Card-based tactics roguelite Oaken is pushing hard toward its eventual full release this year, but developer Laki Studios isn’t saving everything on that fateful day. A new “Sea of Serpents” 0.8.2 update has just been released, and it features a multitude of major changes.
Spearheading the updates is the introduction of a new world: Sea of Serpents. This includes a new boss, elite enemies, and world-related events. The game also updated its visuals in a huge way, as it redesigned how most spells, skills, and abilities look.
There are a LOT of changes listed in this update to explain, but here’s a summary of all the changes:
MAIN CHANGES:
- Seas of Serpents – a new world for Chapter 2 with a new boss, elites, and events
- VFX visuals for most spells, skills, and abilities were reinvented
- Multiple objects, cards, and units were improved or have been recreated from scratch (finally shrines too!)
- Objectives were completely reworked and should work and display more accurately
- Spell targeting was completely reworked and should now allow for more precise spell range indicators
- A large general balance/rework pass was also performed, with all guides, talents, trinkets, spells, wisps, etc that needed a buff/nerf receiving one
- Bosses and elites that leave the board for a turn now cannot move or attack after returning, but they now cast those spells only after finishing their turn
- Refuge node now restores all Exhausted cards to the player, no matter which option they choose
- Regen/Degen now activates at the end of a unit’s turn, not the start and it is much easier to anticipate its damage
- More events are now shared between worlds in the same chapter for an increased variety
- Obstacles are now interactive and can be destroyed
- Node distribution was changed to allow for more varied outcomes
- Elder and hollow units are now easier to differentiate from their basic versions
- New trinkets were added (16)
- New Wisps were added (16)
- And, as always, a ton of bugfixes
SPELLS:
- wade can now also push units onto occupied hexes
- impale can now be cast on allies
- decompose has been redesigned a bit
- decomposeA+ and flowB+ also make the caster swap rotation with the target (this was inconsistent between spells)
- flow now costs 1 less Lumi
- flowB+ now moves the targets forward instead of giving strengthened targets strength
- surge now costs 1 more Lumi – it overperforms by a lot for it’s cost and should still be competitive at 3 Lumi
- allureC+ can now affect allies
- repel can now target enemies
- addle can now target allies
- debilitateB+ now inflicts Exposure based on the amount of allied hexes adjacent to the target
- recycleC+ now deals additional damage if the target is ensnared, not weakened
- launch now can be cast onto the hero in its basic version
- launch A+ now restores health to the target after a collision occurs
- launch C+ now gives the target Growth
- shift now doesn’t prevent attacking and can be cast onto any nearby hex, but doesn’t have reach
shift A, B and C+ have been changed - protect was fixed to include Strength, but now only affects nearby hexes
- recycle now spawns niblets rotated in the same direction as the target
- sprout now spawns niblets rotated in the direction of the spell
SKILLS:
- Aya’s skill can now target allies if the player for some reason wants to do it
- upgraded Aya’s skill now deals additional damage if the target is not adjacent instead of hitting more targets
- upgraded Enju’s skill now makes the target a Defender
- Kusta’s skill now only affects a single enemy in your LoS
- Kusta’s upgraded skill now works like the previous unupgraded one
- Baralai’s upgraded skill now pushes all units in your frontal arc away
- Plague now deals damage to ALL nearby units
- upgraded Plague now deals damage to ALL units
- upgraded Cultivate now creates an additional allied hex under yourself
- Buff Up now also removes Weakness from the target
ENEMIES:
- The lord of niblets now summons a single Wild Niblet instead of 2, but also summons one when attacked
- The conqueror’s spit now summons a hollow orbling instead of 2 wild ones on expert
- Enemies now summon pawns in a way which is not so vulnerable to outsmating
- Grandmaster Artisan was changed a bit
TRINKETS:
- Lifeblood now works on turn start, not on turn end
- Emblem of Loyalty now grants Shield on losing Shield
- Zapbloom now triggers on Slay
- Crippling Vines are now AoE and trigger the first time you attack each battle
- The Cycle affects the whole board, not only nearby units
- Toxic Coating doesn’t give you degen anymore
- Spore Infestation now weakens all adjacent units when you are attacked
- Lumite Symbionts now inflict Weakness and Exposure on the attacker, not yourself, but don’t give any stats
- Cleansing Heart now protects from becoming Weakened, too
- Source of Eternity doesn’t give minus stats now
- Alluring Sundew gives +1 health
- Horn of the Winds doesn’t grant “Elusive” but “Mobility” instead
- Necklace of Forecast grants just Vigilant now
- Incorruptible Bark gives +1 health
- Thorn Thrower grants just Shooter now
- Barbed Rose’s Seed doesn’t deal damage to your units now
- Dark Infusion now heals all Fatigue when received
- The rarity of some trinkets was changed to better fit the way they now work
WISPS:
- Wisp and trinket names are now colored by rarity
- Twisted Wisp now Ensnares the first enemy in the line to its front
- Caustic Wisp now deals 1 damage, but to all enemies in its frontal arc
- Versatile Wisp now doesn’t trigger on Outsmart, only on Awake
- Unwavering Wisp now grants Shield, not Strength, to actually increase the survaviblity of the unit with Fatigue
- The Storm Inbound now grants Haste on Slay, not Mobility – it was overperforming by a lot
UNITS:
- Elder Daughter is now 3/4 instead of 4/3
- Elder Shaper now summons Niblets in its frontal arc instead of pushing the unit in front of it away
- Aya’s Awake now deals bonus damage to non-adjacent units (up to 2), and her talent increases that to up to 3
TALENT:
- Talent 1:3 doesn’t remove units from your deck anymore, but it also cannot roll trinkets of the highest rarity
- Talent 4:3 now gives a Lumi Globe at the start of the game
- Talent 5:2 was reworded to better mean what it actually does. More rewards are included as guide-synergistic, but the chance increase was reduced to +25%
- Talent 5:3 now gives +0/+3 instead of an upgraded spell
OTHER:
- Luminati is now a global event that can only appear in the 2nd and 3rd chapters