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Everlong is a FREE amateur fantasy game designed to capture the charm and cliche of the classic SNES JRPG. You are a Blackguard, a knight sworn to serve the Cirigoth Empire and trained in the dark arts, yet hunted by your imperial masters after turning renegade. Only through enlisting the aid of friends and allies can you escape pursuit and defeat the oppressive Cirigoth regime. Journey across the world's continents to forge a confederacy and fight for freedom in global war. Yet a more insidious plot looms in the shadows. A fallen god seeks to exploit civilization's folly and reclaim the dreams and nightmares of humanity.

The linear story of Everlong is accompanied by numerous side-quests. It also focuses heavily on puzzles, dialog, and battle strategy.

Feature List:
  • 80+ hours of gameplay
  • Nearly 1500 maps to explore; each full of puzzles, monsters, and treasures
  • Story Mode option allows players to experience the game without spending time fighting random monster encounters; also includes ability to skip mandatory boss fights and automatically adjust hero levels so that the player can toggle Story Mode at any time
  • Skill Shard system allows player to unlock and choose hero skills with unlimited reconfiguration
  • Over 150 skills to learn with custom animations, including secret skill scrolls to obtain; skills increase in power and gain new effects with custom magic and strength dependent algorithms
  • Choose between three difficulty levels, customize monster attributes, or allow the game to automatically balance enemies
  • Hero rebirth mechanism allows gaining additional levels beyond maximum; once reborn, switch heroes between single and dual weapon wield, which also alters available equipment
  • DynRPG plugins: vastly improved battle speed; enemy HP, AP, and turn bars; game clock; AP and statistics changes visible in battle; switch between window and gauge battle layout; extended damage cap limit
  • Quick hero info: single button press displays portraits, name, HP/MaxHP, AP/MaxAP in regular mode; expanded mode includes level/true level, skill shards/total shards, EXP to next level, STR, DEF, MAG, SPD, weapons, equipment, and accessory; portraits and text altered when hero afflicted with condition, low HP, or zero AP
  • Journal logs primary quest progress and discovered side quests
  • Puzzle Bonus system where players can choose to skip difficult puzzles
    or instead earn a reward for completion
  • Help Totems that aid the player in solving puzzles with hints or instructions
  • Realm of Purgatory where fallen heroes are resurrected after perishing in battle; allows the player to restart exactly where they left off with all experience, money, and items earned instead of having to reload their last save
  • Worldmap mini-map with trackers for hero and vehicle positions
  • Detailed navigation map with three modes: continent listing, waypoint
    listing, and continent zoom; shows next area to visit to forward the plot as well as location names; locations uncovered as you progress through the game
  • Finder Display pop-up reveals type and availability of secrets in player's current location
  • Forge System with 49 powerful and rare weapons, equipment, and items to create
  • Collector System where monster drops and boss tokens can be traded for various types and quantities of items at special merchants
  • Battle Arena with 38 challenges consisting of four consecutive battles each, 22 handicaps inflicted between battles to survive, and many rare prizes to earn
  • Boss Rush tests your endurance in consecutive battles against the game's boss monsters for treasure
  • Hunting mini-game with dynamic spawns, action based use of projectile and melee weapons for each hero, 10 hunting grounds, multiple random weather types, and 64 different prey and predators that both flee and attack; mini-map displays targets and items; item spawns adjust to player need
  • 6 optional bonus dungeons (one utilizing a double party system)
  • 14 recruitable NPCs that will offer useful services
  • NewGame+ and Continue+ option upon completing the game
  • Custom menu system for quick and easy access to both default commands and special game systems
  • Party Members chosen and player determined romance influence game dialogue, events, and ending scenes
  • Custom character battle sprites, animations, and weapon graphics for all 12 heroes and 187 weapons
  • Over 500 monsters to fight arranged in over 1400 battle formations
  • Over 800 items, medicine, weapons, armor, and accessories to acquire
  • Vehicle mini-Games that can be completed for special treasures and then replayed at the Battle Arena for prizes
  • Book mini-quest to reveal game secrets; 48 books in all to find and read
  • 7 Dragon Trials with puzzles and battles
  • 13 magical stones and summons to acquire
  • Blackjack and Single Draw card mini-games
  • Banking System to store your money and convert currency; earn interest on stored funds
  • Clue based Pirate Treasure Hunting mini-game
  • Jukebox with all music tracks for listening pleasure
  • 62 menu graphics to unlock and choose from
  • Statistics tracking and viewing system
  • GUI based party formation system
  • Memory Beacon Hunting that allows access to rare shops
  • 4 vehicles; two act as moving bases; one with upgradeable shops
  • Ship and Airship docking at port towns and to access remote locations
  • Custom glyphs detail weapon, equipment, item, and skill types
  • Battle encounter rates and experience rewards adjust to your team's average level; menu toggle to disable
  • Encounter rate indicator; colors communicate frequency of monster battles in current area
  • Hint arrows and dungeon maps as guides in certain confusing areas
  • GUI-based Options menu to set game preferences
  • Erect statues of your heroes and key story characters throughout the world
  • Utilization of the David/Goliath Patch allows for super enemies that break the normal engine limits
  • Scripted boss attacks that push the RM2k3 engine to new limits
  • Counter attack script where monsters retaliate against specific actions, amounts of damage received, or elemental type; rate manually adjustable and scales with difficulty level
  • Automatic experience adjustment keeps all characters at a similar level of combat ability
  • Autosave function preserves progress and protects against rare crash bugs
  • Detailed victory report including level up stat changes
  • Scan skill and Bestiary that reveals data for encountered monsters
  • Pop-up battle messages that telegraph enemy attacks, allowing players to anticipate and prepare
  • Overkill mechanic awarding extra experience when defeating an enemy with a powerful blow
  • OpenGL renderer for compatibility with modern systems, allowing higher resolutions and video filters
  • Siren item calls specific enemy battles based on location
  • Rare drops from certain monsters when encountered solo

