Hello, Guardians.
Today, we would like to share some info about our January update, the first update of 2024.

In this update, we are improving some systems that have caused some inconveniences, as well as implementing bug fixes.
The Defense Derby team will continue to monitor and address any issues reported by players.

As for unit balancing, we are renewing and adjusting units that previously underperformed in gameplay. Our goal is to buff both human and spirit physical units to make them more competitive.
We will continue to monitor and adjust the balance to ensure that all heroes and units in Derby can be effective.

Starting from 2024, balance patches will be implemented in the middle of each month, and updates related to game content will occur at the end of each month.
In the next balance patch, we have planned adjustments for decks with high win rates and pick rates. In the next content update, improvements will be made for Hero's Journey, Derby Requests, as well as in-game play and FX.

1. Balance Adjustments

• Balance Adjustments

  • We are reviewing the issue of overall playtime being longer than intended, leading to increased fatigue in gameplay.
  • Due to the low performance of human physical heroes and units, we will be enhancing and renewing the following units.

Units

• • Human

    Unit Name	Reason for Adjustment	Adjustments
    Archer	Archer, alongside Viking, is a human physical single-target damage dealer. However, Viking's performance in managing waves has been inconsistent, largely dependent on the activation of his special ability. To address this, we're buffing Archer to handle waves more reliably.	Increased attack power by 30%
    Cannon Master	Cannon Master plays a significant role in early waves, but struggles to cope with later waves. To enhance her capabilities in handling longer waves, we're increasing the duration of her special ability when upgraded.	Increased attack power by 20% Increased duration of special ability upon unit upgrade - 2-Star: +4 sec - 3-Star: +8 sec
    Rifleman	Rifleman, who serves as a human physical single-target damage dealer and delays monster movement, has been underperforming in both roles. To buff his performance in delaying monster movement, we're adjusting the activation conditions and effects of his special ability.	Change in Special Ability - Before the patch: Upon critical hit, knocks the target 3 tiles back. - After the patch: When the target has more than 70% HP, knocks the target 2 tiles back. Change in Effect upon Upgrade - Before the patch: Critical chance increases by 1% - After the patch: Knockback distance increases by 0.1

• • Spirit
    

    Unit Name	Reason for Adjustment	Adjustments
    Cold Bow	Among the spirit physical units, Cold Bow serves a role in delaying monster movement. However, his attack power was relatively low when compared to similar units in other factions, making him less effective in early waves. Therefore, we're buffing Cold Bow's attack power to ensure smoother wave clears even in the early game.	Increased attack power by 30%

2. Content & System Improvements

Derby

• Chip Leader FX
  • The system will now highlight the chip leader's ID on the minimap.
  • The chip leader's remaining chip UI will also be highlighted.
    
    

Hero's Journey

• Stage Clear effect will be displayed when completing all of the stages.
• It will now be easier to recognize that the monsters you defeat are summoned to opponent lanes.

Summon Info

• Prior to the patch, summon info was displayed in tooltips, and probabilities were accessible only through a linked website, making it challenging to view all details simultaneously.
  To improve this, we have enhanced the UI for summon info, allowing all details to be viewed on a single screen.
  • You can access the summon info by tapping the (i) icon at the top right of the summon UI.
    
    

Lucky Draw

The Lucky Draw Shop will change as follows.

Miraculous Summon Tickets

• Miraculous Summon Tickets, which can be used to make miraculous summons, will be introduced.
• If you possess Miraculous Summon Tickets, you can use them instead of Gems to make miraculous summons.
• If you have 10 or more tickets, you can use them to make 11 summons.
• The number of Miraculous Summon Tickets remaining can be checked in the miraculous summon popup window.
• Miraculous Summon Tickets can be acquired from various sources such as missions, events, and shop products.

3. Event

Spend & Earn Event

• The Spend & Earn Event will start on 1/30 (Tue).
• Event Period: 1/30/2024 (Tue) 00:00 - 2/13/2024 (Tue) 00:00 UTC
• Rewards will be provided based on the Gems spent within the event period.
  

  Mission Level	Gems Used	Rewards	Quantity
  1	2000	Miraculous Summon Tickets	3
  2	4000	Crystals	500
  3	7000	Rare Card Summon	3
  4	11000	Legendary Card Selection	1
  5	15000	Gems	1000
  6	21000	Miraculous Summon Tickets	7
  7	27000	Crystals	1000
  8	35000	Ancient Card Summon	1

4. Packages

Legendary Human/Beast/Spirit Select Pack

Select packs containing both selection and summon tickets will be introduced for each faction.

Seollal Legendary+ Human/Beast/Spirit Pack

Seollal packages from which you can collect Legendary+ cards will be introduced for each faction.

Gem Special Pack

 A special Gems pack offering a great value on Gems, will be available for sale.

Weekly Human/Beast/Spirit Crystal Pack

Weekly Human/Beast/Spirit Crystal Packs have been newly added. These packs will offer you Gems along with Crystals for each faction.

5. Miscellaneous

• Additional information about the damage range will be added to the special ability description of Venomvine Witch.
• The description of the Cursed Parchment will be revised for clarity.

6. Bug Fixes

• Fixed an issue where Nalyn's active skill could be used after the destruction of castle.
• Fixed an issue where the damage reduction effects of artifacts and talents were not reflected in Nalyn's passive skill Spring of Life.
• Fixed an issue where the unit upgrade popup did not display the special ability increases.
• Fixed an issue where the talents Rite of Doom and Bloody Curse were not applied as expected.
• Fixed an issue where Pygmy Yeti occasionally did not attack the front line.
• Fixed an issue where the remaining number of Derby Chips occasionally appeared differently when repeatedly switching between other players' screens during Derby.
• Fixed an issue where matchmaking did not function properly in [Themed Mode] Banned Picks.
• Fixed an issue where some missions in daily quests appeared to count more than the actual achievements.
• Fixed an issue where missions of the same type were being completed simultaneously in Derby Requests.
• Fixed an issue where the red dot did not disappear even after completing all badge missions
• Fixed an issue where talent effects appeared not to be applied during deck edit.
• Fixed an issue where weekly product reset times were occasionally displayed incorrectly.
• Fixed an issue where the name and grade were abnormally displayed when purchasing Blacksmith from Shop of Blessing.
• Modified the Discord invite code to function correctly.
• Fixed an issue where the background color of scouted units was displayed differently than intended.
• Fixed a problem where tooltip descriptions for featured summons extended beyond the screen.
• Fixed an issue where the unit upgrade UI overlapped with the currency area.
• Fixed an intermittent delay in receiving daily quest rewards.

Thank you.