Hello, this is synchrok, PD of Axis Blade.
The update originally scheduled for May 15 has been postponed to May 22.
This update includes new content such as the Challenge Battle, as well as various fixes. However, we found that additional time was needed to properly complete and polish the content. We sincerely apologize for the one-week delay.
Since today’s update will not proceed as planned, we would like to take this opportunity to share a Developer Letter.
In this letter, we’ll introduce the upcoming Challenge Battle and address some of the feedback we’ve received from our Bladers.
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Challenge Battle
We’re excited to introduce the upcoming Challenge Battle, a new event mode where you'll face off against powerful boss Blades.
Unlike traditional 3v3 Blade battles, Challenge Battles feature a 3v1 format, pitting your team against a single boss Blade.
You’ll progress through a total of 9 stages, each increasing in difficulty.
The first boss Blade will be none other than Chaos Blazing Leon.
Chaos Blazing Leon is a Fire-type Blade that uses enhanced versions of Blazing Leon’s skills to pose an even greater threat.
As you progress, the boss Blade’s HP, attack, and defense will increase at each stage. Every 3 stages, the boss’s skills will also become more powerful.
Clearing Challenge Battles rewards you with Challenge Points, which can be exchanged for various rewards, including Skill Cores.
There will also be ranking rewards for top-performing Bladers. The faster you clear higher stages, the higher your rank.
At the end of the event, ranking rewards such as Pickup Blade Tickets and Crystals will be distributed—so aim for the top!
Prepare to take on a powerful boss in Challenge Battle, arriving with the May 22 update.
Balance Adjustments
We’d like to share our current thinking on Blade and Part balance through this developer letter.
Overall Weakness of Defender-Type Blades
Currently, Defender-type Blades are under-performing compared to other types.
We've identified key issues:
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Their defensive capabilities aren't strong enough to withstand attacks effectively.
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Their offensive abilities are too weak to provide impactful counterattacks.
While we were cautious not to overtune them initially, we’ve confirmed that both their offensive and defensive roles need a buff.
Our aim is to enable Defender Blades to absorb damage while delivering meaningful counter-damage, allowing for more strategic depth in battles.
Overall Blade Balance Direction
Aside from Defender Blades, we’re also reviewing other under-performing types.
Our primary goal is not to nerf strong Blades, but rather to buff weaker ones to create a more diverse and balanced meta.
We are also adjusting Blades that are overly dependent on Limit Breaks, so they remain viable without needing high investment.
These balance updates are planned for after the end of the current Arena season, to avoid disrupting active competition.
Part Set Balance
Axis Blade currently offers nine different part sets, but in practice, only those that enhance offensive stats or core attributes tend to be favored.
This is largely because the less-used sets provide effects that are either not impactful enough in combat or simply lack appeal.
Common problems with these underused sets include their inability to shorten battle time or their clear inferiority to other options—often making them feel like outright downgrades.
To improve this, we are planning to buff these sets by adding more offensive capabilities or introducing unique special effects, making them more viable and attractive.
As with Blade balance changes, these part set adjustments are scheduled to be implemented at the end of the current Arena season.
On Arena
We’d like to address some key issues surrounding Arena, the core competitive content where many Bladers showcase their strength.
Defense Teams Not Working as Intended
One of the major issues in Arena is that defense setups are not functioning effectively as actual defensive lines.
Even when players build teams with significantly higher-level and more powerful Blades, the AI struggles to match the decision-making and adaptability of human Bladers, resulting in attackers winning too easily.
This issue is further exacerbated by the general weakness of Defender-type Blades, as previously discussed, along with current limitations in AI performance.
While it’s theoretically possible to improve the AI to a high level of precision, doing so would significantly increase the difficulty and fatigue experienced by players on the attacking side.
Therefore, rather than focusing on overly sophisticated AI improvements, we’ve decided to first address the issue by buffing Defender-type Blades and creating a more supportive environment for defensive teams overall.
In future regular Arena seasons, we’re also preparing a system that will grant special effects based on the types of Blades placed in the defense team, giving defenders meaningful strategic advantages.
These changes are also planned for a future update, and we kindly ask for your continued interest and support.
Repeated Attacks from the Same Bladers
Currently, in the upper ranks of Arena, repeated attacks from the same Bladers have been causing conflict among players.
We are closely monitoring this issue, and we want to make it clear that it is not our intention for the system to generate tension or disputes among Bladers.
