System Updates — What’s Coming Next?

[Vio]

Hey, everybody!

Now that the Activity Check is over, we thought we’d share our thoughts on some up-and-coming changes to Bon Voyage’s systems! With work on the Bases system mostly wrapped up, you’ll have that to look forward to at some point in the near future, but we’ve also been looking at some other features that we deemed need sprucing up! Remember, these are just us sharing our thoughts on what we think are healthy changes for the site, so you might not see these coming into play too quickly or in exactly the form they’re shown in!

Without further ado, let’s get to it!

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Fine-Tuning Haki Advancements
I know most people aren’t there yet, but when it comes to Haki, we agreed that we may have significantly overshot the runway when it came to progression costs. While we’re entirely happy with the systems regarding Raw and Trained Haki, it was our Advancements System that was nagging a little, and here’s why.

Regardless of how quickly you manage to accumulate X-Poinz, the fact is that the system at present needs some pretty extraneous X-Poinz amounts to upgrade Haki, with a fully upgraded Colour of Haki costing a whopping 4,800 X-Poinz. Now, this isn’t really a problem on its own, but we deemed the combination of high benchmarks and high costs to be a little too oppressive, even in the late game, where you’d already need an immense 15,000 Total X-Poinz to get to that point!

We’re going to be putting those costs on the chopping block, keeping the cost for Trained Haki at its current 300, but pulling the other costs down to more reasonable numbers — a steady increase of 600 for the first, 900 for the second, and 1,200 for the third. This brings the total for a fully advanced Colour down to a more manageable 3,000 X-Poinz for what is still a “late game” sink.

The Trait Shop!
It’s mentioned somewhere amongst the current rules, but this was an idea that was meant to be implemented, but never was. At the time, it was slightly superfluous based on what we’d got, but it’ll be coming into play at some point after further discussion. The concept’s simple enough! Once a character hits “S” Class, they essentially hit a glass ceiling, unable to further develop outside of enhancing their FiSts and learning Haki.

This will allow people to break that proverbial ceiling once they’ve surpassed the “S” Class threshold, enabling people to unlock additional Traits at an X-Poinz cost. This will represent the ability to push oneself beyond regular limits — that further physical development is possible but needs more intensive training to exceed them!

Clarifying & Quantifying Zoan Abilities
Forever lingering in a strange place where they’re simultaneously the strongest and weakest, Zoans are a class of Devil Fruit that we felt needed some further clarification and a bit of a helping hand. This isn’t entirely a system change — no numbers will be directly shifted as of yet — but it should give all your shapeshifters out there a bit of assistance when coming up with ideas.

The specific case here are Forms (sometimes called “Points” after Chopper’s usage), which have long been an anomaly, so here’s the breakdown of the treatment they’re getting. For Regular and Ancient Zoans, Forms will offer a bonus likened to a Trait whenever the user is in that state, but typically more focused. A prime example would be Chopper’s various Pre-Time Skip Points — Arm Point would offer “Increased Strength”, while Guard Point would offer “Protective Coat”. Similarly, Improved Forms would instead offer two of these enhancements. For Mythical Zoans, because of their much more supernatural effects, these bonuses can be like Aspects.

Overall, these bonuses are also going to be referred to as Qualities, thus bringing their terminology in-line with their already shared costs with Equipment! With this, we’ll also lock them into the same marketplace location as Equipment, rather than floating around the Dojo as they do now.

Don’t Touch That Dial…?
Actually, yes, we will! Dials have always been a minor anomaly on the scale of Techniques and Equipment, so we’re going at them with a hammer (but not like Sanji did in Skypiea)! We’re going to be cutting their costs down to match with Techniques, given that — at least on their own — that’s all they really are. In lieu of this change, that will also have an impact on Equipment that uses them, and to represent this we’ll be talking about another system change on the table just below.

