4.2.5, 4.3 + 4.3.5 Patch Notes (Nintendo Switch)

Hero Classes on Teams * Hero Class change Gem cost has now been removed

* Players are now able to set a Hero Class to each team

* Hero Classes can now be managed from the Troop/ Collectible menu

* Class wins (for unlocking Class Weapons) will only apply to the Class assigned to the team

* Class Champion XP will only apply to the Class assigned to the team that is used (if the Hero is used on the team)

* A Hero Class still uses the same talent tree, so while you may use a Class on 2 teams, any changes to the Talent Tree with affect both teams

* The Hero Class displayed on the main HUD will represent the Hero Class attached to the last team you used

* As Classes do not apply in Arena, no Champion XP or Wins for a Class will be awarded.



Mail Improvements * Legendary Tasks will now be consolidated into a single mail, with the following rules: o The Mailbox must be at least half full (50+ unread mail)

o A new Legendary Task mail will be created if the new legendary Task contains a Troop

o Consolidated Legendary Task mail will mention how many Legendary Tasks have been combined into it * The consolidation for Legendary Tasks, starts at 50 mail, as the information on who completed the mail, and the list of what rewards each task gave exactly will be lost once it’s consolidated, and we wanted to keep that information intact for smaller guilds completing fewer legendary tasks.



Chat Improvements * Chat screen has received a new layout design

* The new layout should be more intuitive to use, and better match the rest of the game

* Chat lines now have alternating background colors (black and grey), making conversations easier to read

* Chat lines from a single player will also be batched together to improve readability

* A new menu system will appear on the left side of the chat window

* The menu allows players to switch between Global and Guild Chat, adjust their settings, or view their social collectibles (more on that below)

* Player portraits (more on those below too) will appear as part of their chat message, and include frames based on their level, the actual level number, and small “flares” showing that player’s Honor Rank (also more coming below)

* Players are now able to use unlocked emojis in chat (which are part of the social collectibles)

* Players are now able to exit Global chat but still be part of Guild Chat

* Chat Window can be shrunk down into a “Lite Chat” window for anyone wanting to navigate the game while watching chat

* The mini Chat window is a simplified version of the main chat window, so somethings may not visible in this mode (such as chat portraits or titles)



Social Collectibles With the improvements to Chat, we have added 3 new types of collectibles for social: * Portraits o Players are now able to assign a portrait to their account to appear which displays in chat

o Players have a single portrait when they start

o A set of basic character-related portraits will be earned as the player levels up towards 80 (these will be given out immediately if you already have the levels)

o Additional portraits can be unlocked by levelling Kingdoms to 10 (also given retrospectively if your kingdoms are at 10), completing a Delve level 100, or through Event rewards

o Frames appear around a portrait in chat

o Frames will change color as upgrade as the player levels up

o Players with top Honor Ranks will have their Honor flare appear on their portrait as well * Emojis o All players will have access to a standard set of emojis

o Some other basic emojis can be unlocked through simple tasks like playing PvP, or joining a Guild. Where applicable, these are also awarded retrospectively.

o Additional emojis can be obtained during weekly events * Titles o Titles appear next to a player’s name in chat

o Titles can be obtained by completing Kingdom Questlines (awarded retrospectively if you’ve already completed them) or during weekly events * All collectibles are displayed and managed in the Chat Menu Collection sections

* Special Seasonal Social Collectibles will available for a limited time during their seasons (More Information to Come)

* Past Event collectibles (if you didn’t get them from their event) will become available to purchase in the Chat Menu for a small Gem Cost – usually 2-3 months after the event.



Honor System * We have implemented a new Honor system to reward players who provide a fun and welcoming experience for others * Players gain Honor ranks when other players “Honor them” by awarding them an “Honor Point” * Starting at level 20, players will start to receive 2 Honor points per day (when they login) that they can give out * Daily Honor Points will stack up to maximum of 5 * Honor can be given in 3 ways o After a PVP match

o Interacting with Guildmates via the Guild Roster

oo Interacting with players in Global Chat (via their player profile) * We have 3 different options for players to choose from to help define what they are honoring that player for: o Helpful (the player helped you, or was helpful to someone else)

o That was Fun (something this player did made the game more fun)

o High Five (Just a general catch-all show of support for another player) * Any Honor you receive will be displayed when you next collect a tribute * There are 6 ranks of Honor that can a player can have, these are (from highest to lowest) o Revered

o Exemplary

o Honorable

o Respected

o Warned

o Dishonored * Respected, Honorable and Exemplary have multiple tiers within their rank that players will have to ascend through in order to reach the next rank. Note that we have opted NOT to display earned Honor as a progress bar, as this system represents something that we want people doing for “right” reasons, not simply another stat to min-max and cap out.