Latest Blog

New Version 3.35

The downloads section has been updated with a new full version and patch. Mostly bug fixes, but the controller support is sweet for those of us using Xbox controllers with Windows (thanks to PepsiOtaku for that plugin). Here's the update notes:

Everlong v3.35 (2022.01.16):

Added controller / gamepad support with a DynRPG plugin
Shinryu skill Atomic Breath no longer scales with physical attack power; resulted in extreme damage when auto balance mode toggled ON
Restored conditions removal effect for certain healing skills on their final tier: Succor, Celerity, Chakra
Added message when recruiting Miyagi to explain EXP and Encounter scaling turns off
The first Altair battle no longer results in an instant victory if monster scaling is active; an HP reference was missing for this monster in the scaling code
Attempted to address boss battles being unintentionally skipped outside Story Mode if the control switch was somehow otherwise toggled
Attempted to restore possibly corrupted database value for Virtuoso items that prevented the player from equipping them
Corrected MAG+ value for Mystic Pendant accessory
Siren activated battle in Cerulean Silex and Ignis Castrum against Naga Archer no longer crashes due to null event page references
Keen Skill Scroll Blink now shows correct skill reference when queried with SHIFT
  • Completed
  • DJC
  • RPG Tsukuru 2003
  • Action Puzzle RPG
  • 11/10/2011 07:48 PM
  • 10/22/2023 11:42 AM
  • 11/12/2004
  • 563927
  • 93
  • 7357

Posts

author=Ekoh
Update since my last post: I downloaded the 3.31e patch, and that allowed me to get that pesky chest in the Cascade caverns. The airship docking function is now straightforward and wonderful, I have to say. However, the characters still have the jumbled skillset, but the real problem is that now I can´t use the healing spells outside of battle. Is that an unintended side-effect, or was it planned, DJC? Anyway, thanks for working so hard on patches and fixes all the time.


The healing skills not working outside of battle is an oversight on my part. The final tier of healing spells now inflict a condition to allow percentage based healing, thus restoring more than the 9,999 limit. I removed the old fixed amount of healing, but this prevents using these skills outside of battle. The Reprieve condition inflicting by final tier healing skills only works in battle, so I will restore the static healing functionality so these skills aren't useless in the field, even though it looks and operates in a clunky manner.
Thanks for your reply, DJC. I had indeed noticed that some enemies in random encounters begin the battle not at full strength, but it´s not been too bad so far. As for the lava tubes not being replayable in Cerulean Silex, given that it´s available in the battle arena, I don´t think this would negatively affect anyone.
As for the 3.31e patch, as I mentioned in my last post, I finally installed it, and it did fix the skill swap issue for most characters. It´s made the game crashes worse when accessing the skill menu outside of battle, however. I can´t enter Willis´ or Keen´s page at all outside of battle, and crashes also occur when perusing the skills of characters who naturally have more than one page (so Drakeor is fine, but the white mages and Vixen´s pages cause crashes if I´m not careful not to go too low).
author=Ekoh
Thanks for your reply, DJC. I had indeed noticed that some enemies in random encounters begin the battle not at full strength, but it´s not been too bad so far. As for the lava tubes not being replayable in Cerulean Silex, given that it´s available in the battle arena, I don´t think this would negatively affect anyone.
As for the 3.31e patch, as I mentioned in my last post, I finally installed it, and it did fix the skill swap issue for most characters. It´s made the game crashes worse when accessing the skill menu outside of battle, however. I can´t enter Willis´ or Keen´s page at all outside of battle, and crashes also occur when perusing the skills of characters who naturally have more than one page (so Drakeor is fine, but the white mages and Vixen´s pages cause crashes if I´m not careful not to go too low).


Once the skill swap bug has added invalid skill entries to hero skill lists, there's no way for them to be removed via executing engine code since they cannot be detected. This should never have been possible, but the engine programmers apparently did not add a catch error exception for this situation. Unfortunately, I do not know how to hex edit rm2k3 save files, as that would likely be the only way to remedy your saves. The best I can do is provide an alternate save file approximate to where you are in the game, or advise that you try to continue as best as possible. The new code in the patch does fix the valid skill cross over, but this shortens the lists to their true length, exacerbating the bug. Sorry that I cannot offer a better solution, especially when you're so near the end.
Well, since nothing can be done about this, I´ll just have to be careful. Thank you for your help. I finished the Abyss and the game, and now I´m looking forward to the Khaer Magnus dungeon. Out of curiosity, are there skill scrolls there? Because I´m missing a few, and I´m quite baffled as to where they could be, given how thorough I try to be in dungeons.

I thought I would tell you some of my observations about the game here, and have my review focus on describing the game for potential new players.

So, in that vein, I must say the game radically changed for me after rebirth, because of the extreme boon brought on by dual wield. Now, reading the previous comments, the engine limitations restrict magic efficiency too much, which is a shame, and so I get it´s difficult to balance physical attacks and magic attacks. And you can´t nerf physical attacks too much lest the game really becomes too difficult (I´ll see how I manage in Khaer Magnus!). Quite the conundrum, I guess. But I can tell you that some of my characters became so powerful (inflicting up to 150 000 damage in one hit!) that no battle after rebirth gave me much of a sweat, with the single exception of the Archangel in Atlantis, since he´s completely immune to physical attacks (I´m leaving aside Kurgalaxes, which is a different kind of battle, and Beomaust, with the very specific and mandatory trick of defending its mega-kill attack). All the other battles became really straightforward, and I know your primary concern was making the battles interesting strategically.

