This patch, will be available to download on 23th of January, 5+GMT. That is: evening in Europe, morning in US, late night in Australia.

Season 5 is here! and with it, many major changes on the next patch. I discussed much of the philosophy behind the changes on the previous post, so instead, on this one, I will focus more on presenting them.

Thank you all who supported FFBot for the past year and a half!

This will feel like a much smaller patch than Season 4, but I hope that will not be an impediment! There is a few things to unpack here, let's go!

The concept.

As already discussed, the concept of this Season is going to be focused on the characters, rather than their builds. You will be incentivized to use several characters according to your playstyle. Swapping them has never been as easy as now!

Collect them, Awaken them, and use them when the situation calls it!

Season 5, The Awakening Season.

Opening the Season 5, players will be able to accumulate victories on a character of their choosing. Once they arrive to the right milestones (100 victories and 200 victories) with said character, they will unlock their awakenings. These Awakenings, shape how the characters behave, act, and apply damage, often rounding their kit and making it a more solid character, and even offering more niche applications and roles for similar characters. These Awakenings, remain with them, forever, even in future seasons, even after swapping to another one. This will be needed to survive the new added mechanic: Curses, more info bellow.

• The First Awakening is unlocked at 100 victories, this first awakening, in most cases, is a stat booster, or a stat equalizer. For example, characters with the Awakening: Versatility, will make their Atk and Mag match up to whoever is the highest, so even !preferece atk players will be able to play certain mages and supports! This applies to every stat combination.
• The second Awakening, at 200 victories, will often shape what the character typically do, and make it more effective, reliant, consistent, or powerful. Many early characters have gotten very robust awakenings this way, to make up for their simplicity on their base kit.
• A new system will begin to land every 20 stages: Curses. These ones, cut the way the damage is applied by 20% per curse, and per type of damage. For example, -20 to Physical hits, at an increase of 25% multiplicative EXP per curse. This ones will keep accumulating the further the party goes, for massive yields of experience if the party managed to dodge the curses using different characters for the situation.
• One example: after 40 stages, a -40 Physical curse is in place. Physical characters are in trouble, but not the players. Notably: the curse reduces the damage applied with physicals, NOT the Atk the player has, so they can use this to their advantage, swap to a character that has Versatility, or Synergy, and suddenly, you can use your Atk stat to cast magic, completely bypassing the curse negative effect! While also, receiving much more EXP.
• In addition to this, each awakening accumulated adds a permanent 2% increase on EXP for the party, similarly to Ascensions.
• As usual, another passive will be available to get on each character, in a rotating manner as we are used to. To get it, simply type !passive when you see it at the top. These passives now stay with the character you attached them with, meaning, that you can freely swap characters without having to re-do your build constantly like in the past.
• There will be 55 Passives to collect from a highly selected pool.
• At the end of NG+49, a major foe awaits. Only the most robust, prepared, and battle proven parties will be able to bypass this wall. I do not expect this to be realistically beatable if underprepared, and neither should you. Good luck!
• NG+50 will mark the final unlock, and the end of the Seasonal journey. I am personally very excited to see how many manage to get there!

Final Fantasy VI Gauntlet

The most anticipated new stage is here!

This gauntlet introduces new 46 stages, including a very special sequence at the end. This gauntlet will take place after FF10, marking this one as the last of the bunch, and the hardest one to beat.

This has always been a very special game to me, so I put a lot of effort in to it, and its easter eggs, have fun with it!

