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v1.6.1 — the Aswid rebalance

kanym
Races of Valheim developer

The vampire was all strength and no price. Infinite stamina, a bat that crossed the map at 50 m/s for free while its aura drained everything below, and no real weakness. Players on Discord said so, and they were right. v1.6.1 gives the Aswid a cost for its power, and makes each part of that cost configurable.

Stamina, at last​

No more infinite stamina. The Aswid has a large pool instead: the game's 75, +25, +10 per boss, plus food. It spends stamina like anyone else, so stamina foods, skills and mods matter for the race again, and the stamina bar is back. The bonus is added, never set, so mods that raise max stamina keep working.

Devouring changed with it. Every kill feeds 10% less health, and part of it turns into stamina: 60% for Meadows and Black Forest prey, 10% past them. Creatures without a meal of their own are capped by their biome, so a Black Forest Troll feeds about 16 health and 24 stamina instead of 150 health.

A bat that flies like a drake​

The bat now shares the Skadi drake's flight. It goes where you look; W beats forward, Shift sprints, S beats backwards, and letting go hovers for three seconds before a glide. Flying and sprinting cost stamina, and out of stamina you can only glide. Carrying too much makes flight cost 15% more, or, with While Encumbered set to Blocked, keeps you out of the form.

The Vampiric Aura stays silent in Bat form until The Queen falls. A bat gliding over enemies that cannot reach it, draining them all the way, was the strongest and least fun way to play the race.

The curse's price​

  • Sunlight. By day under open sky you regenerate slower, move 10% slower and burn down to 30% health. A roof, a dungeon, the Swamp, the Mistlands, the night and your own Eclipse shield you.
  • Fire hits 25% harder until Fader. Pierce hits 20% harder.
  • Running water. Swimming costs double stamina, and open water (sea, river or lake) burns you while you swim in it or fly over it. A boat carries you across, though the camera rolls gently on the water, as if you were seasick.

Every weakness has its own switch under Aswid - Weaknesses and Aswid - Running Water, so a single player can turn any of them off. On a server the host decides, except the camera sway, which stays yours.

Heads-up for Skadi players​

Giving the bat and the drake one flight system meant moving and editing the Skadi's flight code. The drake flew normally in our tests, but if it flies oddly anywhere, tell us. The new bat flight has not been tested in multiplayer yet.

Also in this release: devouring with a full stomach now names the food instead of showing "$1", and the README matches the code again for the Draugh, Skadi, Furling and Trenta.

Thanks to frogneel, Aquious, Dagaz and Dissolution for the reports and ideas behind this rebalance. Full details on the Aswid page.