Balance Changes

• Adjusted values of poison potions to be more balanced (that means I nerfed them, but kept them relevant)

Gameplay Changes

• Leadership now additionally increases ally damage by 2%

It's been a long time since the last update! This one is here to cut down on some cheese, and ensure players still have to work hard with the best strategies to secure a win.

The biggest priorities in this update were addressing feedback about damage and crowd control. Damage now increases at a lower rate as characters level up, melee attackers deal slightly increased damage, and the Shocked status no longer steals AP - this was a huge problem due to the lack of armour in DU, and the prominence of blood puddles everywhere, ripe for shocking.

Additionally, healing strategies have been reworked. Potions are now percentage-based healing, meaning they will seldom if ever restore a character to full health, but will remain relevant throughout all stages of the game. Other forms of healing, which got too powerful too quickly as a way to overcompensate for vanilla's failures, have been suitably nerfed down - but thanks to the healing potion changes, are now critically important in combat.

This also has the effect of reducing healing-damage cheese, which was infamously strong - especially when combined with Shackles of Pain on an undead or decaying character. These strategies are still possible to pull off, but Shackles of Pain's 66% self-damage decrease makes them trickier, and also opens up new strategic possibilities with the status (such as using Last Rites at a reduced cost).

I've also reworked the ever-despised Leech talent to be a bit more interesting, instead of sucking up every blood surface it touches, and buffed Slingshot a little. I hope you all enjoy.

Balance Changes

• Healing potions now provide percentage-based healing
  
• Global healing rate reduced to 1.4 from 1.6
  
• Hydrosophist healing reduced to 5% from 10%
  
• Perseverance healing reduced to 3% from 4%
  
• Decreased damage in later levels
  
• Living Armour healing bonus increased to 40% from 25%
  
• Slightly increased melee damage
  
• Snap Frozen now reduces dodge by 90% from 50%
  
• Shocked now reduces vision by 2m and lowers damage, no longer lowers AP
  
• Stunned now reduces vision by 4m and lowers damage, lowers AP by 1 instead of 2
  
• Slingshot now increases Accuracy and Damage by 5% on grenade use, instead of Accuracy and Critical Hit Chance
  
• Shackles of Pain now reduces caster self-damage by 66%.
  
• Leech no longer absorbs blood surfaces to heal the character.
  
• Leech no longer grants additional lifesteal per Necromancy level.
  
• Leech no longer requires Necromancy levels.
  
• Leech now gives a flat +15% lifesteal, and restores 10% of Vitality lost by characters (from other sources) within 4m.