Gyldenhunters' Council Phase 1 — Community AMA Responses

The Mistfall Hunter Steam Next Fest playtest has now successfully concluded. During this period, countless ventured into Windrest and stepped onto the mist-shrouded continent of Weavereach. Together, we experienced the brand-new gameplay. Every member of the development team is deeply grateful for your enthusiastic companionship and long-standing support.

To better listen to the voice of the community and build Mistfall Hunter together, we have officially launched Gyldenhunters' Council Phase 1 — the Community AMA Question Collection Event!

Here are the main points of this response:

I. Servers, Regions, and Cross-Region Play

1. Are there any new updates regarding region unlocking?

• We are currently working on a solution. Please bear with us and stay tuned for updates.

1. Will the game feature regional pricing (specifically for countries with lower-valued currencies like Brazil)?

• Yes, we will reference recommended platform pricing alongside actual market conditions to implement fair regional pricing for countries with lower-valued currencies.

II. Matchmaking and Game Modes

1. Will a Duo mode be added? When will the Solo/Duo maps be released? Will Brandrgarde be available for Solo play?

• We will not be opening Duo matchmaking in the short term. On one hand, adding Duo mode would significantly increase the difficulty of balancing and regulating matchmaking. On the other hand, it would split the existing matchmaking player pool, prolonging queue times across all modes and negatively impacting the overall matchmaking experience for all players. Regarding the Brandrgarde Solo mode that everyone has been asking about, we may open it for a limited time during the season.

1. Can duo teams be prioritized to be matched against other duo teams? Can you limit the number of identical classes within a team to improve balance?

• Currently, the class options are rather limited in the game, and character progression requires a meaningful investment. Furthermore, restricting classes would make team formation more difficult. We will consider implementing limits on the number of identical classes within a team in the future once more classes are introduced.

1. Will bots remain in the game permanently? Are there any plans to improve the bot combat AI?

• Yes, bots are here to stay. We believe they play an irreplaceable role for new players and in adjusting the intensity of combat. We will continuously optimize the bot AI, but this will be a long-term process.

1. How long will a season last?

• The currently considered duration for a season is 3 to 4 months.

III. Class Balance and Combat Mechanics

1. How will the balance between Solo and Trio modes be handled?

• We will make distinct adjustments based on separate data collected from Solo and Trio modes, rather than applying blanket changes to class balance.

1. What is the basis for game balance? What balance changes can we expect before and after the official launch? How will you address the issue where melee classes are easily suppressed?

• Mistfall Hunter is an extraction game. Class balance must take the unique characteristics of the extraction genre into account, ensuring that the extraction rate deviation among all classes remains relatively minimal. Of course, we understand that PvP combat is currently the content players enjoy the most. For balancing the combat aspect, we have established internal testing environments and workflows. After launch, we will also organize exclusive playtests with high-skill players. We will set specific requirements for these expert participants to ensure comprehensive test coverage, followed by post-test interviews and discussions. For live game tracking, we have built a data platform to gather player combat statistics, enabling us to make adjustments through both horizontal and vertical data comparisons. Currently, we are utilizing the time before launch to conduct a thorough analysis of the data collected so far, with plans to buff underperforming classes and properly tune some overperforming ones.

1. What are your thoughts and improvement plans for the Hammer? Are there any plans to buff underutilized class weapons, or to make specific adjustments to classes like the Sorcerer, Seer (Mace), Withered Knight, and Shadowstrix?

• Regarding the Hammer, we have always intended for it to be relatively slow but possessing devastating power. We will maintain this identity and make necessary adjustments based on the review of our live data.

• For class optimization, we will make adjustments based on live data, striving to ensure every weapon has an environment where it excels, whether in Solo, Trio, PvE, or PvP.

1. How will issues like stagger canceling, stun locking, and crowd control immunity be addressed?

• Currently, the only way to cancel a stagger is through Breakaway. We want the combat experience to feel like a tactical mind game with active counterplay; initiating an attack means accepting the recovery frames and risks that come with that action. In return, taking that risk grants you a combo opportunity upon hitting the enemy. Therefore, stagger cannot be canceled at will.

• Regarding stun locking, we noticed that during this test, players discovered some inescapable infinite-CC combos that went beyond our expectations. We will look into introducing mechanics like diminishing returns on crowd control to alleviate this issue. However, as long as a well-coordinated CC chain between teammates is not too easy to pull off in practice, we do not plan to restrict it for now; in fact, we encourage communication and cooperation among players.

• Regarding crowd control, we will more carefully evaluate the ease of executing CC abilities alongside the potency of their corresponding effects.

1. Can shields provide true blocking capabilities?

Allowing shields to mitigate 100% of incoming damage would overly reward passive play and make combat incredibly dull. However, we have left room in our equipment loadout system for players to build toward an exceptionally high damage-reduction rate when blocking.

IV. Progression, Forging, Inventory, and Economy

1. Can Auction House slots be increased and made character-specific? How will you maintain balance to prevent players from buying high-end gear too easily?

• We plan to increase the number of Auction House slots upon official launch, and we will be removing the automatic restocking mechanic.