Before that, here’s the lowdown on the low down! Different Dials will still have different Ranks, but we’re going to be representing modifications to Dials that allow them to function a little differently by providing a means of increasing the Rank. This is especially relevant to Dials that produce types of Cloud, whose power is mostly useless outside of the high altitudes of the White Seas. By increasing a Milky Dial’s Rank by 1, you’d then be able to produce those Milky Roads just fine at low altitudes!

Now, about that other system change…

Equipment Qualities Reviewed!
Talking the system through usually raises some interesting questions, one of which was how we’d treat Equipment Qualities! Currently, Equipment gains a Quality at Rank 2, and again at Rank 4, but that means Ranks 3 and 5 are mostly superfluous. We plan on changing that up entirely, as well, introducing a streamlined and more flexible system that reflects upon how our changes to Zoans are working!

Qualities will be divided into two categories — those that are like Traits and those that are like Aspects — and this will affect how much they change a piece of Equipment’s costs. Those that are like Traits (e.g. being so heavy that they increase the damage when swung) increase an item’s Rank by 1, while those that are like Aspects (e.g. being so sharp they can cut steel) increase it by 2. There’ll even be the potential to enhance an existing Trait-like Quality to an Aspect-like version of itself!

Some Love For Overdrives!
Overdrives have been in a slightly unusual state for a while now, so it was time for a review — a review they got solely because they also fit with the system mentioned above! Much like Equipment, Overdrives will be getting a fresh coat of paint to bring them forward and make them more readily understandable. The same “Trait-like” and “Aspect-like” system will be applied to these all-important transformations, with the primary difference being the fact that Overdrives offer persisting passive benefits for as long as they remain in effect.

An additional layer will come in the form of Drawbacks — facets of the Overdrive that make them difficult to use or otherwise punish the user after the fact — which will knock the Rank down by 1. Just as they are now, Overdrives will be eligible for upgrades, including removing or replacing Drawbacks, gaining additional Enhancements, or levelling up those that already exist!

Robot Maintenance
As one of the most unusual race options on site, Robots suffer a little in regards to what they’re allowed to do, especially as they can’t develop Haki due to not being a living thing! We’re going to be looking into this one in greater depth to help give our automata friends some much needed love, hopefully making them a little more unique than just Heavy Cyborg without Haki, but there’s still much we have to talk about on this front!

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Anyway! That’s all for now, folks! While there’s a few more articles on the table that haven’t been mentioned here, I don’t want to ruin all the surprises! Until then, look forward to these system changes as they come into play!

[Vio]

Hey, folks!

Discussions have been had and systems have been tuned, so here’s me giving you all the warning of what changes are to come (hopefully) in the next few days! Zoans are getting a significant tune up, Dials are getting entirely reviewed and restructured to make them more accessible and simpler to incorporate into character designs, Equipment Qualities are getting a fresh coat of paint, and a brand new system is being introduced…!

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Zoan Weaknesses
It’s always been a bit of a challenge, so we’re actually peeling away the need for regular and Ancient Zoans to have a unique weakness in their Devil Fruits, with the standard weaknesses being absolutely fine. Additional weaknesses can be taken as an optional decision, but it’s not necessary. Mythical Zoans will still need added weaknesses due to their supernatural natures.

Devil Fruit Restrictions
Mythical Zoans are also getting a little bit of a restriction change! Formerly unique entities in varying mythos will become available options, so long as it isn’t specifically a deity (e.g. Susanoo, Thor), or directly adjacent to one (e.g. Fenrir, Heracles)! While this line can be a little tricky to work around in some cases, it’s opening things up more than before! A few other restrictions are being fine tuned, too!

