Greetings, Isyans!
I hope everyone has been enjoying July's Crusader release and August as Player Appreciation Month. Don't forget that this weekend, clerics get an item boost! We're nearing the end of week 2 of the current Attendance Event as well, which has all-new prizes this time around! Anyway, I've been missing everyone and wanted to do a quick check-in with the community. First off, I can understand that people were disappointed with the lack of a patch on Tuesday. The developer is on holiday all this week, which will likely affect our maintenance next week as well. Just a heads-up there. On the plus side, we finished server restarts in a record-worthy 70 minutes!
Now for the main topic of debate from the past two weeks: stacking. It is true that, in the process of adding Crusader skills and other systems necessary for a new class, the stacking bug was fixed as a side-effect. Yes, I used the word "bug." Over the course of an online game's lifespan, bugs are unavoidable. Some are fixed immediately while others persist. Sometimes bugs are very visible (i.e. affecting basic gameplay) and over time become considered part of the game. If one of these bugs is later fixed, people become confused and see the "bug fix" as "bug creation."
At this time, we are not pursuing a re-introduction of the stacking bug. Why? One reason is that it is interwoven with the Crusader data. In adding the new class, the developer actually improved the overall code and returned a basic game system to normal design specs. This can only mean good things toward getting the game more stable and balanced. You may have noticed some messaging recently from other regional versions of Fiesta which stated we are putting extra effort toward game stability and fixes. This holds true for the US version as well.
We've put some things on hold so that we can improve the core game, which is something I think we all can agree on. We are all very aware of the skill animation glitching that is still prevalent (which mostly manifests itself in Magic Blast abuse). Additionally, I have someone doing a fresh review of the community's
class balance thread so that we can work on some of those issues, too. It's unfortunately not possible to give a timeline on this (I am still pushing through at least one improvement that started at Outspark), but given our current focus on quality, I am optimistic.
Is there a chance that stacking will magically return as a side effect of another patch? Technically, yes, that is a slim possibility. However, we would much rather get all game systems working as originally designed, add major balance fixes, and then re-evaluate what remains at that time. We hope that everyone will stick by us as these projects happen, because there are still lots of exciting things planned for Isya! Can you believe that we're already coming up on our SIXTH anniversary this year? I can't wait!!
As always, we are glad that every single one of you is here, and we'll see you in-game soon!
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