☕Tomo’s Teatime(◡‿◡) #11

Steam post image Tomo's Teatime - Shall We Talk? Hello, Heroes of Bermesiah! It's time for Tomo's Teatime. Today I wanted to talk about the final stages of development for the Solene Continent, as well as future updates we have in store. It'll be a little longer than usual, but I hope you'll stick around to the end.

◼︎ Finishing the Development of the Solene Continent

The Solene Continent was a huge challenge for the development team. More than anything, we wanted the Solene update to be something more than "just a new dungeon added", but a new reason to play GrandChase. I think every person has their own way of enjoying games. Some people like getting stronger, some enjoy PVP, and others like the characters and worldbuilding it has to offer. From those, we believe that the “love for the story and characters” leaves a lasting impact. Although not everyone considers the story important, we hope that one day even those players may feel, “I want to go on an adventure with these characters.” We also put a great deal of thought into the dungeon gameplay experience. Something we realized during this development period was that the process of acquiring items should feel like a "fun and rewarding experience". We will continue improving the game so that repeated play does not feel overly burdensome or like a chore. We also came to realize that as more mechanics and strategy elements are added to each dungeon, repeated play can become increasingly tiring. Moving forward, we are looking for ways to reduce that fatigue while still preserving the fun and excitement that make an action game enjoyable. Master Difficulty was also a new attempt born from that process. Many players enjoyed the thrill of taking on higher levels of difficulty, and we hope to continue expanding this kind of content little by little going forward. Alongside this, we also continued working on reducing the burden of excessive repetitive play through improvements such as the Tower of Disappearance update, removing the Kricktria restrictions, and unifying Demon Cores in Hero Dungeons. Improving long-standing inconveniences like card fusion and registration, as well as the shared inventory, was also a very important task for us. We know there is still much room for improvement, and we sincerely thank everyone who has supported us and shared their feedback. We will continue striving to deliver even more enjoyable experiences going forward.

◼︎ About the Use of AI

We are fully aware that players have shared a wide range of opinions regarding the use of AI-directed effects in recent cutscene animations and music videos. First, I’d like to clarify that all core creative work, such as character design, illustration, and coloring, was done entirely by our artists. AI was only used experimentally for certain visual effects and presentation elements. That being said, we understand that many players felt concerned or uncomfortable about this, and we have given the feedback a great deal of thought ourselves. Many of the concerns raised were completely understandable, and the related elements have since been removed from the game. As for the music video, it was a project that had been in preparation for a long time, so we decided to carry it through to completion. However, looking back now, we feel that showing the actual production process or hand-drawn sketches may have conveyed more sincerity than relying on flashy technology. Going forward, we will continue to place the highest value on the work and creativity of our artists throughout development. There is also one thing we would like to ask carefully of everyone. Recently, there have been cases where even modeling and illustrations that were entirely created by artists have been met with speculative reactions such as “Was this made with AI?” Comments like these can deeply hurt the creators involved, so we would sincerely appreciate it if everyone could approach these situations with a bit more care. The decision to experiment with these AI-directed effects was ultimately my own, and I have learned a great deal through this experience as well. The feedback players have shared will be incredibly valuable in helping shape our direction moving forward.

◼︎ About Visual Improvements

We believe that for GrandChase to continue being loved for a long time, not only the content itself but also the visual aspects of the game need to keep improving. Character modeling, which is one of the many areas we have been experimenting with, has been developed over a long period of time. Because of this, there are currently differences in style and overall quality between characters. For example, some characters still have awkward movement in areas like hair or capes, and certain older visual styles can feel somewhat outdated by today’s standards. At the same time, however, these characteristics are also part of what gives GrandChase its unique identity, which makes adjusting the visual direction something we approach very carefully. Through the recent Miracle Outfit release, we were also able to see a wide variety of player reactions. We learned a great deal about what kinds of character proportions and atmospheres players enjoy, as well as what aspects require more careful consideration when actually implementing them in-game. The direction we are currently aiming for is this: To preserve GrandChase’s unique identity and action-focused gameplay while gradually and naturally improving areas that felt lacking. We also believe that updating the models alone is not enough, and that refining the motions and poses together will lead to much better results. Of course, it will take quite a bit of time before these changes can be fully implemented, given the sheer number of characters and outfit combinations in the game. Still, we plan to continue working on them gradually over the long term. We also understand the disappointment surrounding the Miracle Outfit being offered as a purchase bonus this time. If we pursue a similar attempt in the future, we will also consider ways for more players to experience it without feeling too burdensome. The Miracle Outfit is planned to return at a later date after some time has passed. We hope this helps ease concerns for players who felt pressured about participating in the current event.

