Difference between revisions of "Updates"

Revision as of 21:46, 20 July 2007

As Phantasy Star Universe's Network Mode is essentially a massively multi-player online RPG (MMORPG), it's not hugely surprising that from time to time it shall receive game updates and content additions.

This page is to list the state of the game's Network Mode as of specific dates, and record the history of what each update achieved. As the game grows in the number of updates (hence, the amount of content) it may become necessary to split details of each update (or each month's worth of) into separate sub-articles.

All times specified within this article are PST, to match the various times used and specified on the Phantasy Star Universe website.

Initial State

Unlike the other sections, this one makes note of how the game was before any updates were added.

Date: From 24th of October release to 16th of November maintenance (from 23:00 to 04:45 on the 17th).

Flight Destinations

Unlike all updates following the game's initial state, Network Mode did not allow access to the planet Moatoob in it's initial state. It had the following planets, each with the one specified city and the following flight destinations (when leaving your "My Room"):

Types

The three "basic" types (the classic trio from Phantasy Star Online) were the only possible GUARDIAN types on the game's launch:

Level Cap

On the game's release, GUARDIANS could reach a maximum level of 50 before they stopped gaining experience points.

Missions

The following missions were available:

Story Missions

Network Mode began with no story missions available, the most obvious reason for this being that Network Mode story missions are a direct continuation of offline Story Mode and players would want to be given a fair amount of time to complete that before starting starting the Network Mode story mission string.

Party Missions

Network Mode began with no party missions available, the most obvious reason for this being that Network Mode was still new and Party Missions are somewhat involved and require a suitable amount of experience with the game, thus players would want to be given a fair amount of time to get used to the game before starting something as involved as these.

Available

The following weapons, photon arts, etc. were accessible at the start of the game:

Events

Network Mode started out "vanilla", without any Events active. This is worthy of note not only for this article to be complete, but also because the game started out while the Haloween Event was active in the JP PC/PS2 version of Phantasy Star Universe.

Other Changes

• There was a patch download required during the first connection to Phantasy Star Universe Network Mode, however as this was the "initial state", it is unknown what this actually achieved, nor is it of particular importance.

Update 001

Date: From 16th of November maintenance (from 23:00 to 04:45 on the 17th) to 7th of December maintenance (from 23:00 to 04:00 on the 8th).

Flight Destinations

Access to the planet Moatoob was added in this update, adding three new flight destinations to the game on leaving "My Room":

Missions

New missions were added to all three planets.

Other Changes

• Players have discovered that the Partner Machinery GH-450 now has issues switching weapons. Allegedly despite the switching animation and noise, the weapon remains the same and as such the PM now no longer heals, among other things.

• As of this update there have been numerous complaints about the PC version of the game experiencing mysterious periods of slowdown, mostly during Parum and Neudaiz missions. Some players have noted that this also occurred in the first JP update, though the immediate update after that fixed the issue. It is believed to be related to texture changes somehow.

• Prior to this patch, it has been reported that Hunters on the Xbox 360 version had incorrect stat calculations, making them level-for-level better off than their PC/PS2 counterparts and disproportionately more effective than Xbox 360 Rangers and Forces. This has been addressed in this patch, causing a large amount of unwarranted complaint from Xbox 360 Hunters.

Update 002

Date: From 7th of December maintenance (from 23:00 to 04:00 on the 8th) to 14th of December maintenance (from 23:00 to 04:00 on the 15th).

Types

Seven "expert" types were added in this update, a selection of three hybrid types, three specialist types, and one "experimental" type.

Level Cap

This update raised the maximum level cap of GUARDIANS to level 60 before they stopped gaining experience points.

Missions

No all-new missions were added, but 2 missions were given S-Rank difficulty.

Story Missions

The first of a new series of story missions (obstensibly named "Episode 2" as it is set after the offline Story Mode) was introduced with this update.

This mission is titled "The Mask", is initiated from Clyez City 5th Floor: GUARDIANS HQ, and is freely repeatable.

Available

The following were added to become accessible:

Events

This update introduced the Christmas Event to the game, which lasted until the Update 005 on Boxing Day.

Other Changes

• This update was carried out entirely server-side, thus PC users did not receive a patch download for this update.

• As there was no patch download, previous client-side issues (most notably the texture/slowdown issue from Update 001) have yet to be resolved.

