Gauntlet Mode progress! Rundown on how it will work.

Hey guys! I did a good amount of brainstorming, and got to work on the framework for the Gauntlet mode. Let's dive right in!

The small squares above are going to be for the "normal" songs, and the large squares represent "bosses". A boss will always appear on the 5th. 10th, 13th, and 14th slot. The order in which bosses and characters appear will always be shuffled. (ie Eran may not be the first boss, it could be Yu/Mei, Samga2, or Nammi).

Any modifiers you receive during a song will persist throughout the gauntlet. Some modifiers may act in interesting ways, and have more/less practicality as a result. At the start of every song, the current modifiers are "applied". This means if you got 1 barrier early on, every song would start by applying a barrier. It also means if you have 5 glass that have previously shattered, all 5 glasses would be applied freshly at the start of a new song.

Balancing for the gauntlet is still pending, however this is the current plan: Every song, you get to choose 1 white modifier, and 1 silver modifier. Reputation will not be used in the gauntlet. Instead you will be provided with a limited amount of "gauntlet coins" to use for rerolls throughout the full gauntlet. Use it wisely.

After completing the 1st and 2nd boss, you will enter an "Intermission". During this stage take a breather, then you must choose 1 Gold modifier. (YuMei's "Bewitch", and "Hex" will also appear as options for gold modifiers.) You will also have the option of spending Gauntlet Coins to purchase white modifiers if you haven't been using your rerolls.

That means by the last phase you should have 2 gold modifiers, 10-13 silver modifiers, and 10-13+ white modifiers.

Bosses will work very similarly to the way they have previously. Only difference is that you will not get to choose more modifiers between rounds. Eran's corruption buffs/debuffs will not persist between songs, and have been adjusted slightly to fit the mode. The modifiers received from Yu/Mei's curses, however will persist through the gauntlet, so eating the curses is a very bad idea. Completing Mei in the Yu/Mei scene will instantly grant you 3 Blessings instead of doing modifier selection.

You may have noticed that if there are only 14 slots, some characters may not appear. At the start of the gauntlet you will have a choice of removing some characters. (Visuals for this are placeholder...)

The numbers above them represent their song's tempo. Having a higher average tempo will slightly increase the amount of Gauntlet Coins you have to work with as compensation for slightly harder songs.

I was thinking of making it so if you do not have a character, you do not get access to their modifiers, but I am still on the fence about that. It would add customization to your "deck", but some characters would have no effect like Faye, and Secret. It could also open up some pretty big exploits involving rolling for modifiers.

One thing to note is that Vending Machine drinks will persist through the entire gauntlet, so be sure to load up on ones that may help. (Note: drinks that effect modifier rarity will have no effect in the gauntlet).

The current plan for rewards is a special "Gold Reputation". This currency can be used to purchase permanent buffs. 

The gauntlet is time consuming, but don't worry. If you fail, you will receive a portion of the rewards depending on how far you make it. If you complete the gauntlet however, you will be rewarded handsomely.

ANYWAYS... this one was a mouthful, but I think once I hone in on balancing, this could be a really fun game type. Thank you all so much for the support! This build is still scheduled to drop on October 1st, but as always, I will keep you guys posted. There is still a lot I want to shape up for this build, as technically.. this is the last "demo"/pre-launch to be released.

This next week will be dedicated to finishing the Gauntlet, and hopefully getting started on the dialogue/scene setting.

-Regulus

ALSO: Wishful Simping has uploaded an " OST Preview" on his channel. In it is Secret's theme, and the preview is a bit longer than what I have shown here. If you are curious, check it out here! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5rDfcUmYAhU