12/31 Balance Patch Pre-Notice
24 December 2025
Developer Notes
As previously announced, this Balance Patch implements numerical changes and skill trait improvements to prepare for further character adjustments. These modifications are based on raid and normal dungeon gameplay data.
In the case of skill trait adjustments, we also considered the new Artifact Growth Stage that will be released on January 15th.
Upon reaching the new Growth Stage, you will be able to select two skill traits for a single skill through the new Hidden Power slot.
Due to the skill trait change, all traits applied by adventurers will be reset after the update. Please make sure to reselect your traits before playing.
Additionally, we will be changing Tome of Amnesia's price in the EP Shop to 0 to allow you to experience trait changes freely.
We would also like to announce balance direction clues for the February patch, planned to be applied to the test server, which many adventurers are curious about.
Basically, party synergy will be significantly reduced, and character personal performance will be significantly increased. Let's get into some of the details:
For all characters except healers, all buffs and debuffs that affect Attack Support in the result window will be reduced. Some effects may be removed depending on the character. Furthermore, we plan to completely remove party effects that reduce or accelerate cooldown. Character attack power will be increased based on the removed/nerfed effects, and each character will be able to efficiently cycle through their skills without support characters.
For healers, the party effects will be numerically standardized. All healers will now also share the same core party effects. Core synergies will be changed to not overlap between multiple characters, except for healing.
We are preparing to integrate Physical/Magical party effects to facilitate a smoother and friendlier party forming environment.
Since party support effects are crucial in Elsword gameplay, we understand that many adventurers may be worried about the changes.
To minimize the impact of party synergy nerfs, we will adjust all monster stats on the test server and gather feedback from those playing it. The test server will be continuously updated based on that feedback to ensure a better game experience.
We will provide a detailed course of action when the test server is released in February.
19 Comments
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To go the “solo” way is the way to survive. Outside of KR, there’s no chance that Raids are relevant in the future. It’s already hard enough to clear 21-X outside of a fixed bubble of friends in EU. (I’ve UDW but I don’t loose my eye for normal non-progress players). Raids everywhere and every group wants a perfect kwtd-player. No mercy for the new ones. Try to play this game withouth friends or a carry guild.Ritsu’s aporia guide (thanks for your time, really…) is almost 90 sites long. Just saying.
They should lock titles behind the “normal” mode of raids, solo mode for geared players, story for new ones who helps each another and giant bosses for all party-lovers.
I’m not the same Ritsu who wrote the Doom Aporia guide, by the way! Lol
this will work in KR but will not work in any other server
like in KR they pretty much do 1 support all dps and judging by the kr players im friends with they like the support slot being limited to only 1
totally the reverse in NA,EU.Pserver where 1 or 2 dps and load up with supports+synergy
right, the non-kr dps’s.
the ones who wag their fingers at others to become healers to puff up their impotent power as a means of getting ahead in the game and who demand really stupid gameplay choices for convenience.
the ones who buy into self-sufficiency fairy tales that are entirely bogus in an rng-stats-heavy game like this, while only being functional when backed up by mostly-healer-supp parties and who throw self-righteous emo fits when things don’t go their way.
the ones that whine about how new players should learn on their own because they’re bad student anyways while excusing their incompetent teaching methods and inability to observe their situation and learn from their mistakes because the only bad students are them, the bad teachers who waste their time in a negative-worth end-game grind.
i see.
those a-holes.
fuck them. fuck them with a middle finger capping a bras-d’honneur. twice for both arms.
their efforts justify no thing and they merit their own bad circumstances. and i will mock them for their misfortune that is in large part the result of the bad situation they contributed to with their half-wit excuses.
…if i got the time and sufficient care for it.
in any case, they’ll eat their crap and learn to learn the way they tell others to learn: geeeeeeeet used to it and suck it up. Or… they’ll ditch that crap and actually be less stupid by doing better and being actually a functioning community that isn’t festered with entitled delusional idiots.
nerfing skill additional coodldowns? all for it.
now let’s get to making the not-skill things like combos into something that isn’t mostly mechanic utility (that they can’t even be used well in because actives which are skills outdo them in the ones that need damage))
one thing i can absolutely say is a near constant positive thing for these devs, is that whenever skill traits are messed with, they pretty much always automatically reset the affected skills. just wish that that logic was applied more to pretty much other things in the game.
all those “Can move earlier after casting.”
wish that was applied more than/instead of the cast speed crap (where relevant), because screw that noise i actually wanna see the animations.
