Download Brave New World Here
(New to Brave New World? Check out this thread for a brief explanation of what it does or dive straight into the Readme.)
Hi there, everybody! First and foremost, a Happy New Year to you all. May your 2020 be pleasant and free of C.H.U.D.s (or full of C.H.U.D.s if that happens to be your thing. I don't judge.)
Eight years ago, Synchysi and I started working on a little project together that would go on to become one of the greatest community efforts I've ever had the pleasure to be a part of, as well as the basis for a vast portion of my online presence. And today, I'm happy to bring you all at long last the largest update that project has ever seen. Anyone who's followed Brave New World for awhile knows that "...this is the LAST update before 2.0." has become something of a meme, and after a year-long beta cycle and nearly two years of total development, that fabled update is finally here.
2.0 features a complete re-(re-)write of enemy AI - culminating in what I consider to be the best boss fight I've ever designed - and a host of quality-of-life and other enhancements contributed in part by pretty much the entire Final Fantasy VI hacking community. A special thanks goes out to relative newcomer Bropedio, who showed up on our doorstep six months ago and without whom this release just wouldn't have happened. And of course, thanks to each and every one of you who has played through previous versions of Brave New World, all of which I consider to be trash in comparison to what we have now (seriously, 90% of me watching a 1.9 stream in the last two years has just been me apologizing and saying "that's been fixed".)
And... that's about it. I've been working on this for too long and am welcoming the opportunity to take a break and move on to other projects. I hope everyone enjoys what we've put together, and I'm sorry it took this long to make happen. Hopefully, it's worth the wait.
(In other news... would you like to own Brave New World as a repro cart? How about a box to stick it in? Tell 'em BTB sent ya!)
What's new in 2.0:
• Repurposed the Auction House in Jidoor as an "Advanced" Beginner's School
--> This allows the one in Narshe to focus on general changes without overwhelming players with
advanced details that are unlikely to be retained until they become relevant
• Completely rewrote enemy AI with a heavy focus on more predictable behavior in random encounters that
should be easier to exploit and more interesting/dynamic boss battles
--> Enemies now usually use completely different attacks when their AI changes rather than just
being more likely to use their stronger attacks, making their behavior easier to figure out
--> Random foes are somewhat weaker now than before, doing less damage per attack and being less
aggressive under normal circumstances, but become much more threatening when triggered
--> Certain enemies can now counter melee (physical, row-respecting) attacks rather than in
previous versions where counter-attacks were specific to the command used (Seibaby)
--> Enemies disabled by status effects can no longer counter-attack on death (Bropedio)
--> Some foes can now be disabled or otherwise affected by being hit with an elemental weakness
--> Special thanks to Madsiur for his modification to the "F2" AI opcode
• Lowered the HP of many enemies and several bosses who were deemed to have more than necessary
--> Notable nerfs include Tentacles, Chesticle, Hidon, Inferno (a scripting error had previously
caused him to have 40,000 more HP than intended), Guardian, and the final battles
• Added a minimum number of steps between battles, slightly lowering the overall rate (Seibaby)
• Increased the pace of combat by doubling ATB fill speed during "empty" downtime (Seibaby)
• Running from battle is no longer substantially more difficult than in vanilla (Seibaby/Bropedio)
• Non-standard random encounters (back/side/pincer attacks) are more likely, but your party is now able
to react faster to them and physical damage is no longer increased from behind (Seibaby)
• The "Defend" and "Row" commands now only consume half of a turn (Bropedio)
• Can now swap out weapons/shields in combat, but it costs half a turn per hand (GrayShadows/Bropedio)
• When swapping equipment in battle or leaving the "rage" status, only previously-inherent statuses are
now stripped (instead of all of them); maximum HP/MP (from equipment) is now also updated (Bropedio)
• Green Cherries will now cancel any action that the target has queued (Bropedio)
• Greatly improved how the game handles resistance to multi-elemental attacks (Think/Bropedio)
--> Immunity to a multi-elemental attack now requires immunity to BOTH elements; damage is half
if only one element is immune and a weakness to the other will result in normal damage
--> Resistance (half damage) to only one element has the same effect as immunity to only one
--> Absorption of either element will trump all else, even a weakness to the other
--> Mixing weaknesses and resistances to the same element on a character follows the above rules
except that only resistance is cancelled by a weakness; immunity or higher will override it
• Mug no longer ignores special weapon effects, but the attack will now miss if steal fails (Bropedio)
--> Exception: Mug will still ignore the random "anti-flying" proc on thrown weapons
--> Because of this, the Bserk status now removes Mug as a possible attack
• Allies at non-critical HP can now only be covered when they are in the back row (Seibaby)
• The "rflect" status now behaves like "image" instead of being on a timer (Seibaby)
• Updated the "Status Display" hack to include "cycling" auras and be more intuitive
