Patch 2.3

- mechanic changes
-- Legendary Mace Bonus
--- Now does not inflict paralyze on already paralyzed targets
# This would reset the paralysis timer and unintentionally "wake up" many mobs by inflicting a shorter paralysis
-- Charisma Fear Bonus
--- Once a player's LVL + (unmodified) CHR adds up to 125, the modified CHR is added to the Fear duration again
# inflicting Fear is useful but there wasn't really a satisfying sense of progression with the mechanic where having higher CHR really fellt like it mattered
--- A third of CHR is now added as ticks to the Fear duration as opposed to all of your CHR - for ranged, your DEX value is added, and for melee, your STR value is added as duration ticks.
--- Backstab Fear duration bonus increased by a factor of x1.2
# Those changes are supposed to make the Fear duration worse for stealth classes like the Rogue when fighting head on - but buffed for backstabs
--- The Fear cooldown is now the Fear duration times 2
# You could get really long Fear durations and with a cooldown of a mere couple of seconds, this mechanic would trivialize encounters against strong enemies.
--- Required CHR to LVL ratio to inflict Fear on skeletons has been increased to 65 %.
# Since skeletons appear in late game, it seemed weird for non-CHR builds to be able to inflict fear
-- Charisma Regen Bonus
--- Now only active when the ally has more than 50 % of its health
-- *NEW* New Legendary Leadership bonus
--- Legendary Leadership now adds a damage cap mechanic
---- Allies can't get one shot - when damage exceeds current HP, their HP is set to 2 instead
---- Below 1/5th of their MaxHP, any damage is capped at 1/2 of their current HP
---- At 2 HP and lower, any damage will be capped at 1 DMG - unless it's more than their Max HP
# This new mechanic is supposed to give more leeway when trying to play a follower build, giving the player a chance to heal & save them without having to babysit them non-stop.

- item changes
-- Other than being fixed, the Valkyrie's Veil is slightly nerfed. But now, casting speed scales with enchantments indefinitely.
# if you actually put everything into the Veil, it becomes really stupid and funny at some point

- map and monster changes
-- Trolls in the Labyrinth have been replaced with Sand Trolls, using a new model
# They are strong, watch out
-- Bugbears in the Ruins have been slightly buffed
# Seemed a bit underpowered
-- Reused the new Baphomet Exit from Vanilla for a transitional map between Underworld and Hell
# In my opinion, it's better to have a little bit of downtime before entering the hectic Hell because it forces completely different gameplay
-- Vampire Assassins now have 75 STR as opposed to 55
# To be more lethal against low CON builds
-- Samwell the digger in Minetown now only has a 10 % chance of spawning a tinkering kit
-- slight changes to the Gnomish Bazaar to reduce cheese potential
-- players in the Ancient Tomb are unable to die
# this is to counteract some Ghost related cheese
-- Bram's Castle monster power level slightly increased, can't levitate over the chasm in the spawn room anymore
# the level didn't feel threatening enough compared to the floors surrounding it
-- Added additional monsters spawns to the Herx fight
-- Moved the pedestal in the Gnomish mines
# this removes some pathfinding issues
-- Added a portal back to invaded Hamlet during the end sequence of the map
# since there are Incubi, it's possible for your weapons to get stolen and carried away

- fixes and QoL
-- Goatmen in Hell being Lesser Goatmen again has been fixed
-- lesser shields now don't allow leveling past 80 for timing counter attacks
-- non-shield offhands now don't allow leveling past 20 as intended
-- the new vanilla shield durability mechanics now work properly
-- Valkyrie's Veil's casting speed reverted to appropriate speeds after something went wrong in the calculation

Patch 2.2f3

- map and monster changes
-- insectoids in the Labyrinth are now not lesser insectoids anymore (was mistakenly reverted to vanilla)
-- insectoid squadron leader HP lowered to 200 from 250

- fixes and QoL
-- fixed a crash due to arrow traps mistakenly trying to apply the sniper bonus

Patch 2.2f2

Added a file within the HC+ folder containing a version number, making it easier to compare between players.

- map and monster changes
-- glider spiders now waterwalk instead of levitating
-- added some annoying bats to the haunted castle

- fixes and QoL
-- fixed gnome thieves appearing at Baphomet escape sequence, making it unreasonable

Fixed a little file mismatch that causes issues (invisible Slimes, Compendium crash ...)