1. Will a dedicated gem warehouse be added (supporting stacking, filtering, and displaying affixes)? Can characters get more personal warehouse space? Can the stack limits for building and upgrading materials be increased?

• implemented in time for Season 1.

• Expanding personal warehouse space is under consideration, but we do not plan to increase the stack limits for materials.

1. Can the Forging/Crafting system be sped up or reworked? Will we be able to salvage equipment and gems to obtain materials?

• The time required for forging will be optimized, but we are not considering a total rework or a salvaging system at this time. These features may be added to our pipeline in the future.

1. Will loot drop rates and diversity be adjusted? Are there plans to make top-tier gear account-bound or PvE-exclusive?

• Our loot drops will gradually become more diverse as the season progresses. The most common way to obtain top-tier gear is by defeating Mist Lords on Cataclysm difficulty, which inherently requires strong PvE capabilities.

1. Can loadouts save beverage buffs and consumables?

• We may roll out an update during this season that allows loadouts to save beverage buffs and carried consumables.

V. PvE, Maps, Tasks, and End-Game Content

1. Do you plan to add more engaging tasks, high-difficulty PvE content, a pure PvE mode, a Boss Rush, or hidden content/Easter eggs/lore?

• More tasks, Easter egg mechanics, and high-difficulty PvE content will continue to be rolled out with future version updates. A pure PvE mode is also in the works, but it will still take some time to complete.

1. Will maps feature randomly generated diversity? Will you add labyrinths, better utilization of verticality, random events, and make the maps feel more alive with things like more non-aggressive enemies or new combat moves?

• Randomized terrain mechanics are currently in development. However, due to the high technical difficulty and the massive workload involved, they will not be implemented immediately upon launch. Other optimizations regarding the fun factor and diversity of gameplay within stages will be continuously iterated after the official launch.

1. How will in-game events be structured? How will you maintain veteran player engagement after endgame loops and seasonal resets? How many more maps and how much content will the official release have compared to the Beta?

• In addition to increasing the diversity and enjoyment of core in-game content through version updates, we will introduce several seasonal events and challenge objectives to maintain player engagement. We also plan to roll out long-term challenge modes in the future, such as dungeon speedruns and multi-floor tower climbs. The official version will feature different stages, difficulties, and more in-match mechanics, so please stay tuned.

VI. UI, Controls, QoL, and Settings

1. Will there be support for one-click build swapping, independent weapon keybinds, custom crosshairs, lock-on toggles, FOV adjustments, and equipment color customization?

• Quick equipment loadout is already supported. More convenience features are in development and will be added over time.

1. Will issues like tutorial prompts blocking the screen be fixed? Will search functions be added to the Auction House and the Warehouse?

• Tutorial prompts will be updated so that players can manually close them and prevent them from appearing again. Search functions will be introduced in subsequent version updates.

1. Will social features or mini-games be added to the camp?

• Camp functionality will be progressively expanded with more engaging features alongside future seasonal updates.

1. Can the heartbeat audio be disabled when the Shadowstrix is in Sneak mode?

• The heartbeat audio will not be disabled, as this is a matter of gameplay balance.

VII. Pricing, Monetization, and Cosmetics

1. What will the final price of the game be? Will it support regional or localized pricing? Can Game Pass users upgrade to the Deluxe Edition?

• We will officially announce the final price on July 17.

1. Are purchased items strictly cosmetic?

• Yes, purchased content will absolutely not result in a pay-to-win system.

VIII. Technical Issues and Performance

1. Will the issue where the game freezes after enabling frame generation be fixed? Will players affected by the accessory item disconnection bug receive compensation?

• We are urgently working to resolve all performance issues, and the technical experience will continue to improve across subsequent version updates.

IX. Future Plans, Roadmap, and Miscellaneous

1. What is the clear roadmap for major post-launch updates, particularly for 2026-2027? Will patch notes regarding balance changes be shared ahead of time?

• In addition to in-game notifications, all patch notes and their specific details will be synchronized to Discord. Regarding future plans, we will release a new roadmap toward the end of each season.

1. Do you plan to add more classes, weapons, skills, and affixes? What are some exciting class concepts for the future? Will the Blasphemer class receive more mechanical depth, such as catalysts or talent points?

• We are already working on many incredibly exciting new classes and their archetypes, which will be progressively rolled out in subsequent seasons. The gameplay and depth of each class will also be continuously iterated upon with seasonal updates, which includes the systems surrounding the Blasphemer.

1. How will you efficiently handle cheaters and exploiters? How do you balance player feedback with the original vision of the game?

• We have a zero-tolerance policy toward cheating. We have already banned numerous cheaters during previous tests, and we will enforce regulations even more strictly after the official launch.

1. Will there be seasonal resets (wipes), and if so, how frequent will they be? Will there be damage meters or kill trackers? Are there any plans to sell physical merchandise or release 3D model files for public use?

• Yes, there will be seasonal resets, though certain long-term progression elements will carry over to the next season.

• We currently do not plan to implement team damage meters, because raw damage output is not the sole factor determining a team's victory. We want players to work together and win as a team, rather than berating teammates over post-match damage numbers, which often fail to reflect actual contributions.