--> Defensive statuses (Safe/Shell/Rflect) are now displayed as (cycling) auras (ls)
--> Speed-based statuses (Haste/Slow/Stop) are now displayed on the ATB bar (Seibaby)
--> Rerise and Regen are now displayed as text in the targeting menu (dn)
• Status-setting attacks now provide more feedback if that status attempt fails (Bropedio)
--> If the target resists the status with stamina, a "FAIL" message is displayed
--> If the target is immune to the status, a "NULL" message is displayed
• White/Black/Grey magic will now display their "dot" when used in battle (dn)
--> This indicates when enemy attacks can be absorbed by Runic or disabled with Mute/Rasp
• Can now toggle between "max HP" and "ATB" view in battle by holding Select (GrayShadows)
• Shops can now display the "full" stats of equipment prior to purchase (dn)
• The Rage and Dance menus now display the attacks of each rage/dance (dn)
• Combined the equip and relic menus into one screen (includes full item descriptions) (GrayShadows)
• Replaced "Relic" in the main menu screen with a shortcut to the party overview screen (GrayShadows)
--> Equipped espers now appear in yellow text here instead of white (Bropedio)
• Redesigned the status display screen and clarified certain terms (Bropedio/Seibaby)
--> Bat.Pwr is now "Attack"
--> Mag.Pwr is now "Magic"
--> MBlock is now "M.Evade"
--> Mag.Def is now "M.Defense"
• Redesigned the "Earth" and "Dark" (AKA "Poison") icons in extended equipment descriptions
• Removed the unique item counter at the bottom right of the info panel in the inventory screen as it
was taking up space and sometimes causing text overlap (GrayShadows)
• Characters who join later in the WoR are now re-averaged to higher levels (Bropedio)
--> Edgar returns at level 19, Setzer at 20, and everyone else at level 21 (past the "hump")
• Lowered character HP/MP growth at high levels
--> HP gains now cap at 60 per level (reached at level 30)
--> MP gains drop to 1 per level after level 30
• Tweaked the base stats for several characters, most notably buffs to all of Gau's attack stats
--> Gau's attack buff effectively acts as a starting weapon; the Bone Club still maxes him out,
but the jump is now somewhat less drastic
--> Buffs to Gau's vigor and magic help balance him later on; combined with several rage edits,
these changes keep his physical and magical damage more even throughout the game instead of
the latter dominating the early half and the former overtaking it when you get the Bone Club
--> Everyone else's attack was adjusted mostly for aesthetic reasons; only Cyan/Sabin/Edgar see
any kind of noteworthy gain (+16)
--> Significantly raised Mog's base HP (+36) and slightly raised Sabin's (+12) & Cyan's (+4)
--> Lowered Cyan's magic since its only practical use is on cure spells, which he isn't meant to
be very good at (note: the Kazekiri and Mutsunokami wind attacks are now stamina-based)
--> Raised Locke's stamina (Kirin/Atma Weapon Locke is apparently a thing now)
--> Umaro's changes are all inconsequential: the Bone Club still maxes out his attack, a speed
buff to one of his special relics offsets his speed nerf, and he doesn't use magic at all
• Edited the Vigor/Stamina damage variance reduction formula to have a better effect at higher values
--> More specifically, it no longer provides diminishing returns past 90; the effect of the
change is present at all values, but the results are insignificant below 60(ish)
• Updated the Regen formula to rely more heavily on a character's stamina than on their maximum HP
--> In short, characters with low HP and high stamina (i.e. certain Strago/Relm builds) now get
much higher regen ticks while someone like 25 Terrato Sabin now gets much lower ticks
• Reverted the formula for poison damage to vanilla settings for player characters while enemies now
take substantially more damage from it (Bropedio)
--> In vanilla, each poison tick would increment by the value of the original tick; previous
versions of Brave New World halved this value for all combat participants, whereas poison
damage on enemies now doubles with each successive tick
• Simplified how evasion works for magical attacks; rather than a hitrate, the Printme now just lists
the relevant evasion stat (stamina or m.evade) for attacks that can be avoided
--> The accuracy of magical attacks is now 101% - (target's evade/128)%, so any avoidable attack
that previously had a hitrate of 120% (i.e. the basic elemental spells) is now less accurate
--> Generally speaking, I tried to make it so that the only attacks that are avoidable are the
ones that look like they might be, so Storm/Flare/Meteor are back to being unblockable
--> Remember that enemies don't have magic evasion; only your party can dodge magical damage
(the 101% accuracy is to eliminate the ~1% possibility of enemies evading such attacks)
• Changed who learns which spells (and when) again, mostly the grey ones
--> Life ------ to Kirin (was on Ramuh); Celes learns it now at level 18
--> Demi ----- to Ramuh (was on Kirin) and Crusader (was on Alexandr; see below)
--> Quartr ---- to Crusader (was on Alexandr; see below)
--> Rasp ------- to Siren (was on Maduin)
--> Bserk ------ to Siren (was on Fenrir)
--> Sleep ------ to Stray (was supposed to be there already instead of Mute)
--> Mute ------ to Maduin (was on Siren/Stray)
--> Warp ----- to Zoneseek (is still on Fenrir)
--> Stop ------ to Carbunkl (was on Zoneseek)
--> Slow ----- to Shiva/Golem (was on Carbunkl)
--> Terra learns Slow later (she no longer has it for the first Ultros fight)
--> Celes learns Dispel at lv. 15 (might be useful against #24...)
