From Incarnations to Sidekicks

Wait… what's an "incarnation" again?

Let's start with a reminder of what incarnations actually are. In the game, there are certain special weapons that enable any player character (no matter what their class) to change into an incarnation. The character then takes on the incarnation's appearance and list of spells while retaining their own characteristics (so if the character has 200 Chance, they'll also have 200 Chance as an incarnation). The experience gained at the end of each fight contributes not to the character's progress, but to the progress of the incarnation itself, up to level 50.

The first incarnation made its appearance in March 2008 through a scratch card that allowed players to obtain one of five Knight incarnations. Later, a number of other incarnations were also added to the game (Goboff, Haku, Plunder, etc.). These incarnations could be obtained in different ways (quests, purchase in the shop, scratch cards, etc.). The last incarnation to be added to the game was Rint the Goblimp, as part of the Kwismas Island revamp at the end of 2011. In total, 39 incarnations were created and are still playable today, even though most of them can only be obtained by purchase/resale.

So why get rid of incarnations?

Besides our goal of modernizing the various gameplay systems, there are a number of reasons why we've decided to retire the incarnations system:

• First of all, as we explained earlier, many incarnations are no longer available except through purchase/resale (trades or marketplaces). With some of them going for truly exorbitant prices (up to tens of millions of kamas in certain cases), they can only be played by a small minority, which deprives a large segment of our players of the fun of playing with them. In addition, the availability of these incarnations can vary widely from one server to the next.
• The logic and gameplay mechanics of fights back in 2011 were different than they are today (e.g. attacks with multiple lines of damage, AP costs, number of targets, and so on). As a result, most of these incarnations are completely imbalanced, either too weak or far too strong depending on the specific case.
• In certain specific contexts, incarnations make it harder for us to balance the in-game content (such as quest fights).
• The fact that an incarnation allows you to "incarnate" or embody an entity with a different class than the player's character goes against the principle of an RPG, which is to develop and improve the same character over the course of your adventures. This contradiction is further accentuated by the fact that the experience earned is attributed to the incarnation and not to the character.
• Compared to sidekicks, incarnations are much less visible and not highlighted to nearly the same extent (no slot in the character's equipment and no dedicated interface). As a result, many players are barely aware of this part of the game, if at all, since the relevant information is only available in the forum or on third-party sites. At this point, incarnations add an extra layer of complexity to the game, especially for new players, that we don't believe is necessary in light of the rich variety of systems we've incorporated over the years.

For all of these reasons, we're no longer satisfied with this feature of the game. This is why no new incarnations have been added for over 10 years. The incarnations that are still in circulation are relics of the past, impossible to obtain by the original methods, and are therefore rare (and expensive, if you can find them on your server at all).

How are we going to proceed for this change?

The various incarnations that currently exist are an important part of Dofus history, which is why we're not going to get rid of them completely. As part of Temporis 6, "Revenge of the Scrollsayers", we introduced some new sidekicks – a change that was very well-received. Inspired by that result, we've decided to convert all of the existing incarnations into sidekicks. As mentioned earlier, the sidekicks system is more firmly anchored in the current structure of the game, more versatile and more functional. This will allow us to bring a breath of fresh air to these old incarnations, but also to the system itself. After all, the number of current sidekicks is relatively small, and few of them can be obtained directly in-game. A lot of work and adjustments have gone into making this transition a success:

• 13 sidekicks are currently present in the game (Skale, Trank, Beelzebug, Krobax, Lumino and Lumino Star, Shadow, Astrub Knight, Krosmoglob, Kamus Rex, Spectral Scout, Toxine and Archiduk). Converting the incarnations brings this total to 52. We've made a point of developing each of their characteristics to make their gameplay unique and provide players with a real choice in how to use them. In addition, we've done as much as possible to preserve the basic gameplay of the original incarnations.
• Globally, we've standardized, normalized and balanced the sidekicks' spells, whether they're converted incarnations or traditional sidekicks. In their previous form, incarnations had a variable number of spells (some had 6, others had 21…). We had to make certain choices, make changes to old spells, create new ones and eliminate others to arrive at a coherent overall system. Going forward, all new sidekicks will have 6 spells, each of which will have ranks that unlock at levels 30, 100 and 160. Sidekicks will therefore have increasing power as they progress to higher levels. As for the sidekicks' characteristics, they will always follow a linear progression based on the level of the player character who's using the sidekick. In general, compared to the current set of existing sidekicks, the new sidekicks will be slightly weaker at lower levels and slightly stronger at higher levels.
• New methods have also been defined for obtaining these 39 sidekicks. Our goal here was twofold. On the one hand, we wanted to have sidekicks who can be obtained through all of the different systems in the game: achievement points, quests, end-of-fight loot, temporal anomalies, professions and purchases from NPCs (with almokens, kolossokens, nuggets and roses of the sands). And on the other hand, we wanted to have new objectives that players could follow throughout their progression (from level 30 to 200). Therefore, all of the new sidekicks will be obtainable in-game by everyone with no restrictions (including the Manitou Zoth) – except for the sidekicks currently sold through the shop on the DOFUS website, which will continue to be exclusive to the shop.
• With all of these new sidekicks now available, the option of using temporary sidekicks no longer seemed important to keep. The temporary sidekicks (ethereal signals) that could be obtained each week from the Fraternica NPC have therefore been removed.
• A new location will be appearing in the south of Amakna Village (0,6): the Sidekick Inn. There you'll find all the sidekicks you obtain along the way… and more! We don't want to spoil the surprise, so we'll let you discover what awaits you at the Inn.
• Finally, all of these sidekicks, both old and new, have been given a makeover!  That means new illustrations for the sidekicks interface, new visuals in combat (whether in creature mode or not), new spell animations, new signals and new spell icons.

