Thanatos Tower & Basement Update!

[GM-Ciar]

Thanatos' Tower has been updated, and its basement has been completely revamped! Below you can find information on all changes. Bolded lines regarding drops & loot means changes were made.

For info on the new gear and the rebalanced orcus set, see the post right after this one.

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Thanatos Tower:

Memory of Thanatos has received an update in loots. No stat or skill changes were made.

Skeletal Armor Piece 100%
Legion Plate Armor 100% -> Gray Armor 30% (New)
Greaves 100%
Morrigane's Manteau 30% -> Gray Helmet 18% (New)
Cloak of Phantom 30% -> 45%
Eagle Wing 30% -> 75%
Treasure Box 30% -> Gray Robe 30% (New)
Bloodied Shackle Ball 15% -> 21%

MVP Loot:
Old Purple Box 100% -> Old Green Box 100%
Old Blue Box 100% -> Gold 100%
3 Carat Diamond 100% -> Treasure Box 100%

Legion plate armor was removed because everything drops it. It's also a super low end armor that isn't quite thrilling to obtain after a long trip through the tower. Morrigane's Manteau was removed because it was added to Fafnir in the recent Muspel update, is way easier to reach and defeat than Thanatos for a gear of its power level. Moved Treasure Box to MVP loot, replacing 3 carat diamond to provide more zeny, and adding gold as well for extra zeny and usefulness in nobility, etc.


Thanatos Maero, Odium, Despero and Dolor now drop Gray Helmet at 12%. No stat or skill changes were made.

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Thanatos' Basement:

Overall, and originally, non-MVP monsters had huge HP pools with little to offer in return, even after several updates to try to improve this. So, their HP and excessive stats were lowered, and exp was adjusted in proportion, but with increased job exp over base exp.


Lifedrinker
HP: 72,000 -> 34,000
Level 88 -> 68
Exp: 140,000/240,000 -> 51,000/64,600
ATK: 1223~1952 -> 600~1300
Sight Range: 16 -> 20

- Heal Lv 11 has been lowered to Lv 10 when ally or self is below 90% hp. This means it no longer heals for 9999.
- No longer uses Dispel or Decrease Agility. Instead, it uses Silence Attack and Poison Attack.
- No longer uses spiderweb (yes, this is an actual skill it had).
- Now uses Kaite only when Idle with a low delay instead of using it constantly when targeted by AoE spells.
- It only casts Pneuma now when hit by long range attacks only.

Being the mantis or banshee of the basement, it still attempts to disable and hinder the party, but should be more managable now compared to before.

Drops:
Witched Starsand 18% -> 100%
Bloody Rune 100% -> 30%
Gray Potion 15% (New)
Mastela Fruit Wine 3% -> Elunium 1.20%
Harthoon Heart 0.06% -> Gray Shield 0.45% (New)
Chameleon Armor 0.15% -> 0.45%
Orcus Bracer [1] 0.06 -> 0.09%
Lifedrinker Card 0.05%



Mane
HP: 137,000 -> 42,500
Level 86 -> 70
Exp: 140,000/240,000 -> 63,750/85,000
ATK: 4059~6509 -> 1308~2019 ATK

- No longer uses Assumptio or Heal
- Bolt Levels were reduced from 8 to 5.
- Now uses earth spike in addition to the other 3 bolts.
- Targets randomly when chasing, but focuses on one target when attacking.
- Uses Random Property Attack Lv 2.

Remains the main damage dealer mob of the map. Lost assumptio and heal to be only an attacker.

Drops:
Monster's Feed 90% -> 100%
Crystal Fragment 6% -> 30%
Dark Crystal Fragment 6% -> Witched Starsand 30%
Lutie Lady's Pancake 3% -> Gray Potion 15% (New)
Heart Breaker [1] 0.30% -> 0.45%
Green Baby Doll 0.06% -> Quah-Nomag Gloves 0.09%
Kauvra Boots 0.06% -> Gray Cloak 0.30%




Souleater
HP: 155,000 -> 36,400
Level 82 -> 68
Exp: 140,000/250 (yes, 250 job exp) -> 54,600/69,160
ATK: 2539~3400 -> 253~834

- No longer uses Storm Gust, NPC-Defender, Evil Land, Dark Strike or Grand Cross
- Uses Thunderstorm as usual, plus Heaven's Drive
- Uses Crusader Defender Lv 5 when hit by ranged attacks.
- Can now teleport when rude attacked.

