Hello, this is LIFUEL!
First of all, we're sorry it took so long to get this update out.
We expected to finish it in one month. However, as different systems started affecting one another, a series of unexpected issues came up during development. Finally, it took us almost three months to wrap everything up.
So in this announcement, we'd like to talk not only about what's been added and changed, but also about some of the reasons behind these changes and how they came about.
Map System Expansion
One of the biggest additions is the map system expansion.
As we mentioned in an earlier announcement, the original map was designed around moving forward in a single direction.
It was to make the map itself simple: make the best choice from a limited set of options, collect rewards, repeat the process, and gradually make up your ideal build. We wanted the depth to come from build variety rather than from the map itself.
This time, we've added ways to move backward, which let you pass through more nodes and pick up additional rewards. Of course, greater rewards also come with greater risks. Here's how the new system works.
Plunderer's Transport Ship
Mysterious Portal
After defeating the Manager Wolf in a combat area, a Mysterious Portal may appear, and it will take you to the Plunderer's Transport Ship.
It offers the same rewards as the normal route, but you can travel in the opposite direction. This allows you to leave your original route, explore other areas, and pick up additional rewards.
The ship will automatically become available based on your progress after you've played through a certain portion. This means returning players who have already made some progress may encounter it almost immediately.
Pursuer
Pursuers will appear on the map and begin chasing the sheep.
Whenever you move to the next area, the Pursuers will follow. Their current positions can be seen directly on the map.
Pursuers will actively try to disrupt your survival. In general, the safest strategy is simply to avoid running into them.
If you stick to the normal route and keep moving forward, you should be able to make your way through safely. However, if you want to use the Plunderer's Transport Ship to reach other areas and claim additional rewards, it's unavoidable to encounter the Pursuers.
Pursuer Difficulty Level
The number of Pursuer icons shown at each node indicates their difficulty level.
As you progress, more Pursuers will accumulate.
• Level 1: 3 Trackers
• Levels 2–4: 5–6 Trackers
They also become progressively tougher as the difficulty level increases.
So if you use the Plunderer's Transport Ship to venture deeper, be prepared to take on considerably more risk.
Hidden Boss: Elite Pursuer
Once the level reaches Level 5, the Elite Pursuer will begin hunting. It has absurdly high stats and is theoretically impossible to defeat. (We designed it that way intentionally.) It's very unlikely to appear during a normal run. However, if you get greedy and repeatedly use the Plunderer's Transport Ship to venture deeper for more rewards, you may eventually attract its attention.
In other words, the normal route is not supposed to lead you into an encounter with the Elite Pursuer.
We have made significant adjustments to relevant content for the map expansion. This is also the first time we have introduced greater variety to replayability through the map system. Rather than having players give up and restart whenever they get an undesirable reward or an awkward build path, we hope to give you more ways to adapt and keep pushing toward a better run instead of giving up and restarting whenever you get an undesirable reward or an awkward build path
Alpha Memory
Why We Made It
Looking a little further back, we've previously provided metaprogression in two different ways. The first was through permanent unlocks, while the second was a more flexible investment system, like the Omega Project.
However, many players told us that some of the more basic functions in the Omega Project would be better suited to permanent unlocks. We agreed, but at the time, the game didn't really have a system that could properly house these features. After spending a long time planning and adjusting, we've finally completed a new permanent progression system, and named it Alpha Memory. From now on, basic features will gradually be unlocked through it.
Features Moved from the Omega Project
You can dismantle Skills, Modules, and Modifications to obtain Blue-P.
You can obtain a dice that allows you to reroll the reward list.
You can unlock the fourth Skill Slot.
Potion System Added
Potions and Potion upgrades have been added. This system is mainly intended to make the early game a little more forgiving and give players a way to recover from mistakes.
Basic Unlocks
Based on player feedback and our own judgment, we've changed some of the most basic features so that they can now be unlocked for free through special events and normal progression. We've also added one-time events for these unlocks.
Low Attack
Low Attack is now available as a basic feature and can be used without spending any resources.
We've also added a dedicated tutorial and event for it.