I can think of two factors that contributed to this ease and that might be changed a bit, if you´re interested. First, I reached those 150 000 damage turns with a combination of skills that inflict Fragile + white mage casting Might + criticals. So maybe you could consider making late-game bosses more prone to casting Might is wrong? (I know they cast Dispel, but not often enough to prevent the devastating combo above regularly). Or maybe you could simply lower the odds of a critical hit?
The second thing is that once I gained access to Erus Caminus, I could forge Miracles (the revive all at 100% item) by the dozens, and so every time things were a bit iffy during a battle, I could simply ingest as many of them as were necessary to get out of trouble. I would certainly have had to be more careful if I had had to rely more on the Renewals (those that only revive and restore 33% instead of 100%) and only the scarce Miracles I had gained in treasure chests, leaving them for the most desperate situations only. So a possible measure would be to withdraw from the Erus Caminus forge the items that restore all to 100% and revive all to 100% (for context, I don´t advocate just making them much more expensive because I had unlimited funds at that point, thanks to the Black Jack in Isla del Sol).

These are a few of the thoughts I had after rebirth, when I began feeling battles were too much of a breeze. Although I would perfectly understand if you weren´t interested in making battles more difficult, since there are invariably simultaneously players complaining about battles being too hard and battles being too easy, and the former often leads to players just quitting, which is not the desired outcome at all.

In terms of game mechanics, that´s the one main area of improvement I can see. Two other minor grievances: would it be possible to change the sound of hits with Vanir (Drakeor´s lance)? To me, it sounds a bit like plates hitting metal, and while not unbearable, it´s unpleasant. And would it be possible to have all the rooms and treasure chests in Tyr-Anox castle accessible the first time? It´s certainly the most confusing castle of all, and something like 95% of the treasures are already accessible the first time anyway, I think. It was a bit tedious to go back 60 hours of gameplay later and redo it entirely only to find 3 meager extra unopened chests (unless I missed a whole batch).

I would say you´ve nailed most of the rest. The puzzles, size of the world map, length and complexity of dungeons, frequency of battles, inability to save in certain situations (Nex Cacumen was anxiety-inducing and SO GREAT for that reason!), alternating points of view between the Eastern continent and Imperial continent events, pacing between free exploration and plot, etc, are all fantastic in my opinion.
Extra kudos for the replayability value of the infiltration into Tyr-Anox valley (awesome decision on your part to have 3 scenarii there), the music (generally a very good soundtrack, with songs well-suited to the events and places, and a few outstandingly good songs in particular. My favorite is the one that plays when you have a countdown, such as the escape from Auctus tower), and for me, the single best feature in the game, the penalty system in the Battle Arena, creative and so very addictive (getting Fury against enemies immune to physical attacks is one of the worst and best feelings of the game).

Oh, and one thing in particular, I want to commend you for the final bit before arriving to the White Shrine. For me, it´s the most memorable moment in the game, and ranks very high amongst RPG games. Following the beacons, that long gone professor´s memories becoming progressively darker, him feeling his mind slip away, arriving in that cavern, the earth shaking, knowing the pit is bottomless, the music contributing to our anxiety skyrocketing, the characters stumbling several times with the entire screen shaking, and then, and then! The paroxysm, that gigantic, humongous, ominous eye emerging from the darkness and rising to our level! Pandemonium! ... And after the battle, once you emerge into the light, still shaken, the White Shrine music is eerie, creepy, and so the feelings evoked by what just happened don´t dissipate. Just a master stroke, that sequence, one I paradoxically don´t want to redo again given how perfect and scary it was the first time.

Thank you so much for all the effort you´ve put into the game and for being so available to discuss it with your players.
Thanks for the great feedback, and I apologize again for the skill swap crash bug. I'm planning to update the full package download soon, so no more players should inadvertently experience this error by not having the latest version.

The Dispel skill shard is in the Tomb of Khaer Magnus, but the others are in dungeons already accessible to you. I agree there's too many random treasure chests, and it's easy to miss some. I wanted to drastically reduce the number of chests, and replace them with more world appropriate objects, such as plants that harvest for medicine, or skeletal remains of dead adventurers bearing weapons or armor. Those changes were cut due to time constraints. Here's an updated list of skill shard locations:

  • Esuna - Aditus Grotto
  • Regen - Viridis Mons
  • Enfeeble - Nemus Aevum
  • Zealous Blades - Meridion Caverns
  • Surge - Cerulean Silex
  • Freeze - Ship Graveyard
  • Detonator - Silentium Tumulus
  • Entrust - Triangle Mountain
  • Blink - Triangle Mountain exit after completion
  • Verve - Phoenix Cave
  • Singularity - Atlantis
  • Debilitate - Atlantis
  • Viper Strike - West Tower
  • Dispel Slash - East Tower
  • Reflect - Progidium Nidus after completion
  • Dispel - Tomb of Khaer Magnus


The rebirth system was a later addition to the game. No encounters are balanced for it. Unless players activate the automatic monster balance mode, there won't be much challenge after gaining additional levels or switching to dual wield. In the latest version, ultimate weapon critical hit rates are significantly lowered and spells received a boost in the form of spell penetration for the final tier, which ignores enemy magic reducing damage. Vetu also has the Nucleus accessory for double casting. I also introduced a dual wield penalty, where STR is lowered by a percentage when dual wielding. A shield+ mechanic also exists that boosts DEF when single wield, an important stat later in the game against bosses that spam Overpower. I could further lower critical hit rates, or increase the dual wield penalty if physical attacks still seem unbalanced.

