Greetings, Rune Hunters.

This is Seong Seop Song, Director of UNDECEMBER.

I'm writing to you as the season that began with the Star Guardian now comes to a close.

The long-awaited next season is titled ‘Abyss Gate’.

Through the Chaos Statue, you will enter the Abyss Gate and descend into the dungeons where ever-stronger monsters await, proceeding all the way to the final depths.

I hope you reach the very end of the Abyss safely—and with that in mind, let me introduce you to the new season.

1. Jewel System Revamp

In the upcoming Season ‘Abyss Gate’, parts of the existing Jewel System will undergo revamping.

Weapon-type gear will now feature the newly introduced ‘Star Jewel Slot’, which did not exist before.

To compensate for the disadvantage 2-handed weapons face compared to dual-wielding (or 1-handed and off-hand combinations) in Jewel setups, they will be upgraded to have 2 Jewel Slots.

In addition, the Jewel Scores obtainable from white and colored Jewels will be increased,

and the maximum Jewel Score level will also be expanded, allowing you to gain more Stats than before.

Lastly, in the ‘Abyss Gate’ content I will introduce below,

you will be able to acquire gear with ‘Max Jewel Slot +1’, enabling more diverse setups than previously possible.

(These screenshots are from content currently under development, and may be subject to change upon the official update.)

2. Abyss Gate

The Abyss Gate is new battle content offering higher difficulty than the existing Chaos Dungeon.

In the Abyss Gate, once you die during battle, resurrection or re-entry is not possible,

and you must defeat the boss to obtain rewards, making this new content highly challenging.

Each time you enter, you will be placed in a random area to battle,

and since both the effects applied to monsters and to players are determined randomly, it demands a high level of understanding and situational judgment.

As this is high-difficulty content, a variety of rewards await those who successfully defeat the boss.

(These screenshots are from content currently under development, and may be subject to change upon the official update.)

3. Gear Slot Upgrade

‘Gear Slot Upgrade’ is a new growth system available through the ‘Abyss Gate’.

After defeating the Abyss Gate boss, you can perform a limited number of Slot Upgrades using the ‘Abyss Anvil’,

and the main options of the gear equipped in the upgraded slot will increase by a certain percentage.

Slot Upgrades have a particular success rate, and this rate is increased the higher your ‘Abyss Gate’ entry stage is compared to the slot’s upgrade level.

The enhanced gear stats gained this way can also be used in existing content, and they will play a key role in mitigating penalties from the rising difficulty of the ‘Abyss Gate’.

4. Abyss Stones

‘Abyss Stones’ are new, Abyss Gate exclusive loot gear items added with Season ‘Abyss Gate’.

Abyss Stones are divided into three types, each with distinct traits.

(These screenshots are from content currently under development, and may be subject to change upon the official update.)

1. Dawn’s Abyss Stone

- Dawn’s Abyss Stones amplify certain types of gear stats.

- For example, if you equip a ‘Dawn – Dagger’ Abyss Stone, your Dagger stats will be significantly boosted regardless of the specific type of Dagger equipped.

(These screenshots are from content currently under development, and may be subject to change upon the official update.)

2. Destruction Abyss Stone

 - Destruction Abyss Stones amplify certain Unique Gear stats.

(These screenshots are from content currently under development, and may be subject to change upon the official update.)

3. Distortion Abyss Stone

 - These Abyss Stones alter the effects of existing skills.

 - While their effects do not stack with existing Unique Gear effects, they provide more flexible build options.

You can equip up to three Abyss Stones at the same time.

Distortion Abyss Stones can only be equipped in one fixed slot, while Dawn’s Abyss Stones and Destruction Abyss Stones can be equipped either as two of one type or one of each.

Abyss Stone slots can be checked at the bottom of the character screen, and unlocking slots requires a certain Jewel Score.

5. New Skills / Link Rune

Two new skills and one new Link Rune are being added.

(These screenshots are from content currently under development, and may be subject to change upon the official update.)

The first is ‘Wrathful Blow’.

- This is a physical weapon ranged Spell Skill that releases a fist-shaped burst of wrathful energy forward when cast.

(These screenshots are from content currently under development, and may be subject to change upon the official update.)

The second is ‘Toxic Mist’.

- This is a Poison Element Spell Skill that causes a toxic explosion on the target, generating multiple projectiles from the target’s location.

The last is ‘Chain of Pain’.

- This is a Link Rune that increases its damage based on the number of status effects the target is afflicted with.

6. Link Rune Improvement

The existing Link Runes with ‘Melee’ / ‘Attack’ tags are being improved so that they can also be applied to ‘Spell’ skills.

Targetable Link Runes include ‘Melee DMG Amplification’ and ‘Fighting Spirit’,

which will be able to be linked to skills such as ‘Frost Shock’ and ‘Lightning Wave’.

7. Season Challenges

New pets and attachments will be provided as rewards for the Abyss Gate season challenges.

The final reward is an Abyss Unique Selection Chest.

8. Season Promotion Benefits

In the next season, all Rune Hunters enjoying Season Mode will receive a Season Promotion Chest to boost early growth.

The Season Promotion Chest provides various growth support rewards at certain levels,

as well as reward chests for the next target level, offering a guaranteed chance to obtain new artifacts.

Rewards are distributed abundantly from Character Level up to Rune Master Level, helping Rune Hunters significantly in the early part of the season.

In Conclusion…

The development team is finalizing work to ensure that this next season is stable and full of thrilling fun.

We hope you are looking forward to it.

Thank you.