* Tiers within a rank will be marked by special gems that appear on the Honor rank’s shield

* All players will start at the lowest tier of Respected

* Players can see other people’s Honor either from Honor flares (if the Honor rank/ tier has one) or from a player’s profile (this is only visible on Honor Ranks of Honorable and Higher) * Honorable Honor rank or higher will unlock a special login calendar that will give rewards out daily * Daily rewards will increase based on the Honor rank, so high Honor ranks give better rewards than a lower rank * Achieving some higher Honor ranks for the first time will give players unique rewards, including a special pet – the Revered Dragonkitty – if you reach Revered status. * Players will receive a pop up when they gain or lose Honor ranks * Players can now be reported in-game, saving time sending reports directly to our support channel * We have 4 categories that players can be reported for: o Inappropriate Chat

o Hacking or Cheating

o Chat Spam

o Offensive Name * We have also improved the way in-game notifications work for warnings or information about bans (including Chat Bans) * We have also added an in-game system that will notify players who have reported others, if their report has been acted upon (this means that if a report does result in a warning or ban then any players that reported that person will receive the notification) * Presently all reports will be manually processed by our support team, so nobody will be auto-banned by the report system. This may change in the future as we gather data, and feel confident to implement automations. * Players will lose Honor ranks for any bans or warnings issued by the Gems of War team * Players who lose points, may drop Honor ranks to the Warned or Dishonored ranks

MVP Screen * The final screen in the PVP game flow has been reworked

* The new screen continues to display the player’s rank and trophies earned (also including the Guild current trophy rank)

* New to the screen is a Troop highlight, which will name one of the player’s troop the MVP of the match * There are multiple MVP categories that can be awarded to troops, allowing utility or support troops who perform well to be highlighted too, not only the damage dealing troops. * Player’s will always see a troop from their team here, keeping attention on their team rather than their opponent’s team. * The screen also allows players to take screenshot or share the screen, so players can compare their MVPs with friends or guildmates outside the game. * This screen is also where players can Honor their opponent for fun defense teams

Tribute Screen * The tribute screen has had a visual update

* It will now display all rewards that have been earned, as well as which kingdoms gave a tribute

* The tribute screen will also display any Honors that have been earned since the last tribute was collected.

Live Event Potions * Most events have had a new feature added into the shop: Potions

* We’ve added a different potion for each purchase-tier in the shop

* These potions will give a unique effect that will apply to all troops in that Live event * Please Note – although these potions may help with tougher Faction Delve levels. they are not intended to be the system we’ve hinted at for dealing with Faction Team difficulty on higher levels (we have something planned for this later this year)

Content Callouts * We’ve added a new popup to the game that will better inform players when special events (eg. New releases like Mythics, Factions, Hero classes etc.) occur

* These callouts will only appear once to inform players of the event, then disappear

* These events will continue to have News articles in the News Menu for any player wanting to learn more

In-Game Surveys * We have implemented In-Game Surveys that may occasionally pop up during gameplay

* These surveys are designed for us to get sentiment feedback from players about different areas or features or the game

* Surveys will never be longer than 3 questions

* Surveys can be skipped if a player doesn’t wish to participate

* Surveys will usually reward a small number of Gems

Banner Filter * A filter has been added to the Banners tab on the Troop Collection menu. You can filter by positive or negative mana colours (the tick or cross on a mana gem respectively)

* Unowned Banners can now be seen on the Banners tab

* The keyword filter will check either the banner name, or the kingdom name

* A “Suggest a Banner” button has also been added to look at the current team and automatically apply a filter based on the colours present in that team

Screenshot Mode * Troops, Weapons, Hero Classes and Pets can now be displayed in a photo friendly manner

* Background, Particles and Information can all be edited to allow for players to customize the screenshot to their liking

* Screenshots can be saved and shared easily for the different platforms

* iOS and Android devices provide links to upload these screenshots to Social Media or other apps installed on their device

Puzzle Game Info Menu * When Players open the Options menu in a puzzle game, they will see the new Battle Info menu * In Puzzle Battles, this menu displays the following battle information for both the player and opponent: o Time spent in the battle

o Mana Surge Chances

o Resources Earned + Max amount

o Deaths Earned + Max amount * In Treasure Hunt, this menu displays: o Turns

o Moves

o Traitstones gained * Settings can still be accessed from this new menu on the button up in the top left



Settings Menu Rework * The UI has been changed to match the rest of the game, and the layout has been improved making the settings easier to navigate