A less aggravating mob than its original counterpart, this one is less difficult to kill, and almost solely focuses on AoE to damage several targets at once, keeping the party on its toes if they are mobbed.

Drops:
Cyfar 90% -> 100%
Brigan 90% -> Witched Starsand 30%
Rune of Darkness 100% -> Worn-Out Magic Scroll 36%
Green Salad 3% -> Gray Potion 15% (New)
Pantie [1] 0.03% -> Gray Boots 0.45%
Undershirt [1] 0.03% -> Removed
Soul Staff 0.15% -> Staff of Piercing 0.45%
Quah-Nomag Gloves 0.06% -> Harthoon Heart 0.09%



Besmal:

Rune of Darkness 100%
Alcohol 100% -> Fluorescent Liquid 100%
Glittering Jacket 6% -> Zweihander [1] 45%
Tidal Shoes 6% -> 30%
Silk Robe [1] 12% -> Old Green Box 45%
Special Royal Jelly Herbal Tea 30% (New Drop)
Pantie [1] 4.5% -> Damp Card Album 3%
Undershirt [1] 4.5% -> Nothing

Slotted Pantie and Undershirt were in a high end dungeon, locked behind an MVP. With more visited areas like Nydd and Lutia Mine having the far superior dragon combo, it was removed from Besmal in order to be added to other mobs of a lesser difficulty in future updates.


Quah-Nomag:

Rune of Darkness 100%
Diamond Ring 100%
Principles of Magic 45%
Robe of Cast [1] 6% -> 30%
Old Green Box 45% (New Drop)
Soul Haunted Bread 30% -> Whole Roast 30%
Quah-Nomag Gloves 3%



Harthoon:

Rune of Darkness 100%
Witherless Rose 100%
Heavenly Maiden Robe 9% -> Wasteland's Outlaw 45%
Old Green Box 45% (New Drop)
Wool Scarf 6% -> 30%
Harthoon Heart 3%
Whole Roast 30% -> Soul Haunted Bread 30%



Orcus:

HP: 6,999,999 -> 3,000,000
Exp: 30M / 37.5M -> 5M / 6M
INT: 266 -> 250 (300 less MATK)
ATK: 3,666~5,999 -> 3,000~5,000 (600~900 less ATK)

- No longer uses 2H Quicken to avoid sprite delay issues
- No longer attempts to cast MS when targeted by a skill with cast time.
- Lord of Vermillion is not used anymore
- Exile/Expulsion is not used anymore

Drops:
Enriched Oridecon 6% -> Oridecon 100%
Enriched Elunium 6% -> Elunium 100%
Old Card Album 15% -> 100%

MVP Drops:
Old Purple Box -> Old Green Box 100%
Treasure Box 75% -> 100%

Other drops remain untouched.

It's difficulty has been reduced significantly to prevent long, drawn out battles. Due to its massive drop in HP, enriched ores were removed and OCA is now guaranteed in compensation. As an example, ghost property change will now occur at approximately 900k HP, and earthquake will now hit at most for 15,000 without power-up or reductions.

The three orcus followers were changed heavily, with each one now having a distinct theme and skill set, to be considered when deciding to leave one alive. Info can be found below.

Anastasia

10 Def -> 15 Def
80 Mdef -> 40 Mdef
Dark 4 -> Dark 1

Other stats remain the same. Skills were all completely removed and replaced with new ones. She now acts as the healer of the group, healing any monster nearby below 75% HP, and casting impositio on them.

- Casts Heal Lv 11 on an Ally with HP below 75%, with a 10s cooldown.
- Uses Impositio Manus Lv 40 on any mob that doesn't already have that status, with a 1s cast time and 15s cooldown
- Uses Dark Attack Lv 2 at 20% rate
- Has a 20% chance to use Decrease Agility Lv 10 when Attacking, with a 1s cast time and 15s cooldown
- Uses Assumptio & Increase Agility Lv 10 on itself & Orcus when rude attacked

Kauvra

143 Agi -> 100

Now resembling a physical damage dealer, it can still attack from afar with arrow vulcan, but the lack of powerup makes it more tolerable. However, it can now damage your SP when attacking.