Ported to 4.3 Keep Your Secrets

- mechanic changes
-- Blocking: Hybrid between the new blocking mechanics and HC+. Off-hands don't skill past 20 and you still need advanced shields to level past 80.
-- Charisma bonuses are now properly affected by items modifying the Charisma stat
-- Fear inflicted through the Charisma bonus now plays a sound effect
-- Spellbooks not crumbling is removed - HC+ uses the new vanilla mechanic now
-- Levitation doesn't cost 15 MP to cast anymore - we embrace the new vanilla mechanic (to be adjusted, if needed)

- item changes
-- Khrysalaketos: With Legendary Ranged skill, Khrysalaketos now shoots 2 special arrows
# this started out as a bug but I found it cool so I kept it lol
-- Ring of Strength now also increases throwing weapon velocity
# to make for a more consistent mechanic
-- Ring of Teleportation now teleports you in set intervals
# ditto

- map and monster changes
-- added a bell and a second exit to the Sky Town city hall

- miscellaneous changes
-- parts of the HUD now have a reddish instead of a golden hue
# this is for the sole purpose of making it easier to discern HC+ footage

Cleaned up some code in hopes of fixing Hunger Stone related issue.

- mechanic changes
-- Fear inflicted through CHR has its calculation reworked
--- You can start inflicting fear on charged hits once your current LVL + CHR value hit 10
--- Whether you apply Fear is now dependent on your CHR relative to your current level, on a monster type basis
---- Examples: To apply Fear to a rat, your CHR value must be at least 50 % of your LVL (say, 7 CHR at level 14). For a Cockatrice, it has to be at least 73 % (say, 59 CHR at LVL 80).
--- Now doesn't lock out from additional CHR fear infliction for a flat 10 seconds but for the fear duration + 3 seconds.
## Streamlining the mechanic a little bit

- item changes
-- Parashu slow nerfed from 2 to 1 second
## Since Parashu's RNG has effectively been removed at 100 axe skill, this change makes the weapon less of a free kiting tool late game and requires more consistent attention

- fixes and QoL
-- Added more player spawns in the Ancient Tomb because it bugged in multiplayer
-- Added main menu banners for the holiday themes

- class balance changes
-- Accursed: The last and second to last stages of hunger give you a mighty STR and DEX boost instead of weakening you
# I found it more interesting to turn hunger into a double-edged sword for the Accursed, also giving them some flexibility to deal with hunger issues
-- Accursed: Spawns with Hunger Stone
--- Hunger Stone: When empty, it stores hunger satiation. When full, it gives it back to the player using it. Can only be used above/below a certain satiation threshold.
# A complaint regarding the Accursed was the class' low viability in multiplayer settings where certain races-class combinations would find it near impossible to stay satiated. The Hunger Stone was conceptualized to add some party resource management.

- mechanic changes
-- Spellbooks now don't disappear when broken
# It's frustrating for players who want to enchant a book as their main weapon to have it crumble and disappear due to bad RNG
-- Extent of the PER based sniping bonus is now also tied to the Ranged skill
# Disregarding the ranged skill at all yet dealing massive throwing weapon damage didn't feel right
-- Cap weapon skill gainable on allies at 40
# with the CHR ally regen bonus, this became an obvious, lame and sluggish way to level up your weapons
-- Slowing duration on dash backstabs increased
-- Attacking dummy bots will now allow you to speedlevel melee weapon skills in exchange for durability. Leveling boost with unarmed or artifact weapons is capped at 20.
# gives tinkerers some extra utility and adds use for throwaway weapons, especially late game

- map and monster changes
-- Replaced Sokoban with the Ancient Tomb
# Sokoban grew stale in my opinion so here's a new benign challenge level for you to earn your Djinn's Brace
-- Decreased Insectoid Squadron Leader XP gain
# Gave same as Raider despite being weaker
-- Swapped Ancient Raider and Ancient Knight XP gain
# Raider gave more XP previously but this just clashes with player intuition since the Knight appears later

- fixes and QoL
-- Fixed the "You hit a long-range shot" message only playing for host (and whenever a client hit a shot)
-- Fixed the Conjurer skeleton having a life saving amulet at a certain rank
-- Fixed the last purple orb in Invaded Hamlet being retrievable
-- Changed it so purple orbs don't need to stay on the pedestal to keep the secret merchant areas open
-- Tweaked the Gnomish Bazaar to avoid gnomes attacking the human prisoners, thus causing havoc without the players' fault

Truly fixed the bug allegedly fixed in yesterday's patch, patched other potentially troublesome areas due to a misunderstood variable.

Fixed a bug where leveling blocking with non-shield off-hands stopped increasing with the Novice skill (1) as opposed to past Novice (21).