Melee Balance Changes

Counter Sword
• [Revenge] Increased block activation delay from 75ms to 115ms.

Since this is a major delay increase, we will be monitoring the state of Revenge closely.

Storm Bat
• [Swing] Rounded the damage values (Base: 28.76 to 29, Critical: 51.13 to 51).
• [Swing] Now uses the consistent critical hit system.
• [Swing After Jump Attack] Rounded the damage values (Base: 31.95 to 32. Critical: 63.91 to 64).
• [Swing After Jump Attack] Now uses the consistent critical hit system.
• [Spin Attack Hit #1] Rounded the damage value (6.39 to 6).
• [Spin Attack Hit #2] Rounded the damage value (6.39 to 6).
• [Spin Attack Hit #3] Rounded the damage values (Base: 11.18 to 11, Critical: 22.37 to 22).
• [Spin Attack Hit #4] Rounded the damage values (Base: 11.18 to 11, Critical: 22.37 to 22).
• [Spin Attack Hit #5] Rounded the damage values (Base: 15.98 to 16, Critical: 31.96 to 32).
• [Spin Attack Hit #6] Rounded the damage values (Base: 15.98 to 16, Critical: 31.96 to 32).
• [Jump Attack] Now uses the consistent critical hit system.
• [Jump Attack] Base damage reduced from 54.32 to 46.
• [Jump Attack] Critical damage reduced from 99.06 to 81.

Unlimited Balance Changes

Submachine Gun
• Removed random spread from the first shot of the spray pattern.

Assault Rifle
• Removed random spread from the first shot of the spray pattern.

Smash Rifle
• Removed random spread from the first shot of the spray pattern.

Smash Rifle
• Removed random spread from the first shot of the spray pattern.

Previously, Rifle spray patterns had tiny levels of inaccuracy on the first bullet, which were meant to reduce the chance of swiftly poking players for headshots at long range. Since this first-bullet-inaccuracy had a negligible effect on their performance, and since damage dropoff already tempers their power at range, this mechanic has been removed from all Rifles.

Shield
• Increased damage-to-SP-multiplier from 0.275 to 0.30.

We have concluded that with various gunplay improvements, new damage dropoff tuning, and the continuous growth in player skill, it no longer makes sense to tune Shield to be authentic to its original state. It will now drain SP faster when taking damage at close range compared to its original state, but we expect that its increased efficiency against mid-to-long range damage (due to damage dropoff) will compensate for that. We will continue to investigate other solutions that make it feel more fair to play against while remaining useful.

Light Machine Gun
• Increased spin-up time from 167ms to 175ms.

Heavy Machine Gun
• Increased spin-up time from 667ms to 750ms.

Since the Heavy Guns have received various improvements that make them feel more fluid to use, there is no longer a need for them to have short spin-up times to be useful. Furthermore, these weapons were never intended to be used offensively. To incentivize more defensive usage, Heavy Machine Gun has been fully reverted back to its original spin-up time, and the Light Machine Gun received a very minor tweak to its own spin-up time.

Rail Gun
• Base damage reduced from 18.64-111.86 to 13.56-108.47.

Cannonade
• Splash damage reduced from 8.05-20.13 to 3.60-18.01.
• Base damage reduced from 16.10-40.25 to 7.20-36.02.
• Critical damage reduced from 32.20-80.51 to 14.41-72.03.
• Movement speed increased from 0.8 to 0.9.
• Post-shot delay reduced from 750ms to 500ms.

As we have stated in December, we are aware of the frustrations surrounding snipers. We have ultimately planned to implement damage dropoff curves on them (similar to the highly generous damage dropoff curve of the Gauss Rifle), but before adding support for damage dropoff on these weapons, we are issuing a temporary damage reduction to set expectations for how they will eventually perform at the start of long range. Note that the Cannonade has received other quality-of-life improvements to compensate for its more substantial damage reduction than on the Rail Gun.

Plasma Sword
• [Dash] Increased movement distance by 9%.

Counter Sword
• [Revenge] Increased block activation delay from 75ms to 115ms (inherited from Melee-channel balancing).
• [Light Attack] Increased movement distance by 9%.
• [Jump Attack] Increased horizontal movement distance by 9%.
• [Heavy Attack] Moderate increase in critical hitbox length.

Storm Bat
• [Swing] Base damage increased from 36 to 38 (with 2x critical hit multiplier for 76 damage).
• [Swing After Jump Attack] Base damage increased from 36 to 38 (with 2x critical hit multiplier for 76 damage).
• [Jump Attack] Base damage increased from 54 to 57 (with 2x critical hit multiplier for 114 damage).

Spy Dagger
• [Stab] Increased movement distance by 9%.

We have discovered a major oversight where the movement distance of various melee attacks remained static, regardless of the global movement speed adjustments on Xero. We have corrected this. Additionally, the Counter Sword receives a minor improvement to compensate for the removed critical hit on its Jump Attack, and the Storm Bat receives damage improvements that bring it closer to its original state.

Katana
• Moderate reduction in recovery times across all attacks.
• Various hitbox adjustments across all attacks.
• All attacks that are capable of dealing critical hits now use the consistent critical hit system.
• [Light Attack] Base damage increased from 14.24-11.86-11.86-18.98 to 18-18-18-18.
• [Light Attack] Major increase in movement distance on the 2nd-4th hits.
• [Light Attack] Moderate increase in BLOW force on the 4th hit.
• [Light Attack] Enabled critical damage on the 4th hit for 2x damage (36).
• [Jump Attack] Base damage increased from 9.49-9.49-14.24 to 9-9-18.
• [Jump Attack] Major increase in movement distance.
• [Jump Attack] Added a 1600ms cooldown between inputs (as an anti-spam measure).
• [Heavy Attack] Base damage reduced from 42.71 to 36.
• [Heavy Attack] Critical damage increased from 61.69 to 72.
• [Heavy Attack] Minor reduction in BLOW force.
• [Heavy Attack] Minor reduction in movement distance.
• [Dash Attack] Base damage reduced from 14.24-18.98-18.98 to 18-18 (the 1st hit was removed).
• [Dash Attack] Critical damage on the last hit increased from 33.22 to 36.
• [Dash Attack] Restored the ability to be charged for up to 2x the damage (36-36 as a base, 72 on critical with the last hit). Full charge requires 25 SP.
• [Dash Attack] Now inflicts BLOW status only when it is fully charged.
• [Dash Attack] Restored backstep movement.
• [Dash Attack] Major increase in backstep animation time.

At long last, Katana 3.0 has arrived! Swift, stylish, and deadly combos were the hallmarks of the original Katana, and high mobility was the hallmark of Katana 2.0. Katana 3.0 brings the best of both worlds through various improvements to damage and quality-of-life, while reducing its overall "spam" capabilities. We believe that these changes will make this weapon feel as complete as the Plasma Sword and Counter Sword, while maintaining its unique identity.

As with any rework, we will monitor its performance closely over the next few weeks, and make corrections if any are necessary. For now, we can't wait to see the ways that you get creative with this weapon!