- Has a 20% chance to use Dark Attack Lv 2 with 5s cooldown
- Has a 10% chance to use Spirit Destruction Lv 3 with 1s cast time and 5s cooldown, which can remove a fraction of the target's SP
- Still uses Arrow Vulcan Lv 10, when attacking or chasing at a random target, with a 2s cast time, 5% chance and 15s cooldown
- Still uses Loki's Veil, with a reduced chance (10%), and a chance to use musical strike on a random target while the dance is ongoing
- Now uses Meteor Assault Lv 5 when attacking, with a 1s cast time and 10s cooldown.


Isha-Denarthun

20 Def -> 5 Def
50 INT -> 100 INT

Complete new skill set resembling a spellcaster. Orcus's LOV was removed and added to this, and it now has Souleater's Storm Gust, both being massively weaker due to low INT however. To avoid completely changing Orcus' balance via sniper they will have long cast times however.

- Has a 10% chance of using Lord of Vermillion Lv 10 while Chasing only with a 2s cast time and 15s cooldown
- Has a 10% chance of using Storm Gust Lv 10 while Chasing only with a 2s cast time and 15s cooldown
- Uses Napalm Vulcan Lv 5, Soul Strike Lv 10 and Dark Soul Strike Lv 10 when attacking or chasing


Spawn Changes

After the next server maintenances, spawns in the basement will be changed. 50 Mane/Souleater/Lifedrinker will spawn each, instead of 70, 20 and 20 respectively. Other mob spawns remain exactly the same.

[GM-Ciar]

Info on new gears and the rebalanced orcus set can be found below.

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The gray gears bring with them a new kind of gameplay: the Near Death "red health" builds. To be strongest when you're at your weakest- high risk for high reward. Though each pieces combo individually with the body piece to allow greater flexibility in how dedicated you want to be with the full red health build.


Gray Shield [1]
Type: Shield
Def: 4
Weight: 60
Usable Class: Every trans 2nd job

MDEF + 4
Max HP + 400
Disable natural HP regeneration.
For every refine rate of this equipment, add a 0.5% chance to negate all physical damage for 2 seconds when physically or magically attacking while the user is Near Death.
[+Armor of Gray]
Max HP + 10%
[+Robe of Gray]
The activation rate of Shield of Gray's effect is doubled.

Gray Boots [1]
Type: Footwear
Def: 3
Weight: 40
Usable Class: Every trans 2nd job

MDEF + 3
For each refine rate of this equipment, increase ATK and MATK by 1.
[+Armor of Gray or Robe of Gray]
Max HP + 10%
When the user is Near Death and is attacking or casting spells, quintuple the ATK and MATK provided by this equipment.

Gray Cloak [1]
Type: Garment
Def: 4
Weight: 60
Usable Class: Every trans 2nd job
Required Level: 60

MDEF + 4
For every refine rate of this equipment, gain Perfect Dodge + 1.
[+Armor of Gray or Robe of Gray]
Max HP + 10%
When the user is Near Death and is attacked, quadruple the Perfect Dodge provided by this equipment.

Gray Helmet [1]
Type: Upper Headgear
Def: 4
Weight: 45
Usable Class: Every trans 2nd job

Disables natural HP regeneration.
ASPD + 4%
Cast speed - 5%.
This ASPD and Cast Speed bonus is quadrupled when the user is Near Death and is attacking or casting spells.
[+Armor of Gray or Robe of Gray]
Max HP + 10%
All stats + 1

Gray Armor [1]
Type: Armor
Def: 7
Weight: 240
Usable Class: Lord Knight, Paladin, Assassin Cross, Stalker, Whitesmith, Creator

Disables natural HP regeneration.
Max HP +500
When the user is Near Death, ATK & MATK +20%

Gray Robe [1]
Type: Armor
Def: 5
Weight: 60
Usable Class: High Priest, Champion, High Wizard, Professor, Sniper, Clown, Gypsy

MDEF + 5
Disables natural HP regeneration.
Max HP + 300
When the user is Near Death and is attacking or casting spells, gain ATK & MATK +15%, Heal Power +10% and reduce after-cast delay by 10%.