New & Improved Zoan Forms
One of the first major changes we’ll be dishing out for Zoans is a significant change to how exactly their additional Forms work. Though their X-Poinz costs won’t be affected at all — remaining the same as Equipment — they’ll instead gain their own Qualities system, helping to differentiate them while making them more interesting mechanically. These Qualities will be how you determine their Rank, with Forms no longer being locked to Rank 2 and Rank 4, and each Quality is comparable to a Trait of some kind which is only accessible in that particular form! For each Quality a Form offers, their Rank increases by 1, but they can also have a special negative feature called a Drawback, which reduces their Rank by 1 instead! A Zoan Form’s Rank can never be less than 1! Mythical Zoans get a bit more of a bonus, at a cost, allowing them to develop Qualities that enhance or alter their supernatural powers by increasing a Form’s Rank by 2 instead!

Ancient Zoan? Ancient Power!
The difference in cost between a regular Zoan and an Ancient Zoan is a whopping 200 X-Poinz, for which they really don’t get anything special aside from being a prehistoric animal and a nebulously defined free Strength Trait. So! We’re giving them some love here. Ancient Power is no longer going to be this odd stackable Strength Trait, but instead grants the user the ability to bust their way through tough materials like stone and metal! Think of it like a steel breaking Aspect, but as a passive ability granted while transformed!

Like a Pasta Machine… Pasta Machine!
We’re introducing a new Aspect option for all Zoan users, called “Malleable Anatomy”, which allows them to achieve some very weird Techniques by messing around with their ability to transform between states! Kaku’s infamous Pasta Machine Technique is the prime example of what this would allow a Zoan to do, but there’s many more possibilities all depending on what you are and what kind of animal you become!

Say Goodbye To Selective Transformation…
Sadly, this current Aspect option for Zoans is being abolished… but not entirely! You’ll see exactly why we’re doing this when you look further down this list!

Weapon Quality Updates
When you look at the above stuff about Zoan Forms gaining Qualities, it probably makes you wonder, doesn’t it? Well! Wonder no more! Equipment is getting almost exactly the same treatment, getting a reformatted way of making weapons unique by adding “Trait-like” and “Aspect-like” Qualities — adding 1 and 2 Ranks to the weapon, respectively! This means that the current definitions of many pieces of equipment will change, such as the limitations of time period technology being removed, and the concept of ‘exotic’ weapons being removed. This change will include some more defined Qualities — Wapometal, Seastone, Black Blade, and Dial Modification among them — as well as opening up potential for more interesting possibilities!

Dial! Up! Connection!
Dials are getting wonderfully redefined to help emphasize their unique position amongst Equipment! Their X-Poinz costs are getting slashed in half to coincide with Techniques, though they’ll no longer offer Rebate, but this is because they’re essentially just Techniques anyway! However, they’ll stay in the Equipment section of the Marketplace, and follow a similar pattern to how they do now. The defined categories of “Utility”, “Slow Release”, and “Quick Release” will remain in place, including a newly defined “Strong Release” type that takes up a Rank 3 spot and includes the Reject Dial. In addition, the newly defined Dial Modification Quality of Equipment will be a gateway to allowing weapons to make use of Dials more neatly! And, last but not least, types of Dial that produce Cloud can have an ‘improved’ variant that increases its Rank by 1 in order to make it function correctly at normal altitudes, finally tackling that system oddity!

^{Drum roll, please…!}

New System! Devil Fruit Advancements!
This brand new system will be added to Bon Voyage shortly, offering Ability Users a new and more comfortable way to improve their abilities by unlocking passive improvements! These Advancements come in various forms depending on your specific Devil Fruit classification, using a cost system similar to Overdrives, complete with Rebate, and a progressive development system akin to Haki. Why are we adding this? Well, it helps us solve a potential system headache in the future (looking at you, Awakening), but also covers the passive features of Devil Fruits!

Advancements are a progressive system that will be available to Devil Fruit users who have reached the “D” Class threshold, but as of present there’s a bit of a limit on the system itself. Regular Paramecia will not have access to Advancements at all, though they at least make up for this with their innate versatility. Special Paramecia are getting a bonus for being so good, with them and Logia having Reflexive Transformation — formerly requiring a Trait — as their option. Zoans are getting the bulk of them, which is where the two Selective Transformation features are going! Mythical Zoans will also gain a special one of their own, Mythic Manifestation, which allows them to produce and manipulate their more supernatural features without actually having to transform!