• Swapped the locations of Crusader and Alexandr with the latter now behind a cash gate instead of the
former's old boss gate; also swapped their users, EL/equip bonuses, and moved Demi/Quartr to Crusader
--> All that's really changing here is that Cyan learns Merton instead of Holy and Celes gets
easier/earlier access to Holy and the EL/equip bonuses that were previously on Crusader
• Raised Zoneseek's EL bonus to Magic +1/MP +20 (MP was only +15 before)
• Swapped the equip bonuses on Carbunkl (now Auto-Regen) and Starlet (now +25% MP)
• Adjusted the MP costs of many spells, summons, and lores - notably, there is now a much bigger price
gap between the two water lores and Blow Fish no longer has an MP cost
--> Break --- 36 MP (was 25)
--> Quake --- 48 MP (was 36)
--> Poison --- 18 MP (was 12; renamed from "Bio" - see below)
--> Dark ------ 45 MP (was 32 - ditto)
--> Rerise ---- 30 MP (was 24)
--> Warp ----- 10 MP (was 3)
--> Stop ----- 15 MP (was 9)
--> Ramuh ----- 32 MP (was 48)
--> Ifrit --------- 32 MP (was 48)
--> Shiva ------- 32 MP (was 48)
--> Carbunkl -- 24 MP (was 12)
--> Fenrir ------ 48 MP (was 24)
--> Shoat ------ 48 MP (was 36)
--> Seraph ---- 80 MP (was 64)
--> Aqualung --- 18 MP (was 24; renamed from "Aqua Rake")
--> Blow Fish --- FREE (was 8)
--> Refract ------ 24 MP (was 15)
--> Tsunami ---- 64 MP (was 56)
(Not listed: all changes of 5 MP or less)
• Bad Breath no longer sets Sap (Blaze and Raze still do)
• Blaze is now fire/wind elemental (was just fire)
• Raze is weaker (power: 90 -> 75) and now fire/wind elemental (was fire/"dark"; see below)
• Re-branded the "poison" element as "dark" and reworked its line of spells to be more useful
--> Sap (renamed from "Poison") is weaker (-6 power) and now sets Sap (instead of Poison)
--> Poison (i.e. "Bio") costs more (see above), is stronger (+6 power), and (always) sets Poison
--> Dark costs more (see above) and is much stronger (power: 72 -> 90)
• Per the above, Merton is now a fire/"dark" spell (instead of fire/wind)
• Break and Quake are both slightly (exactly 1/9 each) stronger, but also more expensive (see above)
• Mute is no longer multi-target, but is more effective than before due to resistance being much less
common and enemies using spells more frequently
• Scan is now a free action (Bropedio) and can no longer trigger enemy counter-attacks (Seibaby)
• Edited several esper summons, notably buffs to Maduin and Bismark and Stray now revives allies
--> Siren ----- Now respects stamina (instead of never missing)
--> Shoat ----- Now has a lower hitrate (in addition to respecting stamina)
--> Stray ------ Now a stamina-based heal that also revives dead/zombied allies AND remedies "Sap"
--> Maduin --- Power: 90 (was 60; still ignores defense)
--> Bismark - Power: 120 (was 90)
• Major changes to Blitz: stamina options are stronger, but only physical blitzes now ignore defense
--> Mantra ----- formula edited to rely less on Sabin's current HP and much more on stamina
--> Aurabolt ---- is now stronger and learned much earlier, but no longer ignores defense OR row
--> Sonic Boom - is stronger and now stamina-based, but no longer ignores defense
--> Fire Dance --- is stronger (power: 48 -> 60) and is now learned later
--> Suplex --------- now sets Stop instead of Slow (as Sabin can now learn the Slow spell)
• Several Bushido changes: stamina(ish) options are weaker and only Dispatch/Dragon now ignore defense
--> Tempest ---- is now stronger on average (3/8x -> 1/2x), but no longer ignores defense
--> Dragon ------ is slightly weaker (-5 power) so that stamina Cyan doesn't out-damage vigor Cyan
in the mid-game; also lowered Petrify odds to 1/2 (was 2/3)
--> Eclipse ------- is now magic-based so that it scales the same for all builds and doesn't compete
for damage with the (now stamina-based) wind swords
--> Empowerer - no longer ignores row (Bropedio) and is weaker; while still mostly a full heal
from the front row, it's now noticeably weaker from the back
--> Cleave ------ now respects both (physical) evasion and stamina (was previously just stamina)
• Made changes to (or that affect) most Rages, including giving Gau a better healing rage (Soldier)
right out of the gate and balancing end-game physical damage around 3x damage bonuses instead of 4x
--> Adamantite - 2/3 to 2x Attack (was Cyclonic); 1/3 to Holy Wind (was Mega Volt)
--> Antlion ------- 1/3 to Snare (was Doom)
--> Belladonna -- 2/3 to Moonlight (was El Nino); 1/3 to Aqualung (was Blight, i.e. Virite)
--> Brainpan ----- 1/3 to Rerise (was Attack/Stop)
--> Buffalax ------ New Rage (replaces Dragon)
--> Chickenlip ----- 2/3 to Attack +Muddle (was Net); 1/3 to Net (was Attack +Slow)
--> Doggo ---------- (i.e. Spike) 2/3 to 3x Attack (was Lode Stone); 1/3 to Step Mine (was Attack)
--> Exocite --------- 2/3 to Rock (was Plasma)
--> Eye Goo -------- 2/3 to Lode Stone (was Attack); 1/3 to Glare (was Lode Stone)
--> Flan -------------- 2/3 to Life (was Regen); 1/3 to SlowX (was Storm)
--> Gargoyle -------- 2/3 to Sun Bath (was Holy Wind)
--> Grizzly ----------- (i.e. Ursa Major) 2/3 to Cave In (was Magnitude); 1/3 to 3x Attack (was 2x)
--> Hornet ----------- 1/3 to Blink (was SlowX)
--> Kudzu ------------ 1/3 to RegenX (was Bio)
