Several years ago, prior to the initial release of Whisper, I talked a bit about how I wanted to do equipment a little differently. To summarize, I wanted each piece of gear to have a somewhat unique use instead of being a flat-out upgrade to something else. That goal has been mostly accomplished, but as more and more content is added to the game, there’s a need for stronger and more varied gear. Some equipment has been introduced via the main story, sidequests and the Arena, but there’s simply not enough room to add enough gear in that manner that players have a wide array of powerful build choices.

To solve this, I’m combining some old ideas that were never developed with some fresh additions to the game. In my last update, I talked about Maze battles and, in the update before that, Mobile NPCs. Both of these mechanics will help introduce a major plot point that predates the events of the game–of a major battle with several Whispers of note. Through the new Memory Battles (a subsidiary of Mazes), players will be able to fight specters of these Whispers and gain powerful new equipment. Some of these battles will be only moderately difficult–others will require players to have immense strength already. Since they’re 100% optional, they’re tuned to be very challenging.

On top of that, I will be introducing various methods to upgrade selected equipment that already exists in the game. The end result should be an upgraded maximum power level (without power leveling) and a broader array of strategies to choose from.

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And just a general update–Mobile NPCs are just about ready to roll out. All of the heavy lifting is done. Memory Battles are what I’m working on now. They’re more stylized than the usual fare and thus take much more time than regular fights. I have a few more things I want to do after that, but no details on those until they’re more fleshed out.