Third Skill Slot
The Third Skill Slot can now be unlocked through dedicated events based on your progression. A new combat event involving a special NPC has been added. Complete the event to unlock the Skill Slot. The event is intentionally not too difficult. It's mainly to help players get familiar with the basic actions.
Omega Project Update V2
Why We Updated It
While working on the changes based on player feedback, some of the existing features in the Omega Project were moved to Alpha Memory. This left empty nodes behind and, as a result, caused a chain reaction of problems with the existing level design.
So while addressing the long-standing issues with the Omega Project itself, we decided to give the whole system another major overhaul.
The main issues pointed out by players were:
You had to activate nodes you didn't want just to reach the ones you actually wanted.
There were too many nodes, while relatively few of them offered meaningful choices.
The balance between individual nodes was uneven.
The distribution of Omega Points didn't feel right.
For this update, our biggest priority was making sure you wouldn't have to spend a point on something you don't want just to reach something you do. We've also simplified both the nodes and the point system, so that each point you invest feels more meaningful.
UI/UX
The Omega Project has been changed from its previous tree structure to a radial structure.
Nodes are no longer connected in a fixed progression order. Instead, they are grouped together based on their functions.
When you invest Omega Points into individual nodes, the values from each group are added together and accumulated in the center.
Once the accumulated points reach certain thresholds, additional effects will be activated.
Effect Categories
Red — Pressure
Name | Effect | Points | |
|---|---|---|---|
Additional Effect at 5+ Points | Execution Protocol | Instantly execute targets below 4% HP. | 4 |
Additional Effect at 10+ Points | Predator Instinct | Damage dealt to Bosses and Mini-Bosses is increased by 8%. | 8 |
Additional Effect at 20+ Points | Perfect Run | If you complete a room without taking damage, damage is increased by 1%. | 1 |
| Lightweight Focus | Impact -1, Attack Speed +00%. | 10 / 15 |
| Rapid Overdrive Mode | Damage is increased by 00% when HP is below 40%. | 3 / 5 / 10 |
| Emergency Instinct | Basic Attack damage is increased when Energy is below 50%. | 3 / 6 / 9 |
| Focused Assault | Critical Hit Rate +00%. | 4 / 8 |
| Last Stand Power | Damage is increased by 00% when you have no revives remaining. | 10 / 15 |
| Combo Overdrive | Attack Speed is increased by 0% when you reach a 50-hit combo. This effect disappears when the combo ends. | 4 / 6 / 10 |
| Output Boost | Damage +00%. | 3 / 5 / 7 / 10 |
| Damage Dampener | Damage is increased by 4% for each empty slot. | 4 |
Blue — Survival
Name | Effect | Points |
|---|---|---|
Afterimage Maneuver | You can dodge twice consecutively. | |
Adaptive Evolution | Survive death with 100% HP. | |
Adrenaline | Recovery time is reduced by 3 seconds, and recovery amount is increased by 50%. | |
Ultimate Intuition | Max HP is increased by 00% when defeating a Boss or Mini-Boss. | 1 / 2 |
Bone Reinforcement I | Max HP +00. | 3 / 6 / 9 |
Vital Flow | Recovery amount +00%. | 5 / 8 |
Vitality Regeneration I | Recovery time is reduced by 0.0 seconds. | 0.4 / 0.6 / 0.8 |
Impact Immunity | Dodge invincibility duration +0.0 seconds. | 0.1 / 0.2 |
Revival | Revive. | |
Overflow Shield | Healing beyond max HP is converted into a shield. | 10 / 20 / 30 |
Damage Mitigation | Damage taken is reduced by 00%. | -3 / -5 / -7 / -9 |
Yellow — Mind
Name | Effect | Points |
|---|---|---|
Startup Funding | Start the game with 200 Blue-P. | |
Tactical Reserve | Max HP +20, Energy +1. | |
Module Retention | When you die, return with one designated Module. | |
Circuit Recovery | Energy Recovery Speed +00%. | 3 / 5 / 7 / 9 |
Cooldown Optimizer | Cooldown Recovery Speed is increased. | 5 / 7 / 9 |
Manium Prospector | The chance for Manium Ore to appear after defeating the Manager Wolf is increased by 00%. | 10 / 18 / 25 |