The Might spell is one of the biggest balance issues that I've grappled with. This spell previously cost percentage based AP. Players complained skills like this made increasing maximum AP useless, but I'm considering reverting this change for a select few skills. That doesn't address the many equipment pieces that inflict Might automatically, though. As you've noticed, later bosses employ skills that dispel positive enchantments, or penalize for them. There was significant player backlash against giving enemies too many direct counters that discouraged or prevented exploiting weaknesses and these mechanics, however, so I did not pursue this approach as aggressively as planned. This is why Might Makes Wrong and Hubris are less seldom seen than simple dispel skills, or don't deal more damage.

That's a great point about Miracles and other powerful medicines you can create at the forge allowing players to spam and forget. I think I will change the formula to require rare items the player cannot farm, perhaps a type of monster drop. There's still plenty of opportunities to obtain these medicines through other means, but not in large quantities quickly. Some players desperately need these items to have any chance at certain bonus bosses, however, so I don't want to make them too scarce.

I definitely want to keep battles interesting and challenging in all situations, and for as many players of differing ability as possible. That's why there are so many monster balance options. I do have to be careful, however, as some players can become quite frustrated with battles that others breeze through without difficulty. For example, the Scarab Amulet accessory was introduced by player request for the singular purpose of nerfing special enemy attacks that some players vehemently insisted were unfairly punishing. It's a fine line, but I like your ideas, and would love to hear any other suggestions.

Archangel should not be immune to physical attacks. He begins with 50% resistance, which you can lower to normal. His Squall spells inflicts Blink, however, which evades all physical attacks and you must Dispel. Some enemies will also remove Fragile once inflicted, returning to their regular resistance. Others increase their resistances, and you must continue counteracting their actions. In the Tomb of Khaer Magnus, you'll also encounter the Adamant Golem, who is immune to physical attacks until reducing defense to increase offense.

The Vanir weapon sound effects are using some of the default rm2k3 RTP sounds, and I agree an ultimate weapon should instead be a pleasure to hear every time it strikes. I will update the animation in the next patch.

Tyr-Anon Castle is one of the earliest game areas, some of my first mapping attempts in the old rm2k engine almost two decades ago. I agree it is a ridiculous labyrinth of poor design, which is why there are guide arrows when completing plot events. On the player's first visit, the areas are restricted since I would consider such a large area far too overwhelming that early in the game. Upon returning to the castle, there's really only the chests in the secret room mentioned in a library book that matter. The only reasonable solution would be to redo all the maps and simplify the castle, but I admit nostalgia and historical reasons as well as time required discourage me from doing so.

The Tyr-Anon Invasion event with three outpost choices does feature different dungeons and monsters, but the treasures are the same so don't worry about missing anything! The music is starting to become rather dated as modern systems don't support MIDI well. I had another player recently request a higher quality soundtrack. The biggest obstacle is hosting, as this would drastically boost the file size. It would also take significant time remastering each track with the most appropriate sound font. The Battle Arena penalty system is modeled after Final Fantasy 7, so I can't take too much credit for that. That's awesome to hear the lead up to the Pandemonium battle evoked the emotions I was trying for. That sequence was inspired by the Death Marshes in Turok 2 and the appearance of the Balrog in LotR. One of my favorite scenes is when you first acquire the Aetherius and Cid pilots it to the surface, but that's also heavily influenced by Final Fantasy 6 and 10. Hard to be entirely original, especially considering this project was initially begun as a Final Fantasy fan game.

Let me know if you have any other feedback or questions. It's great to hear from an enthusiastic player with good ideas that can help improve the game, though I'm not willing or able to commit significantly more time to this project.
I think I´m not the only player who is amazed by how much effort you continue to put into this game so many years after you first designed it, so it´s mightily understandable that time constraints prevent you from implementing all the changes that you see suggested here or that occur to you. Some of the ideas you mention here (finding armor on skeletons would have been awesome!) or in other posts would have added another dimension to the game, but it´s incredibly impressive as is already, and again, thank you so much for being so keen on seeking for feedback.

I quite like your idea of making rare ingredients necessary to forge the best healing items, and it might even make monster hunting in specific areas a must again, which would mean paying more attention to where you get each item, which is exactly the kind of detail-oriented dynamic I like in RPGs, so I´m all for it. Also, thanks for the Vanir sound thingy.

I looked through my skill shard system, and I do indeed have all the skill scrolls you listed here except for the last one, which is why my stats mention 15/16 scrolls found. I´m a bit surprised though, because that means the 4 characters that are still missing a scroll will use Dispel, and Azrael, Willis and Sammy might sound logical, but I didn´t expect Vetu to be in that group.

What you say about Archangel means I will try to go through that battle again and pay more attention! Unlike other bosses who have obvious tipping points where you must completely switch strategies, I must have missed a clue there.
I will be paying more attention to battles now in Game+ no matter what, so I can tell you if I continue to notice an enormous unbalance between physical attacks and magical ones. I reckon balance in battles is the biggest challenge in RPGs anyway, as your Might dilemma illustrates, so whatever decision you make is both the right and the wrong one, and your customizable system in Options allows players who like difficulty to enjoy themselves but not at the expense of other players, which is leagues better than the alternative (I´m in Auto mode right now, and random encounters are slightly too easy, but not too much so).

As for the Tyr-Anon Castle later treasures, knowing it was one of the earliest places you designed, I understand better now, and your nostalgia makes sense. I´ll just have to explore thoroughly a second time.

