PATCH 6.1: REVOLUTIONS

Patch 6.1 gives you a chance to guide your faction through your own Great Renaissance, triggering a faction-wide revolution that imparts useful bonuses for the remainder of the game (details below).

This patch also includes a number of balance changes and updates that bring the game ever closer to pure hextacy.


HIGHLIGHTS
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» NEW! Revolutions
» 1 new event: The Great Renaissance
» Shrine updates
» Magic tower & fort updates
» Various tweaks, fixes & rebalancing

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REVOLUTIONS
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» Agricultural Revolution (Great Mage perk) +10 food; +10% food; +20% pop growth
» Economic Revolution (Great Mage perk) +10 gold; +10% gold; +20% pop growth
» Scientific Revolution (Great Mage perk) +5 research; +15% research; +20% pop growth
» Mystical Revolution (Great Mage perk) +10 mana; +10% mana; +20% pop growth
» Cultural Revolution (Great Mage perk) -1 unrest; +1 to city limit; +20% pop growth

Each player leads a revolution via 'The Great Renaissance' event, triggered shortly after turn 100. This event provides all players a 20% population growth bonus to speed mid- and late-game city growth, plus other helpful bonuses.

Revolutions will trigger in all game modes that last 100+ turns.


SHRINE UPDATES
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» All religious shrines no longer provide 'Blessing' perks & all 'Blessing' perks have been retired
» All religious shrine upkeep costs reduced to 3 gold, down from 5; build time reduced to 3 turns, down from 4
» The 'Dragon's Grace' perk (naga) & 'Touch of Evil' perk (dremer) have also been retired

The removal of shrine perks (and their naga and dremer equivalents) facilitates more stable gameplay by alleviating the infamous perk bug, which is native to the core game. The more perks available at a time, the more likely this bug is to trigger. While there is a workaround for players, it's almost impossible to prevent this game-crashing bug when triggered by an AI.

While fun and flavorful, these 'lucky charm' perks have become more trivial as Renaissance has evolved. Their removal does not have a large impact on gameplay, but helps tremendously in reducing the occurrence of the perk bug.


MAGIC TOWER & FORT UPDATES
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» All magic towers & forts now show icons in place of thier building artwork during combat

This makes it easier to differentiate damage to buildings vs. units. More importantly, it frees up space for new units in future Renaissance patches. I already have several new lords planned for patch 6.2. :-)


UNIT UPDATES
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» Gorgons & Elder Gorgons (naga) movement points increased to 4, up from 3 {done because the 'Tritonic Adaptation' perk no longer grants a +1 movement bonus}
» Great Medusae (naga) Venomous Bite action renamed 'Venomous Tendrils' {better fitting the icon artwork}
» Vengeful Ghosts (undead) HP reduced to 30, down from 32
» Arethi Spears (elves) HP increased to 20, up from 18; cost decreased to 60 gold, down from 70; melee & missile resists increased by +5 each
» Arethi Spearmasters (elves) HP increased to 30, up from 26; melee & missile resists increased by +5 each
» Iril Bowmasters (elves) melee & missile resists increased by +5 each
» Spirit of Light (elves) death immunity changed to elemental immunity; added 'Gift of Sun' perk {for consistency}
» Spirit of Darkness (elves) HP increased to 40, up from 35
» Fledgling Firebirds (infernal) death resist decreased to +40, down from +75; elemental resist increased to +75, up from +40
» Dremer Reavers (dremer) 'Toxic Soul' attack debuff reduced to -35% healing to affected unit, down from -40%
» Glade Keepers (sylvan) cost increased to 35 gold, up from 30
» Archers of Chaos (planestrider) movement points increased to 4, up from 3
» Devils (infernal) gain +20 elemental resist, but lose 10 melee resist
» Pirate Ship (hostile) loses 'Barrage' action {the AI doesn't use it}; 'Cast Iron Cannons' now adds +50% elemental dmg w/ bonus to cities/forts, up from 25%
» Mist Elementals (summon) get +75 melee, +75 missile, -25 spirit, 0 life resists; HP reduced to 15, down from 16; dmg reduced to 8, down from 10; may be summoned on water hexes

Mist Elementals now have a better defined role as a 'throwaway' city defender in a pinch, as well as a decent supplement in an offensive army that's facing many melee and missile troops (especially on water). They were also made much weaker to spirit and life damage for counterbalance. Plus, this adds a nice touch of flavor -- mist units *should* be highly resistant to melee and missile attacks.


