Hello, Masters of the Book. I am Kim Young-mo, the director of ASTRA: Knights of Veda.

We have been carefully reviewing the various opinions shared by the community and on the official Discord following the major content update.

We sincerely appreciate the diverse feedback provided by the community. Moving forward, we aim to gather your comments and questions after each major content update and provide comprehensive responses.

While there are still areas for improvement, we are committed to incorporating your feedback to enhance the content and deliver a more polished experience.

In this developer's note, we have compiled your questions about the first dual-attribute knight, Death Crown, and the challenging PVE content, Portrait of Thierry.
 

1. Portrait of Thierry feels significantly more difficult compared to other content, and being limited to one attempt per week makes it feel even more challenging.

Portrait of Thierry is designed as high-difficulty PVE content in ASTRA: Knights of Veda. Our aim is to provide the enjoyment of overcoming tough challenges using your improved Knights of Veda.
Currently, it consists of 27 levels, but we plan to add more and continue improving it.
We've also heard your concerns about the game cycle.
Considering that weekly resets may contribute to content fatigue, we will carefully deliberate internally to find ways to improve this aspect. We will strive to enhance the Portrait of Thierry based on your feedback and the data to make it more enjoyable and meaningful.

In the future, we will introduce other high-difficulty PVE content like Guild Portal, Ancient Golden City, and All-Out Boss Battles.
We will also review the options for accessory items, the main drops from Portrait of Thierry, to ensure you can enjoy building your teams for future content.
Additionally, in Season 2, we are preparing end-game PVE content like World Boss Battles and Guild World Boss Battles that everyone can participate in. We hope that everyone will look forward to the new upcoming content.

2. Set Accessories from the Portrait of Thierry are so much better than existing Accessories that the latter are becoming neglected. 

Set Accessories from the Portrait of Thierry are currently the top-tier items in ASTRA: Knights of Veda. 

However, like the existing accessories, their options appear randomly, so it may take a long time to get the desired setup.

Additionally, utilizing the normal Accessories is key to progressing through the early stages of the Portrait of Thierry, so assembling the Set Accessories requires a slow build-up. 
For the time being, we expect the Portrait of Thierry to be the definitive spot for obtaining accessories, and we aim to provide sufficiently attractive growth potential through this content. 

3. Since Death Crown is a dual-attribute Knight of Veda, I’m wondering if the damage from both attributes are doubled. I also wonder if his damage type can be changed to deal another attribute when the enemy activates Active Resistance. 

A dual-attribute Knight of Veda has the advantage of being able to counter two enemy attributes, but also has the weakness of being vulnerable to both opposite attributes. 

Death Crown, the first dual-attribute Knight of Veda, is strong against Light and Poison Knights of Veda, but is weak against Blood and Water. It also cannot deal much damage against Darkness. 
As you asked, attacking an enemy with Active Resistance against one of Death Crown’s attributes will not allow you to deal more damage, since he will maintain his original attribute of attack. 
If it were possible to switch to another attribute to deal damage to bypass Active Resistance, it would deviate too much from the current rules of the game, so we intend to maintain this current interaction. 
However we plan to improve it so that if another Knight of Veda triggers the active resistance, a dual-type Knight of Veda will be able to gain an advantage (if possible). 
Dual-attribute Knights of Veda are designed as the ultimate 5-star characters. 
Therefore they possess the strength to overcome their weaknesses. 

In Season 2, we will continue to introduce dual-attribute Knights. Dual-attributes will be granted to Knights of Veda comparable to the Transcended Angels, Boden and 
Dual-attributes will be granted to Knights of Veda equivalent to the top 5 units from the Dragon Blaze universe, such as the Transcended Angels, Quintuple Ascendants and Boden. 

4. El Cid types are too detailed, and we'd like to see more sources where we can get enhancement and ascension materials

Currently, El Cids are divided into general El Cids and exclusive El Cids. We aimed to make general El Cids relatively easier to obtain compared to exclusive El Cids.
Exclusive El Cids provide special effects tailored to a character's traits, allowing for stronger growth. We are constantly looking for ways to reduce the difficulty in acquiring El Cids.
To address the lack of enhancement and ascension materials for El Cids, we have added items to the Guild Shop that can be exchanged starting from the August 1 update.
We are also discussing and planning more ways to provide sufficient content for acquiring enhancement materials for El Cids and Halos to meet your expectations.
 

5. We are concerned about the underperformance of some Knights of Veda and the skill cooldown reduction options.

We are aware that some Knights of Veda are not performing well.
We will continuously update and improve these knights.
We are especially focused on reviewing the performance of pickup knights.
All Knights of Veda will have roles in various content.
We understand that you play with great affection for each Knight of Veda, and we are working to ensure all knights can shine in different content.

We also recognize your concerns about the skill cooldown reduction options.
Currently, the maximum efficiency of this stat is 81.28%, and for Yanko, it can reach up to 88.48% at Fate 6.
We believe this issue is more noticeable in PVP than in PVE and will continue to monitor it closely.
As mentioned before, we promise to find solutions other than nerfs to provide updates that will hopefully satisfy the community.

6. We would like to have a feature that allows us to check battle stats for each content.

We understand that checking detailed battle statistics is essential for enjoying the game.
We will schedule updates to add this feature, starting with the content where battle statistics matter the most.

7. We would like a preset feature to easily swap relics and accessories, and a Knight of Veda with a skill that occasionally returns enchantment scrolls.

The development of a preset feature for equipment is currently in progress.
We will also incorporate the suggestion for a Knight of Veda with a skill that returns enchantment scrolls into development as soon as possible.
We are committed to continuously updating the game with various quality-of-life features that the community has been asking for.

8. Lack of stories for new characters

Detailed stories for the new knights will be revealed in the Season 2 storyline.
Season 2 will introduce knights with unique and captivating backgrounds.
We are working hard to build anticipation for the upcoming story and to highlight the unique qualities of many heroes in Season 2.

9. Having to play Calydon Hideout and Forgotten Mine three times daily feels exhausting.

We understand that Calydon Hideout and Forgotten Mine can feel like daily chores for material farming without much fun. To address this, we will improve the system and add a sweep function to claim rewards based on your best record.

We have reviewed the various feedback shared after the Portrait of Thierry update.
We will incorporate your feedback and improvements to hopefully provide everyone with a better experience.
We are preparing more PVE and PVP content for everyone to enjoy.
In Season 2, there will be end-game content tailored to each position.
We promise to keep delivering engaging content and look forward to sharing more in the next Director's Note.

Thank you!