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This big batch will be coming soon and accommodate some changes to peoples’ X-Poinz expenditure, which will be tackled once the information has been rolled out!

[Jade]

As of today, the system updates that were listed in the post above have now been implemented! Equipment and Zoan-class Devil Fruits have received the majority of the changes, but there's an entire new system in place now as well in the Devil Fruit Advancement system. The changes can be found in the following threads:

• The Dojo
• The Armory
• A Guide to Paramecia
• A Guide to Zoans
• A Guide to Logia

Following these updates, you may be wondering how you can bring your affected characters in line with these changes. Fortunately, it’s a rather simple process! Quite simply, you will need to put those things that will need updating up for approval through the Armory or Dojo, appropriate to what it is that you're updating.

If your characters have any Techniques that would be affected by these changes, such as Zoan users who may have had Techniques that were increased in Rank through the use of the Selective Transformation Aspect(s), they can be altered to suit the changes appropriately at this time.

When making these updates, you will need to ensure you are calculating your XPz appropriately! Any XPz that has been spent on things that you will be updating at this time is effectively “refunded” - this is so that the updated Equipment, Forms, and Techniques can be brought in line with the system changes.

Additionally, in the coming days we will be creating a way for you to submit Zoan that have extraneous Weaknesses so that those can be removed, but this hasn't been set up just yet. We'll let you know when this is implemented!

[Vio]

<sup>Hey, folks! We just keep going, huh?

Now that the changes in the above two posts have been implemented, we’re focusing on some less intricately connected but still very substantial changes to the site’s systems. We’re in the process of finishing up our discussions on Overdrives, including the much awaited addition of Sulong for Minks, and a significant alteration that’ll allow some Overdrives to show variance, like Luffy’s Gear Fourth. However! The changes listed below will be implemented very soon, so here we go!

Fighting Style Cost Updates!
Nothing too massive is changing for Fighting Styles, as their system is very much integral to the system as a whole, and we genuinely feel that everyone’s happy with how they work and how Aspects function! What’s changing? Well, we’re fine tuning the upgrade costs for FiSts to lessen the load later, bringing them into rank and file with Techniques, Equipment, and so on, meaning that a fully upgraded Fighting Style has a total cost of 2,000 X-Poinz — a whole 500 cheaper! In addition, the Rebate they offer is also being given a bit of a boost, starting at the same position of 125 Rebate at “D” Class (enough for a Rank 2 Technique), but increasing by an additional 25 per level, for a final total of 875 Rebate!

These changes have already been implemented in their Dojo section, so characters who have attained a “C” Class Fighting Style or above will have some X-Poinz refunds and additional Rebate to spend. All-in-all, it’s a win-win situation for everybody!

Haki’s Getting Fixed Up!
Currently the most expensive character-specific thing in existence, we’re trimming the fat off the costs of Haki to make it a little cleaner and more accessible, even more so than we stated in this announcement earlier! Total X-Poinz thresholds will be remaining the same. We’re also taking the liberty to recondition how Haki Advancements work, with the Colours of Armament and Conquerors’ getting some significant changes that bring them up to date with canon.

Trained Haki is being reduced to 250 X-Poinz per Colour, with each Advancement heralding an increase in the overall total expenditure. A fully mastered Colour will now cost a much more reasonable 2,500 X-Poinz, featuring four separate Advancement options — three standard ones and one mastered form. The mastered Advancement options will have a standard prerequisite, requiring two other Advancements from its associated Colour, with one being fixed and the other being optional. In other words, you’ll only need two Advancements to attain the mastered form!

But what’s changing for each individual Colour?

