Soul Calibur VI Upcoming Ver 1.11 Patch to Add Further Balance Updates, Over 100 Customization Items

During a Dengeki Online live stream earlier this week, Project Soul discussed some of Soul Calibur VI's most recent update (1.10), but also previewed the upcoming version 1.11 patch - which will add further balance changes and 100+ customization items to the game. Regarding the balance patch, Project Soul made it clear that the goal of this balance update is to have the original character play-styles they envisioned for SC6 shine through.

The notes below were translated by Wonkey over at Avoidingthepuddle.com.

Version 1.11 Breakdown with Project Soul
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Disclaimer: My Japanese is decent but not perfect, the audio isn't always crystal clear, and the devs are just super vague a lot of the time and assume a ton of contextual knowledge (which I don't have for every character), so there's some risk of error/misinterpretation in these summaries.

First off, 2B was the reason for the balance patches getting split into two releases. Working on her had development priority, so to meet deadlines whilst still pushing out some improvements, they semi-delayed the patch.

Ranked Matchmaking

They've heard the complaints about the matchmaking (e.g. all the 400RP vs. 20,000RP matchups) and are working on adjustments.
Selecting 'All' in ranked match search settings doesn't actually mean 'All', it means 'other players who have also selected "All" '. So if you are in the US and set your region to 'All', you will never match with a US player whose region is set to 'NA only'. They will clarify this point in 1.1.1 (e.g. change the text, add an explanation, etc.) as well as make adjustments.
In summary, they want players to match similar-level players in less time.

General Changes/Fixes

On certain stages, it's apparently very easy for certain combos to ring opponents out (no specifics given, but someone in the chat said 'the Queen of the Desert'). They will adjust this and are reviewing ringouts in general.
They are looking at fixing the various hitbox issues and specifically mentioned Astaroth and Cervantes up front.
They said something harmonising the way attacks work online/offline to avoid large disparities in a player's on/offline capabilities (Sieg/NM's flapjack appears to be an example of this).
Changes made to characters are both for the purpose of balance but also to emphasise the design philosophies behind each character, guiding players towards the originally intended playstyles (e.g. Azwel isn't supposed to be 'Axewel' at all).
Overall intent of the changes is also to make all characters look strong, viable and fun to play.

Create-a-Soul DLC

The two packs will have over 100 pieces in total.
The first set will be a mix of new parts, parts from previous games and parts from past characters.
The release of the first pack will be the a primary focus after the 1.1.1 patch drops. No firm release date given, but should be 'soon' after the Jan. patch.
The first CaS pack will also include additional BGM tracks from the older games.
They will also release some extra CaS parts for free. They haven't figured out the details for this yet, but it is on the cards.

Character Specific

(Here, they went through each character one-by-one, explaining a little about the design philosophies, reasons for the 1.1.0 buffs/nerfs and hinting at upcoming 1.1.1 changes)

Azwel

Is meant to be a strong, but technical character with a reliance on mode switching for effective play.
Past and upcoming balance changes are intended to encourage more use of all modes (unspoken implication being 'don't just use axe') and more thoughtful play (Okubo literally said he wants players to use thier heads more).

Groh

Intended to be the 'standard', introductory character.
(If I understood correctly) They are happy with his SC state, but will buff some of his regular moves.

Tira

Will actually get a balance update in the next patch. Both jolly and gloomy should become 'easier to fight with'.
They want players to also enjoy using jolly, not just wanting to maintain gloomy for as long as possible. Frequent switching is the goal.

Will be balanced in the upcoming patch, especially around her ring-out ability and 'hit-on' (not sure what that means).
They're aware other changes may be necessary, but are working (were working) to a tight deadline, so there's a limit to what will be changed in this patch.

Siegfried

Flapjack was nerfed for being too strong as a reverse ringout, especially considering it's a low throw that holds FC throughout (other low throws are not like that). This is the kind of thing they meant when talking about harmonising the online/offline experience. Seems this move was too strong in online play and granted 'lucky' rather than 'strategic' victories.
They pointed out he has another reverse ringout (that standing attack throw) and also that flapjack will still wallhit.
No mention of 1.1.1 changes.