ETA: I have two questions about stats. First, when I check how many battles I´ve had and compare it to the sum of victories and defeats, 2 battles are missing. Are those the battles against Altair and Expirius which you are supposed to lose?
And would it be possible to show the total amount of treasures, so we can know how many are missing? Knowing I have 2000 and something is great, but above all I want to know if I´ve got them all! (first I´ve got to complete Khaer Magnus, obviously). Since the description of skill scrolls includes both how many you have and the total number, I´m assuming those are numbers the system has, and that you wouldn´t have to count them yourself by hand, which would be ridiculous extra work.

And another quick question, does the Battle Scars skill stack up indefinitely? Because I´ve had so many battles it inflicts almost the same damage as my full HP, and I´m afraid it could completely overwhelm it later.
So, just a quick technical note on battle balance. I´m now doing Khaer Magnus, and have encountered those Adamant Golems, and Katana Souls, Quetzals, Gnolls, anyway, the normal enemies. I´m still in Auto mode, and now have the weapons that give you 500 damage (Murasame, Crystal, etc). None of my characters are equipped with the Genji rings that suppress the dual wield penalty. Well, with most of my characters, the physical damage levels are reasonable (Drakeor with Vanir: 5000). But Vixen (and Willis to a minor degree) is just completely overpowered.

To give you an idea, two of her normal hits (non-critical, non-Might, no Fragile inflicted): 14 000 + 18 000. Two of her critical hits (non-Might, no Fragile): 28 000 + 28 000. With Might and Fragile, 99 999 (crit) + 50 000 (non-crit), all approximately of course.
In comparison, using Kurgalaxes: 30 000 for every enemy. Using Beomaust also causes 30 000 damage a piece.
I´ve tried giving her and Drakeor approximately the same equipment with very good strength and magic (I can tell you what, if that would help), and I just find her attacks stunningly powerful in comparison to everything else (Willis with Might, Fragile reaches 60 000 + 30 000).
ETA: even Khaer Magnus himself could not represent much of a challenge for Vixen and her huge amounts of damage.
Dispel is a common skill scroll to several heroes so everyone has such a skill. The ability to remove positive enchantments from enemies is a crucial ability in some battles. You don't need to count the skill scrolls yourself. The stats tracker checks your inventory for the scroll items to determine the total count.

The "missing" battles are probably the first two against Dynamo where he escapes. Any battles that end in "Perished" should count as losses. I'm relying on the engine counter for these to be accurate.

The amount of treasures is not tracked out of a set total for a few reasons. The number of chests is variable, as some bonus treasures can be earned infinitely (Puzzles, hunting, etc.), and there's no distinction between bonus and fixed chests. Some chests can be missed, such as during the War of the Eclipse. I'm also not sure if the number of generic treasures are the same in the three Tyr-Anon Invasion dungeons. On a New Game+, most chests reset, but not all, reducing the potential total on replays. The most important justification, however, is I didn't want players stressing over a perfect chest count, even in a 100% run. Given there are so many chests, many that are hard to find or not skip accidentally, I didn't consider such a requirement fair. I don't want to encourage players to waste excessive time grinding for a meaningless objective, they should be having fun and always making rewarding progress.

Battle Scars has a maximum limit of 9,998 until heroes are reborn. Then the maximum limit is the average maximum HP of party heroes minus one. The damage can be reduced by the Scarab Amulet. The description in the Tactics Help section currently fails to mention the limit.

For weapons, ATK is not as important as the multiplier. The ultimate weapons increase base damage by ten times. Once you have the best weapons, raising the total of STR + ATK becomes your main source of increasing physical damage. Might is a quick way to double that total. If you're mathematically inclined, the formula for regular attack damage is:

* Weapon Multiplier * Magic Multipliers

There's nothing special about Vixen's combat abilities. Her STR curve is lower than a melee focused hero like Drakeor or Glen, but significantly higher than other casters. If she's dealing that much more damage, her STR must be much higher than the rest of your party. Total level can also have an impact on damage, as the dual wield penalty decreases as you approach 200. Critical hits will always be insane at higher damage because they triple the amount.

Monsters automatically balance according to the average stats of your heroes. If Vixen has higher STR she will pull the mean in her direction, but not enough that encounters are truly balanced. It's hard to actually employ a better algorithm using statistics given the limited mathematics the engine is capable of.

As for Kurgalaxes, Beomaust, and Ultima, these spells deal the highest damage of any hero skills, and they also make all targets receive double damage with subsequent castings. I'm hesitant to weaken these skills, as casters need to compete with ridiculous physical attacks in the end game as you've noticed.

It just occurred to me I could make the Might condition only last a few turns, requiring constant reapplication, but this wouldn't address equipment that automatically inflicts the enchantment. At some point it will also be reduced to a nuisance not worth maintaining, which is not the goal.
Just read your reply, DJC. So critical hits amount to triple damage? Wow, that puts things in perspective. As I said, knowing that balance in battle is a really difficult objective, I understand you deciding not to overhaul the system and instead going for careful tinkering here and there.
Your reasoning about not displaying the total number of treasures and preserving fun for all players is very interesting, besides the fact that the amount of chests varies each time as you stated. Thank you for explaining.

I had a few questions about plot points, if that´s okay. First, about the Invincible Four aka the 4 heroes of old. From what we´re told at different points, it´s clear that Laverna (the one with the wings)=Seraph=founder of Seraphia=we fight her at Vanguard, it all checks. Idem with Marowit (the enchantress)=Welana Eridwell=founder of Eridwell=we fight her at the East Tower.
But I´m a bit confused about the other two, Valkyrie and Nergal, because we´re told that Val Veritas (the hero with a beard) founded the North Kingdom near Occultus Gaza, and yet at that location, we fight Nergal, who is entirely clad in armor, which looks more like the one we´re told founded Tyr-Anon? So is Valkyrie meant to be Val Veritas, or is it Nergal?