--> Jinn --------------- Attack (1/3) to +Mute (was +Blind)
--> Lich --------------- 2/3 to Rasp (was Elf Fire); 1/3 to Elf Fire (was Attack +Muddle)
--> Locust ------------ (i.e. Cicada) 2/3 to Gale Cut (was SleepX); 1/3 to Mirage (was Gale Cut)
--> Magic Pot -------- 2/3 to Cure (was always attack); Attack to 4x dmg (was 2x)
--> Mantodea -------- Attack (1/3) to +Sap (was +Blind)
--> Mesosaur --------- 2/3 to Holy Wind (was Sun Bath); 1/3 to Magnitude (was Landslide)
--> Onion Kid --------- 1/3 to Attack +Bserk (was Discord)
--> Revenant ---------- 2/3 to Holy (was Raze); 1/3 to Blaze (was Firestorm)
--> Rhydon ------------ (i.e. Rhinotaur) 2/3 to 2x Attack (was Cure 2); 1/3 to Sun Bath (was 3x Attack)
--> Rocky -------------- (i.e. Peeper) 2/3 to Harvester (was Rock); 1/3 to Rock (was Holy Wind)
--> Scarab ------------- 2/3 to Starlight (was Avalanche)
--> Scrapper ---------- (i.e. Brawler) 2/3 to 2x Attack (was Rock); 1/3 to Chakra (was Attack)
--> Sewer Rat -------- (i.e. Wild Rat) 2/3 to Bio (was Poison); 1/3 to Attack +Poison (was Bio)
--> Shokan ------------ (i.e. Orog) 2/3 to Dark (was Holy); 1/3 to Raze (was Attack +Zombie)
--> Soldier ------------ 2/3 to Cure 2 (was Remedy)
--> Templar ---------- (i.e. Defender) Attack (2/3) to 3x dmg (was 2x); 1/3 to Remedy (was Sun Bath)
--> Titan -------------- (i.e. Colossus) 2/3 to Avalanche (was Starlight); 1/3 to 3x Attack (was 2x)
--> Tumbleweed ---- 2/3 to Cure 3 (was Harvester)
--> Tyrano ----------- New Rage (replaces Allosaurus)
--> Tek Armor ------ 2/3 to Barrier (was 3x Attack); 1/3 to 2x Attack (was Tek Laser)
--> Troll -------------- 1/3 to Refract (was Brown Note)
--> Vagrant -------- (i.e. Punisher) swapped 2/3 (now Flash Rain) & 1/3 (now 2x Attack - was 3x)
--> Vaporite ------- 2/3 to Plasma (was Blaze); 1/3 to Blind (was SlowX)
--> Weedula ------ 1/3 to Razor Leaf (was Storm)
--> Werewolf ---- (i.e. Cerberus) 1/3 to Regen (was Blink)
--> Windrunner - (i.e. Sprinter) 1/3 to Blight (i.e. "Virite"; was Rasp)
--> Griffin ------- (renamed from "Harpy" - the previous "Griffin" enemy is now named "Vulture")
--> Vulture ------ (renamed from "Griffin" - see above)
--> Absolute 0 -- (Nastidon) is stronger (power: 100 -> 120)
--> Acid Rain ---- (Rain Man) is now just water damage (was also dark/poison) and may set Sap
--> Atomic Ray -- (Io) is now non-elemental (was fire), unreflectable, and no longer sets Sap
--> Blink ----------- (Hornet) now sets Haste (in addition to Image)
--> Brown Note -- (Onion Kid) is stronger (power: 42 -> 60)
--> Discharge ----- (Anemone; renamed from "Wavecannon") is stronger (power: 60 -> 75)
--> Exploder ------ (Bomb) no longer sets Sap, but now does more damage when you use it (Seibaby)
--> Firestorm ----- (Tyrano) is slightly stronger (power: 45 -> 50)
--> Landslide ---- (Buffalax) now sets Slow
--> Snowball ---- (Stray Cat) now sets Slow (instead of Blind)
--> Starlight ---- (Scarab) is weaker (power: 75 -> 60) and may set Blind (instead of Mute)
• Edited several Dance steps (most of which are also Rage attacks)
--> Avalanche -- (Earth Blues, Titan) no longer sets Sap
--> Blizzard ----- (Snowman Jazz) now sets Blind (instead of Slow)
--> Elf Fire ------- (Forest Suite, Lich) no longer sets Sap
--> Plasma ------- (Water Rondo, Vaporite) is now bolt/water damage (was bolt/poison)
--> Razor Leaf -- (Forest Suite, Vulture/Weedula) is now earth/wind damage (was just wind)
--> Snare -------- (Dusk Requiem) no longer ignores instant death immunity
• Changed the 3/16 step on Earth Blues to Wind Slash (was Cave In)
--> As Earth Blues is primarily a "boss" dance, Cave In was often a wasted turn
• Rebalanced the main winning Slot spins: Blackjack is still the strongest against most foes, Solitaire
is now the weakest since it also blinds your opponents, and Trifecta (3 chocobos) is your sap-setter
--> Blackjack - no longer sets Sap
--> Trifecta ---- is stronger (power: 75 -> 90) and may set Sap (instead of Stop)
--> Solitaire --- is weaker (power: 90 -> 75)
• The 7-7-7 Slot spin now both revives fallen allies AND heals live ones, but its power is now slightly
lower (10 -> 7) than a losing spin (Bropedio)
--> This change was made to correct an animation bug where Setzer would not step back into his
correct position after stepping forward for the attack
• Raised the power of all vigor-based Tools
--> Autocrossbow - attack to 180 (was 160)
--> Drill --------------- attack to 200 (was 180)
--> Chainsaw ------- attack to 255 (was 240)
• The Bio Blaster is no longer for sale until after the Battle of Narshe (see below)
• The Flash is weaker (power: 75 -> 60) as the Blind status is now more effective
• The upgraded Autocrossbow now has perfect accuracy (in addition to being 50% stronger)
• Set Ninja Stars to maximum ultimate power (were previously 240)
• ??? is now slightly weaker on average, but now ignores defense
• Desperation attacks no longer set Slow (they still set Sap)
• Elixirs now remove most bad statuses (as a Remedy would)
• Edited the wares of most shops, pushing back the availability of some items, making others available
sooner, and (most notably) fixing instances of items becoming unavailable at certain points
--> Bandanas are now for sale in South Figaro (per the removal of Plumed Hats)
