ACT 9 - CHAPTER 4 BETA - REDEMPTION

KabamPinwheel

Welcome to the final chapter of Story Quest's latest Act, ACT 9 - THE RECKONING!

Act 9 Chapter 4 follows from the conclusion of Chapter 3. Dread Emperor Doom has been dispatched, and chooses to retreat rather than submit to the power of the Chronoserpent. The greater threat still remains, and the power vacuum left by Doom is occupied by opportunist foes, but good news also arrive: Carina has begun to awaken from her comatose state. She realizes that everyone has been playing directly into the Chronoserpent’s hand, the constant conflict and upcoming final showdown sure to generate all the ISO-8 it desires. A new strategy must be developed if our heroes intend to delay the Chronoserpent’s plans and counteract the SCOURGE that empowers its followers. Such intense challenges are not for the faint of heart, and Act 9 will demand only the best from every Summoner and their roster.

So Ascend those Champions, rank up those Relics, and see if you have what it takes to overcome ACT 9 CHAPTER 4 - REDEMPTION!

THE STORY QUEST STANDARD

Act 9 is composed of the following…

• 1 Act containing 4 Chapters
  
• Each Chapter consists of 6 Quests
  
• Each Quest is made up of…
  • 3 Paths with 6 Encounters per Path
    
  • 3 Class Gates (at the start of each Path)
    
  • 3 Final Bosses (Not Path Dependent)
    
  • 1-3 Choice Nodes (found just before fighting the Final Bosses)
    

Class Gates are set up at the start of each Path. Paths have unique challenges and enemies, which require Summoners to prepare and adapt their strategies every time they enter the Quest. These Class Gates make it so Summoners need at least one Champion of a specific Class in their party to enter the Path, guaranteeing that they do not go in entirely unprepared.

Choice Nodes are located just before the Final Bosses of each Quest, giving players a chance to swap out a non-KO’d 5, 6, or 7-Star Champion for another in their roster. The freshly swapped in Champion will enter the Quest at full health and ready to rumble. Summoners will find these Choice Nodes after the final Path Fight, but just before the Final Bosses, giving them a chance to swap in a Champion better suited for the challenges those Bosses present.

BETA EXCLUSIVE ENERGY COSTS
As per our previous Beta, Energy cost per step for Act 9 Chapter 4 will be reduced from 3 Energy to 0 Energy exclusively for this Beta.

This Energy Cost will be set back up to 3 per Step when Act 9 Chapter 4 is released.

In the meantime, we hope you enjoy this Energy-Free Story Quest Beta!

SCOURGE OF THE BATTLEREALM

A new Act means a new mechanical menace in the form of custom Quest Nodes. For Act 9 we're rolling out a new system called SCOURGE.

SCOURGE NODES grant the Defender an escalating threat or benefit that increases in chance and/or potency as the Defender accumulates SCOURGE CHARGES. While some of these Scourge Nodes will be counterable with RPG effects, others will only be preventable by controlling the amount of Scourge Charges the Defender has. But how do they gain Scourge? And how do you remove it once it's there?

PROLIFERATE NODES give Defenders Scourge Charges over the course of the fight, pausing only for a few seconds whenever the player performs a specific action. While it can be beneficial to keep Proliferate Nodes paused for as long as possible, it's much more advantageous to remove Scourge Charges from the Defender throughout the fight.

CLARIFY NODES allow the Attacker to remove a variable amount of Scourge Charges from the Defender by performing specific actions throughout the fight. By skilfully playing around the pauses on Proliferate and the removals on Clarify, Summoners should be able to overcome the deadly threats of Scourge Nodes.

STRIKE WHILE THE IRON IS HOT

In addition to a handful of new Quest Nodes found throughout Act 9, we've circled back to the addition of Class-Based Striker Nodes. It's been some time since we last rolled out a batch of these divisive Nodes, but based on past feedback from the community (and our own players here at Kabam) we feel confident that these new Quest Nodes are coming in at the right time with some exciting effects everyone will enjoy.

WHO’S THE BOSS?

Playing through the Act 9 Chapter 4 beta you’ll likely notice something is amiss about the Final Boss found inside Quest 6. They don't have a unique buff profile or custom mechanics. This is because the Boss placed just before the exit of Quest 6 is a placeholder for a wholly unique and specially designed Final Boss intended for Act 9.4.

Similar to our Custom Bosses from Act 8, this upcoming Custom Boss will need some extra time to bake before they’re ready to see the light of day. We assure you, it’ll all be worth the effort when it comes time to reveal them to the world. So until then, we’ll all be counting the seconds and looking forward to showing the world what Act 9 Chapter 4 has in store for all our Summoners.

FINAL WORDS

Story Quests continue to rely on the feedback and engagement from our Community through these Betas in order to ensure SQs are the best they can possibly be. Please be sure to post your feedback under the relevant Quest Posts that will be going up over the week. This will make it easier for us to find and respond to feedback during the Beta.

As always, thank you all for your patience, your passion, and your participation.
Good luck Summoners!