Neural Acceleration | Movement Speed +00%. | 5 / 10 |
Manium Amplification | Manium Ore obtained grants an additional +1 Impact and reduces Max HP by an additional 2. | |
Ground Breaker | Low Attack damage is increased by 00% and gains Skill properties. | 25 / 50 |
Power Accumulation | Damage is increased by 00% for each Energy you have. | 2 / 3 / 6 |
Final Defense | Damage taken is reduced by 00% when you have no revives remaining. | -10 / -20 |
Charge Movement | You can perform a short dash forward or backward while charging. |
(Spoiler) Purple — Mutation
Name | Effect | Points |
|---|---|---|
Emergency Injection | Drink Potions instantly. | |
Blue-P Amplifier | Blue-P obtained +20%. | 20% |
Variable Stockpile | Start with 5 Dice. | 5 |
Modification Dismantle | Gain a small amount of Manium Crystal when dismantling. | |
Slot Overload | Max HP +1 for each empty Weapon Modification slot. | 1 |
Blue-P Extraction | Blue-P obtained from dismantling is increased by 00%. | 25 / 50 |
Detection Evasion | Avoid detection once when first discovered by a Pursuer. | |
Modified Imprint | 00% chance to obtain a Modification Skill. | 10 / 15 / 20 |
Chance Optimizer | Increase the number of Dice. | 1 / 2 / 3 |
Emergency Regeneration | Recover 00 HP per second when HP is below 25. | 1 / 2 |
Fate Depletion | Damage is increased by 00% when you have no Dice. | 3 / 6 / 9 |
Manium Adaptation | Max HP reduction caused by Manium is reduced by 1. |
New Skills
Four new Skills and Passives have been added, focusing on builds centered around Cooldown and Energy.
Icon | Title | Description |
| High-Power Cannon | Fire a shell after a lengthy charge-up. The longer the cooldown and the more Energy it consumes, the more damage it deals. |
| Vortex Shot | Fires bullets forward, dealing damage. Consumes all currently held Energy and repeats the attack based on the amount of Energy consumed. |
| Overheated Time Bomb | While equipped, Damage is increased by 4% for every additional 1 second of cooldown on the Main Skill. |
| Impact Time Bomb | While equipped, Impact +1 for every additional 1 second of cooldown on the Main Skill. |
Changes
Burst Blade
The final Modification effect has been changed from“Gain 1 magazine when using an Enhanced Magazine”to“Remove the Enhanced Magazine limit.”
Each time the charge meter completes one full cycle, you gain one Enhanced Shot charge. As long as you have charges remaining, you can fire Enhanced Shots consecutively. The remaining charges are displayed as an ammo stack next to the charge icon. Moving to another room will reset both the charge progress and the stored charges.
Shock Speed
As stacks build up, the interval between lightning strikes becomes shorter, and the animation also speeds up. Each stack beyond the first increases the speed by 12% per stack, up to 2.5×.
Shock effects of the same type applied to the same target are now combined and accumulated as stacks.
Other
The range of Super Dash has been greatly increased.
Pulse Spear Piercing Fix: Enemies pierced will no longer enter a forced hit reaction. Instead, they will remain suspended in place, shaking as if time has stopped. They will be held in place for approximately 1 second from the moment the spear becomes embedded in the terrain.
Bugfixes & Other Changes
The effect duration of the combo Skill Burst Lance has been reduced from 1.14 seconds (19 frames) to 0.30 seconds (5 frames).
Fixed the preview behavior of several Skills. The aiming previews for Arc Sling and Concentrated Fire will now remain visible for the specified duration.
Improved the visual presentation of the room map screen.
Cleaned up Skill and Item descriptions: spacing and punctuation have been standardized across all 12 languages, and incorrect wording has been corrected.
Fixed an issue where stunning Super Armor enemies that are normally immune to stun could cause the game to crash.
Fixed a crash that could occur when a monitored monster died during a monster wave.
Fixed a crash that could occur when a scene failed to load.