--> The Bio Blaster is now sold at Figaro Castle after the Battle of Narshe
--> The Kusarigama (now a weapon for Shadow; see below) is now sold at Jidoor
--> The Hyper Wrist and Ichimonji (i.e. "Nodachi") now appear for sale later (Tzen & Maranda)
--> Mystery Veils, Sprint Shoes, and Gale Hairpins now appear for sale sooner (Tzen & Albrook)
--> Narshe now sells *all* of the elemental swords after the IMTRF goes 'splody
--> Light Robes are now for sale at Tzen instead of Nikeah (they're also much cheaper; see below)
--> Dark Hoods/Gear now unavailable until after you get the Falcon (both are sold at Jidoor)
--> Many items previously no longer sold in the WoR are now at Albrook, Nikeah, and Kohlingen
--> Figaro Castle now sells Warp Whistles in the WoR
• Renamed several pieces of equipment; also swapped the names of the Dali and Monet Brushes
--> Rune Blade --- (was "Rune Edge") motive -- I removed the only other sword named "blade"
--> Ichimonji ------ (was "Nodachi") motive -- Mishrak kept bugging me about it
--> Viper Darts ---- (was "Doom Darts") motive -- they no longer trigger instant death
--> Storm Belt ------- (was "Rage Belt") motive -- avoids confusion with Gau's "Rage" ability
--> Quartz Charm --- (was "Death Ward") motive -- it no longer blocks instant death
--> Bracelet ------- (was "Star Ring") motive -- too many relics are rings
--> Talisman ------ (was "Jewel Ring") motive -- what are we, a bunch of hobbits?
--> Fairy Charm -- (was "Fairy Ring") motive -- seriously, that's too much fuckin' bling
--> Spirit Stone --- (was "Spirit Ring") motive -- even Mr. T thinks y'all need to chill out
--> Dali Brush <-----> Monet Brush motive -- seemed more thematically appropriate
• Removed several pieces of equipment
--> Omega Weapon --- was functionally (and graphically) identical to the Atma Weapon
--> Storm Blade ------- was redundant with the Elec Sword as mechanical foes were weak vs. both
--> Cards --------------- Setzer now begins the game with Darts
--> Poison Rod -------- was just kind of shitty
--> Plumed Hat ------- effectively replaced by the Bandana/Green Beret
--> Head Band ------- effectively replaced by the Bandana
--> Tiara -------------- effectively replaced by the Mystery Veil
--> Silk Robe -------- Relm just shows up naked now >.>
• Reworked the stat boosts on elemental blades and shields to all provide magic bonuses
--> Flametongue --- Mag+3/Vgr+3 (Vig+3 was Spd+2)
--> Icebrand -------- Mag+3/Stam+3 (Stam bonus was +2)
--> Elec Blade ------ Mag+3/Spd+3 (Mag bonus was +2)
--> Flameguard ---- Mag+3/Vgr+3 (Mag bonus was Stam)
--> Thunderguard - Mag+3/Vgr+3 (Mag bonus was Spd)
• The Scimitar and Falchion now enable counter-attacks to encourage pairing them with other weapons
• The Demonsbane no longer deals Holy damage so that it doesn't beat out the Avenger vs. undead foes
• Slightly lowered the attack of (-5) and Vigor boost on (-2) the Valiance
• The earlier claws are now available sooner and the later ones are stronger
--> Spirit Claws --- can now be bought at the start of Sabin's scenario
--> Poison Claws - can now be bought at the end of Sabin's scenario
--> Frostgore ------ is slightly stronger (attack: 140 -> 150)
--> Stormfang ----- is much stronger (attack: 160 -> 180)
• Changed the random spellcasts on the Spirit Claw (Stop -> Slow) and Frostgore (Doom -> Ice)
--> Spirit Claws now allow Sabin to set Slow on the Soul Train since Suplex no longer does so
• Overhauled the "magical" katanas: stat boosts are now +Spd/+Stam (stamina is now the "common" stat on
all katanas), the Ichimonji(/Nodachi) is improved, and the "wind" blade attacks are now stamina-based
--> Hanzo --------- Stam+2 (was Vgr)
--> Ichimonji ----- Spd+3/Stam+3 (was Vgr/Mag); now has the Zantetsuken's insta-kill/crit effect
--> Kazekiri -------- Spd+5/Stam+5 (was Vgr/Mag); wind attack is now stamina-based (power: 60)
--> Mutsunokami - Spd+7/Stam+7 (was Vgr/Mag); wind attack is now stamina-based (power: 120)
• Reworked the stat boosts on Shadow's ninja daggers to compliment the above-mentioned katana changes
--> Sakura --- Spd+3/Mag+5 (Mag bonus was Stam)
--> Kagenui -- Mag+7 (was Stam)
--> Orochi ----- Spd+7 (removed Stam+5)
• Added the "strong vs. flying foes" property to the Kunai and Ninjato
• The Kusarigama has been reworked into a Zozo-era anti-human ninja weapon that can also set Stop/Slow
• Overhauled Setzer's "casino" weapons: removed all stat boosts, "always hits" (except from Dice), and
the ability to dual-wield darts in favor of making them better weapons
--> Darts --------- slightly weaker than before (-10 attack), but stronger than the Cards were
--> Tarot --------- now deals holy damage in addition to the "undead-slayer" effect
--> Viper Darts - uses MP for critical hits (rather than instant death)
--> Dice ----------- now get a "doubles" bonus and fair rolling odds (Seibaby/Bropedio)
--> Fixed Dice --- the first two dice now roll fairly instead of low (same as regular dice)
• Rods are more expensive (especially the Doomstick) and only the basic elemental ones can be broken
--> Fire Rod ------ 2500 GP (was 4000)
--> Ice Rod ------- 2500 GP (was 4000)
--> Thunder Rod - 2500 GP (was 4000)
--> Quartrstaff ---- 5000 GP (was 4000); can no longer be used as an item in battle