Update 003

Date: From 14th of December maintenance (from 23:00 to 04:00 on the 15th) to 21st of December maintenance (from 23:00 to 03:00 on the 22nd).

Missions

No all-new missions were added, but 5 missions were given S-Rank difficulty.

Other Changes

• This update was carried out entirely server-side, thus PC users did not receive a patch download for this update.

• As there was no patch download, previous client-side issues (most notably the texture/slowdown issue from Update 001) have yet to be resolved.

Update 004

Date: From 21st of December maintenance (from 23:00 to 03:00 on the 22nd) to 26th of December ("rescheduled Boxing Day") maintenance.

Missions

No all-new missions were added, but 3 missions were given S-Rank difficulty.

Story Missions

The second of a new series of story missions (obstensibly named "Episode 2" as it is set after the offline Story Mode) was introduced with this update.

This mission is titled "Desert's End", is initiated from Clyez City 5th Floor: GUARDIANS HQ, and is freely repeatable.

Other Changes

• This update was carried out entirely server-side, thus PC users did not receive a patch download for this update.

• As there was no patch download, previous client-side issues (most notably the texture/slowdown issue from Update 001) have yet to be resolved.

Update 005

Date: From 26th of December ("rescheduled Boxing Day") maintenance to 11th of January maintenance (from 23:00 to 02:00 on the 12th).

Events

This update concluded the Christmas Event introduced in Update 002, sooner than many players expected.

This update also introduced the New Year's Event to the game, which lasted until Update 006 on the 11th of January.

Other Changes

• A Photon Charger was added next to the Universe Transporter next to the Flyer Base in Ohtoku City, presumably because the recent addition of Mizuraki Defense S had caused a notable amount of player activity in the area seeking a PP refill.

• This update was carried out entirely server-side, thus PC users did not receive a patch download for this update.

• As there was no patch download, previous client-side issues (most notably the texture/slowdown issue from Update 001) have yet to be resolved.

• This is not generally considered a "full update" as Events are not particularly tangible.

Update 006

Date: From 11th of January maintenance (from 23:00 to 02:00 on the 12th) to 18th of January maintenance (from 23:25 to 02:05 on the 19th).

Level Cap

This update raised the maximum level cap of GUARDIANS to level 70 before they stopped gaining experience points.

Missions

No all-new missions were added, but 3 missions were given S-Rank difficulty.

Story Missions

The third of the series of story missions (still "Episode 2") was introduced with this update.

This mission is titled "HIVE Purge", is initiated from Clyez City 5th Floor: GUARDIANS HQ, and is freely repeatable.

Party Missions

The first "party mission" has been added to the game. It is titled "Bruce's Dungeon" and is accessible at the Moatoob GUARDIANS HQ. The mission requires a party of 2-5 players.

Available

Events

This update concluded the New Year's Event introduced in Update 005.

This update also introduced the Winter Event to the game, which lasted until Update 009 on the 1st of February.

Other Changes

• The issues with the Partner Machinery "GH-450" introduced with Update 001 have been resolved at last.

• The texture/slowdown issues introduced with Update 001 have finally been fixed.

• The Graphics -> Custom menu in the PC Phantasy Star Universe Options menu has been updated. There is now an option to enable or disable MIPMAPping.

Update 007

Date: From 18th of January maintenance (from 23:25 to 02:05 on the 19th) to 25th of January maintenance (from 23:00 to 03:00 on the 26th).

Missions

No all-new missions were added, but 5 missions were given S-Rank difficulty.

Other Changes

• There was a patch download required with this update.

• The short-lived "Clothing Glitch" using questionable methods to enable oddities such as wearing half a swimsuit alongside normal clothing has been rendered impossible.

• The "trick" of disconnecting if a synthesis fails and then cancelling that synthesis to save a board use has also been made impossible - the "Cancel Synthesis" option now greys out when the synthesis time reaches 0:00 left.

Update 008

Date: From 25th of January maintenance (from 23:00 to 03:00 on the 26th) to 1st of February maintenance (from 23:00 to 02:50 on the 2nd).

Missions

New missions were added to GUARDIANS Colony, Parum and Moatoob.

Story Missions

The fourth of the series of story missions (still "Episode 2") was introduced with this update.

This mission is titled "Shadow Conspiracy", is initiated from Clyez City 5th Floor: GUARDIANS HQ, and is freely repeatable.

Other Changes

• There was a patch download required with this update.

• Partner Machinery feeding was changed - now, when you feed a PM an item, you stop "talking" to it.