Ivy

Nerfed because of her ability to create space/defend at close range. They said she had too many options before.
They also felt Ivy player's meter usage was too defensive in general.
They admit the current version of the CE may be difficult to use.
Next patch will make changes to her CE/meter use to encourage more offensive play. From the tone/wording here, it seems at least some of the nerfs will be walked back to some extent and/or other areas will be buffed.

Mitsurugi

Intended to be a 'standard' character with strong mid/low mixups.
44K (shoulder barge) received a buff in 1.1.0 to encourage players to use it more alongside 4K (jumping knee). They are considering further buffs to this and other moves. The intent seems to be to improve Mitsu's ability to close in on opponents and show his strengths.

Seong Mina

Intended as a long-range power character but they feel her options up close are limited.
Future changes will be made with the intent of making her 'more fun to play in close combat'. What that means is unclear, but it's not just a matter of just making her 'stronger' up close, but giving her more options to use in such situations.

Taki

The chip damage on Mekki-maru's attacks is there in part to distinguish Taki from the other short-range fighters.
They feel there's no much follow-up potential on those chip attacks and have been considering how best to improve it. Seems in 1.1.1, Taki will be able to be more bold(?) with these attacks.
They feel the danger Taki poses to herself near the ring edge is a problem and they looking into making her more 'trustworthy' in this context.

Maxi

They will fix some malfunctioning aGIs and make adjustments to encourage more players to make use of the relevant moves (I think in reference to stance transitions). From tone/wording here, Maxi players have something to look forward to in 1.1.1.

Voldo

Mantis Crawl (head forward) is considered to have too many plus frames. They don't want players to be able to just continuously attack in this state. The intent (of upcoming nerfs) will be to balance the head-first and feet-first modes, encouraging players to consider which to use when (instead of just focusing on head-first).
They admit that turning a back-turned Voldo around on block is a limitation and they are considering ways to address this (maybe a faster way to switch after guard - this part wasn't clear to me). Basically, they want players to make more use of the back-turned state for close-combat - upcoming changes should reflect this.

Sophitia

Got nerfed because they felt she did too much damage for her mobility and ease-of-use.
For the next patch, only thing they mentioned was reviewing (fixing) inappropriate whiffs.

Kilik

Is meant to be good at all ranges, less of the long-range specialist of previous games.
Changes in the next patch will also be to encourage wider use of his moveset.

Xianghua

Not sure of the context of the what they were saying but it sounded like there's an issue with her ring out game being too strong in certain moves/combos. They intend to adjust this but are taking care/their time because they want to avoid weakening the moves wholesale and making the character less fun to play.

Yoshimitsu

Some of the buffs in the last patch were too strong and are being reviewed.
They will adjust his stances in some way, probably a buff as they say it will make Yoshimitsu more enjoyable to play.

Nightmare

Meant to be high-risk, high-reward, but, so far, the reward has been greater than the risk. So expect nerfs.
Looking to fix moves randomly whiffing during combos.

Astaroth

Adjustments to make it easier to land throws.
Adjustments to close-range options and soul charge moves (improvements)
Aforementioned review of randomly whiffing attacks, esp. at close range.

Cervantes

They made a vague reference to improving his mid-distance game.
Aforementioned review of randomly whiffing attacks, esp. at close range.

Raphael

Seems they feel Raphael has too many matchups in his favour as effective play can reduce an opponent's options severely. Will be adjusted again in 1.1.1.

Talim

Her concept is a fast, free-form close range fighter with potential for explosive attacks. Despite the previous buffs, they still feel it's a little too difficult for Talim players to get in and make use of her unique aspects in actual matches.

Zasalamel

There's some issue with certain 'high-spec' combos dropping unintentionally due to a problematic link(??). Anyway, they are looking to fix it.
Abyss will also be altered in some way (no context as to whether it'd be a buff or nerf)

Geralt

Intended as a standard, easy-to-use, character but with some bonuses (the magic, two swords)
Seems some of the 1.1.0 changes were intended to reduce the abuse/overuse of certain moves.
Changes in 1.1.1 will also be designed to encourage usage of a broader range of moves.

For the full patch notes from version 1.10, see TFG's previous article. Stay tuned on FightersGeneration.com for full coverage and new content for SoulCalibur VI.