Our analysis indicates that this situation arises from a combination of multiple factors, rather than a single cause.
For instance, the current state where defense teams fail to function effectively, combined with the way Arena attacks grant a fixed number of points regardless of the opponent’s rating, both contribute to this problem.
While we hope the upcoming improvements to the defensive environment—such as empowering stronger defenders to successfully repel attacks—will help ease the issue, we also fully acknowledge that this alone will not completely resolve the problem.
As such, we are currently reviewing the potential introduction of a “Blind System” (player-anonymization), specifically targeted at high-ranking Arena players.
We plan to finalize our decision and share details in conjunction with the start of the next regular Arena season.
We sincerely apologize for the conflicts caused by the current system and will continue working to foster an Arena environment where Bladers can enjoy fair and competitive gameplay without unnecessary disputes.
On Progression
Skill Core Acquisition
Although the previous update improved overall resource acquisition for parts and experience, we recognize that Skill Core availability is still insufficient.
Internally, Skill Cores were deliberately positioned as the final step in Blade progression, which is why their drop rate was intentionally strict.
However, it has become increasingly common for players to acquire new or desired Blades but be unable to level them up due to a lack of Skill Cores.
Since low-skill-level Blades are at a severe disadvantage against higher-tier Blades, regardless of their base stats, we are now preparing ways to address this issue.
We initially considered increasing Skill Core rewards in Street Battle, but as that mode is already heavily utilized for part farming and daily content, we determined that further burdening it would be unreasonable.
Instead, we plan to introduce a new content mode specifically designed to support Skill Core acquisition.
As a starting point, the Challenge Battle, which will launch with the May 22 update, will offer a large quantity of Skill Cores.
In addition, we are developing a new system that will allow players to regularly obtain large quantities of low- and mid-grade Skill Cores, enabling smoother and more consistent Blade progression without unnecessary bottlenecks.
Other Growth-Related Content
We’ve also received feedback about the difficulty of acquiring top-tier tuning options, and we are actively reviewing this concern.
At this time, however, we do not plan to fundamentally change the current growth system beyond easing some of the resource acquisition difficulty.
That said, we are preparing future updates that will introduce entirely new growth systems—
including the upcoming Artifact system as well as additional content related to parts.
Through these updates, our goal is to provide multiple avenues for Blade progression, so that players can continue to enjoy the process of building and strengthening their Blades in various ways.
Quality of Life Improvements
Lastly, we’d like to share some thoughts regarding convenience features in Axis Blade.
Auto Play
We’ve received a significant amount of feedback regarding the fatigue caused by daily gameplay, particularly the strong desire for auto-play functionality.
Our development team is currently reviewing this request positively and discussing the best way to implement an auto-play system—or a suitable alternative.
Our objective is to reduce daily fatigue, especially in repetitive content such as Street Battle.
If full auto-play proves to be unfeasible, we are also considering other convenience features like instant-clear systems. More details will be shared in an upcoming update notice.
Blade Reset Feature
We’ve also received many requests for a Blade reset feature that allows players to reclaim invested resources and apply them to a different Blade.
At this point, we have decided not to implement a Blade reset system.
Our main concern is that such a feature could lead to a playstyle where players focus only on developing three Blades and constantly resetting them, which goes against the intended design of the game.
However, we do understand that these requests are likely driven by a shortage of upgrade resources.
To address this, rather than offering a reset option, we plan to introduce content that provides sufficient upgrade materials, allowing players to grow multiple Blades without needing to undo past progress.
In Closing
It has now been about one month since Axis Blade launched.
We are sincerely grateful to all our Bladers for the passion, feedback, and support you’ve shown during this time.
With today’s update postponed to May 22, the ongoing Arc Dragon Pickup Booster and the sale period for Arc Dragon Pickup Packages I, II, and III will be extended by one week.
Revised Schedule:
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Affected Pickup Booster: Arc Dragon Pickup Booster
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Affected Packages: Arc Dragon Pickup Packages I, II, III
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Extended Period: 2025.05.15 ~ 2025.05.22 05:00:00 (KST)
We once again sincerely apologize for not being able to proceed with today’s update.
As a small token of appreciation, we are issuing the following coupon:
Coupon Code: TH4NKYOUFORBLADER
Reward: 1,000 Crystals
Valid Period: 2025.05.15 ~ 2025.05.29 23:59:59 (KST)
Thank you once again for your support.