Version 2.0 Major Update

Hello Awakeners!

Thank you as always for your support and feedback for The Awakener: Battle Tendency.

This Version 2.0 update is a very large content update. We have added new characters, new skins, the player room, affection and companion systems, more NPC features, equipment and build improvements, as well as many co-op and performance fixes.

We hope this update gives everyone a more complete experience across combat, progression, collection, and exploration.

Also, because this update includes so many changes, even we nearly forgot everything that was added while organizing these patch notes. If anything is missing from the announcement, we hope you can understand!

Version 2.0 Main Update Content

1. New Characters

· Added new character: Warrior Tierdagon Specializes in charged heavy attacks, unleashing powerful greatsword strikes when enemies expose an opening

· Added new character: Sword Dancer Henrik Focuses on fast dual-blade attacks, and precise skill timing can trigger enhanced skills

2. New Skins and Skin System

· Added a large number of new character skins · Updated the skin-changing UI · Added skin name display · Added multilingual versions of skin names

New Caelynn Skins

· Veil of Night · Azure Feather · Crimson Sakura · Forest Dew · Song of the Deep Sea

New Gerasso Skins

· Twilight Edge · Rose Oath · Raven Knight · Golden Glory

New Henrik Skins

· Lightless · Golden Child

New Sola Skins

· White Feather · Night Watcher

New Zhou Kuang Skins

· Stormcloud Armor · Verdant Scale Armor

New Qin Yuntang Skins

· Azure Moon · Azure Luan · Crimson Maple

New Wuxuan Skins

· Jade Celestial · Dark Celestial Sage

New Tierdagon Skins

· Sinwalker · Golden Martyr

3. Player Room and Camp System

· Added the player room · Backpack, skin-changing, and other functions can now be accessed after entering the player room · Added personal camps / tents for characters

4. Character Interaction and Affection System

· Added Elfia’s affection and dialogue system · Added collectible items for Elfia, including the Holy Grail, Staff, Crystal, and Key · Added the ability for Elfia to roam around the island · Added the ability for the red panda to roam around the island · Added camera transition toward NPCs when the player talks to them · Added player direction transition toward NPCs when talking to them · Added head-turning and body-turning animations for most character NPCs when the player approaches · Added in-place turning animations and head-turning animations for NPCs · Fixed errors in Elfia’s dialogue UI · Fixed missing Elfia animations · Fixed an issue where Elfia would not teleport after reaching the required affection level · Fixed issues where some NPC text would not display or would flicker

5. New Companion and Collectible Pet System

· Added the ability to recruit companions at the Shrine · Added Elfia as a companion · Added new collectible pet: Red Panda · Optimized companion Json AI behavior logic · Improved companion pathfinding and teleport logic · Expanded character combat variety, allowing companions to join battles and use potions

6. New Merchants, NPCs, and Exchange Features

· Added dialogue for the Panda Merchant, allowing players to interact with them for equipment draws · Added dialogue for the Bandit King, allowing players to exchange for skin fragments · Added dialogue for the Treasure Merchant in stages, allowing players to interact with them for weapon draws · Added the Chest Hunter NPC, who can randomly appear in stages and in the lobby · Added an NPC that sells Divine Shards · Players can now use currency to directly purchase Divine Shards from an NPC · Added the Element Tome NPC · Added elemental explanations and credits in the lobby

7. Stages, Rewards, and Chest Adjustments

· Added drop chests to Boss stages · Chest rewards now increase with stage progress · Updated chest logic so that chest contents scale up with stage progress, excluding Divine Shards · Added some drops to the lobby · Added statues in the lobby that can increase potion capacity · Fixed some Boss room portal issues · Fixed portal collision issues

8. New Accessories, Equipment UI, and Build Content

· Added new accessories, including six elemental counter accessories, Execution Emblem, Omni Prism, and Martial Ribbon · Added two new accessories related to increased damage against elemental status effects and increased damage against broken / knocked-down enemies · Added stat comparison to the equipment UI · Added affix range display to the equipment UI · Adjusted the Reforge UI position · Optimized backpack loading logic, reducing repeated data loading when changing equipment · Backpack loading speed still cannot be fully optimized yet, but we will continue improving it