--> Doomstick ----- 15000 GP (was 4000); can no longer be used as an item in battle
--> Punisher -----------------------------------; can no longer be used as an item in battle
• Larger rods (Quartrstaff and higher) now all possess physical evasion only
--> Thus, the Doomstick gains evade and loses m.evade while the Punisher just loses the latter
• Lowered the attack on the Punisher (180 -> 150) as it was too strong when dragooning
• Added a new Colosseum-exclusive weapon for Strago/Relm that's basically a one-handed Mutsunokami
• Brushes now hit twice to increase the likelihood of random spellcasts (lowered attack to compensate
for the extra "damage"); also added magic evasion (10) to all brushes and reworked their stat boosts
--> Light Brush - attack to 60 (was 100)
--> Monet Brush - attack to 80 (was 120); Mag+3/Spd+3 (Mag+3 was Stam+5)
--> Dali Brush ----- attack to 100 (was 140); Mag+5/Spd+3 (Spd+3 was Stam+3)
--> Ross Brush ----- attack to 120 (was 160); Mag+5/Spd+5 (Mag was +3)
• The Ross Brush now randomly casts Rflect (instead of Haste)
• The Magic Bone (a formerly hidden/theft-exclusive weapon for Gau) can now be won at the Colosseum
• The Morning Star is stronger (attack: 100 -> 125) and is now usable only by Celes and Terra
• The Chainsaw now "cleaves" on insta-kill procs, thus preventing counter-attacks (Bropedio)
• Anti-undead weapons now use the "X-kill" animation (which also prevents counter-attacks) (Bropedio)
• Adjusted the prices of a lot of store-bought armor: the Light Robe and many early-game upgrades are
all cheaper, while a few key items (namely the Oath Veil) are more expensive
--> Targe ----- 1000 GP (was 1500)
--> Hair Band -- 150 GP (was 250)
--> Bandana ---- 200 GP (was 500)
--> Iron Helm --- 500 GP (was 1000)
--> Green Beret - 1000 GP (was 3000)
--> Mythril Helm - 2000 GP (was 2500)
--> Gold Helm ---- 4500 GP (was 5000)
--> Mystery Veil -- 5000 GP (was 7500)
--> Magus Hat ---- 6000 GP (was 7500)
--> Oath Veil ------ 20000 GP (was 12500)
--> Hard Leather - 300 GP (was 250)
--> Karate Gi ------ 400 GP (was 500)
--> Ninja Gear ----- 2500 GP (was 2000)
--> Mythril Mail ---- 4500 GP (was 5000)
--> Gaia Gear ------ 5000 GP (was 6000)
--> Gold Armor ----- 9000 GP (was 7500)
--> Light Robe ------ 15000 GP (was 20000)
--> Back Guard ------ 4500 GP (was 7500)
• Slightly adjusted the stats of several helmets and suits of armor, most notably a +10 magic defense
increase for the Magus Hat/Circlet and +5 to physical defense for all "heavy" armor from Gold onward
--> Leather Hat -- def +5
--> Hair Band ----- m.def -5
--> Bandana ------- m.def -5; Spd+2/Vgr+2 (was just Spd+2)
--> Magus Hat ----- m.def +10
--> Circlet ----------- m.def +10
--> Ninja Gear ---- def +5; Vgr+3/Spd+3 (Spd was +2)
--> Gaia Gear ----- Vgr+3/Stam+5 (Stam was +2)
--> Light Robe ----- def -5; m.evade +10
--> Mythril Vest ---- def +5
--> Diamond Vest -- def +5
--> Gold Armor ------ def +5
--> Diamond Mail ---- def +5
--> Crystal Mail ------ def +5
• Relm now comes equipped with the Memento Ring (it's no longer hidden)
• Strago no longer comes equipped with a Magus Hat
• The Royal Jacket no longer blocks fire damage
• Removed the +25% MP buff from the Minerva and added it to the Radiant Gown
• Bandanas and the Mirage Vest can now be equipped by anyone (instead of just "light" armor users)
• Umaro can now equip the Skull Cap (it's the only helmet he can use)
• Gogo can no longer wear robes (he must wear hides or vests)
• The Hero Shield now sets inherent sap (instead of condemned) until the curse is lifted
• A certain piece of hidden armor has slightly less defense (-5/-5), but now halves Bolt/Wind damage
• Reworked the coverage of status protection relics; most notably, the Ribbon now only blocks instant
death (it is now the only relic to do so), Stop (dn), and Petrify
--> Fairy Charm -- Blocks: Sleep/Muddle (Sleep was Bserk)
--> White Cape --- Blocks: Imp/Mute/Bserk (Bserk was Sleep)
--> Amulet --------- Blocks: Sleep/Muddle/Bserk (Sleep was Petrify)
--> Spirit Stone -- Blocks: Blind/Poison/Petrify (Petrify was instant death)
--> Ribbon --------- Blocks: Stop/Petrify/instant death; added 20/20 evade/m.evade
--> Quartz Charm - (formerly "Death Ward") no longer blocks instant death
• Relics which grant statuses at critical health can now trigger again if the wearer dies (Bropedio)
• It is no longer impossible to revive a character who dies while wearing a Ghost Ring (Bropedio)
• Raised the physical evasion of the Sprint Shoes and the magic evasion of the Magic Cube
• Lowered the defense of the Guard Ring and added magic defense; did the opposite for the Wall Ring
• Removed both evasion boosts from the Back Guard and raised both defense stats to 20 (from 10)
• Removed +7 Magic bonus from the Gem Box and the +7 Vigor boost from the Soul Box
• Added stat boosts to the Storm Belt (+5 Spd) and Blizzard Orb (+5 Stam); also modified their in-game
descriptions to be less cryptic about what they do (specifically their +25% damage properties)
--> Per this, Umaro can no longer equip the Muscle Belt or Crystal Orb
• Altered the wording of all +25% damage bonuses to clarify that they affect both damage AND healing
• Changed/moved the contents of many chests, including adding the Dice to a WoR chest (so that they are