Update 009

Date: From 1st of February maintenance (from 23:00 to 02:50 on the 2nd) to 8th of February maintenance (from 23:00 to 01:30 on the 9th).

Missions

New missions were added to Parum, Neudaiz and Moatoob.

Story Missions

No new story missions were added with this update. However, players are now be freely able to select the difficulty of story missions they undertake. Previously they were auto-assigned a difficulty based on their character level.

Available

Events

This update concluded the Winter Event introduced in Update 006.

This update introduced the Valentine's Day Event to the game, which lasted until Update 011 on the 16th of February.

Other Changes

• This update was carried out entirely server-side, thus PC users did not receive a patch download for this update.

• There is a "Status adjustment of Partner Machinery." Player reaction suggests that this has basically upped the damage output of the GH-430, GH-440 and GH-450 models.

• Traps have received a "power adjustment". They now do more damage on being set off. Their status effects seem to remain unchanged.

• The rarity of "Moon Atomizer X" and "[B] Moon Atomizer X" has been changed from 7* to 6*. This means they are no longer considered "rares" by the game. However they still show as 7* in player shops.

Update 010

Date: From 8th of February maintenance (from 23:00 to 01:30 on the 9th) to 16th of February maintenance (from 03:20 to 03:30).

Story Missions

The fifth of the series of story missions (still "Episode 2") was introduced with this update.

This mission is titled "Valley of Doubt", is initiated from Clyez City 5th Floor: GUARDIANS HQ, and is freely repeatable.

Other Changes

• This update was carried out entirely server-side, thus PC users did not receive a patch download for this update.

• The Englsih PSU update preview cited 20 "ultimate" Photon Arts to be included with this update, however the JP 360 update preview (Google translation) mentioned only the story mission. Ultimately the PAs were never added, with the EN staff citing "technical difficulties" as the reason.

• The ATA requirement to equip the Valentine 10* bow "Kohibumiteri" was significantly lowered since it was noticed that the only type able to equip it (Fortetecher) have the lowest ATA in the game.

Update 011

Date: From 16th of February maintenance (from 03:20 to 03:30) to 1st? of March? maintenance (from ??:?? to ??:?? on the 2nd).

Events

This update concluded the Valentine's Day Event introduced in Update 009.

Other Changes

• This update was carried out entirely server-side, thus PC users did not receive a patch download for this update.

• This is not generally considered a "full update" as Events are not particularly tangible.

Update 012

Date: 1st of March maintenance (from 22:55 to 02:40 on the 2nd) to 8th of March maintenance (from ??:?? to ??:?? on the 9th).

Missions

A new mission was added to the "satellite" extension of the GUARDIANS Colony.

Party Missions

New "party" missions were added to Neudaiz and Moatoob. Unlike Bruce's Dungeon these are completable solo, do not forbid scapes, involve an NPC or have a time limit. However, at least two people are required in order to get most of the item boxes or S-Rank the mission.

Available

The update added "an Item Exchange mission" which is used to obtain the "Ultimate" Photon Arts, as those require exchanging the item PA Fragment for new skills, bullets and TECHNICs. In addition, the new free mission provides access to an interesting new shop.

Other Changes

• There was a patch download required with this update.

• This update fixes the long-known bug known as "shift-cancelling" where PC players who used the "Keyboard" control scheme could make use of the "Shift" key to instantly cancel the casting of Dam-type and Nos-type TECHNICs. While not particularly harmful for Dam-type TECHs, Nos-type TECHs continue to take effect even after the casting has begun, so making extensive use of the bug would have allowed enterprising Fortetechers to achieve an alarming damage output.

• The Partner Machinery feeding change from Update 008 has been reverted - PC/PS2 players are now no longer kicked out of all menus every time they feed their PM one item.

• In the PC/PS2 versions, when under first-person view, players can now press the "Switch Weapon" button to use their Goggles, regardless of whether they are on their item palette or not. This results in one space on the item palette being freed up.

Update 013

Date: From 8th of March maintenance (from 23:05 to 01:15 on the 9th) to 22nd of March maintenance (from 23:05 to 00:00 on the 23rd).

Level Cap

This update raised the maximum level cap of GUARDIANS to level 80 before they stopped gaining experience points.

Missions

No all-new missions were added, but 3 missions were given S2-Rank difficulty.

