Pokémon Mystery Dungeon: Explorers of the Spirit

VERSION 0.74 PATCH NOTES

Features & Bug Fixes

• Added the full res version of OJ's Spinda artwork instead of the compressed version used for importing
• Various minor dialogue fixes

Gameplay Adjustments

Thank you all for your patience with assessing the balance in Act 4. Having such a long stretch away from town while trying to keep a level of difficulty higher than the expedition has clearly created some unique balance challenges. This will not be the last set of balance changes, I just thought that these adjustments seemed to be very obviously needed from the feedback I've read/gameplay I've watched. There are still some other things that I'm not so sure on and may come down the pipe if all of your feedback seems to be pushing in that direction.

• Sunflora:
  • Removed Petal Dance from learnset
• Skuntank:
  • Lowered base SpAtk
  • Removed Screech from learnset
  • Removed Fury Swipes from learnset
• Zubat:
  • Removed Confuse Ray from learnset
• Diglett:
  • Removed Earth Power from learnset
  • Removed Magnitude from learnset
• Dugtrio:
  • Removed Magnitude from learnset
• Chatot:
  • Removed Mirror Move from learnset
  • Removed Fury Attack from learnset

All things that pretty obviously should have never been left in the hack. Around halfway through Act 4, I began to use a different first-run testing method that involves adhering to a certain formula with regards to stat distribution and damage output, but The Aurascape is still from when I tested by literally playing through the dungeon multiple times. With such a high amount of mons that appear here in particular, you can see how these things fell through the cracks. Not an excuse, but it is the reason.

• Quagsire:
  • Removed Earthquake from learnset
  • Lowered Base SpAtk
• Camerupt:
  • Removed Magnitude from learnset
• Steelix:
  • Lowered base Def

In general, Quagsire's Mud Bomb seems to be a bit too strong for most teams to handle, given that most electrics and fires will lose roughly 2/3 of their health to this move. Likewise, even though Quagsire and Camerupt have relatively low attack, we thought that it would probably be a good idea to get rid of these full-room range moves entirely, since ground is such a strong offensive typing. Steelix's drastic Def/SpDef splits were normalized a bit, since most teams of two physical attackers are roadblocked a lot harder than intended.

• Grovyle (Boss):
  • IQ raised to 260
  • Raised Atk from 95 to 115
  • Raised Def from 90 to 120
  • Raised SpDef from 80 to 110
  • Removed Dig from learnset
  • Removed Quick Attack from learnset
  • Removed Absorb from learnset

Apparently you guys wanted this fight to be harder.

• Haunter:
  • Lowered base HP
  • Lowered base Atk
  • Lowered base SpAtk
• Rotom:
  • Lowered base HP
• Mismagius:
  • Lowered base HP
  • Lowered base Atk
  • Lowered base SpAtk
• Froslass:
  • Lowered base HP
• Banette:
  • Lowered base HP
  • Lowered base Atk
  • Lowered base SpAtk

Dusk Forest is the dungeon that has undergone the most changes in Act 4 by a lot, but it still seems that many players are having a lot of trouble figuring out how to work around ghosts in the walls. While the main options to handle this all have a fairly high drop rate in the dungeon already, I think it just makes sense to bite the bullet and allow these strats to become something that a strategic player can use to trivialize the dungeon, rather than a soft requirement to make it through. For players that take longer to get into proper position, this dungeon should now be less punishing.

• Spiritomb:
  • IQ group changed from G to A
  • IQ raised to 160
  • Removed Flash from learnset
  • Added Imprison to learnset
• Sableye:
  • IQ group changed from C to D
  • IQ raised to 160
  • Raised HP from 100 to 125
  • Removed Fury Swipes from learnset
  • Added Scratch to learnset
• Dusknoir:
  • IQ group changed from F to A
  • IQ raised to 160
  • Raised Def from 50 to 60
  • Raised SpDef from 50 to 60

This fight has already gone through a lot of changes, as well, so we'll see how this version goes. The biggest change is that Dusknoir and Spiritomb are now immune to Spore, and the Sableye's sleep turns are cut in half. Spore is still very helpful if Breloom pulls it for you here, but it's much less of a win button now. Spiritomb swapped out Flash for Imprison to increase the odds of causing chaos at the top of the room, since right now Grovyle and Breloom tend to take it down without much of a fight. The Sableye's HP has been increased to accomodate for everyone's access to Wide Slash, but in return their potential damage output has been lowered. Dusknoir received a flat buff to his bulk, encouraging players to deal with him via full-team encounters.

