Absolver dons its Halloween mask in prestigious update
Trick and treat
Absolver, the martial arts fighting game that you're not very good at, now has a ‘prestige’ system that lets high-level players redistribute their skill points. Its latest update also brings Halloween masks, new cloaks, a means of obtaining more loot for post-level 60 players, and a way to turn duplicate pieces of gear into salvage, letting you sew up the holes in your natty old trousers. As someone who's been bashing and jabbing since the game's release, usually at fighters far superior to himself, I can confirm this is Absolver’s biggest update so far, and it offers some of the most sensible and in-demand features for the game’s audience of skinny biffers.
The full release notes are here for those thorough Absolvists who must know every small detail. For the rest of us, the main takeaway is that there's more incentive to stay after hitting the level cap. What's more, the loot system has been substantially re-jigged. There should be more loot now for both PvP fighters and folks who just like exploring the world, via a loot crate-style rewarding of “Rift Disks”. To get these gear-containing disks, you either fight other players in the Combat Trials, or earn crystals while levelling up in the larger world, which you use to buy the disks. There’s no way to buy ‘em with real money, which is just fine and dandy by me.
Here’s how the notes explain the biggest changes:
The loot system has been reworked with the introduction of Rift Coins and Rift Disks: magical artifacts that will give items of various rarity levels.
The Prestige system will give rewards to players beyond level 60: Crystals are awarded at each Prestige level, which can be used to reassign Attribute Points and buy Rift Disks. Prestige levels are also displayed in Combat Trials intro videos.
We have updated the inventory with a new “sort” and “salvage” features allowing players to better manage their inventory and convert equipment pieces into Fragments, which can then be used to repair equipment i.e. convert “Aged” into “New”
There’s also new gear, capes and six new masks inspired by Halloween, all of which enter loot circulation, as well as a temporary night setting for the player-on-player duels.
Future plans still include more character customisation, the ability to change colour of gear, and a ranked mode, say developers Sloclap. They’re also adding a 3v3 mode for brawling with your pals, which they say will come “in November for sure”.
All in all, a big update. I just sauntered online to biff a few bots and ended up in fight with a stranger, who picked me up after a close defeat and gave me the thumbs-up gesture (I have gotten much better since learning how to slap). It has reminded me how much I like this graceful game of fists and feet, its crumbling world and fighty fashionistas. Keep on kung fu-ing what you’re kung fu-ing, Absolver.