The Reaper struggled to compete with pure damage builds. v0.9.0f enhances the "Soul" mechanic:
Healing and damage mitigation received a slight nudge. Items like the Holy Armor and certain Potions have been tweaked to ensure that "tank builds" require more thoughtful placement rather than just raw resource accumulation. Character-Specific Tweaks The Pyromancer Backpack Battles v0.9.0f
The most exciting addition was a tiny, humming trinket. The Echo Charm : "Every third time you apply a debuff, apply an additional stack of a random debuff from your backpack." For Lys, this was poetry. Her Poison Ivy would trigger the charm, which would then add a stack of Slow (from her boots) or Vulnerable (from her off-hand skull). Combos now had conversations . The Reaper struggled to compete with pure damage builds
This feature addresses a current pain point: Combos now had conversations
: Specialized items for class archetypes were introduced, including the Burning Banner and Dragon Nest.
Unlike many auto-battlers where the meta stagnates, v0.9.0f offers a shocking variety of viable builds. You can win with a "Goat" build (eating everything for stats), a "Vampire" build (lifesteal), a "Crit" build, or a purely defensive "Thorns" build. The balance team has done an excellent job ensuring that "wacky" builds are often just as viable as "meta" builds.