LORD UPDATES
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» UAG-19 (usual hero) base dmg increased to 16, up from 15
» Ace Harpy (usual hero) base dmg reduced to 14, down from 15 {still 2 dmg higher than unmodded version}
» Black Mage (usual hero) base dmg reduced to 14, down from 15; upkeep reduced to 13 gold, 2 food (was 17 gold, 3 food) {brings dmg/upkeep in line with other first tier lords}
» Cruel Creature (famous hero) level up scheme updated to eliminate useless +melee/+missile resist perks
» Olden Ghost (famous hero) 'Spectral Regeneration' removed, but made available as an early level-up perk
» High Blademaster (famous hero) has 'Advanced Armor' instead of 'Basic Armor'; resistances granted by 'Invincible' action greatly increased
» Lifesmith (famous hero) 'Alchemize' action now lasts 5 turns, up from 3


PERK CHANGES
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» Tritonic Adaptation (Land Port, naga) +1 movement bonus removed; now grants waterwalking; cost increased to 125 gold, up from 75; number available increased to 3, up from 2; available to all classes except constructs {this effectively replaces the Shrine of the Dragon's 'Dragon's Grace' perk}
» Mutagenesis (Solaria, dremer) no longer may be applied to construct class units
» Gift of Plague, Grum-Gog's Divine Gift (Grum-Gog) 'Festering Wounds' attack debuff increased to -35% healing to affected unit, up from -30%
» Primal Boon (Primal Incubator, dremer) now adds status: dremer; +35% spirit dmg changed to +30% spirit dmg
» True Conviction (Temple Beacon) spirit resist reduced to +15, down from +20
» Steam Cloud (Black Magic Smithy, infernal) renamed 'Dark Cloud' & adds +15 death resist; cost increased to 150 gold, up from 125
» Steam Gliding (infernal) renamed 'Steam Cloud'
» Great Healer (healer level-ups) renamed 'Supreme Healer'; changed from +25% healing to +10% healing, +10% unit power
» Flying Machine (Aeronautics Facility) also grants 'status: construct'
» Research Vessel (Tent Researchers) renamed 'Research Log'; now available to casters in addition to naval
» Spit of Fire (Spit of Fire spell) debuff renamed 'Fiery Oppression'


GREAT MAGE UPDATES
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» Gorgon Sfeno (naga) 'Water Walking' & 'Looter' replaced with 'Koatl Kinship' & 'Provisioner'
» Sylvan Templar (sylvan) default color changed to green; artwork updated
» Winter Enchantress (sylvan) default color changed to teal; artwork updated
» Favour of Grum-Gog (starter perk) grants 'Corrupting Vapors' in place of 'Summon Rats' {helps stave off a Great Mage bug that cripples AI spellcasting}


BUILDING UPDATES
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» Twilight Arena (dremer) renamed 'Colosseum' to be consistent with other races
» Colosseums (all races) now provide +20 population rather than +20% population {helps higher level cities grow faster}
» Herb Store (Magic Herbs) no longer provides +10 population
» Holy Beacon (Holy Ground) renamed 'Temple Beacon' {allows all temples to be viewed together on the city screen}
» Magic Tower (undead) renamed 'Death Tower' {to differentiate it from standard magic towers}


OTHER UPDATES
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» Corrupted Vapors (Grum-Gog spell) renamed 'Corrupting Vapors' & has 100% chance to weaken affected units by 10% with 'Fatigue'
» Holy Word (Dauros spell) cost reduced to 22 mana, down from 24
» The Breath of Life (cleric hero action) renamed 'Surge of Life'
» Common resources (donkeys, iron, pigs, oyster shelf) map probabilities on some shard worlds adjusted slightly


BUG FIXES
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» Redeemer (famous hero) 'Runic Healing' healing type changed to Elemental (can heal undead) & attack sprite displays correctly
» All quests requiring the player to build a structure on Dragon Eggs now provide the correct building names
» Thanks to the shrine updates in this patch, the infamous perk crash (native to the core game) will trigger significantly less often

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