New Story Area and Characters
Chapter 3 of Part 2, featuring the Mining City of Aakhen, will debut on Thursday, August 22nd. The area introduces two new playable characters, Furious and Vivian.
Vivian is shown in a video battling alongside Destina, Leo and Armin as an Earth Mage-- though Smilegate maintains that details shown in video are from their QA server and not final.
Still, an image from the STOVE update in French suggests that Vivian will give a Greater Attack buff to herself and Immunity to teammates. With enough Speed, she could make a potent counter to popular Ice Heroes in PvP.
Three others are also teased with minimal info. At least one will be playable, judging by game files-- a sketch of the blue-haired character is found with a filename corresponding to playable characters.
Other interesting files include a Skill animation for Furious. There is also a portrait of another character who looks somewhat like Furious-- possibly a relative.
The Mystery Guy also has a filename associated with playable characters, though the category does include some (current) NPCs like Straze and Kawerik. He may never become playable, but is a level above other NPCs who are stored near enemies.
Exclusive Equipment
A new game mode called the Hall of Trials will debut on Thursday, 08/22. The game mode uses an entry ticket separate from Energy and drops currency called Wisdom's Gaze, which can be used to purchase character-exclusive equipment.
Exclusive Equipment will be applied to a unique new star-shaped slot. It adds both stat bonuses and additional effects to a Hero's Skills.
The update also mentions crafting the Exclusive equipment in the Alchemist's Steeple, although it's more of a recycling mechanic and sets will become available on a delay. The planned schedule is new equipment released "every four weeks," with items available for four characters to start: Destina, Chloe, Rose, and Wanderer Silk.
This is similar in purpose to the personal upgrades added to the Weapon Refinery in Fire Emblem Heroes.
Judging by the upgrades shown for Destina, this feature has a lot of potential to boost less popular Heroes in PvP. It's also static and grindable, with less of the variation present in existing equipment. Lucky players will get access to new gear earlier, but others can still recycle bad gear in the Alchemist's Steeple if they're determined to build their favorite Hero. You can also choose the Skill to enhance, so the main arbiter of progression will simply be the magnitude of boosted stats.
