So let's briefly go over the new features this update adds.
Reikon Labyrinth
This is the big one, obviously. The labyrinth from Reikon has been adapted to Yuurand and is selectable from the main menu. If you've played Reikon, you're probably aware that a 1:1 port of the map doesn't exactly work, so we've taken a few liberties redesigning some area to better fit Yuurand. Reikon areas can also appear in Fragmented runs as well.
Achievements
The game will now keep track of progress towards 56 achievements. Unlocking achievements will net you new characters and costumes. Of the 56, 2 simply have bragging rights, and 5 have rewards that will unlock in a future update (we apologize for not stuffing yet more content into this update).
Carryover saves and passwords
Related to the above, runs can now be reset by selecting "Abort run" from the warp point menu. The game will save and return you to the file select screen. Reopening the file will put you back on the main menu, preserving all achievements and unlocks. If a future update breaks save files, selecting Password->Display password from the main menu will give you a 32 digit password which, when entered on a new save file via Password->Input password, will unlock all characters, costumes, and achievements from the old save file.
Additionally, some passwords will have unique effects. The six characters previously given out as special names for completing challenges can be unlocked by entering their names as passwords so that you don't have to earn them a second time. Entering a VM boss's name will guarantee they will appear as the boss of your next run, making it easier to unlock achievements involving beating them. Finally, as hinted at in the trailer, the Spectral Mother can be unlocked by acquiring a special password from Reikon. To obtain this password,
This is easier said than done, we assure you.
Partners
Partners can be used in certain conditions now. To enable them, go to the warp point menu, tab to the partners tab, and set "Enable partners" to on. You can have up to three characters (not counting your current player character) in your party at once. The first one in the list will follow you around in the labyrinth and convey a passive bonus to you (for instance, Flect will cause your primaries to poison enemies, while Rhone will shield you from suffering knockback from enemies). You can also switch characters to anyone in your party. Partner characters are enabled during story modes and in Roguelike mode. Which leads into...
Roguelike Mode
Roguelike mode can be selected from the main menu. In this mode, death is permanent. Dying or F6ing will kill the current character. If you have another character in your party, you will switch to playing as them. If there are no other characters, the run will abort and eject you to the main menu. Additionally, if you take too long to begin killing bosses, a warning message will appear. Delay any further any a curse will be cast on you, further increasing the difficulty by means such as reducing your offense or causing some harder enemies to spawn. The length of the timer can be set at the start of a run (it can also be disabled if you abhor time pressure). To compensate for the difficulty of this mode, all characters have double defense. Additionally, partner characters can be found hidden throughout the labyrinth to serve as extra lives and to convey partner benefits.
Custom Seeds
A new custom seed, "What's The Time?" by Orithan, is now included. This seed gives you Halt and several MP upgrades early while witholding HP and other powerful spells, encouraging clever use of halt to survive.
Want to make a custom seed yourself? The custom seed template has been updated to include a Reikon seed template and to add the new areas and bosses. Grab it here.
Other new stuff
- Unlockable characters now show up as silhouettes on the character select screen, becoming selectable once they are unlocked
- SEVERAL new unlockable characters added
- SEVERAL new outfits added
- Bosses may randomly wear different outfits
- Seven new T1 bosses added (six of these premiered in Reikon)
- Two new roaming bosses added
- The warp point menu has been redesigned with multiple tabs to accommodate more elements
Character changes
- Nerfed the Low% reward character: His aggression damage now caps at 2x and bottoms out at 0.5x. Added unique shadow magnet behaviour to prevent abuse
- Tweaked total eclipse reward character's emptiness, buffing him early game but nerfing him later game
- Buffed Dracus, removing his weapon damage penalty and MP cost for his primaries
- Tweaked Victor: He can now dash while slashing. No longer regains MP on a miss. Defense is a flat -25%. Thunder behaviour changed.
- Modified Miles: His old passive (attack up, defense down) is replaced by a dynamic attack boost that increases as he takes damage and decreases over time. Bleeding visual effect included!
- Buffed Jandra: Rose Ultima now costs significantly less MP. When Rose Ultima is on cooldown, attack is increased by 25% but defense is decreased by 25%.
- Hito's flame form is slightly cheaper
- Rhone's defense has been buffed
- Holm's previous upgrades (strong wind, petal absorb+, and half mp petal shield) have been replaced with strong shields, 3/4 MP magic stream, and reduced MP shields
- The strength of reflected projectiles for Holm and Quinn has been buffed to 1.25x. Additionally, the damage cap on reflected projectiles has increased from 600 to 1000.
- Flect's primaries deal more damage
- Mirr's Wink no longer costs MP
- Speedrun reward character's sound wave mechanics have been altered. The initial hit does full damage, upgraded with strong thunder, while concurrently splash damage equal to half the main shot's damage surrounds it. This stops reliance on multihits with a knockback system that is temperamental at times.
- Horizon is now immune to strong sunlight
- Naiya no longer floods the Yuurei and Yuurand labyrinths. We apologize for removing this feature, but it was simply causing too many bugs and couldn't be integrated into the character switching without some saving and quitting jank
- In return, Naiya's signature is now half the mp cost and can be used offensively
- One particular secret character has been greatly buffed, but will no longer unlock with her name. You'll need to find her unlock password in Reikon
Spell changes
- Nerfed flake shield; it now does slightly less damage and creates 5 orbiters, rather than 6, when enhanced (this change brings it into line with Reikon)
- Nerfed longer buffs
- Reduced power boost's duration
- Slightly reduced speed boost's duration, allowing it to be cast a second time without recasting enhance
- Quake no longer deals knockback, and instead deals damage over time, ignoring enemy iframes
- Sword weapons (e.g. Gale's, Lucas's, and Xaya's signatures) can now properly be turned mid-stab/slash, as with the default ZC sword.
Other noteworthy changes
- Shy eyes nerfed on easy
- Water elemental damage nerfed on difficult/sadistic
- Sync bosses now pause for 90 extra frames (1.5 seconds) following their teleport attacks
- Xaya nerfed to bring her in line with other roaming bosses and prevent her from blendering you in small rooms
- Obtaining a high enough speed will now leave behind an afterimage effect.
Lastly, two big announcements
First, we wanna plug our Discord sevrer for Yuurand and Yuurei series content in general, The Labyrinth. In addition to discussion of Yuurand, we also post previews of new updates, host races, and just generally talk about stuff.
Second, we wanna announce a challenge here. Like with the First Official Yuurace, the reward is your original character being added to the next Yuurand update. How do you win? Be the first to unlock all achievements. Send us a screenshot of the completed achievements board once you're done. We'll announce the winner here and in the discord server.
The quest file can be downloaded from the main database page here. All the new music required for this update comes from Reikon, so if you have Reikon's music downloaded, you're all set. If not, you can grab it here. If you don't have all the music from the last Yuurand update, you can download the master music folder, which contains the music for all four games in the series, here.
As always, while we strive to deliver a bug-free experience, some bugs will inevitably occur due to the sheer scope of the quest. If you run into any, please post them here, mention them in the server, or PM us either on the forums or on Discord.