* All menus are now scrollable * The most commonly-used settings have been relocated to the top of General tab so players don’t have to jump around the settings menu to adjust them. These options include: o Animation Speed

o Puzzle Hints

o Show Spell/ Mana Details * The Alert tab has been redesigned to be easier to understand, meaning that players can choose which area of the game they want to receive notifications for, and then more options will appear allowing them to customize this further. * The Account tab has been redesigned to make it clearer how account linking is set up and how to swap between accounts * The Links Tab has been renamed Help and designed to provide clearer links to various help and support resources. This includes: o Help Center – This will open a window to the Game Guides section on the Gems of War Help Center

o Submit a Ticket – This will display a list of support options. Once one is selected, it will open a window allowing players to submit a ticket for the option selected

o Terms of Service – This will open a window to the Terms of Service for Gems of War

o Privacy Policy – This will open a window to the Privacy Policy for Gems of War

o Community Guidelines – This will open the Community Guidelines for Gems of War

o Credits – Same as before!

o Social Links – These smaller buttons will open web pages for the corresponding social services * Submit a Ticket will auto-fill several fields with some data to help the player and Support team. This includes: o Email address (if the player has linked their email with account)

o Platform

o Operating System

o Device Model

o Invite Code

o Guild Name

o Hero Level

o VIP Level * Agent responses to Support tickets sent from the game will still be sent to a player’s email (we have no means to contact players about support issues in game). Players may need to create a Zendesk account for submitting a ticket.



Balance Changes Splash Damage

Minor splash damage which would deal damage to an enemy and 1 damage to adjacent Enemies, has been renamed to light splash damage, and now deals 25% of the spell’s damage to adjacent Enemies. The following troops and weapons have been affected by this change: * Druid

* Giant’s Mace

* Goblin Rocket

* Mace of Malice

* Nature’s Wrath

* Priest’s Hammer

* Rending Affix

* Rhynax

* Siege Tower

* The Stonehammer

* Watcher



Bless

Blessed Troops will now gain immunity to Transform.



Zuul’Goth

* Removed One-Cast Only affect from his Spell



Dragonian Rogue

* Spell now allows you to select a Gem for the X Gem destruction



Urska Druid

* Boost ratio increased from x2 to x3



Nightmare

* Boost ratio increased from x2 to x3



Stonehammer

* Gems created increased from 15 to 22



Elven Bard

* Troop type changed from Elf to Elf/ Mystic



Wisp

* Troop type changed from Fey to Fey/ Mystic



Princess Elspeth

* Troop type changed from Elf to Elf/ Mystic



Cobra’s Curse

We’ve made changes to Cobra’s Curse so it will create Gems that benefit a wider range of Naga.

* Gem Colors created changed from Red + Purple to Red + Green



Cthythrzyx

* Spell damage upgraded so both upper and lower ends of the damage range scale from Magic



Ice Troll

* The Spell will now create a mix of Blue and Brown Gems on the board, based on the current number of Blue + Brown Gems



Naga Queen

We made these changes as Naga Queen was very similar to Tai-Pan. They shared Mana Colors and both converted Brown Gems to Red.

* Mana Colors changed from Blue/ Green to Green/ Brown

* Now converts Yellow Gems to Red



Royal Engineer

* Armor buff to Allies now scales off Magic



Tankbot

Tankbot now deals true damage so he continues to have Armor to steal.

* Spell now deals true damage



Wulfgarok

* Legendary Trait, First Wargare, changed to give 2 Attack and Magic to Allied Wargare when matching 4 or more Gems



Kingslayer

* Spell’s conditional bonus damage now triggers if the Enemy’s Attack is greater, and bonus damage has been increased from 7 to 12





General * Holiday Graphics and Music have been removed until the next Holiday season

* Guild Admin Leave & Disband button now appear grey when disabled (even when selected by controller), to avoid confusion

* Troop filtering now allows for players to mark a color to be excluded

* Glory Purchases are now able to be bought in bulk

* Spoils of War glory pack now has a limit of 10 purchases per week. Originally, in its first year or two, Glory was rarer and more valuable, thus we could supply a good value pack like this. Currently though, as Glory can be earnt in such large quantities, we’re having to limit this pack to its original intended amount.

* Event Chests have had a visual update to better display possible rewards from Event Chests, including the weekly kingdom’s name

* Event Chests will now have a chance to drop multiples of Common and Rare troops from that kingdom. Chances for Epics, Legendaries & Mythics have not been nerfed, in fact they’ve been improved slightly… but you will now gain less Ultra-Rares, and instead receive multiple copies of Rares & Commons instead

* We have improved some of the opening animations throughout the game

* Gnomes and Battlecrasher troops now have an animation at the start of battle to show players that they are part of the battle

* Submerged troops now display 0 damage when dodging AOE damage

* Guild Wars will no longer display names of the opponent Guilds, until the day of the battle

* Improved tutorials, so players now receive resources to spend in upgrading troop tutorials

* Players no longer need to have a team selected in order to view hero classes

* Tower of Doom will now give out Fireball + Heroism scrolls consistently across all guilds * Updated the Team Power algorithm