Updated version of the existing 16 chapters of EotS. Patch notes (SPOILER WARNING):

VERSION 0.8 PATCH NOTES

Features & Bug Fixes

• Removed the ability to visit the Hot Spring after clearing Waterfall Cave post-Chapter 5

Gameplay Adjustments

• Deep Dusk Forest:
  • Lowered enemy spawnrate
  • Changed enemy levels from 42 > 43 to staying at 42 throughout the dungeon
• Road to Shaymin Village:
  • Changed enemy levels from 44 > 45 > 46 to 43 > 44 > 45
  • Removed Drought Orb from item pool
  • Added Sunny Orb to item pool

There's still some tinkering with Act 4 going on, especially related to the unique issues with having to clear sequential dungeons without any break. There are plans to add some sort of grinding area to break up the area between Sunset Cliffs and Road to Shaymin Village, but for now, the hope is that this level nerf should be enough to smooth out the last two dungeons for those that aren't interested in grinding.

In addition, Deep Dusk Forest's enemy spawnrate was lowered. At the end of the day, this isn't supposed to be a particularly difficult dungeon due to your two extra allies, and lowering the spawnrate in the early floors should make any repeat attempts at the monster house less time-intensive.

• Nincada
  • Lowered base Def

We're starting to go back into the early chapters and look a little more closely at some of these dungeons with a lot more hindsight in mind. It appeared to be fairly common for Pikachu players to have a lot of trouble in Drenched Bluff due to Nincada's quad resistance to Thundershock, so Nincada's defense was lowered to make the basic attack more effective.

This doubles as a general nerf for the dungeon as a whole, which can tend to give some inexperienced players trouble. We want to be very careful about making Beach Cave and Drenched Bluff too hard, since you have access to so few tools before you can visit the town.

• Chinchou:
  • Secondary ability changed from Illuminate to Null

Waterfall Cave length nerf, in the same vein as the Deep Dusk Forest change.

• Bronzor:
  • Removed Imprison from learnset

Team Charm's Hideout was always intended to be a bit of a jump in difficulty for the hack as a test of all of the general concepts introduced in the beginning portion of the hack. That being said, Bronzor's nasty Imprison + Hypnosis + Confuse Ray combo needed at least one of those weapons taken away, and Imprison is probably the most deadly of the three.

• Grovyle (Ally):
  • Added Dig to boss fight learnset
  • Added Absorb to boss fight learnset
  • Added Quick Attack to boss fight learnset

This is kind of a nerf, since Leaf Blade is definitely Grovyle's best move for this fight, but also Spiritomb can no longer force Grovyle into killing itself with Struggle within the opening turns of the fight.

EARLY TESTING build of Chapters 17, 18, and 19 :

New Story Test Build

Version 0.82 of Explorers of the Spirit is available now in releases. Your previous save file can be transferred to this new release! See the "Transferring Saves & Upgrading" txt.

REMINDER: Unlike other first-public-version story releases, v0.82 does not contain all of the planned content for these new chapters, and it has not gone through the same level of testing as previous releases. This version is only for those that want to help us find bugs and give feedback for this particular chunk of Act 5. See this weekly update post for more details: https://discord.com/channels/789325989926273024/803398421649817601/927467135456923668

Please push any discussion of v0.82 to act-5-spoiler-chat . I don't want to make anyone in this server feel like they have to play an unfinished version of these chapters in order to avoid being spoiled on the content.

