Power Hour Patch Notes Day
The content of the patch notes I posted boiled down to two big things.
New dungeons: the Minotaur Ranch and the Cockatrice Poultry Farm.
And a teaser for raid dungeons—not your standard monster-hunting fare, but ones where hundreds of people could join in together.
For starters, I threw out some bait with the Giant Slime dungeon, which had the lowest hunting difficulty compared to other Giant series.
I set up the Minotaur and Cockatrice environments to be the most comfortable spots for them to live in.
The reason? Variants, obviously.
Monsters stuck in extreme environments can evolve in unexpected ways, so I figured it was best to avoid that kind of change happening with powerful mid-layer monsters.
For example...
- Moooom~!!
If I placed Minotaurs in a dense jungle full of cover, it might neutralize their charge power.
But then a variant adapted to that environment might turn into a Tarzan Minotaur swinging through the vines...
That alone would be cosmic horror for any explorer.
Well, maybe not.
Considering a Minotaur's sheer bulk, the jungle foliage might not even slow it down.
It'd just smash through anything in its path. Not exactly an extreme environment, then.
Anyway, same deal with the Cockatrice—I stuck it in a straightforward setup. A swamp might hinder its mobility, but I couldn't stomach the idea of it flying around.
Petrifying gaze from the skies? That's crossing the line.
There were tons of terrain types I could've tested: icy fields, volcanic zones, foggy areas... you name it.
Honestly, neutralizing regular monsters with terrain effects is nice, and weird variant evolutions are a risk you can somewhat accept.
But I deliberately chose cozy living conditions for the monsters because...
I was hoping the variants would turn into fat, juicy livestock.
Yeah.
I wanted tasty beef and chicken.
Delicious Minotaur double-loin steak...
Of course, this wasn't baseless wishful thinking.
I referenced monsters like Owl Bears and Orcs from standard dungeon setups.
Their variants bulked up in size and fat content.
So... couldn't Minotaurs and Cockatrices do the same? Turn into prime cuts?
Since my dungeons are influenced by my imagination, I even named them "Ranch" and "Poultry Farm" on purpose.
Hoping they'd fatten up nice and plump like proper livestock.
'Well... now that explorers are leveling up, it's probably better without environmental debuffs anyway.'
Early on, the goal was safe, quick food production. But now we had breathing room.
Anyway, the patch notes focused on new dungeons and the raid teaser.
Gallery hype zeroed in on the raid more than the new dungeons.
Posts about the new raid dungeon mostly worried about overcommitting resources.
Doesn't get explorer life at all? Appreciate the safety concern, but this is overkill protection.
A slime's a slime no matter the size—way too much fuss.
Slimes? Even dozens of times bigger, I can one-shot 'em no prob yy
King Slime, Ultra Giant Slime—bring it on.
ㄴ But group kills lead to loot split fights ffs those assholes...
ㄴ Loot split is crucial... with hundreds, freeloaders will snag the good stuff... spooners ;;
From the gallery reactions, they still hadn't grasped the Giant Slime's actual scale.
I'd considered listing specs, but I went with Dragon Mask Padak's idea of throwing people in blind for the strategy challenge.
"Loot distribution, huh."
Yeah... explorers were real picky about that stuff.
It tied straight to their livelihoods, so fair enough.
Of course, I'd already thought it through.
Introducing the explorer rank system.
I couldn't make damage meters or contribution trackers for raid dungeons, so preventing freeloaders meant ranks were the most practical now.
Assign ranks based on combat power, set a baseline for loot splits.
When a raid boss drops:
Higher-rank explorers get more rewards.
Lower-rank ones get less, relatively.
Pure meritocracy rewards.
If you're salty about smaller cuts, level up and get ranked higher.
That was the plan.
Of course, new systems bring issues.
But trial and error was inevitable, so I'd start here and tweak as needed.
"Hmm... better consult the explorer Padaks for details."
They might spot flaws or suggest better ideas.
Anyway, with that settled, raid spots would come via the manpower office for now, but I'd probably need a new Raid Management Office eventually.
*
Evangeline, rolling around in her Magic Tower nook, was dumbfounded.
"Now he's just bossing me around. 'Courtesy wears thin,' he says..."
Lately, orders outnumbered questions.
She planned to help the Dungeon Master since the shelter kept improving, but still.
"Feels kinda off..."
His questions used to let her poke at his gaps, vent a bit.
But as his network grew, even those dried up.
Sometimes she'd wonder what nonsense he'd spout next...
"Wait, no way... am I actually missing it...?"
Nah, no chance.
Raid, huh... what was he scheming now?
The chat with Dungeon Master wasn't just about the Raid Management Office.
The Reclamation Army topic wasn't new.
He'd mentioned needing herbs for potions before; when shelter supplies fell short, he eyed the surface.
Probably wanted to source through them.
One snag, though.
The Earth Reclamation Army brass didn't like the Dungeon Master.
At first, they loved the food fix.
But as the shelter thrived beyond expectations, surface reclamation zeal waned.
No more recruits if things stayed comfy underground.
Next tax round, who would enlist over unpaid dues?
Shelter boom meant fewer defaulters.
'Once food's solved, no need to exile folks anymore...'
Mobile fortress Metheus would starve for power and crew. No wonder they soured.
Now with the park open? Those risking life topside...
Eh, who knew.
They fought hell to escape underground, only for it to turn paradise.
Couldn't imagine their feelings, still battling on.
Those guys calculated pros/cons. Bend first with aid offers, and petty grudges would fade.
"...Can we really reclaim the surface?"
*
The next day after patch notes.
Tickets for the new Minotaur Ranch and Cockatrice Poultry Farm hit the market, explorers dove in.
What they saw...
Powerhu—huffpuff—huffpuff—
...was a bipedal cow dwarfing regular Minotaurs in bulk, looking like breathing was a chore.
"Th-this... this is a Minotaur variant!!"