no longer missable) as well as the Viper Darts (formerly a Colosseum-exclusive)
• Changed several enemy steals; bosses now hold (common) theft-exclusive items instead of rare items
• Changed many trades at the Colosseum and replaced the more obnoxious opponents with easier ones
--> All rare consumables now trade directly down to Phoenix Tears or Ninja Stars
--> Force and Genji equipment is no longer interchangeable; both now have their own trade loops
--> Sage Stones are now part of the Rogue/Nirvana trade loop (you can now acquire three of them)
--> It's no longer possible to acquire more than one Skull Cap (Royal Jacket <-> Snow Muffler)
--> Ribbons now trade into the Aegis Shield/Mirage Vest exchange (replaces the Quartz Charm)
--> The Kagenui trades back and forth with the new stamina-based weapon for Relm/Strago
• Modified the enemy encounter structure to make certain foes less difficult to find on the Veldt; all
missable (WoB) formations can now be found on Triangle Island and the Grenade Forest (near the Veldt)
• The "Leap" command is now disabled if all rages in an enemy formation are already known (Bropedio)
• Changed the names of many enemies (special thanks to Assassin) and their special attacks; also edited
their attack animations to to make them more closely match what they're supposed to be
• Removed or changed many enemy elemental resistances/weaknesses that felt unintuitive or made no sense
• Overhauled enemy status resistances: only the "major" ones (Sleep, Muddle, Bserk, Stop, Petrify, and
instant death) are now commonly resisted while the others are (almost) universally effective
--> As seen above, the "Stone" status is now to back to the original name of "Petrify"
• Improved standardization of enemy stats, namely defense (both types), evasion, and speed
--> Foes with inherent Safe/Shell now always take ~25% damage from attacks that respect defense
while all others will take 40% or 60%
--> Inherent haste is now always indicative of a faster foe with above-average physical evasion
--> Foes who possess (physical) evasion now have the intended amount; "standard" evasion is now
13 (effectively 10%) instead of 10 while hasted foes have 32 (or 25%) instead of 25
--> Similar to the above, enemies now possess the correct amount of stamina; they previously had
half of the intended value (HP/512 instead of HP/256, capping at 16384 HP instead of 8192)
• Reworked enemy/boss MP values: fewer enemies have MP at all, but those who do now use it frequently
(see "Mute" notes above) and may behave differently if they lose too much of it (Seibaby)
• Re-tuned experience and GP drops to be more fitting with the enemies that drop them; most notably,
bosses now award experience - and consequently a good deal of esper xp, to boot
• Made a small improvement to the option to disable experience gains from battle (Bropedio)
• Changed how fallen allies are replaced between tiers in the final battle (Bropedio)
• Characters in MagiTek armor now attack with Tek Laser instead of elemental beams
• Heal Force now revives dead allies in addition to restoring HP to live ones
• Added an "unequip" NPC to the scenario select screen
• Shadow is now cheaper to hire in Kohlingen (3,000 GP -> 1,000)
• Made quality of life changes to several dungeons
--> Phunbaba's second attack on Mobliz now occurs immediately after the first if it occurs
after you receive the Falcon (Deschain)
--> The chest at Ebot's Rock no longer requires to be fed in one sitting (Gi Nattak)
--> The dialogue trigger to re-fight Hidon is no longer a 1/8 branch (Bropedio)
--> Added a merchant ghost to the final segment of Cyan's Nightmare
--> The basement level of the Ancient Castle is no longer hidden (Bropedio)
--> Added several new save points to areas just before or after major boss fights
• Battles in the Narshe mines (WoB) now maintain the area's BGM
• "Searching For Friends" now only plays when you are aboard the Falcon (Poco Loco)
• Shortened the unnecessarily lengthy Aero/Mutsunokami animation (Madsiur)
• Phunbaba should no longer sometimes remove only one character from your party (Bropedio)
• N. Cross can now only freeze a maximum of two characters (Seibaby, new GFX: Nowea)
• Mind Blast now respects stamina, but gets an extra attack (4 -> 5) to compensate (Bropedio)
• Lifeshaver now respects the "float" status and is no longer reflectable
• Glare and Blow Fish are now physical attacks and thus respect the "clear" status
• The "clear" status is no longer removed if the target absorbs a spell with Runic or by ground-based
attacks missing floating targets (Seibaby)
• The "clear" status is now properly lifted by spells cast from rods used as items in battle (Seibaby)
• The "Morph" and "Imp" statuses no longer affect (non-fractional) healing items (Synchysi/Bropedio)
• Items are no longer consumed in battle if the user dies or is disabled before they go off (Bropedio)
• Brushes and healing items now properly re-target if the intended target dies (GrayShadows/Bropedio)
• X-Fight now re-targets if the first attack kills the original target, can now properly yield critical
hits (Bropedio), and no longer bypasses "cover" (Seibaby)
• Jump no longer disables (most) special weapon effects (most notably the Atma Weapon) and dual-wield