PATCH NOTES OVERVIEW - RELATIVE TO v0.8:

Features & Bug Fixes

• Added Chapters 17, 18, and 19
• Added Celebi portraits (credit: Audino, Murpi)
• Fixed a bug where team state progress made during a story dungeon could be reverted by speaking to Spinda before entering another dungeon
• Various minor changes to prior cutscenes/scripts

Gameplay Adjustments

• Lickitung:
  • Removed Supersonic from learnset
• Ledyba:
  • Removed Supersonic from learnset
• Spheal:
  • Removed Powder Snow from learnset

EARLY TESTING fix for some gamebreaking bugs. Patch notes (SPOILER WARNING):

VERSION 0.83 PATCH NOTES

Features & Bug Fixes

• Fixed a bug in which your player's dungeon species could be changed to Shaymin-Land by freezing Shaymin during this boss fight
  • If you already saved after causing a freeze in this fight, you unfortunately need to either use a save editor to manually change this or start a new save
• Opening Bidoof and Sunflora's journals no longer crashes the game

Gameplay Adjustments

• Shaymin
  • No longer reverts to Land Forme when frozen (credit: irdkwia)

PATCH NOTES OVERVIEW - RELATIVE TO v0.84:

Features & Bug Fixes

• Added Chapter 20
• Added an explanation of how to disable the use of Reviver Seeds before the Chapter 14 boss
• Added an explanation for the move shortcuts feature during Drenched Bluff
• Removed the mission-giver NPC from Spinda's Cafe
• Disabled rescues in Team Charm's Hideout
• Disabled rescues in Treasure Town Ruins
• Fixed a bug where Breloom could be replaced by recruited allies when entering Waterfall Cave
• Fixed the Sea of Time graphic glitch that applies to some emulators (credit: Mond)
• Adjusted the context of the Team AWD scene in Chapter 17
• Various minor dialogue fixes

Posting this a bit before launch to smooth things out on my end:

VERSION 1.0 PATCH NOTES OVERVIEW - RELATIVE TO V0.91

Features & Bug Fixes

• Added the Team Basil, Emmy & Chip, and Team Fire Spark sequences

  • Available after clearing Chapter 18

• Adjusted the Recycle Shop dungeons

• Adjusted the Cup Prize dungeons

• Adjusted the Marowak Dojo dungeons

• Adjusted the Master Rank dungeons

  • These dungeons are all the unfiltered vision of the rest of the Creative Team, without any of my meddling

• Changed the guild points needed to progress to the next rank for:

  • Silver Rank: 1600 to 600
  • Gold Rank: 3200 to 1000
  • Diamond Rank: 5000 to 1500
  • Super Rank: 7500 to 2000
  • Ultra Rank: 10500 to 2600
  • Hyper Rank: 13500 to 3200
  • Master Rank: 17000 to 4000
  • Master I Rank: 21000 to 5000
  • Master II Rank: 25000 to 6000
  • Master III Rank: 100000 to 7000
  • Guildmaster Rank: 100000000 to 10000

• Kecleon Shop (Dungeons):

  • Lowered the purchase price of Link Boxes from 9000 to 1000

• Added an anti-sale notice upon starting a new game

• Added another file select background (credit: OJ)

• Fixed a bug where Breloom would disappear when loading a save from Craggy Coast

• Fixed a bug where triggering the Horn Valley Kangaskhan statue then returning to Treasure Town could result in a sequence break

• Fixed a bug where Breloom would no longer be in your party if you return to Brine Cave's entrance

• Fixed a bug where screen flash SFX repeated before the final boss

• Fixed a bug where losing against the final boss would spawn you at Road to Shaymin Village

• Many, many various minor dialogue fixes Gameplay Adjustments

• Team Charm's Hideout:

  • Increased item spawn rate

• Dark Crater:

  • Kecleon Shops now have a chance of spawning

• Road to Shaymin Village:

  • Kecleon Shops now have a chance of spawning
  • Changed the 1f floor rank from E to B

• Hidden Land:

  • Removed Salamence from spawn pool

• Bronzor:

  • Removed Confuse Ray from learnset
  • Lowered base Def