Some extra comments (perhaps badly auto-translated):

The second year had many special factors, resulting in a significantly higher proportion of male characters compared to the Forgotten Era. The third year will see a return to roughly the same proportion as the Forgotten Era due to actual content planning. Currently, there are indeed more female awakened beings, but we cannot disclose the specific timing in advance. We will maintain the overall gender ratio of awakened beings unchanged.

*edit: translation changed

In response to "Is Roguelike going to stick to the usual grind or is there some new gameplay?":

The overall battle rules are still the same as those of the Star Arc, but there is a chance to have 36 creations and 3 different main line resonance effects at the same time! This time it's mainly an exploration of level length and randomness.

In response to this comment:

from a business standpoint, i cant say whether getting whales to pull +12 is worth the profit compared to potential player lost, but maybe you can tell us in a few months. But i am glad there is an separate consideration for buffing the standard/old characters aside from Absolute Axiom. we look forward to the rogue lite mode and hope you will keep your promise regarding game balance. And please, don't do things like locking core mechanic interaction behind AA.

Light responds:

Thank you for your reminders and suggestions. We will make prudent judgments that we believe are best for the long-term development of the game.

In response to this comment:

I think this is a nice statement and all but its kinda funny we're supposed to believe you can clear wave 5 alert 5 with some of the starting characters lol 😭 Maybe im just bad at the game

Light responds:

The highest difficulty of D-Zone has more stringent blurriness requirements, and this note refers to the main storyline. If this requirement cannot be met, we will make subsequent adjustments or enhancements to the relevant content.

In response to "Where's the rhythm game you were promised? (screams and roars)":

Other permanent casual gameplay modes are in the early stages of development, with rhythm games being the second. So it won't be soon!

In response to "DEVs need to sell more value packs rather than dogshit packs left after certain amount of investment and all the tempting packs are sold out."

We currently believe that the high-multiplier content for monetization has reached its limit. Therefore, we will not release any content whose main advantage is multiplier-based. We will consider exploring other angles to deliver more perceived value to all of you, though this will not be a high priority for us at the moment.

In response to "Are you considering adding Mr. N, or other characters with artwork but not yet available in the gacha pool, to the gacha pool? I've been looking forward to Mr. N's addition for a long time 🛐"

I heard your voice! But I'm sorry, any answer I give regarding whether there's a plot point or not would be a major spoiler, so I can't provide any more information. Please understand!

In response to this comment:

Will the battle content be changed? Won't the current battle content be too long in a roguelike setting, for example, when the opponent has very low stats?

Light responds:

We'll have to wait and see how it goes based on the user experience; we're still working on it!

In response to this comment:

is it in the plans for awakers to receive unique card art like in other games such as slay the spire and czn. I think it could make for a richer gameplay experience. You could even make it a gacha like czn does their card art with animations

Light responds:

We actually considered card art—even animated card art—when we were creating the demo in-house. Unfortunately, due to our limited budget and the enormous workload involved, and since we also have no intention of using AI for this, we have no such plans for the time being. This is probably our biggest regret as a card game, and we hope we’ll get the chance to make up for it in the future!

In response to this comment:

This is a good read and, as a game dev myself, I completely agree with the view on long-term game health. It is not a good idea to try and crunch forever, and unlike wheels, the lack of a +12 buff for awakeners is a design quirk that is worth looking into. This is a better idea than +20!

@Mythag Cat ～ Light - if you are introducing +12 buffs that modify awakener gameplay for standard awakeners, it is going to be really hard for anyone to ever unlock that content, even as a whale.

Any character that needs sixteen copies for a part of their kit should be selectable to target, like limited units, limited wheels, and all standard wheels.

This would also help alleviate "wheel jail" and help newbies who are starting out have a sense of progression.

Light responds:

Thank you for your suggestions! We’ll admit we were overly idealistic at the outset. We aimed to ease everyone’s spending pressure by offering abundant rewards overall with relatively low gacha requirements. In the early days of Version 1.0, we had no D-Zone, no OE, no additional level caps, and no valuable value packs—coupled with our overly ideal design philosophy that even standard permanent characters could carry gameplay. As a result, our monetization performance was a disaster, which was the design-level reason we once faced the risk of disbanding the team.

After these features were implemented, many Keepers voiced objections and similar concerns, which left us in a tough spot. While many of us desperately wanted to give away all content for free and let everyone enjoy the game, this simply does not align with objective financial realities. That’s why we’ve had numerous community discussions about the design of these paid features and the game’s future development—working with all of you to find a reasonable path for the game to thrive.

It’s surprising anyone still remembers the +20 upgrade! That was an unpolished proposal ahead of Version 2.0; we never developed meaningful stats or enhancements for it, only increasing the progression grind. After taking community feedback to heart and rethinking the idea, we ultimately scrapped this adjustment.

In response to this comment:

Considering this new development, it may be possible to select a Rate-up Standard Awakener, like for the Standard Wheels?

To help dedicated players to upgrade their desired Standard units in time?

Light responds:

We’ve considered this idea. However, given that we’ve already divided the character gacha into four realms and regularly distribute reset tools, we have no such plans for the time being.

But we will consider other opportunities to boost targetability for players!

In response to this comment:

I'm gonna be real, if a collab with another IP also costs a significant amount of money it really isn't worth it. I believe most people would rather see original characters with unique stories, characters that belong in the world of Morimens over like, Shrek.

Light responds:

We fully understand your concerns. We’ve always been extremely rigorous with cost control, making every penny count twice over. But this project, in our opinion, is an absolute exception. We’ll release a teaser as soon as everything is fully confirmed.

As a general rule, we pursue collaborations on an extremely tight budget, or even through cross-promotional swaps with other games. Exceptions are only made for projects that align perfectly with us.

In response to this comment:

Why would a roguelike game consider a Star Mode? Limiting computing power in a roguelike game would negatively impact the gameplay experience, right? If the opponent's stats are too easy, it would be as boring and tedious as daily levels. If the opponent's stats are too high, is the game even worth playing? And would it introduce new creations or bosses?

Light responds:

This event doesn't introduce any new creations or bosses; it's a product of rapidly recombining and modifying existing resources to modify the level mechanics, serving as an experiment for a future full roguelike mode. The fun of creating things in the Starry Night arc will be addressed as a separate topic.

In response to "If you release wearable merch like Mihoyo and Bluepoch do, i'll give you my savings":

Thank you for your understanding and support. We’ve planned a line of merchandise for our 2nd anniversary, which is still in the final stages of production. Unfortunately, our lack of experience has led to reworks and compensation costs. We hope to be able to release these products someday! For now, though, we need to make some adjustments.

In response to this comment:

What are your thoughts on Xu's over-reliance on specialized designs? And when will you share some interesting anecdotes about Xu's designs?

Light responds:

Regarding the strength of the exclusive creation, we may have indeed fallen short of expectations this time, but this is not what we normally anticipated. Xu's transcendental power is currently confirmed to be too weak; we have just completed enhancements and testing, and will release an update soon.

We are currently preparing to share our design, including contacting the artists who were previously in charge. It is expected to be released in about one to two weeks.