target is under a [HP Burn] debuff.

CD: 5

Scales from Champion HP

Teshada

Maximum Carnage

Attacks 3 times at random. Each hit has a 50% chance of placing a 15 (Ascended 25%) [Weaken] debuff for 2 turns. The chance of placing the [Weaken] debuff increases to 100% on critical hits.

Spirit Appeasement

CD: 3

Maeve

Stupefy

Attacks 1 enemy. Has a 60% chance of placing a [Sleep] debuff for 1 turn. Has a 50% chance of granting an Extra Turn if the [Sleep] debuff is placed.

Slobber Knocker

Attacks 1 enemy. Places a [Stun] debuff for 1 turn. Places a [Stun] debuff for 2 turns if the target is under a [Sleep] debuff.

Suwai Firstborn

Render Helpless

Attacks 1 enemy. Has a 50% chance of placing a 60% [Decrease DEF] debuff for 2 turns. Places a 50% [Increase ATK] buff and a 30% [Increase C. DMG] buff on this Champion for 2 turns if this attack kills an enemy.

Utter Rampage

Attacks 1 enemy. Attacks all enemies with a second hit if this attack is critical. This hit deals 80% of the damage inflicted from the first hit. This attack will always be a normal hit.

Deaden Reactions

Attacks 1 enemy. Before attacking, has a 75% chance of placing a 25% [Weaken] debuff for 2 turns.

Taurus

Tendon Slash

Attacks 1 enemy. Has a 75% chance of placing a 25% [Weaken] debuff for 2 turns.

Toxic Nova

This Champion receives damage equal to 99% of their current HP. Places an [Unkillable] buff on this Champion for 2 turns. Has an 80% chance of placing four 5% [Poison] debuffs on all enemies for 2 turns.

Snorting Thug

Ruckus

Attacks 1 enemy. Steals 2 random buffs from the target. Ignores the target's DEF if they have no active buffs.

Dire Defense

Has a 30% chance of stealing 1 random buff from the attacker when hit. Occurs once per hit. Counterattacks the attacker if they have no active buffs.

Rowan

Slash

Attacks 1 enemy. Has a 60% chance of placing a 100% [Heal Reduction] debuff for 2 turns.

Scourge

Attacks 3 times at random. Each hit has a 40% chance of placing a [Stun] debuff for 1 turn.

CD: 3

Blade Surge

CD: 4

Skill Upgrades now give +10% and +15% to Buff/Debuff Chance (instead of +5% and +10%) of placing [Poison]. The total now is 75%

Hope

Sequester

Attacks 1 enemy. Has a 30% chance of placing a [Block Buffs] debuff for 2 turns.

Hearten

Increases the duration of buffs on all allies by 1 turn. Places a [Shield] buff equal to 25% of this Champion's HP on all allies for 2 turns.

Holy Storm

CD: 4

Canoness

Lead the Charge

Attacks 1 enemy. Has a 50% chance of placing a 50% [Increase ATK] buff on a random ally for 2 turns.

Blinding Assault

Attacks 1 enemy. Has an 80% chance of placing a 50% [Decrease ACC] debuff and a [Leech] debuff on the target for 2 turns. This attack is always critical.

Norog

Maul

Attacks 1 enemy. Has an 40% chance of placing a [Block Cooldown Skills] debuff for 1 turn.

Thick Skin [Passive]

Immune to [Stun], [Freeze], [Sleep] debuffs. Decreases the damage taken by all allies that are under 1 or more buffs by 15%. Decreases the damage taken by all allies that are under no active buffs by 25%.

Astralith

Heart Rot

Attacks 1 enemy. Places two [Bomb] debuffs that detonate after 1 turn. This debuff cannot be resisted.

Hakkorhn Smashlord

Rallying Bellow

Removes all debuffs from all allies, then places a [Block Debuffs] buff on all allies for 2 turns. Heals all allies by 15% of this Champion's HP. Heals each ally by an extra 10% of this Champion's MAX HP for each debuff removed from them.

Blood Offering

Sacrifices HP equal to 25% of this Champion's MAX HP, then attacks all enemies. Damage inflicted is equal to 50% of this Champion's MAX HP. This attack is always a normal hit. The HP sacrifice will happen even if it kills this Champion.

Belanor

Insurmountable

Places a 60% [Decrease DEF] and a 25% [Weaken] debuff for 2 turns on 1 enemy, then attacks them. Places a [Perfect veil] buff on this champion for 2 turns. (Applies to Ascended Skill too)

Overkill

Attacks 1 enemy. Will attack the enemy with the lowest HP with any surplus damage if this attack kills an enemy.

Tactical Partner

Activates this Champion's Swordleader skill. 

Also activates Zavia's Poison Rain Skill when Zavia is on the same team.

Abbess

Mass Impalement

Attacks all enemies. Has a 75% chance of placing a 60% [Decrease DEF] debuff for 2 turns.

Divine Wrath

Attacks all enemies. Places a [Sleep] debuff on this Champion for 1 turn. Damage inflicted is proportional to either this Champion's ATK or the target's DEF or ATK stat, whichever is highest.

Deals an extra 30% C. DMG if the target's ATK is highest. Ignores 30% of the target's DEF if the target's DEF is highest.

Gurptuk Moss-Beard

Druidic Boon

Removes all debuffs except [Poison] debuffs from an ally, then heals them by 30% of their MAX HP and places a [Shield] buff on the target equal to 20% of their MAX HP for 2 turns.

Cloud of Spores

Places three 2.5% [Poison] debuffs on all allies for 3 turns. These debuffs cannot be resisted or blocked. Also has an 80% chance of placing a [Block Buffs] debuff on all enemies for 2 turns.

Dracomorph

Seeping Pain

Attacks 1 enemy. Damage increases by 10% for each debuff on the target. Will attack 1 random enemy with any surplus damage if the target is killed. Damage inflicted is equal to triple the surplus damage. Surplus damage cannot be critical.

Drexthar Bloodtwin

Burning Lash

Attacks all enemies. Has a 50% chance of placing a [Provoke] debuff for 1 turn. This chance increases to 100% if the target is under a [HP Burn] buff. Also places a 50% [Decrease ATK] debuff for 2 turns if the [Provoke] debuff is placed.

Fiery Blood [Passive]

Has a 55% chance of placing a [HP Burn] debuff for 2 turns on the attacker when hit. This Champion's RES increases by 10 for every enemy under a [HP Burn] debuff. Stacks up to 50.

Miscellaneous

• An annoying bug that removed Accessory Ranks from the Accessory Chest preview in the Bazaar will be fixed
• The release of the long-awaited Doom Tower draws near, and a special teaser will be added to the game. Once it’s there, tap on the image to see a more detailed explanation of this upcoming feature and its mechanics!