Changelog/2022/August 18

Hello,

With this major technical update for SkyBlock, we are about to enter a phase of making the impossible happen.

Today we present a few modest improvements to the SkyBlock hub and the game.

'''Please note that at the time of writing this, SkyBlock is still in maintenance! We thought we'd release the news ahead of time.'''

► Bazaar Improvements


One of the richest Hub villagers is looking to become even richer, and they have been working extra hours lately to add many functionalities to their service:


 * Enchantment books that are otherwise impossible to find in enchanting tables are now added to the Bazaar.
 * You can now trade every kind of Essence in the Bazaar.
 * Added a search option.
 * Most modifier-type of items have been added to the Bazaar.

Not only is this quite useful, but this also allows us to do two important things!


 * Because all item modifiers will either have a shop price or a bazaar price, this will allow us to calculate the price of items accurately, no matter the amount of work on the item.
 * It allowed us to create the Hex.

► The Hex


For players at any stage of the game, it can be a bother to work on a new sword or bow; there are so many enchantments and modifiers to apply, and sometimes you might even forget something!

The Hex allows you to apply every single modifier an item can have directly from its menu. It will take the items directly from your inventories and backpacks, and if you are missing an item, it'll buy it directly from the Bazaar! (rip ironman)



The menu also makes it easier to read what is or isn't on the item yet, and if you are missing some exp to apply an enchant, you can even buy the bottles of enchanting directly from it!

To unlock the Hex, you'll have to talk to Eleanor in the Museum; from there, and if you have the requirements, you'll find the Hex and The Handler in the Hub behind the Library.

► Carpentry
The Carpentry Skill is no longer a VIP only skill! Everyone can start collecting Carpentry EXP now, and the rate is the same for everyone.

Some of the features in the Hex have Carpentry level requirements, and in the future, this skill will unlock new content.

► RNG Meter Changes
Love it or hate it, randomness is core to SkyBlock. Everyone's game experience is different; some have it easy, while others have to persevere until they finally reach their goal. It can create some very exciting or extremely frustrating moments. While we do not want to take anything away from those exciting moments, there have to be some limits on the frustration of never ever finding what you want.

The changes to the RNG Meter are as follows:

 The 33% progress increased the odds from 1% to 1.65%
 * The RNG Meter has been added to the Catacombs (Floor 1 to Master Mode 7)
 * Doing S(+) runs or defeating Slayer bosses will start accumulating EXP in your Meter.
 * You can now choose any RNG drop you have unlocked and start working towards it.
 * As your progress accumulates, you'll gain increased odds of dropping the selected item until you find it.
 * If you do find the selected item before the Meter is full, the Meter will reset. Otherwise, you'll reach 100% completion, and the item will automatically drop on the next Dungeon Run or Slayer Boss.
 * Finding another rare drop will not reset the Meter anymore.
 * At any point, you can decide to swap the item you have selected, and it will transfer the accumulated EXP towards it.
 * You can now earn Slayer RNG Meter EXP starting level 3, instead of 4.

The Slayer RNG Meter will keep your current progress, and in the case of the Catacombs Meter, you will gain some of your EXP retroactively but the ratio is very low, for the sake of the economy.

► Stats Breakdown Menu

The stats menu(s) available in "your profile menu" has been upgraded to show where all of your stats are from.

If you want to learn more about it, here's an objectively mediocre guide about it.

New Stats:


 * 7 Wisdom Stats for different skills, which increase skill XP gain. (For example, Slayer now grants Combat Wisdom!)
 * Fishing Speed
 * Health Regen
 * Vitality, which boosts incoming healing (good for tanks!)
 * Mending, which boosts outgoing healing (good for healers!)

Fishing Speed also works differently as before. It used to remove a % of the remaining time available to spawn the fish, the system now simply adds a value and it linearly makes the particles spawn faster.

If you reach 300 Fishing Speed, the particles will appear instantly, but there is an exception with the Crimson Isle, where 350 Fishing Speed is the value you have to reach for maximum efficiency.

► Shen's Auction

There is a new piece of content for endgame players set up under the Auction House. With the proper Museum requirements, you can talk to Damia and access two new types of auctions.

The first auctions are 3 Accessories that are being sold each SkyBlock year. The Artifact of Control is being sold in only ten exemplaries each year. 

The Pandora's Box is a unique accessory, and only 20 of them are put in auction each year. This accessory is the only one that cannot be recombobulated. To increase its rarity to Mythic, you will have to complete all the challenges that the box holds. 

The Shen's Regalia is an incredibly valuable accessory that allows you to enter the Regalia Room, where you will find a very special shop with multiple new rare items. A maximum of 40 Regalias can be bought each year. 

On top of that, Shen himself is selling items from his personal collection, but only for the richest players. Most of those items are not particularly strong or useful, but they might appeal to the collectors out there. You will be notified of the auction when the item is being auctioned for the very last time.

To obtain those items, you will have to bid on them, and Ironman players have access to those auctions. All you need to do is, have one of the top bids by the end of the SkyBlock year, simple, right?

But who's Shen?

Shen is...a very important person, but he's not ready to reveal himself just yet.

► Backend Changes
We've done a refactor (rewrite) of many systems in the game. The goal has been to increase the rate at which we can ship updates.

Systems touched include:
 * Upgraded Java runtime from 8 to 17!
 * Moved a lot of stuff from code to JSON data:
 * Furniture
 * Item Skins
 * Pet Skins
 * Minion Skins
 * Sea Creatures
 * Islands data (like resource areas)
 * Zones (like NPC locations)
 * Objectives
 * The Objective system was revamped
 * Unified Requirement system (like slayer requirements on items, but across the game...)
 * Custom Mobs system
 * Feature-toggling system (for example, Dojo disabling menus)
 * Accessories stacking
 * Parkour/Race system
 * The Bazaar's client-side (what's on the game server)

A Dev Blog will come post-release regarding the JSON data changes and what it means for the game.

