Major Systems Overhaul (v2.5.0 → v2.7.0)

5 days of intense development - Three major version releases with interconnected progression systems and massive polish pass.

🔮 What's New (v2.5.0 - Nov 1-3):

Gem & Socket System

• 7 gem tiers: Flawed → Common → Uncommon → Rare → Excellent → Flawless → Perfect
• Equipment can have up to 3 gem sockets
• Gems provide: STR, AGI, HP, ENDURANCE, HP Regen, Lifesteal
• Add/remove gems via Soulbinder
• Socket additions cost karma (1k/2k/5k)

Karma Gear Sets (Permanent Progression)

• Light Set (Warden's Bulwark) - Tank: +HP, +Defense, +HP Regen (3% per turn)
• Dark Set (Reaver's Hunger) - DPS: +Attack, +Crit, +Lifesteal (6% on hits)
• 16,000 karma per set → 1,600 karma per set (accessible pricing)
• Soulbind to prevent death loss (costs 100×level karma)
• Soulbound gear eligible for gem sockets
• Soulbound items grant alignment karma on kills

Terminal Gacha System

• Earn kill points from bot missions
• Single Pull (100 pts) - Random equipment
• Set Pull (900 pts) - Full set, 10% better rarity
• Weapon Pull (150 pts) - Weapons/off-hands only
• Pity system tracks progress
• Equipment drops at your level +2

Warehouse Storage

• Account-wide item storage
• Share between characters
• Commands: warehouse, wstore, wretrieve

⚡ Performance & Polish (v2.6.0 - Nov 3):

Gem Bonus Caching System

• Combat calculations 30x faster
• Gem bonuses cached as character attributes
• Set bonuses (Light regen, Dark lifesteal) integrated
• Fixed gem recognition bugs
• Everything just works better now

Root Folder Cleanup

• Organized 56 files down to 5 in root
• Scripts moved to logical subdirectories
• Documentation archived/categorized
• Much easier to navigate

🎯 Combat & Arena Overhaul (v2.7.0 - Nov 4):

Combat System Polish

• Multi-attack overkill prevention - No more hitting corpses 3 times
• Lifesteal on killing blows - Fixed missing heal on final hit
• Clean combat messaging - One reward message instead of 3-4 duplicates
• Unified reward display - "+100 XP +15 Karma" format

Arena System Enhancements

• Cross-tier matchmaking - Attack ±1 tier with reward modifiers
  • Attacking up: +5% rewards
  • Attacking down: -5% penalty
• ATP progression rebalance - 10x scale (0-20,000 range) for meaningful progression
• Combat pacing delays - Rounds display with 0.8s delays (no more text wall)
• Hourly attack recharge notifications - Know when you can fight again
• Leaderboard reset command - Admin can reset daily/weekly/both
• Updated arena descriptions - Full explanation of systems

Warehouse Improvements

• Simplified store/retrieve logic
• Fixed crashes on edge cases
• Case-insensitive item search
• Clearer quantity handling

📊 Balance Changes:

Karma Gear Pricing:

• Light/Dark pieces: 4,000 karma → 400 karma (90% reduction)
• Full set: 20,000 karma → 1,600 karma
• Makes entry-level karma gear accessible to new players

Arena Progression:

• ATP tier requirements: 10x increase (better progression spread)
• ATP earn rate: Unchanged (100 per win, pacing maintained)
• 22 tiers now feel meaningful to climb

🐛 Bug Fixes:

• ✅ Multi-attack characters no longer overkill monsters
• ✅ Lifesteal applies on every hit including kills
• ✅ Combat rewards show once (not 3-4 times)
• ✅ Gems always calculate correctly
• ✅ Light Set regen works reliably
• ✅ Dark Set lifesteal shows proper amounts
• ✅ Warehouse handles edge cases gracefully
• ✅ Soulbound items grant alignment karma

🎮 How It All Fits Together:

1. Terminal missions → Kill points 
2. Gacha pulls → Equipment with sockets
3. Buy karma gear → Permanent Light or Dark set
4. Soulbind it → Survives death (costs karma)
5. Add gem sockets → More permanent power
6. Socket gems → Stat bonuses
7. Fight in arena → Climb 22 tiers with ±1 tier matchmaking
8. Never lose it → Soulbound + socketed = permanent progression

📈 Current Status:

What works:

• ✅ Full gem & socket system (7 tiers, 3 sockets)
• ✅ Light and Dark karma gear sets
• ✅ Soulbinding for permanent gear
• ✅ Terminal gacha with pity system
• ✅ Status effects in combat (lifesteal, regen visible)
• ✅ Warehouse storage (account-wide)
• ✅ Arena cross-tier matchmaking
• ✅ Combat performance optimized
• ✅ All previous systems (bots, guild, dungeon)

What's being worked on:

• 🔄 Floor boss scaling tools (admin management)
• 🔄 Tutorial system overhaul
• 🔄 Guide documentation updates
• 🔄 Balance tuning

🔮 What's Next:

• Floor boss difficulty management suite
• Tutorial improvements for new players
• Updated in-game guides
• More gem types (elemental damage, resistances)
• Guild warehouse (shared storage)

Play: https://thewaitinggame.one Version: v2.7.0 - "Combat Polish & Arena Overhaul"

Real Talk:

This was 5 days of intense iteration:

• 3 major version releases
• 40+ commits
• 12+ bug fixes
• Multiple interconnected systems
• Massive performance improvements
• Arena completely overhauled

The game has three parallel progression paths now:

1. Dungeon farming (risky, best loot, permadeath)
2. Terminal gacha (safe, consistent, kill points)
3. Karma gear (permanent, upgradeable, soulbound)

Plus a fully functional 22-tier arena system with cross-tier matchmaking and meaningful progression.

Still tuning balance and fixing edge cases as they appear, but all core systems are solid.

Thanks for being patient with the rapid development pace. 🔥