Hello Duelists, and happy new year!! It's officially 2025 now, and therefore, it's time to start putting our "big plans" into motion! Before that though, we've gotten a small handful of bug reports since releasing the Master Locks update (hope you're all enjoying him, by the way!), so we've put out a small patch to fix them!

Full patch notes:

Forward Dash

• Fixed an issue where, if the opponent was in the corner, they would be moved away from the corner if Clyde ended his forward dash anywhere on screen

Boss Mode

• Fixed an issue with the AI Annie costume's Boss Mode, where her Neutral Special had no hitboxes

Throw

• Fixed an issue where landing a throw in the corner could cause Shoto to move around unnaturally

Boss Mode

• Fixed an issue with the Thunder God costume's Boss Mode, where using Down Super could cause a Loop Escape to trigger repeatedly

Down Taunt

• Added 2 new hair styles the taunt can select

Throw

• Fixed an issue where landing a throw in the corner could cause Baron to move around unnaturally

Miscellaneous

• Fixed an incorrect win quote against Master Locks

Happy Holidays, Duelists! It's our final update of the year, and boy have we got a BIG present for you all! In case you somehow missed it, the lovable karate instructor Master Locks has finally made his playable debut, and we couldn't be happier to have him here!

Master Locks is a somewhat unorthodox take on the typical "shoto" archetype, putting his own unique spins on each of his attacks, while also remaining a solid and dependable choice for beginners and experts alike! Moves like his steerable projectile Buzz Cut and his long-ranged trapping move Hair Extension let him play from a distance, while also having powerful mix-ups tools like Hair Flip to go on the offensive! An all-around great moveset for an all-around great guy!

And of course, since we know everyone LOVES to get clothes for Crimbo, this update is also loaded with the most costumes we've ever packed into a single update! Master Locks himself is launching with 3 alternate costumes right out the gate, and we've also made 5 additional costumes for other characters! Shoto, Derrick, Lumina, Guy, and Johnson mains all have something nice to unwrap this year!

As a final message, we wanted to thank each and every one of you for just playing our silly little game, and for supporting it with reviews and by sharing the game with your friends and followers. 2024 has been an amazing year for Duels of Fortune, and that's all thanks to the wonderful community that's managed to grow around it. While we may not have the skills, time, or resources to provide big features like online play or mod support, we appreciate that you guys are largely understanding of that, and that you enjoy what we make regardless. Frankly, that alone means the whole world to us. ❤

We plan to make 2025 the game's biggest and best year yet. Hope you look forward to the future of DoF, and of course, have a happy new year!

Alrighty, I've rambled for long enough. Here are the full patch notes for this update!

Music

• Added a new music track: Signature Style (Master Locks' Theme)

Collision

• Collision handling in the corner has been adjusted to ensure that characters with thinner collision boxes can no longer “steal” the corner from wider characters. This should also help prevent seemingly random side-switching during corner combos
  
  • Note that Clyde is still intentionally capable of stealing the corner with his run, as well as Azutron with his Hot Pursuit special move. They can also now do this consistently against the entire cast, rather than just wider characters

Blocking

• Fixed an issue where it was possible to create an unblockable scenario by switching sides with the opponent while continuously hitting them with projectiles (i.e. with Shiverskull’s “MORE SWORDS!!” or Black Heart’s “Heart Breaker”)

Getup Reversal

• Getup Reversals that don't leave the user airborne have been nerfed across the board, making them more punishable on block or whiff. Much like standing Reversals, they now play a longer recovery animation on whiff or block
  
  • This changes affects: Annie, Red, Baron, Sylvan, Shiverskull, Lumina, Lance, Johnson, and Ember

Long Jump

• Fixed an issue where it was impossible to perform an aerial Back Special out of a long jump under most circumstances

Burst Meter

• Fixed an issue where the Burst meter would naturally regenerate during Super cinematics and round transitions

Throw Break

• Fixed an issue where a Throw Break could be triggered even if the initiator of the throw was interrupted by another hit

Miscellaneous

• Fixed an issue where opponents caught in trapping effects (i.e. Azutron’s Holo-Jail) had reduced friction

Lore Journal

• Master Locks’ lore entry is now unlocked by beating Arcade Mode with Master Locks. The previous unlock condition of playing on Master Locks’ Dojo 10 times now unlocks the Barber costume for Locks instead
  
• Updated Baron’s lore entry to correct some outdated details
  
• Fixed a grammatical mistake in Azutron’s lore entry

Master Locks' Dojo

• Updated the stage select render to remove Locks, as he is no longer a permanent part of the stage
  
• Master Locks’ theme can now play on this stage, and is the most common song to play. It has a 50% chance, while Shoto and Derrick’s themes now have a 25% chance each

Duels of Fortune Arena

• Adjusted the background characters’ positions in the stage, and added a few new ones

Arcade Mode

• Added a new gamemode: Time Attack
  
  • You have a set amount of time to complete the run. If you run out of time, you must start over from the beginning. You get 12 minutes on Easy, 9 minutes on Medium, and 7 minutes on Hard
    