Also, now that I´m replaying the game, it´s not quite clear to me what´s the deal with the voice that helps Azrael break out of his cell at the beginning of the story. We know that Altair engineers his escape from the Tyr-Anox, so does that mean the voice is Entropy´s? Is it Expirius´s? Given that they´re both sealed in the Void at first, how are they intervening if it´s them, and for that matter, how did they make Azrael a conduit for the Abyss lords, why him, and why wait 1000 years later if Altair´s been around all that time (since we know he was a fool at Expirius´s court)?

Sorry if that seems like a lot of questions, but I´m always interested in understanding the intricacies of a plot! You wrote in other comments that due to time constraints, you had had to cut a lot of moments linked to that and also character development, so I thought I´d ask you here.

When it comes to character development, precisely, I wanted to tell you that I have to say that some of Glen´s interactions with Meredith and Vixen bothered me, because some of his answers are really awful (at one point he derogatorily goes on about Vixen "spreading her legs", quote), and between that, her frequently being insulted as a "harlot", and also the several mentions of rape, it´s relatively offputting.
Did you get a chance to compare Vixen's STR and level to the other heroes in your party? If those are not the factors contributing to her damage output discrepency, there might be a bug or incorrect database entry I'm unaware of.

The high critical multiplier is mostly for monsters, particularly end game bosses so their physical attacks deal significant damage if the player does not wear equipment that blocks critical hits. Hero critical strikes are rarer, except for specific weapons, and I could reduce those if you think that would improve balance.

In earlier versions, the Invincible Four where not the enslaved souls of the four legendary heroes. They were just servants of Expirius. I couldn't change the location of the bosses without balancing the battles again. Nergal (Mandros Tyranus) should have been at West Tower in Tyr-Anon. Marowit (Val Veritas) at Occultus Gaza, and more of a fighter than pure mage. Laverna (Phoebe Seraphim) is in the correct location, but Valkyrie (Welana Eridwell) belongs at East Tower as a caster only.

The voice that speaks and attempts to control Azrael is Expirius. Azrael was chosen to host the Abyssal Lords as his soul was already stained and corrupted as a Blackguard. The infestation allows Expirius to communicate with Azrael from his prison. I don't entirely recall the justification for waiting a millennia, it's lost in my story notes, but I believe Altair was dispatched by the four heroes and it took time for him to reconstitute a physical form and engineer his master's plans, such as finding a suitable vessel for the Abyssal Lords, who were still free in the world of men but incorporeal and powerless. There have been so many character and plot changes over the course of more than a decade it's difficult to keep plot strands cohesive.

If I had completed the story rewrite, the motives of Expirius would have been entirely different than invoking the eclipse and destroying the seals to return and obtain power from Entropy. Expirius was going to be a tragic villain betrayed by the supposed four legendary heroes, stuck in a time loop by the fallen god Entropy until he managed to fulfill their bargain, which he made to save his kingdom rather than selfish gain. Azrael would be a conduit across time who would eventually absorb the knowledge of Expirius as they traded thoughts. Expirius was trying to break the cycle by guiding the game's heroes along the only path that could break the loop, after countless iterations and failures.

That's a good point about how cruel and tasteless you can choose to make Glen's responses. Suffice to say, those choices have an enormous impact on the affection rating, but I don't like them and I planned to remove the entire romance mechanic. Glen and Meredith would have had a chance to bond, with additional scenes during their scenario and afterward. Vixen would have become an initially unrequited romance for Justin, the reveal of her true character changing this dynamic.

The game used to be much more lighthearted. Introducing character complexity took the tone in a different direction, and some players have voiced their disappointment and displeasure with the changes. I feel the story and characters are the weakest aspect of the game because of the rewrites and massive cuts to backstory and personal development.

Ask as many questions as you like! I'll do my best to answer from what I remember is in the game and was intended.

author=Ekoh
Just read your reply, DJC. So critical hits amount to triple damage? Wow, that puts things in perspective. As I said, knowing that balance in battle is a really difficult objective, I understand you deciding not to overhaul the system and instead going for careful tinkering here and there.
Your reasoning about not displaying the total number of treasures and preserving fun for all players is very interesting, besides the fact that the amount of chests varies each time as you stated. Thank you for explaining.

I had a few questions about plot points, if that´s okay. First, about the Invincible Four aka the 4 heroes of old. From what we´re told at different points, it´s clear that Laverna (the one with the wings)=Seraph=founder of Seraphia=we fight her at Vanguard, it all checks. Idem with Marowit (the enchantress)=Welana Eridwell=founder of Eridwell=we fight her at the East Tower.
But I´m a bit confused about the other two, Valkyrie and Nergal, because we´re told that Val Veritas (the hero with a beard) founded the North Kingdom near Occultus Gaza, and yet at that location, we fight Nergal, who is entirely clad in armor, which looks more like the one we´re told founded Tyr-Anon? So is Valkyrie meant to be Val Veritas, or is it Nergal?

Also, now that I´m replaying the game, it´s not quite clear to me what´s the deal with the voice that helps Azrael break out of his cell at the beginning of the story. We know that Altair engineers his escape from the Tyr-Anox, so does that mean the voice is Entropy´s? Is it Expirius´s? Given that they´re both sealed in the Void at first, how are they intervening if it´s them, and for that matter, how did they make Azrael a conduit for the Abyss lords, why him, and why wait 1000 years later if Altair´s been around all that time (since we know he was a fool at Expirius´s court)?

Sorry if that seems like a lot of questions, but I´m always interested in understanding the intricacies of a plot! You wrote in other comments that due to time constraints, you had had to cut a lot of moments linked to that and also character development, so I thought I´d ask you here.

