Patch 2.2: The Lorde Patch

Patch 2.2: THE LORDE PATCH

BASIC MECHANICS
- A reminder that the Single Stat Limit is 40% of your Reiatsu, rounded conveniently: If you wish to increase a stat higher than the numbers we've provided, but within 40%, that's fine with me. This has come up before, and I'm clarifying as asked.
- Reiatsu Perception's Empathy is being reduced to Melee Range to start. This was an oversight when Close Range was implemented, and led to Empathy having a longer range than Sense at Grandmaster.
- Additionally, Sense is being extended to Extreme Range at Transcendent Reiatsu Perception.
 
Hybrid Checks
- Hybrid checks, such as dodging and blocking, now function differently; instead of adjusting the result by a tier for each rank difference, they adjust the result by +20/-20 points for each rank difference. For example, if a Grandmaster Zanjutsu user attacks and an Advanced Hoho user attempts to dodge, +40 is added to the attack.
 
Wound Stacking
- A clarification to wound stacking. Under normal circumstances, it is possible for a low-level wound to form a domino effect with existing wounds and turn Fatal; a Minor stacks with an existing Minor, becomes Moderate, stacks with an existing Moderate to become Major, etc. In the previous patch, wounds that were one level different were permitted to stack as well; a Minor and a Moderate could become a Major.
- The clarification is this: wounds that are one level different are only permitted to stack once per infliction of a wound. Any 'domino effect' stacking after the first calculation will occur with equal ranked wounds only. For example, if a Minor and Moderate become a Major, that Major may not stack with a existing Severe to become Fatal. It would need to stack with another Major to become Severe, first.
 
Debuffs
- Debuffs are no longer subject to Absolute Cap. If you don't know what this means, there used to be an obscure rule on the books somewhere that said that if you debuffed someone, that had to be taken into account as one of your buffs in whatever action contested whatever stat you debuffed; if you debuffed their speed and attacked them, you couldn't buff your Precision as high if they dodged. This is nonsense. This is gone.
- As a consequence, something I've been enforcing on an issue-to-issue level for some time is being made official: Debuffs must be harder to achieve than buffs. Whether it's by successfully attacking an opponent, making a skill check, giving them an out by paying stamina, something above and beyond simply using an action and paying stamina must be done to negatively affect an opponent. The reward of doing this is that it stacks with whatever buffs you have.
- Additionally, buffs must have a fixed duration, and require reactivation when they expire. This is frequently enforced but apparently not an official rule. Let's change that.
 
Negation
- The 'X' in the cost of Negation only refers to the cost of the action being negated, not any buffs or attack modifiers added to it. This means that people stacking multiple actionless techniques together to create powerful attacks should be wary; negating their attacks is now incredibly stamina-efficient.
- Additionally, basic actions may now be negated. I don't see the reason for not allowing this in the past.
 
Initiating Combat
- When initiating mechanical combat, only one of your two actions may be an attack.
- An attack action refers to anything that an opponent may have to block or dodge. Essentially, you may not force an opponent to use both of their actions to defend in the first round of combat, as it too highly favors the aggressor.
- Note that initiating combat is not the same as attacking; if you use non-damaging techniques to start off a battle, an opponent may attack you twice in the following turn, as combat has already begun.
- Hoho's wording has been changed to 'non-attacking' rather than 'non-damaging', since non-damaging debuffing or stamina draining attacks may exist.
 
Attack Skills
- This is more of a common sense announcement than a rule change, but a clarification has been requested. Some skills (Zanjutsu, Hakuda, Hado, Cero, and so on) are 'attack skills', capable of doing damage. Other skills (Hierro, Regeneration, Shunko, etc.) are not directly used for combat checks such as attacking or dodging, and any attempts to do so will be denied; they do what they do and are powerful enough on their own. In some cases the line is fuzzy, and many general-purpose casting-style skills exist, though we try to make sure those are less potent than anything more specialized. In short, depending on what your skill does, it may not be eligible to do certain other things.
 
BROKEN//TRANSCENDENTALS
- All (Broken) Transcendentals receive three Legacy Skills regardless of their rank in Concept of Reality.
- Concept of Reality has been updated accordingly.
- The explanation of Legacy Skills has been updated.
- Broken-Only: All Broken Transcendentals may increase Concept of Reality to Master without a request.
- Transcendental-Only: All Transcendentals may increase all of their skills to Master, and increase any skills that were at Master or Grandmaster prior to Transcending by one rank, without a request.
 
Concept of Reality
Transcendent Form requires a single combat action to release. A Transcendental's Concept may be used outside of Transcendent Form. When in Transcendent Form, caps (Skill and Absolute) no longer apply. Even when not in Transcendent Form the Reiatsu and Single Stat caps no longer apply. All caps apply normally to Broken Transncendentals.

• Beginner: Transcendent Form confers a +60 release bonus.
• Basic: Your Transcendent form gains an additional release bonus of +10 for a total of +70
• Intermediate: Your Transcendent form gains an additional release bonus of +10 for a total of +80.
• Advanced: Your Transcendent form gains an additional release bonus of +10 for a total of +90
• Master: Your Transcendent form gains an additional release bonus of +10 for a total of +100.
• Grandmaster: Your Transcendent form gains an additional release bonus of +20 for a total of +120
• Transcendent: Your Transcendent form gains an additional release bonus of +30 for a total of +150.

Legacy Skills are custom skills that define a Transcendental's pre-Transcendental existence. These can be based on old skills, releases, even a favorite technique expanded to encompass an entire skill. As Transcendentals no longer belong to their previous race, race-specific flavor or weaponry should be avoided. Any old releases used to create Legacy Skills will function like constantly active powers that grant no release bonus. Legacy skills typically retain the rank of their parent ability if they are closely connected, though exceptions may apply.