Illuvium: Arena Update 1.18

Overview

This update focuses on refining the competitive integrity of the Arena by balancing bot behavior, expanding player agency in progression paths, and significantly improving technical stability. We have also introduced new cosmetic options for the Gauntlet and Beyond modes to enhance the visual experience of high-tier play.

Gameplay & Balance

Bot Adjustments

• Finish Restrictions: Bots are no longer eligible to receive Holo or Dark Holo finishes. This ensures that these rare visual tiers remain exclusive to player achievements.
• Collection Scaling: Adjusted bot collection levels to better reflect natural player progression.
• Level Variance: Introduced natural level variance to bot encounters, creating a more dynamic and less predictable combat experience.

Lynx & Progression

• Path Selection: Players now have full control over their Lynx progression path. Players may choose any available Lynx class or affinity that has not already been selected by a T0 Illuvial.
• Bot Logic: Bot AI has been updated to make valid and strategic Lynx path choices, ensuring they remain competitive in the mid-to-late game.
• Cosmetics: Fixed several issues related to Lynx cosmetic skin handling to ensure consistent visual application across all modes.

Ranger & Equipment

• Weapon Rerolls: Added one additional weapon reroll to the preparation phase, providing players with more flexibility to find the optimal synergy for their team composition.

Systems & Shop Improvements

Shop Reliability

We have performed a comprehensive overhaul of the shop logic to address edge-case failures. Improvements include:

• Increased reliability for rerolls, purchases, and sales.
• Fixed issues with multi-buy transactions and pool exhaustion logic.
• The round-end shop now refreshes after fusion and correctly accounts for fusion-ready units.

Augment Crates

• Synergy & Composite Crates: Crates now avoid duplicate and disabled choices and correctly use board and bench synergies.

Technical Fixes & Stability

Reliability & Connectivity

• Matchmaking: Fixed a matchmaking queue desync affecting pending match assignments. 
• Reconnect Logic: Enhanced the reconnect system to allow for smoother recovery after a network interruption.
• Match Completion: Fixed issues that prevented matches from recording results correctly upon completion.

Board Synchronization

Resolved several visual and functional desync issues:

• Bot Placement: Fixed bot placement failures that could leave board state out of sync.
• Unit Rotation: Fixed units failing to rotate correctly after a side switch.
• Spectator Mode: Fixed stale or incorrect bench affinity colors after switching the spectated player.

Cosmetics & Visuals

Board Skins

• Gauntlet Mode: Fixed an issue preventing board-skin swapping in Gauntlet mode.
• Beyond Mode: Added Normal and Holo versions of the Beyond Wave 5 board skins.

Additional Visual Fixes

• Fixed amplifier card images after refreshing.
• Fixed Arena skins not updating correctly during round transitions.