► Balancing Changes
Some balancing was implemented on existing content.

► Enchantment Changes

 * Protection: Changed from 3/6/9/12/15/18/21 - > 4/8/12/16/20/25/30 (levels 1-7)
 * Flame reworked to match Fire Aspect.
 * Rend: Fix a bug that causes defense to apply twice; now, Rend deals true damage.
 * Combo: Increases damage by +1/2/3/4/5% (additive) for every kill, capping at 2/4/6/8/10 kills lasting 2/4/6/8/10 seconds (levels 1-5)
 * Swarm: Gain +2/4/6/8/10% damage per nearby mob, caps at ten mobs.
 * Bank: Additionally, enemies drop 0.5/1/1.5/2/2.5 more coins when killed.

► Enderman Slayer Changes

 * Void Swords: Nerfed damage bonus to 100/150/200/250
 * Final Destination: Full Set Bonus: Strength 100 > 30, multiplies Intelligence by 1.5x - > 1.25x
 * And nerfed attack speed to +20

Tier 2:

HP: 15,000,000 HP - > 12,000,000 HP

1st shield: 10,000,000 HP - > 8,000,000 HP

2nd shield: 5,000,000 HP - > 4,000,000 HP

Yang Glyphs starts at: 7,500,000 HP - > 6,000,000 HP

Tier 3:

HP: 66,666,666 HP - > 50,000,000 HP

1st shield: 44,444,444 HP - > 33,333,333 HP

2nd shield: 22,222,222 HP - > 16,666,666 HP

Yang Glyphs starts at: 44,444,444 HP - > 33,333,333 HP

Nukekubi Fixation starts at: 22,222,222 HP - > 16,666,666 HP

Tier 4:

HP: 300,000,000 HP - > 210,000,000 HP

1st shield: 200,000,000 HP - > 140,000,000 HP

2nd shield: 100,000,000 HP - > 70,000,000 HP

Yang Glyphs starts at: 200,000,000 HP - > 140,000,000 HP

Nukekubi Fixation starts at: 100,000,000 HP - > 70,000,000 HP

1st Broken Heart Radiation: 250,000,000 HP - > 175,000,000 HP

2nd Broken Heart Radiation: 150,000,000 HP - > 105,000,000 HP

3rd Broken Heart Radiation: 50,000,000 HP - > 35,000,000 HP

► Pets
Ender Dragon

Renowned, Superior, Superior Blood and Legion are now additive with each other rather than multiplying with each other.

"End Strike": Deal +0.25% (multiplicative) damage per level - > deal +2% (additive) damage per level

Golden Dragon

"Dragon's Greed": Gain +0.5% Strength for every 5 Magic Find, caps at 100 Magic Find (+0.5% strength for every 5 MF at level 200)

"Shining Scales": Add a cap at 1b gold collection (10 digits)

Ammonite

Nerf base SCC stat: 0.07 per level - > 0.05 per level.

"Heart of the Sea" now applies the SCC to the Ammonite's stats.

Dolphin

"Pod Tactics" (Legendary Rarity): Now gives +1 SCC per level for each player (max 30% instead of 25%)

Flying Fish

"Quick Reel": Now grants 0.75 Fishing Speed per level at Legendary rarity (up to 75)

Scatha

"Wormhole" now unlocks at Epic rarity

Legendary 4th Perk: Gemstone Power: Gain +20% (+0.2% per level) more Gemstone Powder from all sources.

(additive with the HOTM powder perk)

Golem

"Last Stand": activates at 15% - > 25% HP

Phoenix

"Rekindle": 3m - > 1m cooldown

Endermite

"Pearl Muncher": Now only works on Ender Pearls dropped from killing enemies, instead of from any pearl dropped.

"Pearl Powered": Also give +30 Strength & +10 Magic Find for 10s, effect doesn't stack.

Tiger

"Apex Predator": Deal +0.2% damage per level - > +1% damage per level (this is additive)

Lion

"King of the Jungle": deal +0.15% - > +1.5% damage per level (this is additive)

► Miscellaneous changes

 * Mithril NPC price 10 - > 8
 * Combat XP gained from Hub Wolves 10 - > 15
 * Combat XP gained from Howling Spirits 15 - > 22
 * Combat XP gained from Pack Spirits 15 - > 22

► A note on future updates

Here's a quick recap of what you can expect in the next few updates!

Happening pretty soon but in no specific order:
 * End Island QoL Update
 * Kuudra revamp
 * Garden Update (part 1)
 * SkyBlock Levels (part 1)
 * New bits items

Happening moderately soon:
 * Wizard Portal
 * Garden Update (part 2)
 * SkyBlock Levels follow up

Happening in a little while:
 * Foraging update

Credits:
@aPunch - Bazaar additions + Hex + RNG Meter + Stat changes + Backend changes & Balancing @JacobRuby - Hex animation @LandonHP - Shen's Auctions content @ConnorLinfoot - Backend implementation of Shen's Auctions @Minikloon - New stat menu + Backend changes @Sylent, @Bloozing, @Citria, HPC and QA Team - Testing/QA @Jayavarmen - Game Design @AdamWho and @Cheesey - Auction House and Hex room

Remember that this list is not exhaustive. Developers on this list are often working on other projects.

Thanks for reading!

Huge thanks to all the players who reported bugs on Alpha, we fixed 181 of them!