Story Missions

The sixth of the series of story missions (still "Episode 2") will be introduced with this update.

This mission title is (potential spoiler, highlight: Rescuing Hyuga), is initiated from Clyez City 5th Floor: GUARDIANS HQ, and is freely repeatable.

Available

This update delivered interesting new Partner Machinery devices to Phantasy Star Universe. Back in Update 002 the PM Device ZERO was added, which reset your Partner Machinery to Production and B St. level 0. These new devices allow you adapt the model (and only that model) of your Partner Machinery. For example: If you own a GH-420 model, you may use PM Device 421 or PM Device 422 in order to change it into GH-421 or GH-422 respectively.

Other known details are that 4_1 models are marketed as "defense type" with regenerative HP (as with a Me / HP Restore unit) while 4_2 models are cited as "attack type" with the "Sturm Buster" SUV weapon!

Events

This update introduced the White Day Event to the game, which lasted until Update 014 on the 23rd of March.

Other Changes

• There was a "balance adjustment" to monsters and boss monsters of level 20 and above. It's believed this was mostly stat reductions.

Update 014

Date: From 22nd of March maintenance (from 23:05 to 00:00 on the 23rd) to 12th of April maintenance (from 23:00 to 02:30 on the 13th).

Party Missions

New "party" missions were added to Parum and Neudaiz. These are in the same vein as The Eastern Peril and Rogues' Shortcut.

Events

This update concluded the White Day Event introduced in Update 013.

This update introduced the Easter Event to the game, which lasted until Update 015 on the 13th of April.

Other Changes

• On the Xbox 360 servers, the "Tails" room decoration has appeared in the shared bank of seemingly random players. The detais on how people recieved this is still unknown, with theories such as beta/demo or St. Patrick's Day participation all being challenged. There will be a demo event soon for the 360 that grants participants the Tails decoration, but this is separate to the decorations that have already appeared.

Update 015

Date: 12th of April maintenance (from 23:00 to 02:30 on the 13th) to 26th of April maintenance (from 23:00 to 03:00 on the 27th).

Missions

No all-new missions were added, but 3 missions were given S2-Rank difficulty.

Story Missions

The seventh of the series of story missions (still "Episode 2") was introduced with this update.

This mission is titled "Protect the Festa", is initiated from Clyez City 5th Floor: GUARDIANS HQ, and is freely repeatable.

Events

This update concluded the Easter Event introduced in Update 014.

This update introduced the Cherry Blossom Event to the game, which will last until Update 016 on the 27th of April.

Other Changes

• Two new clothing sets each were added during this update. CASTs can buy parts from the GUARDIANS Colony as well as Moatoob, but the others must travel to Moatoob.

• The mission selection process has been slightly modified for mission counters which previously had two pages' worth (Agata Islands, Dagora City): Instead of listing possible missions and difficulties all on one screen, you must first select the mission and then the difficulty.

• Many monsters often seen as "the most annoying monsters in the game" have received a "rebalance" which has unsurprisingly been discovered to mean a downpowering. The list consists of:

• The drop rates of the following monsters was also adjusted (though to what end, we don't know):

Update 016

Date: 26th of April maintenance (from 23:00 to 03:00 on the 27th) to 10th of May maintenance (from ??:?? to ??:?? on the 11th).

Missions

No all-new missions were added, but two missions were given S2-Rank difficulty.

Story Missions

The eighth of the series of story missions (still "Episode 2") was introduced with this update.

This mission is titled "Flash of Ruin", is initiated from Clyez City 5th Floor: GUARDIANS HQ, and is freely repeatable.

Events

This update concluded the Cherry Blossom Event introduced in Update 015.

Update 017

Date: 10th of May maintenance (from 23:00 to 02:30 on the 11th) to 24th of May maintenance (from 23:00 to 01:00 on the 25th).

Missions

No new missions were added, but 4 missions were given S2-rank difficulty.

S-Rank Items

Mad Beasts S2 and Rainbow Beast S2 both have level 100+ monsters, and as a result several S-Rank Weapons and Armor boards will drop in these missions.

Update 018

Date: 24th of May maintenance (from 23:00 to 01:00 on the 25th) to 7th of June maintenance (from 23:00 to 01:00 on the 8th).

Events

This update introduced the Wedding Event, decorating the main lobbies of all three planets and the GUARDIANS Colony with wedding cakes and bells. It is scheduled to conclude on June 7th.

