Hello, this is Director Lee Jong-joo.

It might sound like an excuse, but I've been preparing for the Thursday update, so I haven't had time to write. I wish I had two bodies. 😢

Next week is Chuseok (Korean Thanksgiving), so a patch might be difficult, and I've been trying to resolve a lot this week, leaving little time to write. Seeing how many of you were waiting for my little diary entries, I think you missed them.

Today, I’ll mainly cover the key updates happening this week. Tomorrow, I'll prepare a post about battle rules and balance. Since there’s a lot to cover, I’ll split the content between today and tomorrow, so I hope you understand.

First, here are the updates:

The rewards in the game are being adjusted or increased.

1. 60-points daily mission reward: Garnet increased from 50 to 100.
2. 100-points weekly mission reward: Hero summon tickets increased from 5 to 10 (for those who already received it this week, compensation will be provided during the maintenance).
3. Weekly rewards for "Hall of Heroes" will now include Hero Summon Tickets based on rank.
4. Knowledge books will now drop universally across episodes.
5. Increased the exchange limit for 5-star accessories in the Coin Store.
6. The reward for Temporal Rift will be changed from The Legend of Gagharv Summon Ticket to a Selector Ticket.

Many of you are currently earning Garnets through weekly quests and content, but progression in Adventure has slowed compared to the early stages. It's becoming harder to obtain Garnets, especially for those who’ve cleared the Adventure content. We’ve also noticed the decreased garnet yield from the Hall of Heroes, often referred to as the "mine." Taking all of this into account, we've increased the base rewards. Additionally, we plan to hold periodic events to distribute more Garnets.

Now, let’s review the content coming in this week’s patch.

First, the "Trial of Validation," "Book of Adventure," and "Corridor of Validation" sweep functions will be converted to free. Since this was already announced, I’ll move on.

Second, new guild content is being added. Three new features will be introduced:

- Guild Store: You can use Guild Points to purchase items from the store.

- Guild Skills: As your guild levels up, you can acquire buffs useful for guild content.

- Guild Raid: Guild members can participate individually in raids, with the total score determining the season rewards for all guild members.

Third, the Chuseok event will begin. There will be a 7-day login event, a drop event in Adventure, and a special event map. On this event map, I will personally appear in the game to invite you to the event space. There, you’ll escape from a maze, solve quizzes, fight monsters, and collect treasure chests to earn various rewards. The main Chuseok event rewards include Primal Ether, Hero Summon Tickets, and Red Garnets.

Fourth, the Gagharv Abyss will be expanded from 100 to 150 floors. Many of you are progressing faster than expected, and more players are reaching the 100th floor. To offer more challenging content and a sense of growth, we’re adding 50 more floors. This won’t be easy (I hope!).

The main rewards include Hero Selection Tickets (excluding pickup heroes) and Origin Weapon Selection Tickets.

Fifth, the Golden Island of Bale will be expanded to the 13th level. According to our data, once players reach a certain point, they have enough experience, but they still need more gold. To support hero growth, we’ve added additional stages for more gold rewards.

The strategy for stages 1–5 and 6–10 differs slightly, and the strategy for stages 11–15 will also be a bit different, so keep that in mind.

The sixth update is the addition of the Extreme difficulty in the Corridor of Validation.

The Corridor of Validation is primarily a content area for farming accessories. Currently, the highest tier for farming is 5-star accessories, and in the Extreme difficulty, the chances of acquiring these 5-star accessories will be higher than in the Hard mode. Additionally, you’ll be able to earn more Coin of Validation.

The seventh update is the addition of the second level of enhancement in the Smithy.

To support the newly expanded content, a second level of enhancement is being introduced. To unlock the second level, you’ll need special currency, which can be purchased with Adventure Points at the village tool store.

Starting from the second level, both special currency and gold will be consumed for enhancements.

The eighth update is the expansion of rank-ups to level 10.

Just like with Smithy enhancements, rank-ups are being expanded to accommodate the newly introduced content. Currently, you can rank up to level 8, but this patch will allow rank-ups to level 10. The new levels will only require experience points and gold.

The ninth update is the addition of a results window for repeat battles.

This feature was supposed to be included with last week’s repeat battle update, but we rushed to implement it, and this important feature was left out. I sincerely apologize for that. Now, you’ll be able to view all the rewards obtained from repeat battles.

The tenth update is the addition of an achievement system for summoning Gagharv’s Legendary Heroes.

Gagharv’s Legendary Heroes are not mainly acquired through summoning but through long-term content. They were designed as a bonus for summoning, but we acknowledge that there’s a noticeable difference between users who acquired these heroes early via rerolling and those who didn’t.

Furthermore, even at low transcendence levels, these heroes are proving to be quite powerful, so saying “just take your time” feels a bit meaningless. We want to create a system where users who engage heavily in summoning can also have a chance to acquire them.

We will add a summoning achievement system where players can earn rewards, including:

Achievement Reward: Gagharv’s Legendary Hero Selection Ticket.

Although these topics have been mentioned, some features are still in development, including:

- Usage of Hero Soul Stones
- Merit of Transcending
- Skip function for the Hall of Heroes
- Hero balance adjustments (including Captain Thomas and Transcendent Mile)

These will be included in the September patch, so we ask for your patience.

While we had planned to update the usage of Hero Soul Stones this week, due to overlapping with other updates, it had to be postponed. I apologize for the delay.

Here’s the Surprise Coupons from the Director's Notes:

Coupon Code 1: FNMAO
Valid until: October 10, 2024, 14:59 (UTC+0)
Reward: 300 Garnets

Coupon Code 2: LOHSPECIAL
Valid until: September 30, 2024, 14:59 (UTC+0)
Reward: 5 Hero Summon Tickets​

I also learned how to set up right-click settings!

The topics I will cover in tomorrow’s Director’s Notes include:

- A buff system applied during battles
- Explanation for the Origin Weapon Refinement
- Hero balance adjustments

I’ll be back tomorrow with more updates.

Thank you!