Global Changes

• When Tanks redirect AoEs on to themselves, the amount of hits received has been reduced from 5 to 3.
• Breaker characters now deal +4 Break Damage instead of +2 to enemy shields.
• ATB Pace has been slowed on each tick from 0.2 to 0.3 seconds. This affects both players and and enemies, and should not affect balance in any way.
• Streamers can now !pause and !start when a party is still forming before the gauntlet begins, allowing the battle to start right away, or to stall for time.
• Dynamic scaling has been added for the first 10 stages, making them much easier to beat as the party forms overtime. Only affects the first 10 stages with that same run.
• Certain visual effects like paralysis have been reworked
• Improved the hitting animation for both Players and Enemies, should look quite more impactful.
• A new Lightning system has been added.
• One-Shot mechanics no longer will trigger on certain major bosses (only 3 of them). To make up for it, most of them have been boosted from 2% to trigger, to 5%.
• Party wipes no longer gives half the experience. Instead, it gives the normal experience as if the battle would have been won, including with Final Boss bonuses etc.
• !ascend now carries over 55% of the stats, instead of 50%
• Jill is now a character official on the roster, available from Season 0, no longer required a log in code to unlock.
• Joshua has been added to the roster as a Season 0 character.
• Most support abilities that increase party stats on their base kit, have gotten an increase from 10% to 15%. (Eiko, Garnet, Bartz, etc)
• Most special characters for Streamer rewards/events are now available for everyone to unlock via Log in Code. These will be listed on the official guide (Thank you to all the streamers that gave permission for this!)
• !blacklist and !whitelist commands have been added for the streamers, more information on the guide.
• The !stats command now show the character equipped in the background.
• Certain Weather effects may play in several stages. These are just visual, except for a character that is able to use them.
• Improved stability on FFBot
• Ultimecia's Apocalypse, and Braska's Final Aeon: Jecht Bomber potencies have been adjusted from 40 → 25 (Final bosses of FF8 and FF10 Gauntlets)
• Omega Weapon is no longer a fighter in the FF8 gauntlet. Ultimecia is now the final stage.

BUFFS, NERFS, REWORKS

• Paralysis chance on Cloud's Cross Slash have been boosted from 20% → 50%.
• Aeris will now use Renew exclusively if an ally is K.Od, and healing wind if everyone is alive.
• Rework: Reno.
  • Can no longer cast Pyramid.
  • Electromag paralysis chance goes from 30% → 100%
  • Speed reduced from 45 → 41.
  • Limit Break potency reduced from 70 → 40.
  • Limit Break makes Reno act again.
• Dark Cecil's Limit Break Potency  reduced to from 55 → 45.
• Rework: Matoya.
  • She no longer can cast Faith.
  • When she targets an enemy with a Thunder Weakness, She will use Enthunder for the party.
  • Enthunder makes so all physical hits on the party are now Thunder element, as long as they don't have an element attached.
  • If no Thunder Weakness, she will use Charge, a 30% Mag Increase to herself.
  • Limit Break Charges reduced to from 3 → 1
• Alphinaud no longer gets 2 Limit Break charges when using Dosis.
• Rework: Selphie.
  • Limit Break charge reduced from 8 → 6. 
  • She now only gets Limit Break charges from the final Slot spell.
  • She can no longer cast Cure.
  • She gained the spell Bio
  • The End now triggers now from 1% → 5%
  • Full Cure now triggers from 5% → 10%
  • Slots now cast from 1-3 spells, → 2-3 Spells.
• Rework: Thancred.
  • Limit Break Charges increased from 6 → 9.
  • He will no longer lose bullets between stages.
  • His counter is no longer Riot Blade. Now is Burst Strike, a physical hit capable of using bullets for increased potency.
  • Counter chance increased from 50% → 60%
• Eiko now boost Mag to the party from 10% → 15%
• Rework: Raijin.
  • Limit Break charges reduced from 8 → 6.
  • His Limit Break Hi-Potion restoration boosted from Small Heal → Full Heal
  • He can no longer cast Thunder
  • Counter chance boosted from 50% → 70%
  • Base speed lowered from 33 → 30

• Yuffie's Limit Break potency reduced from 12 per hit → 9 per hit, Base speed from 59 → 52
• Vincent's Transformation's base kit now exclusively uses Death Penalty, a strong Mag hit on random enemies.
• Red XIII's base speed from 39 → 34
• Rework: Edgar.
  • Can no longer cast Sleep or Jump
  • Drill potency reduced from 40 → 30, can now ignore 50% defense
  • Bio Blaster now deals Physical damage in AoE
  • Limit Break now multiplies any current DoT the target has by 22%
  • Limit Break charges increases from 5 → 8
  • Potency of Limit Break reduced from 55 → 45
• Garnet now boost Atk to the party from 10% → 15%
  
