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Full Vindictus: Defying Fate update
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What changed
- Gameplay
- Server
- Balance
For those who couldn’t join this week’s AMA with Director @dio_ell, we’ve put together a summary of the key takeaways.
You can find complete answers and more on VDF’s official Discord.
New Playable Characters
Q: We know Arisha is already in the development so how many characters will there be at launch?
| A: We're looking at at least 6 characters at launch. That number could shift depending on how development pace lines up with when we actually ship, but 6 is the floor we're working toward. |
Q: There will be any magic caster Character like Evie in the game?
| A: Evie is indeed actually in development. We're putting together some proper looking elemental magic for her that fits who she is as an elemental mage. We know a lot of people have been wondering, and because her structure is pretty different from the other characters it took us a while before we could bring it up, but yes, she's coming.And of course, she uses a Staff. All our characters use the Base Weapon they had in the OG. |
Q: Will new characters be using the secondary weapons from existing characters?
| A: Yes. But depending on the weapon, there might be cases where it isn't used. |
Q: On a development standpoint, what was the most difficult gameplay to capture from the current roster of character in Defying Fate?
| A: Definitely Evie. The rest of the roster is built around melee so they share a lot of common ground, but Evie is a mage fighting at mid range, which meant we had to rework level design on combat maps and tune monster logics around her so the structure could actually support that playstyle.Casting time was also a whole thing on its own. Too slow and you spend the whole fight dodging with no window to cast, too fast and the motions start looking off. Finding the right spot between those two is still something we're actively working through. |
Q: I'm really interested if there are any plans of adding new characters to the game, not just from the OG.
| A: Yes! New characters are definitely coming, each with their own story, weapon, and combat style. We're hoping to show some of them in the next test, and the plan is to keep adding both original Vindictus characters and brand new ones made for VDF after launch. Your excitement might be well placed! |
Q: What is your decision/flowchart process when deciding which character (whether old or new) to develop and implement into the game next?
| A: Whether the character existed in the original isn't the starting point, what matters first is whether they fit the combat style we're going for in VDF, and whether the concept lines up with the world we're building. Implementation difficulty plays into it too, and then there's balance and a lot of other moving pieces layered on top. |
Service & Business Model
Q: What will the business model and service format look like at launch?
| A: Deciding how we wanted to release our game took a long time, which was why we stuck to answering that the business model has not been decided ever since our Pre-Alpha back in 2024. But we've landed on F2P for the final direction. Main reason is we want as many people as possible to be able to just jump in without a barrier, and on the monetization side we've got people working on keeping it centered on cosmetics.Something we mentioned last AMA but worth repeating, even just adapting Season 1 of the original with our reinterpretation is expected to take us a while given where development is. So at launch we're focusing on delivering the core of the world and the main story beats, then we plan to expand the breadth and depth of the story from there through updates. |
Q: When will we be able to enjoy the game again?
| A: We know a lot of people are waiting and not being able to give an exact date on this one is honestly rough on our side too. We recently wrapped up an FGT, and the next test is going to require processes like getting the console build ready and going through platform reviews, so we're expecting that to take quite a bit of time.We ask for your understanding on why it's tough to lock in a specific timeframe right now, but we're pushing hard on development to get you real news as soon as we can. |
Q: Is the game coming to other platforms at launch or is it something that will happen after the game is out?
| A: Things could shift depending on how development goes, but we're pushing for a simultaneous launch on at least two platforms, including PC. We'll share more details on the exact platforms later once things are locked in. |
Q: Now that things have been a little more finalized, have you guys decided if there will be any deeper player to player interactions? Things like chat, friend groups, or trade? Will there be a marketplace for materials?
| A: Since VDF is built around solo play at its core, a global chat feature isn't something we're considering. We do plan to support chatting between friends and communication within specific groups, though.As for player-to-player trading or a marketplace system, we feel those don't really line up with the current direction of the game, so they aren't in the plans at all. |
Multiplayer
Q: For VDF, can we expect each character to have unique roles / skills, such as healing, buffing, and tanking? And Would the team consider making seamless robust co op (full 4 player parties and larger raids) a central pillar rather than a secondary feature?
| A: VDF is being built around each character having a strong, distinct combat identity, so role splits like healer or tank aren't part of the design. The game is solo at its core, but certain content opens up for multiplayer like you saw in alpha, and we're making sure that content plays well whether you go in alone or with a group.Party size is capped at 4 for now, which was a decIsion we made for combat quality and client performance reasons, so I believe that number isn't likely to move. |
Q: In Vindictus Season 1, I have felt that the developers wanted to make dungeon exploration even though it was primarily a linear run to the boss. In multiplayer, will you commit to the theme of exploration or will each session become a repeatable boss rush?
| A: Multiplayer is leaning into boss fights as the main focus. Where it goes from there depends on what new modes we end up building, so deciding a direction right now would be getting ahead of ourselves.Personally I do like dungeons with exploration or strategic elements built in, but whether we can actually pull that off in a way that's genuinely fun is something we'd need to take a real look at before committing to it. |
Q: Will there be shared quest progression in co op?
| A: The way it's set up, main story is a solo experience only, and multiplayer lives as its own separate content rather than being stitched into the story quests, so there isn't really a case where you'd be replaying story progress to help a friend catch up. The solo part is built that way on purpose, we want the narrative to hit deeper when you're going through it on your own. |
Combat & Characters
Q: Based on Alpha Test feedback, which character demanded the most changes and why?
