Chel
- Stinging Wind’s (S3v2) initial hit range has been reduced slightly.
Dev Notes: Stinging Wind still combos consistently from triple light attack chains, but sometimes misses after c.M at long range. Frankly, this variant had more range than needed to serve its purpose, and remains extremely useful without the extra conversion coverage.
- Supernova (OD) invulnerability has been reduced by 2 frames.
Dev Notes: This change forces Chel to become vulnerable for 1 frame before kinetic-canceling Supernova, which creates some interesting counter-play options. Capitalizing on it requires good positioning and strict timing, since the projectile is guaranteed to appear. Chel may still come out on top in most cases, but the possibilities are expanded.
Crow
- Aerial Core Slicer (S2) damage has been reduced from 100 to 90, dizzy has been reduced from 150 to 100, and meter gain has been reduced from 120 to 80.
Dev Notes: Crow simply generates too much damage/dizzy/meter from midscreen combos and loops, and Aerial Core Slicer is a big part of that equation. These numbers are more appropriate for such an effective and versatile tool.
Dauntless
- Charged Piston Tremor (S2v2) damage has been reduced from 150 to 140.
- Revolving Hook (S3v1) damage has been reduced from 150 to 135.
Dev Notes: The power hits system pushed Dauntless’ damage output a bit too high. These changes should allow her to retain above average damage potential, without going too far overboard.
- Due to server cleanup, Dauntless users may notice their variant selection has been reset. Re-selecting variants should save them again. We don’t expect any further issues.
Edge
- Reduced Merciful Gust (S3v2) knockback slightly, to improve midscreen S3v2 -> OD consistency.
Talos
- Walk forward and walk back speeds have been increased by 10%.
Dev Notes: Talos needs to play footsies in order to close distance and put his opponent in the danger zone. Increasing his movement speed should help him get to his preferred spots.
- Meteor Breaker (S1v1) and Titan Smash (S2v1) now reach max charge after frame 25 rather than frame 50. (This is an experimental change.)
- Meteor Breaker (S1v1) charge is now throw invulnerable during its first 5 frames. Uncharged Meteor Breaker is still throw invulnerable during startup frames, but not during active frames.
- Charged Meteor Breaker (S1v1) is now a power hit, mainly to make it more viable after dizzying opponents.
Dev Notes: Despite their damage potential, the charged versions of Meteor Breaker and Titan Smash rarely impacted high level matches. These changes should make them more prevalent in Talos’ gameplan, hopefully without oversimplifying the interaction between players.
- Titan Wreck (S2v2) now auto-faces opponents until frame 6.
Dev Notes: F+H works well against frontal jump attacks, but Talos suffered a bit too much against crossups. This change gives him a more reliable option against repeated crossup pressure, especially when cornered – although using it properly still requires good timing.
- Magnetic Buster (S3v1) damage has been increased from 50 to 85.
Dev Notes: Even though Magnetic Buster is extremely useful as a setup tool for S1/S2 mixups, Spartan Rush (S3v3) actually has more utility in the current meta. To compensate, Magnetic Buster damage deserved a bump.
- Aerial Magnetic Attract and Aerial Spartan Rush meter gain has been increased slightly, to match Crow’s Aerial Core Slicer.
Vlad
- New S3 variant! Bolshoi Bash goes through projectiles and sends opponents off the wall, but has longer startup and recovery than Clobbering Rush.
Bug Fixes
- Ground throws no longer trigger juggle scaling when used on dizzy opponents.
- Standardized landing frame properties in ground attacks with airborne frames, such as Chel’s S3v2, Crow’s F+H, and Edge’s S3v1 overhead.
Dev Notes: There were some inconsistencies in when these attacks were considered airborne or grounded. Now those attributes should all match their animations and frame data exactly.
Visual Improvements
- New Vlad textures for shinier spinning!
- Stylish new VFX for all of Chel’s blade and projectile attacks!
- Slight pose improvements to Chel’s c.M.
- Talos’ walk animations have been toughened up.
Under the Hood