◼︎ Roadmap for Future Updates

Now, we’d like to share some of the updates we are currently preparing for the future. Steam post image

1) May 20th - Apocalypse Vortex Master Difficulty

The final Master Difficulty for the Solene Region will be added. Since this is the last stage, we are preparing the difficulty so that more players can enjoy the thrill of the challenge rather than feel overwhelmed by it. Server Expansion Update We are currently working on increasing the number of players that can connect to a single server. Our goal is to make it easier and more comfortable for players to enjoy the game together with friends. The server selection UI will also be improved, and the game will remember the last server the player has connected to so that players won’t need to manually select the server every time they log in. Start of the PVP Balance Updates We are also officially beginning work on PvP balance adjustments, which has been one of the most frequently discussed topics among players for a long time. Since PVP content has not received enough consistent management over the years, we do not believe it can be perfected all at once. However, we believe that by continuing to make steady improvements and refining the overall direction over time, it can once again become content that many players can enjoy comfortably. This work is being handled by a separate team so that it does not interfere with the existing development schedule, and we plan to continue making long-term adjustments moving forward. In particular, we believe feedback from players who actively participate in PVP is extremely important. We would greatly appreciate your continued opinions and feedback going forward as well.

2) June 10th - Land of Judgment Improvements

The Land of Judgment will also be receiving major improvements. Currently, there is a significant burden in having to repeatedly play across multiple characters, and the reward collection process has also been somewhat inconvenient. We are planning to restructure the system in a way that reduces this kind of fatigue. Going forward, the system will be changed so that players can collect dedicated currency and exchange it for the rewards they want, and new items will also be added to the shop. However, since the goal is to reduce overall play burden, the total amount of rewards may be adjusted to some extent. In return, we will continue improving both the gameplay experience and the reward structure over time. We are also planning to experimentally introduce an account-level ranking feature to the Land of Judgment. That said, we do not want competition for ranks to cause players to feel stressed out. Therefore, the system will be operated more as a form of record and honor rather than focusing heavily on ranking rewards.

3) July - Final Void Raid & 5th Anniversary Festival

The final Void Raid is planned to be updated in July. New Void Equipment and Accessories are also currently in development. At the same time, we are also looking into ways to reduce the number of "chores" in gameplay and the pressure of party recruitment that tends to grow whenever new raids are added. And above all else, this year marks the 5th anniversary of GrandChase Classic! It’s hard to believe that five years have already passed. We truly believe that we were only able to come this far thanks to all players. We are preparing this year’s 5th anniversary celebration with the goal of making it even more enjoyable and memorable than last year.

4) Q3 - New Member of GrandChase

In Q3, we are planning to add a new member to GrandChase. The development team is currently hard at work, and we are doing our best to create a character that many players will truly enjoy. We hope that players will look forward to it just a little longer.

5) Q4 - A New Adventure

A new adventure will begin in Q4. I can't tell you any details yet, but we'll slowly reveal it as it gets ready.

◼︎ Concluding Remarks

In addition to these changes, we are constantly working on a variety of other improvements and preparations for upcoming contents. We hope to keep bringing you exciting updates and good news so that you can continue to enjoy GrandChase even more than before. We'd like to sincerely thank all the players for supporting and spending time with us. We'll meet again at the next teatime. ◼︎ Coupon Code: LongLoveTheChase Use Period: Until May 20, 2026 Before Maintenance Coupon Item: [Event] Seal Breaker Scroll x10 Sincerely, Tomo