  • The minigame will always be an escape
    
  • Fights are always 1 round, except for the boss, which is 2 rounds. The secret boss cannot be fought on this gamemode
• Added a new Theme: “Frosty Free-For-All”
  
  • Only uses outdoor stages and wintery/festive costumes for characters
    
  • With Stage Hazards enabled, a unique hazard has a chance to replace the normal hazard of any stage

Training Mode

• With Visible Hitboxes enabled, projectile invincibility now shows up as a pinkish colour instead of green, to distinguish it from air invincibility

Mission Mode

• Added 2 new Missions: Your Own Worst Enemy (page 3), and Publicity Stunt (page 4)
  
• Removed the Mission "Metal Man", as it wasn't very interesting
  
• Moved the Mission "Buff Boi Bodyguard" to page 2
  
• Updated the Weapon Thug's model in Buff Boi Bodyguard

• Added a new playable fighter: Master Locks!
  
• Added a new costume: Glamrock Locks (Unlocked by beating Arcade Mode as Master Locks)
  
• Added a new costume: Barber Locks (Unlocked by playing on the Master Locks' Dojo stage 10 times)
  
• Added a new costume: Holiday Locks (Unlocked by beating Arcade Mode with the Frosty Free-For-All theme enabled, as any character)

Heat Rush (Neutral Special)

• Fixed an issue where the opponent would be frozen in hitstun for several seconds if they fell out of the move before the final hit

Inferno Upper (Down Special)

• Now puts Clyde into the helpless state on whiff or block

New Costume

• Added a new costume: Casual Shin (Unlocked by beating Arcade Mode with Shoto while using the Shin costume)

New Costume

• Added a new costume: Pharaoh Rag-Z (Unlocked by beating Arcade Mode with Derrick while using the Rag-Z costume)

Rag-Z Costume

• Rag-Z’s skateboard will now fall off his back when he is KO'd

Breaker Barrage (Neutral Super)

• If the move is used too close to the corner, Red will now be moved slightly away from the corner. This is to fix an issue where the Rage-enhanced final hit would sometimes whiff from this position

Miscellaneous

• Fixed an issue where Baron’s hurtbox in the knockdown state was slightly taller than those of other characters, making him able to be hit OTG by moves that other characters wouldn’t

Vacation Costume

• Fixed an issue where certain special intro animations wouldn’t play properly when using this costume

MORE SWORDS!! (Down Super)

• If Shiverskull is hit while this move is active, the swords will now disappear until he becomes actionable again. The install timer still drains while the swords are disabled, making it possible to stall out the timer entirely by comboing him
  
• Added some additional visual effects to the move
  
• Fixed an issue where blocking the swords would only remove them visually, with their hitboxes remaining active. The swords will now properly disappear on block as intended

New Costume

• Added a new costume: Chef Lumina (Unlocked by default, for now)

Witch Costume

• This costume is no longer unlocked by default. It must now be unlocked by beating Arcade Mode with the "Frightening Fray" theme enabled, as any character
  
  • Note that since the check for this condition didn't exist prior to this update, you will need to fulfill the condition even if you've already done so

Getup Reversal

• Fixed an issue where hitting Lumina during the recovery of her Getup Reversal would cause her to return to her knockdown animation

Boss Stats Mode

• With Boss Stats enabled, Chip’s maximum health now increases from 100 to 150
  
• Fixed an issue where Chip’s health bar wasn’t visible with Boss Stats enabled

Midas Rush (Neutral Super)

• Slightly increased the amount of time between each hit of the move
  
• Slightly reduced horizontal knockback of the final hit

Gera Costume

• Fixed an issue where Colour 06 had an incorrect colour on one of the legs

Love Bomb (Neutral Super > Up)

• Fixed an issue where Blast Burst was not locked out during the first few frames of the cinematic, causing the camera to jerk around unnaturally

New Costume

• Added a new costume: Burglar Roy (Unlocked by beating Arcade Mode with Guy while using the Roy costume)

Miscellaneous

• Fixed an issue where Guy would fall out of command grab Supers if he didn’t have his briefcase

New Costume

• Added a new costume: Penguin Johnson (Unlocked by beating the new Mission "Publicity Stunt")

Getup Reversal

• Fixed an issue where hitting Johnson during the recovery of his Getup Reversal would cause him to return to his knockdown animation

Getup Reversal

• Fixed an issue where hitting Ember during the recovery of her Getup Reversal would cause her to return to her knockdown animation

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Shooting Star

• Adjusted the positioning of the boss' HP bar portrait sprite

Shade

• Fixed an issue where hitting Shade during his second phase would not cause any sounds effects to play or hitstop to occur

Masked Oni

• Fixed an oversight where the “Crimson Dive” move was listed as Air OK in the move list, despite this not being the case
  
• Adjusted eye sprite during hitstun when the character doesn’t have his mask

Donner Misterkay

• Made the command input for Grim Devasto slightly more lenient