Netmarble held a developer livestream today (the 24th) for its collectible action RPG, ‘STAR DIVE.’ The stream featured Netmarble Monster PD Lee Dong-jo and Netmarble Business Division Director Kang Dong-ki, who showcased gameplay for the upcoming pickup character ‘Mina’ and held a Q&A session to address user feedback.
New Fire-Attribute Brawler ‘Mina’ Announced, Featuring ‘Spirit’ Mechanics and Flexible Update Schedule
Mina is a 5-star fire-attribute brawler and a shrine maiden struggling to protect the peace of the Far East Continent. She accumulates ‘Spirit’ when using swap skills, combat skills, or performing just-evades. Holding the normal attack button triggers her special move, ‘Hoyeon-jilju’ (Swift Dash), which consumes one Spirit per dash while automatically dealing fire damage to nearby enemies.
When using her ultimate, Mina deals fire damage and summons two clones that mimic her attacks. Since the clones’ attacks also generate Spirit, players can quickly chain skills and dashes to deal massive burst damage to enemies.
Following the introduction and demonstration of Mina, the team discussed character additions and update cycles. While originally planned for every three weeks, the team will adopt a more flexible approach to updates and improvements to better account for content consumption rates and resource acquisition challenges. Consequently, ‘Mina’ will be available via pickup starting April 28, and to compensate for the accelerated schedule, various events, including an attendance event, will offer additional rewards.
Pre-submitted Q&A
Q. Growth materials, keys, and tickets are in short supply. How do you plan to improve this?
PD Lee Dong-jo = We are aware of the issue. To address the shortage caused by a lack of keys and tickets, we have implemented a 2x acquisition event as a stopgap measure. We plan to further improve acquisition rates after reviewing the data.
Q. Farming ‘Premium Salmon Puree’ for Monster Ring growth requires endless grinding in rifts. Do you plan to reduce the fatigue?
PD Lee Dong-jo = As mentioned in the developer note on the 22nd, we have first changed the acquisition method to a guaranteed drop to reduce the burden of repetitive grinding. As a second step, we will implement tailored adjustments based on the overall progress of user Monster Ring synthesis and growth.
Q. The process from farming to identifying and synthesizing Monster Rings is too long, and the inventory fills up too quickly. Convenience improvements are needed.
PD Lee Dong-jo = We are monitoring data while increasing rift drop rates. We are also aware of the complaints regarding synthesis filters; while it is a large task, it is a top priority, and we are working to implement it as early as this weekend. We are preparing a grade filter first, followed by features like auto-lock and icon indicators to quickly identify options.
Q. The burden of ‘field running’ (repeatedly farming fields) seems excessive. Are there plans to alleviate this?
PD Lee Dong-jo = We definitely intend to increase supply. We are considering a dispatch system as a primary solution and will adjust the balance of field monster hunting so that players can obtain necessary rings without having to grind every day. We are also considering an auto-farming feature for the fields.
Director Kang Dong-ki = We initially thought field running was an optional activity for dedicated players, but more users are participating than expected. We are listening to your feedback and will refine the convenience features accordingly.
Q. High-tier raid gear is hard to obtain, and the random options are stressful. What measures are you preparing?
PD Lee Dong-jo = We designed it hoping players would try many times, but we have first increased the drop rates. Since gear with poor options is naturally discarded, we are preparing a way to dismantle it to recover materials and retry crafting.
Q. It is difficult to complete elemental decks.
PD Lee Dong-jo = I personally haven’t completed all my elemental decks either. We are aware that gear is often discarded if it doesn’t match the character’s element, and we will prepare measures to alleviate this.
Q. Even after capturing monsters, ‘Meow’ experience points are not being acquired correctly.
PD Lee Dong-jo = I can only apologize. We wanted to mention this in the last developer note, but the issue wasn’t fully diagnosed at the time. The patch is nearly ready, and we are investigating how to retroactively provide the missing experience points. We hope to distribute them as early as next week’s patch.
Q. Some motions are locked behind ‘blooming’ (awakening), which wasn’t mentioned in pre-launch livestreams. How will you handle this?
PD Lee Dong-jo = We thought it would be nice to provide additional rewards beyond just growth when blooming. We realize many users are disappointed, but since some players bloomed their characters specifically for these perks, we are carefully considering our options.
Director Kang Dong-ki = The intent was to express a deepening bond as characters are breakthrough-leveled. Once other systems are more established, we may be able to remove restrictions on motions and move in a different direction. We will look for ways to improve this.
Q. Since launch, there have been issues with quest progression, crashes, and graphical glitches. Also, frame drops and recognition issues with certain controllers persist.
This information was originally shared by PD Lee Dong-jo, who mentioned that the server and client teams are actively working on addressing issues related to frame drops when receiving data from USB-connected controllers. These issues will be fixed in the next week’s patch.
In response to various player requests, PD Lee Dong-jo mentioned that the PC version already supports auto-move and they will implement a hold-to-attack feature for normal attacks to accommodate unique attack patterns for each character. They are also reviewing feedback on mobile controls and plan to introduce a practice dummy for players to test DPS before engaging in high-level content.
During a Live Q&A session, PD Lee Dong-jo also mentioned that they are preparing something related to skins for the summer season. Additionally, Director Kang Dong-ki acknowledged feedback on pass rewards and empty gaps in the free pass and assured players that they plan to introduce a revamped pass with no empty slots in the next season.
PD Lee Dong-jo also addressed queries about multiplayer content, character stats discrepancies, visibility improvements, episode updates, and the addition of PVP, emphasizing their focus on world-building and responding to user feedback accordingly.
Regarding the addition of voice acting to event stories, PD Lee Dong-jo expressed the intention to include it in the future while acknowledging the challenges of coordinating dubbing in multiple languages. Director Kang Dong-ki highlighted the importance of budget and support from players for such additions.
PD Lee Dong-jo also mentioned that they are currently gathering opinions on auto-battle features and expressed a negative stance towards it, emphasizing the importance of manual combat enjoyment. They aim to enhance the combat experience in other ways to ensure players can fully enjoy the thrill of combat.
In response to queries about collaborations and merchandise events, Director Kang Dong-ki mentioned preparations for a pop-up store at Starfield, exploring various merchandise options while considering constraints for a family-friendly venue. They are also proceeding with collaborations carefully to offer products that reward player support. All translations supported by AI undergo a thorough review and refinement process by our newsroom team.
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