Gray Potion
Type: Consumable
Weight: 1

Reduces your current HP by 76% of your max HP, instantly bringing you to red health (minimum 1 HP).

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The Orcus Gears and combos have been rebalanced to be in line with the rest of HeRO's high end gears. They are still powerful, but not to the extent where every other gear is completely inferior and undesirable in comparison.

The new effects retain the stat boosts, meaning your stat bonuses remain intact (130 str builds, etc) but have less drastic secondary bonuses, in favor of a minor but useful offensive stat to the class that commonly wears them.

However, we still understand that these changes might not please everyone, and a few builds may need to be recalculated. Therefore, for 1 month starting from the time of this post, we will be offering de-cards to any orcus gear (Kauvra Boots, Green Babydoll, Orcus Bracer, Quah-Nomag Glove, Harthoon Heart). Simply send a support ticket and we will contact you as soon as we can.

The new Orcus gear effects can be found below.

Orcus Bracer [1]
0 Defense
STR + 2
Atk + 3%
[Combo]
STR+ 3
ATK + 3%
HIT + 3

Note: ATK power is toned down and Hit is reduced by 2. However, compare to the old combo, now it works for classes that rely on ATK power boost like soul breaker sinx and whitesmith (like what the old combo "claimed" to do, though does not due to coding errors.)

Harthoon Hearth [1]
0 Defense
INT + 2
MATK + 3%
[Combo]
INT + 3
MATK + 3%
Cast delay -3%

Note: previously, this gear is also bugged and provided no actual bonus standalone without the combo. Comparing old combo and new combo, you will only lose 4% matk and not 7% matk. The 1 point of dex is traded for cast delay reduction.

Quah-Nomag Gloves [1]
0 Defense
AGI + 2
ASPD + 3%
[Combo]
AGI + 3
ATK + 3%
ASPD +3%

Gloves got the most massive change to lose all defensive bonus, but now it's re-purposed to focus on ASPD while the attack power boost remains on the combo aspect. ATK boost now boosts base attack instead of % dmg boost as well (again, something the old item claims to do, but does not.)

There are no changes to Green Babydoll and Kaurva Boots.

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Why the change?

There's nothing wrong with gears being top of the line. There will always be Best in Slot gears. The problem for Orcus accessory combos is that they are the best for 4 different gear slots in almost every scenario without any trade-off, pushing every other gear's relevancy aside. Unless you are playing FS builds or a secondary tier/meme builds, it's the default gears to go to. The accessory combos were powerful stat-sticks that help you in every situation, giving high offensive power on top of barely any drop in defensive abilities. Only the garment slot with Proxy and Valk Mant really put up any real fight. The gloves combo providing perfect dodge and a massive 30 flee without any cards is an example of how it covers defense very respectably on top of maintaining ultimate offense at the same time.

The gears are also plagued by coding errors, as noted above, making it really hard to evaluate what it was actually doing. Orcus Bracer was doing more than its item description claimed, so it wasn't too difficult to fix it back to item description. The others were actually doing less than it claimed. If we "fix" it to match item description, the gloves and hearth will be even more powerful.

Therefore, we decided to rework the extreme bonuses and turn it into something that is still good, but actually balanced.

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And a personal note from myself (GM-Ciar), stating my opinion only, after reading everything on forum regarding how this was added. The original idea as per this post was that Orcus Bracer would be strictly a STR equivalent to Orleans Glove, which is a very fine addition. But, somewhere down the road, the bracer and the rest of the gears were changed, boosted massively, maybe to promote parties there, with little T&D discussion or feedback, at least from what I can see on the forum.

I'm aware these changes will dishearten many. It's part of the reason why it took 3 years to finally get this over with since it was first brought up. But when we come to think about it, when was the last time a party, any party, visited or considered visiting Thanatos' Basement for exp, or loot from the regular monsters? It was in 2016. Beside the same small groups of top-end players, when was the last time anyone even bothered to fight any of the MVPs in the map after dropping in for Orcus only? Who knows.

Accessibility is a huge issue too, with the map requiring quite a bit of time and questing to access. We will be tackling this in future updates as well. In conclusion, I hope both Thanatos Tower and the basement become more popular than before, and also hope everyone understands it is a necessary change and ultimately beneficial in the long run for HeRO.