Soulframe Preludes 7

Pubblicato il: October 31st, 2024

Hail, Envoys! Soulframe Preludes 7 arrives and brings a small feast of changes smelling of Wintersquash, stagger-inducing updates, a sharp-tongued collector, and much more...

 

Account Resets: Existing Preludes accounts will require a reset to implement the full changes for Preludes 7. Upon logging into your Soulframe account, you should experience a fresh reset of the game. Several changes have been made to the new player experience, and this reset allows us to fully test ongoing changes to the Preludes build in these early days of Soulframe. Find a “Preludes Honour” awaiting for you with Fenn Jotar to express our thanks!

 

Ancestor Discovery Changes 

The paths to discovering Orlick and Tuvalkane have been improved. Start anew to discover:

The Last Pensive

Find the speaking spectre. With inkwell and spectre’s quill in hand, rediscover the Bicameral once more.

The Steelsinger

What relics unearthed by Sinecure? Seek the Moonsteel Helm and return it to the blacksmith’s hearth.

 

New Sparrow’s Tale: Hark, The Collector

Keep your eyes on the sky for a new Sparrow’s Tale. Mada, Synod’s sharp-tongued and very bored Inquisitor, commands waves of Sinecure forces to secure earthling resources.

The Brewer of Hues Fable must first be completed to play this new encounter. The witch Verminia may have a remedy to offer to assist you should Synod’s stormrider appear...

 

Ocfomar Event: Squash the Squash

In the harvest month of Ocfomar, tales of Crone Cucurbita—a sinister, animate squash who preys on wanderers—haunt the young Sproutfolk. Squash this legendary Wintersquash menace and craft a special mask in her honor.

Crone Pepo Mask

Popular in harvest months, this mask is an homage to a sinister Sproutfolk legend. Most often worn by patch sages, harvest oracles and parents who resent their children.

 

New Arts System

Pacts and Weapons can now be leveled up through combat to unlock unique Arts. 

Weapon Arts allow Envoys to customize their play style with specialized bonuses like Smite, Riposte, Perfect Throw, and more.

 

Pact Changes

  • All Pact Arcanics have received an increase in power, enhanced visuals, and reworked functionality to elevate their role in battle. 
  • Arcanic Cooldown System: Arcanics now recharge on a cooldown system. Arcanic Flow has been removed.
  • Idols: Idols are now bound to their respective Pact and can no longer be swapped. Fey and Ode Tempest Idols can be cast without requiring full charge.
  • Health Bonuses: Pacts now offer unique health bonuses:
    • Ode Tempest: +30 Health
    • Garren Rood: +20 Health
  • Fey Pact Changes: Fey now grants +5 Grace instead of Spirit. Glamour is now attuned with Grace, Phantom Flock is now attuned with Spirit. Glamour now transforms players into a butterfly to hide from foes, and both Bestone and Phantom Flock now use Dhonu to cast.

 

Crafting Changes

Channel your Envoy heart... Some crafted items are now locked behind Tuvalkane’s skill tiers, requiring Envoys to increase her level to access.

 

Weapon Rarity Tiers

Weapons will fall into Rarity Tiers (Common, Uncommon, Rare), with Virtue and Skill requirements specific to each tier. If Virtue requirements are unmet, there will be a 50% damage reduction. 

Added Rarity tiers, Attunement values, Virtue requirements to Weapons stats in the arsenal screen.

 

New Weapons

Vetch

The swiftsword Vetch. Slender and pliant, this sword is of the Dendrit weapon class ‘Illanfeoir’ meaning blade of grass. Vetch is unadorned but for a single blue crystal embedded in its hilt—a Tear of Iridis. Likely a weapon wrought in the name of a loved one lost. Fragments for Vetch will drop from Sparrow’s Tales.

 

Unsula

The binary blades of Sinecure mercenaries. Each Unsulum dagger is cast in a measured arc. Some liken it to a broken orbit, others to a pinching claw. Together, the Unsula are precisely formed to strike soundlessly through Alcan atmosphere. Fragments for Unsula will drop from Rare Chests.

Gathannan

The ere pronged Glaive of Garren Rood. No mortal weapon has points so fine nor plenty as the Omen Beast’s own crown. Though this charger’s lance comes close. Dual spires are cast of gold as old as the line of Rood. The oaken staff is freshly bound and still smells of forest. Fragments for Gathannan will drop from Sparrow’s Tales in the Glades.

Bog & Myrtle

Myrtle, a sword as short as a pricking thorn. Stout and swift, she whistles fair with every swing. The weapon of a Dendrit commoner, but that does not make her so. 

Bog, a round and rusted shield. No stranger to battle- and missing a handle! To mistress Myrtle, ever-bound. Once battle-lost, now Envoy-found.

Fragments for Bog & Myrtle will drop from Sparrow’s Tales and in the Dermak Undercity.

 

Juniper

Grandfather’s bow. So named after the sacred tree from which she was hewn. She is twisted fair of living wood like her sister bow, Dhonu. On either end, the curling boughs wrap ‘round a Salz Agate. This precious stone was once believed to bridge the realms between man and Fey. Much like their master. Fragments for Juniper will drop from a special chest where a Little Minnow once sprung...

 

Combat and AI Improvements

Ongoing combat and AI improvements include an increase in simultaneous enemy attacks, smoother weapon equipping, and improved positioning during fights. Ode Patrols now feature varied starting and ending points to prevent endless circling. AI behavior, navigation, and animations have all been refined, with new flinch reactions, enhanced movement, and root warping to deliver a more grounded and fluid combat experience.