When it comes to character development, precisely, I wanted to tell you that I have to say that some of Glen´s interactions with Meredith and Vixen bothered me, because some of his answers are really awful (at one point he derogatorily goes on about Vixen "spreading her legs", quote), and between that, her frequently being insulted as a "harlot", and also the several mentions of rape, it´s relatively offputting.
Ok, so I just went and checked their strength levels in the profiles section so I could answer you precisely. Vixen´s number is astronomically high compared to my other physical attackers. She has 7520, whereas all my other physical fighters are between 2500 and 3500 (with equipment). And honestly, I don´t understand why. I removed her equipment to see how much it boosted her, and without it, she still was at 5895. I haven´t been feeding her power sources either, I practically haven´t touched those. It´s also not the main level, I always keep the characters as close as I can (right now, they´re all between 150 and 155). A glitch somehow?
Before seeing those numbers, I would have indeed just suggested lowering the odds of a critical hit, but now it looks like my Vixen is just an outlier, so maybe it´s only my game that has this problem.

Thank you very much for answering my plot and character-related questions. The backstory you´re describing here about Azrael, Altair and Expirius is fascinating. Having Expirius guide Azrael so he can get out of a time loop is an incredible idea rife with emotional and world-building potential. It would be believable, because there are hints in the story about this as is, such as when the 4 heroes mention that they balked at eliminating Expirius´s soul forever because he had undertaken his plan "out of desperation and not malice". Desperation for his kingdom, it turns out, according to what you wrote here. And we´ve seen that Altair is emotionally devoted to Expirius, so him trying to save his former master from suffering by (if I´m following your idea well) becoming a Cirigon high official, engineering the Blackguard program and finally launching an all-out war fits into the mythos and what we´ve seen of him.
I really like that gist, it gives the story a lot more additional depth. It also would have been very interesting to see the backstory between the 4 heroes and Expirius to understand their motivations, why the latter thought he had to make a deal with a fallen god to save his kingdom and what exactly constituted the former´s "betrayal" you speak of.

As for the romantic interactions, the option you´re delineating here, that of simply showing additional bonding scenes between Glen and Meredith, would have worked better, in my opinion. Concerning Justin and Vixen, there are hints of this in the game already, since at one point Justin mentions how loathe he is to see another "princess of great beauty" endangered in their quest. Given Vixen´s political importance (Revirdok being a major world power), however, I personally don´t think it makes sense for her to have a romantic plot at all, besides the fact that Justin had just lost his fiancee, so it would feel very rushed if he were to embark on another courtship in the span of the story. After all, it´s been years and years since Glen´s previous heartbreak.

All in all, when it comes to all the plot changes and rewrites you´ve done, and where you intended to take the story, it feels like the current game is almost stuck in-between, with a bit of a hodge-podge of discordant elements, like the Invincible Four´s identity carrousel you just cleared up for me (you not wanting to have to recalibrate 4 battles makes sense, of course, so I understand why you didn´t modify the sequence). Without having to invest a lot of time, maybe there are some simple changes that could streamline the story a little (for instance a line of dialog here and there)?

But really, you have my thanks for the amount of effort you continue to put into the game, and since you´re encouraging me with my questions (dangerous endeavor, that, although I am truly grateful), I´m curious as to whether it was always intended that we wouldn´t be able to set foot in Revirdok. There are a few other places we can´t access at any point in the game (the dwarf king´s private chambers behind his throne, or the royal chambers in Alveus, if I´m remembering correctly), but those are just rooms, whereas Revirdok is a big city with huge relevance to the plot (at one point Altair mentions that the Eastern kingdoms haven´t been attacked because the archmage of Revirdok has unimaginable powers, clearly singling that individual out as the biggest threat to the Cirigon). Or was there another version of the game in which we could explore the city? Actually, I wondered the same thing about the silver mines in Seraphia (where the guards tell you that only registered workers can go inside, and given that one of the villagers says they´re looking for more workers...), were they meant to be explored in some version?
And another thing, if I may ask, was the Captain Diego who is constantly mentioned in Bridelweld meant to be encountered at some point? Also, does the modern technology we see at different points in the story (Peregrine´s memory beacons, Atlantis, Prodigium Nidus and the mechs) mean that Everlong´s world is linked to ours, happening in the indeterminate future maybe?

Thanks as always, DJC.
Are you able to recall when Vixen first started having a significantly higher damage output than other heroes? I'm assuming she is the only hero of the twelve with exceedingly high stats. I'll try to recreate the bug, but it would help if I could narrow the scope of my search and testing.

Justin's development would have been significantly altered. His fiancee wouldn't be a damsel in distress, but a political player who betrays the west and sides with the Cirigoth, attempting to seize the throne of Bridelveil from her inept father before the cult of Expirius double crosses her and Justin's rescue at Mt. Asper fails. I would have to check my story notes, but the relationship between Justin and Vixen later in the game would not involve courtship. Justin would be torn between grief and anger, mostly unreceptive to her inexperienced approaches until he's able to reconcile his emotions.

I would absolutely agree that the story remains conflicted and incoherent given all the incomplete changes spanning years. I don't think a few more line changes will make a difference. A total rewrite would be required to create a consistent plot and character development. I'm comfortable letting the gameplay drive and hold the game together, while conceding the story is serviceable at best.

Revirdok was meant to be a large, populated city. A plot change would have involved Glen restoring the team after the Eclipse, recruiting each hero one at a time. Keen would have voluntarily surrendered to the Revirdok authorities, and a quest involving the Thieves Guild to get him out of jail would have ensued following meeting Vixen and Willis. This was all cut, along with the city.

The silver mines in Seraphia were originally just world building to explain the country's economy, but I had ideas for a mining mini-game or mechanic where ores were discovered in various caves and weapons or items could be created by smiths.