KE unlimited blade becoming red mode
oh they really they meant it with nerfing cooldown reduction
wonder fence
looking less and less wonderful, but at least the super armor is still there.
but for real, buff our actual defense stats (that aren’t asinine number sorcery like damage reduction) please.
burst grenade clipping
i unironically use the mod version and i don’t see that on the list, but my condolences for any who use that by default and for any who also use that skill for clearing.
all those mp use increases including mod quantum bomb
which is not worth 300 mp and mp cost isn’t skill cooldown whatheckyeven
…. glad i got that spare unmodified magic necklace that’s a costume now.
aside from those, overall i think this is a positive that’s not a nerfquake because cooldown acceleration meta is a festered mess, and even my gripes are minor (and honestly if i want to whine about using combos more, i shouldn’t whine too much about the mp cost raising)
Removing CDA is fine and dandy but can they at least provide ERP reset coins to adjust some of my ERP build
if they can reset traits whenever they’re changed, then they should be shelling out free erp coins whenever stuff that affects it comes into play, if not giving the option to reset whole columns outright.
(speaking as someone who prioritizes supplementing middle-column cp inflation with mp cost reduction)
Upon reaching the new Growth Stage, you will be able to select two skill traits for a single skill through the new Hidden Power slot.**
Hang on, does that mean that we can choose a single Skill to have both Skill Traits applied to it?! If so, I’m gonna need to figure out what Skills I have equipped that will benefit from that in PvE.
Basically, party synergy will be significantly reduced, and character personal performance will be significantly increased.
I hope this means that the weaker chars like Aisha, Ain, etc. get damage buffs to be on par with the other chars.
Furthermore, we plan to completely remove party effects that reduce or accelerate cooldown. Character attack power will be increased based on the removed/nerfed effects, and each character will be able to efficiently cycle through their skills without support characters.
Hmm… not sure about this one. Guess it depends on how smooth Skill cycling will be for everyone after the patch compared to now.
For healers, the party effects will be numerically standardized. All healers will now also share the same core party effects. Core synergies will be changed to not overlap between multiple characters, except for healing.
This sounds… alright. I’m hoping those “same core party effects” will at least be decent.
We are preparing to integrate Physical/Magical party effects to facilitate a smoother and friendlier party forming environment.
Not sure what this means tbh. Kinda hoping it means that all skills that boost Attack will boost both Attack stats.
Hang on, does that mean that we can choose a single Skill to have both Skill Traits applied to it?!
Yes, but I believe you will have to use Master Artifact Scrolls to roll the one you want (4th line of Hidden Power.)
Kinda hoping it means that all skills that boost Attack will boost both Attack stats.
Yes, they are trying to make classes buff everyone without having to be compatible with their primary attack type.
Yes, but I believe you will have to use Master Artifact Scrolls to roll the one you want (4th line of Hidden Power.)
I hope not, but I can totally see that happening.
Yes, they are trying to make classes buff everyone without having to be compatible with their primary attack type.
Sweet.
they are seesawing on how they thorough want that phys-mag split
but i hypothesize that part of why the seesaw happens because some players shout about it and the outcry managed to be heeded.when they refused complacency, even for juuuust a little bit.
Hm… Complicated but it could work. I guess they want to make all Classes as hybride with their own signature stuff. otherwise they’ll be one meta class per char (Why playing another classes of a char? They want to kill the P/MATK sides and synergies.).
Why did they nerf Burst Grenade????
Basically, party synergy will be significantly reduced, and character personal performance will be significantly increased
Performance based on gear. **So basically, before, if you **weren't geared, but had a class that was useful you can be taken. Now, if you arnt geared, you wont be taken.
:/
RIP easy raid/big boss access for Support characters with just +0 green set
Remove CDA, make blue great again