| A: Rather than going down on one specific character, the general feedback was more about the requests coming in across the board.One of the major ideas were that for the blue and yellow attack reactions, a lot of people felt like after you pulled off the counter action there wasn't really a payoff move to follow up with. Thanks to that feedback, the current build has reward actions layered in so those moments actually land with something satisfying now. |
Q: In VDF, will different combos yield different results — like HP/MP recovery or debuffs on the enemy? Or is the focus more on dealing damage through specific attack combos?
| A: Really depends on the character and the situation you're in. Some attacks are built to stack up the groggy gauge faster and give you better windows for finisher actions. Others hit the hardest but are slow, so chances to actually land them don't come up that often.The way it's designed, just mashing the strongest combo over and over won't be the play for most fights, you'll end up needing to read the moment and pick the right action for it more often than not. |
Q: Is there a possibility that the 'Break Off' system might come back in a different form? For example, requiring a specific combo to reach the head and break an enemy's head parts?
| A: Breakoffs will be included as a combat feature, but only for monsters where it makes sense for their design and lore. Rather than requiring specific combos like you mentioned though, the breakable parts will be areas that all characters can easily reach and attack. |
Q: Regarding character builds how much depth can we expect in terms of skill trees and ability customization?
| A: The structure isn't really about taking one character and branching them into a bunch of different deep builds, it's more that each character comes with their own build that defines them.So within a single character the depth is going to be narrower than something like a traditional skill tree, but the payoff is that the differences between characters and how each one plays is where we're putting the focus. |
Growth & Customization
Q: Since we have multiple characters do you have plans to keep the leveling up experience fresh? I'm worried about content fatigue based on the assumption we need to re run a battle / dungeon.
| A: Leveling is set up pretty differently from the OG on this.Level itself is a Journey Level that applies across all your characters rather than being per character, and gear and abilities get sorted out through play at a reasonable pace for whichever character you're focusing on. The overall direction is that VDF is meant to be played as much as you feel like playing, not something where you're locked in a grind just to access content.There is farming in there for people who want to sink more time in long term, but that sits on the side as something for personal satisfaction rather than a requirement for actually playing the game. |
Q: Will character power progression be solely dictated by weapon enhancement with armor sets serving a cosmetic only role rather than stats?
| A: Character progression isn't just about weapon enhancement. We've got a variety of growth elements in place, like acquiring abilities, crafting weapons, and leveling up your weapon mastery. On top of that, there are separate gear items that boost your stats without actually changing how your character looks. |
Q: Did You change direction on which weapon will be upgraded and we can expect similar enchant/enchancement system like from the OG?
| A: The item, enchant, and enhancement systems are being developed in a completely different direction from the original.While the original's systems were structured specifically around multiplayer, VDF is aiming for a setup that's much more suited for solo play. We'll share more details on the specific systems later. |
Q: Will there be more body shape options?
| A: Yes, but it's less about adding a ton of new body shape options and more about letting you fine tune the ones that are already there. Things like muscle mass can be adjusted in more detail, and stuff that used to apply to the whole character at once in alpha, like skin gloss, is being split up so you can set it separately for face and body.So overall more control, just in a more detailed direction. |
Q: How's the improved body shapes coming along based on last ama you guys talked about overall shape increase and jiggle improvement?
| A: We've got a bunch of stuff on the physics side. Long hair that falls below the shoulder, the way it swings across the front and then settles back behind the shoulder as the head turns, that transition reads a lot more naturally now.On outfits, something like a long coat while you're running, where the fabric shifts back and forth with each step, we cleaned that up so it doesn't flare out as exaggerated as it did in alpha.And for the body modeling, we went in and made a ton of small adjustments across different curves and details, none of them dramatic on their own but it adds up to a noticeably better silhouette overall. |
Wrapping up the AMA
As development continues, we'd like to express our gratitude toward everyone's excitement to our game. We hope the second AMA session gave you a clearer picture of what we're building in VDF.
Before we go, there are two things we'd love to leave you with.
We believe that there will be those familiar with the OG, and there will be who are not. But we're making sure that the game will arrive with a great experience for both.
For players who do know the OG, we really want to get you deeper into the story this time. A lot of what used to just be text is now playing out through cinematic cutscenes with proper staging, and on top of that we've reinterpreted and expanded parts of the story with more detail built in. We really hope this will give you a familiar but fresh experience while you'll ride through the journey of the Kalbram Mercenaries, Tieve, Keaghan, and the main character.
For anyone coming in fresh without the OG as a reference point, we've created a range of characters each with their own pull, and we're looking forward to you picking whoever clicks with you and stepping into VDF's journey.
Also, we'd like to use this opportunity to put light on the point that VDF is not a soulslike. VDF is, like what we've introduced since the pre-alpha days, built on top of the original Vindictus action, so if anything we'd call it a 'vindic-like.'
Our current goal of development is finding the ultimate sweet spot between the slow, heavy combat of the early days of Vindictus, and the snappy, intimate combat of the mid-days. The key here is designing the combat structure to be focused on reading the enemy's timing and engaging in an intense back and forth offensive, using adequate combo chains for a more favorable experience.
All of our combat is, and will be, directed so that it stays snappy rather than heavy, and after alpha we're only doubling down on that direction. We'll keep sharpening the combat exchange and the combo action going forward so VDF's own feel really comes through.
Thank you all for being here with us, and we'll see you again with more development news.
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