Operation Firebreak was also introduced with this update and will conclude on June 28th. Five all new missions were added along with a number of special prizes.

Missions

With the introduction of Operation Firebreak, the following new missions are currently available.

Available

A Grinder Boards are now available at MA-GRMS: Clyez. Also, during the Wedding Event, you will be able to purchase the rare 11* Wedding Cake room decoration from the Clyez City Variety Shop.

For the duration of Operation Firebreak, any Ban-photons you collect can be traded in for various items listed below by accessing a trading mission from the counter at the Clyez City GUARDIANS HQ.

Update 019

Date: 7th of June maintenance (from 23:00 to 01:00 on the 8th) to ?? of June maintenance (from 23:00 to ??:?? on the ??).

Events

This update concluded the Wedding Event which was initiated in Update 018. Two new events were introduced, however:

• Parum Standardization Commemoration
• Sonic's Anniversary

Missions

Two new Operation Firebreak missions were added to Parum.

Items

Numerous new high-ranking items can be found from various enemies. Some currently-known items include Twin Kitty Claws, Puyoment Aura and Twin Bearclaw.

Attribute Adjustments

Stats for Lou and Ethan in story mode have been slightly adjusted with this update. Lou now exhibits better defense and skill in combat while Ethan has picked up a few new Photon Arts.

Update 020

Date: 28 June 2007

Events

In this update, the following events were concluded:

• Operation Firebreak
• Parum Standardization Commemoration
• Sonic's Anniversary

Additionally, the Sonic Statue room decorations from the Sonic's Birthday event were distributed in this update. The clothing discount rewards from Operation Firebreak were also introduced in this update, and are expected to run through the July 13th update:

Missions

All seven Operation Firebreak missions have been removed from the game as of this update. However, two Moatoob missions (System Defense and Desert Terror) had S2 ranking added. Furthermore, the all-new party mission (akin to Bruce's Dungeon) Her Secret Mission has been added to the Neudaiz GUARDIANs branch, with C, B, and A difficulties.

New Items

In addition to several new S-Rank board drops, this update added three A-Rank SUV units for CASTs (Blitz, Hegel, and Meteor Attackers). Furthermore, several new long-awaited clothing sets have been added (Braves and Nobles Coat sets for males, Smartia and Bunbun sets for females).

Update 021

Date: This update occured on 13 July 2007.

Events

The clothing discount period from Operation Firebreak will be removed during this update. However, it has been announced that the week-long Super Holy Light reward will begin with this update, and the Frying Pan will be distributed to eligible players.

Additionally, the Super Holy Light Festival event is set to be introduced on Neudaiz with this update, changing the lobby of Ohtoku City. A unique Room Decoration, the Super Holy Light Festival item, will be available until this event's conclusion.

Missions

Stolen Weapon, a new co-op boss mission featuring Maggas Magahna will be added to Moatoob in this update, featuring difficulties C through S2. Additionally, S2 difficulty will be added for the following Parum missions: Mad Creatures, Sleeping Warriors, and Plains Overlord.

In addition, the following missions are set to be "rebalanced": Valley of Carnage, Mine Defense, Tunnel Recapture, Desert Goliath, Lab Recovery, Demons Above, Moonlight Beast, Eastern Peril and Forest Infiltration. System Defense and Desert Terror are also going to be "refined." The patch notes state that the rebalanced missions are going to be "streamlined" for better gameplay by removing certain (unspecified) elements, while no specifics have been mention on the "refinements".

Items

As mentioned above, the Frying Pan will be distributed to all who qualify during this update. Additionally, several new S-Ranks will become available in the new S2 Parum missions.

Level Cap

In a long-awaited change, the level cap will be raised to 90 during this update.

PC/PS2 Patches

Mipmap filter and Sound Buffer options are now available for the PC version, and can be found in the Options section of the launcher menu.

In addition, the PC/PS2 versions are receiving a significant change to how deaths affect mission rank. If a player dies during a mission, the death will not be counted unless the player returns to the lobby. If the player is resurrected with a Moon Atomizer, Moon Atomizer X, or the TECHNIC Giresta, no penalty will occur. Although not explicitly stated in the update notes, NPC deaths do not impact mission score regardless of if you revive them or allow them to autorevive.

Enemy speeds in the PC/PS2 version have been lowered in higher-ranking missions.

Also, in response to the recent incident involving My Room cheats, the PC/PS2 servers have been modified to fix several security flaws.