• Edea's Ice Strike has been changed to work similarly to Edea Matron's Ice Strike.
• Kiros can no longer cast Stone
• Rework: Lenna
  • Can no longer cast Stone.
  • Water Curse now can additionally deal 35 potency Magic damage
  • Water Curse now deals Water Damage
  • Limit Break potency reduced from 60 → 30
  • Limit Break now makes Lenna Act again.
  • Limit Break charges increased from 2 → 6
• Isaaru's Limit Break change to become Zanmato increased from 2% → 5%
• Minwu's Limit Break now refunds his ATB from 100% → 80%
• Hope's Limit Break now refunds his ATB from 100% → 80%
• Rework: Kefka
  • Can no longer cast Aero, Thunder, Sleep, Petrify.
  • Limit Break now applies a random Dot
  • Limit Break now multiplies whatever Dots a single random enemy has by 12%
  • Potency of Limit Break reduced from 60 → 50
• Cloud of Darkness (Cod) Bad Breath now causes damage on 25 potency as Magic AoE
• Zidane's Limit Break charge reduced from 8 → 6
• Porom's Limit Break now refunds her ATB from 100% → 80%
• Rework: Sazh
  • Can no longer cast Brave or Flamestrike
  • If Sazh targets an enemy with Fire Weakness, he will cast Enfire instead.
  • Enfire makes so all physical hits on the party are now Fire element, as long as they don't have an element attached.
    
  • If no Fire Weakness detected, he will use Blitz, an AoE Physical hit that deals aditional damage if there is only one enemy
• Auron Young is now correctly a Breaker. Counter chance boosted from 50% → 70%
• Auron's Counter chance boosted from 50% → 70%
• Garland is no longer a Tank. Base Speed reduced from 38 → 35
• Quistis can no loner cast White wind, instead she now can use Powershot (Yuna X2 skill)
• Quina can no longer cast White Wind and Curse. Instead, she now can cast Bad Breath (Cod skill)
• Genesis Limit Break has been changed from Magical → Physical
• Lulu's Limit Break Charge reduced from 8 → 6, Now only her last spell can charge her Limit Break back
• Gogo can no longer chain mimics back to back
• Terra can no longer cast Cure
• Rework: Paladin Cecil
  • Limit Break potency reduced from 50 → 40
  • Limit Break healing potency boosted from 5 → 10
  • Limit Break charges reduced from 8 → 4
• Rework: Vanille
  • Defang chance to combo boosted from 10% → 30%
  • Slow chance to combo boosted from 10% → 25%
  • Limit Break Death chance boosted from 2% → 5%
  • Limit Break charges decreased from 8 → 6
• Rework: Ovelia
  • Aegis now gives shields from 4 random allies → 8 random allies
  • Heal potency reduced from 15 → 2
  • Limit Break now refunds her ATB from 100% → 80%
• Yshtola no longer cast Manaward as her first action. Instead, she now begins the battle with 2 Shields
• Rework: Amarant
  • Can no longer cast Chakra on his Trance form.
  • Counter chance on his base form increased from 30% → 70%
  • Counter chance on his Trance form increased from 70% → 100%
  • Curse now becomes his counter on both forms
  • Trancing now increases his own atk by 50% in adition with his base speed increase

BUG FIXES

• Ramza's Tailwind no longer sets the speed of the party to the maximum of 80 on every turn, regardless of the previous base speed.
• Tifa/Zell now can deal the full damage they are meant to do on broken targets.
• Balthier no longer randomly idles on his turns
• Rubicante no longer makes the battle hang if the enemy is afflicted with Freeze
• Cecil can no longer kill his allies with the Ranger job equipped
• Fixed a bug preventing Ignis from ever using Thunderbind
• !freehire no longer gets eaten if no character is available for hire when opening FFBot
• Young Auron is now a Breaker and a Tank
• Shadowflare no longer acts as a physical hit
• Raijin Hi-Potion is no longer interruptable
• Paladin Cecil no longer randomly idles on his turns
• Sabin's Limit Break potency has been corrected
• Cloud of Darkness Bad Breath animation no longer looks backwards in certain situations.
• The Job Sage no longer gives +44 Limit Break charges when using an AoE Healing spell

Rework: Matoya, If Matoya targets an enemy with weakness to Thunder, will use Enthunder, allowing physical hits for the entire party to gain Thunder Element. If no weakness or Enthunder in place, Will use Charge, giving herself 30% Mag up. LB Charge reduced to 2 from 3