Considering the recent update is pretty significant, what are your impressions so far? First impressions or otherwise.

Okay, so after not being able to play SK for a whole day, I finally got to do so. Did a couple Depth 1/2 levels till a friend came on and we just completed FSC as of this writing.

So here are my first impressions, I love the new barriers. They do pretty good damage. At Depth 24, they do 150 per hit. That's pretty good, especially with the chance of inflicting a status. They move slow enough as not to be OP (although kinda op for mere items). I expect they'll be nerfed, but until then, I enjoy having 'em.

I also got the Recon flare thingy. I tested it out on some Slags. Oh. My. God. Kudos to the developers! The AI on that guy is amaaaaaazing. First the flare will do that Recon debuff thing, then the Recon will appear and start shooting with an autogun that'll push back at enemies. He'll even used charged attacks. But the most impressive thing is how it'll just dodge and aggro the enemies.

It does crud damage, but is a joy to watch in action. As opposed to the old Mecha Knights, who'll just shock you when you're on a party button.

Is it me or has FSC been nerfed? Things felt easier to kill. Enemy damage still seem fairly significant, but enemy HP seems decreased? Or perhaps that's just me. If FSC HAS been nerfed, I can understand only getting shinings crystals from it. But I still think it's a bad idea to make that the farming shining capital (FSC) without first implementing the newer levels where we'll presumably get radiants.

Personally, I just farmed other levels for Shining, prior to this. In Cold Blood gave you around 20 Shining per full run, most of it being skippable. So while it took a moderate amount of farming, I for one was never overly short on shinings. I'm actually far more short on Radiants, if only because I was reluctant to do FSC runs, if only because FSC requires a notable commitment in time.

As things stand, I'm digging the update, but do hope we get the finetuning soon.

As a 5*, I'm eager to be able to get Radiants again soon, unless OOO intends for Radiants to be something to be impossible to get en masse short of the Supply Depot, in which case, that's a dick move that'll probably make me take a hiatus. However, if FSC has indeed been nerfed, I can see it as a good place for Defender Elites to tag along with their Champion/Vanguard friends/guilds to earn the Shinings they need to get their 5* gear. Otherwise, without a support network, it seems to me it's still rather tough to break into that 5* category. Since Defender Elites need shinings to access FSC, but shinings are at FSC which they can't access.

It's not like the old days where we farm JK endlessly to get crowns for ce.

So, again, I like the update for the most part and I'm eager to get drops like turrets and stuff. Again, kudos for the Recon AI.