Hey again, Wanderers.

The Japanese team has pushed out an update seeking to bridge gaps in character strength introduced by stipulations in item rewards and character leveling. At this time, no PDF update is available but will be made in the coming days. To summarize the major points:

• Several Named Enemies, Demonarchs, and Sanctarchs will have optional Challenge Skills which alter the enemy behaviors slightly (such as instantly regenerating Segments, invalidating negative effects including Ailments, regenerating HP and FP, etc.) but offer increased rewards if the foe is defeated with the additional challenge. The rewards are as follows (each player chooses one):
  • A number of Silver Idolic Coins equal to (highest enemy CL / 10). Silver Idolic Coins may be exchanged for (Golden) Idolic Coins at a 10:1 ratio. In accordance with this change, Idolic Coins will be renamed in the next PDF.
  • A number of Victor's Medals (from Long Live Azuma) equal to (highest enemy CL / 10).
  • A number of Attachment Coupons equal to (highest enemy CL / 10).
  • A number of GP equal to (highest CL × 20).
• Decreasing CL for the duration of an adventure no longer causes you to forfeit the right to level at the end of an adventure.
• Characters of CL 15 or higher cannot receive Patchwork Wish Stars twice in a row, but choosing to receive a Patchwork Wish Star will continue to delay/reduce your leveling as it does in previous releases.
• 100 Attachment Coupons can be traded for 1 Special Attachment Coupon.

Liefia and Feli provide the following commentary:

L: Previously, players with more playtime could opt to endlessly delay their leveling to maintain CL parity with players who have less playtime. As a consequence, it was possible for characters of wildly different strength levels to exist in the same CL range.

F: If the difference in character abilities is too great, that kills the fun for other players!

L: If you're one of those overpawered players, then we've got a purretty sweet deal for you! We're introducing enemies with optional Challenge Skills to turn up the heat!

F: (Oh, so now she's picked up my shtick.)