9. New Achievements and Challenge Goals

· Added affection-related achievements · Added collection-related achievements · Added new challenge content

10. Combat and Balance Adjustments

· Adjusted execution damage for all characters · Increased weapon elemental follow-up damage, currently set to 20% of attack damage · Weapon elemental damage now receives the full physical damage bonus · Increased the hitbox size of Scatter Eidolons and Beam Eidolons · Fixed an issue where monsters could not be hit after death · Fixed an issue where small monsters could repeatedly trigger hit reactions and effects · Nerfed Feather of Soaring Sky · Reduced Beam Eidolon attack frequency by half

11. Performance Optimization

· Optimized performance cost during attacks to reduce frame stutter · Performed overall performance optimization · Optimized backpack loading logic to reduce repeated loading when switching equipment slots · Optimized companion AI, pathfinding, and teleport logic to reduce performance cost caused by abnormal behavior

12. Steam Deck, Graphics, and Platform Compatibility Optimization

· Added controller vibration options: Off, Default, and Enhanced · Added text descriptions to graphics settings · Added support for widescreen resolutions · Added graphics API switching options, allowing players to choose DX12 or DX11 · Steam Deck graphics quality will now force the game to run with the DX11 graphics API · Improved clarity and shadow quality under the Steam Deck graphics preset

13. Interaction Prompts and Lobby Map Optimization

· Added a map button prompt, displayed only in the lobby · UI prompt icons will now be hidden when the player is too far away from interactable objects or NPCs · UI icons for interactable objects and NPCs now play UI animations · Updated the upgrade statue confirmation button logic, greatly improving upgrade efficiency when holding the confirm button · Fixed an issue where the UI would not display after the player canceled teleportation · Added Nav Mesh to maps that previously did not have one

14. Co-op Mode Improvements and Fixes

· Added split-screen dialogue UI for co-op mode · Added split-screen skin-changing UI for co-op mode · Added P1 / P2 prompts when switching menus in co-op mode · Initial fixes have been made for various lock-on control issues in co-op mode, and further verification is still ongoing · Fixed an issue with using lobby map teleportation in co-op mode · Fixed UI prompt display issues when approaching interactable objects in co-op mode · Fixed an issue where P2 could not perform executions in co-op mode · Fixed an issue where P2 could not switch equipment in co-op mode · Fixed an issue where P2 could not switch weapons in co-op mode · Fixed camera and lighting overlap issues in co-op mode · Fixed dialogue selection control conflicts in co-op mode · Fixed an issue where the other player could not move during dialogue selection in co-op mode · Fixed UI conflicts when changing skins in co-op mode · Fixed UI conflicts and black screen issues when switching characters in co-op mode · Fixed conflicts caused by opening the equipment UI during conversations in co-op mode · Fixed an issue where P1 / P2 mesh could disappear during rescue actions in co-op mode · Fixed an issue where item pickup UI for P1 / P2 would only display on P2 in co-op mode · Fixed revival issues in co-op mode · Fixed abnormal UI display after entering the lobby or stages in co-op mode

15. Controller, Input, and Operation Fixes

· Fixed possible controller mapping issues · Fixed an issue where device icons would flicker between mouse / keyboard and controller when both were connected · Fixed pickup animation issues for Sola and Assassin · Fixed an issue where leftover name UI would not disappear after switching characters

16. Crash and Core System Fixes

· Fixed an issue where dialogue could cause the game to crash · Fixed a possible null pointer crash during DataManager initialization

17. Localization and Text Fixes

· Fixed some localization issues · Added multilingual versions of skin names · Fixed issues where some NPC text would not display or would flicker

Future Plans

After Version 2.0 goes live, we will continue optimizing new character performance, the companion system, the player room, co-op experience, and the details of equipment and chest-related features based on everyone’s feedback.

If you encounter any issues during gameplay, or if you have suggestions about the new characters, new skins, player room, affection system, or companion gameplay, please continue sharing them with us in the Steam discussions, review section, or our community.

Thank you again for your continued support and patience. We will keep polishing The Awakener: Battle Tendency and make it better step by step.