In the coming new update, we will adjust some synergies and races for some chess pieces. Let's have a look!

Major changes:

Shaman(4) synergy rework

Before:

Hexes 1 random enemy piece into a penguin for when battle starts; And all Shamans get a buff: when killed by an enemy piece, hexes the enemy into a random chess piece of the same cost and the same star level.

After:

Hexes 1 random enemy piece into a penguin for when battle starts; All allied Shamans gets a buff: Turns into a random piece which cost +1 or +2, The piece turned into does not inherit synergy effects or items.

Removed:

Ghost Kid has been temporarily removed from Rank, Casual, and some related game modes.

Races Change: 

Thorn Predator: Added [Egersis] Synergy

Insectoid&Assassin → Egersis&Insectoid&Assassin 

FAQ:

We have collected some questions that you may have interest in. And what will the devs say?

Q: The current Shaman(4) is very powerful, why are you changing it?

A: We designed Shaman(4) to give players a weapon to counter the single carry lineup with some randomness. But we then found this synergy itself is even harder to counter and lacks controllability. For some lineups with a single carry, they nearly have no chance to win when facing Shaman(4). For Shaman(4) lineup itself, this synergy sometimes brings negative effects if they transferred enemies into stronger pieces. Based on these, we now decided to rework this synergy.

Q: From the experimental server, we find there is a few seconds delay before the shamans' transform. They can't move, attack or cast abilities during that period. Is this a nerf to Shaman(4)?

A: There is a 2.5s transform time for Shaman(4). Only death will stop the transformation. The delay was designed to give opponents a chance to counter the Shamans.

Q: You mentioned the Doom Arbitor's ability mechanism in Drodo Tips, which is a 75% chance to target the highest cost piece. If a piece becomes the highest cost on the board due to Shaman(4) synergy, what will happen?

A: Doom Arbitor will choose the highest cost target depending on the current situation, no matter it's transformed or not.

Q: The Shaman(4) description says "the piece turned into does not inherit synergy effects or items", so does this mean there's no need to give Shamans items?

A: Yes. You won't know what the shamans will turn into, so it's weird to assign items for them. This will also impact the balance. So we decided to let them not inherit items.

Q: Before, we often use Shaman(4) to counter single carry lineups like Beast(6), what shall we do now?

A: We will balance some single carry lineups. Meanwhile, players can use disablers or Cannon Granny to counter the carry.

Q: If I have a demon on the board, and one of my shaman transformed into another demon. Will the new demon have Demon(1) effect? Or he will make the demon bonus nullified?

A: Most synergies are triggered at the beginning of a battle. The piece which transformed during the battle will not be affected or counted into the related synergies. So the new demon won't make the old one lose the demon bonus nor get the bonus itself.

Q: If a shaman took damage during the transform delay, will the health be restored after the transformation?

A: The piece turned into will inherit the HP percentage of the current piece. So if a chess piece getting injured during the transformation, it will not have full health after the transformation.

Q: So let's talk about the Thorn Predator, why are you changing this piece? Will this affect the tiers of Egersis?

A: We are going to remove the Ghost Kid, so we need another Egersis piece. Also, we'd like to see this bringing more changes to the meta.

Q: Why do you remove the Ghost Kid? Do you have another plan for her?

A: With the release of new chess pieces, our chess pool is gradually increasing. We have discussed the plan to reduce the piece amount for a long time. Removing the Ghost Kid is just a temporary solution. We understand the depression it will bring to players who love the piece or the related lineups when removing a chess piece. And we want it to make less impact on the current meta. We will continue exploring more reasonable ways for this. 

Note: if you already have a chess skin for the Ghost Kid, and want to know how to deal with it, please keep your eyes on our new season spoilers next week!