Observation Haki (“Kenbunshoku”) is keeping its current Advancements unless anything else decides to crop up, with ‘Future Sight’ retaining its mastery position but now requiring you to have unlocked the ‘Advanced Emapthy’ Advancement alongside either of the other options.

Armament Haki (“Busōshoku”) is losing its ‘Shaped Ryūō’ Advancement, as that was a bit of a stretch and not something that’s been truly demonstrated. What’s replacing it? An effect we’re calling ‘Permeation’, which is especially potent on Devil Fruit eaters and has canonically been shown by three characters, all of whom were Ability Users — Luffy, Big Mom, and Katakuri! But what is it? Well, you remember that fiery pattern on Luffy’s body in Gear Fourth…? ‘Permeation’ will be the ability to infuse your body with Armament, burning through your Haki more rapidly but enhancing the power of it quite significantly, and even allowing Devil Fruit users to merge their bodily defences and features with Haki! Luffy’s ability to remain rubbery despite being hardened by Armament is the main case in point here, and Katakuri’s enhanced limb remained sticky while still striking hard! In addition to this, we’ll be renaming ‘Ryūō’ and ‘Advanced Ryūō’ to ‘Emission’ and ‘Internal Destruction’, respectively, to give them a more generalised and much less culture-specific (Wano) name. The ‘Internal Destruction’ ability requires ‘Emission’, alongside one of the other options.

Conqueror’s Haki (“Haōshoku”) is maintaining its current Advancements, of which it only has three, but is gaining the newly revealed ‘Infusion’ effect, which will replace ‘Presence of a True King’ as the highest level option, and simply requires the ‘Control’ Advancement plus one other option. Furthermore, ‘Presence of a True King’ is going to be tweaked slightly in how it works, as well as being renamed to ‘Pressure’, as there’s no denying we’ve seen several instances of it, ranging from small areas (e.g. Luffy vs Chinjao in Corrida Colosseum) to entire ships and islands (e.g. Shanks & Whitebeard, or Big Mom & Kaido!</sup>

[Vio]

<sup>Hey, folks!

The above changes to Fighting Styles and Haki have now been implemented, alongside a newly improved Overdrives system! As stated above, you’ll probably need to go through an application process in respective sections to confirm changes to X-Poinz, Rebate, and Overdrives!</sup>

[Vio]

<sup>Uh-Oh! Vio’s back again?!

Well! Great news, everyone! We’re almost wrapped up with these system changes, with just a small handful of things to finalise! One of these things to come is something we’re going to take a bit more time with, given that the vast majority of characters on site (and I do mean like 99% of them) won’t really have a need to worry about it for a good while. The other change that’s coming in hot is some pretty substantial changes to Races!

We’ve done an extensive review of how Races work here, coming to the conclusion that most of them are severely lacking in some regard or suffer from an overwhelming number of negatives, while one in particular is a little overtuned. We’re still ironing out the implications of hybrids within this system, but are genuinely happy with how all our main races have ended up after a prolonged discussion, so here’s some teasers of what all our different friends are getting.

Humans are getting an extra Trait! Just like their current ones, it’s an optional one, so this is a good buff for them, keeping their identity as the most variable but least exotic species. Fishmen aren’t changing in terms of Traits, but we’re cutting them down to size, with an imposed upper limit of 25’ (⁓7.62m), as the only canon Gyojin that distinctly go above is Wadatsumi, who is an exceptional singular example. As for their direct relatives, Merfolk are getting transformed a little, losing “Legless” entirely as anything more than character fluff, alongside “Fish Whisperer” (their ability to communicate with fish). Merfolk have a new upper limit of 40’ (⁓12.20m), which for them is mostly length rather than bulk, so their maximum size is basically the same as most other species.