Fixed crashes that could occur on the dialogue bubble, Skill icon, and tab grid screens.
Fixed a crash that could occur when a Module disappeared due to dismantling or upgrading during a Module exchange animation.
Fixed a crash that could occur when a monster whose prefab failed to load appeared.
Fixed an issue where two cutscenes could overlap when entering the Base Camp after defeating Dr. Wolf for the first time.
Fixed an issue where interacting with the Skill Altar without ever opening the Inventory could immediately cancel the interaction.
Fixed an issue where interaction prompts would not appear when background objects overlapped with an interaction area.
Fixed an issue where enemies using teleportation patterns could spawn stuck inside terrain near the edge of the map.
Fixed an issue where independently generated attacks, such as drone attacks, could send their spawn notification twice, causing Critical modifiers and “on attack” Artifact effects to trigger twice.
Fixed an issue where Skill attacks generated as separate objects, such as the bleed effect from the Blood Katana, could fail to receive Skill upgrades and Critical effects.
Fixed an issue where summoned attacks generated by Modules could incorrectly receive Skill-specific upgrades.
Fixed an issue where delayed bonus attacks from Passives would not trigger Skills that split into multiple attacks, such as Concentrated Fire.
Fixed an issue where a bonus attack from one Skill could incorrectly be applied to attacks from another Skill.
Fixed an issue where bonus attacks scheduled by attack objects that disappear immediately could be lost.
Fixed an issue where the second hit of Flame Conductor could trigger an explosion on enemies that had only just been inflicted with Burn by the first hit. It will now only trigger enemies that were already Burning.
Fixed an issue where field damage could remain after disabling Damage Floor.
Fixed an issue where the Incendiary Shotgun magazine would not reset during Boss/Elite entrance cutscenes.
Fixed an issue where the grab attack of the Infected Cutter could deal more damage than intended due to the target's Defense value.
Fixed the damage taken when being knocked back by Dr. Wolf's collision attack during Phase 2 so that it now uses the intended fixed value.
Fixed an issue where the Antenna and Watering Can Modules were incorrectly using each other's effect data, causing their effects to be swapped.
Fixed an issue where the Breathing Support Device reduced Stamina recovery instead of increasing it. The value has been corrected from 0.7 → 1.3.
Fixed an issue where Attack Speed increases were incorrectly displayed as “1%.”
Fixed an issue where tooltips continued to display the previous values after changing Enhancement Levels.
Corrected the displayed values in the descriptions of 9 Items across all 12 languages.
Fixed an issue where 8 weapons sharing the same effect sheet could display the wrong blade image when certain Skills were used.
Fixed an issue where the end of Doctor's Eye Laser could appear detached from the body when facing left and extend beyond its actual hitbox.
Fixed an issue where route lines on the room map could be displayed at an incorrect angle.
Fixed an issue where the smoke trail of Concentrated Fire missiles could break when the missiles disappeared.
Fixed an issue where HP change indicators could remain visible during the black screen transition in cutscenes.
Fixed an issue where control keys and Blue.P were not properly replaced in Chinese, Portuguese, Spanish, Russian, and some other languages, and could appear in their original form.
Fixed an issue where Skills with 0 Cooldown could display a “+0%” damage tag and lose their keyword color.
Fixed an issue where the dismantling prompt displayed the original tag text instead of the correct key binding.
Added illustrations and description text for the first time you board the Transport Ship and Return Transport Ship.
Slightly adjusted the spacing between map nodes to accommodate the expanded map.
Closing
There are also some changes we can't go into because they would involve spoilers, as well as a number of development tasks that we weren't able to list here in full.This update took a long time, but we've made major improvements across the game as a result.Some individual areas may still feel a little lacking right now, but we'll continue to expand and improve them over time.
We originally planned to work on Sector 2 for the next update. However, given the scale of the changes made in this update, we'll likely need to revise our development plans moving forward.
We've spent this time restructuring many parts to make them easier to expand in the future, and we believe that will put us in a much better position for upcoming development.
Thank you so much for waiting for us all this time.
And, as always, thank you for all of your feedback.