Captain Diego was going to replace the character of Cid who pilots your ship and airship, with a cameo during the War of the Eclipse and perhaps other instances.

The modern technology, such as the airship and memory becomes, survived from previous eras, built by ancient civilizations long gone as the world is reborn every age. Everlong is entirely a fantasy world.
How do you activate skills like Ensuna ? Thanks anyone !!
author=Dennis
How do you activate skills like Ensuna ? Thanks anyone !!


You activate skill scrolls the same as any other skills, but you cannot do so until you have obtained the item itself. You will only find skill scrolls in specific chests, as listed in a post above. Once in your inventory, if the selected hero can activate the skill, it will now be possible when chosen on their skill shard page if you have the requisite number of shards. Each hero has access to different skill scrolls, just as their regular skills are unique, though there is sharing. Not all heroes can use Esuna, but several may. The skill must activated for each hero you want to use it.
Thanks - just as you were answering - I figured it out that they were scrolls ! Thanks Again !
Oh my. I've been playing this since before version 2.00, but I haven't touched it for, well, probably the better part of a decade now. I've started again and things are quite a bit different from how I remember it, in ways I both like and dislike.

Anyway, I've reached Aurora's temple, here's a couple of dialogue things I've noticed so far:
-Several dialogues in Herbtown pub still mentions stairs and suspicious group of men even though they've been removed.
-Comstock item shop dialogues still reference Border Town instead of Twin Shores.
-Comstock inn dialogue references an "old man and a woman" looking after Azrael when it's now just Logan instead of Logan and Julia.
-In Laurium guardroom, guard near the entrance says "Right now the Tyr-Anox the bridge," maybe needs a "have" in there.
-In Laurium, leftmost guard at mine entrance says "liscense", should be "license".
-In Argentum, woman walking around says "beautifulm"
-Argentum pub dialogue still references man with huge sword.
-In the first meeting with Drakeor, he says "an Zodiac"; probably should be "a Zodiac".
-In dialogue with Aurora, she says "millenia" instead of "millennia".

Also, this might just be the fault of my play style, but giving the shadows in the temple healing and immunity to physical attacks is really screwing with my enjoyment of this part seeing as Julia's the only one that can do a significant amount of damage and I can't leave to go see if buying some different weapons would have helped. It's not even that the shadows pose much of a threat; battles with them are tedious rather than tense.

The ramped up difficulty of battles so far has been pretty good in my opinion, it's just that I think giving enemies immunities early on when the characters have relatively few damage options is more of an annoyance than a challenge.
Hey there Mayfly, and welcome back to the new version of Everlong.

I do appreciate the feedback, and while I'll definitely make those dialog fixes, I don't recommend wasting too much of your time reporting all the spelling and grammatical errors you come across considering their multitude. At this point I'm not going to release updates often for minor issues.

I agree with your comments about the Shadow enemies in the Void. I will make them half susceptible to physical damage rather than immune. There may be some silver weapons that can hurt them, but they are either found later in the dungeon, or are available from shops the player cannot access in the Void. The other characters besides Julia do have some skills to damage the Shadows, but they are expensive or not necessarily acquired yet depending on level.
Mark me down as someone else who hasn't tried Everlong in years and is surprised (and excited) at the amount of updates it's gotten. Unfortunately I messed up and forgot to talk to Swank at Mariner's Landing, and now I'm at Comstock (with my oldest save being at Eridwell's Refuge, meaning I can't go back to Mariner's Landing), so I can't advance his sidequest. Does anyone have a save they can share where Swank's sidequest has been activated?

Fake Edit: It just occurred to me that I could probably just start a new game, turn on Story Mode and Impatient Mode and blitz through the game until I'm back at Mariner's Landing. If nobody has any saves they want to share I'll probably just end up doing that. (Real Edit: And now I have. Also, I'm an idiot and Swank is in Herbtown, not Mariner's Landing. Thanks for adding Story Mode and Impatient Mode, DJC!)
Hey there, SimonTheDigger,

Swank actually cannot be missed permanently. If the player fails to talk to him at any location in the story chain, he'll still appear in a different spot later in the game as a recruitable NPC.

The only thing that can be missed in a single play through is the Letters quest, but the reward is not unique, and can be completed on a new game+ if 100% finish is desired.

Let me know if you find any significant bugs or balance issues in the current version. Enjoy!
Hello! TreasonWall from the Everlong forums here, with the first chunk of extensive free time I've had in quite a while. I just started playing V3.32, and I've got to say that "Hard mode" setting is a really great addition to the game. It feels extremely refreshing to suddenly get torn apart by early bosses like Ull and Belial when I'm so used to walking all over this game with nothing to stop me (I did after all beat Khaer Magnus in two different playthroughs without ever using the new Game+ function in v3.27).

I noticed just about every boss seems to have a way more dangerous moveset than before, too, which makes some fights a lot more interesting than they used to be.
Speaking of that sort of thing, I've read the review section for this game and would like to say that I for one really like all the devious enemy moves such as Reversal, Price of Gold, Backfire, Bloodsong and all the rest and I strongly hope those remain a part of the game forever.

The additional plot points so far are also quite well done, lots of interesting stuff in there.

Anyway, I've reached the Belial fight and noticed two questionable things so far:

- I don't know if this is fixable, but some tiles in Borealis Outpost and in the Underground Tyr-Anox base at Mariner's Landing generate a field terrain during combat. Kind of an immersion breaker.

- A lot of the NPC dialogue in the Herbtown pub has become nonsensical since the map was modified, referencing characters and objects which no longer exist.

Anyway, that's it for now but I'll probably have more remarks to make as I progress through the game.