The Giants come in swinging with one of the most substantial changes: We’re lessening their minimum height to 40’ (⁓12.20m), giving more wiggle room for players who think less is more for their characters. We’re also cutting out their “Inhuman Strength”… in favour of “Colossal Might”, which gives them the raw strength and size to smash their way through large buildings and reinforced structures with an ease similar to the new Ancient Power bonus possessed by Ancient Zoans! “Cumbersome” is staying put, as it serves as the counterweight to “Colossal Might”.

Dwarves are being slightly renovated, losing their “Inhuman Strength” as a given — they’re still about as strong as a regular human despite their size — and instead gaining another optional. They’re also being given a small size buff, with a new maximum height of 12” (30cm)! Sky Islanders aren’t changing at all, as we’re happy with where they stand, and neither are the Longarm and Longleg tribes.

The Mink are the primary culprit of being a little overtuned, so we’re cleaning them up a little so that their fur is nice and pristine. They’ll be losing “Cold Resistance” as a given, with “Heat Vulnerability” remaining as their counterbalance to having “Electro” (which is basically a free Aspect) right out of the gate. In addition, they’re losing “Inhuman Strength” as a given Trait and instead gaining an optional to better suit the variability of Mink. While their species are warriors as a whole, some subsets are built more for agility, or durability, rather than brute force.

Animal characters are getting some fresh definition, with a new size limit of 40’ (⁓12.20m) and an additional optional Trait, just like Humans are getting. The “People’s Speak” Trait is being removed and applied as fluff, so there’s no need to apply if you want your animal to learn to speak the common tongue as part of their development. Aside from that, we’re loosening the belt a little on what we’re allowing, but we’re still keeping a leash on truly bizarre or overbearing animals.

Cyborgs are one of our most definitive changes! What is currently considered a Light Cyborg will no longer be; they’ll simply be their basic race with prosthetics. Instead, we’re making a distinction for what it truly means to be Light or Heavy, with the former gaining “Inhuman Toughness” alongside two optionals (which may be race-specific), while also losing the “Conductive” negative. Heavy Cyborgs are getting something altogether different, which we’ve tentatively called “Iron Body”, which is essentially the toughness trait on steroids, and represents the insanely durable and armoured metallic bodies of some Cyborgs. To counterbalance this, we’re coalescing “Conductive” and “Fuel Source” into a singular “Weakness” Trait, that represents some means of an opponent being able to bypass such an immense physical defence. Otherwise, Heavy Cyborgs also gain two optionals that can be race-specific.

And finally, Robots! Robots are getting the same ‘Light’ versus ‘Heavy’ distinction as Cyborgs, allowing you to make more vulnerable Robots, or fancy armoured ones. This means they’ll either take “Inhuman Toughness” or the “Iron Body + Weakness” combination, losing their unusual limiting factors. They’ll still get an optional Trait, but their “Breathless” Trait is being updated to “Inorganic” (or something along those lines) that represents both their inability to develop Haki as well as their immunity or high resistance to things that would only usually affect a living organism, such as toxins or even Fishman Karate’s ability to strike at the water in an opponent’s body!

We’re still having a discussion on hybrid races and how exactly that will work, and these changes will definitely incur some changes to existing characters, which we’ve already figured out a way to go about! When the changes roll out, we’ll let you know exactly what they are and how to go about updating affected characters!</sup>

[Vio]

<sup>Hi, folks!

Our new Race Guidelines are now up and active! But what does this mean for existing characters? Well, if you’ve got a character who has any Traits that don’t correspond to the new system, you can simply apply for the changes within The Dojo! This includes swapping existing Traits or removing now obsolete fixed Traits, such as the former Conductive Trait. For convenience, any additional adjustments related to these changes can also be confirmed in the Dojo!

If you wish to keep a specific Trait you had that you feel is integral to your character’s design despite the changes putting you over the Trait limit, you can opt to keep it! However, if you do so, you’ll effectively go into Trait Debt, meaning that those excess positive Traits will take up the slot gained when you increase in Class until it balances out.

We hope you enjoy these changes!</sup>