setups now attack only with the primary weapon instead of randomly selecting one (Bropedio)
• Fixed several issues with Palidor's behavior, making it much better to use (Bropedio)
--> Characters no longer disappear when Palidor misses them
--> Characters can no longer be targeted while airborne
--> Characters now land in quick succession rather than staggered out so that the first one to
land no longer stands there and gets pounded on while waiting on everyone else to come down
--> ATB is now preserved upon landing instead of Palidor consuming everyone's turn; note that it
will still increment while airborne, so characters can (usually) act immediately afterward
• Interceptor and Golem now always use the correct animation when activated, which corrects the lowered
odds of late-game Interceptor counters and Golem's artificially enhanced durability (Bropedio)
--> Due to this fix, Golem's defense has been reverted to the vanilla value of 192
• Terra can no longer Morph while imped and is now immune to imp once Morphed (Bropedio)
--> This is because Terra's esper sprite overrides the imp sprite, making the status invisible
• Gogo no longer does 50% more damage than intended with physical Bushidos when dual-wielding
• Setzer's dice no longer receive a damage boost from the Bserk status (Bropedio)
• Flare (from the Apocalypse) now correctly receives the Morph damage boost (Bropedio)
• X-Zone no longer revives/heals undead enemies when it's cast by the Doomstick (dn)
• Multi-target attacks which respect stamina now correctly check each target individually (Bropedio)
• Enemy "special" attacks that inflict sleep no longer miss on targets with death immunity (Bropedio)
• Abilities with "one ally" targeting are no longer unable to randomly target (via Rage or enemy AI)
teammates on the opposite end of the field during side or pincer attacks (Bropedio)
• Inherent statuses now initialize properly on characters who are dead at the beginning of the battle
and on enemies who are not present (Bropedio)
• Updated Assassin's "Optimize Fix" hack to leave slots with no valid equipment empty (Bropedio)
• Fixed several RNG errors, most notably a random encounter spike during the Vector escape (Bropedio)
• Fixed several other minor bugs and dialogue issues
--> EP gains are no longer erroneously displayed before espers are obtained (Bropedio)
--> Gau no longer occasionally refuses to step back into position after attacking (Bropedio)
--> Ragnarok now appears last in the esper list instead of second-to-last (as in the Printme)
--> The Tritoch sprite is no longer missing part of its tail when summoned (Bydoless)
--> The Drain spell now has the correct pre-casting animation (Bropedio)
--> Seraph now grants immunity to the "Condemned" status (Bropedio)
--> Grav Bomb no longer clears Bserk/Muddle
--> Discord and Blow Fish are no longer reflectable
--> Shrapnel no longer considers stamina in addition to evasion
--> Diffuser is no longer incorrectly flagged as part "Earth" element (Cecil)
--> The Power Glove now has the correct value (was 5000; rare items should all be valued at 1)
--> The Excalibur now allows an off-hand weapon (which is dumb, but whatever tickles your taint)
--> The "cover" ability is now correctly disabled by the "Dance" status (Seibaby)
--> Back/Side attacks are no longer disabled at Mt. Zozo or in Gogo's Cave
--> Random encounters are now disabled in the room with Ifrit and Shiva
--> It's no longer possible to run from the Ifrit/Shiva or Chadarnook battles
--> The rare Sketch for Doom Gaze is now Aero (instead of Aqualung)
--> Master T is now vulnerable to poison
--> Gau can now Leap on the 3x Magic Pot formation
--> Leap is no longer usable in the final battle
--> Terra's Morph state now transitions properly between phases of the final battle (Bropedio)
--> Fixed a paragraph in the Rage tutorial that scrolled too far without pausing for input
--> Shadow's name no longer appears as "Scrapper" at the Colosseum
--> Aligned the message upon entering Kefka's Tower to the screen top for better readability
--> Gave a text box to the message that repeats the unlockme password for the same reason
--> The version text in the config menu is now yellow instead of white (Bropedio)
--> Colons and semicolons are now properly vertically aligned
• Added a Spanish translation (Umaro) and an optional "vanilla" dialogue patch (Deschain)
• Added a "New Game+" patch to the Unlockme (Bropedio)
• Added new alternate sprite patches to the Unlockme (Bauglir/Gi Nattak + special thanks to Madsiur)
--> Also touched up the base sprite for one of the above alternates (Bauglir/Abaddon)
• Added screenshots to the Unlockme image gallery and updated existing ones (Dummy)
--> All screenshots are now in .png format with substantially smaller file sizes
• Added higher-resolution sprites and SNES Mini/Switch art to the Unlockme image gallery
• Updated the (main) BNW logo in the Unlockme image gallery to the modern design (RetroGameCases.com)
• Added a damage calculator/bestiary to the BNWCP (special thanks to Cecil and Mishrak)
• Redesigned the Printme, now distributed as a .pdf file (the .xls version is in the Unlockme)
• Re-bundled LIPS (ROM patching utility) with the Brave New World download