How about some examples?

There's nothing like a few examples to make things more concrete. Here are 3 of the new sidekicks that will soon be arriving in-game.

Haku

As an incarnation, Haku had 6 spells (Compartmentalisation, Monomania, Coast Play, Idolatry, Nerf Plox and Haku's Staff).

Identity:

• A new identity has been created for this sidekick, associated with the Earth and Air paths.
• Hegemony: Steals HP in the Earth element.
• Domination: Inflicts Air damage. Increases enemies' damage suffered in a 2-cell area of effect around the target.
• Omnipresence: Inflicts Air and Earth damage. On the targeted enemy for 2 turns:
  • Causes Air damage when they take close-combat damage.
  • Causes Earth damage when they take ranged damage.
  • Damage in each element can be triggered a maximum of 3 times per turn.
• Arbitration: Inflicts Air and Earth damage in an area of effect around the caster.
• Rolistic: For 1 turn, if the target receives damage, inflicts Air and Earth damage on adjacent enemies.
• Ubiquity: Switches places with the target and increases damage suffered on the first attack by enemies in an area of effect.

Darkness Knight

• A new identity has been created for this sidekick, associated with the Neutral path.
• Dark Buckshot: Inflicts Neutral damage in an area of effect.
• Dark Healing: Steals Neutral health.
• Infaminous: Applies an end-of-turn Neutral poison on the target.
• Carnage: Inflicts Neutral damage and removes Power.
• Obscuration: Switches places with the target. If the target is an ally, increases their Power. If it's an enemy, reduces their Power.
• Saverne's Blow: Immediately increases allies' Power, and reduces enemies' Power on the following turn.

Riktus Enchantress

Identity:

• Some of the incarnation's spells have been kept to make up the arsenal of a sidekick specializing in support/neutral damage.
• Healing: Heals the targeted ally at start of each turn.
• Adrenaline: Increases allies' AP in an area of effect.
• Demystification: Reduces the duration of effects on the target and erodes it.
• Conjuring: Removes AP and MP.
• Enchanted Glyph: Places a glyph-aura that inflicts Neutral damage in an area of effect.
• Wicked Elixir: Inflicts Neutral damage and removes Power.

You'll find all the different sidekicks in the March 2023 beta, where you can check out all their spells and gameplay specificities.

So what happens to my incarnation?

For those who already have an incarnation, will all the time and kamas you've invested be for naught? Here's what's going to happen: when the update is released, all incarnation weapons present in players' inventories, banks, etc. will be transformed into consumables. Each consumable will have the same icon as the incarnation weapon, and will be labeled with the name of the incarnation + "… Relic". When the player consumes this relic, they will obtain:

• The signal for the sidekick corresponding to the lost incarnation
• A ceremonial weapon with a similar visual design as the associated incarnation weapon. Except for the six incarnations which could still be obtained in-game (quests or Kwismas gifts), the ceremonial weapons obtained in this way will be exclusive. Like the old incarnations, the ceremonial weapons will be tradeable after being linked to the account for 62 days.

Note that the incarnation weapon will automatically be converted to a relic at the time of the update. To obtain the relic, you will therefore need to have the weapon in your possession (in your inventory or in the bank, for example) at the time of the update. So watch out for any incarnations you may have loaned out.

Before getting into some additional details that will interest the more hardcore collectors among you, we need to distinguish three concepts. In addition to the relics, which will only affect those who had an incarnation before the update, it will be important to distinguish "sidekick signals" and "sidekick signal carriers".

A sidekick signal is an item which:

• allows you to equip the associated sidekick
• can be traded (after being linked to the account for a period of 62 days)
• can be bought and sold at marketplaces

A sidekick signal carrier is an item which:

• is consumable
• allows you to obtain the associated sidekick signal with the new acquisition method
• cannot be traded (quest item)

Now let's talk about the conditions needed to make your collection of sidekick NPCs appear at the dedicated Inn.

• Obtaining a sidekick signal through a marketplace or trade will not unlock the sidekick NPC.
• The NPC appears after you have used a relic or sidekick signal carrier for the associated sidekick.
• Once the conditions for the NPC's appearance have been met, it will not disappear; you won't need to have the sidekick signal in your inventory. However, an exception is made for sidekicks obtained through the shop, since they have not undergone any change with regard to how they are obtained.

What about quests? Some fights are really just too hard…

After we announced that incarnations were going to be eliminated, there were a lot of comments and concerns about certain quest fights. And indeed, incarnations in their current form are frequently or even mainly used by players as an "auto-win" strategy to beat a quest fight that they can't manage to get through with their own character.

While we consider this approach to be abusive, we're aware of this problem and are listening to the community's feedback on the subject. This is why, in parallel to the removal of incarnations, we've taken a number of steps to rebalance quest fights so that incarnations don't seem so essential to beating them. All of the changes to the quest fights will be detailed in the changelog for the update.

If certain quests still seem too difficult or even impossible, feel free to report them to us during the beta. We'll look attentively at your feedback for each fight.

In conclusion

Our goal has been and remains to move forward with new DOFUS content while also taking existing systems into account. Incarnations are a part of DOFUS history. With this update, we hope to bring them into the modern era and make them accessible to as many players as possible. We've shared our reasons for the change with you, and we hope we've got you interested in testing how the new system works. You can check out all the new sidekicks in the beta for the March update. For this update, the beta will last for three weeks, and all sidekick signals will be available for purchase from the "Best-a-Tester" NPC.