Hello, this is Director Lee Jong-ju.

Today, I would like to share additional details regarding the Primal Ether that I mentioned in the last Director's Note, as well as discuss some concerns raised today regarding probabilities.

Additional Details on Primal Ether

In the previous Director's Note, we considered level 60 to be the level where players could fully enjoy all of the game's content. We thought that reducing the amount of Primal Ether needed to reach level 60 from 6 to 3 would be well received by players.

At the same time, we believed that those who had already purchased Primal Ether would be somewhat understanding of this change. This was, admittedly, a somewhat complacent assumption on our part.

1. Reducing the Primal Ether to 3 for level 60 is just wordplay when 6 are still needed for full growth. How is this an improvement?

2. If I had known about this change, I wouldn’t have invested in support heroes first.

Let me address these points.

1. Is reducing the Primal Ether from 6 to 3 for level 60 truly an improvement, or just wordplay?

As I mentioned, this was intended as an improvement for new players, and I believed existing players would also view it as a positive change. However, I realize now that my choice of words was misleading. It should have been framed as a change, not an improvement. What players truly wanted was an improvement in the ways they could obtain Primal Ether, so they could plan and set goals through gameplay.

In August, we provided two guaranteed opportunities per month to obtain Primal Ether through crafting. In September, we added additional opportunities, such as clearing the Sanctuary of the Water Tribe for the first time, as well as rewards from the Chuseok event and the pass. This month, during the Halloween season, we are offering Primal Ether through events and the free pass, with more quantities than before, which I thought would be sufficient.

However, we understand that while we have a clear internal plan, players may feel uncertain about one-time rewards. Therefore, we will be adding additional ways to obtain Primal Ether through gameplay in this week's patch. Currently, players can upgrade Primal Ether using 10 Kindling Ether, with two craft limit available per month. We will increase this to three per month, providing more reliable acquisition opportunities.

2. If I had known about this change, I wouldn’t have invested in support heroes first.

I had assumed that players using Primal Ether had already committed to fully upgrading their heroes. However, looking at it from another perspective, I understand that some players may have invested under the belief that their heroes were already at their final growth stage.

Initially, we planned to handle hero evolution as an extension of the maximum level opportunity, allowing for further upgrades based on evolution stages. While we could lower the evolution stage from ★6 to ★5 and provide compensation, I was concerned that many players who don't read the Director's Note or patch announcements might misinterpret this as a downgrade in their heroes' growth stages.

Therefore, we wanted to proceed with minimal changes. However, since we understand the concern raised in point 2, we will make the following adjustments:

All heroes currently at ★5 → ★6 evolution stage, which requires 3 Primal Ether, will be reverted to ★5 (though still at level 60 and eligible for further evolution).

The compensation will be as follows: 40 Sleeping Ether, 3 Primal Ether, and 200,000 Gold per hero will be sent via in-game mail.

For example, if 10 heroes are affected, you will receive 400 Sleeping Ether, 30 Primal Ether, and 2,000,000 Gold via mail.

(We apologize in advance for the inconvenience of needing to re-evolve these heroes.)

I deeply regret that my explanation of Primal Ether lacked sufficient empathy and clarity, leading to misunderstandings or disappointment.

I sincerely apologize.

Discussion on Probability

A user has done a great job summarizing, but I understand what you're looking for is a clear answer directly from the developers.

"The summon probability is 3%, excluding the guaranteed summon point (pity system)."

To be honest, we’ve addressed questions related to probability before, and the reason we try to avoid discussing it is that, ultimately, if you don't trust us, no matter how much we say the probabilities are correct, it will only increase doubt if you don't believe us. It's natural to be suspicious if your experience doesn't match the stated probabilities.

However, given that another game has faced an incident involving probabilities recently, we felt it necessary to address this sensitive issue to prevent anxiety.

If you’re skeptical of the developers and would prefer external verification, we are willing to cooperate fully in any process to have our data reviewed.

Once again, the probabilities are set correctly.

To explain further, in the case of story hero summons, before reaching the guaranteed summon point, the probability of pulling a 3-star hero is high enough that it converges around the 3% mark.

(The percentage of summons acquired at the pity point is relatively low overall.)

The chance of summoning a 3-star hero per individual summon (excluding the pity system) is indeed 3%. The specific probabilities for each hero can be checked via the probability information provided in the game.

​For example: (0.18% x 16 = 2.88%) + (0.03% x 4 = 0.12%) = 3%.

Some players may think, “Since the pity system guarantees a 100% summon, if I add that to the total probability, the actual summon rate is less than 3%.” This assumption is incorrect.

However, to avoid confusion regarding the probability of obtaining a ★3-star hero in the summon records, we will adjust the display as follows:

Current: ★3-star hero probability: n%
Change: ★3-star hero result: n% (including guaranteed summon point)

This change will be implemented in this week's patch.

If the overall probability including the pity system was indeed 3%, it would naturally require corrective action on our part. However, since the data is not incorrect, we will modify the wording to ensure clearer distinction in the records.

If we had been manipulating the probabilities, we likely wouldn't have provided the summon history feature. We offer this feature because we are committed to transparency.

That concludes today’s topic. We have a few more updates to share later this week. As early as tomorrow, or by Wednesday at the latest, we will provide information on the "Very Hard" difficulty mode and the balance adjustments for Muse. These updates may be released separately.

Please enjoy the rest of your day, and as always, thank you for your continued support.

P.S. We have detected the use of illegal programs that negatively impact other players, causing frustration and a sense of unfairness.
We are strengthening our internal defenses and will publish an official notice addressing this issue through our operational policies.