Mortal Strike has been replaced with Smite: Envoys now have a chance to Smite enemies with a critical hit, allowing them to “soul steal” their foes. When Smite procs, the enemy’s soul will glow, inviting Envoys to enter Spectral Sight and strip their soul, reducing them to particles.

 

Improved Stagger System

The stability system for enemies, including bosses, has been reworked. Enemies now display a stagger UI that fills during battle stunning enemies to allow for finishers with improved hit reactions. Damage scales based on both weapon and enemy levels, making combat more immersive and responsive.

 

General Additions and Changes

  • Alca’s Overworld has been enriched with improved lighting, graphics, environment updates and additions, and an increased Ode’n presence. Points of Interest now better reveal themselves as you approach, deepening the sense of discovery and immersion.
  • Ode battle dogs now flee instead of being killed.
  • Added coloured icons across UI menus including resources, weapons, and armor.
  • Added new lore about Verminia to the Ancestors tab in Orlick’s Codex.
  • Added a nonfunctional currency to the crafting UI for testing.
  • Added "Ancestor Discovered" notification that appears when a player invites an ancestor to their Nightfold.
  • Improved enemy health HUD to display the new stagger system.
  • Improved existing puzzles in the Glades and added new puzzles to the Undercity.
  • Improved Tuvalkane’s crafting menu UI for smoother navigation, improved scrollbar alignment, and a clearer interface.
  • Adjusted crafting costs of Armour and Weapon Fragments at Tuvalkane’s station.
  • Changed Sparrow’s Tales to only spawn in any given area if the area is levelled within +5 or -5 of the Envoy’s level. Added another levelled zone for Sparrow’s Tales within the Mines to avoid half of the area being levels 1 to 4 or 12 to 15.
  • Changed default Spectral Sight casting bindings for Courage to X, Spirit to Y, and Grace to B on Controller inputs.
  • Avakot’s Gots and Tuvalkane’s Crafting Menu now display only the Drac cost for items, with the total amount of Dracs shown in the top left. A slashed Drac icon and “Insufficient Dracs” message will appear when there are not enough Dracs to make a purchase.
  • Made Weapon Stats display first in the arsenal screen UI.
  • Made Drac and item pickups now display the quantity acquired in the HUD notification.
  • Made Avakot’s dialogue UI able to be interrupted by actions like taking damage or accessing menus.
  • Improved HUD text and Sparrow pathing during The Torment Stag.
  • Improved Garren Rood and Lady Deora boss fight during The Torment Stag.
  • Increased Fenn Jotar's Ignus Wroth Idol duration during The Torment Stag to ensure it lasts through enemy encounters.
  • Increased Blitzel’s draw time, while reducing the hold time needed for a focused shot.
  • Ongoing audio improvements and fixes including new sound effects for enemies, combat, weapons, and the world.

 

Fixes

  • Fixed weapon visual effects unintentionally appearing during login cinematics.
  • Fixed login buttons shifting positioning when switching between mouse/keyboard and gamepad inputs.
  • Fixed skybox flickering on login.
  • Fixed tutorial prompts from “Rise, Envoy” appearing after already discovering Tuvalkane and Orlick.
  • Fixed VFX issues with the torches in Ode camps. 
  • Fixed Envoy’s feet unnaturally climbing onto Tuvalkane’s table when too close.
  • Fixed Envoys falling through floor gaps in the Dermak Undercity.
  • Fixed Mace-wielding Sinecure enemies continuing to swing wildly after an Envoy has died.
  • Fixed sliding issues during one-handed Envoy finishers.
  • Fixed Baliq lanterns using human Ode animation sets.
  • Fixed Undercity Patrols forever circling each other due to spawning issues.
  • Fixed Nightfold transitions breaking and barring re-entry when interacting with something while entering the Nightfold simultaneously.
  • Fixed flickering on Verminia’s model, such as within her eyes, if the TAA graphics setting was disabled.
  • Fixed Rivt-II's UI label to correctly reflect its Spirit Attunement instead of Courage.
  • Fixed an issue where Arcanic Flow above campsite cooking pots could not be absorbed.
  • Fixed scroll bars appearing outside panels for across Tuvalkane, Fenn Jotar, Avakot, and Inventory UI.
  • Fixed an issue where Dracs UI would not display if Envoys had zero Dracs.
  • Fixed Avakot's Gots UI arrows being interactable despite insufficient Dracs. 
  • Fixed Avakot’s Gots items still being displayed when out of stock. 
  • Fixed the HUD being too visible while in Avakot’s Gots menu.
  • Fixed client seeing host’s disembodied floating head when using Spectral Sight after the host entered Nightfold.
  • Fixed instances where clients were unable to see enemy Health bars.
  • Fixed an issue causing excessive flashing on client’s screen after completing The Brewer of Hues and teleporting back to Midrath after the host.
  • Fixed a small window of time after inviting Verminia to the Nightfold where Envoys could still enter Nightfold during the Brewer of Hues.
  • Fixed a moment where the Sparrow guide would stop leading Envoys to the totem correctly during The Torment Stag.
  • Fixed an instance where Garren Rood would become unresponsive if a player died during The Torment Stag boss fight.
  • Fixed Fenn Jotar's Idol preventing the equipped Pact Idol from functioning after the timer expired during The Torment Stag.
  • Fixed vine collision remaining a bit too long at the Glades entrance during the Torment Stag.
  • Fixed Dhonu Idol remaining equipped during the cinematic after defeating Garren Rood during The Torment Stag.
  • Minor level fixes throughout Midrath and the Undercity.
  • Fixed crashes related to enemy AI.
  • Fixed various crashes related to the HUD.
  • Fixed script errors.